I wrapped my arms around my legs, shaking from fear, exhilaration. and exhaustion, all I wanted to do right now is curl up in the cold snow and have a nice long nap and forget abut everything that just happened, I looked up at the others who were all beginning to stand up around me, making me feel small and a bit pathetic for not getting up yet. I looked over at Ashley who was dusting snow off of herself and looking frozen, already sniffling a bit and not even looking at me and instead looking over at the only other blonde here right now with small adoration and relief, Samantha, who was being helped up by a beat up looking Mike.
All of us were beat up actually so it wasn't that big of a surprise to see him like it as well, especially after breaking a lightbulb with his damn hand and whatever else he went through throughout the night, the bruise on my forehead hurt like a bitch and every time I gritted my teeth it would ache, my ankle also hurt when I moved it the wrong way, it was most likely sprained, I could barely walk on it but I would manage. I had to.
I noticed a movement from the corner of my eye and jerked my head in that direction, afraid that it was more wendigos, I had even begun to freak out and stand up until the figures came into view and I saw it was Jessica leaning heavily on Matt who was carrying her pretty much, that calmed me a bit, happy to see the two survived, and I fell to the ground once more, not in the mood to stand up as my heart began to ache as I thought of Josh out there all alone. I lifted my head once more and behind Jessica and Matt was one more figure limping a bit behind them. My eyes widened as I couldn't believe it, there was no way.
"Josh!" I heard myself say without even realizing it and I stood up all the way and began to limp towards him quickly, not even remembering standing up in the first place. He stared at me in both fear and fascination as I made my way up to him, a huge grin spread across my face as I pulled him into a hug, "Bro! I- I came back for you in the shed after Mike apparently left you," I turned a glare towards Mike but he was too busy staring at Jessica who cried out in happiness to see him and was going on about how he came for her and that Matt helped her, said male at her side making sure she didn't fall, "but you were already gone! And-" I could feel tears beginning to spill out down my cheeks as I pulled him closer, I've never really cried in front of Josh, the last time I did was when I was 14 and my mom had died, other than that I have never tried showing any sadness around him again because of how uncomfortable he looked then.
Josh stayed quiet as he hesitantly hugged me back, making me feel awful for what I had done to him that night, I felt horrible about tying him up in the damn shed and not with us in the lodge, or even tying him up at all, he wasn't dangerous, and it was a stupid idea, I should have never of gone through with it. I could hear the helicopters above us, whirling loudly as they landed on a flat area near us, taking me by surprise and I smiled at Josh but he just looked sadly at me, during a time like this I am glad about Emily's fast thinking of going up to the tower to call for help. Ashley ran up to us and gave Josh a cautious look before she grabbed me and helped me over to the Helicopter, Josh followed slowly, eventually getting help from Sam who looked peeved off but worried all the same for the darker skinned male who just continued to stare off, avoiding the gazes of the other 4 who just glared at him, most likely blaming him for the entire ordeal.
Once we piled into the Helicopter, Jessica sat closely to Matt who held her to his side as she dozed in and out of consciousness. He seemed desperate to keep her up and I understood why, she most likely had a concussion and falling asleep would not be a good thing, at all. Ashley sat at my side with Sam on the other side of her and Josh at the end seat. I tried to catch Mike's eye but he stared at the ground and back up to where Matt and Jessica were sitting, I could feel the tenseness between all of us as we thought of all the choices we had made that night, all of us in complete and utter silence, having no idea how to speak of what happened and knowing as soon as we got home that we would be questioned about what happened on the mountain. And I was not about to throw Josh under the bus for what he did, I planned on helping him and making sure he got the help he needed.
I clenched my fists as I remembered how terrible of a friend I was the past year and didn't notice how bad he was. I should have known that he wasn't 'fine' like he continuously said he was. I blame myself for all of this happening, if I would have just stayed by his side and stopped hanging out so much with Ashley, who honestly was my anchor during this, though I didn't have romantic feelings for her like everyone thought I did, no one would ever realize that I was actually in love with Josh but had no idea how to ever tell him, so distancing myself from him the past year seemed like a good idea at the time, now I know I was being a complete dumbass and would probably never earn his respect or affection due to it all. Hiding that you're in love with your best is hard to do.
