A/N: Can anyone see this post at all? Its impossible to tell anymore T_T
I can't work properly with all these these bloody 503 site glitches! They've ruined my inspiration.
Now? Between all this crap with the site and the drama with my job, now I just want to curl up in a corner and cry. Life's been hard; sometimes writing isn't as much of an escape as it used to be.
Still, here I am. Hopefully, folks enjoy this. Do let me know in the reviews!
The spooky season comes, and so too do the spooky stories/updates. Looking forward to your feedback~!
I wouldn't have even written this at all without a lot of help; that and I thoroughly enjoyed the original Until Dawn. Wasn't even aware that there WAS a remake until recently; it has its pros and cons, and I don't necessarily enjoy all the changes it made from the original, but its heart is in the right place. Apparently we're getting a movie, too?
Fair warning, this one's going to be short. Five chapters max, weekly rotation, shorter chapters, so it shouldn't affect the current schedule. Of course, that's only if folks want to see more of this. So here we go. The fate of this story depends on you, the reader. Your feedback determines the fate of this tale, and many others. As ever, I own no quotes, references, themes, or memes. Not a wit or a one! They're tributes to legends far greater than I. I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time.
Time and feedback will determine if this remains a story. Simple as that.
In other words...its up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know~!
Taking a few liberties here to keep things...entertaining.
" 'O, Death. O Death. Won't you spare me over 'til another year...?"
~?
'Til Another Year
Hannah ran for her life.
Stumbling through the snow in the dead of night, the cold bite of fright stole any hope of a fight from her. All around her the shadows twisted and writhed, tree branches became claws, wind shrieked in her ears like a wild beast as the driving snow stung her at her eyes, all for naught.
And so she kept running.
What else could she do? There wasn't anything left for her back there.
Not anymore.
Nothing.
A small sob tore from her throat, hastily muffled against her arm as she staggered forward into the blizzard. The icy bit of winter tore at her lungs, but she pushed ahead, ignoring the shouts behind her. Away, away, away! She didn't care where she ran, so long as it was away from him, away from that cabin and away everyone in it; from her so-called friends.
It was her own fault she knew; no matter how distraught she might be, she had no one to blame here but herself.
He already had Jessica, and she was, well, Jessica. Little miss perfect.
Why would he ever want someone like her?
Stupid asshole. She'd almost thought...
...well, that didn't matter now.
She'd, what...loved him?
Hanna didn't know; bow she never would. What was wrong with that, huh? Wanting a little love?
Everything apparently; it had all blown up right in her face.
Even now she burned with embarrassment, and not just the chill against her upper torso.
She shouldn't have gotten her hopes up for Mike, even after reading that note. Shouldn't have taken off her shirt or let him get her out of her pants. No getting those back now, she'd left both behind on the cabin floor and fled in her underwear into the storm. If embarassment didn't kill her, the cold surely would.
Stupid girl. Stupid, stupid, so freakin' stupid!
She should've known better. Should've seen the camera. Should've realized everyone was hiding, ready to prank her. Should, should, SHOULD!
Screw them!
Screw all of them!
Screw every last one of those jerks!
She hated them. She wanted to kill them. She wanted them gone.
Or maybe she should die. Anything to stop the pain, to make this awful feeling CEASE-
As though summoned by that very thought, her foot caught on something -maybe a root, maybe a rock, she didn't know-and she went down hard; banging her head against a solid surface. She wasn't sure what. Couldn't see it int he snow. She bit her cheek, bloodied her lip, tasted iron on her tongue as her vision reeled. Her glasses went flying at the impact, skittering out across the snow; Hannah knew they had; if only because her vision went blurry.
Shit, shit, shit.
Fumbling in the snow did her no good; the storm raged on and she couldn't make head or tails of anything. Cold. She was so cold. Why hadn't she thrown a jacket on before she fled? Her undergarments didn't do jack shit against the snow. So...very...cold...
A noise echoed somewhere behind her.
Hannah's body locked up.
"Who's there?!"
Was it Beth? Gods, she didn't want her little sister to see her like this. Or Josh. Or anyone.
The noise in the brush grew louder. Unease curdled in her gut.
"Is anyone out there...?"
