Chapter Ten

Jess's POV

I wake up, almost completely naked and cold. It all comes flooding back to me.

The glass, the creature, Mike. 

Mike.

Where is Mike? 

Is he alright?

Is he still alive?

I curl up in a ball and start to cry. 

There are noises in the distance.

No. 

Please.

Make it stop. 

Y/N's POV

Matt takes my hand as we make our way through the mines, searching for a way out. Surprisingly, I have been able to do a good job of finding the right paths so far.

My heart pounds as I hear screeches, screams, and yells bounce off the walls of the mine.

Matt looks around cautiously. "Let's keep moving. We gotta get out of here."

I nod, but when I walk forward and turn my head around to watch where I'm going, I freeze. "Jess?"

Jess looks up from her fetal position on the floor, sniffling. "Y/N? Matt?"

Matt finally turns around to see Jess, but I put my hands over his eyes immediately. "Nope. Matt, she's naked."

I see Matt's cheeks flush beneath my hands. "Oh. I'm so sorry! I didn't know... I didn't mean to..."

"Shh," I order. "Just close your eyes, keep holding my hand, and let me guide you over to her. I just need to find her some clothes or something."

Matt nods and I walk over to Jess, Matt directly behind me.

When I get closer to Jess, I notice that her whole body is covered in cuts, bruises, and blood. "Oh my gosh, Jess," I say. "I'm so glad we found you!"

Jess gives me a weak smile, standing up. "That makes two of us."

I look around for something to help Jess and my eyes land on a green jacket hanging nearby. "Oh. Well, that's convenient."

I walk over to it, noticing that there are even boots for Jess to wear. I turn to Jess, motioning with my free hand for her to come over.

Jess notices the jacket and the boots and puts them on. 

"You can open your eyes now, Matt," I assure him. 

He sighs with relief, opening his eyes and dropping my hand. "Phew. That was scary."

"Sorry!" I apologize. "I-"

I get interrupted by Jess giving me a surprise hug. She starts to cry onto my shoulder. "Thank you... I'm sorry about earlier... about the fight with Emily."

I hug her back. "It's alright. I forgive you. Matt and I are going to get you out of here. Swear on my life."

Jess sobs harder. "I don't deserve your guys' help after the way I've treated you."

I back away from Jess so I can look her in the eyes. "Please, Jess. Everyone deserves some help now and again. No matter what. Seriously. We forgive you. Right, Matt?"

Matt nods, smiling. "Right. Water under the bridge."

Jess smiles wider than I've ever seen her smile my entire time of knowing her. She pulls Matt and me into a group hug, only letting us go when we hear a noise.

"I'd love to continue this reunion, but we better get out of here," I say.

Matt nods. "Agreed."

So we all continue walking, Matt and I making sure that Jess can keep up. 

Eventually, we find a table with a lantern and a lighter. 

"Yes!" Matt cheers, rushing towards it and lighting the lantern.

In the light, Matt seems to notice Jess's condition more clearly. "Woah. Jess, what exactly happened to you?"

I want to facepalm. I should have thought to ask that. 

"How are you still alive?" he continues.

"Yeah," Jess replies tiredly, her happy energy from before diminished as she has to think about her situation.

"Did you see the creature too?"

"Yes! It dragged me through the snow and almost killed me!" Jess exclaims, getting worked up.

"Woah," Matt says. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. Do you think you can continue?"

She nods. "Yeah. I can move."

"Alright, let's keep moving then, Jess."

I take Jess's hand to lead her along as Matt takes the front of the pack. 

Matt walks over to the elevator, looking down. "Look at that. Some sort of cave-in here."

"That was me," Jess says.

"What?" I ask.

"I fell through that roof."

"You fell his far?" Matt inquires. "Jeez. That makes three of us."

"What?"

"Y/N and I fell off a fire tower down here," Matt tells Jess.

"You're kidding me."

Silence ensues as we keep moving, but eventually we hear a noise. A close noise.

Matt freezes ahead of us, turning around and using the lantern to peer into the distance. "Huh..."

"No," Jess whispers.

My eyes go wide. Not again. Oh please, not again.

"J-Jess!? Y/N?" Matt rushes ahead a few inches before looking from side to side, weighing his options. He eyes me and Jess, eventually turning to a potential hiding spot. He motions us inside. "Alright. Come on, girls."

Jess and I don't let go of each other's hands as we follow Matt. 

I feel Matt take my free hand in his. "Stay still," he whispers.

So we do.

We stay as still as we possibly can until we hear the creature climb away.

I momentarily let go of Jess's hand to catch her right before she falls. I hold her for a minute, afraid to move out of the hiding spot just yet. "Does this hurt?"

