Abandon (13 page)

Chapter 17:  Annalise

Deep Creek Lake, Western Maryland
December 22, 2012

Annalise woke to the sound of the house crumbling around her.  Shooting up in bed she looked at her door to see it was already open and people were running past it chasing each other.  A white ball flew through the air and thumped against her wall and disintegrating on impact.  A snowball.  They were having a snowball fight in the house.   Jenna came running into her room, slamming the door behind her and heaving huge breaths.

“You have to get out of bed.  The guys are beating us!” she said, moving towards Annalise’s snowboarding gear and throwing it at her.  “Suit up!  We need you!”

Annalise laughed pulling her sweatshirt over her head as Kevin busted into her room, throwing a snowball at Jenna’s midsection.  Jenna swiftly moved to the slide and the snowball exploded against the wall in the same spot as the first one.  With a shriek,  Jenna began to chase Kevin out of the room towards the living room and Annalise slipped out of bed to pull her pants on.  She hadn’t been involved in a snowball fight since she was a child, and definitely not one that was inside a house.  Anxious to get in the action, she whistled for the dog that was normally sleeping by her side.  She couldn’t hear the paw prints over the laughter coming from the living room so she stepped out into the hallway and noticed that the front door was wide open.

Katy was out front gathering snow and looking down Annalise could see paw prints in freshly fallen snow.  “Hey Katy, have you seen my dog?” she asked, following the paw prints towards the woods that surrounded the house.  

Katy shook her head, forming a snowball between her gloves.  “Ran out about half an hour ago, haven’t since it since.”

Annalise whistled into the woods noticing that the paw prints became harder to follow at the edge.  Her dog couldn’t have gone far in half an hour.  The dog was one of the only things that was keeping her sane these past couple days.  It had become her companion, always by her side no matter what she was doing.  In a way, she liked to think the dog was sent to her by some higher power to keep her company, and remind her that things were not as bad as they seemed.  She found it hard to believe the dog would just up and run off because the door was left open.

“Did you see which way he ran?” she asked Katy as Cort came barreling out the front door launching snowballs in Katy’s direction.  Katy didn’t respond, just began bobbing and weaving to avoid being hit by the projectiles and started running away from him.

Annalise sighed in frustration looking at the woods.  She wasn’t going to find help from them at this moment, so she might as well as join them.  Her dog would come back to her, it was probably just enjoying the snow.  Reaching down she began to form a snowball in her own gloves and began to sneak around the house.  Kevin and Jake were creating a massive pile of snowballs behind the back door, and she grinned.  They were so busy with the task at hand they didn’t even notice her approach.  She launched her snowball at Kevin’s back and lunged for their pile of snowballs.  

Kevin turned around with a yelp and began throwing any snowballs he could reach at her.  They were in an epic battle, snow flying all over the place, bodies contorting in strange ways to avoid blows.  Throughout it all, Annalise couldn’t stop laughing.  

Finally, Jenna burst through the sliding glass doors with snowballs of her own and Jake and Kevin raised their hands, signalling surrender.  Annalise gave a whoop of joy and found her hand reaching up in the air to connect with Jenna’s in a firm high five.  The boys were rolling their eyes and making protests of cheating.

“Where are Cort and Katy?” Kevin asked Jenna, walking to the sliding glass door.  His voice was coming out in wispy chokes, like it had been a while since they laughed that hard.  Annalise guessed it probably was, at least three weeks at this point.  They were probably overdue for some group fun and was glad the storm had provided the means.  

“Last I saw they were out of front,” Jenna replied following him.

Annalise looked up at the sky and all the snow that was falling around them as Jake dusted himself off.  “That was fun,” she said trying to bridge the gap that been created between them the other day.  They had just been laughing together after all, there probably wouldn’t be a better time. “I haven’t had fun like that in a while.”

Jake snorted and rebuffed her attempts at friendship, “It’s hard to imagine you ever having fun Annalise.”

