"I thought you said the rain would pass!" Ottilie exclaimed.
"Okay, well I'm allowed to be wrong!" Barbara grumbled.
The group had found themselves caught up in a mountain storm that had overtaken them faster than expected. They couldn't tell what time it was and even if they knew the sky was so shrouded in clouds that they couldn't tell how much time was passing. Their raincoats helped keep them slightly dry but some water managed to leak onto their dresses. And this was on an average storm in the Misty Mountains.
The girls were barely hanging on to the pathway without slipping and falling. Yet they went on, driven by the hope that the storm would stop soon. Barbara and Traude suddenly stopped and everyone screeched to a halt, while also trying to make sure they didn't drop their stuff.
"What is it?" Traude asked softly.
"From what I've heard this is an era prone to avalanches." Barbara responded "So please keep the noise down."
"Alright then. Be careful where you step." Traude told everyone else "We must find shelter."
Everyone nodded in agreement and then began to make their way as carefully as possible through the mountain pass, treating the pathway as if it was made of glass that could crack at any second. The rain seemed relentless and seemed to make their packs heavier, despite them being waterproof. The wind made the rain feel like ice (although the high altitude may have played a factor in that) and every lightning noise made them think that an avalanche would happen any second.
Suddenly the rock Brianna stepped on crumbled away and took part of the pathway with it and Brianna slipped and almost fell over, Dorothea and Nadja managed to grab her bag just in time and pull her to safety. She almost screamed but Nadja slapped her hand over her mouth to stop her screaming. Brianna felt as if her heart was in her throat and she was hyperventilating like mad.
"I-It can't…get…any worse right?" she panted.
"Huh?" Ophelia asked raising her ear piece.
"Oh stop fooling around!" Gerlinde hissed "You know what she said."
Everyone then shushed the two just as another lightning flash occurred followed by some rather loud thunder. That ultimately proved to be the girls biggest worry, whether or not the noise brought about by the storm would cause an avalanche. As they resumed walking and began to find a more open path, Brianna happened to stop to catch her breath but right as she placed her hands on a rock, an average sized tarantula spider emerged from it's hiding place for whatever reason and rubbed against Brianna's hand, flicking off some hairs from it's body. Brianna noticed it and tried her best not to scream but then her nose began feeling funny.
Oh crap she thought to herself Not a tarantula.
Brianna tried to cover her nose but the itch and agitation grew and grew until she was unable to hold it back and then with one loud ka-choo sneezed, causing everyone to stop dead in their tracks. Even though it was raining, the sneeze was so loud it echoed across the valley and the echo carried shockingly well. Everyone crossly glared at Brianna with fearsome looks on their faces, including Beate and Ottilie of all people. Brianna didn't have much of a response but just looked around and smiled awkwardly. All of a sudden there was a faint rumbling that began growing louder and louder and the ground began shaking as the girls quickly realized what was happening.
"AVALANCHE!" Traude yelled "RUN!"
They didn't need to be told twice as everyone began hightailing it towards the other side of the ledge pathway just as the rock avalanche started. The rain mixed with the mud and dirt, making very sticky mud that made it hard to run as fast as they wanted to and to make matters worse, the avalanche began causing the edge of the path to fall away, with the girls running out of space to run. During this, they also did their best to dodge falling rocks. The girls just barely made it to the other side when halfway there Bridget fell over when a rock hit her in the ankle and Kamilla tripped over her. Brianna turned around to help them up along with Bertha and Frieda when suddenly a bolt of lightning hit a part of the mountain, causing yet another rockslide. The remaining girls all scrambled towards the other side as quickly as they could as the falling rocks threatened to bury them and finally made it just as more of the pathway collapsed, sending Brianna tumbling over and almost over the side. She just barely managed to grab onto a tree root and ended up with her body dangling over the side and water drenching her face. All of the girls flew into a panic and rushed to her aid as the root began to slip away due to the mud flowing off the edge.
"Help!" Brianna barked "Help, I'm slipping!"
And for a moment, it looked like she would slip as the root finally broke away. But with amazing speed, Daniella grabbed onto Brianna via her knapsack and soon Daniella, Bridget, Barbara, Nadja, Frieda and Gerlinde formed a human chain and with all their might pulled her up, causing everyone to fall over and get soaked in rain and mud. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they made sure they were all accounted for. Traude then ran over and practically football tackled Frieda and Kamilla, trying her best not to cry with relief that they were okay. They hugged her back while Brianna tried her best to get up and catch her breath as best she could, causing Traude to look at Brianna and her expression completely changed.
"Oh bloody ruddy hell." she panted.
Suddenly, Traude walked up and punched her in the face, injuring Brianna's nose.
"You bloody moron!" Traude snarled.
She then punched Brianna again, this time so hard that the hobbit actually collapsed onto the ground, covering her nose while groaning in irritation. Everyone was shocked by this and Traude stood there and continued to glare at Brianna angrily, who in turn looked up at her, revealing that blood and snot was practically flowing out her nose.
"What the hell was that for?!" she demanded.
"Are you kidding me?!" Traude roared.
"Traude go easy on her!" Barbara said "We almost lost her in that rockslide!"
"She's been lost ever since she left home. She nearly got all of us killed." Traude said as she calmed down "If she misses her home so much, she should just go back to her little hobbit hole. She has no place amongst us."
Brianna hadn't expected Traude to say that. She also didn't expect it to hurt so much. She then looked down towards the ground and didn't notice the tear coming down her face and she just assumed it was a raindrop. Either that or it was the blood from her nose.
Just then, Dorothea (who had briefly left the group to go check the rest of the path) came by looking very excited.
"I've found a cave just ahead." she said as she noticed Brianna's nose "Oh dear what happened to your nose?"
"It's a long story, lass." Barbara said "You better tend to her before she bleeds out."
"Hurry up." Traude responded "We'll take shelter in the cave until this lousy rain let's up."