A/N: It was a little disappointing to me that if Chris finds Ashley's beanie if she dies in the mines, he's going to die too. So here's my take on what could happen if the Wendigo left right after killing her, instead of waiting around for Chris.

Chris thought he was going numb after witnessing the stranger's death, but the beanie on the ground in a puddle of blood broke him.

"Oh god, no no no no," he sobbed, delicately picking up the hat. It couldn't be real. Yet he felt the fabric in his hand. It was still warm, which made him sob again. If he was right, which he often was, this was the last time he'd get to feel Ashley's body heat.

His sprained ankle suddenly felt like nothing and he slowly pushed himself to his feet. He still limped along - his ankle was still injured, even though his emotional pain eclipsed his physical - as he looked for the other girls, hoping they were still alive.

"Chris?" Sam called out, jogging towards the broken teenager. "Where's Ashley?"

Unable to articulate a response, Chris just held up her hat, avoiding eye contact with both Sam and Emily.

Sam gasped, her hands going up to cover her mouth. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Chris," she said, before wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a comforting hug. Chris wrapped one arm around Sam's waist, letting a couple tears fall.

"Fuck," Emily muttered.

"We still have to keep going," Sam stated firmly, pulling out of the hug with Chris. "Get to Mike."

"It's a dead end," Emily pointed out as Chris took the chance to wipe his face. "The ladder's busted, we can't get to it."

Sam surveyed the wall. "I can. It's like rock climbing."

Chris shook his head. "We shouldn't split up. Every time we do…" he pointed out, making a vague gesture to finish his sentence.

"Which is why I need to find Mike," Sam stated. "I'll only be by myself for a little bit. I'll be careful. You two stay together and stay safe."

"Easier said than done," Emily stated.

"Be. Careful. Sam," Chris stated, a look of desperation in his eyes. He'd already lost his crush, he most likely has lost his best friend, and he's lost an ally that was trying to help him. He couldn't handle losing anyone else.

"Of course. You don't do anything rash either," Sam stated just as firmly, before turning to tackle climbing the cliff.

"You lead, I'll follow, so I don't accidentally leave you behind," Emily told Chris.

Chris nodded and started limping back the way he came. "What happened? Why wasn't Ashley with you two?' he asked, trying desperately to keep his voice even.

"She wanted to leave marks for you and fell behind," Emily explained.

Chris was about to comment when he heard a familiar screaming off in the distance. "Wait, is that?"

"Wendigos can mimic humans, remember?" Emily hissed.

"That could be Ash, though. What if it is?" Chris stated, starting to head towards the noise. "ASH?!"

"AAH! HELP!" Ashley's voice screamed from the distance.

Chris paused. Something didn't seem right. "ASHLEY!" he called at the top of his lungs. The source of the voice for sure could hear him.

"HELP ME PLEASE," Ashley's voice begged.

"It's a Wendigo. Let's get out of here," Chris said quickly, backtracking to the main tunnel as quickly as his hurt leg let him. If it really was Ashley, then she would've recognized his voice and started calling for him specifically.

"I hate to say it, but told you," Emily commented, jogging lightly behind Chris.

"Please, don't," Chris begged. He wiped his eyes clear of tears that weren't actually there. He can't imagine his life without Ashley.

The two of them made it back to the safe room, with Emily closing the door behind her. Chris took a moment to catch his breath, leaning on the desk by the door.

"I'm… sorry, Chris. Out of anyone, Ashley didn't deserve any of this," Emily stated somewhat awkwardly. She wasn't used to apologizing.

Chris slowly shook his head. "None of us deserve anything that's been happening up here," he replied, starting to rock himself back and forth slightly. He sniffled a bit, blaming it on the cold even though he knew that was lying to himself.

"At least you have a pretty good idea what happened to Ashley," Emily commented. "I have no idea where Matt is or if he's alive or anything. Last I saw, he was jumping from a falling fire tower."

"At least he still might be alive," Chris pointed out. He lowered his head to rest in his hand. "Fuck, I should be the one to tell Ash's parents. They should hear it from someone who was here, who can attempt to explain what happened."

"We have to get off this stupid mountain first," Emily stated. "What matters to me is that I'm alive. What matters to you is that you're alive. We need to focus on keeping that true until dawn."

"Even if the rescue you called somehow falls through, the Wendigos only hunt at night. We'll have a few hours of safety to figure things out," Chris pointed out, deciding to focus on what he did best: planning and making backup plans. "Hopefully Mike finds the cable car keys, or we can hotwire the system somehow. There's also a phone that'll hopefully work." He tightened his grip on Ashley's hat as he spoke. Making backup plans calmed him, and he held onto a hope that Ashley got away from what attacked her and she'd be running towards the safe room at any moment.

However, the movement that did approach was not what he wanted to see.

"Time to run!" Emily said before starting to run back towards the lodge.

"Agreed," Chris replied, limping as quickly as possible after her.