[Cold Open / Spoken] (wind… static… distant branches breaking) I made it out… most don’t. Don’t go up there after dark. [Verse 1] Started as a regular trip, just me and the truck Climbing them ridges where the cell signal cut Fog rolled in thick like it had a mind of its own Air got heavy, every sound felt wrong Heard something dragging through the underbrush slow Not a bear, not a cougar—this shit moved low Eyes hit the light wrong, too many, too wide I froze up solid, heart tryin’ to hide It stood up out the mist, taller than the trees Skin like wet bark, limbs long and diseased Mouth opened sideways, no scream, just a hiss That sound still livin’ in the back of my ribs [Pre-Chorus] People vanish up here every year They say the mountain just takes ‘em Nah… something hunts. [Chorus] It walks the Cascades when the fog gets thick No tracks, no body, just another name missin’ I saw the thing that makes the strong ones quit Still hear it breathing when the night gets still Don’t go lookin’ for what you can’t kill [Verse 2] I dropped the flashlight, ran blind through the dark Branches clawed my face, lungs burnin’ hard Felt it right behind me, close enough to taste Hot breath on my neck like it already claimed Tripped on a root, hit the dirt face first Looked back once—shouldn’t have, worst It was smiling with teeth that didn’t fit the jaw And the eyes… them eyes still follow me through walls Found the highway at dawn, blood on my hands Not mine. Still don’t know whose. Still don’t understand They searched for weeks, found my truck, found my gear Never found the rest of the party that was there [Bridge] I don’t sleep the same Every creak in the house sounds like bark on the frame I left pieces of myself on that mountain that night And whatever it is… it still wants the rest [Final Chorus] It walks the Cascades when the fog gets thick No tracks, no body, just another name missin’ I saw the thing that makes the strong ones quit Still hear it breathing when the night gets still Don’t go lookin’ for what you can’t kill [Outro – spoken, fading] If you see the fog move against the wind… Run. Don’t look back. And don’t you ever stop.
