bachimagines

[bachimagines]

Chapter 1: Bound By Fate

"Vilakias at your service." The khajiit purred from one of the benches in the wagon. His bright emerald eyes were shifting between his current traveling companions. The one closest to the edge of the wagon was the elf. Her skin was greyish blue, with an occasional purple tint here and there. Her crimson eyes would have normally spoken of fear and hostility, but instead they were light and amused, friendly even. Her hair was pitch black and hung to her shoulders, several broken twigs were knotted in it.

The argonian was dark, her scales such a dark green that they could almost pass for black. Two horns curled neatly away from either side of her head, both a yellowish color from long travels and little time for bathing. Vilakias wasn't sure what he found himself staring at more on her, the bright piercing sky blue that was her entire eye, or the three long gashes that crossed over her left eye. Had it not been for the muck that covered both girls, Vilakias might have been embarrassed by his own dirt encrusted fur. Or even from the musty smell that came from him being caught in the rain and not drying properly. Though neither of them seemed to mind his smell. In fact they both had peculiar odors about them. From one an odd forestry smell, that brought to mind images of manure. The other rotten flesh, and stale waters. Vilakias shuddered.

"Miora." The elf extended her hand toward the khajiit. He placed his palm against her wrist and gripped it tightly. With some dismay he felt her wrap her own fingers around his arm, though what peeked his discomfort were her nails. As they released grips he gazed at her nails. They were longer than most, and he was almost certain they could be just as dangerous as his claws. Miora leaned back against the carriage seat. Both her and Vilakias turned to look at the argonian. Her eyes were locked on the floorboards beneath them, her hands clasped tightly in her lap.

"Did you come from the Black Marsh?" Miora questioned, her own interest mildly running about. The lizard looked up slowly, her bright eyes passing over Vilakias to land on the elf. She studied her for a moment.

"Aye. And ye from Morrowind I suspect?" She replied. The elf smiled faintly and nodded. She'd never met an argonian before, sure she had read about them. But there was something about the gravelly undertone of her voice that was pleasant to hear.

"Wow... what are you two doing so far from home?" Vilakias spoke up. He'd never strayed too far from his path. It was a simple routine. He lived up in Whiterun with his family, worked in the Dark Water mines, and sold most of his supplies down in Riften.

"Aren't you from Elsweyr?" Miora chimed in. He looked back at her and shook his head.

"Nye, I've lived in Skyrim most of my life."

"Oh, well... Have you ever been to Morrowind? It's dreadful there, so I decided to leave." Miora shrugged as if it was an everyday thing, and it was. Elves often left their homeland to seek a better life.

"What about ye?" Miora nudged the argonian with her boot. The lizard had fallen silent again, content to watch the two of them chatter.

"The Black Marsh is a hostile place, not fit for someone looking to live a long life." She replied calmly, more amused by the question then she let on.

"So you want to live a long time then?" Vilakias asked. The argonian smiled, her sharp pointed teeth pressed together. She chuckled amused, though the sound was raspy.

"I do not... I am simply seeking a new home." She paused. "Sylvion." She stated simply. She extended her arm to the khajiit, gripping his firmly before turning and gripping the elf's hand equally tightly.

"It means fire." Sylvion stated idly. Miora perked up, turning slightly in her seat to look at her companion.

"I like fire." She smiled widely. Miora held out both of her hands, and bright orange flames formed in her palms. They curled around one another, acting like snakes rather than flames.

"I don't." Both girls turned to face Vilakias. His eyes had narrowed to slits, and he was glaring at the fire in Miora's hand. She rose an eyebrow and extended a hand toward him slowly, the flames cupped in between her fingers. Vilakias hissed, his fur beginning to stand on end as the flames drew close to him. Sylvion shifted uncomfortably as the air in the back of the wagon grew colder. Small flakes of snow were floating around the cat, his eyes locked on the ball of fire.

"OW!"

"EEK!" Both Miora and Vilakias jumped as though they had been shocked. Though the chill in the air vanished, and the ball of fire shriveled into a small wisp before going out.

"We're here." The wagon drive spoke clearly, turning in his seat to look at the three passengers. Carefully Miora slid out of the back, landing lightly on the ground. Vilakias followed her out, his worn out bag strapped to his back. Sylvion followed them, dropping to the ground and watching as the wagon pulled away, heading back toward Riften.

"Where will you be heading now?" Vilakias questioned looking between the two girls. There was silence between them for a moment before they exchanged glances.

"I'm... not sure."

"I'll be heading to Winterhold by weeks end, if you'd like to accompany me back perhaps we could find you some work." He offered.

"HALT!" The small group turned as a small group of soldiers on horses came into view, several men and women dressed in blue and brown garments were bound and loaded into the backs of two wagons.

"What's going on?" The soldier in the front commanded.

"We've just arrived from Riften." Vilakias spoke up. His gaze drifted from soldier to soldier until his eyes landed on one of the prisoners.

"Who are you?" Sylvion asked looking between them. At her side she felt Miora take a step back, her hands gripping Sylvion's forearm.

"That's no concern of yours lizard." The man in the front spoke bitterly.

"What's your purpose here?" He addressed Vilakias. The khajiit looked up confused.

"I work in the mines near here." He answered softly.

"You expect me to believe that you three just happened to arrive here when Ulfric was?" The soldier snarled. Sylvion turned slightly to look at Miora.

"Whom is Ulfric?" She whispered uncertainly. Miora rose her shoulders.

"SPEAK WHEN SPOKEN TO LIZARD!" The soldier barked.

"Bite me, human." She hissed in response. There was a brief moment of silence before he lunged forward, the back of his hand connecting with her jaw. Sylvion crumpled to the ground, motionless. Miora and Vilakias both dropped to their knees, attempting to check on her.

"Load them up with the others." The soldier ordered. There was a brief moment of madness where two men rushed Miora, taking her to the ground and binding her wrists tightly behind her. Vilakias watched, but didn't attempt to resist as they wrapped his wrists as well. The soldiers led Vilakias and Miora to a cart where three men were already sitting. Another soldier carried Sylvion to the cart and dropped her onto the bottom boards, among the prisoners feet.

"Who are you lot? Mixed up in this mess as well?" A nord questioned, his shaggy blonde hair came to his shoulders. His eyes a bright blue, and added kindness to his face. Splatters of stubble coated his upper lip and chin.

"Aye apparently so..." Vilakias responded, kneeling the best he could to drag Sylvion into a sitting position. The man leaned over, grabbing one of her arms and assisting him. Miora was silent, her eyes locked on the blonde man, her heart hammering in her chest. Sure she was an elf who preferred her own companionship, but recently she seemed to have taken a liking to these strange people. Well... most of them. She shot a nasty look toward one of the horse riders behind their cart.

"What's going on?" Miora whispered softly, her voice cracking. The blonde man studied her for a minute before glancing at the other two nords. One was scrawny with dark hair and bags under his eyes, the other a proud looking man. A cloth was tied around his mouth, silencing him.

"We'll wait for your companion to wake up first." He responded meeting Miora's eyes and offering her a quick smile.

"Raylof's the name. I'd offer you my hand, but..." He lifted his bound wrists. Miora nodded slightly, before turning her attention to Sylvion.

"Will she be alright?" She asked.

"I think so. I'm pretty sure he just caught her with the steel part of his gauntlet." Vilakias replied leaning forward to pressed his fingertips against her throat. There was a faint jumpy pulse under the pressure he applied. The small group fell into silence. Listening instead to their own thoughts, accompanied by the steady clip clop of horse hooves and the rattling of their transportation.

A soft groan drew them all from their separate worlds. Sylvion stirred slightly, straightening up between the two benches. There was a horrid pounding in the side of her head, though she couldn't quite tell if it was where she'd been struck or rather where she'd fallen.

"I wasn't aware speaking was a foul thing in your land..." She rasped rubbing the tender spot methodically.

"It isn't, unless you are to outspeak the Empire and the Thalmor. Which I'm afraid is what you managed to do." Raylof responded scooting closer to the worn looking man. Slowly Sylvion pulled herself onto the bench beside him and looked up. Her eyes lingered on Vilakias for a moment before drifting to Miora.

"You two alright?" She asked. Miora gazed back at her with disbelief.

"You're the one who was hit!" She exclaimed. Sylvion offered her a wry smile.

"Aye..."

"Won't you tell us what's going on now?" Miora once again questioned Raylof. His eyes shifted to meet hers.

"You've been mistaken for Stormcloaks, and Sovngarde awaits at the end of our journey, I am sure." He stated. Vilakias audibly groaned.

"I was afraid of that. You are Ulfric aren't you?" Vilakias turned his gaze to the silenced man. He sat slightly hunched over, a thick fur coat hanging from his shoulders. Ulfric's gaze turned to the khajiit, before returning to the floor boards.

"General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting!" Sylvion's gaze drifted to one of the soldiers.

"Headsman??" She questioned, fear churned in her belly. In front of her, she could visibly see Miora's body shaking.

"Good let's get this over with." The general replied.

"Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh. Divines help me!" The worn man bowed his head, his lips moving as he uttered prayer after prayer.

"Where are we?" Vilakias questioned. He turned in his seat, they had entered a small town. Buildings surrounded them on every side.

"Helgen... I used to be sweet on a girl here... I wonder if Vilod is still making that mean with Juniper berries in it." Raylof mused. He sighed softly. "Funny, when I was a boy Imperial towers and walls used to make me feel safe." Sylvion watched as a man ushered his children into the house behind him.

"Why are we stopping?" The worn man questioned.

"Why do you think?" Raylof replied softly, "End of the line." The cart rumbled to a stop beside the first one.

"Let's go. Shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us." One by one the prisoners stood, dropping down from the cart. Sylvion jumped down last, landing between Vilakias and Miora.

"Step toward the block when we call your name." A woman called out from the front of our line.

"Oh divines please help..." Miora whispered fidgeting with the ropes behind her back. Sylvion lightly bumped her with her hip.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm."

"It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric." Raylof spoke allowed. Sylvion, Vilakias and Miora all glanced at him, pulling back somewhat in their own small group.

"Guess you won't live long a life here either, or get that home." Vilakias murmured to Sylvion. She snorted softly.

"Raylof of Riverwood." He sighed briefly before heading toward the block.

"Lokir of Rorikstead."

"NO! You can't do this! I'm not a rebel!" He cried out. Then he ran. He sprinted down the cobblestone street, back the way they had come.

"Archers!" The woman called out. It was like magic, one moment he was running toward freedom. The next an arrow sprouted from his back and down he went.

"You three aren't on the list. Who are you?" One of the soldiers questioned.

"Vilakias of Windhelm."

"Sylvion of Black Marsh."

"Miora of Morrowind."

"Capitain what should we do? None of them are on the list." He questioned turning to face the woman at his side. She gazed at the odd three, her eyes scanning them one at a time.

"Forget the list. They go to the block." She replied folding her arms across her chest. Miora felt her knees begin to tremble. She wanted to leave, but it wasn't an option unless she wanted an arrow in her. Vilakias felt as though he was wading into water. Icy water, that was stealing his breath away and freezing him to the core. As much as he enjoyed the cold, this was a feeling he loathed. Sylvion's heartbeat thumped painfully in her chest.

"Shall we?" She asked softly before leading the three of them toward the chopping block. They joined the group of prisoners.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, some here in Helgen call you a hero. But a hero doesn't use a power like the voice to murder his king and usurp the throne." General Tullius spoke calmly. There was a prickle that ran down Sylvion's spine, as some strange noise echoed around the mountains.

"What was that?" Miora whispered looking up at Vilakias. He shrugged.

"I'm not certain, I've never heard it before." He whispered back.

"Give them their last rites." One of the generals ordered. The priestess nodded and held out her arms, but before she spoke more than a few words one of the Stormcloaks cut her off. He stepped up to the block and dropped down, resting his neck on the blood splattered wood. The executioner raised his axe and brought it down with a thump. The stormcloak's head dropped into the basket, his body slumping to the side.

"As fearless in death, as he was in life." Raylof spoke softly from somewhere to the left.

"Next, the lizard!" Sylvion suddenly felt like she didn't have a stomach, like she'd left it somewhere in the Black Marsh.

"Ion...." Sylvion heard the end of her name, whispered by Miora as she walked toward the block. Slowly she sank to her knees, and prayed that it would be over soon. She laid her head into the worn wood, and swallowed a hard lump in her throat. The noise echoed around the mountains again, and she suddenly would have given anything to know what it was. She closed her eyes to avoid looking at the severed head below her. A loud screeching noise ran through her head, increasing the migraine she'd had.

"What in Oblivion is that?" Someone called out. Still she didn't open her eyes. She felt the ground shake under the impact of... something. Miora's voice rang out through the sudden commotion.

"SYLVION!" The lizard opened her eyes and looked toward the elf. There were stones falling from the sky behind her, both of her companion running toward her. She struggled to her feet and glanced in the other direction, her heart stopped. A large black dragon was perched on top of a guard tower, looming down at the gathering.

"This way!" Raylof called out. The trio didn't hesitate to run toward him. He turned and headed for another guard tower where several of the stormcloak prisoners were already scrambling inside.

"What is that?!" She called out.

"Do we really want to know?" Miora questioned in response as they slipped into the guard tower. A wooden door was slammed shut behind them, sealing them into the building.

"No... Oh Divines above..." She whispered swallowing again.

"We have to keep moving." Vilakias darted toward the staircase that spiraled up. Miora and Sylvion followed him. He slid to a stop as the dragon's head slammed through the stone wall, hot flames spurted from it's maw, lighting the entire building up for a moment. It let out a loud roar before abandoning the hole and flying away from the building.

"There's a house beside us, I think we could make it!" Vilakias called out peering through the hole.

"Jump, you mean jump across the building?!" Miora called out. He glanced back at her and nodded, though he didn't move either.

"I'll take that chance." Sylvion slipped around Vilakias and darted the few feet to the ledge before jumping across the gap and landing heavily onto the second floor of the building. She stumbled and fell rolling several feet. As she scrambled to her feet Vilakias landed down on the floor. He stumbled into her but neither fell. They looked back up as the elf darted toward the edge, unwilling to stay behind. Vilakias and Sylvion steadied her the best they could as she landed.

