Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This party was the coolest and wildest one ever!

The people were really nice, the food was excellent, and, best of all, the venue…

I looked out the window, not really minding the freezing cold draft that slipped through the bottom of the frame.

‘Reminds me of home’.

It was gently snowing outside; a beautiful sight despite the tearing wind.

‘I wonder how Tegan found this place?’

Just then, I saw a flash of pink in the otherwise pristine landscape.

‘Huh?

Is that…?’

 Mystic…

‘Wasn’t supposed to happen like this, I swear-!’

I rushed into the living room and stopped dead.

The refreshments table was over-turned.

Food littered the floors and splattered each and every piece of furniture in the room.

The walls were splashed with punch—and so were Bird and Bronwyn.

Everyone else was surrounding them, some holding towels, some without.

‘-What happened in here?’

Bird grabbed my shoulders, a look of regret upon her face.

‘Alice, have you seen Mystic?’

‘Yeah, I’ve seen her…she’s outside.

I saw her run past the window…’

Chala put a hand to her forehead in agitation.

‘Great!

Just great’.

Leah’s gaze worriedly flicked to the front door.

‘We have to go get her!

It’s not safe for her to be out there on her own’.

‘-Yeah, I kinda think she might not want to see our faces right now’, Chala cut in.

‘Especially yours’.

Bird put her face in her hands, and Bronwyn guiltily looked at the floor.

‘I’ll do it’, I said carefully ‘After all, I wasn’t…there, so…’

AquaEclipse's brow wrinkled in worry.

“Alice, she was really steamed.

You might get hit by a ton of angry words.

Just thought I'd let you know ahead of time...”

Was it really that bad!?

I didn’t really know, and I didn’t think it would be a good idea to ask.

So, without another word, I hurried off to get my jacket.

‘MYSTIC!’

I called out her name as I ran.

‘MYSTIC!!’

I sincerely hoped she hadn’t fallen, and hurt herself.

Out in this weather…

'Oh, shoot!'

I came to a fork in the road.

Clearly, it had used to be a double staircase.

‘Better play it safe…’

So thinking, I hurried down the mostly-intact right side.

My boots clomped down the wooden planks, and with each step, I feared that I would hit an icy patch.

‘If I fall and break my neck…!’

I was now jogging a little bit faster, a little more frantic.

‘How far out did she go!?’

Whatever had happened back there…

No.

It couldn’t have been mean-spirited.

Us Fandom Folk were pretty nice people, at least as far as I knew-

The sounds of rustling leaves made me lift five feet off the ground.

‘What the-!?’

For a moment, I just stood there, listening.

It didn’t happen again, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

‘But now which way?’

The left had footprints.

The right was the source of the strange noise.

Actually, now that I thought about it, there was no contest.

Footprints with ballerina soles had to be Mystic’s.

Hurrying along the snowy road, I came to a sweet, little clearing…

Filled with caribou.

‘Oh…’

If I’d managed to spook them in any way, I was as good as dead.

The same rustling noise.

Tossing their heads in fear, the two animals moved off into the bushes.

It was almost as if they couldn’t get out of there fast enough…

‘If that’s true, then I’d better get moving soon, too!’

At the edge of the ring of graceful trees and snow-covered vegetation was a moderately-sized cliff.

I fought the urge to groan.

‘Why…?’

Could Mystic really be down there?

Maybe I’d taken a wrong turn…

Regardless, I gathered up my courage, sat down on the edge, and pushed myself off!

THUD!

I landed feet-first, and gasped at the pain.

‘I had to do that…I just had to…’

A bit disgusted with myself, I stumbled around for a little bit before reaching into my sweater pocket, and withdrawing an incredibly, old-fashioned cellphone.

Just one push of the central button was all it took to get a small pocket of light to emanate from the device.

With my new light source in hand, I began to search this new neck of the woods.

‘MYSTIC!?’

Still no answer…

‘This is super-bad’.

As I kept going, I began to feel…paranoid.

There’s no telling what’s out here...

Not at this time of the night.

Plus, it didn’t help that my worst fear involved being attacked in the dark.

SHOOM!!

‘AAAHH!!’

I screamed without thinking.

A third caribou had leapt out of the tree line to my left, and proceeded to dart into the tangled forest at my right.

'Okay, that was creepy…'

Moving on…

In the undergrowth a few leagues ahead, I saw something glimmering.

Crouching down to retrieve it, I discovered that it was…a totem?

When I looked into its little window, I was startled by the sounds of screaming…

Shivering, I stuck it into my pocket for safe-keeping.

After all, the local authorities might want to know about it...

What I thought was a bird chattered over my head, and I almost dropped my phone!

‘Why am I so skittish?’ I wondered.

‘Is it my intuition going off, or something?’

I hoped not.

‘MYYSSSTTIICCC!!-‘

As I stepped around the corner, a fwooooshh! of fire tore into the vegetation a good foot or so above me!

‘What’s that!?’

I, quite literally, froze.

After listening for a couple minutes, and hearing nothing more, I decided (albeit a bit reluctantly) that it was okay to go on…

Sobbing.

From a little ways up ahead…!!

Booking it the rest of the way down the path, I was rewarded with a depressing sight:

Mystic, her hair a ragged mess, make-up running in tracks down her cheeks, and her dress stained with violent-red.

‘Alice…?’

‘Hi…' I greeted her gently, 'I heard you’d run off, and I got worried-‘

‘You shouldnt’ve wasted your time!’

She sniffled.

‘I just wanted to be left alone, but nooo…They had to convince me to sing!’

‘I’m sure you have a lovely voice’, I said kindly.

She shot me the dirtiest look I’d ever recieved in my life.

‘That’s not the point!!’

She yanked off her lop-sided tiara, and threw it angrily into the snow!

‘Just when they'd talked me out of my persistent belief that I was a miserable screw-up..

Just when they'd finally convinced me that I really was someone perfectly capable, with the right even, to go out there and prove that I was talented with no worries about being judged-

I got stabbed in the back!!’

Her voice broke on the last syllable, and I had to restrain myself from giving her a much-needed hug.

‘My moment was ruined, and now…

Now how can I face them knowing that it was all a lie!?’

‘I don’t think it was’, I countered.

‘I think they feel just as bad about it as you do’.

‘But you weren’t there’.

The bitterness in her tone was almost scary.

‘How would you know what happened-what they even thought?’

‘Because I went into the living room after you were gone, and I saw at least five people acting upset’.

‘In fact’, I continued ‘I heard them distinctly say that it would be a mistake for them to try and go after you, because they knew just how much you would hate it if they did.

People who betray others wouldn’t act this way'.

For a moment, the only sounds in the woods were my shallow breaths, and her quiet, devastated sniffles.

‘…I’m cold’.

Smiling, I stripped off my jacket, and pulled it tightly around her shoulders.

‘Alice-!’

‘It’s okay’, I reassured her ‘I’ve got two sweaters on, I’ll be just fine’.

Then, I extended my hand.

‘Now, let’s go back to the others'.

Eyes filling with tears, she grasped my hand so hard that it hurt.

Her quick nod had me begin to believe that things would be okay.

I helped her up, and, together, we prepared to return to the lodge-

‘Oh my God, what is that!?’

Mystic’s terrified voice had succinctly echoed my thoughts.

Turning on our heels we sprinted into the unknown.

Can’t let it catch us, can’t let it catch us-!!

We thudded over a short rise, and dropped onto a wooden bridge.

Mystic yelped as her feet slid out from under her!

She hit the boards hard enough to rip bloody gashes into her knees.

“Alice!!”

I looked over my shoulder, saw that she was down, and rushed back to help her up!

‘Thank you…’

‘No problem!’

Running faster and faster, we could hear it coming after us in the distance-

THUD

My phone was jarred out of my hand, and I felt my heart sink as it disappeared between a crack in the pylons.

‘No, no-‘, Mystic whimpered.

We’d come to a dead end.

Below the tiny plateau we’d somehow managed to corner ourselves on was a sheer drop of 250 feet!

If we fall off of this, we’ll both be very, very dead-

Mystic screamed and clutched my arm.

I began to hurriedly move backwards thinking that it was going to attack us-

'NO-'

Mystic's treacherous shoes had struck again!

She fell over backwards as they clicked and slid on the frozen ground, and I was abruptly dragged off with her!

‘Whoah-!’

‘NONONONO-!!’

Adrenaline surging through my veins, I was just able to grasp a miniscule chunk of ledge.

Below me, Mystic clung tightly to my hand!

‘Alice!!!

What do we do!?’

‘Uh-‘

Panic was overriding all logical thought.

I couldn’t seem to reconcile my reality with this nightmare going on beneath me.

The frightened girl was dangling in mid-air, the only thing holding her up being her death-grip.

And I wasn’t sure I could keep both of us hanging-

‘NO!! 

STAY BACK!!!’

Mystic’s hysterical shrieks forcefully brought me back to the present.

'Huh!?'

I followed her frenzied gaze, and my heart thumped into my throat and stayed there.

A man…I think…

He was leaning over us in full combat gear, a bloody knife clutched in one hand.

With the other…

I had no choice.

I couldn’t be responsible for another’s death!

I couldn’t.

So...

I let go of the ledge.

‘NO ALICE WHY-!?”

Her hand slipped from mine, as mine slipped from hers.

Together, we plummeted into the abyss.

I could hear Mystic’s ragged cries as the world rushed past us at what seemed like a thousand miles an hour.

I was screaming too.

The fear was liquid nitrogen in my bones, my chest, my stomach.

The dread of the ground rushing up to meet us made me want to throw-up-!!

SMACK!!

A cloud of blood erupted from her mouth as her spine snapped against a sharp boulder.

They rolled down the connecting incline, limbs battered and broken by the rough terrain until the two women glided to a halt one right next to the other.

THIS JUST IN:

Local girl dies in a hiking accident on Blackwood Mountain.

According to her surviving companion, she’d come out to rescue her from the elements in light of a terrible incident…

Chapter Text

Tegan didn’t want to organize this.

A year had gone by, but the wound was still fresh.

I just can’t believe she’s gone.

That was the general consensus of most of the writers…

And then there was Mystic.

She winced at the memory of the last time they’d seen her.

It was at the hospital, when she'd lambasted the H* out of them:

I can’t believe you guys!!

How on earth were you unable to find us for three whole days!?

Now Alice is dead, and it’s all your fault-

Shaking her head to clear it, she went back to her invites list.

Whether or not I want to do this doesn’t matter.

We have to face what we’ve done.

Chapter Text

The bus to Blackwood Mountain was slow and torturous.

It left Leah too much time to relax…too much time to think.

Clutched tightly in her hands was the invitation Tegan (a.k.a Willowcat88) had sent her.

She’d already read it several dozen times in order to make it seem like the ride was going faster.

But it never worked.

Hey Leah,

It’s me, Tegan.

I know you probably won’t want to hear this, but it’s been an entire year since Alice passed away, and…

Well…

I think it’s about time that we all went back there.

I’ve already sent out the other invites, so hopefully, we’ll get a good turnout.

But you never know.

It’s just…

A year is a super-long time to dwell on something, and…

And it’s high time we find a way to get past all of this.

It’ll be just like last time.

I’ll greet people at the door, Adopppp will bring food, and Aqua will take care of the music.

Cinder also promised to sneak us some soft drinks from home.

We’ll do this, we’ll have a good time, and we’ll be able to heal the gigantic rift that has somehow opened between all of us.

I can feel it.

See you on Thursday? <3

-Willowcat88

Chapter Text

It finally screeched to a stop outside of the main gates.

Mentally fortifying herself for what was sure to be the most excruciating weekend of her life, Leah got up from her funky-smelling seat, crossed the long aisle to the stairs, and stepped out into the cold and uninviting daylight.

The gate was unlocked, thankfully.

If I’d needed a key to get in, I would’ve been out of luck…

As much as she’d wanted to miss this, her moral scruples wouldn’t let her.

When she swung it shut behind her, her ears picked up on a faint rustling far above her.

‘Hello?’ She called out.

‘Is anyone there?’

SIlence.

‘Anyone at all!?’

More silence.

‘…Hm’.

Maybe she was just being paranoid.

If indeed that was the case, then the sudden cawing of a bird did nothing to help matters.

My, am I jumpy today.

The second gate she came to actually was locked.

At her approach, the little bird that had been resting on the top cornice flew away.

At least you can get over…

Sighing, she leaned in to read a note that someone had somehow managed to impale on the stiff, iron bars:

To whomever comes by here:

Fought with this thing for a good ten minutes before giving up.

I think it’s rusted, and the only way over appears to be just taking a stab at climbing over the wall next to it.

Anyway, if I’m not dead by the time you get here, then you’ll know that I'll be seeing you soon at the cable car station.

Till' then,

Chala

Leah pushed on the reluctant iron with both hands.

CLANK, CLANK!!

Yeah, it’s stuck, alright…

Having no choice but to do as Chala had suggested, she dug her fingernails into the crumbling rock of the nearby wall, and took it nice and slow.

Wouldn’t want to miss a handhold or something, and lose my balance...

She didn’t think her friends would be too happy if she somehow got her neck broken before she’d even made it to the snow.

