Until Dawn: Affairs of the Heart
Chapter 10 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.
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Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.
Chapter 10
Josh struggled desperately, trying to rise from the ground. His mind kept tormenting him. He was all alone and deeply afraid. He could hear the skittering and strange screeching that echoed nearby, then he heard something else, also echoing.
It was Hannah's voice, singing, "Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques. Dormez vous?"
He whimpered. His sister was haunting him again. "No, no, no, no..."
Then Beth's voice joined Hannah's, starting the song as Hannah continued. "Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques. Dormez vous?"
"Dormez vous? Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines! Ding dang dong."
"No, no, no... Not again!" he moaned.
"Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines! Ding dang dong." Beth's singing continued as Hannah finished. "Ding dang dong."
Josh was on his feet by now, gripping his skull, which felt like it was about to burst. He staggered back and forth, pleading.
"Not again! Get away, get away!" he cried in desperation and terror. "Get away from me!"
Finally, Beth finished. "Ding dang dong."
His sisters' voices then dissolved into laughter as he covered his ears, tears streaming down his face.
Trying hard to compose himself, he cried out desperately, "No, you're dead!"
He soon became overwhelmed, hearing more voices.
"Sorry." Dr. Hill's tone was almost disparaging.
"You're dead!" Josh screamed in fear at his sisters, still haunting him.
Dr. Hill's voice continued. "You can't change what happened last year."
"Josh." Hannah called out.
"Shut up!"
"We miss you, Josh." Hannah's voice continued, undeterred.
Josh shook his head vehemently. "No! You're dead!"
Hannah's voice suddenly became menacing. "Come with us."
Josh shuddered and tried to get a sense of his surroundings, in order to find a way out of this nightmare.
Suddenly, Mike's voice echoed in his head too, followed by his own and then Chris's.
"A goddamn murderer is what you are!"
"...It's not ready..."
"You manipulated us!"
He shook his head in denial. "No, they're gonna love it..."
"You're a coward!" Chris's voice snapped. "Are you insane?!"
He heard his own voice again. "I just want us to have a good time. They're gonna love it when it's ready."
But it hadn't turned out that way. They'd overreacted and now he was stuck in this living nightmare.
He heard Ashley's voice screaming in his head, her cry of terror. Then suddenly, his own voice, distorted as the Psycho.
"Hello there!"
Josh shuddered and hissed, "I don't take orders from you... You can't tell me what to do..."
He heard Ashley again, from the time that they did the seance. "Josh! I don't know what's going on!"
Josh grit his teeth, hearing the Psycho again. "How does it make you feel?"
"You can't tell me what to do anymore..."
The Psycho just laughed. "Time has run out for Josh."
But soon, the voices began to fade and he felt something else. This new feeling, whatever it was, felt as if it was guiding him.
Hannah's voice echoed again. "Come with us."
"I trust you." he said at last.
Composing himself, he soon found himself standing, ready to try and find his way out of this nightmare. He stumbled along a nearby path, towards the edge of the cavern, seeking a way out.
Suddenly, however, Beth appeared, blocking the path. Her skin was heavily decayed, as expected of a corpse.
"Josh!"
He stumbled back, panicking again. "No! No, no, no, you're not real!"
Beth spoke again, her voice hoarse. "We were all alone down there..."
"No, no... No, no, not again."
He stumbled away, attempting to head the other way.
Unfortunately, this time, when Beth appeared, an equally decayed Hannah appeared alongside her.
"All alone." Hannah exclaimed. "But you're with us now."
"No!" he cried out. "Get away!"
"Family."
He tried to run away, down another path. "Get away from me! Get away!"
"Why didn't you save us, Josh?" Beth demanded in an accusatory tone. "Why did you want us to die?"
Josh shook his head desperately. "I didn't, I didn't want you to die, I swear!"
He stumbled away, trying to drown out the sounds of his sisters' voices. But when he stopped and opened his eyes again, he saw that the wall in front of him had taken on the appearance of pig skin and a knife cut through it, the head of a squealing pig emerging. Josh screamed and cried out before lashing out, punching the thing in the face.
