Welcome to the new short story! This is dedicated to Jenne11 as it was her idea and request.
Legal: I am not associated with and do not own DeGrassi or Epitome.
Very important things to know before reading~
*Basically, this takes place after the frostival but Clare did not kiss Eli at the Frostival. They however on good terms again.
*In story time it's just after Christmas.
*Clare and Jake did date and broke up over the summer, no one went to the Martin cabin after the wedding.
*Drew is still dating Katie.
*Dave and Alli are dating, Jenna and K.C. have broken up.
*Marisol is dating Mo.
This is a suspense shot but there will be some fluff and possibly some smut. This is your one and only warning that this is a suspense shot.
Ch. 1 I Was Schooled in the Tyranny of Nature's Plans
(CLARE)
I watch the snow falling on the back window of the SUV and sigh. Spending a part of my winter break at Owen's family's ski cabin was not how I pictured spending this weekend. Owen was coming up for the weekend, he invited Drew, Katie and Adam. Adam asked if I could go so Owen invited me. Mom would only let me go if Jake came, which Owen was okay with, and then Owen invited Bianca. Katie wanted Marisol to come, and, according to Adam, Owen wouldn't let Marisol come without Mo there to keep her in line or to keep Owen from killing Marisol. Somehow Alli managed to het herself, Jenna and Dave invited after finding out Adam and I were going. I felt kind of bad for Owen actually, I'm sure this is not at all how he pictured his weekend going either.
With so many of us, and all our luggage, we had to take three cars. Owen, Adam, Bianca, Jake and I are riding with Owen in his SUV. Drew is with Katie, Mo and Marisol in her car. Dave, Alli and Jenna are in Dave's car, they invited me and Adam to ride with them, but Owen had already invited us to ride in his car. Besides, since Jake was only on this trip because of me I figured I should ride with him. We'd stopped for dinner a couple of hours ago, but I was very ready to be out of the car, we'd been driving most of the day.
"Well, here it is," Owen says, and I look out the front window to see the cabin.
"Dude, this is huge, puts our cabin to shame," Jake comments.
"Our cabin is a shack," I quip, and Jake twists his mouth at me. "It really is impressive Owen, it looks like a hotel," I remark.
"We do rent it out, it's been a good investment for my parents. With the lake nearby, we rent it out in the winter and the summer. It sleeps a lot of people so if a group splits the cost it's cheaper than a hotel," Owen tells us before turning off the car.
Everyone gets out of the cars, while most of us are putting on coats and getting out our luggage Owen goes up the steps to unlock the front door. He gets that open and turns on interior lights as well as a light outside. Now that we can see everyone gets their bags and we go inside. The interior is more impressive than the outside, we walk in to a small foyer, stairs right in front of us lead to the second story, a small console table welcomes you with a plant, and pictures on the walls.
"There's four rooms besides mine, Drew you can bunk with me, unless one of the girls wants to," Owen says wiggling his eyebrow suggestively.
"No way," Jenna shakes her head.
"Eww," chorus Marisol and Alli.
"Dream on," Bianca shoots back.
"There are two beds in that room, right?" Drew asks.
"Yeah, two queens," Owen nods.
"I'm bunking with Mare, and we are not sharing with Bianca," Katie says in a haughty tone.
"B you and Clare can take the master," Owen shrugs.
"Sweet," Bianca smiles.
"Come on upstairs I'll show you the rooms," Owen says, and we follow him upstairs. "This room has two sets of bunk beds," Owen says pointing to the first door on the left when we reach the top of the stairs. "Adam, Jake, Mo and Dave you four should probably take that one."
Drew looks at Adam asking a silent question and Adam nods. "It should be fine," Adam says.
"It'll be like a sleepover," Jake grins and I smile at him.
"Hey, if they give you any trouble Adam you can come sleep with me and Clare," Bianca grins putting an arm around Adam's shoulders and he blushes.
"I'll be fine," Adam repeats still with red cheeks.
"On that side is bunk beds with a day bed," Owen tells them pointing to the first door on the right.
"Jenna and I will take that one," Alli says.
