"Wendigos?"

The group of teens sat in terror as Ivan explained to them exactly what he explained to Arthur down in the mines. They were sitting in the parlor with Ivan sitting on the singular arm rest chair, Gilbert, Alfred, Francis, and Feliciano sitting on the sofa, and Kiku standing next to the fireplace where Matthew was tied up.

"Yes, that's what they're called. I just said it." Ivan retorted, finding it irritating how they repeated every obvious thing he explained. "They will kill you if you are not careful or quiet. And, with all of the antics you all have been doing up here, you're on a one way path to death."

Feliciano shifted uncomfortably at the new information, casting anxious glances out the window as if expecting to see one there. To think, monsters like that existed in the real world. Sure, he knew there were always supernatural beings, but... ones like this? And one where he was in a situation with them? It was unbelievable and terrifying.

"How do we protect ourselves from them?" Kiku asked, biting his lip nervously. "Surely, there has to be something, right? They can't be invincible."

Everyone nodded in agreement, clinging on to that ray of hope that there was some way they can be protected by this.

Ivan let out a short laugh before swinging his massive backpack off his back. It hit the table with a loud thud, startling Feliciano and Alfred. With a closer view of it, the friends could see a rather thin tub snaking through the backpack, connected to a tank that was strapped to the side.

"Fire." The Russian stated simply. "Wendigos are afraid and can be killed by fire. However, do not kill them. If you kill a wendigo, their spirit will be released and find their way into some other person." The friends stiffened at the sound of that, causing Ivan to roll his eyes. "No, not just anyone like one of you morons. The only way to become one of these things is through starvation and feasting off human flesh. When a starving human resorts to eating another human in order to survive, they turn into a monster, forever damned into eating viciously as a hideous wendigo. I've locked up many of them in a building not too far from here to keep from having anyone else turn into these things... or eaten by them. However, there's still one or two running around since they're fairly new."

Feliciano winced softly in discomfort as he thought about his brother... Could he possibly have been eaten by one of those? God, just the thought of it made him want to puke. No... he couldn't think like that. There's no way that could've happened.

"C-Can you take us to get Arthur?" Francis inquired shakily, trying to keep his composure. "I don't mean to be rude and impatient but... he's down there! He's been taken by one of those things! He could be dying or-or dead and-"

"He's probably dead." Ivan said in a matter-of-fact tone. Francis flinched at the other's confidence in the statement. "If the wendigo had already taken him, then he is probably dead. I've seen the wounds on his body and how he was tossed down there when he didn't listen to me. By now, he's probably already become a feast for the monster. There's no use in going down there. It's best if you all just stay here and—"

Ivan's words were cut off as a fist punched him squarely on the side of the face with surprising strength. He fell off the chair as Francis threw himself over the table to continuously hit the man over and over where he could.

"How DARE you give up on him so easily! You don't know if he's dead! Stop saying that he is! We have to rescue him! We can't just leave him down there, you worthless piece of sh-"

"Francis!" Feliciano yelled, wrapping his arms around the boy's stomach to try and pry him off the older man. Francis allowed himself to be pulled back as he was shoved into the couch once again. His eyes were narrowed in anger and despair as he glared over at Ivan. Ivan sat upright on the chair once again, rubbing his now red cheek.

He mirrored Francis's glare, but not out of anger. It was out of intolerance and tiredness.

"You think I don't know how these things play out, boy?" He spat in a low voice. "You think I don't know what it's like to lose someone and go back only to lose another? I lost my little sister to those beasts. She was only ten years old. We were up here looking for a place to live since our parents passed away, leaving my older sister and I to care for Natalya. One day when she went off chasing a rabbit, she jus disappeared. We saw a glimpse of the wendigo dragging her down into the mines. My older sister was desparate to find her and get her back so we went back out there and tried to get her back. In the end, she was taken as well and killed and I was left all by myself. Alone. In a cold, isolated mountain... Going after your friend will only resort in more death and loss."

An uneasy silence spread out in the room, everyone looking from Ivan to Francis. Francis kept up his angry stare but softened it just a bit after hearing the story.

"I'm sorry about your sisters." Gilbert said sincerely, looking over at the man. He related too well to losing a family member, nonetheless a little sibling. Ivan waved his hand dismissively, the sorrows of his past holding no effect over him. It really hadn't been that long ago, but he knew it was best to not let grief get the better of him.

