Get Help

(Status Update: Brave –1, Curious +1, Honest +1)

(Relationships: Emily –1, Mike –1, Jessica –1, Ashley –1, Matt –1, Sam +1)

(New Objective: Find professional help for Hannah and Beth)

I stared at Sam with watery eyes, knowing she was right, yet again. I conceded with a sigh and she wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "We need to do something." I weakly stated, looking at the ground.

"We could call the police." Chris suggested, trying to ease my discomfort, but Emily scoffed at the side.

"They aren't missing. They are just two emotional morons that ran off into the storm. We shouldn't jump the gun here. The police would laugh at us if we even tried right now." She reasoned, putting her hands on her hips. I bristled a little at what she said, but she was right, about the second part at least. Police won't generally get involved unless they've been missing for 48 hours. Maybe they would make an exception for a situation such as this where it's a mountain filled with wildlife and a blizzard, but there is still the point that they haven't even been gone more than ten minutes yet. If we didn't want them to hang up immediately, we either needed to lie in our panic or we would have to wait, hoping the two would wander back. If they did, battered, bruised, completely fine, I would take any of those options as long as they came back alive.

"We'll wait, but if they are gone more than a few hours, we call the cops." Sam compromised. "Now let's all go inside before we freeze." She ushered us all indoors, never taking her arm off of me. I looked over my shoulder as she lead me, peering into the blizzard, but there was nothing there worth seeing.

We all sat together in front of the fire. I took a place next to Sam, mushing myself between the couch armrest and her. She kept rubbing my shoulder, and putting on the calm exterior, but I could tell she was also terrified. A dark silence took over the room, and I finally cleared my throat.

"What happened?" I forced my eyes up to glance around at the guilty teens.

"It was just a prank." Emily repeated, a bit quieter than the first time.

"What was?" I fixed onto her since she seemed to be the one offering answers.

"We just decided to have a little fun and teach Hannah a lesson about fawning so hard over Mike. It was completely harmless." Jess spoke next, shrugging her shoulders like the situation wasn't as serious as it was. I scratched at my arm, glaring a little at her.

"What did you do?" I questioned, a little less tolerable.

"Oh you can just show her, can't you Matt?" Sam piped up this time, looking at the jock to our right. There was a sharpness to her tone and Matt shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but nodded, getting up and trudging upstairs. When he returned, a camera was held tightly in his hand. I noticed his knuckles were white from his grip, and his arm was shaky. Not as strong as I first thought.

"Here." He opened it up, pulling up the file he wanted to go over and then handed me the camera so I could watch it for myself.

I recognized one of the guest bedrooms immediately, and furrowed my brows. I saw Mike standing there, and the pan of the camera revealed that Jess and Emily were under the bed, and Ashley was hiding in the corner. I could make the educated guess that Matt was the one filming. There were a few giggles and then shushing. The door creaked open. "Mike?" My heart sank a little. Hannah walked through the door and looked at Mike, who was the only one visible at the moment. "It's Hannah."

"Hey Hannah." Mike responded, and I could feel my face heat up in anger as I started to get a proper grasp on the situation.

"I got your note." My grip tightened on the camera and one hand let go to scratch at my arm again, jaw tightening as my teeth grinded together.

"Glad you could make it." I shook my head and glanced over at Sam who was watching over my shoulder. "Maybe we should start with a little, you know, making out, and see where it goes from there." I could feel my face visible scrunch up in disgust, resting my head in my hand as I leaned, still focused on the video. However, as Hannah started unbuttoning her shirt, I handed the camera to Sam so she could finish it if she wanted. I had seen enough to put the pieces together. As the end of the video sounded, Sam set the camera down. A heavy silence filled the room once more, and I gripped onto the couch angrily.

"What the hell were you guys thinking?" I looked up at the guilty parties, a glare hard on my face. "Do you not understand that she is a human being with feelings? Feelings that you exploited, manipulated, and demeaned." I rubbed my temples, trying to control the flare of fury that was pumping through my hot blood.

"Oh do not start in with your morality now sweetheart." Emily rolled her eyes at me. "We didn't intend for it to go that far."

"Yeah, I mean who could have guessed she'd take her shirt off? A little slutty if you ask me." Jess snickered a little, but she swallowed that smug look at my gaze met hers.

"Are those really the choice of words you would like to use in this situation? Really?" I snarled a little less intense then I meant, voice not as strong as I would like from my nerves being on edge.

"What if they don't come back?" Ashley squeaked from the side, looking mortified. At least someone here had the decency to show some remorse. Looking at all of them, Ashley and Mike looked the most sorry.