"I'm becoming more and more grateful that I met you two." She stated leaning into Sylvion for a moment.

"Aye, I'll second that." Sylvion smiled weakly at the two of them.

"Thirdly. Can we leave now?" Vilakias asked glancing nervously at the sky, none of them were too sure where the dragon had landed. But one thing was certain. From the sounds outside, he hadn't left the town yet.

"C'mon over here!" Sylvion darted toward a hole that dropped straight down to the first floor. She jumped down and backed away to make room for Vilakias and Miora. This time the elf followed her first, dropping down and scrambling off to the side. Vilakias dropped down heavily before standing and looking around.

"This way!" He led the way through the front door and around the back of a house that was missing it's roof. He led the way through, ducking involuntarily as he heard the swooping sounds of the dragon's wings. They darted into the middle of town where all chaos was raining. Bodies littered the ground, buildings were mere smoking ruins and people were screaming and shooting arrows after the dragon.

"Through the archway!" Miora called out. The three of them sprinted toward the arch, but stumbled as the ground shook. Behind them the dragon cried out, a fierce growl. Ignoring it they bolted toward the keep.

"You, hurry into the keep!"

"RAYLOF!" Miora cried out, surprised to see the nord running toward them. He darted past them to a heavy wooden door. He slammed his shoulder into it, forcing it open. Vilakias, Miora and Sylvion poured in after him. He slid the door shut before turning to face them, his face was covered in ash.

"I'm surprised to see you three." He chuckled darkly before heading to each on in turn and cutting off their bindings.

"Aye, we could say the same." Sylvion watched him carefully, rubbing her wrists where the ropes had dug in.

[bachimagines]

Sticky Smell Good

"Any idea when you'll need picked up?" I glanced over at my brunette best friend. She had agreed to drive me to the laundry mat, even though it was going on 12:30 in the morning. Lately both of us had been pulling extra shifts at Maybelle's Tea shop in order to pay off our new office set. Unfortunately, extra shifts meant less time in the office and more time trying to catch up on cleaning.

    "Only two loads, and the dryers here are kick ass so I think your break should be good." I tried to calculate the time on my hands. Since it was later at night May would be more understanding of Adrian leaving work for a few minutes.

    "You got it lass." Adrian pulled up in front of the laundry mat and pulled into one of the fading parking spaces. I watched as she twisted her keys out of the ignition and popped the truck. She unlocked the doors and stepped out into the warm night air. I followed her out and around to the back of the car.

    "Are you helping me carry them in?" I questioned slipping my hands in and under the rim of a new plastic basket.

    "Of course I am! Half of it's my stanky clothes!" Adrian shot my a bemused look before pulling one of the basket from the trunk and balancing it on her hip so she could grab the plastic bag with our laundry soap, and dryer sheets in it.

   "Show off..." I mumbled under my breath.

    I scooped the basket out of the trunk and clung it to my chest as hard as I could, otherwise my arms would get super sore and our clothes would end up on the ground. Adrian slammed the trunk shut and led the way to the door, she jerked it open and stood with her back against it, allowing me to slip into the building in front of her.

   "Thanks Addy." I called over my shoulder as I stepped into the well lit room. She grunted in response and eased the door shut behind me. I shuffled over to my favorite row of washers and set the basket into one of the cheap plastic chairs they had screwed to the floor. She followed me in and set the second basket down beside the first. She stood straight and I heard her back emit several popping noises, though it was better than usual. Normally her spine sounded like a bowl of Rice Crispies. Ew.

    "I'll see you around one thirty?" Addy questioned turning to face me. I resisted smiling. She was never someone I would call a girly girl, but she could certainly pull it off in her work uniform. Between the black dress pants, the cleavage her button up shirt showed and the delicate matching silver bracelet and necklace. I smiled wryly.

    "Yep, yep, yep." I threw my arms around her neck and hugged her tightly. She snaked her arms around my back and hugged back before stepping away and rolling her eyes.

    "Behave." She commanded before heading outside. My eyes followed her until she was in the car, and even then I didn't get to work until her tail light were out of my sight. First thing was first. I whipped out my cell phone and punched in my unlock code before opening YouTube. I needed music, else I'd go insane from the silence. I skimmed through my saved playlists before selecting one filled with techno music. I couldn't help but sway my hips around to the upbeat music.

    I killed the first two songs separating our colors, lights and darks and tossing them into washers. We didn't always separate them by colors, but there was enough to do so and I'd have extra time to spare if she wouldn't be back until one thirty. For a dramatic flare I spun in a circle while I poured the laundry soap. Not a drop hit the ground. I smiled and poured it into the first machine before filling a second cup. I splashed it down into the machines bowls as well before starting on the final cup. Idly I wiggled my hips again, my body moving on it's own accord to my music.

    "Hello?" A voice called out.

A males voice.

I jumped.

......

     I whimpered softly. Laundry soap was winding it's way down my collar bone and into my cleavage, the front of my shirt was damp and several splatters had hit the floor when I'd jumped. Suddenly my techno music didn't sound as fun and upbeat.

    "Excuse me Miss, are you okay?" The voice asked after a minute of me not moving at all. I kept my eyes locked on the ground and slowly turned to face him. All I could make out was the tips of his shoes. They were grey and white, they looked like some kind of skater shoe. I kinda wanted to stomp on it.

   "Oh! Oh no... I'm sorry!! Hold on!" The tips of his shoes disappeared and his shoes squeaked along the tiled floor. I sniffled and resisted the urge to burst into tears. A moment later his shoes were back in my sight, but what shocked me was his hand lifting my chin up. I squeezed my eyes shut and froze in place.

    "I oh... um... miss?" He questioned tapping my shoulder.

    "What?" I whispered, the goop continued oozing down my front. It has almost halfway down my stomach.

    "Here?" I peeked through my eye lashes at him and found his hands half way to my face, both stuffed with handfuls of paper towels from the restroom. I grabbed them and darted around him and into the bathroom. I slammed the door shut and twisted the lock before stripping my shirt over my head and tossing it into the sink. I sniffled and began furiously wiping the cup of soap off of my breasts. After several minutes I had rinsed the soap out of my shirt the best I could and pulled it back on, despite the fact that there was now a giant wet spot consuming my entire front. My face was 50 shades of red as I opened the door. I almost didn't notice the grey object hanging off of the handle. I paused and stared at it.

    I lifted my gaze and scanned the room. The boy was sitting on top of a washer that was running, his eyes locked on his phone screen. I blinked for a moment, before taking in the fact that he was sitting there... without a shirt on. My gaze shifted to the grey object hanging on the door knob again.

    "Um... why is y-your shirt over h-here?" I called out. He looked up for a moment before twisting his torso to look at me. I think I preferred the view of his back more, at least then I could breathe. Normally backwards hats didn't do anything for me, but his was perched on top of his head, and the goofy smile that decorated his lips made me consider him being a nice guy. He turned more and I felt my cheeks heat up more, nipple one in view.

     "I figured if you wanted or needed a dry one you could use mine." He continued to grin across the room at me. I blinked and slowly looked down at his shirt. Without looking up at him again I picked up the shirt and backed into the bathroom again, pulling the door shut with me as I went. Before the door was fully clicked shut I was already jerking my shirt over my head. I didn't like the damp spot it had been forming on my chest. I jerked his over my head and felt my face flush.

A: It was still warm.

B: He smelled like men's deodorant and shampoo, with a faint hint of dog.

    I scooped up my t-shirt and headed out into the main room again, this time he was already looking my way. I held up my hand in greeting and shuffled toward him. I didn't have a choice, he was sitting on a washer beside the ones I had loaded myself.

    "I didn't mean to scare you earlier." He smiled down at me and swung his legs lightly back and forth.

    "S'okay. I just wasn't expecting anyone else to be here this late, normally it's empty." I replied staring down at my hands. I tossed my shirt in one of the washers and dumped part of a cup of soap into the machine before closing it and starting all three in a row.

    "I get that. I needed to do a load, but my washer won't be in a working condition till tomorrow." He smiled again. Up this close I could see the light yellow tint that accompanied most peoples teeth, not to mention his canines. I looked away from him to my phone where it was still shouting techno music from it's tiny speaker. I snatched it and switched it off before sitting in one of the plastic seats across from the washers.

    "I'm Joey by the way." He chirped happily. I glanced up and him and back down, I didn't wanna talk to him. I wasn't sure I could even. My eyes landed on the solid grey shirt that was covering my chest. I heard him slide off of the washer and land on the floor.

    "Simone..." I replied. Joey reach out his hand, the smile never leaving his face. I slapped my hand into his and swear my heart attempted to beat out of my chest. His fingers were long and bony, and they almost completely curled around my wrist. But all around it was pleasant, it was also the closest I'd ever came to holding a guys hand. Most of my teenage and adult life I'd preferred girls, not completely for em, but I sure as hell preferred them. Joey pulled his hand away and crossed his arms over his chest before dropping into a plastic chair beside me.

     "So what brings you here this late?" He asked. My bright blue eyes flicked up and met equally blue ones.

    "My friend and I live in an apartment, but there aren't any laundry units there." I pouted. It was one of the things we'd hoped to have in an apartment complex, but it just hadn't happened.

    "Ohhhh, why so late?" He asked. I frowned.

    "Extra work lately, so we haven't had time in the day to get out and do it. Like I've only been off twenty minutes, long enough to get home, get the clothes and get here." I nodded determinedly. Tomorrow was mine and Adrian's day off, but we'd both opted to rest instead. Ya know do break day things. Play some games, play cards, bake cookies watch some anime... well in my case at least. Adrian would probably hoard up with a bottle of water, some chips and kill the next book in the series she was reading. I rolled my eyes. I'd seen her go through a four hundred page book in one day, she was serious about her reading.

    "Wait... did you eat?" He asked. Quizzically I looked up at him.

    "I had lunch?" I offered, granted lunch had been earlier. Like waaaaaaaayyyy earlier. On cue my stomach let out an audible growl. Joey's face broken into a grin and a lighthearted laugh escaped from his mouth.

    "There's a fast food place open down the road, I could run and pick up something if you wanted?" He jerked his thumb toward the window. I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

    "Really?" I hoped I didn't look to hopeful but based on the look he gave me it was obvious.

    "What do you want?" He asked. I shrugged slowly. I didn't know anything good enough to request something.

    "Ohh-kay. Do you like onions? Pickles? Olives? Bacon? Cheese?" He rattled off a short list.

    "Ooooohhh dill pickles, and black olives!" I couldn't resist smiling. Joey grinned back at me before standing up and picking up a hoodie I hadn't noticed before. He slipped his arms into the jacket and zipped it up to his collar bone.

    "Be back in a little bit." He grinned at me and darted out the door. I watched him curiously as he climbed inside his car and pulled away. My heart was pounding as I turned back around and dialed Adrian's number into the receiver slot.

// Joey is going to get me food.//  I typed out into the phone. I hit send. I didn't expect her to reply so soon.

// Who is Joey?//  Adrian replied.

// This guy that's at the laundry mat with me...//

// . . . // I wrinkled my nose at her reply. Was she mad? Was she going to kick my ass when she came to pick me up? I shuddered at the thought.

// I want a last name and a picture.// The message popped into my inbox and I smiled. Of course she would want that much. So if I went missing she could hunt him down and.... I shuddered again. Adrian; my scary ass mother-like, best friend.

// I'll send one when he gets back.// I sent her back.

// Mmk. Gtg May's here.// Adrian sent back. I gazed at her message before locking eyes onto her profile picture. It was one of me, her and her little brother and sister at the zoo from a few years ago. I wasn't aware of how long I'd been staring until the washer buzzer's sounded off. One right after the other. I jumped at the noise and stared at the machine.

    "Stupid thing." I mumbled standing up. I wandered to the corner of the room where a basket on wheels was leaning up against a wall. I grabbed it and wheeled it back in front of the washers before eyeing them. Four of them were full, three of them were mine. I glanced out the window. There were no signs of headlights. Nervously I opened the first washer and began pulling out the clothes. Joeys jeans, shirts, and boxers all slapped into the bottom of the basket. I wrinkled my nose and opted to just pretend I was doing my sisters laundry. I made my way between the dryers and washers twice, on my final walk headlights streamed in through the window. I glanced out it, almost tempted to hide behind the washers. I watched as they flicked off and Joey popped out of the drivers seat, a white bag clutched in his hand. Nervously I turned away from the door and shoved a few coins into the dryer before hitting the on button.

    "Sorry that took so long! Longer line than I expected this late!" He chuckled and headed right around toward me.

    "S'all good... hey um... would you mind if I took a picture of you...? To send to my friend?" I blurted out. Joey's eyes widened in surprise.

   "Sure?" I gazed at him for a moment before pulling out my phone and snapping a shot of him. He smiled brightly, and mock posed, holding the bag of food with the label side out. I hit send in Adrian's chat box.

    Meanwhile Joey pulled out several napkins and laid them out on top of a closed washer. I glanced up at him through my eyelashes and watching him curiously. He pulled out two similar white packages followed by two large boxes. I stepped closer and sniffed the air.

    "I wasn't sure if you wanted rings, or fries so I got a box of both." He explained popping the tabs on both boxes. The alluring scent of fresh fries, and crispy onion rings filled my nose. Drool on the other hand filled my mouth.

    "Can I have some of both? Please?" I asked nervously, I didn't want him to think I was being greedy but they both looked good, and I mean REALLY good. He just chuckled and pulled out several little containers filled with ketchup and ranch. There was also another one that appeared to be filled with BBQ sauce. He popped the lids off of all of them and set them in the lids for the rings and fries. Carefully he examined one of the white packages before setting it over, closer to me.

    "-ate -ight -inner is -erved!" He declared. I attempted to resist smiling, instead I looked up and found him with several fries hanging from his lips. My lips twisted upwards and several giggles escaped my belly.

   "Thank you Prince Charming!" Joey's eyes widened at my remark.

