CHAPTER ELEVEN

"This way! This way! Hurry!"

The Wendigo snapped its head towards the left and screeched loudly. Its attention was quickly captured by the possibility of new, exciting prey.

Clara and Josh held their breaths as a quick brush of air hit their faces before it quickly leapt from tree to tree, over to the direction of the frantic voice.

They stared at each other with wide eyes. Even though the Wendigo was already out of their sights, they remained motionless until they were sure that it was gone. Had that really happened? Did they escape death, once again? Just a second longer and either or both of them would've been dead.

Clara was the first to pull away. Her face was flushed from the cold, but it was the lingering feeling of his lips upon hers that made it burn bright red.

Josh got off her before helping the redhead to her feet. He couldn't believe that that had just happened. Not only were they not dead, he had kissed her! It wasn't like the one in the cave. No, this one had been desperate. He was sure she could tell what his feelings were for her and he was nervous.

"Clara, I – "

"Josh, I think that was Matt." Her eyes were trained on where the Wendigo disappeared to. "Emily said he might've died, but he's alive. Do you think maybe Jess is too?" It wasn't as if she was particularly concerned about either of them, but Josh's friends were hypercritical because they were gone. Perhaps they'd actually be a little more tolerable once those two returned.

"I – I don't know." Josh could only focus on the warmth of her hands, still entwined in his. He felt better knowing that she was physically there and that she wasn't going to spontaneously disappear into thin air.

She sighed. "We should… We should…" What would Dr. Hill think is right? What would he say to her during situations like these?

"We should go." Josh wasn't about to run back into danger for the people who had left him to die in the shed and again in the mines. Fuck, no. "We should get off these mountains!"

He patted around his pockets. Where did those keys go?

"What are you looking for?" Clara turned to him.

He felt a rush of panic as he remembered what he had done with those keys. How could he have just foolishly handed them over to Sam? "Fuck!" She ran off with them and now, it was impossible to leave without first going back there.

"What's wrong?" Clara didn't like the look on his face. He looked angry and worried.

"Tell her how you messed up, again, Josh." Josh's eyes look at Beth who was standing behind Clara.

"Tell her," Hannah repeated from beside her sister.

"Tell her."

Clara noted how his eyes were fixated on a point behind her and turned her head. There was no one there. She knew that look. It was something she was familiar with. She had seem those imaginary demons frequently during the early years with Dr. Hill and they would still visit her every once in a while, but most of the time, she could discern the difference between what was reality and what wasn't. "They're not real, Josh. It's all in your head."

His eyes remained glazed. He wasn't listening.

She touched his cheeks with her hands. "Josh, they're not real. I am. Just listen to me, okay?"

He nodded at her without turning his head, his eyes look dazed.

"Josh!" she scolded her. "There's only you and I here. We need to go back. I know how much you don't like them, I don't either, but there is safety in numbers and if you're looking for those keys, I know you gave them to Sam. Let's not worry about that and just go back. We can all leave after, alright?" As much as she wanted to be as confident as she sounded, she wasn't. She was scared and confused. It was so hard being the rock for someone when she was on the verge of losing it herself. "Come on!"

He nodded again, this time with more conviction.

She squeezed his hand and the two began to cautiously make their way through the woods. Each step could alert the Wendigo to their presence. They could only hope that there were no more of those things lurking about.

Eventually, they could see the lodge atop the hill they were on. Despite knowing that the creature may have headed there, it never looked as inviting as now. The grand interior was warm and stocked with food. They were cold, tired, and hungry.

Clara could feel her adrenaline rapidly simmering down. Her limbs felt like lead. They needed to get there quickly.

Suddenly, something moving caught her eye. "Is that Mike?"

They weren't that far from him. The man who had abandoned them was hurriedly making his way to the lodge.

With feet racing beneath them, they headed straight towards him. Josh was going so quickly that Clara actually had difficulty catching up. Her breathing was laboured and her bruised ribs felt as if they were going to burst from her chest.

Unlike last time, Josh eventually slowed down after noticing her struggles. He looked at her with determination in his eyes. "Stay here. I'll catch up to him and come back for you, okay?"

She shook her head profusely. "No, don't leave me, Josh." She wouldn't be able to keep it together if he left. She was scared, didn't he know that? She didn't want to be alone.

"I'll be back. I promise." He kissed her and left before she could say another word.

She stared helplessly at his back. Clara wanted to follow him, but she was exhausted. Her adrenaline had finally run out and all she could do was lean tiredly against the frozen tree.