"They're going to come back." Sam affirmed, no wavering in her tone. "I know they are." Her hands were gripping hard to her thighs, betraying how certain she was. I placed my hand over hers for comfort, and she gripped onto mine gratefully. I thought about Josh, what was he going to think when he found out? When he woke up, neither of his sisters were going to be here, and these assholes were going to tell him what they did. He was going to be crushed. And what if they actually didn't come back? My mind drifted to their parents. Mrs. Washington completely distraught, crying. It would be heartbreaking. I have very few memories of when she wasn't smiling and trying to make the best out of a rainy day. Mr. Washington would be barging through the forest with a full fledged search team, never giving up hope of finding his daughters. That was the kind of man he was. He would never give up on them. If anything, he would make sure to find them.

"I don't want to wake Josh." Chris echoed our thoughts, staring at his feet. "Would there be a point to yet?"

"No, he would just panic." Sam reasoned, leaning her head on my shoulder. I let my head rest on hers, averting my eyes from the prissy culprits.

"He's going to wake up eventually." I murmured, pushing my nose into the comforting scent of Sam's familiar strawberry shampoo. It was a little too sweet, but it was Sam, and that was what I needed in that moment to stay grounded. No one answered me, I wasn't even sure anyone heard me, but we were quiet just the same. We didn't feel the need to speak again. We listened to the persistent ticking of the clock and waited.

…

"And that is all you remember?" A police officer asked me, scribbling on his pad. I nodded slowly, wiping at my puffy red eyes. "You weren't involved in the incident that caused Ms. Washington to vacate the premises?

"Yes. That is all I remember. And no I was not. The last thing I saw of the scene was Beth running after Hannah into the woods." I answered honestly, monotone in my words. The Washington twins had been missing for six hours now. On the third hour, we made the decision to call for help. A search and rescue team, as well as the police were on the mountain an hour later. They had been searching for two hours, and on the fifth hour started questioning us to make sure nothing shifty had gone on. This was officially a missing persons case. I had recounted the events that had occurred until this point as honestly as I could, leaving out unnecessary personal details. It was obvious after a while that I was one of the least helpful of the witnesses, but this police officer seemed to have nothing better to do but go over the same redundant details. I could see through watery eyes Sam and Mike being questioned separately nearby. The police had already noted and scolded most of the group for underage alcohol consumption. I was the only one that passed the test, not having drunk any booze tonight. The only silver lining I could see at the moment was that no one was going to be charged since that's too much of a bother in comparison to finding the Washington twins.

Josh woke up a little after we called the police, and as we predicted, he had a lot of questions. He was angry, angrier than anyone, which was to be expected. He wouldn't let any of us near him, I had only tried briefly, but he had snapped saying he wanted to be alone, so I didn't press. He was the one that made the call to his parents. I was in earshot, so I got one half of the conversation. I knew his parents were traveling, taking their own vacation while their kids played with their friends at the lodge. It would take them another hour before they would arrive here. I didn't know what shape they were in, but I can only imagine the disappointment they have in us. They trusted us and now two of their kids were lost.

"Miss?" The police officer snapped his fingers in front of my dazed face, and I slowly looked up at her. "I understand that you tested negative for alcoholic substances, but I need to know whether you have taken any narcotics." She was scribbling on her pad, not even looking at me anymore. I wasn't talking, what could she possibly be writing down?

"Excuse me?" I cleared my throat, brain processing slowly.

"Have you taken any drugs?" She said more slowly, like I was a slow five year old trying to figure out which shapes matched with what holes.

"No... the only thing I have taken is my anxiety medication. Prescription pills." I watched as the pen moved, trying to see what she was writing down. For all I knew she had started doodling in her boredom.

"What kind of prescription?" She went on, still not looking up.

"No offense, but what does this have to do with finding my friends?" That got her attention finally. She appeared offended anyway, pen stilling in movement as she looked up.

"Knowing whether you are under the influence is an important part of distinguishing how credible your statement is." She pulled that completely out of her ass.

"I told you what I took and for what purpose. The prescription of my medication is not an important detail. You're questioning me like I got busted doing a line of cocaine, not like you are trying to find my friends." I stood up from where I sat. "With all due respect, I have told you everything I know, I am completely sober, may I please go back to my friends?" I waited for her to nod, mouth hanging open stupidly at me.

I turned on my heel and stalked back to the other room, seeing who else had been released from their interrogations. I wasn't sure whether I was relieved or disappointed to find only Josh sitting alone on the couch. His words echoed through my head, but I took cautious steps forward anyway. I didn't say anything as I sat to his side on the couch, tucking my legs up snugly beneath myself. Neither of us spoke or moved, just content with each other's silence.

"They're going to find them." I assured him in a whisper. We still didn't move, and there was a long pause. I thought maybe he hadn't heard me before he responded,

"No they won't."

And they didn't.

…

Congratulations you have officially survived the prologue! Now to main focus of the story. If you chose the chapter 'Console', choose the chapter titled 'Awkward'. If you chose the chapter 'The Cool Down', then choose the title 'As it Blooms'.