Moonlight Mountain

Chapter Two - Werewolf Trail

By the time Sherry and April had joined them, Ava could barely contain herself. She insisted on snapping a selfie of the three on the way there, so they did. Her parents were in the front of the SUV while her and her friends were scattered in the middle and back seats. 

April, however, also couldn't seem to stop talking about all the disappearances that occurred on the mountain, and seemed convinced they would come across a dead body. 

"April, please," Ava hissed, begging her friend to stop. "My parents could turn around right now and we won't get to go." 

"Sorry." April rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat, glancing out the window, almost pouting. 

Ava sighed and turned to Sherry, who had been quiet. "Sherry, don't worry, we probably won't find any bodies," she said confidently. 

Sherry shrugged. "I knew April would do this. It's creeping me out already and we aren't even there."

"Are you girls sure you want to go? You seem nervous," Ron asked from the driver's seat. 

"I'm fine, just if April will stop talking about dead bodies, I won't think about it as much when we are there," Sherry snapped, glaring at April. 

"Okay, okay, whatever," April huffed. "Jeeze, you guys take the fun out of everything." 

"Would it be fun if you found the dead body of someone you know?" Ava grumbled. "Look, I don't want to fight today. I just want to enjoy the time we'll have on Moonlight Mountain." 

April was quiet about dead bodies for the rest of the few hour's drive. 

*****

The signs for "Moonlight Mountain" began to appear on road signs about a half hour before they reached it. Ava counted down the kilometers, until finally, they pulled into the parking lot of the national park.

Since it was tourist season, finding a parking spot was impossible, so they had to turn around in the parking lot, and park on the side of the road just outside the entrance to the parking lot. Once they parked, they gathered their things and got out. Ava took a selfie of herself and her friends in front of the "Moonlight Mountain National Park" sign before they went up to the map of the hiking trails. The park was free to enter, all they had to do was pick a trail and hike. 

"Well, probably everyone will be going to the most popular trail which is the easiest one, straight up there," Ava gestured to a trail that had a more open entrance and where several people had already begun their hikes. 

"Okay, so we should go there too, that way we'll feel safer with more people around," Julie insisted. 

"Oh come on, hon, where's your sense of adventure? You used to love hiking the off trails," Ron teased his wife. 

Julie nodded. "Yes, and I still do, but on this mountain it feels different. I'd rather be in a more populated area, but since it's Ava's graduation present, it's really up to her."

Ava decided that she didn't want to go up the most popular trail, because she figured it would be too busy. "This one," she pointed to a smaller trail that wound up the left side of the mountain. "According to the map, it looks like there are a few nice look-off spots on the way up." 

"Okay. It looks like a few people are going up that one, too. What's it called?" Ava's mom asked. 

"Werewolf Trail," Ava chuckled at the name. "I guess it takes a few hours to climb up that one. Most people opt for the one-hour trail." 

Her mom rolled her blue eyes. "Really? They couldn't come up with any different name? What about Acorn Trail or Pinetree Pass?" 

"This mountain is known for being spooky, so maybe they wanted to go with creepy names?" Ava shrugged, glancing at the names of the other trails and reading them off. "Goth Trail. Dead Man's Cauldron. Devil's Pass. The main trail that everyone has been going up is called, Sasquatch Trail."

"Alright, alright. Anyway, let's get going." Julie slung her backpack over her shoulder, and led the way towards Werewolf Trail.

*****

A half hour into Werewolf Trail, and Julie saw a spot that she wanted to stop at.

She glanced to her left and spotted a cliff that had a bench pointed out towards a lake in the valley below. A sign read that they were a little over 1,000 feet up the mountain. 

"Wow," Julie gasped as they all stopped and went to the look-off. 

"Worth it, right?" Ava asked, grinning as she snapped photos of the amazing place. 

Sherry went to sit on the bench and pulled out her snacks. "I'm hungry. Can we take a short break here?"

"Of course," Ron agreed. "The view is spectacular."

Sherry and Ava sat on the bench, while April went poking around in the woods nearby. 

"Don't stray too far," Ron warned April.

"I'm literally not going any farther. I'm just...seeing if maybe people dropped stuff near this spot." April glanced around nervously, and Ava sighed, knowing what her friend was really looking for. 

"You can come off it, April. We all know what you're looking for," Ava snapped. 

"Oh shut up," April grumbled, coming out of the woods and back onto the trail. "Besides, I don't think a body would be in an obvious spot like this. Searchers have gone all over this mountain and not found anything near the trails. Any person that was found, was found miles from where they went missing."

Julie sighed. "Okay. You're so interested in bodies in the woods, why don't you be a forest ranger? I'm sure they come across weird things. They also often help in searches when someone goes missing in the national parks." 

April looked thoughtful. "You know what, Mrs. Larsen? That's actually a good career option for me. I was thinking more like detective or whatnot, but a forest ranger would be far more interesting for me."

"Glad I could help." Julie smiled, but Ava could tell her mom was still annoyed with the talk of missing people.

After a few minutes, they decided to continue and left the spot to head farther up the hill, into the intimidating forest of Moonlight Mountain.