As it hit the ground, he let out a sound of disgust, before panicking again as it began to writhe and turn into a gigantic pile of pig entrails, which suddenly morphed into Hannah and Beth again, now blood-stained and towering over him.
"Josh!"
"No, no, n-n-n-no... I don't... I don't take orders from you! No..." he pleaded.
Hannah suddenly reached up and ripped the skin off her face, revealing a skull. "Is this what you want?"
"NO, NO!" he screamed. "Why are you doing this?! Leave me alone! Why are you doing this?!"
Hannah suddenly began accusing him again. "Why didn't you save us, Josh? Why did you want us to die?"
"You're dead!" he screamed. "You're dead!"
Suddenly, he heard an unearthly screech and from within the walls, another face appeared, gaunt and stark white. Sightless eyes glared at him as its razor sharp teeth parted. Josh started at it in utter panic and disbelief.
Sam shook her head as she walked alongside Mike, searching for Josh. She did her best to ignore the sticky feeling against her shins, how her yoga pants now stuck to her shins. She had reopened or gained fresh wounds to her legs, as well as scratches on her right collarbone and up her neck a little. She also felt the two large scrapes on her right cheek and above her left eyebrow.
Mike now sported a black eye, several scratches and scrapes, and was covered in grime. Neither of them said much at first, both still reeling from their close encounter with the Wendigo.
"I was not prepared for how ugly that thing would be up close." she said at last.
"Yeah." Mike replied, hesitating briefly before continuing, "So, I noticed something kind of weird about it..."
Sam turned her head towards him, biting her lip, worried. "Uh...what?"
"The Wendigo, it had a scar."
"So?" she queried.
Mike sighed. "I've seen it before."
Sam stopped. "What are you talking about?"
"I saw these old pictures of some guy with that same scar and he was transforming into a Wendigo." Mike explained.
Sam gasped. "You're kidding."
Mike nodded. "It was one of those miners who'd been trapped, back in the fifties, in the cave-in. Which means that thing is eighty years old, at least."
Sam shook her head and resumed walking. "Spunky for an old timer."
She just prayed that they'd find Josh soon. This was starting to fray even her nerves. This was all crazy, it had been the scariest and most nerve-jarring night of her life. The things she'd seen, the things she'd felt and endured, and the feelings of violation that she had felt were still lingering. She was certain that the others felt the same.
'Urgh, after all of this, if I get outta here alive, I just wanna crawl into a bed and not move for a week.' she thought.
She was drained, physically and mentally. But until she was able to help the others and get everybody out, she couldn't afford to rest. She relied on her adrenaline to keep her going, at least for now.
"They cleaned the place out..." Mike said at last, continuing their earlier conversation. "Killed a lot of people."
"They?" she asked, suddenly realizing just what he'd said. "You mean there are more of them?"
"Oh, yeah."
"How many?" she asked worriedly.
Mike's answer didn't help, either. "Too many."
Suppressing a shudder, Sam thought for a moment. "I think we're close to the lair."
"How can you tell?" he asked, incredulous.
"I don't know, I just..." she replied hesitantly. "Feel really terrible all of a sudden."
Mike sighed and replied honestly, "Ditto."
She shuddered and tried to focus on moving forwards.
Their path continued onwards until they found themselves at the edge of an underground lake, certainly going to be frigid cold.
"I really don't want to go in there." Sam muttered.
Mike shrugged. "There's no other way through."
But Sam wasn't convinced. She decided to see if the path to the right could get them around. As they walked, however, her hopes soon died. But then she saw something else.
"Mike, is that what I think it is?" she asked warily.
"Shit..." he muttered. "Looks like a grave."
Getting closer, they saw that it was indeed a grave. A grave that had been dug up. Something glinted in the center of it. Sam carefully stepped in and picked it up. Stepping back out of the grave, she and Mike examined the object. It was a wristwatch. Engraved on the back it were the initials B.W.
Sam gasped, recognizing it. "Oh God... Mike, this is Beth's! This is her watch!"
"What? Let me see..." he replied, shocked.
Sam then noticed and pointed out, "Look, there was a cross here."
