Cold Cat Mountain: The Peak (Cold Cat Mountain Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  The room fell silent. Matilda pushed her hair back and stared at Blaze.

  Her voice was a whisper.

  “It’s out there, and I’m scared too. It may be much more intelligent than we gave it credit for.”

  Blaze rubbed her face and looked toward the windows. The rain relentlessly pounded against the tinted glass. And hearing whatever it was, twice, did not create the same compulsion in Blaze it did for Matilda. Blaze’s survival instinct was to remain inside, drive back down the mountain, get around the tree arch and go home; to a place where civility reigned and police were called to bring in the monsters on the streets. In the woods, where they currently sat, no one cared that people were turning up missing in the middle of Montana. In fact, during her own research Blaze learned that the government had dismissed the Cold Cat problem as unsolved cases and moved on. She fought a sensation new to her. The unease of the unknown, which up until that point had been a simple story told by people who needed monsters to exist. Blaze exhaled slowly. She could not dispute what she’d heard, and she did not need monsters to exist.

  Not if they couldn’t be medicated. “I fear no monsters, for no monsters I see. Because all this time

  the monster has been me.”

  ― Nikita Gill

  ~Eighteen~

  Blaze was too tired to talk about how tired she was when she pulled herself out of bed. She felt a head ache creeping up the back of her scalp. Draping her leg over the rounded arm of the chair in the living room, she swung it absently trying to stay awake. Sleep had laughed in her face during the night and instead of letting her rest it’d played tour guide, pointing out all the weakest points of entry for the motor home. In twenty four hours she’d gone from being reasonable to accompanying Matilda into the field to hear unexplainable howls, and see a tree arch.

  A warning. Matilda paced, pausing in front of the largest living room window, peering out into the rainy morning fog. Blaze could sense she too was reacting to something. She considered offering her one of the medications she was forced to take for her own disease, but decided against it. A medicated genius would be difficult to manage.

  Matilda stopped pacing and slid down into the chair next to Blaze, leaning on her knees and staring into the fire. She’d repeated the same process several times during the night. She’d also stated several times they’d have to use the day to get a plan together, but she wasn’t asking Blaze for input. It was evidently her process. Blaze had decided several weeks ago her tenacity could be exhausting.

  As they sat quietly in the glow of the fire each pondering different things the morning emerged, still wet and unwelcoming. Blaze meditated on the sounds she’d heard from the wooded mountains beyond their walls. Matilda considered the best course of action to take with both a novice and a cryptid that might be responsible for sixty-three missing persons.

  Neither had considered the results of arriving and sensing something foreboding would be so difficult. Mostly because they each had their own version of reality. Matilda expected a cryptid, perhaps a dangerous one. Neither had expected to feel unsafe, and neither had anticipated Blaze’s response to the potential realities of a human hybrid taking people.

  Blaze sipped her black coffee, stretching her neck from side to side, yawning. Matilda began pacing again. A soft patter of rain began drumming steadily on the roof again. She spoke softly to herself as she orated possible options into her hand mic.

  Blaze contemplated how idealistic and cozy the Vacationer and the wooded setting would have been were it not for their colliding responses to the situation, and what felt like a temporary paralysis in decision making 101. Matilda was uncertain as to how to proceed even if she wasn’t prepared to share that insight with Blaze.

  Blaze also couldn’t help concluding they’d somehow stumbled into more than Matilda had anticipated- in truth Blaze had believed it would be a dead-end expedition. However, the searcher in Matilda was compelled. And the admission that whatever it was might be at least partly human seemed to have somehow altered Matilda’s responses to their research. If she’d theorized and accepted it was only Gigantopithecus then she’d either stumbled onto a new realization and was struggling to acknowledge it, or she’d believed Hoyd on a gut level about what the creature was, which still changed her earlier theories. It was a lot to absorb in twenty-four hours. Especially alone. For some reason Matilda had politely but firmly closed the door on their communications. Her remote presence was disconcerting. It was as if she were creating contingency plans to continue alone.

