It was a summer afternoon and if you saw the four friends inside on a day like that , you would have thought you were going mad , or prehaps your eyesight was failing you. Predictably so , Zoe , Rose , Ethan and James were outside practicing their hobbies. Zoe was dancing to the tune that Rose was playing on her flute while James was trying to convince Ethan to climb up a tree with him.

"Come on! Its not really that far from the ground , you know." said James

Ethan merely shook his head and replied saying "According to my calculations , you fall you might most probably break 5 bones from that angle and height you're sitting ... but of course , I could be wrong ... "

Zoe , hearing their conversation , giggled and gracefully slid herself up the tree and climbed onto the branch on top of James.

James smirked and pointed this out to Ethan , saying ,
"Look even ZOE can do it , and she's a GIRL for goodness 's sakes"

Rose pointed her finger at James and said

"Yes , James but thats also most likely because she's a gymnast and has had the training of stretching her body and has the agility to well .. - things "

Rose added with hesitation because she just the thought of bending her body at some crazy angle made her feel like throwing up.

Zoe grinned while James climbed up higher.

When he had reached the very top , he laid back and relaxed his mind. These days , his mind was constantly racing with thoughts. His parents had started fighting again and his brother had not been coming home for days now. He sighed and tried to relax again when his eye caught something.

"Hey Zoe , whats that?" James asked as he pointed towards the lonely mountains that was usually covered in mist and clouds , but instead now , vultures were flying above it and there was smoke of a fire.

Zoe followed his gaze and looked at the mountains , she too had no idea what it was but there was something about it that had set sparks in her eyes , mind and heart.

"I dont know , but what I do know is I wanna go there" , she whispered passionately.

James grinned. He knew , that out of all of them , Zoe was most alike him. They both loved sports , exploring and adventures. And if they had made up their minds , there would be no stopping them.

"OI GET DOWN HERE NOW , YOU'VE GONE WAY TOO FAR YOU IDIOTS"

shouted Rose to James and Zoe who were unknowingly , sitting at the very end of the branch trying to get a view of the lonely mountain that had been empty for years , but suddenly , now there seemed as if there was in fact , someone - or something , living there.

Rose tapped her fingers nervously then she put her hands on her hips and said shrilly to Ethan

"What , I repeat , what could they be doing up there? Do they not know how much danger they're putting themselves in?"

But at that moment , James slid down from the tree and sat himself down beside Ethan. He shifted a little to let Zoe sit next to him. But Zoe did not notice this because she was still excited about the mountain. James saw this and decided to do the explaining himself.

"We saw a mountain" he started.
"And not just any mountain! It was the lonely mountain. Someone is there." exclaimed Zoe , her eyes dancing with excitement.

Ethan looked up with a curious expression and reminded them that the mountain had not had any residents since its explosion that caused many to die.

Zoe flapped her hands up and down and said
"Yes but that's the point isnt' it? I mean , no one dares to go there , or even speak of it , and yet there's something living there!"

Rose gaped at Zoe with exasperation. Then she threw her head back and roared with laughter. Zoe flushed angrily and grabbed Rose by the shoulder and turned her body so that she could directly see the mountains from where she was standing. Rose stared for a moment and then said quietly

"Ah."

Zoe smirked at her ability to outsmart Rose for once. Even Ethan had stood up and begin to wonder at the mountain's beauty. Zoe cleared her throat and exclaimed

"I want to go there."

Rose snapped back to reality and opened her mouth to retaliate but James had spoken first.

"I'm in , and there's no point trying to talk us out of it Rose. We've made up our minds."

Rose shook her head and began walking away. But even as she walked away , she knew , once they had made up their minds , there was no stopping them. And when there was no stopping them , the consequences would be severe.