Chapter 7
They heard someone frantically banging on the door.
"Let me in! Let me IN!!!" She screamed. Elena gasped.
"Is that-" Ashley started.
"It's Em!" Sam exclaimed.
"Let her in, quick!" Chris said. They all scrambled to the door. Once they opened it, Emily falls inside but she doesn't care.
"Shut the door! Oh my God, shut the door!!!" She screamed. As Ashley and Sam drag Emily in, Chris and Elena both closed the door and made their way to the Great Room.
"Em, are you alright?" Elena asked.
"I didn't think that I'd make it." She mumbled.
"You were screaming bloody murder." Chris said.
"Are you ok?" Sam asked.
"You look totally wiped." Ashley added. Emily took in a breath.
"There was something..." She started.
"Where's Matt?" Ashley asked.
"Come sit down." Sam said. They all walked over to sit down.
"Something's out there..." She mumbled again. "A monster... it's a monster!"
"Wait!" Chris said. He took one more look at her. "Are you ok?" He asked.
"I'm fine, I don't feel anything, I just need to calm down." She said breathing heavingly. "It was moving so damn fast..."
"What?" Elena asked.
"I just had to get away."
"Away from what?" Sam asked.
"Th-there was this thing, whatever it was-" She tried to explain.
"Em, Em, you can relax." Sam said. "Josh was messing with us, but we-"
"You're not listening to me!" Emily said. Elena put a hand on her shoulder.
"Em, can you tell us exactly what happened?" She asked. Emily slowly nodded.
"I am trying to tell you. We were climbing up the tower and it fell. The whole tower just fell! Right into the mines." She explained.
"Whoa whoa whoa, what mines?" Chris asked.
"There are these mine shafts all over, running under everything, when the tower fell we ended up down there." Emily replied.
"I don't understand, the tower fell?" Ashley asked.
"How did it fall?" Sam asked.
"Guys stop." Elena said. "Let her continue." They all turned to her again. She looked a little distressed right now.
"I-I was walking down there, in the mines, and it was dark and I found this pile and there was Beth's head!" She said. Elena clasped her hands at her mouth, trying to keep herself together in the shock.
"Wait, what?!" Chris exclaimed.
"Beth's head. I found it." She repeated.
"Oh my God!" Ashley said grabbing her head.
"What the fuck?" Chris mumbled.
"Are you serious?!" Sam asked her.
"YES, I'm serious!" Emily insisted. Elena felt more tears welling up her eyes. She felt herself step back into somebody but she wasn't paying attention. She was too in shock to care. Chris was the one she bumped into but he didn't resist her. He instead held onto her for her own good and for support.
"I think they fell down there." She continued.
"Jesus Christ." Chris mumbled.
"But the worst part is I don't think Hannah died, like from the fall, not right away."
"What? What do you mean?" Ashley asked.
"I don't know. I feel like she was down there, like, starving to death weeks... when were all up here looking for her. We had no idea!"
"Jesus, that's horrible." Chris mumbled again.
"Listen, in-in the tower there was a radio and I-I got through to someone but that was right when the tower collapsed." Emily said.
"You think someone will come?" Ashley asked. Before she could answer, Mike entered the room and sees Emily.
"Em! You made it!" He exclaimed.
"Oh God, Mike." She said.
"Yeah, yeah, barely." Chris commented.
"What about Matt?" Mike asked.
"We're trying to figure that out." Ashley said.
"And there was this 'monster' that was chasing her." Chris said.
"She's all messed up guys. Emily? Hey Em." Mike said trying to get her attention. Just then, a loud bang was heard at the back of the lodge.
"Whoa." Chris said.
"Who the fuck can that be?" Mike asked.
"Josh?" Ashley said.
"Jess?" Chris said.
"It's not Jess." Mike denied.
"Sorry man." Chris apologized.
"Then who is it?" Elena asked.
"I don't know." Mike said. "We should go check it out." Chris released Elena.
"I got your back." He said. Mike nodded at him and both made their way to the door. When they got there, they both motions for the gun.
"Uh, let me have the pistol. 'Cause you can take whoever it is through sheer good looks. And muscle and all that... just, I should have the pistol." Chris was more nervous than he should be.
"Well, when you put it that way. Alright, here." Mike handed Chris the pistol. "Don't shoot yourself in the foot." Chris scoffed.
"Funny. You should get your own show." He joked. Mike slowly starts to open the door, but then a stranger kicks it open, knocking him down.
"Ah shit! Chris, shoot him man!" Mike yelled.
"H-hey! Freeze!" Chris yelled. He tried to shoot the guy but he took the gun from his hands and threw it to the ground. He was about to grab it but the stranger just runs to him and holds his hand up to him.
