It was amazing how the fear of being torn apart by a wendigo could make the fear of a rickety bridge vanish. Mike watched as Sam was the first one who attempted to cross the bridge. She may have said she wasn't crazy enough to do it but she volunteered when given the alternative. Mike knew that as long as Sam took it slow and she carefully placed her feet on the planks, she would be fine. Unfortunately that was not the method she was using. Instead she was alternating between running, jumping and, at one point, looked like she was pretending to play hopscotch. Each step she made caused the others to nervously gasp. Finally Mike couldn't take it anymore.

"SAM!" he scolded. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE THE BRIDGE GIVE WAY?!"

"Sure," Sam chuckled, "do you know a better way to test the bridge's durability? If I make it across after doing all this, you'll know it's safe for everyone else."

The rest of the group looked at Mike with an expression that asked if Sam was serious. Mike just let out a frustrated sigh and turned around to keep a lookout for Hannah. After a few more tense moments caused by Sam jumping on the bridge, she made it safely across. While Mike didn't appreciate Sam's carelessness, he had to admit that it gave him a bit more confidence that the rest of the group would be able to cross as well. The question now was who would be the next to try.

"SCREEEEEECH!"

Hannah's screeching helped answer that question as Norton charged across the bridge. His crossing method may not have been as dangerous as Sam's but everyone in the group held their breath in fear until he made it safely to the other side. Mike was now starting to feel like he was going to have a heart attack if people kept crossing the bridge recklessly. Fortunately he felt like that wasn't going to happen anymore. The remaining members of the group were either too afraid to cross or seemed like they could keep their cool and cross carefully.

Alice was the next one who attempted to cross with the key word being "attempted". She barely took a step onto the first plank before being scared off by the creaking noise it made. It was apparent to Mike that Alice was not going to be crossing the bridge willingly on her own. The bridge had survived two people crossing it less than carefully already so maybe it could handle two people crossing at the same time. Normally Mike would have volunteered to help Alice cross but he wanted to be the last to cross so that he could use his shotgun to keep Hannah back if she arrived before everyone else made it to the other side. Fortunately Richter had the same idea and agreed to escort Alice across. Having Richter by her side helped ease Alice's fears and the two began their trek across. Not waiting for Alice and Richter to reach the other side before proceeding, Powell and Blake went next. Mike, Tyler and Rebecca were now the only ones left to cross. Another screech was heard while they were deciding who was going to go next. The screeches were getting louder as Hannah continued to get closer. Hannah's pending arrival was making Mike and Rebecca anxious but it was causing Tyler's thirst for vengeance to reemerge. He pulled out his spray can and lighter and moved towards the voice before Mike grabbed him.

"Don't even think about Tyler," he said.

"Don't try to stop me Michael," Tyler replied, "you and Rebecca get across. I'll hold it off. Maybe I'll even kill it with this mini-flamethrower."

"I told you guys that those are only for repelling the wendigo. You'll be dead before that thing can do enough damage to kill it. You go with Rebecca and I'll keep it back with my shotgun."

"But…"

"Tyler please," Rebecca pleaded, "I don't want to cross alone. Do what he says."

Rebecca then held out her hand for Tyler to take. Tyler looked at her hand for a second before letting out a frustrated sigh and taking it. The duo then started making their way across.

"SCREEEEEECH!"

Hannah sounded like she would be appearing any minute. Now that the last of the survivors were crossing the bridge, Mike took his first step forward. The creaking noise the plank made when he stepped onto it made him flinch. He would have remained frozen if it wasn't for yet another screech Hannah made. Deciding he'd rather take his chances with the bridge instead of Hannah, Mike started moving faster. The further he got from his starting point, the more nervous he was getting. His shotgun was only really effective at close range. If Hannah appeared now, he would be too far away to do enough damage to stun her. He was starting to feel better when he realized he was now halfway across the bridge.

"SCREEEEEECH!"

