Heavy – Nine Hours Until Dawn
Survivors - 10
Kol – Washington Lodge
21:57
Kol had been surprised a simple deck of cards had managed to keep everyone so entertained for so long. Perhaps it was the fact that Graham hadn't dealt him a winning hand in three rounds or maybe he just wanted an excuse to breath away from everyone with their lingering looks on him. He knew what they all thought, pretty much all of them had made it clear at one point or another over the last year. None of them were his friends anymore, except maybe Bryan since he had been the one to hold desperately onto the group staying together after what happened.
He had excused himself to the restroom on the main level of the house to splash cold water on his face to attempt to wash away the lingering feeling his old friends looks left on his skin. He knew this weekend was a mistake, but he also knew that he could not bring himself to let down Charlie ever again.
Last year he hadn't been aware she had stopped taking her medication, he hadn't even been aware she was taking any anti-depressants. He discovered afterwards from her mother that there was a lot he hadn't known about his girlfriend at the time. She broke up with him, not that he was surprised considering she had just lost her brother, but it was something unspoken now between the two that he had wanted to ask her about this weekend. It wasn't feelings of love or any nonsense like that, but he did feel like she hated him for more than she let him believe and he wanted to use this weekend as an excuse to find out why.
This would be the perfect time in his opinion. Everyone was hurting, everyone was here to remember their dead friend. If one was planning on bringing up painful memories, why do it during a time when they are happy when moments like this weekend exist? He stared at himself in the reflection of the mirror, water still dripping on his face as he looked at his own face. His dark hair spiked up in random directions, he attempted to run a hand through it to tame it in some fashion. He grabbed the hand towel for the room and leaned back against the vanity, sighing to himself.
He almost jumped when he heard the gentle knock on the closed door. "Kol?" Charity's voice was delicate on the other side of the bathroom door. Kol quickly wiped his face with the towel before tossing the towel back on the vanity and opening the door.
Charity stood in front of him pulling her purple sleeves down further over her hands as she bit her lower lip. She had chosen a warmer outfit this year compared to last year as she stood in front of him in her purple turtle neck and thermal black pants, Kol hadn't questioned it until she stood in front of him now looking so nervous.
"Bathroom's free." He found those words coming out of his mouth before any words of merit managed to pass through his brain. He attempted to step around her only to have her block his path with her body, He was almost a foot taller than her but her small frame was still enough to stop him in his tracks. He found himself taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh as she still didn't speak but made him unable to leave his current position. "Can... I help you with something?" He asked as he looked down at her smaller frame that seemed to almost be shrinking with each second that passed.
"I did you a favor right? Coming up here with you?" She asked looking up locking her dark eyes with his.
Kol's eye brow raised in curiosity. "Yeah..." He breathed lightly as she straightened herself up standing tall almost like she suddenly gained the confidence she was lacking moments earlier.
"Good then I want to cash in my favor." She kept her brow knocked as she looked at him. "Take me to where it happened." She said crossing her arms over her chest. "Please."
"Now?" Kol asked in almost surprise, it was freezing and the middle of the night.
"Yeah. Now." Charity responded as Kol tried to think of a reason they shouldn't go that he thought she would actually listen too. Nothing came to mind except for one simple thought.
"Grab your coat."
Graham – Washington Lodge
22:12
Graham was surprised by the fact for the most part everyone was gently sipping any form of drink they had found in the lodge. No one seemed to keen on the idea of actually partying like rockstars like Charlie had suggested to honor Bash, instead they seemed more intent on telling stories over a friendly game of poker about stupid situations they had all found themselves in over their time together. Graham had stepped away from the table to rummage for something non-alcoholic in the fridge when Kali came to his side leaning in to see in the fridge as well.
"Can you hand me that Mountain Dew?" She asked as she pointed in front of him to the neon green can. He grabbed her the caffeinated sweet drink while grabbing a bottle of water for himself. "So, how is she doing?" Kali asked quietly as she took the can from his hand.
"Who?" Graham asked looking at Kali with a piqued interest.