   "That's a new one." He chuckled, swallowing his fries. He unwrapped his white pack, and I found myself gazing at the best looking burger ever.

    "Holy crap... how much do I owe you?" I asked turning to unwrap my own pack. Sure enough it was a burger as well. White gooey cheesy was melting all over a fat patty, and pickles seemed to have been piled onto it along with dark olive slices. I had to swallow a mouth full of saliva before I could even take a bite. I stood there chewing in a wonderful bliss, only partially aware that Joey was beside me munching away too. We continued chewing in silence, the food was that good!

    "-ow long -have you been out -ere for?" He questioned, stuffing a few onion rings topped with ketchup into his mouth. I swallowed a mouthful and dabbed at my face with a napkin.

    "About four months. We came out here with some savings, and Adrian wanted to go to school out here. So... here we are!" I threw my arms out wide before tucking them back against my side. "I don't mind, but I mean it was a big change. We've been so busy we haven't made it back out toward our parents yet... I mean it's nice out here but... I miss my mom..." I sighed and leaned my hip into the washer, idly picking up a fry and drowning it in one of the containers of ranch.

   "Sounds rough... do you two know anyone out here?" I shook my head. "Oh... why... why did you come out here?" Joey asked softly. I felt my tummy clench.

    "Because Adrian's my best friend... and I wasn't ready to let her go... I didn't wanna lose her." I mumbled. Joey was silent for a minute before he began breaking up pieces of fries and placing them on one of the clean napkins. I watched as he arranged them into the form of a stick figure offering it's shirt to another one. I felt my cheeks burn with the strength of my smile.

    "Now you know someone else out here!" He grinned up at me and I smiled right back at him.

    "I'm kinda glad we've been working out butt's off lately." I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture of the broken fry picture. Quickly I renamed it 'Meeting Joey' and saved it into my phone. He raised an eyebrow and resumed munching on his burger. We lapsed back into silence while we finished eating, at some point in time the driers buzzed. I glanced over and ignored it to finish my food. I wasn't ready to walk away from the cute crumbs yet.

    "Your number." Joey stated wiping his mouth off and crunching up his wrappers. I looked up, a confused expression layered on my face.

   "My number?" I asked.

   "Yep. That's how you can repay me, I'd like you're cell number." His bright blue eyes lingered on me carefully. I blinked. My number? A guy was asking for my number? Then again, I was still wearing his shirt.

    "Oh... when do you want this back?" I asked tugging at the hem of his shirt. He lifted his shoulders.

    "Next time you see me's good."

    "Oi, dip shit. Time to go." My head snapped up at the sound of Adrian's voice. She was leaning just inside the doorway, her arms folded across her chest. I felt my lips break into a wide smile.

    "ADDY! This is Joey!" I gestured to him, and the to her. "Joey this is my friend Addy!" Joey lifted his hand in greeting and smiled widely.

    "Heey there!" He called out. She raised an eyebrow before picking up one of the baskets on a chair and heading over to me. She tapped me on the back of the head lightly as she passed me.

    "Nii-san?" I questioned. She glanced over her shoulder at me.

    "I have to get back to work dip shit." Oh. Oh. Oh. I brushed my fingers on my pants hoping to eliminate any crumbs as I rushed over to the dryer to help her pull things out and shove them into the basket. She lifted it and headed for the front door, I followed her until I could get to the other empty basket. I snatched it up and headed back to the dryer.

    "She always that... distant?" Joey asked carefully. I shook my head.

    "I work a lot, she works more. She's just super sleepy... and honestly... lonely." I rolled my eyes and raked a load of bras into the basket. He nodded beside me.

    "I suppose that makes sense." He let out a deep sigh and tucked a slip of paper into my jean pocket before stepping back and over to where our trash was laying. Adrian came back it and gathered up our laundry soap and dryer sheets. She headed over to me and shoved them into the second basket. I backed out of the way so she could grab it and head outside, she always took charge when she was in a rush. I knew better than to get in her way. I glanced up at Joey as Adrian headed back outside.

     "Thank you Joey..." I smiled. He grinned back and held out his arms. I don't know what possessed me but I lunged into his embrace. He snaked his arms around me and hugged me against his chest tightly.

    "Hope to see you soon Simone, perhaps when things cool down for your friend a bit. Maybe things won't be as rushed." He released me and I reluctantly stepped away from his warm arms.

     "Ok...oh, don't you need my number?" I asked. A playful glint sparked in the depths of his blue eyes.

     "Nah." He waved at me before gathering our trash and headed for the nearest can. I watched him for a minute before heading out the door. I hesitated at the thresh hold and glanced back at him. His eyes were already on me.

     "Sweet Dreams Simone." He called out, his lips turned up in the smile I was already going weak for. I waved dumbly and darted out the door and into the passenger seat of Adrian's car. She glanced at me, I thought for sure I was in trouble, until I noticed the mischievous twinkle in her eyes as well. I decided to ignore it, and instead focus on the fact I may have made a new friend.

[bachimagines]

Trying to help a friend out! Please like and share this if you can. If you’re interested feel free to email! 

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[bachimagines]

Chapter 8: It’s Been A Long Time...

    I'd let my eyes slip shut after about five or ten minutes of silence. Josh's body was still slumped over on the stool, his head lolling against his chest. My brother, Mike, had taken up pacing almost non-stop and I could currently here his footsteps going toward the entrance again. He'd stop for a moment, before turning and heading back the other way. My mind had had time to wander between now and then, I wasn't sure Josh had actually done anything to Jess. But if he hadn't, somebody had. which meant that we were still on a mountain with someone else.

    A loud scream pierced the air, my body tensed at the sound. My eyes flashed open and I scrambled to my feet. Mike glanced at Josh then me.

    "Crap... what now?"

    "Go." Mike's gaze landed on me.

     "What?" He asked. I pointed out the door.

    "Go! Go see what's going on!" I urged him.

    "I'm not leaving you alone with him Robin." Mike insisted shaking his head and walking toward me. I stepped back.

    "I'm not going to leave him alone Mike, he's messed up. AND knocked out, just... go see what's going on... then come back ok?" I pressed my hands softly into his chest, momentarily drawing from his warmth.

     "I... ok... just stay here alright? Be careful." He murmured looking down at me.

    I offered him a tentative smile before pushing him toward the opening. He gave me a final glance before jogging out into the snow. I watched for a moment before marching over to Josh. I knelt in front of him and pressed my fingers against his throat, his pulse jumped again and again to meet my fingers. Carefully I cupped his head and lifted it until I could see both sides of his face. I scanned his skin, looking for a lump where the stick had come into contact with his skull.

    "Josh?" I whispered carefully letting his head slump back down. "Joshy...?" I whispered again, shaking his shoulders softly as I did.

    "Mmmm--" His eyelids fluttered, like he was dreaming. I let out a deep breath and leaned back on my heels. Footsteps in the snow alerted me to Mike's return.

    "I was just checking the dam--" I began, turning to face my brother. But instead my throat pinched shut about half way through the sentence.

     It's skin was pale, almost the same color as the snow, save for the spots that littered it's figure. Rotting pieces of flesh hung from it, pieces peeled away. In other spots veins lifted to become fully visible under the white... flesh? I attempted to swallow, but it felt like I was trying to swallowing a bowling ball. The creature crept closer, lowered onto all fours with it's long spider-like limbs. The skin was pulled taunt and smooth over it's skull, where a pair of milky white eyes watched me. I felt my skin crawling, and I was certain every inch of my body was covered in goose pimples.

     "Hannah......" I breathed out, my eyes had found a small black butterfly on the creatures shoulder. My gaze shifted to it's face, to those cold white eyes. "Hannah?" I repeated softly. The creature seemed to be analyzing me. I didn't even have time to gasp before it's figure was inches from mine, it's long fingers wrapped around my throat tightly. I groaned and clutched at it's hand, trying to pull the vise-like grip away from my air pipes.

     I shuddered as it screamed in my face. My stomach churned. It's breath smelled like a can of rotting garbage, not to mention the staleness overall. I closed my eyes and hoped that it was so focused on me, that it wouldn't notice Josh slumped over maybe a foot from us. Even though I'd only seen the jagged teeth that jutted out in rows, I could still see them clearly. I could picture them sinking into my throat and ripping it out, my blood cascading down my body like a stream. But even that thought was lost to the darkness as the back of my head connected with something hard.

                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     My head was pounding, from pain or cold I wasn't sure. To be honest my entire body was pulsing painfully, the cold had steadily seeped into my skin and I felt cold through and through. I couldn't bring myself to move either, instead I laid there. Counting to sixty and repeating the action. After about the 20th time I opened my eyes. They adjusted slowly, taking in the dim lighting. My cheek was pressed against stone, my arm bent painfully under me. My wrist was burning dimly, along with several other small places but none of them seemed as... deep. I shifted and let out a small cry.

     "Robin?!" I shifted slightly at the sound of Mike's voice. A moment later he dropped down beside me and grabbed under my armpit, pulling me into a sitting position. I stared up at him groggily. His face was smeared with blood, and just behind him stood another figure.

     "Josh?" I blinked, almost positive I was hallucinating.

     "Um... y-yeah..." Josh walked closer slowly, his hands wringing one another. Mike shifted in front of me and cupped my face between his palms.

     "He... followed me... Said he wanted to help find you." Mike let out a breath. It pressed into my face and I was reminded of home. His mouth still smelled like our toothpaste. I wrinkled my nose and scrunched my face to keep from crying. I didn't want to cry, not here.

      "My wrist hurts..." I mumbled reaching up to wipe my face with my good arm. Mike hesitated before slipping my jacket down over my shoulders until it puddled behind me. I groaned softly and squeezed my eyes shut and he bent my arm and prodded it gently. It was fine until he came to the middle of my forearm and down into my hand. I glanced up as Josh came closer and knelt beside Mike, there was less tension between them now then there had been earlier. Josh's hands replaced Mike's on my arm, feeling along my bone. I winced.

     "There?" He questioned feeling the spot again, I winced again and nodded. He rummaged in one of the pockets of his overalls and pulled out a dirty grease rag. "Sorry it's not clean..." He muttered wrapping my wrist as tightly as he could, binding it to broken pieces of pencils that he also pulled from his pockets.

     "Where are the others?" I asked.

      "Back at the cabin waiting for us." Josh spoke up. I nodded and stood slowly. For a moment I thought I was going to fall over, the world spun. Two pairs of hands steadied me though.

        "Time to go now?" I whispered. Mike let out a dry chuckle.

        "Yeah come on." Josh wrapped a supportive arm around my shoulders and we followed Mike. I glanced around, taking in the deep walls and jagged points.

      "Where are we anyways?" I questioned.

      "Mines. They run all through this mountain. It's a bad... look... um I'll tell you later. Okay?" Mike glanced over his shoulder at us before sitting on the ground. He slipped off over the ground and down a few feet into water. It came up to the middle of his stomach. Carefully Josh and I sat down before slipping into the water as well. I groaned as it sloshed over my skin.

     "It's fucking freezing!" I shivered and questioned why I'd forgotten to pull my jacket back on. Not that it mattered, at this point I'd rather hypothermia then dilly dallying here any longer. We waded through the water until it was sloshing against my chest. Mike was ahead of us by about five or six feet. Behind me was Josh, a few feet away.

    "AHHH!" The scream threw me off, almost as much as the surge of water against my back. I struggled for air as my body submerged into the water. I struggled to breathe my good hand flailing out, it wrapped around a rock. I clutched it and pushed up with all the force my muscles could muster. I resurfaced above the water, I twisted around. I couldn't see Mike anywhere but just ahead of me Josh was standing face to face with Hannah. I pitched the rock back the way we'd come and it landed with a loud splash in the water. She lunged around Josh and toward the noise. He stared at me, his body paralyzed with fear.

    "Come on!" Mike hissed, I shifted and looked at him. He was leaned around a large rock that was jutting out of the ground. I took a small breath before sinking to the bottom of the water, my fingers brushed around the ground until I located another rock. I gripped it and eased up to the surface of the water. Josh had moved closer to where I'd went under, as had Mike. Hannah was scanning the area around where the first rock had landed. I cocked my arm back and whipped the second one. It sailed over her head and clattered down the hall we'd come from. We watched as she lunged after it.

     "Let's go." Mike whispered reaching out for my hand. The three of us made our way back through the tunnels, and I wasn't sure how the hell he knew where we were going. Every so often we paused to listen for the creature to follow us, but the screams never came. Numbly I followed Mike, and felt Josh in tow. I was so cold, I couldn't feel much at all. The minute we were outside of the mines I felt tears start leaking down my cheeks. I just brushed them away before they had a chance to freeze on my skin.

     "There's the cabin!" Mike called out suddenly. I looked up and blinked several times. The building was looming just ahead. He began jogging toward the front door, I groaned as Josh's footsteps picked up behind me. His arm wrapped around my shoulder and he pulled my along. My legs unwillingly obliged and picked up the pace to keep  up with them. Mike turned once he was on the porch, his fingers still wrapped around the door knob.

     "It's locked!"

      "Just break the damn glass." I spat out, shuddering as a gust of wind blew against my back. Mike gazed at me before slamming his elbow into one of the glass pains on the door. It exploded inwards, littering the floor with glass shards.

    "Here we go." He slipped his hand inside and unlocked the door. The three of us trudged inside slowly, the air inside wasn't much better, but still at least the breeze wasn't as bad.

     "Wait... where are the others?" I asked glancing at Josh. His gaze was shifting from one corner of the room to the next.

      "I dunno... maybe they're back in the basement?" He offered. I reach out and grabbed Mike's elbow and clung to him.

      "You ok?" He asked stepping back to walk with me. I let out a bitter laugh.

     "Ask me when I'm wrapped in a blanket drinking some coco." I smiled the best I could as we headed for the basement.

     ". . ." Behind us Josh remained silent. The only reason I knew he was still there were because of his footsteps.

     "Run!" I lifted my head at the sound of Chris's voice.

    We'd just entered the cinema room when the door across the room burst open. Chris stumbled in, closely followed by Ashley and Emily. Temporary relief flooded through me. That was until I saw there pursuers. Two of the creatures were following them up the hall. I felt Mike tug me back out of the room, running after the others. My ears were filled with the shrieks from the monsters and the pounding of several pairs of feet on stairs.

