After the dozens of police and news interviews and after they were finally allowed to go home, things were bad for a while, for everyone.

Matt and Emily were beyond reconciliation, what with Emily wholly believing that Matt abandoned her in the mines, when the reality was simply the opposite. When Matt had tried to save Emily and when he dove onto the platform that saved him, the first thing he did was think of a plan to get to Emily. After shooting the Wendigo with the flare gun and scaring it off, Matt had wandered through the mines, trying to find Emily, hoping and praying that she was somehow still alive. When he found Jessica (after she had attacked him), in only her underwear and a jacket and looking like she'd been to Hell and back, he knew that he needed to help her get out of the mines. After hiding from the Wendigo and surviving, he was going to try and find Emily, but authorities had already arrived, informing them that everyone but Josh had been recovered and were alive. Matt had been so relieved, thanking his lucky stars that Emily had survived, but she didn't want anything to do with him. She couldn't even look at him at the police station. Couldn't, or wouldn't, no one knew.

Jessica and Mike were alright. Well, as alright as they could be after what they'd gone through. When they returned home after being interviewed by police, Jess had just broken down in tears, collapsing on the floor in a sobbing mess. Mike had held her, pressing a kiss into her hair. He had brought her to bed and covered her in a mound of blankets and whispered soothing and comforting phrases to her, not really knowing how else to help Jess in her current state. Mike's own mental state was not exactly stable at the moment. When she was finally asleep, fresh tears were still on her cheeks. Mike had slipped out of bed and into the bathroom, expelling bile into the toilet. He wretched and after he'd finished, he lay there in the bathroom, arms wrapped around himself, trying not to break down. After weeks of not leaving the house, it was finally Jess who decided that they need to go out and see their friends, get acclimated back into life in the real world, not their perfect little bubble.

Sam went home to her family after police investigations and sobbed to her parent's about all that had happened. They attempted to comfort her, not knowing what to say as they were not on that mountain and did not understand what all she had gone through. Sam's older sister Hailey flew in from New York to see Sam, somewhat understanding what it's like going through a traumatic experience; Hailey was in a hostage situation at a bank a while back. Sam cried to Hailey about everything that she experienced, from being chased through the lodge by what she thought was a deranged serial killer and almost being ripped to shreds by Wendigos to being betrayed by a good friend and worrying about losing her closest friends. Hailey doesn't know if she believes her about the Wendigo, but she nods along and comforts her sister in any way she can. When it'd been a few weeks, Sam tried to contact Mike and see if he wanted to grab a coffee and talk, but no, he did not. Neither did Jess, Emily, Matt, Ashley, or Chris.

Chris and Ashley were okay after being released from police custody. They returned to Chris' apartment and stay up all night, crying and grieving for everything that they'd lost. Ashley calmed down before Chris did and she attempted to comfort him, allowing him to slide into her lap and she stroked his hair as he sobbed over losing Josh. He mumbled incoherencies Ashley couldn't understand, but she knew that Chris was blaming himself for losing Josh. It was no one's fault, but being Josh's best friend, Chris felt as though he should've seen Josh breaking and drowning and should've been able to have stopped what happened. He knew that it's ridiculous, but that didn't mean that it doesn't keep him up at night and give him nightmares. After the first night of crying and attempts at healing, Ashley and Chris drifted apart over the next couple months. It's not something that happened consciously. It just happened naturally and neither really noticed until it was a Friday night and Chris was playing video games in his cold apartment and Ashley was watching a movie in hers and neither party thinks of the other. After everything that happened on the mountain, they just naturally drifted apart and their feelings evaporated. They both needed to be alone to truly heal.

All of them needed to heal, but that would take time and that's why they all went their separate ways for a while. Besides Jess and Mike staying together, no one really sees each other anymore. Besides Sam, no one really attempted to contact each other and it all made sense to them not, to; seeing each other after what happened would only remind them of what happened and that was too much for them right away, so soon after what happened.

Chris was the most devastated by what happened and by far the one who felt the guiltiest. That feeling of guilt sat in his stomach like a rock, and he carried it with him wherever he went. He missed Josh; he knew what Josh had done was a shitty thing, but Chris didn't blame him for it. Josh had a mental illness, several, actually, and it wasn't really him that had played that awful prank on everyone. His mental illnesses coupled with the fact that his medication wasn't the correct one made him act irrationally and do things he never would've if he had been on the correct medication. Josh had also been angry and depressed over what had happened to his sisters, and rightfully so. He had wanted revenge as anyone would who had lost so much would've; he wanted payback. Chris understood. It obviously wasn't okay what he did, but Chris knew why he did it. Who knows, Chris might've done the same thing if he was in his shoes.

