WWXXVI - Vannacutt Point

[JDRollins]

Another night gone by. But how were the murderers stopped? Why didn't they kill again? Were they really wolves or just a couple of twisted humans trying to commit the perfect crime?

 

Sigh!

 

Gregor wanted, needed comfort. He walked down to the storage room where the two had been stored and locked away. He wanted to talk to Vinka. He went to speak but then changed his mind. What if those inside were the first killers? What if there were more than two?

 

Gregor shivered and walked back up to his room to try and sleep.

 

OOC: No vote yet.

[Patrick]

The snow was slightly cripsy from the freezing temperatures during the night, and made crunching sounds as her skis glided over it, sinking in only very slightly. She had chosen a path descending a not too steep slope for the morning. The difficulty with this path was that it was among the fir trees and any mistake, however small it might be, could have sent her crashing into one of the trees.

 

Her cold had lessened somewhat during the night, but she still had to stop nearly every five minutes in order to blow her nose, amassing a sizeable mass of used handkerchiefs in her pocket. At the bottom of the trail she once again took out her handkerchief, and just as she blew her nose caught an argument between Charles and Annelise, who had just gotten next to her.

 

"Hi! Beautiful morning we have isn't it?" - she said. She hadn't had the chance to talk to many people at the lodge in the previous days, mostly because her throat had been too sore from the cold, but she hoped that she could rectify that.

 

 

OOC: Panther, Tanny: I'll try catching you two on IRC. Also: no vote yet.

[Gryphon]

With no-one killed despite the obvious attempt the previous night Brad felt himself and everyone else slipping into some kind of dreadful complacency, like the killings had stopped or the danger had gone.

 

Suddenly a new suspicion dawned. Could it be that those who were not drawn immediately by the commotion in the corridor were actually those who had caused it? There was supposed to be more than one killer after all.

 

Still suspecting Charles, Brad noticed that Annelise had been suspiciously absent from those who'd come in response to the disturbance in the corridor... and despite their apparant antagonism towards one another they had been spending an aweful lot of time in each others company... without witnesses around.

 

~~~

 

OOC: A vote for Annelise - Tanuchan for the reasons stated in character... and because my suspicion of Charles seems to be getting me nowhere.

[yochva]

"Not dead now? Or not dead yet?" Vinka seemed determined to be fatalistic, and it was really wearing on Shayna's sanity.

 

"Either. Both. I don't know! At least if we're in here, we're not out there!" She jumped up from her corner and ran full-tilt across the room, running up the opposite wall and flinging herself over backwards at the last moment - trying to work out frustrations she would have normally vented on the slaloms. "HEY!" She shouted, banging on the door. "SOME FOOD WOULD BE NICE!!!!"

[Tanuchan]

As Annelise had expected, Charles was doing his best to test her and see her stumble or fail. Every single slope they'd been exploring and marking was tricky - sometimes visibly tricky, but those weren't the ones that worried Anne. There were the apparently easy slopes, but which hid their dangers. On those, she knew that any mistake would cost her more than a grumbling.

 

While following Charles, she let her mind wander for some seconds - who could be the killer? She still didn't believe it could be Charles; under all his behavior towards her, she could see that there was both sense and meaning on what he was showing her on those slopes. She almost bet that Charles himself wasn't fully aware of how much he was actually teaching her, and training her.

 

Not that she would tell him.

 

A killer... more than one... and those who are so silent. Stefan. Again, where was he? Would a killer hide behind silence and lack of interaction?

 

 

Annelise saw the hidden rocks too late. Cursing for letting her mind wander, she avoided them in the only way she could - brusquely, without any technique but sheer will to not hit them. She didn't understand when she didn't go for a header, and thanked that.

 

"Has the accident completely affected your common sense, girl?!" Charles shouted at her. "If you want to kill yourself, just warm me so that I don't have to actually worry about picking safer paths for you to follow!"

 

She glared at him - because she knew that he was right, but wasn't going to admit it.

 

~~~~~~~

OOC: A vote for Elwen/Stefan

Edited March 15, 2006 by Tanuchan

[Patrick]

OOC: Co-written with Lord Panther and Tanuchan. Thanks you two, this was really fun!

 

 

Annelise nodded at Gabi, her face still keeping the glare she was directing to Charles. Of all things...

 

"Good morning, Gabi. Yes, the morning is nice. I see that you have caught a nasty cold, though..."

 

Anne realized she was not being very friendly in spite of her words, and forced herself to relax a bit. "Maybe you should rest, and not be out." Her voice lost the edge, revealing real concern in spite of the tension.

 

Gabi nodded, repressing a cough which wanted to break out. "Well, my best guess is that I was not prepared well enough. In Europe it is usually not this cold. Is this usual here?" Gabi noticed a certain tenseness in Anne, but put it down to her annoyance with Charles. From what Gabi had heard during the past few days the relationship between the two of them was strained to say the least.

 

"Well," interrupted Charles, "it can get quite cold here. We are at quite an elevation, combine that with the arctic winds that can blow down here, like they are now, you'll get some very nasty temperatures and wind chills. You'd be best to make sure you wear warm clothes so you don't get a chill, and end up with pneumonia"

 

Anne didn't show any annoyance at being interrupted by Charles, and just continued as if nothing had happened - slipping a comment as soon as he stopped, which granted her a cold look. She almost smirked at Charles, but didn't add anything else when he finished what he was saying.

