Chapter Text
The sounds of fire filled the air as a blue flame slowly melted the metal. A man stood hunched over some kind of machine as he worked. "Barb!" a shout sounds from across the garage where a stocky women in her mid 30's stands. One hand on her hip and the other holding a sandwich in the air. her curly red hair reaching her shoulders and skimming the tops of them in a messy look. Bags lay under her eyes and freckles dot the tan skin of her face. smudges of eyeliner and sweat streaking her brow. She was a working women.
"What?!?" A man yells back from inside the garage as he turns off the welding tool. slowly he stand up and raises the mask from off his face. his muddy windows shine with annoyance due to the interruption. Slowly he reaches up and takes the facial contraption off completely setting it on a table near him. He sighs as he sees some stray hair enter his face and stick to his sweaty forehead. He quickly lets down his hair and just as quickly fixes it back up into a messy bun to keep it from his face.
"Come eat some food, Barb you've been working all day on that." She quiets her voice as he starts walking over.
"I know Char, but I want to get this done before the long weekend." Barb states as he moves passed Char and into the building snatching the sandwich from her hand on the way. The lab inside was one of many that the building had to offer. the only difference with this one was the attached garage and all the electronics instead of beakers littering the counter spaces.
"Why not just take it home, you know the lab wouldn’t mind you taking a project home over the weekend. in fact Dr. Malkins encourages it, she sees how much you get into your work." Char follows him over to a table stationed in the lab as they both sit down.
"I would but I’m going hiking this weekend up the side of mount Ebbot. I've been planning it forever and while I’m really into this project I’m also super excited for this hike." Barb complains as he takes a mouthful of the sandwich in his hand and makes a face. "Ew cucumber!?"
"Wait your going to go hiking up mount Ebbot but that place is dangerous. No ones gone up there in years. except for that one kid . . ." Char trailed off as she spoke snatching the sandwich back off the table after you set it down in disgust taking a bite herself.
"Yah I remember that I think I was just staring high school when that happened." Barb visualized as he watched Char eat.
"Yah and that kid came back traumatized," Char huffed.
"Yah but they came back, And they were a kid lost in the woods, I would of been traumatized too." Barb rolled his eyes as he listened to her excuses.
"But still," Char spit out as she chewed slowly. "Its dangerous out there so why not cancel the trip and stay at home? your such a busy body take a weekend off." She leaned back in her chair and continued to chew the offensive object.
"Eh its not dangerous. Everyone just likes to say its dangerous because of all those old stories about monsters inside the mountain." Barb shrugged.
"Yah and what if they're true, huh what will you do then when a monster pops up and eats you right on the spot?!" Barb sets down the sandwich and reaches her hands up in a mock play of grabbing at Barb with clawed fingers.
Barb moves back a little to escape the grasp of her hands. "One the path I’ve marked out on my map goes no where near the peak of the mountain. Second of all monster aren’t real, I’m pretty sure we would have gotten some kind of verification after all these years if they were there, but nothing." Barb leans back in his chair with his arms folded.
"Well I've said it before the place is dangerous. No ones been up there for years and all lost person cases that have happened on the mountain since we were kids have never turned up except for that one case. If no ones going up there and people who do aren’t found again . . . look I’m just saying that it sounds fishy missing kids, legends of monsters, people are scared man. And sometimes people have a good reason to be afraid." Char responded seriously as she swallows the rest of her sandwich in one loud gulp.
"Correlation does not mean causation Char, you should know that its one of the first things we learned in college. And so what if there are monsters out there somewhere. Isn’t it cool to think that there’s something out there we haven’t proven yet. I don’t think I’d mind it so much even if I did see one of these monsters." Barb sighs and scratches his head for a moment before he continues. "And the missing kid thing . . . people go missing and never turn up again in national parks all the time there are millions of cases across the world of bodies never being recovered. I don’t see why that should stop me from going out and trying knew things or doing what I want to do." Barb explains.
"Well why not just go on another hiking trail? one where there will be people if something happens. One less dangerous?" Char asks.
