Chris was the first to wake up, the feeling of the helicopter landing at the station jolting him awake and a protective arm quickly wrapped around Sam; his nerves were absolutely fried. A sigh of relief passed his lips though at the sight of the ranger pulling the door open as the whining of the helicopter's blades quieted down.
"Hey, guys, we're at the station." He shook Sam awake as Mike began to wake up on his own, they both looked exhausted. Hell, they all probably looked awful, Mike especially though. The three of them crawled out of the helicopter and Chris found himself blinking away the bright morning sun, it felt nice on his face. He forgot about Blackwood Mountain for just that moment. His gaze was pulled towards the opened station door and found himself and the others being ushered into a warm room. Warmth, a welcomed feeling for the blond boy.
…
The questioning took around an hour for each teen and since Mike had been the first to talk he now found himself sitting on a couch a cushion away from Chris; Sam was the last to be questioned. Both boys sat in silence, each holding a steaming cup of coffee that neither had taken a sip from but simply enjoyed its warmth.
"Mike, what happened to Josh?"
The bruised boy was pulled from his own thoughts at the question, turning to face Chris. There was a pained look in his eyes, a monotone to his voice. Mike felt his throat clench up. He took a deep breath.
"After Sam went back to the lodge, Josh and I went the way she and I had come from and there was an underground lake…" He ran a hand through dirty ebony locks, pulling his gaze away from Chris. He suddenly felt an awful mass pit in his stomach.
"What happened to Josh…"
He shut his eyes closed, he didn't want to hear that tremble in the Chris's voice, and he didn't want to feel the blame that Chris was going to throw at him.
"Hannah dragged him into the mines." And then there was silence between the pair. Mike could feel light blue eyes boring into his head and didn't look when he heard the Styrofoam cup hit the ground, or when he heard the small sniffles from the other boy on the couch.
"W-why didn't you… why didn't you try to save him?!"
"Because if I went after him then we both would have been dead!"
Both teens were standing now, facing each other off in the small waiting room. Mike tried to ignore the obvious tears trailing down Chris' cheeks leaving white streaks on his otherwise dirt-covered face. A stray thought entered his mind before the door opened, both of their gazes turning and seeing a ranger and Sam exit the interrogation room. Mike pulled his eyes away from the pair and walked over to the wall, leaning against it before looking up at Sam who was asking Chris what had happened.
"He left him for dead, Sam…"
Mike watched as Chris crumpled and sobbed in Sam's arms, the girl giving Mike a look that would turn weak men to stone. He felt awful and turned away, allowing them a moment to grieve.
"Like I said, you guys need to go into the mines!"
It had been Sam that finally spoke up now, giving the ranger the look Mike had received and the ranger gave a gruff "of course" before leaving the room to the three teens.
…
Chris and Sam were now on the couch while Mike was still leaning against the wall. Chris's eyes were puffy and red, even though he had finished crying over an hour ago, and the three teens now found themselves waiting to be released from police custody. No one spoke a word to each other and instead was left to their own thoughts, thoughts of the others.
"Ash never did rejoin the group after she closed the manhole cover." Sam found her voice suddenly, a distant expression in lost green eyes. Both boys understood the implications in her words and Mike was next to join in.
"Matt and Em never showed up back at the lodge either."
No one mentioned Jess, Josh wasn't brought back up either. That bridge had already been crossed and besides, the rangers said there would be search parties sent out to find the missing teens. Sam turned to Chris, about to ask if he was all right but there was this look in his eyes- one that she had seen before, at his parents' funeral. She felt her heart sink like a rock.
"They'll find him, Chris." Her words were soft as pale fingers wrapped around his hand, Sam trying her best to reassure the silent boy of their friend's safety. He simply nodded a bit before delving back into his secluded mind. Sam suddenly looked up, and Mike's attention was caught as well, when a ranger poked his head in the door.
"You three are free to go, if you need to there's a phone in the other room to contact your next of kin."
And with that the three were alone again.