Page 40 of Statler

Curious, Stat slowly and carefully walked over to have a look. The last thing he wanted to do was surprise a bear.

When he reached the pile of sticks and leaves that stuck out from otherwise natural surroundings, Stat realized he was wrong about the bear, but not the pile.

It had been put there intentionally, but clearly by someone with opposable thumbs.

Now, his interest was really piqued.

Who would have gone to this trouble, and why?

He pulled a few branches out of the way to reveal…

A path.

Huh. What was it for, and why had it been calculatedly hidden?

It was a bit farfetched to think that Flazer and his illicit gun production had any ties to a place this remote, but even so, Statler knew he’d be remiss if he didn’t check it out.

Moving slowly and cautiously now, he put one foot in front of the other.

The trajectory of this secondary path continued upward, just like the one he’d been using, but in places, it was much steeper and narrower.

Strange, but…

The higher he climbed, the more Statler realized that this slightly used path couldn’t possibly be suspect, due to its size and hazardousness.

But that didn’t keep him from continuing.

Where would it lead?

A mile in, Statler finally wondered if he was on a wild goose-chase to nowhere, but then he began seeing open sky ahead. That meant he was at least coming to a clearing.

He shrugged.

Might as well finish up.

Feeling a little foolish at his earlier trepidation, Statler speculated that this was probably a local teenage hangout where kids came to drink and party. Obviously, they wouldn’t want grown-ups to⁠—

“What the…?”

Statler’s mouth dropped open as the exclamation left his lips.

Wow.

Goosebumps ran up and down his arms.

This was…

Unreal.

He fell back against a rock, dazed, and took it all in.

Holy crap.

To start, the actual outcroppings of random rocks and fifteen-foot cliff faces he confronted were damned impressive.

The place was magical; its own world, with soaring heights, odd shaped boulders, and small paths winding their way through crevices that were often known as lemon-squeezes.

But that wasn’t what had completely blindsided Statler.