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justinewt · 2 years

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Curveball - UNTIL DAWN REWRITE Chapter Four

[UNTIL DAWN-MASTERLIST]

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Summary: Things escalated extremy quickly and the things they found out... well, it was a hell lot of hard pills to swallow for a bunch of young adults that thought they were going to have a chill week end in their friend’s lodge. There was no time to waste crying and complaining. Synthya had made up her mind, she was going to find Josh no matter what, even if it led to her ultimate demise, she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she didn’t try to save him after he turned out not to be dead... and then was snatched away by a Wendigo. She would get the both of them through the night, or she’d rather not survive this. Her thoughts weren’t really with her family on that one.

Words: 5.6k

Warnings: Until Dawn spoilers (chapter 8), lots of dialogues, stress, angst, blood, wendigos, blood, severed head, trauma, chase, death

Mount Washington’s Lodge, 04:23 AM

THREE HOURS UNTIL DAWN

After the bloodcurling revelation in the basement, where Synthya and Mike found Chris and Ashley tied to chairs with sawblades hanging down from the ceiling right above their heads, they had found out who was hidden underneath the psycho’s mask and it was a shock for all four of them. They saw Josh die in a gruesome and traumatic way, screaming to death only to find him laughing erratically at the whole situation. He seemed so detached from what had happened. About fourty minutes ago, Chris and Mike led him to a shed further away from the lodge. The two argued with Synthya as she wanted to come with them, fearing something might happen outside but she ultimately stayed at the house, keeping company to Ashley until Chris came back alone, having left Mike to guard Josh there. She was restless, to say the least, extremely worried and unable to sit down, she kept walking back and forth in the living room of the lodge, fidgeting her fingers nervously. The cold was the least of her worries right now. The three of them just stood there, in heavy silence until they heard a high-pitched scream outside the lodge, echoing through the mountain and a minute later, Emily was screaming frantically, pounding on the door, begging to be let in.

“Is that—?” Ashley timidly wondered, sitting on the edge of the couch.

“It’s Em!” Synthya stopped in her tracks, and the two girls ran to the door with Chris.

“Let her in! Quick!!” He opened the door and she fell to the floor, gasping.

“Shut the door! Oh my God—Shut the door!!” Chris closed it right away and Synthya and Ashley dragged her inside and helped her get back on her feet before leading her to the living room as she caught her breath, recovering from what had happened to her out there. Seeing her like this instantly reminded Synthya of her own state after she was chased by this creepy stranger a year ago. “I didn’t think that I’d make it—”

“You were screaming bloody murder.” Chris said.

“You look totally wiped—” Ashley observed.

“There was something—” Emily spoke, cut off by her sobbing.

“Where’s Matt—"

“Come sit down, sit down--” Synthya advised, sitting beside her as they settled her on the sofa. Ashley kneeled in front of her, a hand on her lap, concerned for her friend. Synthya wasn’t really close to anyone but Chris, Josh and Ashley but still, she was a quite sympathetic and forgiving person and never liked seeing anyone being completely freaked out like this.

“Did you guys split up?”

“A monster—It’s a monster--!” Emily cried out, too freaked out to hear Ashley’s questions.

“Are you okay?” Chris inquired, standing in front of the three young women.

“I’m fine, I don’t feel anything. I just need to calm down. It was moving so damn fast—”

“What?”

“I just had to get away—”

“Away from what?” Synthya asked.

“Th-there was this thing, whatever it was--!” Ashley straightened up and sat next to her.

“Em, Em, you can relax… Josh was messing with us… but we—”

“You’re not listening to me.” She shook her head, letting it fall forward.

“Wait Em… Where’s Matt? Is he okay?” Chris wondered. She looked up at him.

“Matt, oh, God…” She lamented. “We couldn’t use the cable car, so we climbed to the tower and then it fell and we were down in the mine, like way down, down in this terrifying freaking mine shaft…”

“Hold on, hold on…” He tried to slow her down.

“And then, it was Matt and me down there and… Oh, God, I think that Matt might be dead.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what mine shaft?”

“I— I was walking down there, in the mines, and it was dark, and I found this pile and… there was Beth’s head!” Synthya felt a cold sweat running down her back, staring at Emily, processing what she just said. She knew they were dead; she saw them fall down a cliff but hearing that was rather unsettling and upsetting. Beth, and Hannah, were her best friends.

“Whait, what?!” Chris exclaimed while Synthya now stared into space. She softly closed her eyes for a second, swallowing harshly.

“Beth’s head. I found it.”

“Oh my God.” Ashley curled up on the couch. They were all shocked and taken aback by her statement.

“I think they fell down there.” She continued, in a lower voice. Synthya thought of saying that the twins fell down a cliff, but she let the words die in her throat and remained quiet. “But the worst part is I don’t thnk Hannah died, like, from the fall, not right away…”

“What? What do you mean?”

“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… we had no idea!”

“Jesus, that’s… horrible…” Chris shook his head, sighing. He glanced at Synthya who was staring at her feet, her jaw clenched. She looked even paler than before, troubled by the discovery. “Are you okay, Synthya?”

“Uh?” She raised her head, snapped out of her thoughts. Ashley and Emily were looking at her and she nodded, trying to get her shit together, clearing her throat. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“Listen.” Emily spoke. “In… In the tower there was a radio and I—I got through to someone, but that was right when the tower collapsed!” Out of the blue, Mike ran in the room and Synthya stood up at the sight of him. The only thought that crossed her mind was that he left Josh on his own in the shed. She felt a sudden urge to yell at him, but she was so dumbfounded and disturbed by what Emily had told them, she just stood there as they hugged. He seemed relieved to see her safe and sound.

“What about Matt?” He frowned in worry, looking around.

“We’re trying to figure that out…” Ashley replied.

“Mike—”

“And there was this “monster” that was chasing her…” Chris added, inadvertently speaking over Synthya trying to get their attention to ask about Josh.

“She’s all messed up, guys.” He held her shoulders somehow tenderly.

“Mike!”

“What?” The moment he looked at Synthya, someone banged on the back door of the lodge and every single one of them turned their head in confusion kind of freezing in place for a second. Mike lowered his voice, glancing at Chris from the corner of his eyes. “Who the fuck can that be?”

“Josh?” Synthya and Emily looked at Ashley.

“Jess?” Chris thought.

“It’s not Jess.”

“Sorry man… but who is this?”

“I don’t know… We should check it out.”

“I got your back.” Chris said, touching his shoulder. Synthya stared at the back door, taking a step forward. When no one moved along with her, she gazed at Chris and Mike, motioning for them to come and even though she knew Chris would probably want to ask her to stay there with the others, she wasn’t about to wait for something to happen again. Mike pulled out his gun and the three of them carefully made their way to the back door. He held up the weapon, pointing it at the door. “Uh… let me have the pistol. Cause you can take whoever it is through sheer good looks. And muscle and all that… Just, uh—”

“I think I should have the gun.” Synthya cut him off with a straight face and Mike looked at her.

“Actually, yeah, no you’re right, give it to her.” Chris agreed. “I saw her at the shooting range, she… she can definitely hold a gun.”

“All right then.” Mike handed the gun to her, and she aimed at the door, one finger right above the trigger in case she had to shoot whoever was out there.