Jess just cries. 

"It's alright," I assure her, taking her hand again making a move towards the hiding spot's exit. "Alright... alright. Let's go."

Matt lets go of my hand and walks in front of us, holding the lantern for us so we can see where we're going. "We gotta do this. Get out of here. Come on!" He continues forward, motioning to me and Jess with his head to follow. "Come on. Come on. Come on."

I keep moving, leading Jess to follow Matt. 

Jess lets me drag her along, looking behind her periodically. I swear I can hear her heartbeat from here.

"Jess! Y/N!" Matt cries, rushing forward before looking back to check on us. "Come on, girls. Please."

I feel the creature's presence behind us and I move as fast as I can with having to drag Jess. I tighten my grip on her hand. I will get her out of this alive.

Matt pauses yet again to think. There are two ways out.

Matt only hesitates for a minute, breaking through wooden planks to get to the outside, where he leads Jess and me over to another hiding spot. 

Matt lets the lantern rest at his side as we all stiffen, staying as still as we possibly can. 

The creature jumps out, looking around to find us. But it can't seem to see our still forms.

Not soon enough, the creature turns and jumps back into the mines. 

The three of us sigh with relief.

I look out into the darkness of night. "Guys, we should keep moving. It's not dawn yet. Help will come at dawn."

Matt nods. "Yeah. But I really don't want to go back in there."

"Me neither. But we have to get completely out of here and back to the others."

"Alright," Matt agrees. "but we have to be super quiet."

We go back into the mines, going back where we came to hopefully find an exit somewhere along the path we were rushed down or something. Anything.

Then we hear yelling. A man's yelling.

We freeze.

I turn to Matt. "Who's that?" I whisper.

Matt glances around cautiously. "I don't know. It doesn't sound like any of the others. Let's just keep moving."

So we do. We keep moving until we can't move any further.

We're staring the strange man right in the face.

Emily's POV

I rush to the lodge, screaming. I reach the door, beginning to pound on it. "Let me in! Let me in!!!"

I hear the voices of the others inside. 

"Is that...?" I hear Ashley ask.

"It's Em!" Sam exclaims.

"Let her in!" Chris says. "Quick!!"

I keep pounding on the door until Chris opens it for me, causing me to tumble inside. I scootch on the floor away from the door. "Shut the door! Oh my gosh! Shut the door!"

Sam and Ashley take my arms and help me to my feet as Chris shuts the door.

"Em, are you alright?" Chris questions.

"I didn't think that I'd make it!"

"You were screaming bloody murder!" Chris says.

Sam leads me to the living room. "Are you okay?" 

 Ashley takes my arm again, helping Sam lead me to the couch. "You look totally wiped!" 

"There was something..." I try.

"Where are Matt and Y/N?" Ashley questions.

"Come sit down, sit down," Sam suggests.

I try to get my bearings as everyone is talking one after another. "Something's out there!"

"Did you guys split up?" Ashley sits on the ground next to my feet as I sit on the couch.

"A monster!" I exclaim. "It's a monster!"

Chris finally speaks up again. "Wait! Where's Matt and Y/N."

I grow angry, remembering. "I don't want to talk about that boyfriend stealer and that douche bag."

Chris's brow furrows. "What?"

"They almost left me! Dangling off the fire tower when I was about to die! But get this, Matt actually broke up with me while I was scared for my life!"

Chris blinks a few times in confusion. "Oh.. I'm sorry."

I laugh coldly. "He and Y/N are probably making out somewhere. Maybe they died together. I don't care. They probably fell deeper into the mines right after I did."

Chris takes a step back. "What? No.. they can't... they can't be..."

"Chris..." Ashley starts. "We don't know that for sure."

"No, Ash. No... But we should have never split up! We should have never split up! This is all my fault... If I hadn't been passed out drunk last year, maybe I could have done something! Stopped the prank that had started it all! Maybe if I had been a better friend to Josh I could have seen the warning signs, prevented this, or something! It's all my fault... Now my best friend is tied to a post in the shed and my other best friend is probably dead in a mine somewhere! It's all my fault... All of it..."

Ashley makes her way towards Chris, putting a hand on Chris's arm comfortingly. "Don't you dare blame yourself for this, Chris. You weren't even involved in the prank last year. I was. So if you're going to blame yourself for what happened... blame me, Chris." 

He shakes his head. "No, Ash... I can't... I can't do that. It wasn't even your idea..."

"I know. But I was involved in it. So blame me if you're going to blame someone."

"No, Ash. No."

"Then don't blame yourself. It's not your fault."

Chris sighs shakily as Ashley gives him a hug.

