4 𝙖𝙢

ᴇɴᴛʀʏ 001

"They tried to take my confidence, and they know I'm cocky."

(8:15 𝚙𝚖, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚍)
I'm really thankful my dad pushed me to upgrade my car last summer. With all the snow and ice piling up on the roads, my old car would likely have struggled or broken down by now.

The heater worked much better too—I was actually warm in the car, which was a relief given that I was driving through a mild snowstorm.

I had the route to the cabin memorized. For years, it had been a tradition to meet there every February 10th, but it used to be just me, Josh, Beth, and Hannah. Only recently did everyone else start coming along.

Just a few days earlier, Josh had sent a video to the entire group, reminding us that our tradition was still alive, even after his sisters' disappearance.

We had all assumed the tradition would end since his sisters were no longer with us, but Josh insisted he wanted to "honor their memory." He was certain they'd want us to carry on and not be weighed down by grief.

After an hour or two of driving, I finally spotted the entrance to the territory. Two large logs supported a sign that read "Blackwood Pines," confirming I was exactly where I needed to be.

I opened the gate and started walking up the trail, beginning the long trek up the hill. Not long after, I came across another gate, but this one had a note attached. Upon inspecting it, I saw it explained that the gate was broken, and I'd have to climb over it to continue.

Letting out a sigh, I placed one hand on the brick wall next to the gate and braced my opposite foot to start the climb. It took some effort, but I eventually made it to the top of the narrow wall. Now all that was left was to jump down.

I would have jumped off sooner if the drop hadn't been so steep; it took me a moment to muster the courage. Finally, I closed my eyes and leaped into the snow below, officially making it to the other side. After gathering my bags that had fallen during the jump, I steadied myself and continued along the trail to the cabin.

After a few more moments of walking, I waited at a ski lodge for a car to pick me up, which then took me to the upper cable car station. Eventually, I arrived at the cabin, where I found Josh, Ashley, Chris, and Sam gathered together at the front door, chatting and huddled against the chilly air.

"Hey, guys!" I called out, making sure to announce my presence so I wouldn't startle any of them.

Chris, who had his back to me, turned around and grinned as soon as he spotted me. Ashley beamed upon my arrival, waving her hands in the air and yelling, "HI!" Sam, facing me, began walking over with a smile, but she couldn't reach me because Josh darted toward me before anyone else even noticed I was there. He lifted me into the air and spun me around, as if we hadn't seen each other in weeks.

"____, god! Hey, I've missed you!" he exclaimed, continuing to spin me around. I giggled a bit and asked him to set me down so I could properly greet the others who were watching us.

Eventually, with a reluctant grumble, Josh planted my feet back on the ground. I looked back up and skipped over to where everyone else was, but before I could say anything, I was enveloped in another tight hug—this one quite forceful.

This time, it was a group hug with Sam, Chris, and Ashley. One hand was patting my head, another was squeezing me tightly into the embrace, and a pair of arms wrapped around my neck, pulling me even deeper into the huddle. 

It had been a few seconds while they were all holding me before we heard a man clear his throat.

"While this is a nice little reunion we have going on, I think it would be even better if we moved it inside. It's freezing out here," Josh said as he walked past us.