“Okay, I’m gonna open the door. You ready?” Chris asked and both Mike and Synthya nodded. His arms hanging down his body, he fidgeted his fingers nervously and jumped when Mike urged him.

“Just do it already, whoever it is has probably gone by now.” Chris eventually approached and the moment he turned the doorknob, the stranger kicked in the door and Chris fell backwards. A man walked in, staring at Synthya who held him at gunpoint, even though he didn’t really seem that impressed. She frowned, uneasy as she glanced at the weapon in his hands.

“Stop right there! Freeze—" She tried raising her voice, but he suddenly reached for the gun and almost twisted her wrist. While Chris was getting up, Mike grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the stranger.

“All right, all right… take it easy grandpa.”

“Okay. Everybody just calm down.” The stranger spoke. Synthya noticed he had a scar across his right eye, the pupil of which was milky white and when her eyes lingered on his weapon and clothes, she noticed a pair of goggles around his neck and a flame thrower in his hands and suddenly, it all clicked in. The man that was chasing her and the twins in the forest a year ago with the flame thrower. She shook her head as she stepped back, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. He walked towards them, pushing them back to the living room and she felt threatened, and when he rose his voice, she couldn’t help but be startled. “Now just move over there. Go on, move! Let me say what I came to say.” She stared at him with restless eyes, uneasy. “I’m just here to tell you what you’re up against being back on this mountain. You should never have returned. I don’t know why you did after what happened last year.”

“You mean with Hannah and Beth?” Ashley asked shyly.

“Yeah, how could you know without being involved—” Chris added. Synthya parted her lips to say something, but she gulped and let herself fall on the couch, staring at the floor. The stranger turned towards them.

“You hold onto your horses. I don’t take kindly to you kids coming back up here on my mountain.”

“Your mountain? Huh, I’m sure the Washingtons would be very surprised to hear that.” Mike retorted and the man laughed.

“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.” He went on to explain.

“What the hell’s a wendigo?” Mike wondered. There was a brief silence of confusion among the five friends and Synthya raised her head, glancing at the stranger. She looked away when she crossed his gaze and he narrowed his eyes, staring at her. She was quite uncomfortable with the man that chased her in the forest just glaring at her. She was also very confused as to why he would be there trying to give them advice and why he looked somehow less scary than in her memories.

“I knew I’d recognized your face.” He took a step towards her, and the others turned their faces towards her. She eventually held his gaze, frowning. “You’re the one that was with the two Washington girls that night. You fell over the cliff, and I pulled you up.”

“What is he talking about?” Chris wondered.

“Why would you chase us down and then save me?”

“I wasn’t the one chasing you in that forest.” She was a little dumbfounded at his answer. “It was the wendigo.”

“What—?”

“That’s what I’m trying to warn you about and listen, because I’m only going to tell you this once. It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not. I got reasons I want to… Get it off my chest…”

“See? I told you!” He waved at Synthya and the Stranger. Synthya was still trying to process what the stranger said and trying to understand that he was never the one after them and that all this time it had been some monster was very hard. “He’s guilty as shit! Guilty of something!”

“There is a curse.” He said, his back to them. “That dwells in these mountains. Should any man or woman resort to cannibalism in these woods the spirit of the wendigo shall be unleashed. You’re gonna need to fing somewhere safe.

“Wait…” Synthya spoke, starting to grasp how bad the situation was if there really were creatures roaming around. She stood up and faced Mike on her left. “Josh… What about Josh?”

“I… ran off and left Josh when I heard screaming.”

“Where did you leave him?” The stranger inquired.

“In the shed…”

“Your friend will already be dead.”

“No…” Synthya brought her hand to her hair, shaking her head. She couldn’t believe Josh might be dead, really dead this time.

“No… No, he can’t be… We were just with him!” Chris got up.

“A lot can happen quickly on this mountain.” The stranger shook his head.

“No. I’m gonna go get him.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“You can’t go out there!” Ashley disapproved.

“I’m supposed to be his best friend and I let him down.”

“No… he let you down, Chris. You too, Synthya – he let all of us down.”

“I don’t care.” He retorted.

“We’re going to get him.” Synthya added, her jaw clenched. “And y’all can hate him, when he’s safe and sound too.”

“I’ll go with you.” The stranger calmly said, stepping forward.

“We don’t need your help.”

“Going alone is suicide.” He warned Chris and he and Synthya just shrugged agreeing to go with out there with him. “The rest of you- get down to the basement. Be safe. Don’t go outside until we’re back.” He came in front of Chris and Synthya and they held his gaze. “You don’t seem to understand the magnitude of the situation.”

“Well, we’re going to get Josh, aren’t we?” Chris replied.

“No, I’m going to get Josh. You’re going to help me. Do you understand?” The two friends glanced at each other and slowly nodded. “You need to follow me. And do everything I tell you.”

“Okay.” Synthya mouthed, looking at Chris, shooting up her eyebrows as they followed the stranger to the front door in silence, leaving the others in the living room. He stopped before opening the door and got a shotgun hanging beside the flame thrower tanks on his back and turned to them, handing it out to Synthya.

“That’s the end you point towards the thing you want to kill.”

“Yes. I do know how to use a shotgun, man.” She sighed, annoyed.

“I know. That’s why I gave it to you.” She was surprised by the confidence in his voice. He had probably heard Chris say she knew how to hold and use a gun, or maybe he was up there on the mountain and saw them at the shooting range earlier in the evening. He opened the door and Synthya took a step forward to follow him when she heard Ashely’s voice and she glanced to her left. The latter came up to Chris, worried, and kissed him and Synthya was torn between being excited for the two as they finally shared a kiss, and being saddened by this sight, reminding her of her own relationship with Josh. She wanted to find him, and she wasn’t even religious, but she never prayed so hard for something. This was the only thing left to do, hoping he wasn’t dead, and she and Chris would get him back and then, she would get him the help he needs, even if it means that he’ll hate her for it. She was ready to do anything to help him and she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she just waited for dawn with the others, safe in the basement. She was going to face her demons and she didn’t like one bit, but it was for something worth fighting for. Synthya stepped outside and the stranger glanced at her, noticing Chris was still inside. She looked around at the dark woods surrounding them and swallowed harshly. “We need to hurry, son.”

“I’ll see you soon.” He said to Ashley before heading out, joining Synthya and the stranger in the snow. “So… so tell us. You’re the expert on these things. What’s… uh… What’s a guy gotta know…?”

“You just be careful. You follow my lead. And you stay near your friend, she’s got the gun.”

“Yeah, I’ma breathe down your neck. I’ll become like your shadow.” He joked, trying to hide how nervous he was feeling, and she briefly chuckled. Normally, she would have laughed because it was funny but right now, they were both extremely worried and anxious, unsure about what was going to happen. Nonetheless, it was reassuring to have one another to go and rescue Josh, if he was still alive.

“So, how do we kill these things? How many times do I have to shoot it before it’s dead?” Synthya asked as they climbed down the stairs.

“Well, you’d be shooting a long time.”

“You mean this shotgun won’t even kill it? Is it why you have a flame thrower? They’re sensitive to fire or something?”