 

Gabi continued eagerly, not noticing the stares between Charles and Annelise. "There have been a few-" the cough she had supressed just earlier broke out, and she coughed three-four times before continuing. "a few trails I've been wanting to check out, but I was thinking that it would be too dangerous to go there alone. Would either of the two of you be interested in coming with me?"

 

Annelise just waited Charles to answer. Whatever she thought of him, that was Patrol work.

 

"I'm sure we could come along. I've been meaning to check out some more of the difficult trails to be sure if there are any areas I need to close down for more snow, find hidden obstacles to mark, that kind of thing." Charles glance between Annelise and Gabi. "Lets head out! No sense wasting time here standing around. I'll meet you two at the top of the lift."

 

Charles quickly checked his skis and pushes himself over to the chairlift before either Annelise or Gabi could say anything more. Before either of them could possibly join him on the chair, he was off, leaving the two of them to catch the next chair.

 

Gabi caught up with Annelise and sat next to her on the skilift. Finally she was going to be able to have a talk with someone here at Vannacut Point. However, before she could start, she needed to once again blow her nose. She did so, adding the handkerchief to the pocket where she kept the used ones, which was starting to get full. She then turned to face Annelise.

 

She thought of several possible beginnings to this conversation, but each and every one of them seemed awkward, starting from the rumours about Annelise's accident a couple of years ago, which Gabi had heard whispers of in the common room last night, or asking Annelise how her internship with Charles was going.

 

Gabi was not sure she wanted to start a conversation with Annelise about a subject, which the other girl might find hard to talk about, and talking of her internship was also obviously quite a bad idea, since things did not seem to be working flawlessly between Charles and his intern.

 

Annelise, who had been observing Gabi surreptitiously, took pity on the embarrassed silence, and smiled.

 

"So, Gabi, what do you think of Vannacutt Point? There are people who say that it doesn't compare to the Alps, other say exaclty the opposite. I myself think that there are few places like this one."

 

Gabi thought for some time on the reply.

 

"Well, I have skied pretty extensively in the Alps, mostly in Austria and to tell the truth, skiing the same slopes since the age of six, got boring after a while. Now, I'm not sure that with barely three days experience I can compare these mountains to the ones at home, but the slopes do have the refreshing feeling of being new, and unexplored to me."

 

"Well, you seem to be an experienced skier, so you will likely get to know this mountain rather quickly. Just be careful, the mountain doesn't always show all the dangers it possesses." Annelise advises Gabi.

 

Finally, Gabi reluctantly decided to ask Annelise about her internship.

 

"How's it going with Charles? Is he very hard on you?" she asked in a low voice, so that it did not carry to the chair in front of them, where Charles sat alone.

 

Anne had been expecting the question - everybody noticed that her relation with Charles wasn't even close to the normal between people who would work close together. She looked levelly at Gabi, knowing that she probably just wanted to be friendly.

 

"I do have trouble with Charles, Gabi. Call it personality clash. But he is a professional, and so am I. Whether he notices it or not, he is teaching, and I am learning... " Annelise chuckled, completing, "... though it would really surprise him to know that I am actually learning something new and I'm willing to admit it to anyone."

 

Gabi looked surprised at the answer - she had expected something pretty more... incisive. Anne understood her look.

 

"Oh, he makes no effort to hide that he doesn't want me around, which normally would be just fine with me. However, someone put us together, and it won't but just me who will look that guy out to get some satisfactions from him."

 

Annelise's voice was amused, knowing very well that Charles would most likely skin the bureaucrat responsible for that - if he could catch him before herself.

 

Arriving at the top of the chair, both Gabi and Annelise slid off the chair and over to Charles, who was adjusting his boots while looking up one of the higher peaks at something.

 

"Hmm... very interesting. Looks like someone skied that slope yesterday. Whoever it was must be crazy, that slope is always quite unstable, especially in the early parts of the season, and very prone to avalanches. Definately NOT a safe place to ski. So, Gabi, where is it you wanted to head?"

 

For a moment Gabi thought of retorting with a remark that the slope had felt quite stable to her, but deep inside she knew that it would be an argument she could not win. Reluctantly she had to accept that Charles was probably right. Besides he had been here for several years, and he almost definitely knew more about the mountain than Gabi did.

 

She adjusted her trousers next to her boots, so that no snow would go in them in case they had to ski in some deep snow. Straightening up, she pointed at a slope further to the right, starting about a hundred meters away. The slope was dotted with rocks, but was not too steep.

 

"From here that slope looks very tempting to people who do not have enough experience. It might be a good idea to check it out. I can't see any tracks going down it yet, so the three of us could be the first to test it."

 

Gabi did not mention that during her descent the day before she had noticed that the slope she was just talking about encountered a rapid change in slope around three quarters of the way through and became extremely steep. She wondered whether Charles would know that from prior experience.

