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admirationandromantics · 1 month ago

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Guilt and Grudges, Epilogue

Finally, the ending you've all been waiting for! (It's the dirty stuff you've been waiting for, let's be honest here). As I've said before, got a lot of exams coming up, so I'll not be as active in the next few weeks. I know that Michael is also a popular character, so let me know if you would like something like this for him as well <3 Enjoy the very last chapter of the Chris x reader game based story!

At the police interviews, they were slow to get us some medical attention. It took so long, that when the doctors took a look at Emily's infection, they had to rush her into surgery to stop it. Her parents even threatened to sue the police station.

There was no sign of either Joshua or Jessica there. We met Matt, who said he’d been down in the mines, and was continuously chased by this monster. Of course, no one believed him. When he explained it to us, we told him everything that had happened, and he was truly floored. I can only imagine how scared he must’ve been, being in those mines, all alone, thinking a murderer was after him, and then seeing that horrid creature.

Even after taking all our testimonies, the police didn’t take us seriously. The only thing they truly believed was that someone had died, and the suspects? We were them. I heard Sam through one of the rooms, begging them to check the mines. Both Emily, Chris, Mike and Matt told them to do the same. After relentless begging from all of us, they sent a search party. After all, the Washington family was doing the same, and after the bad investigation of their daughters, they refused to let them go lightly when they considered their son, their last child. No way was he going to get swallowed up by that mountain as well.

Chris begged them, after all, he wanted to see Josh again, to see if there was any chance he was still alive. Ten days went by, and we finally got results. Josh was found, starving and hallucinating down in the mines. They found the body of the old man, who he’s struggled to keep himself away from eating. This news made Chris as happy as I’ve ever seen him. Josh was sent to the hospital, and after that, a psychiatrist. He was put into a mental institution, and put on a new set of hardcore drugs. Even after half a year, he’s still there. Chris visits him regularly, and I think that’s what helps him the most on the path to recovery, having a safe person to confide in. He said that he tried talking to him about what happened, about the monsters, and the prank. The staff tells him that it’s all in his head, that it was all a part of his hallucinations. Chris tried to tell him otherwise, and he spiraled, fell deep in anxiety and depression yet again. His fearful stress demeanour, as well as survival instinct kicked in, and he lost control. We then decided not to tell Josh about all that happened, but that it was better for him to think that he made it up. Part of me hates it, and a part of me envies him. I wish I too could imagine none of it happened, that it was just a bad dream my head conjured up.

The worst part about everything? They found Jessica. Just like Mike had told them, she was dead. I heard some of the details of how. She was down deep, her jaw ripped off her body. They all assume she had some type of episode, and fell down the mines. The mineshaft was fucked up, and when she fell, some type of sharp metal rod must’ve punktured her, and ripped it off. They said she died almost instantly. For her sake, I hope it was true.

We all went to the funeral some days later. All except Josh and Emily, who both were still at the hospital. Sam had some bad burns on her back, but some gel and check-ups later, they said she would be recovering fine. Everyone of us was full of cuts and bleeds, so we all were put on antibiotics, just in case.

Now, a year later, the dreading feelings and stress is starting to make its way back to me. Luckily, both Sam and Chris have helped me a lot. Sam and I still go out for our coffees, now more than usual. It feels good to talk to someone who doesn’t think I’m crazy. Chris and I basically live with each other now, visiting, eating, sleeping together. I often try to invite Ashley out with us, but she rarely replies. I heard that she and Matthew have been hanging together a lot lately, which calms my nerves. At least she’s talking to someone, being with someone. Sam is also keeping in touch with Mike, while Emily has isolated herself from all of us. I understand why. In the interviews, she couldn’t stop talking about how Mike pointed a gun to her head, but considering everything else we said, they didn’t take it seriously, and he didn’t get into any trouble. Last thing I heard, she was getting back into her studies, and solely focusing on them.

At the anniversary, Chris and I went to Jessica's grave. There were already several fresh flowers there, some from Mike, Emily, and other family. I even found a small card addressed to her from Ashley, but I didn’t open it. That must’ve been between them two. After leaving a few pink tulips at her grave, Chris and I went to his place, and we had dinner, and watched some reality tv. We didn’t want to watch a movie, or something scary. All we wanted was a stress-free night. Both our families called to check on us, and during the night, Chris also called Josh’s institution to check on him. They were allowed a supervised call, which went on for two hours. I don’t think Josh handles this day very well, and I don’t blame him. I don’t blame anyone.

Just to be sure, I texted both Ashley and Emily. I asked how they were, and hoped they were fine. I told them how I find today difficult, and I get that they might too. I put a lot of sympathy and guilt in my message to Emily, trying to emphasise how sorry I was. I didn’t get much back, just a thumbs up and that things were fine. Ashley just told me she was trying to forget things.

Even though I lost contact with Emily and Mike, as well as a lot with Ashley, things started to get easier. We slowly went back to normal, and the heavy coffee-conversations with Sam turned to conversations about school, family, tasks, romance and daily life. We were all putting things behind us. I went back to university, doing my best to finish my degree. I sometimes see Emily in the halls, and I give her a small wave. They’ve slowly grown more friendly, and I’ve seen her with more and more people over time. It truly makes me happy.

***

“Chris!” I yell as I walk in the door, arms full of groceries. “Door, please, help!”

“Coming!” He yells back, jogging over and taking one of the bags out of my hand.

“Hey” He smiles, closing in and giving me a small peck on the lips.

“Hey you” I respond, cheeks heating up. He closes the door, and walks with me to the kitchen.

“I find it cute how you still blush when I kiss you” He comments, starting to pack out of the bag. He opens the fridge, putting some of the vegetables inside.

“Really, you like still having that effect on me?”

“I certainly do” He says in a goofy voice, and I shake my head, putting some oatmeal in the pantry.

“How were classes?” He asks, looking up at me, finishing up his bag.

“Ugh, boring. Felt like I got nothing out of today”

“So, not that productive?”

“Nope, feel like I’ve wasted a whole day of my life”

He smiles, walking over to me and putting his arms around my waist. He leans down, letting his head rest on my shoulder.

“Hey you” I ruffle his hair. “I still have groceries left, you need to let me put them back”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then I’ll- fuck!” I mutter, feeling his lips on my neck, one of his hands reaching up to move my hair out of the way.

“Chris…”

“Mhmmm?” he asks innocently, tongue and lips going off on my skin. I lean into him, putting the fruit I was holding down on the counter again. He starts sucking, leaving small red marks all over me, working up to my jaw, and back to my ear. He takes it in his mouth, biting down, making me let out a small moan. I feel him smirking against me, hands slowly wandering under my shirt and up to my chest.

“Fuck…”

“Quite a sound you let out there”

“I didn’t-”

“You didn’t mean to? I think you did” he whispers, his warm breath covering my ear, going down my neck. He continues to work with his mouth, tongue moving down to my shoulder, before biting down again, harder than before. I yelp, body jolting a little, but he keeps me in place, holding me tightly. His hands wander up, touching the edge of my bra. I sigh, leaning deeper into him, wanting him to touch me more. Just the thought alone gets me going.

“Wanna move this to the bedroom?” he asks, and I nod. Still, when I turn around, I can’t help myself. My arms fly around his neck, holding myself up on my toes as I connect our lips. I feel his tongue move into me, exploring all the corners of my mouth. He presses himself deeper into me, pulling my body against his as he starts moving backwards, forcing me to follow. His hands fall out of my top, now only touching me over it. I whine in protest, but he stops me with another kiss, almost choking me with his tongue.

“Feeling needy?”

“Yes” I admit, not fighting it at all.

“Wow, not even walking around the bush? You’re absolutely desperate” he whispers in my ear while slowly unlocking the door to the bedroom. I hum and nod, wanting him to get on with it already. He lets out a small laugh before pulling me in again, silencing me with another wet kiss. Slowly but surely, he drags my top off, leaving me in my bra. He pushes me down on the bed before going on top. I can already see the tent in his pants, which I know he struggles not to let out at once. Still, I want him now. I tug on his zipper, trying to get it down, but he stops me, taking both my hands and holding them over my head. His left hand holds both of my wrists down, making sure I can’t do anything.

“Oh, I think you’re a little too eager”

“Please, Chris…”

“And now you’re begging as well?”

“Please…”

He sighs, before using his right hand to slowly undo my pants. His head returns to my neck, sucking and biting, making me let out all sorts of sounds. I can’t help myself, moaning as my core turns warmer and wetter. I start rubbing my thighs together, desperate for some sort of friction.

“Fuck, you have no idea how turned on I get by seeing you like this…” he whispers, letting his fingers slowly slide under my panties. I whimper, wanting him inside me at once. My pants aren’t even pulled off, and he starts teasing me. His fingers ghost over my clit and folds, making me jolt my hips up to make contact.

“What do you say?” He asks, obvious teasing in his voice. He’s so smug, but I’m too turned on to be irritated by it.

“Touch me”

“Maybe I didn’t hear you right, what do you say?”

“Touch me, please”

“That’s right” He moves his fingers closer, but stops right over my skin.

“No, no, no” I cry out, frustrated.

“But who’s going to touch you?”

“You are, please!”

“I want you to say my name”

“C-Chris”

“And now, full sentence”

“N-no, just touch me” I try to get my hands free, desperate to feel something, but he’s strong, and holds them down, pinned to the mattress.

“Come on, you can do it”

I sigh, legs giving out as I take a breath.

“Please, Chris, I want you to touch me, please, please!”

“That’s a good girl, and a damn desperate one, don’t you think?”

I hum in response, feeling his fingers finally touch me. They glide over my soaking wet folds, and he snaps his tongue.

“God, how wet you are. And I just started touching you…”

I breathe out, finally feeling some type of stimulation. They move upwards, coated with my wetness, and slowly start rubbing my clit. I give a loud moan, friction filling my body as electric jolts rush through me. It doesn’t take long. He knows what makes me come fast, and especially when having been teased like this. The knot in my stomach tightens, and my body stiffens as I’m on the verge. I can’t stop moaning and whimpering, hands trying to break free so I can hold him. My mind gets foggy as I near the edge, shaking from the sensation. I shout his name, and take a small breather as pleasure runs through me, body already tired from the build-up it had. But he doesn’t stop. He keeps up the pace, making the knot in my stomach appear again.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I whimper, voice unrecognisable as I near the edge.

“Oh, you’re doing so well for me, darling” he purrs, keeping up his pace and touching me exactly where needed.

“Kiss me” he commands, and I lean my head to the side, finding his lips. I can’t help moaning into him, yet, he keeps it up. I feel my vibrations being sent down his throat, having to stop for air several times for how much noise I’m making.

“Chris, I’m gonna-”

“I know”

I come a second time, pleasure washing over me as the knot gives out. I breathe heavily, my underwear being completely soaked, and my core throbbing for more. He doesn’t stop, keeping up his pace and getting me worked up again.

“C-Chris!”

“Oh, come on, you can do it one more time”

“I’m so tired” I whimper, but I’m interrupted by a loud moan, my hips moving with his fingers, not getting enough.

“Yet, your body is begging for more”

I can’t answer him, my high reaching its end again, this time faster than before. I moan out his name again, and he stops, letting me ride this one out. I feel a surge of pleasure rush through me, making me tired, yet making me crave him more. I want him inside of me.

His fingers slowly move down to my folds again, feeling how wet I am. He lets out a small chuckle, toying with me, barely putting his fingers in me.

“You’re so wet. Your underwear is drenched”

“Mhmm”

“Oh, is it difficult to answer me already?”

I nod, looking up at him pleadingly. He smiles softly, leaning down and pressing a kiss against my forehead.

“Who would have thought you could handle so little? Maybe I should stop, and we should just go to bed?”

“N-no, please!” I urge, suddenly feeling a bit panicked.

“No? But you’re so tired? You seem exhausted”

“I-I’m not, please”

“Can you prove to me that you can handle one more time?”

“Yes, yes, yes”

He smiles, slowly inserting one of his long fingers in me. I moan, clenching around him as he presses into me. He’s moving my whole body with his rough thrusts, and I moan continuously, feeling him getting deeper and deeper each time. I feel another orgasm close in, and I whimper as I get closer. Suddenly, he stops.

“You sure you can handle it?”

I look up dumbfounded, seeing him struggling to hide a smirk. He knows what he’s doing, delaying me like that. It’s torture. I’m desperate, and I was so close, I can still be, if he just starts touching me again.

“I was so close, please, please, don’t stop touching me Chris!” I whine, trying to get my hands free to finish the job myself.

“Oh, see how much you’re struggling” He mocks, suddenly thrusting two of his fingers in me. I cry out, the sensation taking me by surprise. Now, he gets even deeper, and fills me up even more, and I quickly reach the edge again.

“Fuck, please don’t stop, don’t” I plead, my body shaking in anticipation.

“Then come for me”

With that, I do. I feel myself clench on his fingers, and coating them in my cum. My head is dizzy, and my body is softly vibrating from the aftermath. His hand is slowly removed from my heat, and he lets my hands go. He stands up, starting to remove his pants. He gets down to his boxers, and then drags off his shirt, letting me see his body in all its glory. I sit up, uncomfortable in my own wetness.

“Oh, don’t you like sitting in the mess you made?” I shake my head in response, looking up at him, hands already on his thighs.

“If you do a good job, I might let you take those wet clothes off, okay? We have a deal?”

I nod, fingers moving up to his boxers, eager to have something in my mouth. I drag the fabric down, revealing him. He’s very hard, his cock springing up from his boxers, straight in my face. I take him in my hand, then take a long lick over his length. He groans, hips buckling in my face. He’s struggling to hold his composure, which makes me feel all warm inside. His hands move down my neck, collecting my hair behind my head, before he positions himself. Slowly, I let him inside my mouth, and he sighs, starting to move. I don’t take his full length, instead only half, which is already filling my whole mouth. His free hand goes down to my chest and moves under my bra, starting to pinch my nipple. I whimper, sending vibrations down his length, making him groan again. Suddenly, he grabs my hair harder, forcing me down on him, taking him until I gag. Both my hands automatically go to his hips, trying to hold myself up.

“Oh? Is that a bit much for you, hun?”

I try to answer him, but I can only make unrecognisable sounds with his cock filling me up. He pinches my nipple again, making me moan, and opening my mouth even more. This gives him the chance to pounce into me again, filling me up until I gag again.

“Difficult to talk with my cock in your mouth?”

“You look so fucking good like this” He groans again, pulling me down on him again. He goes on a steady rhythm, and I do my best to stop my gag reflex, failing many times. I feel saliva run down the corner of my mouth, tears threatening to fall from my eyes.

He can’t take the waiting anymore, and he forces himself out of me, and lifts me up on my feet. My lips are captured in his, and he pulls down my pants and panties in one motion, then undoes my bra, letting it fall to the floor. Both his hands go to my breasts, kneading and pinching, making me moan into his mouth. He pushes me down on the bed again, now completely naked.

He can’t be slow anymore, now looking at me like a raging animal. His head goes down between my thighs, and he plants a long lick over my folds, soaking up how wet I got from sucking him off. He hums, sending hot vibrations over my clit, making me whimper with need. My hands go into his hair, holding tightly as his tongue starts working. One of his hands goes to my entrance, massaging and teasing, while his mouth and tongue starts sucking my clit off. I feel my orgasm approach quickly, stomach tightening as my thighs struggle to keep themselves open. In a quick motion, his fingers are inside me, his other hand kneading my thigh. The mix of sensation, his tongue against me, flicking as sucking on me. It’s too much. With another loud moan, I finish again, coating his mouth.

He lifts himself, getting on top of me and positioning himself on my entrance. I’m still riding out my high, and waits a bit for inserting himself, instead using the time to coat his length in my juices, rubbing up and down my folds.

“Are you good?” He asks, genuine concern in his voice.

“Yes, please, I want you inside me”

He doesn’t need more of an answer than that. He pushes himself inside, my wetness making it easy for him. Still, I’m tight from coming so many times, and we both moan simultaneously when our bodies hit each other. He goes deep, pressing himself all the way in, hitting my cervix in the process. I let out a whimper, the pain mixing with pleasure, making me even wetter. He leans down, kissing me while holding himself up. After a few seconds, we part, and he starts moving. He starts slow, but steadily he builds up a faster rhythm, still making sure to get all the way in me, hitting that stinging point every time, making me cry out.

“Fuck, you feel so good” He moans into my ear, upping his pace. I feel myself clench around him again, head getting foggy and dizzy as I reach the edge yet again.

“You’re doing so good for me” he whispers, sweating and groaning as he starts nearing his own finish. He keeps going, keeping up the pace and making that knot in my stomach tighten again. My hands fly around him, nails digging into his muscular back, earning another loud moan from him. My body tightens, and I clench around him as I come again, his own orgasm not far away. I keep panting and whimpering, feeling pleasure roll over me again, as he keeps going deep into me.

“Chris, I-I can’t”

“Yes you can, you’re doing so well for me”

With those words spoken, I clench again, coming all over his hard length. He doesn’t stop, instead, going faster as he starts groaning, nearing his own end. I can’t control myself anymore, the sensations are too much, and my body is tired and overstimulated. It takes almost nothing to make me finish yet again, which I do.

“My cock feels that good, huh?”

I come again, body warm and sweaty, head dizzy with overstimulation. I feel so needy and horny, still wanting more after nearly being destroyed by his fingers, tongue and cock. His moans grow deeper and more raw, and he buries himself deep inside me as he comes. I moan again as well, clenching and holding onto him for dear life.

Slowly, he moves out of me, both of us laying beside each other and breathing heavily, processing what just happened. My vision is still a bit foggy, and my legs have definitely stopped working. He turns, one hand going around my waist and pulling me into him.

“Sorry if I went too hard on you”

“Don’t be” I smile, giving a small laugh as I turn to him. He smiles, pulling me in and giving me a sweet kiss. I return it, feeling his soft lips on mine. He pulls back, looking me over.

“Want to take a bath?”

“I would love to”

Taglist: @porcelainbluedove @b3rryb3t @batteryacid404 @fordthegamelord819

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admirationandromantics · 1 month ago

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Guilt and Grudges, 10: Resolution

So, this is a long one, hope you're ready. I've been knee deep in exams preparations, so don't expect a lot these next weeks. Anyhow, this is the last game-based chapter. The last one will be an epilogue, hopefully posted tomorrow <3

Emily doesn’t seem like she is turning into anything, just that she has that awful bite, who definitely needs attention. I stand up, moving to the old man’s bag and rummaging through it. I find a small first aid kit. He probably has a bigger one where he lives, but this will do for now. I walk up to Emily, trying to make my steps heard so I don’t startle her.

“Em…” I try, and she lifts herself up, seeing what I’m holding. She doesn’t answer verbally, just giving me a small nod and shoves herself to the edge of the table, taking off her jacket. I can see how she shivers, and it isn’t surprising. It’s freezing here. I carefully coat some cotton in rubbing alcohol, holding it with a pair of tweezers instead of my fingers.

“Fuck…”

“Almost done”

I clean the outside, trying to take away some of the puss. I do my best not to get it deeper in the wound. I look in the kit for anything other than cleaning and sewing necessities, but there’s nothing except a bandage.

“Ash, do you still have your vaseline box?” I ask, turning to her. She moves her head out of the book, looking up at me confused. Her hands go down to her pockets, feeling for the circular box.

“Um, yeah?”

“May I?”

She takes it out, throwing it to me in the air. I catch it, turning back to a confused Emily and opening it. Luckily, I find a spoon-like tool in the box, which I can use to apply the gel-like substance. She hisses as I touch it again, and I try to work as effectively as possible.

“This guy’s a little OCD” Ashley mutters to herself, and Sam walks over to her, taking a look over the book.

“Why are you doing that?” Emily asks me, and I start bandaging her up.

“It looks like a bad infection, I don’t want the wound to close and trap all the bacteria inside”

“And you do that with vaseline?”

“Whatever we have close, that was the best option”

“Keep the wound moist, fresh, so it doesn’t start scabbing” Chris chimes in, and we turn to him. Emily nods, and I fasten the bandage. She’s eager to get her jacket back on, the cold air getting to her.

“Guys?” Ashley suddenly says, and we all shift our attention to her. “This says that because the Wendigos are mutated from humans, when they hunt us, they know how to perfectly mimic their prey”

“Wait what?” I blurt out, mouth opening in confusion. “They know how to mimic us?”

“Fucking hell…” Sam whispers. Ashley continues reading while we others sit in silence. Mimic us? As in, talking? They can scream like a human? Cry like one, laugh like one? I don’t know exactly what it means, but I don’t want to find out.

“We need to get off this mountain”

“Oh no, no, no, no, no, no” Ashley starts chanting.

“What? What is it?” Sam asks.

“Something else they do?” I add, walking towards her.

“It says that… well, the bites… If it bites you, it’s not infectious. It doesn’t do anything”

“Let me see that” Sam demands, taking the book from her.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Emily asks, and I let out a breath of relief. Nothing’s going to happen, no one is turning.

“Em, it says you’ll be okay” Ashley states again, her voice calm and careful, finally at peace.

“It says what?” She asks again, and I can see the disbelief on her face.

“You’re going to be fine” Sam clarifies, relief in her voice. She was probably just as stressed as the rest of us, waiting to see if she would change and turn on us. I can finally see her shoulders relaxing.

“Fine?! Mike almost shot me, how is that fine!?”

“He didn’t shoot you”

“And this bitch almost let him!” She walks towards Ashley, one hand out, pointing at her. She automatically takes a few steps back, but Emily keeps up, closing the distance.

“That’s not fair, she was scared” I try defending her, though I understand where her rage is coming from. But turning on each other now is the worst thing we can do.

“And you! With your fucking comments about my wound, making everyone believe it even more”

“I never meant for Mike to fuck you over like that, Em. But that wound looked bad”

“Whatever, this bitch started it, and she’ll pay for it” She turns her attention back to Ashley, who is scared once again.

“I’m the one who’s scared, I was the one who had a gun to my head!”

“I’m sorry Emily, I really am. I didn’t know what was going to happen, none of us did” Ashley tries, keeping her voice as calm as she can manage.

“There’s no- there’s no excuse”

“Please Emily, just try to understand”

“Understand the palm of my hand bitch” Emily suddenly turns, her hand flying and hitting Ash straight in the face. She yelps, falling to the ground from the impact. Emily shakes her hand a bit, obviously trying to make the sting go away, while Ashl lifts herself and walks away, wanting to create some distance.

“I’m sorry… I’m so, so, so, so sorry…”

Emily turns to me, a sour look on her face. She doesn’t move, just lifts her hand again, and I take a step back automatically.

“You’ll get what’s coming for you, you fucker”

I lift my hands in surrender, not really knowing how to react. She just had a brush with death, and it might have been avoided if Ashley and I kept our mouths shut. Hell, it’d be avoided if Mike didn’t put a fucking gun to her head. I sit down beside Chris again, who’s been silent the entire time. I don’t blame him. Emily looks like she’s slowly getting back to herself, the rage lowering, and realisation and relief shining through. She’s been thinking for too long that she was probably going to die, and now, she can finally relax a bit.

“Shit” Sam mutters, reading through the book. “Shit, shit, shit”

“What is it?” I ask, looking up at her. “We have to go”

“What?”

“Why?” Ashley asks, confused. Her cheek is starting to look a little red.

“We’ve got to get to Mike, like now!” She starts walking out, putting the book down on the table again. Emily and Ashley follow suit, each one grabbing a flashlight while I help Chris up, noticing how his ankle is hurt. I grab us two as well, giving one to him, hoping he’ll be able to walk fast enough.

“Why do we have to get to Mike?” I ask her, struggling to keep up with her fast pace.

“The wendigos, he contained them”

“What?”

“The man, he trapped and captured them”

“In the sanatorium, where Mike is headed?”

“Yes”

“Fuck” I blurt out, keeping up with her. I can see Chris struggling, so I try to minimize the distance between all of us. We walk through the doors, getting into new corridors every now and then. I feel familiar with some of them, until I don’t. I don’t think Chris and I went this far into the hotel.

We walk further in, the walls turning to concrete, with large metal tubes in the ceiling. The sound echoes through the corridors, and if it weren’t for the fact that we’re being chased by monsters, I would’ve assumed it was the pipes themselves that made them.

Sam’s leading the way, the stress of the situation definitely getting to her. I can see it in the way her shoulders are shaking. She also seems cold, only wearing a small pair of tights and a thin jacket.

“Come on guys, hurry up. We’ve got to find Mike” She urges, and I can hear both Emily and Chris sighing. They’ve both been through a lot tonight, we all have.

“Come on!”

“Hey…” Chris starts, leaning against the wall. “I’m kinda gimping out here, guys” He explains, his breath quick while he leans on the good foot. “I think maybe you should go on without me”

As soon as the words leave his mouth, I shake my head. He looks at me, almost pleadingly.

“No, I’m not leaving you” I state, my voice firmer than it’s been for the whole night.

“Yeah, we’re sticking together” Ashley adds, and I can feel Sam’s patience taking a toll. I know she wants to get to Mike, but in our situation, we shouldn’t be split.

“I guess Mike will just have to wait” Emily comments, a hint of spite in her tone. Again, I don’t blame her for that. I turn my attention to Chris again, giving him a small smile.

“We’re sticking together, I’ll not leave you”

He smiles back, almost unnoticeable, and I can’t help the small flutter in my chest. I haven’t seen him smile since we last kissed. A warm feeling comes through me, giving me a new sense of hope and security. We’re so far down here, we’re safe. Probably.

Chris pushes himself off the wall, ready to continue on. Sam wastes no time, starting to walk with her rapid pace. Em and Ash follow, and I give Chris a small kiss on the cheek before moving my feet, following the others. I look back, and he keeps up. I can’t help but notice the small blush on his cheek and his diverting eyes looking anywhere but me. It’s sweet that he can still act this way. I would probably too if I weren’t so worked up about everything.

We continue through the maze of halls, everyone’s steps being uncomfortably loud. Wires and tubes are the only visible things, except for a little debris here and there. Ashley walks with a good amount of distance between her and Emily, almost so far she goes behind me. We get deeper, and a couple of planks are pressed up against the walls, as well as some broken furniture in the corners. We take a right, then a left. I try to memorise the pattern, but when it comes down to it, my mind will probably already be too fried to remember.

A nasty, gut wrenching scream is suddenly heard, though it sounds far away, and muffled. Chris and I look at each other, both having heard that before. I look over to Emily, who’s already shaking to her core, eyes wild with trauma.

Despite this, we continue through the tunnels, doing our best not to stumble on the stones and metal. It's dusty and dirty down here, and I doubt anyone has been here for ages. I bet even Josh didn’t go this deep when setting up the prank.

Sam suddenly stops a bit, before taking a sharp right. Emily follows, and when we get to their point, I see the road ahead completely destroyed. The floor has fallen, and there’s another tunnel underneath us. The path to the right is still intact though, and we quicken our pace to get over to Sam again.

She’s standing by a large metal door, doing her best to get it open. I walk over to her, taking my flashlight in my pocket as I pull on the other handle. The doors won’t budge.

“Shit, Mike must’ve locked it behind him. Crap!”

“There’s gotta be another way in” Ashley comments, and Sam looks like she wants to lose it. I’ve never seen her this worked up before. Emily sighs, and Chris is back to leaning on the wall, taking some of his weight off his foot. We could go back to that big hole, getting down to the tunnel underneath, but I don’t know if it’ll help, or where it leads.

“Wait, hey” Ashley suddenly says, and we turn to her. “What about this?” She stands by a manhole cover, an old and rusty one. Sam looks like she’s seeing the light again, walking over to her and examining the metal.

