A Man of the Mountain - Obsession

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7. Obsession

Jonas couldn’t contain himself. He sat on the edge of his chair watching Mansen’s Mysteries as the camera panned up to reveal the man himself standing in front of Clearwater Mountain. Chills ran up and down his spine. He had hoped one day Rick would be this close, but a part of him never believed it. He finally came. Jonas wanted to reach out and touch the television but resisted the urge.

     On the walls, Shirley’s articles glowed in the firelight. It was all worth it. He was finally going to get his chance. He stood to run his hands across the first article she had written. It was a simple opinion piece about The Wildman at Sunset, but it had kicked off so much more. Jonas snapped back to reality, nearly losing his balance as Mansen mentioned ‘The Beast of the Mountain’. Hearing his title on Mansen’s Mysteries was almost too much.

     “We’ve already begun tracking the beast’s movements using state of the art technology provided by our generous sponsors.” Rick winked at the camera and held up a small yellow pyramid. “They record video, and audio, which, when put together, functions as a sonar web.” Rick augmented the last two words with air quotes. “Or at least that’s what the scientists tell me. I’m just here to kill the damned thing.”

     Jonas felt the grin spread across his face. “You can certainly try,” he whispered to the television. This was it, the moment he had been waiting years for. He wouldn’t be preying on defenseless hikers but instead testing himself against the real item; a bonified monster hunter. Jonas walked to the kitchen and poured himself a celebratory drink. There was still a twinge in his temples from the last celebration as the good news continued to come. The usually dim cabin felt warm and alive with excitement. In the other room, Mansen continued to talk about the techniques they would use to kill him.

     Jonas took a sip from the well-worn cup. He knew exactly how Mansen’s team would attack the problem, and how to exploit their weakness. He had watched every episode of Mansen’s Mysteries and their approach never changed. They would spend the bulk of their time filming out of harm’s way, drawing out the suspense. Then, just before the shoot ended, they would strike. The crew would be armed. They never showed it on the program, but there was no way the History Channel was letting Mansen take pot shots at deadly beasts without backup.

The promo ended and Jonas felt his heart race. There was work to be done. If he was going to stand any chance at defeating Mansen, he would have to lure him into a one-on-one setting, away from his crew. The Falls stood out as the obvious choice. They were pristine, beautiful, and already held significance for him.

     The fight would be quick and messy, but Jonas’s mind spun with every possible outcome. Somewhere around the sixtieth scenario, and nearly an hour of pacing, a thought came to him. He stopped in front of the wall of newspaper clippings, looking up at them with pride and, for the first time, sorrow. I need to see Shirley. The thought itself was not new, but a part of him knew it might be his last chance.