Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness

Chapter 8 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.


Chapter 8

GRANT POV

I cursed silently under my breath as I trudged over the snow, nearly stumbling for the third time. I was following the tracks, the only sign of anyone coming this way.

'There's nobody else here but us, at least. I'm sure...' I thought to myself. 'It's gotta be Jess. Please, let it be her.'

I couldn't deny that I was worried about her. With the way she just took off, and in that state. I couldn't let her run off alone like that. I remembered last year all too vividly, and the last thing I wanted was another friend to disappear.

I growled as I stopped to take a closer look at the footprints. 'All this because Mike had to be so fucking stupid and selfish. Was Jess just not enough for him or something?'

His actions, and Emily's, had certainly caused all this, but this wasn't the time for thinking about them, I had to find Jess before something terrible happened to her. I shook my head and tried to push the rogue strands of my blue hair out of my eyes. I pulled my beanie back on to try and keep it out of the way.

'Okay, great, this is where it would be really handy to be able to read tracks and such.' I thought sardonically. 'Well, Jess is the only one to come this way, unless...'

I couldn't deny that I had an unusual feeling since getting here that I was being watched. Not just me, but all of the group, probably. Sam had also mentioned that she felt like someone was following her around.

I pushed the thoughts out of my head, trying to focus on the task at hand. If my fears were true, it just made finding Jess all the more pertinent. I grunted as I stumbled again, forcing myself back up. It was almost as if the snow was getting worse.

Such a thing wouldn't be unexpected, not on a mountain like this in the middle of February. Still, it wasn't beneficial for my search. I stopped briefly, blowing my hands to warm them up. It was then that I noticed something. To my right was a snow bank that looked as if it had collapsed recently.

I approached cautiously, worried as I clambered up what remained of the hill. Looking over the other side, I froze.

"Jess!"

I had found her, and not in the best of circumstances. She was lying face down in the snow, the damaged snow bank now made sense; Jess must have fallen. I quickly scrambled down until I was next to her, kneeling down.

"Jess! Hey, Jess!" I cried.

No response. That wasn't good. I quickly checked her and gasped.

"Fuck!"

She was freezing. I had no idea how long she'd been there, but this wasn't good. I looked around, we were in practically the middle of nowhere.

I shook my head. 'Can't leave her like this, I need to...I need to hurry. Shit, Jess, don't worry, I'm getting you out of here.'

Ignoring the chill, I immediately lifted her up and began to carry her carefully.

Biting my lip, I continued to try and find my way back, which was no easy task and I cursed the one thing I forgot, not that it would have helped, now that I was carrying Jess.

'Should have brought a flashlight...ugh, forget it.' I thought angrily. 'We're not getting back to the lodge in this state, we need to find some shelter.'

Wasting no time, I began searching, and to my relief, I found a small cave.

This would do, but I'd need to get moving quickly to make sure that it could keep us safe and warm, especially Jess. Once Jess was resting against the cave wall, I removed both of our jackets and covered her with them, hopefully that would provide enough heat for her until I could get what I needed.

I hated leaving her, but right now, I had no choice. So I quickly got to work.


It was with some relief, roughly half an hour later, that I had gathered enough wood for a fire. The only problem now was trying to light it.

"C'mon, C'mon, light..." I muttered, frustrated as I tried to ignite it with my lighter. "For fuck sake..."

I let out a short laugh when finally, it worked, and the fire crackled to life. Relieved, I leaned back as the warmth began to fill the cave.

"Grant…?"

I turned, relieved to see that Jess was now awake. She looked startled and confused. I smiled lightly and stepped over to her.

"Hey, welcome back, Sleeping Beauty." I quipped softly. "You alright now?"

Jess shifted slightly, still rather surprised. "I...what are you doing here, what's going on?"

I sighed and wondered how to explain it. "Well, after you left, I...I came after you, trying to find you."

"Why?"

"I was worried when you left the way you did..." I replied, before shrugging. "Look, I just didn't want you to get hurt and, well, you're lucky that I did come after you."

Jess shivered. "Yeah, I...I remember falling, and then nothing...It was so cold and I, I..."

I smiled gently and sat down next to her. I then explained how I found her, carried her there, and my efforts to keep her warm; the fire, the jackets.

"Y-Your jacket, too..." she gasped. "Grant, you should...Aren't you…?"

"I'll be fine, just, worry about yourself." I told her. "Listen, I get that you're upset, but once we can...once it's safe, will you come back to the lodge?"

She sighed and bowed her head, saying nothing for a moment. I used that time to keep an eye on the fire.

Finally, she spoke. "I suppose, but won't that make things...awkward?"

"Trust me, the only people it's gonna be awkward for is Emily and Mike...maybe Matt." I replied. "Listen, I've got your back, and I doubt anyone else is impressed by what the two of them did to you and Matt."

Jess finally smiled. "I suppose."

Smiling myself, I began to think how best to get back. It wouldn't be easy, we might even have to find somewhere else to stop and rest beforehand. Jess then broke the silence.

"Grant, are you alright?"

"Huh?" was my eloquent reply.

She sighed before explaining. "You've been rather subdued. From the moment I first saw you on this whole trip, you've not been...quite your usual self."

"I am usually wilder, yeah." I replied as casually as I could. "I...just some...family troubles."

Jess bit her lip at that. "I...I see. Anything you can…?"

"I don't really feel like it."

She bowed her head at that. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry. I...I just...Listen, I can't thank you enough for saving me and if you ever want to talk...I'll listen."

I relaxed at that, actually grateful. "Thanks, Jess."

We lapsed into silence after that, only breaking it some time later, perhaps half an hour to three-quarters of an hour later, when things finally cleared up enough for us to leave the cave. We got ready, pulling our jackets on and prepared to leave the cave.


End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please