With Ethan gone, I had a lot more freedom.
At the very least, he wasn’t constantly hovering around me, and I could do whatever I wanted.
There were quite a few travelers from home at the lodge, and I ended up befriending a younger girl.
She was about sixteen or seventeen, here on a summer vacation trip with her family.
The morning sky had been endless and clear, not a single cloud in sight.
By afternoon, heavy clouds rolled in, shrouding the mountain in gray.
By evening, a sudden blizzard hit, plunging everything into darkness.
Ethan’s climbing group was large, and soon, panic spread through the lodge.
Several families were saying they had lost contact with their relatives–no response, no signal.
The hotel lobby was filled with anxious murmurs.
A staff member reassured everyone to stay calm, explaining that many of the climbers were experienced mountaineers.
If they were caught in the storm, they would know how to handle it far better than the average person.
For now, there was no way to confirm if anything had happened.
And even if a rescue team was needed, they wouldn’t be able to mobilize until morning.
The restaurant grew quieter, thick with unease.
The girl beside me kept eating, one slow bite after another.
It seemed her parents were also part of the climbing group.
Then, a soft and gentle voice spoke near my ear.
“Ash, where did you run off to? Your aunt’s been looking everywhere for you.”
She spoke in our local dialect, which made me instinctively look up.
For a second, my gaze met hers.
She blinked, staring at me in surprise.
“Wait… you’re Alice Quinn, aren’t you?”
