"Man, I feel like this mountain gets bigger every time I climb it," Frank said when they reached the lodge.

"Oh yeah? Feels just the same to me," Pete said.

Pete Wentz had dyed black hair that was a it spiky. He was complex, thoughtful and loving. No one missed the twins more than their big brother.

"Come on, you grew up here," Frank said. "It probably feels like it's shrinking."

"I guess that's true," Pete said with a small shrug.

Frank pulled out his phone, trying to open any form of social media to fuel his internet addiction but there was no service up on this mountain.

"When are you gonna install some cell towers up here?" He asked. "I'm getting withdrawals already."

"You got a spare million lying around and I'll fix you right up," Pete said.

"Funny you should say that...ah, I think I left it in my other jacket," Frank joked.

Pete shrugged his shoulders before walking up to the base of the lodge, meeting up with Jamia, Gerard and Dallon. Gerard was sitting on the stairs and he glanced at Frank for a moment before he blushed and looked down. He was too nervous to make the first move but he wondered if maybe this trip would be something magical where Frank would actually make a move.

"Hey guys, get up here okay?" Pete asked.

"Yeah, more or less," Gerard said. "But it's good to see you!"

"What's up with him?" He asked, gesturing to Dallon.

Dallon had a frown on his face, his arms crossed as he looked away. He didn't bother to even try conversing with the rest of the group.

Pete and Frank walked up the stairs to the front door. Maybe if they were quieter they would have heard the heavy breathing in the distance of something or someone watching him from behind a tree.

"Are we gonna get things moving up here or what?" Frank asked.

"Yeah, man!" Pete cheered.

Frank stopped at the porch, suddenly turning serious as Pete turned to look at him.

"Hey, are you doing alright?" Frank asked. "It must be really tough without your sibli--"

"Stop," Pete interrupted.

"I just meant that--"

"No, I know what you meant," he cut off again. "You know, seriously, I'm over it, and I just want us to have a really good time, you know? Like we always used to."

Pete turned to unlock the door, letting out an annoyed grunt.

"Dammit, this freaking thing," he muttered.

"It's iced?" Frank asked.

"What else?" Pete replied.

"Maybe there's another way in," he said with a small shrug.

"There are a million ways in, they're just all locked," Pete stated.

"There's gotta be, like, a window 'round the corner we can get, like, 'get open' or something," Frank said.

Pete froze for a second before turning to look at Frank. "Wait a second, are you saying we should break in?"

"I don't think it's technically breaking in if you own the place, right?" Frank asked.

"Not if I don't report you," Pete said. Frank froze for a moment before Pete finally broke out into a smile. "Lead the way, Cochise."

They walked down the stairs but Frank decided to talk to Gerard first. He spent the whole day waiting for the moment where he got to Gerard and he was glad it was finally happening.

"Hey, Gee," he said.

"Hi, Frank!" Gerard replied enthusiastically.

"So, how are you doing?" Frank asked.

"Good! But...a little cold...I think I could use some time curled up by the fire," Gerard said.

"Yeah, that does sound pretty nice," he agreed.

Frank couldn't help but imagine the two of them curled up by the fire together. He really wanted to try and make a move this trip.

He walked down the path with Pete around the side of the house.

"Gerard was looking pretty hot today, right?" Pete asked. "She's like a 'sleeper hit' kinda guy, you know? Now I just wanna rip that parka right off him, make some snow angels. Right?"

"Yeah, absolutely," Frank said, but wasn't the happiest about the way Pete was talking about Gerard.

"When are you going to take him to the bone zone?" He asked.

"Yeah, like that could ever happen," Frank muttered.

"Come on, man, he practically spends his entire life with you as it is," Pete said.

"Well yeah, but we're, like, friends--"

"Listen, dude," Pete interrupted. "Look around you, look at these beautiful mountains. Do you see any parents? I mean, can you imagine a more perfect, ripe scenario, just dripping with erotic possibilities? You and Gerard, alone at last. You've laid all the groundwork, you've been the perfect gentleman. Now you come in for the kill!"

"Maybe you're right," Frank said.

"You're a hunter, bro, no fear, no mercy. I mean, he won't even know what hit her," Pete said.

"Alright, alright, I got it," Frank said as they both laughed together.

Pete decided to change the conversation away from Frank and his lack of balls to talk to the boy he likes.

"So, how are we planning on breaking into my parents' lodge, bud?" He asked.