Grunting with the effort of pulling herself up every few inches, she was left with a second no-brainer decision:

Climb up to the top, or jump.

Like I would be able to pull that off! She thought deridingly.

Better stick with climbing.

So, lo, and behold, she didn’t fall off!

Sitting on the edge of its craggy top, she pushed herself over with a silent prayer, and landed square on her feet.

Cursing.

’Why, why did I think that was a good idea…?’

Her poor toes were screaming at her in pain!

Unfortunately, important parties waited for no one even if they did have foot issues.

‘Oh well…time to get going, I suppose’.

She limped across a wide, pristine clearing, and was pleasantly surprised to see a red squirrel skitter across her path.

‘Hey cutie’, she said softly ‘I’ve got something for you’.

She gently knelt down while quietly retrieving a handful of acorns from the back pocket of her coat.

(Last time, she’d ended up borrowing a few from Tegan after she’d showed Birdy how easy it was to make friends with them around here).

‘Come on…that’s it…’

She was trying to remain as still as possible, but when one of her toes screamed again, she winced and ended up shifting around a bit.

The squirrel, chattering nervously, backed-off.

Shoot.

‘Hey, hey…!

It’s alright…come back please…I won’t hurt you…’

For Take Two, she made sure to stay as still as possible.

Thus, the squirrel gradually recovered the nerve to hop within an inch or so of her outstretched hand.

Barely daring to breathe, she smiled as he looked this way, then that…and then gave up all pretense of caution to gratefully snatch a crushed acorn from her palm.

As he raced off into the bushes once more, she stood up feeling ridiculously proud of herself.

...Just call me the Ultimate Animal Charmer!

CAW! CAW!! CAW!!!

A trio of birds were again disturbed by her presence.

She frowned.

I guess I’m not that popular with all of the animals here…

After continuing on her way, that seemed to be happening more and more-

She almost missed the intriguing plaque.

Hm.

Black butterflies foretell the witness’ death…Alice had a black totem on her when she was finally found.

If I didn’t know any better…

From there, it went on to say that red butterflies were indicative of danger, brown butterflies told of a loss that would greatly aggrieve a friend, yellow butterflies would offer guidance, and white butterflies could reveal good fortune.

I’ve gotta take a picture of this!

She slipped her phone out of her bag, and did just that.

Nice!

This came out perfect.

…

Wait...

What’s that?

A small, wooden object was tucked in front of her photo-op:

A yellow totem!?

Picking it up, she was suddenly sucked into a black space where the fluttering of wings, and a distinct rustling could be heard.

It was over as soon as it had started, leaving her with more questions than answers.

More birds flew away as she went up the steps to the cable car station!

No!

Why?

Come back, birds!!

Let me be friends with you like I already am with the squirrels!

All kidding aside, it really was kind of disturbing…

At the far end of the waiting area was a massive sign; obviously it had once contained a map of the entire mountain.

Now, it only held one chilling phrase: 

The Past Is Beyond Our Control

‘Yeesh!’, she winced ‘And in red paint, too…’

Just another unfortunate reminder of why all of this was happening in the first place.

‘Chala?

You around?’

When she didn’t get an answer, she wandered over to the random bag that was, for some reason, sitting by itself on a bench.

Its innermost pouch was unzipped revealing an iPhone.

Hm. Latest model.

RRRRrrrrrrr….

Oh, geez…

Putting a hand to her heart at the sudden scare, she couldn’t help but notice who was calling:

PENELOPE DOWRY

Never heard of her…

She could zip it up so it wouldn’t keep making that irritating noise...or she could snoop.

Not a hard decision, really…

Snooping around would obviously get her in huge trouble!

Not worth that kind of risk…and why on earth would I even do that to my friends anyway!?

Her thick, woolen mittens made it a bit hard to grasp the zipper, but she did it nonetheless.

Zlp!

There, she thought with a sense of satisfaction, Now nobody will be able to spy on you.

‘Chala-!!’

‘Heyyy~!’

At the sound of the chipperest writer known to man (second only to Bird_of_Scarlet), Leah felt a wide smile bloom on her face.

‘Adopppp!’

Turning, she was not surprised in the least to see that he was carrying five gigantic packs of snacks.

‘I get the feeling that we aren’t going to be starving anytime soon’.

‘Yeah!’

He nodded at the random backpack.

‘Who’s is that?’

‘Chala’s’.

She looked over her shoulder just in case she’d re-appeared.

‘Although, she doesn’t seem to be here at the moment…’

‘Maybe she had to go to the bathroom, or something’.

‘Maybe…’

‘Say!’

He clapped his hands together in excitement, chip bags crinkling as they were suddenly swung together.

‘While we wait, why don’t we go look at this really awesome thing I just found!?’

Leah briefly peeked at her watch, and then shrugged.

‘Sure, why not?

I’ve got time…’

…But just in case, they checked the front door to make sure that it really was locked and not ‘barred from the inside by a Bigfoot’.

She pulled on the handle a couple times.

Rattle, rattle…

‘Guess we’re gonna need a key…’

Adopppp deflated a little.

‘Bummer…’

With their plan to go find the 'really awesome thing’ back on track, they re-trekked behind the right side of the derelict building.

‘Oh my gosh’.

Leah was surprised, and a bit disturbed.

‘They have a shooting range up here!?’

‘I guess so…’

Adopppp picked up the lone rifle perched precariously on the booth’s edge and began to examine it with the zest of a person whose enthusiasm/love for life knows no bounds.

‘It’s like, really old and stuff, but I bet it’s still got a lot of clout left inside’.

‘You gonna use it?’

‘Nah!’

He shook his head, a brief spark of terror in his eyes.

‘I’d probably blow my head off!’

He then proceeded to accidentally hit the trigger.

BANG!

‘Whaa-!?’

Leah covered her ears at the harsh sound.

‘What was that!?’

‘Uh…I think that was me…accidentally doing things…’

Wonder what I hit?

Squinting to see the strung-up targets in the dark, he was just able to make out a wounded sandbag.

‘Aw, man!

I killed it!!’

‘Killed what?’

‘That sandbag, over there!’

He then proceeded to accidentally set it off again.

BAANNGG!!

‘Will you stop that, gun!?’

This time, a can was the unlucky casualty.

‘I didn’t know you could shoot!’

‘Neither did I, until right now…’

Better put this thing down!

Leah watched in amusement as he slowly lowered it into the snow.

‘I honestly kind-of thought that you were going to set it off a third time’.

‘Nope!’

Adopppp grinned.

‘Not in this lifetime, ever again!!’

BANG!!!

‘Are you kiddin’ me!?’

His friend started chuckling as he burrowed randomly through the snow bank.

‘Where’d it go!?’

While he was busy with that, a second bushy-tailed squirrel appeared.

Spying a cluster of delicious nuts on a tree stump, it scurried up on top without a second thought!

Seeing it gave Leah an idea.

‘Hey, when you’re done looking for that misplaced bullet, how about I show you a really awesome thing?’

When the sounds of an engine whirring filled their ears, that was when they knew that their white chariot had finally arrived.

‘Too bad we don’t have the key to get in’, Leah remarked.

‘Forget the key, look at this!!’

He pointed to a WANTED poster on the side of a corrugated wall.

‘Can’t read it, but man, if we met this guy-!’

‘We’d be in huge trouble, wouldn’t we?’

At the big, unlockable door, they were suddenly (and unceremoniously) scared by footsteps.

‘Hey guys.

Trying to get in without me?’

‘Chala!’ Leah exclaimed happily.

‘Heeeyy, it’s you!!’

‘Hi Adopppp, Leah’.

A pair of silver keys swung from a chain in her hand.

‘How’d you get those?’

‘Tegan gave them to me…we were two of the first people here’.

‘Where’s Tegan now?’ Leah asked.

‘Up ahead somewhere’, Chala replied ‘As soon as we get this thing ridden we should literally be right up in her face’.

‘Aw, man!’

Leah stood at the railing of the observation deck.

‘It sounded so much closer than it actually was…’

‘The curse of traveling echoes’, Chala quipped.

Wandering into an adjoining room, Adopppp found a random flyer tacked up.

‘Blackwood Pine Sanatorium?

What’s that!?’

‘Beats me!’ the key keeper shrugged.

‘Maybe it’s like…you know…a place where crazy people used to get put’.

‘On this mountain?’

Leah’s answer obviously did not sit well.

‘Eugh, I wonder if Tegan knows about this’.

The next interesting thing he found was a monitor perched precariously on a desk.

Hey…that looks like the lodge on there!

Sure enough, different stills of their soon-to-be party venue flickered in, and then out.

Is somebody tryin’ to film us, or somethin’!?

He whipped his phone out of his pocket, and took a few pictures, just in case.

RRRRRR-

‘Hey Adopppp!’ Leah shouted from outside ‘It’s here!’

‘Okay!’

He took one last, lingering glance at the odd footage before he left.

‘Wait for me!!’

In the car itself, a new topic emerged:

That of the coming gathering.

‘Do you think this is really the right thing to do?’ Leah asked worriedly.

‘I guess so’. 

Chala seemed unusually focused on a loose thread of her sweater.

‘Can’t keep dancing around it at any rate…’

 ‘I just…I keep having this weird feeling that this is a colossally bad idea!’

‘Not me!’ Adopppp said ‘I’m actually super-psyched to see everyone again!!’

‘You’re always psyched’, Chala finished pulling the errant strand loose.

‘That’s why I got invited!

D’uh!!’

Even Leah cracked a smile at that.

‘Well, in any case it’s too late to go back now…’

‘Yeah’, Chala agreed.

When a suspicious creaking reached her ears, Tegan knew:

The cable car’s back!

New guests have arrived!!

Hopping up from her perch on the obligatory waiting bench she hurried up to the landing dock-

BANG, BANG!!

‘Holy, Mother of-!!’

Not one, not two, but three shadowy faces stared back at her through the frosted windows, hands pressed flush against the glass.

‘Hey!!

We’re stuck!!!’ Adopppp called out.

‘Yeah!’ Leah seconded ‘For some reason the door won’t open!!’

‘Don’t worry guys…!’ Tegan said shakily, heart still pattering wildly from the scare ‘I’ve got it’.

Pressing the green button on a pad nearby caused the duo to almost fall out of the car!

‘Whoa!!’

’Thank goodness! I thought I was going to become a popsicle in there!’

Chala leisurely sauntered out after them.

‘Hey, what’s that?’

In Tegan’s other hand was a smooth, creme letter.

‘It’s a birthday card for CinderScoria’, she explained.

‘I never really got to give it to them this year, for…obvious reasons…’

She cringed a little at her own words.

’So…I’m going to do it now!’

‘Cool’.

‘We’re gonna go on ahead’, Leah said ‘You want to come with us?’

’Naw, I’m good’.

Tegan waved as they began to walk away.

‘I’ve got to give this to Cinder, first!’

‘Well, you have a good time!’ Chala called behind them as they swiftly disappeared around a bend in the road.

‘Wooooow!! Look at that view-!’

‘Adopppp!

Be careful-!!’

Tegan smiled to herself.

...It’s all going according to plan.

Yes!!

AquaEclipse groaned.

‘Really?

We’re not even close to there yet!?’

She’d just stepped through a wrought-iron gate that their map had conveniently forgotten.

‘It does kinda seem that way, doesn’t it?’

Bronwyn lugged her own suitcase through the narrow gap, a wry grin on her face.

‘This is so stupid!’ she whined.

‘If I’d known that I was going to be climbing Mount Everest, I would have brought my crampons, a hiking stick, and an elevator!!’

‘Good luck getting it up the mountain…’

As they embarked upon this newest icy path, she popped the question that was both on their minds:

‘How do you feel about seeing everybody again?’

‘You mean all the usual suspects?’

‘Yeah’.

Aqua was silent for a moment.

‘I think as long as we don’t see Mystic, we’ll be fine’.

‘What, you expect her to start drama or something?’

‘Yeah!’

Her voice rose in volume as outrage flamed in her blood.

‘After all, you know what went down the last time we saw her!’

Bronwyn nodded uncomfortably.

As if we could ever forget.

They lapsed into silence again as they slipped under the roof of an old, covered bridge.

Those words still echo in my brain, every waking moment-

THUD!!

‘Ahhh-!!’

‘Wh-!?’

The two women stumbled back in shock.

‘Hey, y’all…’ Birdy said awkwardly, sitting on her butt in the snow.

‘What’s up?’

‘BIRDY!!’

AquaEclipse scooped some snow up off of the ground, and threw it at her!

‘Eek-!’

‘WHAT THE H* WAS THAT FOR!!??’

The writer hurried to guard her face with her hands before it could be pelted with cold!

‘I’msorryI’msorryI’msorry-!!’

She squeaked in fear as the hard ball of liquid bounced off the side of her arm.

‘Hey, now’, Bronwyn cut in, ‘there’s no need for that!

It’s not like she meant any harm by it, or anything…’

‘Yeah, yeah, whatever!’ 

Aqua pinned Birdy with a glare that was already fading in strength.

‘Just don’t ever do that again, okay?’

‘I won’t…’

‘Good’.

