A Chill Is In The Breeze

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In retrospect, it was a mistake to leave the campsite. Amaryllis had spent some fruitless time wandering the forest, following Lily’s vanishing footprints. When they disappeared all together she kept heading in the same direction.

With every step she blew again on that last little ember of hope, keeping the faint glow alive. Lily might be just around the next tree trunk. She might come back.

She pieced it together as she walked. Most of the announcement hadn’t registered. She’d been half-asleep and it’d all gone in one ear and out the other. But she’d flagged that Derek and Chiara had been killed by Kitty and her friend. Lily must have taken that news pretty hard.

If their encounter had gone differently, if they’d put a bullet in Kitty when they had the chance, those two would still be alive. Amaryllis and Lily had a serial murderer in their sights, and they’d hesitated. People were dead because of it. It’d be hard not to kick yourself for something like that. And now Lily was gone. Maybe she was after Kitty, and didn’t want to risk Amaryllis screwing it up again. Or maybe she wanted to take Kitty down and didn’t want to put Amaryllis at risk. That would be the more charitable interpretation, but she wasn’t just going to assume something like that.

After an hour or so, the glow dimmed. She stopped next to a tree that looked like every other tree that she’d seen today. If she didn’t turn back now, she wasn’t sure she could make it back to camp, or any other form of shelter. And she was pretty sure she’d crossed her own path more than once.

So, what should she do here? Keep trying to find Lily, or head back? After some brief thought, she opted for the latter. If Lily came back, there’d be a fire and shelter waiting for her. They could talk things out and put together a plan, approach things together. Just like they’d done with Janice, and everything else.

She went back to the campsite and made a fire. Just in case. Waited up for as long as she could stand, then she doused the fire and went to sleep.

The next morning, she got up and went looking again. Kitty’s name showed up on the announcements once more. This time, she’d killed her own sister. What a monster. Amaryllis listened patiently, waiting for Lily’s name in any context. It didn’t come up. She was still out there, searching.

Amaryllis got her things and went out into the storm again. This time, she would either return with Lily or not at all.

And she didn’t. All she found was the deep and endless cold.

S089 Amaryllis Peszek-Byrne - DECEASED