The Blackwood Curse

Six Hours Until Dawn

"Max!"
"Huh?"
"You've been in a freaking daydream ever since you and lover boy had a smooch! Snap the hell out of it!"
"Uh...sorry...right"
I force the smile off of my face reluctantly, but it just keeps coming back. I can't get rid of it. He kissed me; he actually kissed me! I feel as if I'm high on a drug, but at the same time having withdrawals, craving and longing. It's a strange, complicated feeling, but it's incredible.
We pass through a gate. As it closes behind us I hear a loud buzzing sound. Matt looks over his shoulder and frowns, pressing the button above the handle. A light flashes red.
"It's...it's locked! Some seriously uncool shit's going down tonight" He murmurs, more for his own benefit than anyone else's. I can hear a hint of panic in his voice. I exchange a look with him and then go after Em again.
"I can't believe that Josh nearly died"
"I can't believe how he nearly died" Matt agrees. Em glances back and gives me a semi-suspicious look.
"You are telling the truth, right?"
I only feel a little offended by the accusation. To be honest, I find it hard to process that he nearly got bisected by a motorised saw blade.
"No, I made up the fact that one of my closest...uh...nearly got sawn in half"
I falter a little in the middle of my sarcastic comeback. I'm not sure what we are right now. We're not just friends, I know that much, but are we dating again? Maybe. I shake my head, staring at the axe that saved his life for about the millionth time in a row.
"I'm just glad we got there in time"
"We all are"
Matt and Em stop abruptly ahead of me, staring at the cable car station a few metres away.
Something's wrong.
We stand in front of the station. The window is open, and the lights are off. The glass on the door and windows is cracked and smashed up. I slowly approach the door and try to open it.
"It's locked" I call over my shoulder
"Well, what are you waiting for? Break it down!" Emily whines impatiently.
"Someone could hear us if we start smashing shit up" I shoot back irritably.
"Well, have you got any better suggestions?" She folds her arms, raising her eyebrows.
"What about...look!" Matt exclaims.
"What?"
"A window"
"That's great Matt. I can just about fit my lip balm through that little slot" Emily appraises him cynically.
"No come on"
"You will never fit through there, big guy"
I roll my eyes and smash the wooden door with the axe. Emily yelps in surprise, and then gives me a glare of contempt as I kick it down.
"Holy..." I gasp under my breath. Everything is broken and destroyed. I see shattered glass scattered all over the wooden floor, twinkling in the moonlight. There is upturned mountain equipment and bags everywhere, papers and documents littering the room.
"We were only here a just like few hours ago! This must have just happened" Emily cries dramatically.
"God damn, this is crazy! The fuck is going on?" I can definitely sense fear in his voice now. Matt does a spin, taking in the whole room.
"It's gotta be him...the guy that got Chris and Ash...and Max a-and Josh!" Emily shivers, wrapping her arms around herself protectively.
"Undoubtedly. This is the only way back, who else could it be?" I answer coolly, struggling to see clearly by the dim grey light.
"Don't say that" Emily whimpers. I spot the cable car and groan. It's a good few metres out, and it's swinging precariously in the howling wind.
"Damn it. It's all the way out there!" I gesture at it with my free hand.
"Well...that's not that far, is it? You can jump that right? Guys?" Emily pleads desperately.
"Ha! I'm good, Em, but I'm not that good. Flattered though" Matt chuckles and shakes his head. She glances at me hopefully.
"Yeah, just get me some Spider-Man powers and a Winter Soldier arm, I'll be golden"
"Well, if you can't jump that then what are we gonna do?" She snaps.
"Not get murdered? I don't know!" I throw my hands up in exasperation.
"Everything is so busted up..."
"Mhm"
"What could have done this?"
"A number of things...and none of them nice" I add only half-jokingly in a dark tone. Both of them give me a weird look.
"Did you hear Josh just then? Or was that-?"
"Nope, nope. I heard it too"
They both frown and tilt their heads a little. I sigh and stride into the control room, sick of being looked at like a museum exhibit, them following me closely. It's even worse than the rest of the building. Everything that can be broken, is-not to mention that 'DIE' is painted in blood red all over the walls.
"Mmm, very friendly" Matt comments, obviously unsettled.
