Chapter Eleven

Y/N's POV

I rush over to Mike just in time, grabbing his arm and making him point the gun at the ground. But it's a little too late, and Mike is unable to stop himself from pulling the trigger. 

That's when I realize I didn't do a very good job of making sure he pointed it at the ground and nothing else.

My eyes widen and I cry out in pain, falling to the ground and clutching my injured foot.

"WHAT THE HELL, MAN!?" Matt growls, running over and sitting next to me. He takes my hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze.

"FUCK!" Mike yells, backing away from me. "What did I just DO!?"

I want to scream again, but I'm scared of the Wendigo hearing us. So I just cry. A lot.

I hear Ashley squeak. "Y/N! Oh my gosh! It's bleeding through the shoe! Like, a lot!"

"Y/N! Are you okay!?" I hear Chris ask.

I suck breath in through my gritted teeth. "I'm... okay. Better... my... foot... than... Emily's... face. Is... it... bad? I'm... scared... to... look."

The pain makes it so that I am unable to speak any faster or more clearly. It hurts so bad!

My eyes narrow due to the pain, but I can make out Sam kneeling next to me opposite of Matt. 

"Guys, calm down," Sam orders. "Y/N, just hang in there. It's bad, but it could be worse." Sam carefully takes off my shoe, causing me to suck in more air through my teeth as I strangle a scream. "It looks like it just got a few of your toes. The bullet is not stuck in your foot or anything either. I think you're going to be alright."

"But it could get infected!" Matt exclaims.

"Shhh." I feel Sam start rubbing my back in an effort to comfort me. "I'm not a doctor, but I think I can help at least a little bit if we find a first-aid kit."

I can hear Ashley sobbing behind me. "I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!"

"Calm down, Ash," I hear Chris coax. "It's not your fault. Mike's the one who shot her."

I can hear the hostility in Chris's tone with that last sentence, but I don't want us to start hating each other. And I don't want anyone to worry about me.

"It was an ACCIDENT!" Mike cries. "I didn't mean to shoot her! She grabbed my arm! Oh my gosh! Holy crap! I am so SORRY!!"

"You shouldn't have tried to shoot anyone, Mike," Jess tells him weakly.

I look up, squinting through the pain to see Mike back away from everyone, shame and hurt in his eyes. "I'm going to go. Keep an eye on Emily. If you see anything weird... You guys know what to do. No one leave. It's not safe out there. I'll be back soon."

I watch as Mike nears the exit to the safe room. 

"Mike..." I try. 

He pauses for a moment but refuses to look at me. 

"Mike, it's... alright. I... forgive... you. I'll... be... alright. Please... be... careful."

"Please come back safe," Jess pleads.

Mike just nods. "Yeah. Yeah. I'll... I'll be back. I'm going to get us out of here."

He then walks out, leaving me and the others to stress over my foot injury.

"Alright," Sam says. "We need to find a first-aid kit. Now! I know some of you can't really move, but search your areas."

I feel Matt let go of my hand as he starts to search the safe room. 

"Guys..." I hear Jess call. "I think there's a first-aid kit over in this corner."

Sam refuses to leave my side, continuing to rub my back as I cry. "Hand it to Matt please. Matt, bring it over here."

I see Matt come back, handing the kit to Sam, who opens it up to examine the contents. "Perfect! I have what I need."

I smile gratefully through my tears. "How... did... you... learn... to... treat... stuff... like... this?"

I see Sam blush sheepishly. "Well, I... I read up on a lot of stuff. I like helping injured animals when I find them, so I read up on everything I could possibly need to know to help them in any situation. In my research, I decided that it wouldn't hurt to know how to help humans out with some things too."

I manage a laugh. "How... very... generous... of... you."

Sam scratches the back of her neck nervously.

"No, I... mean... it..." I assure her. "Thank... you."

"Of course," Sam says. "Now let's get you patched up. But you're going to have some trouble walking. And it's still going to hurt. Just hopefully not as much. Matt, I'm going to need you to hold Y/N's hand or something to comfort her while I do this. It's going to really hurt."

I feel Matt take my hand again, using his free one to take over Sam's job of back rubs. 

"Oh boy, I can't watch this," Ashley tells us. "I'm going to go look through the guy's bag. See if there's anything we can use."

"Alright. And Y/N, just take deep breaths," Sam informs me.

I bite my lip. I just need to focus on not screaming. Do. Not. Scream.

