Until Dawn: A New Path
Chapter 7 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.
Reviews
Boris Yeltsin: Yeah well, we're just getting started.
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)
Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.
Chapter 7
Walking along the path, Emily called out, "Okay, let's go. I want to get there sometime tonight."
She paused briefly before rubbing her arms through her jacket again. "Brr, it's freezing out here!"
"Now that's something I can help you with." Matt told her confidently.
Rolling her eyes, but admiring his confidence, Emily fired back, "And how are you gonna do that?"
Matt grinned and said cheerfully, "I've got a few things in mind."
As they walked on, heading for the shed where the generator waited, Emily shook her head. "Can't believe what happened in there. Honestly, that bitch!"
She was still angry that she had to share Mike with Jessica, but Matt didn't need to know that.
Matt sighed. "Can we just...forget about it, please? We don't need to dwell on it when we've got so much to look forward to."
"Always trying to find a positive, Matt." Emily replied, before smiling lightly. "Well, when you put it that way, I guess."
Matt nodded, relieved, and they continued towards the generator shed. Matt entered the shed after their little talk and, finding the latch, he opened it and, carefully observing the controls, he flipped the switch and fired it up, turning on the lights.
"There we go. Got it!"
Emily nodded. "Finally! Let's get going!"
They headed over to the gate and Matt opened it. Together, they headed through and began crossing the wooden bridge over the stream.
Biting her lip for a moment, Emily checked her phone. "You know, despite disagreeing on a lot of things, I'm with Chris on one thing." she remarked.
Matt nodded. "Oh yeah? What's that?"
Emily sighed, putting her phone away. "Josh needs to get cell towers installed up here."
"I thought the idea of these trips was to leave things like phones behind and enjoy nature and all that." Matt laughed.
Emily scoffed. "Yeah, but, what if there's a severe weather warning and we don't find out in time because we don't have a signal?"
Matt couldn't help but laugh at that. Although, the laughter died away as he and Emily stopped, noticing police tape wrapped around some trees.
"Police tape..." Emily began to question him.
He sighed. "From Hannah and Beth."
Shifting uncomfortably, Emily remarked quietly, "You'd think they'd clean it up..."
Shrugging, Matt explained, "Well, they never closed the investigation."
"Okay, I'm gettin' the creeps now." Emily replied with a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold.
Matt nodded slowly. Doing his best to reassure her and be respectful, he said, "Well, wherever they are...I'm sure they're happy we're all thinking about them."
She sighed. "Yeah, that's...a nice way of thinking about it."
Trying to put the unease behind them, they continued onwards.
It was then that two things happened in quick succession which caused them concern. The first was a scream they could hear in the distance, which disturbed both of them. The second was finding a tree blocking their path.
"Ah, damn." Matt muttered. "I don't think we can get up to the cabin with the path blocked like this."
Emily shook her head vehemently at that. "Oh, no way. I am not going back to the lodge to listen to Jessica and her inane rambling."
As she spoke, she began to walk the other way, along a separate fork in the path. "C'mon, get looking around. We're finding another way."
By this time, Matt had joined her. They had entered what appeared to be an abandoned mineshaft entrance with a wooden waist-high barrier blocking the way forwards. Emily leaned on it, only for the rotting timbers to break and for her to fall, screaming.
"Emily!" Matt cried out. "Fuck! Hey, Emily!" He darted to the edge to find her standing up, breathing heavily, but apparently unharmed.
"Yep!" she called out, turning around. "Hey, I'm okay!"
Matt breathed a sigh of relief. "Holy crap, you scared the heck out of me."
Brushing herself off, Emily shot back, "How do you think I felt?"
"Er, you didn't hit your head or anything?" he questioned, still worried.
Rolling her eyes, Emily replied, "I'm fine, Matt. Really."
"Yeah..." Matt replied with a slight cringe at her irritable tone. "Can you get out?"
She looked behind her and bit her lip. "Uh, I don't know. I can hardly see anything down here!"
Matt pondered for the smallest of moments on his course of action. For Matt, it was a no-brainer. "Alright, comin' after ya, just stay put!"
