"I feel like this mountain gets bigger every time I climb it," Chris huffs, holding onto the straps of his bag as he approaches Josh. I smile at my childhood friend, any possible awkwardness from our middle-school-like relationship gone instantly. Truthfully, I don't think we ever even liked each other. 

      "Oh yeah? Feels the same to me," Josh grins in mockery, holding his arms over his chest as he takes in Chris and I, two of his closest friends and the only ones besides Zac not involved in his sisters disappearing.

    "To be fair, Josh, you grew up climbing the mountain. Probably feels smaller the bigger you get," I defend, readjusting the strap of my bag over my shoulder. 

    "I guess that's true," He nods, still smiling comfortably to himself. 

    "When are you gonna install some cell towers up here?" Chris pipes back into the conversation, holding his phone up in the air in a fake effort to get a signal "I'm getting withdrawals already,"

    "You got a spare million lying around and I'll fix you right up," Josh shakes his head, laughing at the idea.

    "You basically own a mountain, Josh. You have a spare million," I smile, following after him as he turns and walks away.

     "Funny you should say that. I think I left it in my other jacket," Chris points behind him, falling into step beside me as we approach the infamous Washington Lodge.

   "Oops," Josh smiles like a child, turning to the people on the steps waiting, "Hey guys, get up here okay?"

    "Yeah! Well... more or less, but it's so good to see you!" Ashley replies, her ginger hair half-hidden beneath her beanie as she glances towards a pissed-off-looking Matt.

    "What's up with him?" I whisper in between Chris and Josh, both of them turning to me with a disinterested shrug. 

    They sneak glances at the annoyed male as the three of us approach the steps, climbing them up to the front door of this haunted house. 

    "Yo, yo, yo! Are we going to get things moving up here or what?" Chris's words come out sounding rather douchey, causing me to snort and shake my head.

     Chris glances at me, widening his eyes and flicking them towards Josh as if to tell me to talk to him. I roll my eyes, mocking him for being too frightened to take the step himself as I reach my hand out and place it on Josh's shoulder.  "Hey... you doing alright?"

     Josh looks from me to Chris, any flicker of sadness disappearing as he smiles and shakes his head, "Stop,"

     Chris straightens up, his backbones physically growing as he interjects, "I know it must be really tough without your sis-"   

    "Stop. Seriously, I'm over it and I just want us to have a good time, y'know? Like we always used it," Josh dismisses any concerns over his well-being. I can't help the physical reaction on my face at his use of the words 'over it'. How could someone possibly be over the disappearance and possibly death of his siblings in a matter of twelve months?

    "Okay... if that's what you want," I nod, letting my hand slip from his shoulder as Chris nods his head in agreement. Josh turns his back to us, moving to the door and trying the doorknob, only to be met with an unfortunate resistance. 

    "Dammit, this fucking thing," Josh curses, struggling to get anywhere with the sealed door. 

    "It's iced?" Chris asks in confirmation, standing slightly closer to peer over Josh's shoulder. "Maybe there's another way in,"

    "There are a million ways in, they're just all locked," Josh comments, not tearing his eyes away from the frozen shut door. 

    "There's gotta be, like, a window or something we can just open?" I phrase it more like a question, looking between the two for some sort of reassurance. 

     "Yeah, there should be one around the corner," Chris mumbles his agreement, pondering all the possibilities.

    "Wait a second, are you saying we should break in?" Josh grins mischievously, turning to me and directing the expression my way. "Ruby Gloomy,"

     Rolling my eyes at the reappearance of my childhood nickname, I drop my bag onto the ground and cross my arms over my vest, "It's not technically breaking in if you own the place, which you do,"

    "Not if I don't report you," He teases further. He turns, holding his arm out to gesture down the staircase behind us, "Lead the way, Gloomy!"

    I turn on my heels, the two boys following close behind me as we descend the staircase in hopes of finding a window somewhere around the massive lodge. Before we can get any further than the bottom of the staircase, Chris turns and smiles down at the ginger on the steps.

    "Hey, Ash,"

    "Hi, Chris!" She grins back at him, their mutual crushes on each other only making me turn to Josh and fake gag. 

    Truthfully, Ashley was always the one I spoke to the least. Even before the prank, she didn't seem like someone I'd get along with, or someone that would want to get along with me. 

    "--Yeah, that does sound pretty nice," Chris's voice brings me back to reality. I stand beside Josh to the side, waiting for Chris to stop trying to flirt and fail miserably. 

    "C'mon, Chris. You can gross us out inside," I beacon him, turning to walk around to the side of the house with the two boys in tow, Josh laughing at how my words embarrassed the blond male.

    We make our way down a guarded trail, Josh and Chris beside me as we search for a way in.

    "Ashley was looking pretty hot today, right?" Josh pipes up making me turn my nose up. "She's like a sleeper hit kinda gal, you know? Now I just wanna rip that parka right off her... make some snow angels right?"

