Hey guys.
Welcome back to the final chapter of Trapped Until Dawn. Well we've been on quite the journey, haven't we? Ryan and Will have managed to save everyone, but how does it all end? Let's find out.
Will's pov, police station, 9:03am
The helicopter ride back was kind of uneventful, except for the fact that we were finally getting off this god forsaken mountain. The ride was completely silent, no one uttered a single word to each other, not even Ryan or Josh. But I did see Mike comforting Jess and I continued to comfort Josh. But nothing was said until the helicopter landed at the local police station near the base of the mountain.
"Okay, you can sit in the waiting room while I go and get the chief of police." The pilot said as we entered the police station and sat on the chairs in the waiting room as he went down a corridor to the left.
The waiting room was really bland. The walls were beige in colour and had 10 chairs, the perfect amount for us, in the right corner of the room as you enter, 5 chairs on each side of the wall before the corner. There was also a reception desk by the corridor that didn't have a person behind it yet and a sofa that was by it too. I sat on the second chair on the left with Josh sitting on my right and Matt on my left.
Jess sat next to Matt while Mike sat next to Jess on the chair closest to the corner on the left side. Emily sat on the right most chair while Ash sat on the chair closest to the corner on the right. Chris sat next to Ash and Sam sat next to Em while Ryan sat in between them.
"Oh, I am so glad to be off that mountain." Sam said.
"Yeah, I'm so glad everyone got off there safely." Mike said.
"Ha." Emily scoffed, shaking her head lightly.
"What? What's wrong?" Mike asked.
"Oh nothing. Except for the fact that we ALMOST DIED UP THERE!" she replied, a little too loudly for my liking.
"Oh for god sake, Emily." I said under my breath, putting my head in my hands.
"Well... maybe, but we're all here now." Mike said hesitantly.
"Yeah, BARELY! I mean, just look at Jessica. Just look at how cut up she is. You call THAT getting off the mountain safely. Not to mention that YOU ALMOST KILLED ME!" Emily continued to shout, standing up, while Jess sunk down in her chair at her mention while I saw Matt look around confusingly.
"Hey! I was doing that for the benefit of the group! We didn't know what was going to happen!" Mike argued back.
"YEAH, BUT YOU ALMOST KILLED WILL TOO! FOR NO REASON!"
"Well... I-I..."
"Exactly. Did I also forget to mention that Matt left me STRANDED ON A FALLING FUCKING FIRE TOWER?!"
"Wait, I never left you stranded on that tower." Matt butted in.
"Oh yeah, sure, Mister I'm-going-to-jump-to-safety-while-my-girlfriend-falls-to-her-death!" Emily continued.
"I was trying to save you. I jumped over to try and save you from a better vantage point! I didn't know it was going to fall immediately when I jumped! If I had tried to save you from where I was, we would've both fallen!" Matt explained.
"Whatever. And don't even get me started on Josh..." Em said. I could see there was even more confusion on Matt's face at the mention of Josh.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" I shouted, standing up abruptly. That was the last straw. This berating of the group was getting on my last nerve. "I'M SICK AND TIRED OF YOUR BITCHING AND WHINING! THAT WAS ALL IN THE PAST! WE ARE HERE AND ALIVE! BE THANKFUL FOR THAT! NOW SIT DOWN AND SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
That definitely shut her up. She gave me a shocked look as I got up in her face but she didn't counter at all. She quickly sat back down in her seat and put her head in her hands with a sigh. Everyone was completely silent after that.
"What's going on in here?" A man said as he walked into the room. From the looks of it, from what he was wearing and what his badge said, he was the chief of police.
"Nothing officer. It's just a... personal argument." I said, looking angrily at Emily who didn't respond in anyway at all.
"Ok, I won't pry... Yet, but that leads into the matter at hand. We've decided that we need to question you all one by one." The chief said.
"Why?" Ryan asked.
"You called the mountain ranger at 2 o' clock in the morning, saying that a 'psycho' was after you and then the radio all of a sudden cut out. We need to know what happened last night." The chief replied.
"Okay, I guess that's fair. Who do you want first?" Mike said.
"...Anyone willing to volunteer?" He asked. No one replied at first but finally Ash answered
"I guess I'll go first." She said, standing up.
"Okay, um..." He said, trying to get her name.
"Ashley." She said.
"Ok, Ashley. Right this way." The chief said as they walked out of the room.
So, that was pretty much how our morning was. Someone would be called into the next room, they would be interrogated, then sent back out and repeated with everyone else. We all pretty much sat, or pasted around the room in Ryan's case, in silence as each person was called in, except for when Mike asked Jess if she was alright and I asked Josh if he was okay.
