The rain was quickly turning to snow as the sun set and temperature plummeted. This high in the mountain range in late November it was to be expected.

He knew he shouldn’t get caught on the mountain when he left his car at the trailhead that morning, but he wasn’t worried. He knew this mountain well. He knew the weather patterns and the rocky trails that wound their way to the summit. He was pretty sure he could find his way down the trail at night even without a headlamp.

To be safe, he packed an emergency blanket, hat and gloves, a liter of water and some protein bars. In the unlikely event that something did happen, he figured he could survive a couple of cold nights.

Of course he couldn’t have anticipated what happened as he reached the summit and turned for home. The sky had become unnaturally dark. A mass of moving blackness obscured what little sun was pushing through the grey bank of rain clouds. Screeching, unlike anything he’d ever heard, accompanied the moving mass. They were birds of some kind, he thought. But at this elevation? In that number?

Fear gripped him and he began to descend as rapidly as he could. They followed. Passed overhead. Circled back. Dove toward him. Black like crows but wingspans like hawks. From a hundred feet away he could see their razor sharp talons.

He abandoned the trail, running for whatever he could find that might provide cover - might hide him from the swarm. For the remaining daylight hours he hid and listened. They were never far, but they at least were not pursuing him.

At dusk there was finally silence. He no longer was sure where he was, but he knew he needed shelter. He crawled out slowly from behind the rocks that had been his shield and walked, scanning the mountainside for a place to spend the night.

There, 50 yards up the side of the mountain, he spotted a dark hole in the grey rock wall - a cave. If he could just scramble up there, he could get out of the elements, wait out the night, and maybe even sleep a little. Tomorrow he could figure out where he was and get back to the safety of his car.

It took time. More than once he lost his grip and slipped backwards. But just as night was fully descending on him and the rain was turning to snow, he reached the mount of the cave. Exhausted, he dropped to the floor and thought about his family at home. They would be worried that he hadn’t come home. Maybe they’d send help.

Just then he heard it. The unmistakable sound of talons scraping the cave wall behind him.