Chris's POV

I watch the scene unfolding on the floor nervously. Y/N trying to stifle screams. Matt trying to get her mind off the pain. Sam working hard to ensure Y/N's going to be alright.

I hear Ashley sniffle and immediately look up to find her. Once I lay my eyes on her again, I relax.

Relax, Chris. She's safe.

We're in the safe room.

I watch as she walks away with a book she just picked up, going to sit in a chair nearby. She flips through the pages quietly. 

"This book says that because the Wendigos are... mutated... from humans... when they hunt us they know how to perfectly mimic their prey," Ashley tells us.

I shudder. 

Ashley keeps reading for a bit, but my gaze is distracted from her when Sam cries, "Yes! I got it! I mean, I think I got it. Are you alright, Y/N?"

She just squeaks before replying. "I... think... so."

"How does it feel?" I ask, concerned.

"It... still... really... hurts... but... I'll... manage. At... least... I... can... look... at... it... now... that... my... shoe... is... back... on... and... it's... been... cleaned... up... and... not... bleeding... anymore."

I look back at Ashley as I hear her say, "Oh. Oh no, no, no, no, no.

Sam stands up from the ground, walking towards Ashley and the book. "What? What is it? What does it say?"

"It says... that the bites... if it bites you it's not infectious. It doesn't do anything!"

"Let me see that," Sam tells Ashley, taking the book.

Emily finally speaks up, moving from her curled up spot on the desk. The shock from what happened with Y/N and Mike is still frozen on her face. "Wait. What? What does it say?"

"Em, you're going to be fine," Sam assures her.

"FINE!? Mike almost shot me is that fine!" Emily scowls and points at Ashley accusingly. "And this bitch almost let him!"

I narrow my eyes at Emily, willing my mouth to move, to say something to defend Ashley's honor, but no words come out. It's as if my whole body has shut down. It's all too much...

Thankfully, Sam has got me covered. "Hey, that's not fair! She was scared!"

"I'm the one who's scared!!" 

Ashley walks closer to Emily, trying to reason with her. "Emily, I'm sorry. I didn't know what was going to happen. None of us know!"

"There's no excuse! There's no excuse for this!"

"Emily, please try to understand," Ashley begs.

Emily glares at Ashley and for a second I think she's going to slap her, but then Emily's eyes drift down to where Y/N is still on the floor, eyeing her injured foot. Then, to my surprise, Emily just backs away from Ashley, sighing. "Fine. Whatever. I'm not going to waste my time on you. I know you and Y/N are close or whatever, so you're off the hook. This time. At least she's sticking up for me."

I look over at Sam, who is reading the book with a shocked look on her face. "Shoot. We've got to get to Mike. Like now!" Sam then looks around the room, noticing we're all shaken and injured. Her gaze lands on Y/N on the floor. Then she looks up again, newfound determination on her face. "Alright. Alright. We can do this. We can do this. We're all still alive. We can still make it. We have hope. We can make this if we work together, got that? I know we're all tired. Traumatized. Injured. But we gotta pull through. We gotta be there for each other." Sam looks at Emily and Ashley. "No grudges. No more fighting." She looks around the room at all of us once again. "No more turning on each other. We are all here because sacrifices have been made. Matt and Y/N got Jess out of the mines even though she's severely injured. It was a risk to bring her along with the dangers lurking about. But they did it anyway. They risked their lives because they refused to leave her behind. Matt went with Chris to get Josh, and those two were able to help each other along the way. Ashley and Y/N opened the door for Chris and Matt, saving their lives. Y/N risked her life to make sure Emily didn't get shot. The stranger risked his life to save Jess, Emily, Matt, and Y/N in the mines, later giving his life for Matt and Chris. You see? We're only here because people have sacrificed. We're only here because people have decided to work together. If we all decide to work together, imagine the things we could accomplish! So we need to make a pact. No man or woman left behind. We're a team."

I nod in agreement. "I'm in."

I watch Ashley extend a hand to Emily, who is crossing her arms defiantly. "Truce?" Ashley tries. "I really am sorry, Emily."

Emily's eyes flicker from Y/N's wound to Ashley's hand. Then she smiles, and grips Ashley's hand firmly. "Alright, fine. Truce."

Ashley grins and looks over at me as if to make sure I'm aware of her achievement. 

I smile, giving her a thumbs up.

"You girls in then?" Sam asks.

"We're in," Ashley and Emily assure her in unison.

"I'm... in," Y/N says from the floor.