When Emily came back into the lobby from her interrogation and Chris when in, I couldn't take any more of this deafening silence and I had been curious about what had happened to Matt, so I went over to him and asked him.
"Hey, Matt? What happened to you after the fire tower fell? We got Ryan and Emily's side of the story, so what's yours?" I asked. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Emily giving me dirty looks.
"Well, it's kinda long. But the fire tower fell and we had fallen into the mines..." Matt started.
So Matt explained what had happened after the fire tower fell. How Emily was hanging off the edge of the tower over a large drop; how he jumped to safety to try and save Emily but the whole fire tower fell before he could even climb up; how he spent hours walking through a maze of caverns.
How he found Jessica and they continued through the mines; how the Wendigo, not that he knew about the Wendigo, chased him and Jess through the mines but they escaped and managed to get back to the lodge as it went up in flames.
"Wow, seems like you've been through a lot tonight." I said.
"Well, what the hell happened with all of you? I thought you said Josh had been killed by the maniac." Matt whispered, glancing at Josh who sat with his knees against his chest on his chair.
"Well, it's a long story, even longer than yours..." I started.
"Well, looks like we have a while. Go ahead."
"I guess we should start from where we left you two..."
So I started to explain what had happened to the rest of us after Matt and Emily had left to find help, from when Chris, Ash and I got back to the lodge to when the lodge went up in flames.
"Wait, so everything that happened with the Psycho was all made by Josh?" Matt interrupted, when I got to the part when Josh revealed himself, quietly so Josh couldn't hear.
"Yeah, it was all planned by Josh to scare us, as revenge from what happened to his sisters." I explained.
"So he was the one who made the fire tower fall!" Matt said, a little too loud for my liking, again.
"Hey, keep your voice down. Josh is in a bad enough state with Emily's outburst and the whole night in general. We don't need anyone else adding to that." Ryan said.
"No, it couldn't have been Josh. He was with us the whole time. It's the same thing I said to Mike later on that night." I said.
"Well, someone had to have made it fall. It wouldn't just fall on its own. So who was it?" Matt questioned.
"Maybe it's not who, but what."
"Wait, you don't mean that... thing... that was in the mines could've done that, do you?"
"It's very possible. I'll explain in a minute. It will all make sense by the end, I promise."
"Alright, continue." Matt said as I continued my tale of the night.
"Wait, Ryan and Em got back to the lodge safe and sound?" Matt had asked when I got to the part when Ryan and Emily had suddenly appeared at the lodge.
"Yeah, they suddenly appeared at the door without a moment's notice." I said.
"What happened to you, Ryan? Last time I saw you, you had flown out of the fire tower door. I thought you were dead." Matt asked turning to Ryan, who was standing next to me at the time.
"I'll explain in a minute. You may want to listen to the next part. It's important to understand the whole night." Ryan said, kneeling down to Josh's level to console him. I could hear was sobbing slightly.
Poor Josh. He's been through so much. I hope that he can get better now that he knows what exactly happened to Hannah and Beth. I thought as I continued to tell Matt about the dreadful night.
I started telling what Ryan and Emily had said after they got into the lodge in a panic, then about when The Stranger came barging in and explained what was happening on the mountain and about the wendigos; making sure to explain to Matt what the wendigos were in The Stranger's exact words.
"So that's what was chasing Jess and I in the mines? And they used to be actual people?" Matt interrupted again.
"Yeah, years ago, there were these miners who maybe got trapped down in the mines somewhere and they must have resorted to eating each other, igniting the curse. The Stranger's been up here trying to keep them at bay. That might explain why a Wendigo cut the wires holding the tower up. They can be quite crafty and sneaky." I explained.
"Ok, I get it now." Matt said.
"Trust me, it gets better." I said sarcastically.
"Wait a minute, Will. Can I tell Matt what happened to me?" Ryan said before I could continue with my story.
"Sure. Go ahead." I said.
"So I had flown out of the fire tower door and landed in the snow..." Ryan started.
Ryan told Matt what he had told me when he got back to the lodge. From him falling out of the falling fire tower to him getting back to the lodge after going through the mines.
"So you two were chase by the... Wendigo too?" Matt said after Ryan had finished.
"Yeah, it was so scary. If it wasn't for The Flamethrower Guy, I probably wouldn't be here now." Ryan replied.
"Anyway, what happened next?" Matt asked me.
"Well..." I said as I continued to tell Matt about how Chris had decided to go get Josh from the shed with The Stranger's help and how he came back with the Wendigo right on his tail with The Stranger nowhere in sight.
"So, you think that The Stranger's..." Matt interrupted once again.
"Dead? From what Chris said once we got safely in the basement, it seems like it unfortunately." I said.
