Author's Note – So, I might add a wee bit to some of this but it is ready for the most part. The only aspect of this story I don't really know what to do with is Amy, but that is more of a when than a what as she is a bit too a part from the rest of the group. I just don't want this to be too jarring. Anyway, let us get this show on the road…

She wasn't sure how long she had stood staring into his eyes. She knew she wasn't looking into them, there was nothing to investigate anymore. Chloe's screams had faded as her voice wilted into the background. Lily knew her ears had long since drowned out her pleas in favor of searching Jesse's body for any sign of life. His arms still drooped, and his chest never faltered into the rise and fall that she was used to.

He remained lifeless. His eyes turned with his body as they swayed under the saws persistent turning. Even after it had torn him in two it remained fully functioning. Its blade now blocking his fallen limbs. Lily wanted to go up to him, to hold him and reassure him that everything was okay. But, the realistic part of her brain reminded her, that he wasn't there to reassure her. She had failed him. He had a way out and she killed him in her stead.

It was him or Chloe, her mind supplemented. Chloe who didn't get shielded from the event. Who had to watch the saw come closer to her, who wasn't sure if she would be saved. Who, even though she was saved, watched as Jesse was bisected beside her.

Lily let her eyes wander away from the carcass. Her gaze blurred with unshed tears worked their way across the knots binding Jesse's arm towards the identical loops joining Chloe's hands into a tangled assortment. From where Lily remained, behind the meshed wall, she could make out the splatter marks worked across the board Chloe was strung upon. Red splotches littered her face, her cheeks were lightly splattered, and her clothes were undoubtedly warmed.

"Lily!" Her friend's voice carried as she watched her lips move. The two finally synched together, snapping Lily into action.

She moved back to the door, her hands locking onto the action. The metal warmed minutely underneath her fingers. She never stopped to brace herself, her shoulder forcefully thrust at the door. Surprising even herself the door worked itself open. The hinge jammed every few centimeters, but she persisted. She could feel her shoulder darkening with every blow, but she didn't allow herself to stop.

Chloe's screams vocalized the doors' agony. One swing for one scream as if they went hand in hand. Later than she would've liked, the door opened completely. The last few inches exploding at once. The metal screeched louder than Lily could scream as it rested against the newly dented wall. But Lily let herself run to Chloe the second she was free.

"What happened Lils?" Chloe trembled as Lily yanked onto one end of her restraints. "He was supposed to be free." Despite her best efforts, her eyes landed on the set next to her. His pupils reflected little in return. "You were supposed to escape."

The redhead fell into her friend's waiting arms with a swift flick. Her legs wobbled seemingly too unstable to hold herself up. Lily could feel her own start to buckle under the extra weight. Behind the backboard, the Asian girl felt her eyes drawn to the faint outline glowing around the struts in the doorway. A solitary handle lay within the slats.

"Come on Chloe," Her free hand stroked against her head as she made sure to keep her body between her two friends. Her head turned for one last send-off, and her own silent goodbyes hung loosely in her mind.

CR hadn't spoken a word since the pig head, her body ran on autopilot as her mind tried to make sense of what had happened. She knew what happened, but her mind was stuck on the who and the how. She didn't know what game they were playing or how they wound up starting in the middle of it, but she forfeited. No matter what pranks she had pulled, this was not a justifiable sequel. There had not been a psychopath involved. CR would've thought she would remember the disembowelled corpses...

Aubrey had followed numbly behind her, her mind recalled the tales Jesse would mention in passing. The man had been blase as he turned on the answering machine with his mother's voice ringing through the stereo spewing a simple warning.

"Hey sweetie, just remember to lock the door. The trail lights have been flicking on a lot. The police haven't given us any news just yet. Please be careful."

Her footsteps faltered under the words her mind displayed. At the time she had thought that she was speaking about Stacie or Beca but if she hadn't... Her pace quickened and she gently ushered CR to follow her lead.

