The Last Winter

Saturday: Gone (19)

Oriana
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"GET IT OPEN! GET IT OPEN NOW!" Dallas screams, and he runs into me from behind, knocking me against the frozen door of the cable car station.

Ralph's camera tumbles out of my hands and disappears into the snow that is piled close to the wall.

"Get off  me!" I snap, pushing him away. I struggle for breath, realizing too late just how unfit I am.

All those ramen noodles, I guess.

"Guys," Nelia gasps, staggering to the station porch. "There," inhale, "is," inhale, "nothing," pause, then another inhale, "after us."

My hand is poised over the door knob, and I exchange a glance with Dallas before looking over in Nelia's direction. Her cheeks are rosy, and snow flurries spot her hair. Behind her, the snow and the distant trees disappear into the night. No wild animals are sprinting toward us. No ravenous wolves. Nothing.

I punch Dallas in the arm. "Dude, you scared the crap out of us!"

He rubs his arm defensively, shooting me a glare. "I did see something in the church! I-It was big." He swallows hard, thinking back. "Some kind of animal. It looked like it was sniffing around the pews or something. I dunno. I didn't stick around to see exactly what it was or what it was doing."

I role my eyes. "Nice job, Sherlock. It was probably a deer."

I watch Nelia as she struggles through the snow to reach the telephone booth. It takes her four jerks to get the door frame free from the ice. In my peripheral vision, Dallas is shaking his head.

"No. Not unless these mountains have weird albino deer."

I stiffen. The image of the blurred white figure in Ralph's camera flashes in my mind. I give Dallas an odd look.

"W-What do you mean?"

He shrugs. "It was some animal on all fours, but it was really pale." He bites his lower lip, and I can tell that he's trying really hard to remember what he saw. Finally he shakes his head again. "Can't tell for sure, but I could've sworn that it didn't have any fur."

I turn my attention to the spot where I had dropped Ralph's camera, and I bend down to retrieve it.

"The line's dead," I hear Nelia inform us. "Let's hurry up and get to the watch tower. The snow's getting heavier!"

My fingers begin to sting from the cold, but I finally get a grip on the camera. I straighten my back, looking at Dallas again and holding up the camera. "Ralph got something weird on here. If we can get some more batteries, you should check it out. It might be what you saw."

He's not looking back at me. His eyes drift over to the station door. It's broken, and wooden splinters poke out from the frame. Someone had forced it open.

I shove Ralph's camera into Dallas's hands. I take a deep breath, before slowly pushing the door open. It swings without much resistance. It's dark inside, but I can see that there are various objects that have been thrown to the floor in a rush. The place is a mess.

"H-Hello?" I say, and Nelia jabs me in the ribs.

"Let's go," she insists, sneaking a peek into the station.

I narrow my eyes. "We might be able to get the power up and running again." I look back at her and Dallas with wide eyes. "We could hitch a ride on a lift and leave. This could be our chance!"

A brief expression of hope flashes across my sister's face.

I step inside before she has time to object any further. "Dallas, use your phone," I say quietly, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the blackness. "Look for an electrical box or something."

"Wouldn't that be outside?" Nelia suggests.

I shrug. "Could be. Depends on the building."

There is a flash of light that sweeps over the walls, and I know that Dallas is right behind me.

I rub my eyes and squint. We can't lose hope. Not now. This could very well be...our only chance of escape.

And it all happened so fast: a squeal of rubber, Dallas crying out, blinding light, Ralph's camera crashing to the floor, the phone's light vanishing from sight, and the sounds of Dallas falling over something on the floor.

And then he screams.

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!"

"What? What's going on? Are you okay?"

I search for him with outstretched hands, and then a split second later, Nelia finds Dallas's phone, and she manages to illuminate his terrified figure next to a bloody body on the floor. It's lying facedown, the head turned off to the side.

Ralph's head.

Dallas scrambles away until he hits the opposite wall, but something keeps me rooted.

He's moving. Ralph's chest is rising and falling ever so slightly. Then his eyes flutter open, half-closed and distant.

"Ralph! Ralph, what happened?" I say, sinking to my knees. I reach for him, but I stop myself. He's lying in a pool of his own blood.

Nelia kneels down next to me, her face stricken with shock.

I see Ralph's lips tremble, but I don't hear what he's saying...if he's saying anything at all. I look at Nelia, then back to him. My gut is in knots.

This can't be happening. God, why is this happening?

Nelia elbows me in the ribs again, and she nods toward Ralph with wide eyes. I bite my lip and bend down close to his ashen face. All color has been drained from his skin. A drop of blood had been splattered across the bridge of his nose.

"H-H..."

I hold my breath, straining to make sense of his labored sounds.

"...Hmmm. I-It's him."

I freeze. Nelia grabs Ralph's right hand and squeezes it.

He shuts his eyes briefly, and for a terrifying second, I think he's dead. Then his eyes focus on mine.

"You can't leave. Get to the tower."

Nelia gasps as he begins to squeeze her hand tightly. His eyes are trained on me.

"T-The tower. Get help. Stay--inside..."

I blink quickly. "W-Who's him? Who did this to you? What happened?"

His eyes stray from mine, and they find Nelia.

"I'm sorry..." he whispers, and he loses focus. "S-So sorry...Never should've come..."

"Ralph," I say sternly, searching his face.

"Is it Ronnie?" Dallas chimes in, leaning forward. "Is he after us? Did he k-kill C-Cameron?"

My heart drops. A lump forms in my throat.

"Ralph!" Nelia shouts, but his hand drops limply from her grip.

He's gone.

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

Next chapter: When You're Alone

But it's a lie. All of this is a lie. The setup. The game. Decisions. Choices. I was stupid to think that I had a single ounce of power.