"Jesus." Matt exclaimed
"Unfortunately, it just gets worse from here." I said as I continued on to what happened in the basement. By this time, Chris had come back from his interrogation and Jess had gone in, to Mike's dismay.
"So that's what Em was going on about. Mike really did that?"
"Yeah, nearly killing me in the process. I get why he did it, he was just trying to protect us from the Wendigos and he was angry at me."
"But that doesn't mean that he had to shoot you." Ryan butted in.
"Ryan, we've already been through this. You remember the saying 'Anger makes you stupid.'" I said.
"Yeah, I do."
"Mike was blinded by his emotions. His anger made him do a stupid thing and he regretted it later."
"I know, I just can't get over that he nearly shot you."
"Well, because of you, I'm here and safe. I'm very thankful of that fact. Anyway, where were we?" I finished as I proceeded with the tale of how we left the basement to go after Mike.
"How did you know that it wasn't Jess banging on the door?" Matt asked.
"Well, firstly, we read in The Stranger's handbook that Wendigos can mimic the voice of their pray, so it could've really easily been a Wendigo. Secondly, from what Mike had said happened to Jess and what she looked like when he arrived, she would've been too injured to bang on a trapdoor that hard. And it all worked out in the end, because you found her."
"Ok, that does make sense."
"So we continued through the mines..." I said as I returned to the story.
"Wait, that thing was Hannah?!" Matt said as I said that we found out the Wendigo that had been chasing us across the mountain was actually Hannah, thanks to the diary she wrote.
"Shhhh, remember Josh's mental state?" Ryan stated quietly.
"Sorry. Are you sure?" Matt apologised.
"Yes, from the diary we found and all of the other clues, like the dug up grave, it makes sense. I did have my suspicions." I said
"But what exactly happened? What happened to Beth?"
"I might be able to help there." Ryan cut in. "Remember when we came up to a cliff and just before it we found Beth's phone. Well, based on where we found it, Hannah and Beth were chased, probably by a Wendigo, and Beth accidentally dropped her phone in a panic. They were backed up to the cliff and fell, explaining the broken sign at the top."
"I'll continue from here." I said. "So, what must have happened was Beth died in the fall, but Hannah survived with only cuts and a broken leg. She couldn't escape so she waited for a rescue. She gave Beth a proper burial and waited, but she got too hungry and resorted to... digging Beth back up and..."
"Oh... I see..." Matt said.
"She started turning not long afterwards, way too late to be saved..."
"This all happened because of the stupid prank we pulled."
"Matt, this is no one's fault. No one knew this could've possibly happened. It wasn't anyone who was involved in the prank's fault, it wasn't Josh's fault, it wasn't even Hannah's fault for running out into the snow. No one is to blame. Everyone could've made better choices, but it happened, and we can't change that now."
"I know, I just can't help but feel like we could've done something different."
"I know. Now, let's get back to the rest of the night..." I said as I proceeded with the night's tale.
"Wow, I didn't know that Josh was suffering through so much." Matt whispered when I got to the part when we found Josh hallucinating in the mines.
"Seems like none of us really knew. Not even Sam, and she is the closest to him. Anyway..." I said, continuing.
"Why did you guys decide to blow up the lodge?" He asked as I got to the part where we were trapped by the Wendigos in the lodge.
"Well, we were trapped by the Wendigos, and the only way for us to escape was to do that. You see, the only way to kill a Wendigo is to use fire, that's why the flare Ryan used against her earlier worked so well and why The Stranger always had a flamethrower with him. That's the only thing we could've done." I explained.
"Oh, alright then. Continue." Matt said as I finished off the tale with the events that transpired before the lodge went up in flames.
"Wow, and I thought I went through a lot." Matt said after I had finished.
"Yeah, it's been a hard night, for all of us." I said as Jess came hobbling back into the lobby, Mike going over to make sure she was alright.
"Ok, we're getting there." The chief of police said as he too came back into the lobby to collect another one of the group. "Can I have the one named Matt next please?"
"That's me." Matt said as he stood up and walk towards the interrogation room.
After that, everything went silent again. Not a single word was uttered while Matt was being questioned.
When Matt came out and Mike went in, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I looked to see it was Emily.
"Will?" She said.
"Yes Emily." I said, still a little bit bitter about what happened earlier, and remembering the looks she gave me earlier too, but hoping I wouldn't have to get angry at her again.
"I just wanted to say thank you for saving me... back in the hotel. If it wasn't for you, I might just be a rotting corpse under a burned-down lodge right now." Emily said, sort of surprising me.
"Umm, you're welcome. I didn't do much really." I said.
"You're kidding me, right? You saved my life. When nearly everyone was against me."