"I didn't say I had a plan," Frank stated.

"You sounded like you had a plan," Pete said. "You better deliver, Cochise, or else you got two lovely ladies who are gonna be freezing their buns off and, last time I check, that's not a good way to get laid."

"Well damn, nobody likes cool buns," he said.

Frank walked up to the side of the house where there was an axe holder. The glass was broken on the box and the axe seemed to be missing. He didn't pay too much attention to it before going over to a green, metal cabinet.

"Well, well, well, we got ourselves a thinker," Pete said.

They pushed the cabinet underneath a window. Frank climbed on the cabinet and managed to push the window open with it's icy hinges. He climbed through but ended up falling down onto the ground with a heavy thud and a harsh groan.

"God, fuck, I'm okay!" He called. "I should have paid more attention in climbing class."

"You mean gym?" Pete asked as he looked through the window that was high up on the wall.

Frank groaned as he started up. "Yeah, you know, with the climbing up the rope--"

He was interrupted when the light bulb hanging from the ceiling suddenly exploded, submerging Frank into darkness.

"Did I do that?" Frank asked, standing up fully.

"I don't...I don't think so," Pete said in confusion. "Here, use this."

He tossed Pete a zippo lighter and Frank flicked it on.

"Oh my god, Frank, I just got an awesome idea," Pete said.

"What is it?" Frank asked as he looked around the dark basement.

"Okay, so I'm pretty sure that I've got deodorant in one of the bathrooms, you could use that with the lighter," Pete said.

"I don't follow," Frank said. "How's a stick of deodorant gonna help?"

Pete sighed. "No, spray on. It's a can!"

Realization dawned over Frank and he smiled.

"Flamethrower," Pete stated.

"Just like we used to do with the lil' arm dudes," he said.

"Yeah, just like the ones we melted," he said. "Just point the spray can at the lighter the fwoosh!"

"Bye-bye frozen lock," Frank smirked.

"Bingo," Pete said as he nodded. "Alright, so you got this! I'm gonna go sort something out--you up for hunting around in the dark a little bit?"

"Nope, but I'll do it," Frank said, glancing around the creepy basement.

"Godspeed, Pilgrim," Pete said before leaving.

Frank sighed, looking around. He walked into a storage closet and found a piece of a ripped up newspaper. It was some article about an ex-janitor being convicted for arson and swore revenge on movie mogul's family.

"Movie mogul? As in Pete's dad?" Frank wondered. "That's weird."

He walked down the hall into the main part of the house there was a big portrait hanging on the wall of the Wentz family. Frank couldn't help but laugh at Andrew's curly afro. As he walked down the hall Frank swore he heard the sound of a door closing, despite the fact that he was the only one in the house.

"What the hell was that?" He asked.

He continued on to the living room and tried to turn the tv on but found there seemed to be no power. Frank found a picture of Hillary, Jamiaa, Brendon and Sarah. They were all dressed up together for the senior prom. The picture was taken late april of 2013. Frank found multiple locked doors before finally going to the upstairs bathroom.

He opened the cabinet and went to grab the can of deodorant when a baby wolverine jumped out and ran passed him. Frank cursed before grabbing the can and hurrying down to the front door.

"We're freezing our buns off out here!" Gerard exclaimed when he saw Frank through the window.

Frank shot fire at the handle to melt the ice before opening the door, hissing at the hot handle that gave his hand a slight burn.

"Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week," Frank said with a bow.

He yelped when the wolverine ran passed him and out the front door.

"That thing freaked me out!" He shouted.

"What was it? Are you okay?" Gerard asked as he tried to stifle his laughs.

"It was like a bear or a tiger or something," Frank said.

"Awe, it was just a cute little baby wolverine," Jamia cooed.

Pete laughed and ran up the steps to the porch. "Don't worry, buddy, you're gonna be a big boy soon."

They all entered the house, setting down their bags.

"Home, sweet home," Pete said.

"Sweet is not the word I'd use," Dallon muttered.

The place was dark with stone and wood walls. The place was big, a massive stairway right next to the living room. There was even a deer skull over the fireplace to top it all off.

"Oh my gosh, it's so good to be inside, even if it's still kinda freezing in here," Gerard said.

"I'll get a fire going," Pete said.

"This place barely looks any different," Dallon said as he sat down on the sofa.

"Nobody's been up here," Pete said as he kneeled in front of the fireplace.

"Even with all the police coming in and out?" Gerard asked.