  Sipping her coffee in the quiet of early dawn, Blaze considered who exactly it was that continued to go missing from Cold Cat. Chest thumping non-shavers, with knives and guns? Any one of them could have entered the woods with excessive confidence and not returned. The woodlands were precarious for even committed outdoorsman. The whiskey and flask hybrid of Marlboro Man wouldn’t get far, of course. It made sense they’d disappear too, the mountains were covered in snow for almost nine months of the year. Standing, Blaze chastised herself for thinking she wouldn’t have run into thought complications once on the mountain, however, her mind was overcome with the need to turn the mystery at hand into something with rational answers that fit into a box. And missing children reported from the area tore the box wide open.

  Blaze dressed quickly in jeans, uggs. Tiring of motionless silence she meandered into the kitchen, searching the stocked cupboards for something to make for breakfast. Soon enough the scent of bacon filled the small cozy space. Matilda, who’d finally seated herself at the work space sniffed the air appreciatively. From the elevated kitchen Blaze could see the woods surrounding them from a different perspective as fog pressed against the windows.

  Blaze scooped up the bacon and eggs, calling Matilda, who joined her at the small gray table in the tip out. Both took a moment to at least smile at each other before digging into the food. It had become awkward between them though. Eating quietly, they each braced themselves for what would come, both knowing they were committed, but also knowing they would have to leave the safety of the motor homes sleek and comfortable interior very soon.

  A knock at the door pulled them both back to present and Blaze sprang for the .38, standing next to the door as Matilda slowly reached to swing it open, which actually caused Blaze to laugh.

  As if Sasquatch would knock first. Standing outside holding a box of donuts Skid smiled up at them. Rain dripped from his hat. Before Blaze could welcome him Matilda slammed the door in his face and walked back up the steps without looking back.

  “On old maps, cartographers would draw strange beasts around the margins and write phrases such as "Here be dragons." That's where monsters exist: in the unmapped spaces, in the places where we haven't filled in all the gaps...”

  ― Kelly Link

  ~Nineteen~

  Stunned, Blaze raised her elbows, pointing the .38 toward the ceiling as Matilda turned and moved back up the steps without acknowledging her actions. Replacing the pistol Blaze jogged down the short flight of stairs and opened the door. Skid, who was still standing in front of the door, smiled wickedly. Following Blaze inside, he was careful to remove his boots. Even so, he was still almost too tall for the interior of the recreation vehicle.

  Blaze was not surprised to find Matilda curled up in the large desk chair pouring over maps of the area. Still silent. Watching her pour over the maps, studiously ignoring Skid’s arrival, Blaze realized Matilda had to be capable of separating herself out from certain people and their responses to her work. Her skills at compartmentalizing were quite adept. She studied Matilda’s genuine involvement in her mapping and invited Skid to take a seat, briefly wondering if she should leave with him when he left. Matilda’s refusal to engage was obvious.

  Skid opened the damp lid to his box of donuts and focused instead on his conversation with Blaze. Somewhat amused by the sudden turn of events Blaze suspected Matilda was dividing her thought patterns into two camps; preparedness in finding the legend, and wha
t to do about it when she did. In the meantime Blaze refused to be rude to someone she didn’t know. She added a black score mark to a tally she was keeping. Matilda knew how to avoid investing emotionally in situations which she deemed useless. She had also skillfully countered Blaze’s skepticism the night before. Impressed, Blaze peeked over Matilda’s shoulder as she offered Skid a hot cup of coffee. He quietly accepted, nodding in gratitude.

  Several of the maps Matilda was working on had red circles marking trails and peaks. A magnifying glass laid on her desk top, along with hundreds of photos. Some were Arial, some were up close photos in black and white.

  Blaze sat opposite of Skid, casually helping herself to a donut, thanking him. “You might wanna steer clear of conversations,” Matilda muttered, not taking her eyes off of her map. “He is here to interrogate us…well, you anyway. He does it for a living.”

  Blaze wrinkled her nose and laughed. Telling Skid where they were preparing to hunt Sasquatch would not be a conversation topic Blaze would start, even if she knew how. He obviously knew they were on the mountain for that very reason, as was he.