I roll my eyes. "GUYS! You need to listen to me! There was something out there!"

Ashley releases Chris from her hug, looking at me. "Like what?"

"Ash, relax," Sam says. "It was Josh. It was all Josh."

"No, no, no, no. Listen to me. It wasn't human. It was after me! So, we were climbing up the tower and it fell. The whole tower just fell! Right into the mines... There are these mine shafts all over, running under everything. When the tower fell we ended up down there. And I was walking down there, in the mines, and it was dark and I found this... pile and... there was Beth's head!"

"What!?" Sam questions.

"Beth's head... I found it."

"Oh my gosh," Ashley breathes.

I cross my arms in an effort to comfort myself. "I think they fell down there. But the worst part is I don't think Hannah died, like, from the fall, not right away..."

"What do you mean?" Ashley asks.

"I don't know... I feel like she was down there... like, starving to death... for weeks... when we were all up here looking for her... and we had no idea!"

Chris shakes his head, still upset from earlier. "That's... that's horrible."

"Listen... in... in the tower there was a radio and I-I got through to someone, but that was right when the tower collapsed!"

Mike comes rushing in, putting a hand on Chris's free arm, as Ashley is holding onto the other. "We alright?" he asks. He sees me and comes forward. "Em!"

I stand up from the couch. "Mike!"

He gives me a quick hug. "You made it! What about Matt and Y/N?"

"We're trying to figure that out," Ashley says.

"Yeah! And there was a 'monster' that was chasing her!" Sam exclaims.

"She's all messed up, guys." He takes my hands and looks right into my eyes. "Emily? Hey, Em?"

Then there's a knock on the door.

"Whoa," Chris breathes.

Mike lets go of me. "Who could that be?"

Chris's face lights up. "Y/N, Matt, or Jess?"

"Maybe Josh," Ashley adds.

Mike shakes his head. "It's not Jess."     

"And I don't think it's Matt or Y/N either," I tell Chris.

Chris sighs. "Sorry, Mike. And yeah. Okay. Who is it then?"

I don't know!" Mike whisper-shouts. "We should check it out."

"I got your back," Chris assures Mike.

"Good."

Mike's POV

Ashley reluctantly lets go of Chris's arm as he leads the way to the door.

The two of us near it and I get in a good shooting position.

"Okay," Chris says. "I'm gonna open the door. You ready? You ready?"

"Uh-huh," I assure Chris and sigh, turning to him. "Just do it already! Whoever it is has probably gone by now."

"Unless you want me to take the gun."

I get back in my shooting position and shake my head. "No, no, no. I think that's less good. You do the door. I got the gun."

Chris moves to the door, putting his hand on the handle and twisting it open before getting knocked to the ground as someone kicks the door in.

I point the gun at the strange man standing before me, ready to shoot. "Ah! Ho-hold on there..."

I trail off as the stranger moves, revealing Y/N, Matt, and... Jess.

I freeze in bewilderment, blinking to make sure it's not my imagination.

Y/N smiles at us sheepishly before putting her hands up in surrender. "Please! You can trust him. He's with us."

"Y/N!" Chris exclaims, getting off the ground and giving Y/N a big hug. "Oh my gosh! You scared me! We thought you were dead! Don't ever scare me like that again!"

Y/N smiles and hugs him back. "Don't worry, broseph. I know you'd kill me if I died on you."

Chris laughs, tears in his eyes. "You're right. I would." He turns to Matt, giving him a hug too. "I'm glad you all are alright. Thanks for making sure they got back safe."

Matt gives a bow. "But of course, Christopher. I consider it my duty to protect and serve Princess Y/N and Duchess Jessica."

Jessica.

Without any more hesitation, I run to Jessica, scooping her up in a big hug.

She giggles, but then groans in pain. "Easy, handsome. I'm pretty beat up."

I set her down. "I'm sorry. But oh my gosh! I thought I lost you! I am so sorry!"

Jess gives me as tight a hug as she can in her condition. "Don't be sorry. You came for me. That's all that matters. I'm here now. We're all here now."

The strange man clears his throat. "Ok. Everybody just calm down. I know you're all happy to see each other, but we're not out of the woods yet. Everyone get inside quickly and lock the door." 

We all hurry back inside and I close the door, locking it.

The man gestures to the living room. "Now just move over there," the man continues, "Go on, move! Let me say what I came to say."

We all scurry to the living room.

I lead Jess to the couch with the other girls, who promptly greet her with hugs and thankfulness that she's still alive. Even Emily looks happy to see her.

I sit down next to her on the couch, holding her and never wanting to let go of her again.

