"BOO!"
"WAAAAH!" Shrieked a star-accessorized redhead as she instinctively broke into an adrenaline-pumped sprint, flying through a towering sea of trees. Her heart rate doubled, tripled, no, quintupled as she dodged tree branches, mounds of dead leaves, and the occasional low-lying tree stump all while leaving behind a flurry of tears and screams behind her. In just a moment, she was gone.
"...uh...I think we might've overdone it a little…" whispered a nearby girl, messily wrapped in tissue paper. Her get-up was an exact replica of an Egyptian mummy! Well, only if we ignore her lack of mummification, careful wraps, tools, scare factor, and whatever else a dead and entombed pharaoh would usually possess. Wait, did mummy's wear bright green bunny ribbons on their head?
"Huh, so Itsuki isn't good with these kinds of things." Muttered a blonde-wigged boy hanging upside down from a girthy tree branch. A firm rope tied to the bottom of his leg was the only thing keeping the young man from dropping down and cracking his neck into a 90-degree angle, but it seemed he was fine with the low risk of that happening in exchange for scaring the living soul out of his classmates who forced him into such a job anyway.
"Geez! What the hell are you guys doing!" A hot-pink-haired girl shouted from the leaf-blanketed grounds, her dark blue skirt dirtied from falling to the ground beneath. If her scowl could get any more intense, her brow would be hanging over her thin nose and halfway over her eyes.
"It's kind of our job, Nino." Replied the boy, who put his mask back on and off repeatedly for demonstration.
" was it also your job to ruin my expensive skirt?" She retorted.
" Sorry, I honestly thought you wouldn't be such a scaredy-cat.
"I wasn't scared you rat-faced numbskull, I tripped over a stick! A stick!"
"Uh-huh, sure." The boy rolled his eyes at the obvious attempt to hide such a clear-cut blunder. "Wait, shouldn't we go after Itsuki?"
"Oh! You're right Uesugi-san!" Realized the tangerine-haired girl. The scene of her fleeing sister slipped her mind as the brief argument between Uesugi and Nino unfolded.
"Alright Nino, go after her." Commanded the masked man. He finally threw away the mask previously holding onto his face as it wasn't needed, acting more as a hindrance than anything else.
"What? You go after her! I'm injured, can't you see?" Nino annoyedly pointed towards her tail bone, "Injured!"
"Guys, don't fight! I'll go after her!" Declared the mummy with a determined smile, "I have a great nose, I'll be able to sniff her down!"
"Are you a bloodhound?" DeadpannedUesugi, shifting the girl's smug and triumphant look into one of pure shock, before switching into one of wonderance.
"Don't insult her."
"It wasn't an insult."
"Bullshit. Go with Yotsuba."
"Huh, why should I?"
"I'm not going to let my sister go wander around in a forest all alone."
"It's fine Nino, I'm sure I can find her al-"
"Shush."
"Then why don't you go with he-" He was interrupted by the sight of said girl pointing at her tailbone once more. Of course."...Fine, I'll go along with her." The twin-ahoge'd man gave in to the stubborn girl. He, too, didn't want Yotsuba going all alone in a dark forest in the middle of the night. He was confident in her extraordinarily precise athletic ability and senses, but the situation just rubbed him the wrong way.
"Good."
"Yay! Don't worry, Uesugi-san, We'll find her in a jiffy!"
"...Whatever... Yotsuba let's go before she gets too far." Muttered Uesugi as he started walking down Itsuki's trail. It was clear the opposition wouldn't budge even a millimeter from her stance, and he had no energy to stay and argue all night long.
"Aye Aye!" Saluted the girl as she followed the boy into the vaguely lit-up forestThe lit-lantern nailed in tree trunks and branches soon began to fade, leaving the two all alone in the black night. Thankfully, they brought along a flashlight just in case of an emergency such as this.
The boy pulled out the yellow cylinder of light and flicked the light switch on. As expected, a beam of blinding white shot out the tool and into the leafy ground, re-revealing Itsuki's messy trail which they followed.
The thing is, every now and then, students tend to forget to check up on their tools after they use them, always assuming they would be in mint condition despite their extended uses. And unfortunately, a certain pair of unfortunate suckers were on the receiving end of such action.
The once blinding ray began to stutter and fade, being reduced to 'light' that was outshined by a phone flashlight on its lowest grade. Then, as tragically expected, the flashlight died. Once again, the two were left to the mercy of the shining moon overhead.
