Until Dawn: Affairs of the Heart
Chapter 9 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.
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Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.
Chapter 9
Mike approached the doors to the Sanatorium towards the end of the tunnel. He never imagined that he'd end up back here again. He reached the door and opened it.
"Oof. Okay, okay, okay, what's the-" he muttered, having forgotten how stiff it was.
Finally in, he closed and locked the door behind him. He didn't want the others to be put at risk. He began retracing his steps, past the area that was still scorched from the explosion, some debris still smouldered. He made his way up the large stairs and began retracing his steps back to the chapel. When he finally reached the chapel, he stopped and looked around in surprise. The place was in even worse shape than before.
"Ho-lee shit." he whispered.
He looked around, noticing something that troubled him right away.
"Huh? What happened to the wolves?"
They were gone, but he continued his search. Most gated doors and regular doors were locked. On the far wall was a hole that led outside to a makeshift graveyard. All of the graves bore the same date. Shaking his head at yet another part of the 1952 mystery, Mike continued his search of the chapel until he found a way to get behind one of the gated doors; from above.
Inside, he found that it was a cramped storeroom used by the stranger. On a nearby table were things that he knew would be useful. He had a flashlight, true, but he pocketed it. The torch he found would be more useful as both a light and a weapon against the Wendigos. He lit the torch and picked up a pack of shells for a shotgun. By pure coincidence, there was also a sawed-off shotgun on the bench, too.
"Now I just need a pitchfork and a mob." he joked to himself, but shrugged. "Good enough."
Gathering everything, he managed to exit the storeroom and made his way to the other locked door, near the hole in the wall. Reaching the door, he readied himself and shot the lock off before kicking the door open. He entered into the new corridor and heard a noise. He tensed, but then relaxed and smiled.
"Hey, big guy!" he said cheerfully as a familiar wolf stepped into view. It was the wolf he had met earlier and befriended.
"Happy to see me again, huh?" he said as the wolf approached him, non-aggressively. "Heyyy, I was hopin' I'd run into you again."
He gently scratched the wolf behind the ears. He grinned as he did so, relieved to have some company.
"Alright, good boy... Alright pal, you're comin' with me." he said, standing up. "Alright, here's the plan. I happened to see a map of this place, so we're not flying blind. There should be a way into the psychiatric wing that'll take us right outside the mine. Think we can handle that?"
The wolf looked up at him and let out a small contented noise.
"Couldn't have said it better myself. Atta boy."
So Mike found himself following the wolf as it actually began guiding him through the fenced outdoor path to another building of the Sanatorium, clearly signposted as the Psychiatric Ward and Restraining Area, the very place he was looking for. As they entered, however, a loud noise startled Mike. At the same time, Wolfie barked, sounding angry.
"Jesus Chri-" He composed himself quickly. "Okie dokie, boy. Calm down."
Wolfie just ran on ahead, getting past the door blocking their path, squeezing through a gap that Mike couldn't.
He sighed. "Wish I could move like you, Wolfie. I think I'm stuck on this side."
He tried a nearby lever, which partially opened the door. He was able to slide through, although he noticed that the door behind him was now closed. Continuing to make his way through the circular room, trying to find a way down to the center, he reached a staircase and made his way down.
Searching the area that he found himself in turned up only one thing of disturbing interest: a death certificate. Shaking his head, he left that office and continued to follow the path. This part of the Sanatorium at least did not look as bad as the other, but still in pretty bad shape.
"AH!" Mike cried when he rounded the corner. "Oh, son of a bitch."
Wolfie barked quietly, shuffling back as they both beheld the strung up, partially devoured carcass of Wolfie's fellow four-legged canine.
"Huh... Jesus Christ, what the fuck have I gotten myself into?" Mike muttered. "Fuck, man. This is truly disgusting."
Wolfie walked away, moving into the next area. Mike, however, noticed something to his left: an open cell door. He examined it, noting a few odd things.
"Huh... These doors were built like tanks. How crazy were these inmates?" he wondered aloud, before seeing the markings on the walls of that cell that looked disturbingly like claw marks.
"What went on here? This is nuts."
With a greatly uneasy feeling, Mike returned to following Wolfie as they made their way through the Sanatorium. Their long search through various corridors and rooms in varying stages of dilapidation turned up more clues, all of them disturbing.