    "Josh, c'mon. Don't be a sleaze," I disdain, rubbing my palms up and down my arms as we all stop to talk. 

    I just want to get inside, damn it.

    "Chris gets it, don't you, buddy?" Josh hand-balls the conversation over the Chris, waiting eagerly for his reply. 

    "Yeah... absolutely," Chris nods along. I roll my eyes at his attempt to be cool, his arms tucking themselves under his biceps as if Ashley can see him and he wants to look good for her. 

    "When are you gonna take her to the bone zone?" Josh asks, holding his hands out in exasperation. 

    "Sheesh, like that could ever happen," Chris shakes his head, his cool-guy facade fading almost instantly, "Don't give me that look, it took you almost ten years to take Ruby-"

    "Hello? I'm right here," I cut off Chris's words before they can escape his mouth, my arms out in an effort to make my presence more visible. 

    "Right. Sorry, Rubes," Chris looks at me with regret.

    "Besides the point, man. Look around you! Look at these beautiful mountains, do you see any parents? I mean, could you imagine a more perfect, ripe scenario, just dripping with erotic possibilities? You and Ashley, alone at last! You've laid all the groundwork, you've been a perfect gentleman. Now, you come in for the kill!" Josh gets excited like he's an announcer describing a football play and not Chris trying to hook up with his long-time crush.

    "You guys are so gross, I do not want to hear this," I dismiss, heading back down towards the path as the two trail behind me, still discussing how Chris should 'go in for the kill'. 

    I only get a moment of silence walking before Josh and Chris catch back up, their bodies sandwiching me between them in slight warmth. 

    "So, how are we planning on breaking into my parent's lodge?" Josh asks either one of us.

    "Well, I didn't say I have a plan-"

    "You sounded like you had a plan," Josh grins as he cuts off Chris's defence.

    "Hey, it was Ruby's idea," Chris protests, pointing towards me.

    "You're the one who mentioned looking around the side," I argue, inspecting the side of the house as we get closer. 

    "You better deliver, Cochise, or else you got five lovely ladies who are gonna be freezing their buns off and, last time I checked, that's not a good way to get laid," Josh targets Chris once more with an amused smile.

    "If I had known you meant the 'party like pornstars' bit seriously, I would have stayed home," I grimace, still inspecting the perimeter for a window to climb through. 

    "Don't act so innocent, Gloomy," Josh grins down at me, wrapping his arm over my shoulder and looking up in pride. "There's plenty of options for you here. You can get another taste or there's always, y'know, Matt or even Mike-"

    "I'll pass on Emily's territory, thanks. Matt is wrapped around her little finger and Mike has plenty of homies to hop from as it is," I laugh, surprised at the bitterness of my words. It's hard to contain it sometimes, despite how I try not to blame the group anymore. if it weren't for Josh, I wouldn't be here.

    "Second taste it is then," He all but smirks.

    "You're not my type, Washington," I tap his chest, moving to lift his arm off of me and let it fall to his side.

    "Oh, that burns!" Chris comments, reaching his finger out to touch Josh's shoulder and making a fake sizzling noise when he comes into contact with Josh's flannel. 

    Josh only laughs off the playful joke, all three of us coming to a stop near a metal cabinet underneath one of the windows. I pause just before the cabinet, leaning down to notice an axe missing from the holder, only broken glass and a tan from the tool left behind. 

    "Weird," I mutter, turning my attention back to the boys when they begin to grunt loudly trying to position the cabinet underneath the Lodge window. They get it under the window, huffing at their hard work.

    "So... who's going first?" Josh asks out loud, both of them turning to me and waiting. 

    "Nuh, uh. I'm not going into the dark house alone," I shake my head, wafting my arms to swipe the idea and their stares away. 

    "You're the smallest," Chris shrugs.

    "Aw, Chris. Don't be so hard on yourself, you're looking rather slim these days," I nudge him, my grin unreturned as he fake laughs. "Besides, what the hell does that have to do with anything?"

    "I don't know, I just don't want to go first," Chris admits. 

    "Y'know, I bet Ash would think it's super brave to go in first," I remind, clearly using the secret weapon against him as he shakes his head at me. It works, considering he turns his back to me and climbs onto the cabinet, throwing his legs over before his body falls through the window and lands inside with a thud. 

    Josh and I climb onto the cabinet almost immediately, peering down at Chris as he curls up on the floor.

    "You good there, buddy?" I call as he rolls onto his back with a scrunched face.

    "I'm okay!" He announces, still sprawled out on the floor, "I should have paid more attention in climbing class,"

   Josh shoots me a look, an amused smile taking over his face, "You mean gym?"

    "Yeah, y'know, with the climbing up the rope," Chris confirms, pushing himself to a stand. Just as he gets to his feet, the light bulb in the room shatters, blanketing the room in darkness with only the moon behind us to illuminate. 

    "Whoa," Josh gapes in shock.

