Until Dawn: A New Path

Chapter 26 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 26

It was then that Sam realized that Mike was alone.

"Okay... Mike, w-what happened to Josh?" she asked fearfully.

Mike shook his head sadly. "It got him."

Sam grimaced. "Oh God, what an awful way to go..."

She shook her head and, acting automatically, flipped the lights on. But Mike quickly turned them back off, shaking his head. Sam quietly agreed and, after a brief discussion, they began making their way down to the basement, checking for the others.

"How do you rate our chances of survival?" Sam asked nervously.

Mike sighed. "I'm trying not to think about it."

It was then that they heard the screams. The door to the basement was open and they could see the others. Chris was in the lead, running towards them.

"GET OUTTA HERE! GO, GO, GO!" he cried out.

He quickly ran past them. Ashley and Jess were approaching rapidly, too. Matt was right behind them.

"GO! RUN!" Ashley screamed.

At the same time, Jess yelled out, "GO, GO! WE GOTTA GO!"

Matt didn't say anything, but seemed to be urging the girls onwards quickly. They ran past them, just as the two Wendigos appeared and began approaching the door.

"Sam..." Mike called, warning. "Run... RUN!"

He turned and ran. Sam, however, quickly darted forwards and pulled the door shut, locking it. She heard the thumping as the Wendigos began striking at it. She just prayed that it would buy them some time as she ran after the others.

As she reached the top of the stairs, she stopped dead. The others were already standing, rigid and terrified.

"Don't...move..." Mike whispered to her. "Don't fucking move a muscle."

Sam had no intentions of moving. For there, hanging from the large chandelier decoration in the middle of the room, was a Wendigo, one that looked just like the one Jess described that had chased her in the mines. Sam did her best not to move, which was no easy task after her trip through the icy lake.

The Wendigo snarled and partially turned. It was then that Sam's sharp eyes caught it. She heard Mike gasp and knew that he had seen it, too. She had been right all along. For there, on the Wendigo's right shoulder, was a black butterfly tattoo.

'Hannah...'

Just then, they heard the skittering and went tense all over again. The other two Wendigos were now there. Wendigo Hannah saw their movements and growled. As one of the Wendigos leapt somewhere out of sight, the other approached the middle of the room, just as Hannah leapt down and immediately tackled it. Soon, the two were struggling for dominance and Sam quickly glanced around. Mike was a few feet to her right, the others were further away, near the door, but spaced out. There was no way that they could all make it out together, not like this.

Suddenly, the Wendigo screeched as Hannah threw it into the stairs, breaking them, and then against the fireplace. Mike's eyes widened when he saw the damage, and also a chance. The Wendigo recovered and climbed the wall. Hannah quickly followed, both of them screeching and snapping at each other.

Mike's eyes were fixed on the broken gas pipe, leaking gas into the room. He remembered the information about the Wendigos' fatal weakness being fire. Right now, killing them was the only option left. It wouldn't be easy, they'd need someone to ignite the gas and whoever did it would more than likely be incinerated, too. Looking around, he spotted a bare light bulb. If they could just break it, they'd have the means to make a spark. The light switch was right by the door.

'It's crazy, but...it's doable...' he told himself.

Glancing at Sam, he saw that she had been following the same line of thought. She nodded in agreement. They had a plan, now they just needed to put it into action.

The Wendigos resumed their fight until Hannah threw away the Wendigo that she had been attacking. The Wendigo that had disappeared from sight returned, leaping at her as she responded in kind. Both of them collided in mid-air, fell to the ground, and Hannah recovered first. Seizing the other Wendigo by the head, she smashed him repeatedly into the ground before simply pulling his head off.

Throughout this, Mike had been slowly edging his way towards the light bulb. Meanwhile, Sam stepped back, shocked and awed by the raw display of power and terrified by it. She knew that if Hannah or any of the other Wendigos got a hold of her or any of the others, it was over for them. There would be no wriggling free, no last minute reprieve, just a quick, messy, and extremely painful death.

