Chapter One

"Josh," Sam heard herself whimper over the ghoulish cries of the creatures that inhabited Blackwood Mountain.

She'd gone back for him, alone and without the support of the rest of the group- who thought Josh was not worth saving. Except for Chris, although he never said a word for fear of the group, she knew he was the only one who wanted to see Josh alive and reunited with the rest of the gang. She could tell by his eyes- such torture behind them. She understood their resistance. Josh had played a terrible prank on them, one that had indirectly put them all in danger. This danger wasn't his fault. How could he have known of the cannibalistic monsters that cursed this mountain? He only wanted them to experience the fear his sisters must have felt trapped alone in the blizzard that had bestowed the mountain a year ago. They were never found- that was enough fuel to drive Josh past the point of no return. He needed help, but death and isolation was a punishment undeserving- even for Josh.

There was no response, only the sounds of the mine's to answer to her cries. She had no idea how long she'd been down there searching for any compelling evidence that would support her need to find Josh alive. It could be dawn already. The thought entered her mind but quickly dissipated as she caught a glimpse of the moon passing underneath a small opening several feet overhead.

She sighed at the realization that time was not on her side. The fear of the Wendigo finding her in its lair didn't scare her half as much as it should have. Josh's life hanging in the balance frightened her a lot more than anything the Wendigo could ever do to her. She felt the familiar vibration of her cellphone aware that the light that illuminated from her phone would soon go out and she would be left to scavenge the mine's in complete darkness.

"Shit," she said glumly examining the ominous flashing light that blinked away as her phone was no more.

She felt vulnerable to the darkness of the mine's dropping to all four's as she continued north. Maybe there'd be another underpass; she could use the light to try to find something of use to replace the built- in flashlight that had been helpful to her before luck had its way with her phone and died. She kept moving- her knees aching as she crawled along the graveled pavement. She stopped abruptly sliding her back against the wall behind her making certain that she did not move a muscle. She'd heard it rummaging nearby stopping her almost instantaneously in her tracks.

"Stay Calm Sam," she mouthed without a sound.

Her face twitched at the sound of its piercing cry as it drew closer. Had it found her out? The tiny blonde hairs on her arms rose above her skin- her heart thumped vigorously and her breaths quickened. This was it. She was going to die right here, right now and she would never know if she would have been able to save her dearest friend. There was another wail from the Wendigo- it was so close her ears popped from the echo of its deafening screech. She pictured its teeth long and sharp salivating at the sight of her fragile figure that would become victim to its desire to feast. The tears came- wet with regret as her life flashed before her. Sam realized she'd never really lived. Life had been just a series of regrettable choices and decisions that seemed right at the time, but now she knew she could have chosen differently. If only she had told him just once how she'd felt about him. Just once would have made all the difference.

It grabbed her by the waist- placing its cold hands around her mouth to shield her screams.

She screamed. She screamed as loud as she could but its hands held her mouth so still that her cries only mirrored the faint whimpers of a sad puppy dog. Her hands found their way to her face surprised to find that her captor's claws were fingers. Warm, perfectly shaped human fingers.

"Shhhh," it whispered to her still securing her mouth as if her life depended on it.

She obeyed counting the seconds silently to herself when or if she would breathe again.

She heard its familiar calling in the distance. The Wendigo had gone a different direction. She was safe- whoever had grabbed her could not have been one of them. She removed its fingers from her mouth holding on to them briefly before she spoke.

"Josh, is that you?"

He didn't speak; he only held her there- still and in his arms.

"Josh, say something. Please?"

"You shouldn't be down here Sam. It isn't safe."

She heard the sound of a match being struck and then there was light. She was afraid to look into his eyes but she had to see for herself that Joshua Washington was alive and right here with her where he belonged. She wasn't prepared for what she saw. He'd been attacked, his flannel shirt had been torn to shreds and was barely covering the lacerations visible on his torso.

"Oh my god Josh, are you okay?"

She couldn't stop herself from touching him, caressing his wounds.

"Does it hurt?"

He smiled at her comfortingly. "It's only a scratch- nothing a little scotch won't fix and a kiss from me lady"

"Hardy-Har. I could almost take you seriously," she paused remembering everything he'd put her and their friends through tonight. "But I know better."

"Sam I'm. I'm sorry. Out of all our friends, you. You didn't deserve any of this."

"None of us deserved to be tortured or hunted by the Wendigo. Jessica. Matt. They're both dead Josh."

"No. No. No. No. No." Josh squeezed his temples with the palms of his hands. "This. This is my fault. All my fault," he confessed his sanity leaving him alone to face his biggest fear.

Sam recognized his cry for help, suddenly regretting her words. She should have waited to tell him about Jess and Matt. His mind was too fragile to handle the realization that two of his friends were dead and he was not blameless. She grabbed one of his hands and held it firmly within her grasp.

"Josh this isn't your fault, not entirely."

He looked at her- his eyes aloof and in agony. He wanted to believe her, but she was wrong. He killed them. He did this. Him alone.

"No. I hurt them. Jess and Matt. Dead. I hurt them," he said his voice muffled by the tears that caught in his throat. "You shouldn't be here Sam."

"Josh, I couldn't leave you down here alone. I had to look for you. You are my friend and friends don't leave friends hanging."

"We are friends Sam, but I hurt you too. You shouldn't have come back for me."

Their eyes locked, his glossy and filled with regret and hers sad and longing.

"Josh I would always choose to look for you. I…"

"Don't say it Sam. I don't deserve your mercy."

"I'm not being merciful, I'm being honest for a change."

"Don't be. Sam I."

"Josh?"

Silence.

She heard the thud of the torch Josh had been carrying hit the ground behind her diminishing the light at once. Her mind began to race as she frantically searched for a match to relight the torch. She felt the box of matches between her fingers as she continued to move towards the torch. She struck the match against the hard surface of the floor and re-lit the torch. She held the light up afraid that her eyes were playing tricks on her.

They weren't.

"Josh No," she cried as the image of the Wendigo dragging Josh behind it filled her tear-stricken eyes.

He placed his index finger in front of his mouth making eye contact with her begging for her silence.

"Nooooo…. Josh," she cried aloud afraid that this would be the finale to Josh and her.

She was right.

She jolted out of her sleep, her skin drizzled in sweat panting little short breaths. She felt the familiar stir of her companion waking beside her.

"Another nightmare?" he asked groggily sitting up in bed so that he could face her.

"Yeah," she admitted trying to adjust to the darkness of their shared bedroom.

She reached for the lamp beside her bed, turning it on. It'd been 4 years since the incident on the mountain and she still could not stand to be in the dark.

"Sorry Baby, I turned it off after you fell to sleep."

"You don't have to explain. Mike. Really it's Ok," she replied feeling helpless to her night terrors.

"Josh again?" he asked knowingly. She'd never really been able to escape what happened on that mountain- none of them had, but for her losing Josh had scared her more than any of them hoped it would.

She nodded.

Mike embraced her allowing her head to seek comfort on his chest.

Kissing her forehead gently, he said soothingly, "We're going to get through this Sam, together baby."