The Curse

4: Dangerous Risks

The mountain becomes noticeably steeper. Jackson was right. I have to climb, trying to find places for my feet and hands. The air is really cold now. I shiver every now and again, but I don't think too much of it. About half an hour later, I realize that it's a lot harder to find places for my feet and hands. It's also harder to breathe. The air is a lot thinner up here. I hold on to the mountain for dear life, my hands freezing cold. I look upwards. I groan as I realize I still have a long way to go. I then look down to the ground. I almost faint at the sight. I'm dizzyingly high in the air, barely able to see the ground through the haze of snow. Lydia, Isaac, Liam and Jackson look like tiny specks. If I fall, I'm dead. I look back to the rocky mountain in front of me. I lift my hand higher to another handhold, but it's too weak to hold on. I let my claws grow and dig them into the rocks. It helps a little bit. I lift my foot onto a small ledge. Suddenly, the ledge breaks and crumbles away. My leg dangles in the air, struggling to find a sturdy foothold. I don't find any. I gasp in shock. One of my hands slip off too. It dangles by my side. Turns out it was too cold to keep on holding on. I look in horror at the early signs of frostbite. I grip my remaining hand tighter on the small ledge. Unfortunately, my other foot slips too. I'm now only holding onto the mountain with my right hand. I'm extremely terrified. My whole body stiffens in fear. It doesn't help that hypothermia is starting to kick in.

Liam POV

The four of us are watching helplessly as Scott climbs the treacherous mountain in this snowstorm. Why did we ever let him go up there? We are now safely on the ground, watching the little figure that is Scott manoeuvre himself up the rocky, almost vertical mountain face. Suddenly, I see Scott slip. "Oh my god!" I scream, pointing to Scott who is struggling to hold on. "Holy shit! What do we do?" Jackson yells in alarm. The rest of us have no idea how to answer. I don't think there's anything we can do. I can clearly hear four hearts pounding furiously, one of them being mine. I hope and pray with all my might that Scott doesn't fall. I look to my side to see Lydia clinging on to Jackson's arm, trembling in fear. I exchange a worried look with Isaac. I then glance back up at the mountain to see Scott still trying to regain control. Suddenly, Scott's last hand slips. My heart feels like it's in my throat. I feel like I'm going to be sick. Lydia runs forward. "Scott!" She screams as loud as she can.

Scott POV

I scream as my last hand slips from the ledge. As I fall through the air, I hear Lydia screaming my name. I close my eyes, knowing that this is it. This is where I die. My lips tremble. "I'm so sorry that I couldn't find you, Stiles. I hope you can forgive me. I love you." I whisper into the air. Images of my best friend laughing and smiling flash through my mind, making me smile. A moment later, my body hits something hard. I immediately black out.

Stiles POV

I swear I heard Lydia screaming. She was screaming one name that makes my heart drop: Scott. Out of fear, but also curiosity, I fly towards the source of the noise. I land on the ground and hide behind a mountain. I decide to wait a while before I move out of my hiding spot. I don't really want to be seen, even by Lydia or anyone else in the pack. "Come on, Lydia. We need to get out of here. The storm is getting worse." I overhear Jackson tell Lydia.

"We can't leave Scott!" Liam protests.

"Look, we have no idea where to look for him. My bet is if he isn't dead, he is at least unconscious. There's no way we can find him in this storm. We can hardly see and it's too dangerous on that mountain. When the storm clears up, we can come back and look for him. Besides, Scott is smart. If he is alive, he will manage to make it back to shelter." Derek comforts the others. If he isn't dead?! After a few more minutes of arguing, everyone agrees to head back to their van. Once I hear my distraught friends walk to the van and drive away, I fly around the mountain, searching desperately for anything out of the ordinary that would help me find Scott. I don't know what happened, but I hope he's alive. I settle on the side of the mountain and start gently digging through snow. Finally after half an hour of digging, about three quarters of the way down the mountain, I brush away loads of snow to reveal a patch of dark brown hair. I carefully and quickly dig away at the snow until I can see Scott's unconscious body. His skin is pale and his eyes are closed. The snow around his head is stained red. He must've gotten a head injury on the way down the mountain. I can only assume he was trying to climb up the mountain before he lost his footing. I whimper at the state of my best friend. Gently, I pick him up in one of my hands, making sure the claws don't dig into his skin. I quickly fly up and away from the mountain.