It wasn't the fact that Hannah screeched again that surprised Mike, it was where it was coming from. Up until that point, it sounded like Hannah was right behind the group. The last screech sounded like it came from above Mike. He looked up and realized why. Hannah was crawling on the ceiling as she approached the bridge. Instinctively Mike aimed his shotgun and fired. This time Hannah wasn't stunned by the shot. Mike's fear that he was too far away to do damage with his shotgun was proven true. Still Mike fired one more shot that ended up being less successful then the first. The shots had caught the attention of Tyler and Rebecca who stopped and turned around to see what was going on. At that point, Hannah had dropped down from the ceiling and was now standing just short of the bridge's first plank. Mike started reloading his shotgun expecting Hannah to continue onto the bridge. However that was not what Hannah did. Instead, she screeched again as she raised her arms and extended her claw like fingers. Mike's eyes widened when he figured out what Hannah was doing.

"RUN!" he shouted as he turned around. "GET OFF THE BRIDGE NOW!"

Tyler ran first with Rebecca right behind him while Hannah was now bringing her arms down in a swift motion to cut the ropes holding the bridge up. Mike ran while also wrapping the shotgun strap onto his shoulder. This freed up his hands and secured the shotgun onto his back. He couldn't afford to lose the shotgun in whatever chaos was about to ensue. Looking ahead, the other side of the bridge seemed so near and yet so far away.

(SNAP)

Everything seemed to move in slow motion when Mike heard the unmistakable sound of ropes being cut. Beneath his feet, the planks he was standing on began to drop. He saw everyone on the other side gasp in shock. Mike quickly realized there was no way he was going to make it to the other side before he started falling as well. With no other option, he dropped down with the bridge and grabbed onto one of the planks like it was a rung on a ladder. He then braced himself as best as he could for the impact of the bridge swinging into the opposite cliff wall. The pain Mike felt from the impact was almost bad enough that he nearly let go of the plank. Fortunately he managed to hang on and had now put his feet through a gap between two other planks. He waited until the bridge had stopped swinging completely before opening his eyes. All the while he was repeating to himself "don't look down."

"AAAAHHHHHH!"

A scream from above caused Mike to look up. Screaming and hanging on for dear life above him was Rebecca. Mike carefully moved to the side so that he could look past Rebecca. There was no sign of Tyler and Mike didn't recall feeling Tyler fall past him. He hoped that meant that Tyler had managed to reach the other side safely. In any case, he now needed to focus on finding a way to get him and Rebecca to the top of the cliff.

"SAM!" he called.

Silence.

"SAM!…TYLER!…DETECTIVE BLAKE!….ANYONE!"

The lack of response from any of the group members who made it to the other side before the bridge collapsed both confused and terrified Mike. Where did they go? More importantly why would they go anywhere and leave him and Rebecca literally hanging? Without any help from them, it severely reduced the options Mike had for getting out of his current predicament. Still there had to be a way. Before Mike could think of one though, he needed to get Rebecca calm.

"Rebecca," he said, "it's going to be okay."

The only reply Mike got from Rebecca was another loud scream followed by crying.

"Rebecca listen to me. I know you're scared but I need you to calm down."

"Calm down?!" Rebecca screamed, "we're hanging on the side of a cliff and you expect me to be calm?!"

"Listen to me, I'm going to figure something out but I need you to try and calm yourself so I can think."

The obvious solution Mike could think of was simply treating the bridge like a ladder and climbing up that way. He tried moving up one plank but hesitated when the plank his foot stepped onto started creaking. Even though Mike had seen the bridge stand up to the abuse Sam had put on it, he knew there was still a chance it wouldn't continue to hold if he tried climbing up. Still it wasn't like he and Rebecca had a lot of other options.

"Okay Rebecca," he said, "all we have to do is climb up the bridge like a ladder. Just take it slow and easy and we'll reach the top in no time."

Rebecca shook her head, "I can't!"

"You have to. It's the only way."

