by Will Wallner
The young man could feel it, they were close to something. There really was something mysterious about this mountain. Something was calling him to reach the summit. But what could it be? It almost felt like a sense of Déjà vu for the man. But is that even possible? For someone who's lost their memories. Who knows? But one thing was certain, the young man had to reach the top and find out.
One year ago, the man awoke in Valley Village. He was disoriented and severely injured. He had no memory of who he was or where he came from. One of the villagers found him washed up on the shores of Lyme Cove, about ten miles from the village. They carried him on the back of their trailer to the village medical station, where he was treated for his injuries. Even with villages limited equipment, the doctor stabilized his condition. Sister Mary was left to watch over him, while he lay unconscious for many days. Mary was a nurse in training. She grew up in the village and when she wasn't at medical station, she would help at the local school and orphanage.
Although she wasn't really qualified, she tried to investigate where this man could have possibly come from and also the cause of his injuries. He had several lacerations down the left side of his body. Based on the position of the cuts, she hypothesized that he could have been near an explosion. He most likely turned sideways and used his left arm to shield his face from the blast. She also surmised, that because the sea at Lyme Cove is on the southern coast of Middle Continent, it's possible, however unlikely, that he came from Southern Continent. Her final conclusion was that the most probable explanation, would have been some sort of accident at sea. For example, an explosion on board of a ship. Although not completely correct, some aspects of Mary's conclusions were surprisingly accurate.
When he finally awoke, he was greeted by Sister Mary and the hospital staff. When he was strong enough to walk they showed him around the village. He met Taz's Uncle, who offered to make him a walking stick to help him move around more freely. It was then that Taz's Uncle gave him the nickname ‘Buck'. Buck was somewhat of a celebrity in the village. The mysterious man with no past who appeared out of nowhere. After a few days, when he was well enough to leave the medical station, Taz's Uncle suggested he live in the artist’s cabin. He thought a calm environment might help his mind recover from whatever had caused him to lose his memories. Mary had very intelligently concluded, that his memory loss was not related to his physical injuries. He had suffered no apparent head trauma. It was possibly stress related. The villagers gathered some supplies for Buck and left him alone to live in the cabin.
He would occasionally come back to visit the village. It was only a half mile walk. The villagers were always excited to see Buck, especially Taz. There wasn't much excitement in Valley Village. It was a peaceful place with only about five hundred people. Most of the adults were craftsmen and farmers. There wasn't much of an economy and very seldom would people visit from other places. A lot of the younger adults would leave the village to travel to larger towns or cities in search of jobs. That meant most of the remaining population were very old or very young.
The buildings were mostly simple wooden structures. There were a few larger community properties, such as the medical center, a school, and a library. An old farm house was converted into an orphanage, to give shelter to war orphans, like Taz. Since the War of Tiberia, surrounding regions were called upon to help resettle the mass quantities of refugees and orphans. Some towns and cities rejected the request. Valley Village was happy to do what it could to help with the crises.
Buck would spend most of his time exploring the surrounding valley and observing the wildlife. He liked to sit in the grass next to the cabin and watch the stream as it flowed along the muddy bank. He thought about how the stream must have been there for thousands of years. It could only flow along a single path that occurred naturally. No matter how much the water may have tried, it could never deviate away from the path it was given. That was nature. That was the natural course and destiny for the stream. But what was his destiny?
Back on the mountain, they approached the summit and made it in good time. There was still an hour of sunlight left. As they got closer, the man could feel something inside his stomach making him feel nervous and excited. He breathed heavy. With every footstep his chest pounded harder and harder. This was it. This is what he had been looking for. Secretly, he was hoping it would trigger the return of his memories. But even if it didn't, he knew coming here would give him something. He just didn't know what it could be.
The wind blew fairly hard at the top of the mountain. It was cold, but not uncomfortable. The two could easily spend the night at the top, but it wasn't night time just yet. As they reached their goal, they could hear some unusual noises coming from over a ridge. It sounded like some sort of percussion. Something tapping quickly against the rocky path at an irregular pace. As they got a little closer, they could hear snarling. It sounded like some sort of wild animal. What could it be?
"What the hell is that noise?" Taz exclaimed.
"Taz, shut up and tread carefully. At the first sign of trouble, run down the mountain as fast as you can and don't stop until you're back at the village." The man removed the knife from his belt. They crept up the mountain and perched on a ledge. Now they could see where the noises were coming from.
"Those are wild dogs," Taz whispered. "They're probably fighting over territory, I learned about it at school. Wild animals fight each other for land."
"It's not just wild animals who fight each other for land, Taz. As long as it’s only the two of them, they shouldn't be any risk to us. But if there's a full pack, we might have to cut this trip short. I wouldn't like to be alone up a mountain with a whole bunch of them." The wild dogs in this area were fairly small. They mostly ate vegetation and occasionally would hunt smaller animals.
