Zombies On Fire & Other Short Stories

The Legend of the Burning Mountain Man

Scenes from a hundred different horror movies flashed through his mind. Then he shook it off. That was silly. This wasn't a movie. He pressed forward into the deep, grey mist that had suddenly flooded the forest.

All he had to do was find a nice place to set up camp and wait it out. Tomorrow the sun was come out blazing and burn the mist away so they could continue their climb up the Arntonas Peak.

"Yo, Avery! We need to set up camp, champ!" he shouted into the fog.

His silent friend was nowhere in sight. The fog had gotten thicker and he couldn't see very far in front of him up the trail.

He kept glancing off the sides of the beaten path to see if Avery had possibly moved off to set up a camp. Drew began to worry that might happen, and he would walk right past his friend and not even notice where he had gone.

Then he would be alone on the mountain. Not that he hadn't camped up here alone before. But Avery had been carrying a good portion of their supplies. He had noticed Drew getting tired and offered to carry some of his stuff.

Drew had been grateful even though he didn't like admitting that he needed the help. However, he had recently been sick and was still recuperating. So, he had accepted the offer. It had been a relief to take some of the weight he had been carrying off his shoulders.

But now he began to regret it. What if he and Avery got separated here in the fog. He would be alone on the mountain, and the pack Avery was carrying had his tent and other necessary supplies in it.

He took a deep breath and picked up his pace in an attempt to catch up with Avery before darkness fell in the thickening fog.

Drew came around another bend and saw a shadowy figure standing in a clearing just off the trail underneath an overhang. He breathed a sigh of relief at the familiar frame before him.

"Wow! Glad I found you. I didn't think you were going to stop for the night. I guess you were just looking for the right spot. This looks like a good one."

He stood there panting and attempting to catch his breath. Avery still had his back to him, but shoved everything off his back and onto the ground.

"Give me a minute to breathe again, and I'll start gathering wood for a fire." Drew rasped.

Avery still didn't reply. Drew didn't take his eyes off the man. Something was off, but he didn't yet know what.

"You feeling okay there, dude?" Drew asked.

A light yellow glow burst out around Avery and reflected off the fog around him almost as if he had tried using his lighter. But it didn't dim out or fade away. In fact, it got a little stronger.

"Avery," Drew said hoarsely. "What's going on? Is everything alright?"

His instincts screamed for him to run as fast as he could back down the mountain, but he didn't want to leave new friend up there alone in the fog without knowing what was going on.

He stepped forward and put a hand on Avery's shoulder. The tall, burly man shrugged it off and took a step forward. Avery was panting heavily as if he had been running for miles. And the glow still reflected off the fog around him.

Drew stepped around him and gasped at the sight of Avery's body. His eyes were closed, but still glowed yellow through his eyelids. And there was soft glow emanating from the center of his chest as well.

He didn't know what to say and stood there for a moment, nervously trying to make up his mind about what to do. Drew had always been rather indecisive and making split second decisions wasn't easy for him.