The Outlet

The Mountain

"His eyes snapped open, he sensed something, something, diffrent. A source, a tool, an...O U T L E T"
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Lin heaved the last cardboard box inside, sitting it atop the other various boxes that filled her new living room. Lin Joseph was a artist, she did commissions online and made some decent money from it, and she loved to draw so it was a win win. She moved from her large house in the city to a smaller one in a cozy town at the foot of a mountain, just for a change of pace. She looked around, taking in the appearance of her new home. To the left was the kitchen, which you could see from the island. Off of the kitchen was a hallway that led to the bathroom and her bedroom. From where she was now, she could see the front door. She sighed and looked at the several boxes in her living room. It wasn't much, as she didn't own many trinkets, or dvds and such things. She pulled a box close to her and started putting things away.

...

Lin sat back the black couch in her living room, sighing in relief and allowing herself to relax. She was finally done. Everything was put away, and she felt a huge wave of accomplishment wash over her. She sat up and looked at herself in the TV that was in front of her, that she still needed to get working, and took in her tired appearance. Her short, wavy red hair that stopped at her jawline was covering her right eye as it usually did, except it was fizzy and tangled from all of the excitement. her bright green eyes had bags under them from getting up so early and driving all the way to her new home, plus it was almost one in the morning. She continued to stare at herself for a bit, but then something in the window above it caught her attention. The mountain. She had forgotten that the town was based at the foot of a mountain. She looked at the summit for a minute, a tugging feeling in her chest. Her motivation kicked in and she no longer felt tired, but instead compelled to know more of the mountain. She got up and went to her room. Her bed was pushed up against the farthest wall, and her desk on the opposite wall, her closet on the right, with pictures on all four. She sat down at her desk and turned on her computer, which was working thankfully, and opened up her browser. She thought for a moment, before typing in the name of the town, seeing if that would bring up any thing on the mountain. It did. She clicked on a website about the town, reading over it until she found a picture of the mountain, which had the name 'MT. Ebott' underneath. Ebott, huh? She thought to herself, she started to read about it. There wasn't said about it, but what was there talked about the war several decades ago between monsters and humans. Lin herself never believed the old tale but her mother was fascinated by it, so she knew the story by heart now. She found it ironic how she had didn't care about the it and yet she came to live closer to it than her mother has. She let out a sighing chuckle, continuing to read more on the information page on MT. Ebott. There was a rumor that those who went there never came back, but that was just a silly rumor. She exited the browser and closed her computer, moving her chair back as she stood up, looking outside from her bedroom window. She wasn't able to see MT. Ebott from here. She decided it would be best to head off to bed for the night- er, morning.

...

Lin checked her bag. Her art supplies if she wanted to sketch something down, check, water bottle if she got thirsty, check, an apple and sandwich if she got hungry, check. Alright, she was ready to head out. She had decided to go and climb MT. Ebott, hoping it would ease the tugging feeling in her chest. She figured it was just her wanting to draw it, but wanted to make sure. Whatever the reason, she was still up for the hike. She rather liked nature, and the veiw from up there must be amazing.
'Ring ring ring ring'. Her phone started to ring. She checked the caller ID. Mom. She answered the phone.
"Hi mom! How is everything?" She asked, smiling.
"Hi deary! Everything is fine, I was calling to ask you. How is the house?" Her mother asked, a warm tone to her voice.
"Oh it's great! I love it! Some of the neighbors even visited to said hi when I first came. Everyone here is so nice." Lin said, smiling as she remembered her neighbors coming outside to greet her yesterday.
"Aw, that's sweet. I'm happy you like it." Her mom gushed.
"Yeah. Oh, and guess what? You know how I live next to a mountain right?" She asked.
"Yes? What about it?" She asked.
"It's the infamous MT. Ebott you told me about in those stories!"
Her mother gasped. "Really?! Lin, they aren't stories! It's a part of history!"
"Yeah yeah, my bad." Lin rolled her eyes playfully. "Well I was just about to go and see it actually."
"Oh! Well you go have fun with that! Call me if you find a monster. And remember, they aren't any more afraid of you than you are of them!" She chirped happily.
"Uh-huh. Love you mom!" Lin said.
"Love you too, sweety."
"Bu-bye!"
"Bye!"

Lin ended the call and put the phone in the back pocket of her jeans. She then went into the bathroom for a last minute check up. Her hair was much more clean now, and her eyes looked well rested. She had on a pale pink, short sleeved shirt that had a light teal moth on it, which had a design on it colored in a darker teal. She had on skinny jeans that flared out at the bottom a little, and dark blue sandals. It wasn't hard to guess her favorite color. She nodded to herself and grabbed her bag as she headed out, locking the door and walking to her car in her driveway.

She drove for about thirty minutes; it wasn't that far away. She parked her car in the empty parking lot that led to MT. Ebott, getting out and locking her it. The pulling sensation stronger than ever. She wasted no time in heading up the mountain. She didn't stop at all, besides a few water breaks. She just wanted this feeling to go finally be satisfied. Eventually, she made it to the peak. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked out over the view. The sun lit up the forest to the north of the village, and the other mountains held their place in the sky, pridefully decorating the beautiful blue. She looked behind her, to the center of the peak. The pulling sensation was becoming a violent jerk. In the center was a large hole. Every part of her body said to stay were she was, but she took a step forward despite that. And then another, and another, and another, until she was peering into the hole. The bottom was barely visible, if even that. She could hardly see anything at all. A thought clouded her mind.

Do it. Jump in.

A sense of l'appel du vide came over her, remembering the definition as soon as the feeling began. "The call of the void", a French phrase used to refer to intellectual suicidal thoughts, or the urge to engage in self-destructive behaviors during everyday life. Another thought as she began to feel light on her feet, calm even as her heart raced.

Go on, jump. Do it now.

The tugging suddenly stopped. Because it won. She jumped in.

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"Good. Now, I have my tool, I just need to wait until it arrives. Or rather, 'she' arrives. Then, I will be even closer to getting out of here. Finally."