Then, all of a sudden, she went rigid.

‘Oh crud! Oh no…’

’Something wrong?’ Bronwyn asked.

‘No…I don’t know why you’d think that at all’.

She shifted nervously.

‘I just…have to go see if anybody else made it, that’s all’.

Uh-huh.

Sure…

‘Okay, then.

If you say so’.

She pointed up the trail a ways.

‘We’re just gonna continue on ahead, if you don’t mind’.

Aqua was only too happy about that.

‘Yeah, you guys go!’

She started to speed-walk back the way they’d come.

‘I’ll catch up with you later, I promise!!’

‘What was that all about?’

Bronwyn shook her head.

'I have no idea’.

Up at the very edge of the Blackstone Lodge, Birdy zoomed all over the place with the mounted-binocular lens, taking in gorgeous trees, breathtaking views, and-

‘!!??’

A gnarled head popped up out of nowhere, making her scream something along the lines of:

‘Ohmahgawditsagiantthing!!!!!’

She briefly caught a flash of orange before springing away in a panic!

‘Ahhhh….’

After a couple of minutes of sweating (and swearing) under her breath, she didn’t learn anything from the incident and went back to what she was doing before.

This time, she found something else.

‘Is that…Aqua?’

The girl kept darting from one tree to another, as if unsure of which spot to pick.

‘Why’s she doing that-?’

Finally, though, she just raced off into a clump of bushes.

...

…

…

Wait-

‘See anything interesting?’

Bronwyn’s head abruptly obstructed her view.

‘AJHGDFKSK~!!’

She snorted, and started laughing.

‘Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t resist!’

‘H-‘

She couldn’t catch her breath, her heart was yelling so loud!!!!

‘HOW DARE YOU STARE AT ME LIKE THAT WITH THOSE POSSESSED EYES!!???’

’Haha…Birdy…calm down!

Geez…’

She huffed indignantly.

‘One of these days, I’m gonna get you back good!!’

Bronwyn tried to stop her snickering, and couldn’t.

‘I await it with great pleasure!

'So.

Did you find anything interesting?’

‘Uh…’

Just like that, she was in ‘Oh Crap’ mode.

I don’t think Aqua would forgive me if I showed B. what she was really doing.

‘Nope!

Not at all!!’

A lopsidedly suspect grin spread across her face, and she desperately wanted to kick herself!

Stop smiling, stupid!!

‘Are you sure?’

Ohhh, yeah…she was onto her.

‘Yup! Mm-hm’.

‘Are you reeaallly sure…?’

‘YES!!’ 

It ended up coming out like a yelp, sorta.

‘I’m sure…’

Bronwyn opened her mouth to say something undoubtedly tease-worthy, but Bird beat her to it.

‘It, like, already gave me a giant headache just from using it for two minutes!

Totally not worth it!!’

Her partner-in-crime raised an eyebrow.

‘You’re feeding me crap, I know it…’

She prepared to crawl into a hole and wait until the Snowball queen disappeared.

‘…But I’m going to believe you for now since you’re my lovely best friend, and I trust you’.

Hoooo…my knees are weak!

Back at the cable car station, Tegan rubbed her mitten-clad hands together for warmth.

Where are they!?

It’s not like Jas to be this late…

For the six-billionth time that night, she went to go check her phone-

THUNK!!

‘Wahh!?’

A fair-sized chunk of snow had just barely missed her torso, instead thudding into the wall!

‘You did not just-!!’

A figure came into view, bouncing another round of ammunition in their open palm.

‘Hey, there!

You did wait up for me’.

‘What did you expect me to do?

Leave without you!?’

’Nah, you’re not the type’.

They pulled their arm back, and prepared for lift-off!

Nope!

Not today, Cinder!!

Diving for a nearby bench, their next projectile just grazed her lower-back!

‘Hah!

Missed me!!’

‘Yeah’ well, don’t get too cocky!

 I’m nowhere near finished’.

Mm-hm…

Tegan crouched low and scooped up her own snowball.

Just keep talking…

‘Can’t hide behind that thing forever~!’

SWOOSH!!

SPLAT!

‘Ah-!’

They looked down at the powdery impact mark now front, and center on their chest.

‘Them’s fightin’ dirty!!’

‘No more than you!’, Tegan retorted.

Seeing her best friend wind up for a third time, she sprinted away from her shelter, banking on her own speed-

Just missed again!!

’D*t!

Almost had you!!’

Now situated behind a birch tree-stump, it was time to hit the target once more.

‘You can run, but you can’t hide!’

SPLAT!!

‘Nooo…again!?’

Half-crying with laughter, she changed positions for a third, and last time.

‘Where are you, Jas…?’

Wisely, they kept silent.

Creating a snowball from the ample remains of a dying snow fort, she waited until an innocent little bird had fluttered out of the way before she yeeted it as far and as high as she could!

A distant cry of ‘Are you kidding me!?’ told her that she’d done quite well.

‘It’s your own d* fault for underestimating me!’

Rushing out from behind the solid wall of snow, she moved in for the kill-

Where’d they go!?

‘HA!!

Gotcha-!’

Cinder was going to hit her with another snowball, only to slip on the slick ground, and fall-

Right on top of Tegan!!

'Ooof-!?'

‘Owowow, my foot is stuck under your leg, my foot is stuck under your leg-!!’

She took this sudden, too-good-to-be-missed opportunity, and hit them one final time with a snowball.

SPLUTCH!

‘You little-!?’

Tegan quickly untangled herself from their pile-up, and safely scooted out of reach.

‘I think this is the part where I see you later-!’

‘Yeah, you’d better run!!’

And so they ran up the mountain like crazy people.

Elsewhere, another cable car pulled in.

Its only occupant rubbed the tears out of her eyes.

Chapter Text

Mystic didn’t want to get out.

She didn’t know if she could face them…

No.

I have to face them!

That’s what she would say…

Swallowing the sudden lump in her throat, she got ready to take that first step.

Always the most important one.

Chapter Text

‘Well, well, well!

Look who it is’.

Chala smiled at their Party’s resident Partners-In-Arms: Bronwyn and Birdy.

‘I see you guys made it up here okay'.

‘Same here’.

The former nodded to Leah and Adopppp trailing along behind her.

‘How come you two haven’t busted in, yet?’

‘Couldn’t find a key’.

‘Chala, was the one for the cable car that the only thing Tegan gave you?' Leah asked.

The writer sighed.

‘’Fraid so…’

‘Aw, man!’

Adopppp reluctantly set down his copious amounts of chips.

‘Now we’re gonna have to sit here and wait!!’

‘It isn’t so bad’, Leah protested.

‘After all we’ve got plenty of company!’

‘Company?’ Birdy tilted her head in confusion.

‘What do you mean?

All I can see is the five of us-‘

At least six bushy-tailed critters poked their heads out from under Adopppp’s scarf.

‘Leah’s trick really works!’

Faced with the perfect distraction, Chala grasped Bronwyn’s arm, and took her aside.

‘Hey, you two doing okay?

I know that after what happened last year, Birdy stopped writing Roila fanfiction-‘

‘That is a bad thing to ask about right now’.

‘Huh?

What do you-‘

‘Birdy has ears like a hound-dog, okay?’

She leaned in closer to whisper in Chala’s ear:

‘What happened that time…she took it real hard.

I’d rather we not bring up any bad memories here…yet’.

Yet?

‘Out of the way!! Out of the way!!’

A blur in a white coat zipped by Leah and Adopppp, just about knocking them over!

Galloping up the stairs past by a wide-eyed Birdy, she whipped a key out of one of her pockets, and tried desperately to get the door open.

‘Nooo, why are you not working, ahhh-!!’

‘Tegan!?’

She briefly interrupted her worried rant to distractedly wave at her guests.

‘Oh-hi!’

Running back down the stairs at a thousand miles per hour, she skated by Chala and Bronwyn to the windows—only to find them locked.

‘Agh, why is everything iced around here!?’

‘What are you doing?’

‘I had a snowball fight with Jas, and I won’.

‘And now they're after you?’ Bronwyn clarified.

‘TEGANN!!’

‘Yeah, they're after you…’

Chala put a hand on the panicking girl’s shoulder.

‘You know, if you really want to get in so badly, you could just always knock in these bad boys'.

...

‘Knock them in?’

‘Don’t look at me like that!

It’s your place isn’t it!?’

‘Uh-‘

Meanwhile, Bronwyn, having found herself no longer a part of the dominant conversation, wandered back over to Birdy.

‘Feels a little weird to be back up here, right?’

She shifted a little so that her arms were more tightly curled around her knees.

‘Yeah, I guess…I don’t know.

There’s just something about this place that makes me uncomfortable’.

Exactly what I think.

Something glittered on the ground nearby, and she stooped to pick it up.

A…yellow totem?

Looking through the little window-

‘Ah!’

She dropped it as a searing pain ripped through her fingers.

‘You okay!?’ Birdy cried out.

‘Y-yeah’.

Bronwyn carefully tested each one of her smarting digits.

‘I think so…’

‘Did you manage to hand over that card to CinderScoria, yet?’

Tegan sighed regretfully.

‘Nope…I shouldn’t have hit them with that last snowball…’

‘Maybe you should just let them catch you, then’.

‘NO WAY!!’

‘But then you’d be able to-‘

‘Snow down the back of my neck is what I’d like to avoid, thank you very much!’

‘Okay, okay…’

To the side of the old, stone house, they found a window at least three feet above them.

Chala noticed an empty axe holder mounted on the wall.

This could come in handy sometime...shame it's missing...

But for now, they had to deal with height issues.

‘Grab the other end of that random cabinet, would ya?’

‘Sure’.

Tegan hurried right over and firmly grasped the right handle.

Meanwhile, Chala got hold of the left.

‘Ready?’

‘It’s either this, or Snow Time!

And I reeaaallyy don’t want Snow Time…’

So, they pushed.

And pushed.

Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t that hard to move.

Stepping away from their handiwork, Chala climbed up on top of it, almost fell off, and proceeded to pull herself through the opening.

Just like Tarzan…

THUD.

Definitely not like Tarzan…

Her shoe had slipped on the way down, and she’d ended up doing a face-plant!

‘Chala?

You okay!?’

‘Ohhh…’

She slowly hauled herself to her feet.

‘I’ll live’.

Just as Tegan was halfway through the gap herself, there was a sparking sound from the lone lightbulb in the ceiling.

A lightbulb that quickly died soon after.

‘Welp, that’s not good’.

‘Yeah’, her window-bound companion agreed.

‘Which is why I brought this’.

She rummaged through her coat pockets some more, uttered ‘Aha!’ Upon finding the whatever-it-was, and promptly tossed it to Chala.

It bounced off of her aching head.

‘Oops’.

‘And you said you won that snowball fight!?’

‘I did, yeah…’

Retrieving it from where it’d landed on the floor, Chala found herself in possession of the rustier lighter ever.

’Where the h* did you get this monstrosity from!?’

‘The basement…it was gonna get thrown out’.

When she snapped back the lid, a bright orange flame flickered to life.

‘Huh. It still works’.

‘Pretty neat, huh?’

Stretching out an arm as far as it would go, Tegan waved at the rear of the room.

‘I think there’ a stick of deodorant in one of the bathrooms-one of the spray-on kind…if you add it to that gnarly little fireball-‘

‘I’d rather not fry my brains out trying to see around here, thank you very much’.

‘Well…I was actually thinking of using it as our de-icer’.

‘Oh’.

With a thump, she slipped through the gap without falling on her face.

How did she do that.

How!?

Silently making a mental note to ask her, Chala set out to find the thing.

What the?

In the light of her makeshift torch, she discovered a brown totem by a wire-framed bike.

Picking it up-

Fire

‘Oh my God!!’

‘Huh!?’

Tegan looked up in a panic.

‘What is it!?’

’N-nothing!’

AquaEclipse…

That was her!

I’m sure of it!!

Chapter Text

I have to tell her what I saw.

But she’s not here yet.

But she really needs to know-

Oh snap, what if she’s dead already!?

No, no, don’t think like that, I’m sure she’s just fine-

‘Chala?

You okay?’

Tegan’s concerned voice floated from somewhere near the window.

‘You’ve been standing in that same exact spot for a good five minutes now…’

Crap.

‘Uh…I’m…yeah.

I’m good…I’m just…

Trying to figure out what to do about something’.

‘Really?

Like what?’

Why!?

Don’t ask me that-

‘I thought I saw something weird, that’s all’.

She began to move away from the totem, then changed her mind, and slipped it into her jacket pocket.

Evidence for later.

‘Ooh’.

From her creeped-out tone, Chala could tell that she was currently making a face.

‘Like what?’

‘Some odd shadow or something’, she half-lied ‘I’m sure it was nothing’.

‘As long as it wasn’t some kind of ghost…’

‘It wasn’t that.

Don’t worry’.

Wandering into the back storeroom was partly impulse, and partly I-need-to-get-out-of-here-before-Tegan-figures-out-what’s-up.

Sitting on one of the shelves was a newspaper clipping that only added to her worry:

MAN JAILED FOR EXCESSIVE USE OF FIREARMS

Is he still there?

