Well, the dustiness of these clothes certainly didn't help with this godforsaken cold of mine. Black trousers, white socks, blue shirt and darker blue jumper, all handpicked by myself from selecting out of the nearby closet. Whatever kept me comfortable and warm while I was seemingly stuck in this horror game.
Bad news: I'm stuck in Until Dawn.
Good news: I'm now buddies with Sam.
Oh right, did I mention I'm inside Until Dawn? Because if not, then that's what I;ve been dwelling this past hour since Sam left me in peace at my request.
So, I'm stuck in Until Dawn. By what? By who? And why? I don't know, all I know is I almost DIED last night from either the Wendigo or hypothermia. And to be honest, I would've preferred from the cold given the option. But, by some miracle, I'm alive, saved by no doubt the flamethrower guy. Sam explained that I was carried in by Beth and Hannah, and the stranger departed at the doorstep before she or the others could question or even thank him.
Which means I'm the closest person they'll interrogate. Oh fucking huzzah...
Currently, I was inspecting myself through the mirror. My skin was alot more pale than usual - no doubt thanks to standing in the middle of a blizzard with nothing but PJs on - but other than the worrisome skin colour, and goddamn cold, I seemed to be alright.
Aside from the fact that, you know, I'm trapped in a fucking video game. A horror one at that. But why? I never played Until Dawn; I only watched walkthroughs of it! And of all places, why this one? Hell, I'd prefer being trapped in, say, BioShock where the mad resided, than hunted down by cannibalistic animals that can rip you apart like paper-
A knock on the nearby door. "Come in." My voice was still a little shaky, but the change of clothing helped a little; don't get me started on how much of a nightmare it was changing while it was snowing outside.
The sound of the door opened, followed by a familiar inquiring voice. "Everything okay?"
Why, yes Sam, everything was fine. I mean, I only just figured out I'm stuck in a world filled with flesh-devouring monsters which dwelled on this particular mountain, with some obvious college teenagers who don't understand exactly how screwed they are while they're stuck here. And to top it all off, I almost fucking died last night.
I'm peachy keen.
"Yes, thank you." I opted to reply instead. Despite my confusion, fear and frustration, there was no reason to take it out on my favourite character of this game. As the kind blonde entered, I turned to her.
The eighteen-year-old - I'm assuming - seemed to smile at the sight of me. "Well, you seem to be better now than earlier."
"That's deba... Deba... AH-CHOO!"
God dammit!
"Here." A pack of tissues was presented before me. "We could hear you sneezing from downstairs."
"Thank you.." I graciously took the pack, smiling in relief. "You're a lifesaver, Miss Samantha."
"The real lifesaver is the one who saved Hannah and Beth from falling off a cliff. And just call me Sam." The taller blonde said in amusement. That's right, taller. I'm not a midget, certainly, but one of the cons of being me, unfortunately, is that I'm the average size of a teenager girl. You can imagine, it's quite irritating seeing the average male taller than you.
"Well, thank you, Miss Sam."
"You don't need to so formal, either, Mr Wright." That brought a humorued smile to my face. Good thing, need some positive reinforcement, considering my predicament. Sam inclined her head behind her, "Everyone's waiting for you downstairs. They want to meet the man who appeared out of nowhere and saved our friend's lives."
I bet they do...
"Oh, don't worry, they won't bite." She reassured, noting my look. "They're very nice people... Well, usually..."
I shook my head slowly, rubbing the spot on my forehead where the fading headache remained. "You'll have to excuse my skepticism, Mi- Err, Sam." I quickly corrected myself at her raised brow. "I'm just wary of teenagers in general."
Sam tilted her head curiously. "How do you know they're all teenagers?"
...Shit...
"Lucky guess?"
Give her credit, she seemed to see right through my bullshit. But instead of commenting as such, the frowning girl shrugged as well. "Well, they won't hurt you, regardless, just probably ask some questions which we'd all like to know. And besides, you don't look like you're out of the teenage age just yet."
"I'm twenty." A weak justification, but I was growing out of the norm.