They managed to walk for twenty minutes before a body halted their progression. Like a speeding bullet, Aubrey was left sprawled on the floor as the body collided with her own. its arms locking firmly around her frozen body as their shoulders trembled. The blonde tried to gain control of her body, the added weight deepening the numbness she had in the rest of herself.

"Aubrey?" CR turned around. Her eyes squinted in the darkened light. "You alright?"

Looking down at her assailant, between their trembling form and the lack of usable light, she realized just how difficult it was to discern who was on top of her. That was until a billowing wind shifted the branches of the overarching trees, allowing a thin stream of moonlight to illuminate a streak of skin below. But, before her mind to conclude her thoughts a different shadow worked towards them. Their gait was calculated and firm, with no sound produced on their journey.

"Lily?" Looking back down she was left with two options, one of which was too tall... "Chloe?"

The body whimpered at the name.

"Chloe, what happened?" The redhead wasn't known for her silence. The girl hadn't been this silent since the year prior. But, from what she could see, even Lily was struggling to remain stoic. Her eyes were downcast and her hands shook.

"Jess." was all Chloe could stutter, her throat choking around the singular syllable.

She looked around. "Jesse?" Noticing his absence her head slumped slightly. "Where is he? Is he okay?" Another whimper. Looking towards Lily for an explanation, she received only a shaken head. "What happened?"

CR joined them closer as Chloe mumbled her reason. The girl hadn't risen from her space on top of the blonde but no one would move her, even as all of them stared forlornly towards the shack the duo had left. The more details given the more the disbelief built up. Her ears blocked out the sound of a story she couldn't believe was true.

"No." It couldn't be right.

Amy hadn't stopped. She had moved through each narrow opening uncaringly as she sought to find Bumper's killer. She had moved and she had slipped all the while she had never uncovered another indication that anyone had been there. She wasn't sure where she was at this point but knew she was too far away to stop.

Eventually, the striations in the stone led her away. Each deep groove provides that little bit of sanity that she lost at the start of her journey.

The four remained in each other's orbit while they mulled over the story repeated. Aubrey's eyes flickered the most as she looked from the painted splatter on her friend to the shed's solitary light which remained visible through the snowfall. Lily's eyes remained on the blonde, holding equal parts restraint and expectance. As if she was warning off her curiosity while waiting for retribution to take her whole.

Like a dam had been broken from that look alone, the stilled silence was broken with Aubrey's words. "We need to call for help," She tried to move towards the other, more coherent people in their group. Only to fall back into the snow under Chloe's weight.

A simple statement which received a disbelieving scoff in return. CR returned her look with equal vigor. "What we need is to barricade ourselves and not split up."

The two stared the other down, both resisting taking a step in the other's direction. "We need someone to help us." Aubrey punctuated.

"We outnumber them."

The blonde's voice wavered with disbelief as she gasped her words out at the notion. "Do we?"

That froze the rebuttal in her throat. CR seemed to look back on the events while Aubrey bulldozed over her thoughts. "They got three of us and paraded them around like it was nothing. We left for an hour. An hour. Who knows what they've done to Benji and Emily? Or Amy and Bumper for that matter." The last two names brought forth thoughts they hadn't considered before. If it wasn't an isolated event, then they might not see them again. They might have sent their friends out to their deaths, and they hadn't thought about them since. "Three people carried and moved, with the potential for four more of us to have been attacked. Even if we do outnumber them, they have the knowledge that we don't. And we are on their turf."

"We need help." CR agreed. "What about the others? You said it yourself; they might need our help. They might not even know something is going on."

"We split up."

CR rolled her eyes to the sky and back. "You know that's how all you white girls die in the movies, right?"

"This isn't a movie." Aubrey reminded.

"No, it's not. This is real life; you can't just pause the action when it gets too scary." She took a moment to collect her annoyance. Her hand pinching her nose in restraint. "We don't get second chances. You saw the note, you know how this can end."

