Don't Go There

Part IV - The Mountain of the Dead

Don't Go There

Written By: LaLa Leo

February-March 2019

Part IV - The Mountain of the Dead

"First Love Yourself. Today, we fly!" -LaLa Leo

Several miles in and surrounded by utter darkness, aside from the dim hues of their man-made lights, the temperature dropped quickly without warning. They were enveloped within the ice (glacier)  and at the very mercy of the icy monstrous beast that had swallowed them whole the moment that they stepped in. With no sure way to tell if the night was nearly approaching, they all moved as quickly and carefully as possible.

There were only footsteps and the uneasy rattling of hiking clips attached to one another and (-remove, to compliment the) unnerving silence.

Lyudmila began to nervously hum "The Battle of New Orleans" by Johnny Horton as Zina immediately chimed in within seconds as if in a trance. After a few awkward moments, a baritone that was surprisingly the slender Aleksander joined in making it a relaxing chorus to all. He was not too far behind, last in the back, closing in on the rest of the group.

Igor slowed his tracks without warning as they ventured upon an eerily dense clearing of about a few hundred feet. It stared back at them nestled deep within the ominous belly that made up the pass not taken. The darkened yet glistening reflection of the frozen lake showed them little if any view at all of the rapidly descending skyline in the distance. Barely halting in his tracks, he whistled lightly, alerting his team to a new command.

The humming and singing instantly suppressed as Rustik and Tibo cautiously approached Igor before anyone else had the chance to. Together, they visually checked for his brief signal, passing him by, slightly to the left of an unstable stalagmite. Despite the obvious danger, they cautiously continued on forward to a steep incline.

"Thin ice..." Igor voiced almost silently to the group as they closed in meticulously on each side of him. Sasha gestured for permission to go alone before Igor as well and as they locked eyes, he shook his head slowly; allowing the motion.

Sasha ventured on as if he were tip-toeing on eggshells, never once glancing back over his hunched shoulder. He made sure to follow a few feet behind Rustik and Tibo who'd nearly made it across to the other side already. Igor signaled for Yuri and Zina to proceed next to climb the short entrance.

As Aleksander and Lyudmila lined up alongside Georgiy to await their turn, Igor instantly sensed their nervous reluctance. He once again tried to reassure them with words of encouragement knowing that he and Georgiy would be the last two following them so closely so that... in case of any mishaps, they'd be the very first emergency responders.

"We've done this a million times before..." Igor tried with Lyudmila first. She was bright and oftentimes fearless. However, the time at hand had everyone on edge more than ever before. Even he felt a little unnerved, but wouldn't DARE mention it to the rest of the team. There is no turning back now or else they'd be short on supplies even with the stored supply cache. Who knows what could happen before then on the way back? There was NO turning back in Igor's mind. There was only pressing forward.

Igor offered his hand to Lyudmila as she anxiously clutched the strap to her backpack and tried her best to adjust her breathing slowly or as best she could at the very least. She grabbed Igor's hand with a little rigor, hoisting herself onto the mirror-like glass that was reflecting from the light of the cave's ceiling and the edge of the end of the pass. It was like walking in a real-life dream. What was she to fear? Other than falling to her death within the slightest weight misappropriation about forty feet to the icy spikes below. How many people had fallen to their deaths before now? She secretly wondered.