>>142675
>Walking from tree to tree, breaking noticeable low branches and laying them down to keep track of my path, even after I meet with a mountain wall
>Inefficient, but the best I can do in this situation
>Keep pushing along in the cold and the sky is getting cloudy
>Can't stop
>Must keep going
>I check my watch and see it's already 2 pm
>I've must've gone about 4 miles already and still haven't found a cave
>As I keep moving, I think about what she told me that day we met
>She was just out here taking a break
>But this is way too far out
>Another mile and I'm losing feeling in my toes even through my boots.
>But I stepped on something under the snow and it didn't feel like a rock
>I bend down and start throw the powder aside and see someone froze to death here
>I uncover more of this person
>It's a man and he was carrying a sword with him
>I check him for an id and find he was an employee for the park
>George Paulson, age 37
>I check to make sure he has a driver's licence or some other id before I pocket his main id (and what little cash he had on him; $17, not like he has any use for it now)
>I decide to take his sword and stake it in the ground to mark where he is, say a small prayer for him and continue on
>It wasn't much further till I found a cave
>I look inside but it's dark
>I listen in for a bit
>All I can hear for a while it my watch ticking
>…
>And then a sniffle, faintly echoes from within
>I proceed cautiously into the cave trying to follow the occasional faint sound from within
>A little ways in, after my eyes adjusted somewhat, I see a silhouette of a person curled up against a wall
>"Taylor?" I softly call out to the figure
"Anon?" She gasped in surprise. "How did you find this place?"
>"Taylor, please just tell me," I plead to her
>"What's going on? What's the matter?"
>She sat there in silence
>"Taylor, I want to know why you're so upset. I want to help you. But I can't do that if you hide from me"
>Another moment passes and she finally utters
"Why did she have to die? Why did they have to try to kill us?"
>I just stood there trying to process her words
"Why did I get to live while they killed my mother?" She erupted into tears
>The burst of her emotions let out a blast of cold draining what little energy I had left
>I focused all the strength I had left to stay on my feet
>It wasn't enough as I fell to my knees
"Just leave me here! I don't want to live!" She cried into her knees.
"Just who would love a miserable beast like me?"
>I crawled over to her side and wrapped my arms around her
>And I weakly speak in her ear
>"I would, and I do"
>Taylor was stunned by my words
>I could barely hold myself up and was leaning heavily on Taylor
>She could feel me getting weak
"Anon… Anon, hold on, I'll go get help!"
>She propped me up against the wall and ran out of the cave as fast as she could
>I sat there, focusing on my breathing, hoping I can recover enough to stay awake
>I focused as hard as I could timing it with my watch
>Tick tock
>Please come back Taylor
>I don't want to be alone
>Not since I met you
>Tick tock
>Have you been alone since then?
>It looks like you have friends
>But I know that sometimes even friends don't help against feeling alone
>Tick tock
>You lost your mother
>And not just by some random person's doing
>But by someone she trusted
>Someone she once loved…
>Tick tock
>…
>Tick tock
"Over here!"
>That voice…
>I feel a light shine on me and hear footsteps reverberate in the cave, closing in
"Hold on there sir, you're gonna be okay!"
>There's more chatter and rustling as they cover me in an emergency blanket
>I continue focusing on my breathing, even if I cannot keep synchronized with my watch
>I get carried into an emergency helicopter and they hook me up to an IV
>The voices I can hear now, none of them are Taylor's
>I can't focus now
>I need to know Taylor is alright
>I slip into a slumber on the way to the hospital
Let me post!!!!