|Until Dawn-The True Version Part 2|
Description: Spirit talking and love watching wasn't on Matt's resume.
Hey guys. This was originally going to be a JoshxChris and SamxAshley, but I realize that later on in the story this may be a slight problem. So, I'm going to let you guys choose. Tell me if you either want JoshxChris and SamxAshley or SamxJosh and AshleyxChris
"And presto! The boiler is fixed!" Mike declared, Emily looking at it approvingly.
"Wow, I'm shocked. You did this pretty quickly." Emily admitted. Mike shook his head, placing his hands on his hip, looking away distantly with a dramatic look.
"Don't count me out, Em. I'm really quite good at everything." Emily rolled her eyes, laughing lightly as she prepared to get upstairs, happy that things weren't unbearable between Mike and herself anymore. The reconciliation had really worked. "You know, Em..."
"AH!" Emily screamed, running backwards, nearly slamming into Mike. There before them stood a rather tall man, holding a baseball bat, adorned in a mask and a black robe. He immediately chased after Mike and Emily, the two scrambling around the basement, fearing coursing through their veins.
Shit, shit, shit, shit. Emily thought as she tried to think of a way to loop around the maniac so she could run back upstairs. When they got to a certain room, she was able to circle around a table and run past him, Mike right in front of them.
They darted frantically up the stairs, Mike nearly losing his footing. He was able to catch himself, and they both ran upstairs to the living room, prepared to dart right out of the lodge and call for help.
"Wait! Wait guys it's me! Matt!" Matt yelled after them, starting to think that his initial instinct was right and that this wasn't such a good idea. He took of the mask and dropped the baseball bat on the floor, holding his arms up like a criminal caught in police fire.
Well, with the death glares he received from Emily, that's really what it felt like.
Thankfully, Mike's loud laughing eased the tension as he walked over and patted Matt on the back approvingly, all fear being chased away when he realized it was merely just Matt pulling prank.
"Nice one dude. I'm assuming Jessica came up with it?" Mike asked. Matt merely nodded hesitantly, still horrified by what Emily's response would be.
As if on cue, Jessica stepped out from where she was hiding, inwardly scolding herself for not recording the hilarious events. She clapped loudly, walking over to Matt to pat him on the back.
"Good work, Matty. I'm impressed." Jessica admitted. Matt smiled in response while Emily snickered in the background. "What's so funny Emily?" Jessica asked, over-sweetly as she narrowed her eyes at Emily.
"Whatever. I'm taking my bath." She muttered, jogging up the stairs, anxious to get bath to her bath. Jessica sighed in relief, happy that the girl was finally gone.
"Alright girls," Mike said, clutching the spirit board. Matt rolled his eyes after being called a female. "Let's go talk to some ghosts, why don't we?" Jessica cheered in response, clutching onto Mike's arm as the duo walked upstairs, leaving Matt at the bottom of the steps.
"How did I get myself into this situation?" Matt mumbled under his breath, wishing he had gone to the guest cabin with Sam or Ashley. Actually, that probably would have made him feel like he was intruding as well.
Maybe he should have followed Josh and Chris? Nope, he would still be the ignored third wheel most likely. He should have dragged Emily somewhere with him so he wouldn't be alone...
"Matt are you coming?" Jessica called from upstairs, wondering what was taking the boy so long. He hummed in response, and began his plight up the stairs, hoping this evening wouldn't be too love filled for his single mind.
They all gathered in the room next to where Emily currently bathing. Matt, admittedly, was kind of looking forward to it. Talking to ghosts was on his bucket list, you could say. Of course, it was an oddity to him why the group of three were communing with ghosts on a mountain cut off from the outside world.
Well, it wasn't like anything could go wrong.
Matt took a seat to the right of Mike, whose chair was pulled up extremely close to Jessica's. He shuddered, hoping they weren't doing anything funny under the table as he set up the spirit board, starting to think that this was a bad idea.
After everything was done, he took a deep breath, placing his hand on the pointer. He looked at the duo expectantly, only to realize that they were to enveloped into each other to give Matt the time of day.
