Chapter Thirteen: Closure

Sam let out a shaky breath as she saw Ashley get thrown against the column. Her mind raced as she heard him call out "Josh," to the wendigo. It was terrible to see Chris have to face the creature that was once his best friend. She knew how much it hurt her to see him this way. It had to hurt him as much. She had to do something. She couldn't let Josh tear apart another one of her friends. Jessica and Emily were both dead, and Ashely didn't have a chance if they didn't get out of here soon.

She had a mental flashback to when she saved Mike from wendigo-Hannah by calling out to save him. That ploy could save Chris' life now. A quick glance at Mike. She could tell he knew exactly what she was going to do. "Hey! Josh!" The wendigo turned his attention to her. She saw Chris dart over to Ashley. He could work with that. Now, Josh was her problem.

Matt was frozen. Mike was frozen. Both her flanking her, trying to come up with game plans, probably trying to distract themselves from the bodies of Jessica and Emily that lied abandoned on the other side of the room. She felt like she could vomit, but there was nothing she could do for them now. She had to save who was left. Looking into the wendigo's eyes, it was almost recognizable as Josh. There was a little piece inside him, it seemed like. He was a monster, probably couldn't remember what each of these people meant to him, but maybe there were lingering feelings. It was possible. Mike encountered wendigo-Hannah several times, but seemed to be in the least danger from her. Wendigo-Josh killed Emily and Jessica immediately; both instigated pranks that led to Hannah and Beth's deaths, but he never had a chance to get closure, like he did with the other participants. If these lingering feelings were true, then perhaps it was possible that she could use this to her advantage.

She took a step towards the wendigo. It was a risk. She could very easily die. The stiffening of Mike and Matt next to her told her so, but the wendigo did nothing. It didn't attack her. She looked into the eyes of the monster. What if? That was the question she had never let herself ask since coming off the mountain. What if Josh had survived? They both wanted Chris and Ashley to get together, but there was always that underlying tension between them, like it was unspoken that the two of them belonged together. They had made gestures and jokes that implied that one day they could be together, but that one day would never come. Looking into the wendigo's eyes, it was almost as though he understood this. A moment of what almost looked like clarity crossed the milky, dead eyes. It was almost Josh in there. It would never be Josh, though, Sam reminded herself. They had wasted their opportunity. The wendigo turned around suddenly and grabbed the bodies of Jessica and Emily, leaving the rest of them alone. There was confusion, wonder, and fear spread across Matt and Mike's faces, but they just shook their heads and got to business. They both headed to where Chris was huddling over Ashley. Sam went to the door and worked on opening it, making sure their escape was safe. They managed to leave the lodge, escaping with their lives once again. The sun rising on the horizon was as welcome a sight as the helicopter coming in for a landing. How had the helicopter known to come for them? It wasn't like someone called like last year.

Chris was huddled with Ashley, while Matt and Mike made their way over to Sam. "Okay, what the hell happened?" Mike asked as soon as they were all together.

Sam shook her head. "I honestly don't know, but there was this feeling, like, in my gut that told me Josh was still in there. I saw the old Josh, and I guess he saw me."

Mike shook his head. "That makes no sense."

"It might," Matt reasoned. "We had very different experiences last year, and I still don't know what all you guys went through, but maybe it was possible for the wendigo to have some humanity left in him. It probably would just take someone special to find it. Why didn't Hannah kill Josh? She could've. She certainly had the strength, but somewhere inside her couldn't bear the thought of killing her brother. Maybe Josh couldn't bear the thought of killing Sam."

She simply gave a shrug, trying to play off the incident, trying to ignore the lingering thoughts in the back of him mind telling her that she was special, that Josh spared them because of her. Instead, she switched her focus. "How did the helicopter know where to find us? Thy couldn't have known."

Mike pointed to a dark hair woman that was heading their way. "Well, you can ask."

The dark haired woman introduced herself as Sophia Bennet, and told them about her plans to study the psychological effects that coming back to the mountain would have. Of course, no one had thought the wendigos were real. They only worked on rebuilding the lodge during the day, so they never encountered any problems. Of course, Mike and Matt were pissed. Sam was as well, but she almost understood Dr. Bennet's reasoning. Wendigo's were far fetched, and she probably thought she was going to help people by studying their reactions.

Eventually they made their way back to the helicopter. Chris and Ashely were already loaded, Chris hunched over Ashley's body. She couldn't help but give him sympathetic looks. Rising through the air, the further they got away from the mountain, the further away they got from Jessica and Emily... and Josh... the more somber the mood. Matt became closed off. He couldn't process anything. Sam didn't say anything, though, because she noticed the silent tears trickling down his face. She and Mike leaned on one another for support, like they had in the past. They were a team at this point, no matter what hit them. No one spoke. She hated the silence, but it was understandable. Still, she was worried. She turned her attention to Chris, seeing as he was most likely to respond. "Chris? Do you need to talk?"

"No, I don't." He turned his sights on Ashley. Sam understood. He was anxious. She didn't say anything the rest of the ride.

What could have triggered this? She remembered Chris talking to her about the Butterfly Effect on the cable car a year ago -a lifetime ago. She wondered how true this was. What significant events could have led to this? What insignificant events could have caused this? She shook her head. Only time could tell.

This was the final chapter to the main story, and there will be two epilogues following! I hope you all enjoyed reading this story! It was a ton of fun to write! I cannot wait to share more projects with all of you beautiful people. Special thanks to PeterJefferyPan who as stood by me while writing this story.