"I know." She looked back down into the soft scared eyes and sighed. "You take them back to the lodge. I'll check out the cable cart station, see if I can get the radios working. The lodge should have its own receiver. I'll let you know where I go and how, okay?"

The others looked at her as if she had grown a second head. Varying looks reflected back at her. A strange sensation settled in her stomach under the attention. "What?"

"No." The soft voice was muffled through her hair. "You can't," Was uttered slightly louder.

"Chloe?" She asked in disbelief.

"You can't leave me. You can't" Each word passed with more frenzy. "I can't. you can't" The girl's head grated into her side, the titanium earrings pressed firmly in her ribs. The blond was left with no other choice but to wrap her arms around the shaking waist on top of her. "You promised." Her body contorted in the blonde's arms. "Please don't leave me!" Her words faded into a hushed plea.

The onlookers turned towards each other allowing them a semblance of privacy. Their eyes locked, allowing an unspoken force to rally between them. Lily's head teetered and CR's shoulders shrugged in defeat. "She's not going." Her voice was breathy and forced. Yet it was enough to garner the other two girls' attention.

"What?" They both queried together.

"She'll stay with you, Chloe?" She wasn't strong in her response so opted to move her focus towards Aubrey. "You are going to take her back to the lodge and you'll go find Benji and Emily." It wasn't a question, and nobody had it in them to argue.

Lily moved to join CR, only waving slightly before leading the two of them down the trail. Leaving two gaping friends behind.

It was dark. That was all Emily knew. The room itself wasn't the brightest in décor but even she knew that there should have been a few splashes of colour around the shelves. Jesse had always bragged about hiding his Pokémon cards in his father's study, something she was hoping was true because she found all the inappropriate law books exhausting to ignore.

"It is." A voice reaffirmed.

"Huh?" Benji looked as clueless as she felt. A silent question hung between them.

The voice whispered in her ear, "It is true." Looking for the source, Emily was met with the sight of more books.

"I need to get out of here." She shook her head, unsure of what to make of the voice.

"The door." It answered.

"Is locked." She rebutted her subconscious.

"No, it's not." The voice had an entertained lilt to it as she scrambled to her feet, startling her boyfriend in the process.

"What are yo-" His voice trailed as his brain caught up. "We've tried that, it's lo-" He choked on his words as Emily slammed the door handle down with a twist to her wrist. "How?" He only muttered the one word before he was cheering with Emily in the corridor.

"I don't know!" She cheered.

"Over here." The same voice sounded from the cinema room. Her vision only caught the fleeting shadow in the doorway. Taking the opportunity, Emily chased after it, Benji slowly jogging after her.

His feet stopped at the cinema entrance, "What are you doing?" He watched as she searched the room. Her head stuck around each crevice of the architecture. Her hands threw the cacophony of seat cushions onto the floor. If he hadn't of had the slim beacon of light from the projector, he would have sworn she was a rabid raccoon.

"I have to find her!"

He did not understand why, but he laughed. "Who?"

"The gir-" She paused to search the next chair. Each pillow she upturned seemed to halt her words on the spot. "The girl from the library." She carried on her search, unaware of the confusion she embedded in his mind.

"Huh? Who?" His body sought to help her as she explained, but he barely restrained himself before her next words stumped him.

"The girl who told me to check the door."

He stared at the back of her head in confusion. "Again, Huh? There was no girl."

"You can't hear her Benny." Rolling his eyes at the nickname, his voice startled itself into a sarcastic demeanour.

"And you can't see her, Em."

"Nor can you see me." A deep voice boomed from the projection room. A shadow flickered in front of the beam, obscuring the screen. "I must admit, you weren't supposed to be out of the study just yet, but I suppose this room is as good of an enclosure for you to remain in." Seeming as if by magic the shadow moved from behind the projector to the same doorway they had come through.