“Right on the mark.” He nodded, walking down the path in front of them. “The shotgun will slow it down. The fire, they fear it, and it can kill them if you have to… See their skin if like… it’s like tough armor, unless you burn it off first.”

“That’s gross…” Chris remarked. “What are these things like? I mean, are they just 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? Ike they’ve got schedules?”

“Well, they only hunt at night.”

“Why?” Synthya asked after being silent for a minute, listening.

“I didn’t ask.” The strange responded.

“Any, uh, pro Wendigo tips? Like if I rub garlic all over me, they won’t be able to smell me or something?” Chris then went on to ask, his uneasiness growing as they got deeper in the woods, and close to the shed.

“They’ll still smell you.”

“Anything like that?”

“They can’t see you if you’re standing still. It’s like toads… sight is based on changes of movement in their field of vision.”

“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.” They then fell into silence for a moment until they were about 60 feet from the shed. They walked around it and Synthya tightened her grip on the shotgun, ready to pull it up and shoot it a wendigo appeared in front of them.

“If these things… Wendigos… are, or were human… do they still have some aspect of humanity in them?” Chris wondered and they stopped in their tracks for a second.

“Well, they retain certain things.”

“I mean is it really right to kill them?” The stranger tittered. “Maybe they can be cured or—”

“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 a right to hurt them—”

“If they’ve done anything to Josh, I’m not gonna hold back. That much I know.” Synthya declared and the stranger gave her a glance before looking at Chris. Good thing she was the one with the gun.

“You’ve got good survival instincts. Lucky your friend’s there, cause 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.” they resumed their walk and came to the shed door, wide open and inside, a broken stool was knocked over next to a wooden a lamp oil and a pool of blood. Synthya widened her eyes in panick, assuming that it was where Josh was supposed to be.

“Oh my god… is it his blood? What the fuck happened?!” She inquired in fear, staring at the ground and Chris squeezed her shoulder, looking around.

“He’s gone…! We’re too late!”

“Shh! Quiet!” The stranger suddenly shushed them, and they turned to him as he lowered his voice, taking a look outside the shed. “We gotta go. Right now.”

“We gotta find Josh – he could still be out here!” Chris insisted.

“Ha-ha! First, the Wendigo, he’ll render you immobile.” He approached them, almost whispering before gradually stepping away again. “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.”

“So, the Lodge, then.” Chris said, reluctant to go back just now. Synthya sighed, closing her eyes shut for a second. She couldn’t believe they were giving up so quickly and that they were leaving Josh out there on his own and in the confused and disorientated state he was in.

“Let’s go now, it might still be near!” He instructed and quickly jogged out. Chris and Synthya joined him and the moment they got near him; he ordered them to stop moving. They glanced at each other as they stood as still as a statue and after a few seconds, the stranger decided to take a careful step forward. Synthya’s heart missed a beat when she saw this slender and inhumanely tall figure in the distance. “Run! Go! Now! Now!”

“Holy shit what the fuck?!” Chris swore, stopping in his tracks abruptly when the stranger used his flame thrower and the Wendigo jumped away. Synthya was feeling this lump in her stomach again and her throat was getting sore and uncomfortable. She wanted to dig a hole and break down but there was absolutely not second to waste, and she just tried to get a hold of her breathing accelerating, getting prepared to shoot at the creature if needed. She had the gun, and she needed to be ready to use it, no matter how scared and frightened she was.

“We’re right out of the pen— We gotta get out of here!” The stranger peeked around when suddenly, the Wendigo came out of nowhere, jumping right on him and sliced through his throat, cutting his head off. Synthya screamed at the top of her lungs to the point her whole mouth felt completely dried, her eyes widened out of terror, his body fell down to his knees and then lied flat on his stomach while she stared in absolute shock at the head and the pool of blood growing around it. When Chris rose his voice and called her name, she just pivoted her body like she was on auto mode and shot in the Wendigo’s direction, pushing him away from them. He then grabbed her arm as she sobbed frantically, this vision of horror engraved in her mind, and they ran back to the lodge as fast as they could. They ducked underneath a fallen tree, and she turned around to see the Wendigo on it, ready to jump at them and end them the same way it killed the stranger. She immidietaly shoot and they resumed running to the lodge like they became track stars. As they approached the front of the house, another Wendigo popped out of the blue. She shot it without wasting time, sniffing, and they made their way to the door and Chris started banging on it. Ashley arrived and opened it for them.

“Guys!! Oh my god, what happened?”

“We gotta go, that thing was like right behind us—” The Wendigo hopped over to the door and jumped on it, breaking through the glass as they fleed.

Old hotel, 04:47 AM

“Oh my god! Guys! Thank god!” Emily sounded overly relieved to see Chris and Synthya walk pasted the door along with Ashley. They were all in a sort of small room in the basement, closed by thick mesh walls. Opposite to the door, there was a desk and half a dozen screens displaying CCTV footage of the cameras set around the house. Mike closed the door behind them. Synthya took a deep breath in; she wasn’t sobbing like crazy, but her eyes were red and despite being naturally pale, she must have looked like literal corpse, staring into space and just following Chris to sit down.

“It’s not so good up there right now…"

“Understatement of the night.” Mike said, he was exhausted too. Synthya rested her elbows on her laps and cupped her face in her hands, letting it all sink in. She was already traumatized enough, she didn’t want the sight of the stranger’s severed head to be there when she would cose her eyes because until someone came to get them out of here, she had to be fully there in order to survive and help Josh as well. She could work on everything that happened that nigh when she would see her therapist again. She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate and raised her head. “Where’s the flame throwing guy?”

“Ah… yeah… He, uh… He didn’t make it…”

“Oh no… What happened?” Emily slightly shook her head, resting her hands on her hips.

“The thing it… it tore him apart… Right in front of us…”

“All right… these all the doors?” Mike inquired, walking around the room, warily looking around.

“Yeah.” Ashley nodded.

“Are you sure?”

“What are you looking for?”

“Another way out.” He walked to the screens and watched.

“Mike… I don’t think that’s a good idea. We should stay put until dawn. At least we’re safe down there—" Emily stated worriedly and he turned to her instantly, cutting her off.

“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.” Ashley said.

“You don’t sound so sure.”

“That is what will happen… right, Em?”

“Uh, yeah… I mean…”

“Well, you can wait.” He retorted. “I’m leaving.”

“Mike… There’s no key for the cable car—” Emily said.

“Josh.” Synthya glance over at him as he mentioned his name. “He’s gotta have it. One of his dirty little tricks. If that fucking thing got a hold of Josh… then… we’re shit outta luck.”

“I don’t know, Mike… it’s possible…” She shrugged.

“What’s possible?” Synthya stood up, staring at them.

“It may have taken him down to the mine… I saw some horrible stuff down there… I think it’s where that thing lives… and…” She turned to a table along the wall and bent over a map spread over it, taking a look at it. She went silent for a second, picking up a book to see the map better but didn’t say anything else. Synthya walked over to Emily.

“Fuck it.” Mike exclaimed. “I’m gonna get that key. Right from that thing’s goddamned bedroom, and then I’m gonna get us all the hell out of here.”

“What’s all that?” Synthya asked, seeing a whole bunch of stuff over the table.

“It’s that old guy’s bag.”

