The Blackwood Pines couldn't feel more like a ghost town as Zac and I stare up at the hanging sign. I feel a tightness in my chest, begging me to grab Zac and turn around. But, I already let the twins down once, I can't abandon them again.

    If I wasn't so scared that night, maybe I could have found them and saved them. 

    "Y'know, in a weird way, I miss this place," Zac informs me, slinging his backpack over his shoulders and walking ahead, our boots leaving prints in the snow below us. 

    I tuck my hands into my puffer vest, looking up at him with a perplexed look, "That's... kind of morbid, Zac,"

    He shrugs off my comment, not seeming phased by the slight insult, "Maybe, but, most of our good memories with the girls are here,"

    I feel sick at the mention of the twins, their smiling faces burned onto the inside of my eyelids for the past year. For the entire month between Josh's invite and where we are now, I've gone over thousands of ways to gently let him down and tell him I'm not coming. But anytime I'd call or video chat him, he seemed so excited for us to 'all be back together'. 

    I look down at my black boots, footprints trailing my existence as we tread deeper into the pines. "I guess so,"

    "What's up with you? Besides the obvious," He asks, looking down at me with furrowed brows. 

    I can't tell him about the fire and the creature's screech, it'll scare him for no reason. Even I know it wasn't real.

    "Doesn't it feel... disrespectful? Like we're dancing on their grave or something?" I question, craning my neck to look up at him and watch for his knee-jerk reaction. 

    "I think Hannah and Beth would love for us to dance on their graves," He grins, leaning his elbow to bump my shoulder. He always knows how to steer me in the right direction, something he's picked up on over the years that we've spent growing up together. 

     "I don't know how I'll go seeing all of them again after their immature prank," I admit, looking ahead as the gate towards the path to the cable car enters my view. "Don't get me wrong, Hannah--god rest her soul--should never have gone into that room with Mike knowing he had a girlfriend. But, Emily should have just spoken to her if it was that big of a deal," 

    "It's kind of ironic that Jess set up the prank to 'have Em's back' and now she's the one pining after Mike," Zac snickers.

    "Yeah, ew. Josh told me they've hooked up once or twice. I bet that will make for an interesting altercation when Emily shows up," I laugh at the idea of Emily's short fuse and 'couldn't care less' attitude. Before everything, Emily and I always had the most fun together at the Lodge.

    "Oh, total catfight," He grins, probably eager to see Emily and Jess pull each other's hair. 

    "I don't get what you see in her, Zac," I scoff playfully at his crush on the blonde girl, shaking my head as we approach the gate and inspect a note attached. Pulling back, I read the handwriting sprawled out across the page, "It's Chris, he says the gate's busted and we gotta climb over,"

    "Oh, man, really?" Zac whines, tightening his bag straps around him, "Blackwood is where I like to treat myself to luxury, not rock climbing,"

    "Rock climbing is a luxury sport for some rich people," I shrug, handing him my duffle bag and bracing myself onto the rocks next to the gate. "Spot me,"

    "You got it," 

    I secure my grip, pulling myself up and getting a steady footing as I slowly pull myself up the rocks. My hands are slippery on the surface from the snow melting under my fingertips, but I don't lose my grip as I make it to the top and pull myself over to the other side. 

    My feet land in the snow, a smile appearing on my face as I grin at Zac through the blocked wall. "I'm good, throw the bag!"

    "Incoming!" He shouts, my bag appearing over the wall and landing in my awaiting palms. 

    A noise from behind me grabs my attention, and my head snaps almost a full turn to inspect the frosty woods around me. I squint, trying to see more clearly in the dark tree lines.

     Zac lands into the snow in front of me with a thud, my heart almost pounding out of my chest as I turn back to him and clamp a hand over my heart. "You scared me, asshole!"

    "You knew I was coming, Ruby Gloom," His silly nickname makes me roll my eyes, my hands grasping the strap of my bag to hoist it back onto its place over my shoulder. 

    I don't bother replying, both of us turning on our heels and walking towards the cable station. 