"And put myself in harm's way doing so."
"Well, that asshole was completely out of line shooting you. There was no need for that."
"While I do admit that he shouldn't have picked up that gun in the first place, it was my own fault that he shot me. I was the one who provoked him. I shouldn't have said any of the things I said."
"But you weren't the one who had a gun pointed at my head. And as a matter of fact you weren't the one who brought up the bite either!" Emily said, looking over to Ashley.
"Em, I said I was sorry." She said on the verge of tears again.
"Oh, yeah, you're 'sorry'. You got what you deserved bitch." Emily said back, which made Ash sink down in her seat, whimpering softly.
"Emily! You've got to understand that she didn't do that intending to get you killed! She didn't know what was going to happen; none of us did. She didn't know that Mike was going to pick up that gun. She was scared out of her mind, thinking that everyone was in danger and that they were going to lose you." I said.
"No! That's inexcusable. That doesn't mean that Mike should've picked up the gun. He put my, and your, life in danger!"
"He felt like he didn't have a choice. He feels bad that he pointed a gun at you and almost shot me. He knows what he did was completely wrong. I gave him another chance and he actually shot at me! If I can do it, why can't you?"
She seemed to think about it, but she never replied because Mike came back into the room before she could. Sam went in to be interrogated and everything went silent again. Nothing was said until Sam came back into the lobby a little while later. Now the only people left to be questioned were Ryan, Josh and I.
Third person point of view, Police Station Interrogation Room
So, one after the other, Ryan and Will were interrogated, Ryan going first and then Will. They were led into the dull looking interrogation room, there was a guy already in there sat behind a camera to record the whole questioning. He sat in the generic looking chair opposite to the chief of police and was asked questions about the night. (A W, C or R, for Will, Ryan or the Chief, will indicate who is answering what. (In game interrogation scene swap.))
(C) "So, from what everyone else has told me, this 'psycho' was just a cruel prank played by Josh." The chief had asked them.
(R) "Yeah, I wasn't there for most of what Josh had planned, but I was there when 'the Psycho killed Josh.' He had knocked us all out, taken me to the shed and tied me to a chair so I couldn't stop what was happening. It was... honestly the scariest thing I had to witness at the time." Ryan had said.
"So, after all of that, what's your opinion on the prank and on Josh as a whole?" The chief asked, scribbling down note on a notepads.
"I was mad at first. He play all of us like a harp and I didn't like it very much, but, after what I've witnessed from him tonight, I get why he did it. He wanted revenge for the prank the group played last year, even though Will and I weren't even there last year, and he hasn't been in the right state of mind lately, so I don't blame him for it. Doesn't mean I'm not mad though." Ryan replied.
(W) "Right, I had been part of most of it. But I kept a level head and managed to figure out that Josh was behind it all." Will had answered to the question.
"Wait, you figured out Josh planned it before he revealed himself?" The chief questioned.
"Yeah, he left too many clues out that incriminated him. Of course I was super mad when he revealed himself, but when Mike suggested tying him up in the shed he supposedly 'died' in, I couldn't let that happen, even if he did some bad things that night." Will answered.
(R) "So, where were you when Josh was playing his prank?" The chief asked Ryan.
"I was with Matt and Emily trying to find help." Ryan answered.
"Ah, yes. Matt and Emily had said that as well. Supposedly, the fire tower fell when you contacted us, is this correct?"
"Yes, it's true. Matt and Emily had got trapped in the tower in the mines while I was flung out into the snow."
"What happened from there?"
"Well, I got up and tried to find a way into the mines."
(R) "Why did you go into the mines? From what I've heard, it's quite dangerous." The chief asked Ryan.
"Well, I couldn't just leave them down there. If I had gone back to the lodge, I would've felt like I had left them to fend for themselves, I had to help them somehow. But I didn't expect to find what I did down there."
"And what's that?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
(W) "Why did you tied Josh up in the shed?" The chief asked Will.
"Ok, I had nothing to do with that. I may have been there but I actually didn't want to tie him up. That was Mike's idea, Chris and I were just witnesses." Will answered
"But why was he tied up?"
"Mike thought he had killed Jess, and he thought he was dangerous because of his mental state. I thought he may have been off his meds but that was no reason to tie him up."
(C) "What do you of the mysterious person who, others had said, appeared at your door?"
(W) "Not much to be honest. Just that he'd been up on the mountain for years. I guess Chris told you what happened. I didn't get to spend too much time with him before he died." Will answered.
(R) "No, the only thing I really know is that he saved my life, back in the mines. If it wasn't for him, I might not be here right now. I wish I could've paid him back for that." Ryan answered.