"Charlie, she still talks to you from what Moe said." Kali said as she leaned against the counter top, wiping the top of her can with her sleeve as she looked over at the group laughing loudly at the table at whatever story Mona was telling in her over-exaggerated fashion.
Graham leaned against the fridge, looking at the girl who was so clearly hurting next to him. Kali and Charlie had been friends for as long as he remembered knowing Kali. The same story could be told of Jemma, who were actually Charlie's only real friends that Graham knew of. Charlie was friendly with all of Bash's friends but it was a sad truth that she had very few of her own proper friends. "Why not ask her yourself?" Graham asked looking over to the smaller girl as she stared hard at the top of the can of soda.
"She hasn't even came down here with everyone. I didn't want to risk stressing her," Kali told him, though he believed more she was telling herself her own excuse to make her feel better.
"You want me to go get her don't you?" He asked reading Kali like the open book her body language was writing.
She smiled up at him over her soda as she popped the top. "Thanks Graham." She said as she crossed back to her seat at the table leaving Graham leaning against the fridge with the sealed bottle of water still in hand. He took a deep breath as he pushed himself away from the stationary object and allowed his legs to carry him back towards the main area of the lodge. He found himself tossing the bottle between his two hands as he walked up stairs to where he had last seen Charlie heading.
He had found it odd that when Jemma questioned where Charlie was earlier Hawk had quickly answered that she had been bitching about getting into a shower since they got their. That had been probably an hour ago, and yet as Kali had reminded him Charlie had never actually came down to join the group. Instead the large group of kids, had began to dwindle even more. First Kol had stepped away, saying he was turning into a light weight and was going to the bathroom. Then Hawk, who had been staying at the edges of the group and had seemed to disappear without a word, Graham hadn't even been sure how long Hawk had been gone, when he noticed. He had only even noticed because Charity excused herself after having zoned out while Kota was talking to her. She claimed she wasn't feeling well and just needed a bit of fresh air. Graham had offered to go with her, but she insisted she would be fine.
It was as Graham reached the top of the stairs that he heard the low growling voice he knew could only belong to Hawk coming from the only door with light coming from it. "Cut the shit Charlie." His voice was deep, and seemed heavier in tone than anything Graham had heard from Hawk before.
As Graham approached the open door he saw the scene in front of him and found himself stopping to take it in. Hawk's first was clenched tightly, he seemed to be breathing heavily. Charlie was standing in front of him in a defiant pose with her arms crossed over her chest and her head cocked to the side. "Who is the one who needs help again?" Charlie's voice almost sang as she looked at the larger frame in front of her without any fear.
Graham was sure he had walked into the middle of a possible fight between the two, but when he saw Hawk's muscles ripple he found his voice chiming in where he knew it wasn't welcome. "Am I interrupting something?" After the words escaped his throat he knew he was. Charlie's lips formed a crooked little smirk as Hawk seemed to lower his eyes and look away from Graham.
"I was just leaving." Hawk said in a hurry, his shoulder crashed roughly against Graham's as he made a swift exit.
Graham's hand quickly went to his shoulder as he rubbed it, the force in which their shoulders crashed, it had been enough to cause a sharp pain run through Graham's shoulder. "What was that about?" He asked as Charlie straightened up her posture and walked over to the bed in the room and sat on the edge.
"Nothing." She answered nonchalantly, even though he knew she didn't actually expect him to believe it.
"Didn't feel like nothing..." Graham said rubbing his shoulder as he walked into the room.
He tossed his water bottle onto the bed next to Charlie as he looked down on her. She had bathed while everyone else was enjoying story time in the kitchen. Her hair was still damp, she had changed clothes into a pair baggy black sweatpants and a gray sweatshirt with the collar ripped out that hung loosely off her left shoulder, as her red hair cascaded over her pale exposed skin. He looked back at her eyes and noticed they didn't look as saddened as they typically did, instead a flicker of mischief seemed to be dancing in them.
"Did you come up to check on me?" Her voice partnered with his lips curled up devilishly made him look away and at the decor of the room. Butterflies and purple paint, nothing that could save him from fact he had been caught once more allowing his eyes to linger one second too long. "Graham?" Her tone was amused, making a joke of himself without intending too seemed to be a recent trend of his.
