Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the game 'Until Dawn', this is a non-profit piece of work made solely for the purpose of entertainment.

Waiting for the Sun

Before her the forest was still cloaked in darkness, Jess did not know how far off the dawn was but she could not wait for the sun to peak out from behind the hills and bathe the mountain in light. Daylight would not change the horror of what she had seen and experienced, but it might at least make her stop jumping at every shadow in fear that one of the monsters of the mine had managed to follow her.

She didn't know how long she had been walking for, but it felt like hours and she wasn't sure how much longer she would last. She ached all over, although that was to be expected considering she had been dragged through a broken window, across a forest and practically fallen down an elevator shaft. The cuts from the broken glass stung but could not compare to the pain in her upper chest which felt as though she had cracked a couple of her ribs. Years of cheerleading injuries had not prepared her for just how awful she had felt after waking up at the bottom of the shaft.

A gust of cold wind hit her unexpectedly causing her to stop in her tracks as she shivered uncontrollably. While she was glad that she had found the abandoned coat, it did not change the fact that underneath it she was nearly naked and could feel the cold on every inch of her bruised skin. She wished she had been able to find some shoes as well, her bare feet were not coping well with the terrain and it would take more than a pedicure to fix the damage.

The sound of a branch snapping nearby caused Jess to snap back to attention. Immediately she tried to still herself as much as possible, remembering the monster at the entrance she had broken through which had stared right at her without seeing her. She kept her eyes tightly closed as she heard something approach and tried her best not to whimper. The thing stopped beside her, Jess wondered frantically whether her racing heartbeat had given her location away. She suddenly jerked away as she felt something warm and wet touch her hand, and upon opening her eyes Jess was greeted by the sight of a wolf-like dog looking at her curiously.

She let out a short, relieved laugh as she realised her stalker's intentions had been benevolent, and she knelt down to face the dog despite the twinge of pain the action gave her. "I'm sorry I don't have any food to give you." She told him as she pet him. The dog did not seem bothered by her confession and licked her hands again affectionately. For a few minutes Jess stayed in that position, running her fingers through the dog's fur until her hands stopped shaking.

As much as she would have liked to stay with the dog and pretend that nothing was wrong, she needed to either find the others or try to get help. She did not know if the others had managed to call the police or mountain rescue or whoever it was that dealt with teenagers in trouble on a mountain, but she felt like the best plan was to go to the cable car station and try to reach civilisation. Hopefully the others would have thought the same as her and headed in that direction as well. Standing up, Jess staggered a little as the pain flared up again, the dog immediately moved and allowed her to rest her weight on him until she could stand up by herself.

"Thank you." She mumbled, wondering if the dog would understand her, and pushed herself back up. Raising the lantern a little, she squinted ahead trying to see if she could identify the cable car in the distance. Just as she was starting to lose hope of ever finding her way and beginning to panic, she spotted it in out of the corner of her eye. Relieved, she started to head in that direction, the dog at her side accompanying her and keeping up with her slow pace. She worried briefly that travelling with the dog might be dangerous as he might not realise to stay still around the monsters, but the thought of shooing away the dog and continuing on alone filled her with dread. She would rather take the extra risk that came with having some company.

The journey took a long time, in no small part because they had to keep making short stops, either for Jess to get her breath back or because of a nearby sound that could signal an attack. Luckily, they did not encounter any of the creatures, but neither of them let their guard down.

Arriving at the cable car station, Jess's heart fell when she saw that it was deserted. She had hoped, perhaps naively, that all her friends would be there waiting for her, the reality was another depressing note on an already terrible day. Resigned, she tried the door and nearly cried when she realised that it was locked. Putting her back to the door, she sank to the ground and allowed the dog to curl up by her side and comfort her by placing his head in her lap.

"I guess we could try to go to the lodge next." She suggested glumly, the full weight of the day seemed to hit her as she wondered whether she would ever make it off the mountain alive. She looked over at the lodge in the distance and contemplated getting up again and making the trek, but she could not bring herself to feel any hope that she would find help there either. Far more tempting was remaining by the cable car station and allowing the cold to take her.

She was still looking at the lodge when she saw the sun starting to rise behind it, she let out a sigh and decided to enjoy the sunrise, wondering if it would be her last. There was a dark shape in the sky that she couldn't identify that was moving closer. She was squinting and trying to see what it was when the lodge suddenly exploded, causing both herself and the dog to jump in surprise.

Jess was still staring in shock when the black shape slowly lowered down to the ground next to the burning remnants of the lodge, and it took her another moment to identify the shape as a helicopter. She gently pushed the dog out of her lap and staggered up, using the handle of the door as a support to pull herself up.

"We need to get over there before they leave without us." She told the dog who barked enthusiastically in reply. She limped as quickly as she could in the direction of the lodge, but the increased speed seemed to hinder more than help as she fell to the ground several times during the journey, each time causing her ribs to ache even more to the point where moving at all brought her intense pain. She was still a fair distance away from the lodge when she saw the helicopter lift up again and fly away.