 

[/color]"Ahh, that's a nice run. Can be quite challenging if you're not ready for it however, and be sure to watch out for those rocks, there just isn't enough snow yet to cover them completely, they're a real nasty thing to foul your ski on." Remarked Charles, while already making his way over to the run in question.

 

Carving his way down the run, Charles makes mental notes for himself as to where he will have to put hazard markers so that the public doesn't go an kill themselves. Gabi and Annelise follow not too far behind, but taking their own paths around the rocks.

 

Suddenly, before their eyes, Charles drops out of view, on what can only be a blind drop in the run, a sudden change in the slope. Both Annelise and Gabi stop immediately, wondering if Charles was caught off-guard, and checking each other's faces for a sign that they should continue down and check on him.

 

They finally nod to one another and head slowly over the edge of the slope change, only to see Charles standing near the bottom of the slope, facing up at them with what appeared to be a big smirk on his face.

 

"Didn't worry you two, did I? Like I said, you have to be ready for this run, but it is quite fun." Charles chuckled as he headed down the rest of the run, back towards the chairlift.

 

Gabi smiled secretly to herself. Charles seemed to know quite a bit about the slopes here. She pushed herself forward with her ski poles, and upon reaching the steeper part did not slow, instead allowed her speed to seperate her from the slope. She landed lower, sinking almost to her knees in the powdery snow, before she emerged in a shower of snowflakes. Using her speed, she caught up to Charles, passing slightly in front of him before stopping and turning back to see how Annelise was doing.

 

As Gabi watched Annelise descend the last part of the slope with more caution than she had just shown, her mind started wondering about the events of the last few days. She had not yet spoken her opinion of these matters, but the situation was starting to get worse, and had it not been for a possibly lucky intervention the night before, one more of them would have been dead by now.

 

She hoped that Annelise was not a killer, and was pretty sure that Charles was not one. He might act the way he does, but his job is to save lives, and Gabi could hardly imagine him being a killer. In her mind she went over all the others, but each of them seemed to be quite a pleasant person. At the end of her list she got to Stefan, whom she had not spoken a single word with yet. Could it have been him?

 

 

OOC: Vote for Stefan Fiori/Elwen.

Edited March 16, 2006 by Patrick Durham

[Akallabeth]

Johann yawned sleepily, and suddenly forced himself to wake up completely, feeling his brain actively protesting to the sudden surges of energy rushing through it. Looking at his alarm clock harder, disbelief was etched in his face as he saw what the digits said:

 

3:18 PM

 

Groaning in disbelief, he stumbled over to his alarm clock and checked to find out that he had set it for 12:40... AM...

 

'Many more after lunch naps like this and I'll be looking for a new job," he thought to himself. 'Now get your back end in gear.'

 

He got his outdoor clothes on, grabbed his gear, and had just moved to open the door when he ran into the door. Mentally berating himself once more, he grabbed for the handle on the correct side of the door, and pulled it open.

 

He walked through the common room as quickly as possible, hoping that his lack of care in setting his clock would not get him in trouble. As he paced out under the clock over the door which accusingly said 3:27, he dropped the skis to the ground and fitted his boots into them.

 

Pushing off quickly, he moved across the mountain, past the enterances to several trails before coming to one he hadn't been down before. Pushing off quickly, the began to speed down the track, attempting to make up for lost time. As he came around a hairpin turn in the trail, he was moving too quickly to avoid a fallen tree that way laying across about half the trail. Though he slowed down as quickly as he could, Johann was still moving at a good pace when he crashed into the fallen fir sideways.

 

He stopped for a second, and slowly sat up in the branches of the tree, but didn't rise. He thought to himself of what he had been doing over the past few days, and what he ought to have been doing. Far too much of his time had been spent daydreaming or not achieving much work due to the secondary priority he had given it. And it was all for nothing.

 

Johann allowed himself to consider that he was far too focused on Anne. Too much of his day was wasted or inefficiently spent merely thinking of her, considering what to say. He realized that he needed to stop this, and decided to start working on this change immediately.

 

Picking himself up, he slowly descended the rest of the trail, and then went to the lodge to get a small chainsaw which he very carefully took down to that point on the trail he had been on, and cut the fallen tree into manageable pieces, setting them off outside the trail, on the inner edge of the hairpin turn where they might be out of the way until they could be picked up and removed from the trail entirely.

 

Johann went the rest of the way down the trail, and then boarded the ski lift to the lodge.

 

Upon arriving, he walked to the storage room where the chainsaws were stored. On his way back to it, he heard Brad muttering suspicions to himself of Annelise being a murderer.

 

With a frown, Johann continued, his day shadowed by the words sponken by Brad, a person who obviously did not know Anne as well as Johann thought he knew her.

 

(OOC: Vote for Gryphon/Brad)

Edited March 16, 2006 by Akallabeth

[Azuran]

Evelyn had switched into a sort of dazed state of mind--everything seemed far too surreal now. It was like one of those almost laughingly melodramatic movies that you'd watch late at night with a few of your girlfriends, eyes glued to the screen while you hugged a pillow with white knuckles. Getting scared out of your wits, but still enjoying it because deep down inside you knew you were really safe.

