(A/N) All New Vegas companions have been properly de-aged to appropriately coincide with the Until Dawn cast. As such, all characters may be OOC from their source materials with this story's relationships and setting. Note that this story is significantly more half-assed compared to the other fanfics I am currently working on.

X

2:00 A.M.

The lights were dim, the room was dark, and the air was dreadfully cold. Even in the shadows, you could tell how far your breath wavered in front of your face. The moonlight shined through the window when the curtains were separated, but the dark came again as the drapes were closed.

Then the cold slowly went away. Shoulders that were struggling to stop shivering now ceased movement. Warmth began to build up, refreshing the room's two occupants. Sweat slithered down their bodies as they held together in an interlocking embrace. Their lips grew wet, slobbering against one another. The cool air was a thing of the past as the two were lost in the overwhelming heat.

One of them smirked as he tasted tongue. The tang of moonshine still remained in his partner.

Suddenly, the door opened.

"Boone, can you – oh, geez, no, I – guh!"

The smirk fell apart as its owner turned his head back to watch Sam averting her eyes and slamming the door shut.

"Why can't you guys lock the door?!" Sam shouted from the other side. "Or put up a sign or note or – something!"

A chuckle left the second occupant's breath, patting her partner's bare chest. "Little Sammy just can't get a break with us, can she?"

Her partner was not as amused. "Is there something you need, Sam?"

"… Jessica is looking for Cass about something, and Beth asked me to get you. I don't know why."

Both partners sighed, one getting off the other so they could get properly dressed. Cass turned on the bedside lamp. She pulled on her leather jacket, Boone lugging his white T-shirt over his head. Once they were properly dressed, Cass was the first to exit. Sam was facing away from the door, leaning over the railing by the staircase.

"Ahhhh, is little Sammy embarrassed?"

"Cass," Sam raised her arms exasperatedly, "I don't want to talk about it."

Sharon Cassidy playfully punched the girl's arm before heading down the stairs. Sam watched with a pout as she left before facing Boone. The tall teen let his sunglasses hang off the edge of is belt, scowl prominent.

"It takes two seconds to lock the door," Sam said simply, sour.

"You could have knocked," Boone countered.

"Two seconds!"

"It's not like you've seen me with Cass before."

"And it's not like I want to see my brother… having sex, again." Sam shoved her way pass Boone, sauntering off with her head down. "Whatever. Do what you want."

"Oh, grow up, Samantha," Boone called after her. "And where's Beth?"

"In the kitchen!"

Boone usually trusted Sam to be the most level-headed one out of all their friends. She always got flustered when the topic of sex came up, though. Hell, it was only one time before where she had walked in on Boone and Cass when they were… intimately together. One time. Still, Boone owed her sister for not ratting them out to their parents. He'll just have to make it up to her later. Maybe drive her down to see that butterfly preserve.

When Boone entered the kitchen, his frown lost shape as he took in the scenery. Two or three dozen red plastic cups lay on the countertop, some lying on their sides. A few beer cans were stashed in one corner. Josh was at the end of the table, head against the cool surface. Chris – not Arcade, since Arcade was the "responsible" one – sat across Josh and mirrored his posture. They were practically knocked out. Unlike Boone, they didn't know their limits with alcohol.

Raul was sitting by his lonesome, on a chair near the doorway into the central room of the lodge. He had his favorite leather coat on, the one with the fur collar around the neck. His reddish brown hair was lost among the fur, but by the way he was breathing, he must have been sleeping soundly. Some of Cass's moonshine was right next to his resting arms.

Beth came around a corner, her own plastic cup in hand. When she saw Boone, she gave a grin. "Hey Boone, I –"

"There something you needed me for?" Boone asked brusquely. He was still a little irked at Samantha's interruption earlier.

"You've been passed-out drunk before, right?" Beth patted her brother's shoulder, inciting only a barely audible mumble. "Isn't there supposed to be a way to wake him back up, in an instant? Like, make a cocktail of different drinks, like in Back to the Future?"

Boone shook his head. "It's not like that. Best thing to do is to let the drinks go through his system. Let him and Chris deal with the hangover in the morning. Why'd you ask?"

The grin grew a tad self-conscious. Boone finally noticed the binder held under her other arm. "I found an old photo album of Aunt Lily's, back in the day when she still lived in California. Josh's been worried ever since Aunt Lily's last chemotherapy session didn't do so well, so I thought I could cheer him with this."

"That sounds neat," Boone acknowledged. He liked the Washington's Aunt Lily, even if she was pretty old. She hosted some kickass birthday parties for Josh back during middle school. "But I was in the middle of something with Cass. So, if you'll excuse me…"

Beth let out a nervous laugh. While Boone tended to frown no matter the situation, most of their friends could tell when he was legitimately displeased. "Alright, sorry. You have fun with that."

Mildly irritated, and his body too hot but his mood severely lacking now, Boone moved to go find Cass. Whatever Jessica wanted to talk about with her best friend was going to have to wait.

