Until Dawn: A New Path
Chapter 21 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.
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Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.
Chapter 21
Mike approached the doors to the Sanatorium towards the end of the tunnel. He reached the door and opened it.
"Oof. Okay, okay, okay, what's the-" he muttered, not having realized how stiff it was.
Finally in, he closed and locked the door behind him. He didn't want the others to be put at risk. He headed past the area that was still scorched from the explosion Matt mentioned, some debris still smouldered. He made his way up the large staircase and soon found the chapel. When he finally reached the chapel, he stopped and looked around in surprise. The place seemed to be in even worse shape than before, from how Matt described it.
"Ho-lee shit." he whispered.
He continued his search. Most gated doors and regular doors were locked. On the far wall was a hole that led outside to a makeshift graveyard. All graves bore the same date.
Shaking his head at yet another part of the 1952 mystery, Mike continued his search of the chapel until he found a way to get behind one of the gated doors: from above.
Inside, he found that it was a cramped storeroom, used by the stranger. On a nearby table were things that he knew right away would be useful. He had a flashlight, true, but he pocketed it. The torch that he found would be more useful as both a light and a weapon against the Wendigos. He lit the torch and picked up a pack of shells for a shotgun. By pure coincidence, there was also a sawed-off shotgun on the bench, too.
"Now I just need a pitchfork and a mob." he joked to himself, but shrugged. "Good enough."
Gathering everything, he managed to exit the storeroom and made his way to the other locked door, near the hole in the wall. Reaching the door, he readied himself and shot the lock off before kicking the door open. He entered into the new corridor and heard a noise. He tensed, but then relaxed and smiled.
"Hey, big guy!" he said cheerfully as a familiar wolf stepped into view.
It was the wolf that Matt had met earlier and befriended. It approached him, non-aggressively.
He gently scratched the wolf behind the ears. He grinned as he did so, relieved to have some company.
"Alright, good boy... Alright, pal. You're comin' with me." he said, standing up. "Alright, here's the plan. I happened to see a map of this place, so we're not flying blind. There should be a way into the psychiatric wing that'll take us right outside the mine. Think we can handle that?"
The wolf looked up at him and let out a small contented noise.
"Couldn't have said it better myself. Atta boy."
So Mike found himself following the wolf as it actually began guiding him through the fenced outdoor path to another building of the Sanatorium, clearly signposted as the psychiatric ward and restraining area, which was the very place he was looking for. As they entered, however, a loud noise startled Mike. At the same time, Wolfie barked, sounding angry.
"Jesus Chri-" He composed himself quickly. "Okie dokie, boy. Calm down."
Wolfie just ran on ahead, getting past the door blocking their path, squeezing through a gap that Mike couldn't.
He sighed. "Wish I could move like you, Wolfie. I think I'm stuck on this side."
Stuck, he tried a nearby lever, which partially opened the door. He was able to slide through, although he noticed that the door behind him was now closed.
Continuing to make his way through the circular room, trying to find a way down to the center, he reached a staircase and made his way down. Searching the area he now found himself in turned up only one thing of interest: disturbingly, a death certificate.
Shaking his head, he left that office and continued to follow the path. This part of the Sanatorium at least did not look as bad as the other, but still in pretty bad shape.
"AH!" Mike cried when he rounded the corner. "Oh, son of a bitch."
Wolfie barked quietly, shuffling back as they both beheld the strung up, partially devoured carcass of Wolfie's fellow four-legged canine.
"Huh... Jesus Christ, what the fuck have I gotten myself into?" Mike muttered. "Fuck, man. This is truly disgusting."
Wolfie walked away, moving into the next area. Mike, however, noticed something to his left: an open cell door. He examined it, noting a few odd things.
"Huh... These doors were built like tanks. How crazy were these inmates?" he wondered aloud, before seeing the markings on the walls of that cell. They looked disturbingly like claw marks.
"What went on here? This is nuts."
With a greatly uneasy feeling, Mike returned to following Wolfie as they made their way through the Sanatorium. Their long search through various corridors and rooms in varying stages of dilapidation turned up more clues, all of them disturbing.
The first discovery was an old film reel which showed a miner transforming into a Wendigo. The transformation had been triggered deliberately, almost like an experiment, with the man restrained in a chair. He also found a case study dossier, which detailed the discoveries in further detail. All of it made it clear that the miners that survived the collapse did so by eating those that did not and became Wendigos, subsequently breaking free and causing the mass destruction of the Sanatorium.
"Jesus hot sauce Christmas cake, this is fucking unbelievable." Mike muttered.
He continued to follow Wolfie's lead, stumbling across another clue. This one was a corpse with a suicide note. The final piece of the puzzle? The dead guy was the owner of the Sanatorium and the mine. It confirmed Mike's suspicions about what had happened.
