Melanie slowly drifted back to consciousness. Her head throbbed in pain, and she was having some difficulty breathing. And she felt brutally cold, almost as if she was buried under snow...
...which, she realized, she partially was. A thin layer of snow was covering her, which was made worse by the fact her varsity jacket had been removed, and her sweater sleeves were rolled all the way up. She started shivering heavily, feeling frozen to the bone. Nor was this her only problem; she was tied to a tree, gagged, and blindfolded, and her arms were cut and bleeding. Melanie felt light-headed; she had apparently been bleeding for some time. They'd left her to die, she realized, to either freeze to death or bleed to death. And neither option was palatable for her. She had to get loose and get to safety...
She squirmed to the right-and immediately howled into her gag in agony, for even this slight movement sent horrific pain roaring through her ribs, which felt badly injured. Her face also stung hard, on top of the sharp pain from her sprained ankle. Her attackers must have done a number on her after she'd been knocked out, she knew. Why they didn't kill her off the bat, she didn't know, but from all the pain she was experiencing at the moment, instant death might have been preferable. "Maybe they wanted me to suffer," she thought to herself, "To die slowly and agonizingly. I've got to get loose quick, then; I'm so cold, and I don't know how much longer I can hold out...!"
She strained hard on her wrists, twisting them around. The ropes were very tight, however, and Melanie found she didn't have the strength to pull hard enough to break them. She felt very weak; the brutal cold and her bleeding arms were draining the energy out of her rapidly. "How long have I been out here?" she wondered, wincing when she tried to thump her feet against the ground, her sprained leg causing more intense pain, "It was just after five when I ran off..."
Her watch in fact beeped behind her back now; eleven o'clock. Melanie knew few people could survive more than six hours outside; the temperature had to be lower than five degrees at the moment, and she could feel heavy snow lashing against her cheeks. Another blizzard had sprung up, which meant she was completely isolated and probably cut off from help. The cold seeped deep into her; she could feel her body temperature dropping by the second. Her limbs were starting to grow numb, and it was increasingly harder to move her arms and legs. "You've got to keep moving them, Haddix; you're doomed if you stop moving!" she begged herself. She tried twisting her arms and legs, but they hurt too much, and they were growing stiff and unresponsive. Indeed, it was getting harder and harder for Melanie to move at all; her body seemed ready to start shutting down. She was fast becoming an icicle, and was tied too well to do anything about it. Which meant, she knew, that she had to think about facing the possibly inevitable...
"What's it like to die!?" she thought morbidly to herself, her head slumping downwards, "I didn't want to answer that at only seventeen. No one does. But I may have no choice now. God, please, answer me, why am I in this!?" she begged the Almighty in her mind, "Why is the devil putting me through this!? I've been your faithful servant my whole life; please, let me live! There's so much I can do in this world, and I don't want to join you yet! Please, give me a miracle and let me live!"
She listened to the howling wind for any sign her prayers might have been answered. Only the howling of the drifting snow could be heard. Depressed, Melanie slumped into a ball, her strength ebbing rapidly. She probably only had a few minutes left on earth. "Mom, Dad, if you can hear this, I love you," she tried to mentally tell her parents, dozens of miles away, "Guys, Rick, thank you for everything. I wish we could have spent more time together, but I guess that wasn't in the cards. If this is your will, God, I guess I'm ready. If it's my time, then commend me peacefully and painlessly into your hands..."
And then, something caught her ear. She weakly raised her head, thinking at first it might just be the wind. But she could hear it again: human voices, getting closer. And then she heard a familiar voice calling her name: Marti's voice. Her heart leaped: there was still hope. Her prayers had been answered...if she could be found in time...
Summoning what was left of her strength, she wailed hard into her gag and thumped her feet on the ground as hard as she could. Sure enough, she heard Mari cry out, "Over there, I think I see something!" Footsteps rushed to her location. "Melanie, oh god!" Marti gasped, "Over here, guys, and hurry; she's badly hypothermic!" the redhead cried out.
