The Blackwood Curse

Nine Hours Until Dawn

We are standing near the lodge. Chris appears and walks up to me and Josh. Well, more Josh. They're total bros; basically joined at the hip.
"Man I feel like this mountain gets bigger every time I climb it" He wheezes.
"Oh yeah? Feels the same to me" Josh shrugs, folding his arms.
"Come on, you grew up here. It probably feels like it's shrinking"
"I guess that's true"
I glance at him out of the corner of my eye. He's being kind of cryptic. Chris takes out his phone and goes to check it, but there's no signal.
"When are you gonna install some cell towers up here? I'm getting withdrawals already" Chris whines, putting his phone back. I raise an eyebrow.
"Maybe if you've got a spare million lying around" I smirk.
"Yeah. Then we could fix you right up" Josh agrees. Chris frowns slightly and looks upwards as if remembering something.
"Funny you should say that...ah, I think I left it in my other jacket" He jerks his thumb backwards. I laugh at the quip.
"Oops" Josh murmurs. I frown; something's definitely not right. Is he okay? I hope he's okay. He greets the others while I take a look around. I see Sam just behind me and grin.
"Hey Sam!" I wave. She looks at me and her mouth falls open in shock, but smiles all the same.
"Maxie? Oh my God!"
"It's Max" I hear Josh call behind me. I roll my eyes and hug Sam.
"Wait, is that you?" Ashley squeals.
"Yup!" I turn to face her. She runs up to me and throws her arms around me. I laugh as I nearly fall over as the petite brunette barges into me.
"OhmyGod it's so good to see you!" She exclaims excitedly.
"It's good to see you too, Ash" I reply, hugging her back. Behind her, I catch sight of Josh smiling fondly at us from the base of the steps. He and Chris walk up to the top of the steps and start talking.
"How are you?" She asks enthusiastically.
"Not bad. What about you?"
"You know...good" She seems a bit hesitant, but I let it slide. Only she, Sam and Josh know about my mental breakdown, so she probably feels guilty about having an easier time of it. Ashley's like that. Josh laughs at something Chris says, making me look over at them.
"So...you and Josh?" Sam wiggles her eyebrows at me. I shrug.
"I don't really know. For now...I think we're just friends. It's been a while, you know?"
Sam and Ashley exchange a mischievous look.
"Sure" They both reply sarcastically. I sigh loudly and roll my eyes.
"Come on, we can both see you still have feelings for him"
I look over at Josh, and at the same time he looks over at me. Our eyes meet, and we both avert our eyes instantly. I feel colour rising in my cheeks.
"Aw, she's blushing!" Sam teases.
"Guys" I groan.
Josh curses loudly, rattling the lock. We all look over curiously. He and Chris make their way down the stairs.
"What's up?"
"The lock's completely frozen. We need to find a way in and unlock it from the inside," Chris explains, then he gives me a strange look. "Why don't you come with? Seems like something you'd dig"
"Yeah, breaking in to other people's property sounds like a hoot"
"It's not breaking in if he owns the place"
"Only if I don't report you" Josh adds darkly. We both frown at him, and he breaks out into a big grin and gestures towards the path leading round the back of the house.
"Lead the way Cochise" He tells Chris, who starts walking along the track. I look back at Sam and Ashley, who are nodding vigorously with big goofy smiles on their faces. I roll my eyes again, then run to catch up to the guys. We walk down the path in silence for a while.
"Ashley was looking pretty hot today, right?" Josh smirks.
Hello, green-eyed monster. I clench my jaw, but don't say anything. Chris glances back at me.
"Dude, don't move. She can't follow our scent if we don't move" He stage whispers to Josh. This encourages him.
"I wonder what's under that parka of hers..."
He's doing it to make me jealous, and I know it. Trouble is, it's working. It's working really well.
"I still go to anger management therapy, Josh" I threaten irritably.
"...and the way her hair frames her face...absolutely breathtaking" He continues to muse.
Okay, I've had enough.
I run up to him and tackle him to the ground, making his beanie fall off. He roars with laughter as I pin him down and start attacking him playfully.
"Damn Max, I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" He chuckles, swatting my hands away.
"Well, lucky for you I do go to anger management therapy" I growl.
"Wow, you were so jealous"
"Wasn't. It's just...not cool, okay?"