“I mean, should we try it?” Ash asks, and looks up to Sam expectantly. She doesn’t seem to trust any of her own choices. I even spot her shooting a look at Emily, to see if she’s up for it.

“Well, it’s not like we’ve got a whole lot of choices here”

With that, Ashley grabs a small metal tube, and uses it to crack the cover open. I walk over, grabbing it while Ash and Sam take each side, and we lift it up. It’s heavy, and we only manage to shove it to the side, enough so that we can fit through.

“Okay, this is maybe the last place I want to be right now” Ash comments, and Emily nods agreeingly. Chris gets off the wall, and uses his flashlight to shine down the hole. It’s got a ladder, and it seems to be a tunnel going our desired direction.

“So, who’s going first?” Sam asks, looking up at us.

“Ha”

“After you” Emily says sarcastically, and I almost let out a small laugh. It feels good to smile a little, and I can tell the others feel the same. Sam gets down, getting her feet on the metal ladder as she carefully takes the next steps.

“Not so bad… You think this is the tunnel to the Sanatorium?”

“Of course it is, where else would it go?”

“Was the hotel connected to the mines? Maybe it goes straight there instead?” I ask, leaning over to go next.

“They weren’t connected on the map” Emily says, not bothering to wait until I’m down before following. Ashley and Chris are up there, and I see her getting down after Emily, taking her time as not to bother her.

“Chris, I know you’re hurt, but you’ve gotta move it, alright?”

“I’m trying, Ash”

“I know, I know, sorry”

I wait for Chris to get down, hearing him grunt in pain. He probably hates feeling like this, like a burden. I try not to make him one, but I start to stress when the others have already begun walking.

“Guys! Should we close this? In case something’s following us?” I yell at them, and they stop.

“Yeah, smart, just be quick about it, and catch up when you’re done. We have to keep going” Sam yells back, and I give her a small acknowledgement before helping Chris with the last step. He grunts again, the fall making his ankle hurt even more.

“I’m sorry” he whispers, and I shake my head at him.

“Don’t be”

“If I didn’t go for Josh, that old man would still be here” he says, just as I get up on the ladder.

“Don’t tell me you blame yourself for what happened”

“How can I not?”

I take hold of the metal cover, using all my arm strength to drag it back in place. It makes a clicking noise as it hits the right form, being in the right place again. I look down at Chris, carefully making my way down again.

“Chris…” My hand finds its way to his cheek, and he leans into it. “You went out there, because there was a chance Josh, your best friend, was there and you could save him. You almost died in the process. You’re a wonderful guy, and you’ll never know how sorry I am that it was too late…” I take a breath, letting him process before continuing.

“I know you blame yourself, but the man decided to come with you, no one meant for Josh to be hurt. Yet, after all that he did to you tonight, you went for him. Deep down, he knows what a great friend you are…”

He leans forward, capturing my lips in his. I breathe out, feeling warm, wet tears run down my cheeks. This night is too much, everything is. Who knows who’s gone, who’s died. And that’s only so far. I don’t know what time it is, but I want to be saved, and we can’t even go outside to meet the rescuers without being ripped apart.

“You’re so strong” he whispers, an arm finding its way to my back, pulling me into his embrace. I give a small nod, not knowing how to respond to it.

“I mean it. Despite everything, you’re still… present. Not like Ash or Em, even Sam at times. Mike has gone full survival mode, and I know I haven’t been the most… helpful, during this. I’m sorry for that”

“Don’t be”

“I still am, you can’t tell me not to feel guilty for not being there enough for you either”

“I think we all have things to process right now, but… we don’t have time”

Chris pulls back, a look of surprise and realisation on his face. Mouth a little open and eyes wider than usual. His hand flies to his head, stopping at his forehead.

“Shit, the others. We need to catch up”

“We certainly do” I smile, happy to see a bit of his goofy side again. I need it, and I think he knows it.

We make our way down the tunnel, being on the lookout for the others. I try to hear their voices or footsteps, but I can’t make it out. The only things I hear are old pipes and small echoes. The tunnel itself is worse than the other one. While the other had smooth walls, and a laid stone floor, this one looks right out of a mineshaft. Wood pillars are set up every now and then, with wired plates being drilled into the ceiling. The walls are rough and rocky, and I’m careful not to get too close, afraid that they’re sharp.

“This looks more like a mine than the hotel tunnels” I comment, taking a look back to see Chris. He gives a small nod, squinting at the walls as if to analyze them.

“Maybe you were right”

“About what?”

“Maybe these are different tunnels. Maybe they weren’t on the map and lead straight to the mines?”

“Perhaps…”

We continue in silence, both of us a bit freaked out. On some of the walls, the rocks are glistening, but there’s no source of water nearby, so the substance makes me icky.

“Help me!”

We both stop in our tracks, and I look back at him, unsure about what I just heard. From his expression, I wasn’t the only one who heard it. I take a couple of steps forward, seeing a small sidepath from the tunnel that goes to another room. It doesn’t seem to be originally part of the tunnel, and the main road goes ahead. There are dripstones covering the roof, and no metal tubes or wood pillars. Just stone, water, and that glistening slimy substance on the walls.

“Hello?” I ask, immediately being hit in my arm by Chris. “What?” I whisper, and he shakes his head.

“You don’t just yell back, that sounds a little eerie, don’t you think?”

“Hey!” The voice yells back, and I turn my head in the direction of it. It does sound eerie, and weird. But at the same time, it sounds a little like…

“Jessica”

“What?”

“It’s Jessica, don’t you hear it?”

“Please!” The voice sounds again, and we both turn our heads to it.

“Okay, you’re right, that does sound like her…”

“Jessica?! Is it you?” I shout back, and I can hear Chris sigh. He doesn’t think this is a good idea. The voice doesn’t answer, and all I hear is crying. Even that sounds like her. I lean over the edge, jumping down to the side cave. Chris lifts his hands in frustration.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“It’s Jess, don’t you hear?”

“Jessica is dead”

The words hit me like a bullet, feet coming to a stop. I try to look deeper into the cave from where I stand, but it slowly drowns into darkness.

“But…”

“Listen, it said ‘hey’, it cried, and it sounds muffled and weird. Jessica is dead, Mike saw it himself”

“But what if she-”

“Remember what Ashley read?”

“About the wendigos and…” realisation hits me. This might be just a trick, a way to lure their prey into traps. But it sounds so real, and if there’s a chance Jessica’s alive, shouldn’t we make sure? Chris leans over the edge, holding out his hand for me.

“Come on, get up. Let’s find the others. I’m not losing you to one of those things”

“But Chris, how can we be sure? Maybe she survived. If these tunnels are connected to the mines, maybe she needs help?”

He sighs, reaching his hand out further, eager for me to take it. I look up at him, then back to the cave, the crying never stopping.

“Please!”

I bite my lip, taking another step deeper, lighting up what I can see.

“Chris, I’ll be quick, just let me take a look” I whisper, already walking away. Considering his ankle, I doubt he’ll be able to get down here.

“No don’t, please” He begs, and I lift my hand, urging him to keep quiet. I hear a faint banging sound coming from around the corner, and my interest is fully peaked. I walk further in, the occasional drip from the dripstones keeping me awake and on guard.

“Jessica?” I whisper, trying to get her to talk again. Some of the rocks are covered in a red substance, and I can only assume it’s blood. Why would there be blood here? I arrive at a bigger room, held up by wooden planks and pillars. It’s full of barrels and rope. Chains hang from the ceiling, none of them moving even a bit. In the middle of the room is a trap door. I walk towards it, bending down.

“Jess?”

It starts banging relentlessly, and if it weren’t for the lock on it, it would probably give out at once. I jump, taking a few steps backwards in shock. This cannot be her, can it? Why isn’t she talking? Have I been tricked, is this just a trap? I circle the trapdoor, watching as the thing underneath tries to open it. It fails constantly, the iron lock not rusted. It’s higher than the rest of the floor, so the water wouldn’t get to it and break it down. Still, the wood seems old, and if I keep staying here, it’ll know that there’s something worthwhile on the other side. I jog back the way I came, still hearing the occasional cries that sounds like Jessica. I get back to the path I went away from, and try to look up for Chris.

“Chris?”

A head pops up, and I yelp, his appearance startling. He lets out a breath of relief, before holding out a hand to me.

“Thank god you’re okay”

“I don’t think it was Jess”

“I told you”

“Still glad I checked, couldn’t have lived with myself if I didn’t”

“I know”

He does his best to pull me up, and I help him, one hand in his and the other holding old wood and rocks. I use my feet to push, and after a little, I get up again. I look around, happy to be with him again. Though his eyes are not on my face, but on my other hand. I check it, seeing a bloody cut, definitely from the rocks.

“Shit” I pull the hand closer to my face, trying to see how bad it is.

“Doesn’t seem deep” He says, and gives me a kiss on the cheek. I nod, it stings bad, but it’s not dangerous, I hope.

“The others, they must be so far along by now”

We run, as best as we can anyway. Chris needs a couple of breaks here and there, and after a while, we fully stop.

“This isn’t working” I comment, urging him to sit down.

“Think we went the wrong way?”

“No, your ankle. That’s what’s not working”

He leans against the wall, slowly sliding down it. If it weren’t for his thick jacket, his back would probably be ripped up and bruised by the rough stone. I help him get his shoe and sock off, seeing how bad it is. His ankle is red, and a bit swollen. It’s probably going to get worse throughout the night.

I lift my sweater a bit, getting to my shirt underneath. From it, I rip a long strip of fabric. Luckily, it's breathy and thin, perfect to work with, and can fit in his shoes. I wrap him up, tight and secure, hoping this’ll take some of the tension off his foot. He stares at me the whole time, but I can’t do it back, too focused on getting the bandaging right.

“You’re really pretty”

“I’m dirty and full of blood” I smile, fastening the fabric.

“Yet I still think you’re gorgeous” I give a small laugh, leaning forward and kissing him. He deepens it, hand going to the back of my head, pulling me in. I open my mouth, letting him in, and he spreads his legs, letting me inch closer to his chest.

“Are you fucking serious?” Emily blurts out, and we both jump, a small squeak letting itself out of my mouth.

“We’re in a life death situation, and you’re sitting here, one shoe off, and making out?” She asks, frustrated and a bit angry. Ashley stands behind her, hand over her mouth, trying to stop herself from laughing.

“Where’s Sam?” I ask, standing up, and letting Chris get his sock and shoe on.

“It was basically a dead end, but she could climb it. Told us to get back and wait for them”

I give a small nod, dusting off my pants, not that it helps. I just need something to do.

“Which you would know, if you guys actually showed up”

“We thought we heard something, and then Chris’s ankle got worse”

“Kissing made it better?”

Ashley bursts out laughing, and I can see Emily holding back a small smile. Chris ties his shoe, and stands up, now a little better than before. It warms me to see. Emily sighs before walking past us, ready to get to the safe room again. We follow, Ashley giving me a funny look.

We walk in silence, Emily leading the way. Finally, after a few minutes, we get back to the manhole cover. We wait for Chris, who’s the only one strong enough to get it off again, so we can climb through.

“You know, if I thought I was going to die, a good fuck would probably be the last thing I wanted as well” Emily comments, and I can’t help but smile at the statement.

“Well, I didn’t exactly think we were going to die. I was just bandaging up his ankle”

“Mhm, sure”

A loud bang interrupts our conversation, like something breaking. Everyone stands still, completely silent. It sounded like something being broken off its hinges, like… a trapdoor. A loud screeching scream fills the tunnel, and we all start hurrying.

“The cover, Chris, get it off!”

“I’m trying!”

Chris gets the metal cover off, and climbs through. Emily follows suit before Ashley, and then me. I look back on the tunnel one last time, and see the dark outline of not one, not two, but three thin, monstrous beasts.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck”

Chris grabs my arm, and with surprising strength, drags me up. The other two are several metres before us, and stopping to see if we’re coming. I help him get the cover on top again, though I doubt it’ll take long before they open it.

“Go, go, go!” Chris urges, and we all run for our lives. As I expected, I don’t remember the way back, and the others don't seem to either. We just keep running, praying that we don’t end up at a dead end. Literally.

We hear metal meeting concrete floor, the tunnel almost shaking with it. The screams echo through the tunnels, and we keep going, despite our conditions. The only way to go now is up, up to the lodge again. At the same time, there might already be one there, waiting for us.

I look back on Chris, who seems to not mind his foot one bit. The adrenaline running through our bodies probably makes him fine for now. In front of us, Ashley and Emily are slowly losing their speed, throats and chests burning.

“Keep going” I urge, trying to keep my voice low. It comes out breathy and exhausted, but I don’t stop.

“I- fuck” Emily pants, biting her lip to keep going.

Finally, I understand where we are. We take a right, then a left, and now, there’s not far until we reach the safe-room. Though it can’t be safe anymore. I open the door, making sure that everyone gets in. I look back in the hall, and large shadows follow. Quickly, I slam it shut, frustrated when there’s no lock on it.

“Damn it, keep going!” I state, and we run upwards, through the last part of the hotel, until we reach the lodge cellar. Still, none of us stops. Everyone’s hurting and panting, but the fear of what might happen if we stop is enough to keep us running. Ashley runs first up the stairs, and we, yet again, hear a door being destroyed. With all our might, we go through one of the bedrooms, then get to the indoor cinema.

“Sam? Mike?”

“Go, run!” Ashley yells at them, before running past them. Emily follows, and I do too, running right past them.

“Get out of here, go, go!” Chris screams, and they both look behind us, seeing what’s following.

“Run!” Mike yells, one hand going to my back pushing me forward. Sam is quick to close the door, but I know that won’t last. I step up the stairs, praying that my feet don't fail me. At the top, everyone is standing completely still. I don’t understand anything until Chris grabs my arm, hard, before whispering to me, so low I almost don’t hear it.

“Ceiling”

I look up, seeing one of those monsters, a much bigger one than the other ones, sitting in the ornament hanging from the ceiling. Mike and Sam come rushing, both of them stopping in their tracks. I feel Chris’s grip tighten, and he slowly drags me backwards. I want to yell at him, to ask him what the hell he’s doing. Then, I see the door. It’s just a couple of metres away, and we’re closest.

Everyone’s still, and the wendigo looks around, as if waiting for something. It definitely knows we’re here. It crackles, almost like it’s talking, like a parrot. But the sound is much more nasty than that, like it’s choking on something at the same time. Sam is the closest, and I have to fight my instincts not to run over and drag her out of here.

The banging on the door downstairs has stopped, and several more of them are climbing and jumping up the stairs. They all watch each other intently, being the only things in the room moving, or making sound. One of the small ones jumps the big one, but it’s easily thrown through the room. Chris uses this distraction to drag me a few more steps back, and I can see both Emily and Ashley do the same, though their steps are slower and smaller. They’re closer to the wendigos, after all, and should minimize their movement as much as possible. Another one of the monsters starts climbing the wall, the big one watching intently. Sam and Mike look at each other, but I can’t figure out what they’re doing. How are they going to get out of here? They’re too close.

Mike moves carefully while they fight each other, and I hold my breath. I can’t take my eyes off them. The big one rips off one of them’s head. Suddenly, it turns around, screaming directly against Sam. I feel my eyes water, seeing it slowly take a couple of steps towards her. Chris still has my arm, and he drags me backwards, forcing me to get closer to the door. Sam stands completely still, and the wendigo slowly loses track of where she was. Mike has, during this time, gone to the side, slowly approaching a light bulb. I watch as he puts his hand around it, using his strength to crush it. I don’t know what he's thinking, but just as we hear the small crack of the broken bulb, the wendigo screams at him, walking closer. Before I know it, Chris grabs me harder than before, and uses the opportunity to drag me through the door, and out of the lodge. The door is left open, and we watch as Ashley and Emily slowly make their way closer to us.

I’m breathing heavily, sitting in the ice cold snow, waiting for them to get out. Time has never passed this slow before. I can barely see the wendigo and Mike, and because of the angle, I can’t see Sam at all. This stresses me out, and I again have to fight the urge to get her. It’ll get us both killed. Emily runs outside towards us, and I catch her in my arms, hugging her tightly. I don’t care about anything right now, none of us do, except that we get out of this. I just want to get out. I feel her shaking and crying, but she’s doing her best to be quiet, not wanting to mess up what the others have planned. After me, she hugs Chris, and he wraps his arms around her comfortingly. Still, over her shoulder, he watches intensely, trying to see if the others are still okay. I walk a little to the side, wanting to get a better view, just to make sure Sam’s still alive.

Emily walks away from the lodge, putting a lot of distance between it and herself. Chris doesn’t move, just alternating between watching me, Ashley, and Mike. Ashley gets closer to the door, and when she’s almost there, I whisper to her.

“Run now, out”

She obliges, running out in the snow and collapsing on her knees. I walk over to her and she immediately starts crying, built-up stress for hours pouring out. I stand beside her, letting her grip my legs and pants, crying into them. I still watch the last ones inside the lodge. Chris comes up by my side, one arm around me. It’s as if he already knows she’s not gonna make it. Mike slowly approaches the door, each step taken carefully.

“Where’s Sam?” I ask Chris, already feeling my chest wrap itself inside out. My breathing gets quicker, and I frantically do my best to try to see her. The wendigo keeps screaming, though I don’t know if the small pauses are from ripping her up. I don’t want to think about it, about her, dead.

“Relax” Chris says, both his arms wrapped around me.

“N-no, she…”

“Shhh”

“She can’t-”

Suddenly, I see her running towards us. Mike turns, and runs out of the lodge as well. Just as she gets out of the door, she turns the switch, making the lodge explode, erupting in flames. The last thing I see before we’re sent flying is her, screaming from the impact.

I groan, looking around and seeing everyone in one piece. Mike is helping Sam up, Ashley is still shaking, and Emily had put so much distance between herself and the lodge that she’s almost unaffected by the blow. Chris is laying around a metre beside me, groaning. I push myself up, and then go towards him. The sun is starting to rise, and I hear the faint sound of helicopters in the background.

Taglist: @porcelainbluedove @b3rryb3t @batteryacid404 @fordthegamelord819

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admirationandromantics · 2 months ago

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Heya lovely, first I just want to say how much I love your writing. I absolutely love your Until Dawn fics!

I know you’ve said before that you don’t love writing for Mike, but if you ever were interested in writing a full fic mirroring the game for reader x Mike, I would so eternally grateful!

Hi! Yes, this is absolutely on my to-do list, I promise. He's so popular with people here that I think he'll be next. These things takes a lot of time through, so it wouldn't be for a while. But I'll keep you guys updated on the progress when I start.

For him, I'm thinking more of an enemies or rivals thing, especially considering he's not my favourite person in the whole world. I think I make my hate for him evident, and use that to build a lot of tension. Still don't know how I'll get Emily and Jessica incorporated in this thought, so I'll have to figure it out <3

#until dawn #mike munroe smut

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admirationandromantics · 2 months ago

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Ashley having it out for Mike is so fucking funny. She sounded like she was barely containing that rant for AGES

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admirationandromantics · 2 months ago

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Guilt and Grudges, 9: Karma

You like me edging you? Not giving you a new chapter in almost two days? I like it, and we're almost at the end as well! You can't blame me for wanting to keep the suspense and uncertainty up! Anyways, get ready, now shit is going down.

“Oh my god, guys” Emily exclaims, walking forward to check on us.

“Thank God” Ashley adds, running and hugging me. I melt into it, body tense and anxious. I still think about the creature, the wendigo. It was horrifying.

“What took you so long?” Sam asks, looking over at Chris. Just now, I notice that he doesn’t seem quite like himself. He’s shaken up, of course, but there’s something more than that.

“It’s not so good up there right now” he answers, looking down. The man, the stranger. Where the hell is he?

“Understatement of the night”

“Wait, the man…” I interrupt, unsure how to form the question. I only saw Chris out there, no one else.

“Yeah, where’s the flamethrower guy?” Sam asks, one hand on my shoulder as we let Chris settle down. He’s still breathing heavily. The gun in my hand is empty, but I keep holding on to it out of stress. Where is that man?

“Ah, yeah, he…” Chris stutters, seeming almost like he wants to cry.

“He didn’t make it?” Ashley asks, and we all stare at him in shock.

“Oh no!” Emily blurts out, hands to her head as she paces the room.

“What happened?”

“The thing, it… it tore him apart. Right in front of me”

“Oh god”

“Chris…”

I take a couple of steps towards him, pulling the gun down by the table first. He shies away from my touch a little, but I press on, just to be sure. As he let me rub his shoulder, silent tears start falling down his cheeks. Emily is spiraling, Ashley is shaking, and Sam is standing there in utter shock. Mike is the only one present at the moment, and he rips us all out of it with his next words.

“Alright, are these all the doors?”

“Yeah”

“Are you sure?”

“What are you looking for?” Sam asks, and we all watch him running through the room.

“Another way out” he paces, walking up to the security cameras Josh had lined up, and searching every single one of them.

“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” Ashley adds, supporting Sam’s argument.

“Oh yeah? All wrapped up like a little present with a bow on top for that thing to tear us apart like it’s christmas morning?” I stand up, trying to support Sam in this.

“People will come for us in the morning. Right, Em?” I ask her, just to get her approval as well. The worst idea ever seems to be going outside now. She looks at me, a bit dumbfounded, but gives a small nod.

“Yeah, I mean… right?”

“You don’t sound so sure” Mike states, his voice higher than before.

“They said they would…” She tries, but her tone is loaded with uncertainty.

“Well, you can wait, I’m leaving”

“Mike, there’s no key for the cable car”

Mike turns, an idea popping into his head. He lifts his arm, pointing his finger at us.

“Josh, he’s gotta have it”

At the mention of his name, I look down at Chris again. He’s completely out of it, shaking and crying. I don’t think he’ll be back anytime soon. My hand is still on his shoulder, slowly moving back to his neck, rubbing the skin softly. He doesn’t seem physically hurt after the encounter, except for his ankle.

“Josh?” Sam exclaims, almost unbelievably. I don’t think she’s ready to hear his name either, we all know she never meant to see him turn into this. Or be lost like he did. I don’t think she’s processed it yet, compared to Chris, who’s in the middle of a mental breakdown because of the events taking place.

“One of his dirty little tricks”

I want to give Mike a small scowl, but I brace myself, instead focusing on where he’s getting, and how the others are doing. We shouldn’t go anywhere.

“Great, great”

“If that fucking thing go ahold of Josh, then we’re shit out of luck” Mike finally finishes, and I breathe out in relief, knowing that we only have one goal left. To stay. My relief is interrupted by Emily, and I immediately get a hard lump in my throat.

“I don’t know, Mike. It’s possible…”

“What’s possible?” Sam asks, her tone harsh. She probably also thought this was the end of the discussion.

“It may have taken him down to the mine”

“What?”

“I saw some horrible stuff down there. I think it’s where that thing lives, and… huh” She paces through the room, stopping at the workbench table.

“Em?” I ask, unsure if she’s going to continue. We all watch as she studies stuff on the table, as if forgetting we’re here. Mike breaks the silence.

“Fuck it. I’m going to get that key. Right from that thing’s goddamn bedroom. And then I’m gonna get us all the hell out of here”

“You’re not fucking serious, Mike” I argue back, hand leaving Chris when I stand up straighter.

“Well, we don’t exactly have much of a choice”

“Yes, we do! They said they’d be here at dawn, let’s wait it out. Going in there will only get you killed”

“Again, we can’t just stay here. Sooner or later that monster will come for us, and I’m not waiting around for that to happen”

“Em, what is all this?” Sam suddenly says, causing Mike and me to shut up, turning our attention to the others. The girls are standing around the workbench, looking at a bunch of stuff.

“It’s that old guy’s bag” We walk over to them, taking a look. Chris is still standing there, shaking in the corner.

“Is that a map?” Mike points, pushing Sam a little away, so he can get closer.

“That guy was prepared for anything” Sam whispers, letting him get past her. Mike gives a small snort at her statement.

“Not quite”

“What is this place?” Emily asks, and Ashley leans over her shoulder to take a look.

“Oh my god” I whisper, trying to connect the dots. The sanatorium, the secret hotel, aka the lodge, and the mines are all interconnected. There are secret tunnels going from each of them.

“Wait, wait, wait, what is that?” Sam asks, pointing at the Sanatorium.

“I was down there. It was horrible” Mike suddenly whispers, and we turn to look at him.

“You were?”

“There had been a cave-in. In the fifties, I guess, and the miners got trapped down there” “What the fuck”

“Some of them survived, but like, fifteen of them didn’t make it. There was this reporter, and I think he figured out there had been some 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… someone had been tortured.”

“What has been going on on this mountain? Do you think all these events are connected to the monsters? Is that the reason not all of them survived?” I ask, pondering. Sam only looks at me, unsure how to answer. None of us know, really.

“Guys, I’d like to maybe focus on how we’re going to get the fuck out of here, please” Emily interrupts, and we nod.

“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?” Emily points out, which I’d already seen.

“That’s how I got back here”

Em nods, before moving her finger to the mines, down on the place labeled “Nest”.

“I saw this when I was down there. That’s where it lives.” I get this bad feeling in my stomach again, as if something bad is about to happen. A weak smell of flesh and iron fills my nostrils, and I almost gag. What if Mike decides to go down there? What if we lose him as well?

“Em… Em what is that?” Ashley whispers, fear evident in her tone. I turn to look at Emily, and immediately notice where the smell has come from. Her shoulder is basically ripped up, a big scratch-like wound, red and bloody. It probably smells like that because it’s starting to get infected.

“Huh?”

“What is that?” Ashley repeats, taking a step back.

“Ash…”

Everyone takes a step back from her, her hand going to her shoulder, almost as if to hide it. She looks scared, we all are.

“Em. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, no!” Ashley starts spiraling.

“It’s nothing, it just bit me!”

“Bit you? What bit you?”

She falls silent, knowing that when she confirms our suspicions, we’ll all take some space.

“The… ah, the wendigo”

“The what?!” Mike blurts out, obviously starting to get agitated and stressed. Chris is still halfway sitting in the corner, but now, shaking even more. He’s turned his body around a bit, not wanting to see anything, as expecting something to attack him, or someone.

“It’s nothing, really, it’s not a big deal”

I walk up to her, studying the wound. It looks deep, and irritated. There’s white and green puss around it, likely from everything that has been around her since it happened.

“It seems like you’re getting an infection. All this puss. It’s not normal to develop something like this so fast.” I comment, only realising how that sounds to the other’s when I’m finished.

“Do you feel okay?” Sam asks, taking a step towards her.

“Shit” Mike blurts out.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore, really. It’s not that bad” She continues to defend herself.

“Guys, it looks like a normal, a little infested wound” I say, staying on her side of this.

“You just said that it was abnormal to show an infection so early!” Ashley yells at me, obviously not in her right mind. She’s a goner, she’s done. I can see how scared she is, terrified that we’ll all die.

“Well, we’ve been in quite an abnormal situation, and then there’s stress, and maybe bites from that thing works differently, how would we know?”

“And how would we know that she won’t turn into one?”

The words hit me like a stab in the chest, my breath getting caught in my throat. We don’t know. It’s as easy as that. She could, maybe.

“Em, if that thing bit you” Mike starts, voice now stern.

“I know what you’re thinking, and I’m fine!”

“Are you?”

“Yes!”

“Emily, if the wendigo bit you, you could turn into one of those things”

“Oh, that’s ridiculous” Sam comments, interrupting him.

“He said it was from eating each other, remember? He said that!” Ashley shrieks, taking another step back. She’s starting to lose it completely, hands shaking, eyes wild. If it weren’t for Emily’s bite, I would have thought she was the one undergoing a monstrous change. She’s so stressed her eyes are starting to water. It’s like she’s already mourning her friend, but we don’t know yet, right?