"I've already been to ever hiking trail around here other then mount Ebbot. I love hiking but I don’t really have the time or want to just leave town. Plus I’ve been looking into the paths up this mountain for years now. Even if nobody’s been up there for years I’m an experienced hiker and have taken many precautions for this tip."
"More like you don’t want to make the time to leave town," Char speaks under her breath.
"Char," Barb sighs as he shakes his head. "Look I just want to try something new, go on an adventure, just see what’s up there." Barbs laments dreamily, voice far away somewhere and eyes further still. Char knows when she's been beat out by Barb's dreams.
"Fine, Fine!!" Char raises her hands into the air as she sighs loudly. "You win, your just one determined dude yah know. I think there could be a study out that said mount Ebbot would 100% kill you if you went up there and you'd still do it anyway . . . So just be carful Barnaby, ok?" Char questioned him. Char never used first names. It was a thing for her ever since they had met 7 odd years ago in their undergraduate program. The first time they spoke was when they had to do a project together. He walked up to her desk and introduced himself as Barnaby but char was having none of that. Called him Barb ever since and wouldn’t let anyone else they knew call him by his full name even to this day. Char had all ways been that kind of person. A goof ball who didn’t like to take things to seriously. She took movie tropes to heart and was always ready to be the first person to do something amazing. She once told Barnaby that full names were only meant for when you were angry or serious and that’s the only times she would use a full name. She wanted people to know for certain how she felt and so she reserved this for those times only. Barnaby understood perfectly.
"I will Char, I promise. I'll even bring that little FM radio we rigged in college with me. remember we got that thing to pick up signals from states away it will have no problem picking up your radio at all." Barb leaned forward as he spoke looking directly into char's eyes.
"Good you better, or else I’ll have to trek up that mountain and bring you back myself kicking and screaming." Char laughed boisterously, she was back to normal.
"Wouldn't doubt that you'd do it for a second char," Barb encouraged her enthusiasm as he got up from the chair and went back to work on his project in the garage.
"You better not stay here working on your project all night then. I'll be back to kick you out in 4 hours so that you get some good rest." Char shouted after him.
"Yah, Yah, whatever." Barb smiled as he lifted a hand to wave at her then kept walking.
Char wasn’t joking when she said that she'd come back to kick him out of the lab in 4 hours. When exactly 4 hours hit she marched her self into the garage and dragged that man out by his ear kicking him out of the building.
"Have a good weekend!" She waved as she locked the labs doors and turned in the opposite direction to go home.
"You too Char." He waved back as she smiled mischievously over her should at him before turning around to walk backward away from him.
"Make sure none of those spooky monsters come out to eat you this weekend. but don’t worry if they do just call I’ll come up there and give them the old one fore about it." She raised her hands into the air and went for a jab. Barb smiled as he too turned around and walked backwards away from her.
"I doubt you could even get a dig in with those scrawny arms." Barb Joked as he lifted his own arms into the air and punched. "Now these baby’s certified metal, no ones getting passed these." He smirked as she rolled her eyes and waved goodbye before jogging off. and he turned around and trekked home by himself.
Barb pushed the key into his old locked apartment room and quickly flopped down on his bed and properly fell asleep after setting an alarm for the morning.
The morning peaked through the curtains long before Barb was ready to wrench his eyes open. But he also knew that if he didn’t get a start on his day then he'd be hiking through the night in order to find a good place to camp for the evening. And so stretching his arms into the air and hearing an audible satisfying crack of bone he wrestled himself out from under his covers and walked out into his living room. Grabbing his phone on the way Barb quickly flipped on his app and ordered a car. He had about 15 minutes till the car would arrive. So he cooked himself a quick breakfast and grabbed his pack and radio before running out of his apartment and locking the door behind him.
The car ride was filled with boring chit chat until he asked the man driving to stop the car short of the destination he had inputted. Barb wasn’t a stupid man he knew that if he had put in his actual destination many people would forgo taking him. The best and fastest way to get to the hill was to just put that he wanted to go to Walkins repo shop. Which was located right passed the entrance to the forest that lay around the large mountain. The driver looked at Barb strangely before talking.
"Are you sure man? Whether you get out early or not your still going to have to pay for the hole ride." The boy upfront looked a bit agitated with Barb's request. But you could see in his eyes that what he was really feeling was a since of deep seeded fear. The boy knew the stories of the mountain just as well as anyone else. He did not want to stop his car there.