For the sake of their extremely private getaway, she certainly hoped so!

Since that was the only item of interest she could see, Chala decided to look somewhere else.

Following the path of the wall eventually led her to an alcove of dark stone, where a group portrait hung.

It’s us!

She realized with a start.

From last year…

Alice was one of the tall people in the back, shyly smiling at the camera.

Adopppp had one arm around her shoulder, and Aqua was flashing a peace sign just above her head.

Peace for the peaceful one, right? She remembered her saying…

A real shame what happened to her…

She didn’t notice the deceased’s eyes move.

A strange thumping noise on the way by had her spinning around in a slow circle.

What was that?

When it didn’t happen again, she frowned.

It could’ve been Tegan…maybe…

She noted the small goat skull mounted on a nearby wall.

Unless it was him...

Somehow, she couldn’t quite bring herself to believe that.

Winding her way through room after adjoining room, her first impressions of the lodge where it’d all started was lots of big game trophies prominently displayed on the walls, lots of ornate furniture covered in plastic, and lots of blue-shaded curtains.

Looks pretty, but is cold as ice.

What does Tegan see in this place?

In the next-to-last one, she discovered an answering machine.

1 NEW MESSAGE

Hm?

Curious, she hit the playback button:

Mx. Scoria,

I am terribly sorry to say that even if this ‘man’ truly was our escaped convict, there is simply no way for us to retrieve him at this time.

The original owners of this mountain have made it quite clear to us that we are not to interfere with their work, which, unfortunately includes the issuance and follow-through of search warrants and the like.

In fact, the best advice I can give you would be to never travel anywhere on the premises alone, and never travel anywhere unarmed.

I know you will not be pleased by this, seeing as how your tone was so urgent last time.

Thus, if you have any further things to ask us about, or just simply discuss with us do feel free to call back.

Good day,

Sgt. Tait

END OF MESSAGES

Never once did Cinder ever mention this.

After ascending a bunch of rickety stairs, Chala reluctantly headed into the bathroom.

I really hate how this looks in the dark…

Heading over to the small cabinet, she opened it up, internally did a happy-dance when she saw the spray-on deodorant, and reached out-

RAWR-RR!!

A black-and-white furred head with teeth roared in her face.

‘No-!!’

It shot right past her like a prickly rocket, scraping her legs and giving her the biggest heart attack yet!!

‘Ah, j*f*c*!!’

Brushing stray hairs off of her pant-legs, the usually unflappable woman found herself shivering like crazy as she left the room.

And then remembered that she’d forgotten to grab the stupid thing.

Leah looked at her watch.

’Hey, when do you think Chala and Tegan are coming back?’ 

‘I don’t know’, Birdy replied ‘But I hope it’s soon! My toes are turning into unfeeling sausages, and I am getting greatly disturbed!!’

Right on cue, there was a whooshing sound from behind the front door.

Chala could be seen (albeit a little warped) through the frosted front window.

‘What’s she doing?’ Adopppp strained his eyes to see, ‘It looks like she’s trying to burn the door down!’

A second later, she swung it wide.

‘Hi guys!

Welcome to my party’.

Bronwyn blinked in disbelief.

‘Is that a makeshift flamethrower you’ve got there!?’

‘Y-‘

A familiar critter with wiry fur and ridiculously-sharp teeth raced by her with a vengeance!

‘Aghh! Not you again!!’

The squirrels all scattered at the sudden movement, and Adopppp found himself scurrying frantically after them.

‘Nooo-!

All my friends are disappearing!!’

Come back! Come back!!

The sounds of rushing footsteps filled their ears, and soon, an exhausted Tegan appeared in the door frame.

‘How…cute…a baby wolverine!’

‘'Cute' is not the word I would use to describe it’.

‘Aw, but it likes you though!’ Bird chided, ‘It followed you all the way here, didn’t it?’

Chala just huffed in annoyance.

‘It’s blue-er than I remember’, he remarked.

‘Yeah, I second that!’

‘It’s always been this way, Bird’.

‘What, really?’

‘I think it would look better with the lights on’, was Leah’s final verdict.

‘As much as I love this place’, Tegan added…I have to agree’.

‘There you are!’

‘Oh no…’

Cinder walked in with a snowball in one hand, and an overnight bag in the other.

‘Hi there, all! I’m here too’.

AquaEclipse waved as she entered on the other’s heels.

And then Mystic arrived.

‘…’

‘…’

Everyone went dead silent.

‘…Don’t stop talking on my account. Not like we want to make this any more awkward than it has to be’.

‘Nice to see you too, Mystic’.

Tegan forced a smile.

‘I’m glad you made it!’

‘Yeah’.

She made no move to settle in, however.

‘…You want to go take one of the guest rooms, or something?

I could help you move in, if you’d like-‘

‘No!’

The venom behind it ripped straight into her heart!

‘I mean…no’.

Her eyes glinted with remorse.

‘I’ll just…do it myself’.

‘Okay’.

The room stayed in silence until the clip-clopping of her boots had completely vanished into the distance.

Then, Bronwyn spoke up:

‘…I’m gonna set up that fire, it’s freezing in here’.

‘I’ll help’, Aqua offered.

‘I…’ Leah dug through her bag, ’Seem to be missing my toothbrush pouch?’

Adopppp looked up from his unenviable task of getting all those chips onto a table.

‘Is it in the cable car?’

‘I don’t know…’

’…Hm. That’s weird.

After I’m done with this, mind if I help you look?’

’Nope, not at all!’

‘And I am going upstairs to take a bath!’ Cinderscoria flashed Tegan a grin; a silent promise that they would clearly have to continue this later.

‘All that running made me a gross, sweaty mess’.

‘Alright’.

Tegan’s gaze lingered on the stairs.

‘I think I’m gonna go check up on Mystic…in a little while…’

‘Sounds good’, Chala replied ‘I think I’ll go back to that cute little cottage in the woods I found earlier’.

‘So that’s where you were!’ Leah exclaimed.

‘Yup! Took me forever to get there, and another forever to get back’.

‘Ooh, can I go too?’ Birdy asked ‘I’d hate to hang around out here without doing anything useful’.

‘Sure, why not? 

It might even give you a bit of Roila inspiration’.

‘You’re gonna need this, then…’

Tegan fished out a giant key-ring from the pocket of her jeans, and unhooked one.

‘Here’.

Chala took it and inwardly steeled herself for the indomitable trek she was about to face.

‘Thanks!’

‘No problem!’

She started to head up the stairs toward her own guest room.

‘Oh, and one more thing before I forget-‘

She gestured to the great outdoors.

‘There’s a generator out there somewhere…should make it easier for you two to see where you’re going’.

‘Thanks for the tip’, Chala said.

‘Yeah!’

Tegan gave them both a small smile.

’It’s nothing, really…’

The temperature had dropped since she’d been out there last; it now felt as if it were below zero rather than 10-degrees Fahrenheit.

Birdy hugged herself for warmth.

‘It’s like we ended up in Antarctica overnight’.

Chala nodded.

‘Yeah, I think I forgot to pack three pairs of everything’.

They’d left the relative comfort of the house, and were now crossing a creaky, old bridge.

At the middle of it, Chala felt her phone buzz.

Who is it this time?

Sadly, she hadn’t yet had a chance to call Penelope back.

Maybe this was now her, about to act like Ms. Snark.

Certainly wouldn’t surprise me any…

Slipping it out of her pocket, she was surprised to find that it was someone else.

‘Who’s that?’ Birdy asked, attempting to sneak a peek over her shoulder.

‘Nobody!’ she said quickly.

‘Really?

‘Yeah’.

Her companion got a funny look on her face.

‘Is it, like, an S.O. or something?’

‘No!’

‘But you’re acting all iffy-‘

She cut herself off.

‘You know what?

I’m not gonna be that one friend who’s nosy about everything.

However, before you go off and answer Mx. Mysterioso, I’m thinking we should take a selfie here; it’s so gorgeous!!’

Chala privately breathed a sigh of relief.

’True that’.

She unlocked her phone, and hit the Camera App.

‘Ready?’

‘Yes~!’

Moving closer together, the two smiled for the lens.

Man, it’s hard to maneuver this thing in the dark-!

FLASH!

‘What’s it look like? What’s it look like?’

Chala tried not to grimace at her own handiwork.

‘I think I got all but half of me'.

‘Huh. Yeah, I can see that…pfft…!’

It was as she’d said:

Birdy was completely there on the right, but Chala?

It looked like she’d been caught diving into the left-side of the picture; everything below the nose was gone!

As they continued onwards, another totem was stumbled upon in front of a pile of logs: a bright-red one.

Oh great, what’s this one do?

She lifted it up off the ground…

A glimpse of Tegan’s beanie filled her mind—a cry of pain shortly followed!

No…not again…

‘Did you get the generator up and running, yet?’

‘Uh…no!’

Now that’s two of my friends in danger!

Walking through the doorway that led to said generator, it took little less than a minute for her to flip the switch, and then pull the cord a couple of times.

A spotlight suddenly shone on the main gate.

‘You did it! Yaay!!’

Heading over there, all Chala had to do then was hit the button to make the light turn green, and then lift the latch.

‘And voila!

We’re outta here’.

Birdy excitedly slid through the gap, and she soon followed suit.

At first, she’d seemed happy and animated despite everything.

But when they passed the police tape draped over a giant totem pole, that constant light of enthusiasm immediately died.

‘There’s still remnants of the investigation, here?’

She swallowed hard before continuing.

‘I would’ve thought…that the detectives had cleared all their stuff out by now’. 

‘Well, her case was never officially closed…’

‘Yeah, you’re right’.

Her voice seemed to crack.

’Someday, I hope they catch whoever did this’.

As much as she wanted to let Birdy mourn in peace, she had to know:

‘Do you…remember how it went down?’

‘Ha!’

Her breaths were short and ragged.

‘Of course I do!

It was only because we had the stupid idea to get out quick by leaping off of the flipping banister!’

Hm?

‘Forgive me for sounding dumb, but…why did you do that again?’

‘Well it’s not like we knew they were going to turn right around and attack us…’

But that wasn’t something she was supposed to hear.

SCREEE-EEE-

‘What the heck was that!?’

Birdy spun from one side to the other, terrified.

‘I don’t know…maybe it was that possessed hedgehog from earlier’.

‘Wolverines don’t sound like women screaming their lungs out!’

‘Yeah’.

They didn’t really have a choice but to keep going anyway…

A pile of boulders blocked the path, but there was still a small space that they could squeeze through.

‘Last time, I didn’t have to do this’.

‘Well, you did get there from much closer that other time, right-‘

CRUNCH!!

‘Birdy!?’

A minute ago, she’d been leaning on a wooden railing-

Fearing the worst, she ran up to the very edge of the drop-off.

‘You okay!?’

She saw her sit there on the ground for a second, dazed, and then haphazardly pull herself up.

‘I’m good…I think…’

Phew…

Shining her flashlight around the new area, she saw a ton of unfinished wooden scaffolding, and one conspicuous mine cart.

‘Wow…you single-handedly managed to discover a previously-unknown area’.

‘Whoa…’

Birdy mimed putting on a hard-hat.

‘Just call me Archaeologist_Of_Scarlet!’

Chala snorted.

‘Okay, Archy!’

Because like h* she was going to leave her there on her own, Chala crawled through a second gap in the rails, and jumped down to meet her.

Wait!

She had the sickening sensation that something was right behind her!

But it was too late.

Her feet hit the ground, and when she looked back-

Gone.

‘Aw, man! More blockage!!’

Birdy pouted at the mine cart so conveniently wedged in between where they were at present, and where they wanted to get to.

‘Yeah, but at least this one’s movable’.

She grasped the edge of it, and pushed.

Oookay, harder than it looks…

‘Hey, care to help me out?’

’Sure’.

With the both of them pitting all their strength against the obstruction, they were finally able to shove it loose.

‘Yes!’

Birdy pumped both fists in celebration.

‘We’re strong like demons, baby!!’

Eventually, they both heard a clattering noise.

‘What’s that?’ she asked.

Chala’s heart rate kicked up.

‘Sounds like-!’

A second mine cart came flying around the bend, speeding along the tracks at fifty miles an hour!!

‘Yikes!’ Birdy shouted.

Chala tried to stop it, but it was moving too fast-

THUMP!

Huh!?

She found herself at the side of the tracks, Birdy’s arms wrapped around her mid-section.

‘Oh my go-osh…’

Sitting up the other girl winced at her aching knees.

‘I thought we were goners for a second there…’

‘...You saved me’.

‘Yup.

…

Why do you look so surprised? That’s what friends do, remember!?’

Still a bit rattled by the near-miss, Chala almost didn’t see the next totem.

It’s white…

Retrieving it from its niche at the end of the tracks, she looked inside to hear a very familiar voice say:

What? I’m…alive?

Birdy noticed her staring intently.

‘What? What!?’

She shook her head.

‘Let’s get going’.

Back-tracking a bit to the stairs on the right, Chala found a cigarette stub carelessly placed among some barrels at the very top.

‘Ew! Who smokes down here!?’

