Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.
Okay, bit of a brief rundown: I have a somewhat vague outline of what the next few chapters are going to be about so the jump to the main game should be after several more chapters, although this could change depending on how long they get. Thanks for being so patient!
Alright, here's chapter 10!
A long overdue sigh escaped from Beth as she flipped the journal shut. She didn't think that Jack's information about Wendigos and the mountain would've taken long to read, but she found herself having to mull over a few details several times and even had to call out to Jack a few times to explain a certain point in more detail. A couple of times the only response she got were the cries of the Wendigos. From there, she decided to shut up and wait until he was done with whatever he was doing. She blew a few stray strands of hair out of her face as she leaned back in the chair so that it was balancing on two legs.
Beth had spent a good thirty minutes reading through the notebook and she didn't expect the Wendigos' history to have so much depth. She had read something about these mysterious rituals that could keep the monsters at bay but didn't go into much detail about how they worked. She made a mental note to ask Jack about it when she got the chance. There was something about Wendigos being able to mimic other people but the concept of it disturbed Beth to a point where she couldn't even continue and frantically flipped to the next page.
Once Jack had returned from checking if everything was in order, he readily cleared up Beth's queries and misconceptions. He explained it as if he was reading off of a script but then again, Beth thought, that was how most of his explanations came off as.
With nightfall a mere few hours away, Jack had to cut the history lesson short and the two of them readied themselves to enter the mines once more.
"I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to this.", Beth groaned as they descended into the mines via another entrance located on the map.
"Well, this sort of thing does take a while. Doesn't exactly happen overnight.", Jack replied.
"Eh, fair point."
Jack pulled out his detailed map once again and examined it closely for a few moments before gesturing for Beth to follow him. Based on what she saw on the map a while ago, he was most likely taking her to an area where they would either proceed to a higher or lower level of the mines. They ventured down a rocky hill before dropping down a small ledge.
"Just through here.", Jack said after a while, indicating that they were almost there.
After a few more minutes of walking and Jack explaining more about the history of the mines and Wendigos, the man stopped in front of a rusty elevator shaft. Jack pointed up to the higher level. "That will lead to a path that can lead you straight back to the Sanitarium." He stepped towards the contraption. "The lower level is a bit of a smaller area compared to the rest of mines but can also lead back out to the mountains."
"Okay.", Beth breathed out. "Let's get going then."
She stepped forwards to stand on the elevator before Jack held up a hand to stop her. "No. First, I'm gonna head down and then you follow me."
Beth's eyes widened. "You're just gonna leave me here!?"
Jack rolled his eyes. "The elevator even struggles to work with the weight of one person. I dread to see what happens when two try to stand on it at once."
"Have you ever thought of maintenance?" The Question could've been sarcastic, but Beth was genuinely asking.
The older man sighed. "At some point, yeah."
He stepped onto the elevator shaft and made to pull the lever. "Wait!", Beth exclaimed.
Jack was taken back by her sudden outburst. "What is it?"
Beth fidgeted for a moment. "Well, since we're technically gonna be separated for a minute… and since Wendigos can mimic other people…" She paused for a moment, as if expecting Jack to catch onto what she was suggesting. "We should have, I don't know, maybe a secret code so that if we're separated and we hear the word, we'll know if it's actually us."
Jack gaped. He didn't know what to say in response to the teen. Out loud, the idea sounded insane, but the use of a code could probably help them in the long run since there were now two people hunting Wendigos on the mountain.
He paused for a moment longer. "You're being serious, aren't you?"
Beth rocked back on her heels. "You know I'm right.", she replied in a singsong voice.
At that, Jack grumbled. "Fine. What did you have in mind?", he said, deciding to humour her.
"Snowball." Beth officially agreed with herself: she was terrible at coming up with both wolf names and code words.
Refusing to dignify that with a response, Jack pulled the lever and the elevator creaked several times before a whirring sound was heard and the older man disappeared from Beth's line of sight as descended further into the mines. The elevator creaked and clanked several times down but Jack reassured Beth that he was okay.
Once he had reached the bottom, Jack had called out to Beth that he was sending the elevator up for her so that she could come down next, his gravely voice echoing off the decaying walls.
Beth responded with a harsh whisper. "Say the word."
