<ul style="font-style: italic">In the midst of an age long forgotten by the hubris of the industrial military complex and the unrestrained greed of capitalist exploitation a bearded foul smelling man wandered into a nameless valley looking for beaver but discovered something far more valuable: gold. A few short weeks later he was wealthy…  and murdered. Nevertheless word spread quickly, and soon enough, the canyon was overrun with the disease of gold fever - deforestation, pollution, over hunting, brothels, saloons, and gun fights. When the gold dried up silence once again reverberated through the canyon and nature set about doing what it does best - restoring and renewing. The ways of man though leave lasting scars and as such old mine shafts and mining equipment were left littered throughout the canyon. Leftovers, rusting into oblivion, from a bygone era which would have been better to not have been forgotten. As hate, avarice, and ignorance once again enraptured the peoples of this continent a small group of concerned citizens banded together and formed a historical society to preserve the canyons illicit history. Their aim was for the history of this place to serve as a warning of what unchecked greed could do to an ecosystem. Instead it had the opposite effect - many who came began to resent the extinction of the good ole days when one could get rich quick through destruction. They began to pine for the days when there were no environmental protections in place and men were free to do whatever they felt was right as they strove to gain wealth and power.</ul> <ul style="font-style: italic">An age ago those seeking gold had strung a steel cable across the narrowest portion of the canyon, about four hundred feet from one side to the other, to get supplies from either side when the river was too high to cross. The historical society facing financial ruin decided to restore it and make it an attraction. Fortunately “Gold Cart Zip-line” was a roaring success. It became a sort of memorial to the white men who found and extracted gold from the mountains using the free labor of slaves and immigrants. People came from far and wide to ride a miners cart swinging high above the river - and so during the summer the canyon was filled with laughing and squealing families as they glided over the canyon.</ul> When the last helicopter had lifted off from the school, an eerie silence descended on the canyon. “We’re all alone now… Did we make a mistake?” Lilli asked the fear and uncertainty of their plight emblazoned across her face. “It’s so quiet, almost too quiet,” Andor whispered as the ‘thump thump thump’ of the helicopter squadron faded into the distance. Then he turned and took Lilli’s hand - “I don’t think we did.” “Maybe we should have warned everyone who got on those helicopters?” Lilli's voice was filled with a sigh of sadness and uncertainty. “Put yourself in their shoes. Would you listen to us if you were them?” “No. I’d think we were completely insane.” Lilli responded as she stared at the ground and kicked a small rock. “Exactly… They might have even forced us to leave.” “I guess so…” Lilli turned and watched as the last helicopter slid out of sight behind the mountain and then the canyon grew eerily quiet. “Not even the birds are singing…” Andor said as he struggled to suppress the pit of dread welling up inside of him. “Since we’re staying, which cabin are we going to move into?” Lilli asked as she took a deep breath and turned to face the warm sun, which had just poked out from behind a puffy white cloud. “I’m not sure…. First I think we should compile a list of things we need and start scrounging them from around the neighborhood.” “Okay, so what do we need?” “Well we definitely need fuel. Ed and Heather said it was a long cold winter and so they were pretty low on firewood. I bet others in this canyon were in a similar plight. So, we should try and find propane tanks or other camping fuel canisters.” “Alright fuel and obviously food. What else?” Lilli pulled her hair into a ponytail. “Any canned food or other non-perishables would be good to collect. As well as camping gear, blankets, equipment like axes, shovels, saws…” “Where are we going to store it all?” “Remember the old tree house we sheltered under before Heather spotted us?” “I remember…” Lilli smile slightly. It had only been a day ago but it felt a lot longer ago. “It’s a big tree and pretty far from the river. If the river floods again most of these cabins are right in the flood path. I’d hate to stash a bunch of food in one and then have it all wash away during the next apocalyptic flood.” “Good point…” Lilli said as she and Andor began walking towards town. “What do you say we split up - then we can cover ground faster?” “Sounds good. I’ll check this cabin and I’ll get the one across the street. Holler if you need anything.” #### Two days later… “Phew! I think this will be the last load.” Andor set down a shopping bag filled to the brim with canned food. Lilli leaned out of the door of the tree house and smiled. “I don’t think this old floor can support anymore weight. We sure got a lot put away.” “I feel like a squirrel preparing for winter…” Andor chuckled as he began transferring the contents of the bag into a bucket they had rigged to a pulley system so Lilli could pull it up into the tree house. “I think it’s going to rain again,” Andor called up to Lilli “bucket’s full too by the way.” “Any luck finding a working phone?” Lilli asked from inside the treehouse as she busied herself organizing their stash of food. “I did find a few phones but they’re all the same - no reception…” Andor was about to say something else but was cut off by an ear-splitting clap of thunder which boomed and filled the canyon for several seconds with its echo. *It sure isn’t letting up is it?