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The Mountain
Date: 4/11/2016, Categories: Supernatural, Author: DylanThomas
... father would, delivering an all too frequent admonishment. "I thought I recognized something different in you, I didn't realize it was stupidity." Despite my fear and vulnerability, I bristled. "Why is it stupid to care about my people getting hurt?" " Your people !" Anger raised the creatures voice to a deafening snarl. "Invest your care in your own safety and wellbeing. Your people are not worthy." "I don't understand what that even means." "Then read your history books." The words were hurled back at me and struck as if they were rocks. I felt my emotions overwhelming me once more and tears filling my eyes. "I have read the history books." I spoke as calmly as I could. "They are written by the people you say are unworthy. If that is so, how can I believe they reveal the truth." There was a long silence. I sensed the creature had withdrawn to some corner. I contemplated leaving, though without guidance, I doubted that were possible. So I waited. Patient. Trying to hold on to calm. "There were several of my kind when your people first came to the valley." The creatures voice was clam and soft. "We lived off what we could find. We never had to hunt and had no predators, so we had no fear of these strangers. We welcomed them, and offered to share our knowledge. "For a few years we lived in peace, but your people are greedy. As their numbers grew, they wanted more. More food and more land. When we told them it was not sustainable, they drove my kind away. "We tried to protest ...
... and to reason, but your people turned against us. We were strong, but no match for your weapons. The tortured, mutilated, raped and defiled us. They forced my people to endure things I can hardly bring myself to recall. They castrated my brothers and cut the breasts from my sisters. They were cruel, ugly and meaningless acts." The creature paused. I could hear harsh erratic breathing echo in the darkness. I waited. Silent. "Those of us that could, retreated back here to the mountains. These are our ancestral home. We have long been able to live in the dark among these caverns, and they are too vast and complex for your people to hunt us. We were safe, but for most, it was just an escape from battle. We brought disease and infection from what your people inflicted on us, things for which our bodies knew no defense. Death came slowly and painfully. "I am the last. My kinsmen are all gone. There has been many times when I wished to have gone too, but for some reason I survived, but I could neither forgive nor forget what had been done. "I knew I was no match to fight your people on my own. My only strength was stealth and darkness, so I started to go to the valley at night, to wait, to see what opportunity might arise. "I found a young woman. Hers was some secret tryst, but the man had not the valor to escort her to safety. As he left, I took her and did the things that had been done to my sisters. It seemed apt. At first your people looked among their own for someone to blame, ...