Back in the cave, Jasmine's tears reach hysterical levels. She shrugs me and Chloe off, throwing our hands aside as we try to console her, try to help her make sense of what happened. Despite her recent struggles with Isaiah, it's obvious she still loves him. Loved him. I guess that's how it works when someone dies... they become past tense. Like my dad, but I can't remember a time when I loved him. Hard to love someone who hit you, which gets me to thinking about Jasmine. I'd say it's difficult to love someone who cheats on you, or at least someone you suspect of cheating. Or someone you know who desires someone else. Wants to cheat.

Jasmine shoves her blanket into her backpack, then gathers anything that belonged to Isaiah and stuffs it into his. Just a blanket, some power bars, and a canteen. She picks up both packs and sets them against the back wall of the cave, away from everyone else's bags. Head held low, sniffling, she makes for the exit, but Hunter blocks her path.

"Get out of my way," she says.

He doesn't budge. "Where do you think you'll go? Look at it out there. The blizzard is back in full force."

"I want to see Isaiah for myself."

"You'll die if you go out there."

"Better than staying in here, with a..." Her words trail off, eyes accusing each of us.

"You don't know what happened." Hunter pauses, gaze darting from one to the other. "We don't know what happened. It could have been an accident."

"Or someone could have killed him."

"What if he fell and landed on a stick?" Chloe says.

Jasmine cranes her neck back to glare at the cheerleader, her eyes raking across her like she could claw her to shreds. "Did you see one stuck in his stomach? Because Hunter said it looked like a stab wound."

"No, I wasn't down there. Eliza. What did you see?"

Lately, when Chloe addresses me, it's harsh and feels like a punch to the gut, but this time, her tone softens, as if she's searching for answers or hoping to deflect the attention off of herself. I wonder if she knows I witnessed her and Isaiah's conversation last night? Did she hear me when I raced back to my sleeping spot? She could have seen me pull the cover over my body. Regardless, the sight of Isaiah in the snow may have shattered her abrasiveness and shaken her resolve. Even if she killed him, by accident or not, it would have to affect her. It would affect anyone, unless that person had very little conscience. Or any at all.

"Quit stalling, Eliza."

Though my face tingles from the cold, my cheeks feel the heat of the moment. "I saw tracks that led from the cave to the bluff where Isaiah died, but we trampled all over them when we barged into the woods. Doesn't matter, anyway. After we found the body—Isaiah, I mean—I'm sorry." I try my best to offer Jasmine a sensitive and caring expression. "You all were there. After we found him, it started snowing again, and we all know that the snow is already covering up the tracks."

"What's your point?" Chloe asks.

"Well, if someone killed him—if it was one of us who killed him..." All eyes shift to me, everyone, dead serious. "Then that person would have had to walk back from the bluff to the cave. We could have compared boot prints, but we can't now because of the snow."

"What about Isaiah?" Jasmine's tone grows weak. "You saw his wound. What did it look like?"

"A lot of blood," I reply. The crimson staining his sweater reminds me of how the indented flesh in his upper abdomen looked. "It appeared to be a puncture wound."

"Meaning?"

"That some object pierced his body." Hunter crosses his arms. "I don't think it was an accident. It didn't look like one, but... before we sling accusations around, did anyone notice if we were being followed? Or stalked?"

"No," Jasmine says.

"I was out in front most of the time, so I didn't notice anything."

"Even if someone was following us, we wouldn't know, would we?" I reply. "I mean, with all the snowfall."

"Did anyone hear anything unusual?" Hunter runs a hand through his hair and exhales. "Anything?"

"Just the sound of us walking and..."

"And what?" Chloe says.

"You and Isaiah flirting with each other and Jasmine having a come apart."

Chloe's face turns beet red. "I wasn't... I was trying to offer my help. It was Jasmine who got all jealous."

"He was ogling over your luscious backside." Jasmine says.

Chloe's blue irises burn with intensity.

I can see the fire of blame and denial on everyone's faces. Now seems as good a time as any to prod the flames. "Is there anything any of us want to get out in the open?"

"Like what?" Chloe says, acid dripping from her lips.

My mouth parts and I shake my head, grasping for the least confrontational words possible. But as my fortitude strengthens, I can't help but drive my point home by eyeballing her. "I don't know. Maybe any encounters with Isaiah that might cast doubt."

She glances at Jasmine and then back at me.

"Nothing?" My stare doesn't waver.

"Okay!" Chloe dives into the juicy details of how Isaiah made a move on her while everyone else was sleeping. Everyone but me, obviously. "You must have seen us. What were you doing awake, Eliza?"

"Kinda hard to sleep with all the action going on outside the cave."

"What about this?" Hunter removes the bag of weed from his coat pocket. "Is this yours, Chloe?"

Her eyes bulge. "So that's what you waved at us from down below the bluff. Where did you find it?"

"You know where. Maybe you were looking for your weed, and then you confronted Isaiah about it? He could have denied it. You could have had a knife with you that you brought along on the trip, which you ditched to get rid of the evidence."

"I don't have a knife."

"Look. I know it could have been an accident, but still..."

"Are you serious?" She cocks her head at Hunter, fuming. "If he stole my weed, then he did it without me knowing."

"Oh, really?" He teases her, holding the bag out, hanging it by his fingertips.

"Yes." Chloe snatches it and crams it into her pocket. If she had a thing for him, she probably doesn't anymore.

Jasmine's fiery eyes have returned. "I think Chloe did it."

"Just because your boyfriend made a pass at me doesn't mean I killed him."

"Doesn't mean you didn't, either."

In the middle of their bickering, I remember something important. "Where's your knife, Hunter? I saw you put one into your backpack. It was one of those hunting knifes. About six inches long with serrated teeth on the top edge."

His countenance turns pale.

"Why didn't you mention you had a knife?" Jasmine says.

Hunter cuts in front of her, leans over, and reaches into his backpack. "It's right here. I only brought it for survival reasons, in case we got lost in the wild and needed it." He digs deeper. "Wait. I don't understand. Where is it?" He looks at us. "Someone took it."

"Chloe could have," Jasmine says.

"I'm not a thief." She points at Jasmine. "And stop saying I killed Isaiah. For all we know, you could have, you jealous—"

"All right!" My voice explodes from my throat with a sharp edge to make sure everyone feels the bite. "Let's calm down. Everybody. Maybe we are being followed, or maybe it was an accident? I say we go look around to see if there's any evidence to consider, something we overlooked."

In the seconds that follow, Hunter's color returns to his face and his jaw hardens. "Since everyone knows I have a knife, I think we should check everyone else's bags to see if someone is hiding anything."

"Have you been listening?" I ask.

Chloe says, "This is a democracy, not a dictatorship."

"It's not a bad idea," Jasmine replies. "No telling what we'd find in Chloe's bag."

"Stop it," I say. "Fighting won't get us anywhere." Although, I'd love to see Chloe and Jasmine go at it, an athletic swimmer versus an aerobics freak-show cheerleader. My money would be on Jasmine.

"Okay then, Ms. Writer-Know-It-All," Jasmine says. "Let's go see if it was an accident."

"Or if someone is following us."

"Or if one of us is a killer," she adds.

With that, we set off into the blizzard, following on Jasmine's heels.

—————

Chapter 5 - 1,461 words
Story Total - 9,239 words