( REMEMBRANCE )
12 hours until dawn.

KIM

SHE PULLED THE ZIPPER ON HER SUITCASE SHUT. Kim's eyes peered up at the window in front of her, watching the white frost build in the corners. The heat of her apartment didn't do much to help with the bitter cold, but the coat she donned on her arms eased the stinging of her numbing fingers.

Time passed. It was exactly one year since the death of the two Washington girls. It felt like it was only a week ago since the twins ran off into the cold storm, never to return to their friends inside. Kim felt shivers run through her neck, remembering the freezing temperature she and Sam faced while trying to find them. The girl could never forget Josh's face as she awoke him from his drunken stupor that night. The sudden fear that appeared in his glazed eyes seemed to haunt her for the next twelve months.

A tug in her chest made tears rise, but Kim felt the gentle touch of Blake's hand against hers. The two's fingers interlocked as his hand squeezed hers tightly.

"I don't think I can go back," Kim heard Blake say quietly to her as he packed his suitcase. "Not with those people that hurt Hannah so much."

As much as she tried, she couldn't place the blame on the others as much as Blake could. Kim was friends with most of them, especially Emily, who was sort of the mastermind of the evil prank that caused the tragedy. Emily and Kim were friends since freshman year, both being at the top of their class. Kim graduated as valedictorian, earning her the title as the so-called "brains" of the group. Despite Emily being a, as Blake quoted, "stuck-up, conniving bitch," Kim couldn't help but confide in her during her moments of grieving. 

"You mean Em?" Kim replied, a sigh leaving her lips.

"I mean her and Jess more specifically. They came up with the stupid idea." Blake replied. Kim couldn't blame him.

Blake's reasons to hate Jess were somewhat valid, though. Before the deaths of the Washington sisters, they used to date. As Blake's best friend at the time, she heard everything there was to know about their relationship. Post-tragedy, Jess found Blake less interesting, Kim guessed, for the blonde was caught a month or so later with another guy after claiming she needed space to grieve. Kim had to sit there through the next few weeks as a heartbroken Blake tried to recover.

Kim, however, found the traumatizing vacation as a way to isolate herself. She got an apartment near her college's campus, hoping that maybe the distance from the others would keep her from having to see their guilty faces once more. That plan was foiled eventually by Blake moving in with her as the rent got too high, but she appreciated his company when the nights got too quiet for her thoughts to stay silent.

The two became friends as juniors when Mike introduced him to her through Emily. Blake was the typical jock at the time, which led to his connections at the top of the high school food chain that most of the group was a part of. Over the years, they became closer than they were with the people who introduced them, finding happiness in their own company.

"...Please tell me you won't start any fights while we're up there." Kim mumbled. "And you're fine with Mike dating Jess?"

"I won't, promise. I don't care about her. Besides, why would I when I have such an intelligent, beautiful woman in my apartment who likes to debate with me on everything?"

"Well, it's actually my apartment-"

"Our apartment."

Kim smiled and shook her head, looking down at their hands once more. "Hurry up and finish packing. We have to meet Josh at the cabin in a few hours, and the drive is going to suck with this snow."

"I hope he doesn't hate us all."

"Just know that you were blackout drunk that night with him and Chris. It couldn't have been your fault."

"You should feel the same, though."

"But I don't."

"You weren't even in on their prank. You were downstairs with Beth as she went on about her parents and college. Seriously Kim, this guilt you have is negligible."

"One, please stop using SAT vocab words on me before I lose my mind. I know you've never said the word negligible before now and you're trying to sound smart around me." Kim smiled with the roll of her eyes and Blake smirked at her.  "And two, I could have done more. That's where the guilt falls on me."

Blake sighed, bringing his arm around her shoulder. He picked up his bag. "Let's get this thing over with then."

( MEMENTO MORI )
10 hours until dawn.

The old car rumbled loudly in the night. Its wheels groaned on the steady incline it was forced to trek, forcing Kim to grab the handle near the window. "Are you sure your car can handle this?" Kim asked nervously.

Blake's hands gripped tighter on the wheel. "The brakes might get hot and we'll have to stop for a few minutes, but it should be okay."

Almost immediately preceding his reassurance, the car jolted backwards down the mountain, its wheels bouncing beneath them on the rocks. Kim could feel her heart pushing back into the seat as they rolled down the hill. "Blake!" Kim shouted in panic as Blake's hands fumbled for the emergency break. He twisted the key in the ignition, causing the steaming car to silence itself in the dark, their bodies jolting forward to hit the dash.

The couple sat silently for a few moments, trying to calm down. "I guess we're sitting here for a little bit." Blake laughed nervously. Kim looked out her window, observing the treeline in the snowy terrain. Her breath fogged up the glass, causing her to wipe away the steam. The moon shined insanely bright, casting multiple shadows on the ground where the trees uphill loomed like giants.

"You okay, babe?" Blake whispered, a hint of concern in his tone. Kim could only nod, her eyes staring in fear out the window as she tried to overcome her adrenaline rush. She felt him gently grab her hand, the warmth reaching her palm to ease the tension in her shoulders.

The silence ensued in the small car. The ignition was off, the lights in the vehicle darkened leaving the couple to sit in the moonlight. "I'm not sure about this trip, Blake. It's just sending me all sorts of signals telling me to go back home." Kim whispered.

"Stay at least for an hour or two to show your face. If you don't feel comfortable, we can leave, okay?"

"Okay."

A loud screech sounded from outside, making the pair of them jump. "It's probably just a bird." Blake reassured.

"It's winter, though." Kim mumbled, a hint of nervousness in her tone. "Let's just get this thing over with." And with those words, Blake turned over the key in the ignition. The couple made their slow incline once more up the mountain, allowing the radio to make the silence filled with classic rock.

At some point or another, the two arrived to a parking center at the mountain. To their left was the lift that went up the mountain, the rickety car inside creaking from rust. In front of them on a bench sat Sam and Chris, two of the people Kim once had contact to.

Sam had a hat covering her bright blonde hair, shivering in the cold as her shoes continued to get coated in snow. Chris on the other-hand, leaned forward on the bench, scrolling through his phone probably texting his crush, Ashley.

"Hey!" Sam smiled. "It's so good to see you guys again. I'm glad it's not just Chris and I coming to see Josh."

Kim smiled back. She never really had any issues with Sam. The girl was too kind to hate anyone and was one of the only people closest to Hannah and Beth. "Yeah," Kim laughed, "I hope everyone comes to the reunion. It would be so much easier on Josh to have his friends supporting him."

Lies. Kim really didn't care for a few of the people coming back. One of them was Jess, the one who had torn apart her current boyfriend's heart all those months ago. The other was Ashley, who managed to twist the minds of the others and accuse Kim of not doing enough to save the twins. Ashley was the one that Kim vividly remembered not wanting to go out in the cold to find them, for she thought they were off being mad at the rest of the group and would eventually return to the cabin.

"They're just upset because Hannah couldn't take a prank." She remember the brunette vividly saying.

"Well let's get going, shall we?" Chris interrupted. "Don't know about you guys, but I'm freezing my ass off right now."

"You don't have an ass." Blake joked.

"Yeah yeah shut it, Johnson."

**

Until next time!

-Cass