Chapter 8 Louise
LOUISE
Istumbled back from the boulder, my legs buckling beneath me.
My stomach lurched. I barely made it behind a nearby pine before I doubled over and threw up everything I’d eaten that day—maybe even the day before.
Acid burned my throat as I dry-heaved again and again, retching until I was gasping for breath, my hands braced against the cold earth.
The image of her broken body—those hollow, eyeless sockets—burned behind my eyelids no matter how tightly I shut them.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my glove, my breaths coming in shallow gasps. My heart pounded, frantic and disoriented. I yanked out my phone with trembling fingers and tried to call base camp.
Nothing.
Just static.
I moved, trying for higher ground. Still nothing.
“No, no, no…” My voice cracked into the silence. I waved my phone toward the sky, a desperate, pointless gesture. The screen glared back at me, useless.
I was stranded.
Alone.
In the woods.
With a dead body.
Tears blurred my vision as I shoved the phone back in my pocket.
I looked toward the trees, trying to remember the path I’d taken.
Every direction looked the same now—shadows and snow flurries and towering trunks that stretched into black sky.
The only light came from my headlamp, flickering slightly like it might burn out at any moment.
My hands curled into fists, forcing back the sob rising in my throat.
“Get it together,” I whispered, even though I was unraveling. “Just get back.”
I turned and started walking, my boots crunching against frozen leaves and brittle branches.
The path was steep, the terrain unforgiving.
Each step felt like I was moving through a nightmare—half dazed, half delirious.
A thick knot of fear tangled in my chest, squeezing tighter with every wrong turn I took.
Twice, I slipped and hit the ground, catching myself with my elbows. The second time, I stayed down, blinking at the stars barely visible through the trees.
Everything hurt. My chest, my legs, my heart.
But I got up.
Because I had to.
Because Kara deserved more than to rot in the woods like roadkill.
Because someone had to tell them.
The deeper I went, the darker it seemed to get, even though I knew I was walking toward civilization.
The cold intensified, seeping into my joints, biting at my cheeks.
I had no idea how long I walked, just that my limbs were numb and I was shaking uncontrollably by the time I saw the faint glow of floodlights through the trees.
Base camp.
Relief slammed into me so hard I nearly cried again.
I stumbled into the clearing, eyes wide, mouth frozen, headlamp covered in frost. I didn’t say anything at first—I couldn’t. Someone turned and looked at me, their expression shifting as they took me in.
It wasn’t until I whispered the words, voice hollow, that the world snapped into chaos.
“I found her.”