The Last Winter

Saturday: Something Out There (21)

Dallas
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"This is messed up," I mutter to myself, feeling the painful knot on my head. It's throbbing like a broken heart. I grind my teeth. "This is so messed up."

"We'll come back for him," Oreo promises us, carefully shutting the door to the station. It's already broken and doesn't shut all the way, but she makes sure to respectfully shield Ralph's body from the snow and wind.

"We'll come back for Cameron too," she continues. "They're not going to stay and rot on this godforsaken mountain."

"Let's just go," Mini Bites grumbles, wiping her eyes.

All three of us turn toward the tower that looms on the horizon like a menacing predator.

"Come on," Oreo tells us, and she reluctantly leads the way.

It takes us way too long to cross the snow between us and our destination, but when we finally approach the tower, motion-sensored lights activate.

We all freeze like deer caught in headlights.

All of a sudden, we didn't have the cover of the night to cloak us in hiding. Now, we are put on display. This place is like a spotlight, and we are on stage.

It's only a matter of time before someone like Ronnie notices...or something.

"Right," Oreo mutters, her teeth chattering. She sets a frozen hand on a ladder rung.

We all peer upward, following the ladder to a floor a couple yards above. A set of stairs lead a diagonal path up the rest of the way.

Oreo looks back down in my direction.

"D-Dawg, you stay here," she tells me grimly. "Nelia and I will go up and see--"

"What?" I nearly shout angrily. "Why do I have to stay down here? And what gives you the authority to tell me what to do?"

"Dallas, hush!" Mini Bites hisses, afraid that we will be overheard. She looks past the cone of light around us with fear in her face.

"Look," Oreo sighs. "This tower hasn't been used in a long time. It doesn't look very sturdy. I mean, it has support wires for crying out loud." She sweeps her arms toward the perimeter of light. Sure enough, there are several support wires pinned to the ground. "It would be safer if you--" she continues.

I narrow my eyes. "Is this because I'm fat?"

Stunned, she opens and closes her mouth.

Mini Bites punches me in the arm.

"We need a lookout. In case Ronnie comes creeping around," she tells me sternly.

She doesn't wait for any other objection before pulling herself up on the ladder.

I turn to Oreo with a frown. "It's because I'm fat, isn't it?"

She rolls her eyes and claps me on the shoulder. "D-Dawg, just keep an eye out. Let us know if you see something out there. If you get too scared, then I guess you can come up."

I clench my jaw. "Scared? Right, scared. I don't get scared."

"I heard you scream a lot tonight," she tells me with a grin as she climbs the ladder.

"You sound like a girl," Mini Bites chimes in from above.

I turn away from them and cross my arms, embracing the wind.

"Just hurry up!" I tell them loudly so they can still hear me.

The sounds of their feet and hands clanking against the ladder soften, and before I know it, they disappear up into the tower.

"If you get too scared," I mutter to myself. "Pssh. Whatever."

I rock on the heels and balls of my feet, trying to get feeling back into them.

Snap.

I freeze. I scan the cone of light around the tower. The night on the other side seems darker than before. Nothing moves and nothing stirs, apart from the trees swaying in the wind. I let out the breath I was holding.

Nothing. It's nothing.

I venture away from the ladder so I can see beyond the light better. We are near some sort of cliffside, but I don't have the courage just yet to see how far of a drop it is.

Snap! Whirrrrrr.

I whip around, searching the trees, the snow, the tower--

I vaguely feel goosebumps rise on my flesh.

This doesn't feel right.

Ralph's voice haunts my memory:
"...Hmmm. I-It's him."

I need to get back to the ladder.

I trip over something on the ground. I feel icy snow invade my boots, and I quickly pick myself back up. That's when I catch it:

A support wire lying limp in the snow. I pick up the end carefully. It's a clean cut. No wild animal could chew and bite it off. No wind and erosion could tear through it like this.

It's clean. Someone had cut it with a knife or something sharp.

That must be what I heard earlier.

Oh no. This is bad. This is very very bad.

I crouch down, searching the perimeter of the tower again.

I'm not alone. He's here. He's here somewhere.

I hear the wind howl somewhere above, and when I look up, I see the tower sway ever so slightly.

He's going to topple the tower!

I jump to my feet and sprint in the direction of the ladder.

"HEY! GET DOWN! IT'S A TRAP! THE TOWER'S GONNA FALL! GET DOWN! GET--"

Something growls to my left, stopping me in my tracks.

Oh, God. Oh dear, God.

Trembling from head to foot, I muster up every ounce of courage I have left to slowly turn around.

It's not Ronnie. It's not a deer. It's not a wolf.

It's the same creature I saw back at the church.

.....................

Next chapter: Who's There?

The floor under our feet shifts, and I scream, struggling for balance. The radio topples off the desk, and I feel the whole world tilt to the side. Everything slides to the right--papers, pencils, the desk, the locker--