With a groan and nothing to talk about, the two went on in silence, 'following' the trail they held before their visibility was basically cut off. Yotsuba would try to strike up a conversation every now and then, but her tutor preferred the silence and would answer with laconic replies. It wasn't long after that the two were left to their own thoughts.
Uesugi was confident that Itsuki wasn't seriously lost. Sure she may be stubborn, frustratingly so, but she was pretty diligent and smart, kind of. He was certain that at the very least, the starry-haired redhead wasn't stupid enough to flee far enough to cause an emergency, right? So why did he go out of his way to find her? Well, first of all, he didn't want to use all his energy arguing with Nino. Second of all, using the same exact scares on his peers was getting pretty stale and he was getting way too light-headed from hanging upside down.
Yotsuba, similarly, was confident that Itsuki wouldn't get too lost, she was her sister after all! Plus, there were a ton of different landmarks and signs to direct her back to campus even if the girl did indeed get lost somehow. Also, she just really enjoyed Uesugi's company. "...You think she fell off a cliff or something?" Uesugi shockingly broke the ice after a while in their shroud of quiet.
"Gah! Don't say something like that!" Chastised Yotsuba refusing to let the very thought enter her mind. "Plus, we haven't seen any of those 'Beware of Cliff Up ahead" Signs, so I'm sure she's fine. Eatsuki would surely see such an obvious sign!"
"Eatsuki?" Uesugi raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, hehe. Nino would call Itsuki that sometimes, because of her, well, y'know…" The mummy hand gestured an expanding stomach, giving off the thought that her younger sister was fat rather than just carrying an abnormally huge appetite. Ah, don't those two things usually go together?
"Hmm." Ended the wigged boy with a hum.
The pair started to shout out for the fifth quintuplets as they traversed the mountain, believing it would be more effective than just following a vague direction of where she ran off too. The new strategy did little to prove anything other than useless as they were met with the stillness as before. It did reveal their fatigue, though, as they were greeted with a sore throat and weakened legs with the ever-present fear of being lost themselves parading much more active around their heads.
"...Uesugi-san, do you think Itsuki made it back to camp?" Asked the sapphire-eyed girl gazing into the dark trunk of a tree she could've sworn they passed many times before. "It feels like we've been running around in circles."
"...Probably, we should head back before we get lost. If she hasn't come back, we should tell a teacher and start a search party." Concluded the boy. His legs were currently in the process of jellification and his head threatened to fly up into the sky with how light it's gotten. Needless to say, he hoped to god that they would be able to find their way back to camp smoothly.
"Mhm, I agree." "So, where'd we come from again?"
"...ah…" The duo looked around but only saw the same trees scattered over the place, the very same trees they swore they walked past many times before. One look at the ground only revealed pitch black as the shadows from the trees blocked out any light trying to hit the ground and the relatively low light from the moon in comparison to the sun wasn't helping. "Is there perhaps a chance you have a map on you?" Uesugi Nervously asked, scared at the prospect of being lost.
"...no. Do you have a phone? We might be able to call someone?"
"No. I left it back in my room." "Oh." Pondered the mummy at their lack of options. Maybe they could just walk backward and hope for the best? No, that wouldn't work; The two took many different twists and turns throughout the forest, hoping that each new path would lead them to Itsuki. That's not even to mention that walking backwards in a circle would be functionally the same as walking forwards in a circle.
"Yotsuba, let's take a break. Worrying won't help us and my feet hurt like hell." Groaned the taller boy who was dragging his feet through the hefty layers of leaves on the floor. Truth be told, even Yotsuba's feet were beginning to ache.
"Good idea, Uesugi-san."
The two students found a comfortable tree to sit underneath, the trunk of the plant wasn't too rough nor was the ground it fed upon too hard. The two piled a bunch of yellowish-orange leaves into a makeshift seat for cushioning before taking their seats. Thankfully, the breeze wasn't too strong and the weather wasn't freezing, although it was still a bit cold, that was to be expected as Autumn swung in full blast. Hey, at least it was not winter.
"So, Uesugi-san, what's your favorite season?" intrigued Yotsuba, her eyes filled with a glint of curiosity.