"Okay, B and Clare the master is at the end of the hall," Owen tells us as he begins walking, so we follow him. "This is me and Drew," Owen says opening the last door on the left just before the master. "Katie and Marisol that's you across the hall," Owen says pointing to the door.
Bianca opens the door at the end of the hall and I follow her in. The master bedroom is grand, it's nicer than any hotel I've ever been in. The showpiece of the room is the large king size bed, it has a silver tufted headboard, at least a dozen pillows and a scarlet red bedspread with white sheets. There's an actual chandelier over the bed, and floor to ceiling scarlet curtains to match the bedspread. A full-length mirror in an ornate silver frame is on the opposite wall, there's artwork on the walls and some kind of small tree or topiary bush in the corners on the same wall as the door. A large walk in closet is on one side of the bed and on the other a gorgeous master bath that seems to be all marble.
"Pretty sure we got the best room in the house," I laugh as I set down my bag.
"We definitely got the best room in the house," Bianca grins.
I'm not going to bother unpacking clothes since we're only here for a couple of days, but I do unpack my toiletries in the washroom. Bianca does the same, we take off our coats and both fall on the bed at the same time, then we both giggle. The bed is massive and very comfortable.
"ANYONE WHO WANTS THE GRAND TOUR COME NOW," Owen calls.
"I suppose we should see the rest of the house," Bianca remarks as we get up and go to the door. Everyone else also comes out of their rooms and follows Owen downstairs for the tour. Katie latches right on to Drew and Bianca rolls her eyes.
We go downstairs and to the right which takes us to a great room consisting of a formal living room, a large open kitchen and a dining area. Owen shows us the pantry, the door to the basement and the mudroom which leads to the back door. Going around the kitchen we come to a formal dining room and then to what Owen refers to as "the fun room". It is a large room with sofas, chairs a big screen TV, game system and a pool table. From this room you walk back around to the front entry.
"In case you missed it the deck wraps around, there's a fireplace on each side and heat lamps if anyone wants to hang out for a bit," Owen says when he concludes the tour.
"I need my coat," I remark.
"No way between the heat lamps and the fire it's plenty warm," Owen disagrees.
"I know we stopped for dinner a little over an hour ago but I'm hungry," Jake says.
"You're always hungry," I reply and Jenna giggles.
"I'm hungry too," Mo agrees.
"Kitchen is fully stocked, help yourself," Owen replies.
Jake, Mo, Marisol and Dave go into the kitchen, and the rest of us follow Owen outside. He goes around the corner where I find an outdoor seating area. The huge stone-faced fireplace is surrounded by heat lamps, chairs and an outdoor sofa, there's even a rug. Owen starts a fire by flicking a switch and the gas fireplace lights. Owen sits in one of the chairs, I sit next to Adam on the sofa and Jenna sits on the other side of me. Drew asks Owen about the area, people talk about what they want to do tomorrow and then Jake, Mo, Marisol and Dave come out with cookies and hot chocolate for everyone. We stay on the deck for a few hours and never do get cold, we talk and have dessert. I watch the stars, but after driving most of the day we get pretty tired and turn in relatively early. Of course, by the time I'm ready for bed and Bianca's ready for bed it's been almost another hour.
The bed is so big, and the mattress is memory foam I don't even feel Bianca. I fall asleep pretty quickly, but get woken by noises. At first the noises seem to be coming from outside, but then I think they're coming from downstairs. I tell myself that it's just one of the others, I try to get back to sleep, but I can't. I won't be able to go back to sleep until I know who's downstairs and what their doing. I get up and leave the room quietly, Bianca stays asleep. I make my way downstairs quietly, no lights on down here, I think I hear noises in the kitchen, so I go that way but still see no lights. I turn the lights on in the kitchen and see no one, I stay very still for a moment and listen. I do hear noises, but they seem to be coming from outside. I determine it must be an animal outside that's just very close to the house.