As soon as Ashley locks eyes on Y/N, she springs up from the couch, hugging her tightly. "Oh my gosh! You're safe! I knew you would find a way out of any trouble you came across!"

Y/N hugs Ashley back just as tightly. "Thank you for believing in me. I missed you."

The two girls smile at each other as Sam joins them in a group hug.

When they're done, the three girls quickly go back to the couch as the man enters the living room.

Matt takes his seat next to Y/N, ignoring the glares he's getting from Emily.

"I'm here to tell you what you're up against being back on this mountain," the man says. "You should never have returned. I don't know why you did after what happened last year."

"You mean with Hannah and Beth?" Ashley asks.

Chris takes a seat on the couch next to Ashley. "Yeah, how could you know without being involved..."

"Or responsible?" Sam adds. 

"No, guys," Y/N assures us. "He helped us. You can trust him. He helped us get out of the mines and back to you guys."

"As much as I hate to agree with Y/N, she's right. He helped me too," Emily says.

"You hold on to your horses," the man interrupts. "I wasn't responsible. Now, I don't take kindly to you kids coming up here to my mountain-"

"Your mountain? I'm sure the Washington's would be very surprised to hear that," I say.

The man laughs. "Well this mountain don't belong to me, it's true. But it don't belong to the Washingtons. This mountain... belongs to the Wendigo."

"Who?" Chris questions.

"What's he talking about?" Sam asks.

My forehead creases in confusion. "What the hell's a Wendigo?"  

"Let's hear him out," Y/N suggests.

I sigh. "Not like we have a choice."

"Now, I'm only going to tell you this once. It doesn't matter to me if you believe it or not. I got reasons I want to... get it off my chest..."

"See?" I say. "I told you! He's guilty! Guilty of something!"

Jess puts her hand on my thigh. "Mike, please. Quiet. We need to hear what he has to say. I saw it. He's telling the truth. He's trying to inform us. Listen."

I nod and do as she says, not opening my mouth again.

"There is a curse," the stranger continues, "that dwells in these mountains. Should any man or woman resort to cannibalism in these woods, the spirit of the Wendigo shall be unleashed."

Oh crap. 

My mind flashes back to when Jess got pulled through the window. The unhuman hands. That weird thing I tried to shoot in the mines after Jess fell. 

It has been a Wendigo all this time.

"You're going to need to find somewhere safe," the man suggests.

"The basement might be okay," Sam tells him.

The stranger nods. "Okay. Get down there, now. All of you. And wait."

"What?" Sam asks. "Why? For how long?"

"Until dawn," Y/N and Emily say in unison, both glaring at each other afterward.

That's when I remember. "Guys. I ran off and left Josh when I heard screaming."

Y/N stands up, panicking. "What? Josh? But he died!"

"Where did you leave him?" the stranger inquires.

"In the shed..."

"What!?" Y/N cries. "What happened!?"

The man ignores Y/N, looking me straight in the eyes instead. "Your friend will already be dead."

Now Chris stands up. "No... No, he can't be... We were just with him!"

The stranger shakes his head. "A lot can happen quickly on this mountain."

"No. I'm gonna go get him," Chris announces.

"You can't go out there, Chris!" Ashley begs.

"I'm supposed to be his best friend and I let him down!"

"No..." Ashley interjects. "He let you down, Chris. He let all of us down!"

"I don't care. I'm going to get him."

Y/N holds her hands up to quiet us. "I am so confused. I thought he was dead! You put Josh in the shed? Why?"

"He pranked us," I tell her. "He made us think there was a killer."

"He used a dummy. It wasn't really his blood or anything. He used a dummy and a pig's guts. He's alive and he was behind the spooks. Well, it turns out he wasn't behind all of them," Chris explains.

"Well, I don't care either. If you're going out there, Chris, I'm coming with you," Y/N announces.

"What!?" Chris exclaims. "No!"

Matt nods in agreement. "I agree. I'm not letting you go out there, Y/N."

"Me neither," Ashley says. "We just got you back. It's too dangerous out there!"

Y/N folds her arms. "Guys, come on! I have to go! Josh is like a brother to me! I have to do this for him. I have find him. Besides, Chris is like a brother to me too. I am not letting him go without me. If something happens to him out there I'd never forgive myself for letting him go alone."

Matt stands up from the couch, taking Y/N's hand. "No. I'm not letting you go out there. But I know this means a lot to you. So I'll go with Chris."

"But Matt..." Y/N trails off as Matt holds a finger up to silence her.

"It's decided. I'll go with Chris."

Chris gives Matt an appreciative smile. 

"Then I'll go with you two," the man says.

Chris shakes his head. "We don't need your help."

"Going without me is suicide."