Realizing Mike was right, Rebecca slowly began climbing. Mike followed close behind her. It was a slow process as each step caused a plank to creak. Fortunately the planks didn't break and they were almost at the top of the cliff. Rebecca was about to reach up to grab the last plank when she froze. Mike was about to ask why she stopped when he heard something. It was footsteps. Someone…or something was above them and approaching the cliff's edge. He carefully turned to face the opposite side of the canyon to see if Hannah was still there. Sure enough Hannah was still right where Mike had seen her before she cut the ropes so it couldn't have been her making the footsteps. So who or what was above them?

"Are you guys alright?"

Mike and Rebecca nearly lost their grip on the bridge when a new voice from above startled them. They looked up to see that the source of the voice was Norton who had suddenly appeared. Mike quickly regained his composure while Rebecca looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

"Dammit Jerry," she said while breathing heavily, "are you trying to make us fall?"

"S…Sorry," Norton replied with a slight stutter, "I w…was just checking t…to see if you guys were o…okay."

"Hey Norton," Mike said, "where's everybody else?

"Oh…th…they went to look for a rope o…or anything that could help you g…guys climb up but it l…looks like you're doing fine on y…your own."

Mike wasn't having any trouble understanding what Norton said but the fact that Norton was stuttering at all was troubling him. There was something strange about it. It didn't seem like Norton was stuttering because he was struggling to come up with words to say or because he had just been startled himself. It was almost like he was struggling to speak because he was in some sort of pain. Mike was about to ask Norton if he was okay but Rebecca spoke first.

"Whatever," Rebecca said as she held out her hand, "could you just help me up please?"

Norton nodded and began reaching out to take Rebecca's hand when he suddenly stopped short.

"Come on Jerry, what are you waiting for?"

Rebecca may have been getting frustrated with Norton but Mike was getting nervous. Something wasn't right. Why was Norton taking so long to help Rebecca up? Upon closer inspection, Mike noticed that Norton seemed unable to decide if he was going to take Rebecca's hand. He also noticed that Norton was sweating profusely. It was freezing cold inside the mine so there was no reason for Norton to be warm enough to sweat. Finally there was the fact that Norton looked like he was still in some kind of pain. Slowly Mike continued climbing to try and get a better look.

"Norton?" he said as he climbed. "Are you feeling alright, man?"

"Jerry!" Rebecca shouted. "Help me up!"

Norton winced when Rebecca shouted. When he opened his eyes again, it was then Mike saw that there were no color in his eyes except pure white. Mike's own eyes widened when he saw them. When he was pinned down by Hannah after he first met the group, he had seen that same exact color in her eyes. The question he and Sam been asking since finding the group had been answered. It was Norton who ate Maureen's arm. He was the one turning into a wendigo.

"REBECCA GET AWAY FROM….!"

"AAAHHHHHHH!"

Before Mike could finish his warning, Norton had suddenly taken Rebecca's arm and bit into it. This caused Rebecca to emit a piercing scream that nearly made Mike cover his ears. After recovering from the shock of the scream, Mike watched in horror as Norton continued taking bites out of Rebecca's arm while Rebecca was struggling to get free and shouting at Norton asking him what he was doing. While he didn't know what he could do, Mike knew he had to do something to help. Thankfully the bridge was wide enough that he could easily climb around Rebecca and pass her. Throwing caution to the wind, Mike climbed up the bridge faster and moving slightly to the left with each step. He was just starting to get past Rebecca when she started falling. As she fell, Mike could see that Norton had managed to bite Rebecca's arm right down to the bone. Using the one good hand she still had, Rebecca barely grabbed one of the bridge's lowest planks. With her other arm too badly damaged however, all she could do was dangle with no way to pull herself up. Mike didn't know if Rebecca was screaming because of the situation she was now in or because of the pain the wound on her arm was causing.

"Hang on Rebecca!" he said. "I'm coming down to get you."

As Mike climbed down, he couldn't help but wonder if he was going crazy. He had just struggled to climb up the fragile bridge ladder and now he was risking a trip down to help Rebecca. Still what else could he do? He couldn't just leave her and there was still no sign of the rest of the group. It was up to him to try and help.

"HELP ME!" Rebecca screamed. "I CAN'T HOLD ON!"