       "Stop...." The voice caught me off guard as Mike and I came off the top of the stairs.

     I looked up and felt my throat constrict. Everyone stood in place, hardly daring to breathe. Ashley has whispered to us, but her eyes were locked on the swinging ball that hung from the ceiling. Or more accurately the reason it was swinging. The one I recognized as Hannah was perched on it, her fingers wrapped around the steel frame. I swallowed hard. She seemed to be looking for something, but she didn't seem to be able to find it. I flicked my eyes to the side as the scream grew louder. The two that had been following Chris and them had climbed up the stairs after us. But instead of watching us they seemed more focused on Hannah.

      I resisted jumping when they lunged at her. The three of them began tumbling around the room. I watched, partially in awe, partially in fear as she hefted one of them above her head and tossed it across the room. It slammed into one of the gas pipes that ran through the house, busting it open and spewing the gas into the air. I followed Mike's line of view as he stared at the gas, then glanced at the light in the room. Mike advanced slowly toward the light, while Hannah disposed of the other two creatures. I shifted nervously, causing the floor boards to creek under foot.

     Hannah twisted and began crawling toward me. I felt the urge to run creep up and had to force it down. Behind her creeping figure I could make out Mike's hand around the bulb. It popped with a soft sound. Chris being the closest to the door bolted out of it. Hannah turned and lunged toward Mike. He stood still as she drew near.

     "HEY!" I called out. Hannah turned and screeched at me. She rose onto two legs and strode toward me, towering over by several feet now. I felt my heart hammer against my ribs. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Emily dart out the door as well. Hannah crept closer until her face was about a foot away from mine. I could make out the smell of rotting garbage again. My stomach churned. She let out a piercing screech. I sucked in a lungful of air and held it, not daring to even breathe. Something warm trickled down from the ear closest to her, I assumed it was blood.

     She turned and paced away a few steps, enough to not be looking in my direction. I lunged for the wall, knowing it could offer some sort of cover from her piercing blind gaze. She turned and screeched at me. I inwardly groaned. I could hear footsteps and hoped that Hannah's focus on me again had at least let another friend get out. She twisted away at the arrival of a second creature. I watched for a moment then lunged toward the wall, pressing flat up against it. Josh was in my line of view, he was walking backwards slowly, almost at the door. I made a brief gesture for him to go and he darted outside.

     Hannah crept closer until her face was within an inch or two of my face. She screeched, and I could feel more warm goo leaking down the other side of my face. I waited until she turned her attention away and I ran. I sprinted toward the doorway, Mike arrived just ahead of me. He ushered me through the door and flicked the switch before following me outside. The effect was almost immediate. The house erupted in flame and sent Mike and I both flying down the stairs. I screamed as I landed heavily on my bad wrist and it crumpled under me. I felt a pair of arms under my shoulders and felt them heaving me away from the heat.

"Robin?" Josh's voice was in my ear. But too far away to be the warmth that was cradling me against it's chest. I peeked through my lashes to see Mike looking down at me. His lips curled up into a smile when he saw me looking at him.

"Hey little sis..." He muttered softly. I grinned.

"I wanna go home Mike..." I whispered. He chuckled and shifted to turn me to so I could see the sky. The house was in complete shambles, flames licking up the building. But in the distance was a helicopter flying toward us. I let out a soft sob and clung to Mike.

"We'll be going soon... just hang on sis..."

"Joshy?" I questioned. The boy stepped into view. He looked worn out, but still seemed to have a clear head, or for the most part. I smiled at him.

"Heeeeeyyy goof... how ya doing?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow up at me.

"Still kicking..."

                                                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~                                                                      

About a week after our night at the Washingtons, everything had settled back some. All of our friends had gotten off of the mountain safely, or... alive at the very least. Jess and Matt had both been picked up on the other side of the mountain before they had stopped to pick us up. Minus some cuts, bruises, breaks, and a major mental toll we were all expected to make good recoveries. Josh... had agreed to go back on his medication, and stay on it. And we'd all agreed not to mention his... incident... He was more open to help too... So that's what we did. At least to some degree. We all had bonded over it, found out who we really were.

Mike, thought highly reluctant, had agreed to have Josh staying with us. Only after Dr. Hill's recommending it. Em and Matt had broken up, Jess had started dating Matt... Ash and Chris both joined together and had headed as far away from our state as they could manage. Sam on the other hand, didn't even believe what we had been talking about and when we'd tried to explain it she had just ignored us. But that was ok... it was okay... and we were all going to be okay.

[bachimagines]

Chapter 7: Broken Friends

    "Josh??" Chris looked up at our friend, his eyes unfocused.

    Josh's laughter run out through the room. Deep belly laughs, and a smile that was plastered to his face. I stepped toward him but found my shoulders held firmly in place by Mike. Instead he pulled me back and led me toward Ashley and Chris. We both began undoing the arm restraints binding them to the chairs.

    "Josh..." Mike looked up from Chris's sitting figure to look at our friend. He was pacing around us all, a smile plastered to his face. Droplets of sweat beaded on his skin and wound down his dirty cheek.

    "Oh good, good. Very good. You all got my name!" Josh chuckled backing away from us, his arms spread wide in gesture to us all.

    "And after all you've been through?! Good- good- good! I mean, how does that feel?! How does it feel? Do, do you enjoy feeling terrorized? Humiliated, I mean, panicked?" The smile faded from his face slowly.

    "All those things that my sisters got to feel once one year ago? Only guess what! They didn't get to laugh it off! No! Nope! No no no, they're gone!!!" Our eyes didn't leave Josh's frame. I should have been more afraid of him, or... or irritated but at the same time I pitied him instead. He was broken, so much worse than any of us could have ever imagined.

    "I don't know if you noticed this, Josh, but none of us are laughing." Mike's eyes were narrowed. It was his angry expression, one I'd seen a few times when we were younger but it had never seemed this severe. I glanced at his bound fingers.

    "Oh come, come- come- come on! Why the long faces?! Come on! It's good to get the heart racing every now and then, right? And race they did, I mean, every one of you,  just pitter-pat! I hope you appreciated my little phantasmagorical spectacle! I mean no detail too small! No opportunity missed! it was such a delight to play the puppet master to all of your Pavlovian panic! And all that gore? i mean, gore, there was gore galore!!! Fake bodies... I mean, God that shit was expensive. And no retakes. Nope, nope, nope! Only double takes! You should have seen your faces! Hook line and sinker, for every little stinker!" The smile slowly returned to Josh's face. I couldn't help it I walked around Ashley to stand between her and him.

    "Josh.... You're an ass." I'd meant to tell him that he needed help, but the words tumbled out before I could stop them. He rose his eyebrows slowly in question.

    "So you got a little dirty! No one got hurt!" He spat out. Mike's figure made his way to my side, disbelief evident in his face.

    "What are you talking about you ass hat? Jessica is Fucking Dead!" He spat out. Chris and Ashley turned there horrified expressions to him. Begging him to just be fucking with them.

     "What?" For once Josh's expression was of confusion, instead of glee or sadness.

    "Did you hear me? Jessica, is dead." Mike stalked forward toward Josh. "And you are gonna PAY YOU FUCKING DICK!" Involuntarily I cried out as Mike lashed out, the butt of a gun connecting with Josh's temple. He crumpled to the ground and I darted forward, dropping to my knees beside Josh.

    "Mike..."

    "Tie him up." Mike walked away from me slowly, his chest was rising and falling unevenly. I turned away from Josh in time for a small bundle of rope to land beside my knee. Chris was watching me warily as if I would turn on them. Shaking my head I quickly grabbed the rope and turned around to roll Josh's body over. Before binding his hands behind his back I pressed my fingers against a warm spot on his neck. His pulse beat steadily under the pressure. I sighed before sitting back on my heels.

    "What the hell do we do now?" I questioned looking down at his body.

    "We'll take him to the barn and keep an eye on him until the morning, then we'll call the police and get this shit taken care of." Mike turned to look at me. His eyes were shining brightly.

    "Chris help me with him." I stood up slowly and backed toward Ashley, watching as my brother and Chris hoisted Josh's limp body up between the two of them. The four of us slowly made our way back outside and into the cold air. I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself. Ashley's figure mirrored my own.

    "This'll be something to remember huh?" I asked glancing at her. Her eyes shifted to me, but otherwise she didn't acknowledge that I'd spoken.

    "Ash, Robin, head back to the house and see if Matt and Em are back yet." Mike called out over his shoulder. Josh stumbled slightly, briefly sagging heavily on the two boys before standing on his own shakily.

    "No." Mike stopped in his tracks. Chris and Josh stumbled to a stop just ahead of him. All four of them turned to face me.

   "What?" Mike cocked his head to the side, daring me to challenge him right now.

    "I said no." I replied tartly.

    "I will." Ashley spoke up for me. I glanced at her and she offered me a brief smile. Though to be honest, I was pretty sure she was only willing to go alone because it was cold out here, and it would get here away from Josh. Mike narrowed his eyes at me. We continued walking toward the barn while Ashley split off to go check for Matt and Emily.

    "Guys."

    "Shut Up Josh."

   "Guys, Come on."

   "Why'd you hit her man, why'd you have to hit her?" Chris lunged past Mike and his fist connected solidly with Josh's jaw. He stumbled back over his feet and landed heavily on his side.

    "Shit, Josh..." I ducked around my friends and doubled over grabbing onto one of Josh's arms and helping him back to his feet.

    "Robin stop." Mike pulled me back behind him. I let out a low sigh.

   "Relax, I'm not going to let him go! But you don't have to beat him up every other step!" I snapped at my brother. He eyed me before turning his attention back to Josh. I sighed.

    "Where are you guys taking me?" Josh questioned looking between the boys.

   "Locking you up 'bro', so you can't do anything stupid before the police get here." Mike responded annoyed.

    "What?! I didn't do anything!" Josh cried out, panic flitting across his face.

     "Are- are you serious?" Chris asked, a mixture of anger and unease splayed on his face.

    "You're a goddamned murder is what you are." Mike replied, cutting off Chris and pushing Josh onward.

    "I didn't do it, Michael please! Just listen to me man, I didn't hurt Jessica!" Josh pleaded. Chris snorted.

    "Are you serious? Do you really not understand what you've done?"

    "I'm a healer man!" Josh cried out. I shook my head.

    "This isn't healing Josh, this is causing trauma."

    "ENOUGH!" Mike snapped grabbing Josh by his arm and hauling him toward the barn which had slowly come into view. I followed side by side with Chris.

     "You only see what you wanna see, you're blind!"

    "Stop talking!" Mike lunged forward and forced Josh to his knees just inside the building. Josh sank down until his face was pressed into the hard packed dirt and snow.

     "It's not my fault you guys can't take a joke!" He cried out attempting to get back up to his knees. Mike let out a low growl and knelt down, placing one of his knees just below Josh's tail bone. He let out a low groan of pain.

    "Oh, oh, did I hurt you? Did you just feel a little, a little bit of pain?" He questioned digging his knee into Josh. "Right now I am So SO SORRY!" Mike growled out digging his knee even further into Josh's skin. He cried out in pain.

    "Michael, STOP IT!" I snapped.

    "Michael man, I am so sorry!" Josh pleaded more as Mike grabbed his bound hands and lifted him back to his feet again.

     "I can't tell you how sorry I am that something happened to Jessica, but I swear, I swear I have no idea what happened to her!" Josh craned his neck trying to see Mike's face.

    "Shit... I dunno man... Something feels really wrong here." Chris extended his hand to touch Mike's shoulder.

     "You're kidding..." Mike glanced at him skeptically.

    "I'm just having a really hard time... figuring that he would do anything to... hurt Jess." Chris stammered out.

    "I saw what he did to her!" Mike turned to face Chris, their faces inches apart. "With my own eyes, this-" He gestured to blood splattered all down the front of his jacket,"is her blood." Josh began chuckling softly.

   "Can't we all just get along?" He questioned, his eyes temporarily glassing over.

   "You guys, come on... you can't just leave a guy hung out here to dry man!" Josh pleaded spinning to face Mike. He stepped closer slowly. "Not that you'd do anything about it anyway..." Mike shoved Josh to the ground again.

     "Michael, knock it off!" I shoved past him and grabbed Josh's arm and pulled him up. He looked down at me and for a moment I was buffeted in the face with a gust of his warm breath. I blinked uncertainly before tugging him toward a stool that was positioned in front of a post in the ground. As we neared it Josh tugged his arm away from my grip only to slam into Mike instead. I backed out of the way as he forced Josh onto the stool.

    "Okay... tying me up now... okay..." Josh murmured softly.

    "Stay still man." Mike barked. Chris shifted around help tie Josh's hands behind the post.

    "Right, right, right, right, still. Can't tie them up if they just wiggle around!" I stepped forward and placed my hands on his shoulders attempting to help them stabilize him as he began squirming in his seat.

    "Josh, dude!"

    "Leave me a little wiggle room..." He twisted his body again, attempting to buck our hands away from him.

    "What does it take to shut you up?" Mike asked backing away as Chris finished up the knot.

    "Ow, ow ow ow! Not so tight, okay? Not so tight..." Josh whispered. "I can't wiggle around... plastic ties that's where it's at!" Josh blurted out. I backed away quickly, bumping into Mike as I did so. He placed a hand on my back to steady me.

    "What... in God's name is he talking about?"

   "Plastic ties, plastic ties. Way more effective for hostage type scenarios." Josh spouted out. My gut squelched at the thought.

    "He ever say this kind of shit before?" Mike questioned glancing over at Chris. He shook his head slowly.

   "No I've never seen him like this before..." Chris replied softly. Josh fell silent before slowly looking toward us, toward Chris.

     "Everyone is stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid... Chris and Ash.... Chris is an ass... Ashley's a dumb dumb." He whispered. Chris froze, his eyes locked onto his friend.

    "I'm sorry... what did you say?"

   "Well I said you're a dummy, dummy."