She could hear Jack let out an exasperated sigh. Was she still going at it? "You can't be serious."
The teen lifted her gun. "If you don't say it, I'm gonna have to assume that you're a Wendigo.", she responded half-jokily, but was a little on edge on the off chance that it might be a possibility at some point.
Jack sighed again. "Fine. Snowball."
"See. Not that hard to say."
Jack didn't respond and instead pulled the lever again and the elevator ascended back up to Beth's level. After a moment of hesitation, Beth stepped out onto the platform and went to meet Jack at the bottom. An almost guttural groan came from the lift and Beth flinched slightly, scrunching her eyes shut, as if expecting it to crash down at any moment. However, such a moment never came and, after a few more moments of it stopping on the way down, she was finally able to step off the death trap.
"Its official. That thing needs maintenance."
Jack ignored her little quip. "Let's just keep moving. Won't be long until nightfall." He resumed his walking with Beth at his heels before rolling his eyes in contemplation and looked at the teen from over his shoulder. "That was actually a pretty good idea… with the whole "code word" thing. Didn't even consider it."
Beth gave an exaggerated gasp. "You're giving me compliments?" Jack rolled his eyes again but Beth could see a faint smirk as he turned back around.
She gained her pace to catch up with him. "We should probably have a new one every night. Just in case a Wendigo hears us."
"Don't think I'll get used to that."
Beth laughed to herself before responding. "Doesn't exactly happen overnight."
Once the duo had descended further into the mines, Jack had taken out the map to point out the routes that led to other areas of the mines, including one that would lead straight back to the mountains and the lodge. They had covered quite a bit of ground that day and Jack was able to fill her in on the numerous numbers of possible paths the Wendigos could take. As they were walking, he continued to give her some helpful pointers.
"If a Wendigo does see you, standing still may not the sensible solution in some cases."
"So what would I have to do?", Beth replied, trying to retain all of this information.
"Create a good distance from yourself and the Wendigo and get out of its sight. If you do, you'll have a better chance of hiding and an even better chance of the Wendigo leaving you alone." When Beth didn't give a response as she was taking it all in, Jack added, "It all depends on the situation."
Another short pause before Beth answered. "So I just have to think on my feet every single time?"
"Bingo.", he answered. "That's another thing when it comes to hunting a Wendigo; they may stick to some patterns, like the one we're going down now, but you have to be prepared to come across one at any time."
Beth looked down at Jack's map, taking in the route they were currently going down. "So if the Wendigos usually go down this path-", she pointed to one route on the map and then pointed to a couple others in that area, "-then they could surprise us and go down these ones."
"Exactly.", Jack responded. "You're catching one pretty well."
"Well, it's not that hard to get."
Jack's face hardened into seriousness. "You say that, but when you have to catch another Wendigo-", he gestured to her bandaged arm, "-you wouldn't want a repeat of last time."
Beth looked down at her injury and grimaced. It was true. She was careless the first time; she had let her guard down easily and was so close to the Wendigo as well. Internally, she argued that the adrenaline was catching up with her and she wasn't thinking clearly, but she knew fully well that that was no excuse and she couldn't afford to be so absentminded. But given that a lot was changing in her life within just a matter of hours (turning into days), it was somewhat understandable.
You can't help your sister if you're dead.
"Y-you're right.", she said. "I'll be careful next time."
Jack shook his head and took a step towards her. "Just 'careful' won't cut it. You've gotta stay sharp and alert at all times, 'cause next time, the Wendigo might get something a little more serious than your arm."
Beth swallowed thickly and didn't respond, because she knew that Jack wasn't just implying a serious injury. She looked down at her feet and instinctively curled her fingers tightly around the shotgun. "Right."
Jack nodded and gestured for Beth to following back down the path and to the lift as if was only a matter of time before nightfall came and they needed a moment of clarity to plan what they would do that night, especially with the possibility of police officers crawling around the mountain.
Just as Beth was about to follow Jack back to the elevator, a shrill shriek caused her whip around to find the source of the noise. All coherent thoughts were thrown out of the window when she heard the scream. A scream she wished she'd never have to hear.
"Hannah?!"
Best place to put a cliffhanger, am I right?
Thanks for reading! See you all next time!