Cruel Hike

The autumn hiking trip was supposed to be an adventure. But when the temperature plummeted below freezing, and my lips started turning blue, I reached into my pack to find my emergency thermal blanket had been swapped for a flimsy plastic bag.

Before I could even ask who was responsible, my fianc, Dermot, grabbed my arm.

"Babe, don't be mad," he said, his voice tight. "I gave your blanket to Lila. Just... make do with the plastic bag for now."

I clutched the crinkling plastic, my teeth chattering so hard they ached. "Make do? So you're just going to let me freeze to death out here?"

His brow furrowed in annoyance. "Why would you say that? Lila's not an experienced hiker, she wasn't prepared. That doesn't mean you can wish her ill."

He went on, his voice dripping with condescension. "We're out here to connect with nature, to breathe fresh air, not to show off your professional gear. Lila was right, you know. You need to drop this spoiled princess act, expecting everyone to coddle you. After we're married, I won't have the time to deal with your drama."

I stopped listening. With the last of my strength, I pulled out my satellite phone and dialed.

"Dad," I whispered, my voice cracking, "come get me. And pull all our support from Dermot's family."

The moment the words left my lips, the phone died, its battery succumbing to the cold.

Dermot's face went rigid, then twisted into a cold sneer. "What, pulling that card again to make me grovel? Seriously, Seraphina, can't you come up with a new trick?"

He lunged for the phone, but I clutched it to my chest. The pain in my swollen, red hands was a searing agony, a thousand tiny needles piercing my skin. I felt myself on the verge of blacking out. The sub-zero temperature was already slowing my heart, and any sudden movement felt like torture.

In a last-ditch effort, I draped the plastic bag over my shoulders. It was useless. My consciousness began to fray at the edges, my hands now completely numb.

Lila approached, my thermal blanket draped over her arm.

She gazed at me, her expression a mask of delicate fragility. "Sera, please don't blame Dermot. I'm just so fragile, the slightest chill gives me a cold."

Then, right in front of me, she unfolded my emergency blanket and slowly, deliberately, wrapped it around herself. She even used a corner of the high-tech fabric to wipe some mud from her fingers. Every movement was slow, exaggerated, as if to make sure I didn't miss a single detail.

My vision tunneled.

That blanket had cost me a fortune, imported from Switzerland. It was a piece of advanced tech designed specifically for extreme cold. Wrapped in it, you could maintain a normal body temperature even on a snow-capped peak.

And she was using my lifeline like a dishrag.

Dermot rushed to her side, his voice dripping with concern. "Lila, you're just too kind. Don't waste your sympathy on a cold-hearted bitch like her."

He turned his gaze on me, his eyes filled with a lofty, judgmental glare.

"Knock it off, Seraphina. Stop the theatrics."

"Lila's a pre-med student," he continued, puffing out his chest. "She said the temperature isn't even that low. It's all in your head. Drink some hot water, jump around a bit. You'll be fine."

"That fancy blanket of yours is a joke, no better than something you'd buy at a flea market. A total scam. Lila's not as strong as you; she needs it more."

The plastic bag, already torn, offered no protection. The cold was sinking deeper into my bones. I fumbled for my thermos, desperate for a sip of hot water, only to find it was full of ice-cold slush.

Then I watched as Dermot pulled a different thermos from his own pack, opened it, and handed it to Lila. Steam ghosted from the rim.

"I swapped the water in your thermoses," he said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "You're fine. Stop being so delicate. My family can't afford a wife as high-maintenance as you."

Through the rising steam, I saw Lila's lips curve into a triumphant smirk.

Dermots casual cruelty shattered the last of my hope. My blanket, my hot water... he had given everything to her. And I was being left to slowly freeze, my mind going numb.

"Dermot," I forced the words out, "I'm... I'm going to die."

"Die? Can you stop being so dramatic? Lila's the one who's sick, and you don't hear her complaining, do you?"

Lila leaned against his chest, her voice a pathetic whisper. "Sera, I know you don't like me, but I really don't feel well. Dermot said you're an experienced hiker and you'd be okay."

She took a long, noisy gulp of the hot water, then licked her lips with theatrical satisfaction. Her eyes met mine, glittering with open provocation. A tremor of pure rage shot through my frozen body.

"Give it back!" I lunged, trying to grab the blanket.

Dermot shoved me hard. "Are you insane, Seraphina? Lila's sick! And you're trying to rip her blanket away?"

I hit the frozen ground, the impact jarring my spine.

Lila clutched the blanket tighter, her eyes welling with tears as she looked up at Dermot. "Maybe I shouldn't have come. Dermot, honey, why does your fiance hate me so much? Am I just a burden? Maybe I should just die! Then I wouldn't ruin her mood anymore!"

She made a show of letting the blanket slip, as if to run off into the wilderness, but Dermot caught her, pulling her into a tight embrace.