Francis stayed quiet for a moment after that before speaking up— not with an impatient tone, but with a curious one. "Then why did you say you would help Arthur find me? Arthur told me he thought he got you killed because he left you when he thought he heard me. He said you were going to help him save me. Why then did you say you would help but now you won't?"

"Because I thought there was a chance it would turn out different." He said. "But it's going just like how it's always been and always will."

With that Ivan stood up, swinging his backpack over his back once again. He put his hood over his head and fixed the scarf that hung around his neck. The snow outside was calm, the winds only letting wisps of snow flutter and float through the air. There was no sound of initial danger out there nor was any sign of animal movement. All was peaceful.

"Look, I'll take you guys to the entrance of the mines but that's it. You're on your own from there."

Francis felt a sudden wave of relief crash over him at the words. There's still a chance... There's still a chance. He immediately jumped to his feet, biting back a wince at the aches and wounds on his body. His torso was still painted in cuts and bruises and bones in his body were still aching beyond belief but that didn't matter. If Arthur was still down there, he'd find a way to get him out, even if it took every last bit of him to do so.

Ivan continued, "I'll take you not because I think there's a way you can actually save your friend successfully, but because I don't care about what happens to you all. You've stirred enough trouble on here for me as it is."

"Thank you... thank you so much, Ivan." Francis said with a weak smile.

Ivan exchanged the smile with a frown, "You shouldn't be thanking me." He turned around before throwing open the door. "Come on. It's best we go while it's still safe outside."

With a swiftness obviously originated from adrenaline, Francis dashed outside, immediately at Ivan's side. Everyone else hesitated before slowly standing up. This was very risky, they all knew it. Francis knew what was exactly at stake and what dangers lied beyond the trees but was the most eager to go back out. The unpredictable and imaginative mindset of everyone else chilled them to the bone.

"What do we do with Matthew?" Feliciano inquired, causing everyone to look over at the tied up boy. Matthew sat at the foot of the fireplace, his arms strapped to his sides by the rope binding him in captivity. He stared up at everyone with a blank, annoyed gaze as a tiny smirk played along his lips.

"Leave him here." Gilbert mumbled, turning his back immediately to the prankster. "He's tied up so he can't follow nor can he do anything for the matter. He'll be fine."

Without even listening to anyone else's remarks upon the decision (if they had any) he followed Francis out the door. Alfred and Kiku stared after him for a while before they, too, followed. Feliciano stared after for a while, a pain setting in his stomach.

The sight of seeing Gilbert in such distress back at the basement... it was heartbreaking. There was only one other time he saw the male ever breakdown like that and that was at Ludwig's funeral. It took weeks for him to recover from that trauma and grief. Feliciano knew that at that moment Gilbert was trying to keep up a fake attitude and go back to how he was before— the rational, calm, leader figure of the group. But... what Matthew said down there really effected him. It reopened those wounds from his past and made them fresh and unbearable once more. Feliciano rubbed his arm awkwardly. God, he hoped Gilbert would be okay for the rest of the night... He knew he'd have to watch him. Maybe talk to him about what happened in the basement.

"Hurry along, Feli. Don't piss your pants from fright." Matthew sneered softly, leaning against the fireplace.

Feliciano turned to him, feeling his blood boil at the sight of him smirking away.

"Fuck you." He whispered, the mere action of speaking up causing him to tremble.

Before he could say anything else, he dashed out the door to meet up with everyone.

...

[ Arthur's P.O.V ]

I slowly began coming to my senses again, the world around me coming in muffled sound waves. I was lying on a cold, stone floor, which didn't surprise me at all. Damn. I was still down in those wretched mines. But... what happened before I got here? Francis... right. He left. I told him to go and luckily his big head didn't object to my plans. Dear God, I hope he's alright and made it back to everyone safe. Hopefully they've all gotten off of this mountain, or at least found safety. But what happened after that? Everything after Francis leaving was a blur. The only thing he knew was that he was being held by that wendigo.

The wendigo.

I snapped open my eyes quickly and attempted to push myself off the ground. I immediately regretted it as an immense pain shot through my side and leg. Blinking, I tried to focus my vision on what was around me. There was... rocks. Wow. Brilliant. Rocks. That's so bloody obvious to find in a damn mine. There was water dripping down from overhead which I assumed was melted snow that found its way in here. Perfect. That would explain the cold droplets that were randomly kissing my filthy body.

