She never thought she'd see them again. Not any of them, not after what happened. Yet here they all were, a year later – and God, had it really only been just a year? It felt as though it'd been so much longer. She'd been more alone during that time than she could ever recall before. What was worse was the fact that she hadn't been alone – oh no. That would have been far too easy. No, she knew now she'd died from the fall, that Beth was gone from the world of the living. At first, she'd been so very, very confused. Now, she knew more than she ever thought she would; she knew of things that once, she was certain had only existed in scary stories told around the soft glow of a campfire between friends. But oh, how wrong she'd been.
Beth watched her brother – oh Josh…she could tell he was just so tired – trek up the path to the cabin. He'd been the first one she'd noticed, and the way his eyes focused on nothing ahead of him, that expressionless yet lost gaze on his face…she'd immediately known something was wrong. That didn't stop the joy she felt at seeing him again, however fleeting that happiness may have been. Because even as her other friends – did she really have it in her to even call them that anymore? – made their way to the Washington lodge, she could feel the chill of the creature's gaze. Of her gaze. She was watching all of them: Josh, Mike, Sam, Chris, Matt, Emily, Jessica... It would have been foolish to hope that she'd recognize any of them...then again, perhaps it was better for some of them if she didn't. Even so, as the dead girl looked on, Beth noticed how different they were, how distant...how sad, how guilty. They held it tightly within themselves, coiled and hidden, but she could see it, could feel it. She hadn't left Hannah's side at all during the search mission that had followed their disappearance, so she'd been led to believe her anger towards them was justified - she hadn't seen them grieve.
It was at that moment she realized that, despite the stupid prank they'd pulled, none of them had meant any harm by it, and what had happened after hadn't been any fault of theirs. It had been just...a freak accident. Once that thought passed through her mind, Beth felt...lighter, somehow. The anger, the betrayal, all those negative emotions she had harbored toward them for so long...they were dissipating in light of the unspoken truth, in the surprising sincerity of their hearts. She only wished Hannah could see it.
Thankfully for the group, it was still daylight out - her sister and the others like her would wait until dusk to become active, to begin their hunt. That gave Beth some time to warn them...if only she could figure out how to do so. It wasn't as if she could simply run up and talk to them - no, she'd tried that with Hannah many times, before the change...
Beth was screaming now, panicked, still not quite over the initial shock of waking up to find her body cold and slumped over - the sight reminding her of a doll she'd once had, broken by Josh accidentally in their younger years. But dolls didn't have blood and dolls most certainly did not have souls, which, she supposed was all that she was now. Denial crept upon her in waves, and she choked back another sob, expecting an ache to fill her, to tell her how injured she was. But there was nothing. No, that wasn't quite right...there was something and that something was Hannah, her sister.
Hannah had survived.
How, she didn't know, but at this point she counted it a blessing - at least with Hannah, she wasn't truly alone. At least, that's how she felt before she tried talking to her. Beth had only received silence in response. She kept trying anyway, going on and on until she was certain her throat would be sore, but all that she felt was emptiness. Eventually, she stopped, tired in a way she'd never felt before, and moved closer to Hannah, who was now curled up in a dark corner, rocking and crying softly. Occasionally, she could make out a word or two, but it was always the same thing: "Beth...Oh God, Beth...no..." And Beth went to comfort her, to wrap her arms around her older sister, the one she so often took care of, and found herself unable to do anything to ease her suffering. She may as well have not even been there.
Still, she refused to leave Hannah's side. Beth didn't know why she was still there, but as long as she was, she resolved to stay by her sister, whatever happened.
As days stretched to weeks and still no sign of rescue came, she watched as Hannah grew more and more desperate. Thankfully, the older girl had managed to find a good source of water, so the only real concern she faced was that of hunger. Hannah had buried Beth, her dead sister watching with teary eyes and clenched fists at the small ceremony her twin did her best to give her. Honestly, it was more than she'd hoped for, considering the circumstances - with what time Hannah had spent digging the grave with her own hands, of fashioning a makeshift cross and etching Beth's name in to it and finally burying her, she could have saved what little strength she had, perhaps lasted a little longer. Maybe long enough to have been rescued. But she hadn't, and soon, the hunger grew too much for her.
Beth had seen creatures skulking about in the darkness, had heard their cries and howls echo throughout the mines. She'd seen Hannah freeze up and hide, closing her eyes and bowing her head as if that would make them go away. Strangely though, they never came near enough to threaten Hannah, which baffled Beth, as her curiosity had gotten the better of her and she'd followed one once. What she'd witnessed had been...a nightmare. Foolishly, she thought that her sister was being spared from such a horrific death. Perhaps the other Wendigo could sense the desperation, the opening for another of their kind to be born, the spirit that took to clinging to her twin that Beth failed to notice until it was too late. Whatever it was, they shied away, and instead left Hannah to a fate worse than anything imaginable, and Beth could do nothing.
