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

  Taking a deep breath Blaze lifted her eyes to their host. Blinking he raised his eyebrows. “So one could say you uncompromisingly support Matilda’s theory?”

  Turning to the young woman seated at her left Blaze smiled. “Yes, Mike. I 100% support Matilda Bough.”

  “Caller on line four, you are on the air with Mike. Go ahead.”

  “Thanks Mike. I have a question for Blaze, if I may?” Blaze nodded. At no point would she allow herself to second guess or question what she had thus far learned from Matilda. She felt Randall’s eyes on her from across the table.

  “Yes, this is Blaze. How can I help you?”

  “Hi everyone. Donna from Illinois. I heard you mention that you had experience with spotting and recognizing predators. I’m not trying to trap you on this question, but I was wondering if you were perhaps brought into this realm to work with Matilda to assist in determining if Sasquatch is in fact a predator? I don’t believe I am the only one curious about that. I spoke with my local group of enthusiasts and it just makes sense that someone of Matilda’s background would engage in the next sphere of her research by applying herself to finding out if this Cryptid is a real threat?”

  Blaze nodded her head, grateful it was an answer she could respond to frankly. “There may be an element of truth in that hypothesis. The fact that Matilda is researching something surrounding multiple disappearances does in fact require the knowledge of someone who has either worked in that field, or has studied it extensively. Many, many people have gone missing, as you know from Matilda’s research. This has been ongoing for the past sixty years in one region. There are many others to be explored, but we are starting with one geographic location. People have disappeared without a trace. If we aren’t speaking about Sasquatch then we owe it to ourselves to learn what lies behind the disappearances. They had family. To us it may be easy to objectify them in terms of numbers, but to a mother or father who has mourned the loss of a loved one who has vanished, well, the wound remains open. I would imagine it is the worst kind of suffering. “

  Randall leaned in without pausing and responded to Blazes statement. “Of course, we cannot be certain that Blaze Christian’s comments are reliable. There seems to be some reluctance on her part to share where she worked in her recent past. I think the listening audience can all agree we don’t need to solve her personal mystery while trying to sort through their theory of an elusive creature who may be preying on children. I believe that kind of irresponsible behavior may in fact drive up the percentages of alarmists Jacko referenced earlier in the show.”

  Leaning back Randall cocked his head to the side, examining his specimen with cold eyes, awaiting Blazes response. Mike looked fretfully back and forth between the two, uncertain how to proceed. The alarm on his face was evident.

  “Ah, Mike, may I respond to that?” Matilda’s husky voice filled the airway with an earthy conviction.

  “By all means, please do,” Randall commented as he leaned back crossing his arms over his stomach. Matilda smiled warmly toward Randall. “Thank you Dr. Sterling. I would like for the listening audience to know that first of all, Donna from Illinois is correct, and she and her group are very perceptive. I may need to hire them as well.”

  Mike laughed loudly, dotting at his brow with a tissue, removing perspiration as his worried eyes narrowed. “I have in fact been just as elusive about Blaze’s background as I have been about the areas I have recently recovered evidence from. It startles me to think that the good Doctor would imagine otherwise. Having found a valuable addition to my team I am not going to share with the world at large exactly why I have initiated a professional relationship with Blaze Christian. I believe Dr. Sterling may want her for himself. I can appreciate his envy. Blaze has shared accurately her ability to hone in on predators and efficiently educate the public at large when necessary.” Matilda raised her eyes to Randall’s, a silent warning had been issued. She continued.

  “I would also like to add that by no means does my current working theory have a scientific base. I have provided physical evidence to the public, and those findings were based on theories too before I successfully located the evidence I’ve turned over to the world. I can tell you only to be alert as always when in the wilderness. There are a lot of unknown entities we have yet to understand. I believe we must respect the journey, and not rely on the information others have gathered in order to parrot it.”

  Mike thanked the last caller and cued the music. The room filled with silence and he quietly folded his hands, waiting for the break to end. Randall took a call, stepping from the room. When he did Matilda turned to Blaze, eyeing her with a new appreciation.

  “Alright then, are you ready for some field work?” Blaze nodded, knowing they had in the past hour crossed a relational line that would remain forged. Beyond tolerance, beyond their differing beliefs, they’d stumbled upon an unspoken connection. There would be no going back.

  Blaze took a deep breath feeling the shift. She knew it was meant to be as simply as breathing and eating. It was meant for her to fall into stride alongside Matilda, if for no other reason than to find food sources for her own monster. It seemed to need victims itself. She wondered how long it would be satisfied with the confrontation she’d had with Randall, and how long it would be before it needed to feed again.

  “A monster's worst fear is of being found.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich

  ~Eleven~

  Sheriff Walker took a sip of cold coffee from his Dukes of Hazzard mug and winced. Muttering to himself as he swallowed the tepid liquid he rose to warm it up. Stopping he looked down at the files on his desk, regarding one. Reaching for it he forgot about the coffee, and opened it, narrowing his eyes.