* *The river claimed another four cabins yesterday. At the rate the river is eating away at the canyon there won’t be anything left of this village.* Andor thought to himself with a deep sigh. Lilli climbed out of the treehouse and fixed her ponytail. Then she took the ladder down so nothing could climb up inside and raid their stash. “What are you reading?” she asked Andor who was sitting on a giant plastic tote holding a small leather bound book. They had stacked a few dozen of these totes around the base of the treehouse. They were filled with extra clothing, camping equipment, skis, boots, fishing gear, and books they thought could come in handy or looked like a good read. “I went back to Ed and Heather’s cabin and found this journal,” Andor showed Lilli the leather bound book. “I think it was Dustin’s. Seems he was sorting out a plot for another book. Most of it’s just random thoughts, quotes, and poorly sketched drawings… but this caught my eye.” Intrigued, Lilli stepped closer and looked at the page Andor was pointing at. “It seems in his second book this town is destroyed… but by what I’m not sure. Looks like coffee or something spilled on the page and damaged the page.” “You gotta be fucking kidding me!” Lilli exclaimed as she took the journal from  Andor and scrutinized the page in question closely. “I wish I wasn’t…” Andor began before Lilli cut him off. “So, what you’re saying is we stashed all this food for nothing and we are just going to have to leave?” “Well not necessarily… I have an idea.” “Uh oh… I don’t like the sound of that.” Lilli sighed. ![[escape-iii1.jpg]] “I’m so tired…” Lilli yawned as she stretched and climbed out of her sleeping bag. Andor and her had spent the night in the cabin farthest from the river, but with each falling rain drop it became clearer no cabin was far enough from the raging torrent churning and frothing as it ripped down the canyon. “Me too…” Andor tried to say through a reciprocal yawn. When he gathered his composure he climbed out of his sleeping bag and began to stuff it into his pack. “The damn river is monstrous now from all the rain. I hardly slept, what with all those boulders bouncing and crashing down the canyon all night.” “No kidding, it felt like the house didn’t stop shaking all night… I think we should have left. This is getting really dangerous.” “Don’t worry, we’ll sleep a lot better tonight when we get to where we’re going.” “Hmmm…” Lilli was definitely incredulous about Andor’s plan. “How are we going to get there?” “You’ll see…” Andor winked. Lilli responded with a groan and threw a pillow at him. --- “No way. Absolutely not! There is no way in hell I’m going up there” Lilli shrieked. “It’s not bad at all, I’ve ridden the thing at least three dozen times.” Andor laughed. “No way Andor! We’re going to find a radio and call for a rescue and get the hell out of here!” “Babe trust me, it’ll be fine. It’s totally safe - I promise.” Lilli crossed her arms and looked up at the miners cart swinging back and forth in the gale force wind. It was suspended from several cables and attached to another cable via a large pulley which ran from one tower to another on the far side of the canyon. Below it the river was a raging torrent the color of chocolate milk with huge trees floating down the tumultuous frothing deluge. “So let me get this straight. We’re going to ride in that tourist trap, ‘ride’” Lilli held up her hands and made sarcastic quotation marks with her fingers “above the raging flooding river. What if we fall in?” “We won’t.” “How do you know!?” “Because it’s rated to hold over a ton and together soaking wet we barely weigh three hundred...” Andor stepped towards Lilli and wrapped his arms around her. “I know you’re scared, but trust me it’s actually a lot of fun. You’ll never forget it.” “Yeah - if I live through it!” Lilli wailed. “Of course you’ll live through it… Look, they just inspected it. Summer was only a few weeks away before all this happened. This miners attraction basically kept this town on the map. Without it hardly anyone would visit.” “Andor I don’t want to, I just want to go home…” Lilli’s voice cracked. “I’m sorry babe, I want to go home too. I think you’ll like this place we are going to though.” Andor stepped close to Lilli and put his arm around her and squeezed her tightly. “We can do this.” “Okay…” Lilli’s voice eked out a reply, her voice thick with trepidation. Andor took her hand gently in his and together they climbed the stairs of the platform which protruded from the ground like ‘pick-up sticks’ phallus. When they got to the top they were up so high they could see over the tops of most of the trees. “The river doesn’t sound so loud from up here…” Lilli said as she gingerly climbed into the miners cart and snapped the safety buckle around her waist. A moment later Andor hopped in. Once he was buckled in he took Lilli’s hand and asked “Are you ready?” Before she could reply he pulled the cord attached to the release latch and their cart