‘No one we’d want to meet, I’m sure…’

Looking a little closer at the wall, she was also able to pinpoint some sort of…symbol…

Looks a bit like a caribou skull.

Or…perhaps…

‘That kinda looks like the carnival master’, Birdy observed.

‘You know, from Escape the Night?’

‘Yeah…’

CRACKLE-THUD!

‘Waaugh!’

‘Aah!!’

The two girls just barely missed being squashed by a falling beam!

‘You okay!?’

‘You okay!?’

For a moment, they both stood there, trying to catch their breaths.

Then:

‘Maybe we should get out of here…’

Chala nodded in agreement.

‘My thoughts exactly’.

There was a map of every single dangerous area in the mine spelled out for them just lying there on a worm-eaten table.

Chala swiped it, within a heartbeat of seeing it.

 Might come in handy, someday.

Following the adjoining tunnel to the end, Birdy raced out with a cry of joy.

‘Freeeedoomm!!’

She spun in a few happy circles as Chala went on ahead.

No way…another one!?

How many did that make, now?

Three?

Four?

Picking up this latest totem, she couldn’t help but feel dread at its color:

Brown.

The last time I picked up a brown one…

She looked into it.

A familiar person’s gurgling screams were cut off with a tremendous CLANG.

Birdy realized that she was being stared at again.

‘What!?’

Chala blinked confusedly for a second, and then walked on.

‘Oooh!!’

Birdy snatched up the lookout binoculars the second she saw them.

‘These are fun!’

‘See anything in ‘em?’

‘Yeah!

That cottage you were telling us about-

Oh, oh…’

‘What?’

‘Somebody’s there’.

‘What!?

Let me see!’

As soon as Birdy let go, she pounced onto the lens!

‘Huh.

I don’t see anyth-

A sudden pale head popped up out of nowhere, eyes red with malice!

‘AAAAHHH!!’

‘What?

What’d you see!?’

‘It…uh…’

'I think I saw a vampire, but it looked like it was missing half of its face, so I don’t know…'

Yeah.

She’ll believe that.

On their way out, Chala shone her flashlight on a strategically-positioned, wooden sign

‘Did you see this bulletin?’

‘No’.

‘Wolves, bears, caribou…better be careful around here’.

Birdy shuddered.

‘Ugh…nothing against those guys but I hope they don’t ever show up’.

Back at the gate to the cabin trail, Chala lifted the latch, swung it open, and this time…

A feathered thing flew out at them from nowhere!!

‘Geezome, f*s*-!!’

‘Did you see that caribou!? And then that bird…!!’

‘D* thing…’

‘Hey, be nice to our feathered friends!!’

‘I would, if they wouldn’t scare me half to death!’

She shook her head in disgust.

‘That is the fourth time tonight I’ve been jump-scared, did you know that!?’

Birdy shrugged.

‘Are you feelin’ lucky?’

‘H* no!!’

Finally!!

They’d finally reached the end!!

Shame it was currently blocked.

‘Come on, Tegan!’ Chala sighed ‘You really didn’t warn us about this fallen tree!?’

‘Maybe she just forgot’, Birdy defended ‘She only gets to come out here once every Winter, after all!’

‘Yeah, how does that even work anyway?’

‘I don’t know!’

Birdy walked up to it, and began to climb.

‘Whoo, you go girl!’

‘Thanks!!’ she called over her shoulder.

Upon hauling herself over the top, she put a hand to her forehead, and pretended to be amazed at the view.

‘Come on up, the scenery’s fine!’

‘Don’t mind if I do!’

Before she’d even gotten one foot up into the branches, though-

‘Birdy?’

She was no longer in sight!

‘Birdy!?’

‘AAAAHHHHH-!!’

Back at the lodge, Cinderscoria was just about to set up their bath, when Aqua’s sing-songy voice echoed from below:

‘Heeeyyy~!

Want to help me set up the fire?’

‘I thought you and Bronwyn were doing that’, they responded.

‘Bronwyn found Leah’s missing bag, and left already’.

‘Okay…I’ll come down as soon as I get the hot water running!’

‘Thank you~! You’re a lifesaver~!’

‘You know it~!’

Unfortunately, when they turned the knob only cold water cascaded down.

Aw, what?

‘Think you could set up the heater, too?’

‘Heater?’

‘Yeah'.

She turned the knob the opposite way this time, and still got nothing.

'Turns there is no hot water!’

Exiting the room, Cinder was all set to go downstairs when an unearthly scream echoed through the air!

Okaaay…And just what was that supposed to be?

Aqua was just putting the finishing touches on her roaring flame when Cinder approached.

‘I see you did just fine without me’.

‘Yeah...'

She sat back on her heels, contemplating.

‘I guess I did…I don’t know why but I thought it was going to be much harder than it actually was’.

‘Well how about we do something about this water problem instead?’

‘You mean, like, fiddle around in the boiler room?’

‘Yup…’

‘Cool.

I’m up for that’.

‘Do you think Mystic will ever come around?’

They’d started the long walk to the lodge’s underbelly.

‘I mean’, Aqua tried to put her thoughts in order ‘I know we kinda messed-up and all, but is it really that possible for someone to carry around a grudge for so long?’

Cinder shrugged.

‘All I know is if this awkward little dance we’ve got going on right now continues to be an awkward little dance, nobody’s going to be able to move on from anything’.

‘Well judging from what just happened I get the feeling that we’ve all got a long way to go until we hit that point’.

The conversation stagnated a bit as they continued walking, but, eventually, she said:

‘Do you think Tegan’s plan is a good one? I kinda feel like it’s going to blow up in her face, myself…’

‘Well, she seems happy that we’re all here, and that’s enough for me’.

At the end of an insane amount of stairs, they finally found what they were looking for.

Aqua opened up a closet full of pipes.

‘Nope!

I don’t know how anything works…’

‘Oh yeah?’.

Cinder peeked over her shoulder.

‘Huh’.

‘’Huh’, what?’

‘I actually think we’re looking for this over here…’

They moved to the left, and began to inspect the wall-mounted apparatus.

‘Hey, a baseball bat!’

The stymied writer picked it up from the bowels.

‘Somebody want to play baseball in the snow or something?’

’Nah…but somebody should’.

They stepped back.

‘Think you had the right idea, going back to the closet.

Can you hold this for a minute?’

‘Sure’.

Aqua placed the bat where she'd originally found it, and took hold of Cinder’s flashlight.

‘See anything useful?’

‘Not yet-‘

The sounds of something moving in the distance cut them off.

‘What was that?’

‘A squirrel?’ Aqua guessed ‘Adopppp had like, fifty perched on his shoulders when I saw him last’.

Turning again to the pipes, they did…something with the copious amounts of wiring, and then let it be.

‘I think…all we’ll have to do now is up the water pressure’.

‘Uh…how do we do that?’

‘You have to turn the dial until it makes noise, and then hit the button’.

‘A-okay…’

She did exactly what they'd said and turned the dial until rumbling sounds came from above them.

She then poked the blinking, green button.

‘And…done!’

CLUNK!

‘…Is that good?’

They looked up at the ceiling and smiled.

‘Yeah, that’s good.

Hi-five?’

‘Hi-five!’

A faraway roar interrupted their sweet bonding experience.

‘Okay, what was that…?’

‘Beats me’.

Aqua shone the light around the space nervously.

‘Getting a little freaked-out here, not gonna lie…’

Cinder nodded.

‘Yeah, me too.

Let’s get out of here’.

The clunking noises came again.

‘…Does this basement have any monsters?’

‘None to my knowledge…’

‘Should we go check it out?’

‘With no weapons?’

Yeah, that’s no good.

‘I’m taking the bat’.

Cautiously, they inched down the shadowed corridor-

A ghostly monk with a hockey mask upon his face leaped out of the shadows!!

‘AHHH!!’

‘HIT IT AQUA, HIT IT!!’

When she didn’t hit it, Cinder took the bat themselves, and smacked him halfway across the room!

CLUNK.

‘W-w-well…that was anti-climactic’.

‘Wonder if it was you making all those weird noises, you-!!’

They whipped off his mask.

‘Ey?’

It was a mannequin.

Perched on a skateboard.

‘Hey guys!’

Tegan waved at them from a good ways behind the thing.

‘I see you found my masterpiece’.

‘Masterpiece!?’

‘Yeah’.

She pointed to the window Chala had opened.

‘I had a flash of inspiration while I was waiting for our flame master to get a hold of the deodorant’.

‘Deodorant?’

‘To de-ice the door…I gave her a lighter and everything!’

She gestured to the nearest stairwell.

‘I was gonna try and bring this guy upstairs for you all to appreciate’.

‘So those weird noises we heard was just you wheeling that mannequin along?’

Aqua felt light-headed with relief.

‘Yeah…’

She looked confused.

‘Why?

What did you think it was?’

Chapter Text

They were alone.

Leah didn’t like it.

‘Kinda creepy how there’s nothing out here except us…’

‘I agree with that statement wholeheartedly!’

‘I just wish all my squirrel friends were still here’.

Adopppp’s perpetual smile fell.

‘Hey, don’t be upset!

I’m sure they’re all waiting for you back at the lodge’.

‘I hope so…’

Returning to the main gate, he unlatched it, and then swung it wide.

‘After you, Miss Leah!’

She nodded to him gratefully.

‘Why thank you, kind Sir!’

A little ways into their trek, he said, ‘You know what? I think we’re doing this wrong’.

‘Doing what wrong?’

Adopppp shot an apprehensive glance back at the lodge.

‘When Mystic showed up, sure people were polite, but nobody really tried to make things right'.

He shook his head.

‘We all kinda just stood there, hoping she would leave…except Tegan, anyhow’.

The determined boy stood up straighter!

‘When we find your bag, I think we should make more of an effort to hear her side of the story!

You know, just…to try to find some common ground’.

He punched a fist into the air!!

‘If we do that, then we’re bound to overturn the unhappy past we all share for good!’

‘Well, I’m glad you're such an optimist’, Leah replied.

‘I think we’re going to need one if we’re ever going to get through this night in one piece-‘

A light suddenly switched on, and she flinched.

‘Okay, then…definitely wasn’t expecting that!”

‘Ooh, look!!

There’s a new path, now!!!’

The puppy-dog eyes he flashed right then were utterly adorable.

‘Can we go down it?

Pretty please!?’

‘I don’t know…’

She tried to see down it from where they were, but most of it was hidden in shadow.

‘Isn’t it usually a bad idea to leave the path?’

‘Well if anything goes wrong, I’ll kick ‘em in the shins!!’

Leah raised both eyebrows at that, but did nothing to dissuade him.

‘…I think I’ll be holding you to that’.

‘Hey, thanks again for helping me with this’.

‘Aw, it’s no problem at all!

Friends help friends and that’s all there is to it!!’

She couldn’t help but laugh.

‘How are you always so enthusiastic about everything!?

It’s like you’ve got a limitless supply of energy--second only to Tegan and Birdy, of course!’

Adopppp grinned.

‘It’s one of my many amazing talents!’

Leah grinned, herself.

‘Of course’.

‘Was it really just your toothbrush you left behind?’

‘Yee-up’.

Leah sighed.

‘You’d think it would’ve been something else important, like pj’s, or extra blankets-‘

‘Will the pouch be hard to find?’

‘Not really’.

She held up one of her hands, and pointed to it.

‘It’s hot-pink, and at least this big’.

‘Whoa!! Your toothbrush must be huge!!!’

‘Ha-ha!

Yeah, I guess so’.

Eventually, they came upon a massive totem pole just sitting there in the middle of nowhere.

‘Wouldn’t want to stick my hand in that interesting mug!’

’I do!’

How did I know you were going to say that.

True to his word, he walked right up to it, and shoved in his hand as far as it would go!

‘How’s it feel?’

‘Very wooden!

I-

…

…

…

Uh-oh…’

‘Uh-oh, what!?’

‘I think it’s stuck-whoahhh!!’

Leah jumped as the boy’s arm was suddenly drawn even further inside of it!

‘Adopppp!?’

She quickly sprang to his rescue!

Firmly grasping the trapped limb with both hands, she pulled, and it came out…rather easily?

Huh!?

‘Phew…’

Adopppp breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Thought I was done-for when my foot slipped’.

Leah mentally face-palmed.

SCREE-EEEE!!

‘What was that!?’

Having continued on their way again, they were less-than-thrilled to hear the hear-pitched sound.

‘Maybe it was the wind’, Adopppp suggested.

‘I don’t think so’.

Leah shivered.

‘We should hurry it up so that whatever that was doesn’t get us!’

Fortunately, the cable car station on this side of the mountain wasn’t too far away…

‘Wha-!?’

‘Ew, is that a-!?’

Pig’s head.

On the ground.

In a puddle of its own blood.

Two feet in front of the door.

A note had been crudely stuffed into its crimson-encrusted neck cavity.

Almost-retching from the stench, he reached out, and carefully removed it.

Welcome Back

‘Uh, Leah…’

The lights suddenly turned off.

Chapter Text

Nine chess pieces in an unfair game.

Was it too late to go back?

Yes.

Yes it is.

But this isn’t what I want-

This isn’t about you!!