But he won't know if he would've done that. He also won't know what was going through Josh's head as he was dragged away by his sister-turned-Wendigo, down into the depths of those frigid mines. Josh feared isolation, and to be dragged away by Hannah, only to be ripped to shreds and die alone, with no one to hold him, made Chris sick just to think about. He wishes he had been there to comfort him, to be the one to hold him and make him feel loved. He wishes he had forgiven Josh for what he did before he was taken. He also wished he had told Josh how much he meant to him before Josh was lost to the mines. Chris wished for a lot of things.

He feels more and more awful with each passing day. That is, he does until a year and a half after the events of Mount Washington when he receives word from Josh's mother Melinda Washington that Josh is alive.

Chris is playing World of Warcraft when he gets the call and for a split second he thinks about not answering. Then he sees that it is Melinda and his brow furrows. He presses "talk" on his phone and answers hesitantly, "Hi, Mrs. Washington. What's up?"

"Hello, Christopher." Her voice is tired and strained, but it still sounds like Melinda's. "How are you doing?"

"As well as can be expected, I guess," Chris says truthfully. "How have you been, Mrs. Washington?"

"The same as you," she sighs. "And Chris, I know I've told you many times to call me Melinda, haven't I?"

"Sorry, Mrs. Wa- Melinda," Chris corrects himself. "If I may ask, what is the reason for this call? Not that it isn't great to speak with you."

Melinda chuckles through the phone. "Yes, of course." She clears her throat and Chris can tell that this conversation is going to take a drastic turn; in what way, he doesn't know and isn't sure that he wants to. "Chris, they found Josh."

Chris's heart stops and his blood runs cold. He finds it suddenly very hard to breathe and is having trouble forming words at the moment.

"Chris? Are you still there?" Melinda's voice hits Chris' ears.

"U-Um, yes, I-I am," Chris stutters, throwing his controller to the floor and rising from the couch. He starts to pace. "So, i-is he... alive?"

"Yes."

Chris exhales a long breath. "Oh, thank God. How is he? What happened?"

"He's doing okay. We actually found him a few months back, but he just recently started showing real results. When we found, him, though..." Melinda hesitates. "He... he was like a wild animal."

"How so?"

"Well, for one thing he was devouring a human being."

Chris gasps and his stomach drops. "Wh-What?"

"It was a park ranger who had gone down into the mines at the behest of Sam," Melinda explains. "It was horrible; when the search team found him, he was snarling and his eyes were wild and bloodshot. His mouth... his mouth was ripped up the right side and was full of these sharp fangs and there were cuts all over his face. His nails, more like claws, were sharp and bloody. There was blood everywhere.

"When they found him, he started to attack one of the officers, so they had to knock him out with a tranquilizer. He was then carted off to the nearest hospital and they attempted to treat him. They didn't know what to do, because whenever he would awake, he would try to attack the doctors and staff. He was insatiable. No one knew what to do.

"Until Bob started to do research. He had made a horror movie about Wendigos before, and that's what he thought Josh had turned into. I thought he was crazy, but Bob found some lore that said that the Wendigo spirit can be exorcised from people that had been turned. We needed a Native American Chief for this. The doctors didn't know what to do, so they let the Chief perform the exorcism.

"Oh, it was horrible, Chris. He needed to be awake for it to work, so the doctors stopped sedating him. When he was awake, he was insane. He snarled and spit, trying to break free from the restraints. The Chief said an Ojibwe spell and Josh began to spasm and shake; he seemed to be in so much pain. He arched his back and his eyes crossed. It was terrifying. When the Chief finished saying the spell, he splashed some liquid on Josh and threw this red powder on him. I probably sound very offensive right now, but I just don't know what he did. I just wanted him to save my son.

"And it worked. After he threw the powder on Josh, he sat up abruptly. His eyes rolled back in his head and he threw back his head, letting out this inhuman scream. It sounded like a pig's screech mixed with a bat's mixed with God knows what else. Eventually, though, the scream changed and morphed and it started sounding like Josh's own voice. When the scream completely sounded like Josh again, he fell back against the bed and his eyes fell shut. We looked to the Chief and he said that it was gone. Josh was back and the Wendigo's spirit was gone.

