sunrise [until dawn]

i: arrival

- "Let's party like fucking porn stars!"

It worried me that about two months after the disappearance of Hannah and Beth, Josh stopped calling me. He had been calling me twice a day consistently and I was afraid something horrible had happened. Chris insisted he was fine, because he was still getting calls from Josh every night. It hurt a little, but I realized that I probably thought more highly of Josh than he thought of me. After all, I was his best friend's sister. Then a year later, yesterday to be exact, we were invited back up to the lodge.

So here we were, on a crowded bus full of people, listening to how we were going to party like pornstars. It was nice to see him and hear his voice, but I was still holding onto a small bit of anger at him for not even telling me that he was okay.

"It's been a year, how do you think everyone's going to look?"

"Different," I laugh. "I heard Emily has herself a new boy toy."

It has been a fair amount of time since we had seen the rest of the group. Most of them were attending university, and while it was still in the state and close enough to drive, it wasn't like we could actively see each other. Plus, we were all still a bit on edge about the prank and the twins disappearing.

Chris and I chat about how many girls Mike has picked up in the last year, and about how Chris hopes Ashley is still super adorable until we arrive at our stop. It was exactly how it had looked almost a year ago. A path leading through the dark woods. While I wasn't scared, it seemed more ominous this time around.

The two of us walked down the path, occasionally stopping so Chris could snap a picture of some "cool things." It took us about a half hour to get to the gate, and I was already freezing.

"Can we hurry?" I shiver. "It's really cold."

Chris playfully dismisses me and presses the button to open the gate.

Nothing.

"Are you kidding me?" He screams up towards the sky, as if someone from above would open the gate for us.

I sigh as Chris pulls out his phone and types in the Google address.

"Christopher, please," I roll my eyes. "Go call Mom and let her know we arrived safely. I'll figure out this gate."

Chris doesn't protest, and he walks off the path a little bit and dials Mom's number.

"Hey Mom...Yes, I know that-"

I turn around and face the gate. Giving it a once over, it dawns on me that, considering the fact no one had been down to the lodge in almost a year, the gate probably had rusted shut. That's where the problem came, because I had no idea how to get rid of enough rust to be able to open it. Which meant I had to find us another way in.

While Chris continued to talk to Mom, I searched for a way to get us over the wall. Upon further inspection, I realized that some of the rocks in the wall were protruding outwards and were sturdy enough to stand on.

"Cmon, you went rock climbing with Sam, you got this," I motivate myself, walking backwards.

I get a running start, jumping and reaching outwards, hoping to God I didn't fall and crack my head open. Luckily, I didn't, and I felt my hands grip onto one of the loose stones. I latch my leg onto another one, carefully navigating myself up the wall. By the time I get to the top, I notice Chris watching me from the ground.

"Jump into a pile of snow so you don't break anything!" Chris shouts.

Obliging, I squat and jump into a snowbank, landing on my feet. I turn around to see Chris land next to me, but on his face. A laugh bubbles in my throat and I snort while trying to suppress it.

"Be careful Chris, don't break anything," I mock, climbing out of the bank and onto the path.

Chris grumbles some curse words under his breath, and I giggle even more. At some point, after almost another half hour, we arrive at the cable car station.

"It doesn't seem like anyone is here, let's go explore," Chris says, setting his bag down on the bench.

The two of us wander the paths a little (and stop so Chris can take and upload more pictures online) and after what seems like five hours, we get tired and decide to go hang out by the cable car.

"That rock was so-"

Something stops me abruptly, sending me flying backwards.

"Chris, what the f-"

He presses a finger to my lips, and points ahead of him.

Someone is standing with their back turned, and it looks like they're reaching into Chris' backpack.

-

Josh: 9/10
Chris: 10/10
Ashley: 5/10
Sam: 8/10
Jess: 2/10
Mike: 5/10
Matt: 4/10
Emily: 1/10

Honest: 9/10
Charitable: 6/10
Funny: 7/10
Brave: 6/10
Romantic: 7/10
Curious: 7/10