He stroked her back soothingly. "It's not your fault. She's just a spoiled brat who thinks the world revolves around her."

Their words were a physical blow, each one sharper than the icy wind. The man who had knelt before me, promising to cherish and protect me for the rest of our lives, was now holding another woman, watching me shiver in a torn plastic bag.

With a final surge of adrenaline, I grabbed my backpack and swung it with all my might, smashing it into Dermot's face.

"We're over!"

The blow caught Dermot completely off guard. He staggered back, blood pouring from his nose. "You're crazy!" he roared, tilting his head back while cursing a blue streak.

Seeing him so disheveled sent a vicious thrill through me.

"Dermot, honey, are you okay? Oh my god, somebody help! Seraphina's trying to kill him!" Lila's crocodile tears started flowing, her wails echoing through the mountains like a banshee, drawing the attention of our friends.

When they saw Dermot's bloody face, the accusations started immediately.

Dermot's buddy, Jake, pointed a finger at me. "You've gone too far, Sera! Lila was nice enough to give you her plastic bag, and this is how you repay her?"

I tried to speak, to defend myself, but my jaw was locked, my body conserving every last bit of energy. All I could do was huddle inside the pathetic plastic wrap. Every movement was stealing precious seconds from my life.

Lila peeked out from behind Dermot, her tear-streaked face a mask of pitiful innocence that made my stomach turn.

"Don't blame her," she sobbed. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have taken her blanket just because I felt sick. But Dermot said he said I was like a little sister to him, and that I'd be like a sister to Sera, too. He said she wouldn't mind."

Her words seemed to soothe Dermot's fury. He pulled her closer. "You don't need to apologize. She's the one making a scene."

"A sister?" The words scraped my throat. "I've never even met you before today."

Dermot's expression hardened. "Don't push it, Seraphina. Lila and I grew up together. She's always been like a sister to me. She's frail, always has been. Are you, a pampered princess, really going to fight her over a stupid blanket?"

Five years we'd been together, and not once had he mentioned this childhood "sister." And the way he'd given her my life-saving blanket this wasn't sisterly affection. It was something else entirely.

My breathing grew shallow, the figures in front of me blurring into ghostly doubles. My limbs refused to obey me. I braced myself against a tree, my hand trembling as I tried to point, to explain. But the only sound that came out was the chattering of my teeth.

Jake mocked me, mimicking my shivering. "Hah, that's hilarious. The accusations didn't work, so now you're playing the victim? Give it a rest, princess. Your mommy and daddy aren't here to coddle you."

The group erupted in laughter. Dermot just looked at me with pure disgust, convinced I was faking it all for attention.

"That's enough!" he snapped. "Stop your pathetic games. And don't you dare talk about breaking up again. You won't find anyone else as patient as me."

He dragged me over to a rickety-looking shack near the supply point. "You can stay in here and think about what you've done. Stop embarrassing me."

"Dermot, I can't" I managed to whisper, grabbing his sleeve. My fingers were so swollen the skin was almost translucent.

He shook my hand off with a shudder of revulsion.

"I'm sick of this act. You think I'm your mother? That I'll come running every time you play the victim? If you're going to be my wife, you need to cut the bullshit."

Slam!

The wooden door shut, the force of it rattling the broken window panes.

I could hear their laughter outside, and Dermot's voice, now gentle, as he comforted Lila.

"Don't mind her. She's just a spoiled brat who thinks the whole world owes her something."

"But Dermot," Lila's voice dripped with fake concern, "what if she hates me?"

"Don't worry about it. She's all bark and no bite. Besides, you're my sister. If she wants to marry me, she'll have to learn to treat you right."

My mind grew foggy. The deadly cold made every movement an ordeal. The frostbite on my feet was so severe I couldn't even crawl. A draft blew through the broken windows, a crosswind of icy air that seemed to freeze my brain solid.

I tried to drag myself toward the door, to cry for help, but my body wouldn't respond. A smear of blood on the floor from a cut I hadn't even felt sent a wave of utter despair through me.

My breaths came in ragged, shallow gasps. The fear of death was a living thing, coiling in my gut. I screamed, tearing at my vocal cords, but no one outside seemed to notice or care.

My vision blurred. Just as I was about to surrender to the darkness, the shack door creaked open.

It was Lila.

A triumphant smile played on her lips as she crouched in front of me, her eyes gleaming with a venomous light.

"You know, Seraphina," she purred, "Dermot's been wanting to dump you for ages."

My eyes widened. I tried to speak, but all I could manage was a choked, rattling sound.

Lila continued, her voice a cruel whisper. "He said you're nothing but dead weight, slowing everyone down. Said it would be better if you just died and got it over with."

She placed my thermal blanket on the floor and sat on it, making herself comfortable.

"This thing really is warm," she sighed. "Too bad you'll never get to use it again."

