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“I don’t want any of you to be disappointed, but it’s advisable not to be out on these mountains after dark. I think it’s best if we begin our descent.”
The grumbles and protests erupted all around me and I found myself backing away from the throng of angry hikers and into the shade of trees. I’d already wished I’d attempted the journey myself, but after an afternoon full of drama, I was only one more angry stare away from abandoning them and turning back.
“We paid to get closer to the volcano,” one man said, crossing his arms over his chest as if this somehow made him look bigger. “I think I speak for all of us when I say I want to finish this damned walk.”
I rolled my eyes at the entitlement.
“Sir, please,” the tour leader held out his palms, trying to soothe the atmosphere. “As you’re all aware, Mount Vulcan has a vicious history with disaster, it is against protocol to let you continue now the sun is going down. I’ll speak with my supervisor and see if I can arrange some refunds.”
A chorus of chatter flew into the sky, hands raised, feet stomped. The group disbanded and I watched them all filter off back down the original trail.
“Wait!” The tour leader called as he ran after them. “These mountains aren’t safe after dark, didn’t you read the information down at the visitor center!?”
I laughed and shook my head, glad of the quieting noise and the unspoiled views of the towering peaks cutting through the landscape. I’d read the information, but it wasn’t something that I found deterring. For decades the volcanic mountains had been the scene of many unexplained happenings, missing hikers, nightly seismic activity, and probably most alarming, sightings of monsters. It was fascinating, to say the least, and part of the reason I’d found myself on Mount Vulcan in the first place. I’d never been this close to an actual volcano, but it was something I’d been curious about. Now, in the middle of my travels across the country, it seemed the perfect way to end the last six months of freedom. After starting in New York, I was ending in the Pacific Northwest before heading on to Vancouver and starting a new life. I knew deep down I was better off staying with the group and not taking the risk, but I didn’t want to cut short my last great adventure before I’d accomplished what I’d set out to do. Terrifying folklore and potential earthquakes or not…
“I’ll call the visitor center and say I’ve taken alternative transport back,” I said aloud to myself as I hitched my pack onto my shoulder and sucked in a lungful of air. “I can be up to the base and back down again before nightfall, I’m sure of it.”
I emerged from the camouflage of the trees and cast a glance back towards the trail and at the last few stragglers of the hiking group as they continued their descent. This was the last chance I had to go with them, but the lure of the unknown was just too strong.
“Adois,” I smiled as I took a big stride forward, away from the trail, and continued north.
If I just stayed on the path, surely nothing too bad could happen…
The sun beganto set much quicker than I’d thought, and as I found myself getting higher, the trees cast heavy shadows that took away more light, suddenly plunging me into darkness.
I paused, reaching into my back pocket for my phone to check the time. It was 7:30 pm and I was officially starting to panic. I took a deep breath, attempting to regain control of my spiraling anxiety. Whatever I chose to do next was going to determine if I made it off Mount Vulcan alive. I’d misjudged the hiking trails and the time I had left, and now, I was alone and lost with the daylight slipping quickly away. I tried not to think of the black bears and mountain lions, the fact that soon they would be starting their nightly scavenging for food. I held my phone high, trying to get a signal, but I was too far out of range and my battery was almost dead.
I only had two options, find shelter and hunker down until morning, or turn back and hope that I managed to get a signal on the way. Somewhere out in the wilderness, I heard a howl and a shiver ran up my spine. If I didn’t find shelter, I was going to end up in the belly of a cougar. I winced and gritted my teeth before stepping as quietly as possible towards one of the tallest trees and looking up to the top. The night sky was shining behind it, the mountain's peak against the stars twinkling in the inky dark. The tree was tall and full, an evergreen with lush branches and plenty of places to hide. Luckily, it had some low branches on its huge trunk, so I quickly grabbed on and started to climb, inching my way higher while trying to stay quiet and calm. My muscles burned as I heaved myself up, trying to get as much distance between my feet and the ground, but it wasn’t long before I couldn’t go any further. The branches were beginning to thin out, and as I leaned back against the trunk I tried not to cry.