"Not a lot of action of up here lately," Frank said.

The door opened and Brendon and Ryan walked in.

"What's up, party people!" Brendon cheered.

"Hey!" Ryan exclaimed.

"Hello, boys," Pete said. "Make yourself at home, bro."

"Will do," Brendon said.

Dallon scowled as he stood up. "Yeah. Come on in. Take a load off. Have whatever you want. You just take whatever you want anyways, right?"

"Woah, easy there, cowboy," Brendon warned.

"What the hell were you doing with Sarah out on the trail?" Dallon asked.

"What?" brendon asked innocently.

"I saw you and Sarah through the telescope," he said.

"Before? We just ran into each other, it'd been a while so we hugged and I said hello," Brendon explained. "Is that against the law?"

"Right...yeah...duh," Dallon said with a small chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, it's been kind of a long day. I overreacted."

"Don't worry about it, man," Brendon said.

"We cool?" Dallon asked.

"Yeah, yeah, totally," he said.

He sat down next to his boyfriend, giving him a soft kiss.

"Oh my god, that is so gross," Sarah said when she walked in. "Are you trying to swallow his face whole?"

"Sarah," Dallon sighed.

"Seriously, can he be any more obvious?" Sarah asked. "No one wants in on your territory, honey."

"Excuse me, did you say something?" Ryan asked as he stood up.

"Oh did you not hear me? Was your sluttiness too loud?" Sarah questioned.

"Sounds like someone's bitter she didn't make the cut," Ryan said.

"Yeah, it's all a big cattle call with that dreamboat," she said. "Congrats, you're top cow."

"Cuts real deep calling Mister Homecoming a cow," he said.

"Sarah, come on," Dallon said, trying his best to defuse the situation before him.

"Shut up, Dallon," Sarah said.

"Stay out of it, you dumb oaf," Ryan said.

"Hey, watch it," Sarah warned.

"Oh, so you're the only one who can put him down?" Ryan asked. "No one else can play with your toys?"

"You're such a bitch!" She yelled.

"Whatever, I don't give a crap what you think," he said.

"At least I can think," Sarah said. "4.0, bitch, honor roll. Suck on that when you're trying to sleep your way into a job."

"Who needs grades when you've got all the natural advantages you can handle?" Ryan asked.

"Oh please," she muttered.

"You couldn't buy a moldy loaf of bread with your skanky ass."

"Are you serious? Do you think that's insulting?"

"That bitch is on crack or something," Ryan said with a dismissal wave of his hand.

"Sarah, stop!" Dallon shouted. "This is out of hand, there's no reason to fight like this!"

"Yeah, Sarah! Why you picking fights over your ex-boyfriend, huh?" Ryan asked.

He walked up to Sarah, fully intending on slapping her when Pete stood up.

"Stop it!" He yelled. "This is not why we came up here. This is not helping. It's not what I wanted. If we can't get along for ten minutes then maybe we need a little bit of a break, right? Bren, why don't you check out the guest cabin. The one I told you about."

"Yeah, alright," brendon said before turning to his boyfriend. "You want to go do that?"

"Any place without that whore," Ryan muttered.

"It's right up the trail," Pete said.

The couple left, leaving Dallon to relax as he flopped out on the couch.

"So, Pete, should we get this fire going?" He asked.

Sarah sighed, running a hand through her dark hair before walking up to her luggage.

"Where's my bag?" She asked.

"What bag?" Dallon asked.

"My bag!" Sarah shouted. "The little bag with the pink pattern! The one I got on Rodeo! Dallon, are you listening? Oh my god, don't you remember? Next to the Italian shoe place where I got the stilettos and you knocked over the rack while you were drooling all over that girl at the counter?"

Dallon got up and walked towards his girlfriend. "Well, I mean, she was asking about my letter jacket--"

"Right, because she gave a shit about your 'designer' letter jacket," Sarah interrupted.

"Why do you hate my jacket?" Dallon asked.

"Dall, I need my bag!" Sarah cried.

"Oh my god, Sarah, maybe you just forgot it--"

"Do you seriously think I'd forget my bag?" Sarah interrupted again.

"Well, I--"

"Do you?"

"Guess not," Dallon muttered.

"You must have left it down by the cable car station," Sarah stated. "Come on, hon, we'll be back soon."

"And then we can get warm?" Dallon asked.

"We can get very warm," Sarah said.