You think any of what happened to us is fair!?

That what happened to her was fair!?

Look…

I get that you’re a lovely person inside and out, okay?

I get that these are your friends, and you’d go to bat for them in a heartbeat.

Then why don’t you-

YOU DON’T GET IT!!

You don’t know what it was like to be betrayed.

Chapter Text

‘Thanks a million, guys!

There’s no way I would’ve been able to get him up here without you’.

Jas straightened his mussed hood, and then stepped back to admire their handiwork.

‘No problem, Tegan!

I just hope this time, he stays put’.

‘Yeah’, Aqua agreed, ‘Those noises from earlier were beyond creepy’.

‘Speaking of creepy…’

Tegan whipped out a Spirit Board and planchette from beneath her coat.

‘Found these tucked away in a darkened cranny’.

‘Oh s*! 

Are those the real deal!?’

‘Hey, I’m not gonna use them or anything!’

Their host made a face.

‘I just wanted some input from you guys as to what I should do with them’.

Aqua brushed a few stray strands of hair out of her eyes.

‘Like what?’

‘Well…’

Tegan glanced toward the roaring fire.

‘…Do I burn or do I store—as in, ‘hide somewhere impenetrable’?’

‘If I were you, I would burn the d* things’.

Her oldest, and closest friend nodded to the flames.

‘Have you ever seen ‘The Exorcist’?’

Aqua looked from one to the other in alarm.

‘What happens in ‘the Exorcist’?’

‘A lot of Demonic possession’.

’NO! Absolutely not-‘

‘Okay, then’, Tegan said, walking up to the hearth, ‘In you go?’

Her compatriots nodded.

‘In you go’.

As the heat began to eat away at the thankless items, Jas turned to go up the stairs.

‘Well, that ended surprisingly-okay…’

Aqua headed over to the ratty couch for her knapsack.

‘Yeah, don’t those things usually cause much more trouble than this-?’

Tegan put a finger to her lips.

‘Please don’t jinx it.

Please!’

‘Welp, see you guys later, I gu-!’

The would-be bather cut themselves off mid-sentence.

‘??’

Aqua and Tegan gave her odd looks.

‘You okay?’

They barely reacted.

Their full attention had been effectively glued to a nearby table-

‘No way…’

Tegan felt her heart pound in her ears, and Aqua’s face drained of all blood!

Lying on its wooden surface, as if they’d never been exposed to the elements at all, were the spirit board and planchette.

‘How is this possible?’ Tegan whispered.

Aqua shook her head.

‘I don’t know, and I don't want to know…’

‘Nope!

I’m outta here!!’ Jas announced.

But they didn’t go on their way like they wanted.

No, instead, they went back down the stairs, and over to the tabletop as if one possessed!

‘H-Hey!!

Stop that…’

Their hands firmly grasped the device, and began to move it:

‘H…E…L…P…?’

‘Jas!?’

‘I don’t know how I’m doing this, I swear!!

The two not enslaved by some incredibly evil thing ran over to them, and put their own hands on the planchette.

‘Why am I doing this, why am I doing this…’

Aqua kept repeating it over and over.

‘We have to get them away from here!

Grab their hands!!’

Still fearing the worst, she did so.

‘Who the f* are you!?

F…R…I…E…N…D

‘Friend?’

Aqua could barely wrap her mind around what was happening right now…

‘Which friend, our friend!?’

Tegan tried to keep her voice calm when she spoke:

‘What…what friend?’

The planchette didn’t move.

‘Okay…’

Chills running up and down her spine, she addressed their captive medium:

‘Jas…can you ask it…which friend it is?’

They said it through clenched teeth:

‘Which friend is this…!?

(Like a ‘friend’ would even do something like that to begin with…)

Tegan racked her brains for anyone else it could be besides her.

But she wouldn’t do this, so…!!

Maybe it’s…

‘What if we tried…

…’

She racked her brains even more.

‘What if we tried that secret friend of hers…you know, that elf-person from the Meta-World series she told us about?’

‘He’d be even less likely to do this than she would’, Jas protested.

‘Wait. 

What are we talking about?’ Aqua asked.

‘Remind me to show you, later’, Tegan said, ‘After this craziness is over’.

Who to choose, who to choose…!?

‘…Can you ask it if this is Alice speaking’.

Because she’s the only one dead as far as I know.

And if he was real, then he probably would’ve let us have it by now!

Jas nodded, a vein throbbing in their temple.

‘Alice, I swear to God, if this is you-!!’

Yes

Aqua yelped, and almost pulled her hand away out of fear!

‘No way.

NO, way!’

‘Uh…let’s not panic’.

Tegan’s throat was closed up with terror, but this opened up a limitless number of possibilities in terms of what they could ask her…

If we apologize she’ll probably accept it…God only knows we owe her one!

But…

We don’t know what happened to land her in such mortal straits to begin with, so…

Maybe we should ask her that instead?

I don’t know…

‘Do you think we should apologize?’

Her frightened partner shivered.

‘Do you think we should!?’

‘Yeah…’

‘Hey, Alice…sorry about what happened…’

There was no ire in this statement.

And for good reason.

A…L…I…C…E

M…U…R…D…E…R…E…D

'Murdered?'

Tegan shuddered.

‘I don’t know…’

‘Who killed you?!’

Jas’s voice was laced with righteous fury.

‘C’mon who was it!!?’

The planchette began to move one, final time…

L…I…B…

‘The library?’ Aqua guessed.

From behind Cinder, a girl with an on orange coat looked on

P…R…O…O…F

‘Proof?

There’s proof in the library?’

Tegan looked to Jas for answers, as the other, non-possessed girl speculated.

‘I don’t-

The board suddenly violently shook, and threw itself to the floor!!

CRASH!!

‘Okayokayokay-!’

‘That was so weird…that was so creepy…!’

Jas’s hands sprung free of whatever had been making them do its bidding, and shakily headed for the stairs.

‘I don’t know what that was…And I don’t want to know what that was…’

‘Wait-!’

Tegan made a move to go after them.

‘Are you sure you’re okay!?’

‘Nope!
Not by a long shot!!’

They shook their head…and then shook it again, more wildly.

‘I just…I just need to take my d* bath!’

‘O…’

Their friend stopped in her tracks.

‘Okay’.

‘I don’t think we should do it!’

Aqua’s hands were trembling due to the paranormal activity they’d just witnessed.

‘It’s gotta be some kind of trap, or something, it always is in the movies…!’

Tegan squared back her shoulders.

‘I don’t want to do it, either, but what if that really was…Alice?

There could be something else going on around here that we’ve been missing!

Something really important…’

Chala was over that tree in the span of three seconds!!

‘BIRD!?

BIRDY!!’

Racing along the path at 3,000 miles an hour, she came to a random tractor whose tire treads had been sunk to their tops in snow!

Hastily yanking open the driver’s-side door, she screamed, and jumped back in terror!

A realistic-looking skull had popped up out of the seats with a SPRO-O-O-O-I-I-I-NG-!!

Seeing that it was merely a rubber replica on a spring, she cussed the missing driver out with the most foul curse words she knew.

Are you f*g kidding me!?

Who the H* carries something like that around in their vehicle?

‘Birdyyy!!

Please tell me you’re okay’.

Back-tracking in fear, the girl stumbled across yet another totem!

Seriously…

Since when did I get so good at finding these!?

It was a gorgeous red not commonly found in nature.

When she looked into it-

The blaring cry of a caribou filled her ears.

It only made her more nervous.

‘Bird-Of-Scarlet!!!!!

Hey!!’

A scary, antlered thing leaped out of the nearest bush!!!

‘AHHHH-!!’

‘CHALA!?’

‘BIRDY!!’

‘I thought I saw a person down there, so I thought I’d go and say hello.

Only, when he turned around-‘

She shuddered.

‘His face was all rotted…’

’So that’s why you screamed!?’

‘Yeah…’

Her cheeks flushed crimson.

‘I…I freaked-out and hid’.

She lifted up the impressive points of bone.

‘There was a dead caribou lying just behind this bush, so…’

She flushed even brighter.

‘I decided that if anything were to find me, I would just…either scare ‘em away, or hit ‘em half to death…which I’m s* at, by the way…’

Chala sighed, and tapped her gently on the crown of her head.

‘Just don’t disappear like that ever again, okay?

I nearly busted my heart out of my ribs!!’

Bird giggled.

‘Okay!’

They didn’t notice that same man stalking them in the shadows.

At the base of a tree, Chala found the next totem:

Bright-yellow.

‘What’s that?’ Birdy asked.

‘A totem’, she replied matter-of-factly, ‘Want to look?’

‘Eh…I don’t know.

It’s kind-of creepy-looking…’

‘Suit yourself!’

The creaking of a wheel could be heard.

Sometime between Bird’s disappearance and right stinkin’ now, a soft snowfall had begun to coat the spindly trees in white.

’Ooh, it’s so pretty’, she gushed.

‘Yeah…’, Chala agreed, ‘It is’.

No sooner had she said that, though, then another unearthly shriek rent the air!!

‘No!!’ Birdy cried, ‘Not again!?’

The other prepped herself for a fight, and swung the flashlight in all directions.

‘It’s gotta be here! 

I just know it!!’

The vegetation at the right side of the path rustled.

There you are…

Picking up a rock, she lobbed it into the woods!

In a heartbeat, a massive caribou grunted in agitation, and blasted right between them!!

Birdy and Chala both yelped and dove out of the way!!!

‘You…okay…?’ The Roila shipper panted.

‘Yeah…yeah…’

Crazy thing nearly killed us!

Naturally, after the harrowing scares they’d been through to date, the two girls were more than relieved to see the nice, safe cabin rise out of the fog like an old friend.

‘Yessss!’

Birdy broke into a run, and just barely managed to get inside before Chala.

‘Eager, are we?’

She couldn’t hold back a smile.

‘You bet I am!!’

On a metal shelf, there was an old mask.

It had the contours of a face-protector for gas-ridden areas, but that was where the resemblance ended.

‘Hey, Bird!’

She waved it over her shoulder.

‘Think this woulda done the job?’

‘In terms of what!?’

The writer wrinkled her nose in distaste.

‘It’s so creepy-looking…’

‘Oh, you know.

For scaring the s* out of that guy you saw earlier’.

‘Yech!’

She stuck out her tongue.

‘I suppose so’.

Because there seemed to be nothing else in there that would make the place even remotely livable, Chala was forced to come to an unfortunate conclusion:

‘Hey.

I don’t think this is the cabin, actually…’

Birdy rubbernecked so fast, her head almost snapped off her shoulders!

‘WHAT!?’

Yet another caribou hopped out of the woods, and ran off down the path in a panic causing the girls yet another heart attack!

‘First we get the wrong cabin, now we get scared!?’ 

‘Seems to be how our luck is right now, yeah…’

Soon, the faint sounds of a horrific battle reached them; ear-piercing screams, and the low, guttural sounds of a dying animal…

Chala saw the wounded creature around the next bend and immediately felt herself breaking down.

No, no, you were just fine, fine enough to scare the pants off us not even a minute ago…!

Birdy gasped at the raw, oozing claw-marks in its neck!

‘What-what did this!?’

‘…I don’t know’.

At first sight, she’d known that it wasn’t gonna make it.

All that remained for it now was one last chance at comfort…or a swift, and merciful death.

Sc* that!

A quick glance at her companion confirmed it-the poor thing was tearing up.

I can’t kill it!!

Bird would…

Instead, she sat down at the dying creature’s side, and stroked its furry head over, and over, and over.

‘Hey now…it’s gonna be okay…

You won’t have to suffer anymore…’

‘Do you think…’

Bird didn’t finish her sentence.

Her heart was bleeding too much.

‘Shhh…it’ll be alright…

I promise…’

The other girl turned away, hands muffling her broken-hearted sobs.

-The caribou’s body was promptly dragged away!

‘-Ah?’

Chala fell onto her stomach as Birdy yelled with shock!!

The pained cries of something being shredded even further spurred her back onto her feet.

‘No…NO!!’

‘We’ve gotta go-!!!’

She grabbed the other’s hand, and raced off down the path, the familiar high-pitched shriek overwhelming all-

Finding a small bridge in their way, Chala shoved Birdy in front!

‘Jump, jump!!’

In a high state of fear, she did as she was told.

Good!

Then it was her turn.

Here goes nothing-!!

She leaped-

She hit the ground running.

‘Whatisitwhatisitwhatisit!?’

‘I don’t know, a bear!?’

Their pursuer was gaining on them.

‘Ahhh, no!

A fork in the road-‘

Shortcut or path? Shortcut or path-

Aw, you know what!?

Forget it!!

Chala hung left, and swept Birdy out in front of her again!

’TAKE THE SHORTCUT!!’

Together, they thudded up the natural stairs like the Devil was after them!

And although the steps were slippery as all H*, they didn’t slide once.

Running even faster than they had ever gone in their lives, they were up a second set of natural stairs, and then a hairs-breadth away from a front door!

Until Birdy went down on an icy patch that is…

‘Chala, HELP-!!’

F*!!!

