Post Dawn

27. Expedition

Chris and Ashley had both fallen asleep on the couch hours after receiving Emily's panicked phone call. It had been around 7 before the pair had knocked out on the couch.

Chris's head was laying on the back of the couch with his mouth open. While Ashley laid against him with her head on his chest.

Ashley was the first to wake up. When she did she slowly got up as to not wake Chris and then stood to stretch.

She looked down at him with his mouth still wide open and he snored softly.

She laughed quietly and then headed to the bathroom to shower.

She had been trying to avoid being away from Chris. He was the only safe place she knew. He was like home for her.

She knew that when they had separated on that fateful night Chris could've been killed. It was a miracle he hadn't been.

Ashley felt like whenever they separated, their chances of being in danger increased significantly.

She sighed and undressed, hopping into the shower.

She tried to have her shower water be as warm as possible without it really burning her. She hated the cold before but now the cold only reminded her of the snowy mountain.

She knew she hadn't been out in it nearly as long as everyone else but she hated it nonetheless.

She finished showering in about 10 minutes and then put on a hoodie and some sweatpants.

She had thrown out all of her clothing she had worn the night of the incident. Including her beanie which she loved dearly.

But she couldn't wear it now. It always made her think of what happened.

She walked into the kitchen and sat down at one of the stools next to the kitchen counter.

She wasn't sure where else she could sit since when she had walked out from the bathroom she saw Chris had slumped over the entire couch.

She laughed at this and shook her head.

She thought about calling Emily to check on her but she wasn't sure that would be a good idea. No one had acknowledged what happened on the mountain besides the fact that there were Wendigos and they should all be afraid.

Her and Emily hadn't been too close last year and this year, if it were possible, they had drifted further from each other.

Since they had pulled the prank, Ashley had mostly blamed Emily and Jess for everything that had happened. To Hannah and Beth. And partially for Josh's sanity.

But now Emily was staying with Josh and taking care of him, making sure he was okay.

She couldn't wrap her head around it.

She then snapped out of her thoughts and decided that she would put on a brave face and try to talk to her.

She grabbed her phone from the counter and walked into the bedroom, closing the door behind her so Chris wouldn't get woken up.

It rang a few times and then it picked up.

"Hello?"

Ashley paused for a moment and formed what she wanted to say without sounding frightened.

"Hey Emily. It's Ashley- not sure if you have my number saved. Just wanted to check in on everything."

It hadn't worked. She was a stuttering mess until she finally just ended her sentence. She heard Emily's breathing on the other line for at least 20 seconds until she answered.