"Ey, Max is jelly!" Chris crows. Josh winks at me. I swallow back a blush. He looks down at my legs on either side of his lower abdomen, keeping him pinned to the ground.
"Well, much as my current situation pleases me, I think we should get going"
I narrow my eyes at his nerve and roll off of him. He stands up and brushes the snow off of his jeans. We start walking again.
"So how are we planning on breaking in to my parent's lodge, bud?" He inquires as we approach the side of the house.
"Wait, I didn't say I had a plan" Chris stammers.
"You sounded like you had a plan. You better deliver, Cochise, or else you got four lovely ladies," he glances at me, "and one demon who are gonna be freezing their buns off, and last time I checked, that's not a good way to get you some Ass-shley"
"Josh!" I punch his arm lightly. He rubs his arm.
"Ow. You got a good swing, Lucifer"
"Well shoot. Nobody likes cool buns" Chris shoots back, seemingly oblivious to our little exchange.
"How are your buns, darlin'?" Josh murmurs with a smirk. I just face-palm and groan.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Chris inspecting something. It's an axe holder, but...
"The axe is missing" he observes. I breathe in sharply. So someone I don't know is running around here with an axe.
Great.
Chris walks over to a green metal box and starts pushing it. I see a window which is cracked open slightly and realise what he is going to do. Josh and I go around the other side and pull. We drag it through the snow until it sits under the window.
I climb onto it and yank the window open. I vault over the windowsill and land on the floor below.
"Nice one, Diablo" I hear Josh comment outside.
"Ha ha" I retort cynically. Chris climbs through, but falls backwards on to the concrete. He lies there groaning.
"I'm okay," he grinds out through clenched teeth. "I should have paid more attention in climbing class"
"You mean gym?" Josh crosses his arms and leans on the sill, a bemused expression on his face.
"Yeah, you know, with climbing up the rope" Chris grunts as he gets up. Not a moment after he says that, the only lightbulb in the room blows. I gasp in shock, whirling around.
"Whoa"
"Did I do that?" Chris glares in confusion at the bulb.
"I don't...I don't think so" Josh replies hesitantly. He reaches into his pocket and tosses us a lighter. "Here, use this"
Chris flicks it open and a small flame dances above the gas burner, illuminating a small area around us.
"Chris-I just got an awesome idea"
"Probably means it'll put us all in danger then" I huff. Josh shoots me a glare and then turns his attention back to Chris.
"Okay, I am pretty sure that I've got some deodorant I one of the bathrooms. You could use that with the lighter"
"And I was right!" I declare.
"I don't-I don't follow"
"Seriously Chris?" I exclaim in exasperation.
"What? I just don't get how a stick of deodorant is gonna help"
"Spray on. It's a can" Josh explains.
"Oh...yeah, now I gotcha!"
"Flamethrower"
"Yeah! Just like we do with the little army dudes!"
"Yup. The ones we melted. Just point the spray can and the lighter and FWOOSH!"
"Bye bye frozen lock!"
"Bingo"
"Guys, this is stupid and dangerous. It's either one or the other, you pick"
"Alright, so you got this," Josh continues, ignoring my complaints. "I'm gonna go sort some stuff out-you guys up for hunting around in the dark for a little bit?"
"Uh..."
"Nope, but we'll do it" Chris finished my sentence for me.
"Godspeed, pil'grims" Josh salutes us, putting on a stupid voice before disappearing from the opening. I feel a little uneasy since he isn't coming with us, but I trust Chris. He holds up the lighter and walks around, illuminating the large, draughty room in an orange glow. It's messy. There are shelves sloppily packed with miscellaneous junk that spills on to the floor beside them. There are piles and piles of old things of the Washington's. I see a small wooden cylinder lying on the ground in the corner. It look similar to the one that Beth found that night, except it has brown diamonds painted on it. I kneel down and pick it up, turning it over. As I look at the black butterfly shape on the other side, a vision starts to flash before my eyes.
I see Ashley's cold, emotionless, dead face as she falls to the ground in a dark cave. When I realise what has happened, a lump forms in my throat and nausea churns in my stomach.
Her head is separated from her body.
When the vision ends I gasp and drop the totem in shock.
"Hey, you okay?"
