Mountainside

At the end of every senior year, Wilson’s parents would take each of their kids on a weekend vacation. Wilson Taylor, the youngest of them all, had watched as his two older siblings came and went each year since he was a kid and now he was finally up to bat. It wasn’t the kind of vacation where the kid would choose a location and the parents took them there. In reality, the trip was just a work get-away for his dad’s department that they were allowed to bring their family on. Wilson’s dad was a local police officer in their home town. He and the rest of his fellow officers would have this weekend trip up in the mountains each year. The resort itself was known for its ski slopes and outdoor tracks. It was far enough north and high enough up for there to be constant snow even this early in the summer.

One additional bit that made his senior trip even more exciting to look forward to was the fact that he could bring a fried. Picking someone to bring along hadn’t been a hard choice for Wilson. Aaron Emerson, a senior like him, had been his best friend since middle school. They had met on the first day of the semester after the entire Taylor family had moved into town. Unlike most other friends Wilson had made throughout his childhood, Aaron and him actually clicked. They were by no means similar, but in almost every aspect they were compatible. Aaron was tall, disruptive, outspoken. Throughout high school, he had gotten himself a bit of a reputation in their town. Wilson, on the other hand, wasn’t outgoing. In fact, he was rather quiet, often keeping his thoughts to himself unless there was a clear reason not to. Some might call them and odd pair, seeing how diverse they were, but that’s not how Wilson thought of it. Aaron and himself were compliments; different in ways that accommodated each other, not in ways that repulsed each other.

The four of them (Wilson, his two parents and Aaron) had been packed up tight in the Taylor’s small Toyota for nearly 6 hours and they were finally about to arrive at their destination: the Auberge Resort. Wilson had been here only once before when the whole family had driven up for a trip, but since then had forgotten most of the layout. Peering out the windshield from the back seat, Wilson saw a large complex of buildings. There were restaurants, hotels, shops, and other buildings all strewn about in the snowy parkway. He saw a few other visitors walking around, going from building to building, but was a little surprised at their number. I suppose not many people go to the mountains in summer, thought Wilson to himself.

“You see that gift shop over there, Wilson?” Asked Wilson’s mom as they passed a clump of stores. “That red one right there. That’s where you and your brothers broke the store window while throwing snowballs at each other.” Aaron snickered. Wilson did remember that detail. “You broke a window throwing a snowball?” asked Aaron with a sly grin on his face. “I wouldn’t of thought you had the strength.”

“Well, not really,” said Wilson, unable to think a clever reply. “My brother Johnny threw it at me and I just dodged out of the way”. Wilson’s dad coughed in the front seat and chimed in, adding some details that Wilson had left out. “We still don’t actually know who threw it Aaron,” he said, glancing at Aaron in the rear-view mirror. “None of them would admit to it then and to this day, each one will blame one of the others.”

After passing by the gift shop, Wilson’s dad finally pulled up to the the front door of their hotel. The building itself was massive, probably ten storied high. There was a pattern of massive windows, wider than a car, that started near the front doors and continued all the way to the top of the building. All four got out of the car and started pulling out their bags and luggage. “Okay...” said Wilson’s dad, checking their reservation details on his phone. “We are staying up on the fifth floor, room 511 and 513. I’m to check-in with the lady at the front. You three can start bringing everything in.” Wilson and Aaron both grabbed a couple more bags and headed inside, fully loaded with their belongings. With both parents out of ear-shot, Wilson finally leaned over to Aaron and said with pride “I was actually the one who threw that snow ball the glass, not my brother.”

“Oh, I already knew that, man” he replied, laughing a little “Your aim is complete trash.” Aaron was always better at witty remarks...

As they walked up to their room together, Wilson recognized a group of other police officers near the bar area connected to the front lobby. Wilson’s dad’s fellow cops. “Wow,” said Aaron, taking in the sight. “They’re getting an early start on the drinking. What is it, like 4:00pm?”

“They’re off-duty police officers,” said Wilson matter-of-factly as they both entered the elevator near the front desk. “And not only are they off the clock, they’re at a resort for the entire weekend. What did you expect?” Wilson knew that this bunch liked to get rowdy when they weren’t working. He had seen them come over after shifts to play poker with his dad a few times. Many of these poker games would last late into the night as they all drank themselves into a late-night, money-losing affair. Wilson’s dad, on the other hand, was smart enough to keep his wits about him. He would often win these poker matches just by intaking the alcohol at a slower pace.

They had arrived at the fifth floor.

