Damn, it was cold! You shivered heavily in your winter gear, feeling the cold bite of the Russian air eat your warmth away. Looks like nobody was truly lying about how cold it was. You knew Russia was frigid but not this frigid! It was so cold, it hurt to breathe! The town you were in was a name you couldn't pronounce nor hear right because you may have good hearing but your brain may interpret it a different way. This problem has been with you since childhood and it wasn't pleasant to get picked on for this little set back but it's something you had to deal with.

The main reason you're here is because of Markiplier. He didn't really invite anyone but your friend who is absolutely obsessed with him managed to convince you to join her as she "followed" (more like stalked) Markiplier to Russia. If you recalled from one of his videos he had published, that one of his life goals is to backpack across the Russian wilderness.

With a soft sigh, you glanced behind you to see your friend consulting a Russian man for directions to Kholat Syahkl. He seemed refusing to answer the question and you wouldn't blame him. You heard about the case of the nine kids who went up there and never came back. When the rescue team found them, their reports were very bizarre including blunt force trauma to the head although there was no struggle.

Thinking about it made you tremble with fear with an uncomfortable shiver escaping from your body. This was going to be one hell of a time! Finally your friend turned away with a disappointed huff. She was a naturally beautiful girl with (s/c), long (h/c), and eyes that were filled with adventure and ambition. Her (e/c) eyes flashed in anger though she softly smiled at you and walked towards you, putting a mittened hand on your shoulder in comfort. She wore mainly (c) colors, a trademark of her if you will. Should be easy to spot her in the white snow. You wouldn't be easy to find since you wore white gear.

"Don't worry," (F/N) smiled, staring at you with her starry eyes, "I bet there's nothing up on that mountain anymore. Besides, didn't an official say it might've been radiation?"

"They did say that," you replied, shrugging off (F/N) hand and walking over to a tree to sit down at. "But remember it can take centuries before radiation can truly disappear including buried kinds." Plopping in the snow, you pulled your knees to your chest and rested your head on your knees. An anxiety attack was starting. Your heart was beating rapidly, your breath was getting shorter, and you felt sick. Panic coursed through your veins as you reevaluated this situation. You were in a different country on the other hemisphere of the earth, you are travelling with your best friend to get a guy who barely knows you two existed, and now you are following him up into a mountain where some kids pretty much died from a mysterious force.

Your friend huffed and sat next to you, getting into position of comforting you. It was a dick thing to say but (F/N) wasn't a comforter when it came to you having panic attacks. The only time she does this is when…

"Hey, is everything okay?" There it was the deep friendly voice.

Mark Fischbach otherwise known as Markiplier.

"No, I think my friend is having an anxiety attack. We were going to go up to Kholat but she started overthinking this and went into a panic." She wasn't wrong but you didn't like it when she used you for image uses. Shuffling followed and a heavy presence sat to your right while your friend stayed on your left.

It was hard to get your breath back to their regular pattern. You took heavy breaths in and out, trying to even it out with all your might. You've got to calm down; after all this was for (F/N), she wanted to backpack with Markiplier.

"Hey, what's your guy's name?"

"I'm (F/N) and this is (Y/N)."

"Nice to meet you two."

"It's nice to finally meet you Markipoo."

"Uh, I prefer Markimoo." You heard a slight shift from Mark and a hand pressed against your shoulder.

"Hey, if it'll make you feel any better, I'm kind of scared to be up there too."

It didn't help but by this point, you felt a lot better. You just needed to pull yourself together. You lifted your head and turned to Mark, flashing him a tiny smile.

"Thanks. At least I don't feel alone on this." He smiled back and stood up before offering his hand up for you to take. A light blush crossed your cheeks as you took the offer. You couldn't help it, Mark was extremely handsome. Your friend stood up as well and slung her heavy pack onto her back and pointed into the forest.

"Come on! Let's go!" Mark was behind her and he was carrying…wait a minute…

Wasn't that your backpack he was carrying?

The Youtuber smiled and tilted his head to follow him. Dumbfounded, you followed him and (F/N) into the woods for the journey of a lifetime. Your friend soon dropped back a bit to start chatting up a conversation with Mark. They started chatting about his personal life, Youtube life, and any kind of information she could sink her teeth into about her celebrity crush. You kept quiet, not wanting to be rude and disturb your friend's plan. You noticed Mark was wearing dark winter gear with a pink moustache patch on his jacket. You giggled at the logo and noticed he was kind of hunching over with both of your gear.

Poor guy. You didn't want him to carry that! It was probably giving him back problems. You reached out and tugged on his jacket sleeve.

"Hey Mark?" You asked squeaked, trying to get him to notice you for a second. It seemed to work as he turned his head and your friend frowned thinking you were trying to sabotage her mission, you quickly asked, "Can I have my pack now? I think I can carry it."

"Yeah of course." He paused and got it off his back, giving it back to you. You swung it on your back and were going to continue walking when the three of you reached a fork in the road. To the left was bright, clean, airy, and nothing obscuring the sunlight. The one on the right on the other hand was dark, spooky, and the trees crowded in at an angle to make it creepy. You tried your best not to make a scared noise at the display since if the map was right-

"We need to go to the right." (F/N) declared, walking forward into the creepy forest. You really did not want to do this! How did she even talk you into this? Mark walked up beside you, nudging you forward.

"Don't worry, I promise nothing will happen to you."

You wanted to argue but your friend was waiting at the mouth of a cave a mile ahead. Swallowing your fear, you trudged on, feeling dread fill your limbs. Mark followed close by. It was silent. You couldn't find anything to distract you from that scary cave lying up ahead.

Closing in on it, the cave looked much better from a distance. Cold dark rocks had sharp icicles that dared you to enter. A wind blew into the cave, creating a hollowed groan. Oh god you're going to die! (F/N), you, and Mark walked in, keeping a line instead of single file since you don't know what'd happen next.

A couple rocks crackled under your feet. That's strange, you didn't see any pebbles.

CRACK THOOM!

The floor disappeared from under your feet, making you tumble down, until a thump followed by other thumps. Your head connected with the snowy ground, the blow not hard to your skull though unpleasant for your brain as it rattled in its bony prison.

"Oh Marky fell down!" (F/N) quoted with a giggle. You turned your head to find your friend brushing snow off her while Mark was still on the ground, face buried in the snow. A muffled sentence came from Mark and he stood up. You did the same, grabbing onto the side of the cave for support. This was going to be an interesting trip.

You scrambled out of the cave, some kind of fear gripping your heart. It constricted and squeezed to the point of painful.

"Hey (Y/N)! Come back!" The voice was lost to the wind, you running head first into the blizzard. You abandoned all caution, hearing a voice talking to you.

"I felt it tearing out of my soul. I was for a while no one." You tried to ignore it and finally after running, you found a small tent with a fire outside. Some people were kind enough to leave that for travelers. In this case, this is what you needed. You climbed inside and you shivered with fear.

"I am right behind you."