“Wait, is that how it worked?” Sam asks her, shaking her head a bit.

“He said it came from cannibalism, but…” I start, not knowing how to finish. How far does it have to go until someone turns?

“Yes, exactly” Ash turns to Emily. “If it bit you, you’re going to turn into one, and then you’re gonna turn on us. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!”

“Ashley, you need to calm down!” I urge, head conflicted. I look over to Mike, who seems cool, though he’s staring into the floor. He slowly lifts his head, him and Emily getting eye contact.

“You can’t be down here with us”

“What?!”

“Mike!”

“You’ve gotta go…”

“Mike, let’s think about this” I try, but the truth is, I’m every bit as terrified as them.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Emily shouts, one hand still to her wound. It must hurt terribly.

“You’re putting us all in danger”

“Like hell I am!”

“Emily, you can’t stay here!”

“Mike, just cool your head a bit, okay? We don’t know if it works like that” Sam says, trying to deescalate the situation.

“Yeah, maybe it’s just a bite” I add, doing my best to help her. Mike shifts his attention to me, giving me a dark and stern look.

“Oh, yeah? Did that really look like a normal wound, huh? Didn’t you find it odd how bad it became after such a short time?”

“Well, none of us have ever seen damage from such a creature, maybe that’s just how it is!” I try, but I sound faltering, uncertain. As if I don’t believe a word I’m saying.

“I’ve seen what these fuckers can do…” Chris suddenly says, voice low. It seems everyone forgot he was still here, having been quiet in the corner, shaking and crying. We turn, seeing him sitting up a bit straighter, though he still looks tired and exhausted. His eyes are filled with fear, but at the same time, it seems that if something happened right now, he’d just let it happen, without fighting.

“I don’t want to see it again”

“Chris…” I whisper, not sure what to say.

“What is this, guys? What are you doing?” Emily speaks, voice shaking as she carefully leans away from us, holding her arms around herself.

“The door’s right there” Mike comments, with no sense of feeling. “I’m letting you do this voluntarily”

“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 pieces like it did with-”

“Okay, oh my god! Will you just go?” Ashley snaps, pointing to the door, Mike standing up straight beside her. I don’t say anything, just watching as she loses her shit. Ash is probably scared we’re all going to die, and knowing that one thing that might cause it is Emily, who refuses to leave, makes the situation even more stressful. I can’t imagine how Em must be feeling now as well, all her friends, her ex, turning on her like this. I know it’s morally wrong, but morals are a privilege which we don’t have right now.

“Just go, please!”

Mike turns, walking over to the table. Just before I can process what he’s doing, he picks up the gun, holding it shakingly with both hands, pointed directly at Emily.

“Woah!”

“Okay… wait…”

“Woah, woah, woah, Mike!” Sam tries, hastily walking towards him, trying to snap him out of it. I’ve already taken a few steps back, and so has Ashley. None of us expected something like this to happen. I turn to Chris, who’s looking down, and still shaking. None of us wants this, it’s too far.

“Michael” I try, but neither of us can snap him out of it. Ashley doesn’t say anything, she just slowly steps away, into another corner, frightened out of her mind.

“Please, calm down, Mike” Sam tries again, one hand stretching to touch him. He shoves her away, still pointing the gun.

“You’re going to shoot me?” I hear Emily whimper, on the verge of tears. She’s also taken some steps back, slowly getting back to the workbench. Hands gripping the edge of the table.

“Mike? Me?”

“This is the safe-room, Em!”

“Please…”

“And it’s not safe as long as you’re in it, not for us”

“N-no”

Sam turns away from Emily, as if giving up, not arguing with Mike anymore. I look around, and the only one who looks directly at her is the guy pointing a gun to her head.

“You’re being rash, Mike!” I blurt out, trying to knock some sense into him. He’s not going to kill her, he can’t.

“Don- Don’t do this…” she cries, slowly moving up on the bench, knees up to her chest, arms wrapped around herself.

“I’m really sorry” He whispers, and I look away. Then, I hear it. Mike’s loud groan makes everyone turn their eyes on him, seeing him lower the gun, obviously frustrated with himself.

“Fuck! I can’t do this” He moves away, turning and pacing a little, everyone’s breath caught in our throats.

“Oh my god…” Emily whispers to herself.

“You did the right thing” Sam says, and I want to say the same, but I can’t. The words are stuck in my chest, slowly eating me up. The truth is, we don’t know if we’re safe.

“I hope you did” Ashley spits out, too frightened to mind her tone. She’s keeping her distance, hands trembling, though she’s doing her best to hide it.

“Maybe… for now” Mike says, taking a look at everyone. Emily is still breathing heavily, refusing to look at him.

“Shit, fuck, fuck” He mutters, still not sure about the decision. He turns to me and Sam, holding up his finger.

“Keep an eye on her, and if you see anything weird, you know what to do” He turns to Ashley, and she gives him a small nod. That reaction alone leaves him satisfied, not even looking for acknowledgement from us two, who have the coolest heads in the room at the moment.

“No one leaves, okay? It’s not safe out there”

“So you’re suddenly going down there now?” I ask, trying to keep my voice firm. There’s no use trying. We should wait for help.

“I’m not going to sit here and wait”

“You want to play the hero, Mike? This is a fucked up situation. Even if we get the key to the cable car, we can’t even get there without being ripped to pieces”

“We’ll figure something out. I’ll be back soon” he says, ending the conversation and walking away. He leaves the gun on the table, and we all stare at it as his footsteps fade away.

“Mike!” I try calling after him, but he’s already gotten far, and there’s no way I’m following. I sigh, turning and sitting down beside Chris, trying to calm my pulse. Too much has happened. Mike almost killed Emily, and now he was going to kill himself instead. I look over at her, and she’s still trying to catch her breath. Sam takes a couple of steps towards her, but she holds out her hand, not wanting to be consoled. I get it, and Sam does too. All her friends turned on her. I feel horrible, and I would feel even worse if it weren’t for the fear that something might happen to her and she’ll kill us all.

“You okay?” Sam asks her, but she just looks down, not answering. I feel a big hand on my thigh, squeezing slightly, giving me a little comfort. I put my own hand over Chris’s, using my fingers to stroke over his. He’s calmer, and the stress of the situation slowly oozes out of us, though it’s still trapped in the room.

A couple of minutes goes by, and nobody says anything. If it weren’t for the fact that I can still hear Emily’s small sobs every now and then, I would’ve thought she was asleep. Ashley carefully stands up, as if it’s a calculated move, and she’s afraid something will jump her. Slowly, she moves towards Emily and the table. Emily doesn’t notice her, but she’s not there for long anyway. She stretches her arm, grabbing a book laying on the edge of the table. One of the things laying in the strange man’s bag. She walks back to her corner, sitting down and starting to read. My interest is peaked, but I keep myself seated beside Chris. His breathing is heavier. He can finally relax a bit.

“I thought he was gonna help us” Emily suddenly says, having composed herself, quickly drying the remaining tears.

“Who, the flamethrower dude?” Sam asks, shifting her gaze towards her.

“Now we don’t have a chance”

“No, it just means we’ve got to be tough”

“Sam, Mike is going to die down there, and we don’t even know if we’re going to be saved in the morning” I comment, the negative attitude leaving me abruptly.

“Come on, he’ll be fine. The wendigo is outside now, right, so he’ll get the key and-”

“And then what?” Emily says, a bit of spite in her tone. “As if we’re getting to the cable car at all”

“We can do this, and we’ll do it on our own” Sam says, trying to encourage us.

“I don’t know if I can” Emily whispers, shaking her head and hiding it on her knees, her arms folded around herself. She seems good. Or, as good as one can be after almost being shot.

Taglist: @porcelainbluedove @b3rryb3t @batteryacid404 @fordthegamelord819

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admirationandromantics · 2 months ago

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Thank you to everyone who got me to 10000 likes! That's incredible!

#10000 likes #tumblr milestone #thank you

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admirationandromantics · 2 months ago

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Guilt and Grudges, 8: Revelation

There we go, let's get into the scary stuff! Hope you guys are still with me on this, and let's hope I'm not just fucking with you and letting Chrissy die <3

Loud smashing sounds, followed by Emily screaming. We take a quick look at each other before her voice yells through the wood.

“Let me in! Let me in!”

“Is that…?”

“Let her in!”

We all run over to the door, Ashley reaching it first, letting her in. Emily bursts the door open, and runs through, falling on the ground. We all surround her, listening to her panically screaming at us to close it again. Ashley obliges, closing the door while Em shoves herself back on the floor, trying to get away from the opening. I slowly lower myself down beside her, carefully reaching out my hand. She’s terrified, and breathing heavily, the adrenaline from running is probably wearing off, so it wouldn’t surprise me if she started to struggle with her breathing. Sam notices as well, and lowers herself on the other side. We both grab hold of her arms, helping her up and walking her to the couch. Chris is staring intently, obviously affected by her state of panic.

“Em, are you alright?”

“I didn’t think I’d make it…” she whispers, letting us guide her down on the cushions.

“You were screaming bloody murder” he comments, standing before her. Ashley sits down as well, but not before taking another look outside through the window.

“Are you okay?” Sam asks, one hand still on her shoulder.

“You look totally wiped, what happened?” I ask, immediately feeling guilty for bombarding her with all these questions. I don’t know if she’s in a state to be able to answer them.

“There was something…” She starts, but Ash interrupts her.

“Where is Matt?” That’s probably who Ashley was looking out for, he was with her the last time we saw him.

“Something’s out there…”

“Did you guys split up?”

“A monster, it’s a monster!”

“Em, calm down” I try, my fingers running slowly down her back, trying to soothe her. I’ve never seen her eyes like that, she’s still extremely frightened.

“Wait, what are you talking about?” Chris asks, voice lower than before. He’s still standing, though the rest of us are down on the couch. He’s probably restless.

“I said, there’s something out there-”

“You can relax, it was Josh. This was all Josh” Sam interrupts.

“No, no, no, no, listen to me”

“We got him tied up, he can’t hurt you” Ashley tries, rubbing one of her knees softly.

“No! It was after me, and it wasn’t human!”

“Hold on, where’s Matt? Is he okay?” Chris asks again, and we wait in silence, looking over at her and listening. She sighs, looking down and slightly shaking her head. It’s like she’s about to cry.

“Matt… Oh god, we couldn’t use the cable car so we climbed the tower and it fell. We were down in the mines, like way down, down in this terrifying freaking mine shaft…” she stutters out, having to take several breaks to catch her breath.

“Hold on, hold on”

“Take your time” Ashley encourages, voice low and soothing. Emily continues, voice slowly getting steadier.

“And then there was Matt and me down there and… I think Matt might be dead”

The room falls silent, shock surging through us all. I can almost see Chris flinch, while Sam has her mouth open. My heart feels like it skipped a beat, gaze falling away from her and down on the ground. I hear a small sob come from Ash as she stands up, hand to her mouth.

“Can you tell us what happened down there?” Sam asks, and I thank the gods that she’s able to keep a cool head, since none of us can’t.

“I was walking down there in the mines…” Em continues, but I don’t listen, head foggy with the thought of losing both Matt and Jess the same night. Not even that, but we thought Josh was dead, and I almost witnessed Chris killing himself. The only thing I’m thinking about is getting off this mountain, getting to Chris’s and Emily’s cars and driving home.

“Wait, what!?” Chris exclaims, and I’m pulled from my trance.

“Beth’s head, I found it” My blood runs cold as I hear her words. She found Beth’s head in the mines? Did she fall down there last year?

“Oh my god” Ashley shakes her head, taking a step back.

“What the fuck?” Chris whispers, looking at her with confusion.

“Are you serious?” Sam asks, but before Em can answer, I interrupt.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! I’m serious, and I’m completely sure! It was… sick. She had the same clothing, and her skin was decaying and…” We all shutter as she explains.

“But listen, in the tower, there was a radio. And I got through to someone, but that was right when the tower collapsed”

Mike comes running in, again interrupting her. He looks frightened, but also content when he sees her in one piece.

“Em!” he breathes out, walking over to her. She meets him in the middle, standing up and letting him put his arms around her.

“Oh god, Mike”

“You made it”

“She barely did” Chris comments, making Mike even more confused.

“What about Matt?”

“We’re trying to figure that out” Ashley says, a hint of desperation in her voice. None of us want to believe he’s dead, and for now, we probably shouldn’t.

“And there was this “monster” thing chasing her” Chris explains, but Mike just shakes his head.

“She’s all messed up guys” Mike nods, looking her over. “Emily, hey Em…” he does his best to get her full attention, obviously wanting to calm her again. She’s still shaking, locking eyes with him and staring, intently.

Suddenly, we hear a knock on the door. Everyone’s heads turn to look at it, confused and frightened. Both Emily and Ashley flinch from the noise.

“Woah…”

“Who the fuck can that be?” Mike whispers, sneaking a glance over at Chris before his eyes go back to the door.

“Josh?” Ashley asks.

“Jess?” Chris asks, making Mike let out a small sigh.

“It’s not Jess…”

Chris gives a small nod, realising the heaviness behind the words. We all know it’s not Jess, and we know why. He just slipped.

“Sorry man, but… who is it?”

I stand up, taking a step towards Chris.

“We should at least check it out, someone might need help” I whisper, not daring to give our presence away to the person outside. Chris looks quickly at me before turning to face Mike.

“I got your back” Chris states. They give each other a small nod, before walking slowly up to the door. We all watch intently, and I can sense Sam’s tension. She’s ready to run if needed, and she’s not hiding it.

The screen in front of the door is doing a good job on hiding the person behind it. I can barely make it out. Though, the form seems similar to a grown man, and he’s wearing a lot of clothes. It looks like he’s holding something, and I don’t know what, which scares me. I notice the black hand gun on the table, and I don’t hesitate. I grab it before jogging up to Chris and patting him on the back.

“Hm?” He whispers, turning to me. I can see how worried he is, so I give him a soft squeeze on the arm before handing him the gun.

“Just in case” I say in a low voice, hoping he doesn’t take this as something negative. He gives me a small nod and smile, and I take a few steps back as they get ready to open the door. Chris gives the gun to Mike before positioning himself by the door, hand on the handle while Mike gets ready. It’s pointed, finger almost on the trigger. They give each other one last nod before Chris turns the handle.

Before he can open it steadily, the door bursts open, the strange man kicking the hardwood. Chris falls back on the floor, groaning slightly. My body jolts, a small movement, about to rush to his side, but I stop myself. Mike aims the gun, threatening the man.

“Ah, ho-hold on there” Mike tries, but he sounds scared and unsure, not terrifying to the man at all. I can see him more clearly now, old, with a tank on his back connected to a tube and long stick. I don’t know what it does. He’s got a scar on his face, and looks like he hasn’t taken a real shower in a long time.

“Hold on there, Mister” Mike tries again, more steady than before. Still, he takes a couple of steps back, creating some distance between them. Chris quickly gets up on his feet again, standing beside his mate, ready to pounce if needed. That’s when the stranger finally utters something.

“Freeze” he exclaims, and in a quick motion, grabs the gun, pointing it to the roof and fiddling it out of Mike’s hands. Now, with no weapons, which the stranger now has, everyone takes a couple of steps back.

“Ahh, alright, alright, just… take it easy grandpa” Mike says. I almost roll my eyes. Insulting someone who can kill us all right here, when we have no security or defence? Idiot. I look over at Sam, who seems to be on her toes. She’s waiting for something to happen. We all are.

“Okay, everybody just calm down” The man says, and I notice some missing teeth. His voice is hoarse and rugged, and looks like he’s been living here for an eternity. He takes a few steps towards the guys, who mirror his movements, moving back to the rest of us.

“Now, just move over there. Go on, move! Let me say what I came to say” They all join us, and he signals for us standing to slowly take our seats. We oblige, and I sit down beside Emily. Chris is on my right, still standing beside the sofa.

“I’m 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” he starts, and we all look at each other, confused. He slams his bag by the fireplace, before turning his attention to us again.

“You mean with Hannah and Beth?” Ashley asks, her curiosity overtaking her fear. I can say the same for me as the words are blurted out before I can think about it.

“How would you know that without some type of involvement” I ask, before feeling a small nudge in the side from Emily.

“- or responsible” Sam continues for me, supporting my thought exactly.

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

“Your mountain?” Mike interrupts. “I’m sure the Washingtons would be very surprised to hear that”

The man laughs a little, shaking his head to Mike’s comment. “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 explains, pacing around in front of us. I furrow my brows, looking up at Chris. He’s already looking at me, just as confused.

“Who?” Chris asks, amused. He doesn’t take this seriously, which the others don't either. There’s apparently another madman on the mountain. One dressed in warm clothes, with guns, believing in monsters, and doesn’t shower.

“What’s he talking about?” Sam whispers to us, and I just shake my head in response. This guy is crazy, deranged, just like Josh. Maybe he’s been without human contact for a while, and this is how he deals with it, creating monsters he has to fight here.

“What the hell’s a Wendigo?” Mike asks, pulling us all out of our thinking bubble.

“Let’s hear him out” Sam says, and I nod, sitting back on the sofa, feeling Chris’s arm on my back, rubbing softly. I guess we’re letting the madman babble.

“Not like we have a choice” Mike comments sarcastically. We all look up to the man.

“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 told you! He’s guilty as shit! Guilty of something!”

“Shhh! Shut up, Mike”

The man ignores Mike’s outburst, instead, continuing his story.

“There is a curse 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” Mike whispers on the other side of the sofa. I look over, expecting him to roll his eyes or something to show his distrust, but he doesn’t. He seems scared, and as if having a realisation, he remembers something. I get an uneasy feeling in my stomach. As much as I want to believe this man is crazy, he seems easy at mind, clear, focused. And based on Mike’s reaction, he’s definitely seen something. This is also the only thing that explains Emily’s endeavours as well.

“You’re going to need to find somewhere safe”

“The basement might be okay” Sam answers almost immediately.

“Okay, get down there now. All of you. And wait”

“What, why? For how long?”

“Until dawn” Emily whispers, and we all shift our gaze to her, her voice finally sounding more sure than before.

“Guys…” Mike starts, capturing our attention. He’s full of thoughts, and… regret? “I ran off and left Josh when I heard screaming”

My stomach falls, and my hand goes up to my mouth, remembering the situation he’s in. I turn to Chris, who looks like he’s just seen a ghost. His best friend, tied up in a shed on the ice cold mountain, with flesh hungry monsters roaming around.

“Where did you leave him?”

“In the shed”

“Your friend will already be dead”

“No!” Chris exclaims, his hand going away from my back as he takes a step towards the man. I reach out to him, but he’s stiff, determined.

“No, he can’t be. We were just with him!” He looks down to me, as if asking me to support him. I give a small nod, which is all I can manage. I don’t know what to think of it. If this stranger, who knows the mountain and these creatures, says he’s dead… I don’t know what to believe.

“A lot can happen quickly on this mountain”

“No, I’m gonna go get him”

“What?” I almost yell, standing up beside him. “You’re not going out there” I state, firmly.

“Yes, you can’t go there, Chris” Ashley tries, voice a little calmer than mine.

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

“No, he let you down, Chris - he let all of us down” Ashley says again, trying to knock some sense into him. This won’t work, he’s too loyal, too kind. But I’m not going to let those be the reasons he gets killed.

“I don’t care, I’m going to get him”

“Chris, no. You heard the guy, we should stay here. Something bad is going to happen if you go out there, we’re not taking that chance!” I argue, but he just shakes his head to me.

“I’m going, end of discussion” he states, now looking firmly at me. I can feel myself losing him then and there. I know how important Josh is to him, but this is basically suicide. I can’t fight him, I may be stubborn, but that’s nothing compared to this guy. I sigh, sitting down again. A subtle, comforting hand finds its way to my lower back, and I look down to see Emily’s leather-covered arm.

“Then I’ll go with you” the stranger says, and I look up, a little hopeful. This guy is experienced, and if he stays with him, he might have a chance to be safe, and come back.

“I don’t need your help”

“Going alone is suicide”

“Fine” I breathe out a sigh of relief, hearing Chris cave in. We all know the man is going to be of big help. Maybe they even get to Josh in time.

“The rest of you, get down to the basement. Be safe. Don’t go outside again until we’re back” The stranger commands. The others are slowly starting to stand up, to get ready to go down. The man walks towards Chris, stopping right in front of him.

“You don’t seem to understand the magnitude of the situation”

“Well, I’m going to get Josh, aren’t I?”

“No, I’m going to get Josh. You’re going to help me, do you understand?” Chris looks a bit defeated at his tone, but we all know it’s for his best.

“Uh, yeah, I think so”

“You need to follow me, and do everything I tell you.” With that, he turns and walks towards the door again, Chris following like a lost puppy. He looks determined, but that’s not enough to soothe that off feeling in my chest. The others start moving into the basement, Mike making sure everyone goes before he does. I don’t follow.

“Coming?” he asks, taking a step towards me.

“No, I think I’ll wait up here for Chris” I explain, my own arms around me, trying to bring me some comfort. He doesn’t seem like he’s into the idea of me being up here alone, waiting, but there’s no use budging me now.

“Keep from the windows then, and if he takes too long, you get down with us, okay?” He states, tone firm, but at the same time comforting. I give a small nod before walking to the hallway, wanting to see Chris, hopefully not for the last time.

He’s standing there, the door already open, the man looking around outside. I hurry towards him with quick footsteps. He’s holding a shotgun in both hands, but moves it to only one when he hears me.

“Hey” I say, closing the distance. “Come back safe” I urge, and his arms fold around me, holding me tight. I do the same, feeling the fur of his hood as I lean in, laying my cheek on his shoulder.

“I don’t think you should go” I admit, squeezing him into me.

“I didn’t get to save him back then, and this year, I’ve not been as good of a friend as I should’ve. You need to let me do this”

I sigh, about to argue when his hand makes its way to my cheek, lifting my head slightly.

“I have to”

“I know… Just please, come back safely” I whisper, already feeling tears in my eyes.

“Of course” He smiles. It’s determined, comforting. He leans closer, placing a soft kiss on my lips, the touch so light I almost can’t feel it. This makes me want him more, wanting him to stay, to be safe with the rest of us. The old man is still waiting, sighing loudly to capture Chris’s attention. I let him go, my hand slowly falling from my grip on his jacket down to my side.

“I’ll be back soon” he comforts, taking a firm hold of the shotgun and moving to the door, the man waiting for him.

“And I’ll wait here” I whisper, sitting down on a sheet-covered chair by the door. It slams shut, and with that, I’m alone.

The minutes drag by, and I feel the pit in my stomach getting higher, closer to my throat. It’s hard to breathe, and I fiddle with the skin around my nails, trying to occupy my thoughts. I just got him, I just kissed and had him, and now, he might be dead. A loud scream sounds through the mountain. I flinch, standing up and carefully looking through the window. It didn’t sound human, and a chill runs down my back. A loud bang sounds from outside, and I keep my eyes through the window. The only thing I see is the wood cabin stairs and top. I really can't see anything from here, and what if he comes in through another exit? Another bang sounds, and I flinch. He’s definitely using that shotgun, or the strange man is. This time, a continuous hitting on the ground floor door catches my attention, Chris screaming for someone to open. Thank God, he’s okay. I ran downstairs, seeing him through the glass panes of the door. He looks terrified. I’m about to unlock it when another horrid scream is heard, and a thin, bony creature comes up behind him. I stare in shock, the sight making my hands feel weird, and I struggle to get the lock open.

“Hurry!” Chris yells, before I hear a yelp. The creature takes hold of him, and he loses the shotgun as it starts dragging him.

I open the door, the creaking catching the attention of the creature yet again. It turns, showing me those dead foggy eyes. It’s disgusting, to say mildly. Chris is still struggling, the long fingers clawing into his hood, dragging him like a sack. I work quickly, picking up the shotgun and aiming. Chris closes his eyes, knowing what to expect. With the surface area this gun has, I’ll hit him, no doubt. I move closer, earning more screaming and shrieking from the creature. It lets go of him, and pounces on me instead. At once, I pull the trigger, and both of us are sent flying in each direction. Chris gets up on his feet, running to me while the creature is down, I feel his hand grab my arm, pulling me up and dragging me towards the door. We shut it, locking it behind us. Just then, a loud smack comes from it, and we can both see the Wendigo slamming on it.

“What the fuck?” I whisper, watching it intently.

“No time, basement” he answers, dragging me down with him, the shotgun still in my hand. I look down, seeing that it’s empty. So much for defence.

We run down the stairs, past the cinema and into the basement. Here, the others are already waiting, Mike, Emily, Ash, and Sam. Mike hurries and opens the door for us, and we rush inside.

Taglist: @porcelainbluedove @b3rryb3t @batteryacid404 @fordthegamelord819

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admirationandromantics · 2 months ago

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Guilt and Grudges, 7: Loss

Ups, I kinda had no time yesterday night, so this one is a little overdue. Wooo! Imagine, we're already almost finished. Gosh, it takes so much time to write these things, but when I'm finished and posting them like this, it seems like so little. Anyways, hope you like this next one!

The dark is stopping me from seeing the horror unravel. I don’t want to see it. I don’t want to see my beautiful Chris’s head hanging lifelessly from the chair, to see him bloodied and dead.

“C-Chris…?” I try, already knowing the silence that’ll follow.

“What the fuck?”

My shivers stop for just a second, body freezing from the familiar tone of his voice. It’s Chris, he said that. How?

“Chris?”

“I’m here”

My heart starts racing again, my mind a cluttered mess. The light turns on again, and I see him, pistol still in hand, face confused and frightened. He looks unharmed, a little bruise on his neck, but no blood. He’s breathing, he’s alive.

The sound of footsteps pulls me from my trance, and we both turn our heads to see the maniac walking towards us. His mask is still on, and he seems tense, as if holding in a laughter. His walk is determined, and I’m feeling even more panicked than before. Maybe we did something wrong, maybe he’s here to finish us off himself.

“No, no, no! Get away!” I scream, fighting against the ropes. My wrists are red and burning, pain shooting through me. But I don’t care. I just want to get away, to get us away. I’ve witnessed too much tonight, and I can’t take it anymore.

Chris points the gun towards the maniac, and I quickly turn my head, knowing what’s to come. Three shots are fired before I hear the plain sound of clicking, signalling the gun is now completely empty. I look over, seeing the man still standing, arms outstretched while laughing. It’s screeching and mechanical, horrible. My mouth hangs open, not sure what’s happening, and not knowing why he isn’t lying dead on the floor.

“Oh, Chris… Oh, Chris, Chris, Chris, Chris” he whispers, shaking his head disappointingly, taking a few more steps towards us, closer to my side of the table.

“What the fuck?” Chris looks down on the pistol, not understanding. I don’t either. He comes closer, walking past a set up camera. I watch him closely, body automatically inching away from him as he steps behind me. Luckily, he keeps going.

“You’ve heard of blanks before. I mean, really?” The psycho continues, that gut-wrenching snicker sounding in my other ear as he’s finally finished walking behind me. He stops by the table between us, hands going up to his mask. I watch in anticipation, not looking over at Chris. I already know he’s doing the same. The maniac’s fingers grip around the edge of it, pulling it over to reveal him. The long black hair of the mask runs down his face to uncover a familiar face. A dead one. Josh.

My breath is caught in my throat, close to hyperventilating from how uneasy I am. We saw him die, I saw him get cut in half by a damn saw. Yet, here he stands, unharmed. With a horribly smug grin on his face.

