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It Lives in Plush Mountain

A Reddit-Born Horror Series Told in Flash Chapters

It started as a fun game of hide and seek between father and son—a giant stuffed animal pile, an almost empty apartment, and a bit of laughter in a new home.
But something about the pile felt… off. And when the father decides to hide inside it, the game takes a darker turn.

Told in short, first-person flash segments, It Lives in Plush Mountain blends slow-burn dread, supernatural uncertainty, and immersive, in-character reader replies to build a living narrative. Originally published on Reddit, this story is ongoing and evolving in real time.

Read the series on Reddit:
• Part I — Hide and Seek
• Part II — The Yellow Duck
• Part III — Maximum Security Escape
• Final Part — Coming Soon...

Follow the series in real time on r/TheCrypticCompendium.

Note: A full-length short story or novella adaptation may follow if reader interest continues.

We Always Walked This Way

Published August 1st on Flash Phantoms!

Read it directly on their website here -> Feel the Chill!

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It was one of those days where the heat hung in waves—rippling like water in the distance. The sun bore down on us, bright and harsh in the sky as we squinted against its rays. It was a useless effort.

I placed one foot in front of the other, balancing like a gymnast on the slick metal rail. I looked up to see my brother Josh, his arm flinging a rock down the center of the tracks. The rock skipped across the gravel, clattering to rest among the others. Unfocused, my feet slipped, and I landed straddling the rail.

“It’s hot,” Josh said as he turned to look at me. He wore his favorite band shirt, black, which made his sweat darker at the armpits. He pinched it between his pointer finger and thumb and pulled at it repeatedly, fanning air against his body.

We always walked this way, after discovering the train tracks a few years ago. A shortcut, shaving 10 minutes off our walk home.

We heard the train horn blare off in the distance. Josh and I both turned to look. I shielded my eyes as the train danced behind the heat-distorted air.

The horn blared again.

We’d only seen the train a handful of times. Each time, we stood back and pointed out our favorite pieces of graffiti as it whizzed by.

I hoped for the train that day—looking forward to the refreshing gust of air as it whizzed past.

Just ahead, a familiar sight caught my eye. Josh and I didn’t talk about it much, but we both agreed to leave the tracks before we passed it.

Off to the side, there was a wooden cross someone had hammered deep into the earth. The name had worn off long ago, and the plastic flowers had faded in the intense sun.

Leaving the tracks before crossing it felt…respectful.

I began to make my way down the embankment. Rocks tumbled and rolled as I disturbed their resting place and raced down the hill ahead of me.

The horn blared.

I looked back, expecting to see Josh following closely behind me. But he wasn’t there.

My eyes flicked around, half-sure I'd see him on his butt at the bottom of the embankment. Once he slipped and slammed to the ground in front of me, and I watched as he slid all the way down. We both laughed at this hysterically.

Instead, my eyes landed on him, still on the tracks. He was doubled over, his hands pulling at his leg.

The horn blared—closer. The sound vibrating against my body, tingling my skin.

I watched as Josh’s head turned in the direction of the train. He pulled even more frantically. What was Josh doing?

The train was getting closer but there was still time for him to get off the tracks.

“Rachael,” I heard him call out. I snapped my attention off the train and went back to Josh. His eyes were bulging with fear; his voice broke as he cried out my name.

A surge of panic rushed through me as I took off sprinting. The fear in Josh’s voice thrust me into action.

My feet tried to dig in as I scaled the embankment, but the rocks slipped out from under them. They sprayed out behind me, clattering like rain.

The horn blared, louder.

The sound rattled against my teeth.

I went to all fours. Chunks of grass ripped away as I pulled myself up. My feet drove me forward, closer to Josh.

“Hurry, Rachael…Hurry!” He howled over the roar of the train.

I could feel the powerful rumbling, the ground shaking lightly. Rocks broke loose and fell helplessly to the ground below as the train grew closer.

I reached out, grasping for the object in front of me. I took hold of it. A cold bit into my hand and froze the sweat on my palms. I squeezed the object tighter, hauling myself up the rest of the way, and let it go.

The hot sun stung against my now cold palm, and I brushed past the weather-beaten cross. I didn’t think twice at the time. I was only focused on helping my brother.

Sweat covered my face, and I wiped it clear. Josh stood at the center of the tracks. He was still struggling to free his leg.

But what was trapping him?

I tilted my head, my brain trying to comprehend what I was seeing. Josh’s foot wasn’t trapped; it wasn’t stuck between something; there was nothing visibly keeping him from moving. To anyone, it would have looked like Josh was standing in the middle of the train tracks pulling at his leg for seemingly no reason.

The train BLARED, but this time it was deafening. The engine roared, clicking and clacking as its wheels rode along the rails.

I reached down and grabbed hold of his leg. Cold gripped my wrist, and my fingers froze. A soft, crisp voice brushed past my ear. ‘Can’t leave’

Soft. Low. Unmistakably clear.

That’s when I saw it—like bruises burned into his skin. Long, finger-like marks wrapped around his ankle. Blood trickled into his sock from where something unseen dug itself in.

Josh’s hands pressed against me, purposefully. My feet left the ground before I understood. I flailed backwards—then hit the rocks.

When I looked up…Josh wasn’t struggling anymore. He wasn’t grasping at his leg to free it. His arms lowered. His face—calm.

And then he smiled.

His mouth didn’t open. But I still heard the scream—louder than the train’s horn and the roaring of the engine. It echoed in my head, ragged and raw. It took me a second to realize…it was mine.