Her vision was a blur, but she could've sworn she saw something duck behind a tree. Or was it a tree? She couldn't see!
No, there was definitely something was out there; said something was moving, lurching her way with shuffling steps.
Panic bleated in her breast and she skittered sideways on her hands and knees like a drunken crab. "Stay back!"
Closer it came.
Louder.
"NO!"
Frantic, she flailed a fist before her face, fingers crooked into claws and slashing wildly with her nails; she felt them catch something; her reward was a pained grunt.
"Ow." an unfamiliar voice drawled. "Now why'd ya go and do something like that for?"
Hanna's head snapped up as she squinted at the speaker.
Her "friends" hadn't found her.
Someone else had.
"Here."
Gently-almost tenderly-the blurred figure crouched down before her, set the glasses back on her face, thumbed the tears from her cheeks for good measure. Something warm settled about her shoulders a moment later. It felt like a jacket. She couldn't be sure, but that didn't stop her from clutching at it. Gulping a little, she adjusted her spectacles.
For a horrifying moment she thought it was Mike -jerk!- but no, as her vision clear she realized it couldn't be her crush.
This guy was taller than him, for one.
Belatedly, she beheld blond hair, blue eyes, whiskered cheeks dimpled in a small, sad smile.
At first she was too distraught to really notice much else on that front, but gradually, her attention drifted. He looked harmless enough, in a scruffy sort of way. His orange black outfit -what even was that getup?!- looked like it had seen better days. All rags and tatters, yet despite that, he didn't seem to mind the cold. Judging by claw marks on his face, she'd gotten him good with her fingernails earlier.
Or had she?
Upon blinking, his wound vanished.
Weird. Was her mind playing tricks on her?
Hadn't it been snowing a minute ago, too? Yet the wind was still. Why had the storm stopped...?
"The heck're you doing out here on my mountain?" he chided her suddenly, his voice a low, pleasing drawl. "I thought folks didn't come up here anymore."
Hannah hiccuped a little, still out of sorts. "We have a cabin...
"You do?" That drew an odd look from him. "No, nevermind. You really shouldn't be out in the dead of night, ya know."
Like she wanted to be! But what choice did she have? She couldn't go back to them. Not now. Not like this.
She clutched his jacket about herself, shivering anew. "Yeah, you're telling me...aren't you cold?"
He granted her a small, selfsame smile. "Are you?"
Not really, no.
Despite its outward appearance the jacket was...kinda warm. He'd lined it with fur she realized; must've patched it at least a dozen times over. Was he a nomad of some sort? A hermit? But that didn't make any sense. He didn't look a day older than seventeen, eighteen at a stretch.
Now that she got a better look at him, he was...kinda handsome, in a scruffy sorta way. Nice, even. Nice sounded good right about now...
"Why're ya out here anyway?"
Aaaand just like that, she was back in her nightmare again. Her face darkened. As if she'd tell a random stranger of her shame!
She'd get them back for this. All of them...but then again, it hadn't been all of them now, had it? She vaguely recalled Sam trying to warn her. And she hadn't seen Chris or Ashely there. Or Beth and Josh. She hadn't seen them at all. But the others? Emily, Matt, Jessica...and Mike. She'd get them for this. She'd get even if it was the last thing she did.
Of course, she didn't dare say that. He'd think her crazy. So she lied, lied, lied, lied to save her hide. "...I fancied a walk?
A blond brow rose, seeing right through her. "In your underwear?"
He considered her for a moment longer, silently suspecting something, and she squirmed under his gaze.
"Did anyone hurt you?"
She flushed for an entirely different reason. "N-No! Not like that!"
'Please don't pry, please don't pry...just let it be!'
...the name's Naruto." he said suddenly, apropos of nothing. "And you are...?"
His name sounded foreign. He kinda looked foreign himself, come to think of it. Despite being well read, she'd never been terribly good at telling who came from where...and that shamed her a little. She'd always found herself focused on either things, focused on Mike for all the good that did her now...
"Hannah." she introduced herself in turn, feeling terribly awkward about all this.
"Right then, miss Hannah." He looked up, studiously refusing to look at her. "We should probably get you back, since...you know...
Why was he acting so weird all of a sudden...?