(C) "What happened in the basement, with Mike and Emily? He was going to shoot her, wasn't he?" The chief asked.
(W) "Well... Yes, but we were scared. He didn't know what else to do. I couldn't let him do that, so I stepped in the way." Will replied.
"And he tried to shoot you for getting in the way."
"No, it was my fault that that happened. I provoked him, I shouldn't have done that, and I almost paid the price for it. He was blinded by anger, we all had had a stressful night, he didn't know what he was doing at the time and he regretted it later."
"So you forgave him?" The chief questioned confused.
"Well, yeah. Like I said, he regrets what he did and I don't think Emily is going to give him that curtesy.
"But he almost killed you."
"I guess I'm just lucky that Ryan was there with his quick reflexes to stop him."
(R) "It makes my blood boil just thinking about it. First off, he tried to kill Emily, which is bad in and of itself, even for the reason he was doing it. But then Will stepped in and Mike nearly SHOT him! I know he was angry but that's no excuse for shooting people." Ryan said angrily.
"So, not forgiveness from you then?"
"Absolutely not! I'm glad everyone's ok, even him, but I hope that he gets what's coming to him later down the line."
(C) "What exactly is in the mines that's so dangerous?" The chief asked.
(R) "Like I said, you wouldn't even believe me if I told you. Trust me, you don't want to go down there, otherwise... pain and suffer will be coming your way... and that's no exaggeration." Ryan said seriously.
(W) "Nothing good is down there, let me tell you. I don't know whether there are any more of them down there, especially after the sanatorium went up in flames, but I suggest you don't go down there... For your own safety.
"What's them?" The chief asked puzzled.
"...The Wendigos... The Wendigos are down there... And it's hungry."
Will's pov, Police station interrogation room, 12:18pm
"OK... That's all the information I need for now. Let's see whose next." The chief said to me shakily as he got up from his chair and headed for the door.
We walked back into the lobby, me quickly speed walking ahead of the chief, and I saw everything seemed the same as how I left it, Ryan was consoling Josh for me while I was away.
"Ok, one more person, Josh Washington. This should be good." The chief said, about to call him. This wouldn't be good with the state Josh was in right now. He was vulnerable, he wouldn't answer any of the questions and would feel like he's being attacked. I don't want him to go into hallucination mode again.
"Wait, hold on chief. Do you think I could come into Josh's interrogation please? Josh isn't in the right state of mind right now. He definitely won't answer any of the questions you ask him. Ryan and I are probably the only people he trusts right now." I said to him. He looked sceptically at me, like I was doing it for some other reason.
"I don't know." He said.
"I promise, I won't affect his answers at all. I'll just give him a little push to answer and keep him calm."
"...Alright, fine. But if I feel like you're affecting his answers at all, you're out."
"That's fine, just don't be too harsh on him, especially with the really bad things that happened last night." I finished as I walked up to Josh and kneel next to him.
"Hey Josh. It's your turn now buddy." I said.
"...Huh? Oh o-okay." Josh said as he shakily got up from his chair and followed me and the chief down the hall.
"It'll be alright, the chief just wants to ask you a few questions. I'll be by your side the whole time, Ok?" I comforted.
"Yeah... Ok." Josh replied as we entered the interrogation room and the chief and Josh sat in their proper chairs while I stood in the corner by the door.
"So, Mr Washington, I'll start with something easy. How did the night start for you?" The chief asked him. Josh stayed silent, he looked hesitantly up at me.
"It's Ok, Josh. Go ahead, tell him what he wants to know." I said.
"Well... everything seemed to start off normally... Everything was... going to plan." Josh stuttered.
"What was going to plan? Are you talking about the prank?" The chief stated, I gritted my teeth at the mention of the prank so early.
"Umm... Y-Yeah... I thought it was harmless at the time... Just to give them a bit of a scare, something we could laugh about later... I didn't think everyone would react so negatively, I-I especially didn't think Mike would accuse me of killing Jess."
"Mr Washington, you made it look like you had been killed by a psychopath. If Mr Munroe saw Jessica get attacked by some sort of figure, he's going to think it was you." Jeez, the chief was really laying it on thick.
"...I didn't know anything like that would happen... I was nowhere near the guest cabin at the time... I had other plans for them later." This new development confused me a little, but there was no point in pressing it, especially not now. It seemed like the chief agreed. Josh was not looking too good right now.
"Let's change the subject, to what you did do last night. You dressed up in a costume and scared your friends with your 'Psycho' act. Why did you do it exactly?"
"...It was to get back at everyone for last year. I wanted them to feel what... my sisters... felt that night. I... didn't think it would end how it did."