"Yah its fine, don’t worry about little old me." Barb smiled kindly at the boy in hopes that he would feel a bit calmer and less reluctant to comply.
"It's really not a problem for me if we go the whole way man its kind of my job," The boy laughs nervously as he starts to speed up a bit.
Barb sighs as he rubs his neck.
"Look man I’m actually going hiking this weekend so you really don’t have to worry about taking me all the way. I don’t even mind paying for the whole trip to Walkins either." The boy turns his head slightly to look at barb while still keeping an eye on the road. He wanted to make sure that he man was serious about his endeavor. After a few moments of Barb smiling sweetly up to the driver. He turns all the way back around in his seat and stops the car to let him out.
"I sure hope you know what your getting into man." The driver leans out the window as he speaks and Barb halls his pack onto his back.
"I'll be fine," Barb smiles as the boy leans his way back into the car and starts the engine and Barb whispers under his breath. "It's just a mountain."
The car pulls away with a wave from Barb and an apprehensive look from the boy. As he turns to the forest his shoulders slump a bit forward and then raise back up as he smiles at the trees and then walks into the dense foliage.
Stepping his way into the forest Barb pulled out his map with the plans he had for his hike. Holding it in one of his hands he grabs the compass around his neck. The first step on his map is to go north until he reaches a ridge that is suppose to look like a hand reaching out of the ground. Or if he's lucky his calculations of it being about 5 miles from here would be more spot on then guestimation. Nodding to himself he quickly folds the map back up and pushes it into his bag for safe keeping.
As he walks Barb observes the forest around him. Its pretty, beautiful even, the trees reach high into the sky all around him. Looking directly up makes it feel like the tops of the tree branches scrap the sky with there leaves. Along the narrow not really there any more path he spots flowers blooming of differing shades and hues as they twist to grab the sun and suck in its rays. The air smells clean as it whistles by his head and off up the trail. Its peaceful, the kind of peaceful that feels like a warm blanket or floating in a hot bath. The forest is bright, not a single inch of grass is disturbed by dark patches. For a moment Barb laughs to himself this is exactly what he needed, a nice relaxing hike. It felt like it had been forever since he had ventured out into the woods by himself. There was just nothing really like this feeling.
It wasn't for another mile and a half until he noticed it. A cold chill wormed its way up his neck. Just a passing thought, just the hint of something irregular had him stop in his tracks. Not quite afraid of the answer but curious all the same. Looking left and then right again he scans the trees and the dirt floor of the scene around him. Racking his eyes over the foliage again and again he stands perfectly still as too not make a noise. But even then he doesn’t see it, doesn’t hear it.
"Where are all the animals?" His question is answered by silence.
Shaking off the unease he begins to move again breathing in for a second and holding it before letting it escape passed his pursed lips. "Don’t let those scaredy cats get to you," He whispers to himself "Nothings out here." He takes a glance at his surroundings again as he continues his walk "Literally."
It took a little bit longer then Barb expected to reach the giant rock. Now standing at the base of the enormous thing it had taken him about 5.5 miles to reach instead of the 5 he had estimated before coming here. not to far off though, you could see it in his eyes how proud he was of himself for almost getting it right, for being so close having never even been in these woods before.
Situating himself he looked around and noticed he was on a sort of hill or cliff that allowed him to see much of the forest around him. Glancing up at the giant rock it really did look like a hand. And not like something that could accidently be a hand but like something that was carved. The pads of the fingers looked old and worn but not jagged like nature liked to create but perfectly smooth.
Shaking off his assumptions he sat down and dug through his bag taking out the map again and a sandwich to munch on as he checked his next steps. He had decided that his camp site would be about another 10 miles from this spot. He made the first day purposefully lax for walking so that he had plenty of time to scope out all the knew things he was bound to find on this adventure. In truth the whole hike that he had planned was only about 30 to 35 miles. He didn’t want to try for anything longer over the course of the next 2 days so that just incase he did get lost it wouldn’t be to awfully far into the forest.