“Josh?” Chris whispers, and I can hear the disbelief in his voice. A door bursts open, and Sam, Ashley and Mike rush inside, stopping in their tracks as they see the situation, see Josh. He just starts laughing. It’s not as mechanical and terror-inflicting anymore, but it still sounds sick. It still sounds a bit like the Maniac, like someone who’s crazy.

“Josh!” Sam exclaims, bewildered. She looks like she’s seen a ghost, which is what I feel like as well. I shake my head, this is all too much. I hear Mike and Ashley mutter his name as well, but it's like a small whisper. Everything can be heard right now, a pin dropping in the ground, everyone’s breaths as they slow from the revelation. Ashley slowly walks towards me, taking each step with caution as Josh’s eyes follow her movements. But he doesn’t do anything, he’s too busy laughing. She slowly undoes the ropes around my wrists while he starts talking.

“Oh, oh, very good! Everyone knows my name! And after all you’ve been through! Good, good-good-good. I mean, how does it feel?”

My arms are finally free, and she moves over to Chris to help him while I rub the red sore spots. Everyone is silent, following Josh’s words as he explains.

“Right? How does it feel? Do you enjoy feeling terrorised, humiliated, I mean, panicked? All those emotions that my sisters got to feel one year ago! Only, guess what? They didn’t get to laugh it off! No, no, they’re gone!” He slowly walks forward, waving his arms dramatically as he speaks. Mike shakes his head.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed Josh, but none of us are laughing”

“Oh, come, come, come, come. Why the long faces? Come on. It’s good to get the heart racing every now and then” he continues shamelessly. I stand up from the chair, taking a step back, getting closer to the others.

“And race they did, I mean, every single one of you, just pitter-pat, pitter-pat. I hope you appreciated my little phantasmagorical spectacle! I mean, no detail too small, no opportunity missed. It was such a delight to play the puppet master to all your Pavlovian panic!”

I breathe out, feeling my heartbeat slowly get steadier, realising that this is all a setup, and we never were in actual danger. I take the chance to look over at the others as well, Mike looking beyond angry, Ashley defeated, Sam betrayed, and Chris… he just looks broken.

“And all that gore? I mean gore, it was gore galore! Fake bodies! God, that shit was expensive! And no retakes, no, no, no, only double takes! You should’ve seen your faces. Hook, line, and sinker for every little stinker!”

“Josh, why are you doing this?” Sam asks, desperation in her voice. Mike turns to her, obviously angry and impatient.

“Don’t even ask this squirrely little runt. He’s got no clue, he’s out of his fucking tree”

Chris sighs before turning to Josh again. “Well, he’s definitely off his meds.” I give a small nod, agreeing with him. The Josh we know wouldn’t have done something like this unless he was affected by some sort of thing, like not taking his meds.

“Aw, come on you guys, revenge is the best medicine!” Josh laughs, smiling at all of us.

“You’re done!” Mike interrupts, and I can already feel his urge to choke him. It’s radiating off him.

“He’s sick, Mike” I try to interject, but it’s like he doesn’t hear me.

“What, come on, you guys are all going to thank me when you become internet sensations!”

“Wait, what?”

“Oh, you better believe this puppy is going viral ladies and germs. I mean, we’ve got unrequited love, gore, fucking sex in life-death situation, you guys are insane!” Josh points to me and Chris, but no one is bothered by this info, they’re all just listening disappointed and broken.

“I don’t think there’s enough harddrives in China to account for all the views we’re gonna get, you guys”

“What are you talking about, you ass hat!” Mike snaps, taking another step towards him. “Jessica is fucking dead!”

The room turns silent, my mouth open as I try to process the information. No, she can’t be. How would she have died? Could Josh truly be capable of something like that?

“What?” Josh, Chris and I say at the same time, every one of us processing it. Ashley takes a breath before turning away, and Sam shakes her head slowly, looking down into the ground. Mike walks slowly around the table, inching closer to the culprit. Josh takes a hesitant step away, but Mike keeps up the pace.

“Did you hear me? Jessica is dead, and you’re going to fucking pay, you dick!” He shouts, using the base of his pistol to hit the man in the head. My hand goes over my mouth as I struggle to stay in my place. I feel tears in the corners of my eyes, and I take a breath, trying to calm myself. My hands smell like salty blood and dirt. It’s nauseating.

“Mike!” Sam shouts, hurrying to the unconscious Josh laying on the ground. Mike doesn’t seem bothered, more like he wants to hurt him even more.

“What do we do?” Ashley asks, and I shake my head in reply. This is one of those times I truly don’t know.

“Emily and Matt went to get help, so they should be back soon, right?” I try, and she nods, still refusing to look at Josh.

“And in the meantime, this fucker will be restrained until the police get involved” Mike adds, and we all nod. I know he can’t fight all of us off, but honestly, it’s probably best, for his own sake as well. God knows what Mike will do to him if he makes too rash of a movement.

“We can keep him in the shed, just to put some distance between us. People wouldn’t want to see him right now” Ashley whispers, and everyone nods.

Chris takes some of the free rope previously on his wrists, and begins tying his friend up. I can see how much it hurts him, but I also know that he would rather be doing it himself than have Mike go off on him. What I still can’t understand is how he could’ve killed Jessica, and as we all make our way up to the living room of the lodge, the question keeps pondering my head. He was busy with us all night, he chased Sam, he had to light all those candles, and surveil us… When did he have time?

“You look conflicted” Ashley comments, a hand going to my arm for comfort.

“Aren’t we all?”

“I guess so”

She looks down again, and we walk up to the living room in silence, Josh being carried by both the guys. We don’t say anything when he wakes up and starts stirring. He seems gone, completely, shouting out nonsense and talking to people who aren’t present. He’s lost his mind. Sam turns away from him, and sits down on the couch. We don’t waste time, and the guys take him outside, probably to the shed. I don’t want to bother Chris, he looks defeated and tired. For now, I let them go, and wait.

Ashley and I sit down on the couch, one of my hands going to Sam’s leg, trying to be there for her. But at this time, I find the action difficult to execute. I still do it, but it’s only half hearted.

“We’ll get in contact with the police, and get down soon” I try, but I sound shaky and unsure. Still, I hope she can get some sort of calmness from it. Ashley looks at the wall, seemingly not knowing what to say nor think. When did she get out of the room? And how did she find both Sam and Mike without us?

“Ash, when did you leave the room?” I ask curiously. She flinch just a tad, as if caught off guard by my question.

“Oh, he… got in”

“What?”

“Of course, I didn’t know that it was Josh at the time…” she continues, stopping to take a breath. I nod, encouraging her to go on.

“And he had that mask-thingy, gassed me down. When I woke up, Sam was already untying me. I was lucky she found me”

“I climbed through the vents, went through his workshop” Sam comments, tilting her head to look at me. "It was completely random, the fact that I found her, that is. Anyways, after what I saw, I had my suspicions. I mean, I didn’t know it was Josh, but I knew he had something to do with it, a connection to the maniac”

“I guess that none of us could have imagined the outcome” I whisper, looking down again.

“I think it’s a bit much to take him outside, it’s freezing” Ash says. We all look over to the door in sync, but neither Sam nor I comment on it. Normally, I would agree, but after everything that went down tonight, I don’t have the will or energy to fight Mike on the suggestion. I think Sam feels the same way, now struggling to hold back tears. She’s strong, and I wish she would let go for a bit, get some relief. If there’s a time to do it, it’s now. The events of the night are over, and we’re finally safe. The guys are outside, and it’s just us here. God knows how many times we’ve cried in each other’s arms, especially after Hannah and Beth’s deaths.

The sound of the door opening catches my attention, and I shift my gaze to see Chris walk inside, stomping the snow off his feet.

“He good?” Sam asks, the concern evident on her face.

“He’s nuts” Chris states, shaking his head a bit. “Keeps talking nonsense. I didn't know it was this bad” he admits, sitting down beside us. Sam sighs, obviously defeated. I know she did her best to keep in touch with him, but he only pushed her away. She shouldn’t feel guilty, but saying so won’t help anyway.

“So, is Mike there with him?” Ash asks, turning around to face us. Chris gives a small nod, and I immediately see her tense a bit. We all know why, but hopefully, it’ll be okay.

“Is Jessica really dead?” I ask, looking up at the others. Chris might not know, or maybe they spoke about it when they went to the shed?

“That’s what Mike said” Sam whispers, not meeting my gaze. Ashley’s hand moves up to her face, as if trying to contain a couple of tears.

“He said that she was grabbed by something, and taken down to the mines” Chris adds, his voice tainted with anger.

“The mines?”

“Yes, unstable too. Mike wandered around down there”

“So Josh has been in the mines?” I ask, confused. The guest cabin is far away, and if the mines are even further, how would he have time for everything? Sam’s head perks up, and she seems to have gotten to the same conclusion as me. Right before she’s about to say something, a strangely familiar scream comes from outside. We all freeze in our places, looking over at the door. I want to ask what, or who that was, but by the scream, it’s either Emily or Jessica, and we know why it can’t be Jess.

Taglist: @porcelainbluedove @b3rryb3t @batteryacid404 @fordthegamelord819

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admirationandromantics · 2 months ago

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Guilt and Grudges, 6: Vengeance

Gosh, I'm so tired right now. Been at the gym, been studying, spending time with my friends and GOSH! I've had a productive day to say the least. The last one was the halfway point, so I forgot to mention that. Anyways, enjoy this little one for tonight.

We continue down the end of the hall, seeing an open door down to the cellar. He walks first, lighting up the steps as we go down to the basement. The wood stops here, replaced with concrete walls and flooring. It looks old, dusty. Except for the small sounds of our footsteps and the pipes, it’s quiet. Too quiet, and I hate it. Though it’s much easier to keep my composure now than it was half an hour ago.

The way leads to an open room. I keep close to Chris, moving with him further into it. Suddenly, a closet in the corner of the room bursts open, and for a second, I’m terrified that the maniac is hiding there.

“Woah, woah, woah! You’ve got to be kidding me!” Chris yells, hands automatically going up to protect his head. A box filled with papers falls out, and just as I’m about to calm down, I hear the creaking of something behind me, making me turn quickly, shining the light. I yelp, being met with a small moving rocking horse.

“That scared me” I admit, hand on my heart, feeling it throbbing fast. There are no windows here, no wind. How did it do that?

“How did everything get like this here? It certainly didn’t feel like this last year” I state, turning to look at Chris.

“Doors slamming, candles lighting, random freaky things happening…” I continue, and he interrupts me.

“We both know why, it’s this maniac of a guy trying to mess with us. We both saw what happened with Josh in the shed” he says, voice gradually getting louder and more frustrated. I shut my mouth when hearing that, reminded of the grotesque scene. My hand moves to his side, trying to bring him some sort of comfort. But before he can react to it, his brows furrow, looking behind me at something.

“What is that?” He points, and I turn, seeing a yellow dollhouse. I walk over to it, while he stands still, keeping aware of our surroundings. I shine the light on it, noticing that the windows are open, making it so that we can see inside.

“Chris, look here, you can see in the windows” I urge, waving my hand for him to come over. He looks around one last time before coming up beside me, watching as I shine the light inside.

“What, tiny furniture?” he asks, leaning down. The sigh before me makes my chest hurt, that knowing tension finding its way back.

“N-no, it’s a whole scene played out with dolls” I explain, trying to get the whole picture, but it’s hard to shine the light into such a small space while being close enough to see inside. He leans over me, hand going to the top window, tilting it to reveal a keyhole.

“Huh, guess you need a key if you want to play around in there”

We both turn around, and he goes on his phone, typing something. I start looking around, don’t know what for. I don’t really want to open the dollhouse, I just want to find Sam and get out of here. Slow movement behind Chris catches my eyes, and I look up to see the ghost again, this time more clearly. She’s tall, long dark hair, eerie like Hannah or Beth. My breath hitches, body tensing up as I point.

“Chris, Chris, Chris, Chris!”

“What?” he turns to where I pointed, the ghost now having moved out of our field of vision.

“The ghost! Didn’t you see it?”

“No…”

I sigh, heart beating rapidly again. This place was going to give me a heart attack.

“You were looking at your phone! What were you even doing? Tweeting #There’sAFreakingGhostAfterUs?”

“Calm down, there’s no ghost after us” he tries, arms going on my arms to calm me down, but this time, I won’t let him convince me otherwise.

“No, Chris, I’m serious. I saw it this time, and it looked like Hannah, long hair, see-through shape, this is insane!”

“You’re freaked out because of what happened with Josh-”

“I’m serious, I know what I saw!” I counter, wanting him to believe me. I can sense his patience is nearing its end, the night being awful already. He’s clearly frustrated.

“What?! You think they followed us down here from the seance or something?!”

“I don’t know, maybe!” I answer quickly, not being able to think as clear as before.

“They didn’t! Because ghosts don’t exist!” He yells, hands gripping his head in frustration. I hate how he yells at me, how he doesn’t believe me. I know it’s out there, and I know it’s crazy, but I need him to believe me. I shake my head, looking away, though not in the hall I saw the ghost. I don’t want to accidentally see it again.

“Who was talking to us at the seance Chris?” I ask, voice a little lower than before. He turns, pacing where he stands as he sighs, matching my energy and calming down.

“I don’t know”

A creak interrupts us, and we both automatically look to the hall. A picture, previously on the wall, slams down on the concrete. We both shriek, taking a step back instinctively.

“What did that?” I whisper, not able to take my eyes off the picture frame laying on the ground.

“How did it just jump off like that?” Chris asks, and I shake my head in disbelief. His answer is as good as mine. He starts walking towards the scene, and I keep close, not wanting to be alone. As we get to the picture, he leans down, lifting it. It’s a normal picture with Blackwood Mountain written in the bottom right corner. I look up at where it stood, seeing a key hang from the nail. It hits me. The dollhouse. I walk up to the key, taking it in my hands.

“Huh, here we go” I comment, looking back at Chris, who stands up. I look back to where the dollhouse is, and my blood runs cold as I see the familiar figure. This time, I grab his arm, turning him and pointing.

“Oh my god, there! Look there, you can’t tell me you didn’t see that Chris!” I yell, watching as the figure slowly walks out of our field of vision, disappearing behind a wall. I feel him tense underneath my fingers, his breath hitched slightly.

“Wow, that’s um…”

“You saw it, right?” I ask, almost desperate to make him believe me now.

“I… dunno, I just…”

I start walking over there, body acting before my head.

“This is fucking crazy” he comments, following me quickly.

“I think it’s showing us the way, this key is for the dollhouse” I say, jogging up to the dollhouse and flipping the top window to see the keyhole. I feel like all common sense has left my body, head muddy and exhausted. I’m curious and tired, a combo I’m not a fan of at all. I insert the key and twist, making the house open up. My body freezes as I see the scene before me, several dolls placed in oddly familiar positions.

“Woah, woah, woah. What’s going on here?” Chris asks, obviously frightened. A group of dolls is in the lower living room, all sitting around one with long brown hair. The floor above is filled with the rest, one laying on the couch, seemingly passed out, and two in the other room, sitting on top of each other. I assume that one of them is supposed to be me.

“This is the day of their disappearance, this is how the prank happened” I whisper, unable to take my eyes off it.

“Sam said that Matt and Ashley hid in the closet, and that’s exactly where they’re placed here” I add, pointing to them. Was this supposed to be seen by us? None of us had a part in the prank, but if someone else was supposed to be down here, it might make more sense. “This was set up by someone, someone who was there” Chris says, getting closer.

“Or someone watching us…” I whisper, a chill running down my spine.

“Maybe it’s a warning. I think someone put this here to mess with us” he says, nodding his head as if convincing himself. A thought hits me, and it doesn’t make me feel better.

“How long do you think that maniac has been on the mountain?”

He looks at me, eyes widened slightly, not having thought of that before. I shake my head, biting my lips and taking a breath, doing my best to calm myself.

“But, the ghost?” He adds, and I’m reminded of the terribly confusing and scary situation we’re in.

“Do you think it tried to tell us that the maniac killed Hannah and Beth?” I ask, breathing heavy.

“I think it’s this bastard who’s trying to fuck with our heads”

“You just asked about the ghost!”

“Well, I..” He pauses, looking down. “I don’t really have an answer for that”.

“But why would he set this all up?” I ask, already fearing the answer.

“Because he’s coming after the rest of us too”

The head of one of the dolls twitches, and I shy away, hand going over my mouth to stop a shriek. The other goes to Chris, grabbing his bicep. The roof of the house opens abruptly, and both of his arms go to my waist, dragging me away from it, in case something is about to pop up. When nothing happens for a couple of seconds, I take a step forward. I can feel his fingers tighten around me, fearful that something will happen. Standing on my toes, I see a small, pink book laying in the small room under the roof. I grab it, seeing that it’s a diary. The edges are adorned with Hannah’s name, and the year reads 2013/14.

“It’s Hannah’s diary” I say, turning my head to him, his body close, protective. He looks over my shoulder, watching as I open it.

“O.M.G. Mike confirmed!!!

He phoned Josh this afternoon”

“Woohoo! PARTY TIME tomorrow!

Everyone being here together on the mountain is gonna be SO AWESOME!

Cozy fires, hot tubs, and OMG. Mike!

I am so psyched to spend some time with him. Totally got to stop obsessing but I can’t help it… and I don’t want to.”

“I can’t read this, it’s so sad Chris” I whisper, lowering the book. The page is scribbled with doodles of her tattoo, different types of butterflies. Chris’s hand gives me an encouraging squeeze, urging me to keep going. This has piqued his interest too much. I turn the next page, noticing that there’s a lot more text to it. I read it over. This was right after she got the note, only minutes from her disappearance. I take a step back, as if the book is going to eat me alive. Chris is still holding me, taking a little more time to read over the last lines, his front pressed against my back, stopping me from wanting to get away from it. As I hear him sigh, I close the book, figuring that he’s done reading. I place it back where it was, both of us silent, unsure of what to say about this. It’s so sad, and she was so obsessive. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who’s that into a taken man. A creaking sound interrupts our thoughts, and we both turn back to the hall where the picture fell, the sound coming from there.

“What was that?” I whisper, looking up at him. He keeps staring into the hall, waiting for something to come out.

“It came from down there” he answers, voice weak but determined. He lets go of me, starting to move toward it. I take one last look at the dollhouse, memoring the scene, analyzing the placements. This made so little sense, everything so far has. Ashley’s doll catches my eye, her bent down in the closet, Matt beside her. Maybe she was meant to see this? I hope she’s safe. I hope the maniac hasn’t found her, that she’s locked into her room.

We walk to the end of the hall, Chris taking the lead as I follow yet again. I’m not trembling as bad as I used to, but it’s nearly there. The anticipation, the scares, the confusion. Everything mixed with exhaustion and dehydration goes a long way. On our right, the creaking door is barely open. As Chris hesitates, I take the lead, opening it slowly. The old wood makes loud noises, the sounds echoing through the walls of the basement.

He walks in front of me, peeking his head inside just to check. After a couple of seconds he takes a step. I stand outside the door, trying to capture as much as possible without going inside. Out of the blue, the ghost comes up in our faces, screaming. I cry out, taking a step back right before the door shuts close, leaving Chris alone on the other side.

“Chris! Chris!” I yell, immediately going for the knob, trying to open it. No way are we gonna get stuck on each end of this barrier. A small click hears on the other side, and he opens the door calmly, as if the sight before us didn’t even happen. I breathe out, walking up to him just so we’re on the same side.

“Nothing” he explains, looking around the room.

“But you did see it, right?” I ask, voice lowered as my heart rate slows.

“I saw… something”

I sigh, releasing that there might be nothing that’ll make him admit to what we just saw. He continues pacing around the room, seeing if the thing is anywhere.

“But where did it go then?”

I look around, not able to answer. It’s gone again. It appeared, like it had done several times, and disappeared without a trace. I don’t understand how any of this works. I try to keep my head cool, to come up with a simple explanation, but one doesn’t arrive, and it bothers me down to my core. Why can’t I think rationally? Ghosts don't exist… right?

As I walk around, I notice a blue book on the workbench, but it’s not as dusty as everything else.

“Hey, look at this” I say, not bothering to turn over my shoulder before taking it in my hands.

“A catalogue… for industrial light bulbs?”

“It’s so random” I state, opening it. “And it isn’t as dusty as everything else, so that means someone has been down here, reading this”. I flip through a couple of pages, eventually stopping when I see a circled item.

“Original lamp for RB type projectors?” I mutter, showing the page to him. He reads over the description.

“That’s a powerful bulb” he comments, eyes looking over the text. I nod, closing the book and placing it back on the workbench. Why would someone need that? I turn to Chris, who’s already begun walking further in. I jog over, turning the corner to see him going.

“Chris, wait up” I say, getting up beside him. He turns, a little surprised to see how far he went.

“Shit sorry. My curiosity got the better of me” he admits, a small smile on his lips. I look up at him, taking in the familiar face. He��s got a big, red bruise on his head, going all the way down to the side of his eye. I give him a comforting smile before taking his hand and leading him further in.

“Hey” he starts, fingers still intertwined. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you about that ghost thing. I know, we both saw it. I just… you know that it doesn’t exist, right? It can’t”

I sigh, stopping to look up at him, my hand going out of his, and instead up to his face, cupping his cheek.

“I know, I’m just freaked out, we both are. I want to get out of here as quick as possible”

He nods, his free hand on my waist as he pulls me in. I let him, getting closer, feeling his breath on my chin when the structure shakes a bit, a low rumbling heard. We stop in our tracks, looking around for anything moving or irregular, but there’s nothing.

“Let’s keep going” he smiles, giving me a small kiss on my forehead. I can’t help the genuine lip bite that occurs when I try to hide my smile. My brain momentarily forgets everything, and I just think about his affection.

We keep going, The halls and room eventually leading to a new one. I sigh complainingly, seeing the small set of stairs going deeper into the structure. I don’t know how far down we are right now, but I do know there’s a long way up again.

“There’s a whole nother room through here” he comments, standing on the top of the stairs, shining the flashlight into it. “It mammoth”

“Chris, I don’t know if I want to keep going” I admit, looking into the room. He keeps walking, and I hold his pace, walking behind him through the small hall. I look around, the walls draped with ripped up wallpaper. It’s dusty, old, and worn down. Planks are laid everywhere, the floor barely staying up.

“Where in the world are we even now? How deep?” I ask, shining the light up to see an old lamp covered in cobweb. The wiring looks damaged and unsafe.

“I don’t know, this is insane”

“Did you know this was here?” I question, still looking around. There are broken frames and mirrors on the walls. This could not only be done with time, but had to have other factors as well.

“This? This is like a whole nother hotel, I had no idea this was here”

We get to a room, seeing that the hall continues to the left. Before I turn, I notice an iron fence or gate. The metalwork is beautiful, curling in all the right places, making it seem much more fit for a garden. I take a step towards it, trying to see where it leads. Sadly, it seems to only go down, which means this must’ve been an elevator or shaft of some kind. The thing is, it doesn’t look as unused as everything else. The dust pattern is smudged and just plain different from the rest. Chris’s footsteps growing lower pulls me out, reminding me of where I am, and the fact that I will not dare to be alone. I take the previous left turn, meeting him in the narrow hallway. The walls are torn, and I keep imagining things jumping out of the holes, coming right at us.

In all the dark, dusty grey, something colourful catches my eye. At the end of the hall, at another turn, a small, purple thing is thrown on the floor. I walk over, bending down to pick it up. I feel my blood run cold, nausea taking over as I understand what I’m holding.

“Oh no…”

“What is it?” Chris turns, walking over to me as I stand up, showing it to him.

“It’s Sam’s bracelet, the one she got from Josh. She never takes this off” I whisper, studying the intricate design. The thought of her, down here, alone and scared kills me. I don’t want to think the worst, but considering the situation, I can’t help it.

We continue, walking past another room which looks more like an old kitchen. Black and white chequered flooring, a pillar in the middle, with a bunch of trash and planks everywhere. In front of us is another set of stairs, but this time, I don’t budge. I won’t do it.

“N-no, Chris”

“What?”

“I won’t do it. I want to find Sam, I really do, but for all we know, she’s already dead. The maniac could be waiting for us down there and I just…” My voice breaks, and I take a step back from the stairs. He comes forward, hands on both sides of me.

“I want to, I do, but she could already be…” A tear runs down my chin, coating the dried dirt.

“Hey, hey, hey” he comforts, rubbing my arms. I shake my head, unable to look up at him. I wanted this, to find her. I care so much for her, she’s my whole world, but I physically can’t go, my body won’t let me. I’ve always been the one who did the hard labour, but this… My body feels like it’s been breaking apart little by little the whole night, and now, I can’t anymore.

“Listen to me, will you?” Chris asks, tilting his head to make me see him. I look up, unaware that he’s been trying to get my attention.

“I said, you’re always the one doing the emotional labour. I know you have an obligation to her, that this is tearing you apart, believe me, I’m feeling the same. But you know we have to do this…”

“Chris, I can’t”

“Yes you can. I’ll be here, holding your hand, having your back. As long as you’ve got mine?” He moves closer, fronts pressed against each other, his eyes comforting and pleading at the same time. He’s tired, exhausted, just like me. At this moment, we’re both at our edge, our end.

“I…”

“I know you’re strong, and I’ll do my best to hold you up, okay? We’ll hold each other?”

I take a breath, exhaling long and shivering.

“Okay, I’ve got you” I whisper, and he smiles.

“And I’ve got you”

A warm feeling spreads in my chest, moving through my body and up to my cheeks. I smile back at him, body involuntary still shaking, but now, more determined. He’s right, I know he’s right. We have to find Sam, and I want to, I need to. But at the same time, it feels like my body is going to give out. As long as we have each other, I tell myself, and it gives me a small comfort, but of course, as I look to the stairs again, the pain and agony slowly takes over again.

We walk down the stairs, which I dread even more with each step I take, feeling myself getting tangled in the systems down here. We continue into another hall, and just when I think we’ve reached the end, another set of stairs show. I hear Chris groaning beside me, and we conquer these ones as well, none of us clearly not wanting to keep going. It seems like a tunnel of labyrinths, a couple of turns here, a small room there. And everything is covered in dust and dirt. The walls are ripped apart, floor worn down, and the few pieces of furniture we’ve seen have been covered with a white sheet, or clawed open.

We take a turn into a hall. I almost get dizzy from all the turns we have to take, getting deeper and deeper into the cellar hotel labyrinth. A small spark sounds behind me, and I turn, shining the light on the floor. There, a bunch of electronics are laid.

“Chris?” I ask, getting his attention as I walk over to the electronics. They have wires, boxes, and it all seems connected. Connected and working. Someone has been down here, or is down here, using this. For what, I don’t know.

“Looks like batteries and… timers?” Chris says, bending down to inspect them. The wiring doesn’t seem safe, so he keeps his hands to himself. If he were to reach out, I would’ve grabbed him either way.

“Timers?”

“Yeah, timers. The wires go up in the wall, I wonder what they’re connected to” he continues, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“I feel like we’re missing something, we’ve been going at it for a while now, and I just need an extra thing to make it all make sense” I explain, getting frustrated. Why can’t I figure this out, I bet I could if my mind wasn’t as fried as it has gotten tonight.

“Let’s keep going” he says, voice low. It’s not a question, and he doesn’t expect an answer as he stands up and walks deeper. We reach the end of the hall, coming to a more open room. I feel the blood leave my face as the upper part of a mannequin is strapped to a table. What the fuck?