"But if I remember rightly, you and Chris were drunk at the time and the Miles brothers weren't even there. So why did you prank them if they weren't involved?"
"Well... it would not have been realistic if I didn't prank them now, would it? And I also thought it might help Ash and Chris with their relationship, a terrifying event can bring people closer." Josh gave a wicked smile to the chief and camera. I scoffed lightly, at least I know Josh is still there, even if he isn't mentally healthy right now.
"But you didn't prank Mike or Jess?"
"I told you, I never managed to get to them! I didn't get to Mike, Jess, Matt or Emily!"
"I knew it." I said, confirming my suspicions with Matt.
"What was that?" The chief asked, apparently they had heard me and were now looking at me, except for Josh who had looked at me for a second but was now just looking elsewhere, the camera guy had swivelled the camera round to point at me.
"The fire tower. We thought something had to have snapped the wires holding it up and I knew it couldn't have been Josh, this proves it." I said.
"But who could've snapped it?" The chief asked. "Josh, what do you know of another person that has been living on the mountain?"
"Wait, are you insinuating that the flamethrower guy snapped the wires?" I asked.
"We have to think of every possibility." The chief said firmly.
"No, there is absolutely no way that he could done it. He saved not only my, but Chris's life too. He was trying to protect us." I said.
"Mr Miles, if I hear anymore outbursts from you, you will be out of this interrogation room immediately." I was about to retort but I held it back. Josh still needs me, I can't leave him alone.
"Anyway, back to the question. What do you know of this 'flamethrower guy', Josh?" The chief asked Josh, the camera pointed back at him again. He didn't respond at first, just staring off into space, more specifically the wall just past the camera man.
"Josh? Josh!" I shouted, getting his attention.
"Huh, what?" Josh said, snapping out of it and shaking his head.
"I asked you a question. What do you know of this person who has been living on the mountain?"
"Oh... um, I don't know of any other person living on the mountain... Well, there was that one guy that came knocking at the lodge door one time saying we should get off the mountain as soon as possible... We thought it was just some guy who was looking after his Native American heritage." Josh answered.
"Why do you think he was up there?"
"I... don't know... I couldn't tell you."
"Ok, let's move on. What do you know about the argument that happened in the basement? Between Mike and Emily?"
"I-I don't know what you're talking about... All I remember is being tied up in the shed by Mike and then..." There was a long pause from Josh. His expression changed from tired to kind of scared recalling the night.
"Then...?" The chief pushed.
"...I'm not sure what happened... All I know is I ended up in the mines." There was something wrong with Josh. I could tell he could remember but didn't want to tell the chief. He was shaking slightly and he was looking off toward the wall again, like he was actually looking at someone.
"Are you sure you don't remember?"
I'm... umm... I'm sure." Yep, he was definitely subduing the memories.
"Josh, it's okay. You can tell him." I said.
"You must of ended up down there somehow, try to remember." The chief said.
"Umm... I... I don't know what it was... But I-it wasn't... human... And if it wasn't for Ryan and Will... I probably wouldn't be here right now." Josh said, giving me a quick small smile.
"Are you sure, is there anything else you can tell me about it? We need you to remember as much as possible."
"Chief, you're pushing him too hard." I said
"Well... It was... No, no, no, no."
"Josh?" The chief said
"No, no, no, no, no, no." Josh whispered again.
"Josh? Josh!" I said, getting down on my knees in front of him.
"No! Get away!" Josh shouted.
"Is he alright?" The chief asked.
"No, he's hallucinating again. Stay back. Josh! Buddy! It's me, Will. I'm here." I said.
"No! Shut up! You're not real! You're dead!" Josh shouted again.
"Josh! Please stay with me buddy!" I could see that the chief was really confused.
"You were that thing! You tried to kill me! You died in the lodge!" Josh had now gotten up from his seat and was advancing towards the wall.
"Josh, come on! Snap out of it!"
"I'm done listening to you! It was your idea to do the prank and I listened! Now look where it's got me! Everyone hates me and it's all because of you! Why won't you stop tormenting me! Why won't you LEAVE ME ALONE!" That seemed to be too much for Josh to handle and, before I could get to him, he collapsed.
"JOSH!" I shouted, He needed help so I rushed to the door and called out; "Ryan! Get in here! Quickly!"
"What's wrong...? Josh!" Ryan said as he hurried down the hall toward the interrogation room and quickly got down by Josh's side with me.
(Mike) "What's going on in here?" (Chris) "What happened?" Mike and Chris said as they came rushing too.
"Josh started hallucinating again and then he fell unconscious. Take him back into the lobby to rest." I instructed.
"What about you?" Ryan asked as Mike and Chris put Josh on their shoulders and picked him up.
