doomsday. [ yellowjackets ]

quarante.

xxx.

chapter quarante.
chapter forty.

1996.

xxx.

Alex was starting to wonder when she'd become the designated pack mule as she hauled yet another one of the Wilderness' favorites on her back. It was moments like this when she liked to wonder what she would be doing if she hadn't been in a goddamn plane crash. Maybe they would've actually won Nationals, they would've been considered celebrities in Wiskayok, at least for a few years. She would've loved to believe that she would've pursued her feelings for Jackie but she knew better than that, hell, she wouldn't even be as close to Theo as she was now if it wasn't for being stranded.

Maybe she would've ended up as Taissa and Van's third. Lesbians had to stick together in a small town, after all. However, with another straining step, Alex knew that wouldn't have ended up well; Taissa was far too hardheaded and Van was too carefree for Alex to be able to handle either of them in a relationship, let alone both of them.

Alex nearly lost her footing, swearing under her breath as she caught herself, adjusting her grip on Theo as she carefully knelt down in the snow. It was getting stronger, moving faster and harsher, scratching at her exposed face as they barrelled through it. Alex could feel her fingers starting to go numb from the cold, but that was the last of her concerns; how was she even able to carry Theo like that? She could barely move around the cabin without trying to vomit her kidney out, let alone carry an entire other person on her back through a snowstorm.

When Alex raised her head, she looked at the tree ahead of them; even amidst the flurry of white flakes zooming past her eyes, she could see the symbol from the attic carved into the tree and let out an annoyed scoff.

The girl lifted her hand away from Theo's leg to tug her face mask up, then shifted her grip again so she could attempt to stand back up. Her leg trembled as soon as she put weight on it though, making her plant her knee back down with a deep breath.

She tucked her head down, gritting her teeth. She had to get up, they couldn't just sit there and freeze, but she could feel the burst of adrenaline she had starting to fade from her body. She had half a thought to try and wake Theo up, but just as she turned her head to try to look at her, she saw someone else standing beside them.

Not someone, something.

'Jackie' stood over the two girls, looking down at Alex with a blank look on her face. Alex flinched when she saw her, but quickly recovered, rolling her eyes, yet she held the scarf closer to her face.

" Not doing this shit again. " Alex muttered, sitting down on the icy ground to rethink her strategy here, with It breathing down her neck. She almost told It to give her some advice, or at least a little more energy, enough to get them back to the cabin, but she wouldn't stoop so low.

Alex pulled Theo off her back and in front of her, thinking that maybe bear-hugging her would be an easier way to carry her and brace them against the wind, but before she could do that, she heard another voice let out a shrill scream. Her head snapped in its direction, but she was unable to deduce who it was from the cry alone. Alex— or Theo —didn't really have time for a detour, but seeing as It was sitting there watching them, Alex figured she could use the Wilderness to her advantage for once.