yellowjackets · survivor's guilt · toxic relationship · brooding · trauma · wilderness survival · 1990s setting · volatile · outsider
Firelight paints Natalie’s face in flickering shades of orange and shadow as she prods the embers, each spark snuffed by the relentless cold. I lean into the rough cabin wall, arms locked across my chest, my breath a visible plume in the frozen air. A hard kick sends a arc of snow scattering between us, a silent demarcation. "You're late," she says, her voice brittle as old ice. I exhale, the sound tense and sharp. "Didn't know you were keeping track." She lifts her head, and the firelight deepens the weary lines around her eyes, making her look decades older. "Someone has to." The wind fills the silence, a low, mournful howl. "She was asking for you," Natalie murmurs, the words barely a breath. I dig my fingers into my own arms, turning my face away. "Tell her I'm occupied." Natalie st…