"Hm...Winter is too cold, summer is too hot. Autumn's weather is nice, but there aren't any breaks for studying or part-time jobs. So, by choice of elimination, Spring would be my favorite." Informed the athlete. Of course, the weather and environment wasn't the only reason he was fond of the season, as spring was a season of change. Coincidentally, it was also the season when-
"Haha, Spring is also my favorite! The weather is cool and the blossoming flowers look so pretty! Ya know, I have a bunch of flowers growing in my room; I've got succulents, a bonsai, and some other colorful flowers! Hey, did you know..." The poppy-haired girl babbled on about her garden of a bedroom and other interesting flower facts. Although he didn't really care about them in general, something about the way Yotsuba's faced sparked up while talking was magnetic. "Hey, I'll show you around next time you come over!"
Uesugi raised an eyebrow at such a bold invitation to a girl's room. Naturally, it wouldn't be the first time in a girl's room, as he recalled the half-naked encounter he had with Ichika, the eldest quintuplet, when he first came over for the quint's study session. Memories of being designated to sleep in Miku's bed and getting his student handbook back from Nino also floated around, but it seemed a bit different this time. He was being personally invited to spend some time with Yotsuba, and although he was aware it was nothing more than just looking at some flowers, that didn't stop a dose of blood from traveling to his face.
"...or not." Squeaked Yotsuba, who with just realized the implications of what she said with a red tint adorning her cheeks.
"Kind of surprised, to be honest. I always assumed you only trained like a gorilla, never even thought about your other hobbies." Confessed her tutor. Perhaps he was biased, as the only thing he did was prioritize his studies and ignoring to start any new endeavors other than that and some jobs on the side., so the idea of hobbies totally slipped his mind.
"That sounded pretty mean, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt." Chuckled the girl. Yotsuba was keenly aware of the aura of social awkwardness that loomed around the study freak. "So, do you have any hobbies other than studying? Even studying has to get boring for someone as smart as you."
"Not really." "Really? Like, really really?"
"Yes, other than part-time jobs, I don't do much else."
"How about before? Did you have any hobbies in middle school?"
"Nope...Ah, actually…"
"Ooh! What was it!"
"It...was nothing."
"Don't be such a spoilsport! Cmon, tell me!
"It really was nothing."
"Killjoy. Liar."
"Please…?"
"...fine." Uesugi was never the best when it came to puppy eyes.
"Yahooo!"
"Well… I guess I kind of dabbled in photography. I always thought my dad's camera was cool, so I took it one day and snapped some shots. I liked it, so I did it more. Would bring the thing wherever I went, including field trips." reminiscent Uesugi as he gazed into the majestic moon over them. Was this Nostalgia? "Haha, I remember this one time…"
Despite originally stiffening up at the mention of the camera, Yotsuba's lips soon curved into a grin as she watched on as her tutor talked about his ex-hobby. The way his face lit up, his unknowing smile growing wider and wider the more he talked, the way he looked into her eyes as he described stories without missing a single minute detail. She loved it. "Is the camera still round?"
"No, It just went missing one day I guess. Don't really remember."
"Do you have any photos left over from the camera?"
"hm...Well, I do have one I keep in my student handbook."
"Ah, show it to me!"
"Absolutely not."
"Aw, come on!"
"It's back home. Your puppy eyes won't work here."
"Gah!"
The two continued their conversation for a while longer, going back and forth between each other's hobbies, dislikes, likes, and even some old childhood stories they had. It was nice, despite the dark surroundings, the space the two shared was anything but cold. No, it was comfortably snug, only getting warmer and warmer as the two started laughing, telling jokes, and just got lost on the line of time.
The last time Yotsuba complained about the cold, she found herself wrapped in the coat Fuutaro was wearing as part of his weird costume. Of course, Fuutaro didn't think of the implications his actions may have caused, as he was running on his big brother reflexes at the time, but the flame-head was nothing short of grateful. As their conversations and storytelling dragged on, the two got closer, both physically and emotionally. Steadily, and over a relatively longish period of time, the young woman's head gradually against the boy, a side effect of sleepiness no doubt. She wouldn't complain though, Yotsuba wasn't really aware of it herself.
A bit later, Yotsuba's head was fully propped up by the boy's shoulder and Uesugi didn't mind it. She did do something similar with her sisters on the way here, so he assumed it was nothing other than that.
The athlete was glad that her tutor was unable to see her tomato hue'd face as the current circumstances finally registered into her brain. The student wouldn't move. She quite enjoyed the feeling, it was pretty comfortable after all.