"I can't claim it was my idea." He admitted as rolled his shoulder once, before reaching out to pick up his water bottle from the bed.
Charlie's hand snatched up the sealed bottle before his could get there. He knew Charlie, she was the definition of trouble, it was probably what kept his attention on her for so long. Bash had always made it clear, his friends were to stay away from his younger sister, he always insisted that she delicate. Graham had never thought that until he saw her last year after coming up to the sounds of her screaming at the clearing. Before that moment he had always seen her as a brilliant light among their group. Her smile tended to be the brightest in the room, her laugh the most contagious. As Mona pointed out at Bash's funeral, it was those who are the saddest that smile the brightest.
Charlie pushed herself off the mattress and crossed to the door holding out the water bottle. Was this her silent way off telling him to leave through the open door? "Kali was wondering if you planned on joining us downstairs." He stated as he walked over to her, reaching out to take the bottle from her hand.
She didn't let go, she instead stepped her body into his and placed a hand on her cheek. She stood just a few inches shorter than him, she angled herself up and was on her tip toes when Graham found himself looking away from her and at the open door to their left. "Charlie." He breathed like her name was a curse.
"Tell me you don't want too," she stayed as she was as Graham looked back to her gorgeous crystal eyes. He found himself focusing on his breathing as he looked down at her, his body telling him that he most certainly did want to do this, his heart telling him that one time would be enough to decide whether those feelings he had had in the past were true, his brain telling him that this was the worst idea any cruel person had ever came up with.
Her face hovered just below his, his hand locked around the water bottle with hers, the open door to their left.
Jemma – Washington Lodge
22:27
Jemma's eyes had rested on Kali for the last ten minutes as the other girl mindless tapped her fingers on the table staring at the doorway like she was waiting for a celestial being to walk through and grace them all with eternal life. Jemma knew the other girl was waiting for Charlie and Graham to come through the doorway and for the two girls to finally have the reunion moment Kali had expected for this weekend. Jemma just didn't have the heart to tell Kali that her imagination was probably going to provide her a much happier reunion than their friend. When Jemma had arrived at the lodge with Graham, Charlie was sitting in the kitchen, staring out the large window completely unaware of the two who had just arrived. When Charlie had noticed their presence, because Graham had greeted her she threw on a large smile and hugged Jemma and Graham quickly before Hawk swooped in and asked for their help setting up different things around the lodge.
After that quick meeting Jemma hadn't seen Charlie again aside from stopping her before heading down to town to ask if she needed anything. Again she was greeted with a large smile, a polite decline to her request, and being handed the key to the cable car.
Jemma knew something was off, but with the anniversary being the next day she knew there would be no attempting to help the girl cope with whatever demons were currently occupying her head-space. Kali had sent Graham which was probably the worst choice of person in the room to send to fetch her aside from possibly Hawk who had also been behaving oddly since their arrival at the lodge. Graham was obsessed with Charlie whether he would ever admit it or not. If you looked through his photos of the group together, more often than not Charlie would be somewhere in each of them. She also knew the idea of sending Graham only came about from Mona pointing out the fact that Charlie only seemed to talk to Graham and Hawk since the fall semester had started.
Mona seemed to be unaware of the tinge of red that came to Graham's cheeks that quickly faded or the fact that her passing comment seemed to make Hawk disappear from the collective but Jemma tended to notice things that others didn't.
The room had mostly went quiet aside from the tapping coming from Kali's fingertips when Bryan spoke up. "Anyone want to go explore with me?" He asked looking to Kali, who seemed to just stare past him at the doorway.
"Explore?" Kota question as her head tilted to the side slightly.
"You guys remember that door in the basement? I just I want to know whats on the other side, why not check now. Since there isn't really much else to do until morning." Bryan explained rubbing the back of his head nervously, with all of the girls eyes resting on him now being only boy left in the room.
"You have fun with that, and if you still can't get it open call up, okay?" Mona replied with a wink that made Bryan make a slightly soured face.
