The Last Winter

Friday: Below the Lodge (2)

Nelia
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This is wrong. All of this is wrong. Not one of us deserves to be here. Not after what we did.

The snow, the mountains, the birds singing joyfully in the tree branches--the great big ski lodge nestled on a hill--all this seems like a wistful winter vacation, if only we could actually enjoy it. I feel like the Grim Reaper is following us around silently, knowing that we can sense his ghastly presence. I'm almost certain that I saw Paul's short figure at the rest stop an hour ago, dissolving into the small crowd of visitors at the center.

I see Eugena's brothers wherever I go. By the lockers at school. Disappearing around a building. Running through the park. Then I see their faces, and I realize that I'm looking at strangers. Still, their haunting images seem to stalk me.

I should've just stayed home today. Should've stayed home that hot summer day when we were visiting a church in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Should've said no.

Stupid stupid stupid.

"Wow," Maggie breathes in softly, admiring the view of the lodge that towers before us.

"Nice," Oriana says, allowing herself a grin.

Although built from a combination of logs and bricks, this building was huge and had a very modern design. It definitely seemed like a great vacation home to rent for...better occasions.

"Here's the keys," Ronnie says, dropping the ring into Ralph's hands. "You'll have to rely on a generator, but it might cut off sometimes. If you need to reset it, it's located out back in the shed on the other side of the lodge."

"Great," I hear Veronica mutter sarcastically under her breath. She squints down at her cell phone.

"I'm staying about a half mile from here if you need me," he informs us, nodding toward another path that forks from this one. When I glance back at him, I see his weird sunken eyes linger on Oriana, before they flick to meet mine. "I'll leave you to get settled in. I'll be back in an hour, and then I'll show you around and we can go skiing!"

He doesn't wait to watch us enter the lodge and see our reactions from the interior. Instead, he speed walks past the rest of us and quickly disappears down the other path, shoulders hunched and his head hung low. What a strange guy.

To our dismay, cobwebs litter the corners of the rooms and the furniture, dangling down from the lonely windowsills. The air is musty, and a thick layer of dust blankets everything. Luckily, old plastic covers protect the couches, but everything else lays to waste--antique lamps, wooden tables, old photographs of the mountains hanging on the walls. Empty vases sit here and there, the flowers having been removed a long time ago.

No one had been here in ages.

I hear someone sneeze.

Apart from the dim light, the cold temperature, and all the dust, the interior was beautiful in design. Equipped with high ceilings, a huge two-part staircase stands in the middle of the living room, leading up to an elegant second story, as well as leading down into the basement. A nice balcony on the second floor reveals a great view of trees, trees, and more trees. Maybe the outline of a tall range in the far distance. That's it. Not much of a view.

The second level is full of multiple bedrooms, consisting of at least one bunk bed each, as well as two full bathrooms. We all claim our spots, and I immediately put dibs on Oriana, despite Maggie's complaints. I mean, we're sisters--what do you expect?

"But I wanna be with senpai," she whines, grabbing onto my sister's hand and dragging her to a room with two bunk beds. "There--now we can all sleep in the same room!"