I hurry after Chris, not even able to process it. Inside the next room, there’s a big sink with a bunch of bloody hooks hanging over it. As soon as I walk inside, the door behind me slams shut. Shit. He must know we’re here, he must. Unless it’s like a safety measure, an automatic lock? Chris almost seems to have gotten used to the continuous jumpscares, as his body jolts only a bit before calming again. I don’t want to keep going, and I don’t want to inspect the room, but my curiosity gets the better of me. The room is filled with garbage and broken furniture. There’s also another mannequin here, and the floor has changed from stone to small orange tiles. They still look worn and several broken, so at least they’re not new. But what catches my eye, is what’s in the corner of the room, a tree plate with a bunch of pictures fastened on it. They’re all of us.

“Chris. You have to see this” I whisper, not able to take my eyes off it. When were these pictures taken? They all look like they were captured when we weren’t watching.

“What is this, some type of hitlist?” Chris asks, and I shake my head, unable to comprehend it. It must be, he’s right.

I still don’t want to, and my mind is begging me to stop, but I keep going. I force myself forward with each step I take, determined to keep going and find Sam. As we wander, we have to make several choices. This is a labyrinth of halls and rooms, and the last thing I want is for us to get lost. We arrive at a big steel door. It looks heavy, and when we shine our lights on it, we notice the red substance, some of it still dripping.

“Fuck, is that…?” I start, but cannot finish. We’re both thinking the same thing.

“Might be Sam’s”

I shake my head again, like I’m trying to convince myself that this isn’t real, that this cannot be happening. Chris walks up to the door, grabbing it with his hands as he starts to pull. He’s strong, I know he is, so if he can’t get this door open, then no one can.

“Right, let me see if I can get this…” He groans, pulling with all his might, making it open slowly.

“G-got it, but this thing is heavy” he stammers, standing between the door and frame, trying to hold it open for me.

“Be careful” I comment, hands going out, but I know that I can’t disturb him as he does his best to make the gap bigger.

“You’ve got to come through, I can’t hold it for long”

Right before I’m about to walk in with him, I catch a movement in the corner of my right eye. I shine the light there, trying to catch what it was.

“Wait Chris, I think I just saw Sam over there” I say, squinting my eyes to try to see the movement again. It could also be an animal, but how would something that big survive down here?

“Are you sure?” he asks with a strained voice, clearly struggling. I feel bad, but if this is Sam, we should go get her at once.

“I don’t know, but I think we should check it out”

“Ugh, well, I’m pretty sure the person bleeding came through here, okay? So we’ve gotta keep moving. Like, now!” he says, using all his last strength to keep it open. I sigh, rushing to him and getting into the room right before the door gives in, trapping us both inside. At least until he gets his strength back.

“Thank god, I thought that thing was gonna crush me” he pants, hands on his knees as he tries to steady his breathing.

“Oh my god” I whisper, looking at him.

“What?”

“What if I didn’t see Sam, what if I saw the maniac?” I ask, realising how loud the slam of the door was. His eyes widen slightly while he shakes his head.

“I…” he starts, but doesn't finish, realising the gravity of my words. I breathe out, looking in the freezing cold room we’re in. It doesn’t matter, the door is so heavy and hard that the man would probably struggle to get it open, and if he did, we would hear him.

“Why is it so cold in here?” I ask, arms going around myself. It took some time, but now I’m starting to feel it, and it gets worse and worse with each second that passes.

“Why are there dummies here as well?” Chris comments, nodding over to another mannequin.

“Come on, let’s go, maybe it's warmer further in, and if not, maybe in another room”

We start walking, and I immediately take notice of the machine in the corner, wires everywhere, and cool air oozing out of it. As we walk, I start talking again.

“We’re so deep, why would he want to make this place so…” but I’m interrupted by the sight in front of us. A bunch of slaughtered pigs, hanging from hooks in the ceiling. The smell is fresh, probably thanks to the cool.

“What’s going through this guy’s head?” Chris asks, inspecting the animals.

“Are these for eating?” I come closer, but the smell of raw flesh and death fills my nostrils, making me take a step back again.

“I don’t know. Most of them are gutted, but he doesn’t seem to be using the flesh.

“So what is he using? Blood, intestines?”

“Your answer is as good as mine”

“Can we go, please” I urge, already making my way through the room, one hand over my nose. My other is around me, trying to warm myself up, still while holding the light. There’s a double door at the end of the room, and I make my way there, hearing Chris’s footsteps behind me. I open it, face being hit with warmer air. Suddenly, a familiar voice echoes.

“Please, no!”

I stop, heart beating rapidly. That’s Sam’s voice, loud and pleading, like she’s begging for her life. I turn, looking up at Chris to see his expression, just to check that he heard the same thing I did. He’s shocked, shocked and frightened. I take a breath, starting to walk faster.

“Sam!?”

A green, worn down door seems to lead to another room, and I open it. On the middle of the floor, there’s a chair with someone in it. Sam’s familiar black leather jacket is on her, body hanging lifelessly.

“Sam?” Chris asks, but I don’t hear him, too busy walking forward to her.

“No, no, no” I mutter to myself, seeing something on her head. I turn the chair, being met with a disturbing clown mask, my heart almost killing me.

“Fuck!”

“It’s a dummy”

“Yeah, I can fucking see that, Chris!” I blurt out, hand to my heart. This was it, I thought we found her, but apparently not. My heart sinks as I slowly wear down, all my hope shattered. Did the maniac steal her clothes for this? Is that the reason there was only one sock left?

“The bathroom” I whisper, catching Chris’s attention.

“What?”

“In the bathroom, there was just a sock left. I imagined that she’d seen him and ran, but I found it difficult to believe she would just leave it be, at least not take it with her” I explain.

“You think she even got out of the bath before he took her?”

“I… She didn’t even get her clothes on”

“Shit…” He mutters, shaking his head, getting more stressed. I don’t want to think about the things this psycho might have done to her. I look back to the dummy.

“Why would he dress this thing up like Sam?” He asks, voice stressed.

“I don’t know!”

“Why would he take her clothes and put them on a dummy?” He asks again, making me feel even more agitated.

“I don’t know, Chris!” I explode before closing my eyes, spending some seconds taking a few breaths, trying to calm myself.

“Sorry, I’m freaking out, I shouldn’t shout, we don’t know where that man is, and we don’t know where Sam is. We should keep going” I say, voice calmer as I turn to him. I feel my blood run cold as I see him on the floor, knocked out.

“Chri- mmf!”

A mask is placed over my mouth and nose, making me inhale some type of gas. A pair of strong arms keep me captive, pressing me into the body of someone behind me. I try to struggle, to kick and scream, but it doesn’t help. The flashlight falls from my hands onto the ground, and I scramble, hands going to his arms, scratching and gripping to get him away. My head starts pounding, the world going blank as my eyes close. The last thing I hear is the sound of distorted laughter.

***

Chris’s faint voice wakes me, him yelling my name over and over. My head is pounding, and incredibly dizzy. My throat feels sore and itchy, probably because of the gas I inhaled. I groan, slowly trying to open my eyes. My hand goes to rub them, but I quickly figure out that my hands are bound to the chair I’m sitting in.

“What?”

“Can you hear me? Are you okay?” Chris asks, his voice so loud it echoes through my head. I give a small nod, humming as I adjust to the white lighting.

“Shit, I’m gonna murder his fucking face off” He comments, struggling with his restrains. I can finally see everything around me. We’re both tied down on each one’s chair, an old wooden table between us. I can already feel the blisters of my chair dig into me, poking and hurting. My whole body is numb and exhausted, lungs sore. We didn’t even find Sam, we went so far for no reason at all.

As he tries to get out of his bindings, I notice that one of his hands is free. My brows furrow, and gaze shifts to the only thing laying on the table. A gun. My blood drains from my face, the last emotions I have leaving me as I just stare at it, dumbfounded.

“W-what is this?”

“This is him” he responds, still trying to get out of his bounds, not realising what I have.

“No, Chris…”

“This is the guy who killed Josh!”

“Chris!”

“You murderous piece of shit! You fucking monster!” He starts shouting, completely enwrapped in his anger. I shake my head, just staring at the gun. I don’t want to die, and I don’t want him to die. Why is there a gun here? He wouldn’t have left it here for us if he was going to come into the room, which means, at least one of those bullets are meant for one of us.

“I don’t want to die” I manage to breathe out. He stops his struggling, looking over at me.

“No one is going to die”

I ignore his factless comfort, knowing he’s just saying that to make me feel better, but I already know how this’ll play out.

“We just got to actually know each other, I just got to tell you how I felt, and now…”

“What?”

“You know, about everything. We’ve been walking around the bush for an eternity, and the night we actually decide to do something about it is now? It’s all been for nothing, we’ve wasted everything!”

He shakes his head, his eyes calm in spite of our situation. He seems strangely content, his anger faded as quickly as it came. All I see is that adoring look, his demeanour and stance, how he uses his free hand as he talks.

“None of it was wasted”

“What do you mean?” I ask, hearing my voice breaking, tears finally beginning to fall. This is the end, this is how you talk when you know you’re going to die.

“Every second that I spent with you was the only thing I ever wanted to do with my time” he says, his voice sounding strained. He’s realising it as well, we’re tied up here, completely at this maniac’s mercy and he’ll toy with us until we’re both off this earth.

“Chris…”

“I should’ve told you how I felt earlier, I shouldn’t have waited”

“Don’t say that…”

“I swear, when we get out of this-” His sentence is interrupted by a familiar shrieking noise. We both look up, seeing several sawblades starting to rotate. They slowly move downward, one centimetre at a time. My breath catches in my throat as I start struggling against the binds, the rope scratching up my wrists.

“No, no, no, no!”

As we both scream and yell, the voice of the maniac psycho sounds on a couple of speakers. I can’t see where they’re placed, my heart beating too rapidly, eyesight blurry, and mind too scared and panicked. I keep struggling, hoping that I’ll be able to wiggle myself out of the bind.

“Hello there, my special little subjects”

“Shit! Don’t be scared” Chris yells, doing the same, trying to get out. He takes the gun, holding it ready in case the man decides to show himself.

“Oh, you should be scared, because here’s the twist: Chris has made one fatal choice already today, and now he must make another”

“No, no, no” I keep muttering to myself, unable to accept any of this. This must be a wild nightmare, or an insane hallucination. But the noise of the blades, the blisters digging into my skin, and Chris’s panicked expression is true, it’s all reality, this is happening.

“Chris, you can take that gun in front of you and shoot Ashley, or you can shoot yourself…” I can see his wheels start to turn, processing the information. His eyes widen, head rocking slowly from side to side. His lip is trembling, knuckles turning white from how hard he’s holding the gun.

“Whoever is left, can live. The choice is yours”

He immediately reaches up, pointing the gun to the blades. I hear two shots fired. I don’t know if he did that just to check if it was actually loaded, or to see if he could stop them. Either way, none of it works in our favour. The blades continue their spinning, sharp shrieking noises filling the room. I can’t help but cry, shaking my head as I look up at Chris, who looks more conflicted than ever.

In a fast movement, he points the gun to his neck, aiming at his breathing tube, eyes already closed to make it easier. This makes me jolt in my seat, tugging at my restraints as I scream his name.

“No, Chris! Don’t you dare, don’t!” I try to sound firm, but it comes out more broken and pleading than planned. At this point, I don’t care, he can’t do this, I won’t let him.

“Please, you’ve already done too much, you lost Josh, you’ve helped me, been there for me. Please, it shouldn’t be you!” I try to bargain, his eyes slowly opening. He looks at me, even more conflicted than before. It’s as if he’s trying to process my words, the weight behind them. I don’t know what I’m saying, and I don’t understand the consequences of them, but I just know that he will NOT be dying today. He will not be allowed to shoot himself.

“If I do one last thing in my life, let it be this!” I plead, tears running down my cheeks, arms still struggling against the digging rashy ropes. He looks at me, eyes locked, but the gun is still not moving. I continue whispering his name, saying “please” over and over again, hoping that he’ll put it away.

He gives me a small comforting smile, tears falling from his eyes as he slowly closes them. The realisation hits me just before it happens. I shout his name in vain, the sound drowned out by the gun firing straight into his neck. The room turns dark.

“Chris!”

Taglist: @porcelainbluedove @b3rryb3t @batteryacid404 @fordthegamelord819

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admirationandromantics · 2 months ago

Text

Guilt and Grudges, 5: Dread

Aaaaand... you want something? You'll get it. I mean, ups, spoiler? No, I'm just joking, or am I? Anyways, I've been so busy today, so this chapter was a little late. You still got it thought, so no bad feelings there. Enjoy it! ...while you can

Ashley doesn’t notice them, still hulking and sobbing loudly. They start running towards us, and I let out a breath as I make out Emily and Matt.

“Chris!” Matt yells, arriving by his side as the blonde breaks down again. Matt holds him up, hand on his back, wondering what’s happening.

“Blood, whose blood is that?” Emily asks, voice and eyes worried as she looks over the crying girl in my arms.

“Are you okay?”

“What happened?” she asks again, and I try to form words, but fail. They’re in my head, but my body won’t let them out. I point to the shed, Chris being able to verbally express what happened.

“J-Josh, he’s dead, I killed him!”

“N-no” I breathe out, and Emily’s eyes shift back to me.

“A m-maniac, there’s a maniac on the mountain” I swallow, getting some of my voice back, even if it’s hoarse and chipped.

“He killed Josh, w-with a saw” Ashley breaks in, body shaking in my grasp. Matt comes over, grabbing her from me and giving her a hug. Emily takes both of my hands in hers, trying to get more information.

“Right in front of us, he made us choose who to save, a-and the blade”

“The blade what?”

“Cut him in two”

“Spilling blood everywhere, and I couldn’t do anything!” Chris interjects, hulking from all the crying.

“What!? Oh my god, what?”

I look down, suddenly being met with a hug from Emily, arms wrapping around me. I lean into her, craving the consolation she offers. I can feel her heartbeat, and I’m again reminded of what we’re bombarding them with. They weren’t there, they don’t know anything.

“Oh my god, we’ve gotta get out of here” she says, pulling back and nudging Matt.

“I don’t understand what happened” Matt says, but I shake my head, not wanting to talk anymore.

“This is insane, we need to get some help” Emily adds, looking over at Ashley, who’s yet again fallen to the ground.

“We’re gonna figure this out” Matt says, one hand going back to Chris. Emily turns to him.

“Matt, we need to get help right now”

“Em, we should look for the others” he counters, and I nod.

“Let’s collect everyone, one man can’t hurt us if we’re together, right?”

“Mike and Jess are off 69-ning each other, and who knows where Sam is”

“At the lodge” I say, a sinking feeling in my chest. She’s all alone, with none of us there. What if he's already gotten her?

“FIne, you’re right. Get everyone else together. But if there’s a maniac running around we need to get some help too, right? Not just wait around”

I nod, and Ashely has finally gotten up on her feet. Chris is standing up, and none of us are crying anymore. We need to keep our heads cool.

“But what about-” Matt tries, but Emily interrupts him.

“Why are we still talking about this, let's go!”

Chris grabs Ashley’s arm, dragging her with him. I turn to the others, nodding again.

“Good luck”

“Be safe”

And we each go our direction, feet hurrying as I hear howling in the distance. I walk beside them, none of us saying a word. We’re walking fast, and I don’t complain, we need to get Sam.

I hate the feeling of not knowing she’s okay. She was in the bath, maybe he did something to her. What if he took advantage of her, or if we open the door and her body is hanging from the ceiling. My mind continues playing out all these different scenarios, bracing myself for the worst.

A couple of arms suddenly embrace me, and I automatically jump, scared for my life.

“Just me, just me” Chris says, and I look over his shoulder to see Ashley continuing, slower than we walked before, but still going forward.

“Let me just, I-I need this” he whispers, his grip tightening around me. I let him, my arms going around his torso, fighting my own tears while holding him. It almost doesn’t seem fair for me to cry in front of him right now. We had a choice, and he chose. I know he didn’t mean for the outcome to be this way, but he needs me right now. At least one of us must be sharp, and since Sam isn’t here, that burden falls on me.

Ashley is in no condition to continue, horrors from last year haunting her mind, in combination with this one as well. I feel his tears coat my cheeks, running down to my neck. The cold air immediately makes the area freeze, so I lean further into him, one hand going behind his head to make him relax.

“I’m sorry” I whisper, giving soft caresses on his back.

“It wasn’t your fault” he sobs, grabbing me harder, making it difficult to breathe.

“It wasn’t yours either” At these words, he lets go a bit, letting himself relax in my embrace.

“I didn’t mean that I wanted to kill Ashley either” he continues, and I sigh.

“I know, we didn’t want any of this to happen”

We break it off, seeing Ashley in the distance. Just seeing her there alone makes my heart race, already stressing in case she gets snatched off the path.

“We need to get Sam”

“Yeah, let's focus on getting everyone together, so we can get off this mountain” he finishes for me, and I nod, his hand in mine as we make our way over to Ashley, walking beside her on the snow.

We eventually arrive back in the cabin, and hesitation takes over, scared to meet something as soon as we open the door. Ashley doesn’t think so, opening it and walking straight in, not scared of anything. She looks like a zombie, each step weak with her shoulders hung low. She’s not herself, but who would be after what we’ve witnessed?

The sight that meets us inside is nothing but weird and creepy. Balloons with arrows painted on them, a series of burning candles all over the lodge. I fear the worst.

“You guys check this floor, I’ll go upstairs to the bathroom” I say, not giving them a chance to disagree. My feet slam into the floorboard, old and costly wood panels beneath them. My heart’s racing, I can’t lose two of them tonight. I can’t lose Sam, not her. I arrive in the hallway, not being bothered by the ticking of the expensive clock. The bathroom door is open, heat and steam hitting my face as I approach. My hand goes to the handle, carefully opening the door.

“Sam?” I try, but nobody answers. I walk inside, being met with an empty room, the candles blown out and the water not yet drained. I look down, the floor is still wet, and the heat is still present, so she must’ve left not long ago. Though she still had time to blow out all the candles, and get her clothes back on. There’s nothing else in the room. I try all the corners, but just as I’m about to leave again, a grey fabric catches my eye. Kneeling down in front of the chair, I look underneath, seeing one of her socks. Why did she put on everything except for a sock? I imagine that if she were running, she would at least grab it and hold it until she had the chance to put it on again. That is, if she actually put on her clothes.

The mixed signals make me feel crazy, but it’s the only thing I can think about without crying. I don’t want to think that she’s dead, I don’t want to think about what the psycho might’ve done to her. She may be hurt, in a compromising position or even dead. How am I supposed to know? We still need to find her. If that guy is planning another one of his games, then she might still be alive, just captive. I leave the garment in the room, walking back downstairs, meeting the two others.

“She wasn’t up there?” Ashley asks, jogging over. I shake my head, trying to hold on to my expression without faltering.

“No, I didn’t see her”

They both look down, fearing the worst. I know how they feel.

“But I think she must’ve come down here, her sock was left and it wasn’t long ago” I explain, and while Chris gets a more determined look, Ashley just looks scared.

“Yeah, we didn’t find her either” she says, not liking where this is going. I walk past them, starting on down the stairs

“Well, she must be here, we just have to figure out where” I declare, continuing to go down. Chris follows and suddenly Ashley shrieks, making me jump.

“Oh my god!”

“What is it?”

“D-did that just happen?” she asks, and I take a few steps up, seeing them both look intently at a candle.

“Dammit, what is going on around here?”

“Will someone just tell me what happened?” I ask again, a bit more irritated, keeping my eyes on the flame.

“The candle, it just got lit when I passed by” she explains, and I walk up the full set of stairs. It’s weird, it definitely is, but there can be logical explanations for this. It could’ve gone out, and one of the lit ones ignited it through the smoke. Just basic chemistry. The others walk past me, wanting to get away, and of course, find Sam.

I move quickly, walking over to the candle and inspecting it. It’s electric, not a real flame. I look underneath, not seeing a switch. This must be steered by some sort of controller or button. Someone is trying to mess with us, trying to freak us out. The horrid thing is, we know who it is.

I still can’t put my mind on what happened with the spirit board, but if this place is truly haunted by the events of last year, I’ll do my best not to get caught up in it. Ghosts don’t exist, and if they do, I doubt they can cause us any physical harm.

“I just… I know you and Josh were close”

I hear their faint voices, a little further away than for comfort. I run down the stairs hoping to catch up with them. On the small table is another flashlight, and I grab it and turn it on, making my way down the steps and into the cinema.

“Let’s just find Sam, okay? That’s what we’re doing now” Chris says as I meet them downstairs. They both look over at me as I arrive, Chris still looking a bit sad, but hiding it beneath his facade.

“Find anything yet?” I ask, looking around.

“Well…” Ashley points to a broken vase, shards from the ornament splattered across the floor. I walk over to the pieces, picking one up.

“Do you think this has anything to do with Sam?” Ashley asks, a slight whimper in her voice. I shake my head, looking around for anything else that might be of use.

“I… I don’t know” I admit, standing up again. She could have thrown it to defend herself, or the maniac might’ve. Someone could have stumbled into it, or maybe a gush of wind or an animal did it. There’s so many possibilities, and my head feels like mush compared to normal.

“Guys, the doors further in are all open. You think she went into the cellar?” Chris asks, and I look up. He’s right, they’re all wide open. It seems kind of odd, maybe a bit too convenient? Something is wrong, very wrong. I already know we’re walking into somewhere we shouldn’t be, but I can’t help myself. I shift my gaze to Chris, whose eyes are already on me. I give him a weak encouraging smile, and his shoulders lose part of their tension. He walks in, and I follow close behind, Ashley stopping and holding herself.

“Are you guys sure, what if we’re walking straight into some kind of trap?” she asks, and we both stop. I know she’s right, but at the same time, I don’t want to leave Sam to fend for herself. If we could get to her, and possibly catch the maniac off guard, then maybe we can get off this mountain.

“We have to think about Sam” I state, shaking my head a bit. She nods, coming after us. Just as Chris and I walk in the first door, it abruptly shuts and locks. We all shriek, and since I’m closest, I go to try and pry it open. It won’t.

“Ashley! Ash!” I scream, shaking the handle and ripping the door. It still won’t budge.

“Guys, I’m fine!” She shouts back through the door. Chris’s hand goes to my shoulder, trying to make me calm down. I take a few deep breaths. This might be some sort of small scares that the maniac has put throughout the house, like the candle. He can’t be watching us right now, right?

“Can you get the door open?” I ask, waiting for a response. The door doesn't move, but I hear the sound of her fiddling with the lock before eventually trying brute force.

“I can’t…”

My hands go to my head, and Chris quickly takes hold of them, forcing me to not freak out. I look up at him, and he takes a couple of big steady breaths, trying to ease me. I nod a bit, still terrified. This man killed Josh, and he gave us the choice to kill her. What if he kills her either way?

“Ash, go to your room” Chris says through the door. I look up at him, eyes wide in shock.

“What!?” she exclaims, trying the door again.

“You heard me, barricade yourself in there, and when you hear us up there again, you can come out. We’ll all get out of here”

“But the door, if we just… maybe?” I try, knowing the door is a lost cause. He gives me a look, and I shut up.

“Okay… But please, stay safe?” Ashley says with a defeated tone.

“You too” I plead back, and hear her walk away on the floorboards. I look up to Chris again, his eyes determined but still filled with worry.

“She’ll be okay” he whispers, hands slowly moving up to the side of my shoulders.

“You don’t know that, Chris…”

“I choose to believe it, okay? Now, let’s find Sam and get away from here”

I nod, holding tightly onto him with one hand, and the flashlight in the other. He drags me with him, through the room and further into a hall. This place doesn't necessarily look scary, but the atmosphere, the things that have happened tonight makes it worse. We let go of each other, and he goes to the left as I slowly start to open the door in front of me. Just as I’m about to look in, it slams shut and locks, making me retrieve my hand quickly, a small shocked squeak escaping me.

“This is so effed up!” He exclaims, and I look over at him, continuing to the other door.

“You don’t say” I whisper, almost afraid that something will hear us. The door abruptly opens, making me stop in my tracks, hand clutching my heart.

“I swear, you’ll kill yourself if you don’t try to calm down” he states, and he gives me a look. Even if he’s firm, there’s a sense of softness there, a hint of protection and vulnerability.

“How the fuck am I supposed to calm down?” I ask, walking in front of him and through the door. I look both ways, and a thin, white figure walks into another room at the end of the hall. My eyes widen, heart beating faster as my hand goes to my mouth, body slowly taking a step backwards. I hit something, and immediately jump.

“Jesus Christ, really, you need to calm down” he whispers, hands going over my arms, rubbing softly. I ignore him, pointing to the end of the hall.

“Did you see that?” I ask, carefully walking over there.

“Uh… did I see what?”

“It was… I don’t know. I saw something!”

“What was it, was it the maniac?”

“N-no” I stutter, trying to explain. “It was a see-through shape, like a ghost”

“Oh, boy” He sighs, and I give him a small punch in the arm.

“I’m serious” I state, still shaken up. I look up at him, his mouth slightly open, but no words come out. He looks like he pities me, or that I’m crazy. I feel my emotions going highdrive, never knowing they could get as high as they have before now.

“Why don’t you believe me? I said I saw it, doesn’t that count for anything?”

He takes a breath, hands going to my shoulders again, thumbs rubbing a little harder than necessary. He speaks in a calm voice, tone low while maintaining eye contact.

“Look, we’ve been through hell tonight. Okay? Your mind is fried, my mind is fried. I don’t even trust what I’ve been seeing”

“Chris…”

“Listen, I know you think you saw something, but it might just be your head messing with you”

“No, you don’t understand, I did see it” I urge, hands going to him, grabbing his shirt.

“You’re tired, dehydrated, traumatised…”

“I…” I start, but can’t argue with him. Maybe I just thought I saw something. It didn’t make any sound, and he didn’t see it. Am I going crazy? He notices my stress, and wraps his arms around me. Though I know he’s supposed to be comforting, I can’t help but listen to the beat of his heart. It’s fast, very fast. He’s as scared as I am.

I pull a little away, hand going to cup his face. Now that I have him so close, I can see the lines of worry on his forehead and around his eyes. His chest is moving rapidly up and down, though he’s trying to conceal it. His mouth is slightly open, which makes his breathing heavier. I look at his lips, noticing how soft they look. Without thinking, I pull him closer, capturing my lips on his.

He doesn’t hesitate for even a small moment, leaning against me, pushing me into the wall. He grabs both our flashlights, leaving them on the table beside us, hands going to my waist and neck. I fold my arms around him, feeling myself get caged underneath and against the brick wall. His lips go to my neck, kissing and sucking, with an occasional bite that makes me gasp. Fingers hook the hem of my sweater, wanting it off.

“Chris…” I whisper, but it comes out as more of a plea than a protest.

“Mmm” He hums, feeling me up underneath the fabric.

“I didn’t want this to be the place or situation we did this for the first time in” I admit, leaning my head back to give him better access.

“Neither did I. Are you saying no?” He asks, pulling a little away, faces still close.

“We might die”

“I want you before that happens”

I nod in agreement, and he leans in again, capturing my lips. My heart is still beating rapidly, senses in a hundred as he keeps feeling me up. I’m terrified, but at the same time, I’ve never wanted him so bad.

I lift my arms, letting him pull the sweater and shirt off me in one quick motion. I do the same to him, making his toned upper body bare, fingers tracing his muscles.

“We don’t have time for all of that” he whispers, already working on my pants. I want to revel in the moment, take all the time I need, get to know his body inch by inch. But I know that’s a privilege I don’t have right now. I fumble with his belt while he drags my pants down, letting them fall to my ankles and kick them off. He helps me with his, getting it off and pressing me up against the wall again.

“I’ve wanted you for so long” he whispers between kisses. Hands going down to my thighs, kneading softly.