"Hold on," Beth called out for him, "there's someone –"

"What?" Boone turned around. Beth had set down her cup and was staring at the window over the sink.

"There's someone outside." When Beth made eye contact with Boone, he could see the anxiety in her face. She ran past him and into the living room.

Boone took a look at Raul, Josh, and Chris.

"Hey," Boone nudged Raul not too pleasantly, "Raul, get up." No response. "Wake up. Raul, come on." Even slapping the back of his head yielded only a drunken stupor of a shrug. Finally, Boone gave up and followed Beth.

No one was in the central area of the lodge. Boone snatched up a red jacket off a couch and followed the sound of voices, heading to the back entrance.

"It was just a prank, Han!"

That was Emily's voice. Sweet Christ, what did she do now?

When Boone stepped onto the snow, almost everyone else was already there. Sam and Emily were arguing about something – no surprise there, but Mike and Cass seemed to be roped into it. Arcade in his snow-camouflaged clothes was going at it with Matt, Jessica trying to play the peace keeper between them. Ashley and Veronica were gawking down into the winter fog, quiet.

"Hey!" Boone's shout overshadowed his friends', and they all stopped talking to face him. "What the hell happened?"

Veronica was the first to reply, if a bit dazed. "It was supposed to be a joke."

"What was? Where's Beth? And Hannah?"

"They ran into the woods," Sam answered, aiming her wrathful expression at Cass. "What were you thinking?!"

"Stop overreacting!" Cass shot back, crossing her arms. "Hannah will get over it."

"That's right," Jessica added. "And she should have known better to –"

"They ran into forest?" Boone interrupted, incredulous. "In the dark? At night? In this fog? And you all let them?"

"Yes," Arcade dryly drawled out, "let's run into the scary, foreboding forest after the two teenage girls who idiotically just did that. Besides, I'm sure they'll be fine. They know these woods better than us anyway, owning them and all."

"Forget you guys," Boone sighed, zipping up his jacket and jogging into the darkness.

"Boone! Wait!" Sam called after him, as did Cass, but Boone was already deep enough in the woodwork so that only the howling wind was all he could hear.

He called out into the forest, screaming Beth and Hannah's names. The moonlight illuminated his path, but the farther he ran pass the barren trees and small cliffs, the darker it got. Boone used his cell phone to light his path.

Boone was never that close for the Washington twins. They were okay, he guessed. Not half-bad people. Sam had hit it off with Hannah the moment they met. But Boone had to agree with Arcade on the notion that the twin sisters were idiots for running out like they did. In this weather, it was practically suicide. So, someone had to try and find them and smack some sense into their heads. Since Raul wasn't awake to play guardian angel, Boone decided to take his place. Someone had to.

Though that didn't make the Blackwood Mountain any less creepy. Boone could swear he could hear growls that weren't a wolf's or a bear's in the distance if it wasn't his minds playing tricks on him. It was probably just the wind anyway.

But then there was a shriek. A small, shrill shriek, but an audible shriek nonetheless. Boone turned around and was suddenly tackled to the ground by Beth. When Boone reopened his eyes, Hannah was standing over them. She had tears trails down her face, but her expression now spoke more of fright than sadness.

"Oh my gosh, Boone!" Hannah said as her sister and Boone picked themselves up. "There's something out there and it's chasing us and -"

"Just run!" Beth interjected. Boone was confused but caught on quick when he heard the foreign howl again. "Let's go, come on!"

"This way!" Boone guided the sisters onto the path he was just taking. The three ran as fast as their legs could take them, hoping to stay on course back to the lodge. However, Boone kept turning his head back, knowing whatever was making that screech was still behind them. Whatever it was, it couldn't be ignored, and it was still as loud as ever.

"Wait!" Beth yelled as she forced the three to a stop.

A figure appeared from behind a fallen tree trunk. He was covered head to toe in warm, thick clothes. A bandana, goggles, and a beanie shielded his face, but he was carrying something in his hand that was connected to the thing attached to his back.

A fucking flamethrower? What the fuck?

The stranger fired a line of flames into the air above him nearly blinding the three teens with the outburst of light. However, it allowed Boone the opportunity to push the sisters to their right, away from the stranger and the howls.

"Who was that?!" exclaimed Hannah in a wheeze. "Is he trying to kill us?"

"Calm down, Hannah," Beth tried to placate her sister as she huffed to regain some air into her lungs. "We need to get back to the… get back to the lodge."

Boone followed where Beth set her eyes on, and they saw something quick, something moving around the treeline. The screeching continued, and it was coming from somewhere through the woodwork.

"Guys," Boone said, "we need to keep moving."

His vision unexpectedly flipped sideways. Boone was shoved into the snow, his head spinning. Hannah shrieked as the stranger rolled off of Boone. The burly man quickly got to his feet. The flamethrower was attached to the tank on his back. Now, a machete was in his hand.