"Okay, okay, let's go," Dallon said.

The couple left, heading back down the trail again.

"Okay," Jamia sighed after all the drama finally ended. "I am going to go take a bath."

Brendon and Ryan walked down the path away from the lodge.

"Exiled," Brendon muttered.

"Sex-iled," Ryan corrected.

"Works for me," brendon said.

"How far away is this 'cabin' anyway?" Ryan asked.

"This cabin is the coziest, most romantic love den you will ever lay your eyes upon," Brendon promised.

"If we ever make it," he said.

"Oh, I have a feeling luck will be on our side."

"Play your cards right and maybe you'll get lucky."

The door opened and Pete poked his head out.

"Hey! Porn stars! You're gonna need these!" He called.

Pete tossed the keys to the cabin at Ryan.

"Porn star?" Ryan asked.

"I'd pay to see it," Pete said with a smirk.

"Gross" Ryan muttered.

"Sorry to kick you out like that," he said.

"No worries, man," Brendon said.

"I'm sure you'll find a way to entertain yourselves," he said.

"Mhm, you have fun with the peanut gallery," Ryan said.

Pete imitated shooting himself in the head.

"Almost forgot" he added. "Gotta fire up the generator so you can see where you're going. It's dark out there."

Pete went back inside.

"I think Pete was flirting with me," Ryan said.

"Okay, you wanna invite him up with us?" Brendon asked.

"Wait, really?" Ryan asked hopefully.

"What? No!" Brendon denied.

They walked down the path when Ryan stopped.

"Hey, hot lips, photobooth?" He asked.

"You read my mind," Brendon said.

Ryan handed Brendon his phone and the two of them took a selfie together.

"Oh my god, this is perfect!" Ryan cheered. "We're, like, the cutest couple!"

"Damn, you should be a model," Brendon said.

"You keep that camera handy and maybe I'll let you start my portfolio at the cabin," Ryan said.

Brendon winked. "Noted."

They walked down the path, snow crunching beneath their feet.

"God, it's freezing out here," Ryan complained.

"That's something I can help you out with," he said.

"Yeah? How are you gonna do that?"

"I have a few things in mind."

They found a wooden sign tacked up to a tree that read it was private property of the Wentz family.

"Not much TLC for this place anymore," Frank mumbled.

They continued on down the path, soft flurries drizzling down from the sky when Ryan stopped suddenly.

"Sarah's as dumb as she looks if she thinks she can cut in on what we got going on," Ryan said. "Maybe if we're lucky she'll try and follow us out here and get eaten by a bear."

"Yeah, she's a handful," Brendon sighed. "But ease up on her, she's still kinda torn from being dumped."

"Um, hello? Not my problem, Bren, and not yours either," he stated.

"No, I mean, of course not," Brendon agreed. "But I'm just saying, it's not worth kicking her when she's down. 'Cause I'd rather spend my time getting down with you. You see what I did there? I did that for you."

"Yeah, okay, but she better stay down, is all I'm saying," he said.

They went to the shed with the generator and Brendon opened up the cabinets. He turned on the generator, congratulating himself. Maybe if he would have paid more attention he would have noticed the stranger watching him through the window.

They went through the small gate and down the little path over a bridge.

"Oh yeah, I bring the hits!" Ryan cheered.

He used his phone to play some music while they walked. Brendon couldn't help but stare at his boyfriends ass in those tight jeans as he walked ahead of him, doing a little dance to the jams.

"You psyched yet?" ryan asked. "You don't look psyched yet!"

"I am so psyched right now!" Brendon cheered.

"It's like a little adventure, a sexcapade," he said.

"Fun," he said.

They noticed some police line tape still wrapped around a tree and blowing like a flag in the wind.

"Police tape," Ryan mumbled.

"From Andrew and Hillary," Brendon stated.

"You'd think they'd clean it up..."

"Well, they never closed the investigation, never found the twins," he said.

"Okay, I'm getting the creeps now," Ryan said.

"Well, wherever they are...I'm sure they're happy we're all thinking about them," brendon muttered.

"That's a nice way of thinking about it," he said.

There was a scream off in the distance and they both looked in the direction it came from.

"Did you hear that?" He asked.

"I heard something," Brendon said.

They decided to ignore it as they kept going. They went through a little tunnel in the mountain where a barricade was.

"Ah damn, I don't think we can get up to the cabin with the path blocked like this," Brendon said.