With that, he jumped down, unaware of the darkly clad figure with goggles and a scarf covering his face standing behind him, the same one who had been watching him through the window of the generator shed.
Landing on the ground, Matt joined Emily, who smiled.
"Alright, c'mon. Help me move this cart thing?" she asked playfully, gesturing to the mine cart blocking the path.
"Alright." Matt said, and began pushing. "Help me move it, help me move it."
Emily agreed and together, they were able to push the cart, although it was still an effort.
"When I imagined us grunting together," Matt quipped, "This is not what I pictured."
Emily couldn't help herself and laughed at that and soon, they were able to get around the cart and continue their walk through the mine.
However, it was then that they heard a rumble and another mine cart came around the corner, barreling towards them. They both cried out, but Matt was able to catch the cart and stop it.
"Holy crap!" Emily screamed. "What the fuck, Matt?"
Wincing, Matt nodded. "Ah, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."
They glanced back at the mine carts and hurried onwards.
Matt happened to spot something to the right of them on a dead end path. He went to examine it with Emily following, wondering what had piqued his curiosity.
"Huh...stogie." he revealed as he picked up the cigar stub that had been sitting on an oil drum.
Emily arched an eyebrow, confused. "Weird place to hang out and smoke cigars."
Matt also noticed something else. "It's recent. I wonder who was up here...?"
He trailed off as he put it down, for his flashlight had suddenly illuminated a strange symbol on the wall.
"Whoa, this place is like...historical." he gasped, upon seeing it.
Emily couldn't help but be amazed, too. "No shit, that's..."
Matt nodded. "It's gotta be Native American, right?"
Emily shrugged and they quickly returned to the path and continued making their way through the mine. Their trip was uneventful, save for a plank of wood nearly falling on top of them and the discovery of a map, dated 1952, which showed that the place was in danger of structural collapse, all of which certainly made them more edgy.
But to their relief, they finally found their way out of the mine and back onto the path, revealing the cabin in the distance.
Eyeing the cabin, Emily let out a low whistle. "Well, well, I'll admit it, I'm impressed." she joked.
Caught up in her mood, Matt replied, "Glad to hear it. Wait 'til we're up close and personal."
"Yeah, so long as we can get warm, right?"
"Yeah, of course." Matt joked.
Shaking her head, Emily replied, "We can get VERY warm."
They then continued their journey and headed through the nearby gate and onwards, down another trail. They hadn't gone far when a bird suddenly jumped out at them, startling Matt.
"Watch out, bird-brain." Emily laughed.
Matt shook his head and offered up, as an excuse, "I was just...nothing. Nevermind."
Laughing even more, Emily shot back, "What, no witty comeback?"
"Seriously, just...don't make me say it."
Still chuckling, Emily continued onwards while Matt muttered to himself, "I was scared."
They continued until they found yet another tree blocking their path.
Frustrated, Matt almost felt like yelling. "Goddamnit, Josh. Couldn't you have at least cleared out the path before sending us up here?" he complained to no one in particular.
"Really?" Emily remarked incredulously, explaining when he got confused. "What's there to complain about?"
"You got a better idea?"
Grinning, Emily took a couple of steps back. "Watch and learn." With that, she ran up to the tree and vaulted up, climbing to the top of the fallen tree trunk.
"Oh, boooo! Show off." Matt remarked in response.
"Hey, Matt." Emily said, standing up straight, "You got something on your face."
Matt reached up to his face, then Emily suddenly threw a snowball, hitting him square in the face.
"Boom!" she cried out.
"Okay, okay." Matt said as he recovered, making his own snowball. "Well, if that's how it's gonna be..."nHe turned around, ready to throw, only to find Emily gone from the tree trunk.
"Emily?"
Suddenly, he heard a scream, a scream he instantly recognized.
"Emily?!"
Looking around warily at the spot on the fallen tree trunk where Emily had been standing, Matt bit his lip worriedly.
"Emily?" he called out, wary, having heard her scream.