Swallowing the last bit of his sandwich Barb stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes map still in hand. Ok he would need to go another 3 miles northwest, before turning slightly when he reached a plaque in a tree and then going another 7 miles west where he would come across a clearing where he could set up his tent for the night.
Looking out at the forest he spotted something a little off in the distance. Squinting his eyes and trying to make out what the shape was he saw a radio tower standing amongst the trees. lifting his map back up and quickly figuring out where it was. No radio tower was shown but it looked to be pretty close to where he was going to finish his hike tomorrow before turning to come back. Maybe 2 or 3 miles farther west then he was planning. Staring at the mysterious tower in the woods Barb made a decisions as he began marching down the path again. He was going to find that tower.
The sun just started to set once he made it to his camping sight. Quickly setting up his small tent he cooked himself something to eat quickly before laying down to sleep. Barb already planned to wake up a bit earlier than planned so that he would have the time to look for and explore the radio tower before making it back the way he came.
Thinking about the day his thoughts quickly zeroed in on the plaque he quickly passed on his way here. The books said that the plaque was some kind of memorial to a war fought in the area. But when he tried to look up any information it was spotty on the who, but everything else seemed normal. To tell the truth Barb was actually kind of excited to see the sign. He thought that maybe it would give him some information about who fought that war. But when he came upon the sign and tried to read it he got a splitting headache. He could see the letters but they seemed to shift and change under his gaze. Making his eyes cross before he turned his head and heaved the contents of his stomach into a bush. Not wanting to feel that way again he quickly rushed passed the metal plaque without a second glance.
Turning over and shaking the memory from his mind he tried to focus on the sound of the woods but found none. That eerie feeling from earlier creeped back into his senses as he tried to think of something else. Shaking his head and sitting up he reached into his bag and took out the FM radio, turned it on and tuned the dial to their channel.
"Char?" he questioned through the receiving end.
"Yah buckaroo," A laughing voice made its way through the air breaking the unease that hung stagnant around him. It was moments like this that reminded him of his first few weeks in college when he was all alone at night. Those first few nights the nightmares were the worst, they would keep him up for hours. Back then when Char had heard about his problem is when they first started working on these radios, since they were laying around and neither had the money for a phone back then.
It was in those wee hours of the morning when he would listen to Char babble on and on when his fears would slowly slip away. So Barb took in a breath and said the first thing that he could think of.
"Tell me a story?"
"Of course," Char responded before diving into a long story about her selfish neighbors. And though as if magic the woods seemed to breath in and relax under the sounds of there laughing.
Waking up in the woods that morning felt completely different then when he had first set foot in it. Even though the air was still very much so silent of life. It seemed a bit more easy to breath in and a little lighter than before. It was probably his own nerves calming down after he spent the night talking to char before falling asleep.
Quickly packing his things Barb hastily made his way through the underbrush fallowing his map. His trail ended just after mid day in an open clearing with a small pound but he did not stop there to eat. Barb was much too excited to get to the tower and spend the rest of his day checking out the area around it.
Shoving the snack bar in his mouth as he continued on. A flash from yesterdays puking episode entered his mind. And for a split second he slowed down and feared that the tower may cause the same feeling. Before immediately shaking it off and continuing on. Barb did not want to dwell on the if's of a situation if he could be having an adventure instead.
It took another hour or so to reach the tower he had seen in the distance yesterday. To tell the truth Barb was kind of stunned that he was able to find it all. At ground level the structure was hard to see hidden behind years of roots and leaves it took him awhile. He ended up stumbling upon it more so then actually seeing it when he stubbed his toe on a piece of metal sticking out of the ground. Looking up through the canopy of the tress he could just make out the top hidden partially behind some branches. Looking around the base he quickly came across a set of old looking stairs. Carefully putting his foot on the first step he tested to see if it could hold his weight. Seeing that the step did not break underneath him he slowly made his way up the stairs taking his time so that he would not fall.
Good thing he did too, on the 30th or so step, close to the top he set his foot slowly down on the metal and felt it flimsily give way underneath his right foot. Hastily retracting it he watched the step fall then hit the ground beneath him. Holding a hand to his heart and breathing in once he tried the next step before continuing his way to the top of the stairs.