"Oh no way am I going back to the lodge AKA wax museum to drink hot chocolate with Sarah," Ryan said.

He leaned against the barricade that broke suddenly and he fell down the ledge with a short scream.

"Ry! Fuck!" Brendon yelled as he ran to the edge. "Hey, Ryan!"

"I'm okay!" Ryan called.

"Holy crap, you scared the hell out of me," Brendon said.

"How do you think I felt?" Ryan asked.

"You didn't hit your head or anything?" He asked.

"As far as I can tell I still have all seven of my limbs," Ryan said, looking up at his boyfriend.

"Can you get out?" Brendon asked.

"Uh, I don't know, I can hardly see anything down here" he said.

Brendon sighed, assessing the situation. They seemed to have fallen into some mineshafts. There was a minecart on a rail blocking the doorway.

"Alright, Ry, there's a cart, I think if you can push it, you can get by," Brendon said.

Ryan sighed, glancing at the large, steel cart. He tried pushing it but the large object didn't budge.

"It's too heavy," he said.

"Babe, you see the lippe gap down there? Between the cart and the wall?" He asked.

"That tiny little gap?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, maybe you can just, you know, shimmy through it or something," he said.

"I appreciate your confidence in my physique but I don't think I'm going to fit," Ryan said. "So why don't you either toss that light or, you know, be a hero and jump down here to assist me?"

"Alright, don't move, I'm coming in," Brendon said.

"Better hurry up before some other hunky beefcake gets here," he said.

Brendon jumped down with a groan.

"Alright, help me move it," he said.

The two of them were able to move the cart together, both struggling with the weight of the steel.

"When I imagined us grunting together, this is not what I pictured," Brendon sighed, making Ryan giggle.

A cart began rolling backwards towards them. Brendon managed to stop the cart and jump out of the way before it could run him over.

"Holy crap, are you okay?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Brendon said, eyeing the cart nervously as they kept on walking through the mines.

"This place is giving me the willies, and not the good kind of willies," Ryan said.

"Can I offer you a little comfort and reassurance?" Brendon asked.

"Save that for the cabin."

They walked through the mineshafts and found a stairway. They went up, the damp air causing moisture to build up and drip down the dirt walls. Brendon found a barrel with candles and a cigar stub put out on it.

"Stogie," he said.

"Weird place to hang out smoking cigars," Ryan remarked.

"It's recent, I wonder who was up here."

There was some sort of symbol drawn on the wall. It looked like a deer skull.

"This place is, like, historical," Brendon said. "It's gotta be Native American, right?"

"I don't think the minters were getting their arts and crafts on, no," Ryan said.

"It's like a shrine or something."

"Okay but a shrine to what?"

They turned around when suddenly a wooden plank fell down from the ceiling in front of them. Ryan screamed, clutching onto Brendon's arm.

"You alright?" Brendon asked.

"Yeah, that was a close one," he said.

"I don't think this place is up to code," he said.

"Let's get out of here," Ryan said.

As they walked they found a map. Multiple parts were marked as dangerous because of possible collapse. Through a tunnel, they finally found the moonlight shining down

"Finally! A ray of hope!" Ryan cheered.

They walked through a path and up a flight of stairs.

"Well,well, when Pete said 'cabin' I thought, like, Abe Lincoln," Ryan stated.

"Wait'll you see the Lincoln Bedroom," Brendon replied.

"Oh, are you planning on getting presidential on me?" Ryan asked.

"Wanna take a ride on Air Force One?" Brendon asked.

"Save it for the stump speech, buddy," he said, noticing a telescope and going to look at it. "Gonna look at the trees...gonna look at the clouds...gonna look at the cabi--woah."

Ryan stepped back slowly, looking at Brendon in panic.

"You alright?" He asked.

"I just saw someone at the cabin," Ryan said.

Brendon looked through the telescope at the cabin but didn't see anything unusual.

"Sampling the old egg nog again, baby?" He asked. "It's just us up here."

"Maybe," Ryan mumbled, kicking the toe of his boot into the snow.

Brendon noticed a poster talking about wild animals in the nearby area.

"Hey, Ry, stay close by, okay?" Brendon suggested.

"What's up?" Ryan asked.

"This posting says there's some brown bears up here," he explained.

"Oh, Brendon, I have the best idea," Ryan said. "Let's go hug a bear! Come on, please, come on."

"Uh, let's not hug a bear," Brendon denied.

He opened a gate and a bird jumped out at them.

