The Last Winter

Saturday: Hitchwood Sanitarium (28)

Nelia
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Terrell leads us to a small rundown elevator, and I watch him carefully as he operates it with ease. He knows the tunnels. He knows the way out. He's been here for a long time.

I narrow my eyes.

"Wait, hold on--we haven't seen you since the funeral."

His back is turned to me, and he makes no move to establish eye contact.

The elevator groans upward, and Oriana shifts to lean against the vibrating wall. Her head is cocked to the side and her eyes are squeezed shut in pain. The side of her face, her neck, and both arms are caked with blood.

I look back at Terrell.

"I thought you moved away and started working at Walmart."

He slowly twists around, keeping his head downcast.

"That was just my cover."

The elevator shudders to a stop. Snow gently blows into my hair from a hole in the roof somewhere above. We're in some kind of old warehouse or something.

Terrell starts exiting the elevator, but I grab his arm to stop him.

"You mean to tell me that you were here the whole time?"

He shrugs me off. "Look, I'll explain on the way. But Oreo needs a doctor. We need to go."

"You know how to get off the mountain? The ski lifts aren't working."

He nods, peering around the dark empty warehouse with the flamethrower wand gripped tightly in his hands. The shadows are still. The air is silent. Not even the wind howls. He looks back to me.

"I know a way. But we need to wait until dawn. It shouldn't be much longer. Maybe an hour or so."

Oriana groans loudly, and we both exchange glances.

"We can't wait an hour," I tell him quietly.

"We shouldn't leave the mountain when it's dark outside. But there's an old abandoned sanitarium not far from here. We should be able to find some bandages for Oreo. That should help while we wait for the sunrise."

"We're not leaving her here," I say, glancing back at my sister. She looks like she's about to collapse. "Not with those--those things down in the mines!"

That, and I'm afraid that when we come back with the supplies, she'll already be dead.

She looks like death now.

Terrell shrugs. "Fine, but I can't help you carry her. I'm not putting down this flamethrower for one second. Not while it's dark out here."

"I can still walk," Oriana grumbles through clenched teeth. "It's not like my legs are broken."

She staggers away from the elevator, and I hurry to support her weight. She's hunched forward and seems much shorter and frail than ever before.

So we leave. The snow is falling lighter, and the wind has died down, but the ground is icy and the snow is almost knee-deep.

Terrell leads us to a narrow path that winds uphill.

"What are you guys doing here?" Terrell asks me. "I saw everyone skiing earlier. You actually think it's still safe to ski here?"

"I thought this place was a ski resort," I shoot back. "At least, that's how Ralph described it. You really think Ralph and Eddie would take us here if they knew it was abandoned?"