   "What's wrong with you?" Chris questioned, looking uncertainly toward Mike and I. I looked away. I wondered if this was what happened if he was off of his medication...

    "Ohh.... Ashley..." Josh whimpered," I never imagined in all my wildest dream that you liked me..." Chris's eyes fluttered.

   "Stop..." He whispered.

    "You know what that sound is? It's the sound of you never kissing Ashley you pussy!!!" Josh was targeting him.

     "STOP!" Chris yelled at him. I backed away farther until my shoulder was pressed against Mike's arm.

     "Yeah, you know what? You may as well let Ashley sleep with Mike, at least he's got some notches on his belt! He'll treat- her- right! YOU'RE FUCKING PATHETIC CHRISTOPHER!!" I felt my cheeks flush and Josh's hips thrust in the air to punctuate his words. Beside me Mike glanced at Chris, as if he were suddenly worried he'd turn on him. I advanced toward Josh before Mike could stop me and brought my palm straight across his cheek. My palm turned bright red and stung, I imagined that the red mark forming on his cheek burned as bad as my skin did.

    "The hell Josh? This isn't how you treat your friends!" He snorted and looked away from me.

    "Hey Mike..." He called out. I glanced over my shoulder at him. "Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike."

    "What?" He snapped.

    "What happened to Jess, Mike...?" He questioned. Josh lifted his eyes to meet mine, before letting them slowly shift to Mike.

     "You know what happened..." He replied. Josh shook his head.

    "No, No I don't. I feel like... I would remember killing Jess ya know? She's... so soft and...."

    "Shut your fucking mouth!" I stumbled to the side as Mike pointed the gun at Josh's head. I felt like my brain was going in slow motion. I jumped as a piece of wood came down against Josh's head, my gaze snapped over to Chris who was looking more than a little lost.

    "What the hell man?!" Mike questioned. I reach out and examined Josh carefully.

    "I-I was... you were going to shoot him!" Chris stammered.

    "I was just messing with him, giving him a taste of his own medicine!" Mike pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers.

    "What the hell?! I could have killed him!!!!"

    "It's okay... he should be fine..." I spoke up, still poking and prodding Josh's unconscious body.

    "At least he's quiet now." Mike sighed.

    "Why don't you go back to the lodge and make sure everyone's ok. I'll stay with this lunatic until morning." Mike gestured toward the snowy ground. Chris sighed and glanced my way.

     "Robin, are you...?"

    "I'll stay with Mike and Josh." I firmly planted my butt on the ground

    "You sure you two will be okay?" Chris asked. Mike nodded slowly.

    "Yeah, they'll want to know everything is okay back there." Mike sighed before shooing Chris away. I watched as he dissipated into the snow.

[bachimagines]

Chapter 6: Violence

After I'd caught my breath, I had taken in my surroundings. The small space I was in had two ways for me to choose from. The path I'd come in, and a small air duct. It wasn't a choice. Carefully I pulled the entrance to the air vent away and crawled in, attempting to be as silent as I could manage.

"Jeesh, I didn't know so much of this place was run down." I whispered to myself as the end of the vent came into view. Sure enough it led into another dark, dimly lit room that looked ancient. I turned and lashed out at the vent covering, it took two kicks before it popped out and landed on the floor. I followed it out, landing on cement. I stood slowly, my hands shaking slightly with the flashlight still clutched in my palms.

My gaze drifted between an old cabinet, to a worn out sewing dummy, to what appeared to be the blueprint layout of the Washington house, but I wasn't sure. I stepped closer, reaching out to lift the top sheet. I expected to see a second layer of blueprints, instead I found myself starting at some sort of death machine plans. My stomachs twisted as my eyes drifted over the diagrams. It appeared to be the machine that Ashley and Josh had been fastened into.

"The hell is going on?" I whispered letting the paper flutter back into place. My feet carried me to a wooden desk with a small fan sitting on it. Tattered, ripped pieces of paper were hanging over the desk, pinned to a cork board. I shined the light along the papers before down onto the desk. There was a single drawer off to the left side. Reaching down I pulled open the drawer and reach inside. I clutched a plain vanilla envelope and nudged the drawer shut. Carefully I placed the envelope on the desk and flipped it open, my other hand shining the flash light down onto the papers.

At the top corner the words Dean View Hospitle were printed under a small sun logo. My eyes scanned the page, re-reading the patients name twice before the words sank in.

"Oh God..."

Joshua Washington

Final Psychiatric Evaluation

5/21/2014

Dr. A. Hill

Below that the word Confidential was printed in several sizes larger and in a dark red ink. Nervously I flipped to the next page. There were lists of doctors that he had seen in the past, medications he had been prescribed and had changed. The most recent visit and prescriptions having had to do with the disappearance of his sisters.

"Josh..." My voice cracked as I closed the envelope and turned away from the desk. There was a soft glow coming from a metal bookshelf. As I came nearer I realized it was his phone. I recognized the tree background. I swiped my thumb across the screen and was rewarded with a short text conversation.

/Hi Josh, it's Alan. I hope you don't mind me texting you, but this is important. I got your email. I don't think that your plan is going to help. I think you need to stop what you're doing and come to see me.

Please, pick up your phone. I'm getting worried./

//LEAVE ME ALONE//

/Are you still taking your meds?/

//I'm fine//

/It's very dangerous to stop taking your drugs mid course Josh.

Contact my office to make an appointment, please.

Josh?

Josh, please respond./

The texts ended there. I set the phone back onto the bookshelf. Around the shelf was yet another small cork board, this one had several pictures of the same two girls. Hannah and Beth, a few ribbons, several of their bracelets and missing papers from when both of them disappeared. But stuck to one of the pictures was a bright yellow sticky note with the words "Never Forget" written on it.

"Oh Joshy..." I backed away from the board and followed the only hall there was. Despite being wrapped in one of my thinner hoodies the chill in the air was still getting to me. I shivered before heading toward a small black box sitting on a table. It was a tape player, I pressed my finger into the play button.

"Hello, and thank you all for joining me. Tonight we're going to conduct a little experiment. Hello, hello children.... no...." I froze, the first voice had been the one that had been talking to me earlier, but the second one was without a doubt Josh's.

I jabbed my finger into the stop button and headed back the way I came a few feet. A small set of crumbling stone stairs led up a few feet. I climbed up them and followed another hall until a set of double doors came into my view. I pushed them open and headed inside, across the room was yet another door. Well, if all else failed I would get lost and just sorta die down here. I headed for the door, but as I neared it something grabbed my ankle. I jumped and jerked back, my throat sealing.

"Oh shit!" I looked toward a small grate in the wall and collapsed to my knees.

"Mike!" I hissed reaching my hand out toward the bars, he held up his hand and gripped my fingers in hi---

"Oh God, what happened to your hand?!" I asked. There were damp red scraps wrapped around two of his fingers. He flashed me a wry smile.

"Bear trap..."

"Oh God..." I whispered scooting a bit closer to the grate.

"It's okay, you're okay..." I nodded softly before cocking my head to the side.

"Where's Jess? Isn't... isn't she with you?" I asked. Mike stared at me, his eyes temporarily glassing over before he looked away.

"Jessica's dead."

"What?!"

"He killed her Robin. There's some manic who's on the mountain trying to kill us. All of us. And I swear to God when everyone is safe and accounted for I am going to hunt that fucker down and rip his nuts off one at a goddamn time." Mike's voice cracked, his two good fingers wrapping tighter around my hand.

"He... he attacked me... and he showed me this video of Josh being ripped apart by a saw blade... and..." I looked away feeling tears start to burn my eyes. "I think Josh is involved in this all somehow..."

"What? Why?" Mike's gaze shifted to confusion.

"I'm not completely sure but I saw some messages from his doctor and they mentioned something about a plan, one that seemed like a bad idea and now... now he's dead." I whispered the end like it was a taboo.

"There's a door down here, I can't unlock it... can you from your side?" Mike questioned avoiding my gaze.

"Let me see." I stood up, reluctantly releasing his arm and pushing open the door I'd been heading toward in the first place. It swung open and led into a small dim hall. Several feet away was another door, one that seemed like it would lead to Mike. There was a wooden bar wedged down into two metal holders. Carefully I gripped it and raised it from it's place, then I pulled open the door, stepping out of the way of the rotation. Mike looked up as it swung open, a brief smile coming to his lips.

"You're okay though?" He asked stepping toward me. I didn't hesitate to throw myself against his chest and hug him tightly.

"Okay as I can----"

"I can't, I can't decide!" I pulled away from Mike slowly.

"Is that crying?" He looked down at me before darting out of the room and across the hall to a steel door. I followed him, listening for the voices again. He grabbed the handle and braced his shoulder against it, I mirrored him the best I could. Together we slammed our shoulders into the door. It flung open and revealed a darkened room, two figures sitting across from one another in chairs. Two lights switched on, directly shining down onto Chris and Ashley. A third figure strolled in slowly, though none of them seemed aware of Mike and I's presence. I watched as the maniac neared Chris and Ashley.

"Noo nooo! Get away!" Ashley cried out. Chris lifted his arm and I felt my self jump back against Mike as he fired off several shots from a black pistol clutched in one of his hands. The figure stumbled back before looking up at Chris slowly.

"Oh Chris, Oh Chris, Chris, Chris..." The maniac mumbled slowly walking around them.

"What the fuck?" Chris's eyes darted down to the gun.

"You've heard of blanks before, right?" The figure asked. "I mean really..." The figure stopped and lifted their hands. I watched as they tucked two fingers under elastic bands on the mask and lifting it, along with the shaggy black hair away from their head.

"Oh my God..." I whispered slowly reaching out toward him.

[bachimagines]

Chapter 5: Psycho

I opened my eyes groggily, my cheek was pressed against the inside of my book. My body was cold, and the candles I had had burning, had went out. I must have passed out at some point. Slowly I shifted and slid out of the bed. Hannah's room. One of my refugees. Slowly I stretched and looked around. It looked the same as it always had, well, perhaps a little less friendly. I tugged out my earbuds and was embraced in silence.

"Chris, Ashley?" I called out heading for the door. The house seemed so quiet, perhaps they had all went to sleep. I rubbed my hands together and made my way down the stairs.

"Josh?" I called into the silence. My voice echoed around the walls. Shuddering I headed for the main staircase, candles were lit, going all the way down. Cold light was seeping in between the blinds on the windows. I hesitated, my eyes drawn to a red balloon with a painted arrow on it.

"Guys?" I entered the small hallway, more candles filled the halls. Doing little to warm the cold rooms. The old grandfather clock chimed as I headed toward it, the sudden noise causing me to jump. I pressed my palm against my chest, a small attempt to calm my hammering heart.

"This isn't funny. Josh?" I called out louder. I followed the stairs down, and down again. My eyes drawn to more red balloons. All leading me down. I swallowed hard.

"Matt, Emily? Are you guys back yet?" My voice cracked toward the end. The silence absorbing my words. My eyes drifted around, there was no signs of anyone. I could feel goosebumps rising all along my arms, and my neck. Slowly I wrapped my arms around my chest, and followed the stairs down to the bottom floor.

My gaze landed on the flashlight Josh had used earlier, when we'd ventured into the basement. Reaching out i grabbed it and switched it on, grateful for the bit of extra light it provided. Quietly I stepped into the small movie room they had. The only thing on, was some white fuzz on the screen. But still no one was in there.

"Seriously guys! This isn't funny! Where are you?" I called out, my voice cracking again. The door slammed shut behind me, I spun around. Shining the flash light on the hard wood. I could feel my breathing hitching in my throat.

"Hello Robin." My heart plummeted at the unfamiliar voice. I spun around, searching but there was no one in the room.

"Looking for me? I don't think you'll have much luck by looking, Robin. You're only going to see what I want you to see. And I have quite a lot to show you..."

"What- where are my friends?" I called out. The voice just pressed on, a film reel coming to life on the screen. I turned to look at it, and found myself looking in Hannah's room. My body curled up on the bed, my eyes locked on the book.

"She's quiet beautiful isn't she? A beautiful nesting bird, do you think she has any idea what lies ahead? Do you think these were the last happy moments of this creatures life?" I shook my head turning away from the screen.

"Why are you showing this to me?" I questioned.

"Why are you watching?" He replied. I turned, attempting to once again find the speaker but to no avail. A pained cry drew my attention back to the screen. It felt like the air had been knocked out of my lungs. Josh's face was on the screen, his body being split into two.

"JOSH!" I screamed, my head was pounding.

"How does it feel?" He whispered. I shook my head again, turning away from the screen. "I'm going to give you ten seconds."

"What? No. Nonononon...." I stepped away from the screen, pressing my back up against the stone wall.

"Nine."

"Eight."

"Seven."

"Stop!" I cried out clutching my chest tightly. The door slammed open, a man walking in. Long shaggy black hair was draped over his white mask. A needle clutched in his gloved hand. I screamed and backed away from him.

"Robin." He breathed out. I stumbled back father shaking my head back and forth. This was all some really bad nightmare.

"Roobiin." He cooed following me further into the room. My eyes caught sight of a dark red vase to my left, before I could process it my fingers curled around the handle and I whipped it at him. I darted across the room, slamming my shoulder into the door as I did. It flew open willingly. It led to a short hallway that branched off in two directions. A room straight ahead, or the garage to the left. I slammed open the door and kicked it shut behind me. I was in some sort of back room, one that I wasn't familiar with. A bed had been pushed into the middle of the hall, a poor block. I jumped onto it, crawling onto the other side as the door behind me flew open.

"Come on Robin." He called out. I darted down the hallway, making my way straight into the basement. I took the stairs three at a time, avoiding the shattered one all together. I sprinted past the boiler and toward a wooden door at the end of a short hall. Wine cases stood on one side. I reach for the old knob, only to find that it was missing. I whipped around, my heart pounding. I could see him coming already. I could also see the knob on the top of one of the wine shelves. I lunged for it, pulling the entire shelf to the floor. My fingers wrapped around the small handling and I darted back to the door, forcing it into place and pushing the door open.