I felt a nudge and I turned towards Ashley who gave me a reassuring smile, taking my hand and squeezing it gently as she wiped the tears I didn't realize I had from my eyes, she seemed to be the who knew that I loved Josh, I never even told her, she just. . . knew. Behind her I could see both Josh and Sam giving us both strange looks, Sam seemed fully focused on the back of Ashley's head and Josh focused on our hands, it was a bit uncomfortable to be honest, there was no point in speaking to one another now, the blades have begun to turn and there was no way we could talk over the loud noise without screaming, and we've done enough screaming to last us a lifetime.
During the ride I looked across from me at Jessica who was looking around sadly, still gripping onto Matt weakly as she shivered and curled up against him, I could see Mike looking sadly over to the blonde girl who looked over at him as well, giving him a weak smile and sighing, turning away when Mike never returned it. She met eyes with me and I held my hand out, she took it and I squeezed it, rubbing the back of her palm with my thumb and she tried to smile again, but coughed into her other hand, pulling back and letting out a choked sob when blood was covering it, Matt gasped and whispered to her, or himself, I couldn't hear over the noise. I frowned and let go of her hand, feeling worried for the girl who before today I had never been that huge of a fan of. It was no surprise that Jessica was a bit of a bitch, but even she didn't deserve this to happen to her.
As soon as we landed at what looked to be a hospital, everything became a blur, it looked to be daylight out, but whatever time it was I had no idea, all I know is that they took Jessica away first, then Josh who protested the entire way as they tried to calm him down, than me when they noticed me limping, I lost grip of Ashley who tried to follow me as she got pulled a different way with the others who didn't get nearly as hurt, I could see Sam wrapping an arm around Ashley and waving to me as I got pulled into a stinky white room, it smelt like sterilization and death. I hissed at the bright walls as they sat me down and began to check my injuries.
"I'm fine, dammit! Where's Josh?" The nurses completely ignored me and told me to strip, I groaned as I did so, feeling my muscles aching from not using them all that much before and suddenly using every muscle I have in fast motions and the nurses checked me for any other injuries, but my many layers seemed to protect me from not only the cold, but from evil demonic creatures who need to go back to wherever the fuck they came from.
"The police want to question you after this." A young nurse told me, she looked not much older than me, she was pretty I suppose, dark skin, hair, and eyes, innocent demeanor.
"I want to see Josh first." I said and she raised an eyebrow, lowering her clipboard.
"Josh?"
"The one with the overalls!" I explained and she made an O face, looking at her clipboard and chewed on her lip.
"He's with his psychiatrist right now, Dr. Hill." I glared at nothing, knowing that that doctor wouldn't help Josh at all, hell, he seemed to be the reason Josh got so fucked up, well, more than he already was. I will definitely need to help him find a new doctor. "And he specifically asked for none of you to come speak to him." She finished and I looked at her in shock, not believing what she just said.
"But I have to see him! He's my bro!" The nurse looked puzzled.
"Bro? You both don't look related at all-" I rolled my eyes in annoyance.
"Not actual blood related bros, he's my best friend! I have to see him!" I tried to get up off of the bed but she pushed me back down, from how weak I was I fell right back down without a fuss.
"You need to rest. . . .Christopher. . . .Davidson." She said, looking at her clipboard for my name and I scoffed, turning my head.
"A girl wants to see you." Another nurse said, looking at the door I saw Ashley standing there looking worried and when she saw me she smiled and ran up to my bed. She grabbed my hands and jerked in what was to be I'm assuming, holding in her sobs. She looked over me and I noticed that she had a bandage over her eye.
"Oh, don't mind that. Apparently I burst a vein in my eye from stress. I'll be fine Chris! Enough about me, how are you?" She said and another girl stepped in behind her, I gave a nod to Samantha who returned it and stood on the other side of me, giving me a half-assed smile.
