***
My heart is racing as I navigate through the twists and turns of the right path. Thankfully, the terrain does seem relatively calm, and I’m glad my judgement call on that was correct at least.
Now to see if I’m right about it leading me back to the run.
I wrack my brain to try and visualize where I should be in relation to the run. You’d think that spending 10 seasons here would help my navigation ability, but I’m completely unfamiliar with this route and spending so many years away has made it hard for me to recall the geography.
Coupled with the fact that I’m naturally directionally challenged—I’m fucked.
I let out a big breath and continue to scan the trees for any sign of Moose. I keep my speed down, making it easier to split my attention between navigating my board and searching.
My biggest concern is that we’ve crossed over into the backcountry. In addition to the backcountry being more hazardous, it’s also extremely easy to get lost in if you’re not adequately prepared.
I can’t completely blame Moose for this, I made the decision to follow him, but boy am I going to guilt-trip the hell out of that man when we get back.
My core and quads are on fire and I debate stopping to take a quick break and give myself some relief when I spot a black object off to my right.
It starkly stands out against the snow and is a oblong shape, about four feet tall, though I can’t make out any other details at this distance.
The closer I get, the easier it is to tell that it’s a snowboard, stuck upright into the snow.
Moose? My mind immediately goes to him. If I remember correctly, he did have a dark-colored board…
I slide up next to the board and glance around, looking for whoever must have put it there. It’s hard to tell, but I don’t see anyone in the immediate vicinity.
“What the fuck”, I mutter quietly to myself as I lean down, undo the straps on my board, and step off.
“Hello?” I cup my gloved hands around my mouth and yell into the air.
Silence.
Glancing at the board again, I’m almost 90% certain its Moose’s. No one else would have an “I Love Boobies” sticker in 2022. Well, they might, but coupled with the “MILFs-R-Us” decal, it couldn’t be anyone but Moose. But then where is he?
Snow crunches to my left and I spin towards the sound, my heart thrashing wildly in my chest.
But I find nothing.
Goosebumps erupt over my skin. This is getting fucking spooky and I’m not about it.
My attention returns to the board and I walk around it, looking for tracks in the snow. Whoever put it here, had to have gone somewhere. After a second, I spot a fresh set, the prints definitely from a larger boot.
“Hello?” I try again.
The footprints go forward a few feet and then disappear around one of the larger trees in the area.
I stare at the tree hard, watching for any signs of movement. Moose has to be there, all the evidence points to it and I’m convinced. This has to be payback for the snow I put down his suit earlier.
Fine, I’ll play along.
“Weird, there’s some sort of tracks here.” I say loudly, my gaze still trained on the tree. “And it looks like they lead this way.” I slowly make my way over, ensuring my steps are as loud as possible.
“Boy—I do hope that I don’t find anything scary behind this tree, I don’t think that my little heart could handle it.”
I’m a few steps away now. Doubt hits me like a ton of bricks. Fuck, what if it really isn’t him?
“Schrodinger’s tree. There is both someone behind it and no one until we can confirm with our own eyes.”
I take the last few steps as fast as possible, hoping to catch Moose by surprise. I round the tree—
All I see is a flash of purple before I feel a blinding pain in my temple and my world goes completely black.
***
“Holy balls, it’s hot in here,” I groan and fling the comforter off my body. I can feel the sweat accumulated on my chest, making my top damp, and I quickly sit-up and strip my long-sleeve off, throwing it to the side. James must have cranked the thermostat up to at least 80°.
I keep my eyes closed, trying to preserve the sleep I was just in so I can easily slip back into it, and roll over. The crackle of the fireplace is soothing and I feel my body getting heavy again as sleep slowly washes over me.
Wait—
My bedroom doesn’t have a fireplace.
It’s then that I note the pounding in my head and the memories of what happened come flooding back in. I throw myself into a sitting position and fling my eyes open, all thoughts of falling back asleep discarded as I take in my unfamiliar surroundings.
I’m in a cabin. That much is for certain. The walls, floor, and ceiling are all pine. The queen sized bed that I’m in has white and black Buffalo-check flannel sheets, a forest green quilt, and another chunky-knitted red blanket thrown over top.
This seems to be the second floor of a loft, I guess, noting the railing surrounding the outline of this level. I can also see a circular, black pipe coming from the lower level and disappearing into the ceiling, probably from a wood fire stove. Which would explain the fireplace sounds that woke me up.
There’s a window behind the headrest of the bed and a quick glance outside tells me that I’m still in the mountains, a light snowfall having started up.
Other than the bed, a few other pieces of heavy wood furniture also share the space—a dresser is against the wall to my right, theres a leather chair with a circular green rug and a floor lamp behind it in the corner, opposite the dresser is floor length mirror angled slightly towards the bed, and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves cover the back wall.
I’d be impressed with how nicely everything fits together if I wasn’t scared shitless.
***
A/N: What do you think happened?! We’re starting to get into the part of the story where it starts heating up and I’m so excited to show you more of Emma and our male MC :)
Also, apologies for the sporadic updates. Writing is a hobby for me and I’ve been pretty slammed with my day job, making it difficult to find the time/motivation to write. I love this story and will always come back to it, it just might take some time. Thank you all for understanding!