"I guess my Uncle was wrong," Taz whispered.
"He wasn't wrong, this type of wild dog wouldn't normally be this high up the mountain. They live down in the forests. There must be something up here, which drew them away from their natural habitat. Could it be the same thing which drew me to this mountain?"
The two dogs circled each other menacingly. They curled their upper lips as high as possible to show their teeth to their opponent. They would lunge at each other and grapple with their front legs, each trying to get the upper hand. Every attack was aimed at the opponents neck. The two dogs were very different. One was a deep burgundy, with shiny fur, and a large snout. He was more aggressive and the larger of the two. He had the upper hand in the fight. The smaller dog was a slightly chubby female. She was unusually colored, with black and gray spots. She had rough, spiky fur, and rich blue eyes. Her snout was much smaller and not really made for fighting. Although she wanted to exert her dominance, at this point, she was just fighting to survive.
The young man froze, staring at the dueling dogs. He felt emotions, which somehow reminded him of his past. His hands began to tremble. The two dogs seemed to move in slow motion, as images flashed in his mind from another lifetime. As confusing as it might have seemed, something deep within him understood perfectly. Without even realizing, he slowly nodded his head. Then something drew his attention from the fight.
He looked out into the distant landscape from above the mountain. From this height, he could see for miles. He looked north and took a deep breath. The man could feel there was going to be some sort of battle in his future. Some inescapable conflict. He was going to have to fight someone or something. Whatever it was, it was something he couldn't avoid. It was his destiny. As he looked to the north again, his moment of clarity was broken.
The two dogs circled each other one last time. They leaped forward with their front legs extended and jaws wide open. The male dog pinned the female down and gripped her paw in his mouth. He bit down hard and she howled in pain. He shook his mouth with her paw clamped in his jaw, then released his grip, and went for the kill.
"The brown one is going to eat the fat one," Taz whispered.
"Not if
I can help it!" Without thinking, the man jumped down from the ledge and charged towards the wild dogs. He yelled at the male aggressor to back away and stood over the prone female. The male dog stepped back begrudgingly and growled angrily at the human. Sensing he couldn't win two fights, the ferocious male turned around and ran down the side of the mountain.
The female dog lay still, but looked up at the man. She was panting with her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth. She lay defeated. The man knelt down slowly and placed his hand on her chest, as it quickly moved up and down. The dog felt uncomfortable and untrusting of this stranger. But she was too scared and unable to react. The man slowly moved his hand and rubbed her side.
“Don’t be frightened my little friend.” The man tried to sound as unthreatening as possible.
For a brief moment, she felt safe and immediately leaped to her feet and ran off in the opposite direction from the male dog who attacked her. She limped and ran much slower than she normally could, but within seconds, she vanished out of sight.
"Oh well, I tried. Come on, it's safe! This will make a good spot for our camp." He waived Taz down from the ledge.
"Are you crazy?! That dog might have bit you!"
"She wouldn't have, I could feel it."
Taz climbed down from the ledge and brushed off some dirt from his knees. He walked towards the man cautiously, but was trying to act unafraid. After looking around for any other wild animals, he slid off his rucksack and unpacked his supplies. The two could finally look around and take in the amazing views of the surrounding landscape. There was just enough sunlight left. It was mostly grassy plains with rocky hills and small rivers which flowed across the land. In the opposite direction, they could see the southern coast of Middle Continent and Lyme Cove. Cliffs overlooked the sandy beach and the deep blue sea sparkled in the sunset.
The man spent some time looking in each direction. He looked for any landmark, which might hold some hidden meaning. Anything, which might trigger the return of his memories, but there was nothing. He let out a slow breath of disappointment.
"Taz, get everything setup. I'm going to get some firewood. Don't worry, I won't go far."
"Don't bother, I brought a portable fire generator." Taz reached into his rucksack looking for the device.
"Really?" The man was genuinely surprised.
"I'm way smarter than you give me credit for, at least one of us planned ahead. We've got sandwiches for dinner. Let's see what my Uncle put in them." Taz pulled out some sandwiches from his bag and sniffed them, not noticing what was behind him.
"Taz, walk towards me slowly. Leave your bag where it is and don't make any sudden movements."
"Ok, I'm scared, what's going on?" Taz froze.
"Don't worry, everything's fine." The man waived Taz towards him calmly. Taz walked slowly, then turned to look what was behind him. He jumped back and hid behind the man. The wounded female dog walked slowly towards Taz's rucksack. She maintained constant eye contact with the two humans, as she shoved her snout into the bag and rummaged through its contents.