"Melanie hang on, we'll get you out of here!" Emily's voice rang out next. Hands pulled the blindfold and gag off her eyes and mouth and started untying her ropes. "Oh my God, Melanie, you poor thing, what did they do to you!?" a horrified Emily gasped.
"How is she!?" Rick's voice rang out in the snowy darkness that Melanie could barely see through even after her eyes had started adjusting.
"Frozen solid and bleeding; whoever left her here wanted her to die. Looks like she's been beaten badly too, the monsters," Sydney called from Melanie's right, sounding on the verge of tears. "Melanie, hang in there and don't die on us!" the black-haired girl hugged her close once Melanie's last ropes fell off.
"Please...run...Sydney...everyone..." she could barely croak out the words, "...I'll...get...you...killed..."
"We're not leaving you, Melanie, not when you're this bad," sounding tearful herself, Marti squeezed her hand. "We've got to stop that bleeding first and foremost," she told everyone else worriedly.
"Not to complain, Marti, but where are we going to find bandages out here!?" Emily snapped, likely out of worry.
"Actually, I know what we can use," Sydney declared. Melanie turned to see her unknotting her current neck scarf. "This is my best one, but there are times you've got to sacrifice," the black-haired girl mused, tying it tightly around the slash wound on Melanie's left arm. "And good thing I was carrying a couple with me," she dug a second neck scarf out of her jean pocket and tied it over the right arm's slash wound, then pulled both of Melanie's sweater sleeves back down. "Anyone see her jacket anywhere!?" she asked the other girls, "We'd better warm her up quick...!"
"Think I see something buried over here...yeah, that's it," Marti rushed over to a spot a few yards away where Melanie could in fact see a patch of blue still visible under the snow. The redhead dug it out, rushed back over to Melanie, slipped the jacket on her, and buttoned it all the way up. Seconds later, Melanie felt a coat slip around her as well. "Don't, Rick...you need it...it's too cold..." she mumbled weakly up at him.
"You need it more, Melanie," he looked deeply worried, picking her up in his arms. "Owwwwwww!" she cried out, gritting her teeth in agony, "My leg hurts..."
"It's really swollen, I can't blame you," Emily examined it grimly, "Let's get her back to the hotel, or somewhere where we can get her warmed up," she told everyone else.
"Uh..." a frowned crossed Marti's face as she looked around, "Uh, guys, any idea where we are, or which way the hotel is?"
"None..." Rick conceded with a frustrated look, "We're lost, and I think we're at least a good three miles from the hotel."
"Now what!? Melanie doesn't have much time if we can't get her warmed...!" Emily bellowed.
"I know, I know! Well, best to start walking and hope we find some place, any place, where we can at least bunker in for the night," Rick turned and started walking away with Melanie in his arms. "Leave me here, please, I'm endangering you and the girls...!" she begged him.
"No, we're not leaving you to die here, Melanie," told her firmly, looking sadly down at her injured face, "We're getting you to safety. Stay strong till then, please."
"I'll try," she mumbled, her teeth chattering. Rick carried her to the right, stumbling through deep snow drifts. "I think I remember that double tree over there," he gestured at it through the blinding snow to the other girls, "We turned right at that, so we go left to get back to the hotel."
"Wait, didn't we go left at the double tree?" Emily protested, "Everything looks the same out here, and I..."
She yelped as she slipped and fell. "You OK, Emily?" Sydney bent down to help her up.
"Yeah, fine. I just wasn't expecting to have to go merrily traipsing through the woods in heels," Emily muttered, staring down at her footwear, which were admittedly inappropriate for a hike. "Why'd you have to run off, Melanie?" she complained to the blonde, shivering herself, "We were just as horrified at what happened to Sophie and her father and half the staff, but running off wasn't going to make anything better."
"Emily, forgive me, but now's not the time, not with Melanie like she is," Rick admonished her, stumbling slightly on a root but maintaining his hold on Melanie. "You still OK?" he asked her.
"I'm so cold..." she moaned, feeling frozen solid.