Naruto pointedly coughed and indicated her with one hand, still refusing to look anywhere below her neck.
Oh.
Ohh.
Ohhh~!
Realization dawned, cold and ugly. She was still only wearing her bra and panties, the later narrowly concealed by Naruto's drooping jacket, her long legs quite visible, her bare feet freezing in the snow. Even with his coat to cover her up, she probably looked like she'd come running straight from a...!
A fresh surge of shame colored her face as she tucked her chin into her chest with a squeak; looking away, she sought to change the subject. "Don't wanna go back." What are you even doing out here...?"
"Ha?" he squinted at her with an incredulous snort, momentarily drawing her ire. "Why wouldn't I be? I live here. Its my mountain."
An disbelieving laugh burst from her lips, high and sharp in the cold. "Your mountain? Since when?!
"Since about a year ago." He waffled a hand about, as though he couldn't quite remember the date. "Give or take. Fell out of the sky, landed on the peak, and didn't really feel like moving." here at last, a small frown marred his whiskered cheeks. "Tried it once, didn't work out too well. You city folk are way too noisy." Sensing her confusion, he shrugged. "Its not so bad really, so long as you mind the company."
Hannah's brain fizzled out spectacularly. Wait, hold up, fell out of the sky?! Was he cracked in the head or something?!
This wasn't one of those...what did the Japanese call it? Isekai? That wasn't a thing, right?
Magic and monsters weren't real.
Right?
Right on cue, something howled in the distance; a gut-wrenching shriek that warbled on and on to quiver in Hannah's ears and rattle her bones. The sound sent a different sort of shiver shaking her shoulders and she clutched his jacket tighter about herself in vain.
"What the hell was that?"
"That?" Naruto clicked his tongue. "That would be the company I mentioned." He turned an apologetic look on her. "Sorry about this, by the way."
"Sorry for wha-wait, wait, wait what are you doiiiiiiiing?!"
Her words -and her voice!- piqued into a startled shriek as the baffling blond spun about, swept her up into his arms like a princess, then promptly bolted back the way they'd come. It was all she could do to throw both arms around his neck and hang on for dear life, kicking and screaming all the way as he ran.
They didn't get far.
Something crashed down before them, barring their path. It almost looked humanoid. Almost. Whatever it was, it was ghastly, long and slender, a gross parody of a human. Tall, emaciated, clad in little more than tattered, threadbare rags and oh gods its teeth. Those weren't human teeth. All sharp and pointy and jagged, sticking out its mouth...!
It looked hungry.
Naruto spat at it and backed up slowly, dragging her with him. "Oi, oi! How many times do I have to teach you this lesson?! Buzz off!"
The beast did not "buzz off". It spread its stance, screamed at him and leaped like a spider at them.
Hannah had never seen anything move like that. It was so damn fast.
Naruto proved faster still; she yelped in his arms as the blond launched himself into reverse, kicking up a massive plume of snow in his wake. The sudden explosion of movement violently blasted the beast back; vertigo wrenched Hannah's head to the side and she clung onto his chest, terrified she might fall off.
He hissed out a breath. "Hold on tight."
She complied and well that she did; because the blond blurred.
Hannah immediately hissed in pain as her world reeled; he was moving too quickly.
She'd seen track runners move slower than this! There wasn't enough air.
She couldn't breathe...! Her lungs...! Air...!
Naruto must've noticed too; because his breakneck burst of speed slowed soon thereafter, allowing her to suck in a ragged gasp of air. Maybe he couldn't move to fast without hitting a tree, or maybe he just slowed down for her sake, not wanting to break her.
Whatever the case, it let that thing catch up.
Somewhere between one leap and another, she saw the monster in the shadows; chasing them. Bounding between the trees on all fours, tearing forward on gangly limbs, it raced after them, silent as the grave.
Holding onto his neck, she dared a glance up at him, voice jostling with each lunging leap he made. "What is that thing?!"
"Not sure." he said. "I've killed it at least nine times now. It always comes back, sooner or later. It can't even see us; its blind. Kinda feel bad for it...
She balked, half-expecting a joke, but no, his face was deadly serious.
Whatever it was, it was fast, and growing closer...!