"So this is where she was buried."
Sam looked at the desecrated grave. "But...who dug her up?"
Mike shuddered, disturbed. "Let's keep moving."
Sam quietly agreed and they returned to the ledge that they had approached earlier, by the waterside.
Sam cringed as she looked over the murky water before sitting down, Mike sitting next to her.
"Fine...I'm going in." she said at last.
But she hesitated. Mike just shook his head and slid into the water. He waded forwards a few steps.
"Come on, it's okay." he told her as reassuringly as he could.
Sam shook her head. "You sure?"
"I'm not dead yet."
"Famous last words." she replied casually. Still, she slid into the water and gasped audibly.
"It's freezing! I can't feel my fingers." she exclaimed.
Mike just nodded and they continued to wade through the water. Suddenly, Sam felt herself panic as the floor sloped down sharply, causing the water to get higher. Sam was soon in the water nearly up to her neck.
"Holy shit." Mike muttered. He wasn't quite as submerged.
Looking around worriedly, Sam grimaced. "Wait a minute, I thought you'd reached the deepest part."
Mike shook his head, turning his head towards her. "I didn't say that. I said it was okay, meaning, like, there weren't any sharks or anything in here."
"Sharks?" Sam groaned. "Great, thank you!"
Rolling her eyes, she was relieved to find that the path to the ledge was sloping upwards.
Reaching the ledge, she pulled herself out. Mike followed her and they looked around. Sadly, there was no way to go forwards from there. Sam shuddered and groaned, then spotted something on the ground. It was a journal. She picked it up and began to read through it.
'This is Hannah's handwriting. Huh, what's this…?' she thought to herself, before reading the entry aloud. "I'm sorry, Beth... I have no choice. It's the only way I can survive anymore. If someone finds this, I'm sorry. I had to... I had no choice."
"What does it mean" Mike whispered.
Flipping through the journal, she reached the last page, which was a mess of scrawls and suddenly, a disturbing thought reached Sam.
"Oh God... It makes sense..." She turned to Mike. "I think...Hannah dug up Beth. It was Hannah!"
Mike froze, catching the double meaning of her words. "No, that's...that's ridiculous."
He was thinking about what had been revealed by Leah, how she'd found Beth's head, but nothing else.
"Michael... Michael, it has to be. It's the only thing that makes sense. Beth died in the fall."
"So what? What does that mean?" he demanded.
"So Hannah must have buried her." Sam replied. "Hannah was down here for..."
"I don't believe any of this!"
Sam shook her head. "She would have been starving! She would have been desperate. We need to find Josh. Right now."
Mike sighed, but nodded, both of them now thoroughly freaked by their shared realization. They now knew just what had happened to Hannah on that fateful night a year ago.
They hurried back and slid back into the water, making their way across to the other side. Mike noticed something, however, which worried him.
"It's getting deeper."
Sam cringed. "Yeah, um..."
She was now up to her chin, but pushed on. A little further ahead, Mike spoke again, his words a relief to her in the frigid water.
"Okay, okay... Hey, it's sloping up again. We're gonna make it."
Relief flooded her, but she replied in desperation, "Oh my God, don't jinx it!"
Finally, they made it to the other side and climbed out, much to their relief. Quickly gathering themselves, they approached the metal door at the other end of the ledge. They attempted to open the door when it suddenly burst open. They reacted in surprise as water gushed from the door. Amongst the water, however, shocking them both and making Sam scream, was Jess's head.
"Jesus, she... Jee..." Mike stammered.
They slid through the door, suddenly dreading what they were going to find. Inside, in varying states of decay, hanging from the ceiling on meat hooks, were bodies. One of them they recognized right away as the stranger, even without his head. Worse, Jess's body was there too, as was Chris's and Ashley's. What neither of them saw was that in the water, watching them intently, was a Wendigo.
Still reeling from their discovery of the bodies, Mike suddenly heard something. He looked through a gap in the boards.
"Wait, hold on. I think I saw something."
Sam joined him and they looked carefully. At the other end, jabbering to himself, was Josh. Sam cried out his name as they found a door in the wooden wall and hurried through towards him.