The first discovery was an old film reel, which showed a miner transforming into a Wendigo. The transformation had been triggered deliberately, almost like an experiment, with the man restrained in the chair that Mike had seen in the morgue.
He also found a case study dossier, which detailed the discoveries in further detail. All of it made it clear that the miners that survived the collapse did so by eating those that did not and became Wendigos, subsequently breaking free and causing the mass destruction of the Sanatorium.
"Jesus hot sauce Christmas cake, this is fucking unbelievable." Mike muttered.
He continued to follow Wolfie's lead, stumbling across another clue. This one was a corpse with a suicide note. The final piece of the puzzle? The dead guy was the owner of the Sanatorium and the mine and it confirmed Mike's suspicions about what had happened. Not wanting to see anymore of this, Mike hurried and made his way into the next room, relieved to find himself on the ground floor, at the center of the structure at last.
Throughout his journey he had felt the ominous presence of being watched and now he heard a loud screech. He froze. It had to be a Wendigo.
Entering the wide room properly, Mike reacted as a can fell off a small container and shot it. He quickly loaded the shotgun again, shaking his head as it turned out to just be a rat. But then the Wendigo jumped down from the ceiling in front of him.
"Ha!" he cried, firing at it, striking it in the face. "How does that feel, you fuck?!"
He quickly ran onwards, following Wolfie, who led the way. The Wendigo recovered and began a close pursuit.
"Jesus, fuck, fuck!" Mike cried.
He reached a fork in the path and went left.
"Shit, shit, shit." he muttered as he closed the door behind him quickly.
"Okay... What the?" he gasped. His torch had died. "Oh fuck, fuck, fuck...FUCK!"
He quickly barricaded the door with a nearby cabinet and hurried onwards. His flight was interrupted, however, by another Wendigo attack, but this one he fended off with his machete, lodging it in the creature's face. He ran onwards, soon closing another door and stopping. He was able to catch his breath and nod to Wolfie.
Relieved that the wolf was still with him, he managed a small smile.
"Good dog..." he said reassuringly. "It's okay, it's fine."
Wolfie suddenly darted away, seeking cover. Taking his cue, Mike did the same, just as a Wendigo jumped down and landed on a nearby table. It appeared that they were in a kitchen of sorts. Remembering what he had heard, Mike stopped moving and did his utmost to stay still. The Wendigo looked around warily, clearly searching for him. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a bottle rolling right above him. He quickly caught it as it fell, thankfully not giving himself away. Taking a chance while it was distracted, Mike ran into the next room, Wolfie by his side.
"Dammit... Alright." he growled under his breath. "Come on, you son of a bitch. Where are you?"
He was actually getting lower now, going underground. He could hear Wendigo screeches all around and it was freaking him out.
He was in what was clearly an isolation ward, with several cells. As he neared one of the cells, a Wendigo attempted to grab him but missed. Crying out, Mike leapt back and shot the Wendigo right in the face. He took off running, Wolfie still by his side.
"When is this shit gonna stop?!" he asked the wolf. "Jesus Chr- It's like a fucking bad dream."
He ducked as another Wendigo lashed out from its cell to attack him.
"Whoa, fuck this!"
He continued to run, dodging another attack. He grit his teeth and slowed down. Keeping his gun at the ready, fully loading it, he looked around warily.
"One at a time, boys." he quipped, trying to cover his nervousness, his heart pounding. "There's enough of me for all of ya."
He fired at another Wendigo after dodging its attack and ran onwards, ducking under another arm and then shooting another, just as he realized that this one was chained up and couldn't reach him.
"Oh Jesus... Oh Jesus... Fuck... Fuck, fuck."
He hurried away, dodging another attack and then shooting another before rounding a corner. Ahead, he saw the end of the restraining area hallway and, looking over his shoulder, a free Wendigo in pursuit.
Panicking, he tried to open the door. It only partially opened and the Wendigo jumped across the walls towards him.
"Dammit, not good!"
He quickly shot at it and then tipped over a barrel next to him. Just then, two more Wendigos began to leap towards him. He quickly pushed the barrel and, when it was level with them, he fired, blowing up the barrel and incinerating the Wendigos, although it knocked Mike back and he grunted, muttering to himself as he recovered, running away as the Wendigo spirits appeared and flew away.