Skidding back to grab her by the arm, and physically haul her to her feet, she then snatched up the key from where it’d fallen onto the deck, and jammed it into the lock!

‘Openitopenit-!!’

Click!

‘God, yes!!’

Chala and Birdy crammed through the opening at the exact same time.

As the shipper collapsed with exhaustion upon the floor, the finder slammed the door shut, and re-locked it for good measure!

BANG BANG BANG!!

‘Whyisitdoingthatcanitgetin!?’

‘It shouldn’t…’

Chala hurried over to the couch, and grabbed one end of it.

If we do this!

‘Can you get ahold of the other end, please?’

Un-crumpling herself from the puddle of nerves she was currently in, Birdy slunk over to do the thing she needed to do, when she needed to do it.

‘Ready?’

‘We gonna put this in front of the door, or something?’

‘Mm-hm…’

3,

2,

1…

HEAVE!!

Grunting with the effort, the two girls maneuvered it into its proper place: snug against the cabin’s entrance.

‘Now that we’ve got a few seconds to breathe around here…’

Birdy curled up on the wooden floorboards as Chala searched for a heat source.

It would really bad if we managed to escape that thing only to die of hypothermia.

The matches were easy enough to find…they were just lying there on a bureau in the back of the room.

Heading up to the fireplace, she opened the grate, tossed in a few more logs for good measure, and struck her first match.

Fire, here we come!

CRASH!!

The spent bundle of wool and cotton attempting to take a stress-nap on the floor, stirred.

‘Whazzat…?’

Chala started from her post in front of the window.

‘This can’t be good’.

She got up from her crouch, and slowly made her way to the back of the cottage.

Snow was blowing in from someplace…

Feeling dread seep into her gut, she followed the delicate trail into the bedroom, where a phone was casually resting among the glass shards of an utterly shattered window.

This is Birdy’s…

Gingerly lifting it up, she turned to go back to her drowsy charge-

‘AHHHHH-‘

RIIIPPP-SKRAAAASHHH!!

‘BIRDY!?’

Chala pussyfooted it into the living room just in time to see Birdy perfectly-framed in the big, picture window.

Her aching fingers and toes tried desperately to cling to the fraying edges.

‘CHALAAAA-‘

Something yanked hard on the back of her head, and dragged her out into the night!

Tegan went first, flashlight in hand.

She’d borrowed it from Aqua after they’d officially decided that yes, they were doing this.

I just hope this doesn’t turn out to be a mistake…

Once they’d climbed down the stairs, they passed through a study.

One with a random light flickering beneath the floor.

Trying not to let her heart jump out her throat, Tegan knelt down, and nervously removed the vent.

Golden light shone through the gap unabated.

’Okay, that’s weird’, Aqua whimpered ‘Barely any power’s on right now except for the hot water…’

Tegan gulped.

‘Let’s uh…let’s not worry about it…’

The only reason they were able to tell that they’d discovered the library was when at least five books hurled themselves from the shelves and almost took off their heads!!

‘Ahh-!!’

‘Geddown!!’

Waiting for a new projectile to fly in their faces the minute they let down their guards…they got nothing.

Aqua breathed a ragged sigh, while Tegan inspected the panel that the leaping novels had inadvertently revealed.

‘Look…it’s a button!’

‘…Are you gonna push it?’

…We need answers.

Plnk.

WHOOOOOSSSHH-

The left-hand side of the bookcase swung open!

‘Whoa, a secret passageway!’

‘Amazing…’, Tegan peeked inside.

‘Seems pretty empty to me…’

‘…I don’t suppose you want to go first?’

‘Ha, ha very funny!’

They went together.

A video screen caught them unawares with their escapades, but they were not disturbed in the least.

Aqua got ahold of the photo just randomly lying there on a table.

It’s that one we took from a year ago…only…

‘Oh my God! Alice’s face is cut out!!’

‘B-Birdy and Bronwyn’s are actually burned…’ Tegan shuddered.

‘I’m gonna turn it over’.

Written in bleeding orange ink was the message:

19 years I’ve lived, and 19 years I’ve never seen anything like this before.

They will feast on your flesh and make you just like them.

The Eaten-Alive…

It took you a year to lose a life, and now I will repay you loss for loss.

For a moment, neither of them could speak.

Then:

‘We have to tell Bronwyn and Birdy’.

On their way out, the sounds of something creaking pervaded the still atmosphere.

‘W-what was that?’

‘Probably…nothing…’

Tegan gave her a reassuring grin that seemed a bit forced.

A new doorway had opened to the right of the study.

‘Do we dare to go in there!?’

‘…Maybe it’s still the ghost’.

That doesn’t make it any better!

In an antechamber throughout a seemingly endless chain, they found an official document where someone named ‘Mrs. Washington’, had been peacefully negotiating with a Native American tribe…

‘I guess they owned this place beforehand?’ Tegan shrugged.

The memory of that awful note was still ingrained in her mind.

‘Anything on the back of this one?’

‘Let’s see…’

A reminder explaining that someone had been near the generator!

Tegan paled.

‘I sent Chala and Birdy out that way earlier…!’

Aqua’s heart nearly stopped in her chest.

‘What!?’

‘If I’d known some creep had lurked around there in the past, I swear I would’ve told them about it!

Honest!!'

At the end of it all, was a plain, wooden door.

Tegan turned the knob and opened it, turning this new wrinkle over in her mind.

‘You know…at the party last year…’

Aqua hurried to keep up with her!

‘Yeah?’

‘…I think I saw Alice and Jas talking about…some guy with a machete’.

She struggled to recall the details in full.

‘Maybe…she’d seen him out a window or something?

Before the Mystic fiasco had happened…’

‘You think the guy in the note could be the same as that guy from way back when!?’

‘I don’t know…and that’s what worries me’.

Something very unpleasant suddenly occurred to Aqua:

‘You don’t think that was him under the floorboards back there!?’

Tegan went even paler than a specter.

‘Oh no…and I opened that vent and everything…!’

She had a second epiphany:

‘What if those noises Cinder and I heard weren’t just you wheeling around that man-made statue that time we were in the basement?

What if he was down there, too!?’

‘And…’ Tegan's voice was wobbling with fright ‘I could’ve walked past him several times without knowing-!!’

‘Us, too’.

Her own voice was growing quieter.

With pure, unadulterated horror!

RATTLE, RATTLE-

aaAAAhhhHHH-

‘Huh!?’

Tegan spun on her heel at the sounds of the double-doors trying to swing themselves open in vain!

‘Is that-!?’

Before Aqua could say anything about anything, she’d bashed them open wide, and raced out into the unknown yelling ‘Bronwyn…BRONWYN-!!’

’N-NOO!!’

Soon, her cries, too, were added to the mele of chaos!

‘Tegan!?

TEGAN!!’

Fearing the worst, Aqua pulled on the door handles, intending to go out after her-

Only to find that they wouldn’t budge an inch.

Wha-!?

‘TEGAN!?’

I’m not strong at all, you realize that?

What are you trying to make me do, bash the doors down with my bare hands!?

Apparently, so.

Rushing back to the antechamber they'd explored with massive adrenaline surging through her veins, she bodily-lifted the entire bureau from the ground, hustled it back to the Impenetrable Gates, and threw it with every fiber of strength she possessed!!

CRAAAASHH!!

It knocked the doors inward with the loudest impact ever known to man, and she ran through the now-cleared entryway.

Pain in all her arm muscles notwithstanding.

‘Tegan!

Tegaan!!

YOU’D BETTER NOT BE DEAD-!!’

A meaty fist connected with her face

Tegan was out cold.

Lying on the floor,

Like a helpless doll.

A hand clad in silver gauntlets latched firmly around her limp wrists, and dragged her away.

Chapter Text

The Knight in Shining Armor stood at the landing of the grand staircase, brooding.

What am I doing this for?

A flash of a lovely woman, the light of his life…

Yes. 

I see.

Lighting a match, he lit one candle for the darned, placed neatly upon a cross-piece.

For you...

Should it truly end this way.

Chapter Text

Oh no!

Not Birdy…!!

So well-liked throughout the fandom, and so sweet…

Chala, you have some choices to make.

Remember that every single thing you do next counts.

Chapter Text

Where'd she go!?

Snatching a rifle from where it was mounted on the wall, Chala leaped through the gap in the now-busted window, heart thumping a thousand miles a minute.

I have to save her!

I have to!!

Racing through the snow as fast as humanly possible, she went until she was met with a choice of two routes:

A risky shortcut   OR    A safe path

Chapter Text

There’s no time to lose!

I have to get Birdy to safety NOW!!

‘HOLD ON, I’M COMING!!!!’

She swerved onto the left-hand path, and gulped.

A line of slick barrels floated in a narrow river, creating a man-made bridge that was able to be successfully crossed-

If her balance was en pointe, that is…

CLING  OR   SLIP?

Chapter Text

The second barrel had been trapped at an angle between the bank and the constant flow.

I know I can do this.

I know I can!

So saying, she crept carefully over the first piece of the makeshift bridge, and took a tiny leap of faith!

CLUNK!!

She made it.

CLING  OR   SLIP?

Chapter Text

Fortunately, the last barrel wasn’t in such a strange position; she could easily hop onto it if she just didn’t-

Slip.

‘Ahh-!’

SPLASH!!

Landing in the knee-deep river, Chala cursed as a frigid cold seeped into her pant-legs.

S*!

S*!!

Grasping the edge of the next (and last) piece of bridge, she somehow managed to haul herself up and onto the wet surface.

Just…one more…and then…!

CLING  OR  SLIP?

Chapter Text

The echo of her heart thumping in her ears, Chala lifted herself into a standing position, legs wobbling like crazy.

One final jump-!!

She scrambled across the slick surface of the barrel, and took a flying leap onto the other side!

Nailed it!

‘BIRD!!!

CAN YOU HEAR ME!?’

When she got no reply, Chala pushed away her fear of the worst.

Chapter Text

Speeding up a large hill, the would-be rescuer was going so fast, that she almost ran herself right off a cliff!

Wh-!?

She flailed at its very edge for a good couple minutes before gravity decided to do her a favor.

With a sob of relief she sank back upon her heels.

Oh, thank God…

Warily, she dropped to a kneeling posture, and strained her eyes for any signs of Birdy and her kidnapper.

D*!

Can’t spot them from here…

She was going to have to resort to the gun wasn’t she?

Like I’ve ever shot one before…

Hoisting it up onto her shoulder regardless, she peered desperately through the finder-

To the right of a humongous pine was Bird.

Alive...but not okay.

Not even close.

She could hear her panicked breaths and the frantic scuffling sounds her terrified limbs made in the snow.

She could see that she was dirtied, bloodied, and bruised.

And that half her clothes had been ripped to shreds by the harsh, and unforgiving route...

‘CHALAAA-!!

HEEEELLLLPPP!!!!’

‘BIRDY!!

I’M HERE!!!’

‘WHERE!?’

The frightened girl looked all about her, yet was unable to make eye contact.

‘I DON’T SEE YOU ANYWHERE!!!’

Her efforts to get the heck away became even more frenzied as she looked over her shoulder.

‘No…NOOO-!!’

Screaming, she was insta-dragged away!!

‘BIIIRRDD!!!’

Horrified, and overwhelmed with worry for her friend, Chala hastily got up.

I have to get down there!

And fast!!

GO AROUND  OR   JUMP DOWN.

Chapter Text

There really were no ‘buts’ about it.

She was yeeting herself off of that cliff, and she was doing it right now-!!

Fwoosh!!

Ohhh sss***-!!!

She slid down its craggy face before she could up and change her mind.

Did not realize it was that high up, ahhhh…!!!

If this kept up, she would hit the ground with a splat!!

Searching for a good place to catch herself, Chala picked-out a long, spindly branch…

HIT  OR  MISS?

Chapter Text

She got lucky-

Her fingers clenched onto its knobbly surface…and held!

With a ferocious jerk, her freefall had been stopped.

Wide eyes scanned the shadowed ground below.

D*…

Gathering up her courage, she let go and landed perfectly on both feet.

‘BIRDY!!

YOU STILL OUT THERE!?’

Scooping up the weapon from where it had smacked off the cliff face, she sped down the ledge where she’d last seen Bird!

However, a fallen tree loomed overhead…

DUCK  OR   DON’T?

Chapter Text

!!??

Realizing that she would be in dire straits if she allowed herself to hit that mother while careening through the woods at top speed, she hurriedly ducked underneath.

Phew…Can’t believe I almost missed that!!

Soon, another fallen tree appeared in her path, only this one wasn’t hanging above her head like a ticking bomb.

No, this one was set smack in the way!

G*d*, I’ve gotta jump that thing!?

LEAP  OR  KEEP RUNNING?

Chapter Text

She leaped over it like it was nothing but air!

Yes!

One step closer to-

No sooner had she thought that than a fallen tree suspended perfectly overhead appeared once more.

Seriously!?

DUCK  OR  DON’T?

Chapter Text

Once again, she was forced to duck.

The rough bark of the fallen tree brushed her head as she did so, and she shuddered.

If I’d missed that…

When she straightened up on the other side, she saw another one placed directly in her path.

