After the unspeakable tragedy of last year, Charlie Pruitt never would've guessed she'd leave her sunny safe haven in California and return to that mountain. A mountain tainted with loss, horror, and unknown death. Thrown back into a group of friend...
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THE WASHINGTON LODGE KITCHENWAS swamped in silence, the only sounds being the wind pounding against the windows and rock music drifting softly from Charlie's phone. A laugh rumbled from the dark-haired girl's lips as she patted a hand against Josh's back, the boy slumped over the counter unconsciously.
"I told you, Joshua. I knew you couldn't handle your whiskey," Charlie continued to giggle. She was perched on the edge of the counter, her legs swinging gently along with the music.
Across the room, Beth Washington's eyes strayed to the snowstorm outside, glaring through the small opening between the blinds. Her mind, like Charlie's, was hazy. Both girls were completely unaware of what was going on, and the Pruitt girl was too tipsy to care.
Beth, on the other hand, found herself a little more on edge. Especially when she caught sight of brisk movement between the trees. "Hey. Did you see that?" She glanced briefly over her shoulder at Charlie. "My dad said it'd just be us this weekend."
The Pruitt girl responded with a grunt as she hopped off the counter, her boots making a light thud. "What is it? You see a killer out there?" A slight smirk danced on her face as she approached the window.
"Ha ha. Very funny. I could've sworn I saw something..." Beth trailed off, her glossy eyes falling back to the forest.
Charlie's shoulders slumped as she shrugged, retreating back to the counter for another sip. Her curiosity peaked when she noticed a slip of paper resting blankly on the counter. "Hello..." she mumbled, grabbing the note.
Hannah. You looked so damn hot in that shirt...but I bet you're even hotter out of it. Come to the guest room at 2 am. Mike.
"Ugh," Charlie groaned, eyes narrowing at the wink face etched into the paper. "Beth, come look at this."
"What?" The short-haired girl murmured, accepting the note from her and scanning it with a perplexed look. "What the hell? What has my naive sister gotten herself into now?"
Charlie, who was now cradling a bag of almonds, jabbed a finger at the paper. "That's not Mike's handwriting." She pointed out.
Beth faced her with a wrinkled brow. "Huh? How do you know that?"
"Because!" Charlie answered with a mouth half full, swallowing quickly. "Mike and I basically had the same schedule junior year. And I pay attention." She stated it as a fact Beth clearly should've known.
"Right. Whose is it, then?"
Before the Pruitt girl could reply, another dark figure outside made both girls jump. The shape of what was clearly Hannah Washington sprinted rapidly away from the lodge and deeper into the woods.
"Oh my God," Charlie gasped, sobering up slightly. "Was that Hannah?"
"What is she doing?" Beth hissed, rushing towards Josh's sleeping figure. Her hands clutched at his shirt as she attempted to shake him awake. "Josh! Wake up. Josh!"
Charlie followed the twin, tugging at the sleeve of her grey sweater urgently. "Come on, Beth, he's out of it. Let's go find out what happened."
"Okay, yeah," she huffed in agreement, leading the way out of the kitchen. Her arms shoved both doors open carelessly, causing Charlie to almost stumble against them. "Guys! There's someone outside," she announced, but the massive lounge room was empty. "What the hell?"
"Looks like they've already formed a congregation outside," Charlie struck her hand towards the front door, where the rest of their friends were crowded around the entrance outside. The Pruitt girl ran after Beth and towards the others.
"Hannah!" Sam called out as the others stared dumbly at the woods around them.
Beth shoved through them all furiously, adjusting the zipper on her parka. "What's going on? Where's my sister going?" She demanded.
"Ugh, it's fine. She just can't take a joke," Jess grumbled with tainted annoyance.
"Aren't jokes supposed to be funny?" Charlie questioned, her words dipped in sarcasm. "What did you guys do?"
Her question went unanswered as Emily glanced off to the trees. "It was just a prank, Han!"
"What did you do?" Beth snapped.
"We were just messing around, Beth," Mike stepped forward, his expression suggesting he truly believed his own words. Charlie wanted to roll her eyes just at his confused, mostly apathetic look.
"You jerks!" Beth hissed, instantly whirling around and tumbling into the forest after her twin sister.
"Great," Charlie muttered, swinging on the balls of her feet in attempt to combat the harsh cold air gripping her cheeks. "Now we've got two people running out into the woods at night."
"Should we go after them?" Mike proposed, casting a glance over his shoulder to her.
"Well, Michael, I'm not exactly sober and you're not exactly the person she'd want to see right now. Beth's got it covered," she shook her head, turning away from the boy's hazel eyes. Even with alcohol swirling in her belly, there was a jab of warm pain twisting in her chest from being around Mike. She absolutely hated it.
"Yeah, Charlie's right. I guess we'll just...wait for them to come back," Sam concluded, following the others as they drifted back inside.
Unbeknownst to the teens, however, they'd be waiting for the sisters all night. And for many nights after, until an entire year had faded by and Charlie Pruitt found herself almost separated from the group entirely.
Until the anniversary of the girls' disappearance came, and they all went back to that treacherous mountain.
