assaulting the next area along the line.
Once I finally felt it was safe to leave, I headed off the porch as Grace asked me, “Where are you going?”
“I have to see how bad the road is,” I said. “Like I said before, it’s urgent that someone drives to the nearest town and gets help.”
“I’m coming with you, then,” Grace said.
“We all will,” Nicole answered.
“I’m not going out there in the dark,” Celia complained. “Who knows what’s out there?”
“You’re coming with us, Celia,” her sister said firmly, and then she turned to the rest of our little group. “And so are you all. The only way that any of us can be absolutely sure that we’re safe is to stick together from here on out.”
Nicole was clearly the boss, and she was acting like it. Though she had no real control over Celia or Dina or even me, for that matter, they agreed as well. Most likely they didn’t want to be left alone with a possible killer, or perhaps they were just taking the path of least resistance. Either way, I was eager to see what that tree had done to our chances of escape.
By dying in such a spectacular fashion, the old oak had effectively blockaded us from the outside world. I couldn’t imagine cutting through it with a normal-sized chainsaw, even if I knew how to operate one, which I didn’t. I was guessing that it would take a full crew to cut it up and move it out of the way, and I had a feeling that it would have to be done from the other side of the road. When the tree had fallen, it had also loosened a portion of the road beneath it, which had then been subject to the pouring precip we’d experienced after the initial lightning strike. There was a chasm where the road used to be, ten feet of gravel that had simply dropped down into the abyss without a trace.
No one would be leaving the Shadow Mountain Resort any time soon, at least not in a vehicle.
“Some of us could probably walk it,” Janelle suggested as we all played our beams over the gaping expanse.
“Seven miles? With who knows what we could encounter on the way down the mountain? Use your head, Janelle,” Georgia snapped.
“It was just a thought,” she said.
Celia surprised me by patting her arm. “Don’t feel bad. I was thinking the exact same thing.”
“Clearly, none of us are going anywhere,” I responded. “We’re just going to have to all make the best of it until someone comes for us.”
“I’m cold,” Dina said. “Shouldn’t we go back to our rooms? I’m going to hate staying at that lodge all by myself, since you are all in cottages.”
“You’re not going to have to,” I spoke up. “When I said that we needed to stick together, I meant it. I don’t know about the rest of you, but Grace and I are moving our things up to the lodge immediately. We’ll all sleep in the main reception area, since there enough couches for all of us. After all, we’ve got a fireplace there, and there’s plenty of room. It might not be the most comfortable sleep of your life, but at least we should all make it through the night.”
“That sounds like a solid plan to me,” Nicole said, defying anyone to contradict her. I was happy to have both Grace and her on my side. “We’re all going to do exactly as Suzanne has suggested. We’ll stop at the cottages and collect our things, and then we’re all heading to the lodge, together.”
That’s what we did, stopping just long enough at Pine, Spruce, Fir, and Hemlock to collect our things before we made our way back to the lodge, our bags in tow.
As we walked into the main reception area, Georgia said, “There has to be a generator here, given how secluded this place is. Shouldn’t we try to find it?”
“Would you know how to operate it even if we did?” Dina asked her.
“It can’t be that difficult,” she said. “What do you think, Nicole?”
“While I like the idea of having power, maybe it should wait until morning. There are plenty of blankets here,
Once I finally felt it was safe to leave, I headed off the porch as Grace asked me, “Where are you going?”
“I have to see how bad the road is,” I said. “Like I said before, it’s urgent that someone drives to the nearest town and gets help.”
“I’m coming with you, then,” Grace said.
“We all will,” Nicole answered.
“I’m not going out there in the dark,” Celia complained. “Who knows what’s out there?”
“You’re coming with us, Celia,” her sister said firmly, and then she turned to the rest of our little group. “And so are you all. The only way that any of us can be absolutely sure that we’re safe is to stick together from here on out.”
Nicole was clearly the boss, and she was acting like it. Though she had no real control over Celia or Dina or even me, for that matter, they agreed as well. Most likely they didn’t want to be left alone with a possible killer, or perhaps they were just taking the path of least resistance. Either way, I was eager to see what that tree had done to our chances of escape.
By dying in such a spectacular fashion, the old oak had effectively blockaded us from the outside world. I couldn’t imagine cutting through it with a normal-sized chainsaw, even if I knew how to operate one, which I didn’t. I was guessing that it would take a full crew to cut it up and move it out of the way, and I had a feeling that it would have to be done from the other side of the road. When the tree had fallen, it had also loosened a portion of the road beneath it, which had then been subject to the pouring precip we’d experienced after the initial lightning strike. There was a chasm where the road used to be, ten feet of gravel that had simply dropped down into the abyss without a trace.
No one would be leaving the Shadow Mountain Resort any time soon, at least not in a vehicle.
“Some of us could probably walk it,” Janelle suggested as we all played our beams over the gaping expanse.
“Seven miles? With who knows what we could encounter on the way down the mountain? Use your head, Janelle,” Georgia snapped.
“It was just a thought,” she said.
Celia surprised me by patting her arm. “Don’t feel bad. I was thinking the exact same thing.”
“Clearly, none of us are going anywhere,” I responded. “We’re just going to have to all make the best of it until someone comes for us.”
“I’m cold,” Dina said. “Shouldn’t we go back to our rooms? I’m going to hate staying at that lodge all by myself, since you are all in cottages.”
“You’re not going to have to,” I spoke up. “When I said that we needed to stick together, I meant it. I don’t know about the rest of you, but Grace and I are moving our things up to the lodge immediately. We’ll all sleep in the main reception area, since there enough couches for all of us. After all, we’ve got a fireplace there, and there’s plenty of room. It might not be the most comfortable sleep of your life, but at least we should all make it through the night.”
“That sounds like a solid plan to me,” Nicole said, defying anyone to contradict her. I was happy to have both Grace and her on my side. “We’re all going to do exactly as Suzanne has suggested. We’ll stop at the cottages and collect our things, and then we’re all heading to the lodge, together.”
That’s what we did, stopping just long enough at Pine, Spruce, Fir, and Hemlock to collect our things before we made our way back to the lodge, our bags in tow.
As we walked into the main reception area, Georgia said, “There has to be a generator here, given how secluded this place is. Shouldn’t we try to find it?”
“Would you know how to operate it even if we did?” Dina asked her.
“It can’t be that difficult,” she said. “What do you think, Nicole?”
“While I like the idea of having power, maybe it should wait until morning. There are plenty of blankets here,
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