"I don't know which is worse, actively triggering events that lead to someone's death, or passive allowing a tragedy to occur."
Dr Hill, therapy session 8
I own nothing but my own Ideas
The charred remains of the sanitorium stand out in stark contrast to the white around it. A radio tower collapsed and broken, eaten by the mines. A mansion is consumed by flames, embers still licking the frame. No one stands outside it. The call for help last night, that you do not dare answer until dawn, even were there no blizzard. A tragedy has occurred here, once again.
On the anniversary of the disappearance of the rich white girls. There is something darkly ironic about that. This mountain seems to really dislike their family. Or perhaps it has acquired a taste for them, one might say.
This mountain is dangerous, it is whispered in the dark. The story is spread through word of mouth, around campfires, during sleepovers, whenever someone goes missing. Locals know, and have seen it again and again. This mountain is cursed. Only fools wander it in the dark. Jack Fiddler was a fool, though admittedly an informed one, whose methods were crazy enough to work.
It's local knowledge, that everyone knows, and rarely speaks of. It's official knowledge that all turn a blind eye too. No one goes looking for people who disappear on that mountain.
The local police make speculations and reports, but the police are local. They know they wouldn't survive if they seriously looked.
Monsters live here. Monsters who kill you from inside. Spirits lingering, who consume you with their hunger. The world likes to pretend a lot of things that are unpleasant, do not exsist.
A lone survivor is discovered with a white wolf.
Her name is Jessica. She has multiple cuts, bruises, internal bleeding, hypothermia, frost burns, a conclusion, some broken bones, and very likely, brain damage. She has been unconscious for quite a bit of time tonight. It's probably what saved her, from ending up like her friends.
She claims she was carried into the mines. Taken. She doesn't know what she saw, but the fear in her eyes, in her voice, tell you all you need to know.
She claims he came for her. She doesn't specify who. It was probably Jack. Jack, who has to be dead, who would never set fire to the sanatorium, who did his best to protect the people from the mountain. Who has saved the lives of a handful of outsiders, and regrets not saving more. How many lost spirits wander this mountain now?
She doesn't have the right words, but she knows it was not human, and that it came from the mines. That there's something in the mines.
Not everyone who came on this rescue is from around here. They don't know. And they decide to investigate, to rescue anyone who might be in the mines.
You tell them that it's dangerous, tell them about the old accident in the mines, point out that the radio tower recently collapsed into it, that the mines were always unsafe, and can't we come back another day. Your throat freezes up whenever you try to warn them of monsters.
Uzia points out that they don't have the luxury of time. That this time last year, there was an unsolved missing case on this mountain. Jyree points out in these temperatures, time was against their survival odds. Aynona backs them up, and narrows her eyes at you, with a demand for the real reason.
You don't have the right words to convince them, that there will be no one down there to rescue. It's not something you can say to them. Not on this mountain.
There won't be any humans down there. Only monsters live in those mines. You refuse to die here, lured to your death by human screams in the dark.
You don't tell them that. You don't say anything as they leave, as Aynona calls back that she will expecting an explanation from you later. You are a selfish coward, and there will not be a later.
You are guilty by omission.
If they are lucky, they will not find anything. Maybe Jack could have kept them safe, but Jack is likely dead, his body down there with the rest. There are two charred human corpses in the mansion. One male and one female. There were eight teenagers on this mountain. You were lucky to find three. You were lucky one was alive.
Jessica was lucky. She was lucky that someone came for her fast enough that she didn't die, and she was lucky that she was unconscious. It it frankly a miracle she managed to leave under her own power.
Jessica cries for her friends, arms wrapped around the wolf. She is truly alone. No one will ever learn what really happened to them.
She cries for Mike, her boyfriend, who was brave for her sake, whos time she had with him, was too short. Emily, who she regretted not making amends with. Who she fought with the last time she saw her. Who had used to be her best friend. For Ashley and Chris, who will never be a couple now. For Matt who was kind to her old best friend, and for Sam who had been there for Josh when he was at his lowest.
When she gets to Josh, she spends a long time crying over how terrible they were to him. How she understands him now, all too well.
For Hannah and Beth, again. Between sniffles, she says something about doing it properly this time, whatever that means.
She cycles through them, giving you insight you hadn't wanted to learn about the people who had died on this mountain.
You don't know how long she spends crying.
You start to cry with her, tears soaking into the paperwork, blurring the ink. You cry for Jyree, who had a wicked sense of humor. For Sebastian, who always oversteeped the tea, but made an excellent cup of coffee. For Aynona, who just yesterday was complaining about insurance companies, and the headaches they were giving her over who was at fault in the car accident. For Uzia, who always put too many hours into the job, and desperately needs a vacation. And for Bellamy, who was a recent hire, you will never know well now.
You meet the tired eyes of those who stayed behind, and see the loss you share reflected them. They know, what you know. The word monster, is not said out loud, but you all know. You will never see them again, for they are lost. You are all guilty of the same sin. Your silence will haunt you.
Unless they are lucky, they are no more.
Nothing but names on a missing report, another tragic accident.
Dead or consumed, they are lost now.
I think there's something going on with the investigations. I would have expected them to find some of the clues, such as maybe the dropped phone, If they were looking. Some of them were pretty obvious.
So here there are reasons, they didn't look to hard. They had an idea, and did not want to risk their life against the monsters. Some of the people sent the year after are... shall we say, not in the loop.