I slammed my back into the door closing it in his face, before reaching up and sliding the deadbolt into place. He slipped his hand through a small opening in the top of the door, attempting to reach it. I slid the small panel closed. Completely sealing the door off. Behind me I could hear him slamming against the door. I slipped through the small room I was now in, and rattled the door knob. It didn't budge. Quickly I slammed my shoulder into it. I was shocked as it gave way and I tumbled down a good two or three foot drop. My body landed in a pile of debris in a long straight hall.

I jogged toward the end of it, my body was shaking. I wasn't sure how much more excitement I could handle. I was left with two options. To my left I could keep running, but on the right there was a small space I was sure I'd fit in. My lungs were burning. I opted to slip into the small space, my fingers flicked off the flashlight. None too soon, I heard his footsteps, then his heavy breathing above me. I bit into my lip until I could taste copper in my mouth.

"Here little kitty.... Here pussy pussy." He cooed. I closed my eyes and willed him to leave. His footsteps turned, as if he was pacing a few steps.

"Fuck!" He swore. I didn't dare move until his footsteps faded into the distance.

[bachimagines]

Chapter 4: Chris Is An Ass

 "What children." I sighed and flopped down into one of the arm chairs scattered around the room. Ashley and Chris perched on the couch, several feet between them.

   "Definitely not something I want to get in the middle of. I'm pretty sure Jess was about to claw Emiliy's face off." Chris shot me a look from the couch and mock shuddered.

   "Yeah, but think. I used to have to see both of them because of Mike." I stuck my tongue out.

   "Oh God- that's right, how did you survive?" Ashley turned and was giving me a look of pity. I leaned back into the cushions of the chair.

   "Calling Hannah and Beth." I replied honestly. Both Ashley and Chris' expressions shifted from one of amusement to a gloomier look.

   "Hey guys, it's okay. Cheer up a lil. Aight?" Chris nodded but Ashley wouldn't look at me. Where Jess and Em were cocky enough to strut around me all the time, Ashley and Mike had had the hardest times forgiving themselves, and for awhile they were the most uneasy around me. Mike had gotten over it, if for no other reason than he was forced to see me daily, and had to come to terms with it. Ashley though, I wasn't sure she had ever forgiven herself, and she still seemed wary of me. Like I blamed her. I mean I had, and sometimes I still did. But it was an accident, from a poorly planned prank. Could I really blame them for something that was never meant to go that far? I rubbed my temples and leaned forward to brace myself against my knees.

   "Hey cheer up guys and gals!" It wasn't Josh's voice that startled me, rather the sudden motion of him grabbing my arms and pulling me to my feet.

   "Come on you three, this is going to be a great weekend!" Josh exclaimed before leaning his face toward mine. "Right Robin?" He asked, a dark twinkle in his eyes. I felt my cheeks heat up as I leaned away from him.

    Chuckling he let go of my arms to turn his attention back to the fireplace. I watched as he knelt down before wondering over to Chris and Ashley, I plopped down beside Chris and rubbed my hands together roughly. "Come on." Josh whispered softly.

    "How long do you think it'll take him?" Chris asked watching him intently.

   "My money is on blankets for everyone." Ashley replied idly. I chewed my lip thoughtfully for a minute before bumping my shoulder into Chris's. He bumped into Ashley and shot me a dirty look. I winked before looking around the room. There was an odd silence for a minute then Chris scooted away from me, and closer to Ashley.

   "Alright peanut gallery, I have an idea for you two." Josh stopped and turned look at Chris and Ashley pointedly.

   "What?" Ashley asked.

   "Okay well, I'm pretty sure that somewhere in this crazy place we used to have... a spirit board."

   "A what?" Ashley looked between Josh, Chris and I.

   "Oh wow, you have a spirit board??" Chris exclaimed. I wrinkled my nose, he was too thrilled about it.

   "Spirit board, Ouija board. They have the pointer and the spirits supposedly moves it around to letters to answer your questions." I leaned forward to I could talk to Ashley. As I explained her expression fell.

    "Why would you mess with things like that?" She asked.

    "Oh they're just nonsense games, used to scare the crap out of superstitious people." Chris patted his arm on Ashley's shoulder before slowly slipping out of his jacket.

   "No way man, I mean we used to do it all the time, Me and...." Josh trailed off.

   "Is the hot water on Josh?" I asked. He looked at me slowly. "I wanna get rinsed up real quick." I smiled at him, hoping that it would steer the topic away from his sisters. I wasn't fond of the distant look that had intruded on his face. He nodded slowly and looked back at Ashley and Chris.

   "You two, go see if you can find the spirit board."

   "Chris! let's go find it, it'll be like a scavenger hunt!" Ashley didn't even wait. She started walking away. Sighing Chris followed her off toward the kitchen.

   "Wanna come with me? I need to turn the boiler on for the hot water to work." Josh gave me a side long glance as he started walking. I shed my poofy coat and tossed it onto the couch before following him.

    "Man this place always seems bigger than the last time." I stated gazing around as he led the way toward the basement. He glanced over his shoulder.

    "Less people could be why, we're three short of the normal ya know." I frowned.

   "Ye-yeah... I know." He stopped and pulled open a drawer, fishing for a second before pulling out a yellow flashlight.

    "You notice how I sent Chris and Ashley on a mission together? I was thinking they could use some alone time." He asked chuckling. I shook my head.

    "Trying to play match maker are ya?" I teased. "But they are cute together." He chuckled darkly.

    "I swear they just need something to bond over, like some sort of traumatic event to send them into each others arms. I mean at this rate, they'll be in the geriatric ward before Chris makes a move." Josh stepped around me, leading the way once again.

   "So remind me, not to ask you for dating advice yeah?" I smiled and jogged to catch up to him. He entered the room that led to the basement and hesitated.

   "Ya know... I just wanted to say..." Josh trailed off and sighed.

   "What's up Josh?" I asked touching his arm gently. He turned to face me, but didn't look at me.

   "It means a lot to me that everyone came back this year and you know, that you came, Robin." He turned his dark eyes onto me. I smiled slowly.

   "Course we did Josh, we're here for you. We're your friends. We'll get through this- together." I whispered.

   "Um I really want us to have a good time, ya know?" Slowly he turned and began walking again, this time down the stairs.

    "Watch your step, some of these need some repairs." He called back. I glanced down and noticed that the better half of an entire step had crumbled away from it's base.

    "Yeesh... need some renovations do ya?" Josh chuckled ahead of me.

   "Sorry to drag you down into the bowels." Josh stated as he arrived into the basement. I'd always wondered why their basement went so far down, I mean it led down two large flights of stairs. Though in that defense their basement was huge. I followed him, looking around. There seemed to be toys from when the girls had been younger, I could see an old doll house sitting on a table. Josh turned and entered a narrow but fairly long little space. He popped open the door to the boiler and shined the light in. Behind him was two or three steel shelves loaded with boxes and papers, and a bunch of other miscellaneous objects.

    "Not a problem, I kinda like walking around this place. But yeesh... it's always so dark down here."

   "Well I wouldn't want you coming down here on your own, ya know? Not fun place to be alone." He paced in front of me, to a large tank looking object that I assumed was the actual boiler.

    "Baseball huh? This yours?" I asked wandering over to where he had been standing. There was an old wooden baseball bat sticking out of a plastic crate.

    "You bet it's mine, I used to play all the time with my dad... Till he got to busy to spend time with me. Ah well." He set it down before turning his attention back to the machine.

    "Let me see what I can do with this, okay?" For a brief moment he examined the buttons, shining his flash light onto them before wandering into the corner again. He leaned in for a moment before holding the flash light toward me.

    "Can you hold this?" I nodded and took the flash light from him. Off to the right something flopped to the ground.

     "What was that?"

    "What was what?" Josh replied turning to look in the direction I'd swung the flash light to.

     "Just shine it over here, so I can see what I'm doing." Josh gestured to a set of cords and knobs. I turned back toward him and held the flashlight down.

    "Sorry bout that." I murmured. He nodded in acknowledgement.

   "It's alright. But first things first, we gotta increase the water pressure before we get the boiler fired up."

    "Is that hard to do?" I asked curiously as he wandered to the left again. I noticed he didn't stay in either play more than a moment.

    "No it's actually pretty easy." I followed him back to the left but as I got there he stepped around me again. I sighed and looked at the buttons carefully.

   "Wait- what do I do?" I asked. He chuckled.

   "Turn the dial, when the red light comes on press the button." I frowned but twisted the knob, I watched a small gauge fill until a red light flipped to life under it. I released the dial and palmed the switch. I jumped as the machine came to life, putting of a loud rumbling noise.

    "All right. Five, girl." I turned toward Josh. He lifted his hand into the air, reacting on impulse I high fived him and smiled.

    "Whooo way to make me feel useful." I joked still smiling. He headed back to the boiler and closed two small steel doors before heading toward me again. I turned to head for the stairs but hesitated as something sounded like it was turned on in the distance.

    "Josh?" I questioned turning to face him. He was staring in the direction the noise had come from.

   "Could be a lot of things... and... none of them nice..." He whispered trailing his hand up my arm. I squirmed away from him.

   "Knock it off." I stepped back but he was smiling.

    "I'm just joshin ya." I blinked slowly, staring at him.

  "Alright- I'm leaving." I shook my head and turned away from him.

    "You were really freaked out, weren't you?"

   "No... Josh let's go back upstairs now okay?" I began walking but stopped at the sound of metal on metal.

    "You hear that, don't you?" I turned around again to face Josh. Ignoring me he began walking toward the sound, oddly focused.

    "Maybe- maybe we should check it out?" I suggested following him. He led the way toward a small hall.

   "Why?" He questioned shooting me a confused expression.

   "What if it's a pipe about to burst, or something wrong with the furnace?" I asked reaching out to grab onto his arm. He glanced down at me before continuing forward.

   "Unlikely." Despite that we continued walking forward. Josh just ahead of me. The metal on metal continued, a steady thumping. I was surprised I hadn't broken out in goosebumps yet. I followed him until he stopped, about half way down the hall. I looked up at him, confused.

   "You're the one who wanted to look." He gestured toward the end of the hall. I looked away from him, and shined the light down the hall. Slowly I crept forward toward the noise.

  "Boo!" Out stepped a figure covered in a dark cloak, some sort of white ski mask over their face. I jumped back and let out a short scream. Turning away I took off after Josh down the hall.

   "WHOA!" He called out. The figure came sprinting down the hall as we ran, my heart was hammering against my ribs painfully. Josh and I sprinted to the end of the hall, before turning and jogging up to the stairs. Josh's body slammed into the door but it didn't budge. He rattled the handle,  to no avail.

   "Why the hell are these doors locked?!" I screamed swatting his hands around and attempting to open it myself. Josh turned to face the stairs, his eyes widened with fear.

    "To keep out strangers." He replied, his voice shaking. The figure was coming slowly up the stairs, I turned to face it as well. Josh's arm was held out in front of me, a meek guard, though warm in gesture.

   "Heyyy."  The figure drawled out before slipping the hood off of his head. Chris smiled up at us, and jangled a set of keys from his finger. I snatched them from him before unlocking the door and heading into the main room.

   "Chris you asshole!" I called out behind me. My cheeks were red, and I could feel tears threatening, not because I was scared, but rather because I was pissed.

  "I was just playing around Robin!" He called out after me. I help my middle finger in the air as I kept walking. After his little display, I had even less interest in being around them. Instead I was going to go curl up and hide in a book. To hell with rinsing up. I plucked my ipod from my bag along with a chapter book before wondering upstairs to what was usual Hannah's room. What used to be one of the quietest rooms in the house when were all here.

[bachimagines]

Chapter 3: Separation

"Soooo how've ya been Robin?" Chris called back to me as we wandered around in the garage. I'd been following him idly, picking up odds and ends, examining them then moving on. I knelt beside a row of boxes, squinting so I could make out the sloppy cursive sharpie writing.

"I've been... alright. How about you? I take it by Josh's bull crap earlier that you and Ash still aren't a thing?" Chris made a snort sound somewhere in the gloom.

"As if..." He mumbled before the small light vanished from my peripheral vision. I stood and quickly turned.

"Chris?" I called out.

"In here, hey come check this out." I slipped around a metal case and headed into a small closet like space. Chris held the lighter close to a piece of paper that was enclosed in his hand. I leaned close. Ex-Janitor convicted for Arson. Swears revenge on movie mogul's family.

"Freaky- right?" He asked glancing over at me. I nodded slowly.

"Oh yeah... let's, let's go get that deodorant okay?" Carefully I slipped my hand around Chris' and slipped the lighter out of his grip. I led the way out of the small closet and over into the house. A sense of foreboding and relief flooded me as the thick wooden walls came into view. As much comfort as they had once brought me, they didn't do much to help forget or get over what had happened last year. I sighed and headed for the hanging picture at the end of the hall. It was Beth, Hannah, Josh and their parents. Carefully I placed my hand against the cool glass and brushed away some of the dust. It was weird seeing all their smiling faces looking back at me.

"Now who's getting distracted." Chris teased turning and heading to our right. Ahead of us the door to the left clinked shut. I stopped, staring at it from down the hall.

"Huh, what was it?" Chris questioned heading straight for it.

"The wind." I replied. More slowly I followed him up the hall, my eyes locked on the door. He twisted the knob and pulled it open. Wrinkling my nose I followed him into the main portion of the house. It was lighter in here, no complete darkness because there were a lot of windows. I sighed and snapped the lighter closed. Chris glanced back.

"If you're not going to use it, give it back. I will." I tossed the lighter to him before wandering away. For a second it was only me, then I heard his footsteps wandering around as well. I headed for the Tv room. The room was bathed in a soft glow from a far window. I glanced out it but could make out nothing more than trees and darkness. A soft beeping drew my attention and I made way for the small white home phone. Before I could stop myself I pressed my finger into the play button.

//Hi Mrs. Washington- this is sergeant Tait again, it's bad news I'm afraid. We've been through the case files, and there's nothing we can do. He's a free man. We don't have the legal power to restrict his movement. I know it's not what you wanted to hear, so call me if you want to know more.// End of messages.

"What the hell?" I whispered eyeing the answering machine. Who had Tait been referring too, and why did his voice sound familiar.

