Until Dawn: A New Path

Chapter 11 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

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Boris Yeltsin: Yes, indeed, it certainly is.
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Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

Chapter 11

The Psycho smirked as he watched the cameras, his face still hidden by his white and red terror clown mask. His black jumper suit allowed him plenty of easy movement. Black gloves and boots covered his hands and feet. The camera showed various areas all over them mountain, including footage of Sam in the bath, Chris and Ashley on their way back to the lodge, and Mike and Jess entering the area with the upper cable car station, the gate closing behind them. The Psycho reached out and casually tapped the mouse button, locking the gate. Then he stood up and left. He had an appointment to keep with his next target.

Jess and Mike walked together, mostly quiet, still processing everything that had been revealed to them.

"I can't believe Josh is dead." Jess said at last.

Mike sighed sadly. "I can't believe how he died..."

Jess shook her head. "No, I mean, what if they were wrong?"

"What?"

She turned to him. "Maybe we should've checked the shed to see if it was really true."

Mike grimaced at that. "I don't know..." he replied hesitantly. "There are some things that, once you see them, you can never un-see them."

Jess sighed, shoulders slumped. "Yeah, I guess... But some things you have to see for yourself."

Mike shuddered. "I'll take their word for it."

Jess did not reply, apparently thinking that maybe Mike was right, or she just didn't want to press the matter further.

The duo approached the cable car station, only to note something odd, yet in a way, a blessing in disguise, what with there being a psycho running around. An axe was lodged in the door to the cable car station.

"Look, an axe..." Mike saw it first. "I feel better with an axe."

Jess nodded. Now they'd have a means to protect themselves. Mike pulled the axe from the door and Jess stepped forward to try and open it.

But to her surprise, it wouldn't open. "Oh, what now? This is locked, Mike!"

Mike sighed and shook his head.

"Well, what are we gonna do?"

Mike bit his lip. "There is... Well, I could use the axe to break the door down, but..."

"But what?" Jess asked.

Mike sighed, he had to warn her. "Well, if we start smashing shit down, he's gonna hear us."

Jess bowed her head. "Great, any other ideas?"

Mike shrugged. "I dunno, what about... Look!"

He spotted it right away and when Jess questioned him, he pointed it out: an ajar window.

"A window. Oh, right..." Jess replied, eyes widening.

"Only, I don't think I'm gonna fit through there." he realized with a grimace.

She smiled and replied, "No, but I could. Let me try."

Mike paused. He had to admit that she had a point, but he didn't like the thought of possibly putting Jess in danger.

"No, wait. That's...that's too risky. We'll take our chances with the door." he replied.

Jess stepped back. "Alright, go for it."

Nodding, Mike attempted to smash the door down with his axe. His second attempt caused the axe to stick and he had to wrench it free. The third blow, however, was successful and they entered the cable car station. Jess turned on the lights and they froze. The station was devastated, trashed, and to top it all off, threatening graffiti adorned the walls.

"Oh, goddamn..." was all that Mike could manage.

Jess shook her head in disbelief, uttering in barely coherent form. "What happened?"

"This is crazy."

"We were just here, like, a few hours ago!" Jess burst out. "This must have just happened!"

Mike did not like this, not one bit. "What the fuck is going on?"

They continued to look around at the devastated cable car station. Finally, Jess came to the only possible conclusion that she could reach.

"It's gotta be the guy, the one who got to Chris and Ash...and Josh..."

Mike knew what this meant and shared his worry. "He's gotta know that this is the only way out."

"Oh, don't say that." Jess groaned, shivering in fear.

It was then that Mike spotted the cable car, hanging a distance out from the station.

"Look, the cable car's all the way out there." he pointed it out.

Jess looked at it and bit her lip. "Urgh, great. Now what are we gonna do?"

Mike groaned at that. "I...I have no idea, maybe..."

"Let's just... I know it's obvious, but let's check the console." Jess suggested. "I'll see if I find anything else."

Mike nodded in agreement. "Alright, be careful."

Jess looked around as Mike tried to find anything useful in the mess. Both of them commented on the decrepit state of the station while Mike observed some graffiti of the word 'die' repeated over a whole wall in paint that was disturbingly the same color as blood.

Mike finally examined the control console and saw one great stumbling block. The control console was still operable, but without the keys, it wasn't going to work.

