Mysteries of the Mountain

Chapter 2: Oaka

I ran through the forest - brushing past tree limbs and bushes - as I pushed myself to run faster than ever before. I was anxious tonight because for some reason I couldn’t stop thinking about the past and my friends whom I haven’t seen since the “Great World Catastrophe”. Midnight - my horse - galloped alongside me and I sighed as old memories of the past came back to me.

I remember the good old days when Liz, Lilly and I would run freely around town without a worry in the world, happily going about our lives. Then we were separated after I moved to Tokyo for my mother’s work and soon afterwards the Catastrophe happened. I haven’t seen them since. I sighed and frowned slightly at the memory of my friends. It made me sad to think that I would probably never see them again considering I didn’t even know if they were even alive!

I live on the land that used to be Japan but when continental drift happened, Japan was on a tectonic plate that made it connect to North America. Now all the continents are connected as one and are continuing to push up into a mountain shape, allowing travel between the continents to be much easier.

The main reason I was so restless tonight though was because of a strange occurrence that happened to me a few days ago. I had met a strange boy in the woods and he had said that he was looking for someone named Liz Pearlou. Not only had I been surprised, I was also very confused. Why would this boy be looking for Liz? I decided that I didn’t want him to know of my confusion and so instead, I had pointed him in a random direction and wished him luck. He said that he’d be back if he didn’t find her but surprisingly he hasn’t returned since.

I decided to stop thinking about it and instead returned to my bittersweet memories. I sighed as I remembered the fruitless searching after the Great Catastrophe. I had been six and all alone but I somehow managed to figure out what had happened and where I was. When I discovered that I was in fact closer to my old friends than I realized, I immediately began searching for them. Liz was my top priority because I knew that she could have helped me survive more than Lilly could but I was still determined to find them both. Thinking back on it now I realized how selfish I had been to take advantage of two great friendships and just expected them to stay that way after I moved. I didn’t know if Liz would want to stay friends with me after all this time and Lilly... we never got along without Liz. I just wished the last time I had spoken to her hadn’t been with anger.

All I had found through my searching for my lost friends was the remains of Liz’s house. A fire had ravaged through the entire town destroying everything that was once there and I had thought for sure that Liz was dead. And then I found three freshly dug graves in the garden by her house and I realized that although her parents and sister had died, Liz had survived the fire. I could tell that Liz was not in one of the graves because I believed that out of everyone in her family, she was the strongest and most able to survive. Or at least, that’s what I convinced myself of anyways... My relief was shortly lived however when I realized I no longer knew where she would be and that I was still as lost as ever and so ten long years had passed with no sign of Liz at all.

Pausing, I sat on a log to catch my breath and Midnight nuzzled into my hand looking for a treat. I gave her one and looked around me, taking in my surroundings. I was still in North America but in a new part of the forest, a part that I hadn’t explored before. A flicker of hope kindled inside of my heart as I wondered if Liz could be living here but I quickly killed it when I realized that I shouldn’t hope about these things. In all my travelling I hadn’t come across a single clue as to where Liz was living so this new forest should be no different.

My family is gone as well. My mother remarried and on her honeymoon brought my sister with her but I had refused to go. They went to the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador but soon after their arrival the Great Catastrophe happened. The sudden tectonic movement triggered a Tsunami and flooded the island, killing all of its inhabitants. I often wished that I had died with them and had only barely begun to move on with my life. They had never found my sister’s body though, probably got eaten by a shark...

I quickly quenched my horrific thoughts and focused once more on my surroundings, listening for any sounds of prey. Faintly, I heard a rustling from behind me and I picked up my spear, getting ready to hunt. Crouching low, I peered through a bush to see a squirrel nibbling on a fallen acorn. Getting into position, I raised my spear to make my kill and then froze when a rumbling sound hit my ears. Earthquake. Sighing, I grabbed my belongings and leaped onto Midnight’s back, galloping into the trees once more. Dodging falling branches and rolling rocks, I fled in the hopes that I would be able to make it to shelter in time.

Finally, I found an opening in some rocks and let Midnight loose before scrambling into the shelter. I fell down and down and down a tight rocky tunnel until finally I landed in a cave. The cave consisted of one giant cavern with some stepping stones dotting a sea of molten lava but the most alarming fact of all was that scattered across the floor were the remains of human skeletons!

I screamed and stumbled backwards, terrified to my wits end. There were few things on Mountain Earth that actually terrified me but one of them was skeletons. They just gave me the chills, especially when they were real!

I desperately glanced at the opening I had come through and was even more upset to find that it was in the ceiling. There was no way I could get up there now and that meant one thing, climbing the stepping stones and crossing the lava. And I still didn’t know what else was down here besides me.

I gazed around the cavern, looking for another escape route and realized to my absolute horror that the only other exit was on the far side of the room. I was in a fix and I knew it! And then - just as I thought things couldn’t get any worse - I heard the huffing noise. It was gentle at first but grew steadily louder and I realized with a jolt that it was coming from the lava itself!

My eyes fell upon a mud brown creature that had teeth as sharp as fangs and glowing red eyes. Slobber dripped from its fanged mouth and horns spiked out all over its body. I froze in fear as I realized what it was. A Nocarnivorbear. A genetically modified bear that sucks the blood out of its victims and leaves them to rot. They are also almost impossible to kill which meant if you were in a situation like mine then you were most likely going to die. Realizing what I had to do I braced myself for what was coming and then ran for my life.