"Uh...I think so" I gulp. That was like some kind of bad trip, except hyper realistic. Almost like a premonition. I shiver.
"Let's get out of here, Chris. Place is giving me the creeps"
"Agreed"
We walk quickly out of the room and into a short corridor. On one of the walls is a family portrait of the Washingtons. As I look at Hannah and Beth standing and smiling next to their parents and brother, I get a heaviness in my heart. I miss both of them. They were my best friends. I mean, Sam and Ashley are my best friends too, but we just don't have that...connection? I don't know. Chris and I walk along until we find a plain wooden door.
"Oh good, a way out of the creepy Washington shrine" I sigh in relief. Chris snorts. We walk up to the front door of the lodge. I can see Ashley and Sam chatting outside through the small frosted-up window on the door. Chris hides and starts making a rubbish ghost noise.
"WOOOoooOOOOooo" he wails. I cross my arms and smirk at him. Sam walks up to the door and presses her face against the window.
"Hi Chris, very funny" She calls through the door.
"Aw, how'd you know it was me?" He pouts, disappointed.
"Shouldn't you be, like, getting the lock open or something?" Sam asks disapprovingly, raising her eyebrows.
"On it!" He turns and walks off with his tail between his legs, starting to explore the house in search of this alleged miracle deodorant.
"Hi Sam" I roll my eyes.
"Hi Max" She responds, waving at me through the glass. I back away from the door and follow Chris. As I walk around the house, I realise it isn't much better than that storage room we broke in to. It's hella weird, and everything is in complete shadow apart from the small sections lit by the moon.
Suddenly, the answer machine starts up, making me jump. Chris mouths 'sorry' at me. I open my mouth to respond (not so kindly), but I am cut off by voicemail.
"One new message. New message"
Beep.
"Hi Mrs. Washington-this is Sergeant Tait again. It's bad news I'm afraid"
A nasal-sounding man drones from the speaker. I approach the phone, now curious.
"We've been through the case files, and there's nothing we can do. He's a free man. We don't have the legal power to restrict his movement. I know it's not what you wanted to hear, so call me if you want to know more"
I remember Josh telling me about this guy who used to be a janitor here or something. I think he said he used to stalk the family. Creepy.
"Okay..." Chris frowns, moving on to the next room. I follow him upstairs.
"I'm guessing you know this area quite well" Chris jibes in a jokey tone, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I pull a face.
"Dude" I groan. He laughs at my disgust.
"Just messin'. But seriously, do you know where the bathroom is? I forgot"
"You forgot?" I repeat incredulously, but I lead him to the bathroom anyway. It's really spacious and nicely put together; plus it's basically the only room without creepy decorations adorning it.
I stand back and wait as Chris searches the cupboards.
"Gotcha" he hisses triumphantly, reaching for the can. Abruptly, a large rodent-like creature leaps out and barges Chris out of the way.
"AHH!" he shrieks. I yelp a little and watch it scurry out of the room.
"SON OF A-! What the FUCK?" Chris curses as he scrambles to his feet. I laugh at him.
"Aww, are you scared Cwis?" I bat my eyelids at him and pout. He glares at me.
"Whatever. I got the deo, so let's just get out of here"
Chris and I make our way back down to the front door.
"We're freezing our buns off out here!" I hear Ashley complain. Chris and I exchange a knowing smirk. He bends down and aims the makeshift 'flamethrower'-as Josh so bluntly put it-at the door lock. He presses the spray and holds it for a few seconds; enough to unfreeze the door. He turns the door knob, breathing in sharply as the hot metal burns his hand. Turning to the girls, he does an elaborate bow.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week"
It's at this moment the rodent thing from earlier decides to make a grand reappearance, darting past Chris and making him scream like a fangirl. Sam, Ashley and I all giggle at him.
"Crap that thing freaked me out. It was like a bear or a tiger or something"
"Looked more like a rat on 'roids to me" I comment, which makes the others laugh harder.
"Aww, it was just a cute baby wolverine" Sam chuckles, shaking her head. Josh appears behind Sam and Ashley, grinning.
"Don't worry buddy, you'll be a big boy soon" He taunts him in jest. Everyone apart from Emily, Jessica and Mike file in hastily, powdery snow leaving footprints on the wooden floors in their wake.