"Yeah, I know. We're working on it," he looked deathly worried now. He came to a stop and glanced around through the blinding snow. I don't recognize any of this," he sighed, "We might have been going the wrong way all along. If we..."
"You see that!?" Marti suddenly pointed. Melanie raised her head and saw it too: a low building right in front of them. "This looks like a ranger's station," the redhead rushed towards it, "Yeah, it is; I almost forgot there was the state park alongside the mountain. It's at least shelter, if we can get inside."
She tugged on the knob, which was locked. "Not to worry, stand clear," Sydney hefted a large rock and tossed it through the window nearest the door, shattering it. The black-haired girl reached through the hole and unlocked the door. "There, and maybe they even have a phone or radio inside," she threw the door open and waved everyone inside.
"Find a place where we can put Melanie where we can warm her up," Rick looked around worriedly for something to use.
"There's a bedroom back here; put her in here," Marti thrust a door open in the back of the station, "Guys, go find every blanket in here you can; she needs warmth now," she instructed Sydney and Emily, then followed Rick into the bedroom, where he laid Melanie down on the bed against the wall and pulled the blankets on it up to her chin. "It's going to be all right now, Melanie," she reassured the blonde, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Please run, Marti, I'm a curse," Melanie pleaded with her, "I'm going to get you and everyone else killed...!"
"You're not a curse Melanie, please don't say that! It is not your fault Sophie or anyone's dead; you've got to keep telling yourself that!" Marti begged her, "And I'm not leaving you, especially not when you're like this!"
"Marti, please, go...!"
"I am not leaving you, Melanie Haddix!" Marti all but shrieked, "Not when you're the best friend I could ever have! We're the M & M's, remember!? So we stick together to the end!"
"Yeah, we're the M & M's," Melanie nodded softly, deeply touched by the sheer depth of Marti's unwavering loyalty to her as a friend. Tears flowing down her face, Marti gave Melanie a gentle hug, then reached under the blankets and took hold of her hand again. "I'm staying right here with you until it's over...good, you found some," she nodded at Emily and Sydney in the doorway, each clutching a set of blankets.
"Yeah, we found a stash in the storage closet," Sydney told her. She and Emily rapidly threw the blankets over the bed, leaving Melanie under five layers. "Hope that'll warm you up good," Sydney told Melanie hopefully, looking on the verge of tears herself again, "And Melanie, I'm sorry."
"What for?" Melanie tried to sit up, but groaned and slumped back down when this caused too much pain to her ribs.
"I just feel guilty; all this weekend, I've been eager for adventure, ready for excitement, wanting to face danger. Look what that's gotten us all: Sophie and the Parkers dead, and you looking like this," Sydney gestured miserably at Melanie's injuries, "I feel like I goaded you into everything, Melanie, and I just feel horrible because of it. Maybe I live for the thrill a little too much..."
"It's not your fault, Sydney, so don't blame yourself," Melanie absolved her, "I've enjoyed sharing the good and the bad this weekend with you."
"Good," Sydney looked a little brighter, "OK, if you're set there, then Emily and I'll stand guard outside. No one's coming in without going through us, I promise you that, Melanie."
"Yeah, we'll keep a good watch till the storm's over, or until you're ready to go out again," Emily gave Melanie a reassuring nod of her own. "OK, first we barricade the door good, Syd," she told her friend as they walked outside, "No fires or anything that would tip the killers off no matter..."
The door closed behind them, muting their continued conversation somewhat. "Feeling any better, Melanie?" Rick asked her.
"I'm still so cold, Rick. And there's so much pain..." she winced; even the slightest motion hurt her.
"Where does it hurt?"
"My leg hurts the most, my ribs and face really hurt too. And the cold hurts," she shivered again, the icy feeling having permeated her entire body and inflicting pain itself.
"Well, we'll see if we can warm you a little more," he started climbing into the bed with her. "Rick, please, no sex," she protested, "I want to stay chaste until I'm married...!"
"Don't worry; I'm pretty well burned off of sex after Rhonda wanted it incessantly day in and day out," Rick assured her, slipping under the covers and pulling her close. "OOWWW!" she cried, gritting her teeth in agony, "My ribs...!"