"My point exactly." Her eyes gleamed in amusement. "Though the beard makes you look a little older."
I consciously rubbed the long facial hair in question. "And handsome?"
"Hm, only if you trim it down a little." Her smile brightened slightly at my unimpressed expression, turning around towards the doorway. "If you're feeling up to it, follow me. Everyone's waiting to meet you."
...Well, guess i have zero choice in the matter. If I'm going to be stuck on this cursed mountain, then I may as well interact with the regular visitors while I'm practically 'imprisoned' here.
"Alright, lead the way, Miss- Sorry, Sam."
"See, you're learning already."
"Hardy har..."
As soon as I saw the multiple pairs of eyes on me, I froze on the spot. Thankfully not literally, but the cold certainly didn't help.
Beside me, Sam whispered reassuringly, "Go on. They won't bite."
Thanks love...
Slowly, I walked down the stairs, the kind blonde woman evenly moving next to me just in case, offering support. And as we were reaching the main living room, I noted who the people greeting exactly were.
Beth. She was regarding me with curiosity and... concern?
Mike. At first I didn't like the guy, but his character somehow grew on me throughout the game. He waved in a friendly manner.
Matt. The character I'm barely indifferent to. He smiled politely upon meeting my look.
Jessica. The typical teenage female stereotype. She was regarding me with folded arms.
Emily. The bitch no one in their right mind would actually like; no offence to them. She seemed to blink at the slight distaste across my features upon glancing at her.
And Ashley. Again, another character I was mainly indifferent to. She was observing me with interest.
"Everyone, this is Jack." Sam introduced me to the crowd as we entered the living room, stepping back for space. "Jack, these are my friends."
"How's it going? I'm Mike." The tall obvious muscle man of the classic horror teenage group stepped up first, shaking my hand rather roughly. Jesus, calm down mate, my hand's still fucking freezing. He seemed not to notice. "Thanks for saving our friend's lives last night."
"What he said." Matt said next, shaking my hand next, and thank God was his gesture more softer. "I'm Matt. We're very grateful for what you did."
"If you weren't there, who knows what could've happen." Ashley chose to greet me next, shaking my hand with her gloved own. "I'm Ashley, but you can call me Ash."
I most certainly will not, but thank you anyway.
The slightly taller girl then motioned towards the two sitting females, one smiling while the other was sotic. "That's Jessica, and she's Emily. And you've already Beth."
"Yes, though I don't think we were properly introduced." I said jokingly.
The one in the woolly hat, Beth, nodded and approached, slowly shaking my hand next. "Hi... My sister's still recovering upstairs from last night's ordeal. Thanks for saving our lives."
"No problem." I smiled slightly. "I wouldn't let anyone die on my watch."
Beth smiled slightly in turn, stepping back while Sam spoke up again, "Chris and Josh are recovering from hangovers, so we'll introduce you to them later."
Oh yeah... Completely forgot about them.
"In the meantime, maybe you can tell us why you were walking around a mountain in the middle of the night with nothing but your PJ's." A rather snide voice called out, directing our attention to the black-haired teenager.
Emily...
Just looking at her incited me to frown heavily. Should I give this woman the satisfaction of indulging her curiosity, or change the subject? "I would, but I'm a little more interested as to why two teenage girls were running around in the middle of nowhere."
From the side, Mike rubbed the back of his head, adopting a sheepish expression. "Hannah may have ran away after we pulled a harmless little prank on her, and Beth ran after her-"
"'Harmless'?" The older sister of Hannah cut off in question. "You humiliated her, almost causing us to fucking die!"
Ouch, take that assholes...
"Beth, we said we're sorry-"
"It isn't me you should be apologizing to!" Beth interrupted Ashley, pointing upstairs. "Hannah could be traumatized from all this for all we know. Hell, I'm amazed I haven't been traumatized yet, after nearly falling off a cliff and getting eaten by a monster!"
That confirms the Wendigo...
"We didn't mean to hurt her." Matt pitched in rather weakly.
