A/N: Second story in the "Memories" series. I hope you'll like it, please let me know. Also if you have some suggestion for future stories I'm happy to hear them, just pm me or leave it in a review.

They were running through the woods once again covered in dried blood, some of it was their own. Piercing screams kept them company as they flew as fast as they could, slipping on the fresh snow, stumbling while trying to reach the Washington Lodge. Her girlfriend was just behind her, Sam could hear her breathing and the sound of her footsteps. Her presence was soothing to her in that night where everything seemed to be going wrong.

It had seemed a great idea to come back to Blackwood Mountain to remember the first anniversary of the tragedy. Sam had thought it would be good for Josh if they all came back, it had been her who pressured Ashley to come even if she didn't want to. She couldn't imagine that it would all go downwards so fast. First Josh pretending to be a freaking maniac and scaring them all to death, then the Wendigos trying to eat them alive.

She didn't know where the others were, Matt and Emily where supposed to look for help but only Emily came back saying that the rangers wouldn't be there until dawn. She was desperate and wanted to go back out to look for her boyfriend but she was way too shocked to venture through the woods so Sam, being the good friend she was, had offered to go and look for him near the fallen radio tower. Ashley had refused to let her go alone and followed her so now they were both fleeing from the Wendigos.

Jessica was dead, or at least that was what Mike had said. Josh was taken by a Wendigo and Mike went after him to retrieve the key to the cable station. Chris was supposed to be hiding somewhere in the lodge with Em as he was injured and struggled to move but for all they knew he could already be dead. It was terrible but she couldn't give up. She needed to keep Ashley safe, she had promised earlier on to get her off this damned mountain and she wasn't going to let her down.

"Sam!" The blonde turned around hearing her girlfriend screaming and saw that she had fallen in the snow and was now struggling to get up. They had to hurry, the high pitched screams were becoming closer with each second that passed.

"Ashley!" Sam hurried to help the other girl off the ground "C'mon Ash, we need to go" she then noticed a fresh cut on Ashley's left knee and she concluded she must have injured herself while falling.

She took Ashley's hand in her own and they started running again, this time considerably slower than before since her girlfriend's wound was bleeding. Another screech pierced the air, now closer than ever. Sam turned around slightly and that was when she caught a glimpse of it. The slender humanoid monster was watching them from a distance, probably waiting for the right moment to strike. She squeezed Ashley's hand even tighter and dragged her along faster even if she knew her girlfriend was in a lot of pain. They had to reach the lodge or they were screwed.

She could see it now, the huge house was just a few feet in front of them and once inside they would be relatively safe. Or at least that was what she hoped. The steps to the door were almost there but suddenly she felt Ashley stop and soon after her girlfriend was screaming and their hands were forced apart.

She turned around to see what was going on and was horrified by what she had in front of her. The Wendigo had taken a hold of Ashley's ankle and was now attempting to drag her away. Sam was petrified for a moment but she forced herself to snap out of it when she realized that if she didn't do something fast the love of her life would die. She fumbled in her rucksack until she found the gun Chris had given her before they headed out to look for Matt. She had never used one before as she didn't like weapons at all, but she had no choice. She needed to fire it now because the figure was dragging Ashley further away with each second that passed. Sam quickly loaded the gun, aimed it at the monster chest and pulled the trigger. The bullet didn't kill the Wendigo but the impact was enough to send it flying thirty feet from them.

"Sammy…"

"Ash! Ash get up, quick!" she shouted while going back to help her but Ashley wasn't moving at all, "Ashley you have to hurry! It's still here!"

"Sam"

Ashley was calling out to her but the blonde couldn't understand why she wasn't even trying to get up. Maybe that thing had broken her ankle but they still needed to try and get away.

"Ashley we're in danger!"

The Wendigo was closing in on them but her girlfriend was still seated on the ground doing nothing but looking at her. Sam couldn't even think about leaving her alone and flee by herself so she looked around to find her gun. She was sure she had it in her hand just a few moments before but now she couldn't spot it anywhere.

"Oh no! Where the fuck is it?!"

"Sammy…" Ashley whispered while the blonde was desperately trying to think of something that could spare their lives, or at least Ashley's.

"Don't worry Ash, I won't let you die"

The figure was now towering above them both and Sam didn't have anything to use against it. She had no idea what to do and she was starting to panic. It couldn't end like this, they still had so much more to do, so many more moments to share, they couldn't die like that so soon.

The Wendigo raised its creepy arm and prepared to strike so Sam did the only thing she could do to try one last time to defend her lover. She wrapped her arms around Ashley enveloping her in a hug while at the same time covering as much of her body as she could.

"I'm sorry Ash" she whispered while preparing for the pain that was to come however it never came.

"Sam! Wake up!"

Sam's green eyes snapped open at the sound of her girlfriend shouting her name. She was breathing heavily and she was covered in sweat. Her heart was beating faster than usual as her eyes scanned the dark room.

"Geez Sam, I've been trying to wake you up for a full minute!" the brunette who was laying next to her said while softly caressing her hair, "You were tossing in bed and kept saying that you wouldn't let me die" her face became serious and her brow furrowed "Was it another nightmare?"

The blonde merely nodded as she was still trying to get her breath under control. It was just a dream, everything was fine, she was fine, Ashley was fine.

It had been a few months since the dreadful winter getaway but the horrible memories of that night still hunted the blond girl. In her dreams they still seemed so vivid, so real. Almost every night she woke up scared to find herself once again trapped on the Blackwood mountain but luckily Ashley was always there to hug her in order to calm her down. The events were still fresh in their minds, it was hard to forget what happened even if in the end all of them had managed to survive until dawn. She had kept Ashley safe, unlike in her recent nightmare they had found a shaken Matt and made it back to the lodge safely even if it wasn't without a scare. Even Mike managed to find Josh, it hadn't been easy to forgive him for the stunt he pulled but somehow they all did and now he was getting help, for real this time.

"We-we couldn't find Matt, Ash" Sam stuttered in the dark as she recalled her nightmare, "The Wendigo was so close, it was about to kill us"

"Shhh... It's okay Sammy" Ashley softly stroked her cheek "We're safe now"

"Ash..." The blonde whispered, wrapping her arms around the other girl and hugging her tightly.

"What is it, Sam?"

"Why can't I get over it?"

The brunette sighed and tried to get even closer to her girlfriend. She knew Sam needed to feel her close in these moments, "I don't know but I know that sooner or later you will. You're strong Sam, you saw things most people wouldn't be able to stand seeing" She looked the blonde in her green eyes and then laid a short but sweet kiss on her lips, "I'll always be here for you Sammy. I love you".

Sam finally smiled and shifted to get into a more comfortable position while still holding onto Ashley, "Thank you Ash. I love you too".

Thank to their brief talk Sam managed to calm down, her heartbeat returning to a normal pace. She buried her face into the crook of Ashley's neck falling asleep inhaling the familiar scent of the girl she loved more than life itself.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed. See ya soon!