    "Did I do that?" Chris asks no one in particular, eyeing the remnants on the globe suspiciously. He shrugs it off, turning to me and beckoning me forward, "C'mon Rubes," 

    "Here goes nothing," I mutter under my breath, gripping the seal of the window before pulling the top of my body through. I lean in, pressing my palms flat against the desk under the window, holding myself up as I pull the rest of my body through. 

    Chris crosses his arms at my crouched but unscathed position, watching as I jump down to the ground beside him, "Show off,"

    "Aw, c'mon, Chris," I grin, tapping my hand on his shoulder, "You showed me what not to do,"

    "Here, use this," Josh grabs our attention, his hand shifting in his pocket before pulling out a lighter and throwing it through the window. Chris catches it between his palms, inspecting the metal. He flicks the flame on, holding the object up to attempt to illuminate the room. "Whoa, Chris, I just got an awesome idea,"

    Chris looks back up at Josh, mischief flickering in his eyes, "Yeah?"

    "Okay, so, I'm pretty sure that I've got some deodorant in one of the bathrooms. You could use that with the lighter," Josh explains, leaning his body on the window seal as he explains from outside. 

    "I don't-I don't follow. How's a stick of deodorant gonna help?" Chris sputters, his brows knitted together in confusion. 

    I physically slap my plan over my forehead, shaking my head in disbelief at his stupidity.

    "Spray on, it's a can," Josh clarifies. 

    "A flamethrower, Chris," I confirm further, looking at him with a hint of worry over how dense he is acting. 

    "Ohhh, yeah, now I gotcha!" Chris nods along. I swear I could hear the sounds of cobwebs and spiders being rattled around in that head of his. 

    "Just point the spray can at the and the lighter and-"

    "Bye-bye, frozen lock," Chris nods in agreement.

    I watch as Josh pivots his head, looking at something behind him just out of view. He turns back around before making the movement too obvious to Chris, his eyes looking with mine before turning to the male beside me, "Okay, so, you guys got this. I'm gonna go sort something out, you up for hunting around in the dark for a little bit?"

    "Um, not really, but sure," I respond, Chris nodding along with me as he holds the lighter up in the air. 

    "Goodspeed, Pilgrim!" Josh comments, faking a salute before dropping out of view and disappearing. 

    "If something in this big ass mansion jumps out at us, I'm leaving you in my dust with no remorse," I inform Chris as we begin walking out of the room, my body close behind his as he leads the way with the small light. 

    "That's alright, Gloomy. Have you seen these muscles? I got this," He remarks, sarcastically pointing at his biceps despite them being covered by his blue jacket. He lifts his arm up, pretending to kiss the muscle beneath while moving the lighter closer to his hair. 

    I snatch the light from him, huffing at his stupidity as I take the lead, "Muscle only does so much, numbnuts," 

    We make our way through the house silently, my eyes purposefully avoiding the Washington family portrait framed on the wall just outside of the door. It's been a while since I've seen the girls faces. I always feel like they can see me through the acrylic paint or pixels, and are mad I didn't save them. 

    Continuing down the hallway, we exit through to the living area, the small square in the front door giving us a glimpse of the outside. We head through another door, reaching the main room where the stairs are located. 

   I stop at a table against the wall on the left, a picture sitting comfortably on the wooden structure. I pick it up, my heart sinking at the image of the girls along with Sam and Mike. I remember this day, the senior prom. Hannah's tattoo catches my eye, a small butterfly on her right bicep. She couldn't wait to get that mark, working on the stencil for so long before she could get it done. 

    "You coming?" Chris's voice snaps me from my grief. I drop the picture to the table, sniffing in to try and clear my nose. 

    "Yeah," I nod, following him to the beginning of the staircase. We choose the left side of the diverging path, the layout of the lodge practically imprinted in my DNA from the thousands of nights spent here. 

    After walking a bit further, we finally approach the bathroom and head inside. Chris walks in before me, my arm raised in an effort to give him as much light as possible. He crouches down to the cabinet under the sink, gripping the small handles before pulling it open. 

    Just as he reaches in to grab the deodorant, something pops out from the darkness of the cupboard. I shriek as what looks like a small wolf emerges from the cabinet and bolts out of the room, knocking Chris over in its path. 

    "What the fuck!" I yell, turning to Chris to make sure he's okay. 

    He clutches the spray can in his palm, pushing himself to stand up straight as he tries to shake off the scare, "Son of a bitch,"

    "How the hell did it even get in here," I question, holding a hand to my pounding chest. I turn to Chris, sparking the light back on after I accidentally let it burn out. "Let's just get this door open." 

    "Couldn't agree more," 

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AUTHORS NOTE

I was originally planning on making a chapter of the book a chapter from the game but after watching the playthrough I've realised I've grossly underestimated how longgg they are in the game so most if not all of the game chapters will be broken up into parts here. (but, you can easily distinguish them because each chapter will have the hours until dawn up top)

also I forgot to clarify before but mike and jess are not officially together in this story! for me, it just works out better that way. 

anywaysss enjoy! 

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