"Ugh. Un-follow"
"Like Josh said, 'home sweet home'" I remind them.
"Someone really did a number on this joint" Matt picks the map of the mountain up off of the floor and props it up on a shelf, studying it closely.
"This place barely worked before," I recall. "Now-"
"Hey look! Fire tower" Matt cuts me off, pointing it out on the map.
"Or, we could get the cable car working and get this show on the road, huh Magellan? Look at all this crap, there has to be something useful in here!"
We all go to investigate the control panel.
"Great. No keys, no cable car. So...back to square one"
"Josh might have them...then again, he would have probably given them to us before we left" I bite my lip in concentration. Emily suddenly gasps.
"What about that fire tower? On the map you found?"
I groan and roll my eyes. Of course.
"Well...I guess it's an option. It could have a radio or something"
"Matt, we have to get to that radio! Now!"
"It's a better bet than calling. The signal up here's shit. The rangers will probably pick up" I agree.
"Cool. You guys learning to play by the rules; 'Emily is always right' and 'nothing else matters because Emily is always right'"
"Rule number three: the first two rules can be overridden by the possibility of being stabbed in the neck by a homicidal maniac"
"That rule doesn't count" Emily pouts.
"Does right now" I grin mischievously. They glance at each other knowingly.
"I saw it again"
"Same! It's like they've kind of merged" Emily brings her hands together.
"Oh, we've 'merged' have we?" I ask, wiggling my eyebrows.
"Eurgh, Max!"
"You asked for it"
Emily groans and shuffles away, waving her hands around squeamishly. I snort and start looking around for a way out, as the other path is blocked by a locked gate. I hear grunting and see Emily reaching for a ladder a foot too far away from her outstretched fingers. I walk over and try to get to it, but I can't quite get to it either. Yet, if I jumped I would easily be able to catch on to the lowest bar and pull the ladder down.
"You got an idea?"
"It's risky and it probably means I'll be dangling by just my arms over a roughly eight hundred metre drop, but other than that, what could go wrong?"
I take a few steps back, and then run and leap forwards. For one, horrible moment, I think I might not make it, but my hands catch onto the ladder and pull it down rapidly. I find myself falling a few feet along with the ladder until it comes to a sudden, jarring halt. My grip suddenly slips on my left hand, and it lets go of the bar. I yelp as I am left hanging on by one hand, over a very, very long drop. My heartbeat quickens as I look down and see my legs suspended over an abyss. My head spins, and my breathing gets faster. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to focus my mind despite the overwhelming terror. Come on, you can do this. Don't let yourself panic now, you need to be brave.
"Max! Oh my god, Max!" Emily cries out hysterically. I block her out and think hard. First, I need to get my left side back.
I bring my left hand back up to the bar and hang on tight. Good, now I need to climb.
I swing my right arm up and catch the next highest one, then do the same with the other arm. Then the next highest. Then the next. Now I need a foothold.
I bring my legs up and lean my weight on the bottom bar. Then I just walk my hands up the rungs until I am standing up straight. I heave out a heavy breath I didn't realise I had been holding and lean my forehead against the cold metal, so relieved I feel dizzy. I step on to the snowy ledge next to the ladder and press my back to the wall.
"Holy fucking shit," I gasp, letting my head fall back so I am staring at the ceiling. I glance at the others, who are gaping at me, wide-eyed. "We will never tell Josh I did that, agreed?"
Both of them nod vigorously. Emily gingerly steps on to the ladder and climbs down, Matt right behind her. When both of them are safely next to me, I start to carefully shimmy along the ledge, keeping so close to the wall I can hear my coat scraping along it.
"Look at this bad boy!" Emily calls out as she picks up a flashlight from the floor, flicking it on. "You're comin' with me, buddy"
I edge along until I get to the end of the ledge. I peer around the of the wall and see the other side leads to a snowy path that winds away into the dark forest.
"This is the way out, guys" I confirm.
"Ohh...goodie, goodie" Emily replies with mock-enthusiasm.
