SILHOUETTE, until dawn

ONE

˗ˏˋ CHAPTER ONE ˊˎ˗
o. one year later

THE AUDIBLE SOUND OF CRUNCHING SNOW BENEATH SHOES ECHOES through the once silent atmosphere of the desolate forest. The worn out red converse are coated with a soft layer of white, the cold substance in no small demand upon the mountain. Ellie continues her long uphill trek to the Blackwood ski lodge, the energy in her body quickly fading due to the extensive amount of exercise needed to reach the lodge.

A year ago, to this exact date, was the night which Hannah and Beth Washington had mysteriously disappeared. The twins whereabouts had never truly been discovered, and all search attempts had been given up after only a few mere months due to no evidence being found. All hope for their reappearance had utterly dissipated, only furthering the atmosphere of misery which had overcome the group of teens present that dreadful night.

Ellie Greene had wished to never return to the godforsaken mountain where the twins were last seen. The guilt which still utterly consumed her mind refused to release its grip on her thoughts, threatening to drive her to the verge of insanity. A single night didn't go past where she didn't awake in a puddle of her own sweat because of a night terror about the twins. There were few people who truly knew about the emotions that Ellie forced herself to bottle up.

Josh Washington was one of those people. Although he was the brother of her best friend, they had been able to grow closer to the excessive amount of time she had spent in the Washington household. Their bond had only grown stronger after the disappearance of the twins, each of them gaining a greater understanding of the other in their time of misery. He holds onto the same pain that remains present in Ellie's mind, even if she would deem his thoughts more important than her own. On the night of the disappearance, they had both unknowingly rendered themselves unable to help the twins by consuming an excessive amounts alcoholic liquid. The two had broken up only a week after the disappearance, neither of them being able to handle the commitment that a relationship brings in their moment of heartbreak. They had lost contact with each other for a few months as each of them began to isolate themselves from others. That was until one night Ellie called to check up on how Josh had been at the time of her absence. She had ended up breaking down on the other end of the phone line because of the evident grief which filled his voice. It was at that moment she had made a vow to herself that she'd do anything in her power to help Josh through his tough times— even if it impacted her negatively.

That was the true reason she agreed to return to Blackwood Pines Ski Resort. Josh had sent out a video asking his friends to return to the ski lodge on the one-year anniversary of the disappearance, for the sake of his sisters. Even though her gut instinct screamed at her to not go back to the mountain, her heart told her that she needed to be there for Josh. And as always, her heart always finds a way to win the argument. Her mind had also created other reasons to justify her return, such as overcoming the unhealthy amount of guilt which still consumes her even after a year had passed, as well as making amends with those she had completely lost contact with.