I'm in it for the Long Run // Edge of Winter

16

As Caleb and I crawled our way through the hole, I did my best to choke back tears. Could it be that we'll never see Bradley again? No, it can't. We will see him again. We'll see him soon. Oh Brad, whatever you do up there, it better work.

The cold fluid of the snow began to seep through my jeans as we scurried underneath the house. We did our best to be quiet, to make sure Elliot coudn't hear us, wherever he was. In front of me, Caleb started to slow down until he came to a complete stop.

"What is it?" I whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder. He limply lifted his trembling finger into the air until it landed on a large black object, too faint to make out in the dark.

"R-Richard." He stuttered. My eyes widened as he shined the flashlight across the dead man's frozen and lifeless body. A chill ran through my body, ripping the air from out of my lungs and sending a sick feeling to my stomach.

I leaned to the side and hurled out my guts. I refused to look back at Richard's body as I wiped the vomit off the corners of my mouth. Caleb's sobs became muffled as he sat back on his heels and covered his face with his hands.

"Sh sh sh, it's ok." I assured, pulling his wrists down. "We're going to make it out of here, all of us. We- we gotta keep moving, okay. Don't stop." He gave me an understanding nod and pulled the light from Richard.

Once Caleb turned away from me, I shoved some snow in my mouth to get rid of the putrid taste that lingered. I spit it out and let the tears stream down my cheeks, silently. I continued shuffling through the tunnel, following Caleb carefully.

It was pitch black everywhere except for where the ray from the flashlight shone. When we finally caught a glimpse of the moon's light, we both seemed to hit our second win. We shimmied out of the slim opening and sprinted into the middle of nowhere.

Every corner we turned provided new obstacles. Fallen trees. Wild animals. And my personal favorite, blood stains. However, we didn't stop until we found some familiar ground.

"Belle, I know where we are!" Caleb exclaimed.

"You do? Where's the highway?" I questioned frantically, keeping my head on a swivel.

"Up this way." He pointed past a large oak and bounced nervously.

"Alright, let's hurry. Find the car before Elliot finds us." I stated before starting a sprint. Caleb quickly turned on his heels and led me up the hill. Our footprints sounded heavy in the snow, but not as heavy as our breathing. Puffs of breath glistened in the cool night air as we ran up the hill.

"There's the car! I see it!" Caleb shouted, not stopping for a second. The two of us bounded forward, and only stopped when we saw Luc laying in the front seat. "I-is he dead?" Caleb quivered.

"No, no he can't be. He got away, remember?" I leaned closer to the car and wiped the condensation from the window. I could see Luc's chest steadily rising and falling, signaling that he was, indeed, still alive.

Caleb walked up next to me and knocked his fist on the glass. Luc bounced up quickly and pulled a knife from his pocket. The two of us jumped back, startled, and put our hands in the air.

Luc's eyes were wide open, but a sense of relief washed over him when he saw it was just us. He put the knife down and clicked the door open. He looked us up and down in what I was guessing, searching for injuries.

I swung the backpack from my shoulder and unzipped it in a rush. I pulled out a set of keys and dangled them in the air for Luc to see. He opened his mouth, then closed it again as I realized that the pair belonged to Richard. I had just confirmed that his friend was dead.

Nevertheless, Luc took the keys and jammed them into the car and tried to stat the ignition. "We need to go, now!" He ordered, trying to pull us into the car.

"No!" Caleb cried, yanking his arms from Luc. "Not without Brad." Caleb uttered confidently.

"Where is he?" He demanded.

"Back at the cabin. We need to go get him." I emphasized, pointing in the direction of where we had just come from. "Please help us."

Luc looked down at the ground so neither of us could catch his eye. He turned his feet back into the car and slammed the door shut. "Go get your brother, I'll be here when you need me. I'm not going anywhere near that monster."

His reply was shocking. Sure Elliot had nearly killed him the first time he tried to save us, but all we had to do was get Bradley and run back here. Elliot wasn't on our trail, at least not that we knew of.

"Alright, fine." I scoffed walking away from the car. "We'll be back soon."

"Belle?" Caleb called, still standing in front of the car.

"Caleb c'mon. Someone needs to help your brother and if it's not him, it's going to be me." I claimed, determination in my voice.

Caleb swallowed a big gulp and faced Luc again. The window was now rolled up, but Luc was staring right back out at Caleb. Eventually, he gave up and retreated back to me.

"Good. Now let's go save Brad." I put a hand on his back and pushed him in front of me. I let him go first so I could keep an eye on him and the things around us.

"Hold on Brad. We're coming." I mumbled.