  Re-checking the case number he sighed and sat back down, leaning back. Another one he hadn’t been able to read. He tried to read a file a week on the missing cases from Cold Cat Mountain, but the numbers were high, and if he were honest with himself he was uneasy with the files. They kept him awake at night, faces of the missing, moving in between the waves of his dreams, weaving their pleas for help into his psyche. He always woke up too early after re-reading a file, or even reading an old one for the first time. The numbers were mounting too, and he felt a familiar gnawing in his gut. The ulcer never let him forget there would always be a new missing person; it was a question of when and who which had forced him to the doctor.

  He whispered the name of the adult who was listed as missing from seven years ago. Trailing his finger over the small aging photo the man’s wife had provided, he clenched his jaw.

  Walker rubbed his forehead in fatigue. Questions mounted daily. The townspeople were constantly on guard. There had been talk of having armed men patrol the roof of the elementary school to ensure the safety of the community’s children during recesses and Phys Ed. The idea had been regarded at the time as excessive. Children hadn’t been targeted recently, but the fear was real.

  What if the creature hidden on Cold Cat began venturing into town? Running his finger down the sides of the files on his desk he stopped and pulled back. With resolve he stood and refilled his coffee mug. At the window he looked up toward the mountain, sipping in quiet contemplation. Mist moved and settled over the rugged peak. Whatever was up there was ruthless. It rarely returned people. For the past three years he had been trying to piece together why some victims were recovered and others weren’t. He could find nothing to tie the recovered victims together. Not age, gender, or race. Nothing. As the foggy drizzle hung low over the crest of the snow-capped mountain he watched it move almost restlessly.

  The town had installed large sirens on the schools roof and at the fire department to alert the town when someone went missing. The irony was not lost on Walker. Some towns had sirens to warn its residents of danger from the elements of tornado's, for instance. His town had a monster siren. Sipping his coffee Walker ambled back to his desk and sat down, surveying the files. He hadn’t been to bed yet, having stayed up all night reading. Rub
bing his five o’clock shadow he took a deep breath. Getting his ass kicked by something living in his own back yard was beginning to grate his nerves.

  He often found himself following women and children to make sure they made it into the grocery store. Or, he’d wait in his patrol car while a rushed mother would leave her grade school children in the car to retrieve mail from the post office. Everyone was afraid. Everyone looked out for each other. His own anxiety was causing him to lose perspective and he knew it.

  He’d promised his predecessor he would put an end to the tragedy. It was a promise he’d had no business making.

  He rested his head on the back of his chair and closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind. That was how Sandy found him when she’d entered the office. It was not the first time she’d arrived to work to find the Sheriff sleeping at his desk. Over the years it had become a ritual for him. The files of the missing were strewn over his desk, along with a half cup of coffee, and his ulcer medication.

  Carefully, Sandy shut his office door, turning off the light. He could afford to sleep a bit. As always, she ordered him some breakfast and woke him when it arrived.

  “Believing in God and turning into Monsters.” ― M.F. Moonzajer

  ~Twelve~

  And so preparations began for their departure to Cold Cat Mountain. Both tired, both curious, both seeking redemption from something not of their own making, Matilda and Blaze began equipping the research base that would be placed on the timbered slope of what the locales referred to as Cold Cat Peak. It was scheduled as a six month study, one that Matilda spoke of daily. A fever seemed to build within her, driving her relentlessly. In turn she drove Blaze, who was responding with an efficiency which astounded Matilda. As if Blaze too could not amass enough information, she seemed to learn at a rate well suited to Matilda’s style. Within a short period of time they had compiled what they would need, hired a driver to deliver the huge black motor home to the mountain side, and purchased his return flight to Oregon. Formerly concerned with her choice to join forces with Matilda, as she didn’t believe in cryptic creatures, Blaze acquired a new appreciation for the detailed research instead, and the need to simply know what lied beyond explanation. It was the monster quest itself which drove Matilda though, who was tireless in her pursuit for tracking resources and verifying truths and proving falsehoods. As they worked, Matilda spoke non-stop about what could be expected in the field, emphasizing regularly the need for courage above the acquisition of knowledge; knowledge, she shared, would place ones name in print in an article scholars would pick apart from their climate controlled offices. Courage would keep you alive. Blaze listened for hours to outdoors survival instructions Matilda had loaded on her iPod. She listened at night while getting in shape on her treadmill, paying close attention to accounts of real scenarios. Her monster within seemed satisfied in the pursuit of the alleged monster as a result. Not knowing what plans Matilda had for their last evening before boarding for their flight the following morning, Blaze prepared for their absence with last minute shopping and gathering of essentials she felt she’d need in the absence of civilization.

