"'Don't move. Don't move a fucking muscle," Mike pointed at me. I glanced at him, trying to calm my breathing. Just standing still around these things didn't feel natural. Every instinct was telling me to run. And I was struggling with keeping as still as Mike was managing to. That's when I slipped. An involuntary muscle twitch from the fear and adrenaline coursing through my brains.
"The wendigo noticed, let out a guttural snarl, and immediately lunged for me. I pulled away, throwing my hands up to protect my face. I remember thinking that that was useless. The claws and teeth of a wendigo were much stronger than my small frame.
"But Mike wasn't about to let that happen. He threw himself between the wendigo and me. And it just threw him away like a ragdoll. I thought I heard something snap, but Mike sat up anyway. Another wendigo pounced onto the first one and a brawl began. It looked like it wasn't going to last very long. The first one was faster-stronger.
"It was then that I noticed Mike staring at the leaking pipe near the fireplace that the wendigo had damaged. There was a lightbulb nearby...and a light switch near the door. I caught his eye and nodded just enough for him to notice.
"As I had predicted, the first wendigo ripped the head off of the second one. It was then that I noticed that...that...the first wendigo was Hannah. There were more coming in from the basement. Probably through the underground tunnels that led to the Sanitorium. Yes, the one that Mike blew up. They seemed to be endless. That thought caused my skin to crawl. I just wanted to be as far away from the Washington's lodge as possible.
"But to do that, we had to escape. I began to slowly move backwards to the light bulb but there was a loose floorboard. And it creaked. Hannah's wendigo heard me and came screeching toward me. Mike once again made the heroic attempt to get to the light bulb. And he did. But Hannah's wendigo heard the bulb snap in his hand. And she went right for him, entirely forgetting that I existed once more.
"At least that's what I thought at first. But I think she was trying to save him. There was a third wendigo. It got to Mike first...and it killed him. I don't want to think about that any more. I can't get that out of my head. If I had just fucking stood still like he told me...he'd still be alive. I was so angry with him over last year that I forgot who he really was. I'll never forget that again. I don't think any of us will. And I want everybody to know who he was. It's the least he deserves. It wasn't just a prank but it wasn't really Mike either.
"...Mike didn't move again. I wanted him to so badly. But he just didn't. And Ashley was too scared to do anything so she ran for the door. She was almost there when the third wendigo began chasing her. If I had stood still instead of running after her and flipping that light switch-she would also be dead. And if Mike hadn't gone after Jessica when she was taken by one of the wendigos, she would also be dead…
"...Now that you know the truth-and seen it, too-is there anything else? Or are we free to go? I want to be far away from this town before sundown."