"Hey love birds! Are we going to play or not?" Matt asked, wondering whether to just leave them alone or not. Jessica snapped back to reality, an apologetic look on her face as she nodded eagerly, placing her hand on the pointer so that their fingers were touching.
Matt knew that was going to happen, so it didn't bother him. Plus, just because Jessica was of the female gender didn't mean he had to have hormonal problems every time she touched him. But, oddly enough, it was kind of nice.
Jessica was on the opposite end of the spectrum. She had to force her blush down so that Mike wouldn't see. The hell is wrong with me?
Mike put his hand on, he and Jessica looking at Matt as if he knew what he was doing. When he shrugged in response, Jessica rolled her eyes and decided to take charge.
"Is anyone out there?" Jessica asked, starting off without anybody else's input. When nothing happened, as she expected, she was slightly disappointed. "What a let down..."
Right as the words came out of her mouth, the pointer jeered over to the 'H', before wildly moving over to the 'E', eventually spelling out the word 'HELP'.
"Ha-ha, really funny guys." Jessica laughed, shaking her head at the pathetic display. But when the boys both gave her blank looks, she stopped laughing. "Guys, seriously, I'm not falling for it."
"Listen Jess, I have better things to do with my time then play with a fake spirit board. Why would I try to fake this?" Mike asked as if it was obvious it hadn't been him. Matt nodded along with him, signaling he hadn't been the one who moved the pointer.
"I didn't do it. Just ask it another question." Matt suggested. Jessica nodded, clearing her throat as her eyes darted back over the the pointer.
"Uh...Who needs help?" Jessica spoke with an unsure tone, watching the other boys carefully to see if they were going to move. The pointer moved more robotically this time, eventually spelling out a new word.
"Sister? What the fuck?" Mike muttered, exchanging looks with Matt, who looked just as put off.
"Guys, maybe this is a bad idea." Matt mumbled, scratching the back of his neck with his free hand. "This better not be some stupid joke you two are pulling on me." That could have been a very real possibility, in Matt's eyes. Why not pick on the odd one out? Especially with the fact that Mike and Jessica were in a relationship and both loved a good scare or joke.
"Are you kidding me?" Jessica rolled her eyes, annoyed that Matt thought they were messing around with him. She was pretty scared as well. "I think we should continue. How about you Mike?" Jessica asked her boyfriend, deciding to let him be the swing vote.
He nodded firmly. "Let's continue, definitely." An eerie feeling filled the room after the words left his mouth, as if the spirit they were talking to right now was hovering around them, grasping onto bits and pieces of their conversation. Would the ghost be able to understand the human tongue anymore?
Jessica swallowed anxiously, licking her lips afterwards. "Who are you?" Jessica asked vaguely, hoping something useful would come up.
"Here we go again..." Matt muttered under his breath as the pointer moved again this time, returning back to its original craze. The pointer first moved to the 'H', and then moved to 'A', and immediately Jessica knew where this whole thing was going. "Holy fucking shit." Matt swore when he saw the name spelled out.
"Hannah?" Mike said the name warily, fear bubbling up in his stomach. It was far quicker for Jessica, an inhuman feeling spreading throughout her body like wildfire, catching on to different bones and organs.
"Okay guys, this isn't fucking funny anymore." Matt's tone rose in a mixture of fear and anger. This wasn't a funny joke;the punchline was all wrong and it left Matt feeling raw. It was far worse since this was the lodge, this was Blackwood Pines, where Hannah had disappeared.
"Listen Matt, I don't know why you've come to some stupid ass conclusion that we are messing around, but we're fucking not!" Jessica barked, quickly getting irritated with Matt's constant accusations. Can't believe I thought I liked this guy...WAIT WHAT THE FUCK?!
Jessica shook her head fiercely, mentally berating her for thinking such stupid things like that. Matt was nothing more then a friend, and right now, he was being a douche bag. She needed to get angry, get pumped, get Mike-the boy she really liked-to step in.
"Seriously, we have no reason to fuck around you. Now Jessica, ask what happened to her." Mike said in a pleading tone, clearly looking for closure. Jessica wasn't sure if a spirit board was the place to find it.