“That guy was prepared for anything…”

“Not quite.” Mike commented.

“What is this place?” Emily wondered, pointing at an old map.

“Oh my God. I was down there. It was horrible.” He explained. “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’s been tortured…”

“Michael, I’d like to maybe focus on how we’re going to get the fuck out of here please?”

“I’m just saying it’s weird how much crazy shit’s gone on up here…”

“What’s weird is that there’s a tunnel leading from the lodge to the Sanatorium, see?” She pointed at it on the map.

“That’s how I got back here.”

“I saw this. When I was down in there. That’s where it lives.”

“Em…” Ashley stood behind Emily and brought her hand to her shoulder, worried, for some reason and she then pointed at her, walking away. “Em, what is that…? What is that? Em, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god—”

“It’s nothing.” She tried calming her as Mike and Synthya stepped away from her as well. “I just – it bit me, and—”

“It bit you? What bit you?” Ashley cut her off.

“The, uh… the Wendigo. It’s nothing, really, it’s not a big deal—”

“Are you okay?” Synthya asked.

“Yeah. It doesn’t hurt anymore. Really. It’s not that bad.”

“Em… if that thing bit you…” Mike frowned. The situation was already tensed, learning that Emily got bitten by a Wendigo didn’t help lighten up the mood. She tried assuring him she was fine, but he didn’t seem to want to hear it or believe it. “Emily, if the Wendigo bit you… You could turn into one of those things.”

“I don’t think it works like that, Mike. It’s not fucking vampires.” Synthya came to stand next to Emily. She had no idea how this whole Wendigo thing actually worked but according to what the Stranger had told them, it wasn’t this way. One had to eat another human’s flesh in order for the spirit of the Wendigo to possess their body, or something like that. And with everyone really nervous and scared, regrettable mistakes would easily happen, so she watched Mike.

“He said it was from eating each other, remember he said that!” Ashley cried out. “It happens if it bit you, you’re gonna turn into one and—"

“Yeah, Ashley, from eating each other, not biting each other!” Synthya cut off Ashley, raising her voice in annoyance. She could see where this whole argument was heading from a mile away. “Emily didn’t eat fucking human flesh; she’s not going to turn into a Wendigo! Think for a second!”

“Emily… you can’t stay here. You’re putting us all in danger!” Mike yelled.

“Hey, Mike, just cool your head, okay? It doesn’t work like that. It’s definitely just a bite.”

“I’ve seen what these fuckers can do. I don’t want to see it again.” Chris spoke in a calm voice, seriousness on his face.

“Chris, come on, man!” Synthya looked at him in disbelief. “I’ve seen what they can do too, but the stranger never said you coud turn into one with just a fucking bite!”

“What is this, guys? What are you doing?” Emily asked, looking at each and every one of them.

“Door’s right here.” Mike pointed at the door on his right. “I’m letting you do this voluntarily.”

“Oh no,” Emily walked up to him. “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 pieces like it did with—"

“Okay, oh my god! Will you just go!? Go! Get out of here!” Ashley aggressively told Emily and Synthya sighed. She so wanted to tell her to shut the fuck up but when she saw Mike grab a gun and aim it at Emily, she widened her eyes.

“Mike… calm down.”

“You’re going to shoot me?” Emily couldn’t believe it. “Mike…? Me?”

“This is the safe room, Em.” She started crying and begging him, but he wasn’t listening. “It’s not safe as long as you’re in it. Not for us. I’m really sorry.” He held the gun up, clenching his jaw, distressed at what he was about to do when suddenly, Synthya just stepped in front of the gun, staring at him. He grumbled, trying to get her to step away and just let him do this but he could see that she wasn’t moving any time soon and he let his arms fall down along his body, letting out a heavy sigh and walked in a circle. “Shit… Fuck… Fuck…”

“You did the right thing.” Synthya declared before checking on Emily, who was wiping away the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

“Alright, you keep an eye on her… if you see anything weird… you guys know what to do. And no one leave, okay?” Mike instructed. “It’s not safe out there. I’ll be back soon.”

“Hey, Mike. Wait a sec’.” He was about to leave the room and looked at her, stopping in his tracks. “You want to find the keys and I want to find Josh. I’m coming with you.”

“Synthya, you’re brave and all, but you just came back, I don’t think you—”

“It doesn’t matter what you think about it. I’ll rest when I find Josh.” She declared and he knew there was no way he could talk her out of it so he just shrugged, reluctantly inviting her to leave the safe room with him. She knew very well that she was still a little shaken from what happened with Chris and the Stranger, not so long ago but she couldn’t just wait around, until dawn finaly came and just pray that Josh would come out safe and sound. She woud rather die along with him if something happened, than never know what his fate ended up being. Either she saved the both of them, or none at all. Living with the fact that she preferred to save herself rather than go after him would be worst than having to become his caregiver, whatever other serious underlying menta illness he had. She didn’t know what to expect of him and their relationship once all this shit would be over, if they did survive until dawn, but whatever it would be, she woud live better knowing he was alive.

[To be continued…]

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Published (09/21/2022) by Andrea

Taglist: @cathrin2405 @kika64

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justinewt · 2 years

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Desperate Repentance - UNTIL DAWN REWRITE Chapter 5

[UNTIL DAWN MASTERLIST]

Previous Chapter

Summary: It was the last straight line. Only a couple more hours until dawn broke and help arrived, but nothing was decided yet... and they all had to fight to survive, and Synthya had still her own goal; save Josh, and she found in Mike an unexpected help and support. In the midst of reliving traumas and focusing on saving their friends and loved ones, there was no time to waste...

Words: 6.6k

Warnings: Until Dawn spoilers (chapter 9 and 10), long chapter, angst, angst, angst, blood, injury, pain, lots of crying, shooting, corpses, mention of suicide, fire, explosion

Sanatorium, 05:03 AM

TWO HOUR UNTIL DAWN

Synthya followed Mike into the sanatorium, one step behind him, looking around. She had never set foot in here unlike him, so she trusted him to lead their way as he held up his flashlight to light their way down the cold, decrepit and ramshackled hallway they walked into. She wasn’t scared, no, she would walk through fire for Josh, but she was a bit wary, putting her braveness on hold for the moment. She was indeed brave, not reckless so she remained vigilant, for her own sake but also Mike’s. They were two in these ruins that were once a sanatorium, and a rather shady and unethical one at that. They walked across a large but empty room, climbing up a flight of stairs, with a dirty red rug covering them up in the center. As they climbed up, they could hear the wind blow through the tall, broken windows behind them, but they kept walking and after another hallway with even more mess; pieces of furnitures all over the floor, they entered what seemed to be the santorium’s hall, or really a big chapel in ruins. The room was huge.

“Huh…” Mike looked around and Synthya frowned slightly, following his gaze.

“What?”

“I befriended a couple of wolves here… I was just wondering where they went.”

“Oh, okay.” She kept herself from comparing him to a disney princess and asking him if he was going to sing to the birds too; she wasn’t known to be especially funny or a jokester, so she just nodded and followed him around the hall, not really knowing where to go from here. And she had no desire to stay here much longer; her goal was to find Josh and get him out of there. The two walked past a collapsed wall and climbed up wooden stairs, creaking under almost every step. Synthya looked down at her feet the whole time, making sure the stairs weren’t going to give in under her feet, but they made it upstairs pretty quickly in the end. The whole building felt rather sinister. At the end of the way, they noticed a whole in the floor overlooking a closed cell below and Mike jumped down. She rose her eyebrows, not really knowing what he had even seen down there but she sat on the edge, about ot follow him when he addressed her.

