Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.
Once Beth saw the distinctive bite mark, her mind went into overdrive as the pulsating pain was the only thing she could concentrate on.
She gritted her teeth as her cries echoed throughout the Sanitarium, the Wendigos screeching in response. The blood was seeping through the fabric and was already soaking the sleeve. However, all Jack could do was simply shake his head.
Jack simply sighed and silently muttered under his breath. Beth was still seething with pain. He grabbed her by the uninjured arm. "Come on."
As he led her back down the corridor, the two of them narrowly manoeuvred themselves around the still agitated Wendigos. Beth kept her slick hand glued to her arm. Looking back, she saw her attacker still peering out through the bars. She could see a mixture of annoyance and pleasure on its face.
Stopping their trek by the nearby table, Beth leaned against it still groaning in pain whilst Jack opened up his bag and swiftly pulled out a first aid kit. Beth was shocked about how calm and collected he was about the situation as she was inches away from death just seconds ago.
He set out a line of bandages and disinfectants on the table and motioned for Beth to roll up her sleeve again. Wincing slightly, she gingerly pulled it up to reveal her bloody arm. To her surprise, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary about the bite. At the time, she thought the curse of the Wendigo could affect those bitten by them or at least cause some strange growth. But it looked as if she were bitten by a dog.
When Jack poured the alcohol onto the bite, Beth quickly flinched away but he simply pulled her arm closer so he could wipe the blood off to take a good look at the damage. To their relief the bite wasn't too bad but still pretty serious.
"Looks like you're gonna need stitches.", he said, taking out a needle and some thread.
Beth's eyes widened in shock. "What?!" The pain continued to throb and she could already feel tears shimmering from her eyes.
He took her arm and set it down on the table. Knowing full well what was coming next, Beth tightly gripped the edge of the table. Before she could comprehend anything else, Jack was already approaching the wound with the needle.
"Ready?", he asked.
"Uh-huh.", Beth choked out. "Just do it."
After a moment's hesitation, Jack jabbed the needle into her flesh. Beth yelped in pain as she felt her arm tense up. She didn't even care about the Wendigo's shrieks in response. For a moment she though the nightmare was over when the thread was pulled through but was brought back to reality when the needle was pushed through the other side. She screamed out again and gripped the table until her knuckles turned white.
"Don't worry.", Jack said. "Just a couple more time." The statement didn't stop Beth from hyperventilating.
As the needle was applied for the next suture, Beth gasped and then grabbed a nearby cloth for her to bite into. Of course it didn't cease the excruciating sensation but at least she wasn't crying out. Instead she groaned as hot tears streamed down her face.
Jack then told her that this was the last couple and Beth screwed her eyes shut. She bit down on the cloth so hard that her teeth almost tore through it. For the last couple of minutes all she could feel were the burning jolts of the needle and grunted when Jack had reached the end of the wound.
She practically felt the thread being pulled through the skin causing her to let out a few puffs of air to get her breathing in check. Jack then cut the thread from the needle and began to tie the ends.
"Relax.", he reassured. "You'll live." He carefully wrapped her arm in a few layers of bandages.
"Are you sure?", Beth asked, eyeing her injury worryingly. She felt somewhat stupid for asking that question; if Jack was the 'Wendigo expert', then she should trust him. But at the same time, she felt that she should still be weary. "Nothing bad will happen, right?"
Jack chuckled and rolled up his own coat sleeve to reveal his own stitched and bandaged arm, a little more further up than Beth's. "Does that look "bad" to you?" Beth silently mouthed an "oh" and Jack rolled his sleeve back down. "What did you think was gonna happen anyway?"
Beth shrugged, a little embarrassed. "I don't know. Maybe… turn into one of those things."
He chuckled again. "You watch too many of those movies."
She shifted her weight onto one foot. "It was just a thought."
Jack's eyes travelled to her arm, taking note of how she hadn't taken her hand off the injury. "How's it feelin'?"
The teen looked up and then back down at the bandages, now noticing her fingers were tracing the injury. "Still stings a little. But at least the worst is over.", she replied as Jack was placing his medical supplies back into his bag.
"I wouldn't say that. Just make sure you watch yourself when around a Wendigo. They can always catch you by surprise."
"I'll keep that in mind.", Beth replied.
When the moon began to disappear from the sky and the night began to brighten up, Beth had stood awkwardly by the table gripping her healing arm with one of the wolves sitting patiently beside her whilst Jack had retreated back with the other to the cage to make sure the Wendigo was trapped securely in the cage. She had wondered what would be taking so long but didn't want to navigate the Sanitarium alone.
Once he was back, he had set down his flamethrower and began rummaging through his bag again.
"You hungry?", he asked. As if on cue, her stomach began rumbling loudly making her question the last time she ate. The whole night had been exhilarating and she hadn't been thinking about those sorts of things when her life was hanging in the balance. And, possibly, her sister's.
"Now that you mention it, yeah, I guess I am.", she replied with a sheepish smile.
Using a match, Jack fired up an old camping stove and began heating up two cans of food. The two of them had sat down to eat and Beth was grateful to have some warm food.
As she ate another spoonful, she began to wonder. She paused. "So… if resorting to cannibalism turns people into Wendigos, how long is it before it… you know… happens?"
Jack set his can down and Beth did the same, knowing how serious this predicament was. "Actually, the Wendigo spirit is what drives people to cannibalism in the first place. No matter how strong you think you are, without enough food for days, you're as good as dead."
Beth's eyes widened in shock.
"That's why it's best to trap the Wendigos instead of killing them. Sure, it's dangerous but it's better than letting the spirits possess other people."
"So that Wendigo you killed on the mountain and the one that almost killed me means…"
"There are still two roaming spirits in the mountains.", Jack finished.
"Right.", Beth said. She couldn't help but feel guilty; if she wasn't in this situation, Jack wouldn't have had to kill those Wendigos and release their spirits. If there were other demonic spirits in the mountains, then could that mean Hannah was just as vulnerable?
She quickly turned away and shut her eyes tight whilst simultaneously clamping her hands over her ears, trying to will the terrible thoughts away before her mind could wander any further.
She pushed the can away. "I think I've lost my appetite."
After Beth had half-finished her meal, Jack told her she could get some rest while he kept watch a little longer. He pointed her toward a room which she could sleep in and Beth quietly thanked him before leaving abruptly.
Entering the small room, she saw a battered mattress that looked it had seen better days. But Beth was just grateful that the night was over and could finally relax, even if it was for a few hours. She had to accept the fact that, if she was really going to do this, she'd have to learn that things won't get any easier.
For all she knew, her sister could already be dead or possessed and she'd be chasing a lost cause. But accustoming to this new way of life would be a better option than leaving Hannah to die. Until she searched every inch of the mountains and mines, she wasn't going anywhere.
Beth lied down on the tattered mattress and, after some consideration, placed the shotgun at two foot of the makeshift bed. For the next half hour or so, Beth found it hard to relieve the tension from her body and struggled to relax. She was so tired, but was afraid that if she fell asleep she wouldn't wake up.
She fought against her fears and let out a long sigh. All of a sudden, she heard a soft growl from the door and stiffened when she saw one of the wolves walking towards her. She half expected him to rip her to pieces but instead the animal lied down at the foot of the mattress. Reluctantly, she reached out and petted the wolf, who let out a satisfied growl.
Beth gently laid her head back down and slowly shut her eyes, now relaxed by the strange sense of comfort. Before she knew it, she drifted off to sleep.