The Mountains Of Death

Two officers sit in an office. One is sitting at a desk with a cup of coffee and the other stands, leaning against the blinds on windows and wall to the left side of the office door. It day is early and the rest of the precinct is quiet. The sun peaks in through the window as the seated cop looks back over his shoulder and begins conversing.

"One hell of a cold morning."

"You got that right."

"Any word back from Jack?"

"Nah. He's been dodging me all week. Guess I'm gonna have to work this weekend anyway."

"Boohoo. You broken up about it?"

"Not really. Didn't have plans anyways."

"What, you and the old lady didn't plan a few days out of town?"

"Naw. She ain't much of the traveling type."

"I gotcha. Well, I just feel bad for all that paperwork you're gonna tackle."

"Please, I'll be lucky if I get through twenty-five percent of it."

"Hey, Mike."

"Yeah, Phil?"

"When you get a chance this weekend, you know, if you get around to it..."

"Phil, what is it?"

"If you come across it, take a look at the Parker Case, would you?"

"Yeah, sure thing."

"Thanks."

"Uh, but, umm... why that one in particular?"

"I kept going through it the other day and... I don't know. The whole thing seemed kind of... off."

"Off? Like how."

"You'll see for yourself, just... check it out for me, will ya?"

"Yeah. Course."

That weekend Phil took to his paperwork and worked the long overworked hours he had dreaded all week. Half way through his corrections and filing of cases and warrants and other papers, Phil had finally come to an envelope marked 'The Parker Case'. He read through everything and shuttered within the emptiness of the office floor. Patty, a fellow officer, caught him by the light of his desk lamp just as she was walking out. Patty spoke first.

"Phil! How you been? You still here?"

"Yeah, Jack couldn't cover for me, so here I am."

"Oh, s**t. That sucks."

"Well, wasn't like I had anything planned for the week."

"Right, right... oh boy. And how is Susan?"

"She's good. A homebody, through and through."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, she's actually probably waiting up for me. I'm only stating maybe another hour or so."

"Well then, I'll leave you to it."

Patty turned and began to walk away. She halted and turned back as a question bolted across Phil's mind.

"Wait! Patty! Before you head out, would you mind looking at this for me?"

Phil hands her the Parker Case papers and she glanced over them in a moment.

"Yeah, I've seen these. Word about this file's been passing around the office."

"Mike brought it up a few days ago. He said I might be interested in it. Kind of disturbed though."

"I know what you mean. I couldn't read the report past the first page."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"What about this part down here?"

Phil takes back the papers and points towards the bottom of the Report Page. Patty leans over to look closer. Phil continues.

"It says we have some of the items of the victims in evidence."

"Yeah. Fancy that."

"Well? You know what that means?"

"No. Shoot."

"It means if what the victims experienced what they chronicled experiencing in the file's journal, proof of it may exist on that film."

"I guess. No ones watched their film yet. The second this case came in it was just thrown into a pile and lost. I'm shocked you stumbled upon it."

"You know something? I gotta get into evidence. I gotta see that film."

"You got the keys?"

"No, Frank usually has them. I think I'll just put in a request with the Captain tomorrow."

"Eh, you might have some trouble there, Phil."

"How's that?"

"The Captain was the first and only one of us to see the film. He's the reason it ended up in evidence so quick. He's been jumpy about whatever it gets brought up. He doesn't want to address it. Hell, he'll probably try and persuade you to throw the case aside if you bring it up to him."

"That so?"

"Yeah, Phil. Whatever the Captain saw... it did something to him."

There was a short pause and Patty lowered her head and her perky nature came to a rest.

"It's late. I guess I'll see you." Patty said as she turned and walked out the precinct's double doors.

"Night." Phil added, bringing his attention back to the idol report.

The following morning, just as Frank was coming in, Phil was already waiting by front door of the precinct and awaiting his arrival. As Frank came in the door Phil ran up to him.

“Frank!”

“Phil! Hey, morning!”

“Yeah, yeah! Morning. Umm… Frank. Patty told me you had the keys to the evidence rom?”

