The Long Bike Ride Past the Mountain Creek

Cinthia knew all the stories about the top of the mountain. She and several of her friends even went camping at the pass one weekend and told stories that night then went hiking all over that pass the next day. Nothing out of the ordinary and certainly no gargoyles, chimeras, griffon or even a unicorn. All of them had caught a glimpse of a butterfly-fairy, but they were even in the city so what was the novelty in that?

Cinthia thought she was perfectly safe riding her bicycle over the mountain. She was training for a triathlon in April and this was one of the spots she was going to have to ride. It was not the mountain itself that was difficult but the fact that she was a runner. Biking was not her strong point. Good thing this race was a sprint and not a full triathlon. Even with that, the bike portion was four times the distance of the run. Cinthia had spent the past month starting her training for the event. She had begun to feel comfortable on the road with the bike but she was not in love with it, not the way she loved to run.

She got off and pushed her bike the last quarter of the nearly straight uphill portion of the road. Cinthia knew she would have to do this until she could stay on her bicycle all the way to the top but for now she pushed herself as much as she could, then she got off and walked. She got back on and rode around the curve to the outlook to take a rest. She headed straight for the spring that came out of the mountain. That was the best water and she made sure her canteen was full. Cinthia sat down to rest with her back against the thick sun warmed rock.

She woke to a glorious sunset off to her left and deeply shadowed road to her right. Cinthia settled the helmet on her head and switched on the lamp attached to it. Her muscles were protesting but she settled into a ride that at least would be downhill after she crossed the creek.

Cinthia was watching her pedaling feet and the road beneath when she rode right into a small hill.

She rolled onto her hands and knees and spit out the dirt and rocks she had nearly swallowed. Rubbing the dirt out of her eyes and off her face Cinthia stood and looked for her bike. What she saw was a pile of boulders over seven foot tall and the thing spoke, or rather growled.

“You are trespassing on my land and you must pay the price.”

Cinthia looked at his face. He was not standing directly in the light of the setting sun but he shouldn’t be able to stand there at all! She figured, maybe, if she could into the light of the sun herself, maybe she could escape. She knew they weren’t that bright and there had not been any report of human eating trolls in the land so she hoped she could escape. Cinthia began to sidle down the side of the road towards her bike and towards the sunset.

“It no use to run. I see you heading that way now just stop and pay the price.”

“My, you are so eloquent for a troll.” Said Cinthia and she never lost a minute. She just kept walking sideways to the light.

“Been living up in Seattle, in Fremont. Lots of humans talk going under my bridge.” The troll was keeping up with Cinthia as she inched her way down the road.

“So, how is it that you can stand the light? Why don’t you turn to stone? What do you want with me?” Cinthia could hear her voice start to crack but when the troll said he was from Washington, she knew she was in the presence of the Aurora Bridge Troll. The worst human eating troll known in the last twenty years. She was afraid and she was alone. All her friends knew was she was riding her bike today, she hadn’t told anyone where she was going.

The troll smiled and his enormous mouth opened enough to show a row of pointed teeth as large as her hands. The troll’s breath was almost worse than his teeth; that is, until she saw his chest move?

“This is my son, Baull. You are going to be his neti..inita…thampy I can never say that word. You is going be his first human meal! I moved down here cause I is known where I come from and Baull here gots to eat good. I cain’t give him just bums or the nice car wreck nows and then. You understand. I am real proud you is in such good shape. I dont know why yous love to be trim and toned but it sure makes good tastin meat.” Baull began to make juicy clomping noises with his mouth and Cinthia watched as the trolls shirt got wet with saliva. She shuddered.

“Wait, you don’t want me, I have my cross on and my bicycle repair kit has screwdrivers out of steel…”

“No, we done checked you when yous was sleeping…you sleep deep…must a been in that rapid eye sleep huh? You got a cross all right but it’s silver. I likes silver and done took it. Your itty-bitty kit? That thing ain’t got nuff steel to raise a itty-bitty blister. Why, I let Baull here throw it off the cliff.” The troll began to smile and Cinthia got ready to run. She was a fast runner and this would be a race she had to win. She took her eyes off the troll for an instant to see if she was over the creek.

She screamed as the troll lifted her and carried her between his fingers back to the edge of the mountain. Baull was reaching out from under the troll’s shirt to grab her hair.

"Good thing you didn't try for that Trek of yours. Baull burned his hand bad when he touched it. That thing is all steel. Did you know that?" and the Troll laughed so loud the sides of the cave shook when Cinthia began to sob.

“NOOOOOO!” and the last of the world Cinthia saw was the purple color of the sunset off to her left"