But she complied. "Hannah, how did you die?" Jessica's voice slightly wavered throughout the statement, feeling the guilt from last year washing over her again. It was her fault Hannah was dead. Her fault.
Matt noticed the waver in Jessica's voice, and also noticed that Mike had ultimately ignored it. Mike was always a boy who was afraid of committing to somebody, but was he really this afraid?
Suddenly the pointer flew off of the table, and Matt had had enough. He rose from the table, eliciting a slight squeal from Jessica who was frightened by the turn of events, and stormed out of the room. He didn't care if it was a joke or not. He just needed a breather.
"Wait Matt!" Jessica rose up from her seat, chasing after the boy, not sure if she was either worried or angry with him.
Mike rose up afterwards, reaching his hand out. "Jess!" He called after the girl, but it was no use, she was already chasing after the boy.
Mike shook his head in defeat, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he looked at the spirit board again.
"Library..." He remembered. Those were the words that had been spelled out before the pointer had somehow flown right off of the table, crashing into the ground before seemingly disappearing into thin air. It most likely didn't, but he couldn't find it now. "This is crazy."
Mike sighed and walked out of the room, not sure where Matt or Jessica had went. He hope they didn't get too far, and walked down the stairs at an easy pace, knowing that Matt wouldn't pull anything too reckless and would reel Jessica back in if she got too crazy.
"Jess! Jess!" He called out, hoping the worry in his voice wasn't evident as he searched around for the girl, until he noticed that some sort of...secret passage had opened up next to the bookshelf. Whatever it was, it hadn't been there before. "Well, here goes nothing..." Mike muttered as he walked in, hoping to find his girlfriend sooner then later.
Matt and Jessica walked through the secret passage, Mike quickly leaving their minds as the curiosity of the new part of the lodge filled their minds. Who the hell has a secret passage in their lodge?
The duo had found it randomly. Jessica was trailing Matt, yelling for him to come back, in which Matt defied. He ended up stumbling and knocking into a bookcase, some of the books crashing down on him. Jessica had spotted a button that had been hidden behind them, and had, expectantly, immediately pushed it.
That revealed the strange new area that frightened the two friends to no end. But, something about it pulled them in, made them feel like they needed to go in. So they did, Matt leading the way with Jessica trailing slightly behind.
"God this is creepy." Jessica mumbled, not realizing Matt had stopped until she bumped into him. She stumbled slightly, but caught herself, looking at Matt's back angrily. "Hey, what's the big idea?" She asked, sidestepping around him too see he was currently holding a picture in his hands.
"Hannah and Beth..." Matt shivered as the names left his mouth, identifying that it was, in fact, the two twins in the sister. The fact that they looked happy and grateful to be alive formed self-hatred in Matt's stomach. He had, indirectly, ripped away their futures. Ripped away their dreams, their hopes, their family.
They had died too young.
Flipping around the picture revealed a horrifying note, causing Jessica to flinch away and for Matt to nearly drop the picture.
"'I will take them and bleed them like pigs, and rip their soft white skin off. Fucking sixteen years. Sixteen years I waited for pretty little Hannah and Beth..." Matt read off, trailing off afterwards, not sure of what to say. After Matt just stayed staring at the note, Jessica started to get worried for the boy, and swatted the picture out of his hands.
He didn't react though, still staring in the same spot, wondering what exactly could be going on.
"Matt! Matt!" Jessica shook the boy's shoulders, trying to bring him back to reality, wondering to herself if they were even in reality. She shook her head, shaking away her own thoughts as she continued to shake Matt. "Matt! Matthew!"
Matt looked up suddenly, his eyes back in focus as he moved away from Jessica so she would stop shaking him.
"Sorry, just spaced out for a moment there." Matt mumbled an apology, an eerie feeling following him where ever he went, repeating every word he spoke in his mind. The noises of the lodge echoed, even though it was nothing more then Jessica's breathing. Well, and his own.
"A moment? More like an hour." Jessica scowled, shaking her head disapprovingly. Matt sighed, scratching the back of his neck, trying to make sense of the situation.
