BLACK DOG
Whitehorse Mountain, Washington
One week ago
"C'mon, David!"
Two hikers find their way through the forest of the Whitehorse Mountain, several miles outside the town of Darlington. Evergreens rise up high above them, reaching out for the clouds. A girl, probably about sixteen walks up front, closely followed by her father. A bit further behind her older brother halts as he looks over his shoulder. Behind him, in the valley where there is no snow, Darlington lies, protected by the mountains surrounding the small place. The shadows of the mountain they are climbing right now lays out a blanket of darkness. Across from the valley the top of North Mountain is covered in snow, it's an amazing sight.
"Hey Dreamy, hurry it up! At least if we wanna get over the Lone Tree Pass before dark", his young and enthusiastic sister pushes.
"How much sugar did you eat, Ruth?", her brother teases her, after which he follows.
"We'll set up camp at 4973' and continue along the ridge east. After about a half a mile the real fun is gonna start", their Dad informs, looking at a detailed map while walking.
"I can't wait to see the view from the summit!", Ruth cries out, eager for their goal.
Jim observes his daughter and smiles. The three of them share a passion for hiking and they go out to tame mountains a lot, especially after his wife passed away two years ago. It was a shock to all of them, but they got through it, as a family. It's during moments like these that he realizes how lucky he is, still being able to spend time with his daughter and son.
"Slomo", she calls out with teasing voice.
"Would you stop calling me that?", he laughs.
"It's the truth. But I'll tell you what. I won't call you names anymore if you make it to camp first", she dares.
She turns around and walks further backwards, challenging David. He grins and starts running up the mountain.
"You're on!", he accepts.
He passes his father, who shakes his head with a grin on his face. Kids, it doesn't matter what age those two are, they will always compete with each other.
"Don't go too far", he warns as any parent should do.
"You'll never catch me!", she shouts back.
"Watch me!", David answers smartly.
He runs after her, struggling to get through the thick layer of snow. He can hear his little sister laugh in the distance, sometimes she appears between the tall trees in the black and white surreal world. He catches up on her though, but just as he's about to pass her, they reach the rocky pass of Lone Tree. Unstoppable Ruth starts her climb as she slams her axe in the solid ground. Trained and well skilled she overcomes the pass, tailed by her brother. She takes the lead again and halts on the open spot.
"Slomo!", she calls him, heaving her first into the air victoriously.
"Yeah yeah, you win", David shakes his head as he drops his backpack down in the snow.
Out of breath David takes a moment to enjoy the view. Ruth, who has been running all this time and was to busy to beat her brother, looks aside and is a witnesses of the most beautiful views she has ever seen. Mountains as far as the eye can reach, down below lies an untouched valley. Trees don't even seem to be individual trees anymore. The rocks, the snow, the nature, it all seems to be one, a beautiful mixture of the world's most outstanding creations. In the east The Four Fingers rise up from it's foundations as the setting sun shimmers an orange glow on the snowy slopes on the west side. The siblings can only stare at the pure beauty of the earth.
"Wow…", Ruth stammers.
"You can say that again", David admits.
Ruth sits down in the cold snow and breaths in the fresh air. She would love her Mom to see this. She looks up at the pass, but there's no sign of her Dad what so ever.
"Hey Dad, you alright on that side?", she shouts loud, after which her voice echoes through the mountains.
"He's getting old", David jokes.
Then a strange and unusual sound reverberates through the mountaintops. A haul, but nothing like they've ever heard before.
"Is that a grey wolf?", Ruth asks surprised.
"I don't know, I heard grey wolfs before, but this sounds different", David ponders, as he stares up at the pass.
Then they hear it again, much closer this time, or is it just the echo through the mountains that causes that illusion? A bad feeling starts to evolve in David's stomach, something's off.
"You stay here, I'm gonna check on Dad, okay?", he looks over at Ruth before he grabs his axe and climbs to the other side of the pass. The Lone Tree is easily overcome and he descents down the mountain.
"Dad?", he shouts.
But the forest stays remarkably silent. Too silent, unnaturally silent. It's just now that David realize that they don't hear the birds and other animals that live in these woods. The trees don't even whisper, the mountain is dead. Carefully David shuffles through the snow, which is perfectly white, until he stumbles on a odd color in this black and white landscape. It's red, blood red. Slowly David's gaze looks further ahead, too afraid what he's gonna see. This could as well be an animal pray, a deer maybe. But he knows it isn't, and when his gaze reaches the end of the blood trail, that thought is confirmed. Under a tree, lays his father, torn into pieces. Stammered and frightened he falls back into the snow and crawls back until he can't go any further. Then he hears a horrific scream, coming from over the pass; it's his sister. Stunned he stares up the mountain and cries out her name.
"RUTH!"