  Skid winked and casually rested his long arm across the back of the chair next to him.

  “Thanks for the coffee.” His deep voice rumbled into the feminine atmosphere and Matilda pulled on her earphones, blocking him out.

  Blaze gestured to the donuts, with her mouth full, indicating gratitude of her own. “So, what brings you up here?” Her tone was tinged with humor.

  Skid let his eyes roam slowly over the interior of the motor home, and then back to Blaze.

  “So, this is how the funded researchers live. I like it. Beats the hell outta my old camper. I parked it not too far from you all.”

  “Of course you did.” Matilda’s dry tone made Skid smirk. It was evidently the reaction he wanted.

  Blaze was secretly relieved to hear he was camping close by.

  Indicating the mountain, she gestured beyond the windows. “Are you searching up here?”

  Placing his coffee mug on the table he stretched a long leg out and sighed tiredly. “Yeah, yeah I am. Crazy timing don’t ya think?”

  “What do you mean?” Blaze shrugged.

  “I mean us all being here at the same time looking for the same thing. You don’t find that an odd coincidence?”

  “I guess?’ Blaze’s query made him smile broadly. His almost inhumanly light blue eyes danced merrily. “It is not a coincidence though.” He glanced back at Matilda. “Miss Pixy and I’ve been circling the same thing, in the same area, for a long time now. It just worked out that I have a new partner I was able to leave in charge of the office so I could come up here and investigate.”

  Blaze wondered what kind of office he could possibly work in with the facial piercings and tattoos he proudly bore.

  He answered her question for her. “Everyone looks a little confused when I say office. I’m a Bounty Hunter. I own the business.”

  “Oh…” Blaze’s voice trailed off. Never having met a bounty hunter before she wondered if he had started as a criminal or just managed to look and think like one.

  “Surprised?”

  She nodded, laughing a little. “So, you’re trying to bring in Sasquatch for the reward money? Is he on a wanted poster somewhere?”

  Skid flashed a bright white smile. “You could say that.”

  He lowered his eyes and then raised them flirtatiously. “You’re new to this aren’t you?”

  Blaze felt her face turn red. His voice had lowered to a black velvet pitch.

  “Knock it off Skid.”

  Blaze leaned around Skid, looking toward Matilda with searching eyes. Undaunted, Skid raised his coffee mug, saluting Blaze, who revealed her unease. It was what he had wanted. Having stumped Blaze enough to stall the conversation he pointed toward her light blue jacket.

  “You’ll want to wear earth tones when you go out there with Matilda. I’m surprised she hasn’t mentioned that to you.” Matilda ignored him as she slowly drew a red circle around a location on the map before her, biting her lip studiously.

  Blaze shifted in her seat, touching the jacket collar. “Why? Why do I need earth tones?”

  Skid waved his hand toward the window, where the fog was ebbing somewhat to reveal dark trees dripping with rain. “Well, some say that whatever it is we are looking for is attracted to bright colors. That’s not as bad as it could be,” he pointed a long finger toward Blaze’s jacket. “But, it’s not an earth tone, and with what’s up here my thoughts are why take any chances?”

  Blaze leaned forward, crossing her legs in the seat. “Is that why hunters continue to go missing,

  because they are wearing bright colors?” Skid shrugged. “All through the records I’ve sifted are accounts of people who have turned up missing in brightly colored clothing. It’s not the first thing mentioned, but when you follow the bread crumbs it always comes up. Well, that and being the first or last in line while walking in the woods. There seems to be a pattern that’s developed over the last century or so. When people have come up here in groups and someone turns up missing they’ve either been at the front or the back of the line of hikers or hunters. Those who’ve gone out alone though, they just don’t come back at all. Well, except Hoyd of course.”

  Blaze watched the woods beyond the window. Fog swirled around the crest of Cold Cat peak in a wispy curl. “So being a Bounty Hunter must’ve helped your investigatory skills.” Skid rubbed the back of his neck, nodding in agreement. “It has. I started my business after the state paid my way through college. My dad was the worst kind of predator.” He leveled his gaze onto Blaze, communicating without words. “You and I have that kind of experience in common. Except I was the abused kid.”