"The Chief said that Josh will remember what he did in pieces, so right now he might not remember what happened. He will remember everything up until he was turned. So, he'll remember H-Hannah, or, that thing, dragging him into the mines and then nothing, because that's when the spirit possessed him. That's what gave him the hunger and made him...eat that ranger.

"So that's how our last couple months have been."

Chris doesn't know what to say to that but he knows that he should say something. "Oh my God."

Melinda laughs. "That's a very eloquent sentence you put together, there, Christopher."

"S-Sorry, it's just a-alot to take in," Chris says. "B-But he's okay?"

"Yes. He's alive and coming along nicely. When the spirit left him, they were able to sew up the cuts on his forehead, cheeks, and up the side of his face. There were some cuts up and down his stomach that we think Hannah made. Those and the one on the side of his face won't look the best, but he's healing. Slowly, but surely. He's been home for a week now and he just today said that he feels up to seeing people. So, you were the first one to call."

Chris blushes. "O-Oh, thank-you for thinking of me. Um, do you know when I can see him?"

"He has a therapy session tomorrow, but Friday should work. Are you available then?"

"Yep, I am." Even if he isn't free, he would've cancelled whatever he had going on to see Josh at this point. He's missed him so much.

"Great. Well, we will see you then," Melinda says. "It was nice speaking with you. Josh will be ecstatic when he hears he gets to see you."

"I'm really happy I get to see him, too," Chris replies, smiling widely. "I'll see you Friday, Mrs.-Melinda."

"See you, then, Christopher."

Chris hears the "end call" tone and he slips his phone into his pocket. He sits back down on his couch and puts his head in his hands, processing everything that he's just been told. As he mulls the information over, one thing stands out in his mind: Josh is alive. That was the only information that mattered.

A thought creeps into his mind, and Chris's spirits drop; Josh was alive, this entire time. He could've been saved. Chris could've saved him. He should've assumed that Josh was alive until he knew that wasn't the case, right? He should've gone down there! He could've saved him... But Chris was a coward and just wanted out of that lodge and off of that mountain. Chris was selfish and Josh suffered because of it. Chris would never forgive himself for that.

For as long as he lived.

But he was absolutely thrilled that he gets to see Josh and even happier that Josh wants to see him, too. A strange feeling slithers into the pit of his stomach and Chris doesn't know what this feeling is. Wait, yes, he does. It's how he used to feel about Ashley back when he had a crush on her, back before they drifted apart.

But, does that mean...no. No way. Chris was just excited to see Josh. Yeah, that's it. Nothing more. ...Right? Yes, of course. He was excited to see his best friend that he hasn't seen in a year and a half. That's what this feeling is.

Chris tries (and fails) to convince himself that that's all this feeling is and he goes back to his video games. Now distracted by thoughts of Josh, Chris decides to contact Sam and talk to her about Josh. He dials her number and waits for her to pick up. It takes a while and Chris jumps when he hears a tired, "Hello?" from the other side of the line.

"Hey, Sam. It's Chris," he says.

"Oh, hey, Chris." Sam's voice sounds a bit cheerier when she realizes it's him. "How have you been?"

"Um, I've been doing okay. And you?"

"Not the best, to be honest," Sam admits. "It's been hard, but my sister's been really supportive with this whole thing. Parents have been, too."

"My dad doesn't believe me," Chris says. "I bet my mom would've; she believed in that supernatural shit. It would've been nice if she was here."

"Yeah, I bet," Sam agrees. "It's nice to talk to you, but may I ask why you called?"

"I'm not sure if Melinda called you, but they found Josh."

Silence is the only thing that meets Chris' ears. "Sam?"

"Why didn't she call me?"

"What?" "She didn't call me."

"Well, I know that Josh isn't ready to see a ton of people just yet and she probably figured that you would race right over if you found out Josh was alive."

Sam sighs. "That's true. Okay, that makes sense. What happened to him?"

"It's a long story. I can tell you later, though. I just wanted to let you that he's alive."

"Thanks for telling me. Can you let me know when he's up for seeing more people?"

"For sure."

"Thanks, Chris, and thanks for calling me. Tell him that everyone is thinking about him."

"But the others don't know he's alive."

"Tell him anyways. I bet he needs to hear it."

Chris hangs up and bites his lip. He assumed that Melinda would've told the others about Josh. He felt bad at how upset Sam got, but he also felt happy that Chris was the only one Melinda told.

He actually hasn't felt this happy in a long time. Hasn't felt this happy since the mountain. And it was all because of Josh. Chris's heart sores at just the thought of seeing Josh.

It's going to seem like forever until it's Friday.