The Last Winter

Saturday: Taken (11)

Dallas
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"Did you hear that?"

I look up from the game I'm playing on my phone. I turn it to sleep.

Veronica is peeking outside through the window blinds in the living room.

"Hear what?" I ask cautiously.

I hear Cameron stir restlessly on the couch.

"Anyone have an extra blanket?" he asks.

I shiver, pulling my own blanket around me tighter. "No. You already have three."

"I-I think one of us should go outside and see if they're still in the shed," Veronica says anxiously, stepping away from the window. I see her look in my direction.

I shake my head. "No way, man. This is how stupid people die in scary movies. No way we're separating."

"I think I heard someone scream outside," she persists. "I mean, if they were still out there, don't you think the generator would be back up by now?"

I shrug. "Unless it's broken."

"Then they would've come back."

"She's right," Cameron mutters. "I...well, something bad might've happened to them. They should've been back by now."

"Ronnie must've got them," I whisper ominously.

Veronica groans. "First Eugena and Ralph, then Della, now Eddie and Wes!" She sinks down to her knees, her back against the wall. "I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die!"

I stand up, and my ankles pop. "Calm down, Veronica!" I snap. "We're not going to die."

"Oreo and the others are all probably getting murdered downstairs," she moans, and then she sits up straighter, whipping her eyes in my direction again. "We need to lock the basement door."

I roll my eyes, pocketing my phone. "Uh, no--"

"Oreo said to lock all exits. There might be a backdoor or something in the basement. We can't risk it."

Cameron sits up straight too, glancing over to the staircase. "Dallas, go lock the basement door."

"They're all still down there!" I protest.

Barely audible in the eerie silence of the lodge, a door slowly and quietly creaks somewhere nearby.

We all freeze.

When no other sounds can be heard, I whip out my phone and turn on the flashlight.

"W-Who's there?" I call out in the bravest tone I can muster.

"Dallas!" Veronica hisses, but I ignore her as I step out into the hallway that branches off from the living room.

"Dude, don't go!" Cameron whispers. "At least grab a weapon or something!"

I proceed with stealth, holding out my phone as if it will protect me. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary--no doors are moving, no shadows are shifting.

I glance at a table sitting against the wall, and a thin piece of paper catches my eye. With a quick peek at the closed door to the kitchen, I slide over to the table to inspect its contents: an empty vase, a few framed photographs of scenery, and a yellow, faded Post-it note. I squint at the scribbles:

Saw him again. Notify Ronnie tomorrow.
3-9-04
10:47 PM

I reread the dashed numbers--is that a date? From 2004? What is that still doing here?