Until Dawn: The Light in the Darkness

Chapter 17 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 17

SAM POV

I let out a soft, contented sigh as I lounged in the bath. I had placed my iPod on the wide edge, far enough away from the water to avoid any problems. I listened to the music through my headphones, lost in Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 prelude in G Major. I lost myself completely in the music, savoring the hot water and just felt myself unwind, my muscles relaxing. Just then, I heard a muted thud, which, due to my headphones, could only have come from the bathroom door. The small gust I felt confirmed it. My eyes shot open, registering that the candle next to the bath had gone out, too. I removed my headphones and set them aside before looking around. No one was in the room. I began to worry.

"Hello?" I called out. "Guys? What are you doing out there?"

I glared and shook my head, muttering, "Being creepy?"

I got no response, however. Sighing heavily, I began to climb out of the bath.

"Oh...kay..."

I quickly retrieved a white towel nearby and wrapped it around myself, covering myself as best as I could. Holding a hand against the towel for added security, I approached the chair that I had laid my clothes on, only to stop and stare in disbelief. My clothes were gone, all except for one sock.

"Oh for Pete's sake. My clothes? Really?" I complained before calling out, "Whichever one of you did this is off my Christmas list! Seriously, not cool, guys. Not cool at all."

Muttering angrily, I stalked over to the bathroom door, opening it and stepping out into the corridor. I looked around and couldn't see or hear anyone. Instantly, my mind flashed back to when they pranked Hannah and I felt uneasy. I glanced down to make sure the towel covered me and I began to walk.

"Chris? Josh?" I called out, hoping for some reassurance from the least likely suspects. "What the hell?"

Suddenly, a loud noise startled me, making me stagger back, but it was just the old grandfather clock chiming.

"Ugh, stupid clock."

I walked out on the balcony and called out again, "Chris? Mike? Emily? This is really getting out of hand, okay?" I shook my head and continued my tirade. "It was all very funny, ha ha, look at Sam walking around in a towel, but now I just really want this to be over, alright? You had enough?"

Still no answer, but I noticed something that bothered me. Next to the stairs was a balloon with an arrow on it, pointing down the stairs. I bit my lip and made my way downstairs. I was still damp, but thankfully not dripping wet. Still didn't make me feel any less embarrassed, though. I reached the lower main room and looked around before stalking out to the front entrance.

"Can I have my clothes back now or am I supposed to hang out in a towel for the rest of the weekend?" I demanded, only to again be greeted with silence. "Towel it is, then."

It was then that something caught my eye, a strange business card for a slaughter house. On the back was a request for dead pigs and circular saw blades. While confusing, I left it. I had more pressing issues as I returned and decided to continue following the balloons that showed up, guiding me, apparently, to the basement.

"Okay, if you were trying to freak me out, guess what? You succeeded." I said, more trying to reassure myself, as I was getting unnerved by all of this.

I found that, to my surprise, the normally locked cinema room doors were wide open. I picked up the flashlight that Josh had used earlier and turned it on, stepping into the room.

"Where the hell are you guys?" I demanded. "Whoa, this is weird..."

The room was actually set up and seemed to be showing a movie, or rather, the static when a movie wasn't in focus.

I exhaled sharply. I was at the end of my tether now. "Hey! Guys, come ON! I am DONE with this! I really don't appreciate the silent treatment here!"

But my angry tirade was cut off by the cinema doors slamming shut by themselves. I screamed and turned, only to scream again when a distorted voice began to talk.

"Hello, Samantha." it said, sounding rather sarcastic and mocking. "Looking for me? I don't think you'll have much luck by looking, Samantha."

I looked around wildly, my heart pounding. "What the, what the hell…!" I whispered in fear.

The distorted voice spoke again. "You're only going to see what I want you to see, and I have quite a lot to show you."

I shook my head. "What is, what is going on…!?"

"Open your eyes."

The large screen flared to life properly and I turned to face it, my eyes widening with shock and revulsion coursed through my body as it showed footage of me in the bath. Someone had been recording me, they had seen me naked.

"Oh my God..." my words were barely breathed out. I now felt utterly violated. 'That's, that's sick...why would, urgh, this isn't...'

Revulsion, embarrassment, no, more like utter humiliation filled me.

The distorted voice continued, mocking me. "She's quite beautiful, isn't she? A beautiful bathing bird…"

I looked around frantically again. "How, why, why did you…?"

"Do you think she has any idea what lies ahead? Do you think these were the last happy moments of this creature's life?"

An icy stab of fear ran down my spine at those words. "Why are you showing this to me?"

"Why are you watching?"

With a shaky breath, I turned around before screaming at what was now being shown, footage of Josh getting cut in half.

"Josh!" I cried. "OH MY GOD, WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

I couldn't believe it, this couldn't be real. Josh was, he couldn't be…

The voice, however, took on a more menacing tone at that moment.

"I'm going to give you ten seconds...Nine..."

"No, no..." I whispered, again looking around frantically, retreating to the nearby wall. "Nonono..."

"Eight, seven..."

"Please no..."

Then the door burst open and I screamed as the Psycho entered, the grin of his mask likely hiding a sadistic grin of his own.

"Sam." he growled.