"I'm sorry." Matt said, more genuinely this time as he looked around the secret passage, wanting to now return to the lodge.
"Whatever, let's go get Mike. I'm getting scared." Jessica admitted, turning back towards the door, anxious to leave wherever they were. As she walked over, she heard a scream channel through the lodge, bouncing off of the walls before they reached her ears. Her eyes widened, her mouth agape as she recognized the voice immediately. "Mike!" She cried out, getting frantic.
"Oh shit!" Matt cursed as the door started rumbling. Jessica sprinted over, a small inkling within her telling her that there was a strong possibility that it was Mike trying to get in, trying to get away from something.
"Jess!" Matt rushed over her as the door opened, and he almost sighed in relief when he thought it was just Mike. But when Jessica suddenly yelped and the door slammed shut, a whole new tremor of terror shook his body as his rush turned out into a crazed dash.
He slammed his body right into the door, pain eating away at his side as he continued to throw himself into the door, praying it would open soon. Jessica's cries for help were loud and had the clear tone of being terrified.
Matt stepped away from the door, and with a start, he sprinted towards the door, hurtling himself towards it, breaking through. Immediately he noticed that Jessica was lying on the ground, and look frantically around for the person who had grabbed her.
Before he could even think a proper thought a fist made contact with his head, knocking him out immediately. His limp body fell to the ground, now battered and bruised from the course of events.
Matt was knocked out cold, but somehow he could hear Jessica's body slowly be pulled away from him. He had failed. Again.
Sam walked through the dark woods of Blackwood Pines, Ashley trailed behind her, shivering slightly through the cold. It was a little bit past dark by this point in time, but Sam wasn't scared. It wasn't like there was anything that bad out in the mountains.
Ashley jogged to catch up with Sam, getting frightened by the whistling of the wind and the symphony of noises coming from the wilderness. Sam chuckled lightly at her friends fear, shaking her head.
"There's nothing to be afraid of Ash." Sam said comfortingly, stuffing her hands into her pockets as she looked around herself, feeling calm in the rawness of the environment.
A deer suddenly darted past the duo, causing Ashley to yelp. Sam merely flinched, being aware that different animals would be surely popping out every once in a while.
"Why did we choose to go to the guest cabin?" Ashley whimpered, realizing that this wasn't her best decision in the world. Actually, she hadn't even come up with it, it had been Sam.
Sam shrugged. "Just to escape everything back at the cabin I think." Sam explained. Ashley nodded.
"Or, you mean, get away from the Jessica and Emily drama." Sam nodded firmly in agreement, eliciting a light giggle from Ashley.
"It'll be nice, just me and you. You can catch me up on all your amazing achievements from the past year." Sam suggested. Ashley hummed in agreement, now eager to get to the cabin, hoping that her excitement wasn't too obvious.
But Sam had caught it because, well, Sam was Sam. She was aware of the whole fact that Ashley had a huge crush on her, but she wasn't so sure about how she felt about the whole thing.
Of course she loved Ashley. The girl was her best friend, she prioritized her above all other things. Her safety was more important then everybody else's. But she had also been having strange feelings about Josh lately, since their friendship had taken quite a turn since the last year.
And everybody always joked about how Josh and Chris were 'gay for each other', but Sam wasn't sure if it was a joke or reality. Sam really wasn't sure.
And what were her feelings about Ashley? Were they romantic or merely platonic? Sam couldn't know for sure, yet. She needed to gather more facts.
"Sam!" Ashley's voice snapped the girl back to reality, who shook her head to get her thoughts back to real life. Sam looked towards her friend, a look of reassurance on her face as she grinned.
"Sorry, the dream world pulled me away for a few moments." Sam explained. Ashley looked at her for a few moments, before deducing everything was fine and pulling away.
After a few more minutes the two finally got to the guest cabin, Sam opening the door. Ashley stumbled in after Sam, eager to get away from the coldness of the outside, even though it was equally as freezing.
"Ashley, you can take a seat on the couch while I start up the fire place." Sam offered. Ashley eagerly took it and planted on the couch, feeling pretty tired from the walk there as Sam got started on the fire.
