With a groan of discomfort, Lauren opened her eyes to total darkness, unsure of where she was for a moment until her memories of the Kullman Mine came rushing back to her. Although her body still ached from the assault she'd endured at The Chaser's hands, she was grateful that her injuries weren't severe enough to keep her off of her feet. She didn't think anything was broken, but she could feel that a lot of blood had dried on her face. Her flashlight and camcorder had barely left her hands when she'd passed out, but unfortunately, she'd been so mentally and physically drained that she hadn't thought to turn them off beforehand. As a result, her camcorder's battery had dropped by a significant amount, and her flashlight's beam was looking a little dimmer. "Great, now I have to worry about conserving battery," she grumbled, taking a moment to pull herself up onto her aching legs. "How long was I out for anyway?" She had no desire to waste more battery by looking through her footage to answer that question, so she shined her flashlight around the dark room, discovering that it was much larger than she'd initially thought. The walls, floor, and ceiling were made from the same material as the rest of the mine, and embedded in the walls were various elevator shafts connecting to different sections of the facility, confirming the theory she'd had about them. Directly ahead was a hallway, the only hallway in the room, and Lauren began to follow it, hoping that the evacuation route wasn't blocked. Eventually, she reached a point where the hall took a sharp turn to the left, and a smile spread across her face as she spotted bright sunlight just ahead. Ignoring her injuries, she sprinted toward the wide-open exit as the sound of chirping birds and lightly blowing wind filled her ears.
She took a deep breath of fresh air as she burst out of the dark tunnel, grateful to be taking in the refreshing smell of the outdoors instead of the stale, stuffy air of the old mine. Squinting in the bright sunlight, Lauren turned her flashlight off and took some time to look around, discovering that she now stood high up on a mountain range. The uneven slopes of the ridge were blanketed with wild grass and dotted with trees, and the overgrown dirt trail that she was standing on led away from the mine's exit, soon splitting off into two different directions; The first branch of the path kept going forward and to the right, snaking across the grassy ridge to a destination she couldn't see, but the second led up a hill to the left and went under the locked gate of a chain-link fence. "That probably leads to an evacuation point for the miners," Lauren thought. The area behind the fence was inaccessible due to the barbed wire on top of it, so she didn't dwell on it for long. She turned her attention back to her immediate surroundings, noting that the sun was high in the sky. She figured it was sometime in the afternoon, which made sense considering how long it had taken her to escape from the mine. She closed her eyes, letting the sun warm her skin. It was noticeably colder at this altitude, but not cold enough for the mountains to have snow on them yet. She took a few moments to enjoy the newfound tranquility; There were no nasty surprises waiting in dark corners, no eldritch abominations lurking in the trees, and no crying zombies or masked proxies skulking nearby. It was peaceful, but she knew that she couldn't afford to stop moving or let her guard down. The Slender Man was still out there somewhere, and so was Kate.
Lauren opened her eyes again, studying the landscape and determining it to be easily traversable, much to her relief. She'd been through more than most and had managed to come out of it in one piece, but she wasn't sure if she had enough energy for rock climbing. Hiking, on the other hand, was something she could manage. As she began to follow the trail away from the Kullman Mine, she looked to her right and caught a glimpse of the radio tower standing tall behind a rock formation some distance away. She was pleasantly surprised to see how much closer it was now and figured that if the path she was following led to where she wanted it to and nothing else delayed her, she could probably reach it before sunset. A smile spread across her face as she realized how close she was to reuniting with Kate. "I don't know what'll happen when I find her, but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it," Lauren said, realizing for the first time that she didn't have much of a plan beyond actually locating her friend. "Maybe I'll get to meet this CR character too." It wasn't long before she stumbled upon a small stream trickling down the side of the mountain. She set her gear on the ground and knelt down next to it, cupping the fresh water in her hands and washing the dried blood off of her face. She looked at her reflection in the water, grimacing at how banged up she looked after her encounter with The Chaser. The damage could've been a lot worse so she tried not to let it bother her, although it was still unnerving to see herself stained with her own blood. Lauren scooped up a few more handfuls of water and took a much-needed drink before drying her hands on her pants and gathering her equipment. A few days ago she never would've considered drinking out of a stream, but now she barely even thought about it. She stood back up and pressed forward, following the trail to the edge of a steep cliff where she had to stop for a moment, for ahead of her was a breathtaking view.
The forest was far below; a seemingly endless expanse of conifers stretching for miles, as far as the eye could see. Streams and rivers, large and small, lazily flowed through the picturesque countryside. The mountains in the distance towered over the vast landscape, the bright sunlight casting a warm golden glow upon them. The bright blue sky was clear, with only a few puffy white clouds spread out across it. The birds chirped and chattered along with the other creatures of the woods, enjoying the warmth of the sun, all while a pleasant breeze blew through the area, carrying with it a few stray leaves, some pine needles, and the refreshing smells of the forest. Lauren stood there for quite some time, mesmerized by the natural beauty before her. She'd spent her whole life in Oakside, surrounded by the natural beauty of the Albertan wilderness, but she'd never seen a view quite like this. She pointed her camcorder at the gorgeous landscape, attempting to get it all on tape so she'd be able to see it again long after she'd found her friend and escaped this nightmare. Eventually, she tore her eyes away from the scenery and continued onward, following the trail along the side of the cliff, but it wasn't long before she noticed something strange. A pine tree stood tall next to the path, and leaning up against it was an old teddy bear. It was in rough shape, appearing as if it had been sitting out in the open for a long time, and Lauren wasn't sure what to make of it until she noticed the barely legible name embroidered on the animal's torso; Charlie. Her breath caught in her throat, and after a moment of hesitation, she approached the stuffed animal and examined it. "Did this belong to Charlie Matheson?" she asked aloud, picking up the ruined toy to get a better look at it. "Why would something like this be-" she began, but never got to finish her sentence. Her entire body froze in place, a sharp pain ripping through her head as a bright light overcame her vision. She was unable to move, scream, or even think as ghostly whispering filled her ears and the world around her gave way to memories of days gone by.