"I'm coming! Just hang on"

"HELP ME MICHAEL!"

The second time Rebecca called for help, Mike could have sworn she sounded like Jessica. For a moment, he flashed back to when Jessica was being dragged by Hannah to the mine. He remembered chasing after her and hearing her cry out to him for help. He took several quick but dangerous paths in an attempt to catch up to her. It paid off in the sense that he managed to reach Jessica before Hannah could hurt her but then Jessica fell down the elevator shaft. Until he saw her at the police station, Mike thought she had died in the fall and he mentally beat himself up for not getting to her in time. Now Mike was in an eerily similar situation with Rebecca.

"No don't think like that Mike," he said to himself to get out of his current thought, "Jessica is fine. Just focus on saving Rebecca."

Unlike when he tried to save Jessica, Mike couldn't rush his effort to save Rebecca. It was killing him inside that he couldn't but a hasty descent could result in a plank snapping. If one did, then both and he and Rebecca would fall. He continued telling Rebecca that he was coming in an attempt to calm her down even though he knew it was an all but pointless task given the situation Rebecca was in. Further complicating the situation was the fact he was having to look down to talk to Rebecca. As a result he was now fully aware of how deep the canyon was. Normally Mike wasn't afraid of heights but that was because he was never in a situation where the height was an immediate danger.

"HURRY MICHAEL!" Rebecca cried, "I'M SLIPPING!"

Sure enough Mike could see that Rebecca's fingers were slowly losing their grip on the plank. If he was going to make a move to help her, it needed to be soon. At that point he was standing on the plank just above the one Rebecca was hanging from. Right away Mike knew it wasn't going to be easy pulling her up. Ideally he would use both hands but he needed to keep one on the plank to keep himself from falling. Likewise Rebecca had to hang on with her one hand but that was because it would hurt to try and hang on with her injured arm. There was only one thing for Mike to try and it was going to be slightly disgusting for him and painful for Rebecca.

"Give me your other arm Rebecca," he said as he held out one hand.

"I CAN'T!"

"You have to try Rebecca! Give me your arm and I'll pull you up."

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

"You're not going to die Rebecca. Just trust me."

It was hard to say if Rebecca had decided to trust Mike or if she realized she didn't have another option. Either way, she slowly began reaching for Mike's hand with her other arm. It was painful for her to move it but she was actually getting her arm within Mike's reach. Keeping a firm grip on his plank, Mike lowered himself down further in an attempt to close the final distance between his arm and Rebecca's.

(SNAP)

Suddenly the plank Mike was hanging on gave way. With only nanoseconds to react before he fell, Mike's survival instinct kicked in and he reached to grab the next plank up. He held his breath and hoped that it wouldn't break too. It didn't. That would have made him feel relieved if it wasn't for what happened next.

Mike's struggle to hang on had caused the bridge to swing back and forth for a few seconds. The additional movement proved too much for Rebecca as she lost her grip on the bridge. Like a falling scene in a movie, everything seemed to move in slow motion as Rebecca plummeted to the bottom of the canyon. All the while screaming Mike's name like she thought he could still somehow save her.

"NOOOOOOO!" Mike screamed as it was the only thing he could do.

Mike continued to watch Rebecca until he turned away to avoid watching her hit the bottom of the canyon. He somberly bowed his head and closed his eyes when he heard the impact. Then he heard another sound that forced him to open his eyes and look down where Rebecca hit the ground. It sounded like…coughing. Though it was hard to believe, Rebecca had survived the fall.

"Rebecca?!" Mike called. "Can you hear me?!"

The only response Rebecca could give was another cough. Sadly that wasn't a surprise. Nobody could survive a fall like that without sustaining multiple injuries. With the injuries she likely had, she wouldn't be able to walk or talk. Mike felt that even if Richter was somehow able to get to Rebecca, he wouldn't be able to do anything for her. As much as he hated to think it, he felt Rebecca would have been better off if she had died on impact.

"SCREEEEEECH!"