A hand slammed down upon Benji's shoulder leaving him to repel himself further into the room. His body acted on instinct, his shoulders broadening as much as possible to hide Emily behind him. "I appreciate your… enthusiasm to get to the third act. I suggest you take in the show beforehand."

"Jesse, this isn't funny man." Benji quivered in his throat. His legs moved slowly towards the masked figure but faltered as the fake deep voice chuckled at his words. The noise filled him with dread.

"I'm not Jesse." The figure nodded his assent towards the projector. The sound of a reel started behind Emily's head. Followed swiftly by a more stilted version of the same voice.

The words were enough to draw all the participants' attention. Almost instantly, Benji's ears drowned out any other sound as his eyes came to the sight of two of his friends bound to a wall by their wrists, that was until the sound of a saw whirring to life encountered his eardrums.

While Jesse's screams stole the screen, a chuckle started behind him. "Like I said, I'm not Jesse."

His blood ran cold.

Aubrey was left to huddle with the girl. Her arms seemed to be the only thing keeping her friend upright. Her mouth moved to form soft sounds of reassurance as her ears burned at the conversation behind her. The words held little understanding in her mind but the few that permeated through into her recognition forced a chill into her spine.

"Jesse's dead."

Two words. Two solitary words had her knees falter and her eyes clenched shut. She knew her arms tightened around Chloe. Her heart hoped to stop the words from encroaching on her fragile heart but no luck had followed her throughout the day. Even if she knew, objectively, it was too blunt in that moment not to react to. It was only two words and Chloe had used them like an excuse. "I know," Aubrey took a breath to compose herself. "But we have to help Emily and Benji." Her eyes sought to be comforting.

"Don't leave." A simple demand that she wished she could follow.

"I'm not leaving you, but you do need to follow, okay?" Chloe snuggled into her chest but nodded. The blonde dragged the two of them onto their feet. The snow crunches beneath the weight. Taking a deep breath of frozen air, Aubrey set off to her target. Her eyes were dead set on the mission at hand.

Amy didn't know how long she followed the same path until it opened broadly for her. She could feel her feet grind the gravel under her boots. She could feel a soft steady flow of air fall on her face with every new step. Her nose had long since gotten used to breathing in the same that clogged her throat with a thick layer of dust.

While Aubrey hadn't meant to drag Chloe through the woods at the speed she had, she couldn't deny they had made it to the lodge in record time. The redhead's crying had drained into small sniffles as she trailed behind her. The snowfall had blocked their vision tenfold leaving the building in front of them in a case of darkness that wrapped around it flawlessly. Even as she shuffled her feet up the drenched steps, ignoring the creaks produced as she did so, she couldn't see the soft glow of the lamps she had walked past before she left. Her right hand soared backwards to ease Chloe carefully alongside her while she took the final step towards the door.

The other girl's hands shook as it froze in her warmer grasp. Something she didn't wish to question the cause of and simply ushered the door completely open. The door slammed against the interior wall with more force than she had intended to, sending Chloe into a rigid icicle as she waited. Her shoulders pressed firmly against her ears and her eyes crinkled as she stared with a vacancy beneath her lids. Aubrey placed a forced smile into her eyes as she took her hands again.

"Why don't we get you into some fresh clothes okay?" She wasn't sure why that was her first thought but, looking down at the girl, she felt as if it would somehow help them with their nerves. The red splattered across her was not doing much to help their scenario.

Chloe hiccupped. "T-The O-thers need us." But the tone Aubrey felt was off. As if it was an afterthought rather than her desire.

"We'll find them on our way okay." Neither mentioned how it wasn't a question. Both fell into step as they followed her demands. Aubrey's arms looped around the younger girl's shoulders as a loose guide while they worked through the hallway towards the rooms. A sense of nausea fought to free itself as they brushed passed one of the guest rooms. Chloe's footsteps faltering at the same time before settling again.