"AHHH! Son of a..." I jumped at Chris's cry. I darted out of the room and headed for the staircase. I was two steps up when what appeared to be a wolverine darted past. I turned my attention to the stairs and climbed.

"Chris are you alright?" I called out coming to the top of the first set. Chris's figure came slowly from a doorway, a can clutched tightly in his hand.

"Ye-yeah. Just got spooked..." He waved me away with his hand. Then held it up, showing the retrieved can of spray on.

"Great, let's go let everyone in!" I turned away and headed back down the stairs with Chris in toe. The front door loomed closer and I could make out Ashley's shivering form through the window. I hung back, allowing Chris to spray the door knob with his mini-flame thrower. Boom. Twenty seconds or so later he twisted the locked and jumpily pulled open the door. He let out a short scream as the wolverine darted around us and out the door. I smiled and headed around him and outside into the cold air.

"Jeeshh are you okay? What was that anyways?" Ashley questioned as I passed her. I glanced back, she was talking to Chris.

"It was like a bear, or a tiger or something...." I smiled slightly and turned to head down the stairs. My heart hammered to a stop. Josh was less than a foot away, a smirk splayed across his face.

"Hi." I waved lamely before stepping off to the side of the stairs.

"Where ya goin?" He asked turning to face me. I wrinkled my nose again.

"To get my bag..." Josh grinned before slipping my bag off of his shoulder. I hadn't even noticed he'd had it.

"Well hell. Guess I'm headed back inside." Still smiling Josh made a dramatic gesture toward the front door. I headed in, this time accompanied by several of our friends. Josh followed me, behind him Matt came in carrying- not to anyone's surprise- Emily's bags.

"Home sweet home." Josh stated idly, wandering inside and stretching his arms out. Matt snorted.

"Sweet is not the word I would use." Matt responded.

"OH MY GOSH, it's So good to be inside... Even if it's kinda freezing in here too." Ashley sighed before making her way toward a couch.

"I'll get a fire going!" Josh proclaimed. I sighed and followed him, after all he still had my bag. As well as the prospect of a fire.

"This place hardly looks any different." Matt stated scoping it out.

"No ones been up here." I glanced over at Josh as he spoke. He didn't seemed fazed much by the sudden turn in discussion.

"Not even with the police coming in and out?" Ashley asked.

"Not a lot of action up here lately." Chris reminded her. I sighed as I caught a glimpse of a familiar brown head coming up the stairs.

"My idiots' arrived." I whispered. Josh glanced over at me.

"What?"

"WHAT'S UP PARTY PEOPLE??" Mike proclaimed as he came through the front door, Jess was close at his heels.

"Heeey!" Jess waved as she entered.

"Hey." Josh waved back at them as they came in. "Make yourselves at home." Slowly he turned his gaze to me.

"Mike huh?" He smiled teasingly.

"Gotta love my brother, right?" Josh discarded my bag to the side of the fireplace before kneeling in front of the open pit and examining what he could work with. There seemed to actually be rather decent logs and even a little kindling inside.

"Will do." Mike replied.

"Yeah- Come on in. Take a load off... have whatever you want. You just take whatever you want anyways, right?" I turned. Matt was heading toward Mike. From the corner of my eye I could see Josh looking as well. In fact I was pretty sure everyone was watching.

"Woah, easy there cowboy." Mike held his hands up, a look of confusion plastered on his face.

"What the hell were you doing with Em out on the trail?"

"What?" Mikes look of confusion only intensified.

"I saw you an Em, through the telescope."

"Before?! We just ran into each other. It'd been awhile so we hugged and I said hello. Is that against the law??" Mike asked. Instantly I could see Matt seem to deflate.

"Right, sorry it's been a long day... I overreacted." Matt rubbed the back of his neck before looking away and sighing.

"Don't worry about it man."

"We cool?" Matt asked softly.

"Yeah, yeah, totally." Mike was already over it. I rolled my eyes and turned back to face Josh.

"Jeesh. Hope that's the most drama for the weekend right?" I asked nudging him lightly with my shoulder.

"Mmm with who we have here?" He raised an eyebrow at me questioningly.

"Fair enough." I shrugged before pointing to the fire.

"So what's goin----"

"Ohh my god. That is sooo gross. Are you trying to swallow his face whole?" Emily snapped. I sighed.

"Did you have to invite her?" I asked softly.

"No I mean, could she be any more obvious? No one wants in on your territory hunny." Emily folded her arms across her chest and leaned back.

"Bitch mode activate." I whispered under my breath. Josh chuckled lightly.

"Excuse me did you say something?"

"Oh did you not hear me? Was your sluttiness too loud?"

"Sounds like someone's bitter she didn't make the cut." Jess responded icily.

"Yeah it's all a big cattle call with that dreamboat. Congrats, you're top cow." Emily gestured toward Mike with her head, but her gaze didn't leave Jess.

"Cuts real deep, calling Miss Homecoming a cow."

"Em, come on-" Matt spoke up.

"No- shut up Matt." Emily said.

"Stay out of it you dumb oaf!" Jess snapped.

"Hey watch it!" Emily turned back on Jess in an instant.

"Oh you're the only who can put him down? No one else can play with your toys?"

"You're such a bitch!" Emily screamed.

"OI! Will both you bimbo's just give it a rest?" I called out. Several shocked faced turned to look at me, but it was Emily that spoke up.

"I have a 4.0 gpa, my head ain't empty bitch."

"Em- Seriously stop. There's no reason to be picking fights like this."

"Yeah Em. Why ya picking fights over your Ex-boyfriend? Huh?" Jess gestured back to Mike.

"STOP IT." I jumped. I hadn't realized that Josh had stood up, his voice was closer than I had expected it to be. "This.... this isn't helping. This isn't why we're here. It's not what I wanted. If we can't get along more than ten minutes, maybe we need a break. All right? Mike- you remember that cabin I was telling you about? The guest cabin, why don't you go check it out?"

"Yeah, yeah alright." Mike stood up and slowly made his way to Jess. He held out his hand to her,"Wanna go do that?" He asked softly.

"Any place without that whore." She responded, still sending Emily daggers. However she took Mike's hand and followed him out.

"It's right up the trail." Josh called after them.

"Whew... glad that's over..." Matt made a mock explosion of his head before turning to face Josh and I. Josh shook his head and knelt down by the fireplace again.

"Matt... Matt where's my bag?" Emily called out suddenly. I glanced up at her. "The little bag with the pink pattern? The one I got on Rodeo! Matt are you listening?! Oh my God don't you remember? next to the Italian shoe place, where I got the stilettos and you knocked over the rack while you were drooling over the girl at the counter?"

"Well she was asking about my letter jacket." Matt attempted to defend himself.

"Right because she gave a shit about your 'designer' letter jacket."

"Why do you hate my jacket?" Matt asked. Instead Emily blew him off.

"Matt I need my bag."

"Oh my God Em, maybe you just forgot it?!" He suggested.

"Do you honestly think I would forget my bag? Do you?"

"No I guess not..." Matt sighed defeated.

"You must have left it down at the cable car or something." She rolled her eyes before making her way toward the front door. It was too good.

"Well maybe it would have helped if you're ass was helping carry your bags instead of flirting with my brother." I called after her. She held up her hand, her middle finger sticking up.

"Come on hun, we'll be back soon."

"Then we can get warm?" He asked.

"Then we can get very warm." Emily winked at Matt before leading him back outside into the snow. I resisted making a gagging sound and settled for whispering 'ew' under my breath.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey porn starts, you're gonna need these!" Josh popped open the side door that Mike and Jess had left through. He stepped out onto the small deck and tossed a set of keys to Jess.

"Porn stars?" She questioned catching the keys and looking at him.

"I'd pay to see it." Josh chuckled softly and headed toward Mike.

"Uh gross." Jess rolled her eyes.

"Sorry to kick you guys out like that..."

"No worries man."

"Oh I'm sure you'll find a way to entertain yourselves." Josh smirked.

"Mmmm hmmm you have fun with the peanut gallery." Jess smiled back at Josh. He made a mock gun and pressed it to his temple.

"Boom- Ahhh.." With his hands he made like his brains came out the other side of his head. "Oh! I almost forgot, you need to fire up the generator so you can see where you're going. It's dark out there." Josh backed away, slowly making his way back to the door.

"Alright, rodger that... Oh hey... Josh?" Mike called up to him.

"Yeah?" He asked staring at him.

"Keep an eye on Robin for me?" He asked. Josh's expression darkened slightly but he nodded.

"Sure thing." With that Josh headed back inside and let the steel door fall closed behind him.

[bachimagines]

Chapter 2: Into The Darkness

"So did everyone get up here okay?" Josh asked as the group finally came together. Ashley had taken a seat beside me, she was bundled up for the weather. I frowned as I scanned her over, her boots came almost all the way up to her knees, I could never understand how girls wore boots like them.

"More or less..." Ashley replied, her gaze shifted to Matt. He was standing with his back to us all, his body resting against one of the pillars bordering the stairs.

"Sup with him?" Josh questioned nodding over at Matt. Matt shot him a look before looking back into the distance. Josh shook his head and slipped between Ashley and I on the stairs.

" 'Scuse me ladies." Chris mock nodded in our directions as he followed Josh up the stairs and toward the door. My gaze followed them for a moment before I drifted back to the few of us here.

"Is this everyone?" I asked glancing between Ashley and Matt. Slowly I stood up and wandered around a few steps.

"Everyone except Emily and Mike." Matt spit out. My eyes traveled to him slowly.

"Chill they aren't together anymore." He shook his head and turned farther away from me. Sighing I headed up the stairs where Chris and Josh were standing by the door. As always Chris was bundled up in his big blue jacket, and a pair of blue jeans. I chuckled softly as the idea of him in anything breezy, and not uber warm.

"Nah I know what you meant. You know seriously I'm over it, and I just want us all to have a good time. Ya know? Like... we always used to." As I came closer Josh glanced at me before turning toward the door.

"Hey guys, what's going on up here?" I asked scooting closer to Chris' side so I'd have a better view of what Josh was doing. He was kneeling by the door examining the handle and lock fairly intent.

"Damnit..." He swore softly under his breath.

"What's up?" I asked stepping around Chris. Josh glanced up at me.

"It's iced."

"Seriously???" I frowned and sulked back against the wall.

"Well maybe there's another way in." Chris suggested.

"There are a million other ways in, they're just all locked." He replied turning to face us slowly.

"Well there's gotta be like a window or something we could... 'get open' or something..."

"Really Chris?" I shook my head slowly.

"Wait.. are you suggesting we break in?" Josh asked.

"Ummm....." Josh chuckled and gestured back down the stairs.

"Lead the way cochise." Josh's gaze turned toward me as Chris led the way down. "Coming pretty lady?" He winked before heading down the stairs. I let out a soft sigh before following them down the path and around the side of the house. Josh stopped walking just out of earshot of the other and turned to face Chris.

"Ashley's looking pretty hot ya know. Wanna rip that parka off her and make some snow angels." He smirked, his eyes twinkling darkly. Chris shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh yeah... definitely..." Chris nodded his head attempting to justify his statement.

"Oh knock it off." I found myself grabbing Josh's arm and pulling him after me around the house farther. He stumbled along behind me chuckling.

"Little jealous are we?" He teased as we got around back.

"No, you're being a punk." I turned to face him. Slowly I let go of his arm and stared at him, my lips pressed in a firm line. "You know nothing will happen if they're pressured like that Josh. Give it a rest?" I scolded. His smile only widened.

"Nah I think you're jealous. You don't wanna here about other girls in the snow..." Josh's voice took on an undertone and he stepped closer. I felt my own breathing hitch in my throat. "You wanna hear about you, in the snow." He stopped with less than a foot of space between us. A charming smile and a smart ass twinkle in his eyes. Over his shoulder I could make out Chris' figure coming closer, hesitating though.

"Nope. I'm more of a bedroom gal myself." I stated firmly before ducking away from him and making my way toward Chris. Josh turned slowly to follow me with his gaze.

"So how we planning on breaking into my parents lodge bud?" Josh asked focusing on Chris.

"I dunno... I didn't have a plan..."

"They way you were talking sounded like you did. You better deliver cochise, else you have four lovely young ladies with cold buns. And last time I checked, that's not a good way to get laid." I held back as Chris and Josh headed toward the back window.

"Well shoot. Nobody likes cold buns." Chris muttered. I snorted before following them.

"So what IS the plan guys?" I asked heading straight for the window.

"Here." Chris headed for some sort of metal cabinet that was pushed up against the wall. It was a few feet away from the window, a little bit of pushing and it would do perfectly.

"What can't get it on your own?" I teased heading over to stand beside him.

He shot me a playfully hateful look before pressing his hands against the cold steel. I placed my down too and Josh gripped it from the other side. Together we pushed and I was shocked at how heavy it was.

"What the hell do you keep in this thing? Rocks?" I questioned shoving it again. Another good shove and it was positioned under the window. Chris stepped around and climbed up first. I stepped back as he regained his balance, Josh held his hands up, ready to try and keep him from falling. I opted to take a step back. Quickly Chris lifted up the window and looked inside. A moment later he pulled himself in.

"Who-oh!" A thud came after he disappeared through the window. Josh scrambled onto the metal cabinet and peeked in the window.

"I'm okay." I heard Chris call up. Slowly I climbed onto the container and squirmed my way up beside Josh, he glanced at me before looking back in the window. I looked in and smiled, Chris was sprawled out on his back.

"How did you manage that?" I asked. In fact there was a table directly below the window.

"I'd like to see you get in without dropping... ahhh I should have paid more attention in climbing class." He sighed.

"You... you mean gym?" Josh's face contorted to one of temporary confusion.

"Yeah with the rope???" Chris called back slowly getting to his feet. I jumped as the light bulb shattered.

"Whoa!" I shot Josh a look. He was fishing in his pockets.

"Did I do that?" Chris questioned turning to look around in the darkness.

"I don't think so, but here use this!" Josh tossed something through the window. Surprisingly Chris caught it. For a second their was silence then a small flame flickered to life in Chris' hand.