With everything that had happened with the bridge and Norton, Mike had forgotten that Hannah was still at the opposite side of the canyon. He looked to where he last saw her but she wasn't there. A quick glance around revealed that Hannah was scaling down the canyon wall. When she reached the bottom, she slowly moved in Rebecca's direction. Mike wanted to warn Rebecca not to move but he knew that if he did, it would just make Hannah come after him. He then thought that maybe he wouldn't need to warn her. Rebecca's injuries would keep her immobile on their own. As long as she didn't make a sound, Hannah would never find her. Mike watched as Hannah continued scanning for Rebecca but was unable to find her. Then Rebecca became aware that Hannah was near her and, without thinking, softly screamed.

"SCREEEEEECH!"

That was all Hannah needed to locate her target. With her target acquired, Hannah pounced onto Rebecca. From his vantage point, Mike couldn't see Rebecca anymore but boy could he still hear her. He may have heard Rebecca scream several times in the last few minutes but the one he was hearing her make at that moment was the worst one yet. Add the fact that he could hear what sounded like Hannah biting and chewing and he had an all too clear picture of what was happening below him. It may not have been the first time Mike witnessed a wendigo killing someone but it was the first time he was seeing one actually eat a person alive. Hearing Rebecca scream in terrible pain, Mike wished there was something he could do to at least end her suffering. Sadly there was nothing he could do except look away as a tear began to fall from his eye.

"I'm so sorry Rebecca," he said to himself.

After silently apologizing, Mike resumed climbing the bridge. He played it safe climbing up as he didn't have the pressure to climb fast anymore. Upon reaching the top, Mike rolled onto his back and laid down while panting and crying. What should have been a simple bridge crossing had turned into something terrible but at last it was over. Still that didn't bring any kind of relief to Mike. Mixed in with the sadness he was feeling about Rebecca's death, Mike was also experiencing a sense of doubt. He made himself return to the mountain to save the trapped rescue workers. Since arriving at the mountain however, he found six of them already dead, two died when he first found the group and now Rebecca was being eaten by Hannah and he couldn't do anything to help her. Mike couldn't help but wonder if maybe the group would have been better off if he hadn't come to help. After all, he couldn't save his friends three weeks ago. Why did he think he could save these people now?

"Wow," said a voice, "the great Michael Munroe once again managed to survive the impossible. Guess we didn't need to find a rope after all."

Mike opened his eyes to see Sam standing over him with the creepy smile he was getting used to seeing. At that moment he wanted to smack it right off Sam's face. He normally wouldn't hit a girl but Sam's persistent joking at the worst possible moments was making his patience reach its breaking point. Sam seemed to sense that was what Mike was thinking and stepped back with her hands up in surrender.

"I know Mike," she said, "I said I wouldn't make anymore jokes. I really am glad that you're alright. You have to admit though, what you just survived was pretty impressive."

"No I don't Sam," Mike scolded, "I don't have to admit anything because I don't care that I survived hanging on the side of a cliff. In case you haven't noticed, Rebecca's dead."

"You don't say. Well I guess you can't win them all."

Sam's last comment caused Mike to jump up on his feet, "SAM! I swear one more insensitive crack out of you and I'll…."

Before Mike could finish his threat, his attention was grabbed by some blood spatters along the edge of the cliff. He figured it was Rebecca's blood from when Norton bit her arm. Norton! Mike glanced around and realized that neither Norton nor the others were with Sam.

"Sam where is everybody else?" he asked anxiously.

"I don't know," Sam replied, "we split up to look for something to help you and Rebecca climb up the cliff. I didn't find anything so I came back to check on you."

"We have to find them fast," Mike said as he pulled out his shotgun.

"Why?"

"It's Norton, he's the one who ate Maureen's arm. He's beginning to turn into a wendigo. We have to find him before he kills the others."

Not waiting for Sam to process what he said, Mike headed off to search for the others. Whatever doubts he had about himself were gone. Regardless of whether he felt the group was better without him, they were in danger and he couldn't just sit around and do nothing. He had made promises to himself, Jessica and Alice that he was going save as many people as he could and bring them home and he was going to do everything he could to keep them.