"I'm going to stay in here and finish off Josh's interrogation." I answered.
"Okay, we'll take care of him." Ryan said as the three of them exited the room and headed back to the lobby.
I sat in the questioning chair and waited for the questions to come. The chief had been surprisingly quiet throughout the whole experience. Looked like the camera man had recorded the whole thing.
"What... just happened?" The chief asked shakily.
"Josh was just hallucinating. I told you he wasn't in the right state of mind right now." I stated.
"But you never said anything about hallucinating!"
"You didn't ask, and I didn't know he was going to hallucinate again."
"Wait, again?"
"Yeah, it happened at one point last night too. When we found him in the mines."
"Do you know why?"
"Well, like I said, he hasn't been taking his meds and he was left alone to his thoughts in the mines. I didn't think it could get this bad though. We'll get him more help."
"Do you know what he was talking about? Who died in the lodge?"
"Umm... He must have been talking about Hannah."
"But she went missing, didn't she? Along with Beth?"
"Yeah, they did. But... I know you're not going to believe me, but... remember the thing I told you about earlier, about the Wendigo. Well, that was Hannah... She was trapped down in the mines and resorted to cannibalism and turned into a monster." The chief was silent for a moment, trying to process what I had just revealed to him.
"Okay, I think were done here." The chief finally said, getting up from his chair.
"Are you sure, seems kind of abrupt."
"Yes, I'm sure. You are all probably really tired after the night you had. We'll have to go up to the mountain to investigate."
"I don't think that's a good idea." I said, getting up from my seat abruptly.
"We need to investigate the lodge to see if your stories check out."
"Ok, it's your funeral." I said under my breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all." I finished as we walked out of the interrogation room and into the lobby.
As we walked into the lobby, I could see that Chris, Mike and Ryan had placed Josh on the sofa that I had noticed earlier, with Ryan standing by his head, Chris by his feet and Sam kneeling down in front of him. I swiftly moved towards them to check on Josh.
"How is he?" I asked, looking around at the three people surrounding Josh as I kneeled by Sam.
"He seems alright. He has no injuries from the fall." Chris said.
"But we don't know how he is mentally yet." Ryan stated.
"I just hope he's alright. I don't know what I would do without him." Sam said.
"I'm sure he will be fine. He's a fighter." I said.
Suddenly, I heard a groan come from Josh. I looked to see him flutter his eyes open.
"Josh! Are you okay?" Sam asked.
"W-what happened?" Josh asked, slowly pulling himself up.
"You were out of it again, then you collapsed. You alright?" I asked him, making sure he didn't strain himself.
"Y-yeah, I think I'm fine. Where am I?" Josh asked.
"You're still in the police station. Don't worry, you don't have to answer any more questions." I said.
"We'll be going home soon. I promise." Ryan said. Ah yes, home. Our home isn't even in this universe. I don't think we'd be able to keep that information from them for much longer.
As we gave Josh some time to rest, I glanced back at the chief to see a police officer had come up to him and was now talking to him.
"Okay everyone. Your families have been contacted and they are on their way to pick you up." The chief said as the police officer marched away.
"You mean we'll be able to go home soon?" Ashley asked from her chair in the corner.
"Yes, that's right. You're free to go. Thank you for all of the information you've given us." The chief confirmed. "I'll leave you alone then. Make sure Mr Washington gets home safely."
"We will." Mike said as the chief walked down the corridor and out of site.
"Well, this has been one hell of a journey, hasn't it?" I said to Ryan.
"You could say that again. We made it through the night." Ryan said.
Suddenly, in the corner of the room, there was a bright light that appeared out of nowhere.
"What's that?" Sam asked, everyone giving her confused looks.
"I'm not sure." Mike answered. It started to get brighter, but it felt like I'd seen it before. Everyone stood up and crowded around the light, even Josh.
"It's getting brighter." Chris stated.
"No shit, Sherlock." Emily said.
It was starting to get blindingly bright now, to the point we all had to close and cover our eyes. I shielded my eyes away from the harsh light until I could see it lessen in intensity. I looked back to see what I could only describe as some sort of portal. It rippled with a heavenly white glow. Then I remembered what it reminded me of. The light that Ryan and I saw before we entered this world.
"Ryan, that's it!" I stated.
"What is?" He questioned, everyone giving me the most confused looks they had given all night.
"Our way home!" I stated as I pushed past the group to get in front. Ryan gave me a knowing look as he followed behind.
"Wait, Will, what are you talking about?" Sam asked.
"It's... complicated. Should we tell them?" Ryan said.
"Tell us what?" Mike asked confused.
"Now that we've got to know them, they have a right to know. Let's just say that we're not really from around here." I said vaguely.