I decide to check all the doors and windows anyway. Starting with the kitchen I check all the windows, then the door to the basement and the backdoor. I go around the house in a clockwise manner, turning on lights in one room, checking all the doors and windows and then moving on. After I check "the fun room" I turn out the light and cross the entry for the great room when a hand grabs my shoulder in the darkness! Naturally, I scream as loud as I can.
"Fuck, it's just me," Owen growls angrily and flips on a light. I see that it's him and let out a breath, regrettably my scream seems to have been loud enough to wake the rest of the house. Everyone comes running down the stairs, Jake and Adam leading the pack.
"Sorry, I'm okay. Owen grabbed me in the dark and I screamed," I apologize as Owen takes his hand off my shoulder.
"What are you doing grabbing her in the dark?" Adam inquires.
"I wanted to know what she was doing skulking around the house so late," Owen replies.
"I heard noises, I thought they were coming from down here. Then I decided they were coming from outside. I figured it was an animal, but I still wanted to check the doors and windows to be safe. That's what I was doing."
"Lots of animals out here," Owen says.
"Did you check all the doors and windows?" Jake questions.
"I checked from the kitchen clockwise," I reply.
"I'll check the rest of the great room," Adam comments.
"I'll go with you," Drew offers.
Owen goes with them and they tell me everything is locked tight. I apologize for waking everyone again and we all go back to bed. Knowing the house is all locked up I'm able to fall asleep quickly, and sleep the rest of the night.
(ADAM)
"I'm getting hungry," I call to Owen after a beautiful landing on my snowboard.
It was our first day here, even after being woken by Clare's scream last night we all woke up fairly early this morning. After making ourselves breakfast and cleaning up we split up depending on what we wanted to do. Drew wanted to come snowboarding with me, Owen, Dave and Bianca, but Katie dragged him skiing instead. Jake and Mo went sledding, everyone else is skiing.
"Me too, and it's getting dark," Owen nods. He wanted everyone to meet back at the cabin before dark, so we would know everyone was okay, after all it is his family's cabin and Owen feels responsible for everyone. Of course, all our parents gave us permission to come, and knew that with skiing and snowboarding there was a chance we could get hurt. "Hey," he calls to Dave and Bianca, "let's get back and start dinner."
We grab our snowboards and trek back to the snowmobiles. Owen and Bianca get on one, Dave and I get on another and we follow Owen back to the cabin. Drew, Katie, Alli, Jenna, Clare and Marisol pull up just as we're getting the snowmobiles in the garage. Owen let Drew drive his SUV, so they could get to the slopes. It figures my brother would be surrounded by all girls, even if his girlfriend did drag him. When we come into the cabin we find Jake and Mo are already back and they've started dinner, so everyone is safe.
After I change out of my snow suit and clean up a little I help Jake and Mo finish dinner. It's pretty simple just spaghetti and garlic bread. When Marisol and Katie come down they make a salad, Clare and Owen set the table. Everyone is in a good mood and very hungry by the time we sit down and eat.
"Looks like you survived skiing," I comment to my brother as we begin eating.
"Barely, he's not very good on skis, he fell on me twice," Clare remarks.
"I think that was intentional," Owen says with a taunting tone and I laugh.
"It's not my fault I was with all the girls. At least I got off her, you probably would have had her behind a tree and making out," Drew banters back and everyone laughs. Except for Clare who turns bright red.
"Sledding was fun, had some close calls with a couple of trees though," Jake speaks up. I think it was mostly to get the attention off of Clare.
"Yeah, I almost rolled down the hill like a snowball once," Mo tells us.
"You should come skiing with me tomorrow," Marisol says.
Everyone has at least one story to share while we're eating. When we're done eating Drew, Alli, Jenna and Dave do most of the clean up since they didn't help with dinner. The little trashcan under the sink does get full and has some food in it, so I decide to take it outside. Owen tells me where the big trashcans are outside, he also tells me they're locked in a wooden storage shed to keep animals out. I put on a coat and shoes, grab the key marked Trash,turn on the backyard light and go outside. After putting the bag in the can I notice something in the snow, something just beyond where the light will reach.
"Hey Owen," I call into the house and he appears a second later. "There a flashlight around?"