Once at the top Barb found it odd that the control rooms door was slightly ajar even though there was a perfectly good working lock on it. moving forward his foot hit something. Barb leaned down to see what it was and spotted a key on the ground. He pocketed it before moving completely inside the building.
The main room housed a control area. There was a microphone attached to the transmitter, An old receiver set on the table next to it. On the floor around the table set many speakers and an audio processor. And in front of the table was a single chair. Behind Barb there set 2 doors. Barb opened the first door and found a bathroom with a sink and toilet. It wasn’t anything special so he shut the door and looked into the room next to it.
The next room housed a bed and a dresser. It wasn’t anything fancy either though the room still looked to be furnished if still disheveled in appearance. Clothes were halfway sticking out of the dresser and the bed still had sheets on it even if it wasn’t made all the way. A picture frame had been knocked to the ground from off the night stand and a set of shoes set neatly in the corner. It looked as if someone had left there in a rush.
Carefully shutting the door Barb made for the receiver in the control room. If the room still had clothes and sheets for the bed and other personal items still, Barb could only think one thing. That someone was living there and if someone was living there then he shouldn’t be there. He knew that he wouldn’t be very happy to come home and see that someone was looking through his things. That’s why he decided to sate his curiosity quickly before getting out of dodge.
From this distance he could tell that no one had touched the set up for awhile, a thick layer of dust over taking the massive machine and all its parts. It wasn’t every day that you got to see such an old radio tower set. Walking over to the machine he ran his hands over the many buttons before pressing the button that, if it was working, would turn the thing on.
The machine switched on as a green light shone brightly and the sound of static filled the air. The sound was loud almost too loud as Barb reached his hand to turn off the signal. But before he could the voice of a women came through the static.
"Hello . . .?" A voice asks as barb eyes go wide and he slumps into the chair in front of the mic but does not respond to her.
"Where is that signal coming from?" Barb questions himself as he looks over at the stationed its tuned into, there are no public or private channels in all of Ebbot that use that frequency.
"If anyone is out there . . ." The static picks up the voice again just as clear as it was before as Barb listens closely.
" . . . Please know that we are still here, we are still waiting, we wish for a chance, we wish for freedom . . ." The voice quiets down for a moment before picking back up much stronger than before. "We are monsters, We will not hurt you, we will not hurt anyone but please . . ." The females voice begs "Please help us." For a moment the static is all Barb can hear again as it once more fills the air around him. Was some body messing with him? But who? only char knew he was out here and she didn’t know anything about a broadcasting tower being up here nor did she know that he would switch to this channel.
"Hello?" The static noise clears once more. "If anyone is out there . . ." The message begins again on repeat as barb absorbs his options. "Please know that we are still here. . ." He could turn everything off and head back home like he had heard nothing. "We are still waiting. . . " Chalk it up to some real crafty prankster who happened to be out there with broadcasting equipment of there own and wanted to spook him a little "We wish for freedom. . ." Barb knows that there can't actually be real monsters inside of mount Ebbot. "We wish for a chance . . ." He knows there are a ton of stories about monsters but there all fables, stories to scare your children at night, tales around the campfire. "We are monsters, we will not hurt you. . ." Barb's racing mind thinks back to the perfectly carved hand rock, to the plaque that he could make out but not read, to the absolutely silent forest. "We will not hurt anyone. . ." Barb shakes his head quickly from side to side, he couldn’t be thinking this way, Coincidences all of them. "But please . . . please help us," but what if . . .
Sitting in the chair barb listens to the lady’s voice one more time. It sounds so desperate. Who in there right mind would be playing this on repeat up here on Ebbot mountain on a station that most people wouldn’t even think to tune into? Even if they weren’t monsters, Because there’s no way that that’s what this really is. Barb had to know. Rubbing his hair as the voice finished its message again Barbs curiosity wins out over his better judgement.
"I'm crazy, I’m fucking mental to even think," Barb cuts himself off as he leans forward
taking a deep breath as a shot of subtle excitement shoots through his veins as he allows himself to imagine for just a moment of all the possibilities before him. He presses the button just as the repeated message start to plays again.
"Hello . . ." He answers the void.