It appeared as if I was lying in the middle of a vast open space, probably in a vacant part of the mine. There were three openings in the area that just led deeper into the minds, not out. Lifting my heavy head, I squinted up just to see a hole up above that showed the moon peaking through. Great. The only way out was through up there. There was no way I could ever get myself out from there.

I whimpered softly as I tried to move my legs, the mere action of trying making my limbs feel as if they were being stabbed by the devil himself.

This was useless. All of this was pathetic. I curled up on the floor, hugging my arms as the chill of the night nipped at my exposed skin. Now, it was either I wait till I die from starvation or hypothermia or from that horrid wendigo that took me in the first place. It wasn't nearby, which was obvious to the absence of its shrill scream and terrifying body. However, that did perplex me... why wasn't it here? Why didn't it kill me when it had the chance to back when I was with Francis? Why didn't it kill Francis when it first took him? It just dragged us here and beat us up. Ivan said it feasted off people. Why didn't it kill us?

I let out a weak cry as I tried to move my legs again, wishing it really did kill me so I didn't have to feel this pain.

Looking around absentmindedly, I noticed something small propped up against the mine wall. It looked as if it was a notepad. What the hell is a notepad doing down here? Oh shit, maybe it was one of the miners' notepads. Maybe it showed a map or directions to how exactly one could get out of these mines.

With difficulty, I began to crawl- or, well, considering my useless legs- dragged myself towards the notepad. Mentally, I prayed over and over for it to hold something that was useful for me. Something that could save my life or at least prolong it until I figured out what to do. Once I reached the yellow pages, grabbed it and held it close to me so I could read what was on it. Unfortunately, there was no map of the mines or anything like that. Instead, it looked like it was a diary...

"Entry 1:
I fell down here I think hours ago... Fuck. He's dead. I can't believe he's dead. I just woke up and found him cold and pale beside me. I thought he was asleep or passed out but there was no heartbeat. There was no pulse. And, God, there was so much blood. He's- fuck. I can't take this. I need to find a way out."

Someone... was trapped down here? Well, there was two going by what was written but only one survived. I wonder if they got out. Flipping the page, I read another entry:

"Entry 2:
I think it's been a day now. An entire day and I couldn't find any way out. I decided to bury him, you know. I couldn't just let his body rot out in the open. That's so barbaric and... he deserved a proper burial. I took off his stupid turtle shirt and used that as a gravestone. I'll replace it with a proper one if I can find some wood.
It's so quiet down here... and it's getting so cold. I'm so hungry."

Jesus... this is heartbreaking and chilling to read. I can't imagine being stuck down here for days on end. I better suck it up though cause from the looks of it, it seems I will be doing just that.

"Entry 3:
How long has it been? My hands are shaking as I write his. I'm so so hungry. There's no food. No water. No sign of getting out.
I'm dead. I'm going to die."

A sense of pity arose in my chest for this person as I read these words. The words on the pages were getting messier by each page, an obvious sign of weakness. I turned the page to read the next entry, it's contents sending chills down my spine. The words appeared as if they were scratched on or viciously scribbled in.

"Entry 4:
I... ate him. I dug up his grave and I ate him. I'm so, so sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to do it. I just got so... so hungry. It felt as if I was going to go mad from starvation.
You were the only thing available. I mutilated that perfect body of yours and consumed it into my own. Your arms... your legs... your stomach... everything. Except your head. I couldn't dare to harm that handsome face of yours. I still have that to remember you by..."

I turned the page.

"Entry 5:
I'm stronger now. Oh, I'm so much stronger than ever. I feel as if my body's began to change and I'm being reborn as a new person.
This feeling... it's astounding.
It's all because I ate him.
He gave me strength.
Thank you, Ro-"

It cut off there. I couldn't read more for the page was torn and scratched off. But, nonetheless, I felt fear suddenly cloud my head and vision. I couldn't believe what I just read. There were no names to who those people were but I had a strong feeling I knew who it was. Who fell down here that day. Who died. Who was left fending off on his own, alone. Who resorted to- to eating the other person. Fuck...

I got to get out of here. I need to get out of here.