“Chris, I don’t want to lose you, not now…”

“You’ll not, we’ll find the others” he states, pulling himself out of his boxers. “We’ll group up” he drags my panties to the side. “And we’ll get off this mountain”

As he finishes, his hands grab my thighs again, lifting me up against the wall, pushing me between it and him. My legs automatically go around his torso, and arms over his shoulders, holding me up.

“We’ll be okay, you’ll be okay…” he comforts, ghosting over my entrance. I suddenly start feeling the cold around us, his body being the only warm thing in here. I pull him closer, kissing his neck and tracing lines on his back with my fingers.

“Let’s not think about those things for a while. I don’t want to think about us dying”

A small, genuine chuckle leaves his lips, and he finally pushes into me, slowly. We both give out small moans, relishing in the little moment we have.

“F-fuck, Chris!”

He hums in response, staying inside me for a couple of seconds, not moving.

“Can I?” he asks, tilting his head up to mine, lips barely touching.

“Please”

He doesn’t need any other confirmation, and he starts moving. Slowly at first, getting into a steady rhythm as the cold seems to wear away, the room filling with our moans and whimpers. I feel myself being pushed further into the wall, him holding me up with only one hand while the other graces over my stomach and down to my clit.

“How are you able to -ahh!” I try to question him, but his thumb starts rubbing small circles on my spot, making me throw my head back. He doesn’t answer, too busy touching me, making me feel ecstasy. My core starts building up, head foggy from need and anticipation. I do my best to keep quiet, but moans and whimpers escape me, bursting from my lips as he gets deeper with each thrust. His head moves closer to mine, lips meeting, making us swallow each other’s sounds. He grunts, rhythm becoming a little unsteady.

“I’m gonna-”

“Mmf!” I whimper out, unable to answer him. I’m so close, on the verge of pure bliss, not thinking about our situation or what’s to come, just him and me at this moment. My legs start twitching, and his thrusts become rougher, going deeper, hitting my cervix, making me cry out. He captures my lips again, determined to keep me a little more silent. I can’t help it, his hands, tongue, body. I’m not thinking about the hard wall, or the cold air, or the maniac killer. I’m thinking about him, and how good he makes me feel, how much he cares and wants me.

“Come on, such a good girl for me” he whispers against my lips. His words throw me over the edge, and he swallows my cries as I finish all over him. It doesn’t take long for him to follow through, a couple of thrusts more before he buries himself in me, body leaning over, and head resting on my shoulder. My hand goes to the back of his neck, gently caressing with my fingers.

“I… I don’t know what to say” he admits, face pulling away from my skin and looking at me.

“We don’t have to say anything” I whisper, leaning forward and giving him a small kiss. We slowly but surely steady our breathing, bodies slowly growing colder from the lack of physical activity.

“But we should…” I start, and he nods, carefully putting me down.

“Yes, we should”

We both have the same understanding, no matter how we feel in this moment, how long we want to revel in it. We’re selfish, that’s just a fact. Ashley is barricaded in her room, Sam is kidnapped, Josh is dead, and god knows where the other’s are. Yet, we’re here, finally taking that step we’ve always wanted to do, always walking around the bush. I guess we ought to know each other like this before everything ends. It truly had to be a dire situation to get our egotistical pleasurable priorities straight.

Our clothes are still on the floor, cold from being unused. Still, it’s better than nothing, and we quickly get dressed. I’ve almost forgotten about everything that happened, the small things, the big ones, the freaking ghost. I feel calmer, clearer, and I think he does too. His breathing is slowed down, and he doesn’t have that stressed look on his face. He looks determined, strong. I like this look on him.

Taglist: @porcelainbluedove @b3rryb3t @batteryacid404 @fordthegamelord819

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admirationandromantics · 2 months ago

Text

Guilt and Grudges, 4: Loyalty

Oh god, I hate this scene in the game so much, and I literally feel so bad for Chris. This chapter was posted a little later than planned, but you got it anyways, right? So that's a plus. I've literally got so much work, both with uni but also like, normal work. Still, I'm a student, and we need money!! God, especially considering I'm travelling a lot this summer, tihi. Again, about the chapter, angsty, dark, enjoy <3

“Hey, hey, come on, wake up” I grab my head, vision blurry as someone keeps talking. I think it’s Chris. He’s here, holding me, laying in his lap. I try to move, feeling my insides rearrange. Oh shit, this is not good. What was that gas?

“Chris?” I try, but my voice comes out way more vulnerable and whimpering than intended. He nods his head, blabbering as he speaks. He’s definitely in shock, that’s the only reason he’s acting like this.

“I’m here, I’m here. There was this man in a mask a-and he”

I put my finger up, urging him to stop. I saw it too after all. Carefully, I sit up, head pounding as I do, but I’ll have to leave it. Why didn’t the psycho man kill us?

“You need to calm down, Chris” I say, hand going to his cheek. I look around, focusing on steadying my breath and keeping my balance. This is insane. This freak knows we’re here, and he's waiting for us, probably going to attack when we least expect it. I still don’t understand why he knocked us out, why he would just leave us to wake up here again. I remember hearing a sound, walking into the room, the door being locked, Ashley laying on the floor… Omg, Ashley, I completely forgot. He’s taken her.

“Ashley, she was here” I state, looking around the room.

“I bet Josh was too”

“Then why not take us as well? What is this guy planning?”

Chris shakes his head, standing up slowly and grabbing a big flashlight. I keep looking around the room, a small pouch catching my eye. I grab hold of it, turning it around to see letters spelling her nickname. Oh god, I didn’t just imagine her. I almost wish I did.

“This is Ashley’s” I comment, showing it to Chris. He walks over, one hand on my back. I don’t know if it’s to steady me, or himself.

“Not good”

“Oh god, Chris, what are we going to do?” I ask, hearing my voice falter. I want to get off this mountain at once. A psycho is after us, and he has taken Ashley and Josh.

“We need to find them”

I nod in agreement, taking a last look around the room before opening the next door. On the white wall is splattered blood. Red dark liquid running down. It looks fresh, and the thought of the reason for that scares me.

“Chris…” I whimper, and he comes up behind me, stiffening when he sees it.

“What if-”

“No, no, no, no, no. Don’t think like that” he says, hands gripping my arms. The smell is nauseating, a mixture of musk and iron. I want to throw up, I want to leave. What kind of sick person was this?

“Come on, we must find them” I give a small hum in reply, averting my gaze as I walk past the bloody wall. He takes hold of my hand, his other being used to steer the lighting. I grab it tightly, feeling his cold skin against mine. If it wasn’t for my shivers, I would probably feel his body vibrating, fear and shock taking over both our minds.

We go down the hallway, both noticing the open door, leading outside. Oh fuck. I follow him closely, hesitating before walking out in the cold, the strong wind immediately shuffling our hair. The stairs are, surprisingly, not slippery, but they’re not the thing I fear. If this man pops up right now, it’s easier for us to run back, locking the door on him. That is, if there isn’t more than one threat.

“Josh!” he shouts into the woods, hoping for some sort of answer. I give him a nudge, shaking my head.

“What if the Psycho hears you?”

“He’s already had the chance to kill us, and I have a feeling he already knows where we are”

I shutter, locking my hand in his as we keep going.

“I don’t exactly care for this feeling”

It’s snowing, but not so much that we need to shelter our heads. The flakes come in small colonies, freezing white dots completely innocent in our situation. The safest place right now feels like the woods. Despite the wild animals and the cold.

“Ashley!” I yell, praying that this is all some elaborate set up, and that she’s safe. The only answer is the howling of the wind, trees making it sound eerie and spooky. We continue down the path, both shouting for our friends, hoping they’re okay.

We come to a road cross, two different paths. Chris stops, turning and looking at me.

“Which?”

“We should check both” I answer, taking a deep breath.

“We’re not splitting up” He states, a fitness in his voice which I’ve never heard before. It sounds awfully familiar to him being confident, and maybe he is. It’s true after all, the worst thing we can do right now is to split up.

“Okay, then we go to the left first” I decide, dragging him with me. It’s cold, and I want to find everyone and get home.

The path is snowed over, and definitely smaller than the normal one. This would be absolutely perfect for an attack, and that worries me. Bodies don’t start composing as quickly in cold weather, and not killing us in the lodge might’ve been a trick to get us out here. The mess would be less, and considering how the police don’t really look through the woods, we might be dead before I can even sa-

“Shit!” “Fuck!”

A big puppet, like a scarecrow pops up from the ground, startling both of us. My back is entirely pressed up against Chris, his arms around me protectively. I can’t feel his heart from the layers of clothing we’re both wearing, but I believe it’s going as fast as mine.

“Oh god, this man is toying with us” I exclaim, kicking the scarecrow down.

“You need to calm down”

“Calm down?! Chris, we’re being hunted by a Psycho-maniac who's taken our friends and is probably going to kill us as well”

“Hey, hey!” He soothes, talking to me as if I’m a wild animal. “This is messed up, I agree, but right now, we need to keep our heads cool, okay?”

“As cool as we will be when he dissects our brain and leaves our bodies out here to ice up” I mumble, walking past him and start walking the other way. He sighs, running up to my side and giving me a small side hug. I stop walking, leaning into him instead, letting his hands around me. I want to cry, I want to cry so incredibly badly, but we don’t have time. We need to find the others.

“You okay?”

“No, you?”

“Absolutely not”

With that, we continue yet again, my hands starting to shake from the cold, skin turning red. I hear the faint sound of howling in the distance, and I look up to find Chris’s jaw tense, hand automatically grabbing mine harder than it already is. We walk past some worn down fences, following the main path and continuing shouting out for the others.

A couple of crows fly right in front of us, almost making contact and causing us both to stop. If I was wearing a pulse meter right now, I’d probably be beeping loudly for me to calm down. But how can we?

A small light in the distance catches my attention. It looks like a small shed, with footsteps going inside. We both up our pace, practically running to the entrance, which is wide open. I peek inside, everything pitch black, but a certain sound makes me perk my ears.

“Did you hear that?” I whisper to Chris, holding up my finger for him to be silent, trying to hear it again. I sound like coughing or sobbing, it sounds like Ashley. I walk inside while the blonde tries to stop me, but it’s too late. I’ve already gone inside, and I refuse to stop until I find my friends. He comes up behind me, and we both hear the door shutting close behind us.

“Ashley!” I shout, and the sobbing temporarily stops.

“You’re here? Please, help me!” she cries, and I try to follow her voice. It’s completely broken, and just the thought of what she might be going through is scaring me. Everything is out of place, all from leaving us alive to having us get here. Something’s up, and I can’t help but feel like we’ve walked straight into a trap.

“Hey!” I feel Chris’s hand grab mine again, dragging me into him as a cage falls down in front of me. I let out a small yelp, hand going to my heart to steady myself. It’s probably old, this is just coincidental. But no matter how many times I tell myself that, I can’t believe it.

“Ashley, we’re here, where are you?” I yell into the darkness, Chris lights up parts of the room, trying to keep up with my pace.

“I-um I don’t know”

“What happened, are you okay?” Chris asks, waiting for her voice again.

I turn to the left, walking straight into an iron fence. He shines the light there, and we’re met with a horrifying sight. Ashley and Josh, both tied up against a wall, with a big saw in front of them. My breathing quickens, starting to panic as I realise the situation they’re in.

“Guys, are you there?” Ashley asks, while I tug on the steel. This thing is built well, and I can’t break it down. Before I can answer, a loud distorted voice sounds in the room.

“Hello, and thank you all for joining me”

I turn, trying to see if he's physically here, but a discreet speaker is placed in one of the corners of the room. I nudge Chris, pointing to it. He keeps looking around us, not believing that the psycho isn’t present. Ashley screams as he keeps talking, and I look back at our friends. Josh isn’t making a sound, but seems to still be knocked out.

“Josh! Oh my god, Josh wake up!” Ashley yells at him, trying to wiggle her body out of her restraints.

“Josh!” I scream, kicking and pulling on the constructed wall between us. It won’t budge.

“Chris, snap out of it!” I shout, and he’s pulled out of his shock, starting to help me. I don’t even want to think about the significance of the lever in front of us.

“Tonight, we’re going to conduct a little experiment”

“What?” Josh asks weakly, but Ashley doesn’t answer him. She keeps trying to get loose, trying to get out of the situation. My chest aches. What if I can’t get them out of here, what if we’re set up to fail?

A small door catches my attention on the side of the cage, and I run over, trying to get it open. It’s locked, and seems to be stuck whichever way I try forcing it open.

“Oh, come on, come on!” I yell, doing my best to either kick it or slam it in.

“What is this, what’s going on?” Josh asks, and Chris tries to make him calm down. The poor guy realises the restraints holding him up, and that’s when he starts screaming and squirming as well.

“A sort of test…”

“Ashley, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know!!”

“Now, for this experiment, we’ll need the cooperation of our two test subjects, Joshua and Ashley”

“What?”

“Holy shit, oh my god”

“No, no, no!” I can’t get it open. I look around, trying to find anything helpful, but the shed is only filled with small, hanging animal cages. I look over to Chris, fully defeated. He can’t even comprehend what’s happening, hands still on the steel, trying to break them out.

“But, we’re going to need two more brave participants to help decide which subject will live and which subject will die”

“No, no, oh god, no!” Ashley screams, not being able to get out”

“Do something, help us, please!” Josh pleads, but I don’t know what to do. The door won’t open, and Chris is stronger than me, so if he can’t rip the wired fence open, then I can’t either.

“You can’t do this, let us out of here you maniac!”

“Guys, do something!” Ashley continues insisting.

“Please, everyone calm down. This is between the choosers, who coincidentally are each of your closest friends…”

This guy has done his research, how does he know so much about us? And how did he manage all this on his own?

“This is all very simple, you will find a lever placed directly in front of you” We both stare at the thing, a picture of Ashley on one end and Josh on the other.

“All you have to do, is choose who you will save”

A loud shrieking sounds, and the big red saw blade starts spinning rapidly. We both jump, and the others start yelling again, begging us to help.

“This can’t be happening, please!”

“Shit, shit, no!”

“Now, all you have to do is pull the lever. Let’s see if the lovers can truly quarrel…” With that, the voice is gone, and Chris and I keep staring at the sharp blade, looking back and forth between ourselves.

My hands fly to my head, gripping my hair harshly. We cannot get out of this, we have to kill one of our friends. We’re forced to. I don't want to think about what will happen if we spend too much time fighting about who, because we both know the obvious answer. I’ll do anything to save Ashley, and he’ll do anything to save Josh.

“Okay, okay, okay, this is going to be fine” Josh tries calming himself, and I see a slight shift in Chris’s movements, as if he’s reaching for the lever for just a millisecond, body reacting before his mind.

“Chris…” I whisper, and he looks at me, unsure about how to approach the situation. We love them both, that’s true, and I would never in a million years do anything to hurt either of them, but this choice. This choice makes us do horrible things.

“We need to choose” Chris whispers, locking his eyes on me.

“I can’t”

“We must”

“Let’s try breaking in again” I exclaim, trying to sound hopeful. If we just found something to help us, we might make it.

“There’s no use!”

I walk over to the door again, keeping my eye on Chris in case he makes a choice. He’s not allowed to pull that, we’re not doing it.

“We’re getting you out of there!” I yell out, but they both keep screaming. I pull on the door again, but it’s still bolted shut. I’m about to try again when the sound of the maniac sounds over the speakers again.

“Now, if you fail to make a choice, none will live, thank you” A small click sound is heard as well, probably this guy’s mic turning off. I walk over to Chris again, his gaze on Josh, occasionally moving over to Ashley.

“I have to save Josh” he whispers to me, so low the others can hear.

“And I have to save Ashley” I counter, tears already forming in my eyes.

“We can’t save them both”

“But you can’t leave her to die” My voice breaks, and he keeps staring at me, mouth slightly open, chest heaving in panic. He reaches for the lever, and I pull on his arm, forcing it back and putting myself in between. He sighs, hands going to his head in frustration. As I’m about to negotiate, the voice sounds over the speakers yet again.

“As you seem unable to choose, the blade will kill them both in exactly sixty seconds, unless you want one of them to live before that”

After hearing this, both Ashley and Josh start screaming manically, begging us to save them, to pull the lever and let one of them die. I’ve never seen them both so desperate, both tugging and squirming to get out, but there’s no use.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck” Chris mumbles to himself, body vibrating from the stress.

“Dude, buddy, let’s just think about this for a moment!” Josh shouts, trying to get his attention.

“Oh my god, you can’t let me die!” Ashley cries to me, both of them putting us against each other, working each way. Chris looks at them both with a rock hard stare, finally snapping.

“Just give us a minute! We can’t think straight!” And Ashley starts sobbing. She knows, they both know that we want to save the other one of them.

“We don’t have a fucking second!” Josh interrupts, and Ashley starts trying to kick the wood she’s fastened on down.

“Josh, calm down I’ll get you out of this! I wouldn’t let you die!” Chris yells back.

“No, no, no” Ashley sobs, limbs giving out. Before I can react, Chris pushes past me, dragging the lever to the picture of Ashley.

“Thank you!”

“No! Chris!” I scream, pushing him away, but it’s already done.

“I see, you have chosen to save… Ashley” the voice sounds, and I look confused as the saw blade slowly starts moving.

“Wait, no!” Chris exclaims beside me, starting to tug at the wall again. I help him, maybe if we’re both working on it, we can get through and save them both, please.

“No, please no!” Josh screams, the blade inching closer.

“This isn’t happening, this isn’t happening!” Ashley screams, watching in horror as it draws closer to her friend.

“No, Chris!!” Josh continues, screaming in fear. I run around, trying the door again. Ashley leans her head to the side, not daring to watch the outcome.

“No, no, no, no, I didn’t mean… Josh!”

“Oh god, Josh!” Ashley screams, but she can’t help. None of us can. The blade draws closer, and I watch in horror as it makes contact, blood spilling everywhere, cutting him by his torso.

“Josh!” I yell, but his screams suddenly stop, and only the sound of people sobbing and the mechanic of the saw blade is left.

I watch as his lower body falls to the ground, intestines spilling out. As if on cue, the door unlocks, and I run inside, trying not to throw up.

“D-don’t l-look Ashley” I whimper, tears falling down my cheeks, hulks escaping my throat.

“Why can’t I look? Tell me he’s okay, please let him be okay”

I run up to her, trying not to look at Josh’s peaceful face. No screaming, no yelling, no fearful expression. He’s completely limb. My hand reaches for his cheek, my fingers gracing him carefully. He’s still warm, as if he were alive. He was a couple of seconds ago, but now… That is, until I look down, seeing his severed body, ripped up and bloody clothing.

“Josh, I’m so sorry” I whisper, not able to stop the tears from running. I almost see his face twitch a bit, but it’s probably my imagination, the hope that I’ll wake up soon and none of this happened. But a worse thought comes to mind. Muscle spasm, like dead animals do. He’s dead. Our Josh is dead, killed by an insane maniac on the same mountain his sisters died.

I shift my attention to Ashley, who’s still not looking. Reaching up to her hands, loosening the rope and letting her fall into my arms. She’s got no energy, and I hold her up as best as I can, dragging her out of the shed while she uncontrollably sobs. As we get out into the cold weather, she falls to her knees, head in her hands as she lays down.

I leave her, running back inside to get Chris. I don’t want anyone to be alone anymore, we need to stick together, and we have to get away from here. As I arrive back inside, the small lights that were there are gone, and replaced by black darkness.

“Chris?” I try, hearing his small sobs while he keeps hitting the plank floor with his hands. I use his sounds to locate him, and he jumps when I put my arms around him.

“I didn’t want h-him to…”

“None of us did” I try, but my voice breaks yet again, and we sob in unison, his arms going around me for comfort. I want to keep holding him, to lie and say that everything’s going to be okay. But I can’t. It will not be. Everything is different now, and we have to get away.

“We have to go” I manage to whisper out, and he shakes his head in refusal.

“T-this man, psycho or maniac, he might come for the rest of us”

“What about his body?” he asks, hand weakly pointing in the direction of Josh. I take the flashlight, not daring to take another look.

“I promise you, we’ll get him back, but first we need help”

He nods, letting me hold his hand, pulling him out of the shed. His cries grow weaker and lower, body leaning on mine as he tries composing himself. My own sobs have stopped, but the tears are still flowing freely. We get outside, the cold air hitting us. I see Ashley, still on the ground in the same position. If she doesn’t get up soon, she’ll exhaust herself to sleep that way.

As we arrive by her, I let go of Chris, who luckily, can stand on his own, senses starting to come back. Not only that, but the fear of the psycho who killed Josh as well. I take hold of both of Ashley’s arms, dragging her up and letting her put her weight on me as she cries into my sweater. I know what she’s thinking, that this is her fault. And it probably brought back all the memories from last year, reminding her of what she did.

“We need to get everyone together” I say, breaking the silence. Chris nods, tears still falling. I look forward, stopping in my tracks as two dark figures approach us.

Taglist: @porcelainbluedove @b3rryb3t @batteryacid404

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admirationandromantics · 2 months ago

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Guilt and Grudges, 3: Haunted

Another day, another chapter. I've had so much work lately, it's insane. Anyways, enjoy this evening treat (it's evening for me rn).

Josh has lighted several candles, making the room both cozier and warmer. The yellow dim lights flare from our breaths, and we all sit down on the table. I hate this, I don’t want to do this. A nagging feeling eats my insides, which it has done for a while. There’s something so wrong and sinister about it all. Of course there is, after all, two of our best friends died here last year, and now we’re supposed to communicate with the dead? If any of these people thinks it’s funny to fuck with us, then I’m leaving. No way will I sit while they’re making fun of their memory.

“So, it says here: to communicate with the spirit world you must free your mind of all preconceptions, drop all inhibitions and generally give yourself over entirely to the will of others, sublimating your every desire to the “Spirit Master”, which is me.”

“It doesn’t say that” Ashley interrupts, shaking her hand a bit. The light tone calms me. It’s gonna be fine.

“You look like you just saw a ghost” Josh says, taking a seat beside me.

“I just, this is weird”

“Aren’t you spiritual?”

“I mean, yeah, to a certain degree, but that doesn’t mean I like communicating with the dead”

Ashley tilts her head, giving me a small and comforting smile. I widen my eyes a bit, signalling that this is not a good idea, no matter how it ends. She shrugs her shoulders, and I sigh.

“... And all present will remove their garments at my sole discretion-”

“Chris come on, this is serious” Josh interrupts.

“Oh, I’m deadly serious” he answers, hands to his side and shaking his head. His voice is low and firm, probably imitating someone. I shake my head, looking up at Ashley who’s smiling.

“Oh shush it, let’s try this”

“Yes, please”

“Okay then, let’s see what happens”

I take a breath, everyone moving their hands to the board. Please let nothing happen, please, please. I see Josh in my side vision. He looks a bit puzzled, a little on the worse side. I’m about to ask, but Chris talks.

“So, Ashley, why don’t you be our medium for today?”

She nods, and I feel a hand on my thigh, rubbing and holding in a comforting manner. I look up, and Chris gives me a small smile. This is going to be okay, nothing’s gonna happen, ghosts and demons don't exist. We all put one of our hands on the pointer, using just one finger.

“Okay… um… Is anyone there? Will you reveal yourself to us if you’re here?”

The pointer starts moving, and I bite my lip, unsure about how to feel. Chris laughs a bit, surprised by the movements.

“Chris, are you moving it?” I ask, a bit frightened.

“Woah, no” he smiles, letting the pointer fly around. I look up, seeing Josh staring intently, and Ashley with furrowed brows.

“Wait a minute” Chris says, looking around at us.

“Did you do that?” Josh asks me, and I shake my head, fear coating my eyes. I don’t need to see it, but can already feel the sinking feeling in my stomach. Holy hell, one of them are fucking with me, I know it.

“I didn’t do anything either!” Ashley exclaims, looking around.

“It’s moving again!” Chris adds, watching as it does. I follow his gaze, looking down at the pointer and following the movements. It stops for a second.

“H”

“What’s it spelling?” Josh asks, and Ashley shushes him.

“Hold on”

“How is this happening?” I ask, but no one answers me, everyone being fascinated by the event happening before our eyes.

“Are you moving it?”

“None of us are”

“I swear, it’s just moving”

The pointer spells the last letter, ending in “P”, making the word “HELP”. I let out another breath. This is insane, I want to leave.

“Help?”

“How are we supposed to help?” Chris asks, clearly confused. Someone in the room is fucking with us, I swear this isn’t happening.

“I don’t know, what does it mean?”

“We need to know who it is if we’re supposed to help them” he adds, looking over at Ashley for her to ask the next question. I stand up, everyone’s eyes flying to me.

“I’m not doing this, absolutely not” I exclaim, about to take my finger away. Chris is quick, and uses his other arm to hold my hand down, not letting it leave the table.

“If you break the so-called connection, the spirit will be set free”

“What, does it say that?” I ask, even more frightened than before.

“He’s right, you can’t leave once you’ve joined, or else you might become a vessel for evil spirits and become possessed and stuff. It’s all in the manual”

“Fucking hell”

I sit down again, dragging my chair a bit closer. Chris’s eyes are on me, trying to calm me down, but it doesn’t work. This is madness, all of it. I might not even believe spirits exist, but the thought alone scared the crap out of me. Chris’s free arm finds its way to mine, holding my hand and interlocking our fingers. I blush at the sudden intimate act, every emotion going top speed.

“I swear, if you two are giving each other a handjob under the table while we’re talking to the dead-” Josh begins, and I give him a threatening scowl.

“Okay, okay, you’re not”

“Let’s keep going guys” Ashley says, grabbing our attention and bringing us back to the present. Where were we? Some spirit is asking for help, but we don’t know who or why.

“How can we help you?” She asks, looking up as if a ghost will come out in sight. The pointer starts moving, and Chris is quick on his laughter and smile. He doesn’t believe any of it, and that calms me a little. It’s someone on the table who’s fucking with us, and based on his reactions, it might as well be him.

“Oh, it’s moving again!”

“Woah”

“What’s it spelling?” Ashley asks, unable to take her eyes off it.

“War-”

“It’s moving fast” I exclaim, trying not to lose it.

“Warning”

“Shit” Josh mutters, looking up at us worriedly.

“Oh, my god…” Ashley whispers, trying to get some comfort from me. I shake my head. None of us should be here.

“If any of you are doing this, I think it’s time to stop the game” I state firmly, waiting for an answer. Everyone replies that they’re not doing anything, and the weird feeling in my stomach gets worse, every fiber of my body on full alert.

“Warning, what does that mean?”

“I think we really need to figure out who’s trying to communicate with us”

An involuntary sigh leaves my lips. I already have a feeling of what it’s gonna say if we ask, but I pray it doesn’t. None of us would joke about that.

“We can’t help you if we don’t know who you are. Can you tell us who you are?”

All of us stammers as the pointer slowly starts moving again, almost getting warmed up, tension building before the big reveal.

“Here it goes”

It slowly starts spelling, each letter making it go faster to form a word. My breath hitches as it’s revealed. Sister. We all know what this means. I look over at Josh.

“Sister”

He’s breathing heavily, like he’s near having a panic attack. Chest heaving and eyes going all over the place. We should stop, we should definitely stop. This isn’t a fun game anymore.

“Whose sister?”

“Oh, come on, is this for real?” Chris asks, and I give him a pinch and a stern look. None of us would joke about this, right?

“Shut up, ask whose sister” he pleads Ashley, and I feel his panic from here. This can’t be good for him. Hasn’t he been in a bad mental state, and this will not help at all.

“Josh, it must be, it’s gotta be-”

“Yeah, okay, well. Which sister is it then?”

“Ashley, ask who it is” Chris chimes in, the humour in his voice gone. I look over, surprised to find him without a smile or smirk, just being serious. He’s been with Josh during the difficult period, so maybe he knows what he needs right now. Whether that’s answers or not, I can’t decide.