"Ok. Everybody just calm down." He said. Mike and Chris backed away from him and walked to the girls. Chris instinctly put his arms in front of Elena and Ashley for caution.
"Now just move over there. Go on, move!" He told them. "Let me say what I came to say. I'm here to tell you what you're up against being back on this mountain. You should never have returned. I don't know why you did after what happened last year." He walked over and dropped his bag next to the fireplace.
"You mean with Hannah and Beth?" Ashley asked.
"Yeah." The stranger said. "How could you know without being involved-"
"Or responsible?" Sam said. Elena unknowingly grabbed Chris' hand. He looked down at it weirdly but he didn't make a fuss. He wanted to hear what this guy was talking about.
"You hold on to your horses. I don't take kindly to you kids coming up here to my mountain-" The stranger started.
"Your mountain? I'm sure the Washingtons would be very surprised to hear that." Mike said.
"Hehheh. Well, this mountain don't belong to me, it's true. But it don't belong to the Washingtons. This mountain belongs to the Wendigo." The stranger said.
"Who?" Elena asked.
"What's he talking about?" Sam mumbled.
"What the hell's a Wendigo?" Mike asked.
"Let's hear him out." Sam said.
"Not like we have a choice." Mike said.
"Now I'm only going to tell you this once. It doesn't matter to me if you believe it or not. I got reasons I want to... get it off my chest..." The stranger said.
"See? I told you! He's guilty as shit! Guilty of something!" Mike said.
"Shut up Mike!" Elena said. It was then Elena must've noticed she was holding Chris' hand because she let it go. Chris let out a small smile. That felt a little good to him while it lasted.
"There is a curse." The stranger started. "That dwells in these mountains. Should any man or woman resort to cannibalism in these woods the spirit of the Wendigo shall be unleashed."
"Oh crap." Mike mumbled.
"You're going to need to find somewhere safe." The stranger said.
"The basement might be ok." Sam said.
"Ok. Get down there, now. All of you and wait." He said.
"What? Why? For how long?" Sam asked.
"Until dawn." Emily said.
"Guys..." Mike said. He was looking down at the ground. "I ran off and left Josh when I heard screaming." Elena's eyes went wide.
"Oh no." She mumbled.
"Where did you leave him?" The stranger asked.
"In the shed." Mike replied.
"Your friend will already be dead." The stranger said.
"No... no he can't be. We were just with him!" Chris said.
"A lot can happen quickly on this mountain."
"No, I'm gonna go get him." Elena quickly looked at him.
"What? What the hell are you thinking?" She said.
"You can't go out there Chris!" Ashley exclaimed.
"I'm supposed to be his best friend and I let him down." He said.
"Chris, you didn't do anything wrong." Elena said. "It's not your fault."
"She's right. He's the one that let you down, Chris. He let us all down." Ashley said.
"I don't care. I'm going to get him." Chris insisted. Elena shook her head and held it.
"Nononono." She said very worryingly. Chris felt his heart twinge seeing her like this.
"Then I'll go with you." The stranger said.
"I don't need your help." Chris said.
"Going alone is suicide." The stranger said. Chris groaned silently but nodded his head.
"Fine." He said. The man turned to the others.
"The rest of you get down to the basement. Be safe. Don't go outside again until we're back." He said. He and Chris then walked over to the door. While the others went over to the basement, Ashley and Elena looked over to Chris and the stranger conversing.
"I can't leave him." Ashley said.
"I know. Me either." Elena said. Ashley looked over at Elena. She noticed the way she looked at Chris was... almost different than usual. She never noticed how she looked at him but she could see it clear as day right now. She let out a sharp breath, which made Elena look over at her.
"Are you ok?" She asked. Ashley couldn't think for a moment. She looked away after she finally gathered her thoughts.
"It's nothing." She said. She turned on her heals and walked away from Elena. Elena looked at her weirdly. What the hell just happened? She looked back to see Chris and the stranger ready to leave. She quickly walked over to Chris and grabbed his hand.
"Hey..." She said. Chris looked down at her. He saw there was fear in her eyes but a different kind. It wasn't for her, it was for him. He felt her gently squeeze his hand.
"Please come back saftly." She said. Chris stared at her eyes a little longer. Her blue eyes seemed to glow in the dimly lit room. Chris held her hand up to his mouth, placed a gentle kiss on it and squeezed it back.
"I will." He said. With that, Chris and the stranger left the lodge as Elena quickly closed the door behind them.
* * *
Chris' POV
While they walked to the shed, Chris kept thinking back at that moment. He wasn't sure what happened. He's never done anything close to a kiss, not even to Ashley. Even if it was only on her hand, he felt like it meant more. And her eyes... he's never noticed them before. Have they always been that blue and that pretty?
"She's quite a gal, isn't she?" The stranger said, breaking Chris' thoughts. It took him a second to process what he said.