In his hand, he held a canister of some sort, attached to a nozzle and a breathing tube, connected to an oxygen mask. My heart raced with fear as an unfamiliar fizz settled in my limbs. There could be anything in that canister, I had to keep it away from me.

"No...No!" I pleaded.

But the Psycho began to draw closer.

Acting in a blind panic, I grabbed a nearby vase and threw it blindly at the Psycho, striking his arm and making him stumble. I ran for my life, running through the door at the other end of the room, down the corridor until I stopped. I was now in the guest room.

"Shit!" I cried out. I could already hear his footsteps. "Shit, shit, shit."

Wasting no time, I leapt over the bed, my flashlight guiding my path, grasping at my towel to keep it covering my body, the last thing I wanted was to lose it. Bad enough I had been so utterly humiliated being filmed naked in the bath, this wasn't helping my terrified state at all. I was only halfway over the bed when the Psycho burst through the door and laughed. Screaming, I hurried over the rest of the bed and straight through the guest room door. I ran along the hallway and down to the basement, making sure to avoid the damaged step. It had been damaged for years and nobody had ever gotten around to fixing it. I stopped and looked around. I was in the basement, near to where the boiler was. Still in a panic, I ducked down near where the boiler was located, a damaged pillar was my only cover and only went so far. I instantly shut off the flashlight and waited, fear pumping through me as I squatted, praying silently.

"Sam?" the Psycho called out, slowly walking up until he was level with the pillar. "Why are you hiding?"

I went rigid, clamping my free hand over my mouth to stifle my breathing and stayed as still as I could, praying he wouldn't hear me. He began to move away, but stopped further up the corridor, blocking my only path.

"Sa-am...why prolong the inevitable?"

Gritting my teeth against my terror, I stayed put. He looked around, seemingly at ease. The videos were all the evidence I needed; this man was dangerous.

"Why kid yourself into thinking you can get away? Don't you know I can smell you, Sam? I can smell your fear."

He mockingly tapped the gas canister and I opted to remain where I was. That turned out to be a mistake, for he turned back, walked until he was level with the pillar again, and then leapt out the other side, behind me.

"Gotcha, so sorry." he mocked.

I screamed as he grabbed me and pressed the mask over my mouth and nose, muffling my screams as the gas hissed. I instantly felt myself getting groggy and realized, whatever it was, it was going to put me to sleep. But then I remembered the last time that I had been down there, what I had spoken to Josh about, what I had left, just to my right. Acting with my last strength, I grabbed the baseball bat and smacked the Psycho on the side of the head. He cried out and fell and the mask also fell away from me. Coughing and trying to recover my equilibrium, I hurried away, turning the flashlight on again, more desperate than ever. My heart was pounding, adrenaline fueled by fear filled me, but did nothing except add to my current panic. I had to get out of there, I didn't even want to imagine what this crazy freak had planned, especially after seeing what he was capable of doing in those videos. I reached the end of a cellar corridor to find a door. I struggled to open it, only to find a problem.

I was so frantic that the words spilled out. "Are you kidding me?" I screamed in despair. "No HANDLE!?"

I heard laughter, the Psycho had caught up. Screaming, I pulled the nearby wine storage cabinet down. He stopped, however, before it could hit him. But there, on top of it, now fallen right at my feet, was the door handle. I grabbed it and frantically tried to get the door open as the Psycho began to step over the fallen cabinet, stepping right through the wood in his effort to catch me. I finally got through and slammed the door shut, locking it. But there was a grill in the door that was open and the Psycho reached in, grabbing for me.

"Ahh!" I screamed. "Get out!"

I slammed it shut on his hand, forcing him to withdraw before I closed that, too. It could only open from this side. But I couldn't stay there, it was getting more and more dangerous the longer I evaded this man.

I turned and ran to the door at the end, but it was locked. I didn't have time to do anything other than force it. I shoved my whole weight against the door again and again, until I finally broke through and fell down the gap into what appeared to be an old underground hotel. I cried out in pain as it lanced through my head, specifically at my right temple. I then remembered the bird, how it attacked me. Reaching up, I touched it. Wincing in pain at the jarring fall, I forced myself upwards and looked around. After having seen the blood on my fingers, I knew the wound had reopened. To my left was a passageway, to my right was an elevator that was half down, yet the doors still opened, providing me with a place to hide. I made up my mind at once and leapt inside the elevator shaft.

Switching off the flashlight, I ducked down and pressed myself against the wall below the door as much as possible, clutching my towel tightly. I heard his footsteps drawing closer. I frantically held my breath and shut my eyes, praying desperately. My heart was hammering so hard in my chest, I was amazed that he couldn't hear it.

"Here, little kitty." his distorted voice mocked me, right above me. "Here pussy, pussy."

My body was rigid with tension and fear as I waited, desperately not moving in hopes that it would hide my presence. No such luck. My cut had dripped blood, giving away my position. With a laugh, he leaned in and I felt the mask clamp over my mouth and nose again.

"NO, NOOO-!" I screamed out as I struggled.

But it was no use. Still not fully recovered from the previous attack, this time the gas had an almost instant effect on me and I slumped down, collapsing in a heap at the bottom of the elevator as he let go of me. My vision was blurry and I could just make him out as he lowered himself down. He was coming to get me. I was helpless, frantic with complete primal fear, not knowing what my fate would be as I sank into blackness and fell unconscious.

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