Even as she forced herself down the stone interior, Aubrey kept her ears twitching at every noise. The soft scratching of their shoes underfoot made up the majority of what she could hear. But, as they stopped before a door, she made out more than Chloe's huffed tears. A soft skitter came from the room before them. Her hands moved to rest against the frozen would with a tremble set deep in her muscles. But, with a drawn-out breath, she gave a solid push upon the timber. The ajar oak creaked its way open. The moonlight peered through the window with a steady stream but no sign of anything other than a steady breeze told her anything was amiss. The curtains in the room billowed across their eyeline. "Chloe?" Looking back at her vacant expression, she crouched down towards her friend. "Chloe. I need you to be quick, okay?" She received only a jutted nod of the redhead's hair before she stood proudly at the entranceway. All her thoughts clouded her mind as she sought to not focus on the stained clothing that was being peeled in front of her eyes.

Her eyes droop heavily with the thought of Jesse. His laugh echoed in her ears before warping in what she could only assume was a scream. The story that was told to her did little to ease her pain. It was one thing to know someone had died, and another to bear witness to the aftermath. She hadn't seen the body, something she was forever thankful for. Just the aftershocks that continued to echo through those present had her running scared. There wasn't a peaceful lie she could tell herself to help clear anything. No small piece of mind she could ease by stating it had been an accident. She could see the pain that he was in burned through Lily's tough demeanour and that was enough to rattle her down to the very soul.

But it made the echoes of the 'what ifs' in her mind all the more palpable. If she had dragged him down to search for her bag, would he still be cracking soft complaints? Would he have let her drag him around the trail for a detour pretending not to notice? Why would he choose to sacrifice himself for someone else? The last thought stalled her progress. She shouldn't be upset at him for doing something he would choose time and time again. It was what he did when she wasn't involved, her mind filled in. She knew he sought to be the hero. All the movies he replayed filled him with a standard of grandeur on who to be. But she couldn't help but cuss him out for being so selfless in such a scenario.

Tears prickled up her cheeks and burned her eyes. Scrunching up her eyebrows she sought to blink away the sensation to no prevail. Her throat thickened and her lips thinned. Her emotions consumed her until a small timid voice called her name. Looking towards the source with airless gasps, Aubrey collapsed against the wall. Her back plummeted against the rough surface without a care. "He's gone." She stated in grudged disbelief. "He's- He's dead," Chloe dropped beside her in silent support.

Jesse's screams continued to loop in Benji's head. Even as the projector had shut itself off, the same noise tore its way through him. Emily had long since wrapped herself around his statue of a body. Her warmth suffocated but his voice did not find itself to complain. He couldn't move. Couldn't think. His breathing had come in short bursts as he fought to remain in control of himself.

Emily hadn't cried. Her body shook but very little worked its way loose from within. Not that he could blame her. Neither of them could comfort the other. Neither could tear their eyes away from the blackness in the room.

"Here." The voice returned. Her head refrained from looking towards it. Instead, she relished in the warmth around her. The screams had chilled her deeply. But even as she sought to bury her head in his chest, the voice persisted. It remained soft at first, almost understanding, but the more she ignored the more insistent it got. Raising in both tone and volume. Until it finally snapped.

"Hey!" The voice reaffirmed. Emily couldn't help but stare at the space it radiated from. Nothing but a faint outline showed her their intentions. Benji was hardly startled as she jumped at the noise. But she could see the outline glow with purpose. Before she could inspect it closer, the projector kicked to life for another time. But instead of her nightmare, only text remained on the dark screen. Visitor inbound in... just as the words processed they disappeared. In its stead laid a timer from the old-fashioned movies Jes- he enjoyed to put on. The reel whirring behind them but Benji seemed too far gone to notice.

Softly, she tried to garner his attention. "Hey, we need to go. Come on." Her hands gently pulled his palms along with her as she started to walk backwards. Her steps exaggerated over the litany of pillows she left discarded on the floor.