"Home sweet home!" Josh announces, gesturing to the whole house.
"Sweet is not the word I'd use" Matt mutters, dumping the various bags Emily had burdened him with and then strolling over to the long leather sofa that sits in the middle of the room.
"Oh my gosh, it's so good to be inside," Ashley groans in relief, and then adds, "even if it's still kind of freezing in here"
"I'll get a fire going" Josh reassures her, making his way to the fireplace.
"I'll help" I volunteer, kneeling down beside him.
"This place barely looks any different" Matt observes.
"Nobody's been up here" Josh explains over his shoulder as he searches for some good logs to put on the fire.
"Even with all the police coming in and out?" Ashley asks, confused.
"Not a lot of action up here lately" Chris muses.
"Nope" Josh confirms. He tries to strike a match, but it just smokes and goes out. He swears under his breath.
"What's up party people!"
"Heeey!"
That'll be Mike and Jess, then.
"Hi"
"Hey" Josh and I greet them absent-mindedly. I look behind me and see Matt giving Mike a weird glare. Ugh, what's the living hormone done now?
"Make yourself at home, bro" Josh murmurs to Mike, concentrating more on the fire than acknowledging the new arrivals.
"Will do. Hey" He winks at me. Instead of waving him off as per usual, I figure it's time to get Josh back for all of that talk about Ash.
"Hi Mike" I reply sweetly, smiling flirtatiously at him. Mike looks between Josh and I and seems to get on board. Well, he is the expert.
"How you doing good lookin'?" He drawls in a low, throaty voice. Now, I'm not attracted to Mike at all, but it still manages to send shivers down my spine.
"Not too bad. How 'bout you?" I say it in this sort of slow, breathy tone. I know Josh used to love it when I used it on him, so he'll recognise it as being my 'sexy' voice. Hah, well, 'sexy' is a strong word as far as I'm concerned. I glance over at Josh, and I can practically see his displeasure radiating off of him. I give Mike a wink and a 'perfect' sign, and he grins mischievously, backing away.
"Mike. Come on in. Take a load off, have whatever you want. You just take whatever you want anyway, right?"
I swivel around and give Matt a 'what the hell?' look. He's standing really aggressively, like he wants to slap Mike right across the face.
"Whoa. Easy there, cowboy" Mike tries to calm him down. I think he's just as unsure as I am about this.
"Mike, stay away from my girlfriend"
Boom, there it is.
"Dude, what are you talking about?"
"Stay away from Emily" Matt growls.
"Emily? Why would I want anything to do with Emily?" Mike shoots back, angry at Matt's accusation.
"Right...right" Matt sighs, beaten.
"Something going on with you?" Mike challenges, still in fight mode.
"Forget it. I lost my head. Been a long day" Matt rambles off some excuses for his erratic behaviour. Mike nods.
"Yeah, well...try not to lose it again"
There is a very long and very awkward silence. Josh is still pissed about the whole stint with Mike, Mike's pissed at Matt, and Matt's pissed at Mike.
I busy myself with trying to get the fire going. I manage to strike a match and light one of the thinner pieces of wood. I watch as the flames leap from log to log, glowing with a warm, flickering light. I hear snogging sounds behind me and pull a face. That'll be Mike and Jessica going at it, then. It's a stark contrast to the cold shoulder Josh is giving me. It doesn't bother me, though; he started it, so now he has to deal with the backlash. I hear brisk footsteps approach the doorway and get a bad feeling.
"Oh, my god. That is so gross. Are you trying to swallow his face whole?" Emily leers, arms firmly folded.
"Em..." Matt starts to intervene.
"Seriously, can she be any more obvious?" Emily cuts him off. "No one wants in on your territory, honey" She taunts. I can feel Josh's eyes burning holes in the side of my head.
"Excuse me, did you say something?" Jess asks threateningly, standing to confront the new threat.
"Oh did you not hear me? Was your sluttiness too loud?" Emily scoffs.
"Sounds like someone's bitter she didn't make the cut" Jess remarks, smirking.
"Yeah. It's all a big cattle call with that 'dreamboat'. Congrats, you're top cow"
I have to hand it to Emily, she has certainly come prepared.
"Cuts real deep calling Miss Homecoming a cow" Jessica counters. Damn, someone get me some popcorn.