“Yeah, me and Stew, why?”

“I was wondering if you could could let me grab something outta there real quick?”

“Depends on what it is.” Frank said with a smirk.

“Umm… I’m working on this file and I was running a report last night and…”

“Say, Phil. You don’t look too good. You getting enough sleep?”

“What? Oh! Yeah, yeah. This case has just kinda kept me up. Jack left me kinda short-handed so umm… If I could just grab this video tape out of evidence that’d be…”

“Video tape? Oh, you mean that old tape in the Parker Case? Sure thing.”

After Phil gets the tape he walks alongside Frank out of the evidence room. Frank locks the room back up and the two step into the main office of the police station. Frank finally hangs up his coat and Phil thanks him for the third time.

“Thanks, Frank. I can’t thank you enough.”

“It’s no problem. But uh… I gotta tell you. You may not like what you find on there.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s gory. That’s all, really. Coulda been mistaken for a smut film or something.”

“Oh, I gotcha. Well, if it’s anything like the report.”

“I know. I heard. Six hikers, torn to shreds. Their tongues and eyes burned out of their heads. Ominous. Well, I tell you that video doesn’t add or take anything from the case.”

“Yeah, it’s just that Mike told me to take a look at it.”

“What?”

“Mike. I was working late the other night and he stayed second to last. He told me take a look at it.”

“Ah. Umm…”

“Frank, what’s the matter?”

“Uh, I don’t know how to say it, Phil…”

“Just say it, come on.”

“Mike died last month. Car accident, remember?”

There was a short silence as Phil scrambled for what to say. 

“Right. Yeah. I knew that.”

“Phil, you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah. Completely. I’m just a little tired. Long couple of night.”

“Ah, Jack. Right.”

The thought stuck with Phil as he snuck away. Around eight he went home, popped pills to stay awake and finally sat down to review the videotape. What he saw chilled him to the bone. Finally, he could see that which everyone in his department had seen and wished to never view again. On the tape was nothing explainable. There was a force. A force which came down from the Appalachian Mountains and defiled nine hikers. It wasn’t until Phil decided to take advantage of his days off and investigate the mountains that the true horror behind the case revealed itself to him.

The following morning Phil sat at his desk, packing up paperwork for his venture out to the site of the Parker Case murders. As he is finishing up packing, Patty spots him from across the room and walks up to his desk.

“Hey, Paddy. You mind grabbing my mail for the week?”

“Sure thing, but whatever for?”

“Taking a short vacation. I been working overtime and Frank though it’d be a good idea.”

“May I ask where?”

“Well, though it may be strange, up to the mountains.”

“The mountains?”

“Yup.” Phil was uninterested in elaborating while straightening papers on his desk.

“From the Parker Case?”

“That’s them.”

“Oh.” Patty seemed a little disturbed.

“May look at the case more, but this trip is mainly for rest.”

“Does Frank know about this?”

“No, but I’d really appreciate it if it stayed that way.”

Patty sighed. “Sure thing.”

Phil smirked. “You’re an angel.”

Phil finally finished packing up his briefcase and stood to walk away. Before he walked far Patty called him from behind.

“Phil.”

“Yeah?”

“The other night you said something. I was curious.”

“Yeah?”

“You brought up Mike…”

“Oh, lemme stop you. I know. I was just tired is all.”

“Oh, okay.” She said with a smile. “Good to know.”

“Hey, Pat.”

“Yes?”

“Thanks again.”

Phil then made his way out the front doors of the police station and into car service where he reached the mountains a few ours later. He took up residency in a cabin he had rented and by the end of the week Phil Myers was missing. Nowhere to be found. Just as the officer had gone missing the Parker Case File he had taken with him, as well as the videotape he stole from the station, had all disappeared as well.

That was, until the only thing left of the case was a building full of people who had studied the phenomenon upon the Appalachian Mountains, but would speak of it to no one. Since then whisperers within the precinct have dubbed the range ‘The Mountains of Death’. A fitting name to a place which, as of 1997, had claimed its most recent victim.