Josh was dashing towards the lodge as if the devil was on his tail. He was going to get the fucker! He was going to get that mother fucker!

When the other man was within view, he flew on to him with an angry roar. "You fuckin' coward!"

Mike toppled over with Josh wailing on his back.

"You ran! Clara was drowning and you ran, you son of a bitch!"

Mike tried desperately to pull the enraged man off his back. To be honest, he was surprised that Josh was still alive. He was sure that the Wendigo was going to finish him off. Why hadn't it?

After he managed to pull the deranged man off, he jumped to his feet and looked around, wondering if he was going to be ambushed by an equally psychotic redhead, but she was nowhere to be found.

There was a tinge of guilt that hit him at the thought that she was dead. "Josh, I'm sorry, man," he apologised. It had never been his intention to leave her the way he did. Fear had taken hold and he hid. What Josh said was right. Mike knew that he had been a coward, but he'd have to make it up to his friend later. For now, he was going to go back to the lodge for the others.

"You running, again?!" Josh shouted at his retreating form. "You better not leave us to die!"

Mike abruptly turned around. "Us?" Did that mean Clara was still alive? Where was she?

"Did you forget about Clara, again?"

"I… No, we'll be at the lodge. Basement," he informed Josh. "Going to hide where all the cameras are. I'll see you there?"

Satisfied, Josh nodded and began to quickly head back to Clara, hoping that he wouldn't regret the decision of leaving her alone. A Wendigo could easily pick her off and he'd never see her again, but if he hadn't gone off first, the others would've left them on this forsaken mountain.

She huddled behind the large tree, trying to shield herself from the icy winds. The sun was slowly coming out, but the chill had hardly dissipated. She couldn't recall a time that she missed it as much as right now. The night seemed to have gone on forever.

"Oh baby," her mother's kind voice whispered in her ears. "Just close your eyes." The nostalgia was so comforting, so calming. A ghostly caress left a tingling chill down her back. "Mother's here to take care of you now."

Screeech!

Clara's eyes snapped open. She looked wildly around her. Where was it? It was going to get her if she didn't move!

"Shh… It's okay." Her mother's arms were around her now. She smelled like cinnamon and apples. Clara could remember the last time she baked her cinnamon apple pie. "You're tired, baby. They don't exist. It's all in your head. Just listen to your mother. You're safe."

"Mum, I'm so scared…" she sobbed. "What if… What if Josh doesn't come back for me?" She as nothing but a useless burden as she was. Why ever would he come back? She'd only slow him down.

"Clara, you know men. You can't trust them. I thought I taught you better than that," her mother chastised her.

She withdrew further into herself. Did that mean he had abandoned her? "Please, Josh come back. I'm sorry I hurt you…" She rocked back and forth. "I'm sorry. Please, come back. I promise I won't do it again. I'll be a good girl."

"Clara's a very good girl," her mother cooed.

"Don't leave me, again…"

"Just close your eyes and I'll never leave you, baby."

Clara felt herself relax, once more. "I missed you, mum…" She buried her face into her knees. "I love you so, so much…"

Screeeech!

Josh was pushing his legs as fast as they could go. The Wendigo was near and he could only pray that it hadn't found Clara. He'd never be able to forgive himself.

"Please, be okay, Clara…" His lungs burned, but he was grateful for the small amount of light that was finally peeking up from the mountaintop. It made navigating through the woods much easier. It was also less likely that anything could sneak up on him.

When he arrived at the spot he had left her, she as missing. "No, Clara… No!" He ran around, looking behind trees and searching the bushes. "CLARA!"

He cursed himself for being so foolish, leaving a tired, defenseless girl where he knew a creature was lurking about. He could already hear his sisters berating him. Their decaying flesh flaked from their faces and their eyes were nothing but hollow sockets. Their voices echoed in his head.

Suddenly, staggered footsteps appeared behind him and he immediately turned to see who or what it was. His fight or flight instincts were prompting him act quickly.

"Josh!"

A smaller body hit his. The hair of fire tickling his nose was enough to settle his nerves. "Clara…"

"Don't leave me, again," she begged him with large, grey orbs, glistening with tears. She looked so frightened, shaking in his arms.

"I won't." And he wasn't going to. "The Wendigo. Did you see where it went?"

"The lodge. It just started sprinting there. I'm not sure why. It didn't even seem to notice me." Clara couldn't tell him that she hadn't actually seen anything because her mind was so focusing on the very thing she had told him wasn't real.