"Yeah," he says opening a cabinet in the mudroom and handing me a large flashlight, then he slips on some snow boots and a big coat. "What's up?" He asks following me out.
"Not sure, saw something in the snow," I reply. I turn on the light and go back to where I saw it, and freeze when I see it's a trail of blood in the snow. I can see about a dozen drops from the trees and going around towards the deck.
"It's probably a wounded animal, maybe even whatever Clare heard last night," Owen says.
"That blood looks pretty fresh," I point out.
"We've had animals take shelter under the deck before."
"You're right, it's probably an animal," I agree turning and walking back for the house. "Uh, let's not tell Clare about this," I whisper to Owen as we're taking off our shoes and coats in the mudroom.
"Good plan, we'll just keep this to ourselves," Owen agrees.
Dinner is cleaned up and Alli wants to take a bath which monopolizes the girl's washroom. Katie has disappeared with my brother somewhere, probably to make out, Mo and Marisol have also disappeared, so they could be together. The rest of us go into "the fun room" Owen turns on the TV and finds a movie while Dave and I play pool. We're up pretty late, watching movies, playing pool and Clare finds some board games. The others do eventually join us, after a full day most of us start going to bed around midnight. I sleep pretty well but wake a couple hours later to use the washroom, it's not until I'm up that I realize Mo isn't in his bed and there's a light on in the hall. I assume it's Mo, still when I'm done in the washroom I quietly go out to the hall. I see there's lights on downstairs too.
"Who forgot to turn off the lights?" Drew yawns coming out of Owen's room.
"I think it's Mo, he's not in his bed."
"Probably snuck away to make out with Marisol again," Drew says.
We go downstairs quietly, expecting to find Mo and Marisol making out on the sofa, but we don't. We walk through to the formal dining room and nearly bump into Clare as she's coming through the door. She gasps and then releases a breath when she sees that it's us.
"What are you two doing," she censures.
"Saw the light on, Mo wasn't in his bed I came to see where he was," I tell her.
"I saw the light on, but I think Mo is making out with Marisol somewhere. Now what are you doing up again?" Drew asks.
"I heard noises again. I was sure they were inside the house this time. Bianca seems to be able to sleep through everything, it didn't wake her up."
"It was probably just Mo and Marisol sneaking out to be alone," I assure her.
"Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me that those two can't be quiet," Clare nods.
"Come on, let's go back to bed," I say taking her arm. We turn off the lights and go back upstairs, I walk with Drew and Clare to their rooms.
"Clare if you can't sleep you can always come into our room and get in bed with Owen. I'm sure he won't mind," Drew grins as he opens his door.
"Don't listen to him, if you can't sleep come get me," I tell Clare and she smiles.
"Dude what's going on?" Owen yawns. "Who's getting in bed with me?"
"Go back to sleep," Drew laughs.
Clare goes into her room and I go back to mine. Dave has the top bunk, so I get into mine without waking him or Jake. It takes me a little time to fall back to sleep but once I do I sleep soundly. I wake up a little after eight the next morning when Jake gets up to use the washroom, he goes in and locks the door and I start to drift back to sleep until he comes out again.
"Where's Mo?" Jake asks with a yawn.
"I don't know, he wasn't in his bed last night either. I think he and Marisol snuck out," I reply sitting up with a stretch.
"They probably fell asleep on the pool table or something," Dave yawns as he hops down from the top bunk.
The three of us start getting dressed. Either Drew and Owen wake at the same time we do, or we wake them up going in and out of the washroom. Jake and Dave have no trouble changing and getting dressed in the room, but I take my chest binding and clothes into the washroom to get dressed. I'm also the first one ready and I leave my room just as Clare leaves hers.
"Mo still isn't in his bed," I tell Clare and she gets a worried look on her face.
"He and Marisol probably fell asleep downstairs," Drew remarks coming out of his room shirtless.
"That's what I said," Dave agrees.
"Did you check to see if Marisol is in her bed?" Clare asks.
Drew shrugs and goes to the door of the room Katie and Marisol are sharing. He knocks softly before just opening the door, "Katie it's me."
