This was just another reminder ......... of the fucked up place we were in . It had no respect , or reguard for life . If anyone ended up in this place like we did ,you'd better had have your shit together and be ready for a fight.
" I guess we know why there's a ski lift now. " said Taco
" Yeah but how did we not see this or notice this cliff. " asked Janet
" I lost both flash light and my bat in that storm trying to hang on for dear life. So I didn't have anything to navigate my steps . I stopped here and Jeff walked along side me , then dropped his pack and it never hit the ground . " I replied
" I hate to say this , but the lift is looking like the sure way to travel right now . " said James
" Lets retrace our steps back . That way we don't run off a surprise cliff anywhere . " said Sterling
" Smartest thing you've said this entire time Sterling " replied Liz
" What are you trying to Imply " said Jeff with a little laugh
" Nothing just trying to lighten the mood a little " she replied
As we walked back to the ski lift chair I couldn't help but wonder what kind of sand or dirt this was . It wasn't like anything I had seen before. We kept a tight formation until we reached the chair. Even though we made it to the chair safely there was another very present problem. I waited for everyone else to catch up but I don't think they noticed.
" I believe the reason why we all think that the ski lift is the only option is because obviously it was built for a reason . Skiing isn't the reason but this thing has to lead to some where. Not only that but this will ensure we don't fall . Only thing is ....... this is a two seater . That being said we would have to untie and split up ." I told the group
" Things sure know how to get complicated in this place " said Janet
" According to you William splitting up is how people die in these type of scenario's." said Taco
" This is true and I agree with that , but the lift would obviously let us all off at the same point . All we have to do is be patient and wait for the next group of people and we should do fine . " said James
" That's not the only problem , if we make our minds up to go through with this the question remains . Who would be the person to go alone? " I asked the group
We had an odd number in our group . Which means that someone would have to go alone. Most of our confidence was in the fact that we had a nice number or size to our group. Figuring things out with more than one mind or responding to danger with more hands on deck gave us comfort. It was no secret that if something happened on the lift who ever was by them selves would have to deal with it alone . Not only that how would anyone else know they were In trouble ?
" Are we even sure we want to go this route before we put too much thought into this ." ask Jeff
" We know what's behind us and none of that could really be considered useful , if we plan on getting out of here that is . " Said James
Everyone looked and seemed to be on board with his statement . So now it was time to move forward.
" I think either James or my self should be the first one to go . Then one of the girls and Sterling . Another female and Taco. Then Jeff and either me or James depending on who stays behind." I told the group
" Why do it that way ?" asked Sterling
"Well I think either James or I could deal with being by our self . After that we start to bring the females but with man power . The last two should be just men . That way our main strength of the group doesn't split too much. " I replied
Taco walked over to the control booth and started it up . James was already untied and ready to go. As the chair came around James started to slightly jump up and down a little like a boxer getting ready for a fight. In my mind he was the perfect man for the job . That and I believe he's slightly crazy . The chair pulled up beside him and he turned, gave me a five which we ended up pulling in for a hug and he got on. He sat squarely in the middle both hands rested on his knees . With the tire iron in one and a balled up fist in the other . We watched him slowly move off Into the fog. It wasn't long before we couldn't see him at all . There was only the griding of the gears and the feeling of our hearts beating in our chest. Naturally I looked around just in case the sound drew anyone or anything to us but nothing came . I felt small tugs at the rope only to turn and notice Sterling and Liz untying them selves . It was clear they were next and they stood by waiting.
" Somethings wrong " we heard Taco say
We all walked over to him while keeping our eyes on the cables to make sure they were moving and still in tact.
" What's going on ? " I asked
" Another lift chair should have appeared by now but there isn't any . " replied Taco
" We know that there's at least one chair and it will come back around . It's going to take longer than we expected but we need to keep a clear head right now. James is going to be ok he knows about waiting this out . He's no slouch by far and I'm certain he's good. " I told the group getting our moral back on track.
After about fifteen minutes the chair came back, Sterling and Liz jumped on and right before they disappeared into the fog Sterling turned around and said " See you guys at the top ! " Three down and four more to go .
" Taco you're up " I told him
Janet turned around and looked at me as I untied her rope. She looked at me and I assured her the strength of our group was at the top and would no longer be down here with me and Jeff. The chair came around and they boarded. Janet hugged me and then boarded with Taco. With her head turned back the entire time they disappeared into the fog as well .
