Climbing Trail

The Tragedy of Mount Dempo Part 8

His face was black and looked creepy, also looking as unfriendly as this grandfather. The grandmother wore a cloth wrapped around her chest and wore an old-fashioned kebaya.

"Who, Sir?" I heard her ask her husband.

"This is what you see. There are more children from above Dempo. How insolent! That's where you make coffee first." The grandfather replied, ordering his wife to brew a drink.

He showed up with a glass of coffee. I shuddered as the Grandma looked into my eyes. Soon he went back inside

followed by the Grandpa while giving orders for the coffee to be drunk.

From behind the door I heard the slow chat between the two husbands and wives.

"Sir, is that what we want to harvest tomorrow?" I heard Grandma's voice.

"Ngga knows. It was obviously this boy who showed up." Answer the Grandpa.

"It's okay, sir. If anything is in the harvest." The voice of the Grandma said followed by a giggle that made my hair bristling.

I was terrified, and regretted

my carelessness that thoughtlessly came straight here. Then Grandpa showed up again to the porch. I immediately pretended not to hear their chatter, picked up coffee and drank it. I almost choked. The coffee was incredibly bitter. It seems that Grandma forgot to mix the sugar.

"Let's go in." Pinta the Grandpa to me while standing in the doorway.

"I'm here, sir. Rest." I refused it subtly. I had a bad feeling, since my instincts

said to go.

"Rest inside, sleep first. We're going to sleep too." Grandpa's tone of voice sounded pushy. His eyes scared me even more.

"Thank you, Sir. I'm here, waiting for friends." I again tried to refuse as decency as possible.

The grandfather replied with a strange grammar as if it were reversed and sounded creepy, or maybe it was

mean actually??

"..there's no more of your friends..." With a displeased look, Grandpa slowly closed the door. I heard Grandpa Granny's voice whispering, but I couldn't quite guess what they were talking about.

The whispers disappeared after a few minutes, replaced by snoring sounds. But that's not a human snoring sound..

I shuddered in horror, my body trembling uncontrollably. Jantungkubberdegup-degup getting louder. Slowly I shuffled back trying not to make a sound.

My body is so limp, I feel like I can no longer run if something happens. My eyes were fixed on the door,

hope that door doesn't open. Every time the snoring was heard, my heart felt like it had slipped.

The clouds blurred the moon which had just peeked. I expectantly looked at the forest boundary, hoping to see the rest of my friends. I wanted to feel like I ran there, but the shadows of the fog forest dwellers immediately canceled my intentions. But even staying here feels like I can't. The horror of this place is very, very pressing. My eyes were getting hot, my eyes were blurry, without asking for tears to spill. My chest was tight and I started to remember my parents.

Imagining their concern, I sobbed, "I'm sorry, sir." While I wipe my tears with the end of my shirt.

My chest tightened when I saw my mother's face. At times like this my guilt for them becomes more and more. I'm not only breaking their bans, but also lying.

I looked at the elongated mound filled with cabbage and eggplant plants. The leaves of the cabbage are white

as far as the eye can see. Cabbage as big as a human head just lying on the mound of land, ready for harvest. My eyes were looking for where the source of the movement was, nothing. The only thing that moved was a thin fog snaking an inch on the ground.

I gulped, what moved just now? The snoring came back from inside the hut, I was getting more and more frightened. O God, come quickly, my friends. I plead in my heart. My eyes combed the forest's boundaries looking around, hoping they would arrive soon and take me away from this creepy place.

I cursed my sudden stupidity to run and be separated from them. Bang I and I must be panicking looking for me. Oh my God, forgive me Bang Idan, forgive me my friends. Again the corner of my eye caught something moving, but remember the sentence Bang and to ignore it, I too

trying not to care. My eyes watch the door. It felt like something was lurking behind the wooden door.

But the movements in the corner of my eye did not disappear. I screamed hysterically as I watched the horror that lay in the

in front of me. The fruits of cabbage as big as the head is in fact the head. The mounds of land around the hut are now filled with strangely moving human heads.

Some of them seem to be trying to get their bodies out of the ground. Skinny and pale hands flailed everywhere. The field was now filled with moans. My eyes were wide open, my throat was stuck. My body is stiff and unable to move. All I could do was stare in horror at the sight of those people one by one coming out of the ground. Every muscle in my body is twitching. Slowly the moon was again covered in clouds when the bodies were pale

it started moving towards me while continuously groaning. All I expected right now was to faint or die, I was no longer able to. The snoring from inside the hut is also becoming more and more.

When I got my voice back, all I could do was cry out while screaming hysterically.

"MUCCI... IBUU... TOLOOOOONG.."

The hundreds of bodies continued to move closer and closer while letting out groans. Some make a sound

a heart-wrenching cry, another voice begged for help. My head was moving left and right frantically looking for a way out, but my body still did not want to be moved as if stuck in this bale-bale.

"ASTAGHIRULLLAH!! OH GOD!! TOLO0ONG..!! TOLOOONG...!" I kept screaming in despair. The bodies are getting closer. The voices are also getting louder.

" ....Alpiiin, please Alpiin... NAY!! NAY!! GO!"

"..Alpiin, don't run Alpin. Come with us Alpiin...."

"DORAKKK!! TOLOOOOONG...!!" The closer, the faces of those pale bodies became clearer. There are women, there are men. Some were dressed like mountaineers, some were dressed like village people, and many others. In common, their eyes were blank and their faces were expressionless pale, and they kept moving closer and closer.

.. Alpiins, Alpiins...

"ASTAGHIRULLLAH!! OH GOD!! HELP ME BANG IDAAAN..!!"

"Apiin please alpiiin..."

"FATHERYAAAKKKK!! TOLOOOOONG!"

Among the moans of the creature, I heard clearly the voice of my Father who commanded me to flee.

"GO SON! GO!! SAVE YOURSELF!RUN!"

-tbc