  Finally prepared, and experiencing anxiety over the looming field work combined and six months of close proximity with Matilda, she took two aspirin for a slight tension headache and drove back over to meet Matilda at the office. Before she had managed to merge onto the highway Matilda called and asked her if she felt flexible enough to join her at her home for the night to celebrate their pending departure. Packed and ready anyway, Blaze headed in the direction Matilda lived, guided by her map quest. She had not yet been to Matilda’s home because so much had needed to be done prior to their departure there hadn’t been time. Matilda assured Blaze she would have her own room at her house, and she had ordered dinner for delivery.

  As Blaze drove up the winding road she realized that Matilda, as open and frank as she was, had a natural affinity for isolated and remote locations. Her home, sequestered in pines dripping from a recent rain, sat far off of the main road. Lights glowed outward from within the log A-frame through large front windows. Matilda greeted her at the door in butterfly print pajamas holding a bottle of red wine. As Blaze stepped into the open floor plan she marveled at how Matilda had thrown so many eccentric items into the home while it still somehow managed to maintain its open feel. A fire burned in a stone hearth in the living room. Blaze felt her stomach growl when caught the scent of Chinese food; one of her many weaknesses, and one of the many things she would miss while they conducted research in Montana.

  Sitting down with a plate of egg rolls and chicken noodles, Matilda talked excitedly with her mouth full, scooping copious amounts of food into her mouth with wooden chopsticks. Cross legged on the floor at Matilda’s house, Blaze realized she had withdrawn from the warmth of human relationships during her battle with her illness. The chatter, giggling, and sharing of stories about their childhoods made the age difference between them seem more like days and less like years. Blaze changed right after eating and re-joined Matilda, who by then had opened another bottle of wine and had set out an expensive box of chocolates. Popping one into her mouth she threw her head back and stomped her feet on the area rug spread out before the fire. She pointed at the row she had just taken her chocolate from, insisting Blaze try one.

  “Good, right?”

  The cream filling spread over her tongue and Blaze rolled her eyes.

  “Good grief, if we eat like this in Montana I’ll never make it up the mountain with you.”

  Laughing, Matilda licked chocolate from her fingers. “Don’t worry about that, it’s really different when you are in the field. I know I’m different.”

  “How so?”

  Matilda swallowed and leaned back against the couch, contemplating the question. “Well, for one, in the field you are pursuing something, all the time. This feeling grips you, like time has stopped and what you are doing cannot afford to wait. It doesn’t really make sense when I say it aloud. But the air changes around you. You are pursuing something that does not want to be found, something that’s used to being the predator. Something happens. It’s almost as if the Sasquatch is sensing you sensing it. You become more alert. Your instincts are heightened. When you return to civilization you’re a changed person, and you can’t…change it back.”

  Blaze listened intently, noting Matilda had gone somewhere in her mind, seeming distant as she spoke.

  “Where we’re going, have you been there before?” Matilda shook her head, swallowing her wine. “I haven’t. I am not sure what we’ll find either. But, for some odd reason you may be joining me for your first field work on what may be the most pivotal field work we’ll ever do.”

  Pulling the fireplace poker from its mantle, Matilda stirred the flames, pushing the logs. A flurry of sparks drifted upward into the flu.

  “Why is that?” Blaze lowered her glass.

  Matilda watched the flames, lost within the color and heat. In a deeper tone than usual she responded. “Because we have a snow leopard up there that’s appearing to searchers before a disappearance is confirmed. And, every time the snow leopard has appeared it’s been accurate in its message to the search parties. The missing person never comes back. You know most of this though, you’ve researched it. It’s just that this feels different. And, nothing is ever left behind; the missing are simply gone. It’s happened too many times for it to be considered a coincidence anymore.”

  “Really?” Blaze was intrigued. They’d never spoken about the research on such an intimate level before. Winding her mind around it all she started to speak and Matilda held up a finger, smiling and cryptically raising an eyebrow.

  “Let me guess. You were going to suggest that the snow leopard might be responsible?”

  Shrugging Blaze chuckled. “It seems like a logical conclusion.”

  Matilda nodded. “Yes. Yes it does. And yet, Cold Cat has been dismissed as a suspect.”

  “…Because?” Blaze was confused. “Because
a snow leopard would at least leave body parts somewhere. It wouldn’t be able to make an entire human disappear from the face of the mountain, let alone sixty three people. There’d be evidence, bones…”

  Blaze jerked upright, nearly spilling her wine. “What? Sixty three?”

  “I know I forgot to tell you. I’m sorry, but there’s been a lot happening.” Blaze frowned and threw her hands in the air. “Seriously Matilda? Sixty three people seems like something you should’ve mentioned during my interview. Are you crazy?”

  “Not really. It’s what we do. And I know for a fact you’ve not been this healthy in a long time, right? Think of the mileage this stint will get you with your brain monster.” Laughing she poured the remaining wine into her glass and held it aloft. “Cheers!”