"I don't take orders from you. You can't tell me what to do..." Josh was mumbling.
"Hey! Hey, Josh!" Mike called out.
They both shared a worried glance as Josh continued jabbering. They watched as Josh seemed to not even see them.
"What's the matter with him, Mike?" Sam asked, concerned.
Mike shook his head, recalling the incident in the shed. "He's tripping or something. Josh!"
As he shouted, he smacked Josh in the face. Josh staggered and blinked.
"M...Mike?"
"Josh... Hey, man." Mike replied, a little relived that he seemed himself again.
Josh shook his head, nearly whimpering. "Don't h-hit me, p-please-"
Mike shook his head. "You were deep in it, man. Full mental jacket."
"We didn't think we'd get you back..." Sam said softly. "Josh, do you have the key to the cable car?"
He quickly nodded. Josh handed over the key for the cable car to Sam and then she saw something. Light was coming from above, from a cliff wall.
"See that over there?" she said quickly. "That means there's a direct way out. C'mon."
Mike shook his head. "There's no way that Josh is gonna make it up there."
Josh just nodded, still looking a little out of it.
Sam thought for a moment. "Okay, if you can help me up, I can go back to tell the others we're okay. You bring Josh back the way we came and we'll all meet at the lodge.
"Yeah, yeah, good." Mike replied with a smile. "Be careful."
Sam nodded. "You, too."
With that, he gave Sam a boost and she began climbing the wall.
After watching Sam climb up the cliff wall until she was too far away, Mike turned to Josh.
"Alright, let's go, you fucked-up son of a bitch." Mike said as good-naturedly as he could.
Josh shuddered, but nodded, following Mike. He had almost lost hope, but now, here he was with one of his friends again. Or at least, he hoped he could still be considered a friend. At the very least, he was glad that they were guiding him out of this trap.
Rubbing his jaw Josh spoke up, his voice slightly hoarse. "You didn't...you didn't have to hit me so much, man."
Mike grimaced. "Ah, yeah. I'm sorry about before, man. I thought you killed Jess."
There was an uneasy silence before Mike sighed. "I was wrong."
Mike took a moment to compose himself, getting ready to enter the room full of bodies again. He glanced back at Josh, worried, before entering. As they entered, Josh's eyes went wide.
"No...No!" he cried out in horror.
Mike urged him to keep moving and they did. As they walked, however, Josh started muttering.
"I know, I know, I know, I know... Okay..." He seemed to be talking to himself again.
Mike, however, was able, at last, to guide him out of the room and they reached the water's edge.
Josh looked over at Mike, worried. Mike just nodded and hopped down into the water. Josh hesitantly followed and they began wading through the water, heading for the other side. Josh finally felt himself calming down as they progressed, slowly but surely. Things seemed to be getting better.
"Oh fu-!" Mike cried suddenly, before he was pulled under the water.
Josh froze, his heart hammering in his chest, mind racing. Then suddenly, a beastly creature leapt from the depths. It towered over him, sinewy and completely white eyes, apparently blind, teeth and razor sharp claws. It was the monster he'd seen in his nightmare.
"NO!" he screamed, trying back away. "You're not real! No, you're not..."
He was cut off when the monster grabbed him. Then he saw its right shoulder and saw something impossible. For there, on the monster's shoulder, was a black butterfly tattoo, a very familiar black butterfly tattoo.
Josh was crushed as he realized, at last, who this monster was. "Hannah!"
The monster paused, staring at him for a moment, then suddenly picked him up and began to drag him away.
"Noooo, noooo!" he screamed, terrified.
But it was no use. The Wendigo, now revealed to be Hannah, was just too strong. Helpless and unable to save his friend, Mike remained covered behind the rock, seething at his own helplessness.
Matt grunted as he climbed over the metal fence, which had been partially blocking his path.
'Fuck, how long have I been down here?' he wondered to himself. 'Shit, everything's messed up. I can't find my way. Leah...'
He prayed for some miracle, for Leah to be alive, that the fall hadn't killed her.