“You need help?” She pressed her leges together to see him through the hole and shook her head.

“I’ll be fine, thanks.” And she jumped, letting out a grunt as she straightened up and saw him stand next to a table. There was a torch he lit up with a lighter he had in his backpocket, and an old sawed-off gun and a box filled to the brim with bullets. He took a good handful and stuffed them into his jacket pocket before turning to Synthya.

“Now I just need a pitchfork and a mob.”

“Yeah, let’s be on our way, with our mob of two people.” They chuckled briefly, getting serious again and focusing on their primary goal, which was getting to the mines and finding Josh. He wanted the key to the cable car, and she wanted to save her boyfriend from the monsters that dragged him down there. They exited the room back to the chapel and exchanged a concerned look as they walked past a makeshift graveyard outside. This place was sinister, and very creepy but the mines surely were no better. The path they took was a dead end with just the crosses sticking out of the snow, so they walked back inside and found a locked wire mesh door that seemed to lead further into the sanatorium and therefore down to the mines. They took a few steps back and Mike shot the lock open. A wolf then appeared from behind a knocked over metal table.

“Hey big guy.” Mike greeted the wolf softly, seemingly relieved to see him safe and sound. The animal recognised him as well and Synthya stayed behind, letting them approach each other first. Mike bent down and petted him. “Happy to see me again, huh? I was hopin’ I’d run into you again. Hey, come closer, Synthya, slowly…”

“Yeah, of course. My family’s kind of like the Starks in Game of Thrones.”

“What?”

“Forget it…” She shook her head as she crouched down next to him, letting the wolf observe her. “Too much pop culture influence from Josh.”

“All right.” He shrugged and petted the wolf some more before they stood up. “All right, good boy. All right pal, you’re comin’ with us. Here’s the plan. I happened to see a map of this pace, so we’re not flying blind. There should be a way through the psychiatric wing that’ll take us right outside the mine. Think we can handle that?” The wolf looked up at Mike, makigna faint sound. “Couldn’t have said it better myself. Atta boy.”

He turned around and ran ahead of the two to guide them. Mike and Synthya traversed through an entirely fenced outdoor path leading to another building of the Sanatorium, the psychiatric Ward. The wolf stopped in his tracks and suddenly barked.

“Jesus Chri— Okiedokie, boy, calm down.” Mike said quietly and they walked through the restraining area of the ward; it was really weird with all these fences cutting them off from the rest. The wolf then resumed running ahead of them. Mike found a lever to open a door and for a second, nothing happened but the door behind them closed and the other slid open very slightly. “Awesome.” He shimmied in through the gap, grunting as he used his arms to push the door open a tiny bit further for his body to pass and he sighed in relief when he got on the other side, looking at Synthya. She was skinnier and tinier than Mike, so she got through more easily and she quickly joined Mike and the wolf. “See that? We do got moves. Don’t we wolfie?”

“Wolfie?” She smirked; it was actually funny.

“Yeah, sorry, didn’t really take the time to think of a name when I had the Wendigos on my tail.” He retorted and she shook her head with a faint chuckle as they walked down a set of stairs, entering the old detention area. If it wasn’t creepy enough already, the pair found blood on the walls of one of the cells and some death certificate on a table; the paper deteriorating because of the cold and humidity. They left the room and went further into the hallway, finding the mutilated corpse of a grey wolf hanging on a door. Wolfie stared at it, whimpering and barking quietly at his friend. Synthya didn’t hide her disgust at the sight, and sadness for the poor animal.

“Oh… what the fuck…” She mumbled.

“Huh… yeah, what the fuck have we gotten ourselves into… Jesus…” Wolfie walked away, and they followed him, glancing at the thick doors off their hinges, kicked in, and just lying there. There were blood and scratch marks almost all over the walls too. This place must have held captive some crazy and deranged inmates.

“This is totally freaking me out…”

“Uh… yeah… we’ll be out of here soon.” He tried to reassure her a little, but she could feel in his voice that he wasn’t any more comfortable than her and couldn’t wait to find their way out of this place. They walked side by side, following each other very closely. If the Wendigos showed up as they did once before when Mike came here on his own, it was going to be way more triggering for her than the nasty little prank pulled by Chris in the lodge’s basement and it was going to be a hell of a ride, so they would rather keep quiet and be careful, crossing their fingers, hoping that they would be left alone until they reached the mines and found Josh. From the corner of her eyes, Synthya saw like a shadow crawling up a wall in the distance and she froze, letting out a panicked but faint gasp. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I…” She frowned and approached the large grid overlooking the part of the psychiatric ward they had already passed through. She could feel the chills down her spine and covering every inch of her skin. She realized now more than ever how much it was freezing. “I saw something move.”

“We better keep moving then… Come on. Here, take this.” Mike gave her the torch to hold, and he then softly grabbed her by the arm and led her away, following Wolfie down the hallway. He then moved his hand to her back and feeling that she had someone to rely on in that moment was quite supportive and considerate of Mike. Both of them were constantly looking around them as they progressed in the sanatorium. She was extremely scared of finding herself face to face with a Wendigo now that her memories of the stormy night during which she witnessed her best friends falling to their death were getting clearer and she remembered this slender anthropomorphic figure chasing them down. She knew Mike wouldn’t leave her behind if any wendigo happened to cross their path, but she wasn’t really looking forward having a panick attack. How ironic that is fearing being scared. Neither of them wanted to remain in that place so they continued traversing through the Sanatorium, walking slightly faster. At the end of a room, Mike noticed light coming through from the other side. Synthya looked around and approached a desk to her right, opening a drawer. Inside was a dossier, like the ones she found in Josh, or really, the psycho’s workshop. She could hear Mike grunt as he pushed the wood wall open as she opened it and took a look at the photos displayed inside and she stared at them,

“Oh my god… what is this…?” She said under her breath, frowning in bewilderment. The people here literally documented the transformation of one of their inmates into a wendigo and the pictures were spine-chilling.

“Hey, you comin’ or what?” She glanced over her shoulder when Mike came up behind her and slid the file on the table. He looked at it and seemed as shocked by the image as she was. “Jesus hot sauce Christmas cake. This is fucking unbelievable.”

“Yeah… let’s get the fuck out of here.” He nodded and they walked through the opening left by the wooden wall, and he shot the lock of a cell door and kicked it open.

“Holy shit… Who is this guy…?” He wondered as they stared at the decomposed and putrid corpse sitting at a desk. Synthya took a carefull step towards the body and picked up a note on his laps.

“They lost control of the creatures here… and this guy killed himself.” She told Mike, before putting the note back in place.