"Thanks Sam." Ashley chirped, snuggling into the sofa, watching Sam working away on the fire. Sam waved her hand dismissively in response, getting back to getting the fire ready.
After a few minutes of waiting, Ashley was joined by Sam on the couch, the fire slowly starting to warm up the cozy cabin. Sam patted on her lap, motioning for Ashley to lay her head there.
Of course, the blond complied. She got comfortable pretty quickly, and the pair of friends settled into easy conversation, taking about all the things they liked and didn't like about life.
It was a stupid conversation, but it was a nice one. It had been a long year for Sam, after the passing of Hannah, her best friend. Ashley had been quick to fill the gap, but it still ached.
Sometimes she wondered what it would be like if the twins hadn't died. Would they be at the lodge right now? Most likely, playing games around the fire. It would be awkward because Mike and Jessica were now dating and Emily would have to cope with it, but it was okay, because Sam would just laugh in the corner with Josh and the twins.
Sam also wondered if it was better the way things were. She would surely never had become close with Ashley if it were not for that stupid prank. That stupid prank had made Samantha's life do a complete three sixty.
Ashley's yelp and the sound of broken glass catches Sam off guard. Ashley leaped from where she was snuggled into Sam's lap, looking over at the broken window in horror.
Sam stood up to get a better look, shocked by the amount of broken glass on the floor. She walked over cautiously, trying to get a better look.
"What the hell?" She muttered, kneeling down to see the cause of what had broken the glass, frowning when she couldn't locate one.
"Sam!" Ashley called out to the girl worriedly, and in fear. "How did that window break?" Clearly the question was directed at Sam, who had little to no idea on what was happening.
But for the sake of Ashley's mental state, she straightened her shoulders and showed no signs of fear, turning around to Ashley with a calm look on her face.
"Probably one of the guys. Mike and Jess are usually the ones to pull pranks like these." It had been a total lie, but thinking about it, Sam realized it would actually make sense. She would check the outside to see if they were out there, and then scold them for terrifying Ashley.
And herself of course.
Ashley's heart-rate slowed down, and she nodded slowly, accepting that it was a likely possibility. As soon as Sam got close, she latched onto the girl, searching for some type of safety in the now creepy guest cabin.
Sam comforted the girl, obviously, and then sat her down on the sofa.
"I'm just going to check outside really quick, okay?" Sam explained, rubbing Ashley's shoulders, hoping the girl would calm down from the sudden scare.
Ashley made a noise of protest, but when she realized that Sam was going outside no matter what she said, she nodded.
"Alright, but please be quick." Ashley begged. Sam nodded in agreement, giving the girl a quick squeeze of assurance before she trudged over to the door, not knowing whether this was a good idea.
But if there was a foreign noise or if she saw somebody she didn't recognize, you could bet that Sam would be running in immediately. She was curious, but not an idiot. If her life was in danger then it wasn't worth knowing who was out there.
Opening the door of the guest cabin revealed that it was snowing harder then ever, and Sam had to squint just to see a few feet ahead of her. She blindly entered the realm of snowy wonder, not going too far out so she would lose sight of where she was.
"How did that window break?" Sam wondered. Nobody was out there, next to herself, so it just didn't make any sense. With a sigh of defeat, she decided her best bet would be to get inside and think about what the best option would be from there.
"Did you see anything?" Ashley asked, the worried tone clear in her voice. Sam shook her head, brushing fallen snow off of herself as Ashley moved towards her to meet her at the door.
Curiously, Ashley moved towards the door once Sam had walked over to the couch, opening it up to take her own peek outside. The brewing snowstorm hit her hard, taking her by surprise. After a few moments, a few painful moments to be honest, she came to the conclusion there was nothing out there.
"Odd..." Ashley mumbled to herself, closing her the door. She sighed and leaned back against it, the shattered glass still spooking her slightly, but logically thinking it could have just been an animal or rock or whatever...Yeah, logic.
"Well, maybe we should head back to the lodge." Sam suggested, leaning her head against the sofa as she watched Ashley tiredly. Ashley shrugged.
