They were safe. The girls were safe.
…Right?
He had to do it, he had to shoot Emily. There was no other choice, she'd been bitten, he couldn't risk her turning into one of those things.
…Right?
Emily was dead. He'd failed her, just like he'd failed Jess. No, he'd killed Emily, shot her. Just like that. But he had to do it, right? Right?
The image of her in his head won't leave. She could've turned into one of those things, those fucking things he saw in the sanatorium. He couldn't have watched that, he couldn't watched her become one of them. Not her, not Em. It's wasn't even that long since they broke up. Not that long since he got together with Jess either, after Emily broke up with him. He cared for her, he did. He didn't want to see her end up like that in the mine. He didn't want to see her dead. He didn't want to lose Em either, she was a friend, a good friend and he cared for her still.
Now she was dead. By his hand. Not by one of those things, those whatever-the-fuck-they-were. By him. He'd killed Emily.
He tries to focus on his current task, to find Josh and the key to the cable car. Chris is dead, Jess is dead. Emily is dead. Murdered.
Fuck, the way Sam recoiled away from him. Emily's mom will have a shit fit. Matt too, if he's even still alive. Fuck! What's he going to tell them?
Nothing, his mind so helpfully offers. Jesus jumping jack Christ, he's fucked up.
He keeps going, one step after another, it's the only thing his mind can focus on. Anything but the way she'd looked, the way she'd slumped on the desk. The way she'd begged, pleaded, thought he wouldn't do it. Not till he pulled the trigger. Bang. Over.
Emily was dead. Almost everyone was dead and he couldn't do a fucking thing about it, couldn't save them, couldn't help them. It's like Hannah and Beth all over again. Waiting for them to come back, waiting to find out what happened. They didn't come back, they never did find out. Josh…Josh was inconsolable when it finally sunk in, that Hannah and Beth were likely dead. All thanks to their stupid, stupid prank.
Now a year later, more of their group is dead and Josh is missing too. Probably dead, if one of those things have got hold of him.
Why did he shoot her? Why? He could've just made her leave, he could've done something else, anything else. Anything but kill his ex-girlfriend. How does he even live with that? How can he look at himself in the mirror each day after this?
Stop thinking about it Michael, focus on getting the key, he tries to tell himself.
He has to keep them safe.
He has to…