Twilight doesn't belong to me – I just have fun with the characters!
Highline
Chapter 17
I was tempted to bury my head in my sleeping bag and never come out to see the light of day again.
"Shit!" Edward groaned out in a harsh whisper from above me. It looked like it physically hurt him to stop – his eyebrows were deeply furrowed and he pinched at the bridge of his nose. "I'll be right out!" he called to his brother, much louder this time.
"I, uh – what should I do?" I awkwardly whispered. I reached for my blanket to cover my bare chest. Moments before our interruption, it was like I was in a trance – blissfully unaware of anyone or anything outside of the tent. Emmett cutting us off snapped me back to reality faster than I was able to comprehend.
"Get dressed and start packing." Edward said softly, his back already turned on me. His flashlight flickered back and forth over the front of our tent while he dug around in his bag. He was fully clothed before I was even able to find my pants.
I kept a close ear out as soon as he ducked outside.
"Took you long enough!" Emmett snorted at him. I peeked out at them while I tugged on my pants.
"Shut up." Edward replied, his expression serious beneath the glow of Emmett's flashlight. "What's the situation?"
"Wonder Pass is washed out and so is most of the Assiniboine Pass. Thick mud's all the way down to the Trans Can. Highway back near town too – it's a fucking mess. We're stranded, man. Carlisle wants us to head to the lodge."
I laced up my boots as quick as I could and slipped on my coat. I did my best to smooth my hair down, instead opting to put up my hood – it helped with the cool breeze anyway.
I noticed that Rose and Jacob were already busy tearing down tents. It was so dark that it was hard to see, even with our flashlights, but I could make out their silhouettes fairly well.
"We have to go." Edward said to me once he noticed I'd emerged. Emmett stood behind him and waggled his eyebrows at me – a ridiculous smirk on his face. I just rolled my eyes at him.
"Why can't we just stay here?" I asked. "Isn't the lodge only a few kilometers from here? What difference does it make?"
"We all have to be accounted for. Park ranger's orders." Emmett offered.
"They'll likely have us lifted by out by helicopter in the morning." Edward added, fishing around some more in his backpack. "But it could take longer depending on need."
"Oh." I said softly. I wasn't ready to leave. Being ripped from my tent tryst in the middle of the night only to be told we were homebound was upsetting to say the least. I felt like I was dreaming and knew that the look on my face was giving away my feelings.
"It'll be ok, Bella." Edward said, grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze. "We'll get all of this figured out."
xoxoxo
A short time later, we had everything packed and ready to go. Emmett was the only one with a headlamp, so he led the way, with Rose following closely behind him. Edward was next, then me, then Jacob.
The forest was pitch-black aside from the headlamp light. Jacob had a flashlight in his hand at the rear of our line, but the rest of us were instructed to keep ours off to conserve power.
While Rose and I thought the forest was creepy at dusk, it was nothing compared to the spookiness of pure darkness.
Every cracking branch and snapping twig made me jump. Every hooting owl and cawing bird sent shivers down my spine. Even the terrain was frightening – the loose gravel and bumpy forest floor was a true obstacle course in the darkness.
It wasn't until the wolves started howling that I saw obvious fear in our guides. It was Emmett that froze in his tracks first, followed by Edward. The two of them exchanged a look and a nod, but kept going without a word.
We carried on, with Edward announcing that we were about halfway there. I could feel my hands shaking – a combination of nerves, cold and fatigue. We marched on in silence, desperate to reach a warm and safe place for the night.
Out of nowhere a loud crack filled the air – the sound coming from just to the east of our trail. Rose yelped and Jacob jumped behind me. I was frozen stiff – too paralyzed to produce a reaction.
"What the hell was that?" Jacob called out at his leaders, his own anxiety evident in his voice.
"Do you think it could be a bear, Em?" Rose asked shakily.
"Nah, Rosey – bears go to bed at 9pm." Emmett replied, rubbing a hand up and down her back.
"We'll take a second here to get our bearings. We're fine, you guys – not much further." Edward said to us all, his professional guiding tone coming out strong.
"Is he for real?" I asked Edward quietly, curious about Emmett's remark.
"Sure." was all he gave me, as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder pulling me into a half-hug. "Let's get back at this though," he said, taking a swig from his canteen "– the less time we're out here, the better."
xoxoxoxo
What felt like ages later, we could finally see the faint glow of the Mt. Assiniboine Lodge. As we got closer, I was able to make out the red tin roof and log cabin style of the buildings. The glow of a fire roaring inside was visible through the tall wall of windows that decorated the front of the cabin. It looked like there was one large building and several smaller buildings grouped together behind it.
"Alright – we made it." Emmett said to us, standing back on the treeline. "Good news is that there's one flush eco toilet, a shower house, and some of the best biscuits you've ever tasted here. The bad news is that we could be stuck in this spot for a while. We all have to check in at the main cabin, and figure out where they're putting us for the night."
"Showers, hey?" I said, following the group along again. I was desperate for a hot soak. I knew it would do both my body and mind good.
"Yep, and a sauna." Jacob added. "I call dibs on that."
"I'll arm wrestle you for it." Emmett teased. I was happy to see the stress lifting from the group. I put a smile on, but wasn't feeling quite as at ease as everyone else was.
While I was totally up for the action in the tent with Edward, getting caught in the middle of it all made me wonder if it was maybe too much too soon. Coupled with the uncertainty of the fate of the rest of our trip, I was a ball of nerves and overtired emotion. I knew we'd get the chance to talk before long, and there were more pressing issues for him to deal with. A full night's sleep was my first priority anyway.
We followed Jacob as he pushed the heavy wooden front door of the main building open.
"Well, well, well." A semi-familiar voice called out from inside the cabin. "Look who the cat dragged in!"
I stepped inside to see who the voice belonged to. Standing there, holding steaming mugs in their hands, were the three men we'd previously met at the campground.
A/N HELLO! I'm sorry for the delay with this one! My husband arrived back home this weekend and we had a whirlwind of holiday madness going on around here. That may happen a little more often until Christmas is out of the way – my apologies if it does. Then again, holidays often mean more family around, which means occupied children, which means more writing…who knows! Either way, thank you so much for reading and for your reviews! You guys are the best! xoxoxo