Snow Lodge
Chapter 13
Brian made his way back up the steep path, his steps sluggish yet determined. He could finally feel the numbness that was creeping through his body, and he cursed his stupidity for not bringing a coat with him when he left. The snow seemed much deeper than it had been before, and he found it much trickier going up the path than it had been coming down it.
Up ahead he could see the steepest part of the path, which was the most dangerous part to negotiate. He began his ascent slowly and deliberately, his attention focused solely on the task in front of him, not noticing the fallen form of his friend that was partially hidden by the boulder, and now almost completely covered in snow.
As Brian moved slowly up the path he felt a strong urge to stop and turn around. He tried to shrug it off, thinking that he was trying to delay his talk with AJ even further, and pushed onwards.
He took a few more steps before tripping and falling over a tree root hidden in the snow, instinctively putting his hands out to break his fall. He turned and sat down for a moment, facing back down the way he came, trying to calm his racing heart. If his hand hadn't grabbed hold of a rock sticking up from the ground then he could've had a nasty fall.
He raised his hand up to run it through his hair, but stopped as he realised it had blood on it. He frowned, his hand didn't hurt, he didn't think he had cut it.
He wiped it on his sweatshirt and looked for the source of the bleeding. His hand looked fine, a little dirty, but there was no sign of any cuts. "Where the hell did the blood come from then?" He asked out loud. The only answer was the whistle of the wind in the trees. Brian stood up and brushed the snow off of himself, taking in the frozen landscape around him. He looked back the way he had come and froze in shock.
At the bottom of the section something stood out against the stark white of the snow. There, just barely visible, peeking out of the whiteness, Brian could make out something bright yellow, it was covered in snow, and half hidden by a boulder, but it was unmistakable. With a sinking feeling in his stomach Brian half ran and half fell back down the path, dropping to his knees besides the boulder. He brushed snow away to touch the soft fabric of the jacket, a cry of disbelief falling from his lips as he realised that there, lying lifeless at his feet, was AJ.
Brian gently reached up to support AJ's head and neck as he rolled him onto his back. AJ's face was pale; all colour had drained from his skin, which made the blue tinge on his lips stand out all the more clearly. The right side of his face was covered in blood, which had come from a gash on his forehead. Brian reached a shaky hand out to touch AJ's cheek, startled and upset by just how cold he was, before moving his hand down to his neck, where he tried to find a pulse.