"I'm as good as I possibly can be in this situation Ash." I said, pushing myself up into a sitting position and sighed, rubbing my face and knocking my glasses off in the process. Sam picked up the glasses and sat them on the table next to my cot. "This night was just so. . . .Fucked." I said and both of the girls nodded in agreement, "One thing. . . .because of this whole ordeal, it is most likely that. . . .well, we all might split up."
"Why would we? We all went through the same thing. . .I would prefer spending time with people who believe me." Sam said, looking at me in confusion.
"But do you really thinking that the others will want to? Most likely they'll try to push it to the back of their mind and act like it never happened. Everyone has their own ways of dealing with situations. . ." Ashley said and Sam frowned, looking down then grabbed my other hand then grabbed Ashley's free hand.
"Then let's promise one another that we are going to stick together. No matter what the world throws at us, we will stick together." Sam gave us a smile and I couldn't help but smile back, already feeling my hopes go up a bit. I looked at Ashley who stared at Sam in astonishment then a smile spread across her face, it wasn't complete happiness, but it was coming.
"Promise." Ashley said breathlessly and the girls made eye contact for a few moments, eyes expressing adoration, they both looked at me, eyes still full of that wonderful, foreign expression and I felt my throat seize up a bit, never realizing how much that look would make me feel so protected, I couldn't help the tears welling up in my eyes when I nodded in agreement.
~ 2 Years Later ~
"How can you be so daft about him." I heard laughed into my ear and a grin was plastered onto my face as I looked over at the blonde at my side who was staring at me as if to figure me out and I shrugged, the smile becoming more smug every second, I really had no idea and when I finally saw him again I could figure it out, for now all I could do is wait. A darker skinned male came in talking loudly on his phone about reservations, hanging up his cellphone when he came into the living room and grinning when he saw me sitting on the plush white couch of the huge, laregly expensive, apartment in Kansas City, Missouri, far from home sweet home, Washington State.
"Chris! It's great to see you here. What's the occasion?"
"Matt! Apparently Chris here wants us to go help him find his long lost boyfriend, Joshua Washington!" Jessica said as she stood up, making it a bit dramatic as she sauntered over to Matt and proceeded to go around him and jump on his back as if it was a normal thing and Matt didn't look fazed at all, he just stared at me in curiosity. I ignored the boyfriend comment and just nodded, really hoping that maybe they would accept, but I couldn't exactly force them to help.
"Josh? You want to find Josh after all these years?" He said in disbelief and I nodded, standing up and straightening the jacket I wore, clearing my throat.
"It's only been two years. It hasn't been that long. . . And after he went missing the night we were all interviewed. . . ,I just. I want to know how he's been and that he's still alive. I can't live my life without knowing where he is or how he has been holding up, It willeat at me until I finally break down. . . ."
"Well, i'm sorry Chris, but you can count me out. . . I don't think I could ever forgive Josh for what he did to us." Jessica said softly, getting off of Matt and touching her still noticeable scar on her chest and I held in my outburst that it wasn't his fault that there were monsters up on the mountains, there was no way he could have known. "I'd love to help. . . .but. . . I don't think I'm ready."
"Which is completely understandable Jess." Matt said, holding a hand out to her and she nodded, grabbing it and squeezing it a bit, I always wondered why they haven't gotten together yet, they seemed perfect for each other. I also always wonder why her and Mike broke it off. Four months after the ordeal Mike just up and left, texting us where he would be and that he'd love to see us all again one day, but probably not too soon. I'm going to track him down next, see if he would want to help me, last I knew he moved to New York. "But Chris, man. . . .I'm not exactly ready myself. Josh is a good guy, but I need to be here for Jess."
"I can take care of myself Matthew." Jessica said standing with her hands in her hips, scowling at Matt playfully.
"I know you can, Warrior Princess!" Matt said, laughing when Jessica flipped her hair over her shoulder, I let out my own chuckle and nodded as I walked towards their front door, deciding to excuse myself for they seemed happy together.
"Well, it was great to see you guys again, I gott-"
"Don't leave yet Chris. We should catch up. Stay for a drink." Matt said, coming up to me and giving me a charming smile that could make royalty bend to his will. I rubbed the back of my neck and nodded.
"I don't want to intrude. . . .but, Sure. Why not! Ash and Sam will understand."
