Survive until sunrise

Chapter 1 - The grand return

Marvin's head rested against the window as he watched the surroundings outside the bus change. The city quickly turned into empty fields, then into a thick forest, all while the sun was slowly disappearing over the horizon. He couldn't believe he was coming back after what happened last year. Shawn, Robbie... both missing until now. Despite how drunk he was that night, he still remembered it all too clearly...

But the others decided to return. They figured that that's what the missing two would want in the end, see their group still together. No matter how much they blamed themselves and each other. He figured, why not? They should be there for each other. It was the anniversary of that night and being alone didn't seem like a good idea. Maybe they'd all just meet up, relax, and stay sober for once.

Eventually, the bus came to a stop, so Marvin picked up his bag and left it. He was greeted by the same sign saying "Welcome to the Septic Mountain", as broken as it always was. They probably should replace it soon, otherwise, it would break completely. And as he headed into the forest and the bus took off again, he didn't even turn around. And maybe it was for the better? Otherwise, he'd see someone on the other side of the road, holding a machete and watching him.

Instead, he just headed forward, listening to the sound the snow was making with each step he took. He liked that sound. He could hear a couple of sticks crack around him, but he assumed that those were only animals. Eventually, he made it over to a huge, iron gate. He tried to push it open, but it wouldn't budge. Only then, he saw a small note attached to it. He curiously took it and read it out loud.

"...The gate's busted. Climb over. Signed, Jackie," he read out loud. "What?!" he sighed, looking the gate over. "Damnit," he muttered, stepping away.

Instead of deciding to climb the gate itself, he walked over to the rock wall connected to it. It would be just like rock climbing, one of his many hobbies, so it shouldn't be too hard, right? Well, just as he thought, he easily made it across. The only thing slightly upsetting him was the amount of snow lying over the wall, it made it very cold and slippery and the last thing he wanted now was a broken leg. But soon enough, he was walking again, on the other side this time.

Suddenly, he could hear a branch snap somewhere near. He stopped in his tracks and looked to his side, trying to see whatever caused it despite the darkness surrounding him. Eventually, a smile appeared on his face as he watched a little squirrel waddle in front of him. He quickly reached to his pocket and pulled out a couple of nuts he had left after eating most of them as a snack on his way to the mountain. Then, despite being upset over snow a second before, he knelt down and held them out for the animal to take.

"Hey, little fella. You hungry?" he chuckled as he watched the animal slowly approach. Eventually, it took the nuts off his hand before trotting away. "There you go..." he waved goodbye to the squirrel and continued on his way.

Soon enough, he reached the cable car station, where he hoped to catch Jackie. The cable cars were rarely coming, so there was a chance that his friend was still somewhere around, waiting for one to arrive. He looked around but failed to see anybody closeby, so he assumed that he was late. But when he tried to get into the station itself, he realized that the door was locked.

"...What the...? Jackie? Are you inside?" he asked, fidgeting with the doorknob for a moment before backing away. "Weird," he muttered.

He started walking around the station, hoping to either find Jackie or a way inside. There was no way in hell he'd be walking up the mountain, it was too big and there was too much snow, he'd most likely trip and fall. Eventually, he noticed Jackie's bag lying on one of the nearby benches. He carefully walked over and looked around.

"...Jackie? Not in the bag, are you? Come on, I'm the magician here," he chuckled, but received no answer. And just then, he noticed his friend's phone sticking out of the bag, buzzing. Immediately, a mischievous grin appeared on his face. "Hello. What do we have here?" he muttered, reaching for it and trying to unlock it.