 

But as she lay on her back, listening to the unintelligible talking and whispering behind the thin walls and closed door, she couldn’t help the thoughts racing through her head. Names flashed behind her eyes, one by one, and for each her mind formulated and constructed some elaborate explanation for why and how they could be the murderer. Her own name suddenly crept up, and the mental gears froze. She slowly opened her eyes, and smiled slightly. She would take what little comfort she could in the one thing she was sure of—perhaps the only thing she could be sure of. And her mind agreed; there was no way she was a killer.

 

OOC: Vote for Brad.

[Lord Panther]

After what he thought was a successful day of scouting out the mountain, Charles once more returned to the lodge for a hot drink and some relaxation. After he was changed and his gear stowed, he got himself a good mug of chocolate and sat near the hearth, thinking of all the bad happenings that have occured this year on the mountain, and who could possibly be behind them. He knew that there was suspicion that had been thrown his way, it seemed to be coming from one person in particular. But why? He had done nothing to this person. Maybe this person wanted him out of the way so that he could get at everyone else... It was an intriguing thought.

 

Charles sat watching the room and pondering his idea...

 

[OOC: vote for Brad/Gryphon]

[Gryphon]

Brad noticed the unfriendly looks and the conversations that broke up or went hushed when he approached. Finally he caught his name mentioned in a hushed conversation between Charles, Evelyn and Johann.

 

Stress overcoming caution Brad snapped and stormed over to them.

 

"Idiots. I've not been killing people, I've been trying to keep you all alive. I suprised two people in the corridor last night, but they ran away before I could see who they were, and now you're trying to lock me up with Vinka and Shayna? My god, I think you want to die."

 

Brad's angry tirade stopped and he surveyed the stares being turned on him, was that belief he saw in their eyes? Or murderous intent?

 

"Oh crap, now I've done it... if it was Charles I'm as good as dead tonight." Brad thought to himself.

 

Visibly gathering himself he adds "I think one of the ones in the hall was Gregor, but I'm not sure, and I have no proof... I also don't know who the other one was, that's what I'm trying to figure out... and you probably don't believe me anyway."

 

Pale and shaking Brad stumbles off down the corridor.

 

~~~

 

OOC: Changing vote to Stefan Fiori - Elwen because like I said, I really have no proof of anything unfortunately.

[Mynx]

Despiration filled Brad as the group circled around him, hearing his cries but not heeding them. Before Brad could even fully comprehend what was happening, he had been grabbed roughly by the shoulders and was dragged to the storeroom.

"Listen to me!" he cried out as he struggled against their hold. "I'm trying to help you!"

His cried only stopped when he was thrown bodily into the makeshift prison, the breath knocked out of him as he hit the ground, the door slamming shut behind him.

Brad was up on his feet in seconds and hammering on the door, yelling until, after what seemed like forever, his voice and strength gave out.

Slumping on the floor, Brad finally looked at his two inmates as they stared back at him.

"What?" he snarled bitterly, before rolling over on his side and cradling his bruised fists.

 

OOC: Gryphon/Brad was your Baner.

Best of luck to you all. Night Phase for circa 24 hours.

[yochva]

Shayna simply looked at Brad for a while with blank and dull eyes, having lost the capacity for pity in the overwhelming feelings of hunger and thirst after having been forgotten after two days.

 

"...I don't suppose you got food, did you?"

Edited March 16, 2006 by Evangeline

[Mynx]

That night...

Vinka wakes as she hears the door creak open.

She opens one eye, still half asleep, expecting yet another 'snack' for the larder, brought by the others.

But there was no light from the hallway, no one in the door way.

She looked and the others were still asleep.

Vinka got up and quietly padded to the doorway.

She looked outside to the hallway and no one was there.

Was this some sort of trick?

She considered waking the others for a moment, but she didn't know how long the opportunity would last.

She went through the doorway as quietly as she could, glancing back and forth.

No one was there.

She looked back at the sleeping forms behind.

Then a sound behind her spooked her.

She ran.

She heard but did not note the sound of the door closing behind her, the lock clicking shut.

 

Everyone was wary when they awoke the following morning, expecting to find another body, another taunting message...but this morning they found none.

Roaming the house in confusion, it wasn't until they entered the kitchen that anything of interest happened.

"Hey!" Shayna yelled, hammering on the door. "How about some food here? And what the hell did you do to Vinka?!"

 

Everyone looked around in baffled confusion until someone cleared their throat nervously and spoke up. "Uh, what do you mean Shayna?"

"Vinka's not here anymore! What, did you guys all eat her or something?! And how about some bloody food?"

"Yeah!" Brad spoke up, his voice still hoarse from the previous night, "What the hell is going on?"

 

In a stumble of confusion, nearly everyone ran off to check the house, Dana remaining in the kitchen long enough to throw some random food supplies in with a couple of bottles of soda before returning to the couch and huddling, her eyes shadowed as she appeared to see nothing, her fingers constantly working at a shirt of Seth's she had picked up from their room.

 

It didn't take long for everyone to return back to the living room to report what they could; Vinka and her stuff was gone. A fresh snowfall overnight had destroyed any traces she may have left.

This new turn of events added an extra edge to the nerves. Who had let Vinka out? And why?

 

OOC: Thanks to Vahktang for writing Vinka's escape. No kill tonight. Day phase for the next 48 or so hours.

[Tanuchan]

Annelise sat at the breakfast table, observing Dana and frowning at the news of Vinka's escape.

 

Vinka escaping? That doesn't make sense. Where would she go, with the road closed... and why just her? Or is it that she wasn't innocent of the killings and her partner just helped her go?

 

She finished breakfast, and went to her room to get her gear. The lodge was rather silent, and she could feel the tension around everybody.

 

Why are they doing this, I wonder... to throw us against each other?

 

 

That morning, the thoughts of the kills and the locked people followed Annelise until she climbed off the chair lift. The air was, as always, crisp. The mountain was there in all its might, but for Anne it was a soothing presence. She picked an easy trail, not bothering to check if Charles had already arrived - if he had, and if he had seen her, he would just have shouted and gone into some tirade. So she assumed she had time for a warming-up, and went for it.

 

While doing a slow, leisure descent, something she had heard Brad saying came to her mind.

 

Gregor! Brad thought he saw Gregor... and where is he anyway? He's always chattering away some nonsense, making himself both visible and invisible... would it be possible?

 

And... Stefan. The silent one. What if we have two murderers who don't dare talking to each other during the day? Wouldn't that be almost ironic... Brad almost catching one of them, and then - in spite of all the bantering - they get afraid all of a sudden? That we might actually get at least one of them, if we dare enough?

 

Annelise finished the run, and breathed deeply. She had taken her time, and by now surely Charles would be around. Pushing away all stray thoughts, she slid towards the lift - she needed all her attention for her work with Charles.

 

