On the Ridge by Jayda Marx

Chapter One

Zane

 

My heart dropped as the sound of my dad’s coughing filled the cabin. It wasn’t a new sound, but it was getting worse every day. I dipped a ladleful of chicken broth into a bowl and carried it to his bedside. It was too difficult for Dad to walk to the dining table.

I’d moved his bed into the living room so that he was closer to the wood burning stove that heated our home. Cold air made his condition worse. His body also tended to stay cold, which is why he was bundled up in warm clothing and blankets in his bed.

When I approached, I saw Dad folding up his handkerchief, which was now stained with blood from his coughing. He was trying to hide it from me, so I pretended not to notice even though it broke my heart.

“Here we go,” I said as I sat down in the chair next to him. "I've got some soup for you." He could no longer handle solid foods.

Dad coughed and groaned as he sat up. I put several pillows behind his back to support him. He reached out for the bowl, but his hand trembled and I was afraid he'd spill the hot liquid on himself, so I told him, "It's okay, I've got you."

I dipped his spoon into the broth and slipped it between his lips. After three sips, he held up his shaking hand and said in a weak voice, "I think that's all I can keep down."

"Maybe you can eat some more later," I suggested, placing the bowl on the floor. I hoped so; he wasn't eating enough to survive. He'd lost quite a bit of weight over the past six weeks. He was once broad and strong, and now he could barely hold his head up. Seeing the strongest man I knew slowly deteriorate was tearing me apart.

Dad reached out and covered my hand with his. "Thank you for taking care of me, Z." I smiled at the nickname he'd always called me.

"I'm just returning the favor; you've looked after me all of my life."

"That's my job as your dad, but you didn't ask for this; any of this. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a better life.”

I shook my head with a half-smile. “Dad, you’ve given me the best life.” Even though I often told him that very sentence, Dad felt guilty about our circumstances sometimes; especially since he’d gotten sick.

Fifteen years ago, when I was only seven years old, Dad and I were taking a walk through the forest, as we did often. We always loved exploring nature together; it brought us peace and happiness. But on that one particular day, it turned our world upside down.

Because as we were hiking deep in the woods, we came upon a young boy. The child was around my age, nude, and picking berries from a bush. Dad was concerned because he didn’t see any adults with the boy, so he approached him carefully and asked if he was okay.

The boy didn’t seem afraid of us; especially not my father. He actually approached him and sniffed him like an animal would do, cocking his head back and forth in confusion. Before the boy could say anything, there was a loud growl in the distance. Dad took my hand and tried to grab the child to take him to safety too, but the boy did something that changed our life forever.

He crouched low to the ground and...changed. I don’t know how else to describe it. His bones popped and his body twitched. Dad thought he was having a seizure and bent down to help, but he fell back on his ass when fur sprouted all over the kid. In a few seconds’ time, the boy changed from human to a mountain lion cub.

We both watched in shock as the cub sprinted away, towards whatever had growled. Something was calling him home. I started crying, terrified of what I saw. Dad scooped me into his arms and ran at top speed out of the forest.

The real trouble started after we got home. I told my classmates and Dad told his colleagues about what we’d seen, but nobody believed us. They called us crazy. Especially Dad; people accused him of mentally abusing me with ridiculous stories, or even drugging me with hallucinogens to make me believe them.

They tried to take me away from him, citing an 'unstable environment'. Child Protective Services even did an assessment of our home, but thankfully determined that I was in no physical danger. Of course I wasn't in danger; my father loved me more than anything else in the world and gave me everything I needed.

Though Dad loved the outdoors, he also had a shrewd mind for business. He had been a top financial consultant at the most successful firm in the city, but they let him go after his story came to light. They said that they couldn’t have a basketcase in charge of people’s finances and livelihoods.

Everyone turned their backs on us. The man my father had been dating for years - the man I saw as a second father figure - left us high and dry. So we went out on our own.