I carefully duck under the low, slanting beam, leaning my chest over the drop. I don't dare to look down again until I am completely on the other side of the wall. I see Emily's arm appear around the corner, then her foot. As she draws closer to the edge, I realise she hasn't seen it yet. I quickly reach out and grab her arm, and not a moment too soon. She screams as she dangles precariously above the drop. Christ, we are a lucky bunch tonight. I pull her back from the edge and she throws her arms around me, petrified. I stiffen slightly at this unexpected gesture; neither of us has ever been known for cuddles. However, given the circumstances I hug her back.
"Thanks" She mumbles, shuddering.
"Are you okay?" Matt calls, concerned.
"Yeah, uh...I think so. Hooo...okay"
"You good to keep moving?"
"Yeah, let's just get off of here, please!"
She lets go of me but still grips my arm as we carefully shuffle along. I measure my breathing as the wind batters us, keeping my eyes fixed on the horizon. I can see vague shapes of mountains and a dark grey sky, but not much else.
"Oh my gosh...I'm feeling kinda faint..."
"Don't look down" Matt warns her.
"Whoa...oh, Jesus!"
As soon as I feel my foot hit solid ground I pull her to safety. My heart is hammering painfully against my chest, and I can hear my pulse as blood rushes around in my head.
"Holy cannoli, thank god that's over" Emily huffs, clasping her hand over her chest.
"Yeah for real" Matt agrees, stepping off of the ledge carefully. We ascend some stone steps and start on our walk to the fire tower, leaving the cable car station creaking and groaning behind us. We trudge along the path in silence for a while before Emily speaks up again.
"What if it doesn't work? The radio?"
"It'll work" Matt responds grimly.
"But...okay, if it doesn't...we need a plan"
"I can probably fix it. I was up here once with Josh and...Hannah and Beth," just saying their names pains me, but I don't let it show. "Beth had fallen out of a tree and broken her wrist, so we had to call the rangers, but the signal wouldn't work, and-"
"Just get to the point!" Emily interrupts me. I glare at her before continuing.
"Basically the radio was busted so Josh and I had to figure out a way to fix it. I'm pretty sure I remember how to do it...but it probably isn't broken anyway"
"Maybe we could just climb down?" Matt suggests thoughtfully.
"The mountain? Probably not. It's too dark, we're in the middle of a snow storm, and...oh no..."
"What? What is it? Max, what's wrong?"
"They won't be able to get up here. The storm is too bad, they can't land in these conditions"
"No...no, no, no, no. Don't say that!" Emily starts to panic, so I backtrack.
"Okay, okay. We'll try the radio. It's worth a shot, at least"
That seems to placate her, for now. Matt seems to be deep in thought, glaring at the ground.
"Maybe we should just find a safe spot. Hole up, wait it out. It'll be a lot easier to figure this out in the morning"
"Not the lodge, that's where he expects us to go"
"And there's no way I'm going to sit here with an axe and do nothing while all of our friends are unarmed" I add. We come to a wooden gangway on the side of the mountain and we start to walk along it. The wind freezes and numbs my skin, and I have to squint to see properly. My eyes water from the cold, and I wrap my arms around myself to try and preserve what heat I have left. The planks creak ominously under our feet, making me feel uneasy. Once we get back to the woods the wind chill factor gets a little lower, but it is of small comfort. I look around, and realise I recognise this place, but I can't think from where. I catch a momentary glimpse of the moon shining through the clouds, but it is quickly lost again. I follow Emily forwards, and I notice that the ground seems to be getting narrower as we go. Emily's flashlight illuminates the ground in front of us, but the ground...stops. Matt bends down and picks up a broken piece of wood. There's writing on it. 'DAN CLIFF'. Danger cliff.
No way. This isn't. This can't be.
"Watch where you step around here Em" Matt warns over his shoulder.
"Yes Matt, given the choice I'd prefer not to spend my evening plummeting to my death off a snowy cliff top"
Oh my god, it is. It is.
I back away from it, shaking my head. I can see the others walking away from the cliff, so I follow them before the flashbacks start, before the memories set in. I didn't see that. I didn't. I didn't.
A scream. My blood freezes inside me. The creature is here, it's here again.
"Matt, what was that?"
"I don't know!" He answers in a loud whisper. I turn and face...deer. Oh good, it's just a herd of deer.
Coming straight towards us.
Blocking our only escape route.
While we're on a cliff edge.

Fuck.