~~~~~

OOC: Vote for JDRollins/Gregor... let's see what will happen

[yochva]

"Finally!" Shayna muttered, grabbing at a nutrition bar and tearing into it. Then she made herself stop, and drink from the water-bottle that had gotten mixed in with the sodas.

 

She was worried about Vinka... but at least she wasn't here with her doom and gloom anymore. Maybe she had escaped, and was out of danger.

[JDRollins]

"What the hell?" Gregor looks around. "Vinka is gone?"

 

Gregor shakes his head.

 

"Maybe she was one of these "monster" things huh? Maybe the second one freed her?" He shakes his head again and slinks to the floor his head in his hands.

 

Sigh!

 

"What the hell is going on?" He says to no one in particular with a muffled voice.

 

OOC: I am voting for Stefan Fiori/Elwen.

[Patrick]

The whole day, as she skied in the beautiful setting of the mountains, her mind wandered about, mulling over Brad's last words. Whether there was any truth in them, she could not know, but those words, hastily spoken, fed suspicions of Gregor, and by the time Gabi reached the lodge, she had built up a lot of theories about him.

 

Come to think of it...Gregor had been strangely silent these last few days. Could it be that he was hiding behind his silence, hiding his true self?

 

OOC: Vote for Gregor/JDRollins

[Lord Panther]

Charles decided that today, he would ski for himself, not for the resort. All the work he had done lately, well, he deserved a break. He gathered up his gear and headed out onto the mountain, being sure to avoid Annelise, as he didn't want to deal with her today either.

 

Charles made quite a few runs on his how, thinking to himself as to what to do about these killers, and really, what could he do? He pondered over Brad's words as he was being dragged down to the stock room. Was he right? Did he have something?

 

After many more runs, Charles had convinced himself that Brad, as much as he didn't like him, could be right. They would have to find out of Gregor was one of the killers...

 

[OOC:Vote for Gregor/JDRollins]

[Akallabeth]

Thanks to Tanny for assistance in this post

_____________________________________

 

Throb. Throb. Throb.

 

Groaning in pain, Johann reached into his pocket for another aspirin, and took a swig of water from the bottle he carried with him. The entire day his head had felt like it was splitting in two, pulling his skull from both sides of his forehead. He dropped to his knees for a short bit, and pressed his forehead into the snow in hopes of relieving some of the pressure.

 

He knew well enough what it was from.

 

For the past five years, he had dreamt of becoming a ski instructor, and had hoped beyond all hope that he might return to Vannacutt Point and work alongside her.

 

It had finally happened, and yet his dream seemed to be crumbling around him.

 

Though he had returned to Vannacutt Point, things were not as they should be. People were being killed right and left in ways that left him feeling weak inside. Annelise was no longer the skiier that she had been when they met. She was also an intern now, not a full instructor. But in his mind, the one thing that was giving him headaches was that she didn't seem to care about him as anyone more than just another person. That one thing was ripping him apart.

 

Despite his actions and words, it seemed that Anne had not seen that he was interested in her. Or if she had, (and he could hardly even bear this thought) she did not reciprocate his feelings.

 

Though he had tried to stop thinking of her so that he might get on with his work, he couldn't. And the headache from trying to avoid thinking of her, and thinking of the questions running through his mind did not help his ability to ski or check trails.

 

He knew that there was only one thing to do. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, he'd have to talk to Anne and then, perhaps, he would know what to do, what to think.

 

Until then, he would survive.

 

His headache had abated some, and he moved on.

 

Just then, Charles appeared out of nowhere, whizzing to a stop just yards from Johann.

 

"What do you think you're doing? I saw that you were standing here when you should be checking this trail."