I darted across the stepping stones, running right past the creature itself and scrambled towards the exit, the Nocarnivorbear right behind me. Darting from rock to rock, I heard the sound of my ancient rubber shoes sizzling beneath me but I didn’t have time to worry about that now. Finally the exit was in sight and I gasped with relief when I stumbled into the sunshine. My relief was shortly lived however when I realized that the creature was still following from behind.

Gulping, I glanced upward and saw a boulder resting at the top of a hill. If I pushed it then it would roll downwards and block the exit to the cave! Surprised at my luck, I launched myself up the hill, climbing up the rocks in a desperate attempt to escape. This was my final chance to survive and I knew that I couldn’t mess it up. Cutting my hands open on the sharp rocks and not particularly caring, I finally reached the top of the hill and pushed the boulder with all my might. The giant rock didn’t budge. I pushed again, refusing to give up but I just wasn’t strong enough.

The creature was almost entirely out of the cave and I realized that there was only one thing that I could do. I shoved a nearby tree branch under the boulder and levered the rock upright so that it wasn’t stuck in the mud anymore. Then I jumped on top of the boulder and used my own momentum to push the boulder down the hill, bringing me down with it.

Screeching with surprise and fear, I managed to gather my wits about me enough to jump from the boulder just as it hit the ground and crushed the creature flat. Gasping in relief, I lay stunned on the ground for a moment before staggering to my feet and deciding what to do next. It was then that a thought occurred to me. There was something about this whole ordeal that didn’t make sense, everything had seemed almost too easy... Almost as if this had been a test! But I didn’t have time to dwell on that fact as I ran away from the cavern as fast as I could. There was no way I was going to go back there anytime soon!

Sighing and rubbing my aching head, I began to walk back into the trees, calling for Midnight to come fetch me. I hated it when earthquakes happened because it just reminded me of the situation I was in and how alone I really was. Also not to mention that it was hard to survive out here even without having to worry about natural disasters!

Midnight must have fled farther than I had thought because she still hadn’t appeared in the field yet. Groaning, I sank to the ground and cradled my sore head in my hands while I waited for the familiar sound of hoof-steps coming my way. Remembering the sizzling sound I heard from inside the cavern, I pulled off one of my ancient Nike shoes and saw that the already worn rubber soles had been burnt almost the entire way through. Shoes were hard to find out here in the wilderness and since they were one of the hardest things to make you had to survive with what you had. These were my last pair and I groaned again when I realized that they were pretty much ruined. A few more days of walking and the sole would be completely gone. I lowered my head into my hands again and tried not to think about it.

It was then - when I was looking very vulnerable - that I got the impression I was being watched. Slowly, I stood and turned to see a boy standing by a tree on the far side of the field, staring right back at me. The only reason I had spotted him was because of his sandy colored hair, the rest of his body blending perfectly in with the trees. After the boy noticed that I was watching, he dropped something white onto the ground and ran off into the trees, disappearing from view. Confused and slightly wary, I walked over to where the boy had stood and picked up the white object, realizing with faint surprise that it was a note.

I know who you are, Oaka. But if you don’t want to be alone anymore then follow me into the clearing up ahead. You have nothing to lose but everything to gain. Follow your heart...

I shivered after reading it and my heart pounded in my chest. Who was that creep anyways? I was about to just walk away and forget about everything but my curiosity got the better of me and I slowly walked into the clearing.

“Hello, Oaka.” A voice said from behind me, causing me to jump. I spun around and saw the boy leaning against a tree, a big grin on his face. I stood in shock for a moment as I realized he looked very familiar... almost too familiar...

“Who are you and how do you know my name?” I snapped back. I couldn’t remember exactly where I had seen him before and now I was annoyed. This boy was getting on my nerves...

“That’s no way to talk to an old friend...” The boy teased, a smile still on his face. A smile that I knew far too well... My temper flared as I glared at him, who did he think he was teasing me like this? And that was when I put the two facts together and realized who he was. Could it really be that annoying boy from school all those years ago? The boy who asked me to be his girlfriend even though I had only been six? The boy who constantly teased me and was silent as a fox? And the only boy who knew how to make me smile?

“R-Rick? Is that you?” I whispered and Rick nodded his head. No. Please no. I thought I was done with this guy! The last time I had seen him had not been very pleasant...

“Surprise!” He said, beaming. I just stared at him open-mouthed. How could he think he could just waltz back into my life after what he had done?

“But how did you - ? Why are you - ? I don’t understand! How did you know who I was? It’s been so long!” I gasped trying to keep my cool and not really succeeding. I had used to feel so much for him and now... I didn’t know what to think.

“I could never forget what you looked like.” Rick said, ears pink with embarrassment “Especially when you left to go to Japan and the catastrophe happened...”

Oh, dear god. Rick still had a crush on me, even after all these years! I flushed bright red with embarrassment at this realization and then quickly backed away. No. This is what happened last time... You let him waltz into your life and leave with your heart. Now is not a good time. There was never going to be a good time like that again.

“Stay away from me.” I spat, ignoring the tugging of my heartstrings. I didn’t want him to arouse feelings I had tried so hard to ignore. And so soon after I had healed, too. If I let him stray into my life again I knew that I was going to make the same mistakes over and over and over... I staggered backwards a few more steps, my head reeling. I needed to get away, I needed to breathe, and I needed to escape...

“What? O-Oaka what’s wrong?” Rick looked confused, pain flashing in his eyes. I knew that he was just trying to make me forgive him. I knew that he was trying to apologize for what he had done. I knew that he was trying to let me give him a third chance... but never again.

“Leave me alone.” I shouted, spinning around. I need to get away from here. I began to run away without a backwards glance, leaving a heartbroken Rick behind me...