"I guess so. But it'll be pretty hard through that storm." Ashley mused, her thoughts reeling right back to the viscous storm going on outside. She had barely lasted a few seconds, and it took a while to get back to the lodge, so their odds didn't look too great.
"Well, why don't you come over here? We can formulate a battle plan and then move on from there." Sam patted the spot on the soft next to her.
Ashley grinned and nodded, moving to walk over when suddenly a hand broke through the window, grabbing hold of the hood on her jacket.
Ashley screamed as she felt herself ripped off from the ground by someone with some kind of superhuman strength. Her body was pulled through the window, broken glass tearing through her clothing and creating wounds on her flesh, blood seeping through the classroom.
"HOLY SHIT! ASH!" Sam cried, darting over to the door and kicking it open. She stumbled slightly in her craze, nearly falling onto the snow as she looked around for where Ashley was.
She couldn't see the girl through the snow, but she could still hear her screams. Sam looked around, seeing a rifle hanging up on next the front door of the cabin. She grabbed it before sprinting towards the sounds of her best friend's cries.
Fearlessly she leaped onto different pieces of tubing floating on the river, getting passed easily enough. Her heavy breathing signaled she was supposed to be getting tired, but adrenaline and the fear that Ashley could be killed triggered something inside of her.
Sam slid down a cliff, reaching out for a branch to stop her from stumbling, picking back up into a sprint afterwards. After a few moments she came across a ledge, and without a second thought, jumped right across it, landing with a huff.
Before she knew it she was standing before some...mines? Yeah, they were definitely mines, and something told her that Ashley was done there. She slid down, deciding that the path in would take far too long.
"ASHLEY!" Sam yelled, seeing a barely alive Ashley lying on the elevator shaft. Or maybe, she was dead. Sam couldn't tell from where she was standing.
Immediately she forced every once of herself to run as fast as she could, prepared to get Ashley out of there no matter what.
"Sam." Ashley croaked, and right before Sam got to her, the elevator shaft dropped, falling down into a pit of darkness.
"NO!" Sam cried out, falling to her knees as she watched Ashley slowly slip out of her reach, the whole mad dash becoming seemingly pointless. "No..."
"Ugh..." Matt groaned in pain, his head throbbing as he struggled to force his eyelids open. After a few moments his willpower came through and, after struggling, he was able to get up in a standing position.
He realized that he was in the kitchen, and placed his hands onto a chair to get his balance. Another groan escaped his lips, the pain becoming more and more tolerable with the passing moment, fortunately.
"Shit!" The memories rushed into him, remembering that Jessica had been dragged away from someone, or something. Immediately he began to move, searching around the cabin for any signs of the girl or her boyfriend.
He was wary as he walked around, each step had caution behind it. The man could still be in the lodge, and Matt was very vulnerable at the moment in time.
Matt swallowed when he noticed a large blood stain on the wall. He prayed in his head that it wasn't either his friends as he forced himself to continue, no longer willing to gaze at the red work of art.
After checking every room a second time, Matt realized that whatever had taken Ashley, and possibly Mike, had left the lodge to hide out somewhere else.
The boy sharply breathed in as he walked outside, the cool air hitting him hard. It was snowing, but not as much as it had just minutes before. Actually, Matt had no idea how long he was out for, so it was probably more then just minutes.
Cautiously he walked around the lodge, trying to find anything of importance that would lead him to where the couple were being kept. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed the shed, and concluded that it would be a good place to look.
He jogged over, hoping-praying-that the duo were in there. He opened up the doors, revealing a work like area with some technical set up, glass beyond it revealing another room where...
"Matt!" Jessica yelled, Matt's eyes widening at the sight before him. There they were, Mike and Jessica, both tied up against a wall with, what looked like, some sort of saw prepared to rip through them. "Help!"
"Holy shit, what's happening?" Matt asked, Jessica looking around fearfully while Mike struggled to get out of his holds. Suddenly, a voice blared over a speaker inside of the old shed, breaking through the dusty air.
"Hello, and thank you all for joining me." The voice was eerie, with a robotic scratchiness to it. Mike began struggling harder, Jessica finding it useless since she had been struggling for forever.