Looking around, he found himself near a table, upon which was a lantern and a lighter. He smiled at the chance to finally have some light and quickly picked up the lighter, opened the lantern, and lit it. Satisfied, he put the lighter down, picked up the lantern, and turned. He looked around, worried, as he once again heard the strange shriek again.
He grimaced and forced himself onwards, worried. He walked in silence, except for the strange noises that seemed to echo all around him. He turned and made his way down another tunnel, this one mostly bare rock, until he reached some wooden walls. Suddenly, he heard the screech again, this time louder. It was closer.
"Huh?" Matt gasped.
Matt began to move quickly. "Fuck!"
He looked over his shoulder. Nothing was there, but he was sure that it was just a matter of time. He stopped and looked around. He could keep running or he could take cover behind a gap in the wooden wall.
"Which way?" he muttered.
The shriek getting closer made up his mind for him. He quickly moved into the gap behind the wall and pressed himself up against it. He could hear the skittering and screeching behind him and the ragged breathing of the creature, then it began to fade as it moved away.
"Alright, alright..." he said gently, praying that the creature couldn't hear him.
He gently moved out and began to move down the tunnel, a lot more wary now. Matt quickened his pace slightly, but not to a run.
As he turned another corner, he heard the screeching again.
"Shit!" he cried out in a panic. "Come on."
Looking back, he could see the creature leaping around the corner behind him. He then stopped, since the path split. He could go left and continue, or he could try and break through the wooden boards to his right, where he could see light filtering in. That was a deciding factor for him right away. So he barged through the boards, breaking them.
"Whoa!" he cried, as he nearly overbalanced, almost falling off the cliff.
He was outside now, the snow falling down. Seeing a ledge to his right, he moved carefully over to it. Once there, he stopped, staying as still as he dared. The creature leapt out and looked around, growling. But it didn't seem to see him and it finally turned and leapt back into the depths of the mines.
Matt let out a breath of relief. He then looked up in relief at the rising sun and heard the blessed sound of approaching helicopters.
Gritting her teeth, Sam clambered up until she reached a ledge large enough to stand on. She bent over, hands on her knees, as she gasped for breath. Recovering, she stood and looked upwards, biting her lip.
'Nearly there... Just this...last wall, then I'm up.' she told herself, as she examined the final portion of wall that she had yet to climb.
She knew that she couldn't delay any further. She had to get a move on. So, taking a risk, she jumped to grab one of the higher rocks. She caught it, was able to catch her foot in a niche, and then was able to grab another rock higher up and pulled herself upwards.
Looking around, she spotted an overhanging rock above her head. Tensing her muscles, she launched herself up again. Grabbing onto it, she hauled herself upwards until she had a good grip on the surface of the wall, her feet now also secure, with one on top of the overhang.
"Ugh..." she grunted with the effort. "Come on."
She looked up. She was very nearly at the top. Just a little further and she would be at the surface. She climbed around, grabbing a nearby branch, set her foot properly, and then grabbed the ledge above. She hauled herself up and then, panting, breathless, she stood, up at the surface, in the forest again, the snow falling around her. Shivering, she blew on her hands, trying to warm them up.
She shook her head. 'Pity that these clothes weren't suitable for this kind of weather. Still, just have to bear it. I'm nearly there.'
She knew the way back now, since she could see the lodge in the distance and, closer by, the shed. She immediately began walking. Standing still wouldn't help her here, she'd just freeze.
'Although, if a Wendigo comes along, it'll be my best defense... Freezing to death.' she thought, with a touch of dark humor. 'I don't think they'd like a Sam popsicle.'
She reached a brief divergence in the path, but both seemed to lead the same way, so she choose the right path and followed it. When they finally met, she stopped.
"Oh man..." she groaned.
She was at a lake, so she'd have to wade across. Just when she thought that she was done with that, just when she had finally dried off. Shaking her head, she dropped down into the lake and shrieked from the cold that instantly bit into her skin, soaking her clothes. She cringed and forced herself onwards, wading through the water towards the other end, when suddenly, she heard a loud noise. She paused and looked around, but nothing happened.