Annalise brought her face down from the sky and looked at him, knowing the hurt was probably showing in her face.  She still didn’t understand what his problem with her was.  Sure, maybe she shouldn’t be out here, maybe she should have ignored Cort’s text message.  She couldn’t change that now though.  They all had to live with their decisions and this cool attitude he was showing towards her wasn’t productive.  “What do you...”

She was in interrupted by a deep howl coming from the woods.  She turned around with record speed trying to ascertain where the howl came from.  It sounded like a dog in pain... like her dog in pain.  She took off towards the edge of woods and as she reached the entrance of the woods at the side of the house, she paused listening for another sound.  All that greeted her was the wind blowing through the trees.  Letting out a whistle, she waited.  Nothing.

Looking towards the house she saw that Jake had already gone inside.  She really shouldn’t go in the woods alone, especially if the dog had been howling in warning, but she had to know.  She began to walk through the woods, whistling as softly as she could and looking for paw prints in the snow.  She couldn’t lose her dog, the one thing that had brought her true happiness since she was out here.  She had already lost so much in her life, and that dog couldn’t be taken be away from her.  Whatever higher power that had brought her the dog wouldn’t do that.  She was sure of it.

She didn’t know how long she walked through the woods but eventually she found herself at a clearing that seemed familiar and had a path which was sure would lead back to the house.  Her fingers were numb and her entire body was shaking and covered with the falling snow.  Giving one last whistle, she knelt to the ground and began to pray to whoever was listening for her dog to come back to her.  Seconds turned into minutes, and when her knees finally couldn’t stand the kneeling position anymore she resigned herself to the fact that her dog would not be coming back to her.  It was lost, or maybe back to where it came from.  She hoped, at least, that it was back to where it came from, maybe with the people who had raised it.  Perhaps when the snow let up they would find those people, and she’d be reunited.  

Following the path towards the house, she felt the tears well up and begin a slow descent down her cheeks.  They were freezing before they even reached her lips but she didn’t notice that.  All she felt was a deep emptiness in her heart.  First her family years ago, then Cort.  She didn’t know where Meredith was, and if she had even survived, and now her dog.  Perhaps it was her lot in life to lose the things she cared about.  Lost in her depression she didn’t notice she had already reached the house.  She was wiping her tears when the door opened and Cort grabbed her up in a huge hug.

“Where have you been?!” he asked in a frantic voice shaking her.  “We didn’t know where you went.  We couldn’t find you.”

Annalise pulled away from him quickly, looking over his shoulder.  Katy was standing in the hallway, a strange mixture of guilt and jealousy on her face.  “I was looking for my dog.  Someone,” she emphasised staring at Katy, “left the door open.”

Cort looked back at Katy and then to Annalise.  The tension was palpable in the air, and he was probably already looking for a way to defuse the situation.  “I’m sure he’ll be back ‘Lise,” he comforted.  “He’s probably just enjoying the snow like we all were earlier.”

A quick fury welled up inside of her.  Cort always knew what to say, always thought the most positive thing would happen.  Her life wasn’t that blessed.  That’s why she was out here in the first place.  “No Cort, not everyone has a magically blessed life where the things you want just occur.”  

Annalise kicked off her boots and shook off her jacket, continuing before Cort could say anything equally obnoxious. “I’m cold, and wet, and I need to take a hot shower.  Excuse me.”

Leaving Cort in the hallway, she slammed her door behind her.  She had just lost the only true friend she had out here.  

Chapter 18:  Cort

Deep Creek Lake, Western Maryland
December 22, 2012

It was a rarity for all of them to eat dinner together but because of the storm they all found themselves sitting in the dining room.  Tonight was especially bad given the worry earlier about where Annalise had gone and her reaction when she returned.  There was an awkward silence that hung over the group and it caused Cort to question his leadership abilities.  He had brought everyone out here to survive, and he guessed technically they were.  Was it a life worth living though?  It seemed every day there was a new obstacle that put everyone on edge and he didn’t know how to fix it.  