    The lights on the edge of the path guide our way, leading us to a small clearing with cobble steps leading to the station. Just before the steps, a sign sits bolted into the stone.

    "Huh," I say, leaning down with my palms on my knees to study the signage and its information. I stand up straight, securing my hands on my hips, "Weird, I've never noticed that before,"

    "You're just trying to distract yourself from the uneasiness. That sign's always been there," He lazily reassures, grabbing my shoulders and gently guiding me up the stairs and towards the cable car station. "We better hurry up, everyone's probably at the Lodge already,"

    I laugh at his antics, knowing he mostly just wants to be there to pull Jess away from Mike before they have any chance to make their little situation official.

    The cable car station comes into view, an orange bag set soundly on the bench outside. "Hey, isn't that Chris's bag?"

    "Boo!" The man in question appears, his head peaking around the corner of the station. A dopey grin overcomes his face as he stares at our unstartled appearances. He huffs, stepping out of his hiding place and walking towards us, "You guys are no fun,"

    "Nice to see you too, Chris," I laugh as Zac leans in to clap his hand against the blond male in front of us. 

    "Glad you guys could make it," He grins, looking between us like there's been a lifetime between the last time we saw each other. I guess, given the circumstances, it has been. "Heading up to the lodge I presume?"

    "Where else would we go?" Zac mocks, clapping a hand on Chris's shoulder as we all walk towards the station, Chris stopping to grab his bag on the way. 

    Zac approaches the door first, grabbing the handle and turning only to be met with resistance from the locking mechanism. He turns over his shoulder, looking at us with concern and confusion. 

    "Crap, almost forgot," Chris speaks up, stepping forward and unlocking the door with a key from his pocket, "Josh wants us to lock it, keep people out. Apparently, they found a homeless person sleeping in here once or something,"

    He pushes the door open, the dimly lit room of the cable station greeting all of us. Chris stands beside the door, fake bowing with an arm extended as he waits for us to enter. 

    "What a gentleman," Zac grins, curtsying before walking through the threshold. I snort at my step-brother's girlish voice, following after him as Chris waits for me to enter.

   "I try," Chris shrugs in fake humbleness. 

    Zac and I approach the empty platform, Chris closing the door behind him as he follows suit, walking into the operating room to summon another cable car. 

    I lean against the railing, gazing out onto the snowy landscape stretching for miles before me. it's strange to think that somewhere, possibly even in my line of vision, Beth and Hannah took their last breath.

    Standing up straight, I shake off the depressing and morbid thoughts, forcing a smile onto my face as the cable car zips down the line and lines up with the platform. 

    I turn to Chris, nodding my head towards the awaiting cable car, "You coming?"

    "I guess I could," He shrugs, stepping onto the familiar contraption along with us. We all take our seats, Zac and Chris with their backs to the journey while I sit facing them, my bag beside me.

     "The adventure begins," Chris comments as the cable car springs to life, pulling us towards the waiting Washington lodge. 

    The cable car falls into silence for only a few minutes, Zac smiling at me as he speaks up, "Ruby has been having some doubts about the trip,"

    Glaring at him, I jerk my leg out and kick him in the shin, his teeth gritting as he hisses in pain and leans to hold the affected area.

    "What? I haven't seen Josh so excited about something in... forever!" Chris exclaims, waving his hand as if he could physically swipe my doubts out of the car and let them plummet into the snowy terrain below. 

    "I know," I sigh, leaning against my bag and pressing the sole of my boot against the seat in front of me, "Hence, why I'm here," 

   Chris turns to Zac, a knowing smile on his face, "Your doing?"

    "Absolutely,"

    "Oh, please. Despite what he thinks, Zac can't make me do a damn thing," I tease, knocking my leg against his knee in mockery. 

    "That's what you think," He waves me off.

    "Isn't having a sibling such a beautiful thing?" Chris grins sarcastically, smiling between us. Zac and I have been siblings since his Dad married my Mum when we were four. We've only ever been four months apart, our parents treating us more like twins than a relationship dependent on marriage. 