"Watch out, Bird Brain!" Ryan shouted.

Ryan couldn't help but laugh at the little shriek his boyfriend let out.

"I was just...answering its mating call," brendon said.

"Wow, you're easy," he said.

"Yeah, I got a lot of love to give," Brenon said.

Ryan chuckled before walking away down the path again. They approached a large, fallen tree that was block their path.

"Dammit, Pete, couldn't you have at least cleared out the path before sending us up here?" Brendon asked.

"Really?" Ryan asked. "I didn't figure you for the glass half empty type."

"You got a better idea?" Brendon asked.

"Stand back, debbie downer," he said.

Ryan jumped and climbed up on top of the tree.

"Show off," Brendon said.

"Hey, Bren, you got something on your face," Ryan said.

Brendon touched his face just before Ryan threw a snowball at it.

"Okay, okay," Brendon said.

He turned, making a snowball of his own.

"Well, if that's how it's gonna be," he said.

When he turned around, he discovered Ryan to be missing.

"Ry?" He asked.

A sudden scream could be heard. It was definitely Ryan's scream.

Back at the lodge, Jamia was trying to get her bath started. She fiddled around with the hot and cold tabs but the water was only running cold.

"Mia!" Pete called.

"What?" Jamia replied.

"You wanna help me get this fire going?" He asked.

"Well, I was just getting into the bath," she said.

"Oh...well, do you want help with that?" He asked.

"Hardy har," she replied, touching the water to find it still cold. "Oh come on. Alright, Pete, let's see if you know how to hook up the hot water in your big fancy lodge."

As she left the bathroom, she could hear a scream in the distance. She wondered what it was but chalked it up to the fact that it was probably just Brendon scaring Ryan.

Jamia noticed Hillary's door open and couldn't help but walk inside. There were little pictures of Brendon hanging up. A compatibility test. The business card from her butterfly tattoo.

She went downstairs where the other three still were.

"Come on," Pete muttered as he tried to get the fire going.

"How long do you think it'll take him?" Frank asked.

"My money's on blankets for everyone," Gerard said.

"Alright, peanut gallery, you know what? I got an idea for you two," Pete said. "I'm pretty sure that somewhere in this crazy place we used to have a spirit board."

"A what?" Gerard asked.

"Wow, you have a spirit board?" Frank asked.

"Wait, are you saying we should have a seance?" Gerard asked.

"Those things are a joke, man," Frank stated. "They don't do shit."

"No way bro, we used to do it all the time. Me and...well..." Pete trailed off.

"Hey, Pete, no hot water's kinda a major oversight, don't you think?" Jamia asked, deciding it was a good time to change the conversation.

"Yeah, yeah, just gotta fire up the boiler. It's in the basement," he said. "You guys see if you can find the spirit board."

"Frank, let's go find it, it'll be like a scavenger hunt!" Gerard cheered.

"Um, okay, I guess so," he replied, not sharing the same enthusiasm as his friend.

"Rad, you're not gonna regret it," Pete said as they left.

"You up for a ride-along?" Pete asked.

Jamia nodded, following him down to the basement.

"Hey, you notice how I gave Frank and Gerard a mission together?" Pete asked as he grabbed a flashlight. "Yeah, I was thinking they could use some alone time."

"They are very sweet together," Jamia agreed. "I wish they'd just freaking get on with it already."

"I swear they just need like something to bond over, you know? Some sort of traumatic event to send them into each other's arms," he said.

Jamia snickered, shrugging her shoulders.

"You know, Mia..."

"Yes, Pete?"

"I just wanted to say..."

"What?"

"It really means a lot to me that everyone came back this year and, you know, that you came, Jamia."

"Pete, we're here for you, really. Whatever you need, whenever," she promised. "We're all gonna make it through this together."

"I want us to have a good time, you know," he said.

They walked down another flight of stairs down to the basement.

"Watch your step," Pete said.

"I think I can handle a set of old stairs," Jamia said.

But even as she said that, she almost fell on a step that was broken and chipped off of the concrete stairs.

"Sorry to drag you down to the bowels," he said.

"Just get me some hot water and I will be super fine," Jamia said.

"I mean, I wouldn't want you coming down here on your own," he said.

"Definitely creepy down here," she agreed.

"Yep, not a place to be on your own," Pete said.

Jamia wandered around while Pete looked into the boiler cabinet. She found a door with no handle, chalking it up to Pete and Frank rough housing and breaking it. It wouldn't be the first time it's happened.