She screamed again and Matt panicked. "Emily?!"
He hurried over and began to climb over the tree trunk, nearly getting the wind knocked out of him in the process.
"OOOOF" he gasped before cringing. "FUCK!"
He clambered over and jumped down, following the path, looking around warily as he went, using his flashlight to find any clue.
"Emily…?" he called out worriedly, continuing his calls as he searched. "Ah, come on, Emily? Em?"
He continued his search, calling out at various times as he went up the right hand path.
"Emily? Hey, Em?" Then, jokingly, "C'mon, this isn't funny, you-"
Just then, a figure with large antler-like horns leapt from the shadows and Matt screamed a very unmanly scream.
The figure burst out laughing, revealing themselves to be Emily, holding a pair of loose antlers to her head. She put them down.
"Oh my god!" she laughed.
"Oh my... No!" Matt cried out, shaking his head in dismay.
Emily couldn't hold back her laughter. "Haha, that was so good!"
Hurrying to where she had set her phone down, she spoke to him. "Wait, wait, wait, you have to see this. You have-"
"I'm not seeing anyth- No!" Matt groaned.
But Emily was insistent, holding out her phone to him. "Look, no, no, no. Matt! Haha!"
"You recorded that?!" he hissed through gritted teeth.
"Look at your face!" Emily insisted with glee.
"I was scared, Emily!" he groaned. "You can't just jump out at somebody! I'm in the middle of the woods, it's scary!"
Laughing still, Emily remarked sarcastically, "I'm sorry, did I scare you?"
"I-if you send that to anybody..." he warned.
"You'll what?" she challenged cheerfully.
"I'm...gonna...kill ya." he finished lamely, not convincing at all.
Smirking, Emily jokingly teased him. "I didn't know you had such a cute little lady-like scream, Matt. Guess you never really know someone unless you scare the pants off 'em!"
Rolling his eyes and regaining his composure, Matt replied. He opted to respond with a casual witticism. "As far as I can tell, my pants are still on."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Yeah, looks like you'll have to try harder." he quipped.
"Pfft, please." she replied confidently. "You are not honestly challenging me, are you? You know I always win."
With that, the couple reunited and continued on their way. As they walked onwards, they soon began crossing a bridge which overlooked a small waterfall.
Emily nodded appreciatively, loving the surroundings. "Well, well, guess you were right about the enjoying nature thing, at least."
"Glad to hear it!" Matt responded cheerfully.
Emily nodded happily and they resumed their trek when they were interrupted by a rather disconcerting noise.
"The hell is that?" Matt whispered uneasily.
Emily was also worried. "Was it someone screaming?"
"Naw, no, probably just a squirrel or something." Matt replied, trying to be reassuring.
"Brr. Creepy."
They continued, now more than eager to reach the cabin. But Matt suddenly stopped, hearing something.
"Shh!"
"What?" Emily whispered.
"Did you hear that?" he replied quietly.
Emily shook her head and Matt warily lifted a snowball. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should throw it. In the end, his hesitance led to him dropping the snowball.
Both he and Emily cried out in surprise as a deer jumped out from the trees and tore past them. Both recovering from their close call, they resumed their journey. Matt was certain that they were almost there. On the way, they came across an abandoned shack.
"Charming."
Emily laughed at that and jokingly replied, "You've got to be kidding. That thing has no class."
"It's ruined, so what do you expect?" he responded, confused.
"Thank god the cabin isn't."
He rolled his eyes and responded with a sarcastic 'yeah'. Still, he decided to check it out while Emily cleaned up some mud on her coat from a nearby small pond, thankfully not completely frozen over.
A careful search of the old shack turned up nothing except an old miner's mask. Curious about it, Matt decided to share his discovery with Emily.
"Hey, check out this mask." he said as he emerged, showing it to her as she stood and turned.
"Ew, why?"
"It's so weird, right?" he queried.
Emily shook her head, shuddering. "It creeps me out."
"Yeah, I, I get that." Matt teased, before holding it in front of his face. "But what's it even doing here?"
