The Seven

Chapter 6: The Stranger

After about half an hour of walking, Nathan walked up to where Cam and Rick were talking about shelter for the night.

"...I think the snow huts were a good idea, we can just do that again."

"Yeah, but the snow is too thin today, we might have to think of another shelter."

Cam turned to face Nathan who was standing beside him and Rick.

"Oh hey Nathan, what's up?"

"Guys," Nathan started out, "So this morning when we were packing up, I noticed a few of my grenades had gone missing. I checked everywhere for them and couldn't find them for the life of me."

He scratched his head, "I think someone snuck in and stole them."

Rick spoke before Cam had a chance to blow up. "Come to think of it, I was missing one or two cans of food this morning as well. I didn't really think anything of it since one of the others just might have been extra hungry. Do you really think there could be other people on the mountain who know of it's dangers?"

The thought that they weren't the only humans up here was slightly relieving, but a lack of interaction worried them more than anything.

Cam spoke with a level tone so as not to alert the others. "Could be, I mean there was that hiker so there could certainly be others on the mountain. Regardless, we need to be on the lookout. Was anything else missing Nathan?"

He tapped his chin in thought. "No. Nothing else that I noticed."

Cam nodded. "Well I didn't have anything stolen and since the other members haven't said anything it's probably safe to assume nothing of notability went missing from them. I say we keep this under wraps until we find anything more concerning about it."

The three boys nodded in agreement and continued on.

Cosmic fell back from her position at the very front towards the girls, an eyebrow raised. "What d'you think the boys are talking about, ladies?"

Claire shrugged, holding her compass high in the air, "Video games, hotwheels, who cares?" This earned a huff from Cosmic. "Looks fishy. Sena?"

Sena looked up from the map and laughed a little. "They must be plotting against us!" She mimed strangling at Harley, going at a safe speed with a hand-made wooden crutch. The younger girl gasped.

"No way! They wouldn't, would they?"

The girls looked at the males behind. Rick waved. They turned back forward.

"Ricky wants to kill us?!" Harley whispered, her mouth, like Cosmic's, gaping.

Claire and Sena glanced at each other, before laughing at the younger two.

"Don't be so naïve, Harl!" Claire said while chuckling.

Sena shook her head, still laughing, "And don't rile things up, Cosmic."

Cosmic put her arm around Harley and they shared a distressed look, "Don't worry, Harl, I'll protect you!"

Harley beamed at her, "Likewise!"

The atmosphere, once more, lightened; but the group knew more than anything to not let it hinder them or distract them. The faint, unearthly screeches from the bottom of the mountain shrouded in fog gave them their grim reminder of what lurked in the dark.

As the sun set over the top of the mountain, the boys and girls regrouped and began talking about shelter for the night. There were two sides to the issue; build a shelter or continue walking through the night until they reached the radio tower. Harley, Rick, Cosmic, and Claire voted on building a shelter for the night. Sena, Nathan, and Cam voted to keep going.

"Look, we've traveled at least a good 7 kilometers, there's only about 3 left! We can make it tonight." Cam argued.

"Sure we've traveled 7 kilometers, but that's over the entire day. We've been walking for 12 hours with barely any breaks. Look at my sister! She's exhausted and injured. We need to take the night to recharge." Claire retorted.

Nathan butted in. "And then what? How are we gonna build shelter? How are we going to defend against those beasts from hell?!"

Both sides began yelling over each other, the echoes of their voices ringing across the mountain. As they kept arguing on and on, Sena turned her head towards a rustling bush next to them. Through the leaves she could see the faint outline of a person.

Harley noticed her turned head and looked towards the bush as well. "What is that?"

Everyone else followed suit, and began to pull out their weapons. Then a pair of hands reached up out of the bush. A collective sound of safeties turning off and hammers cocking back filled the air. Then, a woman stepped out from the bush. She couldn't have been more than a few years older than the group. She had a small frame, but seemed to be well equipped for the cold. A thick jacket, wool gloves, long pants, a beanie, and a large backpack. She looked like she had been crying earlier, and the guns pointed in her direction weren't helping.

Cam began questioning her. "Who are you?"

"My name's Christine." She answered, eyeing the group as dishevelled as she was.

"What are you doing up here?"

"I-I was here hiking with my boyfriend and we got seperated. I saw you guys, you know. I saw you loot his dead body. I don't blame you, especially after I'd stolen from you, but I've been in shock after seeing him...seeing him..." She fell to her knees, crying, and the group put their guns away.

Claire approached her, putting her hand on the woman's shoulder.

"It'll be alright, look we're heading towards a radio tower so we can signal for help, you can come with us if you'd like."

Christine nodded, physically relieved to know that she was in good hands. "That sounds like a good idea, thank you."

Rick spoke up, "Whoa whoa whoa, this woman stole from us, how do we know we can trust her? I don't know if this is a good idea, no offense ma'am."

Harley scowled at Rick, pitying the lady, and he scowled back, unconvinced. "Ricky." She hissed.

Christine looked at the two. "No, no, I understand. However, as a show of good faith I can show you guys to me and Chris' hunting cabin. Do you have the map he was carrying?"

"Chris and Christine!" Harley noted, amused. The woman smiled wearily at her comment, clearly having heard that before.

Cam pulled out the map and gave it to the woman. She studied it for a moment and then pointed to a cluster of trees on it.

"It's... well, right here is where we are, the cabin is just a bit west of here. I'm sure there's plenty of room for everyone."

"But west is the opposite direction we're heading." Nathan said.

"Yes but we need to rest for the night, and this seems like an opportunity too good to pass up. I mean sleeping in a nice, warm place. Too good." Cosmic responded, fantasizing about central heating.

"Then it's decided, we join Christine at her cabin for the night and continue to the radio tower in the morning." Cam said, uneasy about this new plan. Nonetheless, the group seemed to be in agreement that this was the best of a bad situation.

Rick bent his head down to Harley, "She's going to kill us in our sleep."

Harley pushed him lightly. "Don't start!"