Hey readers. I'm back with another story, and it surprisingly isn't COD. I've finally set something that I work on, and I hope I can keep this story going until the end. I'm actually a little nervous to post this. It's 'first story jitters' if you know what I mean. But yeah :3 I hope you like it

02:00

"Hey Leslie," I looked up, seeing my 'older friend' (I think she's my friend), Beth, approaching me. I shut the book I was reading and turned my attention to my BFF, who was seating herself in the chair next to me.

"Talk to me, sister," Beth began, putting her arm around my shoulder, "So, how's highschool for ya?"

I shrugged, "It's got its ups and downs."

"Yeah... Is Chris still doing that techie stuff?"

"Heh, you bet. He spends most of his time in his room doing those 'nerdy things'."

"Well, you seem to be a nerd yourself."

"Am not!"

"Oh yeah? I've seen you many times and you've always got a book in your hand."

"Well..."

"What are you reading anyway?"

"It's uh... A Head Full of Ghosts."

"What's it about?"

"Well, there's this girl who is expressing signs of schizophrenia."

"Uh-Huh."

"And her parents-"

"What the-Hannah?" Beth stopped listening to me and glued her eyes to the window. I saw what she saw. Her older, twin sister, Hannah was running out of the house with no jacket on and going out into the wilderness. Beth got up and went into the livingroom. I followed behind, seeing that Chris' other friends(Ashley, Jessica, Emily, Sam, Matt, and Mike) were going outside the front door as well, yet not going after their run-away friend. Sam called out for Hannah's name. I walked outside was well, clueless of what happened. Beth came bursting through the crowd, zipping up her hot-pink winter coat, "What's going on? Where's my sister going?"

"Ugh, it's fine," Jessica scoffed, "She just can't take a joke."

"It was just a prank, Han!" Emily called, not as loud as Sam's.

"What did you guys do?" I questioned.

"We were just messing around," Mike explained, "It wasn't serious-"

"You jerks!" Beth snapped, and turned around to run out into the snowy wind blowing west. All of us stood there, unsure of what to do. I looked at everyone's unsure faces. All except for Sam, didn't look sorry for the 'prank' they pulled on Hannah. It seemed clear that Sam had nothing to do with it, but she didn't step off the deck to run after her friends. She just looked at everyone with this look saying, "Well, are you satisfied?"

"So... Should we go after her?" Mike asked.

"Y'know, I kinda think you're the last person she wants to see right now, Mike," Sam hissed.

I clenched my fists, having the strong urge to go after the twin sisters. I finally took two steps forward, hesitant of the decision I was making at first. "Woah, Leslie," Matt began, "You're going after them?"

I took one good look at this douche-bag, and I spat, "Asshole." I ran out into the storm, and soon found myself running on a dark path in between rocks and trees. It was difficult to see at first, since the snow was blowing into my eyes. I kept my eyes on the ground, since I clearly saw Beth's footprints. I was not prepared for this. I didn't have a jacket on, my forearms were exposed to the cold temperature, and if I've known I'd be sprinting in ankle-deep snow, I wouldn't have worn uggs. I scaled down some wooden steps that were descending deeper into the forest. Then two footprints turned into four, and I could only think that these belonged to Beth and Hannah. The snow died down as I got underneath the clamped pine branches. Though my vision didn't seem clear enough to see that Beth had leaped down from a steep, yet short, rock cliff. I ended up falling for a short second and landing on my stomach. I wheezed and coughed, putting my hand on my rib cage. My fingertips were starting to turn numb and white.

I got up. It was a little easier to see, but it was so damn dark. The snow started wetting through my uggs, and my toes started to feel the same numbing feeling like my fingers. I jogged slowly. "H-Hannah...! Beth! W-Where are you?" I coughed. I stumbled across something that appeared to be wooden. It also had horns on each side. I picked it up. It had black outlines, and a weird looking face. A totem. I laughed a little, "How long have you been here?" I set it down and got up into a standing position. I was suddenly startled by high-pitched screams. "Holy...- Hannah! Beth!" I picked up my pace again. Their footsteps were printed across a bridge.

But right as I got across, I stopped. I saw a man, dressed heavily, and was nearly prone. He had his arm dangling over a cliff, as if he were reaching out for something. Beside him, there was some sort of metal object, sort of shaped like a heavy machine gun only bigger. He hulled himself up to his feet and sighed deeply. I still stood frozen, sensing him as a threat. Hannah and Beth's footprints lead up to him, and then over the cliff. He picked up the object and turned facing me. I exhaled shakily turned back the way I came. Energy was springing up through my body, and each breath I took was quick and deep.

I tripped, nearly having an ugg slip from my foot. I turned over on my back, keeping my head up and my eyes ahead. I saw flames come out of the shadows. "That's..." I panted, "That's a flamethrower! Oh my God!" I got back up and ran up a steep hill. It turned back into a flat path, and the snow began blowing into my eyes. But I knew I was close since I could sense warm smoke coming from the lodge. In the snowy wind, I saw the lodge, and Sam was still out there. She seemed like she was about to head inside, until I let out a high, frail cry, "Sam!"

She fortunately stopped and turned around, and our eyes met. She jogged up to me just in time as I tripped again, only to land in her arms. "Jesus, you're chilled to the bone!" She exclaimed, and she lead me inside the lodge. I felt the heat touch my skin, but I didn't feel any better. "Are you okay? What happened?" Sam asked. All that came from my mouth were chattering teeth due to being out in the cold. Sam had her hand on my shoulder, leading me into the living room, where everyone else had their attention focused on me. Josh and Chris were next to each other, still a little drunk from their earlier drink.

I sat myself on the couch next to Jessica, and she did her teenage scoff at me, "Ew... You smell like BO."

I only glared at her as Sam put a blanket over my back. "Not that I'm being mean," Mike said, "But she's right-"

"Shut up, both of you" Sam said.

"Let me finish... What happened to you, Leslie? Where's Hannah and Beth?"

Hannah and Beth... Oh no. Josh was sober enough to hear what Mike just said, "H-Hannah *Hic* Beth... They're gone?"

With no warning, tears sprung from my eyes. I buried my hands into my watery eyes, not wanting anyone to see me. But I knew that everyone was giving me a look until they heard an answer.

"I-I... I lost them."