" We won't be able to stop the chair so we can get on so we need to be quick about this ." said Jeff
" Lets get ready then . We don't want an empty chair coming up and giving them a panic attack ." I told Jeff
Sure enough our time had come and the chair came back around. With a hop skip and a jump we boarded the lift. I turned to see the booth and red dirt fade away as the chair went up. I looked around and kept an ear out for anything but there was nothing. It was almost as though the chair was floating in the air . Even the line it was attached to became invisible . Then there was a taping sound. Small sounded like metal on metal. The more the chair moved the louder the sound got. Soon we could hear the voices of the other's.
" If you can hear us get ready to get off " an unknown voice in the distances called.
Jeff and I got ready as the chair moved forward. First the ground appeared then the chair started to turn around and we jumped off. With the chair disappearing in the distance we both stood to our feet .
" Where are you guys " I called out
" Just keep talking so we can figure out where you are" said one of the females
" Well that had everyone on edge " said Jeff
" That ride isn't the only thing look at the ground " said James
There were foot prints every where ,so it was obvious we weren't the only ones to make it this far ! Besides that what disturbed me the most was the direction they were going in . It was every direction ! Hopefully they weren't running from anything . Hopefully there isn't any physical threat ahead.
" What ever group made these tracks must have brought this bag along as well. " said James
James walked a little bit closer in the middle of the group and removed the bag from his shoulder . Come to think of it James never had a pack to begin with . When he unzipped the zipper it wasn't a secret what the red sticks inside the bag where. Only thing is what would someone need that in a place like this ?
" Kinda late to tell us you've had a bag of dynamite James " said Janet
" Well we were preoccupied with trying to regroup, then the tracks. " James responded
" Congratulations you've just made your self a walking bomb ." said Taco
" Don't start that shit Taco ! We get enough sarcasm out of William ! " said Liz
" Sarcasm or not He's right you know carrying around that much TNT could get us all killed. Said Jeff
"Maybe not . We haven't come across anything that would set off or ignite something like this along the way so far. This might come in handy ." said Sterling
" Handy for what exactly ? Asked Taco
" With something like this I believe we can distort the plans of who ever has us here ." said Sterling
It was interesting to see the change in Sterling . Originally I thought he wouldn't be of much use . Now he's a totally different animal . His thinking has adjusted , more on the revenge side. I guess that saying was right . Its always the quit humbles ones who can do the most damage .
" Thinking about it like that I say we keep the dynamite. I'm sure its to be used for something , but I say we use it to our advantage like Sterling said . With something like this the ball will finally be in our court. Control is the main weapon they have against us , with this we gain some ." I explained to the group.
" We don't want to get desperate and take something along that can hurt us either ." said Janet
" I can't help but to think how useful this could be . On the other hand how this also could be a trap . I mean I don't think who ever brought us here intends for us to survive . Especially the way our lives have been I danger thus far . " said Jeff
" Every one has some good valid points , but we don't want to spend too much time on this . Remember its getting dark quicker now so we don't know how much day light we have left. With that being said we need to get a move on ." said James
After James added his two cents we all got a move on . Slowly but surely we tracked our way up this hill . This dirt wasn't like any regular dirty either. Our feet seemed to sink in as we walked along the way . Other tracks were visible as we kept moving then........ a body . It was an inmate ! He was there just hanging from a tree by a rope . It stopped me dead in my tracks . I couldn't imagine anyone risking losing a member of there group , so I came to the conclusion that it was suicide . The rest of the group caught up and no one said a word . The silence grew louder and we just stood there. I knew we had to move on but the thought of what made him commit suicide hunted me .
I put my head down and started to walk with out a word being said. Sure something is here that has the potential to break a man but ..... this must be done . It was the only motivation I had . Trees with no leaves started to appear more and more as we walked . This road was traveled so much that is left a trail . With no reason to wonder off I just followed . Slowly not too fast , preparing my self for what ever may immediately become visible and there it was . Two things happened at the same time . One the fog seemed to pull back just enough to show us this massive structure . Two there was three explosions in the distance. More importantly there was a huge sign on the building and it read
SPACE MOUNTIAN ASYLUM FOR THE INSANE !