“Why are you like this?” I whispered to myself, knowing I’d really messed up this time.
I’d made it about twenty feet high, but the ground still felt far too close, and the branches were already digging into me, making it all so uncomfortable that the thought of staying there all night began to weigh heavy. I carefully dug in my back pocket for my phone, pulling it out and tapping it alive. My eyes widened when I saw one small slice of signal and I was so shocked that I moved quickly and dropped it.
As it tumbled out of my hands, toward the ground, hitting branches as it went, I felt like I was watching in slow motion, my mouth slack and wobbling. When it finally hit the rocks and I heard it smash, the intense wave of terror rolled over me… at the same time as my gaze locked with a set of glinting amber eyes below.
A mountain lion stared back, still as stone, and watching me as only a predator can. Out in the distance, a roar pierced through the night, howls of animals calling to each other as if they knew there was an interloper amongst them. The mountain lion lowered its head, its eyes never leaving mine, as my heart began to pound so hard I was certain it could hear it. I watched in horror as it dipped down on its haunches, preparing to launch itself into the tree and I screamed as I straightened up, grasping out for the branches above and instinctively trying to go higher.
Another roar pierced the night and I clamped my eyes closed, hearing the snarls and scratches as the lion began its climb closer to my hiding place. I’d been so confident when I’d left the hiking group behind, feeling brave and full of knowledge. But it had quickly all gone so bad.
“Please,” I whispered, my lip trembling. “Don’t let this be happening.”
Below me, a branch snapped and I opened my eyes, peering over to see the lion fall back down to the ground, its immense weight too much for the tree. A smile briefly flashed over my lips, until somewhere in the night sky above, a roar pierced the darkness again and I looked up to see a shadow pass over the moon.
I blinked, my fear peaking as I squinted to try and follow the shape sweeping through the sky. It was big and winged, and my first thought was that it must be an eagle. But as it came closer, I realized it had long legs and was much larger than any bird I had ever seen. Suddenly, the mountain lion didn’t seem so threatening, and I felt my jaw sag open as the winged creature swooped toward the tree. Its immense size was suddenly upon me as I was grasped by two huge hands and pulled by the waist into the air. I felt claws digging into my skin, hot breath on the back of my neck, and I looked down at the ground as it rushed beneath me at thirty, then forty, then a hundred feet. I screamed as I pounded my fists at the arms encircling my waist, scaly arms, so full, muscular, and strong that every bit of resistance was futile.
“Shhhh,” I heard as it took me higher and the air became so thin I felt dizzy.
And then, as I realized the towering face of the volcano was beneath my feet, my vision blurred and the world began to go very dark.
The heat was profound.A surging onslaught of suffocation and crimson fire. The roar of energy was all around, a roll of thunder, electricity, and bubbling lava. I clamped my eyes closed as I came back into consciousness, the sweat tumbling down my forehead and into my eyelashes, pooling at my collarbones as I lay against the warmth of smooth stone. The heat relaxed my spine, making me feel like I was turning into a puddle of ooze. I felt the nip of something on my thigh, a sharp scrape moving high towards my waist, a tugging at my hips, and a slash of fabric.
Hands took hold of my cheeks, gripping me tightly, a claw tracing down the soft, dewy flesh that felt on fire.
“This place might kill you,” a deep, masculine voice spoke. It was so loud and heavy that I felt it in my chest as it trembled through me. “Come now,” he spoke again.
I felt the hands slide underneath me and I realized my clothes were gone. I was in my bra and panties, and the massive strength of the creature holding me made me feel weightless in its arms as he scooped me up high and against his muscular chest.
I still didn’t dare open my eyes, but I could smell smoke and embers, coal and fire. As he moved, his breathing rumbled like a roar in his chest, and I felt the cooling air of something fanning me, a movement going back and forth, as scales lightly touched my shoulder.