She found a baseball bat near Pete and she picked it up curiously. His initials were scratched into the handle of it.

"What's this doing here? Is it yours?" She asked.

"You bet it's mine, I used to play ball with my dad all the time," he said. "Of course, that was before he got too busy to hang out with me...oh well, save it for the couch, right?"

He set the baseball bat down on the ground against a box.

"Okay, let me see what I can do with this old hot water machine," he said. "Here, can you hold this for me?"

Pete handed her the flashlight when a noise was heard in the distance.

"What was that?" Jamia asked as she looked around the dark basement.

"What was what? Just shine it here so I can see what I'm doing," he said.

They turned on the boiler, giving each other a high five when they were done. There was the sound of something in the distance again.

"What the hell was that?" Jamia asked.

"Could be a lot of things, not of them good," Pete said, tryin to scare her.

"Hey, quit it," she said.

"I'm just messing," he said. "You were really freaked out."

Jamia turned to look at Pete, looking at nothing behind him.

"Oh my god, don't move," she said.

"What--"

"Something's behind you," she said.

"Yeah right," Pete scoffed.

"Pete...seriously..." Jamia said, looking behind him again. "There's something back there."

There was nothing there.

Pete frowned and looked over his shoulder, finding nothing.

"Ha, gotcha," she gloated.

"Alright, alright, your point," he said, holding up his hands.

"Thirty-love," she said.

"What? No, where'd you get the first point?" He asked.

"It doesn't start at thirty?" Jamia asked in confusion.

"No, fifteen," Pete corrected.

"Well, I'm more of a ping-pong gal," she said.

The noise could be heard again but it didn't stop this time, it kept going. It was almost like a loud tapping sound.

"Okay, so you hear that too, right?" Jamia asked. "The rhythms, like, weirdly regular."

"Nothing regular about it," Pete denied.

"Maybe we should, you know, check it out?" Jamia asked.

"Why?" He asked as Jamia held onto his arm nervously.

"I don't know, what if it's, like, a pipe that's about to burst or some problem with the furnace?"

"Unlikely."

"If it were me I wouldn't want this place to burn down on my watch," Jamia said.

"Yeah, you're right," he said.

They walked towards the noise when suddenly a masked figure jumped out. Jamia screamed, the two of them running away. She knocked down some boards leaning against the wall and the man tripped over it. He chased them up a flight of stairs to a door that was locked.

"Why are these doors locked?!" Jamia shrieked.

"T-to keep out strangers," he said.

The man in the mask crept forward before stopping.

"Hey," he said.

"...what?" Jamia muttered.

"Heeey," the man said.

They looked at him in confusion, dressed in a monks robe and wearing a hockey mask. He took off the mask and revealed himself to be Frank.

"Boom! You just got monked!" Frank shouted.

Jamia let out an annoyed shout.

"Nice, nice one, that was good," Pete said.

"Why would you do that?" Jamia asked.

"There's all this cool old movie crap down here. What, was I not supposed to take advantage of the opportunity?" Frank asked.

"Are you...are you serious? Were you in on this, you putz?" Jamia asked Pete.

"Nope but I wish I was, that was too good," he said.

The two boys high fived before the three of them went back to the main part of the lodge.

"Okay, I'm ready to admit that your dumb little prank may have had a slight whiff of humor to it," Jamia said.

"Jokemaster!" Frank cheered, giving himself a high five.

"I said nothing about jokes," Jamia denied. "I said your prank, which was dumb."

"Holy crap you were scared," Pete said. "Admit it.

"I was not!" Jamia denied.

"Come on, you totally pissed yourself," he said.

"Pete!" Jamia exclaimed.

"What in god's name are you wearing?" Gerard asked as he walked in, looking at Frank's monk outfit.

"I found my true calling," he said.

"Please tell me you're going to take a vow of silence," Gerard said.

Frank moved his mouth, speaking inaudibly.

"Okay, okay, did you at least find the thing?" He asked.

Frank smiled and took the Ouija board out from his robe.

"Here's our one way ticket to the spirit realm," he said.

"You know what? You know what? No!" Jamia denied. "I have been through enough spooking for one night, okay? I see a hot bath in my crystal ball."

"Hmm," Pete muttered as he watched Jamia walked upstairs.

"Alright so have fun," Jamia said. "But watch out for that Pete, he's a schemer!"