Okay, she fumed, If I didn’t know better, I would say that somebody’s setting all this up just to spite me!!

LEAP  OR  KEEP RUNNING?

Chapter Text

Chala hopped the last log with ease.

Finally!

No more  obstac-!!

She almost missed the sheer cliff in the darkness.

Slowdownslowdownslowdown-

She did.

Barely.

Teetering at the very edge, she searched for a way down.

Looks like I could...take a flying leap onto that ledge across from me...or climb down onto that other ledge...

JUMP  OR  SHIMMY?

Chapter Text

Stepping back a few paces, Chala broke into a sudden run!

Birdy, I'm coming!!

Her feet lifted off the edge, and she was borne through the air like a...well...like a bird.

MAKE IT  OR  FALL?

Chapter Text

As soon as her boots hit the snow-covered rock with a clumph, her eyes picked out a second, slightly-farther ledge.

One more, and I'll finally be caught up...

I hope.

MAKE IT  OR  FALL?

Chapter Text

Without even stopping to think about it, she jumped again!-

And landed it perfectly.

Too busy being frantic about Birdy to care about the magnificent streak of pure luck she was experiencing, Chala bulldozed up the pathway like a woman on a mission!!

"BIRDY, SAY SOMETHING!!??"

Skidding up to the very edge, she could see the old bones of some sort of structure in the distance.

Immediately in front of her were two routes:

A curving path to the left, and a more risky, more downhill one to the right.

PATH  OR  INCLINE?

Chapter Text

Again, there was simply no hesitation, whatsoever!

She stepped off the edge of the incline-

And promptly thudded onto her back.

"Ow-!!"

The snow underneath was soft, and very delicate.

Not to mention dangerously slippery.

"WHOAHH-!!"

As the forces of gravity began to relentlessly drag her down the incline, she spotted a branch poking up and out of the powder-

GRAB IT  OR  MISS IT?

Chapter Text

Chala's fingers searched frantically for the rough bark, grasped it for all of three seconds, and actually had a second to breathe with relief.

Then it cracked.

!!??

Sliding all over again, she was flipped over onto her stomach just as she painfully bumped over a rocky ledge.

I've gotta-!!

Her arm reached for its rapidly-disappearing edge...

GRAB  OR  MISS?

Chapter Text

She missed it.

Her fingers were clawing at anything but that, and she plummeted a good two feet or so before painfully slamming to the ground.

On her back.

G*d*t...!!

 I thought that rock was gonna kill me!

Apparently, it wasn't.

Gingerly sitting up, she picked out a large gap in the wooden platform to her right.

Ohhhkay, this is gonna s*k-

She crawled over to the edge, grasped it firmly with both hands, and swung herself over.

THUD!!

Her boots hit soft powder, yet she still stumbled.

Her head felt like a knife had been stabbed into her brain.

"CHALAAA!!"

"BIRDY!?"

The volume of her own voice made her vision spin, but she ignored it, and raced over to a pair of partially-cracked open doors...

SLAM!

Blown back by the tremendous force, Chala fell to the ground!

D*n you, you...b*!!!

She dragged herself back to her feet, and threw the doors open once more.

"BIRDY!!"

"CHALA, I THINK I'M GONNA-!!"

Her heart leaped into her throat and stayed there.

"DON'T WORRY, I'M COMING!!!!!"

"HURRY-!!"

Her words were cut off by a garbled scream!

"BIRDY!!??"

Taking the old staircase two steps at a time, she swept a yellow totem up off the ground and shoved it in her jacket for later.

Please be okay...Please be okay!!

Chapter Text

Chala sped down a tunnel much like the one from their short-lived venture in the mines.

If she weren’t busy fearing the worst, she would wonder how deep it went.

“BIRDY!?”

There was no answer, this time.

“BIRDY!!”

Pounding into a wide chamber littered with empty carts, barrels, and other sorts of debris, her eyes flitted wildly from one side to the other.

“WHERE ARE YOU!!??”

That’s when she saw the elevator.

Splayed out on its dirty platform was a heavily-battered Bird.

“-!!”

Rushing to the injured writer’s side, she was struck with the sudden fear that after all that hard work and effort…

No, you can’t be dead.

You can’t be!!

“Bird…?”

She groaned at her touch, eyes fluttering.

“Oh Thank God…!”

“Ch-a…la…?”

“Yeah, it’s me”.

“He-elp…me?”

A feeble hand tried to grasp the edge of her coat.

Chala swallowed a decent-sized lump.

“Do you even have to ask?”

Just when she was about to drape an arm over the girl’s bruised shoulder-

KLA-KLANG-

FWOOOOSSSHH-!!

“BIRDY-!!”

The elevator dropped into the abyss-!

“NO!”

Chala lunged for the falling figure, and just missed her…

“NOOO, BIRRRDD!!!”

She never heard it hit bottom.

No-!!

A strange skittering noise put her nerves on edge.

What was that!?

Hoisting up the rifle, she pointed it at the rumbling darkness.

Where is it, what is it-?

She thought she could see…was that a…person behind that wall?

Do I dare shoot...?

She’d never used a gun before, so…

…They’re not hurting me…

She let it slump down.

They still did nothing.

Okay then…

Shooting one last look behind her, Chala ran up a catwalk to her left.

Like H* she was going to give up on Birdy now!!

Chapter Text

Thumping up a set of stairs, she hurried onto a platform which, unfortunately, appeared to be missing most of its other half.

...You made it this far.

 She leapt off the edge-

Her boots thumped firmly down on the opposite side. 

Made it.

Directly in front of her, the side of an elevator shaft loomed.

Time to climb.

Taking the 'quick' approach, she ascended up the right corner.

Handholds were few and far between, but she made do regardless.

My muscles are going to hate me tomorrow.

Finally, there came a point where she had to jump.

"Okay...", she breathed, "Here we go-!"

Pushing up with all the strength she had left, her fingers closed around the top edges of a large metal plate.

Which promptly broke off.

"-!!"

It was a miracle she was able to catch a wooden cross-piece before she fell all the way back...

"Okay, okay-!"

At the highest point of the structure, she was forced to turn around on a narrow ledge.

Nowhere to go but down.

A platform on the far side was her intended target, and as she leapt the interminable distance between it and herself-

I swear if I miss this-!!

 Her life flashed before her eyes.

A mili-second before her poor feet hit the opposite edge.

I can't believe I made that.

Taking a moment to get her bearings, Chala looked up to see a shady figure in a dark, ragged coat stalking off through an opening.

Knowing better than to attract their attention, she cautiously followed along...

Whoever it was jumped into a narrow pit at the end of a sequence of tunnels, and she hurried to follow.

Aw, s*!

A shutter happened to be descending right when she wanted to get to where they were!

I'll have to be quick-

Breaking into a flat-out run, she was just able to slip through the gap.

Phew.

Man, if my friends could see me right now, they would call me the sickest ninja ever!

Dropping down to the lower level the stranger had once been, Chala scooped up an old lamp that had been left by the side of the road, and lit it with a match.

There.

Now I'll be able to see in this crazy place...

Rushing out a side tunnel, she was immediately slapped in the face by an intense gale of snow.

What the-!?

The calming cascade of snowflakes from her earlier walk with Bird had transformed into a full-blown blizzard!

Oh for-!!

Shielding her eyes from the relentless onslaught, the girl shuffled forward as much as she could.

This is so weird...I can barely see two feet in front of my face!

Eventually, the shadowed outline of buildings began to appear through the ever-present haze.

Is that...the lodge?

No, it couldn't be-

Her mind flashed back to when Adopppp had found that poster for an old sanatorium.

Oh no.

AquaEclipse woke up feeling the full lovely effects of a nasty black eye.

"Tegan?"

Groaning slightly as she shakily stood up, the girl attempted to blink back the waves of dizziness.

D*, how hard was I hit!?

"Tegan!"

No answer.

...That creep must've stolen her-

"TEGAN!!"

Heart thumping a mile a minute, she bustled from room to room, searching for the poor thing.

"WHERE ARE YOU!?"

She practically ripped off the handle of a nearby door in her panic-

A crow flew out at her!

"AHH-s*, s*, s*...!!"

Stepping over the threshold, she was immediately nailed to the spot.

A series of vibrant blood spots decorated the wall.

She can't be dead...

That's...

That's a lot of blood...

There was one suspiciously-open door to the outside, and yes, she took it.

If Tegan's dying somewhere, then a trap is probably the least of my worries.

She went down the steps, and entered a torrential downpour of snow!

Agh!

Right  when I'm not ready...

Hustling down the path, she eventually discovered that it split in two.

"TEGAN!?" she called out.

No response from either fork.

Guess I'll take left first?

"AGHHHH, NO, you-!!!"

A giant, mechanical-clown thing popped out of the bushes and scared her half-to-death!

"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you...!!!"

Walking beyond that fuming, she saw a bloody pig's head lying amongst some dead grass.

The pool of crimson beneath its neck stump looked pretty d* fresh.

Ugh, this is...

What kind of nut would set up such creepy stuff?

Off to the left, she found a black totem.

"Huh".

Picking it up, she heard an unearthly scream, and the sound of leather boots kicking at some unseen thing.

"Yeesh.

I now regret all my life choices".

Down the right-hand path was a big, wooden house/glorified cabin.

That door was also open wide.

"Oh, here we go..."

It was full of tools.

So many tools.

Ew, it's like something out of a horror movie-

Crying.

From somewhere nearby!!

"Tegan!?"

Running toward the source of the sound, she was suddenly dive-bombed by a falling birdcage!

"Wah-!"

She threw her arms up to protect herself, and winced as it bounced painfully off of her elbow.

"...Aqua...?"

As she was slowly recovering from the phantom drop, Tegan's broken tones reached her ears.

"Tegan?"

She began to continue her hazardous trek.

"I'm coming, don't worry..."

Ducking by something that strongly resembled a plastic sheet with yuck all over it, a light flashed into her eyes, temporarily blinding her.

"Ah-!!"

When it cleared, a horrific sight was revealed.

Tegan and Brownwyn, chained to a wooden board behind a chain-linked partition.

At the end of two paths for a bloody saw blade to travel.

"Oh my God..."

The Host caught sight of her first.

"AQUA!!"

"Tegan!"

She glanced at her fellow captive.

"What's up with B.?"

"I-I don't know!"

Tegan shook her head.

"I've been trying and trying to get her to wake up, but she won't-!!"

HELLO, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING ME.

"WHO IS THAT!?"

She began to kick at the sleeper's legs.

"WAKE UP, WAKE UP BRONWYN-!!"

The latter finally stirred.

"Mm, wha?"

TONIGHT WE'RE GOING TO CONDUCT A LITTLE EXPERIMENT.

Aqua looked frantically for the source of the Demonic speaker.

Where is he!?

A LITTLE SORT OF TEST.

She yanked and twisted the handle of the door keeping her from them in a desperate bid to set them free!

"Come on, come on...!"

NOW FOR THIS EXPERIMENT, WE'LL NEED THE COOPERATION OF OUR TWO TEST SUBJECTS...Canyoufeelanything AND Willowcat88...

"...Where am I?"

Bronwyn's eyes were unfocused.

"What happened?"

"We got caught by that monster-!!"

BUT WE'RE GOING TO NEED MORE THAN ONE BRAVE PARTICIPANT TO HELP DECIDE...WHICH SUBJECT WILL LIVE, AND WHICH WILL DIE.

"DIE!?"

"NOO-!!"

Tegan's tears began to flow down her cheeks.

PLEASE.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE, AQUA HELP-!!"

Bronwyn started to pull and yank at her restraints, clearly having been terrified into lucidity.

"AQUA, I swear to God-!!"

PLEASE, PLEASE! EVERYONE CALM DOWN, IT'S ALL VERY SIMPLE.

AquaEclipse.

The horrified author ceased her futile struggling.

YOU WILL FIND A LEVER PLACED DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF YOU.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO...

IS CHOOSE WHO YOU WILL SAVE.

At that, Tegan lost it:

"NO, NO!!

You can't...you can't...!!!

PLEASE, not me!!!"

The expression on Bronwyn's face was the very picture of defiance-fueled fear.

"You're not gonna do it.

I know you're not gonna do it, I barely know you, and I know you aren't gonna kill us-"

"I...I..."

She could see it.

The lever...

To the left was a mugshot of Tegan.

To the right...a mugshot of Bronwyn.

"I don't wanna do this".

The jagged saw-blade whirred to life.

rrrrrRRRRRRR....

"THIS IS WRONG THIS IS WRONG THIS IS WRONG!!"

"Hey now!! HEY!!"

" Don't do this  please  Aqua-"

"D*t, gotta be some way out-"

"I DON'T WANNA DO THIS!!"

TEGAN  OR  BRONWYN?

Chapter Text

What do I do what do I do what do I do-!!????

I don’t want to kill my friends…

I don’t want to kill my friends!

“WHY!?

Why can’t I just not pick…”

Heart hammering wildly in her chest, she closed her eyes, thrust out a finger, and…

Pointed randomly.

Horrified sobbing drowned out the chosen party’s gasp of pure fear-

She opened them.

Tegan was on the left.