'Oh please don't say I'm getting paranoid now.' she thought worriedly.
Composing herself, she continued until she reached the other end and climbed out. Shivering uncontrollably, she moved onwards, wrapping her arms around herself.
She didn't dare stop until she reached a high ledge. She saw only one way down. Taking a deep breath, she began to slide down, but lost control.
"Whoa..." she cried out. "Oh shit!"
She grunted in pain as she reached the bottom, only to fall hard on the ground, on her stomach.
Groaning, she pushed herself upwards. She had to keep moving. Her walk was interrupted by the loud screech of a Wendigo, as if it was nearby. Instantly, panic seized her. She was so close to safety, she was at the shed.
She quickly made up her mind. 'Crap, gotta take the risk.'
She immediately took off running, going straight for the lodge. She looked over her shoulder desperately, fearful of pursuit. Looking forwards again, she barely had any time to react before ducking under the tree log.
"Shit!" she cried at her close call.
She quickly stopped, scoping out the area. She couldn't hear any more signs of pursuit, but she still had to get to the lodge quickly.
She continued to run, jumping down the next ledge and over a broken jar in the path. The lodge was within sight now. She ran up the stairs, onto the porch, and went straight for the door. But it was locked and she couldn't open it.
"HEY! HEY! COME ON, OPEN UP!" she cried out in a panic. "GUYS, COME ON! ARE YOU IN THERE?! LET ME IN!"
"Sam?"
She screamed and spun around.
"Shit, Mike!" she cried in relief before really looking at him. "Oh gosh, you look terrible."
Mike shook his head. "Gonna look worse if we stay out here. Come on!"
Sam looked around. There was no other way around it. She quickly picked up a rock from the ground and used it to smash one of the glass panes in the door. Through it, she was able to reach in and unlock the door. She and Mike quickly entered the lodge, stopping to catch their breath.
It was then that Sam realized that Mike was alone.
"Okay... Mike, w-what happened to Josh?" she asked fearfully.
Mike shook his head sadly. "It got him."
Sam grimaced. "Oh God, what an awful way to go..."
She shook her head and, acting automatically, flipped the lights on. But Mike quickly turned them back off, shaking his head. Sam quietly agreed and, after a brief discussion, they began making their way down to the basement, checking for the others.
"How do you rate our chances of survival?" Sam asked nervously.
Mike sighed. "I'm trying not to think about it."
It was then that they heard the screams. The door to the basement was open and they could see Leah running towards them. She made it out of the doorway just as the two Wendigos appeared and began approaching the door.
"Sam..." Mike called, warning. "Run...RUN!"
He turned and ran. Sam, however, quickly darted forwards and pulled the door shut, locking it. She heard the thumping as the Wendigos began striking at it. She just prayed that it would buy them some time as she ran after the others.
As she reached the top of the stairs, she stopped dead. The others were already standing, rigid and terrified.
"Don't...move..." Mike whispered to her. "Don't fucking move a muscle."
Sam had no intentions of moving. For there, hanging from the large chandelier decoration in the middle of the great room, was a Wendigo, one that looked just like the one Leah described chased her in the mines.
Sam did her best not to move. No easy task, after her trip through the icy lake. The Wendigo snarled and partially turned. It was then that Sam's sharp eyes caught it. She heard Mike gasp and knew that he had seen it, too. She had been right all along. For there, on the Wendigo's right shoulder, was a black butterfly tattoo.
'Hannah...'
Just then, they heard the skittering and went tense all over again. The other two Wendigos were now there. Wendigo Hannah saw their movements and growled. As one of the Wendigos leapt somewhere out of sight, the other approached the middle of the room, just as Hannah leapt down and immediately tackled it. Soon, the two were struggling for dominance and Sam quickly glanced around. Mike was a few feet to her right, the others were further away, near the door, but spaced out. There was no way that they could all make it out together. Not like this.
Suddenly, the Wendigo screeched as Hannah threw it into the stairs, breaking them, and then against the fireplace. The Wendigo recovered and climbed the wall. Hannah quickly followed, both of them screeching and snapping at each other.
