Mountain Madness

The phone was still dead and had been dead for several days. Someone has to
learn what happened up here on the mountain. A blizzard blew in four days ago and shut
everything down. No electricity, phone or any other amenities that this comfy lodge was
accustomed to providing. Also, on the wind that brought the storm, brought something
else. It was death, and it was not death as a result of mother nature burring this little
skiing hamlet in twenty four inches of fresh snow. It was death brought by someone who
was very dark and troubled.

A week before the storm hit the police scanner came to life with news that there
was an escape from the prison about sixty miles east of here. The authorities didn’t know who or how many broke out, but they were setting up road blocks and picket lines everywhere. Several hours after the initial report of the escape on the police scanner the television stations started carrying the story. Federal, State and Local law enforcement agencies where looking for two escapees, both women. The assumed instigator of the break out was serving two life sentences for murder and the other woman was convicted on drug and gang related violations. The report concluded with the customary armed and considered dangerous end line the news always used. It just seemed unfathomable that women could be so vile.

Before the storm hit, helicopters and law enforcement from every agency imaginable was searching the mountains for the escapees. There where hundreds of reports about possible sightings of the women and their criminal digressions that where becoming legendary in such a short time. Some where completely ludicrous, like robbing the bank topless with their bra’s on their heads as a disguise. The Sheriff was even quoted as saying they left a note for him on his desk at the station headquarters. Every one was in a complete frenzy about the two women convicts. Then the storm.

The day the storm hit the lodge had forty six registered guests. All had come for skiing on opening day and most traveled here year after year. They liked the tranquility of this small resort and paid the hefty fees for lodging. Every cabin had a king size bed, full service bar, wood burning fireplace and four person spa. The decor, though western and rustic, was immaculate. Reservations had to be placed a year in advance, the $400 a night fee paid six months in advance and where not refundable.

Most awoke that morning feeling rejuvenated and invigorated in the crisp, cool mountain air. Inside the main lodge there was little concern amongst the breakfast tables about the escaped convicts. All were ready to hit the slopes and take advantage of being the first to carve the eight inches of fresh powder. They waxed their skis, donned their boots and hit the slopes, mind aware of the possible storm coming later in the day the weather reports suggested. Many where veterans of changing weather in the mountains and knew the signs to watch for. As the day wore on, clouds began to blur the sun and gray the sky. A few hours later the snow began to fall. It fell rapidly and soon it was snowing so hard one couldn’t see over twenty feet ahead.
By the time the lodge owners shut the ski lifts down, every one was back in their cabins or in the main lodge discussing the weather over the grog bowl. Many relaxed in the lodge to catch the news on the radio. They learned that the storm was expected to be one of the heaviest downfalls in the last twenty five years and the prisoners were still out there somewhere.

The next morning panic sounded through the hamlet. The tenants in cabin eight had disappeared. Their cabin was a mess with blood everywhere. A quick search revealed two sets of foot prints dragging something and ending as if they never existed. As the alarm spread everyone was in a panic to get off the mountain, but the storm had not abated. The roads where impassible and the phone was dead. Shut out from the rest of the world they began to ponder their fate.

As darkness fell over the resort the women convicts began their journey from the small cave they had been hiding in. They were warmed by the previous night’s activities. They had posed as guests lost in the storm and convinced the two men in the cabin that they could not find their cabin in the raging blizzard. After several drinks and idle conversation they retired for the evening. Once the men had fallen asleep they women rummaged through their belongings, finding several hundred dollars. The women decided to take the money and murder the men for their hospitality. They dragged the men off to a ravine and brushed their path clear with pine boughs.

Their plan was simple and without regard for any human being. The women would enter every cabin; take all the money they could find and the lives of the inhabitants. Once they had all the money they wanted and the storm lifted they would make their way out of the mountains and continue their run on the money they stole. This night they amassed $4000 and many lives. However, tonight they left the inhabitants where they lay. They had become expert killers with knives and rope as they went silently and undetected through the night.

The next morning was met with despair by the people who found themselves in a horrifying situation in what is usually such a beautiful and tranquil setting. They were being hunted and killed for their money. The killers where silent, no one heard a sound other than the wind and their fear in the night. This morning they found that thirty two others had lost their lives at the hands of those who seemed to have no soul. Why would anybody do such horrible things for no apparent reason? The bravest trudged though the deepening snow and gloom to the main lodge. Their goal was to find a way off the mountain, but they learned to much despair that there was still no way off the mountain. All anyone could do was wait for the lines to be repaired and the snow plows to open the road.

Many huddled in the commons area of the lodge. They where discussing plans to protect themselves until the madness stopped. However, no one could agree on a unified plan. No one was willing to stand as sentry and give alarm if the killers came back. That night they returned to their cabins in hope that the killers had moved on. Each would have to find strength and security in their own will and savior.
Once again darkness fell. The women built a small fire to stay warm by. Tonight they would wait until the later hours to go about their devilish mission. They wanted many to drink their fears away and fall asleep waiting for the inevitable. At midnight they disembarked from their hide out to complete the decimation of the people at the ski resort. They killed without malice. Finding satisfaction in killing the people of the state. The same individuals that may have served on their juries sentencing them to prison. For them it was retribution, whether they were guilty or not.

As the sun was starting to rise they saw movement near the main lodge. They watched and waited. Who had they missed through the night? It was the proprietor of the lodge. They laid in wait for him to enter the lodge. The women assumed that he would go to his office. As soon as he entered the building they quickly covered the ground from the cabin they were in the shadow of to the main lodge. They gingerly opened the front door and went in. Upon quick inspection they saw the office door open with a shadow moving within.

The two escapees sprang for the door to the office. As they entered they saw the Inn Keeper reaching for the phone. He had heard them at the last second. He was lifting the phone to his ear as he saw a knife flying through the air at him. The knife penetrated his chest cavity just as the receiver touched his ear.

The phone was still dead!