"Stay back!" Beth yelped. "Hannah, get behind me."

The stranger took a step forward, hand outstretched, but he was tackled to the ground. Boone was smashing his fist against the stranger's head. The machete was flung to the side in the scuffle.

"Run!" Boone screamed before being promptly tossed off. The stranger was about to follow the sisters when Bonne tripped him over his feet. Boone reached for the machete. As he raised himself to hit the stranger, Boone was just blindsided by a fist.

There was no trace of warmth anymore. The dark came again, the overwhelming cold returning tenfold.

X

7:23 A.M.

Beth was missing.

"Where'd you learn how to track, Raul?"

Hannah was missing.

"My cousin, Miguel, showed me a little bit on how. You remember him, right Matt? He came to my birthday last year, gave you some tips on football if I recall correctly."

And her brother was missing.

"Oh, yeah. Did he –"

Sam snapped at her two companions. "Can you guys focus, please?"

Matt looked a little guilty when Sam had her outburst. Raul just pulled his jacket to shield his lower face, finding the vague footsteps in the snow more inviting than they had before. The sunlight was a stark contrast to the near nightmarish dark sky last night, but Sam was still as uneasy as ever.

"How can you tell those are Hannah's and Beth's tracks?" Sam asked Raul.

"I can't," he answered, "but I can maybe tell that two people went down this path. Snow storm and the deer made it hella hard to tell, so be patient."

"Sorry if I'm so worried about finding them and Boone."

At that retort, Raul gave Sam a sideways look. "We're all worried for them, Sam."

Sam sighed, forcing her frustration to escape as she let out the gust of air. "I'm sorry, Raul."

"It's fine."

Matt placed a hand on Raul and the other on Sam. "Guys, I think I see something over there." He pointed a finger to their right, off the beaten path. They could see a spot of red at the base of a tree.

"Boone!" Sam sprinted right to him. When she got to him, Sam turned him over to his back side. His sunglasses were scattered into a million pieces. His left eye was badly bruised, as was the bottom of his chin.

"Is he okay?" Matt asked as he and Raul caught up.

"He's breathing," Sam said, not quite in a squeak but with her voice breaking for a second. Her relief at finding her brother was overshadowed by the implications of Boone's state of being.

Raul frowned as he looked Boone over. "He's alive, but…" As Raul removed his jacket to place over Boone, he quickly scanned the forest area around them. "I don't see any more tracks. Snow must have covered the ones of whoever did this to him."

"How do we know that Boone didn't just trip or something?" asked Matt, uneasy.

"This isn't the first time I've seen Boone after he was punched in the face." Raul pulled Boone over his shoulders, carrying the unconscious teen. "Let's get him back to the lodge."

Sam unintentionally bit her lip. "Okay, okay, but what about Hannah and Beth?"

"To be honest, Sam, we were lucky to find Boone in the first place." Raul was already trudging steadily back to the dirt path. "We need to get Boone some first aid and call the police, or park rangers."

"What if whoever did this to Boone is –"

"We need to stay together and get Boone help," Raul stated sternly, if a bit forcibly. That's our first priority now."

Matt and Sam quickly caught up with Raul's steady pace, soon entering the lodge within the hour. They entered through the back entrance noisily, but most of their friends were dead asleep anyway.

"What –" Ashley nearly dropped her coffee mug as Raul barreled in, placing Boone on a couch near the fireplace. "What happened?!"

Sam sent her a dirty look, Matt giving a helpless one. Raul made sure his jacket remained over Boone like a blanket before asking, "Is anyone else awake?" When Ashley could not get beyond her dumfound look, Raul looked at her eyes and spoke more gently. "Ashley, is there anyone else awake?"

"Yeah… Veronica and Jessica, upstairs…" Ashley took a lengthy gulp of her drink as she stared on. Matta and Sam were fussing over Boone, trying to decide how to make him comfortable and to get him to wake up.

"Alright," Raul responded. He let his gaze fall on the fireplace and the set of tools hanging near it. He pulled out a thin fire iron, testing its weight with a swing.

"What are you doing?" Ashley asked.

"I'm going to get Veronica and we're going to the radio tower."

"Wait!" Matt called to attention. "Are you it's safe to go out there after finding Boone like this?"

"That's why I have this," Raul held the fire iron up for emphasis, "and I'm bringing the second person out of all of us who's been in a real fight and won." With that, he jogged up the staircase.

"You guys didn't find Hannah or Beth?" Ashley questioned Matt quietly.

"No," Sam spoke before he could, "we didn't." At Sam's glared, Ashely elected to awkwardly twiddle her fingers as she kept her distance. Matt muttered something about getting some water for Boone and went to the kitchen. Ashley soon followed, leaving Sam alone with her brother.

This is my fault. If I found Hannah before that stupid prank… Please be safe, Hannah, Beth.

Please wake up soon, Boone. Please.