Mike's eyes were fixed on the broken gas pipe, however, leaking gas into the room. He remembered the information about the Wendigos' fatal weakness being fire. Right now, killing them was the only option left. It wouldn't be easy, they'd need someone to ignite the gas and whoever did it would more than likely be incinerated, too. Looking around, he spotted a bare light bulb. If he could just break it, they'd have the means to make a spark. The light switch was right by the door.
'It's crazy, but...but it's doable...' he told himself.
Glancing at Sam, he saw that she had been following the same line of thought. She nodded in agreement. They had a plan, now they just needed to put it into action.
The Wendigos resumed their fight until Hannah threw away the Wendigo that she had been attacking. The Wendigo that had disappeared from sight returned, leaping at her as she responded in kind. Both of them collided in mid-air, fell to the ground, and Hannah quickly recovered. Seizing the other Wendigo by the head, she smashed him repeatedly into the ground before simply pulling his head off.
Throughout this, Mike had been slowly edging his way towards the light bulb. Meanwhile, Sam stepped back, shocked and awed by the raw display of power, and terrified by it. She knew that if Hannah or any of the other Wendigos got a hold of her or any of the others, it was over for them. There would be no wriggling free, no last minute reprieve, just a quick, messy, and extremely painful death.
*CREAK*
Sam froze as she stepped on the floorboard. 'Crap.'
She immediately went still as Hannah turned to her and screeched. Sam remained as still as possible, no easy task due to her recent cold swim. Her muscles were aching to shiver, but she couldn't afford to. She resisted and resisted while Hannah stalked towards her, snarling.
Mike took advantage of this moment to reach the light bulb and, grunting with effort, squeezed it until it broke. The sound made Hannah screech again and spin around. Sam looked over desperately to where Leah was. She was close to the door, but she couldn't escape yet. Mike cringed as he looked back from where he had broken the light bulb, thus readying it. Hannah was approaching him.
Sam thought frantically. She had to act before it was too late. With the light bulb broken, they only needed to flick the switch and the building would explode. But she couldn't do that yet, not with her friends still inside. They'd be incinerated in the blast. She wasn't even sure that she had a chance to survive it, much less anyone else.
She saw Hannah closing in on Mike. 'Got to do something, now. Distract her, or anything.'
She knew it was risky. It would allow more gas to fill the room, the explosion would be larger possibly, but that was a risk that she had to take. She could only see one option. She had to get the Wendigo's attention back on herself and away from Mike.
"HEY!" she cried out as loud as she could.
With another screech, Hannah turned and stalked towards Sam. She did her utmost to stay still, despite the chill that seeped through her skin. She also prayed that the gas interfered with the Wendigo's sense of smell. It would be a bonus if it did. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Leah making her escape. Now she just had to get Mike to safety. Acting purely on instinct, Sam reacted, running to a nearby pillar and pressing herself against it, making as much noise as possible.
'C'mon, c'mon, leave Mike and look for me.' she found herself desperately thinking.
The things that she did for her friends truly surprised her from time to time. She heard the footsteps and felt the Wendigo's breath as it drew up alongside her. As it turned away, Sam glanced out from behind the pillar and saw Mike right by the door. She nodded to him and he slowly exited. Now it was her turn.
Taking a deep breath, she did the only thing that she could: she ran straight for the light switch. She heard the screeching and knew that other Wendigo was chasing her. Desperation pumped massive amounts of adrenaline through her veins. She ran faster, everything pounding through her body. The beast behind her screeched louder. She didn't dare look, but she caught a flicker of movement out the corner of her eye, where Hannah had been, and then heard the fighting. Hannah had attacked the other Wendigo.
'Now or never!'
With a yell, she leapt forwards, hitting the light switch and propelling herself out the door. The explosion was deafening and made her grunt as the force of it hit her, causing her to be thrown back.
Inside, the Wendigos were incinerated. Outside, Sam groaned and slowly picked herself up from where she had landed in the snow. Mike slowly stood too, Leah standing just behind them. They stood, watching the lodge burn in silence as the sun rose, bringing daylight at last, and with it, the sound of helicopters approaching.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.