"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!"
He recovered and managed to get through the door, closing and locking it again. He stopped and caught his breath. He was back in the main Psychiatric Ward. His path wasn't through there, it seemed. Not with those monsters now on the loose. Luckily, he knew of an alternate way in. However, on the way, he found himself pursued by another Wendigo.
He ran ahead and, seeing the locked door ahead, blasted it, managing to break though before barricading it and hurrying onwards, jumping down a hole. Looking up, he stopped. Wolfie was standing there, looking down at him. He was beyond relieved to see that the wolf had survived.
"Hey, buddy. Come on down, it's alright." he said, but Wolfie didn't move, and he understood.
"Okie dokie, bud. Catch ya on the flipside, huh?"
Wolfie leapt over the hole and padded away. Hoping he'd be alright, Mike hurried upstairs to the exit of the Sanatorium, but the door wouldn't open and a tell-tale shriek told him that another Wendigo was behind him.
He spun around, cursing, and fired at a nearby barrel. The room exploded and Mike leapt from it, right outside. The Sanatorium was now on fire and more and more shrieking could be heard. Recovering, Mike ran for the mines, unaware that one Wendigo, still on fire, was clawing its way out of the rubble.
Desperately pursuing Mike, Sam led the way. What she had seen in the stranger's journal had her worried enough that she was willing to abandon the relative safety of the basement for this. Ashley and Leah both followed her, all of them carrying flashlights to ensure that none of them were caught out in the dark.
"Come on, guys! Hurry up!" she insisted. "We gotta find Mike, come on."
Ashley trailed behind the others, still locked in despair about Chris. Her actions were just automatic now, with no real thought behind them.
Meanwhile, they continued onwards until eventually, they reached a door at the end of the tunnel. It was the door to the Sanatorium, according to the map they had seen. Sam tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.
"Oh shit, Mike must have locked it behind him. CRAP!" She let out a frustrated groan. "There's gotta be another way in..."
They all looked around and that was when Ashley saw the manhole on the ground.
"Wait, what about this?" she asked, getting Sam's attention. "I mean, should, should we try it?"
Sam shrugged. "Well, it's not like we've got a whole lot of choices here."
Ashley conceded that point and, using a nearby pipe, was able to open the manhole cover and, together with Sam, was able to move it aside. Staring down the dank hole sent shivers down Ashley's spine.
"Okay, ugh... Okay, this is the last place I'd wanna be in right now." she muttered.
Sam just nodded. "So, who's going first?"
Ashley let out a short laugh and Leah smirked.
"After you."
Rolling her eyes, Sam began to slide her way into the hole and climb down the ladder.
"Not so bad." she commented. "You think this is the tunnel to the Sanatorium?"
"Of course it is." Ashley replied at once. "Where else would it go?"
Leah quickly followed Sam. Ashley paused, but then quickly gathered herself.
She then climbed down the ladder, heading into the caverns below. She looked around, using her flashlight to try and see. No other way to find the others except by going through the tunnels, it seemed.
She walked onwards, keeping her eyes and ears open. She couldn't deny that she was scared. Her heart was hammering again, but she kept going. After coming this far, she didn't want to let the others down by remaining in hiding like a coward.
"Help me!"
She jumped, upon hearing the voice.
"H-hello?" she called out, realizing that it was coming from a side passage. She'd have to climb through a gap and then jump down to reach the tunnel. "Who's there? Anybody?"
The voice screamed again and Ashley realized that it sounded familiar.
"Jessica? Is that you?"
The voice continued to scream and Ashley decided to investigate.
"This is fucking crazy. Jessica!"
She leapt down from the ledge and continued on the path, searching, calling out. She finally found the source of the noise. It sounded like Jess was screaming and banging on a trapdoor in the floor.
"Oh God..." Ashley muttered. "Oh no, no, no..."
She then lifted the trapdoor. Beneath it, apart from some more caves and a few pipes, there was nothing.
At least at first, before suddenly, to Ashley's horror, the very same beast that Leah had run away from in the mines leapt out. Ashley screamed, but before she could even try to move, it had grabbed her, one hand on top of her head, the other grasping her lower jaw. Its grip was like iron.
Her eyes went wide with horror as she saw, on the creature's right shoulder, a familiar black butterfly tattoo. In an instant, it all made sense to her.