Not wanting to see anymore of this, Mike hurried and made his way into the next room, relieved to find himself on the ground floor at the center of the structure at last. Throughout his journey, he had felt the ominous presence of being watched and then he heard a loud screech. He froze. It had to be a Wendigo.
Entering the wide room properly, Mike reacted as a can fell off a small container and he shot it. He quickly loaded the shotgun again, shaking his head as it turned out to just be a rat. But then, the Wendigo jumped down from the ceiling, right in front of him!
"Ha!" he cried, firing at it, striking it in the face. "How does that feel, you fuck?!"
He quickly ran onwards, following Wolfie, who led the way. The Wendigo recovered and began a close pursuit.
"Jesus! Fuck! Fuck!" Mike cried.
He reached a fork in the path and went left.
"Shit, shit, shit." he muttered as he closed the door behind him quickly.
"Okay... What the?" he gasped. His torch had died. "Oh fuck, fuck, fuck...FUCK!"
He quickly barricaded the door with a nearby cabinet and hurried onwards. His flight was interrupted, however, by another Wendigo attack. But this one, he fended off with his machete, lodging it in the creature's face.
He ran onwards, soon closing another door and stopping. He was able to catch his breath and nod to Wolfie. Relieved that the wolf was still with him, he managed a small smile.
"Good dog..." he said reassuringly. "It's okay, it's fine."
Wolfie suddenly darted away, seeking cover. Taking his cue, Mike did the same, just as a Wendigo jumped down and landed on a nearby table. It appeared that they were in a kitchen of sorts. Remembering what he had heard, Mike stopped moving and did his utmost to stay still.
The Wendigo looked around warily, clearly searching for him. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a bottle rolling right above him. He quickly caught it as it fell, thankfully not giving himself away. Taking a chance while it was distracted, Mike ran into the next room, Wolfie by his side.
"Dammit... Alright." he growled under his breath. "Come on, you son of a bitch. Where are you?"
He was actually getting lower now, going underground. He could hear Wendigo screeches all around and it was freaking him out.
He was in what was clearly an isolation ward, with several cells. As he neared one of the cells, a Wendigo attempted to grab him, but missed. Crying out, Mike leapt back and shot the Wendigo right in the face. He took off running, Wolfie still by his side.
"When is this shit gonna stop?! Jesus Chr- It's like a fucking bad dream."
He ducked as another Wendigo lashed out from its cell to attack him.
"Whoa, fuck this!"
He grit his teeth and slowed down. Keeping his gun at the ready, fully loading it, he looked around warily.
"One at a time, boys." he quipped, trying to cover his nervousness, his heart pounding. "There's enough of me for all of ya."
He fired at another Wendigo after dodging its attack and ran onwards, ducking under another arm and then shooting another, just as he realized that this one was chained up and couldn't reach him.
"Oh, Jesus... Oh, Jesus... Fuck...fuck, fuck."
He hurried away, dodging another attack and then shooting another Wendigo before rounding a corner. Ahead, he saw the end of the restraining area hallway and looking over his shoulder, a free Wendigo in pursuit.
Panicking, he tried to open the door. It only partially opened and the Wendigo was jumping across the walls towards him.
"Dammit, not good!"
He quickly shot at it and then tipped over a barrel next to him. Just then, two more Wendigos began to leap towards him. He quickly pushed the barrel and, when it was level with them, he fired, blowing up the barrel and incinerating the Wendigos, although it knocked Mike back and he grunted, muttering to himself as he recovered, running away as the Wendigo spirits appeared and flew away.
"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!"
He recovered and managed to get through the door, closing it and locking it again. He stopped and caught his breath. He was back in the main psychiatric ward. His path wasn't through here, it seemed. Not with those monsters now on the loose. Luckily, he knew of an alternate way in.
However, on the way, he found himself pursued by another Wendigo. He ran ahead and, seeing the locked door ahead, blasted it, managing to break though before barricading it and hurrying onwards, jumping down a hole.
Looking up, he stopped. Wolfie was standing there, looking down at him. He was beyond relieved to see that the wolf had survived.
"Hey, buddy. Come on down, it's alright." he said. But Wolfie didn't move and he understood. "Okie dokie, bud. Catch ya on the flipside, huh?"
Wolfie leapt over the hole and padded away. Hoping he'd be alright, Mike hurried upstairs to the exit of the Sanatorium, but the door wouldn't open and a tell-tale shriek told him that another Wendigo was behind him.
He spun around, cursing, and fired at a nearby barrel. The room exploded and Mike leapt from it, right outside. The Sanatorium was now on fire and more and more shrieking could be heard. Recovering, Mike ran for the mines, unaware that one Wendigo, still on fire, was clawing its way out of the rubble.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.