"Sorry, sorry," he maneuvered his arm up to her shoulder and started stroking her hair again, "It really hurts to see you this bad, Melanie."
"I can't believe it; of course the phone doesn't work!" came Emily's frustrated shout from outside the room. Melanie turned towards it. "What do we do now?" she asked, "We might get snowed in..."
"Well, eventually it will be light again, so we can at least see where we're going when we try and leave. Till then, we're probably safe here; I don't think whoever attacked you'll be out in a blizzard," Marti guessed, "So just rest up for now, Melanie," she told her.
"I'll try...OOOWWWWW!" Melanie yelped again, pain shooting up her leg when she tried to roll sideways towards Rick. Marti reached under the covers and took hold of her hand again. "I'm here," she reiterated with a sad shake of the head, "Poor Melanie; you didn't deserve to be treated like this. Maybe Shadyside's not the right place for kind-hearted Christian girls..."
Sighing, she slumped her head against the bed while keeping a hold of Melanie's hand. Melanie twisted sideways as slowly as she could and buried her face in Rick's chest. "I'm here too," he told her softly, kissing her forehead while continuing to stroke her hair, "Just try and sleep...sleep...sleep..."
Melanie exhaled softly, leaning against him. She must have fallen asleep, for the next thing she knew, there was a knocking on the door, and it was light when she looked up. "Hey guys, wake up; Emily and I can hear someone calling out there!" Sydney was shouting, "I think it's the undercover cop."
"Huh. what?" this apparently woke Rick up next to Melanie.
"I can hear her too!" a wide awake Marti was standing by the window. And Melanie could vaguely hear a woman's voice calling out her name. Her heart leaped; if it was Walton, they were probably okay. "Is she alone, Sydney?" Marti asked through the bedroom door.
"She's by herself, but I think I see a large resort van in the grove not far from here," Sydney called back.
"I see. Go alert her that we're here. You good enough to walk, Melanie?" Marti asked her.
"I've got to try," Melanie tossed the covers off and stood up-but immediately collapsed to the floor with a cry of agony. "No, the leg's still sprained bad!" she whimpered, tears of pain flowing down her cheeks.
"You feeling warmer, though?" Rick asked, taking hold of her arm and helping her up.
"Yeah, I am, thanks Rick," she told him, for the cold feeling had largely dissipated.
"All right; Marti, help me get her outside," Rick told the redhead, who gently took Melanie's other arm. The two of them slowly helped her hop on her good foot out of the ranger station. "Melanie, thank God you're all right!" Walton approached her, concern on her face, "Your friends tipped me off when they said you'd run off; I've been looking for you too. How's your leg!?"
"It hurts, Mrs. Walton. I sprained it bad running away from a group of people who did this to me," she said grimly.
"You poor girl," Walton glumly echoed everyone else's sentiment, "This is the work of Ernest Bishop's disciples for sure. Well, I brought a van with snow chains," she gestured at it, "You and the other girls hop on in the back, and we'll get you out of here."
"Good. Guys, go over in the van and help me get Melanie in," Marti told Sydney and Emily, who nodded and rushed towards the open back of the van. "Just a little more, Melanie, and we'll be on our way to safety," she told the blonde, helping Rick lead her towards the van, "It's almost over."
"Just so I can go home, crawl into bed, and sleep for a month," Melanie admitted with a sigh, "This weekend's been more than..."
They had reached the back of the van, when suddenly strong hands reached out and pulled her inside roughly. "Hey, what...!?" she started protesting, then shrieked when she saw she was surrounded by the same black-clad and masked figures who'd attacked her the previous night. "No, don't...!" she struggled to get away, but scores of hands grabbed her and held her motionless.
"Yes, we will," came a raspy voice. The see of black clad figures parted, revealing the most hideous-looking man, with horrible burn marks on his face. "Good morning, lovely," he told Melanie with a cruel grin, "My name is Ernest Bishop, and reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. And it would be my pleasure to show you that there's no escape for anyone I want destroyed."