began to move, slowly at first before picking up speed. Lilli screamed at first with terror but as she felt the rain drops pelting her face as the cart picked up speed her scream morphed from one of fear to elation. Far below them they could see the frothing and raging river. “Those trees floating down the river look like toothpicks!” Andor said with a laugh as Lilli’s shrieks of glee drenched in rain and adrenaline made his ears ache. Just as Andor was beginning to get concerned they were going to crash into the tower on the other side of the river their cart began to slow down before stopping right next to the stairs. “Holy shit!! That was so much fun! Let’s do it again…” Lilli threw her arms around Andor and squeezed him tight. “Haha. I told you you would like it,” Andor kissed her. “We do have a long way to go though.” “Aww alright, but can we ride it again soon?” “I think we’ll be riding it a lot as we ferry supplies from our tree fort to our new home.” “Okay… fine. Every party needs a pooper that’s why we invited you ‘party pooper’” Lilli stuck out her bottom lip. “Ha, put on your pack and stop whining.” Andor rolled his eyes. “Aye aye sir!” Lilli said with a sloppy salute. “It’s a good thing you’re cute…” Andor moaned as Lilli brushed her breasts against his shoulder as she put on her pack and then she skipped down the stairs. She felt as if she was floating… --- They set up their small tent in the middle of a quaint meadow. It was a beautiful night, the sky was filled with stars. “Wow, you definitely cannot see this many stars in San Francisco.” Lilli sat down and laid on her back, next to the fire. “Not even close. Reminds me of the desert. You could see stars like this out there.” Lilli and Andor laid by the fire until it was very late, just staring at the stars and counting the shooting stars. When they got to twenty-two they decided to call it a night. Andor woke before the sun had crested the valley walls. Lilli was already awake. “How’d you sleep?” Andor asked as he sat up and stretched. “Like a rock” Lilli replied with a yawn. “Me too! We don’t have too far to go today…” “What’s for breakfast?” Lilli asked as she started stuffing her sleeping bag into its bag. Andor answered her a few moments later after he had dug around inside his pack. “How about a can of dolmas and crackers?” “Ummm okay I guess. I’m starving so anything sounds good right now” Breakfast was enjoyed in silence as the starving couple focused on eating and listening to the birds calling to one another. “So, where are we headed exactly?” Lilli said a little out of breath, the altitude was starting to get to her. “At the top of the ridge we’ll be able to see where we are headed. Should be there in a few minutes…” Andor replied as he helped Lilli step over a fallen tree. “I don’t know why he can’t just tell me…” Lilli muttered to herself under her breath. It was a lovely day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the forest was coming alive after a long cold winter. The birds and squirrels were out in force, foraging and collecting food. Far above them they could see Red Tailed Hawks circling higher and higher. “There it is!” Andor said with excitement. Lilli followed Andor’s outstretched hand. What she saw took her breath away. There before them nestled in a tight little valley was a lake whose color was the most vibrant and deep turquoise. Perched in the middle of the lake was a small island covered in boulders and craggy rock outcroppings on one side and on the other side a thick forest of pine and fir trees. Above the lake on the far side a rocky crag towered into the sky, its peak culminating in an impossibly perfect point. At the end of the lake closest to them they could see a river. From where they stood they could hear the faint roar of the waterfall and see the mist billowing into the sky somewhere off in the trees to their left. “Oh my…” Lilli’s voice trailed off as she stopped in her tracks, her mouth agape. “I didn’t want to tell you, I needed you to see it for yourself.” Andor wrapped his arm around Lilli. “Is that your mountain?” Lilli asked, pointing towards the craggy peak on the far side of the lake. “It is.” Andor said wistfully. “You climbed it by yourself when you were eight?!” Lilli gasped in horror as her neck craned back as her eyes travelled up the massive mountainside. “Yeah.” Andor said a little sheepishly. He loved to regale anyone who would listen about the mountain he had climbed when he was eight. Lilli had heard the tale at least a dozen times. She often thought Andor was embellishing a bit when he recounted the escapade but now seeing the mountain she began to realize he was telling the truth. The forest was fresh and cleansed from the rain. The soil was soft and loamy beneath their feet. They moved quietly, soaking in the vista as they scampered through the forest. As they neared the lake, fog began seeping up the mountain, and soon they were enveloped in a cloud so dense they could hardly see the trees, which were only a few feet from them. “Umm I think we’re lost.” Lilli took Andor’s hand. “Nah, I know exactly where we are. I’ve been here so many times.” Andor said reassuringly   A few moments later they reached the lake. Andor hopped onto a boulder next to the shore. “Where are we going?” “To the island... Follow me.” ### Next Chapter: [[20 - New Beginnings 🌚]] ### Previous Chapter: [[18 - Warning 🙅🏼‍♂️]]