“Sorry old dude.” He then added softly as he walked around the room, but it was a dead end, so they back tracked and walked down the hallway. They passed through an arch from which was hanging a sign marked S WING. Synthya held tightly onto the torch as she lit their way back to Wolfie waiting for them and as they followed the animal, a screech was heard nearby and the young woman swallowed harshly, dreading the moment this wendigo would appear in front of them. They entered the wide room they had just walked around, and some can fell to the floor, startling Mike. A rat ran from behind it, scurrying away and they swore under their breath, following the rodent with their eyes until a crouched figure came into their sight. Synthya’s heart missed a beat, sinking into her shoes as the Wendigo shrieked at them, with his blank eyes and sharp teeth and Mike instinctively shot at it, grabbing Synthya’s arm with his free hand.

“Ha! How’s that feel you fuck?” He taunted after the impact of the bullet pushed the Wendigo away, making it fall backwards. They immidietaly started running, the creature close behind and Synthya tried to ignore the chills all over her body and her breathing accelerated, her jaw clenched so hard it hurt and her eyes wide in terror. They came to a diversion of paths. “Jesus! Fuck fuck! Shit shit!” Synthya ran along after Mike decided to go straight ahead. He pulled a barrel door behind them, and the wendigo jumped on it, making Synthya scream. Mike shot it, pushing it away and it just left. The flame on the torch died and he swore. With a shaky breath, trying to calm down, she threw the torch to the floor, her eyes scanning the surroundings, quinting to try to see better in the dark. “No way… no fucking way this is happening.” He glanced at Synthya; she was shivering. “Hey, hey… we’re gonna be okay. There’s just one of them, I have the gun, it’ll be all right. I just need you to focus, all right?”

“Yeah, yeah… you’re right.” She gulped, taking a deep breath in and out, nodding as he went to look in the hallway to see if the creature was really gone this time and he opened the barrel door again before leading Synthya out when suddenly, the wendigo came back, jumping up the staircase at the end of the corridor and he shot it a third time. Synthya remembered the stranger said only fire could really kill them and even though the torch’s flame wouldn’t have been enough, it could have been a little more efficient than bullets and she regretted not thinking of using it before. The wendigo fell to the floor and Mike quickly stepped closer, shooting it again while Synthya stayed behind for a second. They ran into a room, and he pushed a locker across the door, which had a hole in the middle of it. There was a second of silence until the wendigo’s head peeked through the gap and suddenly, Mike used the gun and they fled the room, closing another door behind them where they reunited with Wolfie.

“Good dog… shh shh… it’s okay it’s fine.” He whispered to the wolf. The two friends then took carefuls steps in the room, plunged in a dead silence. The wendigo appeared from the shadow, and they crouched down behind a table. Synthya held her breath, staring into space while the wendigo looked around. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed a bottle roll on the table but was relieved when Mike quietly caught it in its fall. While the wendigo jumped to another table, its back to them, Mike motioned for Synthya to follow and as they bent over, they sneaked out of the room to the restraining area with Wolfie. They were both restless; Mike clinging onto his gun, waiting for the creature to show up and shoot it again. Following close, Synthya stepped near a cell and as she heard a screech coming from behind her, she jumped, turning around and the Wendigo tried to reach for her but missed, only cutting through her arm and the sound of her moaning in pain was covered by Mike shooting at the wendigo. “When is this shit gonna stop?!”

“Ugh, fuck…” She brought her hand to her arm. The cut wasn’t that deep, so she wasn’t literally bleeding out, but it was deep enough to hurt an awful lot and getting her sleeve partially soaked in blood. Mike suddenly realized she got hurt and approached, worried.

“Jesus Chr— It’s like a fucking bad dream… are you okay?”

“Uh, I’ll be fine. It just hurts like hell… oh fuck.” After she held her arm in reflex, her palm got covered in blood and the pain worsened for a second. Slowly, she tried to slide her arm out of her sleeve but the friction of the fabric on the wound made her wince. Mike helped her, and then proceeded to rip off the sleeve to wrap it around his arm and tied it tight like a makeshift dressing to contain the bleeding.

“Okay… stay next to me. Let’s go.” He breathed out and they carefully walked away. As they walked past the cells, more wendigos sticked out their arms, trying to reach them but they successfully stepped away from their hands. “One at a time, boys. There’s enough of us for all a’ya.” As he walked backwards, a wendigo almost grabbed at his ankle, but he hopped to the side. Another wendigo jumped to their faces, out of nowhere but as he appeared to be chained, he couldn’t reach and was violently pulled back to the wall. They kept going and followed a sign showing the way to the psychiatric ward when an unrestrained wendigo, probably the wendigo they had been escaping from the whole time, appeared behing them. “Run!”

Synthya had froze in place and Mike had to grab at her not injured arm and dragged her with him as he sprinted down the hallway. He tried to open the door at the end of the Restraining area, but it wouldn’t open fully, and the gap wasn’t even wide enough for Synthya to slip through. The wendigo screeched and jumped across the walls toward the two. He shot it, making it fall heavily to the ground and then tipped a barrel over, kicking it and letting it roll away as a second wendigo appeared and both creatures approached. He then shot the barrel and the latter explosed, throwing back Mike and Synthya, and killing the two Wendigos. They felled backwards and watched two trails of fire fly through the air like wisps. Mike jumped on his feet, helped Synthya stand up and he pushed the door open before closing it behind them. They climbed a flight of stairs and traversed a network of rooms, hearing screeches in the distance until it sounded dangerously near, and a wendigo appeared, making them run away again. Synthya was rather surprised with herself because while she was terrified, she managed to keep her panick under control, at least in the heat of the action. She had never thought Mike could be so supportive but really, she never knew him that well. While running, he shot a lock and nudged the door open, letting Synthya pass before barricading the door and they escaped, jumping down a hole.

“Hey buddy… come on down… it’s all right…” He talked to Wolfie, standing by the edge of the hole, looking down at them but he eventually turned around and disappeared from their sight. “Okiedokie bud… catch ya on the flipside, huh?” After the wolf left, they didn’t waste any time and jogged away, crossing what looked like the psychiatric ward’s basement and ran up the stairs to the backdoor. He tried to get it open, but a wendigo arrived. He swore under his breath and shot at the creature, throwing it back but it wasn’t alone. Another one climbed up a wall and Mike then shot at a barrel. The room exploded and Mike and Synthya jumped out the exit. They had released two more spirits, but they were still alive.

Mines, 06:00 AM

ONE HOUR UNTIL DAWN

“Goddammit!! Stay out there!!” Mike yelled as the two of them run towards the door to the mine, chased down by a burning Wendigo that didn’t die in the explosion of the Sanatorium. He tried keeping the door closed but the creature was too strong and pushed it open, making Mike fall backwards and it jumped on him, pinning him down. Synthya lost her balance and fell as well but as she saw Mike struggle against the Wendigo, she looked around in a haste and found a metal bar lying around. She crawled towards it and stood up, striking it in the head once, making it slightly straighten up and she landed a second blow, beheading it. She stared at the body just falling to the ground and let go of the bar, which hit the floor in a shallow metallic noise, echoing through the mines and sighed in relief, a hand to her stomach.

“Oh my god…” Mike quickly stood up and closed the door, blocking it with his empty gun, leaning on the door as he caught his breath. “You all right?”

“Yeah… I’m alive, so… that’s a start.” He nodded. “How’s your arm?”

