#ac174

Alyeska. Juniper was weary to go at first. But as a couple days passed, things seemed alright. It gave her a small sliver of hope that things would be great and for once they might actually get to enjoy a place they had never been before, that she had never been before. But after the event in the rec room, that all seemed to change drastically. They were all in hell and there was nothing they could do about it apart from torturing each other and turning on each other to fulfill some twisted sick fantasy that T.F. had. Juniper hadn't went to the event, wanting to keep Aisha company and make sure she was safe. So, it was a huge shock come the time T.F. turned the power and water off. The blonde had thought it may have been due to some weather outside, but running rumors about the person torturing them, the urn, Otto's body, and the video proved her otherwise. She cursed herself for not going, not seeing who T.F. might have been behind the makeup. It would have been hard but she was certain that she could have figured it out, had she went. Everyone said it wasn't Trent Foster, that he was made to look like him. But she knew Trent would do that for them to get off his scent. If it wasn't him, then it had to be someone he was related to. All of this had to come from a Foster. It was too similar. Juniper refused to play his game either way. She knew nothing good came out of it. The blonde had had to torture people before for resources. But before she didn't have just herself to survive for. Now she had Aisha too. So her and her fiance made do. They stayed bundled up in clothes, blankets, and each other. They rationed stale cookies that Aisha had stocked up on from the dining hall prior. And for water, as gross as it may have been to others, they took fresh snowfall and let it melt. It wasn't the best, but it helped them survive and made do without having to torture someone or each other in the process. Juniper was tired of playing his games. And if she could help it, she wasn't going to anymore.

To be fair, this wasn’t the first time that Vidalia thought the end was near, that she was going to die at the hands of someone else because of some unheard-of situation that she had managed to get herself into. This hadn’t been the first time that she locked herself in a room, darkened orbs fixated on nothing as she prayed to whatever God might have existed that she’d make it out alive, see another sunrise and have at least one more day with her son. Each time she made promises to herself – promises to be a better mother, promises to start living instead of just surviving – promised made but never kept. Maybe this was the punishment for all of the false praying that lead to the real lies. Maybe there was a God up there somewhere who found themselves looking down at her and shaking their head, finally ready to let the Devil have his turn with her. Or maybe this was karma for all of her wrong doings finally catching up with her, determined to make her pay the way she had made others pay through her past actions. Exhaling heavily, she wrapped her hand around the doorknob of her lodge room, pulling it open as quietly as possible as she stepped out into the hallway – she had to see it for herself. Sucking in a silent breath, she held it in her lungs as she padded her way down the hall in the direction of the rec room, the smell of crimson instantly filling her senses. She had heard what had happened, she had heard the commotion from the others as it happened, but she hadn’t actually witnessed it, and now that several hours had passed, she knew she had to see what they saw for herself, had to see that it was real, that death had taken one while bringing back another. Stopping several inches away from the rec room doorway, she crossed her arms tightly over her chest as she leaned around the corner, peering in as her chocolate orbs instantly landed upon the limp and bloodied body of the male. “Fuck.” She breathed, gaze now shifting to the urn filled with papers on the fireplace mantel. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” It was all true, it had all happened and the situation they were in was beginning to feel very real. It was another moment when she saw the end in sight, only this time was different, this time the sinking feeling in her stomach was deeper than ever before. This time things felt like they had been taken to a different level – it was freezing outside, they had been cut off from all the resources needed to survive, and there was a very dead body of the newest male in town to prove it. Not to mention the cryptic message they’d received. Turning on her heels, she dropped her hands to her stomach, pushing her palms against the tight flesh, hoping to not pour the contents out on the floor right there. Quickly, she picked up her pace as she rushed back to her room, her full intentions to bury herself as deep as she could within the blankets and stay there, letting whatever would happen to her simply happen, be it death or life.