Over his right shoulder, now!
"Look out!"
Kicking off a tree, Naruto whirled with her in his arms and drove a crushing mule kick backwards just as it latest leap brought it to them. The dull crack of broken bone and ruptured ribs echoed harshly through the forest. The monster went down, struck the snow, tumbled once, and struck a tree full on. An awful crunch filled the night.
Hannah hoped for its death.
.
..
...it was not to be.
Naruto skidded down beside it, just out of reach. "That's enough! Go eat something else! She ain't your meal!"
The Beast clamored to its feet, lurching listlessly. He'd hurt it, but it wasn't dead. Not yet.
He blew out a breath, expelling a thin plume of steam into the air. "Gotta set you down for a sec."
Hannah panicked. "You what?"
Too late, he was letting her go, rolling up the mesh sleeves of his shirt, now. The beast tracked him, forgetting all about her as he came close, closer, closest still...!
"Alright." he raised his fists. "Tenth time's the charm."
The beast lunged!
He ducked its claws, swayed under the next sweep like so much water, weaved back as it tried to bite him, gladly giving ground-until he didn't.
Stamping a foot down, he dodged low, letting a slender limb shoot past overhead.
Sighing, he lunged forwards and drove a fist upward with an awful crack.
The creature sagged back with a shriek of pain.
Naruto waded in after it, fists swinging.
Hannah was no boxer; had no love of the sport really, wasn't all that athletic, only knew of it in the vaguest possible terms. She'd seen a match online once; if only because Mike mentioned liking it.
But this?
Yeah, this was boxing.
He beat the beast like that bitch owed him money.
Right, left, left, right, left! Jab hook uppercut roundhouse and everything in between; Naruto did it all, except there were no gloves to muffle any of his punches, only knuckle and skin and bone. She could practically feel the meaty thwack of sound whenever he drove his fists into it; hear bones pop and crack like so many dry sticks. Still he drove his fists in, whaling on the monster, until one of said fists suddenly clenched into a claw and she realized it wasn't a fist at all, but holding something...
...Rasengan."
It all happened so fast; one moment he was pounding it to a pulp; in the next he drove a palm forward, she glimpsed a flash of something -some kinda small blue sphere- and a flash of light followed as the beast absolutely rocketed backwards. Its body struck a tree with such force that the bark physically cracked behind its back and shattered, bringing the trunk crashing down on it in a plume of snow. Its scream cut off in a truncated squawk, leaving the night in eerie stillness.
Hanna squinted into the haze that followed and dared to hope. Supernatural or not, it had to be dead now, right?
But she couldn't see a damn thing now. "Naruto?" "Did you kill it?"
He shouted somewhere in the fog. "Don't move!'
Snow crunched underfoot.
Hannah stiffened.
Froze now, as the beast lurched out of the fading mist.
Wounded and maimed, right arm hanging awkwardly at its side and missing an eye, it still clung onto life; a look of pure hatred etched into its visage.
Hate. It hated everyone. No, it hated absolutely everything.
This creature, this abomination had been human once; now it longed to consume life itself, feed and feed and FEED on human flesh until nothing was left. That lone milky orb roved over her, seemingly seeing nothing and yet seeing everything all the same. It was so close to her now; she could see its wo
Something broke deep inside of Hannah; she panicked and fled.
The beast heard her and pivoted with a shriek.
Naruto swore. "Hannah! I said don't move!"
A little late for that!
Faster than she would've thought possible, the creature caught her, trapping her against a tree.
The blond brawler stormed forward and shouted to get its attention; even threw a knife into its back; to no avail; the monster had already chosen her as its victim. Its right arm slashed up, claws ready to rip and rend; she couldn't move in time...!
Blood spattered Hannah's face.
Was it her own? She couldn't tell.
Someone pushed her a moment later, sending her tumbling back into the tree.
Dazed, she looked up and found Naruto stood over her, grimacing as the beast's teeth lodged in the meat of his shoulder, its claws piercing deep into his back. He'd all but thrown himself over her in a desperate effort to protect her. Tears burned in her eyes. And now he was...He was...he would be...!
...s'alright."
A trembling hand touched her cheek.