"Do something!" Taz whispered loudly.
"It's ok, she's just hungry."
"But that's my sandwich!"
The man walked slowly towards the female dog and stopped about ten feet away. He knelt down and stuck his hand out. She took her head out of the bag and stared directly at him. She lifted her front paw and timidly took a step towards him.
"That's it, come on." He said softly.
The dog took another step and with a little encouragement, moved close enough to sniff the back of his hand. After two or three sniffs, she stuck her tongue out and licked his hand briefly. It was enough to communicate a message of peace. The man lifted his hand and placed it on top of the dogs head. He slowly stroked her face and while still maintaining eye contact, she licked his hand again.
"I think she likes you," Taz said excitingly. "Can I try?"
"Sure, just stay calm and walk towards us slowly."
Taz approached the dog. He stuck his hand out and rubbed her back. She pointed her face down and looked up at the two of them, wagging her tail in excitement.
"Taz, let’s get that fire going. It looks like we're going to have a guard dog to keep us safe tonight."
"I don't think she's going to keep us safe from very much, but she's cute though." Taz knelt down and rubbed her cheeks.
"She sure is." The man pulled out some meat from one of the sandwiches and offered it to her. There was no doubt that she trusted him now. Taz quickly started the fire and although she was startled at first, the warmth drew her close. The three sat around the small fluorescent flame and ate their sandwiches.
"Let's call her Moja," the man said.
"Moja? Where did you get that from?"
"I just thought of it. It came to me in the moment." He patted her on the back.
"This is for you, Moja." Taz handed her the crusts from his sandwich. She loved the heat from the fire and lay as close as she could. She gently chewed the scrap of bread, while Taz rubbed her ears. The man couldn't help but smile at the two of them. Taz wiped the crumbs from his lap, then pulled out the puzzle from his bag. He held it up and looked at it from different angles. After pausing for a moment and lifting his eyebrow, he held the puzzle in front of Moja's nose so she could sniff it. She didn't know the solution either. Taz sighed and went back to trying different combinations.
"What the hell is that?!" Taz looked closely at the puzzle. There were faint arrows appearing on the side. "Is that it?" He pulled individual pieces in the direction of the arrows and it slid open with ease. "Yes, I did it!" He jumped up and presented the completed puzzle to the man. "Sister Mary is going to be so impressed and now you have to tell me your name!" The man took the puzzle from Taz and examined it.
"The heat from the fire must have made the arrows appear. That's the meaning of the red dot and the secret to this puzzle. Very clever, Taz. Well done."
"That's right, now tell me!"
"Alright, until I get my memories back, my name will be Hunter."
"That's so cool. Two names in one day, Moja and Hunter. You're doing good!"
"I know, maybe I‘ll even be able to name some of my paintings when we get back." Hunter laughed slightly.
Shortly after eating, Hunter lay on the ground and listened to Taz and Moja while they both snored loudly. He stared at the flame as it flickered in the dead of night. Unsure of what he would do next, he closed his eyes.
"Why did I come here? Was it to meet Moja? Could she hold some secret answer? That couldn't be it. There's something up here that can help me, I know it, I feel it. Maybe I’ll have to wait for the right conditions for the solution to present itself. Just like Taz’s puzzle."
Hunter entered a deep sleep and began to see images in his mind. He experienced these visions frequently. They were much more than just dreams. A blue light danced around a black canvas, then made a sphere in the center of his vision. It rotated slowly and calmly. In the very center of the sphere, a red light emerged, bleeding outwards towards the edge. The blue light became engulfed in red flames and started to burn intensely. Hunter could feel the heat within his dream. A black crow swooped down and grabbed the sphere in its razor sharp talons. The sphere shattered, like glass, into hundreds of pieces.
Out of the black, two piercing red eyes appeared. They looked directly into Hunters’ soul. He couldn't breathe. He was paralyzed. There was no escape from the eyes of the devil. His body trembled in fear as the eyes grew closer. They exploded into a giant flash of Alizerin Crimson. As the smoke cleared, he could see the outline of the devil's face burned into the canvas. It was the face of pure evil, his nemesis. At that same moment, a giant sword thrust through the canvas and cut a gapping hole. A hand reached out through the gap. It was covered in metallic armor, like a knight's gauntlet. Hunter couldn’t see who the hand belonged to, but for some reason he couldn’t explain, he took the hand and held it in his own. He immediately awoke on top of the m
ountain.
The night air was silent. Taz and Moja were still fast asleep. Hunter walked towards the edge of the mountain. Out of the black night sky, a soft Phthalo Blue light appeared from the heavens. It shined in the distance, pointing towards an area far in the west. He finally found what he was looking for. Hunter stared at the blue light, then used the compass, to mark the direction it was pointing.
