The Skylar Experiment : Dead Ending (second draft)

Chapter Sixty-Six - Key

RILEY

"HI, YOU HAVE REACHED Jocelyn," said my mother's joyful voice. "I am busy now, please leave a message after the beep!"

It beeped.

"Hey... it's Riley." My mouth lay open as I mustered enough courage. "I... I know we left each other angry, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry. There's a lot going on. I need space and I don't hate you. Wherever you are today... I hope it's fun. Thank you so much for stopping here."

My finger pressed the hang-up button, breathless. Still no answer from Ben, who took the computer to his place to watch the tracker.

I flipped the book cover and tossed my homework away. I gazed into the shrouding blackness outside. From my window, the moon glowed over the woods, and I checked the hour on my phone.

It has been forever since the boys drove out of town to speak with Michael. We were well over midnight. I needed to stay and complete tasks I missed in classes, but damn it... Without updates informing me of what happened in Columbus, it was eating me alive.

I figured news wouldn't come until tomorrow morning, so I changed into pyjamas and got ready for bed. The cabin was giant and empty when alone. The floors barely creaked; there was no movement or cussing, and no kitchen noise. It was irrational, but I was afraid the house would burn down in my responsibility.

Thankfully, Waffle remained. I knew when I walked into my room and she lay in a corner, napping. Her eyes cracked open at the door sound. She recognized me and went back to sleep.

Reaching for the nightstand, I snatched my phone to check the map one last time. Raymond linked the signal to our mobiles as well. My knee hovered over the mattress.

The bleeping dot was on the move.

She was miles east from the roof. In a frenzy, I sent dozens of texts calling for help, but I was already gathering my winter gear and a flashlight. They said not to go alone. But this was an emergency.

Five minutes later, I barreled my truck down the hillside, avoiding snow bumps and slippery spots. The path was becoming more gravel than ice with the warming weather. I turned on the road, speeding through the night. As I peeked at the map, it seemed roughly thirty minutes away.

With how far the dot traveled, it probably left enough time to find the shelter before her return. Whatever she was doing so late.

I accelerated well above the speed limit and neared my destination under twenty minutes. I parked my truck in a thawed ditch, then grabbed the flashlight. From here, the distance was covered on foot.

Holding the light in one glove, I dove between the trees. Each branch scraped my parka with their frosted tip and snapped beneath my steps. The darkness was so dense, the flashlight scarcely cleared a bright, narrow circle on soil, leaving the rest in obscurity.

An owl's yellow glare followed me up the incline. It hooted in my back during the elevation, soft wings flapping behind. I pushed with my knees and hands up. My body was almost at a vertical, but I grappled on to rocks embedded in the cliff. I squatted down a valley, skipped over chilled wood beams. The territory was unfamiliar from every angle, and more treacherous than the forest near home. It reached closer to the mountains.

A glacial wind seeped through the scarf. If it was possible, it had gotten even colder since I began walking. Shivering, I wound my path around and arrived on top of a hill. From this high, no remote sign of a residence. Not even thin chimney smoke. It was as though the woods had swallowed the home, erasing all evidence we'd fought to obtain.