 

Johann shook at this suggestion. He wasn't going to let Charles in on what he was thinking, but also didn't want to make an enemy of an instructor senior to him.

 

"I stopped to take a drink of water, and to get a contact lens in place. My left one has been bothering me much of the day."

 

Johann hoped that Charles might believe it. And that he might not realize that Johann didn't use glasses or contacts.

 

Fortunately, he had bet safely this time.

 

"Understood," Charles replied with a slight nod, "they can be pains at times, and it is always important to have your vision at its best when you're on the mountain."

 

He turned to go, but stopped and turned to face Johann with one more question:

 

"Have you seen that incompetent Utah guy around here?"

 

Johann looked at Charles with a puzzled expression, and said, "No, I haven't seen Gregor since this morning."

 

Charles nodded, looking grimly thoughtful.

 

At that, he moved off and Johann breathed a sigh of relief. Charles could be such a stuck up and irritating guy far too often.

 

However, his comments set Johann thinking:

 

Why had Charles mentioned Gregor? With as socially polite and friendly as Charles was, Johann suspected that he wasn't wanting to have a friendly chat about the best ways to safely descend an unknown slope.

 

Johann's mind clicked the statement into place amid the headache's pressure. Charles suspected that Gregor was the killer. While Charles was not a friendly type by any stretch of the imagination, Johann knew that he was certainly no fool.

 

And there were certainly worse things to do rather than follow a senior instructor..

 

(OOC: Vote for JDRollins/Gregor)

 

(EDIT: Giving credit where credit is due, and spelling repair)

Edited March 19, 2006 by Akallabeth

[Mynx]

Gregor couldn't have ignored the stares and whispers even if he wanted to.

He had been worried when Brad had accused him that night they'd all locked him up, but he'd hoped that by morning, especially when no one had been killed and Vinka's escape had added to the confusion, the accusation would have been forgotten.

 

And yet, the whispers still began. And people would try to move away from him when he joined a conversation. Gregor knew it was coming. He decided maybe it was time to stop caring.

 

Dana didn't look up when Gregor joined her on the couch. She just continued to stare at the shirt she held in her hands, her haunted eyes staring through the fabric as she ran her fingers through it.

"Hey," Gregor whispered softly, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"How you holding up? Everyone seems to have forgotten about you with all that's been happening."

Dana just shrugged, refusing to look at him. Growing frustrated, Gregor decided to try a new tactic.

I'm screwed anyway he thought, before leaning in closer.

 

"You should have heard him screaming when we cut his legs off," Gregor whispered, taking viscious glee from the horror spreading across Dana's face.

"What," he leered, "you think we killed him first? Oh no. We wanted him to feel it..."

He would have continued, but Dana leapt away from him as if she'd touched something hot, before she bolted up the stairs, not seeing the remaining group that were coming down as she crashed into and past them.

 

Gregor smiled up at his peers as they surrounded him.

"What the hell did you do Gregor?" someone asked, causing him only to smile wider.

"I just decided to be honest," he responded calmly. "Unlike some of you here."

"Alright that's it," another voice. "We think it's time we put you somewhere safer."

"If I'm who you think I am, how do you know I won't kill everyone else in that room? I definitely need to thank Brad for his remarks...and if Vinka can escape so easily, what makes you think my friend wouldn't let me out?" Gregor's grin widened at the uncertain looks.

 

"Oh yes," he whispered, standing up and moving towards them. "You're stuck now. Only one other person in your little group would have the guts to kill me...and why would they kill the person who's been helping them?"

Reaching into his back pocket, Gregor pulled out a switch blade and opened it, his grin losing sanity as he advanced on his former friends.

 

The gunshot was deafening in the silence. Gregor froze where he was, his eyes beginning to glaze as everyone else in the room watched blood slowly seep through the hole in his shirt.

The shots rang out again. And again. Stumbling over the couch, Gregor collapsed onto his side, his arm reaching out to someone in the group.

"Help...me..." he rasped, before three more shots silenced him permanently.

 

Everyone turned to see Dana at the top of the staircase, tears streaming down her face as she kept the gun aimed at Gregor, her finger still pulling the trigger, causing it to click uselessly.

When she seemed to become aware that it was empty, she descended the stairs and walked slowly up the body, staring at it before using the gun to blugeon his face repeatedly, first screaming insults and obsenities, but after a while only screaming.

Finally, two people were able to pull her away and lead her, still sobbing, to the couch.

Someone put a sheet over Gregor. After that, no one really knew what to do or say...

 

OOC: Congratulations! Gregor/JDRollins was a Wolf! You have one more to find! Night phase now. Remaining wolf, PM me.

[Vahktang]

'Over this ridge,' Vinka thought.

She was tired. She had been going to her room to get her gear and something had stopped her.

'Once I'm over this ridge, they can't catch me.'

Maybe it was an elaborate trap. Maybe she was being framed. Maybe that's why they had let her out.

'Not with a snowmobile. Not with a Cat. Nothing. They'd need a helicopter.'

Back to her room was not the answer.

'And none of them are good enough to get where I went.'

So she had grabbed what clothing she could from what she could find.