"Don't come in Drew I'm getting dressed," Katie barks at him before slamming the door on him.
"Is Marisol in there?" I call through the door.
"No, she and Mo met up late last night to make out and she never came back to the room. Now go away so I can get dressed," Katie replies sharply.
"They have to be downstairs somewhere. I don't think they could have fallen asleep and stayed outside all night," Drew says.
"Yeah, let's go look downstairs," I nod.
"Look for who?" Owen asks coming out of his room fully dressed.
"Mo and Marisol, they snuck out for some sexy time and never came back to their rooms," Drew informs him.
The five of us go downstairs, we check "the fun room" first but don't see them. We check the great room after that as that's the next most obvious, but they aren't there either. We can see the kitchen from here and no one is in there, we walk around to the formal dining room and check there just to be safe. They aren't there either.
"Let's go outside, maybe they did sleep through the cold," Owen remarks.
"Drew you need to get some more clothes on first. We should probably all get shoes and jackets on. If they were stupid enough to wander away from the cabin in the middle of the night they may have gotten lost or be stuck in the snow," I speak up. I have that uneasy queasy feeling and the hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end. Something most definitely is not right.
We return upstairs, running into most of the others along the way. We tell them we're going to look for Mo and Marisol, so they return to the rooms to get coats and shoes, or get fully dressed. By the time everyone meets in the entry we're all here, except for Mo and Marisol.
"I told Mare not to go out last night. If she got lost or something I'll kill her," Katie comments.
"I'm going to kill them both anyway," Owen remarks as he opens the front door. We check all around the deck first, but there's no sign of them. Owen is the only one with a good knowledge of the area, so he's in the lead. Jake and I are right behind him, Katie is clinging to my brother just behind us, and finally Clare, Bianca, Jenna, Dave and Alli are in the rear. "Fuck," Owen says stopping suddenly.
"What?" Jake asks as he and I go on either side of Owen to see why he stopped.
"That's not from an animal is it?" I question seeing the large pool of blood in the snow.
"I doubt it, and I've never seen an animal kill another animal that big and drag it away," Owen says pointing at the drag marks near the blood, "or wear shoes," he comments, and I see the footprints in the snow near the trees.
"What is it? Did you find them?" Clare calls as she begins walking toward us.
"We need to get everyone back to the cabin," Owen says turning around. Jake and I do the same thing.
"Clare get back to the cabin," Jake commands her and she scowls at him for ordering her to do something.
"Why?" She questions still coming toward us. Jake takes some surprisingly nimble steps towards her in the deep snow and grabs her before she can go any farther.
"What's going on? Where's Marisol? It's cold out here," Katie whines.
"We'll get back to the cabin and call the cops and ski patrol," Owen says but keeps his voice fairly low. I nod and take a step in the direction of the cabin. Dave somehow got Alli and Jenna to start heading that way and Bianca is staying where she is. Drew and Katie are starting to turn around to go back to the cabin and Jake is trying to pull Clare that way, so currently she's the only one facing the forest.
"Owen!" Clare shrieks suddenly. Both her shrill scream and the shadow looming behind Owen make my heart stop, I become frozen in place.
Scruwnch the chilling bone splitting sound of Owen getting hit in the head with a shovel rings through our ears. He falls, like a tree that was swiftly felled by an axe, straight down in the snow. I hold my breath as my eyes look over to see who hit him and Clare screams while the others turn around.
A man stands there, about Owen's height, a little slimmer and less muscle, kind of scrawny. Dark blonde hair, a thin mustache, small beard, but it's his eyes that scare me, they look soulless. He's still holding the shovel, seems to be making sure that Owen won't be getting up.
For a second all of us are frozen, including the man that knocked Owen out. Then my brother, of course, decides to try and be the hero. He lets go of Katie and in a (I'll grant him) super-human-like move is suddenly next to me. He's all ready to fight the guy with the shovel, until another man steps out from the trees and trains a gun on us. He cocks it and points it right at Drew's face…
Now aren't you glad that short stories get two chapters at a time? Ch. 2 will be up shortly.