    "So magical," I quip, holding my hands against my face and sitting up straight, dropping my leg to the ground as Zac rolls his eyes at me.

    "Seriously though, it's a good idea... us being here," Chris further reassures me, looking at me with a sense of sympathy and understanding. 

    "Let's hope everyone else feels the same way," Zac joins, turning his head to gaze out at the window behind him. 

    "We're all here, aren't we?" Chris copies his movements. 

     "Seriously? Everyone showed up?" I ask, slight shock covering my body. In all honestly, I expected most of those involved in the prank to never send back their RSVP's

    "Yep!" Chris grins, not bothering to turn his head from the window.

    The cable car reaches the upper station in no time, both boys practically pushing me out of the way to get out of the vehicle first. I shake my head, holding my bag and following after them as they fiddle with the door handle.

    "Don't suppose you have a key for this one?" I ask, noting the resistance the handle gave under Zac's touch.

    "Afraid not," Chris mumbles, moving to press his face against the small window imprinted in the door. He bangs on the glass, angling his head as he begins to shout, "Jess!"

     The blonde in question appears on the other side of the door, her hair tucked into French braids and shoulders hidden underneath a purple jacket. Her lips move, forming words that are intelligible to me through the steel door. 

    "The button, Jess! Press the button!" Zac instructs, pointing down towards where I assume there is a panel beside the door. I watch as her head disappears from sight, the door clicking open within seconds.

    Chris pulls it open, all three of us piling out as he begins to talk, "Oh. my. god! I thought we were goners. Another ten minutes in there I would have chewed my own leg off,"

     My face cringes at the cannibalistic visual, Jess's face conveying a similar feeling as she crosses her arms over herself and avoids my eye. 

    Zac notices something tucked in Jess's hand, a red envelope that he immediately snatches from her grasp, "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

    "Hey!" Jess protests.

    Chris leans over his shoulder, taking the envelope in a stupid game of pass the parcel as he too inspects what's written, "Oh my goodness,  it seems that someone has a lil' crush on our good friend and dear class president, Michael Munroe!"

    I dig the toe of my shoe into the snow, my instinct being to defend Jess from Chris's humiliating show. But, then I remember what she led Hannah into and my feelings of defence fade away into a tiny voice in my head screaming to be heard. 

    "What kind of sizzling erotica might our Jessica be capable of imagining? I wonder," Chris grins, turning the mischievous smirk towards Zac and I. Despite Zac's crush on Jess, he never seems bothered by the thought of her liking Mike. I guess he's not threatened. 

    "Mike and Em split," Jess defends, crossing her arms over her chest as if that makes it better. She was close with Em, as Zac mentioned earlier, she was the one who came up with the prank in the first place to teach Hannah a lesson for wanting the exact thing she's doing now.

    "But, he hasn't made it official yet... has he?" I squint at her in mock sympathy, pouting my lip in mock sympathy as I look her up and down. She glares at me, choosing not to say anything as she approaches Chris and snatches the envelope back from his prying hands. 

    It's strange to think that only a year ago, I was so close to all of these people. Now? They're all practically strangers. 

    "All right, let's just head to the lodge already," Chris interjects, turning and waving his hand as if to encourage us all to follow.

    "You guys go ahead, I'm just gonna wait here for a bit," Jess objects, twirling the letter in her hands as she speaks. 

    "Suit yourself," I shrug, turning my back on her in an instant, wishing my ponytail was long enough to whip her in the face. 

    "I'll wait with you," Zac offers, not taking any sign of Jessica's protest as he throws an arm around her shoulders and leads them over to the seat under the shelter of the cable car station. 

    "Just you and me then," I turn to Chris, patting him on the shoulder as we continue our trek to the Lodge. 

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AUTHORS NOTE

ahh, first chapter and first hour down already! 

I just wanted to say that while ruby may have personal beef with everyone involved in the prank as of rn, I actually love all the characters so writing arguments and things between her and them is definitely gonna be hard and to not take any of it to heart if she's mean to your favourite character.

besides, I'm sure she'll get over it... 

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