Endurance // M. Taylor

iv. friendship

I sit next to Sam, on a bus that is heading towards the Washington's mountain. I look over at Sam who has her earbuds in and is tuning everything else out.

It has been a whole year since Hannah and Beth went missing. Matt and I broke up a few days after the twins went missing. Every time I saw his face, I saw the twins running into the woods. I was mad at him for being a part of that stupid prank, and I could tell he felt guilty about it. I just couldn't bring myself to forgive him. Not yet.

Matt and I haven't talked too much since then, but I did stay in contact with Josh, Chris, and Sam. We had all gotten close, and shared an equal amount of concern for Josh. Both of his sisters were missing and not a single soul knew of their whereabouts. He would hide his pain with a smile and a joke, but I could tell how affected he was by the tragedy.

There's been a debate about whether or not they could have survived. To me, I think that they got lost. I mean, who wouldn't get lost on a mountain that big? There's too many trees and too many cliffs to count.

The bus comes to a soft halt before the door opens. Sam and I gather our things and get off the bus. The sign at the stop reads, "Blackwood Pines" just like it always has. I take a deep breath before following behind Sam up to the lodge. It was going to be one long weekend. I was worried that I would see Matt again, after all these months without him. A part of me was ready to forgive him, and I was hoping that he'd hug me and tell me that I would be his one and only forever. But, I quickly ignored those feelings and followed Sam to the cable car station.

As we were walking, Sam and I hear faint footsteps from behind us. Making us both turn around and begin to walk slightly faster.

"Hello?" Sam yells, trying to figure out who's following us if there even was anyone following us.

"Is someone there?" I ask, standing still for a second to see if I could hear anymore footsteps. I couldn't hear anything and neither could Sam, so we kept walking.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Roslyn." Sam tries to reassure me, I nod and continue to walk. I didn't know why, but I felt as if someone was watching me. Not supernaturally, but like if someone were spying on me. I hated the feeling and got in front of Sam. She doesn't ask questions and keeps walking right behind me.

I check my watch and it says it's 9:02 am. I look up and we arrive at a large, black gate. Sam and I walk towards the gate, only to find a note on it.

A note that reads, "The gates busted. Climb over! -Chris." Sam sighs and tries to open the gate. Which doesn't work.

"Jesus. Never mind." Sam says as she spots a wall that's easy to climb over. I look at her, and she just smiles.

"You want me to climb that? You're funny." I laugh at her, but she just ignores me and climbs the wall with no problem. Ugh, athleticism is something I don't have.

We keep walking and find the most adorable little squirrel just walking right in front of us. I had to keep myself from making any noise, as not to scare the poor creature away. Sam gave it an acorn and then it ran away. I giggled and we stumbled upon a large board that talked about supposed fortune-telling totems. Sam and gave each other the 'that's-bullshit' look before walking away. It was cool, but probably not true. I saw one of them right next to the sign, just lying on the ground. So, I carefully picked it up.

My vision turned to black and showed a black crow flying onto a snow covered table and then flying away. I could have swore that I saw Mike, but I quickly brushed it off. Still, something seemed...off.

We were right up on the cable car station. How convenient? There was a chilling breeze in the air, brushing across my face, making me shiver. It reminded me of that night on the mountain...