Seeing her last hope literally fading into the horizon, Jessica allowed herself to break down and cry. She still didn't know if any of her friends had made it out alive, and the explosion hadn't helped any of her fears as it was entirely possible anyone left had perished in the fire. She wasn't brave like Mike was, if she had been she might have been able to look at the house and try to identify any of the bodies. The thought of finding one of her friend's charred corpses brought chocking cries from her throat.

Mike more than anyone else did not deserve to die. He had risked his own life chasing after the monster that had dragged her away to try to save her, the possibility that he might be dead while she was still alive seemed unbelievably cruel. She was the useless one who hadn't been able to stop her own capture, she had instigated the prank that had resulted in the deaths of Hannah and Beth and possibly anyone else who had died from this misguided reunion. If anyone deserved to die on this god-forsaken mountain it was her.

She sat on the snow covered ground for what felt like a long time, the dog kept licking her face to try to elicit a response other than the absent-minded stroking she was currently providing. A loud humming sound roused her from her guilt-ridden wallowing and she glanced upwards to see a second helicopter arriving and circling the area.

Tears still streaming down her face she frantically waved her arms from her seated position, sure that her legs would collapse under her if she attempted to put any weight on them. Almost when it seemed as though the helicopter was going to go and search another area, the helicopter suddenly turned back towards her and began its descent towards an empty patch of land near to where Jess had collapsed.

She was vaguely aware of two people helping her up, someone seemed to register her bare feet and quickly wrapped her up in a warm blanket. They were all talking over her using words like "shock", "freezing" and "hospital" but she remained disengaged, even when tried to ask her what her name was. She only really became animated when they tried to separate her from the dog, but even then all she managed was incoherent babble interspersed with sobbing. She only quietened down when an authoritative voice snapped "Just let her keep the damn dog, she's clearly distressed and who knows what she has been through."

The next thing Jess knew, she was being bundled into the helicopter along with her furry companion. One of the uniformed men was examining her wounds and doing his best to clean and dress some of the cuts with a first aid kit.

Someone tried to ask her a question, and it took several repeats before Jess understood what they were saying.

"Is your name Ashley?"

"No." Jess managed to say. "I'm Jessica." Everyone on the helicopter looked surprised by her admission.

"Alright Jessica, have you seen Ashley?"

"No."

"What about your other friends, Josh or Matt?" Jess shook her head again.

"I haven't seen anyone since I was separated from Mike. Is Mike okay?" She examined their faces carefully, looking for any sign that might confirm her fears.

"We're very sorry, but we cannot tell you anything until you have spoken to the police."

"Why not?" She looked at them pleadingly.

"The police want to make sure that everyone's stories are consistent."

"Oh." They were not meant to tell her anything but Jessica had already managed to assemble some pieces of the puzzle together. Ashley, Matt and Josh must still be missing considering the search for them was ongoing, which meant that everyone else had either been rescued or confirmed dead. The fact that the rescue team had not expected to find Jess was a potential indicator that whoever had survived thought she was dead. Mike would have been the only one who would have known what had happened to her, and she did not blame him for thinking that she would have died in the mine, but that did not mean that he was still alive. He could easily have told the others what had happened to her.

A wet nose pressing against her cheek distracted her from her dark thoughts, and Jess found herself thankful that she had insisted the dog come with them on the helicopter. For such an intimidating-looking dog he was a surprisingly good source of comfort.

As the helicopter travelled a whispered argument began between two of the mountain rangers, knowing that they would not reveal any further information on what had happened to the others in front, Jess did not bother to try to eavesdrop. Eventually, the woman who had done her best to make sure Jess warmed up approached with a tight smile.

"We were going to take you straight to the hospital to have your injuries looked at, but the police would like to see you beforehand." Jess nodded, glad that she would be able to find out Mike and everyone else's fates before spending who knows how long in a hospital. "Your injuries are not life-threatening, so you should be fine for a while, but make sure you get to the hospital as soon as the police are finished speaking to you."

"I will, thank you."

The helicopter arrived soon after and Jess found herself passed from person to person, vehicle to vehicle until eventually she arrived at a room that a police officer led her into. They had not allowed the dog to accompany her into the room but a nice officer had offered to look after him until her interview was finished.

The officer asking her questions spoke gently, which Jess appreciated. She was asked to give her account of the events of that night, which she did without too much problem, stressing the role that Mike had played in her survival. He then asked her a series of questions about the abduction itself which was a little more difficult for her to talk about since she didn't want to linger too long on the creature that dragged her away, but unfortunately that was the point the officer seemed most interested in and he spent a long time trying to get her to admit that it was not a monster but Josh or one of her other friends. Had Jess been in a better condition she might have been able to stick to her points a little better, but she was aching and tired and just wanted to make sure Mike was okay.

"Did you see anyone after your abduction?" The officer asked.

"No, I escaped the mine, found the dog and waved down the helicopter." Jess repeated, the officer finally seemed to accept her answer and gathered up his notes. "Did Mike survive?" She asked, seeing that the interview was soon to be terminated and there was no reason to keep her in the dark any longer.

"He did." Jess let out a shaky sigh as tears of relief stung her eyes, the officer looked at her sympathetically. "He is in the waiting room with the others."