"How so?" Sam asked.
"As in this world." I finished.
"Wait, are you aliens?" Ashley screeched.
"No, no, no, no. Absolutely not. We're as human as you are. We mean that we aren't from this dimension." Ryan stated firmly. The group just seemed to get more perplexed as time went on.
"None of this makes sense. We're been friends for months now, how can you be from another dimension if we remember you being around for so long." Mike questioned.
"I guess when we entered this world it fabricated new memories so we didn't just come out of nowhere." Ryan explained.
"So, you two are from a different dimension? How did you get here in the first place?" Matt asked.
"Well, this may sound weird, but in our world, your world is just a video game." I said, puzzled looks all around. "Ryan and I had sat down to play the game before we were transported here."
Everyone just stared at us in bewilderment, trying to process the fact that they are just video game characters.
"So, we're not real?" Ashley said.
"No, you are real, that much is true. Just in this dimension, not in our world." I said.
"Will, it's time to go." Ryan said.
"I know." I said.
"Will we see you again?" Sam asked.
"You might do, you never know what will happen." I stated.
"You ready?" Ryan asked me.
"Yeah, let's go home." I answered, stepping towards the portal. But before we could go through it. I was stopped by a hand grabbing my arm. I turned to see it was Josh who stopped me.
"Wait, don't go. Please." Josh exclaimed. All this information seemed to have stressed him out again.
"Josh, we have to. We don't belong here. We have our own home to go back to and it isn't in this universe." I said.
"But I don't think I would be able to get through without you around. You saved me, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you." Josh said, looking up at me sadly.
"Josh, I'm sorry but we have to go. I need you to be strong for me, okay? You can get through this. I know you can. You have a group of friends that will help you while we're away. Can you do that for me?" I said to him, putting my hands on his shoulders comfortingly.
He hesitated, before mustering a small smile. "Yeah, I'll try. For you."
"Ok then. Look after him for me, will you?" I said to the rest of the group.
"Of course. We all will." Sam said.
"We really had to go now Will." Ryan said.
"Okay, I'm coming." I said as I made my way towards the portal.
As Ryan slipped through the portal back home, I took one more look back at the group that we made friends with these past 13 hours.
Sam; I never really got to know her as much as I could've, but I know that she tries to keep the group level-headed and fair.
Mike; The guy may have tried to shoot me, but he has good intentions for the group, even if he goes about it the complete wrong way.
Jess; I never really got to know her too well either, nor did Ryan. She was a complete bitch when I first met her, I don't know how this experience will affect her but I hope it helps her for the better, not the worse.
Josh; Poor guy, he's been so troubled all of his life. I'm glad I could save him from the brink of insanity. I hope he gets the help he deserves, now that he has some closure as to what happened to his sisters.
Chris; He's a really good guy, cracking jokes to liven the mood, even in the darkest of situations. I know he'll be able to look after Josh, they're best friends. I also hope he can make it work with Ashley, they deserve each other.
Emily; Emily, Emily, Emily. What is there to say about that can be quite bitchy at times. She may be a bitch, but I know she really cares at heart. I hope she can make amends with everyone she's wronged, or who have supposedly wronged her.
Ashley; Even though she may be a scaredy-cat at times, she can pluck up the courage to do anything when she needs to. I know she will be able to make it work with Chris and I hope she can make up with Emily.
And finally, Matt; I never really got to know him myself, but I know that Ryan and him became fast friends. He tries to look out for everyone too. I hope he can get back with Emily, they deserve each other, even if Emily doesn't realise it yet.
I gave everyone one last wave, which they all returned, and gave a small smile at the fond memories, before strolling into the portal, ready to finally get home. I may not have wanted this at first, but I know I will never forget these characters, and this experience, for the rest of my life. We may have almost died, but I'm glad we got Trapped Until Dawn.
And that's it. The end of Trapped Until dawn. I am so terribly sorry this took so long. I started to worry about my GCSE's and I kind of lost the motivation to write for a while there. I know it took me 6 months to do, but now I am in College (UK College) and I am starting to get back into it again. This doesn't mean that I will upload all of the time though.
(PLEASE READ THIS NEXT PART IF YOU ARE A FAN OF THIS STORY AND WANT MORE.)
If you're sad that Trapped Until Dawn is ending, then don't worry, it's not over yet. As this is being uploaded, I am uploading the first chapter of another story, Trapped Until Dawn: After Hours. It'll be a side story to this one exploring what would've happened to Ryan and Will if they made different choices. If that interests you, then go check it out.
Thanks to everyone who supported this story over the past two year (As of uploading this chapter, the story is exactly two years old today). Here's to the future.
Bye guys.