The outline gave way to a door. The soft inset wood opened with little fuss. Both people walked through, Emily leading the way the entire way. But, seeing the clutter further down the path she opted to move towards the nearest doors. Uncaring of the silent screaming the boxes were calling towards her. The next couple of doors seemed deadbolted shut from the lack of leeway in them but the fourth one slowly budged open. Its scream was loud enough to drown out all else.

"Keep going." The voice ushered them along. Cheering them with a proud undertone Emily wasn't sure was warranted.

Benji continued to trail behind them, uncaring of where they went. Emily, on the other hand, would check each passing door to find nothing budging. Emily's hand remained held in his own even as he wasn't actively involved in her pursuit. She wasn't sure where they were going but every so often the voice would appear to send her in a new direction. They would weave through each corridor until they reached a new area that she hadn't seen. She had only been in the basement once; it was nothing like what she was seeing now. Rubble littered the corners of each turn and newspapers lay discarded on the broken wooden furniture they would ignore as they passed. Her eyes gazed long enough to read the headline on the front page. WANTED CRIMINAL ON THE LOOSE. The thought sent her to think sardonically, no shit.

"Not too much further now." The voice cheered. The walls soon deteriorated the further they went. Bare spars littered the walls as the plaster crumbled around them. Although neither person cared about the state of the building. "Here!" Another echo started down the hall. She turned in time to notice a shadow fade around the corner.

The sight brought an extra swiftness to her feet. Her strides parted for longer as she started to jog to catch her guide. Benji was soon left behind as he half-heartedly attempted to catch up to her. Not that she noticed. Her eyes were too focused on what was in front of her. Her body twisted around the corners, not stopping to clear the wall completely before she attempted to make it.

The small extra second was enough for her to catch onto the familiar clothing in the outline. The same clothes she had seen countless times before and yet, even without the clarity she was used to, it stood before her intact. Untouched. And moving. But the sight was enough to slow her to a standstill. Her head not moving away from the spot of intrigue even as the figure was long gone.

"It can't be," Emily spoke in disbelief. Her thoughts mimicked the phrase on repeat. Her eyebrows creased together in a small attempt to make sense of what she saw.

Benji knelt in front of her. His hands trembling in fear at her panic. "What is it?"

Her eyes bore into his own. Her hazel gaze broke up as she seemed to stare at her own thoughts instead of the world. "I- I thought I saw…" Again, her voice betrayed her. Benji's attempts to get a clear-cut answer resumed with care until his desperation rang through all else. Until her words sent his world spinning for a second time that night. His body fell in on itself. His knees gave out until he sat down with the weight of those five words. Today was not going the way he thought it would.

"I thought I saw Beca."

Chloe's voice had long since fallen on her deaf ears. But, even with her disassociation, she knew when firm hands held her own. This lead to her red-rimmed eyes looking into a mirrored expression. "We need to find the others…" The redhead tried again. This time gaining an agreement and a forced propulsion onto their feet.

With one more wipe of her eyes (and a layer less of mascara) Aubrey forced her expression to remain even. "Let's go shall we?" She hoarsely suggested. Neither girl commented on the fakeness they both felt at the suggestion. Chloe led her way out of the room first. Her tears had dried earlier than the latter. Although her limbs still hung heavily under the weight she had felt for the night.

"Where should we go first?" Neither knew nor did they expect to know what to do. Instead of an answer, the two walked in unison along the corridor. Letting their steps fill the other with the knowledge of someone's presence beside them. The thought relaxed a minuscule of the tension between them. But the safety blanket did too little as each door they attempted to open did not barge. Both sets of shoulders ached after too many attempts at forcing something open.

No noise was lingering in the air for the first floor they checked. The main staircase lead them downwards towards the main lodge floor. The same room Aubrey had last seen and spoken to someone. The same fireplace she had almost dragged him away from. The same space she should've taken him away from. The new layer of charcoal littered the bottom of the pit as her own grew in tension. "We should go over here," Chloe lamely attempted to mutter. The blonde nodded along with very little recognition of the words themselves.