Ashley looks at the both of them, head going back and forth before settling on me. I give a nod. If they think it’s right, then I’m not going to stand in the way.

“Who are we speaking to? Hannah, is that you?”

I hold my breath, the pointer staying completely still for a couple of seconds. It starts moving, not fondling around like it has before, but determinedly going exactly to one place. A straight line to Yes.

“Oh God”

Chris lets out a breath, shaking his head in disbelief. “This is messed up”

I turn my attention to Josh, looking him over. He’s still breathing heavily, and I try to put a comforting hand on him. He shakes me off, wanting his space.

“Josh, are you-”

“I’m fine”

I shake my head, standing up again. “No guys, we should stop. This is not-”

“No”

Chris leans over the table, looking at his friend intently. I don’t know what’s going through either of their heads, but I don’t want to be inside Josh’s. He’s a mess now, rightfully so. If any of these are messing with him in such a manner, I’ll actually beat them half to death. After everything he’s been through? None of them strikes me as the culprit though, and that scares me even more.

“Dude, it’s cool-”

“I want to hear what it says”

We all look up at Ashley, waiting for her to ask something. She shakes her head, unsure and a bit frightened.

“I don’t know where to start”

“Think about it, if this is actually Hannah, I mean, we can figure out what happened that night” Chris says, making me turn. He’s right. Based on the people around the table, the most logical explanation is actually the most illogical. Ashley turns to Josh.

“Josh?”

“I can handle it”

We all nod, waiting for her to ask the next question. I make sure to keep an eye on Josh, unsure about how these answers will affect him.

“Okay, let me think” she starts, trying to come up with something. She takes a few seconds, looking up determined and starting her question.

“Hannah, we miss you, and we want to know what happened to you. Can you… Can you tell us what happened?”

Josh looks around the room, as if waiting for something to pop out. The pointer starts moving again, spelling another word. I get chills down my spine as Ashley reads each letter out loud.

“I don’t like this” I whisper, already knowing halfway what the word is gonna be.

“Betrayed” Chris says before me, and my lips tightens.

“What does she mean?” Josh asks, tone inhumane as if in a haze.

“Still going!”

The pointer moves around, creating a new word, making my breath hitch as I understand the meaning. Ashley starts freaking out, arms shaking from fright.

“Killed?”

“We didn’t kill them, it was just a prank!” she cries, having lost her composure. I lean over, shushing her and trying to calm her down. Having her lose herself couldn’t be good for Josh either in this situation. We need a break, we need to stop.

“Ash, calm yourself, we just need to figure out more” Chris states, and I shake my head.

“No, we should stop right now”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”

“Guys, what do they mean?”

I look over at Chris, both of their reactions fueling each other. I give him a pleading look, trying to make him understand. He holds up his finger, almost whispering.

“One more, we need to find out what happened”

“Okay, who killed you? Hannah, who was it?”

The pointer spells a couple of letters, making Chris immediately guess.

“Library. Maybe there’s something in the library here?” The pointer continues, not letting him finish the thought, and going to the next word.

“Proof, there, there’s proof”

“In the library?”

“Watch out!”

The board starts shaking, making all of us stand up, letting go of the pointer as it flies off the table. We all shriek, the surprise catching us off guard. I’m breathing heavily, pulse rushing as the high wears down. The pointer is now on the other side of the room, none of us touching the board.

“Holy shit” Ashley exclaims, hands going to her head. I look down at the board again, but none of it is still moving. Josh stands slowly, voice uneven and vulnerable.

“You know what? No, this is bullshit. This isn’t real”

“Josh, I don’t know what’s going on”

“Listen, I don’t know… I don’t know if you think messing with me is somehow going to help me deal with my grief or whatever, but it’s not cool”

“Josh no, you wanted to use the spirit board”

“I promise you, none of us would do something like that to you” I chime in, trying to support Ashley.

“Hey calm down, it’s no one's fault” Chris tries as Josh walks around the table and down the stairs.

“I don’t need this right now, okay? You guys are full of it!” he scolds, disappearing around the corner. This is exactly what I thought would happen if we kept going, this is not okay or healthy for any of us.

“Guys, whichever one did it, seriously, what the hell were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t faking anything, you saw it yourself, the pointer flew right off the table”

I nod, none of it making sense. We’re not the type of people who would do this.

“Well then, should we go after him? Chris?” I ask, looking over. If any of us should go, it probably should be his best friend.

“Ah, man. I mean, he’ll be okay, just give him some time”

“I don’t blame him, we all saw what happened” Ashley says, now voice shaking more than before. “I should go and tell him it wasn’t me”

“Will he believe you?” I ask her, and she looks down.

“After what happened last year, I need to tell him, this wasn’t me. I would never intentionally harm anyone”

Chris and I look at each other, both of us giving small nods as she walks around the table and down the stairs, trying to figure out where he went.

“You guys should do what it says, check out the library”

My gaze shifts to Chris again, and I try with pleading eyes to say no. He sighs, head tilting and grabbing my hand.

“Come on, we should”

“Fucking hell, Hartley, you’re not leaving me during this, okay?”

“No, no. Of course not, I’m right here”

I let him pull me into a hug, feeling his equally rapid heart beat as he does. Hopefully the rest of the night would go as planned, or at least tomorrow morning.

***

“Do you really think the girls were trying to communicate with us?” he asks, and I shake my head in disbelief.

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I wish they did, or they didn’t” I answer, standing up and grabbing one of the candlelights. I walk over to the stairs, watching him as he follows.

“I guess we should find out”

“I just can’t imagine any of us pulling something like this, and that scares me”

He stands before me, arms outstretched, hands rubbing comfortingly up and down mine, warming me up.

“I know, but we’re safe, that’s what’s important. We’ve been here before and-”

“-and two of our best friends died” I finish, losing my cool too quickly. This is not normal, and I knew going back up here would only lead to trouble.

“Hey, let’s not think like that, maybe Ashley moved the pointer”

“She wouldn’t do that”

“Okay, okay”

He grabs the candle from my hands, putting it neatly on the floor and embraces me. I melt into him, his warmth and smell of cologne surrounding me. I take a breath, arms going around his torso to meet on his back. I feel him nuzzle into my hair, heart beating steadily and calmly, unlike before.

“Let’s just figure out this thing first, and then we can just… lay quietly in front of the fire, huh?”

I nod, pulling myself together as he releases me. I lean down, grabbing the candle before he can, and making my way down the stairs to the library. At almost every step, I look back, making sure that he’s keeping up, following me. After a couple of stairs, I break the silence.

“Josh looked really freaked out at the seance”

“Yeah, I mean, he looked like he was keeping it together, but…”

“The mention of his sisters was definitely the final drop”

“They’re the reason we came back up here”

I sigh, thinking back on Josh’s video. It’s true, but having a seance? That would only lead to trouble. Why was Josh so eager to use the spirit board? Did he hope to get to know something, or did he think that we would be messing with him. Everything just seems so eerie and weird.

“I know, but a seance? That might be going too far” I finally add, stopping and letting him pass me.

“Yeah, maybe, I just thought nothing would happen”

“Well, that’s what I hoped”

He stops, turning around and taking a breath. I look up, meeting his gaze. If only we weren’t here, if only we had stayed in touch or just kept looking that night. Anything but where we are now.

“We need to talk” he says, and I nod, already knowing what to say.

“I talked with Josh” I begin, and he looks a bit surprised. Eyes widened and brows furrowed while his head’s tilting.

“Josh?”

“About… us”

“Oh no”

I look up weirdly, his reaction a bit out there.

“Oh no? What do you mean?”

“Just that if you talked to Josh, he didn’t say something really bad about me?”

“What, no, of course not”

He breathes out relieved, hand going dramatically over his forehead to dry the imaginary sweat off. I roll my eyes, having difficulty keeping up the serious tone.

“Phew, okay keep going” he smiles.

“Despite what happened last year, Josh thinks it’s okay. We shouldn’t feel guilty or obligated not to do anything”

He hums, a dark sound, the funniness of it all being gone again. He gazes into my eyes, mouth a bit open as his face closes in. I mirror his movements, back against a table, putting the candlelight down to free my arms. His hands travel up my waist, groping harshly. I let out a small gasp, cheeks flushing and face heating up as he closes the distance. My lips meet his in a passionate manner, a year buildup, lingering feeling, long nights and regrets poured into his mouth. My arms go around his neck, pulling him closer so I can feel him.

He grabs hold of my thighs, hooking them and lifting me up on the dresser. I grab his sweater, pulling him back into me, legs closing around his torso as I stick my tongue down his throat, making him groan against me. His voice sends vibrations down my throat, making me crave him even more. I tug at his shirt, and he’s fast to pull back, dragging it off, then an open flannel, then a white t-shirt, finally leaving him in his bare upper body. He captures my lips quickly again, not giving me time to admire what I’ve been waiting for for so long. I grab hold of my own sweater, dragging it and my shirt off at the same time, leaving me in only a bra and small necklace. He pulls away to look at me, and I can’t help the snicker that leaves my lips as I don’t let him. He gives a small laugh, noticing the mirroring of actions.

His lips move down my jaw, settling on my neck, sucking and licking. I give a couple of small moans, unable to silence myself, forgetting that we’re in an ice cold, creepy, haunted lodge with all our friends.

A loud noise stops us both, and we turn to see a bunch of books flying out of the bookcase. We both shriek, shocked by the sight. I automatically grab hold of his bicep, holding harshly, being too caught up by the sudden scare that I care about his muscles.

“Shit, what was that?” I ask, looking up at him. He doesn’t look back, his gaze fixated on the bookcase, head tilted a bit.

“I don’t know, just books?”

“Books don’t fly out of bookcases”

“I think you’re right”

He finally turns back, seeing my frightened look. God, please, let us get out of here, the moment is over. He leans down, grabbing my clothes and handing them to me. I smile back, as much as I can manage at least. We both get dressed, me a little quicker than him. I grab the candle, slowly walking over to the scene. A button catches my eyes. A small, silver button.

“Look, there was something behind the books” I point, and he finally drags the sweater over his head, walking over to me.

“Is that a button?”

“Why would there be a button here?”

“That’s a good question”

“Should I push it?” I ask, the craving clouding my senses.

“Of course you’re the “push-the-button”-kinda gal”

“I’m asking you!” I whine, unsure about the situation. What should we do? It’s as if something wanted us to find it, or someone.

“Well, that’s what buttons are for”

“Exactly”

I take a step forward, pinky to the metal as I carefully push it. It takes a couple of seconds, and then the bookcase moves, opening up to a new room. I watch in awe, taking a few steps back to stand next to Chris.

“Woah, panel opens, head explodes!” He exclaims, making some theatrical movements with his hands.

“Are we like, in a movie right now?” I ask, the sight being too good to be true. A secret door just opened. On a mountain lodge. In the middle of nowhere.

“If we are, I hope it’s a rom-com” he jokes, and I punch his arm.

“Leave it to the Washingtons to have secret passages in their house” I whisper, tightening my lips as I try to look inside, not daring to walk over.

“Maybe they didn’t even know, this place is like, super old”

“Not making it better, Chris”

“Sorry, I’m as freaked out as you are”

I try to look from where we’re standing, leaning the candle over, but still not making anything out.

“Should we take a look?” He takes a step back, hand signalling for me to go.

“After you”

I shake my head furiously, taking a step away from it and handing him the light.

“No, no, no, no. You go”

He sighs, taking the candle and looking down at me.

“Gee, thanks”

He walks inside, using the candle to look for anything on the walls. The room looks small, like a little closet room. He walks to the left, stopping and picking up something. I don’t see what, but my curiosity is blocked by the fear of accidentally being trapped in there.

“Woah”

“What did you find?” I walk to the entrance, standing with one foot outside, just in case.

“Holy cow”

“Chris, tell me”

He turns around, a small picture of Beth and Hannah in his hands.

“Now, I don’t want you to freak out, but you need to look at this” He walks over, handing me the picture. I turn it around, a bloodied message written on the back of it.

I WILL TAKE THEM AND BLEED THEM LIKE PIGS AND RIP THEIR SOFT WHITE SKIN OFF!

FUCKING 16 YEARS

16 YEARS I WAITED FOR PRETTY LITTLE BETH AND HANNAH

I gasp, the reality of it all being sick. This is written in blood, and someone has been inside the lodge and placed it here. Someone who knows the place better than we do, maybe even better than the Washingtons themselves do.

“I think this might be what the spirit board wanted us to find”

“This is serious, we need to find Josh, right now” I muster out, pulse skyrocketing. Someone has been here, and kept an eye on them until they got them at the end. I shake my hand, urging him to get out of there and look for him with me.

We continue through the library, a loud creaking noise stopping us both in our tracks. I look around, not seeing anything. It sounded awfully familiar to the door creeping open when I first entered the lodge. Chris stops by a bookcase, looking down on the floor. I hurry over, seeing a vent with lights coming up from downstairs.

“What’s this?”

The light flimmers, as if someone’s down there, or something’s playing.

“Woah, did you see that?” he asks, his voice very low.

“Yeah” I whisper back, biting my lip. This is terrifying.

“But the power is not even on”

The realisation hits me before the dread. We’ve got no power, but someone does. Someone who might’ve killed our friends, Josh’s sisters, who knows we’re here. I feel my stomach curl, dread swimming through my veins.

“Weird”

“And maybe dangerous?”

“Let’s find Josh first, might be another power source, one which they forgot turning off or something”

I nod, trying to convince myself that there’s a reasonable explanation to all of this. But the only one I have is the one I created myself, and that’s not calming at all. We walk back out to the hallway, Chris leading as I follow closely.

“Do you think someone was really after Hannah and Beth?” I ask, the tension overwhelming.

“If so, that would be really messed up”

“You don’t say” I sigh, looking behind me just to be safe. We continue in silence, walking through a couple of more doors, hoping that Ashley and Josh suddenly pops up.

“So, um. I’ve just been thinking about something I saw earlier” Chris says, stopping and looking down at me.

“What?”

“There was this wanted-poster, like full western style, you know”

“Shit”

“And Sam really thought someone was following her around”

“So you’re saying there’s some wanted criminal up on the mountain with us?”

“I mean, maybe that’s whoever was down in the basement before”

“Under the floorboards, in the library?”

“Yes”

“Shit, shit, shit, Chris”

“And the letter”

“If this is your way of making me feel better, then you’re fired” I state, many things falling into pieces. Just, something’s still missing. Why hasn’t he attacked us? He must’ve heard us by now.

The door beside us starts shaking, and Josh’s voice is suddenly heard screaming for help. I give Chris a quick look before running over to the door, opening it quickly.

“Josh!”

“Josh, we’re coming, hold on!”

Before I can register what’s happening, a large hand grabs hold of me, pulling me into the room and closing the door. I fall down, seeing Ashley’s body lying on the floor beside me.

“No, no, no, Ashley!”

A masked man walks over, dragging me up and headlocking me. I struggle against him, looking around for something to defend myself with.

“Chris!” I scream, right before a mask is put on my face. Gas pouring into my lungs, making me dizzy and nauseous. My struggles weaken as my body fails me, slowly relaxing into the grip of the man, eyes closing while he puts me down on the floor.

“What’s going on, let me in!”

Taglist: @porcelainbluedove @b3rryb3t @batteryacid404

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admirationandromantics · 2 months ago

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Guilt and Grudges, 2: Darkness

Another one out, hope you guys like it so far! I don't really know what to write on these intros anymore, since not much is happening. I'm getting ready for exams, I'm working, and I'm writing. That's about it. I almost forgot to post this chapter tonight because of it, lol. Anyways, enjoy! <3

I try not to breathe loudly, but this is intense. Was it always so hard to get to the top? We walk up a couple of stairs and take a turn. In front of us is a large dark figure, and I look up to meet Josh.

“Hey man, what’s up?”

He smiles, giving Sam a nudge on the shoulder to greet her. I see a faint blush on her cheek, but I can’t determine if it’s caused by him or the cold.

“Not much, waiting for you of course”

“Man, I feel like this mountain gets bigger every time I climb it” Chris exclims, a loud sigh forced out when talking another step.

“Really? Feels the same to me”

“Oh come on, you grew up here, it probably feels like it’s shrinking”

“I guess that’s true”

I interrupt them both, cold and tired, wanting to get to the lodge as fast as possible.

“Hey Josh, nice to see you, BUT how about we keep moving?”

“Well, can’t keep the ladies waiting, can we Cochise?”

“We cannot”

I meet Sam’s eyes, and she’s also tired, not as bad as me, but still. She grabs my hand and starts dragging me up as I whine. “Sam, I was joking, we can make some snow angels or something. Just lay down, romantically, looking up at the stars…”

“It’s clouded”

“That’s the only reason why we’re not doing it?”

She laughs, and I pull myself together. It isn’t long now. Despite the cold weather, snow, wind, heavy bags and ice, I finally glimpse the dark pine planks of the lodge.

“When are you gonna install some cell towers up here? I’m getting withdrawals already” Chris asks, and I hurry to the stairs, sitting down and relaxing. Sam stands over me, breathing heavily as well. Were we really that out of shape?

“You got a spare million lying around, I’ll fix you right up” Josh empties his pockets, showing the lack. Chris starts fumbling around with his blue jacket, feeling himself up. I want to do that.

“Funny you should say that, I think I left it in my other jacket”

They start walking towards us, probably about to open the door. Finally. Josh scurries up the stairs, flickering with a couple of keys. Chris follows through, his hand brushing lightly against the hood of my jacket. Fucking hell. How am I supposed to survive this if every little touch makes me heat up like this? It’s fucking embarrasing. Luckily, no one seems to notice, not even Sam.

“Yo, yo, yo, are we getting things moving up here or what?”

“Yeah man”

I lift my head to Sam, and we share a look. This “boy-talk” is already drilling a hole in my head. I think she hates it even more than I do, her eyes rolling so far back her head that I can’t see her irises. A smile finds its way to my lips. If Josh and her got together, she would smack him every time he said something weird, I just know it. And Josh’s reply? Definitely something like “yes ma’am” or “as you wish”. There’s no secret that he’s down bad for her.

“Lead the way, Cochise”

I hear them moving down the stairs, each thump vibrating through my body.

“What’s going on?” I ask Sam, who’s looking up at them attentively, following every move.

“Frozen lock, I think”

They both get down, Josh continuing around the lodge. Chris, however, stops in front of me, mouth opening then closing, as if trying to say something. This leads to Sam taking a step back, giving me a thumbs up from behind him. I give a hard stare in reply. She can’t be that obvious around him.

He’s smiling, that sweet smile that he always does when happy. I look up in awe, hoping to control my eyes a bit. He lifts his head, finally speaking.

“So, how’re you doing?”

“Hmm, good now. Surprised by how out of shape I’ve gotten” I laugh, a bit embarrassed by myself. Ugh, if he could just hoist me over his shoulders right now I would never speak ill of the guys again. And that’s a challenge.

“Well, it is right after the exams. Are you freezing?”

“Yeah a little” I think about the fire inside. Sitting in front of it, warming ourselves. There are other ways to do that too though. Jesus Christ I’m letting my mind wander again. “I think I could use some time curled up by the fire” I continue, looking at him intently. I can imagine the yellowly lights gracing his face, his skin. I almost feel disgusted by myself for being so forward about it, I really don’t mean to.

His smile falls a bit, mouth still open as he takes a deep breath. I can see him swallow, and a sinking feeling embraces me. Oh no, I’ve been caught, he knows, and this is not the right time, not after everything that’s happened. I’m definitely stupid.

“Yeah… that does sound pretty nice”

His voice is different, breathy and serious. He keeps eye contact, holding intently as if trying to say something else, trying to get me to understand something. I don’t know what.

“Christopher Hartley! I’ll have to call your mother and complain if you don’t get your ass here immediately!” Josh shouts from the other side. I give him a weak smile, arm raising in a small wave as he makes his way over. His absence is already noted on my body. I already miss him.

Not seeing him in almost a year, to spend an eternity with going up the mountain, then just leaving? I’m being dramatic, I know that. But he feels like a drug, the small dose getting more and more wanting. My cravings are growing by the second. We left off at a terrible time, starting something that wouldn’t even make it an hour. And the circumstances make it even more difficult. How can we start up again without feeling guilty for the things that happened? Without being reminded by them. If we were downstairs, we could’ve stopped them. Or we could’ve reached Hannah or Beth. I wish we had.

“I’ve seen a lot of foreplay in my days, but what the hell was that?” A familiar voice sounds beside me. I look up, meeting Matt and Ashley.

“Way to greet me Matty”

“I mean, come on. The tension is obviously there, do something about it”

“Leave her alone Matt, they were both thinking about fucking each other by the fire” Ashley chimes in, a playful smirk on her lips. I look at the both of them, shocked by the incredibly rude greeting.

“You haven’t even said hello”

“I saw you four days ago” she defends, arms in the air and taking a step backwards.

“I’m sorry, hello, anyways-”

“Nope” I stop him, finger put up in the air. I stand up, walking to the other side of the lodge. No way I was gonna be teased this way. I mean, what if Chris suddenly opened the door behind us? That’d make for an awkward situation. I hear one last thing before I turn the corner.

“She’s embarrassed we’re right”

Assholes. I’m not that obvious, at least I try not to be. Ashley knows because I’ve told her, and so does Sam, who also told Josh last year. Now Matt also knows, though I don’t know how. I would’ve answered the same thing if someone else asked, maybe in a different tone, but still the same.

“Alright, alright, I got it. Jeez”

“You’ve got what?” I ask, surprising him from behind. He mumbles, cheeks getting flushed and not meeting my gaze. He looks everywhere but me.

“He’s got a plan!” Josh shouts, hand waving, signalling for us to follow. I walk beside Chris, sensing his nervousness and wondering what’s got him so worked up.

“What kind of plan?”

“A secret one”

I laugh, the silliness of it being a bit unnerving. Still, I’m intrigued, wanting to know more.

“Can I be part of it?”

“Oh, trust me, I believe you will”

“Great, can’t wait”

Josh laughs, and I smile, unknowing of what I’ve joined in on. Chris is still silent, swallowing hard and looking out in the forest.

“So, how’re we planning on breaking into my parents lodge?”

“We’re breaking in?”

Chris finally chimes in, letting me hear his voice and see his face. “It’s NOT technically breaking in if you own the place”

“We’ve already had this conversation” Josh sighs, turning around and walking backwards.

“How’re we getting in?” I ask, retraveling back to the original question. If the door doesn’t work, maybe a window or another backdoor will.

“Well, I didn’t say I had a plan on how to do it”

“You sounded like you had a plan” Josh throws out his hands in despair, head to the sky as he sighs dramatically. “You better deliver, or else you got five lovely ladies who are gonna be freezing their buns off, and last time I checked, that’s not a good way to get laid”

Chris tenses up again, giving a low huff in response. I laugh, Josh teasing him is hilarious.

“Wouldn’t want to spoil Josh’s plans with Sam” I whisper to him, just loud enough to make Josh hear. Chris’s lips move up in a smile.

“Hey, I’ve got A LOT of plans for you this weekend, just so you know. So don’t get too surprised”

“Bet Sam will be surprised”

“Oh, shut up guys”

We get to the side of the house, waiting for someone to form an idea. I look around. An empty fire-axe display, a couple of windows and a power box. Chris moves to the power box, and Josh follows.

“We’ve got ourselves a thinker, nice on”

They place themselves on either side of the box, one pulling and one pushing. I run over to help, suddenly aware that I’m not doing anything. A few grunts and pushes, and the box is right under the window. I breathe out. Almost wish I hadn’t helped them, that was hard.

Chris wastes no time, and jumps on top, slightly grunting as he does. Josh signals for me to follow, and I nod. He gives me his hand, and I take it, letting him help me up on the slippery box. A loud thud is heard, followed by whining.

“I’m okay!”

I help Josh up, and we move over to look in through the window. Chris is laid flat on his back, eyes pinched closed and arms spread. I give a small laugh. He’s adorable.

“Should’ve paid more attention in climbing class”

Josh and I immediately share a look, both of us furrowing our brows and wrinkle our noses. We look back, and he has already begun lifting himself up.

“You mean gym?”

“Yeah, you know, with the climb up the rope-”

A loud shatter interrupts him, and the room goes dark. I look around, seeing the light bulb has exploded. I lean in a bit, wanting to see him better.

“Woah”

“Did I do that?”

“I don’t… I don’t think so”

Josh fumbles with his jacket, hands going in every pocket before he finds what he’s looking for. A lighter. “Here, use this” he shouts, throwing it at Chris. He catches it with ease, lighting the small fire. The room lights up again, and everything gets more visible by the yellow flames. Oh, and his face, the way the light and shadows work together…

“Woah, Chris, I just got an awesome idea”

“Yeah?”

“Totally”

“Well, what is it?”

“Okay. So, I’m pretty sure that I’ve got some deodorant in one of the bathrooms, you could use that with the lighter” I look up at him weirdly before asking.

“How is a stick of deodorant gonna help?”

“Same question!” Chris exclaims, pointing to me.

“Spray-on, it’s a can”

“Ohh, yeah, now I gotcha”

“I still don't follow” I add, waiting for someone to explain.

“Flamethrower!”

“Just like we did with the little army dudes!”

“Yup, the ones we melted”

“You guys are madmen” I butt in, gaze going to and from them both as they talk.

“Didn’t you ruin a couple of toys with fire?” Chris asks.

“No?”

“Did you even have a childhood?” Josh jokes, pushing my arm.

I shake my head in response, letting them figure it out. If this was the way to get the door open, then let it be.

“Anyway, lock!”

“Yeah, flamethrower on the lock. On it!” Chris salutes, and Josh does the same back.

“Godspeed pilgrim!”

Chris turns around, and Josh and I jump off the powerbox, careful not to slip on the ice. I take his offered hand, my other one placed on the box as I carefully lower myself. He’s already on his way somewhere.

“Hey, Josh…”

“Yeah?”

“I just wanted to check on you, I know this year has been hard”

He puts his finger up, urging me to stop talking.

“I truly appreciate that you all came back this year, I know it must feel weird. But you guys are some of my closest friends, and I don’t want to lose that”

I nod, smiling a little his way.

“Well, okay. Just know that we’re here here for you, anytime”

He smiles, the atmosphere feeling lighter and lifted.

“Thank you, you should have a grown-up talk with Chris too”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean”

I cross my arms on my chest, unsure about how to approach the subject.

“Josh, I want to, but it all feels a bit…”

“Icky, weird, disgusting?”

“No, absolutely not. Maybe a bit disrespectful?”

“To who?”

“Your sisters”

The air around us gets heavy again, and I beat myself up for not thinking before answering. He slowly nods his head, as if understanding something he didn’t before.

“Okay, listen. They don’t mind”

“It’s not that. Everything started last year?”

“Something happened between you last year?”

“Right when the prank happened, we were in the upstairs bathroom…”

“Shit”

“Yeah”

“Fucking hell. And no one else knows?”

“No, and as soon as we heard commotion downstairs, we ran to see what was happening”

I try to explain, but everything sounds so vague and bad considering the circumstances.

“Hey, I get it, bad start. I appreciate both you and Chris, for everything you did, also that night, but don’t let that stand in the way. If you need my blessing, you’ve got it. You both deserve each other, and last year didn’t doom you as it did others”

I look up at him, trying to read his expression. But there’s something different there. He looks different, like another person. His eyes are empty and blind, the darkness clearly visible. Maybe this is not a good thing to talk about.

“Thank you Josh, but I think we both need to be on the same wavelength about this, especially after not having contact for a whole year”

He nods, and is about to turn around again when he puts his hand up, dramatically spinning around back, a finger pointed right towards me. I look at him surprised.

