The Mountain

Chapter 4

He waves at me and I catch a glimpse of his smile. His dirty blond hair is swept across his forehead and his green eyes almost glow in the fire light. He has soft, kind features and black framed glasses that catch the glint of the fire every so often. My stomach flips when my eyes meet his and both of our lips curl into a smile. I walk up and shove my hands in my pockets, unsure of how to greet him.

Luckily he starts. "Crazy to see another person, huh?" He asks.

I nod and laugh. "When I heard your voice it was crazy. It's nice to know I'm not alone out here."

"Yeah, when I realized there were others here it was kind of a shock. Come on in, I bet you're freezing," he says, his eyes on my soaked and muddy clothing.

I follow him under the tarp, grateful for the shelter. The trees provided some but the tarp keeps us fully dry. He steps out for a moment to let me change into dry clothes. I change quickly and stuff the old ones into the bottom of the bag. I can dry them later but right now I need them out of the way. I call him back in and take my hair out of its braid to wring it out.

"So... you figured out the puzzle?" He asks. "It sounds like you figured it out really fast."

"Well, I realized that if I was number three, there must be others right? It took a little bit of detective work, but I got it," I shrug. "How about you?"

"I was just confused for a long time. I had a small understanding of what might be happening but I didn't put together the part where we have to meet each other until you radioed. I first heard your voice and was really confused but then you asked for me, number five. Then I remembered the weird numbers in the notebook. That's when I radioed back," he explains.

I nod. "I went to the river to get water when I first woke up and I put a few things together. But then a bear interrupted me and I got distracted."

His eyes widen. "A bear? What happened?"

I tell him how I ran and killed the bear, pulling out my gun to show him how I shot it. "You have a gun?" He asks shocked.

I nod narrowing my eyes. "You don't?"

He shakes his head and turns around to grab something from beside his pack. "I got a crossbow."

He hands it to me so I can examine it. "Have you used it?" I ask, turning it over in my hands.

He nods. "Yeah, I've used it to hunt," he says. He motions to the small animal he is currently cooking over the fire.

"I feel like we are cave men or something," I laugh. "Cooking animals over fire."

He agrees and we fall silent for a moment, watching the fire. "Oh!" I exclaim standing up. "The keys!"

I grab my bag and pull out the black box and then the key from my neck. He grabs both items from his backpack. "How could we forget?" He asks.

"We were so wrapped up in human connection we forgot that we had a reason for being here," I laugh. We trade keys and hold our breath as the boxes unlock.

The first thing I see in my box is a slip of paper.

1 Johnathan Oliver
2 Tyler Durang
3 Adylin Hill
4 Dave Unzer
5 James Clifton
6 Eloise Resint
7 Matthew Selving
8 Zoey McElvy
9 Claire McElvy
10 Ellen Halfey

"Our names and numbers?" James asks aloud. "How is this supposed to help us?"

I shrug. "Might be important to know the others."

I shove the paper into my pocket and dig into the rest of the box. The next item is another paper, I almost groan until I start reading it.

Contestants,
I'm guessing all of you are very confused about your circumstances at the moment. Don't worry, there is a reason for you to be here. You chose to be here, signed up for it actually. I will not tell you why you chose to do this but know that there is a reason for it, you knew the rewards outweighed the risks. Your objective is to reach the top of the mountain alive. That's all. But to do this you must play by the rules. The only way to get to the top is to follow the clues and solve the puzzles. If you don't do this, you will not reach the top. Only five people will make it to the end.
Follow the plan, trust yourselves, and be careful.

The letter has no name to clarify who it is from, but I don't think that even matters. James looks up at me when he finishes reading.

"We chose this?" He asks bewildered. "Why?"

"Do I look like I know?" I ask, the shock on his face from my retort makes me wince. "Sorry, I'm frustrated."

"I get it. But I'm guessing past me wasn't thinking clearly when he decided to wake up on a mountain," he sighs.

"They said the rewards outweigh the risks, though," I point out. "Besides, we don't have a choice now."

I put the letter aside to see what's left. Nothing. That was it. I look back at James. "That's it? What do we do?"

He stares at me blankly. I pull the piece of paper out of my pocket and read the names again. "Wait," James interrupts, "the back."

I flip the paper over and read the back. Go to the place where the wall of rocks meets open air. I read the clue aloud so James can hear. "What about yours? Are they the same?"

"'Where's your biggest fear?'" He says, face paling. "My biggest fear is heights."

I search the map for a high spot or a rocky area from my own clue. "The cliff." I point to an area of the mountain that cuts off abruptly. "They want us to go to the cliff."