She grabbed blankets and sheets and the first pair of skis she could find. She layeded the clothing to get as warm as possible.

She had a sack of food & water and a can opener, tieing them awkwardly around her shoulders.

She had been on the move almost constantly since then, through the night and the day, up the mountain, across the dales, up the mountain more.

'None of those 'skiers' have the patience or the practice for hours of herringbone, and hours of sidestepping, for a 4 minute run.'

She topped the ridge and looked out over the vista, the tall mountains, the deep valleys.

'Now, only three more days and I'll get to a phone.'

Without waiting to rest, she started down the slope, not looking for speed or technique, but distance.

What route would get her the furthest before she would have to begin climbing again.

They may think it OK to wait it out, but she was going for help.

Hopefully, she could bring it back before it was no longer needed.

[Akallabeth]

(OOC: Once again, much of this post (the good part ) is thanks to Tanny. )

 

Annelise sat in her bed, still shocked at the killing scene she had witnessed. There was a soft, hesitating knocking on her door, and she sighed.

 

"Who's there?"

 

"Johann..."

 

Surprised, Annelise opened the door and invited him in. She immediately noticed his tenseness, a slight curve of shoulders and back that shouldn't be there.

 

"What's wrong, Johann?"

 

"Wrong?" He blinked, surprised.

 

Anne nodded. Johann looked at her, not daring to speak for a moment. In his mind, her soft black hair, now loose, framed her features with perfection; the green eyes that stared at him were full of questions, though also shadowed. He got lost into those eyes, and almost jumped when Anne repeated her question with a slight frown and - to his chagrin - a step back as if in sudden fear.

 

"Eeh... sorry, I... I need to talk to you ... if you wouldn't mind it... I realize it's getting late but... You probably want to rest, that shooting was really shocking... "

 

Johann swallowed, making an effort to stop babbling. Anne cocked her head a bit, frowning - and remembering better the boy he had been five years ago, talking in a shared chair lift.

 

"I can have a bit of fresh air, too. Let's just go outside for a bit, then."

 

They ended up sitting on the benches right beside the entrance to the lodge, with the sunset spreading a soft golden glow around them. After some disconnected sentences about the mountain, the air, and the sunset, Johann finally blurted out the sentence he had been working on the whole day.

 

Or tried to, since he stumbled after the first couple words.

 

"Annelise, since I've met you I've... I've been... ah... I've felt... I mean... you're so... lovely... "

 

Annelise's breath caught, finally connecting Johann's bouts of shyness and nervousness around her with his protective attitude when out in the slopes. Because she had noticed that he seemed to be always worried about her safety, trying to check on her randomly during the day - a nearby trail, a shared chair lift, a wave from afar. She didn't really know how she felt about those small gestures, but she was grateful he wasn't showing pity or being overly protective. She also was grateful for his help and discretion on that incident at the slopes on the first day.

 

Johann suddenly went crimson and turned away from Annelise. He had seen her look of sudden realization, and knew that she had finally understood what he meant by his words and actions. His insides seemed to fill with lead as he awaited her answer, and tried to get a few more words out to fill the silence that seemed to be growing.

 

"I'm sorry, Annelise..." Johann's voice was no more than a whisper. "I... can't help it."

 

Silence stretched, and Johann fought a sudden urge to stand up and run away. Annelise's surprise was obvious, and that hurt Johann - she had never noticed, never saw him as more than another boy, another junior instructor... and he might just have ruined any chance of at least having her as a friend. Had he been too quiet with expressing his feelings for her? He hadn't wanted to accidentally embarrass them both in front of the others.

 

"Johann..."

 

Her voice was suddenly very soft, and gentle. She leaned to him, and rested a hand over his.

 

"Are you really saying you are in love with me?"

 

Johann's heart leapt into his throat. He hadn't expected this. He had half thought about not even asking her and merely deciding that she was not interested in him. Firmly he controlled himself, and tried to say what was in his heart and mind.

 

"Anne, I... I... I certainly care for you, and I believe that it may be love..." Johann mentally groaned. He certainly had a way with words and finding the most awkward possible way to say them, he thought to himself.

 

He tried again, "What I mean is, I've cared for you ever since we met. I hadn't known your entire name and you left my life, but I didn't forget. I've dreamed of you for years, I've never given up. Seeing you here, alive and whole, made me feel the greatest I have felt in years. I want to be with you, I enjoy being around you, I love...," he trailed off into silence, not sure if he should complete what he was saying, and hoping that the trembling that he thought he felt throughout his body wasn't really there, that it wasn't going through his hands to Anne's.

 

That he wasn't truly as terrified of being so near this beautiful lady he was in love with as what he felt he was.

 

"Johann... I don't know what to say... you are a sweet guy, and I do like you. But honestly, I've never ... thought of your attitudes as more than some kind of ... retribution feeling you might have for my advice five years ago... an advice that I must say that I'm glad I gave."

 

Johann nearly laughed with the feeling of ease that filled him upon Anne's asking that question. She couldn't have asked an easier question for him to answer.