Matt turns to Chris. "He's right. We do need him."

Chris sighs. "Fine."

"The rest of you get down to the basement. Be safe. Don't go outside again until we're back," the stranger tells us before turning his attention to Chris. "You don't seem to understand the magnitude of the situation."

"Well, I'm going to get Josh, aren't I?" I hear Chris retort.

"No. I'm going to get Josh. You're going to help me. Do you understand?"

"...Uh... yeah... I think so..."

"You need to follow me," the man tells Chris and Matt. "And do everything I tell you."

The two nod and follow the stranger to the door as I look to the others, herding them downstairs.

But Ashley and Y/N hang back.

"Are you two coming?" I ask. 

Y/N shakes her head. "We'll catch up. We just want to open the door for them when they get back."

I nod in understanding. "Good idea. Be safe. I'll come back up to check on you guys if you aren't downstairs after a while."

Y/N smiles at me. "Thanks, Mike."

I wave to the two girls and join the others downstairs, just willing for everyone to be alive by the end of this.

Matt's POV

After the man gives Chris and I each a gun and lectures Chris on how to use it properly, he opens the door. 

"Hey," I hear someone say, and turn around to see Ashley walking towards Chris, Y/N in tow. 

I watch Chris and Ashley gravitate towards each other as Ashley says, "Come back safe."

They kiss, much to the surprise of both me and Y/N.

Y/N gets over her shock and puts her hands to her cheeks, looking extremely pleased. I know she's probably fangirling hard right now. 

I decide that Chris and Ashley have the right idea, and I take Y/N's hand. 

She looks at me, her eyes shining with both concern and gratitude. "Matt..."

I hold my finger up to her lips, signaling to her not to say anything more. We don't have much time. 

So I kiss her. I kiss her like I've wanted to so many times before. 

We stand there, kissing farewell, but too soon, the kiss ends. 

Y/N backs away from me with a huge smile, her cheeks pink. "Thank you for going to protect Chris for me and get Josh."

"Of course. Anything for you."

Her smile widens, but then her expression grows thoughtful. "Just be careful, Matt. I don't want to lose you either. I don't know if I could live without you."

I smile reassuringly. "I couldn't live without you either. Don't worry. I'll come back safe with Chris. We'll get Josh."

Y/N smiles, squeezing my hand in hers before backing up with a wave. 

I glance over at Chris and Ashley, who are still making googly eyes at each other, blushing like mad after their kiss.

Finally, the stranger speaks up, amused and annoyed at the same time. "We need to hurry, boys."

Ashley backs away from Chris with a smile, moving to stand next to Y/N.

"I... uh... I'll see you soon," Chris tells Ashley. 

I walk to Chris, giving him a playful nudge. He rolls his eyes and turns to wave at the girls before coming with me to follow the stranger.

"So..." Chris starts once we make it out the door. "So, tell me. You're the expert on these 'things.' What's... uh... What's a guy gotta know...?"

"You two just be careful," the man warns. "You follow my lead."

Chris and I share a look, walking down the stairs from the lodge with the strange man. 

"So, how many times do we have to shoot it with these shotguns before it's dead?" I ask.

"Well, you'd be shooting a long time."

"You mean this thing won't even kill it!?" Chris exclaims.

"No... but it'll slow it down."

"Well how do you kill it?" I inquire.

"They don't like fire."

"I don't like fire," Chris informs the man.

"They fear it. And it can kill them. If you have to... See, their skin is like... it's like tough armor... unless you burn it off first."

"That's gross..." Chris says.

Chris has caught up to me, so I allow myself to fall behind a little, wanting Chris to be between me and the stranger. I promised Y/N I'd protect him. When I wasn't able to be there for her, Chris and Josh were. Those two mean the world to her. And I have to make up for the prank. The prank that even made her stop liking me for a while. This is the least I could do to make up for it.

I look around cautiously. "I haven't been around one long enough to tell. Are they crazy unpredictable or can you figure out what they're gonna do?"

"Well... they adhere to some patterns... like any animal or human."

"Wh- You mean, like how?" Chris asks. "Like they've got schedules?"

I roll my eyes. Even in the face of danger and possibly death, Chris is making jokes. I can see why he and Y/N get along so well.

"Well, they only hunt at night," the stranger says. 

"Why?" I inquire.

"I didn't ask," he puts it simply.

"Any, uh, pro Wendigo tips?" Chris questions. "Like if I rub garlic all over me they won't be able to smell me or something?"

"They'll still smell you."

"Anything like that?"

"They can't see you if you're standing still," the man tells Chris. "It's like toads. Sight is based on changes of movement in their field of vision."