“It’s… painful, to say the least, but I’ll have to wait for help so someone can take a look at it. Let’s just hope I don’t bleed to death.” She said, raising her thumb sarcastically and he chuckled, turning to her.

“All right, let’s find a way to where these fuckers live.”

“Yeah…” They both let out a deep breath and kept on walking. Synthya liked to think that they had gotten rid of most of the Wendigos and just hoped they wouldn’t cross paths with Wendigo Hannah down in the mines. That was a hell of a ride in any case and now, despite the fact that the mines were kind of gloomy and very dark, it was calmer and if they were quiet and careful, it should be fine. Hannah seemed to have established the mines, or at least a section of it, as her territory and most of the Wendigos seemed to be coming from the Sanatorium, but in any case, they knew not to rest on their laurels and always be on the lookout, which was getting extremely exhausting for the two of them. They had been walking through the mines for a couple of minutes already when Mike spoke up.

“You remember the pictures we saw?” She nodded, waiting for him to continue. “This Wendigo had a scar… the same as this guy in the pictures. It was one of the miners who'd been trapped back in the 50s… in the cave-in. Which means that thing if 80 years old. At least.”

“What the fuck… how long can these things live?” She shook her head in disbelief and he shrugged. This whole thing was completely crazy, and what was even more crazy was that they never came across any of these creatures until a year ago, but the stranger said the Wendigos mostly came out during the night and the girls had run off during the night, so it made sense. They had never ventured outside in the dead of night before and thankfully they didn’t. “Hey…” She looked around, wary and sighed. “I think we’re close.”

“How can you tell?”

“I don’t know… I just… feel terrible all of a sudden.” She said, faintly.

“Ditto.” Mike added as they progressed through the maze that were those mines. A few dozen of steps later, they reached a large pool of water with an old water wheel.

“I really don’t wanna go in there…” Synthya frowned, staring ahead of them.

“There’s no other way through.” And she knew that, but she had no desire to be even more freezing than she was already however, Josh might be past that lake. She got to the edge, sat down and jumped in the cold water, which went up to her waist, entirely wetting her gym pants and shoes. She winced at how chilling it was, the cold biting her skin. Mike joined up and was no less sensitive to the coldness of the water they started walking through, trying to go as fast as they could but their steps slowed down by the water’s resistance against their legs. It took them a minute of waddling around to get past the water wheel and past that point Synthya felt the water going up to just beneath her breast and she held her arms up, trying not to let her teeth chattering but towards the very end, it was slopping up again and they climbed up, finally out of the water. Synthya shook her arms because of the cold, sighing heavily and she approached a thick door to the side. There was a lever that she tried to pull up but the pain in her arm that the cold had made her forget was revived by the motion, but the door opened, letting out a flow of water that pushed them away, making them fall to the ground. Synthya screamed at the sight of a decomposed head that got carried towards them by the water and they quickly stood up and walked past the door.

“That’s… oh my god, that’s the guy that helped us…” Synthya looked up upon seeing something hanging from the chains on the ceiling. She recognised the stranger’s clothes and gulped.

“Bodies… I’m gonna be sick.” There were an awful lot of them either lying around or hanged above their heads, just exposed there like pigs killed at the slaughterhouse and stored there. Synthya winced, troubled by this sight and she turned her back to them, facing a wall made of wodden planks, widely spread from each other, showing how long it had been since someone took care of these mines. She closed her eyes shut, trying to get rid of this feeling that she was about to throw up and she opened her eyes and her attention got caught by some movement in the distance.

“Mike, Mike… I think I saw something…”

“What?” He said quietly and approached, looking through the holes as well. Synthya was torn between a feeling of concern and relief when she realized it was Josh that she saw. He seemed disoriented and was talking to someone, but he was alone. She immidietaly called out to him.

“Josh!”

“I don’t take orders from you, you can’t tell me what to do…” Josh cried out. Mike opened the door as he happened to be the closest, but Synthya softly stopped him, and she stepped forward. Seeing him like made her want to cry. Mike watched her approach Josh and even though he was facing her, it was like he wasn’t even seeing her.

“Josh? Hey… it’s me. It’s Synthya.” She started talking very softly, in a calm voice, making brief sentences to try and get his attention. She had never dealt with something like this, but it seemed like the best approach to handle this and help him. He was still crying out to whoever it was he thought he was talking to but slowly.

“You can’t tell me what to do!” He exclaimed, his voice shaking at the distress, and he tilted his head forward, putting his hands on his temples, his eyes closed shut.

“Hey… Josh, it’s Synthya. There’s only me, and Mike. No one wants to harm you, okay?” Synthya carefully lifted up her hands and gently slid her fingers under the palms of his hands, carefully pulling them away from his head and as she continued to hold one of his hands, she placed her other one on his cheek continuing to speak softly to him.

“You can’t tell me what to do…”

“No… No one can, Josh.” She agreed with him, and he calmed down, but he still looked like his mind was somewhere else.

“He looks like he’s tripping or something…” Mike noted and Synthya quickly looked at him, shrugging. She had no idea what was going on with him but ever since what happened in the basement, she had noticed he wasn’t doing all right and she wanted to beat herself up for not realizing it before. It couldn’t have happened overnight, and she wished she had been more attentive.

“I trust you… I trust you.” His eyes, that seemed so blank and absent a second before slowly lit up and he stared at her before glancing at Mike behind her and then look back at her face and she was so relieved. She let her hand fall to his shoulder, and she let go of his hand.

“S… Syn… Mike…”

“You were deep in it, man. Full mental jacket.”

“I didn’t think I’d get you back…” Synthya said in a low voice, now reassured to see him back to himself. “Josh… How are you feeling?”

“I… I, uh… I don’t know...”

“It’s all right. We’ll all be all right, okay? I can’t lose you.” Josh’s glance fell on her arm and the piece of fabric wrapped up around it, soaked in blood. You couldn’t tell the original color of the sleeve wasn’t red at this point. He frowned in worry.

“What happened to your arm? Syn… I’m sorry… What did I do…” He started sobbing again and she draw him into a hug, resting her hand at the back of his head.

“No, you didn’t hurt me. It’s okay.” She sighed, and slowly broke the embrace. “We need to get out of here, all right, Josh?”

“Do you have the key to the cable car?” Mike enquired now that Josh was calm and back down to earth. He nodded and looked down at his pockets and up at them, handing out the key to Mike. Synthya then looked up, noticing light coming from above them, at the top of a rock wall. It seemed a bit slippery but doable.

“See that over there?” She pointed in the direction of the light. That means there’s a direct way out. C’mon.”

“There’s no way Josh is gonna make it up there.” Mike remarked. Synthya stared up the wall shook her head, turning to Mike.

“There’s no way I’m letting him go through the mines. There’s still Wendigo-Hannah out there and I can’t lose him. No way.” She sighed, glancing at Josh for a second. “I need your help to get him up there. You help me up, so I go first, Josh after me and you behind him, in case.”