He was pushing himself away from the table and standing up as Jemma stood with him. It clearly surprised him as his face lit up at the thought of having company. "Seriously Jem?" Bryan's excited tone amused her much more than it should.
"Better than sitting here I guess." Jemma responded as she looked to Kali. "You coming?" She asked as her friend fell out of her self-induced trance.
Kali bit her lip for a moment as she debated an answer, before also getting up from the table leaving just Kota and Mona at the table. "You guys want to come?" Kali asked the two as Kota shook her head.
"Cold dank basement, count me out." Kota insisted as for a moment Mona looked like she would actually join them until Kota added, "and think of the spiders. Yeah definite no."
Mona had began to get up as she quickly found herself back firmly in her seat. "Spiders, yeah count me out. You guys have fun though."
"Your loss." Bryan stated leading the way out of the kitchen, Kali and Jemma fast on his trail as he made his way into the basement, reaching into his pocket and producing a small torch that he clicked on even though there was a light source at the top of the stairs. He lead the way and Jemma took up the rear as Kali fell into the middle, looking like she was curious about every crack in the walls. Bryan stepped around the broken step with no issue, remembering it being there after the year, however when he paused to warn Kali and Jemma he found himself reaching out to catch the first with little to no warning as she slipped and went to fall face forward.
She squeaked in shock as Jemma found herself frozen behind them on the step. Kali quickly spitting out every form of apology she could come up with as Bryan awkwardly allowed her to bring herself to balance and pull his hands away trying to think of anyway to tell her not to worry about it. Jemma realized she had made herself a third wheel in their excursion. She had known that Kali and Bryan were both awkward when it came to their feelings but never noticed how the two seemed to fit together.
"Thanks for the warning Carmine." Jemma said stepping around the two on the other side of the steps and continued down without them leaving them both to their hot cheeks. As Kali quickly caught up to Jemma at the bottom of the stairs, Bryan cleared his throat as he met the two waiting at the bottom of the stairs for him, before leading the way through the main area of the basement around the loud boiler and into what remained of an old wine cellar, though one of the cabinets was smashed on the floor, the wine dry and stained on the concrete. Bryan stepped onto it with one foot, testing his weight before stepping over it and holding his hand out to help both girls over. Kali went first as she kept her head down and Bryan made sure to focus solely on getting her over the old cabinet that already had one large hole through the broken timbers on the back from where it looked like someone had smashed their foot through. Next Jemma took hold of Bryan's hand before quickly jumping over it and reaching the door that looked as if it had been smashed through at some point.
As she past through the room she took a moment to look back at the frame of the door that hung loosely on its hinges and saw the lock portion that had been attached to the wall to lock it into place was hanging from the door now. "Wow you guys really wanted to get through here last year huh?" Jemma asked as Bryan shined his light further ahead.
"No it was already like that when we got here," he stated before his light landed on a door across the storage room. "That's the one we couldn't get open. Jammed or something," he spoke as he walked over to it. As he reached the door he turned and handed the torch to Kali. "Hold this would you," he said as she took it and began to look around the room. "Kali, the door." He insisted as she realized what she was doing.
"Oh sorry," she mumbled as Jemma reached her side, reaching out to hold Kali's hand. No one was a fan of dark, creepy places.
Bryan rammed his shoulder hard into the door once, and he simply seem to bounce back from it though Jemma did hear a cracking sound as he did. He readjusted his grip on the door knob and did it once more, and went tumbling through the door as it opened. "Fuck." He let out loudly as he disappeared into the darkness beyond the door way and quickly Kali and Jemma stepped forward and cast the light down through the doorway to see Bryan on his hands and knees about a foot or two down from their current position in what looked like old ruins of a corridor. It was narrow, like a hall way in a house, but unlike the rest of the lodge it looked like it hadn't been touched in decades. The air the came through the door way was much colder than the rest of the basement and sent a chill down Jemma's spine.
"Are you okay?" Kali asked as she shined the light onto him as he began to stand up and brush himself off.
"Yeah, toss me the light." He insisted as he came back towards them, catching the torch that Kali tossed lightly. He used it to shine down on his jeans that now had a small rip along the knee and then in front of them.
