It was ten o’clock Saturday morning. April was packed, ready to go and waiting out at the front of her house as Kaitlin and Cody pulled up in a shiny new silver SUV.
She put her gear in the back and climbed into the back seat.
“Morning,” Kaitlin said cheerfully, “How do you like my car? It was a present for my eighteenth from my parents.”
April murmured her approval while Cody rolled his eyes at his sister.
Another quick stop a block away and Sarah jumped into the car looking excited, “Hey guys,” she said, “I’ve been so looking forward to this. This trip is going to be cool. I wonder what we’ll find up there.”
Twenty minutes later they had arrived at the national park, but as they came to the large information sign which displayed the park rules April was dismayed to see a newly added sign under the main board which read:
Warning. Mt Despair is off limits to hikers and campers due to dangerous conditions.
“Oh no,” exclaimed Sarah, “Does this mean we cancel the whole thing and go back home?”
“What dangerous conditions I wonder,” muttered Cody.
“I say we still go,” April said firmly.
“Well I don’t know,” Kaitlin said staring at the sign, “We could get in trouble if the rangers catch us breaking their rules.”
“I agree with April,” Cody put in, “Look, we just walk in on the track, then when no one is around we head off the trail to the mountain and climb it. No one will know. It’s not as if they have security cameras monitoring every metre of the mountain.”
They all looked at Kaitlin waiting for her answer. Being the only adult she had the final say.
After a few long seconds she finally sighed, “Okay we’ll do it, but if we get caught I’m going to blame you, Cody.”
“We won’t get caught, sis. Good decision,” he beamed at her.
They parked the car in the visitors carpark, shouldered their backpacks, and started off on the walking trail which lead to a picnic and camping area, and then continued on to branch out into several different tracks to various lookouts on the nearby lower mountains. One of these trails passed close to the base of Mount Despair.
They passed a few other hikers on the way, and after about forty five minutes, April, who was holding a map, stopped.
“This is where we turn off and go up that slope”, she said, pointing into the trees, “This is where ‘The Mountain’ starts.”
“Are you sure?” asked Cody, “All I see is trees. I can’t see the mountain.”
“That’s ‘cause the trees are blocking the view of the mountain,” April explained. She looked carefully around in all directions. “No one around to see us, let’s go.”
They stepped off the trail and made their way through the trees and undergrowth. The slope gradually increased in steepness as they went.
After twenty minutes they stopped for a rest.
They all had a drink from their water bottles as April carefully studied her map.
“Do you know where we are? We’re not likely to get lost, are we?” Sarah asked.
April shook her head. “According to this map we should soon come across a small stream. We just follow it because it’s the same stream that runs right past the place where the cabin was.”
After a few more minutes they continued the climb. It was steep, but not so steep as to make the going too difficult. They stopped for a short break about every fifteen minutes. It was while they were stopped for the third break that Kaitlin urged everyone to stop talking for a minute and listen.
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“Do you hear that?” she asked the others, “April, I think I can hear your stream.”
Sure enough as they listened carefully they could hear the distant sound of running water.
Ten minutes later they were standing by a shallow gully looking down at the little stream of water chattering its way over the rocks and disappearing out of sight further down the slope.
“Cool,” April exclaimed with a smile, “Now we just keep following this up the mountain.”
They kept going, this time with the ribbon of water as their guide. It was a warm sunny day with a few light fluffy clouds in the sky. As they gradually went higher they saw the occasional glimpse through the trees of distant hills and mountains.
Finally after another hour of climbing the slope levelled out into an almost flat grassy area with only a few trees. At the far side of the clearing the slope started uphill again at a very steep angle.
“This must be it,” April panted. She and the others sat down to get their breath. All except Kaitlin who never seemed to get tired. She looked back across the slope they had just climbed up.
“Oh wow!” she exclaimed, “Look at this view.”
They all turned to look at the breathtaking view back along the valley to the town of Eden Vale in the distance surrounded by green hills and mountains.
“This is so cool,” Sarah said, “Did anyone bring binoculars?”
Kaitlin reached into her backpack and handed Sarah a pair of compact binoculars.
Soon they were all taking turns.
“I can see your house, April,” Cody observed when it was his turn to look though the glasses, “There’s your bedroom window.” He turned to look at her, “Wow, no wonder you can see the light so clearly if it’s coming from this spot.”
Kaitlin gave them a puzzled look, “What light, guys?” she asked.
They all looked at each other. “April will tell you all about it,” Cody said.
Kaitlin looked at April who sighed and said, “I’m sorry, Kaitlin, we didn’t tell you everything about our reasons for wanting to come up here. There’s a lot more to it than just looking for the remains of an old cabin.”
Five minutes later April had told Kaitlin everything they knew including the story told to them by Jeff Goldman.
“So this is a cursed mountain where a family disappeared a hundred and forty years ago, possibly eaten by an escaped tiger, and now the ghosts of the Bergens are flashing a light up here every night at eleven o’clock towards the town? Have I got it right?” Kaitlin asked.
“Yes,” said Cody, “but we think the ghost of the tiger might be up here as well.”
Kaitlin rolled her eyes at her brother. “Well I don’t believe in curses or ghosts, but you’ve seen this light coming from around here somewhere every night? Have you guys considered there is someone up here flashing a torch? I mean a real flesh and blood person, not a ghost.”
“Maybe,” said April, “but what about what Jeff Goldman and his wife saw?”
“Hmmm, maybe he made that up.”
“I don’t know, I thought he seemed genuine.”
“Well we’ll have to try and find out, won’t we,” Kaitlin said briskly, “Let’s have lunch, then we can look for these cabin artifacts, and tonight we’ll see if someone appears with a torch at eleven o’clock.”