 

"Anne, even before you talked to me on that lift five years ago, I had thought of how to be able to talk to you, and that sheer chance that placed us both on that lift and allowed it to break down partway up more than I could have hoped for. Certainly I was thrilled that you thought I was a good enough skiier to be an instructor, but I'd been walking on air just because of those few minutes we spent together on the lift...," catching himself before he had the chance to add the next words that were on his tounge, 'before your fall.'

 

However, Anne knew what he had left unsaid, and gave him a slightly sad smile.

 

"No, I don't doubt your feelings. Don't misunderstand me. I'm just not the Annelise I was five years ago. Heck, I can't even ski with half the skill I had!"

 

Johann suddenly squeezed her hand, shaking his head. "You have the skill. You're afraid of using it. Don't you think I've noticed that? You're afraid of the mountain. Of failing it again."

 

Annelise paled.

 

She tried to take her hand away, but Johann grasped it tighter. "Face it, Annelise. If you don't, you'll never regain it. You're doing your best, and I can see that being with Charles has helped you - whether you're willing to admit it or not. But..."

 

Johann stopped suddenly, realizing that blunt truth might not have been the best idea. He berated himself for having taken the conversation that way, when all he wanted was to tell Annelise that he truly loved her for what she was.

 

Annelise fought tears, fought the hands that squeezed hers. She suddenly stopped fighting, and Johann thought that she was about to collapse, so he caught her in his arms, and supported her as she wept silently.

 

The feeling was strange to Annelise - she had fought it for so long, barred herself against it with such determination, that it was hard to even remember what it was like. But she finally yielded. Fear and helplessness made her tremble - and she felt the comfort coming from the strong arm holding her tight.

 

The sun was considerably lower, and the long shadows looked like wraiths ready to rise and swallow them. Johann let his mind wander, gently brushing her hair with his hand, and wondered to himself at this sudden change in this lady who had wished to keep everyone at a distance from her.

 

Annelise recovered in some more minutes, and Johann let her go. She stood up and walked some steps away, letting the cold air cool her face. She felt strangely relaxed, and looked at the slopes ahead of her glowing softly in the reddish light. She smiled at the memories the sight awakened, and breathing deeply she went back to Johann - who had remained seated, drinking in the beautiful sight of her against the setting sun, fixing this picture firmly in his mind to remember, no matter what she said.

 

"Johann..."

 

He stood up, not knowing what to say. Anne blushed and lowered her eyes.

 

"Johann, I don't want to say either yes or no. I don't know what to think of myself, much less... of what I really feel about lots of things."

 

He nodded, the weight in his gut returning slightly. "I understand." He turned to the side somewhat, and thought of what he might pluck from the buzz of words floating through his head, and felt Anne's hand return to his as he looked up at him.

 

Anne's voice was soft. "Let's give it time, Johann... let it be a maybe."

 

He nodded, finally smiling. He could feel Annelise was open to him, though not ready yet to return his feelings. He could wait, and would.

 

He grasped her hand, and they walked to the door back inside, which he took in his other hand, and released her hand.

 

"Ladies first?" he said with an imitation of a bow from an era gone by.

 

She smiled, and went through the door. He followed her through the lodge to their rooms where they bid each other good night, and seperated, each leaving their minds in the company of the words, thoughts, and feelings they had exchanged that evening.

Edited March 21, 2006 by Akallabeth

[Mynx]

The night brought no solace to anyone on the mountain. Only a weary exhaustion that demanded sleep...but even that could not get its way all the time...

 

Gabi stared at her ceiling in a kind of weary frustration, desperately wanting to sleep and forget what had happened earlier, but unable to close her eyes without seeing the look on Gregor's face...and Dana's reaction...Gabi tried to supress a shiver.

 

Dana had been mute since her attack on Gregor. And now, no one knew what to do or say to her. A few tried to comfort her, but in the end she was just left to sit on the couch, her eyes distant.

 

Well after midnight, Gabi got out of bed with a sigh, opening her door quietly and looking around before creeping to the kitchen.

Without thinking, she snapped on the light and nearly shrieked when she heard a voice call out "Who's there?"

 

It took Gabi a few moments to think before she could reply.

"Oh. Brad. It's just Gabi...I wanted a drink..."

She listened for a reply and, getting nothing more than a snort, shrugged and opened the fridge in search of something to drink. Finding nothing of interest, she closed the fridge and found herself staring into the eyes of a familiar face.

 

Sitting in the store room, Brad and Shayna could only listen as Gabi began to speak.

"God you gave me a fright! What are you doing up?...Wha-"

They heard the start of a scream before it was silenced by a wet thump, the sound of a collapsing body soon following.

They both wanted to scream and were terrified to, knowing that only one would hear them and afraid of what it might spur...

 

The following morning, Gabi was found on the kitchen floor, a meat tenderiser embedded in her face.

Written on the table top above her in her own blood:

 

That was for Gregor

OOC: Gabi/Patrick Durham was an innocent Villager. You have 48 hours to cast your votes.

[yochva]

Shayna shivered and rubbed at her dry eyes - she hadn't slept a wink in over a day. She HAD to sleep, or she'd hurt herself.

 

"Brad... Brad have you slept yet? At all?"

[Gryphon]

Brad gives Shayna a tired look and mutters "A little." then goes back to examining the door to try and figure out if he can get out or at least suprise the next person trying to open the door.