"Em, come on-" Matt pleads.
"Shut up, Matt"
"Stay out of it, you dumb oaf"
"Hey! Watch it!" Emily hisses.
"Oh! You're the only one who can put him down? No one else can play with your toys?"
"You're such a bitch!"
Wow, Emily. Real original.
"Whatever. I don't give a crap what you think" Jess strolls away, tossing one her plaits over her shoulder.
"At least I can think. 4.0, bitch, honour roll"
I would applaud this comeback, but she uses it every time. She's running out of ideas, I can tell. 
"Suck on that when you're trying to sleep your way into a job" Emily adds. Too far? Too far.
"Who needs grades when you've got all the natural advantages you can handle" Or maybe not.
"Oh please" Emily waves her off dismissively.
"You couldn't buy a mouldy loaf of bread with your skanky ass"
"Are you serious? Do you think that's insulting?"
Jess turns to Mike.
"That bitch is on crack or something"
Okay, I think we've all had enough now. I go to stand, but Josh catches my arm. He isn't even looking at me. I realise we're arguing too, just without words.
"Emily stop! This is out of hand. There's no reason to fight like this" Matt commands.
"Yeah, Em! Why you picking fights over your ex boyfriend? Huh?" Jess jeers. I yank my arm out of his grip and stand abruptly.
"Stop! This is stupid! We're here out of respect and to have a good time together! As friends!" I emphasise the word 'friends'. "We aren't here so we can act out Jerry Springer! If you guys can't put aside your issues for more than five minutes, maybe we should take some time away from each other to chill the fuck out!"
Jess and Em glare at me but don't dare to say anything. Mike and Matt are gazing at me as if I'm a guardian angel.
"Mike-why don't you check out the guest cabin. The one I told you about. The keys are in the kitchen" Josh suggests, still watching the fire. Man; and he called me jealous.
"Yeah. Yeah, alright," Mike jumps at the chance to break up the fight, putting on an unconvincing air of indifference. He offers his hand to Jess. "Want to go do that?"
"Any place without that whore" She spits, getting in a final blow before she turns and marches away, Mike in tow.
"It's right up the trail" Josh reminds them, his gaze on the young fire still unflinching. Okay, now he's just being childish.
Once Mike has disappeared around the corner, Matt lets out a huge sigh of relief that he had probably been holding in the whole time.
"Glad that over"
"Mmhmm" I agree, nodding eagerly.
I sit down in front of the fireplace, letting the heat of the flames warm me.
"Where's my bag?" Emily demands, standing over her and Matt's suitcases.
"Huh?"
"My bag! The...the little bag with the pink pattern! The one I got on Rodeo! Matt, are you even listening?"
It's at this point I just tune out. I've had to listen to two minutes of bitch Emily, I don't want to have to listen to another three of ball-breaker Emily as well. I decide that I need a little time to myself after that shit-storm, so I stand and go upstairs, passing by the silent Sam, Chris and Ashley. I stroll over to a window and gaze out, leaning my shoulder against the wall. I can see Mike and Jess taking a photo together outside the lodge. I feel a pang of envy as I watch them laugh happily and walk off down the path together. I sigh pensively, my breath fogging up the frost-coated window. I'm not going to let the fact I'm still hung up on Josh stop me from having fun with my friends, I just need some time.
"Ima go take a bath" I hear Sam announce downstairs, sounding every bit as exasperated as I am. I stop her on her way to the bathroom.
"There probably won't be any hot water. I'll go hook it up for you" I offer.
"Ah, thanks Max. If you get me some hot water you are officially a life saver" She sighs thankfully. I make my way downstairs, towards the basement.
"Where are you going?"
I jump. Josh is right behind me. Can he teleport or something? Jeez.
"I'm gonna hook up the hot water for Sam"
"I'm coming with you" No room for argument whatsoever. I raise an eyebrow.
"Okay, um, why?"
"Because I don't want you in there on your own"
"Josh..." I don't know what to say. This is weird; he's being weird.
"I need to talk to you anyway"
I stare at him for a few moments, and then I relent.
"Sure"
He goes in ahead of me and follow him down. I can see only by my flashlight beam. As I sweep it over the room, I catch sight of something.
"You still haven't fixed that broken step" I comment, stepping over it carefully. No response. This silent treatment is starting to worry me. If I had known he would take it so hard...