Emily groaned. "Matt...don't know, don't care! C'mon!"
"Alright, alright." he replied, throwing it aside.
They continued, Matt briefly wondering if they'd have any more distractions on the way. They soon got their answer as another deer leapt out in front of them and ran ahead, making both of them yelp.
A short while later, they heard a high-pitched screech.
"What is that?" Emily shakily whispered.
"Not sure I wanna know."
It was shortly after that when they found the dying deer. The poor creature lay on the ground, its neck savaged. Its labored breathing spoke of its agony.
"Damn..." Matt whispered.
Emily shook her head in dismay. "Urgh, shit."
Examining the deer, Matt shook his head sadly. "I don't think it's gonna make it." Deciding to at least ease its final moments, Matt slowly approached it.
He knelt down, talking gently. "Hey, bud... Hey, buddy."
Emily did the same, talking softly. "Oh my god, that's..."
He moved closer and gently stroked its head. "It's okay... It's okay..."
"Matt, it's really not..." Emily said sadly.
He nodded before talking again, trying to be reassuring. "It'll be over soon, okay? It'll be over soon."
Suddenly, they heard the high-pitched screech again and the deer was suddenly yanked away from them and into the shadows. They both cried out, terrified.
"AHHH!" Emily screamed.
"WHOA-" Matt looked around wildly before quickly calling out, "RUN! RUN!"
They fled for their lives as they heard the wet, crunching noise of the deer being slaughtered by whatever had grabbed it, something that was now right behind them.
As they ran, hearing the sounds of rapid pursuit, Emily screamed, "Oh my god! What the hell was that?!"
"I don't know!" Matt yelled back.
Spotting a route, Emily cried out, "There's a bridge! Over here! Over here, Matt!"
She leapt over the gap of the fallen bridge, Matt following close behind, also jumping the gap. They ran further, ducking and leaping over branches as they ran.
"It's a bear. It's gotta be a bear!" Matt cried out.
Hardly reassured, Emily stopped, looking in dismay at the path splitting. A steep hill to their left offered a shortcut, while the other was the actual path.
Matt nodded to her and took off towards the shortcut. She followed at once and they began climbing the slope. Matt helped Emily up several times until they finally reached the top and began to run for the cabin, now right in front of them. They climbed the small set of steps onto the porch and Matt reached the door. Emily, however, tripped, dropping the key.
"Emily!" Matt turned sharply.
She struggled to her feet, gesturing to the key. Getting the message, Matt grabbed the key and hurried, trying to unlock the door, urging Emily on as she got up and joined him. They managed to get inside and close the door behind them, locking it.
Fighting to catch their breaths, Emily shook her head. "Holy crap, I feel like I just ran a marathon!" she wheezed out.
Matt laughed lightly. "I think we kinda did."
"Was it a bear?"
Matt shrugged. "Yeah, gotta be. Things are crazy fast."
Looking out the window worriedly, Emily muttered, "I mean, I didn't see it."
Trying to calm her down, Matt spoke confidently. "Hey, that thing's not gonna come barging in, I promise."
Emily turned to him, skeptical. "Yeah, yeah, I guess."
"I mean, they don't know how to open cabin doors, right?"
"They are smart creatures, Matt. But...I don't think so." Emily stated.
Matt grinned at that. "Hey, unless you've found proof of it, we can hold onto that thought, right?"
Emily sighed. "I guess you're right. Okay, I'm almost feeling relaxed again. Almost."
She attempted to flick the lights on, but they didn't work. Muttering to herself, she moved to the sofa and sat down, rubbing her arms.
"Brr, this is not the cozy chalet I was promised, Matt."
Matt nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's a bit drafty or something, right?"
"Well, there is a fireplace." Emily stated, gesturing to it.
Smirking confidently, Matt leaned on the back of the sofa. "We don't need a fire to heat things up."
"Matt." Emily admonished him. "Just get that fire going and find something to give this place a bit of mood, huh? Some nice lighting or something."
With an indulgent sigh, Matt nodded. "Yes...right away." He began to search for matches to help light the fire.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.