"Beth." Mike began calmly, placing two unwelcome hands on the fuming girl's shoulders. Beth glared hard, but the taller teenage seemed not to notice. "We understand. Really, we do. You've both had a bad night, making you see things. But it's all over now. Hannah'll get better in no time. She just needs some rest, and so do you-"
"Oh, so both of us were just seeing things. Both of us, by coincidence, saw the tall monster that was chasing after us to the cliff?"
Ahh teenager drama. Overreacting, but entertaining nonetheless.
"If I may." Both turned to look at me, Beth shrugging off Mike's hands harshly as I spoke up in her defense. "Did this creature look incredibly tall, all pale with white eyes, standing on two legs and ready to devour you?"
Her eyes widened. "Yes! You obviously saw it too!"
Well no, all I saw were the eyes. But I didn't need to tell them that. I nodded, "Yes, one of many threats which plagues these mountains. I'd recommend you stay indoors and lock all doors and windows at night, during your stay here."
"Funny, that's what the old man said." Beth commented with folded arms, frowning curiously. "You knew what that thing was?"
Now I was the center of attention. And I didn't like it one bit.
"It was probably just a harmless animal you mistook for a monster." Jessica spoke up.
Beth shook her head. "That was not an animal, at least none I've ever seen."
"All living creatures, my dear, are animals in their own way." I pointed out, to which Matt seemed to nod in agreement. "But that 'old man', who I presume you mean was the man with the flamethrower, spoke words of wisdom. It's imperative you do as he said until you leave these mountains."
Emily snorted loudly. "You honestly think there's some kind of demonic creature haunting thes emoutain. Give me a break." Okay, fuck off bitch. No one asked for your opinion. Standing up, the woman then approached haughtily. "You and that old man are full of shit. There's no monster on these mountains. And you didn't answer my question before, why the hell were you wearing your pajama's in the middle of a snowy mountain?"
Why? Fuck you, that's why.
As though sensing the incoming tension, Sam stepped in between us, making a gesture for peace. "I think we should wait until Chris and Josh wake up first, before we hear the full story. Right guys?"
"Uhh, right." Mike said quickly, placing comforting hands on Emily's shoulders. Yet the glaring match between herself and I lasted for a moment, before the woman scoffed and turned way back to the couch with... Mike?
...Oh right, those two were dating a year before the events of the game. I forgot. Then who was Jessica dating at this time, Matt?
Yet before I could possibly find out, Sam gently steered me away from the group. "Sorry about that." She began when we were out of earshot. "Em can be confrontational at times."
"That's one way of putting it..."
The blonde woman smiled slightly at the jab. "I don't blame you for the bad first impression, she can behave like a total bitch, but she's a nice person once you get to know her." Implying I want to interact more with that woman at all. Pausing, Sam turned to regard me with a polite grin. "Are you hungry? We have some food in the kitchen if you'd like."
"AH, no no, thank you, you've done enough for me." I quickly said rather frantically. I hate imposing on people like this. "I'd rather not interfere with your lives more than I already have-"
"'Interfere with out lives'?" Sam echoed with a raised brow, sounding very amused. "Don't be silly. Now, come on." Concluded by pulling my sleeve, despite my protests. "You clearly need to eat."
Get her credit, this woman has remarkable strength. "Do you lift or something?"
She threw me a rather disarming smile. "No, but I am an athlete." Ahh. "Afterwards, I can show you around, if you want."
...Well, fuck it. Since she's clearly adamant in keeping me around. "You wouldn't happen to have a library around, would you, Miss- God dammit, Sam?" A light chuckle was her response, followed by a friendly nod.
After breakfast - which was wonderful,. thank you for asking - Sam had kindly escorted me to the dusty yet welcoming library, and left me to my thoughts at my request. What followed by her departure was what I naturally did while thinking: Pacing.
The floorboards creaked at my continuous movements, clearly unused to someone walking over the same spots for probably over an hour now. It's a damn shame; many teenagers just don't appreciate the beauty that is knowledge and books. Though it is refreshing to be on my own currently after that hectic greeting with those characters.