There periods between them talking lengthened as sleepiness started to seep in, their replies/back and forths becoming shorter and more laconic. Uesugi was keen about how sleepy he had gotten; The young man had not slept the past day due to studying and the upcoming dance he would have to share with Ichika as soon as they got out of this forest. He may have missed it depending on the time, which would mean all those worries amounted to nothing.
" Uesugi-san...why do you study so hard?" The question caught the boy off-guard.
"Well, it is my job as a student."
"...I guess, but you study yourself to the bone, going so far as to not sleep some nights." He questioned how Yotsuba knew that in the first place, but the picture of his little sister telling her stories over the phone popped into his mind.
"...To support my pops and Raiha in the future, to finally get us out of debt."
"Mm...were you always like that?" Uesugi was uncertain as to why his student kept pushing.
"Nah, used to be just like my dad." Yotsuba slightly chuckled.
"So, what changed?" "hm…"
Before the tutor had the time to answer, the rustling of tree branches and leaves overhead activated the duo's fight or flight instincts. The two instinctively jumped to their feet and away from the tree they were stationed under, investigated whatever caused the weird noises with their eyes.
Their eyes scanned the area, keen of every and any single movement or sad in the nearby vicinity as their senses went into overdrive.
Fortunately, nothing came of it. Everything seemed fine, a gentle breeze carrying the leaves and branches mixed with the chirping of crickets.
"Waaah, that scared me!" Exhaled Yotsuba with a hand to her heart. "You heard that too, right?" "Er, yeah. Probably nothing." The only thing keeping the boy from running into the dense forest, far away from the tree, was his untied shoelaces and lack of energy. "Ah, about your que-"
His words never left his throat once he turned towards Yotsuba's direction. The elegant and graceful moonlight shone upon her perfectly, like the goddess Artemis in her natural habitat. Her tangerine hair swayed hypnotically with the breeze, it was smooth, eye-catchingly magnetic. For the briefest of moments, she radiated the very definition of 'Pretty'.
But…
She was smiling...a troubled smile...it was a little sad...a bit woeful...and yet...Uesugi couldn't stop gazing. He couldn't help but think, ' What a beautiful girl."
"Don't worry about that." With those words, she had gone on ahead. He followed.
The two marched through the forest in relative matter how hard they searched, there seemed to be no sign of the red rectangle of a sign in sight, no matter how close they got to the edge of the cliffs or how far they got away from them. The two avoided the edge as much as they could, as they wouldn't want any accidents, but even then, the ever-present danger still struck shivers into them. Just as they were about to give up, spirits dampened from the long trek, Yotsuba spotted a clearing just ahead, reigniting their sullen hope.
Wasting no time or thought on the matter, she dashed straight towards it in hopes of being met to the sight of a lit campfire with all her classmates and friends surrounding it. She hoped that they would be holding sticks of roasting marshmallows with crackers and a piece of chocolate on a plate to their sides and a nice refreshing bottle of juice to go along with it. Yotsuba was adamant in her belief that the clearing would lead to a better situation than they were in now: an escape.
But, Uesugi felt something off. He hadn't heard the crackle of flames nor the annoying laughter of students. It was still silent; Even with the chirping crickets, the loud silence was audible. Not wanting to be right, he pushed it aside, choosing to believe that it was just late and everyone was asleep.
The faint irrefutable glint of a crimson shine broke him out of his delusions. The young man reared his head towards the source of the light and in an instant, his stomach dropped. It was the unmistakable sign of a cliff up ahead. That clearing wasn't a clearing, it was a drop.
"YOTSUBA!" The taller man's legs started before his brain could catch up as he broke into a full-on sprint, leaving flying dirt, sticks, and leaves in his wake. His vision tunneled as he sped up, his lungs felt like they would explode while drops of sweat flew past him, hitting the trees he left behind. He never was the athletic type.
The unassuming girl, hearing the ruckus and turning her head back, was none less than shocked at the actions of the boy. Was something chasing him? Is he hurt? What on earth could have caused such a spur-of-the-moment change in her tuto-
Oh.
Where was the ground her foot was supposed to land on, again?
Feeling the pull of gravity start to drag her, Yotsuba flailed her arms towards Uesugi. She attempted to ground herself with her safe leg, and for a second it worked.
