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Just as she rounded a corner, she stopped short.
“What’s wrong?” He followed her gaze down the trail and spotted what had frozen her in place. A hulking mountain goat less than half a football field away, right on the trail, blocking their path.
The goat faced them, its horns looking much sharper than they had from farther away. Its body was thick and muscular, like it ate steroids for breakfast.
Since when did goats get that big? This wasn’t a cute bell-wearing farm goat, that was for sure.
Ophelia seemed uncertain but he walked in front of her and glanced over his shoulder. “It’ll move when we get closer. They’re more afraid of us than we are of them.”
She nodded. “O-okay.”
They started forward, then he heard her stop again, and she grabbed his arm. She backtracked, then pushed him behind the jutted rock that made a corner. She pressed her back up against the cliff.
When he stared at her dumbfounded, she yanked him back against the rock too. “It saw us,” she hissed.
He chuckled. “So? It’s just a goat.”
“There’s a baby there. Animal mothers don’t fuck around!”
“Neither do human ones,” he muttered, then peered around the corner. “Come on. I’m sure it’ll move off the trail.”
She shook her head, her face ghost white. “I don’t think so. You didn’t see the look in her eye. She’s not afraid of us. She’s out for blood.”
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. Let’s go.”
“No.”
“What do you think it’s gonna do?” He chuckled. “Bite me with its razor sharp fangs? Kick me with its massive hoofs?”
“Ram you off the cliff!” she retorted.
He scoffed. “I’m bigger than the goat. It’ll get scared once it sees that.”
“Go ahead then.” She shrugged. “Let me know when it’s clear.”
Riding the high that came with protecting her, he marched back around the corner, determined to stare the goat down until it moved. The goat spotted him at once then lowered its head.
He turned to Ophelia, who was peeking around the corner. “See? It’s already recognizing I’m superior.”
“Uh-huh. Keep going, George of the Jungle.”
Feeling a little silly, he tried to make himself look bigger and took a step closer.
The goat charged. It picked up speed and lowered it’s head so its horns were leveled at Luke’s crotch.
“Shiiiiit.” He stumbled back around the corner then turned and pushed Ophelia back down trail. “Run!”
He took a quick glance at the cliffs above the trail and below, but there was nowhere to go that was off of the path. Not without rope and climbing gear. They ran a few paces down the trail before he spun to check behind them.
No goat. There was a decent-sized boulder just below the trail that pushed out far enough to see around that corner. He jumped down onto it and leaned to check on the goat. It’d given up the chase and now herded its young down the cliff, off of the path.
He climbed up the loose rock and back onto the trail where Ophelia stood hovering against the cliff, eyes wide. “It’s gone.”
“You almost got us killed!” She smacked his arm.
“Nah,” he said, trying to look unruffled, even though he was still breathing hard from the run. “Might’ve just nudged us is all.”
“Nudged us off the cliff to certain death!”