As it worked out, Wilson and Aaron got to share their own room, but it was connected to his parents’ through one of those hotel double doors. “So what are we doing tonight?” Asked Aaron as he plopped a suitcase on the bed. “I saw a couple places on the way in that might be worth checking out.” Wilson got excited. He had kept one thing about this trip from Aaron this entire time. “Well,” he said in reply. “Each year they all kick it off with a nice dinner for the officers and their spouses, but luckily we don’t have to go to that. We’ll head out while the sun’s still up and tear it up at the snow-mobile track.” This was the real reason Wilson had been so excited to go on the trip. Every time one of his brothers had come back after their senior trip, all they could talk about was riding snow-mobiles on the mountain. Wilson had never gotten to ride one before, and he was really eager to try. Aaron’s face began to light up. “So you’re saying...” said Aaron, putting it together. “There’s like a place we can just borrow some snow-mobiles and ride them around the mountain?” Wilson nodded. “Exactly.” He said.

After finally settling in and unpacking their bags, the two of them checked in on Wilson’s parents. They were already getting dressed up into their formal clothes, preparing for their dinner. “Me and Aaron are going to head out, alright?” said Wilson quickly, trying to sound inconspicuous. “Well aren’t you going to eat dinner first? They have a 24-hour buffet downstairs you know.” said his mom, not looking up from putting her ear rings in. “They’ve got one of those 24-hour buffets just next to the lobby.”

“Hey it’s alright,” said Wilson’s dad from the other side of the room. He was having trouble fitting into a pair of shiny, black shoes. “These two have been cooped up in the back of that car for long enough.” He turned to where Wilson and Aaron were standing in the doorway. “Just make sure you head back when it starts getting dark.” He said, adding that note of caution, Wilson suspected, to put his mom’s mind at ease.

“Don’t worry mom,” said Wilson, already on his way out. “We’ll grab something something fast before we head out.” With the parents taken care of, the two of them ran back down to the first floor, taking the stairs instead of the elevator this time, and back into the front lobby. Wilson had memorized the layout of the resort using a digital map on the hotel’s website before they had even left the house that morning, wanting to know exactly where everything was. In particular, he found out where the snow-mobile shop was located relative to their hotel. As it happened, their hotel was near the outside of the entire resort, and just next to it was the rental shop he was heading to. Darting across the lobby and out a side door, Wilson led Aaron outside. Once outside, they crossed the small street between them and the shop and went inside, completely forgetting about their promise to eat something first.

Inside the shop, there was a guy behind the counter who greeted them. “Hey guys! how’s it going? What can I do for you today.” This guy was exactly the kind of character one would think works at a snow-mobile shop. He had spiky blond hair, and skiing goggles hanging around his neck.

“We’re part of the big group from Kantuk County,” said Wilson, pointing to Aaron and himself. “We’re all staying here this weekend for like a work retreat...” The guy starred at them blankly for a second, not seeming to comprehend. “Oh you mean all those cops? Yeah they come up once a year right?” He asked. “Yeah yeah yeah,” said Wilson. “My dad’s one of the officers. Aaron and I came up with him for the weekend.”

“Alrighty then,” said the man, nodding his head and looking down towards the computer screen on the counter in front of him. ” Luckily, all I need is your room number and you’re good to go on the equipment. The package your group has basically covers anything you want here in the resort.” Wilson and Aaron gave him their room number and proceeded to follow his lead into the back.

It took some time for him to get them everything they needed. They had to put on helmets, snow suits, gloves, hats, and even a walky-talky system in case they got separated. “So just a few rules for the both of you.” Said the counter guy, fastening goggles onto Wilson’s helmet. “Please be sure to keep the helmets on whenever you’re driving, and if you get lost just dial 999 on the walky and that’ll ring me up here at the counter. You each have a tracker in the bike so I can direct you back if needed.” Wilson and Aaron nodded their approval and started heading to the snow-mobile corral in the back. “Oh, and one more thing before you guys head out.” He said, catching them near the doorway. He then stole a quick glance around the room before continuing in a low voice, “Officially, you guys have to stick to the marked path, but I won’t tell anyone if you decide to check out... the scenery.” The counter guy gave Wilson and Aaron a wink before heading back to the front room.

“What a guy,” said Aaron. “Yeah...” Wilson replied. “Let’s get out there dude. Before we all left this morning, my brother told me about this cool place we’ve got to check out off the path.” With that, they both grabbed one of the snow-mobiles from the corral and turned them on with a key the counter guy had given them before. Wilson revved his engine a little before nodding to Aaron and kicking it into gear. He sped off into the track with Aaron right on his heals.…