"That's how Jess, Y/N, and I got out. We hid and tried not to move."

Chris turns back to glance at me for a second, his eyes wide. "Wow. So if we don't move... we're basically invisible."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't recommend testing it out. Unless you have no other choice."

I nod in understanding. "Yeah. Down in the mines, we were unarmed. There was nothing else to do but hide."

The stranger doesn't turn back to look at me as he congratulates, "Good job, boy. You did the right thing. I'm glad you got out of there safely."

I blink a few times, shocked. I mean, sure, he seems like a nice guy, but I didn't take him as the type of guy to give out compliments.

"So if these things are or... were... human... do they still have some aspect of humanity in them?" Chris asks.

"Well, they retain certain things."

"I mean is it right to kill them?"

I'm shocked at Chris's words. He has no idea what he's talking about. That thing... the Wendigo almost killed Jess, Y/N, and I in the mines! It would have ripped us to shreds and ate us if it had the chance!

"Maybe they can be cured or-" Chris continues.

The stranger laughs coldly. "They surrender human rights the moment they eat one another. There is no cure. There is no redemption."

"I mean, if they're still human, I don't know if it's right to hurt them."

"When you're staring one in the face, it's them, or you. You feel free to take the high road. You won't be on it for long."

"Yeah," I agree. "He's right, Chris. I've seen those things for myself. I know for a fact they wouldn't show you the same kind of mercy that you're willing to give them."  

All Chris says is, "Oh."              

Then we reach the shed.

I grit my teeth. That's not a good sign.

Chris rushes forward ahead of the man with the flamethrower. He notices a broken stool next to a pool of blood. "Oh no... Dammit! What happened!?" Chris walks over to check the other part of the shed, coming back empty-handed. "He's gone! We're too late!"

"Shh!" the stranger orders. "Quiet!" He looks around outside the lodge. "We gotta go. Right now."

Chris shakes his head. "We gotta find Josh! He could still be out there!"

The man chuckles coldly once again. "First, the Wendigo, he'll render you immobile. And then he strips the skin off of your entire body, piece by piece. And then he keeps you alive and aware and feasts on your organs, one piece at a time."

Chris gulps. "So the lodge, then."

The stranger nods. "Yeah. Let's go now." He carefully creeps out of the shed, Chris and then me close behind. "It might still be near!"

Chris and I hurry out of the shed with the man, looking around cautiously for any sign of danger. 

We don't get that far away from the shed before the stranger whispers, "Wait! Don't... move... Be very quiet."

I see Chris tense out of the corner of my eye as I try to remain as still as possible. 

When the stranger begins to move again, Chris and I follow his lead. 

"RUN!" the man suddenly screams. "GO! NOW! NOW!"

Chris and I start to run, but freeze when the Wendigo appears in front of us. 

"HOLY CRAP! WHAT THE HELL!?" Chris cries.

The man blasts it with fire, scaring it off. "BACK! BACK!"

Chris backs up in fear. "DAMN!"

"We're right out in the open," the stranger says. "We gotta get out of here!"

I dodge the monster, tumbling and rolling on the ground as it jumps right past me. I hear the stranger cry out and I look up from the ground to see blood oozing from his neck.

I shoot up from the ground. "HOLY CRAP! OH MY GOSH!"

I run over to Chris as he stands there in shock, watching the man fall to his knees, his head falling onto the snowy ground and tainting the white snow bright red.

"Oh crap," Chris breathes.

"Chris, we have to get out of here!! We have to get back to the lodge!!" I yell.

The Wendigo comes back for more, jumping out at Chris. I fumble to aim my shotgun, but Chris is thankfully able to shoot it just in time, throwing it back towards the stranger's body.

"Come on, Chris," I tell him. "GO! RUN! GO!"

Chris takes off running, me close behind. 

We both glance behind us periodically, rolling under a fallen tree in our way. We stand up again to find the Wendigo heading straight towards us again. 

Chris shoots it again, sending it crashing against the fallen tree. "Yeah! Suck it!"

We keep running, me making sure that Chris stays ahead. 

Chris tries to jump down an outcropping of rocks, but trips, hurting himself. "ARGH!" 

I jump down the outcropping, bending down to help Chris to his feet. "Come on, man! We have to make it! We're almost there!"

Chris nods, hobbling in front of me. 

I notice that the Wendigo is now in front of us, so I quickly switch to take the lead, shooting the Wendigo away from Chris and I when it lunges for us again.

We continue forward, me glancing behind be every few seconds to make sure Chris is okay. 

Then I notice the Wendigo in front of us again. As the Wendigo lunges for me, I notice explosives, which I promptly shoot, causing it to blow and the Wendigo to be knocked away from us.