Matt raises his hand. "I'm in!"

I look over at Jess, who smiles before saying, "Yeah. I'm in."

Sam claps her hands together. "Alright! Let's get Mike! Everyone who is able, help those who need it."

Ashley walks over to me, extending her hand. "Care to let me be your crutch?"

I take her hand and she helps me up. "Of course. But just this once. Then I'll take care of you."

Ashley smiles, blushing. "Alright, Chris."

We wait, me wanting to make sure that everyone can get help properly before leaving.

I watch as Matt helps Y/N up, Y/N wincing and squeaking when she puts pressure on her injured foot.

"You good?" I ask her.

She nods. "Yup... I'm... good... broseph."

I give her a slight smile. "Alright. Just let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks... Chris."

Matt smiles at me appreciatively as he gets in position to be Y/N's crutch. "Thanks, man."

I nod, returning the smile. 

Y/N and Matt exit the safe room right behind Sam, Emily helping Jess to her feet to both me and Ashley's surprise.

Emily glares at us for a second as she helps Jess out of the room, asking, "What?" as she walks past us.

Ashley and I share a laugh before following the others at the rear.

We walk down the tunnel, Sam making a gesture for us to move faster. "I know you guys are hurt, but come on! We gotta find Mike!"

Eventually, I pause, causing Ashley to have to pause, not able to keep me moving without some of my efforts. "Hey... ahh... I'm kinda gimping out here, guys... I think maybe you should go on without me. You can just leave me here, Ash. I'll be alright."

She shakes her head. "No, Chris. We are not leaving you. Remember Sam's speech?  We're sticking together. Mike will just have to wait."

I smile appreciatively, continuing forward with Ashley's help.

Then we reach the door Mike must've used to get out. 

Sam pushes on it, unable to get it to move. "Shoot! Mike must have locked it behind him! Crap! There's gotta be another way in."

That's when Ashley notices the grate. She points to it with her free hand that's not around my waist. "Wait. Hey! What about this?"

Sam walks away from the door and over to us. "Oh. Huh."

"I mean, should... should we try it?" Ashley asks.

Sam examines the grate. "Well, it's not we got a whole lot of choices here..."

Ashley leads me over to the wall of the tunnel. "Can you hang her for a second? I just want to get this open."

I nod, resting against the wall. 

Ashley picks up a pipe near the grate, using it to move the grate aside. 

Sam helps her move the grate once it's loosened, peering down the hole. 

"Okay, this is maybe the last place I'd wanna be right now," Ashley admits.

"So who's going first?" Sam asks.

Emily scoffs. "After you."

Sam grabs the ladder, climbing down as Ashley comes back over to me, helping me to get to the hole. 

"Not so bad," Sam tries to assure us. "You think this is the tunnel to the Sanitorium?"

"Of course it is. Where else would it go?" Ashley asks.

Emily and Jess advance towards the hole, Emily helping Jess get on the ladder and start climbing before getting on the ladder herself.

Y/N and Matt go next, Y/N wincing once the injured foot inside her shoe makes contact with the ladder. "Ow... ow... ow... ow... ow."

Matt makes sure Y/N is safely getting down the ladder before going himself. "You alright?"

"Yeah," she assures him. "Come on down Chris and Ash!"  

Ashley helps me onto the ladder, coming in after me. 

I look up once I make it down the ladder, noticing Ashley pausing at the top. "Hey... um... we should close this, right?"

Sam walks next to me, peering up at Ashley. "Huh?"     

"I mean what if something's following us?"

"Yes. Fine. Close it. But we gotta keep moving. Hurry. We'll wait for you."

"Yeah." Ashley grabs the grate and pulls it over the hole again, covering it and then quickly coming down the ladder. She smiles at me before putting her arm around my waist again. 

"You know I could probably walk by myself, right Ash? I'd just be slow," I tell her as we follow the others. 

She shrugs lightly. "I know. But I don't want you to put too much pressure on that ankle. Besides... I kind of... like this."

I blush, kissing Ashley on the cheek. "I like it too. Thank you."

Ashley glances at me one more time before turning to watch where she's going, blushing profusely.

We follow the others through the dark, wet tunnels of the sewers. 

Suddenly, there's a noise. And everyone freezes.

"H-hello?" Ashley questions. "Who's there? Anybody?" 

There are more noises. It sounds like someone is... crying and... calling for help.

Sam looks down the tunnel where the sound is coming from. "Mike?"