Dad had quite a bit of money in the bank from his successful career. He also knew what stocks and companies to invest in. We lived off of the profits of his investments and never had to worry about money.

He bought a small plot of land in the woods and built our cabin with his own hands (I helped as much as a child could). We lived every day in the solitude of nature. We only visited the neighboring town a couple of times a month for food and supplies, though we often ate the fish we caught in a nearby stream.

Dad taught me how to live off of the land; to fish, hunt, gather, and build. He also educated me; I knew how to read and write from my limited time in public school, but he deepened my love for reading. I’d devoured all of the classics (borrowing the books from the library during our town visits).

He taught me about mathematics, economics, and business. He taught me everything he knew, and how to be a great man. I had a deep bond with him that could never be broken. I’d always treasure every single moment I had with him, and I wouldn’t change my life for anything.

“You are the most incredible son I could have asked for.” Dad weakly pulled on my hand and when I leaned forward, he kissed my forehead. “I just wish I had more time with you.”

“Come on, Dad, don’t talk like that,” I pleaded.

“Z, you heard what the doctor said.”

How could I forget? I dragged Dad to the doctor after listening to him cough and wheeze for weeks. He insisted that it was just a nasty cold and tried to remedy it himself with herbal teas and raw honey. But when he began having spells of dizziness and being unable to catch his breath, I insisted that he go to town and see a physician.

I wasn’t prepared for the news. The doctor found very aggressive cancer in Dad’s lungs, which had spread to his stomach and liver. He said that even if Dad would have come to him with the first symptom, it would have been too late. The cancer was fast-spreading. He offered chemotherapy treatments, but didn’t think they’d do much other than make Dad very sick for what time he had left.

Dad decided that he didn’t want his last days to be spent in hospitals; that he’d rather stay home and share his time with me. The doctor said that Dad wouldn’t have more than three months left before his body gave out, and half of that time had already passed.

“Doctors don’t know everything,” I argued. “They can be wrong.”

“Not about this. I can feel it; I don’t have much time left on this earth. But I want you to know that having you as a son has been my greatest blessing and you’ve made this life worth living. You are smart, kind, and brave, and I love you so much.”

My eyes watered as I nodded and replied, “I love you too, Dad. I always will.”

He patted my hand and sighed. “I just wish I could have seen them one more time.”

I didn’t have to ask who he was talking about. After we were settled in our new home, we searched the surrounding wooded areas for any signs of the changeling boy or others like him. For years, we explored high and low; even camping out some nights when we ventured too far to return home. But we always came up empty handed.

“Me too,” I admitted. It was incredible to think that there was a whole different species out there just waiting to be found. I wanted to discover them for my father; to prove to the world that he wasn’t crazy.

I flinched when Dad went into another coughing fit, and pretended not to notice when he wiped blood from his lips. “You need to rest,” I told him, and he nodded his agreement.

“I am pretty tired.” My heart squeezed; he’d only been awake about twenty minutes.

I helped him get into a comfortable lying position and retrieved another blanket for him when I noticed him shivering, even though I was on the verge of sweating from the heat of the fire.

Dad fell asleep quickly and I made a decision shortly after; I would discover the creatures. I'd leave no stone unturned to grant my father's last wish. If he had to leave me, I wanted him to be totally fulfilled first.

I threw a few more logs onto the fire and pulled a hooded sweatshirt over my t-shirt; even though I was too warm inside, the autumn air outside would be chilly. I filled a backpack with a flashlight, water bottle, and a bag of trail mix and slung it over my shoulder.

Dad normally slept for hours and I planned on being back before he woke up, but just in case, I placed a protein drink next to his hand on the bed. I didn't want him to be hungry while I was gone.

I also didn't want him to worry in case he stirred, so I jotted down a note and left it next to the protein shake. Not wanting to get his hopes up about my intentions, I simply wrote:

Dad,

I went out for a hike. I'll be back soon.

-Z

After making sure that Dad was tucked in and the stove was shut safely, I snuck out of the cabin to begin my search.