"Yeah... I guess she is." He said. The stranger chuckled.
"Oh you teenagers. When y'all in love, none of you seem to even see it." He said.
"Love?" Chris said in surprise. "Who said I loved her?"
"Don't try to deny it, kid. I could see in your face. And I can also tell that was your first kiss." The stranger said. "Which I gotta admit, that was pretty sincere. Much better than the usual kiss. Good on you, kid." Chris had enough.
"So tell me. You're the expert on these 'things.' What's... uh... what's a guy gotta know?" He said, trying to change the subject. The stranger chuckled before he spoke.
"You just be careful. You follow my lead." He said.
"So... how many times to I have to shoot it with this shotgun before it's dead?"
"Well, you'd be shooting a long time."
"You mean this thing won't even kill it?"
"No, but it'll slow it down."
"Well, how do you kill it?"
"They don't like fire."
"I don't like fire..."
"They fear it, and it can kill them if you have to... see their skin is like... it's like tough armor unless you burn it off first." Chris made a face of disgust.
"That's gross." He said. "What are these things like? I mean, are they just crazy unpredictable or can you figure out what they're gonna do?"
"Well, they adhere to some patterns, like any animal... or human." The stranger replied.
"Wh-you mean, like how? Like they've got schedules?"
"Well, they only hunt at night."
"Oh. Why?"
"I didn't ask." Chris felt himself clutch at the shotgun he was holding a little tighter. He took in a deep breath.
"Any, uh, pro Wendigo tips? Like if I rub garlic all over me they won't be able to smell me or something?" Chris said.
"They'll still smell you." The stranger replied. Chris wasn't sure if he was joking along with him.
"Anything like that?" Chris asked more serious.
"They can't see you if you're standing still. It's like toads. Sight is based on changes of movement in their field of vision." The stranger replied.
"So if I don't move, I'm basically invisible."
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't recommend testing it out... unless you have no other choice."
"If these things... Wendigos... are or were human do they still have some aspect of humanity in them?"
"Well, they retain certain things."
"I mean, is it really right to kill them?Maybe they can be cured or-"
"They surrender human rights the moment they eat one another. There's no cure. There's no redemption."
"I- I mean if they're still human... I don't know if it's right to hurt them."
"When you're staring one in the face... it's them, or you. Feel free to take the high route, you won't be on it for long." They finally reached the shed but they found Josh's bonds were broken and he was gone.
"Oh no... Dammit! What happened? He's gone! We're too late!" Chris said.
"Shh! Quiet! We gotta go, right now." The stranger said.
"We gotta find Josh. He could still be out there!" Chris said.
"Ha! First, the Wendigo, he'll render you immobile. And then he strips the skin of your entire body, piece by piece. And then he keeps you alive and aware and feasts on your organs, one piece at a time." The stranger explained. It didn't take long for that to convince Chris.
"So, the lodge, then." He said.
"Let's go now. It might still be near!" The stranger said. They both leave the shed to go back but the stranger suddenly stops.
"Wait!" He said. Chris instantly froze. "Don't. Move." Chris heard some rustling that made him swallow and his heart pound faster.
"RUN! GO NOW! NOW!" The stranger yelled. A Wendigo suddenly jumps out at them.
"HOLY SHIT, WHAT THE FUCK?!" Chris yelled. The stranger shot his flamethrower, making the Wendigo back up a little.
"BACK! BACK!" He shouted.
"God damn-" Chris exclaimed.
"We're right out in the open. We gotta get out of here!" The stranger said. Before they could move, the Wendigo lunges at the stranger and sliced his neck, decapitating it from his body.
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!" Chris exclaimed. Chris wantes to scream but he realized the situation he was in. The Wendigo lunged right at him, buy Chris quickly shot him down. Remembering what the stranger said, he quickly started running back to the lodge. He was able to get through the first few times but he landed too hard on his foot when he jumped off a ledge. Gritting his teeth, he kept running, doing his best to ignore the pain. He had to shoot the Wendigo again before he reached the lodge door.
"Oh thank God!" He exhaled. He saw Elena running up to the door. "Please let me in, quick!" Elena quickly opened the door and let him in.
"Chris!" Elena exclaimed holding him up for support. "Oh my God, what happened?"
"We gotta go. That thing was like right behind me-" They both were startled when the Wendigo crashed into the door. Elena helped Chris walk as they made their way to the basement.
"Where's that guy? Where's Josh?" She asked. Chris didn't answer her, instead shaking his head and giving her a sad expression. Elena looked away from him as she had an idea of what he meant.
"I can't believe this shit." She said to herself.
looks like we got our first real Elena/Chris moment! and it seems like Ashley might not like this! (0_0) keep reading to find out what happens!