"Sorry." He hissed out a breath. "Not as fast as I used to be...
Turning his head aside, the skewered shinobi grit his teeth, reached up and grabbed the Beast by the face, locking it in place against his shoulder in the gross parody of an embrace. It struggled against him, but with one arm broken and the other wedged against his back, there was no escape. His eyes closed, but only for a moment; then he slammed an elbow backwards, forcing the beast away, ripping its claws and teeth from him as it went, clutching at its hard-won prize.
"Satisfied, now? Despite his wounds, he conjured another shining sphere of light to his dominant hand. "Go on, take it." He waved a bloody hand its way. "You had your meal. Isn't that enough?"
The ghastly beast -Wendigo!- scarfed down the hunk of flesh in its maw and met his gaze without remorse, hackles raised, still ready to pounce.
Naruto growled in response; it was an ear-rattling, throaty sound that buzzed her very bones. "GET LOST ALREADY."
That did it; or maybe his words did the trick; whatever the case the creature seemed to think twice of attacking. With a noise caught somewhere between a snarl and a wail, the gangly creature turned on its heels and fled back into the woods from whence it came.
Naruto stalked after it. "And don't come back, you sonuva-
Hannah panicked. "Its just a dumb animal! Leave it! You're bleeding!"
It looked like he wanted to argue with her, give chase, pursue the beast, even.
She couldn't bear it; not if it meant leaving her here, alone, in the dark with more of those things...!
"I'm scared!" So she clung onto his arm tight. "I wanna go home!" Belatedly, she remembered the cabin-all that awaited her within-and furiously shook her head. "Nevermind! I don't wanna go home!"
Naruto squinted at her. "So which is it?"
Embarrassed, she looked away, only to see his wounds once more. "We need to get you to a hospital...
"What, for these?" he indicated his bloody back and shoulder with a laugh. "Don't worry about it."
"Of course I'm worried! You might die-
As she looked on in quiet awe, Naruto's wounds began to heal; at this range, she could clearly see his injuries stitching themselves shut, as though they had never existed. In a matter of moments, they were gone altogether. He'd still lost a lot of blood and was left swaying on his feet, a little pale for his efforts, but still very much alive.
"See?" He jerked a thumb toward himself with a bleary smile, nearly delirious "I ain't gonna die to somethin' like this."
It was too much for Hanna. Her entire evening had been up and down and now up again.
She couldn't compensate.
A weak little laugh leapt from her lips and immediately dissolved into a hysterical giggle. Said giggle became a sob as the sheer enormity of what she'd been through came crashing down around her ears. Her eyes stung in like sharp little pinpricks and too late, she realized what was about to happen.
Naruto saw them and winced. "Oh, no. Please don't cry. Whatever you do, don't...!
Hannah hiccuped softly.
It was no use.
She simply couldn't help herself anymore; she was tired, stressed, and terribly overstimulated after her near brush with death. She was practically vibrating with stress. It was either cry or kiss him, and she couldn't pluck up the courage for something of that magnitude; not after all she'd been through tonight.
Tears it was.
She warbled once, tried to speak, failed now as as the proverbial dam within her broke. From there, instinct took over; she latched onto him, buried her head into his chest and bawled like a baby. Naruto blew out a sigh, allowing it, and after a moment's pause, respectfully slung an arm around her shoulders to hold her close. The other stroked her scalp, fingers running through her dark hair. Oddly enough, the gesture brought her some small measure of comfort, peace, even. It was nice, being held.
And maybe...just maybe, that was alright, just this once.
By some miracle, she'd escaped a truly terrible fate.
Death had spared her over 'Til Another Year.
A/N: But what became of the rest?
There we go, on our way to a happier ending.
Vengeance is coming, you all know for whom it will be, and it will be GLORIOUS. *cracks knuckles*
I do hope this entertained someone, somewhere, somehow. Again, this will be a short story. Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story, and others. Meaning folks don't like this, it won't be continued. If the story itself isn't popular/well-received...well, I won't be able to continue it. I'm working two jobs, holidays are here too, meaning I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy.
So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
So...in the immortal words of Atlas...
...Revieeeeew, Would You Kindly?
No previews here. Can't spoil.
Sorry...T_T