Alright. Situation: I'm trapped in Until Dawn. Possible methods of escaping: Magic bullshit or completing the game itself. I hope it wasn't the latter, since I have absolutely no desire to sticking around this world for a whole year. People I could possibly trust while I'm stuck here: Sam without a doubt, and the Wendigo expert currently hunting down and trapping those beasts.
Hm, it's funny that I'm still breathing, after nearly getting ripped apart last night by one of those creatures last night. At the cost of saving two lives, I nearly destroyed my own. Was it worth it? Definitely. Despite the fact they're pixelated characters in a video game, no one was beyond saving. I would've died, although scared, but also content at saving two people from death. Which begs the question; now that I saved the lives of Hannah and Beth, what were the repercussions for such? Actions always had consequences; even doing a good deed can cause disaster elsewhere. I suppose I'll find out, while I'm here. But hopefully, I won't be here for too long-
"Oh. Sorry, didn't know you were in here." I barely heard the door open. Turning around, I was met with the surprised stare of Ashley. "I'll just come back later then-"
"Oh, no it's fine." I quickly assured the young woman, shaking my head. She smiled, taking that indication to enter. "I'm just pacing around, really."
Ashley raised a brow. "In the library?"
"I like libraries." I shrugged, which incited her light grin.
"Really? Me too." Closing the door behind her, she stepped forward to one of the shelves, but still kept her eyes on me. "Sorry about earlier with Emily. It wasn't the best of introductions."
"Meh. I've dealt with her kind before."
"Really?"
"No."
She blinked, before realizing I was joking and chuckled with me. "Hehehehe. Though I'm sure, given time, you'll get along with her and everyone else in no time."
"I look forward to it."
Ashley obviously noted the sarcasm, frowning for a moment before regarding the rows of books. "So then, what brings you to the mountains, Jack?"
Just 'Jack'? No 'Mr Wright' beforehand? Did their parents teach them nothing about formalities before friendliness? "I'm a... traveler." I lied after a moment's pause. Yes, that seemed the only plausible explanation I can think of for my circumstances.
"And you travel... in your PJ's?"
Lie number two. "I sorta lost my equipment during climbing these mountains, hence why your friends found me... in that state."
She glanced at me curiously. "Then why didn't you just use the cable car?"
I grinned sheepishly, "Because why not take the fun way up?"
"If by that you mean suicidal way, sure..." Yet her tone suggested amusement. "Although, if you hadn't been there, Hannah and Beth might've..." She sobered for a moment, looking down, "Well, we're glad you were there to prevent that."
I shrugged, yet before I could respond, the door unexpectedly opened wildly. "Hey Ashley, Chris is lookin' for ya... Oh."
Oh Christ, it's you...
Immediately my body tensed, hands clenched in preparation in case this ass clown tried anything. Because standing before us, stunned himself by the sight of me, was none other than Josh Washington. The character I should've been feeling sorry during the game, but his actions towards the ones not even responsible for the prank diminished any sympathy towards him.
"Oh hey Josh. This is Jack." Ashley, picking up on the tension, decided to introduce us to one another. "Jack, this is Josh, Hannah and Beth's brother."
You know what's funny? Every Josh I've met in life turned out to be an asshole, save for one. Let's hope this one becomes an exception too, but I'm not holding my breath over it.
"Oh!" Josh blinked in realization, stepping forward rather happily. "So you're the guy who saved my sister's lives!"
Oh, so he's heard of me? I'm hardly flattered.
Next thing I knew, they tall bastard was shaking my hand swiftly. "You have no idea how grateful I am to you for being there, man. God knows what would've happened if you weren't there to save them."
Oh, I can think of a few ideas...
Then he felt the need to place a hand on my back and begin steering me away from the library. "Come on man, let me show you around the place. My treat. I'll even introduce ya to Chris. You haven't met Chris already have ya? Also, you can have some drinks, on the house."
My desperate glance at Ashley did no favours, as she simply shrugged sheepishly at me being pushed out of the library. I haven't even said a word to this man and already he behaved as though we were best buddies!
Where's Sam when you need her?