'Hannah!'
But that would be the last thought to ever go through her mind. The creature twisted its hands and Ashley's scream was cut short. The next thing she knew, her head was on the ground, separate from her body.
The beast scooped up her head and dragged her decapitated corpse through the trapdoor, slamming it shut with an ominous boom.
Unaware of this, Sam and Leah soon reached what looked like an impassable cliff edge with a broken ladder visible near the top.
Sam sighed. "Wow, great."
"Oh shit. A dead end." Leah groaned.
Sam shook her head. "No, no, no, I think I can do it. It's like a rock wall. I'm gonna keep going."
"Are you serious?"
Sam had already begun to climb. "Ugh...get back to the lodge!"
Leah shook her head. "Uh...shouldn't we stick together? Sam!"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, but I have to get to Mike...with you or without you!" Sam called back.
Leah sighed, but knew that there was no way she could keep up with her injured leg. She had to trust that Sam would find Mike.
"Just make it back, okay?!" she called out.
With that, she turned and, with a heavy heart, began her journey back to the lodge.
Looking at the wall before her, Sam carefully chose her starting point and began to climb up the wall. She paused and then, preparing herself, she set her feet on some rocks and pushed upwards, leaping to a higher ledge. She grabbed the wooden board, but it broke. She gave a short cry, but quickly recovered and held on.
"Urgh, come on." she muttered.
She forced herself upwards again, bracing her feet and making another leap, grabbing a broken structure before making another to a higher ledge.
"Come on, come on." she muttered, encouraging herself. "You can do it."
She climbed up the rocks until she finally reached the top of the wall. She grinned as she pulled herself to her feet.
"Hah, I beat you." she said breathlessly. "I fuckin' beat you."
Composing herself, she began to look around, using the light from her head-torch to guide her, keeping her hands free. She soon reached a gap in the path and opted to take the stairs to the right. She had only just got off the stairs when suddenly, there was a loud rumbling and then a smashing noise.
"Ahh!" she cried out, then saw that the stairs she had just used were now destroyed. "Jesus!"
Shaking her head, she continued onwards, desperate to find Mike, already afraid it was too late.
She stopped, however, when she heard a loud, strange noise.
"What was that?" she mumbled warily.
Her search to the top of the stairs didn't glean anything but a strange symbol on the wall and a skull. Shaking her head, a little creeped out, she turned to follow a different route, along some raised walkways. Suddenly, the cavern started to shake and she had to grab the railing to steady herself.
"Oh fuck!" she cried out. "Fuck!"
Rocks fell, both behind and in front of her, forcing her to jump the gap before hurrying off the walkway.
'This is getting really fucked up. Not good, not good at all…' she noted with concern.
Just then, she heard that noise again and shook her head, grabbing a nearby pipe for protection. Reaching another ledge, she carefully dropped down. At that moment, the metal door opposite her burst open and Mike came charging in, trying to slam the door behind him.
"Goddammit!" he cried.
"Mike!"
"Stay back there!" he shouted, as a Wendigo suddenly leapt out onto him, pinning him down.
The Wendigo appeared to be burning and now looked set, despite being wreathed in fire, to make Mike it's next meal.
"Holy shit!" Sam yelled, before charging forwards. "Hey! FATTY, OVER HERE!"
The creature shrieked and lifted its head towards her for a brief second. Sam could have sworn it actually looked offended by her words. She struck it with the pipe, then again for good measure. The flames faded and it finally went still. But that wasn't the end, for at that moment, a strange form burst out and flew away.
Mike quickly recovered, closing the door panting. Sam gasped for breath, too. Unfortunately, her pipe was now damaged and could no longer be used.
"Whoa...you alright?" Mike gasped.
Fighting for air, Sam laughed shortly. "Uh, define 'alright'."
Mike nodded understandingly. "Alive, for a start?"
"Yeah, yeah..." Sam replied. "Alive's good."
Mike shook his head. "The hell are you doing here, anyway?"
Sam bit her lip sheepishly, considering the encounter. "I was gonna warn you about the Wendigos."
"I think I got it." Mike replied with a short laugh.
Sam agreed and Mike continued. "Let's go. Let's find a way down to where this fucker lives."
Sam and Mike both left the area, deciding to search for Josh together.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.