Kali and Jemma watched silently for a moment as he looked around in the direct area in front of him. "Come on, we should head back upstairs." Jemma found herself saying. Something about this place felt off.
"What? Why? Lets take a look around." Bryan insisted as he walked back towards the girls, he looked up at them as Jemma found herself looking at Kali for the decision.
"Our coats are upstairs, we can come back down after..." Jemma started to say.
"Suit yourselves, catch up later." Bryan answered simply as he began to walk away.
"Wait!" Kali chimed causing him to stop and turn the torch's bright beam back on the girls. Kali looked to Jemma with a weak smile, "it's best to stay together." She made a point, but Jemma thought she had also made a point. Bryan had on think denim jeans, boots, and who knew how many layers under his thick flannel shirt, Kali also had her beat with her black jeans and green flannel shirt with her matching dark green beanie. Jemma just had on an over-sized lavender shirt with a pair of high-waisted jeans. The cold air coming from this hallway of decay was going to just get colder.
"Come on Jem, I thought you said you wanted to explore." Bryan insisted as Kali sat down on the edge of the opening pushing herself over to land on her feet beneath them.
Jemma took a deep breath as she debated her choices. "Fine but if I catch my death of cold down here I am blaming you Carmine." She said as followed the others down into the decaying hallway.
Mona – Washington Lodge
22:32
Mona had watched Dakota busy herself around the Lodge's kitchen for five minutes after everyone else had left. Dakota seemed to instantly jump out of her seat and keep her distance the second Mona had pointed out they were alone. Mona thought she had been reading the signs from Dakota correctly, but her sudden distance seemed to tell her otherwise. Dakota stood in front of the sink washing the cups the others had left abandoned. Mona watched her reflection in the glass window that lead out to a covered back porch of the lodge.
Mona noticed the movement through the window that drew her out of her chair. She could have swore she saw someone out beyond the lodge, in the woods. She drew closer to the window and attempted to find the figure she had seen a moment earlier, yet all she could focus on was the snow blowing under the covering at the window. Mona felt something in her gut that told her something was off. She turned quickly on her heels and headed towards the front door.
It must of have been Mona heading through the large doorway back towards the front door that drew Dakota's attention back to her and away from the dishes. "Moe? What are you doing?" Kota asked from the kitchen's door way as Mona reached the entry and her brown wool lined leather coat pulling it from the hook she had hung it on.
"Someone's outside." Mona stated quickly as she also grabbed Dakota's light blue fur lined parka walking back towards the girl who stood there, looking beyond confused.
"What?" Dakota insisted as Mona came back towards her, shoving her coat towards her.
Kota caught the coat as Mona walked past her back into the kitchen pulling her own coat onto her shoulder quickly. "Someone is outside, and I will be damned if I am going to let them pull some stupid prank on us." Mona insisted as she walked over to the counter and began pulling out random drawers looking for a torch. "Where the hell is a flashlight when you need one?" She complained quietly as Dakota put her coat on the counter and walked over to the other girl as she finally pulled out a drawer that held a torch.
"Someone is outside and you want to go after them?" Dakota put her body in front of Mona stopping her from crossing to the door outside of the kitchen that went to the covered porch.
Mona cocked her hip as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Scare them before they can scare us? Hell yes." Mona insisted, "It's probably Kol or Hawk you saw the way they both just kind of snuck off earlier." She said as she brushed by Dakota who rolled her eyes.
She found herself barreling out the door and going to the edge of the covered porch. "Come out! We see you assholes!" Mona barked out into the darkness as she heard Dakota come out and join her on the porch. She turned around to see Dakota pulling on her coat in front of the closed door to the lodge.
Dakota walked over to where Mona was standing, "I don't see anyone Moe." She seemed almost annoyed by Mona's brash response but Mona knew two things about Dakota. One she hated the cold and she hated people jumping out trying to scare her. She was trying to prevent the latter since she could do nothing about nature.
"I swear they are down there, they are probably just hiding. Hold on," Mona insisted as she walked over to the stairs. Dakota started to follow her as Mona stopped her. "Wait here, I will take care of them." She said grabbing and squeezing the other girls hand tightly with a sincere smile. She swore she saw that same red blush dance over Dakota's cheeks that she had seen earlier.