*CREAK*

Sam froze as she stepped on the floorboard. 'Crap.'

She immediately went still as Hannah turned to her and screeched. Sam remained as still as possible, which was no easy task, due to her recent cold swim. Her muscles were aching to shiver, but she couldn't afford to. She resisted and resisted while Hannah stalked towards her, snarling. Mike took advantage of this moment to reach the light bulb and, grunting with effort, squeezed it until it broke. The sound made Hannah screech again and spin around. Sam looked over desperately to where the others were.

They were too spaced out, they couldn't all escape at once. The lodge was still filling with gas, so the explosion would be dangerous enough without the rest of the group being in danger. Chris was nearest to the door and, at the moment, had the best chance. Catching his eye, she nodded and, taking the hint, he quickly darted for the door, making it out of the lodge and to safety.

'Just gotta find a way to keep Hannah distracted so that Matt, Jess, and Ashley can escape. Then it's just me and Mike...and our plan.' she told herself.

Mike cringed as he looked back from where he had broken the light bulb, thus readying it. Hannah was approaching him, she had turned her attention to him. Sam thought frantically. She had to act before it was too late. With the light bulb broken, they only needed to flick the switch and the lodge would explode. But she couldn't do that yet, not with three of her friends still inside. They'd be incinerated in the blast. She wasn't even sure that she had a chance to survive it, much less anyone else.

She saw Hannah closing in on Mike. 'Got to do something... Distract her, anything.'

She knew it was risky, it would allow more gas to fill the room, the explosion would be larger, but that was a risk that she had to take. She could only see one option: she had to get the Wendigo's attention back on herself.

"HEY!" she cried out as loud as she could.

With another screech, Hannah turned and stalked towards Sam. She did her utmost to stay still, despite the chill that seeped through her skin. She also prayed that the gas interfered with the Wendigo's sense of smell. It would be a bonus if it did.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jess making her escape. Now she just had to get Matt, Ashley, and Mike to safety. Unfortunately, at that moment, Ashley's foot made contact with another creaking floorboard. Hannah turned and began to walk in Ashley's direction. Acting purely on instinct, Sam reacted, running to a nearby pillar and pressing herself against it, making as much noise as possible.

'C'mon, c'mon, leave Ash alone and look for me.' she found herself desperately thinking.

The things that she did for her friends truly surprised her from time to time. She heard the footsteps and felt the Wendigo's breath as it drew up alongside her. As it turned away, Sam glanced out from behind the pillar and saw Ashley exiting. Sam darted to another section of the wall and hid. Hannah turned again and drew closer, closer than ever before, her face mere inches from the side of Sam's. Sam screwed her eyes shut tight, staying as rigid as she could, despite the overwhelming desire to shiver, despite the rancid breath of the Wendigo as it screamed right in her ear. Despite everything, she remained where she was. Hannah turned away and began to edge further into the room.

Glancing out, Sam saw Matt and Mike right by the door. She nodded to them and they slowly, hesitantly, exited. Now it was her turn. Taking a deep breath, she did the only thing that she could: she ran straight for the light switch. She heard the screeching and knew that the other Wendigo was chasing her. Desperation pumped massive amounts of adrenaline through her veins. She ran faster, everything pounding through her body. The beast behind her screeched louder. She didn't dare look, but she caught a flicker of movement out the corner of her eye, where Hannah had been, and then heard the fighting. Hannah had attacked the other Wendigo.

'Now or never!'

With a yell, she leapt forwards, hitting the light switch and propelling herself out the door. The explosion was deafening and made her grunt as the force of it hit her, causing her to be thrown forwards. Inside, the Wendigos were incinerated.

Outside, Sam groaned and slowly picked herself up from where she had landed in the snow. Mike slowly stood too, as did Matt. Ashley and Chris were seated nearby, Jess standing just behind them. They stood, watching the lodge burn in silence as the sun rose, bringing daylight at last, and with it, the sound of helicopters approaching.

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