However, it doesn't get knocked away before knocking Chris over. 

"Whaa!" he cries.

"Chris!" I rush over to him, helping him up again. I nudge him forward, taking the rear again and making sure he gets inside the lodge first.

Chris runs as fast as his injuries will let him, slamming against the door in desperation. "Ash! Ash! Y/N!"

I watch as Y/N opens the door for Chris, Ashley pulling him inside. 

"THANK GOD!" Chris exclaims. "Thank you!"         

I run into the lodge right after him, closing the door behind me.

Chris holds Ashley in his arms, nervously eyeing the door.

"CHRIS!" Ashley cries, continuing to hold onto him. "What happened!?"

Chris releases her, just taking her arm and leading her away from the door.

I do the same with Y/N. "We gotta go," I tell her. "It was right behind us."

The Wendigo lunges at the door, causing Ashley to jump back and scream. 

"Go!! Go, go, go, go, go!" Chris yells, all of us running to the basement to join the others.

Y/N's POV

The four of us tumble inside the safe room, Mike closing the door behind us.

"Guys! Thank God!" Emily exclaims.

"What took you so long?" Sam asks, concerned.

Chris goes to sit down, looking at the floor. "It's not so good up there right now."

"Understatement of the night," Mike says.

I lead Matt over to Chris so he can sit down. I don't let go of his hand.

"Chris... Matt... where's the flame thrower guy?" Sam inquires.

"Ah... yeah... He uh..." Chris starts.

"He didn't make it!?" Ashley exclaims.

My eyes widen. No. How are we supposed to get out of here alive now!

I can hear Jess start to cry on the other end of the long desk we're sitting on. 

"Oh NO!" Emily screeches.

"What happened!?" Sam asks.

"The thing... it..." Chris tries, trailing off.

"It tore him apart," Matt finishes, looking at the ground like Chris. "Right in front of us."

Sam's eyes flicker with concern. "Oh no..."

"Alright," Mike says, starting to walk around the room. "These all the doors?"

Sam nods. "Yeah."

Mike nervously starts checking the room. "Are you sure?"

"What are you looking for?"

"Another way out," Mike tells Sam.

"Mike... I really don't think that's a good idea. We should stay put. Right here. Until dawn. At least we're safe down here!"

"Oh? Yeah? All wrapped up like a little present with a bow on top for that thing to tear us apart on Christmas morning?"

"People will come for us. In the morning."

"You don't sound so sure."

"That's what'll happen! Right, guys?" Sam's eyes flicker from Emily to me and then to Matt.

"Yes. I mean, it should happen..." I try to assure them.

"Well you can wait," Mike tells us. "I'm getting Jess out of here."

"Mike... there's no key for the cable car," Emily says, rubbing her shoulder.

"Josh. He's gotta have it."

"Josh?" Sam questions.

"One of his dirty little tricks," Mike says.

"Great. Great!"

"If that thing got a hold of Josh... then... we're outta luck."

"I don't know, Mike," Emily tells him. "It's possible..."

"What's possible?" Sam asks.

"It may have taken him down to the mine."

Mike looks to Emily, his brow furrowed. "What?"  

"I saw some horrible stuff down there..." Emily explains. "I think it's where that thing lives... and..." She gets distracted by a book on one of the desks in the room. "Huh."

"Em? What?" Sam questions.

Mike throws one of his hands up in exasperation. "Screw it. I'm gonna get that key. Right from that thing's bedroom, and then I'm going to get us all the hell out of here."

Sam joins Emily to see what she's looking at. "Em? What is all that?" 

"It's that old guy's bag."

Ashley joins them as Mike walks over too, looking over Sam's shoulder. "Is that a map?"

"That guy was prepared for anything," Sam says.

Mike shakes his head. "Not quite."

"What is this place?" I hear Emily ask.

I want to get up to see what they're all looking at, but I need to stay here to watch over Jess, Chris, and Matt.

"Wait. Wait. Wait," Sam says. "What is that?"

"I was down there. It was horrible," Mike tells them.

Sam looks up from what she was examining to face Mike. "You were?"

He nods. "There had been a cave-in in the fifties, I guess, and these miners got trapped down there. Some of them survived, but... like... fifteen of 'em didn't make it. There was this reporter and I think he figured out there had been some, like, big cover-up going on. I found these plans. They knew the mine was a death trap, but they let the miners keep working anyway. And... I'm not sure what it means, but I found this chair, with dried blood all over the place... like somebody'd been tortured."

"Michael," Emily interjects, "I'd like to maybe focus on how we're going to get out of here please?"

"I'm just saying... it's weird how much crazy stuff's gone on up here."