"Great, no keys, no cable car. Sooo..." Mike muttered in frustration, "Back to square one."

Jess sighed, but then her eyes widened. "Hey, Mike! Look at this!"

He turned to see her lifting up a fallen map, fixing it back to where it was set on the wall.

"Look here, a fire tower. Maybe it is has a radio or something." Jess replied hopefully. "I mean, it would, wouldn't it?"

Mike sighed and said, "I dunno, Jess. That could work, but I kinda think we should get back to the lodge for now, everyone's been split up for so long..."

Jess nodded slowly. "I know you're worried, Mike. I am, too. Yes, I admit, even for Emily, as much as I hate her. But if we don't get help and we just go back...what's gonna happen then? We could be stuck here for God knows how long."

Mike simply shook his head and shrugged. "I...I see your point. Okay."

"Right, let's find that fire tower." Jess replied.

He agreed and together, they left the cable car station, looking for a way around. Jess spotted a way and tried to approach it. It was a ladder on the side of the building, but it was out of reach.

Smirking, Mike joked, "What's cookin', good lookin'?"

"Not the time for jokes, Michael. I'm getting us out of here." Jess shot back.

Laughing, Mike helped Jess up to reach the ladder and they quickly climbed down it. Now they could shimmy around a lower ledge of the cable car station.

When they reached the bottom, Jess noticed a heavy duty flashlight and picked it up. "Look at this bad boy. You're comin' with me, buddy." She turned it on, grinning. "And just like magic. Come on, we can totally get out of here this way!"

They began to move around the side of the building. Unfortunately, Jess misjudged the length of the ledge and nearly fell, but Mike caught her just in time.

"Whoa, you alright?"

She gasped, but nodded. "Yeah, uh... Shit, that was..."

"Here, let me go first." Mike suggested.

Jess nodded and he moved to the front and they began continuing to move around the ledge until they finally reached another path.

"Okay...okay..." Mike breathed, finally letting the tension release from his muscles.

Jess let out a slow breath, too. "Man, thank god that's over."

Mike nodded and they began to head up the snowy path, searching for the best route to the fire tower.

"What if it doesn't work?" Jess asked suddenly.

"What?"

"The radio." she emphasized.

"It'll work." he tired to reassure her.

Jess shook her head. "But...if it doesn't, we need a plan."

Mike thought for a moment. "Maybe...we can just climb down."

Jess looked at him strangely. "Climb down what?"

"The mountain."

"Are you serious?" She almost choked on her words.

"What's the big deal? It's not like it's floating in the sky."

"It might as well be. It's pitch black out!" Jess replied, exasperated.

Trying to calm things down, Mike gently tried to reassure her. Unfortunately, that didn't work. "Hey, hopefully, we won't have to." he said.

Jess raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "What, you think the psychopath is just going to give up and run away?"

Mike shook his head. "No... But maybe we should find a safe spot, hole up, and wait it out. It'll be a lot easier to figure this all out in the morning."

Jess sighed, but nodded. She had to admit, the late hour was catching up with her, too.

"As long as we don't hide in the lodge." she said at last. "That's where he expects us to go."

Mike nodded slowly at that and they soon reached the top of the path. Currently, they could see the fire tower, but still lacked a path to get there.

As they searched, Mike entered a covered wooden bridge, stepping on a floorboard which gave a strange creak. Sharing a look with Jess, he lifted the floorboard and pulled out a phone, one which Jess recognized at once.

"Whoa, this is Beth's phone."

Mike was incredulous. "I thought the police, like, swept the whole area."

Jess shrugged. "Well, looks like they missed this."

Sighing, they resumed their search, only to find themselves standing by a cliff top. Mike grimaced, seeing that it was a hell of a long way down.

"Watch where you step around here, Jess."

She grimaced and shook her head. "Shit, no kidding. Where do we go from here?"

Mike's reply was cut off by an unusual screaming noise. They both spun around.

"Mike, what is that?!" Jess cried out.

Mike shook his head. "I don't know!"

But he soon got his answer, for at that moment, a horde of Caribou emerged and closed in on them, backing them to the edge of the cliff.

"Jesus!" Jess hissed through gritted teeth. "Shit!"

Mike glanced behind them to the long drop. "Oh...damn..."

They were trapped.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.