The lodge was where his friends were. It was also where he planned to take her. He didn't want her to be in danger, but he couldn't think of another way to get off this mountain. They needed those keys. It was impossible to get down without the cable car. Not only that, out in the open, they were too vulnerable. He needed to taken her where nothing could pop up from behind them. He had to risk it. "We need to go there. The others are waiting in the basement."

She nodded.

Her lack of argument put even more pressure on him. She trusted him to protect her.

The two of them slowly trekked through the woods. He could see how close Clara was to collapsing. He wasn't doing much better himself. The run back had taken almost everything out of him, but at least Mike knew that they were both alive now.

"We're almost there," he'd mumble every now and then, trying to keep their spirits up. He was scared that the thing would come back to claim them right before they could get to safety. "Imagine the fireplace… We could barricade the lodge and stay there until someone comes for us."

She bobbed her head, sluggishly. The downtime had done her no favours. All she wanted was to go back to her mother's warm embrace. She wanted to be that little girl again, before father had started cheating on mother and beating them.

There was one particular memory of him holding her and rubbing his freshly shaven face again her chubby toddler cheeks. His aftershave smelled funny to her, but he was like her big, warm teddy bear. He had been the knight in shining armour to her little princess fantasies.

A quiet sob escaped her lips. Where had it all gone?

"Hey, it's okay." Josh's concerned face was all she could see after he wiped her tears away. "We're going to be okay."

But seconds after he said that, a loud explosion shook the entire mountain. Dark puffs of smoke bloomed from the direction that they were heading.

"No… No!" Josh wanted to run forward to see if it was what he feared. "Clara, I need you to hurry for me. Just a little."

She swallowed hard, but nodded. They were both thinking the same thing. The lodge – their sanctuary – had just blown up and perhaps taking the only other living people with it.

Clara's shaky legs pressed on.

"Look!" She pointed to the sky where a helicopter was hovering in front of the black smoke. It disappeared along the tree line.

People were here to rescue them!

Excitement coursed through their bodies, fuelling them to go faster. They were finally going to leave the accursed lands and the first thing Josh was going to do was tell his father to abandon this place – give it back to the ancestors. He didn't want to be connected to this place anymore. It brought nothing but terrible memories.

"No! No!" he suddenly heard Clara moan in despair. "Josh, look!"

He snapped out of his thoughts to see the helicopter rising once more.

"Stop!" He waved in the air, hoping to catch their attention. "Help! Stop!"

Clara watched helplessly as their ticket home cut through the thick smoke and begin to disappear into the distance. They had been so close… They were minutes away…

"He knew we were coming!" Josh shouted. "That bastard knew we were still here! Fuck!" He kicked a tree trunk in anger. "Fuck!" Mike either didn't tell the others that they were still alive or blatantly told the pilot that no one else had survived. Fucking bastard!

They dejectedly walked the rest of the way into the clearing where only a burning building still stood. Everything in there was gone – their clothing, the surplus of food, comfort, hope. They had been left behind with only the wreckage to remind them that his friends had once been here; that they had abandoned them.


AUTHOR'S NOTE

I've never had so much trouble finishing a chapter! At one point, I honestly thought I'd have to post this the day after, but here it is!

I know you guys wanted a happy ending and… There will be one. I promise. Kinda… I do have a couple of questions for you, though.

Firstly, I plan to have both a happy and unhappy ending – both will most likely be posted here at different times. Which one would you like to read first – the happy or unhappy ending? They will be vastly different.

Secondly, there may be some sexual implications in the next chapter. Yes, implications because I can't seem to bring myself to write anything more explicit. If there's anyone who would like to write a lemon between Clara and Josh, I definitely wouldn't mind – whether they post it under their own account (I'll redirect readers to you) or send it to me (I'll incorporate it into the chapter), and I'll gladly give you credit for it. If sent to me, it may be mildly edited to fit more smoothly into the chapter.

Now, I'd like to thank my wonderful reviewers: peach-barnes, ILovePotatoes94, Dusk-deerfluff, and Solleo93. You guys have been so good to me and I'd feel bad if I didn't get this chapter out on time because of you.

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story.

I know the next chapter will be just as difficult to write if not more so. Reviews help inspire me, so…

Please continued to review – leave me an opinion (Are the characters OOC? Did I make them too detestable?), suggestion, encouragement or constructive criticism. I'm not too picky.

Echo