"Who the fuck are you?!" Jessica asked in a defiant tone, but her voice was still rather shaky. Mike just struggled further, it was only rope holding him, and from the looks of it, it wasn't tied very tightly. If only he could just get the right angle...
"Tonight, we are going to conduct a little experiment." The voice continued, heartlessly. Matt gritted his teeth, not liking where this was going.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Matt barked, fearing for his friends safety. The saw looked extremely sharp, and could probably tear right through Mike or Jessica.
"A sort of test,"
"This is insane..." Jessica muttered, wondering whether or not she was dreaming. Mike didn't seem to be talking, so maybe it was just a dream.
But really, Mike just didn't have the time to waste his breath on consulting with some crazed psychopath. He was getting close to getting out of the binds, if he just had a little bit longer...
"Now for this test, we will need the cooperation of both of our subjects, Mike and Jessica of course." Jessica whimpered at this reveal, a shiver running through Matt's spine at.
Mike was almost there. Almost.
"But, we need one more brave participant to initiate the experiment, of course." Matt inhaled sharply, exhaling shakily when he realized he was the only other person there.
Jessica was now shaking her head, rambling to herself, trying to convince her brain it was nothing more then a dream. It was certainly just a dream, obviously. Just a dream. Just a dream.
Mike was getting there, he could feel it. If he could just get his arms out, it would be fine because that was what was holding up his upper body. He could just fall to the floor and easily avoid the horizontal saw, knowing it would never be able to reach him.
"That participant must choose...Who will live and who will die?" If Matt had felt fear, then this must have been something different entirely, because this was true fear.
A sob escaped Jessica's lips, knowing that either her or Mike weren't going to be alive in a few moments. She moved to take a look at him, knowing that it would most likely be her last.
But he wasn't looking at her. He was trying to get free.
Of course, that's what any body would have done of course.
But why didn't he look at her?
"NO! I'm not doing this!" Matt cried, slamming his hand against one of the walls, for some reason thinking if he inflicted enough pain upon himself it would all be over.
"What is happening?" Jessica swallowed a sob, putting on a brave front as she looked around the shed for anything that could get her out of the situation.
"Please, please settle down everyone. It's all very simple. Matthew, you will see a lever in front of you." Matt looked down just where the glass ended, noticing a lever, a picture of his two friends on either side. "All you have to do is choose who you will save."
Right as the words left the unknown man's mouth, the saw switched on, moving slowly down it's path towards the middle of the duo. Matt noticed that there were two separate tracks, so depending on his choice the saw would go one way or another.
"No, no, no, no, no, no..." Jessica words slurred into one another fearfully, her eyes widening dramatically at the saw in front of her. If it was scary before, this was terrifying.
"Fuck! Don't do this!" Mike finally cried, the reality of the situation hitting him in the stomach when the saw switched on. But he continued to struggle, obviously. If Matt didn't choose to save him he would have to get out of the rope hold.
"What the shit...What the shit..." Matt repeated over and over, his breathing becoming ragged as he watched the saw move forwards, the weight of the world crashing down on his shoulders. This was practically murder! He was ending somebodies life whether he liked it or not. The choice, the privilege to see his friends alive, was ripped from him in a matter of moments. "I can't do this. I can't do this!" Matt cried out, hoping the voice would come back, revealing that it was all some stupid prank.
"Please...Please don't kill me!" Jessica yelped, watching as the blade edged towards her. She didn't want to die. She had her whole life in front of her, eighteen was way too young for somebody to die.
Well, at least if Matt did choose to kill her, the death would be quick from the sharpness of the saw...
NO! She needed to live! She didn't want to die. She didn't want to die!
"Matt, come on buddy! Don't kill me, please!" Mike begged, still struggling through the rope, feeling the strong hold loosen dramatically. A rush of adrenaline coursed through him as he realized he could get free, he just needed another minute.
But he realized he didn't have another minute.
Matt uneasily placed his hand on the lever, knowing he needed to make the choice soon before somebody made it for him. It was hard to breath; it felt like somebody had their hands wrapped around his throat, all the while holding a dagger to his friends' throats, laughing psychotically.
