Page 97 of Madness & Mayhem
She nods, standing up with a wince. We all hobble up the hill and make our way into Canada.
“What are we looking for?” Lakyn asks from beside me.
“We’ll find a motel outside of town. Border patrol will be prowling this area soon. We won’t be able to stay here.”
We all solemnly nod, knowing that we have a trek in front of us. Our journey isn’t over.
It’s just beginning.
“Here?” Archer says, his voice shaking from the cold.
I nod.
We can’t go on any longer. All of us are wet, cold, and exhausted. The freezing temperatures have worked its way into our bones, and we’re stiff, slow, and nearly immobile.
We have no more time to waste. We need to get inside and we need to get to warmth.
We buried Eloise in the woods about two miles back. Underneath the snow and as much dirt as we could get underneath. The ground was frozen, so there wasn’t much we could do besides leave her. But we can’t carry a dead body into town.
“It’ll have to do,” I mumble.
We all hobble toward the strip of rooms that look run-down. A large sign out front saysVacancywith half of the letters not even illuminated.
“I’ll go in,” Kyler grumbles, and we stop at the side of the building while Kyler hobbles toward the front entrance.
“I’m so cold,” Lakyn whispers, shivering so bad she starts trembling in place. I want to go up to her and warm her up, but I’m just as cold, and I don’t think my freezing limbs on hers would provide any comfort. I think any physical touch at this point would just cause us all pain.
“He needs to hurry up, I can’t feel my body,” Posie whimpers.
We all huddle up in a circle, our faces scouring the area until we hear footsteps from behind us.
Glancing over my shoulder, I see Kyler walking toward us with a small smirk on his face.
He lifts his hand, showing off an old-fashioned key.
He stops in front of a door, nodding his head toward us. We all shuffle toward the door, and Kyler shoves the key in with shaky fingers, turning it and opening the door.
A gust of warmth flows out of the door, and we all rush as quickly as we can inside.
“Oh my God,” Lakyn cries, falling to her knees. “It’s so warm in here.”
“I’m going to turn on the shower,” Kyler grumbles. “Posie, you can go first.”
She lets out a cry and closes the door. I step up to it, slapping the Do Not Disturb sign on the outside of the door before closing it and latching the chain and dead bolt.
“I’m fucking going in with you, Posie,” Archer grumbles, tearing his clothes off.
“Me too,” Lakyn cries.
“The shower is small, but we can all fit,” Kyler shouts from the bathroom moments before I hear the shower turn on.
Lakyn nods, shoving off the ground and tearing her clothes off. We all get to our underwear, our skin bright pink, our bodies seconds from suffering from severe hypothermia. I can feel my body near shutting down, and I know I need heat. I need it fast.
Walking into the bathroom, I let out a groan as the room begins filling with steam. Posie steps in first, Archer right behind her. Kyler steps in behind them, letting out a sigh.
I grab onto Lakyn’s arm, careful to not brush her wrapped shoulder as I step in, helping her get in ahead of me.
The water is weak and thin, but the warmth hits us all the same. One by one we start dropping to the bottom of the tub, until it’s the five of us, our limbs tangled and twisted as we fall to the ground. Posie turns off the shower, instead turning it into a bath. We let the warm water fill around us.