The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Up on Sioux Mountain   
by Kathleen McCluskey

Mary huddled with her brother as the battled raged. Their hidden spot inside the wagon was camouflaged perfectly. Their mother had given explicit instructions to not come out until she or their father came to retrieve them. She could hear gunfire and the acrid smell of spent gunpowder filled the small, confined space that had them concealed. Mary heard a strange metallic sound mixed in with the calls of the homesteaders and the hoots of the Indians. To Mary, the voices of the men and women outside changed from aggression to terror. She heard her mother scream and Mary climbed out. She landed on the dry, cracked earth as dust flew up around her. The land where they had stopped to camp for a few days was lush and green. Now it lay in ruins. She looked over her shoulder to the large river that was near their campsite; it had suffered as well. The large fish that had been plentiful were now gone and the riverbed was visible; it was cracked and dried. Mary could only look around in disbelief. There were no Indians, no homesteaders, no horses…no bodies. She continued to scan her surroundings for anybody; alive or dead.

Her head snapped back around when the sound of the wind changed pitch. The sound was nothing like she had ever heard. She could hear the howling of a great gust but felt nothing on her face. Mary frantically looked ever direction. She looked over to the nearest Mountain. Its once majestic purple beauty was now covered in an orange glow. Mary was frozen in fear as she could see something moving in the apricot mist that had formed at the base of the mountain. The cloud moved in on her at an alarming rate. Mary began to sob as the orange glow surrounded her. The small creatures in the fog reached for her. Their long, slender fingers began sliding up her leg as she began to burn and smoke. The small, alien creatures joyfully inhaled her dust and continued on their journey across the great Rocky Mountains.

The unsolved mystery of the covered wagon trail on Sioux Mountain intrigues adventure goers to this day.

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Fiction © Copyright Kathleen McCluskey
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com 

More from Kathleen McCluskey:

The Long Fall: Book 1: The Inception of Horror

Lucifer always cunning and intelligent challenges father to a battle of wits. Being the angel of light he casts a judgemental eye upon mankind. He begins a war with his fellow archangels and God. Michael, along with his siblings defend their home and mankind from their deranged brother. Broad swords and hand to hand combat drench heaven in blood. The four apocalyptic steeds are released, each having their own destructive power. Betrayal and lust are at biblical levels. Understand the very creation of evil and the consequenses that transpire in the first of THE LONG FALL series.

Available on Amazon!