"Oh Jesus what do I do...?" Matt mumbled, exchanging looks with Jessica, who held the same fearful gleam in her eyes. Mike was too busy struggling to look at Matt, but the boy could tell that he most likely felt the same way about the situation.
"Please Matt..." Jessica whimpered, just praying that Matt would choose her. She wasn't heroic. She couldn't do it, she just couldn't sacrifice her life for Mike.
Everybody says that when there in a situation like that, they would risk their life for their loved one. But Jessica just couldn't do it! She just couldn't! She didn't want Mike to die and the thought of him dying sent her into a whirlwind of extreme sorry and guilt, but the thought of her dying for him seemed unreal.
Maybe humans are just too selfish.
Or maybe the love between her and Mike wasn't what she thought it was.
"I...I..." Matt wished their was an option to kill himself instead, it would make it so much easier. But there was no point. There was no way he could save his friends. One of them were going to die that night.
In the spur of the moment, when Mike was too busy trying to break free, Matt flipped the lever.
"Matt, you have chosen to save Jessica." The confirmation of his actions caused his body to wrack unnaturally as he fell to the ground, not wanting to watch one of his closest friends die.
Mike's eyes widened at the revelation, mentally berating himself for focusing on breaking free instead of pleading for his own life.
Or maybe he just knew it. Maybe he just knew Matt would choose to save Jessica and that trying to make a pitch for himself was absolutely pointless.
"No, fucking no, fucking no," Mike repeated, Jessica watching with incredulous eyes as the saw switched over to his track, a horrible feeling forming in the pit of her stomach as it edged closer and closer to him.
"Mike no!" Jessica screamed, Mike's struggles turning into crazed movements as he realized if he couldn't break free he was a goner. Dead. Would never walk the earth again. Would never go to school or eat at the fast food place around town. Would never sleep with Emily while he was dating Jessica and immediately regret it afterwards. Would never reach his dreams, would never fall in love.
No.
He was Mike. He was going to find his way out.
"I'm so sorry!" Matt cried out, slowly pulling himself up, for some reason needing to watch the blade slice through Mike. Maybe to check if it was really true. If he was really going to die. His friend, his close friend, was going to die.
With a last surge of effort, Mike cried out and ripped his hands out of the ropes hold, immediately dropping to the floor just as the saw would have sliced right through him. His head hit the ground with a thud, a surge of pain coursing through his body.
But it was nothing compared to what the saw would have been like.
"You failed the experiment. Expect consequences, Matthew." The speaker blared scathingly before it cut off, the door to where Mike and Jessica were opening.
Matt sprinted through it, Jessica looking away, for some reason thinking that Mike had still died. Tears trickled down her cheeks as Matt moved to untie her.
"Thank you Matt, thank you, thank you..." Jessica repeated over and over again, Matt not responding until she was untied. When she was, he immediately darted over to where Mike was, untying his legs so that he was now just lying against the floor.
"I think he, I think he passed out." Matt's voice was shaky, and he was stuttering slightly, the scare still haunting him as he lifted Mike upwards, swinging his arm around his own shoulder.
Jessica darted over to Mike, checking whether he was alive or not with her own eyes, sighing in relief when she realized he was breathing.
"Thank God...Matt, what just happened?" Jessica asked, her breathing erratic as tears continued to trickle down her cheeks.
"I...I don't know. Let's just try to find the others. Stay close to me, okay?" Matt said the last part sternly, keeping her gaze on the girl until she replied.
She nodded slowly, swallowing. "Yes..."
The duo walked out of the shed, Matt struggling to keep Mike up as they moved, hoping that the psycho wouldn't come and get them while they were vulnerable. They need to find the others and inform them on what was happening was soon before something happened to them.
"Jessica, no matter what happens, we're in this together...Right?" Matt asked, keeping his gaze forward, afraid of what the girl would say.
She nodded firmly. "Of course." She said this because the psycho's last words still haunted her.
"You failed the experiment. Expect consequences."
"Matthew."