Wind howled outside as the sun began to set over Big Bear Lake. The dusty orange Californian twilight lit up the living room of a large wooden cabin, secluded within the trees. The fiery twilight revealed four individuals sitting in the cabin, comfortably enjoying a night in.
"No no, Sohinki! Play that one!" a large man with long brown hair yelled, pointing at a much smaller mans phone. The man looked up, exasperated, rubbing his hand through his short auburn beard.
"Wes, chill out! Go bug Joven or something!" the man exclaimed, giving the larger man, Wes, a playful shove.
"Nuh uh!" a man with short black hair and glasses exclaimed, laughing.
"He already tried that with me!" he continued, tapping vigorously at his own screen. Wes huffed, crossing his arms and shaking his head.
"Not my fault Lasercorn doesn't wanna play Hearthstone with me! He just wants to play his DS, and eat pizza!" he chuckled, gesturing to another man on the couch behind him. This man was on the smaller side, somewhere between Joven and Sohinki, and the dimming sunlight showed slightly faded orange hair.
"Yeah. What a shame. Lasercorn sounds like a dick." The man known as Lasercorn replied, looking at Wes with a gleam in his wide brown eyes. The group continued to sit around, occasionally throwing out advice or insults. suddenly, Sohinki and Joven frowned, Sohinki tapping his screen in frustration.
"Hey did the wifi just go out?" Sohinki asked, tapping the "connection lost" alert on his phone.
"Yeah. hey Wes, go check the router!" Joven replied, locking his phone and leaning back into the couch. Wes mockingly sighed, but went upstairs to go check the router. The only sounds were the music coming from Lasercorn's DS, and the wind howling outside.
"I just turned it off and back on again. Did it work?" Wes called down from upstairs. Sohinki fiddled with his phone for a moment.
"Nah, try again!" he called back. The group repeated the process a couple more times, Lasercorn glancing up every now and then.
"Dammit. I guess i'll call Matt Raub and let him know." Joven sighed, and unlocked his phone.
"Yeah, and ask when he and the rest of the guys are comin' back too. It's getting late." Sohinki replied, bouncing his knee up and down.
We're sorry, your call cannot be completed at this time. Joven pulled the phone away from his ear.
"Huh, that's weird... hey does anyone have service on their phone? i don't think mine does." Joven asked, tossing his phone on the couch next to him. The group checked, and Sohinki spoke up.
"Yeah, i got a couple bars. I'll call." We're sorry, your call cannot be completed at this time.
"Shit. Guess we're stuck here with no wifi till the gang gets back." Wes and Joven nodded, and the group began to talk aimlessly about whatever was on their mind, Lasercorns' DS tapping becoming a backdrop.
Suddenly, a piercing siren broke through the calm air, and everyone except Lasercorn looked up, Joven jumping a bit. More sirens began to join, and at this point even Lasercorn was interested.
"What do you thinks' going on?" he asked, shutting his DS and walking over to the group.
"I don't know, wanna go upstairs and look out the balcony? see if we can see anything, or something." Wes suggested, and the group murmured their agreement. The four went upstairs, the sirens growing louder. They eventually make it to the balcony, and look out to the main road, only slightly obstructed by the snow covered trees.
"Nothing so far." Joven said quietly, wrapping his hands together in the frigid air. He noticed Lasercorn was shivering a bit, and had subconsciously stepped closer to Joven and the others.
"Yeah, probably just something closer to the main part of town. maybe a-" Sohinki began, and stopped when a large ambulance came barreling into the intersection, where it suddenly fishtailed and began spinning to a stop, sirens still wailing. The group gasped, and the shocked silence was broken by lasercorn.
"Oh my god, look!" he exclaimed, pointing in the direction of the road opposite the ambulance. a small car was hurtling down the road, about to go through the intersection. Wes gasped.
"Oh no! he's gonna hit-"
CRASH
The boys gasped as a body clearly flew from the smaller vehicle, landing somewhere in the intersection they were unable to see.
The group jumped backwards instinctively, Sohinki and Wes yelling and Lasercorn emitting a yelp. they stood in shocked silence for a second, looking at the wreckage. The two cars had crumpled into each other, and nobody could see where the body was. Lasercorn and Sohinki stood there, mouths agape, and Joven turned to Wes.
"Holy shit i..." joven was at a loss for words for once.
"Should we like..." Wes asked, nodding towards the scene, gesturing at the ambulance. The four noticed lights were turning on in other cabins, and they could hear doors being opened. Sohinki pulled out his phone and attempted to call 911, but the call wouldn't go through.
"I don't know..." joven replied, trying to think logically.
"There's an ambulance there, i don't think i could do anything that they couldn't" he continued.
"Yeah, but the EMTS could be hurt. i'll go find a flashlight." Wes exclaimed, and ran downstairs. the group quickly followed him, reconvening in the living room as Wes rifled through the cabinets.
"You're not gonna go there alone right?" Sohinki asked, looking at Wes.
"Well no, I'll take one or two of you with me." Wes answered, pulling a flashlight out of the cabinet and laying it next to him. Joven spoke up.
"I'll go. might be a dead body. i'd like to see that." joven replied, trying to lighten the mood.
"Yeah. i'll go too." lasercorn quickly replied, forcing himself to erase the worry that had been painted on his face throughout the whole ordeal.
"Okay. grab your jackets, it'll be cold." Wes exclaimed, tossing his on. Lasercorn went to grab his, and Joven smacked his forehead.
"Shit. I forgot i gave mine to Courtney to borrow for tonight. guess i'll just go in this." he said, gesturing to his pajamas. Sohinki shook his head.
"Nah, it's freezing out. i got my jacket, i'll go. you stay and keep watch here in case we need you." he said, patting Joven on the back as he shrugged his jacket on.
Joven gave everyone a wave and wished them luck as they headed out, then trotted upstairs to look out the window as they walked down from the cabin. He saw Wes toss a flashlight to Lasercorn, and they walked with Sohinki in between them. Joven kept watch as long as he could, the three disappearing into the trees. He then grabbed a blanket to head to the balcony and watch the scene as best he could.