I approach the thermostat and open the doors. I take the torch between my teeth and start fiddling with the controls.
"Are you sure you remember how to do this?"
"Uh huh" I grunt. I flick the switch and walk over to the boiler. The red light flickers on and I slam my palm onto the red button. It judders to life reluctantly; definitely time to replace this thing, kind of like everything else in this place. I swivel on my heel and face Josh, crossing my arms.
"What's the problem? Why are you so mad at me?"
"Not mad at you. Just mad"
"You didn't answer my question" I tap my foot impatiently.
"I would have thought that was obvious" He snarls. I'm taken aback slightly by the venom in his tone.
"Not exactly"
"Why Mike?"
"Why Ashley?" I shoot back. We both stand there for a while, glaring at each other.
"What are we, Max?" Josh groans, running a hand through his brown hair. I gaze at the floor.
"I don't know" My shoulders slump.
"I miss you"
"I miss you too"
"So what are you afraid of?"
"That you'll stop" I answer honestly. We just stare at each other for a while, trying to figure out what the hell is going on.
I hear a loud noise like running come from the shadows. I turn the torch beam towards it, but I see nothing expect empty space. Then a loud scratching sound comes from the far end of the room. I creep forwards slowly and peer around the corner to look in the direction the noise is coming from. I go to advance on it, but Josh strides past me. I catch up to him and we move side by side, gradually drawing closer. Without realising it, I reach for his hand. He takes it and laces his fingers through mine. My eyes meet his, and I get a tight fluttering feeling inside. The same one that I get every time he touches me, looks at me, talks to me, smiles at me...kisses me. I squeeze his hand before we push forward again. I shine the beam of light into a large alcove.
A cloaked figure jumps out of the darkness, lunging towards us.
"Run!" I yell, turning and sprinting away. Josh stumbles as he tries to keep up with me. If I let go of his hand, I could probably get away a lot faster, but I will not leave him. I practically drag him up the stairs. I go to open the door, but the handle just rattles. I pull and pull, but the door won't budge an inch.
"It's locked!" I exclaim. Josh's eyes widen. Rapid footsteps echo through the hall, signalling our pursuer's approach.
"What?" He tries to open the door, with the same result. I can see the cloaked figure running up base of the stairs. Josh suddenly pulls me close, holding me protectively. I press my face into his shoulder, trying to find comfort in his familiar warmth and woody scent. I can hear the figure panting, out of breath. I clench my fists, preparing to fight our way out of here. We're cornered, not dead. I refuse, I refuse!
"Heeeeyyyyy" The hooded figure wails, waving their hands in the air.
"What?"
"Heeeeeeeeeyyyyyyy" The figure repeats.
"Chris!" I stamp my foot indignantly and clasp my hand over my heart, trying to slow my racing pulse. He removes the hood, grinning widely.
"You just got monk'd" he chuckles. Josh bursts out laughing, and soon I join in.
"Okay, that was pretty good," I admit. "Dick move, but still good"
Josh is still laughing. I narrow my eyes at him suspiciously.
"Were you in on this, you jerk?" I push him playfully.
"I wish! That was awesome, bro!" They high-five. Chris unlocks the door and lets us out. My heart is still hammering, but I have a huge smile on my face. That was so Chris; I should've known.
"Hey Sam! Hot water's on!" I yell upstairs.
"Thanks! I owe you!" She replies, her voice echoing through the halls.
"You were scared, admit it" Chris pokes my shoulder.
"I was not!"
"You so were"
"You were lucky I didn't punch you"
"...'cause you were scared"
"Josh!"
"What? I got a hug out of it. I'm not complaining" He smirks and puts the flashlight down on a counter.
"You two are impossible" I grumble. Ashley walks in and looks Chris up and down.
"What in God's name are you wearing?" She gestures at the monk costume.
"I have...found my true calling" Chris crosses himself and puts his hands together as if in prayer.
"Please take me you're going to take a vow of silence" Ashley begs. Chris starts mouthing words at her, making her laugh. I creep up right behind Chris, putting my mouth by his ear.
"I ship it!" I yell as loud as I can. He shrieks, jumping about two feet in the air. I run away while he chases me, Josh and Ashley crying with hysterics.