"Well, what's weird is that there's a tunnel leading from the lodge to the Sanitorium, see?" I watch Emily point to something on the desk. 

"That's how I got back here," Mike tells her.

"I saw this when I was down in there," Emily says. "That's where it lives."

Ashley points to Emily's shoulder. The shoulder I've seen Emily messing with for a while now. 

"Oh my gosh..." Ashley backs away from Emily. "Em? What is that? What... is that!?"

"Ash..." Emily coaxes. "It's nothing. It just bit me..."

"It bit you!?" Ashley exclaims. "What bit you!?"

Emily places her hand on her shoulder again. "The a... The Wendigo."

"The what?" Mike asks.

My eyes widen. 

"It's nothing, really, it's not a big deal!" Emily argues. 

"You okay?" Sam asks.

Mike pulls on his hair with both hands. "Shoot!"

"It doesn't hurt anymore. Really! It's not that bad."

"Em... If that thing bit you..."

"I know what you're thinking. And I'm fine!" Emily walks forward towards Mike, who promptly backs up.

"Are you?" Mike questions.

"Yes!"

"Emily, at least let us check it out," Sam suggests.

"Emily... If the Wendigo bit you, you could turn into one of those things," Mike says.

"Oh, that's ridiculous," Sam says. 

I look over at Matt, who notices I'm looking at him and turns his attention from the drama unfolding to me. 

He searches my eyes, noticing the concern in them. Then he smiles reassuringly as if he's telling me that it's alright to leave him, Chris, and Jess over here for a bit.

I nod, smiling back gratefully and squeezing his hand before letting go of it reluctantly. I stand up, anger and determination flaring within me. "Mike, listen to yourself. This isn't the zombie apocalypse." I walk over to him, gesturing to Emily. "She might not be the sweetest person on the planet, but this is terrible! Even she doesn't deserve this!"

"He said it was from eating each other, remember!?" Ashley cries, freaking out. "He said that!"

"Wait is that how it worked?" Sam asks.

"Yes! It happens if it bit you! You're gonna turn into one and then you're going to turn on us! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my GOSH!"

I turn to Ashley. "Please, you're upset and scared. Please try to calm down."

"You can't be down here with us," Mike tells Emily.

My head whips back to look at Mike. "Are you SERIOUS!?"

"What!?" Emily cries.

"MIKE!" Sam exclaims. 

Mike shakes his head, a determined look on his face. "You gotta go."

"Are you kidding me!?" Emily looks over at Sam, wanting support.

"You're putting us all in danger!" Mike continues.

"Like hell I am!"

"Emily... you can't stay here!"

"Mike, just cool your head, okay?" Sam demands. "We don't know if it works like that. Maybe it's just a bite!"

Chris looks up from the corner of the room. "I've seen what these fuckers can do. And I don't want to see it again."

"Chris!" I scold. I look to Matt, hoping to get some help, but he just looks down.

What is happening!?

Are we all going mad!?

"What is this?" Emily questions, looking around the room at all of us. "Guys, what are you doing?"

Mike gestures to the exit. "Door's right here. I'm letting you do this voluntarily." 

Emily scoffs, walking closer to Mike to get in his face. "Oh no, you're just making yourself feel better about sending me to my death since you know there's a Wendigo out there ready to rip me to peices like it did with-"

"OKAY! OH MY GOSH! WILL YOU JUST GO! GO! GET OUT OF HERE!" Ashley interrupts.    

 Mike picks up a gun from the table, pointing it at Emily. 

"Woah!" Sam exclaims. 

Emily backs away from Mike. "... Okay..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Sam grabs Mike's arm, trying to get him to stop. "Mike... Calm down!"

Mike nudges Sam off of him, aiming his gun. 

"Mike..." Jess pleads weakly from the other side of the room. "Please don't..."

Mike glances at Jess, regret and reconsideration flashing across his face before being replaced with determination and stubbornness. "No. I'm doing this to protect you, Jess. I'm trying to protect all of you."

"Mike!" I yell. "Put the gun down already!!"

"Man, maybe we should think about this..." Matt finally says.

Mike just ignores us, continuing to point the gun at Emily. 

Emily backs up further, climbing onto one of the desks in the room and scooting backwards on it until she hits the wall. "You're going to shoot me? Mike? Me?"

"This is the safe room, Em!" Mike says.

"Please!" Emily curls her legs up to her chest.

"It's not safe as long as you're in it! Not for us!"

Emily starts to cry, shielding her face. "No! Don- Don't do this!"

"I'm really sorry," Mike apologizes, aiming the gun at Emily once again and preparing to pull the trigger.

His finger tenses on the trigger and then...