The Night Of Terror

Chapter Seven: Butterfly Effect

A few torches lit up the path as I walked on through. I did in fact notice the sun going down. I need to head to the cable car soon. As my feet crunch below me I see a sign up ahead. 'Cable car --›'

"Thank the gods!" I whisper as I march my way up the snowy stairs and finally see the green roof of the cable car station. "Hello!" I yell as I pass by a green truck that belonged to my brother, Chris and a nice dark blueish black Honda that most likely belonged to Emily and Matt. "Looks like most of the fokes are already here." I say cheerfully.

I couldn't help but see a few pink bags inside her vehicle. I decided not to peak, but it was most definitely not a sight to see as the words 'Booty Call' were written on them. "Ah, Emily." I scoff. As I make my way through the thick snow, I walk towards a bench. A phone ringing catches my attention. Chris's phone was hanging out of the pocket. The only words I could decipher being 'Ash'. I could only think of my good friend Ashley whom Chris had a long term crush on for a couple years.

"Chris!" I yell. My hands covered the rim of my mouth to make my screams louder. "You're not in the bag are you?" I joke. Only for Chris to jump out from behind me. Making me squeal in terror. "Ah, you idiot!" I say as I throw in a few light punches to his chest. "Not funny." I say as I throw a finger in his face with a stern look. "Haha, I'm sorry. I couldn't throw away the possibility." He replies with his hands up in surrender. He was such a goof.

 "Hey, I saw something pretty cool. Want to check it out?" He asks. "What is it?" I ask as a bit of superstitious rises in my chest. "I'm not going to tell you, you gotta see for yourself. Come on. This way." He says as he pulls me in like a fish on a lure. "You're not going to kill me, are you?" I joke. Only for Chris not to answer. Childish.

It's a map of the whole place. I guess I never saw this before? The picture was framed in a nice brown wood and hung on the wall inside the station, listing off all the places that the winter getaway provided for its visitors. 'Sanatorium, lodge, cable car, and a ranger path that led to the pines look out.'

 "Neat, uh?" Chris says with a big smile. "Yeah, totally." I respond as If I tried to at least be on the same level of excitement as he was. He just huffs in response as he makes his way to the cable car. "After you." He gestures me first. "Ladies first." I respond with a smirk. Chris just played along and walked all girly as he sat down like a princess. I couldn't help but I laugh my ass off as I joined him. Throwing my book bag to the other seats as I relaxed in one of my own.

The car was kinda small, but the space was enough for two. As I was thinking about life, Chris starts rambling about some jibber jabber on how he and Josh first meet in middle school. They are truly the match made in Heaven. Two rascals creating triumph everywhere they go. Bringing each other and their stupid silliness with them everywhere they go.

As Chris's sister, I've known Josh as long as him. Precisely remembering a specific memory when I first talked to him. And let's say it wasn't exactly pretty. He was quiet and to himself at school and occasionally got pushed around by people. One day he was gathering his things for his next class, which was Biology. As he held his notebook in his hands, David, the school bully, slapped the book out of his hands. Pushing him into his locker as he held his poor arm between the door. Pushing more and more weight onto Josh's arm as he cries out in pain.

I don't remember my exact thoughts but I got told I dropped my belongings and walked up to the man that pinned Josh to the lockers. The man ended up in the hospital for two weeks with a broken nose, two fractured ribs, and a big purple bruise that covered his eye. "Thanks, Sam." I remember him saying. He had dealt with a lot of home situation as his mother was an addict. He goes to counciling every Friday for his emotional behavior to be checked on. Which moved on to therapy for his sister's disappearaces last year.

"You even listening?" Chris asks. "Yeah, sorry. Continue." I say with a nervous chuckle as I readjust my hat that covered my ears. Protecting it from the frosty cold air. "So, you and Josh." I say. "Right! Third grade. Josh sat in the back of the room, I sat in the front. We didn't even know each other existed." He explains. As he talks I picture the scene in my head. Baby Josh and baby Chris. "But, the kid sitting next to Josh started strap snapping the training bra on the girl in front of him, so the teacher made him move to the front - where I was sitting!" He continues to explain with a small smile on his face. They were truly best of friends. "So." I nuge him. "So, I got moved to the back! And next to Josh! That's how we met." He winked. "Now we're best friends. To this day." He finishes. "A match made in Heaven." I tease.

"Hey, if it weren't for the fact that Jeanie Simmonds hit puberty, like three years early, and on that day decided to wear a low cut shirt that showed off her training bra, I mean, who knows? You could be riding in this cable car alone. Or talking to some other person entirely." I couldn't stop thinking of that possibilty. It kinda weird to think about. Almost like a-

"Butterfly effect. Boom!" He says. Great minds think alike. As I turn my head to smile at his little story. I see the hight we're at. The trees giving me slight vertigo as I look down at them. The sundown was beautiful though. One of a kind. It's crazy to think, not all of them are the same. They all have their unique colors and patterns. "We're here. Comin'?" Chris asks. I quickly nod as I sit up from my seat. Not realizing we were here.