Beyond that, he was irrationally mad at Annalisa for her inability to focus on what was supposed to be her task during the apocalypse.  Every plan they had built together, Annalise was supposed to be the one to bring people together.  Instead, since she had returned from her solo search for that damn dog, she had a bad attitude towards everyone, especially Katy.  He understood it to a degree, the dog had been her constant companion since it’s arrival, but it was a dog.  There was no way of knowing if the dog would come back or not.  In his mind, it was premature to be this pissed off.  Pushing his spaghetti around the plate in front of him, he hoped for one of them to say something that would break the silence.  

It was Katy who answered his silent prayer. “I miss my parents,” she said barely above a whisper.

“Must be nice to have to parents to miss,” Annalise quickly responded with obvious bitterness in her voice.  Cort took a deep breath praying that Katy somehow managed to remain oblivious to the tone in which Annalise had spoken.  He had filled his prayer quota for the day though, because Katy put her fork down on her plate with enough force to raise the eyes of everyone at the table to her.

“You must still miss them,” she accused.  Cort knew the minute those words came out of Katy’s mouth that Annalise was going to react poorly.  He couldn’t really fault Katy for her way of thinking, but she didn’t know Annalise’s history.

 Annalise put her fork down too, starring Katy straight in the eyes.  “No Katy, I don’t.  Some of us didn’t grow up with picture perfect lives and parents who doted on their spoiled brat’s every need.”

Katy’s hands went into little fists and her knuckles turned white from the pressure.  This could get ugly, Cort realized.  “Why do you hate me so much Annalise?” Katy finally bit out between ground teeth.  “What have I ever done to deserve this?”

Annalise started to laugh.  Not the joyful laugh that made Cort laugh along with her, but a bitter laugh that showed the anger and resentment she held towards Katy.  “That’s the point Katy, you haven’t done anything the entire time we’ve been here but manage to leave a door open which let my dog out.  You serve no purpose and you have no skills.”

The table was eerily silent after Annalise finished her miniature rant.  Cort could see that Katy’s eyes were scanning the table looking for one of them to defend her.  When Jake, Jenna and Kevin didn’t come to her defense, her eyes rested on Cort.  He wanted to say something but he couldn’t argue Annalise’s logic.  Katy hadn’t done anything to this point.  She was useless as a scout, often making Cort do all the heavy lifting and he couldn’t remember a time she had cooked, or cleaned.  If Katy was looking for some defense, it wasn’t going to come from him.  Instead, he let his eyes drift down to his plate and left her to face Annalise’s wrath alone.

“They aren’t going to defend you,” Annalise continued.  “They all agree with me, whether they are going to voice it or not.  The only talent you probably ever had was sucking cock, but since Cort’s the only one who gets the benefi...”

 Jake slammed his hand down on the table, shaking everyone’s plates interrupting her mid-sentence.  “That’s enough Annalise.”  

 Katy’s face flooded with relief and Annalise stared at Jake.  Instead of cooling her anger, it only seemed to fuel it.  “Oh, is she sucking your dick too?”

“Annalise...” Cort warned.  Jake was often seen by everyone as the quiet one, always observing but never getting involved.  It typically lulled those around him into a false sense of security because Jake had one of the most volatile tempers of anyone Cort had ever met.  Annalise was walking a thin line with her comments directed at him and didn’t even know it.  Or maybe she did, but she didn’t care.

“No, I just don’t think you should take out your anger at Katy when it’s really Cort you’re pissed at,” Jake responded in a deadly calm manner.  Cort groaned.  This wasn’t what he had in mind when he had asked for something to break the silence.  The dinner was quickly degrading into something that none of them would have control over.  He tried to think of something to say to defuse the situation but Annalise stopped him by standing up from the table.