Mona walked over to the stairs and found herself quickly jumping down them as she got to the snow covered ground and clicked on the torch. She shined it around the ground, and out towards the woods. Not seeing much of anything now. Maybe she had just imagined the movement. She stepped out closer to the woods when she saw them. Boot prints. Not one, but two.
Fucking bastards were hiding. "Fuck you guys! Come out already!" Mona yelled back into the woods.
"Moe! Come on, its cold!" Dakota called down from the porch above her head. Mona looked up and flashed the light up seeing something out of the corner of her eye that made her blink quickly. It had to be the snow whipping around the lower side of the porch.
"Yeah, I'm coming." Moe found her voice growing quieter as she walked up to the stairs and climbed them to see Dakota struggling at the door to the lodge. Dakota kicked at the door, and Mona suddenly found the biggest flaw in her plan. She hadn't checked to see if the door would stay unlocked behind them, so when Dakota pulled it shut, it probably had locked. "Come on, lets try the front, this one probably jammed or something." Mona said shining the light on Kota's face that looked beyond aggravated by their current situation.
"Did I mention I didn't like this place yet?" She stressed as Mona took the lead back down the stairs and around to the front of the lodge. Kota following closing behind in her footsteps. She had been so worried about stopping anyone from scaring the other girl she had managed to make the situation worse for both of them. Mona approached the front, knowing Kota's anger was growing silently behind her with every passing minute they were left out in the cold. Mona ran up the front porch steps quickly and pulled at the lodge door.
"It's locked isn't it?" Kota's tone told Mona everything she needed to know about their current situation.
"Lets head down to the cable car station, I think there was a phone down there." Mona said as she leaned her back against the door.
Dakota rolled her eyes at Mona who admitted she probably deserved every ounce of sass coming from Dakota. Dakota walked in front of Mona on the path for a bit, Mona's light leading as the approached the old wooden building that housed the controls for the cable car. It was then they heard the loud echo of an undeniable sound.
A gunshot echoed through the air around them. Mona wasn't sure where it had come from but it was distant. Who on the mountain would have a gun, she found herself wondering as she looked behind them towards the lodge. "Moe!" Dakota barked as she pulled open the door the station and rushed inside. Mona came running up and pulled the door closed behind her. "Was that?!" She asked quickly as Mona climbed the stairs into the actual control room of the cable car.
Mona was shocked to see what she saw. The room was trashed, the control panel had an ax sticking out of it, and the key completely gone. "What the fuck?" Mona found the words falling from her mouth as she looked around the room. The maps that had been up on the walls were now torn down, and furniture was pushed over and toppled around the room. Dakota walked into the control room silently, picking up a piece of a poster that had once been on the wall showing the beautiful Blackwood Mountains.
"Who did this?" Kota asked as she let the piece of paper fall back to the ground.
"I don't know, but I don't think we should stay here long." Mona said as she reached down and picked up a piece of paper she hadn't seen on the wall, but now lay across the ground. It was a missing poster with a girl with short brown hair, her name was Beth Washington.
"Moe..." Kota said as she approached Mona's side, she was reading the same missing poster that Mona was. "Do you think they are the Washington's like the ones who sold that lodge to Charlie's parents..." Her voice was weak as Mona folded the paper and stuck it in her back pocket.
"I'm not sure, but I think we should definitely get out of here." Mona said as she handed Kota the flashlight and went to pulling the ax out of the control console. Shaking it loose of the large metal box it was dug into. "Come on..." Mona insisted as the two made their way back out into the cold of the mountain now armed as they attempted to get back into the lodge.
Author's Notes: Well guys, this is the end of chapter two. We have basically everyone separated. Which is probably the farthest thing from good. Anyways, I love the feedback, and hope you enjoy this chapter. Sadly I did cut some things from this chapter to put them in the next because just because the chapter title is Heavy I felt the things that were cut made this chapter too heavy. I look forward to presenting Chapter Three: Separation to you all soon.
