The Night Of Terror

Chapter Six: The Washington Estate

 The sound of the talk show man rings through my ear buds. He was talking about the case of the Washington sisters, Josh's sisters. As his eyes wander off screen to look at his notes, he brings up Hannah's name. I still couldn't believe her and Beth were gone. It just makes me feel guilty, hearing their names. Even though nothing was my fault. Hannah was my best friend. I can't believe I've let this happen to her. Gosh!

 I fiddled with the paper that Josh sent to me a couple weeks ago. It had all the directions layed out for me. 'Get to Vista Railroad tracks at 8:00 AM. Tell the driver to stop at the front gate at the end of the hill, or else he won't stop. Then walk up the hill for about half a mile. The gate number is 3575. Good luck! - Joshie' I stuck the paper into my jacket pocket. Clicking it with the snap of a button to close it off.

I chuckle as the nickname. We were so young when I called him that. I guess it just stuck with him. I couldn't believe he bought the damn place. Joshua's family was rich and left him and his siblings a big fat wad of cash when they passed away. So it was not so much as a surprise he could afford it.

"Today is the one year anniversary of the dreadful tragedy that took place on Mount Washington. Sheriff Annie Cline who was in charge of the investigation has this to say." The man explains. I couldn't believe it's been a year. Everyone was mostly pulled apart after the incident. They changed.

"Thanks for having me Marty." The sheriff says. "Listeners, an update of Hannah and Beth Washington, the twins who are still missing. One year ago tonight the Washington girls left the safety of their lodge and headed out into a snow storm." The lady reads out from the paper in front of her.

"Foul play?" A man asks. "Not officially no. There is one individual we're considering as a person of interest, but his whereabouts are currently unknown." The sheriff lady replies. "He has though, warned many to not stay. Claiming the land was sacred to his forefathers"

"Isn't there an old sanitorium on the mountain?" The man asks. "If your asking if he's there, no. My officers checked and searched every nick and cranny of those grounds." Annie replys. "And the girls themselves couldn't have made it that far."

A link pops up on my screen. The WiFi wasn't as good so the loading taken a few minutes to download the video. But soon Josh's face pop's up. "Well hello friends and fans!" He says as he throws his hands up and smiles. It almost looked too forced. "Alright let's do that again." He mutters. He walks towards the camera to adjust it. It was now more close in on his face.

"Alrighty, friends and fans." He repeats. "It's beyond awesome to have you guys all back this year. First off, I gotta say I am super excited to welcome all my pals back to the annual Blackwood winter getaway." He says this while waving his arms in the air. I couldn't help but smile at his excitement with us all coming back together.

"But yeah so, let me just um, take a moment to address the elephant in the room for a second. I know you're all probably worried about me, and I know it's going to be tough on all of us coming back.  After what happened last year." As he speaks, I actually felt a familiar churning feeling in my stomach. Like the guilt I held was eating me away inside. "But, I just wanted you to know that it means so much to me that we're doing this. And I know Hannah and Beth would have loved it that we're all still together after everything that happened. I really want to spend some quality time with my friends. With each and every one of you." He explains. I could almost tear up.

"Anyways, let's party like we are fucking porn stars!" He yells before ending the video. I couldn't help but feel weird. Josh seemed a bit too excited, but I guess it's just my nerves. I am excited too, especially since I haven't seen everyone in a while, only Chris. And Josh was off doing therapy sessions so we didn't hang like we used to. It felt one sided for a long time.

'The Washington Estate.' a sign read. I chuckle as I raise my hand. Yelling up to the driver to stop. "This is it!" I yell. With a smile and giving him a generous tip, I hop off the bus. "Watch out for those who eat." He whispers. "What?" I say as I turned around while chuckling nervously. But before I could fully turn around, he drove off. "Weirdo."

My feet crunch in the snow. With every step I take I shiver. Causing my hands to rub my upper arms, looking for some sort of warmth. Gosh it felt like hours when I finally arrived at the gate. And once I was in front of it I see a note. 'Gates busted. Climb over - Chris' "Danm it." I mutter. As I try the gate with the code Josh gave me, Chris was right. It's busted.

I touch the rock wall beside the gate. It felt sturdy enough for me to climb over. With a sigh I grab onto two stones and start pulling myself up. The cold snow made my fingers feel numb. As I finish climbing over I jump over the ledge. Making my knees go right into the soft cold snow below. As I get up and brush myself off I look up and begin walking forward. I still have a few more minutes to walk in this cold ass snow till I arrive at the cable car. I was even starting to think that the black leggings and red checkered skirt were not a good idea to wear to a fucking winter getaway.