"Thank you." She told him and followed him out of the room, her eyes scanning each room they went past looking for a familiar face, a task that became more difficult as her view was obstructed by the tears running down her face. Somewhere in the blur ahead of her someone shouted her name and she found herself wrapped up in a comforting pair of arms. She flinched as the large hands brushed against a sensitive spot and felt Mike draw back in response.

"Jesus, I'm sorry Jess. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm just so glad you're alive." He embraced her again, this time a little more gently and more mindful of her sore ribs. She hugged him back and allowed his undershirt to soak up her tears.

"It's good to see you made it out, Jess." She heard a male voice say from somewhere behind Mike's body, she drew back a little to see Chris, Sam and Emily. All three had the same battered look as Mike, although Emily still wore the sour expression she seemed to have been born with.

"Thanks Chris, it's good to see all of you as well."

"Did you see Ashley?" Chris pressed. "We lost her in the mines, she was right behind us then suddenly she was gone.

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen anyone." His face fell immediately, making Jess wonder whether the two had managed to resolve their long-standing crushes before Ashley's disappearance. "What happened to Matt and Josh?" The police had not told her anything apart from confirm that they were both missing.

"Matt left me to die when the radio tower was knocked down." Emily helpfully volunteered. "No one has seen him since, and I hope they don't find him either."

"Emily, that's not fair. We've all been under a lot of stress and not acting the way we would have normally." Sam admonished, causing Emily to turn on her and an argument to erupt.

"Josh was taken by one of the Wendigos." Mike told her when it was clear the two women were not going to finish answering Jess's question.

"Wendigos?"

"The creatures in the mines, everything's been so fucked. I'll have to tell you what happened later, the police don't believe us, they think it has all been an elaborate prank by Josh." The angry expressions on both Mike and Chris's faces made it clear exactly what they thought about the police's theory.

"Why would they think that?" Jess had more questions than answers by this point, her head was swimming with all the new information she was trying to take in.

"Josh lost it, he played this stupid fucking prank that confused the whole situation." Jess couldn't see how a prank could cause the police to think that Josh had attacked them all, but no doubt Mike would fill her in on exactly what happened later on.

Chris gave Jess a careful hug before moving over to where Emily and Sam had moved in order to try to defuse the situation, Mike led Jess over to some seats where they had slightly more privacy.

"I was so scared when you fell down that elevator shaft, I was convinced that you had died and that it was my fault for not getting there sooner." There was a haunted look in his eyes that spoke volumes of the guilt he had been feeling.

"There was nothing more you could have done." Jess reassured him, taking one of his hands in hers and noting with horror that two of his fingers looked a little more mangled than when she had last seen them.

"I caught my hand in a trap." Mike explained when he saw where her gaze had fallen to. "I don't think I will be modelling watches on that hand for a while." He joked, causing Jess to let out a short, choked laugh at his attempt at lightening the situation.

"Thank you for coming after me." Jess told him seriously. "I don't think I would have survived if you hadn't turned up at the mine when you did."

"When you were taken, the only thing I could think of was to come after you." He said sincerely. "I care a lot about you Jess."

"I care about you too." He leaned in and kissed her very gently, mindful of both their injuries. Their moment was interrupted by someone clearing their throat nearby. The couple broke apart to see an awkward looking officer holding on to the dog that Jess had brought with her.

"Is that Wolfie?" Mike asked in disbelief, at the name the dog bounded towards the boy he had bonded with in the sanatorium, and was immediately on the receiving end of plenty of attention from both Mike and Jess.

"He found me when I was walking towards the cable car, and he stayed with me until we found the helicopter."

"Good boy, have you been taking care of Jess while I was gone?" Wolfie barked enthusiastically in response.

"Miss, we also managed to find a set of clothes for you." The officer butted in once he saw the opportunity and handed Jess a small pile of clothes that a female officer had probably donated which she gratefully accepted.

"Have you been running around the mountain in your underwear?" Mike asked, half horrified by the idea of Jessica being barely dressed in the snowy conditions, and half-amused by the image it conjured up.

"Yes, it was awful. Luckily I found this jacket in the mine." A thought suddenly struck her and she glanced suspiciously at Mike's own attire. "Where did you get your jacket?"

"I found it in the sanatorium." Despite everything that had occurred that day, Jess managed to crack a smile at that.

"We make a fun pair, don't we? Jacket stealers and dog whisperers."

"I'm glad there is still something to laugh about after this awful, awful day."

"Me too." Jess said, leaning her head against Mike's shoulder. With his arm loosely wrapped around her shoulder, she felt safer than she had felt since the sun had set that day.

Author's Note: Repost from AO3, I wrote this before the Until Dawn category was available on this site. Hope you enjoyed the fic, I just wanted to write a piece to fill in the blanks of how Jessica was rescued. I assumed that since in the interview Jess did not know whether Mike had been rescued that she had been found by a second separate helicopter and presumably no one would/could tell her. All the deaths/survivals I have mentioned should have been possible within the game, e.g. it is possible to save Wolfie the dog.