It was getting darker now, and Beth did her best not to rush immediately back to her sister. While she ached to return, despite the horrors she'd witnessed, she knew there was nothing she could do for Hannah. But for her brother, and her friends... Beth watched with a growing fear as Josh suggested Mike and Jessica check out the cabin set apart from the lodge, cursing silently. No, they need to stay together! Damnit, if only I could just... But she couldn't, and that was the worst of it all. As things were now, she was completely helpless, certain she was about to watch her friends get slaughtered. She couldn't be in two places at once, and so she ultimately decided to stick by Ashley the majority of the time. Beth wasn't sure what it was, but there was simply something about her that...drew her in. Like a moth to a flame. When Jessica and Mike left, she followed, not having sensed any of the beasts near the lodge. Idly, she wondered whether that Stranger from before was keeping them busy. If he was, she wished for his safety. When she'd let go of that ledge a year ago, Beth had been certain he had been the one chasing the two twins. After her death she learned he'd been trying to help, and guilt ate away at her once more, until her more practical side brought up the valid point of no matter how good a hunter he was, it would have been highly unlikely he could have subdued the Wendigo while keeping two teenagers out of harm's way.
By the time Jessica and Mike got to the cabin, Beth was sure she was going to hurl ectoplasm or whatever it was that ghosts had due to the sheer amount of their flirting. At several points, she'd rolled her eyes and told them to get a room. Of course, they hadn't heard her, but even in death she couldn't stop with the snarky attitude she'd been known for in life. She'd left them then, thinking they would be safe for the moment, at least long enough for her to check on the others. She'd been wrong, and it all went to hell from there. At the very least though, she'd been right about Ashley - her, Josh and Chris had found an old spirit board Beth had forgotten they'd bought for Halloween one year. It was meant to be a joke, and Beth had scoffed at it. How ironic then that it turned out to be the real deal.
"Ashley, since you're a recent convert, why don't you be our medium for today?" Chris offered.
"Okay. Um...Anyone there...?" Ashley started, hesitantly. "Will you reveal yourself to us...if you're there...?"
So Beth placed her finger on the pointer, and she willed it to move. For what seemed like forever, nothing happened, and then -
"Wait a minute - "
"Did you do that...?"
"I didn't do anything!"
"It's moving again!"
Tears almost came to Beth's eyes then, relief sweeping through her like a wave. Finally, finally! - But her happiness would have to wait. As much as she'd love to talk to them again, to tell them to stop beating themselves up over what had happened, the danger they were in took top priority. So, as the three spluttered among themselves in disbelief, she spelled.
"HELP."
Impatiently, Beth waited for their bickering to die down again, for Ashley to ask another question.
"How can we help you?"
Beth almost knocked the board over in frustration.
"WARNING." Beth persisted.
"We can't help you if we don't know who you are." Ashley tried soon after. "Can you tell us who you are...?"
"SISTER." Forget who I am, just listen, for God's sake! It pained her to hear Josh's pained question, but she couldn't falter now.
"Who are we speaking to...?" Ashley questioned nervously. "Beth...? Is that you?"
"Yes." Beth replied quickly, enthused beyond belief that the other girl had guessed right. Did she somehow know...?
Ashley started apologizing, but Beth just shook her head and moved to spell again.
"HANNAH."
"KILLED."
"Alright. Okay. Who killed Hannah? Who was it?"
Beth went to move the pointer again, but her hand slipped through the table and she staggered backwards, feeling faint, dizzy. No! She couldn't have used all of her energy already! She needed to -
"LIBRARY. PROOF." What? I...I didn't spell that! Who did that?! Beth's breath caught in her throat and she quickly scanned the room, but she found no one else there. What...? Then the table shook, and she ended up sprinting after Josh once she felt able, deeply unsettled and worried about him.
Then, Beth could only watch in horror as Josh implemented his disturbing plan, unknowingly making it so much easier for the Wendigo to tear them all apart. What had happened to her kind, caring brother? Who was this monster that walked around with his smile, his voice, and yet did these horrible things? This wasn't the Josh she knew, and as time went on, Beth realized just how deeply the death of his sisters had changed him. She could only hope that Josh wouldn't find out the truth, that Hannah was now stuck in a place even worse than death itself - she wasn't sure he'd ever be able to come back from that, if he found out. Would he fall further into darkness, like Hannah? Beth could only pray it wasn't too late.