  Blaze felt her inner monster stir. She winced from the pain.

  Skid pulled a small pill bottle from his pocket and shook it. “I understand that look. PTSD?”

  Feeling somewhat relieved she didn’t have to hide her condition from Skid, who was astute at reading people, she smiled warmly. “Among other things.” He shook his pill bottle, regarding it. “My dad went to prison for his crimes. Then he escaped. No one ever found him, but he’s out there. Used to keep me awake at night when I was a kid. Every creak of the floorboards, a limb scratching against the window. I never felt safe.”

  Blaze noticed Matilda had surreptitiously removed her ear phones, and was sitting with her head inclined Skid’s direction, listening, with her red pen poised over the map she’d been working on.

  He replaced the pill bottle. “So, I decided if I couldn’t protect myself and my mamma, I’d protect other kids and their moms.” He frowned at a personal memory that flashed through his eyes. “I pulled myself out of a trailer park down south and have been at it ever since.”

  Blaze blinked, her eyes glistened and she nodded. Sitting up a little straighter he cleared his throat. “So, then one night, when I was pursuing a felon who fled into the woods up in Idaho, I heard breathing behind me. Felt it on my neck. I thought I was dead, that the guy had gotten the jump on me. I turned around, and no one was there. I heard the howl though, or roar, or shrill… whatever you want to call it. It drove right through me with its impact and I was rooted to the spot, paralyzed. Never been so afraid in all my life.” Skid looked up, shaking his head, as if he could not put words around the experience.

  “They say people who hear a predator are almost always paralyzed by the sound. It’s as if it’s another advantage they have over us, like being stronger and scarier isn’t enough.”

  Blaze nodded thoughtfully, fully aware of the effect the noises from the trees had on her the evening before. “Anyway,” he continued. “I was hooked. The felon was never found, and I felt followed all the way back out of them woods. Been searching for whatever that was ever since.”

  Matilda slowly replaced her earphones, and leaning back over her map she returned to her work.

  “Before you can kill the monster you have to say its name.” ― Terry P
ratchett

  ~Twenty~

  “So?” Blaze turned to Matilda after Skid left, raising an eyebrow, anticipating an explanation.

  Matilda reached down into the leather chair next to her and handed Blaze an old copy of a book titled Sasquatch- The Unknown.

  Blaze wanted to laugh; but she didn’t.

  Matilda sighed with impatience. “Read it.” “Are you serious?” Blaze frowned out the window, watching Skid walk back toward his own camp and wondered why he wasn’t afraid to walk alone. Turning back to the book she flipped it over, eyes skimming the back cover.

  “Interesting.” A rational mind battle ensued. Blaze sank down onto the sofa by the fire and flipped the book open without much interest. She steadily turned the pages, mostly to indicate to Matilda she was at least trying. Images of shadows standing in trees, footprints and photos of those with accounts of close encounters stared back. There were notes in the margins from Matilda. Blaze turned the book sideways to get a closer look. One of their many public radios shrilled in the background. Matilda stood slowly, moving toward the large window, staring up at Cold Cat Peak. She was holding the radio to her chest, a small hand held. Another alarm emanated from the speaker, catching Blaze’s attention.

  She looked up at Matilda, whose face was creased with worry as she surveyed the sky around the peak.

  A message, static filled, but clear was being played on a repeated loop. “This is the Iron County Sheriff’s Department. A record amount of snowfall is scheduled for Iron Mountain County, all of the Iron Ridge Mountain Range, and the town of Stryker, as well as the outlying vicinity. Please make sure you have an alternate form of heating, flashlights, candles, food and water on supply. Should the power go out the Iron Mountain Sheriff’s Department in cooperation with Iron County Search and Rescue, will conduct a house to house check, transporting those in need to the Iron County Hospital. This is not a drill. This message will repeat every half hour.”