The brazen girl fought against the natural force, shifting her center of gravity back over the cliff and onto sweet mother earth.
Suddenly, vertigo stuck her as she became weightless. Her breath stopped mid gasp while her innards seemingly collapsed into the ground beneath her. Yotsuba's brain hadn't the time to process anything. The edge of the cliff on which she stood must've given out.
He was too late.
There was nothing he could do. It didn't make sense. Why's he still running? Why's he still trying? Why's his vision blurring and his face hot and red? Why was he crying?
Why did he keep going forward?
And why. Why did he jump?
The boy's blonde wig flew off as he plummeted towards the ground beneath, but that didn't matter. He saw Yotsuba, and that's all that mattered. It didn't matter if his body was smashed into play-doh, as long as…
Uesugi outstretched his arm and grabbed onto the screaming girl's own arm, pulling her into an embrace. He wrapped his flimsy arms around her head and hugged the student forcing her into a fetal position. This way, he would take the brunt of the impact.
The first hit led to an explosion of air leaving his lungs as his body threatened to give out. He couldn't breathe and his back felt like it had just snapped in two. The rushing of blood and groans drowned out his screams as they continued crashing down the cliff.
The second hit shattered a leg, he was sure. His vision darkened, yet he held firm to the girl, despite being pummeled, struck, and banged into the ragged, uneven crag.
The third shattered his arm. He wasn't sure how he was conscious. His entire body was throbbing in agony as he choked on air. At this point, he hoped for the mercy of darkness to cure the plague of torment he was suffering through.
Yet, the tutor never gave in. He couldn't, as it was not just his own life in danger.
Uesugi was thrown, thrashed, and struck into the cliff as his blood flew in all directions. He couldn't keep count of all the wounds he accumulated as his brain was overridden with pain. Uesugi felt every pebble smash into his ribs, the lacerations from serrated rocks, the concussive force that rocked his body every time his body made contact with literally anything. His lungs felt like they would explode.
Thankfully, they hit the leaves of a tree; sticks and branches plunged into the boy's limbs as their fall was cushioned. Their fall was relatively slowed down before they dropped back into the ground with Uesugi taking the brunt of the impact.
He quite literally had nothing left in him. His body was drained and broken, with every breath the young man took, his ribs felt as if they were stabbing his lungs. Uesugi's head was spinning and aching. It took everything he had just to repeat his breaths.
Although Fuutaro couldn't shift his head to the side, he knew his friend was right beside him, and hopefully, in a much better condition than himself. But he had no time to worry about her right now, as his qualms of death were very much a possibility, and honestly, probably more likely than not.
But...
"Geez, those two just ditched me!" angrily muttered a butterfly-ribboned girl, her face thrown into a scowl as her feet stomped across the leaf-layered ground. She said that she would have wait for half an hour, and despite staying for another half-hour longer than that, the two never showed up! Unbelievable! Wading her way through the dense forest of trees and leaves, Nakano Nino opened to the clearing to which the school's campsite was located; sure enough, it was as lively as ever.
Warm flames crackled into the air as students from different schools sat around it, telling spooky stories and roasting marshmallows. Others were scattered across the field, walking in groups and talking, playing games of tag with a weird-looking bug in one of the player's hands, and just sitting around with friends. Having time to cool down after a long walk, the girl was visibly less angry than before as she sighed in relief at finally making it back safely. This does not diminish the fact that once she saw her tutor, Nino wouldn't be sure of whether or not she would be able to keep her hands from wrapping around his necks and choking the living daylights out of him.
But first, Nino decided it would be smart to make sure her dear little sister, Itsuki, did come back safely. Conveniently enough, it didn't take much searing to spot the unmistakable bright red ahoge that stood upright on her head. Even better, the remarkable oyster pink-haired girl and the headphone-wrapped sister were with her as well!"Oi, Itsuki!" Shouted Nino, making her way across the field to meet her sisters.
"Ah, Nino!" Itsuki cried before running her way to the older sister, meeting her with a hug. "The forest was really scary, I almost got lost!"
"Geez, you're such a kid." the fuschiaette chuckled.
"Hey, Nino." greeted the pinkette with a smile. "You have fun by yourself in that forest?" "Hah?" The girl scoffed, " I wish, I was stuck there for like an hour waiting at the scare station!"