I tried to stop her, but my body was a prison.

Lila then took out my thermosthe one with the hot waterand unscrewed the cap. With a malicious grin, she poured the steaming liquid all over the blanket, watching with satisfaction as the dark, wet stain spread across the metallic fabric.

The sight broke something inside me. With a guttural cry, I launched myself at her, shoving her aside as I scrambled out of the shack.

"You're insane! That was my only chance to survive!" I shrieked, my voice a raw, broken thing. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?"

Dermot and his friends, who had been setting up a campfire nearby, heard the commotion and he strode over, a frown etched on his face.

In an instant, Lila's expression crumpled. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she threw herself into Dermot's arms.

"Dermot, honey!" she wailed. "I just felt so bad for her, I wanted to give her some hot water! But she knocked it out of my hands, all over my blanket! She told me... she told me to go die!"

What?

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

Dermot looked from her tear-streaked face to the sopping wet blanket on the ground. His own face turned black with rage.

"Seraphina! You are a venomous, spiteful bitch! It's below freezing out here! That was the only thing keeping Lila warm! Do you hate her so much that you'd actually try to kill her?"

"It was her," I croaked, pointing a trembling finger at Lila. "She..."

But Dermot wasn't listening. The look in his eyes was one of pure murder.

Jake fanned the flames. "I knew it! She can't stand that we all like Lila more than her. She's just jealous!"

"Yeah! She's a spoiled brat who has to be the center of attention!"

"I thought she was just high-maintenance, but this is a whole other level. She's a psychopath!"

Their accusations rained down on me, each word making Dermot's expression darker. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. Tears of pure, helpless rage streamed down my frozen cheeks.

Why? Why wouldn't a single one of them believe me?

Dermot held Lila, his voice now a tender murmur. "Shh, it's okay. Don't cry. She's just a spoiled child."

Lila sobbed into his chest. "Dermot, honey, maybe I shouldn't be here. Why does she hate me so much?"

"It's not your fault. She's the twisted one. She can't stand to see you happy. She's the one who deserves to die."

Dermot's words hit me with the force of a physical blow, shattering the last fragment of my sanity. The man I had loved for five years was telling me I deserved to die.

I lay on the frozen ground, my face next to the cold, damp blanket that was supposed to be my salvation. Now it was useless.

Out of Dermot's line of sight, Lila shot me a look of pure triumph, her lips curled into the smirk of a victor.

"Seraphina! Get on your knees and apologize to Lila. Right now." Dermot's shadow fell over me, his shoe inches from my face. "Do it, or we're through."

I lifted my head, my gaze meeting his. The man standing over me was a stranger, a monster. When had he become so grotesque?

"Never," I whispered, the word costing me the last of my energy.

The next second, Jake hauled me up by my arm, kicked the back of my knees, and tried to force my head to the ground. "You've been nothing but trouble this whole trip! We're sick of you! Now's your chance to make it right, so say you're sorry and stop wasting our time!"

A wave of agony washed over me, and I collapsed.

My breathing was a faint whisper now, my body wracked with uncontrollable tremors. My consciousness was fading, each heartbeat a slow, painful thud marking the ebbing of my life.

"Seraphina! Seraphina, what's wrong?"

Lila was suddenly beside me, her arms around me, her voice filled with fake panic. But in my blurry vision, all I could see was the venom in her eyes.

She crouched beside me, grabbing the wet blanket. "Let me help you warm up!" she cried, wrapping the ice-cold, sopping fabric around my body.

I wanted to fight, to scream, but I had no strength left. The wet blanket leached away what little warmth I had, and my face grew even paler.

"It's not working!" she shrieked, then shoved me flat on my back. "I'll have to do CPR!"

She placed her hands on my chest and pressed down with all her weight. An excruciating pain shot through my ribs. She wasn't saving me; she was trying to finish the job.

I bit down on my tongue, hard. The sharp, metallic taste of blood cleared my head for a fraction of a second. I reached up and clawed at her wrist, my nails digging into her skin.

"Aah!" she screamed, kicking me away. "She's attacking me! She's still trying to kill me!"

Dermot rushed over and slammed his boot down on my hand. I felt the crunch of bone.

"Lila was trying to save you, and you attack her? You psycho!" he roared, his face contorted with rage. "I've seen enough, Seraphina! You're an unhinged, violent monster! Maybe you don't even deserve to have hands!"

My heart was slowing to a crawl. The world was going dark. My consciousness was dissolving. The last thing I heard was Lila's sobbing voice. "Dermot, honey, why does she want to hurt me? Why..."

I closed my eyes, ready for death.

And then, a deafening roar tore through the sky.

A powerful downdraft blasted the mountaintop, sending branches and debris flying. Everyone shielded their faces, squinting up at the sky in confusion.

Through a slit in my eyelids, I saw it: a massive helicopter, hovering directly above us.