“Okay, Synthya… All right. Let’s do this.” Josh was silently watching and listening to the two and followed them to the rock wall, left a little confused and drained from the heavy hallucinations he went through a moment ago. Mike gave Synthya a boost to climb the wall and she clenched her jaw as her wound hurt pretty bad when she stretched out her arm to grab onto a higher rock. Slowly but surely, she climbed up and Mike helped Josh to climb, remaining slightly below in case he slipped and lost his footing. It happened, a few times, and every time Synthya thought her heart stopped beating when she heard Josh almost falling but thanks to Mike, he managed to make it all the way up the rock wall, but it sure did take them over twenty minutes, as they climbed very carefully, sometimes taking a second to rest when the edge was large enough for them all to stand up. After she climbed the last bit of rock wall, Synthya lifted herself over the edge and helped Josh join her to the surface, joined by Mike. It was laborious, but she succeeded in her promise and managed to get him out of the mines. They ended at a crossroad in the forest and Mike and Synthya looked at each other. “Where do we go now?”

“Uh… let's go to the left and we'll see... let's stick together, okay?” She grabbed Josh’s arm, keeping him close to her and Mike brought up the rear, looking around them constantly. It was hard seeing where they were going with only the moonlight piercing through the trees, but they went slowly and managed to traverse the forest, silently. Some bits of the path were darker because of the trees but they found their way to a pool of water, like in the mines. Synthya sighed heavily, still wet and cold from the first one they walked across but she sat on the edge and jumped in, helping Josh and then Mike joined them. At some point, Synthya had to lift her arms above her head because the water went all the way to her shoulders but as they reached the end of the pond, she immidietaly got out, shivering and shaking and her teeth chattering but she turned back to help Josh climb up the edge. “You okay…?” He nodded, at first unsure of his answer. “Yeah? Okay… Let’s keep going. You okay too, Mike?”

“Yeah.” He nodded as well, and they kept going. None of them had any idea how far they were from the lodge but there was no time to lose. A screech then echoed through the forest, and it got them to quicken their pace, Synthya holding onto Josh as if to constantly make sure that he was by her side. “Okay— Ugh!” Synthya grunted after she slipped because of the snow and slid down a rock wall, falling and spreading fall length on the ground.

“Dammit, Synthya! Are you okay?” Mike inquired, and she got up, wincing and nodded as she answered.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Be careful. All right, Josh, sit down and let yourself slide, I’m right here. I’ll catch you, okay?” She encouraged him, motioning for him to come to her. He timidly accepted and did as she told her, widening her eyes at how fast he was sliding down and she caught him, wrapping her arms around his chest and helping him get on his feet, shifting him to the side so Mike could do the same and join them before they resumed walking through the forest. They walked past the shed and Mike and Synthya glanced at each other, because it meant they were on the right track when suddenly, a screech was heard dangerously close behind them. “Josh, hold my hand tight, okay? We’re gonna have to run. Now!” They started sprinting as fast as they could and despite the fact that Josh had a hard time following, his grip on Synthya’s hand and Mike right behind him, it helped him keep up.

“Shit!” Mike swore as they came in front of two paths. They had to think quickly and picked one at random, going to the right, quickly seeing the lodge in the distance. They jumped down a small rock wall and reached the front door. Mike tried to get it to open but it was locked, and he and Synthya both started yelling for their friends, banging erratically on the door, begging for them to show up and let them in before the Wendigo got to them. Synthya looked down and picked up a stone at their feet before smashing it in the window of the door, ignoring the pain shooting through her arm. She then let go off the stone and reached for the door hande on the other side, successfully unlocking the door.

“Okay…” She sighed in relief as they walked in, closing the door behind them. Wherever the Wendigo was, either it wasn’t that close, or it was lurking outside the house. “What do you think we should do, now?”

“We should check the basement… might be someone left down there…” Mike shrugged, and they all went down to the basement. Josh was still very silent, just following them as they walked through the cinema room, he stared at the screen and the shattered vase on the floor and Synthya patted his shoulder and softly rubbed him on the back. Out of the blue, Ashley, Chris and Emily came running through the door they were walking to, yeling for them to run. Synthya pushed Josh toward Mike and he led him away as she went to lock the door to keep the Wendigos behind or at least dealy them but Josh looked back at her, confused and panicking. Synthya was left alone in the cinema room as she ran away, hearing the creatures push against the door furiously and she sprinted as she climbed the stairs. When she arrived in the living room, everyone was just standing very still, and she realized that an even more threatening Wendigo was perched on the light fixture. Mike then quietly addressed her. “Don’t… move… don’t fucking move a muscle…”

Synthya stared at the wendigo in fear, only praying that Josh was going to stay still but she had seen how tight of grip Mike had on his arm, keeping him in place as he stared at the wendigo, probably asking himself if it was real or not. The creature snarled and noticed the other Wendigos coming from the basement. Wendigo Hannah jumped off the ceiling decoration and fought with another, overpowering it quickly and throwing him into the stairs, breaking them as her opponent tried climbing on her back and then threw him towards the fireplace, breaking a gas pipe. Mike and Synthya exchanged a discreet glance and ooked towards a nearby lightbulb. There was the plan, blowing up the lodge and all the Wendigos in it. The light switch was near the front door. Synthya nodded, understanding the plan they made in silent while Hannah followed the other Wendigo up the wall.

While the fight continued between Wendigo Hannah and another Wendigo that jumped at her, Mike very silently stepped towards the lightbulb and Synthya approached Josh so as not to leave him alone but the wood beneath her cracked and she found herself, facing a terrified Josh, her back to the Wendigo screaming at her direction. Synthya stared into Josh’s eyes, trying to keep his attention on her as they stayed still. She swallowed harshly, feeling the creature approach from behind her when Mike grunted as he squeezed the light bulb, and it broke in his hand. The others ran outside the lodge and only remained Mike, Synthya and Josh, all holding their breath.

“Josh… I need you to run towards the door. Go to Chris… outside… okay? Do not look back.” He was staring at her with fear in his eyes as she asked of him to leave the house without her, but he nodded. He was surely reassured that there was Chris outside, but he obviously didn’t want to leave her inside the house, but she left him no choice and as Wendigo Hannah Wendigo crawled towards Mike, Josh sprinted outside, and she yelled at the Wendigo, and it screeched at her. She then proceeded to remain as still as a statue while the Wendigo walked with its tall and slender body towards her. She held her breath, looking at Mike and blinking quickly when the creature screech in her face and when it took a few steps away, trying to look around for movement, she quickly hid behind a wall. She tried to not break down when it kept screeching in her ear, but she silently took a deep breath in and out, trying to stay focused. When Wendigo Hannah saw another Wendigo move, coming from upstairs, she swiftly ran to another wall, while Mike waited near the light switch. She winced, biting on her lips, shuting her eyes closed when the Wendigo got in her face for long seconds and the moment it went away was the moment she chose to sprint towards the door, running like she had never ran in her entire life. Mike flipped the light switch while Hannah Wendigo grabbed the one chasing her and the lodge exploded into flames, killing the remaining creatures. Sam and Mike grunted as they were thrown back by the explosion and she bursted into tears, rolling to her back, holding her injured arm, moaning in pain as the others helped her and Mike to sit up. Chris helped her up and she hugged him tightly before drawing Josh into a hug. He was alive. She was alive. They were all alive… After what they went through the whole night, they all made it. Every single one of them looked up when they heard helicopter fly around the house.

It was over... They survived until dawn.

[The end…]

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Published (09/28/2022) by Andrea

Taglist: @cathrin2405 @kika64

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