"Chris! I just had an awesome idea!"

"Really?"

"Totally!"

"Well what is it?"

"I'm pretty sure I have some deodorant in one of the bathrooms.... you could use that with the lighter." Josh pointed to the flame in Chris' hand.

"I don't understand... how would that..."

"Spray can right?" I questioned. Both boys shot me questioning looks. I shrugged noncommittally.

"I was an odd kid alright?" Josh chuckled and turned his attention back to Chris.

"I have something I need to go sort out, you up for routing around in the dark for a bit?" Josh questioned glancing off his left. I leaned away from the window and followed his line of sight. I didn't see anything but darkness and snow that way.

"Nope. But I will."

"Godspeed, Pilgrim." Josh saluted Chris before jumping down from the cabinet. I frowned and looked between him and Chris.

"Hey Chris, hold up a minute." Carefully I swung my leg up over the window sill and hefted myself up. Moving tentative I slipped my other leg in before ducking under the window and sliding inside. I landed on the table and smiled up at Chris.

"See?" I winked before jumping off of the table.

"You going with him?" Josh called from outside.

"Yep, I'll see you in a little bit!" I called back out before turning to face Chris.

"Shall we get the door open now?" I asked looking up at Chris. He nodded before leading the way through the garage.

[bachimagines]

Chapter 1: Welcome Back

"I really wanna spend some quality time with each and every one of you and just share some moments that we'll never forget, for... for the sake of my sisters, you know? Okay... So! Lets party like we're fucking porn stars, okay? And make this one trip we will never forget! Alright?! Yes!" My eyes lingered on the phone for a moment before I removed the earbud from my ear and passed it to Mike. He was looking skeptically at the screen.

"He's pretty excited for this, huh?" Mike asked from my right. I shifted uneasily in my seat before leaning against Mike's shoulder. Josh had seemed pretty eager, and that was what upset me. I hadn't handled the loss of Beth and Hannah well, in fact. I seemed to have handled it the worst out of everyone that had been there. I closed my eyes and let my mind wander to the snow.

"Robin, hey come on." I woke to Mike jostling me as he attempted to stand up without letting me fall over. Groggily I straightened in my seat and pulled my glasses off of my face to rub the sleep from my eyes. Mike squeezed between me and the seat, stepping into the isle. I slipped my glasses back on and stood as well.

"Come on little sis!" Mike called out, grabbing his bag and jogging to the front of the bus. I leaned into the seat in front of me and hoisted my bag off of the cheap upholster. I slung the black and red bag onto my shoulder before heading after Mike. I nodded at the elderly man driving as I stepped off, though he didn't seem to notice. Or care.

I looked up as I stepped off of the bus and into a snow bank. The mountain looked just the same as it had last year. The snow was falling around, the sky was a deep shade of purples, blues and grays. The stars and moon lit up the trail and caused the fallen snow to glitter like diamonds. Mike was only standing a few feet away from me, his eyes locked on the mountain side as well.

"It's weird. It looks just the same... I mean... I half expect to see them all up there..." Mike stated idly. I walked over to him and bumped my shoulder into his.

"I know what you mean." I led the way toward the front gate. A note was taped to the front with scribbled hand writing on it. I pulled it off of the gate before reading it.

"Chris says the gates locked." I offered the note to Mike before attempting to open the gate. It rattled but stayed firmly closed. I glanced off to the side. Several uneven bricks were sticking out of the wall to the left of the gate. I pulled off my bag and tossed it over before hoisting myself up the wall and sliding down to the other side. Mike's bag landed beside me as I stumbled into another snow bank.

"Coming over?" I questioned turning to face the gate and wall. I couldn't quite make out what he was grumbling but I saw his head pop up over the wall. He pulled himself up and then slid down to my side. I smiled and pushed on his shoulder lightly as he landed. It was enough to send him down into the snow. There was a brief silence as he looked up at me from the ground. I blinked slowly and reach down to pick up my bag.

"I'll meet you.... at the lodge..." I stepped away from him slowly as I shouldered my bag. A smile flickered to his mouth as he lunged for me. I jumped back and felt my face light up as I danced out of his reach.

"K BYE MIKE!" I shouted behind me as I took off along the path. I let the symphony of snow under shoes lull me up the mountain. Mike was somewhere just behind me as the Cable car came into view. I felt my heart sink as I slowed down. This had always been the worst part about coming to see the Washington's.

"Ahhhaaa!" Mike slammed into my from behind. One of his arms wrapping around my shoulders, the other in front of me to keep me from plummeting into the snow face first. "Got you." He joked. I shook my head and made my way more slowly to the car.

"Nervous?" He questioned stepping around me and into the suspended steel case. I shuddered and followed him in. The doors slid shut behind me and the car began pulling itself up the cables. I slumped down into the seat beside Mike, I pressed my leg against his.

"I still hate this ride." I mumbled. He shook his head and chuckled.

"You seem to enjoy it alright with darling Joshy on board." Mike nudged his elbow into my side and smiled down at me.

I felt my cheeks turn red, but I pushed away the embarrassment. Instead I slipped my arm through his and held on. My gaze focused on the window, on the sky. And I willed myself to forget that I was fifty plus feet in the air with some old cords holding me up. Without meaning to I felt my grip tighten on Mike's arm. He patted my shoulder reassuringly but otherwise remained silent. Mike stood as the trip came to an end. It was quiet for a moment then Jess's face came into view and the door between us and the outside world opened.

"Hey babe!" Mike led me out of the car before letting go and reaching out for Jess. She embraced him warmly before looking at me and smiling.

"Hey Robin!" She ducked under Mike and wrapped her slender arms around me tightly. I wrinkled my nose as the scent of some expensive perfume filled my nose. I hugged her back equally tight. Over her shoulder Mike was looking at me curiously. Jess and I released one another and stepped apart.

"Hey Jess... I'll meet you back here in a few okay?" Mike spoke up out of the blue.

"What? Why?" Jess pouted looking from him to me. I shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. She didn't notice and turned her attention back to Mike.

"Walking Robin up a little bit." Mike winked at Jess before looping his arm through mine. "Just wait a few minutes babe." Without another word he pulled me away from Jess and the cable car. He didn't let go until a small wooden bridge came into view and we were on it.

"You still don't like her?" He let go of my arm and turned to face me head on. I shrank away from his scrutinizing stare. I shrugged nervously and backed away a step or two.

"She's never been on the top of my list Mike... In case you forgot, neither was Emily." Inwardly I shuddered at his Ex's name. The only girl I loathed more than Jess was Emily. At least Jess had part of a heart, Emily... without fail was always a bitch.

"Mmmm." He sighed and turned away, rubbing his face thoughtfully.

"Do you mind if I walk alone the rest of the way?" I asked softly.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded before walking around him and making my way up the trail. It wound up the mountain, it was a long walk and a pretty decent workout. I pushed my glasses farther up the bridge of my nose and reach back to tighten my ponytail. It was a nerve thing with me, I fidgeted. I hesitated as a path split off to my right. It led just off the main path to one of those scopes you could look around in. Ashley was gazing into it as I came to the intersection. I was pretty indifferent toward her. I shifted uneasily before continuing up the main path.

Another five minutes of snow crunching and the lodge came into sight. I sped up as I saw it, I couldn't wait to chill out in front of a nice fire. To talk to some of the people I'd come up with, or just ya know... relax.

"Robin! Glad you could make it!" His voice sounded close. For some reason it took a minute to process his figure coming down the stairs. I eyed him as he came closer. His cream colored hat was pulled down over his ears. Both of his shirts were rolled up, one above the elbow the other just below. I arched an eyebrow.

"You're insane Josh." I smiled and held out my arms as he approached. He slipped his arms under mine and under the bag on my back. Warm patches formed where he was touching me, I tensed up as he lifted me into the air. I clung to him tightly until my feet were back on the ground.

"I disagree." He replied taking a step back, his hands still resting on my shoulders. "Man you, you look good." Josh's eyes traveled down my body and back up. I looked away trying to suck it up, and not be a shy ball.

"Aye you too." Playfully I winked at him, a move I'd seen Mike do multiple times over the years. Josh's eye brows arched and a playful smirk darted across his face.

"Did you- ya know see anyone else?" He asked idly glancing back toward the path.

"I know I saw Jess and Ashley... and Mike came with me. Anyone up here yet, or just you... alone?" I closed my mouth finding that my words sounded more like an idiot than anything. Josh didn't seem to mind. Instead he back up and took a seat on the stairs. I slipped my bag off and dropped it on the ground before taking a seat beside him.

"I'm not alone up here." He responded earnestly. I turned my head to face him, he was already looking at me. Something in his expression made my skin crawl.

"What d'ya mean?" I asked.

"You're up here too... aren't you?" He asked before looking back toward the path. My line of sight followed his. We sank into silence as we waited for the others to make their way up.

[bachimagines]

Masterlist

Until Dawn

The Butterfly Effect: 1 Year Ago

Chapter 1: Welcome Back

Chapter 2: Into The Darkness

Chapter 3: Separation

Chapter 4: Chris Is An Ass

Chapter 5: Psycho

Chapter 6: Violence

Chapter 7: Broken Friends

Chapter 8: It’s Been A Long Time...

Scales, Tails & Pointed Ears (Skyrim)

Chapter 1: Bound By Fate

Chapter 2: Riverwood

J-Fred/Joey

Sticky Smell Good

[bachimagines]

The Butterfly Effect: 1 Year Ago

There was a bitter chill in the air that night. I remember the cold well, and how I'd draped my jacket over my legs to keep them warm. I was curled up in the living room, my feet tucked firmly under my butt. A half empty glass was positioned on the table beside me and I was half way through The Hobbit. Even though I loved the story, my mind had been wandering that night. Stuck between wanting to hang out with Josh, Chris, Hannah and Beth or just enjoying the time away from the rest of the world.

"Just because he's class Prez doesn't mean he belongs to everyone... Mike is my man." I turned on the couch as the biggest portion of our group came in.

Jess and Emily, the biggest pains in the ass you would ever come across. Of course followed by our fearless class president, ever popular school hottie, and my older brother, Mike. Tailing them was Samantha, probably one of the nicest people I'd ever known. Though despite that, I'd never been able to get along with her. Last was Ashley and Matt, whom I was generally shocked to see around people like Emily and Jess.

"Hey Em, I'm not anybody's man."

"Whatever you say darling..." Emily chortled back at Mike as they headed toward his room. My gazed landed on Sam as she side stepped the group and headed up the stairs. My eyes followed her until she disappeared through a door. I turned my attention back to my book. Once again attempting to focus on the story.

"Hey... Did you see that?" Beth's voice came faintly from the kitchen. "Dad said it'd just be us this weekend. Josh?"

I slipped my book marker into the center of my book before placing it on the couch and sliding my jacket over it. I swung my feet from under my butt and down to the floor so I could lace up my boots. I stood, stretching as I did. My pony tail brushed against the back of my neck, I'd pulled it up sloppily so lose strands of dark brown hair framed my face as they fell out of their elastic binding. Rubbing my hands together to get some warmth I shuffled into the kitchen.

"See what Beth?" I asked. She looked up at my voice.

"I think I saw someone outside, just a minute ago." She looked at me concerned. I headed for the window across the room. Peeking outside I couldn't see much other than trees, snow and darkness. I squinted, attempting to see something that even resembled a person outside.

"It's too early for you to start seeing things isn't it?" I asked turning away from the window so I could lean against the counter. Beth seemed more focused on a sheet of paper on the counter. I cocked my head to the side and folded my arms.

"What did our naive sister get herself into now..." Beth mumbled.

"Hmm?" I stepped away from the counter and reach for the paper. Beth passed it to me without a second glance. My eyes skimmed down the short letter.

Hannah-- You look so damn hot in that shirt... but I bet you're even hotter out of it. Come to the guest room at 2:00 a.m. Mike xxx

"Oh shit..." I dropped the note back on the counter. Beth was focused on the window, I glanced over in time to see Hannah run past.

"Get the others!" I waved Beth toward the living room before reaching for Josh's shoulder. I grabbed his arm and shook him. His head lolled and a groan escaped from his lips but otherwise he remained unresponsive. Across from him Chris was slumped against the counter. An empty bottle of Jeremiah Cragg was between them. Any other time it would have been kind of cute. I shook my head and took off after Beth. The group was all standing outside as I came out, Sam was facing everyone bitching them out.

"Where's Beth?" I questioned coming to a stop.

"Look it was just a prank..." Mike stated.

"That's isn't what I asked! Where did Beth and Hannah go?!"

"Out there, essh!" Jess gestured toward the woods. I darted toward the path that ran from the house all the way to the lodge.

"Beth?! Hannah?!" I called out. Even if they would have called out I couldn't have heard them over the howling of the snow. I turned around, squinting through the trees. Already my hands were freezing, my skin damp from the snow that was whipping through the air.

"HANNAH!?" I cried out, taking off along the path. Every so often I stumbled over a fallen branch, or a lose rock. I didn't stop until I was at the small cabin where the cable car unloaded at. I doubled over and sucked in lung fulls of air before heading inside. It was warmer, despite the cracks in the walls. I didn't hesitate before heading out into the cold again. Slowly I made my way back to the cabin, calling for Beth and Hannah as I went. By the time I returned I was freezing and soaked to the skin. The others had dressed, woken Josh and Chris and already been outside looking for our friends.

"Robin!" Sam greeted me at the front door. I looked up slowly and felt my skin prickle at the tension inside.

"Did they come back?" I asked softly. Sam licked her lips and glanced over her shoulder at Josh. He looked like his world had began to cave in.

"No... we were waiting to see if you came back with them..." She whispered pulling me away from the others. I was hardly aware as she wrapped me in a blanket.

It wasn't until the next morning that the police showed up, and they began their search. It lasted days, and all of us found ourselves outside searching for them but time passed. And in the end the search was called off. I remember attending the funeral, one where the caskets were closed. And I couldn't help but wonder what we were burying, because it wasn't Beth or Hannah. It wasn't until later that we'd learn not everyone had let to rest their feelings either.