"Wasn't that Fuutaro and Yotsuba's job?" interjected the maroon-haired girl with headphones wrapped around her neck. "Were you with them the entire time?"
"That's the thing, Miku, they just up and left!" exclaimed Nino with disbelief. "Like, they went for Itsuki and just forgot about me, can you believe that?!"
"Hoh? That sounds pretty odd." Noticed Ichika.
" I expected it from Uesugi, but not Yotsuba." she rolled her eyes. "Speaking of which, where are those two? I'm gonna give that prick a piece of my mind!"
Nino's words, however, were simply met with confusion.
"I don't know, haven't seen them since the Trial of Courage started." Stated Ichika.
"Same here." Frowned Miku. She was probably unreasonable, but she was quite worried about her tutor's whereabouts considering she hadn't seen them in a while.
"Uh, I found my way back. I didn't see them either." Drawled Itsuki, coming to a disturbing realization.
"Huh."
The aching girl groaned. Her head was spinning, her eyes were blurry, her breathing was ragged and her neck was stiff. Yotsuba's body had nearly no will to move, so she just lay there in hopes that her body would force herself back to sleep.
It didn't.
Despite her grogginess, the redhead sat up, and although it hurt a bit, she finally managed and tried to recall her memories. Not much came up, the last thing she remembered was talking to Uesugi under the tree.
Speaking of Uesugi, where was he? She couldn't remember as her memories were but a slur of murky waters. Yotsuba opened her eyes to reveal the blurry figure of a tree. She attempted to focus on it, and although it seemed to work a bit, she couldn't get a clear picture of that tree not far in front of her. Did she have a concussion? Wait.
Why was she on the ground? And why did she ache all over?
What?
The athlete tried to push herself up from the ground, but her knees gave out before she had the chance to try. Yotsuba began to panic.
"U-Uesugi-san? Where are you?" the girl muttered to herself, trying to get up once more only to be met with the same result as last time. She anxiously tried to move around, and although she was successful in moving her legs and arms around to prove they weren't broken, she had trouble summoning the energy to do much of anything.
Yotsuba's heart began to race.
"Uesugi-san?" she looked around in hopes of finding his face. Maybe he'd have a smile? Nah, that wasn't like him. He would just have a morose expression, similar to the one he used whenever he tutored them. She couldn't believe that she kind of missed even his angry face at the moment. "Where are you?" she half-muttered and half-whimpered aloud. Somewhere along her ventures to get up off the ground, Yotsuba's left hand touched a weird liquid, shocking her.
The damp feeling on her hand was warm, oddly enough. It smelled of iron and rust.
Frustratingly, it was also extremely hard to fully get it off her hand full as it left some odd colored stains she couldn't make out clearly. The moon must've sensed the girl's annoyance, as it rose overhead, shining a ray of fluorescent light through a gap in the tree's leaves. Her vision cleared as the darkness around her crawled back into the shadows, the moon's beams acting as a defense force for the girl.
Yotsuba's eyes focused on her hand and her stomach dropped as her blue eyes read the hand that was dyed in mahogany. Her stomach nearly flew out her mouth as she quickly realized what the substance was: blood.
Yotsuba slowly turned her head towards her left, where the blood came from. She was trembling, scared of what she may see. If she had any sense other than worry and anxiety in her heart, the girl would have refused to complete the turn.
Her eyes stumbled upon a puddle of the same substance on her hand. They continued upward, revealing an even bigger puddle followed by…A crimson streak was painted across a boy's paper pale face. His hair was dyed a deep shade of merlot.
The young man's arm was torn as blood leaked from every poor.
His clothing ripped and cut apart, nothing but mere rags.
And.
His previously white shirt was now soaked in a red pool that he was currently bathing in.
Most disturbingly, Nakano Yotsuba knew exactly who that broken man was.
It was her friend.
Her tutor.
Laying in a pool of his blood was the mangled body of Uesugi Fuutaro.
A bloodcurdling shriek echoed and reverberated through the night sky, bouncing off the trees and piercing the clouds.
a/n
I didn't bother going over the last couple of parts of the story, the fall and everything after, as i am sleep deprived and have been holding on to this for a while. speakng of which, I wrote this entire chapter at 3am, not in one go, but i'd find myself awake at 3am and decide to just write it for like a week or two. also, in this story, they're currently on the third and last day of the trip, the skiing and and getting locked up in the warehouse happened before for convenicence.