Despite their fake attempt to move on, a small noise littered their ears. A small mechanical whir with a spaced alert between sequences. The whirring continued to rise in volume the more they moved. The mechanical structure became clearer, something more akin to someone playing with paper. A rustling trapped amongst a garbage disposal. The two moved as far as their ears would allow. Neither looking up to where they were headed, relying solely on one sense alone.

But when they collided with yet another doorway, Aubrey was the first to search where they are. A simple sign hung on the closed door. THEATRE. The bold lettering covering the main section of the door and a slanted chair hooked under the handle. One raised eyebrow later and they moved the chair out of the way. Chloe carefully took the handle in her right hand, her sleeves dragged past her fingers to cover the material. And, with a sigh, she lurched the door open, her own body following a step behind. Only to be met with darkness. The room held only one light. A solitary circle stuck on loop on the centre of the projector screen. The center of which flickered, every few seconds a new partial image emerged only long enough to be a hallucination. Not that either girl paid too much attention to it. The brief beam that flittered through the room highlighted the seats. Or lack thereof. The pillows had been discarded around and the frames might as well be considered ransacked. Even the lamps they knew to be there were nowhere to be seen. And, with a cursory walk around, from the sounds of crunching beneath their feet, they wouldn't be seen in one piece again.

Dejectedly, Aubrey turned around, back towards the way they came in. "We should look somewhere else. This place is a bust." When Chloe didn't answer after a minute or two, she turned to see what was taking her interest. Only to be met with a pale mask looking back at her. Chloe freezing at the sight of the man in the corner. Neither girl was close enough to the open door to be able to run free. Both seemingly taking steps away from the killer subconsciously. Aubrey's hands found the wall before she could understand what had happened. Her fingertips scoured the material until they felt a consistent dip around her. She pressed her back against it with subtlety she rarely possessed until she felt a sharp edge resist against her. "Chloe! Here!" Without thought her hand wraps around the intrusion and pulls hard. The wall parted itself in two as she pulled the door open with ease. Chloe quickly followed behind her. Neither stopped to watch if the psycho followed them, instead choosing to run forward with hasty precision.

Chloe lead the way as she was reminded of de ja vu as they ran past boxes that filled the basement. Her brain vaguely noticing the broken VHS tapes from earlier as she continued to carve the path. Her own thoughts calling her out for having gotten the bat hidden as she darted around the pillar towards the boiler and continued to the next nearest door. Long past the metal cabinet and down yet another corridor. Her footsteps remained silent under the noise of her heart in her ears.

Aubrey remained a few steps behind. The area is foreign to her but trusting her friend's judgement. Each step further in the cacophony of entranceways had her second-guessing the size of the lodge. Every turn felt like a new turn in a circle. But Chloe didn't falter for a second. Not until she stopped completely. Her hands rested against a heavy wooden door. The palms of their hands pushed against the material. "Why are you stuck!" She grunted in exertion. Seeing no other option, she pushed her shoulder against it. The lack of body weight only left the material standing healthily in her wake. "Come on! He's right beh-"

As her words echoed in her mind, they sunk in. They were being chased. Her body flicked around with little hesitancy. Her arms poised at the ready only to be met with nothing. No person. No mask. No intimidating footprints that echoed along the concrete. "Chloe, I think we are safe." She could've laughed at the thought. Until she received no response. "Chloe?"

Turning towards her friend, she could only see air. The space she resided in was left empty. "Chloe!" Her body finally followed her thoughts as she faced the locked door. Which sat open. Her body felt weighted. A pinch in the side of her neck dragged her attention away. Slowly her vision swam, only heavy boots filled her eyeline as she sunk slowly to the floor. Only to be met with another set of darkness. This one consumed her mind as well as her vision. The last thing she would remember was the silhouette of a pale mask. The teeth grinning wider than ever.

CR wasn't sure when she started to run down the hill. Well, running wasn't the way to describe her movements. She had picked her pace almost as soon as they were out of eyeshot from the others but she wasn't running. Her feet slid around the ice underfoot while she tried to keep upright. The soft snowfall now fighting against them with a vengeance as it picked up its own pace to rival her. Lily, on the other hand, kept a steady pace and wound up maintaining a constant distance from her. The Asian girl not grasping for support at all as she continued to float on along the path. Her own thoughts were lost in a blur. Not that she could blame her.

Her thoughts were broken at the same time as the tree line parted ways for them to emerge from. "Whoa…" Her voice trailed as her eyes took in the sight before them. The once admittedly shabby exterior of the cable car station had been taken over with mismatched DIY projects. The metal door was almost unnoticeable under a litany of hobbled wooden spars and rusted metals pinning it shut.

Sliding over to the rotting steps, CR could see the message not written amongst the debris. One she was sure would bite her for not heeding but she couldn't turn back now. Not with how close she was to being able to handle a radio. The smallest thing that would be able to help secure her safety. "Lils, think you can find some way through this?" No response but the soft shuffle of snow let her know she was heard. A soft sting brought her thoughts back to her current state. A soft longing wormed its way through her as she sulked at the thought of having to touch the frostbit metal with her bare hands. The image of her thermal gloves bathing in front of the fire at the lodge shone behind her eyelids. But, with an internal roll of her eyes, she set herself to work. One log after another. She tugged and heaved and hawed at everything she could reach. Her fingers wept at the effort only for more layers to be revealed. Her discarded pile grew until it was rivalling her stature in its jagged form.

Just as the warped metal of the door was revealed. It swung inwards, the last of the assortment of trash falling along with it. The hinges of the door dropped to the floor with nothing less than a disaster siren. "What the-" Her voice cut itself off as her body froze in its attempt to flee from the noise. Her soul yearned to run before something bad happened, but a pale mirage in the dark room was enough to hold her still. "Lily?" A cheeky wave was all she received leaving her to shake her head with restrained relief. "Girl…" She growled in warning under her breath. "What?" Her mouth moved in search for the appropriate words to describe the station.

All around her the room lay in ruin and bare. The grated lights that once hung from the rafters were torn into pieces on the floor. Only a few of the bulbs remain flickering loosely from the roof. More of the room was lit up from the filtering moonlight than the halogen bulbs. Pages of paper stuck beneath her boots as she crept her way through the outpost. The sheets provided an unintentional muffling to her steps until she reached the next room over. The window beside her remained ajar and her eyes flickered towards Lily. Even for someone so skinny, she doubted that she would've made it comfortably through the grate. Nonetheless, she continued her path. Her fingers trailed across the walls and counters as she walked past them, reminding her of where she is.

Until she felt it.

Her fingers dragged behind as they built up a resistance she hadn't intended. Not looking down, she rubs her fingertips together. The familiar sensation brought back a flash of porcine. The reminder dropped her stomach as she sought the nearest light. Her spare hand reached towards the lit orb and steadied it towards her other side. Red coated her fingers for the second time. "No, no, no," The words tumbled on repeat as she smudged the material across the dried stains of her clothes again. Her other hand knocked the light in her haste, setting it in motion around in its own orbit. The glow of the bulb circled the room. The dark walls were newly revealed in a pulsing trance. CR stared at one wall and followed the light around her while staying in the same spot. Her eyes moved from wall to wall as she grew more aware of her dizziness.

Lily moved behind her, her hands clasping the other girl's shoulders to stop her movements. "It's real." The other girl breathed. Looking past her restrained friend, Lily saw what she was speaking about. All around them, the same phrase repeated itself like the definition of insanity. The same words that would soon echo in both of their heads for the foreseeable future.

DEAD BY DAWN. DEAD BY DAWN. DEAD BY DAWN.

Around and around, it went. Looped perfectly in its own maniacal puzzle.