“You know, I don’t think Chris will find that can on his own”

“What? Yes he will, he’s a smart man”

“I mean, academically, yes, but give that man a location and he might go an entire different way”

I give him a sceptical stare, and he gives himself away as I catch a glimpse of his playful smirk. Was everyone on this mountain going to tease me?

“None of you guys are funny, I left the others because I thought there was a chance I wouldn’t get teased here”

“Oh, you’re no fun. You just need to shoot your shot”

“Absolutely not!”

“God knows the only way Chris will do it, is if you put a gun to his head”

“He might not even then” I add, the thought sinking in. If it really mattered, he would’ve done so already. Whatever these feelings are, they’ll pass.

“Oh, I guess we’ll see. But you still need to go inside”

A loud shriek is heard, something which definitely came from Chris. I look at Josh, and he just shrugs. Rolling my eyes, he helps me up on the power box, and I carefully make my way in.

“Josh, it’s super creepy down here!”

“Got your phone?”

I reach into my pocket, grabbing my phone and turning on the flashlight. The cellar lights up, full of dusk and boxes.

“Um, still creepy Josh!”

There’s silence, too much. He doesn’t answer, and I try his name again, but to no avail. Shit. I would definitely struggle to climb back out, so the only option left is to find Chris or the entrance. It’s been a year, and I don’t remember everything. I walk further in, deciding to ignore every dark corner and room. The door to the hallway is open, and I quickly make my way, immediately feeling the familiarity with the dark wood and wall decorations. It’s like nothing’s changed. Except the atmosphere, and dust, and that sinking feeling that something bad will happen. I walk to the end of the hall, noticing the family portrait at the end. Beth and Hannah look so alive, the brush strokes bringing out their colour and vibrancy. I miss them, both of them.

A loud noise bursts my bubble, making me look to my left to see the previously open door being slammed shut. My breath hitches, body tensing as I grab the doorknob. It’s locked. It probably has an automatic lock on the other side, and the wind made the door shut. There are most likely other windows open that made this happen. I breathe out, clutching my phone harder from being frightened. I just need to find Chris. That’s the only reason I'm here in the first place.

I take a right, walking further into the building to see a door creeping open right in front of me. I wait for Chris to go through, but he doesn’t come. The door is left open, the creaking noise burrowed in my brain. This is fucked up, wasn’t it closed? I thread forward carefully, each step taken with great caution as I make my way. I look through the door, seeing the familiar sight of the lodge’s hallway and main room. Thank God.

I walk to the door and look through the windows. Sam and Ashley are standing there, waiting for it to be opened. I knock, and they both jump at the sudden sound.

“Just me, didn’t mean to scare you!”

“Good, Chris already tried” Sam complains, trying to look back through the frost-covered glass.

“Yeah, I can’t see him”

I feel something behind me, something big and dark casting a shadow on the door. Soft yellow light approaching and a small creek right behind me. My body, which is already tense, gets stiffer, and I try the door handle to no avail.

Two large arms go around me. One on my waist and one around my neck. I scream before my mouth is covered with a massive hand, pressing down on my lips.

“Shit, it’s just me, just jokes” Chris smiles, letting go of me. My heart is beating out of my chest, pulse skyrocketing and breathing uneven.

“That’s one too many for today” I state, and he gives a small laugh.

“Sorry, couldn’t help myself”

He comes closer, arms closing around me in a gentle manner. The touch is soft, and too short as he leans away, lifting my face to look up at him. I’m calm now, the adrenaline rush lowering and my senses coming back.

“I swear to God, if you scare me one more time during this trip-”

“You’re such a scaredy-cat”

“That’s the point!”

I hear snickers outside as we keep bickering, and roll my eyes. Didn’t these people have other things to do than listen to us? I look down, seeing the spray in one of his hands. Oh, that’s right, they don’t.

“Let’s get this thing open” I wave to the lock, and he gives a smile, hand pushing me out of the way. He puts the lighter in front of the spray, and I take another step back, just for safety measures. He sprays, the flames being big and ashy as they go against the metal lock. I look over, making sure that he stays within the secluded area, and doesn't set the wood on fire. Luckily, he seems to have full control.

Finally, it seems enough, and before I can stop him, he’s quick to grab hold of the handle and open the door. The others thank him, while I notice the shaking and clutching of his left hand.

“Thank you, thank you” he bows. “I’ll be here all week”

A loud noise and fast-traveling animal runs out beside us, and I hold my breath, standing still as it passes. Chris yelps, jumping back while the other’s make way for it, letting it run back into the forest.

“Crap, that thing freaked me out” Chris breathes out, his hand on my arm. Poor thing.

“What was that?” Ashley asks, still laughing a bit.

“It was like, a bear or a tiger or… something”

“Awe, it was just a cute little baby wolverine” Sam taunts, walking past him and clapping his shoulder. The response makes me giggle, and he pulls his hand back, having both of them in the air and waiting for some consolation.

“Baby?”

“Don’t worry buddy, you’re gonna be a big boy soon” Josh adds, walking past him with Ashley and Matt. I give him a nudge, and we follow them into the main room of the lodge.

“Home sweet home” Josh exclaims, hands outreached to the dark space.

“Sweet is not the word I’d use” Matt whispers, and I agree. It’s dark, weird and feels too eerie for me. It’s like we’re in a horror game. Ashley rubs her arms, trying to stay warm.

“Oh my gosh, it’s so good to be inside, even though it’s still freezing”

“I’ll get a fire going” Josh walks over to the fireplace, placing down some logs and setting up.

“This place barely looks any different” Matt comes up beside me, looking over all the furniture.

“My thoughts exactly” I tell him, meeting his eyes. There’s some kind of worry in them. I bet he still feels bad. No wonder, no one should really feel good being up here. Not after what happened.

“What’s up, party people!”

“Hey!”

Mike and Jessica make their entrance, both psyched to get the action going. Most of us greet them back, but I notice that Matt doesn’t. He looks at Mike with contempt, something dark brewing. That’s what we all need now, some drama. I walk over to Ashley, sitting beside her on the sofa. Don’t want to be in the fire-zone when the shooting starts.

“Make yourself at home, bro” Josh tells Mike, still fumbling with the fire.

“Will do”

“Yeah, come on in”

Shit, now it starts. I give Ashley a look, and she leans in to whisper something to me. I listen while the drama unfolds in front of me.

“I was by one of the telescopes earlier, and saw Mike and Emily exchange quite an ‘intimate’ hug. Matt wanted to see, and I was unsure about what to do, but he just looked anyway. I think it really hit a nerve”

“No wonder” I whisper back. “Wouldn’t you be pissed if you saw your partner do that with an ex. The ex right before you. Who, you have A LOT of history with?”

“Well, yeah, of course”

Things seemed to have cooled off a bit between the two, Mike with both of his hands up in surrender and Matt taking a step back. Mike walks over to Jess, arm going to the back of the sofa, behind her. She nuzzles into him, and I can already sense Emily’s anger before she wanders into the lodge scoffing. This was going to be a long retreat.

“Oh my god, that is so gross. Are you trying to swallow his face whole?” she walks towards them slowly, stopping a couple of meters away, arms crossed over her chest. Not more drama. Matt takes a step towards her, hand reaching a little out for her.

“Em…”

I can imagine how he feels, seeing his girlfriend and ex like that, and then seeing his girlfriend get jealous. Still, he isn’t aggravated anymore, just trying to calm her with small steps. She doesn’t budge, but keeps looking at the couple with disgust.

“Seriously, can she be any more obvious?”

Jess snuggles further into Mike, taunting her and showing him off. I can already see that Mike’s getting uncomfortable, knowing something is about to blow up. Emily leans a bit down, as if talking to a toddler, staring Jess down.

“No one wants in on your territory, honey”

“Excuse me, did you say something?”

Jess now rises, walking up to her. The tension in the room strengthens, and I look over to the others, but everyone is fixated on the next move, sucking in the drama like sweet nectar. I sigh, feeling Ashley’s hand on mine, uncomfortably shifting as she watches. This’ll go nowhere, the bickering and bitching. If someone doesn’t stop them, they’ll keep going, maybe even get physical.

“Hey, watch it!”

“Oh, you’re the only one who can put him down? No one else gets to play with your toys?”

I lean over to Ashley, whose eyes are still glued to the fight.

“Is none going to stop them?”

“I wouldn’t dare to put myself in that position”

Josh stands up, shaking the ash off his fingers.

“Stop it! This is not why we came up here, this is not helping. It’s not what I wanted”

Sam stands up as well, taking a few steps and adding to the statement.

“If we can’t get along for ten minutes, maybe we just need a little break?”

Josh looks over at her, an appreciative smile on his lips, then turning back to the others.

“Yes! Mike, why don’t you check out the guest cabin, the one I told you about?”

Mike stands up, hand outstretched for Jess.

“Yeah, want to go do that?”

“Any place without that whore”

“It’s right up the trail” Josh adds as they walk out. Emily finally turns around, noticing our big eyes and awkward faces. Matt imitates an explosion, causing her to roll her eyes. I take a breath, looking over at Chris. His lips are thinned, and he also lets out some air. Jeez, that was a lot for most of us. Hopefully, things get better tomorrow. Matt walks over to Josh, noticing the lacking fire.

“So, should we get this fire going?”

“Yeah, working on it”

“Where’s my bag?” Emily asks, looking over at Matt.

“Huh?”

“My bag… The little one with the pink pattern, the one I got on Rodeo”

Her boyfriend gives her a dumbfounded expression, shrugging his shoulders.

“Matt, are you listening? Matt, I need my bag!”

“Oh my god Em, maybe you just forgot it!”

“Do you seriously think I’d just forget my bag?”

“Well, I-”

“Do you?”

“Guess not”

“You must’ve left it down by the cable car station”

“Ugh”

“Come on, hun. We’ll be back soon”

Matt sighs, walking over to her by the door.

“Then we can get warm?”

“We can get very warm”

He caves, arm outstretched and letting her lead him out. I lean back on the couch, energy drenched. God, why did I come? Ashley leans back, lips against my ear as she whispers.

“See how easy it is for them to say what they want to do to each other instead of OBVIOUSLY thinking loudly?”

I hit her, and she laughs. All the others look over curiously, but I just shake my head to them.

“Okay, I’m gonna go take a bath” Sam exclaims, patting Josh’s shoulder and walking up the stairs.

“Need help?” Ashley asks, already making her way beside her.

“N-” she hits her, looking over at us before agreeing. I roll my eyes as they both walk upstairs.

“What’s that all about?” Chris asks, and I tell him nothing. I can see Josh trying to hide his smile, still unable to get the fire going.

“Shit, forgot to give Mike and Jess the keys” He stands up, and I do the same.

“I’ll sprint over with them”

He walks backwards, looking at both of us while throwing the keys up and down, catching them in his hands every time.

“No, no. You guys are guests, get comfy, have sex, whatever”

“Man” Chris interjects, but he turns around and laughs.

“It’s what everyone else is doing, just follow the herd”

He disappears around the corner, and I sit back down. They finally made things even more awkward between us. The silence is deafening, only broken by a couple of giggles from upstairs.

“I guess we should talk” Chris suddenly says, eyes still on the ground, body leaning forward on his knees. The cold is almost as bad as the sinking feeling in my stomach, but I still nod in reply.

“Let's get a fire going first, it’s icy in here”

“Coming right up” he says with his comedic voice, the tone lightening the mood. We both walk over to the fireplace, setting up the last logs and lighting some matches. I watch his fingers as he does. The fingers tensing a little as he swipes the match to create fire. He leans into the fireplace, and manages to light right on the bark, setting the logs ablaze. I hum at the light, the air around us starting to get a little bit foggy and warmer.

I look up at him, noticing how close his face is. I carefully inch closer, everything in the background blurry as I look into his eyes. They’re wanting, as if needing something, or someone. His mouth is slightly open, and I bite my lip a little in anticipation. Both of our breaths are heavy and uneven, and I can feel it on my chin as he gets closer.

“I gave you five minutes!” Josh exclaims, and we both jump back. We look up, and Josh is standing between us, the girls on the top of the stairs watching intently. I stand up, making my way back to the couch. Chris does the same, pushing a smiling Josh out of the way.

“We were building the fire you so miserably failed at”

“Damn, harsh man”

“Sam, want to help me beat up Chris?” Josh shouts.

“I was just getting into the bath!” Sam responds, shouting down from upstairs. He gets a playful smirk on his lips, hand going to his mouth to carry his words further.

“And, do you need any help with that?!”

“Hardy har”

Chris and I look at each other, before looking at the flirt. He has a slight blush on his face, almost invisible.

“Well, if it isn’t the little Sammy-lover” Chris smiles, leaning cockily back on the couch.

“At least he wishes to be”

“I hate both of you”

“Maybe he’s the one who needs to be left alone for five minutes?”

“Shut up”

He laughs a little, and I smile at the thought of him finally opening up a bit. This was healthy for him, feeling like this. I’m still unsure about the whole lodge-ordeal, but so far, he’s good.

“You know, we have a spirit board here somewhere” He says, side-eyeing us with a sly smirk.

“A what?”

“Wow, you have a spirit board?” Chris asks, leaning forward interested.

“Yeah, yeah, they’re fun right?”

“Absolutely not” I say, shaking my head. After everything that has happened here, I’m not checking for ghosts and demons, that’s the last thing we should be doing.

“Should we have a seance?”

“No”

“Yes”

“They’re a joke, they don’t do shit” I try, but my argument fails.

“I know, but it's still interesting” Chris says.

I look over at him, and he’s looking at me pleadingly. Puppy eyes and a pouty mouth. I try to resist, but my defences fall, and I sigh. They both take it as defeat and cheer.

“But, only if I get Ashley with me”

“She’ll be easy to convince”

“Josh! No hot water, kind of a major oversight don’t you think?” Sam says, coming down the stairs. Ashley walks behind her, coming down to take her place beside me.

“Yeah, yeah, just gotta fire up the boiler, it’s in the basement”

He turns to us, already beginning to leave with Sam.

“You guys see if you can find the spirit board”

“A spirit board?” Ashley asks, and I just sigh. “They forced me to”

“Can’t say no to this handsome face” Chris smiles, getting up to look for the board”

“Come on, let’s go find it, it’ll be like a scavenger hunt” and she drags me up by the arms as I whine. “Fine”

We look for a while. At one point, we lose Chris. He walked into another room, not to be seen again. I try closets and shelves, but cannot find anything.

“Think it’s time to regroup?”

“Yeah”

We walk back to the main room, voices immediately heard.

“Holy crab, you were scared, admit it”

“I was not!”

“Come on, you totally pissed yourself!”

“Josh!”

Up the stairs comes the three guys, Chris wearing a monk-costume. I look him up and down while Ashley’s laughing so hard she almost can’t stand. She has to turn away to calm herself. I smile, walking towards him as he joins his hands in prayer.

“What the hell are you wearing?”

“I’ve found my true calling?” he says, hands making a cross over me.

“You know monks can’t own stuff, or have relationships, or sex?”

He thinks for a bit, looking me up and down with a small smirk. Is he… cocky?

“I guess I need to change profession then”

“Omg, will you take a vow of silence?” Ashley laughs, coming up beside me. He starts talking without sound. And I can’t help the small snicker that escapes my lips.

“Okay, okay, we get it”

He draws forward the spirit board, and I whine again. Why did we have to do this?

“Here’s our one-way ticket to the spirit realm”

Sam is already walking up the stairs, not wanting to take part in the activities. I almost want to join her. A hot bath clearly beats seeking demons. But I don’t, instead, I take off my coat and hang it on a chair before walking over to the others.

“Bold move of you with the sex-comment” Ashley whispers, and I give her a small smile and I rest my head against her shoulder.

“Well, you all have told me to be a bit more forward”

“That’s my girl”

Taglist: @porcelainbluedove @b3rryb3t

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admirationandromantics · 2 months ago

Text

Guilt and Grudges, 1: Memento Mori

Okay, so this is the official first chapter. PS! If you're new, there is a prologue before this! Now we actually enter the game itself. Thank you to those who have seen the first part. I really hope you guys like this in the long run. I know it won't be as popular as the Josh one (let's face it, he's more popular), but I still hope my Chris gals are into this. Anyway, enjoy <3

After the incident, the friend group fell apart. Everyone was struck with grief, and the easiest way to cope was to do it alone, create some distance, ease the guilt. I can’t even imagine how Josh felt. Imagine falling asleep, not a worry in the world, and you’re shaken awake, hearing that your sisters are missing. The police were called when Chris and I arrived back at the lodge, and Sam still hadn’t gotten Josh to wake up at that point. The situation had gotten out of hand, and that’s when I was told what the prank was. Safe to say, it would be hard to forgive them for what happened. They were the reason for the death of two of my best friends.

Because yeah, they were dead. Several months went, and they were never found. That means they’re dead, and we don’t even know where their bodies are. Matt and Ashley were struck the hardest, guilt overriding them. I may not forgive her yet, but that didn’t stop me from occasionally walking to her place, making sure that she ate and showered. I’d never seen her like that before, and she never stopped crying either. It was hard to stay strong for her. No surprise that when I got home, I fell apart. Head to my knees, crying myself to sleep each night. If we were like this, how bad must Josh have felt?

I also stayed in contact with Sam, meeting up for study dates and making sure that we didn’t pause our lives. It was important to keep going, to not be stuck in time. We were each other's rocks. I may have had to take full care of Ashley, but Sam and I took care of each other. We talked, cried and moved on. Slowly but carefully, things got better. This also applied to Ashley. She had lost a lot of material in school, and getting back into it got her busy. I felt good to see her better.

I wish I kept in contact with Chris, but during everything that happened, we both fell into silence again. I didn’t see him nor hear him. Sam told me that she knew he spent a lot of time with Josh, trying to lighten his mood and get him better. He’s such a kind soul, and I get why he didn’t contact me. We all had a lot on our plates, especially taking care of other people.

Things were finally falling back into place when we got the video. A video from Josh. He looked better, and… excited. He wanted us to get up on the mountain again, party all night and have the time of our lives. Both Sam and I thought the idea was odd, but still decided to go. Maybe we would get some closure, and then we could go back entirely to normal. I dreaded seeing the others, but it was time to forgive. They never meant for them to get hurt, at least not in the way they did. Ashley also wanted to go, to finally apologize to Josh and get over things.

***

The bus is smelly, a strong musk coming out of the heaters. But being on it for two hours, I’ve gotten used to it. Sam is sitting beside me, listening to the radio. Of course they’re talking about the twins. After all, it’s the yearly anniversary of their disappearance. I take one of her earplugs, putting it in my own ear to listen. She doesn’t mind.

“listeners an update on Hannah and Beth Washington, the twins who are still missing…”

“One year ago tonight, the Washington girls left the safety of their parents’ lodge and headed out into a snow storm”

“Foul play?”

“Not officially no. There’s one individual who we’re considering a person of interest but his whereabouts are currently unknown. He has an interesting history with the Washington family… He had warned them against pursuing a construction project…”

I take the earbud out, handing it back to her. This is the shit they always say. They didn’t even do a thorough investigation. Good for nothing cops. I look out the window, taking in the landscape. Everything seems so empty and eerie. Of course I feel like that, people died here. I bet everyone is feeling some sort of heavy feelings related to these mountains.

I take a peek on Sam’s phone again, and she’s looking at Josh’s video. He looks so glad, so happy. Maybe he was truly better, maybe this is what we all needed? He emphasizes how this is what the girls would’ve wanted, and I frown. Would they? After what happened last year? If nobody disappeared, would Hannah even keep hanging out with the group?

The bus finally comes to a stop, both of us thanking the driver on our way out. The outside is cold and uninviting, and that eerie feeling doesn’t leave. Sam takes a deep breath before taking a step forward, walking through the Blackwood Pines-gate and sign. I follow her, deciding to get over myself. There’s nothing wrong here, everyone is safe, well… not everyone was last year.

“You okay?” she asks, turning to me while still walking. “Yeah, just, different”

“I know, I feel the same”

I look around, the trees high and dark. The only light coming from the lanterns which shine bright on the white snow.

“There’s something about the woods”

“It creeps me out”

We continue for a while in silence, both just processing the path. This wasn’t going to be easy for anyone.

“Okay, we need to get it together” I state, taking a few larger steps so I walk beside her.

“Yeah, for Josh, for everyone”

“Good we agree”

The air lifts a little as we continue talking about other things, completely ignoring the heavy burdens associated with the place. We talk about school, my last assignment, her climbing etc.

Finally, we arrive at a large black gate. I try to move it, but it won’t open. Sam leans down beside me, picking up a piece of paper.

“The gate’s busted, climb over!” She explains, and I move to the side, walking over to the stone fence.

“Good that your boyfriend is looking out for us”

I stop in my tracks, giving her a look. She puts her hands up, smiling and shaking her head while walking over. She knows that we haven’t talked.

“Okay, okay, not your boyfriend”

I’m satisfied with her conclusion, and I turn back to the wall. I grab a couple of stones hanging a bit out, and hoist myself up. “Yet…” she whispers under her breath, and I roll my eyes. A little climbing later, and I’m on top of the wall.

“Need help?” I ask, looking down at her.

“Me? The master climber?”

“Student becomes the master scenario?”

“Oh, that’ll never happen”

I laugh at her, and she tries not to. If she misses a grip, she can fall. Not that it’ll have severe consequences though. The snow will give a soft landing. But it’s still cold, and I would prefer not to be outside longer than necessary. We both jump down on the other side, continuing up the path. A couple of stairs and street-lights help us find the way, finally coming to the parking lot. Two cars are parked, one green and one black. I walk past, not bothering to check them out.

“Wow, Emily is getting it down tonight” Sam comments, stopping me.

“What do you mean?”

“Come and see”

“Sam, we shouldn’t be snooping”

“Just see” she urges, waving her hand. I oblige, walking back and looking in the car window. Inside, on the passenger seat are several bags from a sex store. Lube and handcuffs are hanging out of them.

“Didn’t Emily tell us that she didn’t want to have sex when she dated Mike?” I ask, a bit confused by the contents. We used to have light talks about it at the time, how she felt horrible and was scared that he’d leave her because of it.

“And now she’s making sure that she doesn’t end up the same way with Matt”

We give each other a sad look before turning away. This is none of our business anymore, we haven’t really talked for a year after all. We walk over to the cable car station, and a dark-coloured backpack is laid on the bench.

“His backpack is here, but where is he?” she asks, looking around.

“Your answer is as good as mine- ahhh!”

A loud roar is heard before two strong arms grab my sides. I scream, and Sam laughs at my reaction. I turn around, met with a pair of glass-covered blue eyes and a teasing smile. His hands don't move, but he still lets them go a bit, not grabbing me too harshly anymore. I take a breath, trying to get my pulse down.

“Good God I’m going to fucking kill you Chris”

Both of them laugh in response, and he pulls me into a hug, easing my mind. I stand on my toes as I lay my head on his shoulder, breathing him in. He’s like a massive teddy bear, giving the best hugs. I never feel as safe as I do in his embrace.

“Okay, okay, sorry. But you have to admit, I got you good”

“No comment”

We part, and both of us suddenly get aware that another person is here. Chris shifts his gaze, looking over at Sam. She’s smiling widely, lips pressed together as if to stop herself from saying something.

“Don’t mind me, just have your moment”

I roll my eyes, finally letting go of Chris. He shakes his head, mumbling something about us not having a moment and gives her a hug as well. He grabs his backpack while Sam starts asking questions.

“So, how’ve you been?”

He sighs, shrugging his shoulders. I feel the same. I mean, what are you supposed to say when you’ve barely talked for the last year? Everyone is hurting, but it’s not something we discuss anymore.

“Well, I guess you can imagine”

She doesn’t press further, but before the mood falls dark, Chris takes the mic.

“Oh! So, I found something kinda amazing”

“What?”

“I’m not gonna tell you, you gotta see for yourself. Come on, it’s this way” his hand goes on my lower back, guiding me forward. The touch is quick and soft, and he removes his hand as if it never were there.

“Where?” Sam asks.

“Right around here. Gonna blow your mind!”

I give her a look, biting my lips to stop me from laughing at his theatrics. She knows what I’m thinking. Knows a little too well. The snow reaches half way up my knees, but luckily, Chris has beaten some of it down, making it easier to walk. We go around the station, being met with a clearing. Chris opens his arms and tilts when exclaiming “Ta-da!”

“Pretty rad, right?”

“A shooting range” I comment, not seeing the appeal. This was not what I had in mind. Sam doesn’t answer, just forces a tight smile. I know she hates these types of things.

“Come on, look at these beauties” he comments, pointing to the targets.

“Beauties is not the word that comes to mind, more like violence and death”

I look over at her, and she has her hands around herself. I know she feels uncomfortable, and it just hits me again all the memories we have here. This is probably a bit too much.

“I’m gonna go and wait for the cable-car, I’ll call for you when it arrives” she states, turning around, one waving hand in the air. I turn my attention back to Chris, who’s already picked up the gun.

“Why is this here?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what is a shooting range doing at the base of a ski lodge?”

“Have you ever met Josh’s dad?”

“Um, no?”

“Well, he thinks he’s like Grizzly Adams or something”

“Huh”

He points the gun forward, aiming before hitting a flask. He takes a breath, aiming again before shooting a hanging sack. He’s gorgeous, and it’s actually embarrassing how much he turns me on by doing this. It looks like he knows, to a certain extent, how to work that thing.

“Wow, nice shooting” I coo, teasing him. The targets were not far away, even a child could hit them.

“Alright, I’m bad” he jokes, dancing and moving the gun. “I’m a badass”

“Okay, calm down Mr. I can shoot something that’s close to me”

He stops, looking me up and down and biting his lip.

“What, do you think you can do better?”

I smile tightly, no I actually can’t. This is the closest I’ve ever come to a gun before, and I’m not even holding it. It probably wouldn’t be too bad to try it, but I actually fear that I might hurt someone.

“I’ve never used a gun before”

He lets out a breath, a smile tugging on his lips. A hand makes it in the air, waving me over. I comply, walking towards him.

“Okay, I’ll show you”

He puts the weapon in my hands, pulling me so his front is against my back. If I weren’t wearing a jacket, I could probably feel his heartbeat right now. He takes hold of my arms, the left one for aiming and the right one to hold it up and support the thud that’ll come. Bicep around my chest as his body is pressed against me with every breath he takes. My finger finds the trigger, his naked hand moving on top of mine, skin against skin. Thumb caressing over my knuckles. His head leans down, whispering breath against my ear as he coaches me.

“There, mhm. A little to the left, you’re doing so good…”

My body doesn’t listen, and slowly, I start turning towards him. His head lowers to me, eyes meeting. He looks down and my lips, and I shift my gaze to his, faces closing in. I haven’t seen him since what happened. I haven’t felt him. His breath, his warmth, his embrace. I feel my body relax, letting go of the gun as he pushes me closer, hand going in my hair. I grab hold of his jacket, feeling the soft fur on the inside. The same jacket he had last year, the same glossy eyes, the same rosy cheeks, the same Chris. My Chris. Or noses brush against each other as we move closer.

“Guys! The cable car is here- Woah!”

We both jump away from each other, body hot and faces red. Why did I use so long, why didn’t I just kiss him?

“Didn’t mean to interrupt anything here, but we gotta go”

“Um, yeah we’re coming!” Chris yells back, taking hold of the gun and placing it neatly by the range fence. He gives a small smile as he passes me, walking to the other side. My heart is still beating heavily, each thrust going up to my throat. Pulse is in the hundreds, and my body grows cold by his absence. Shit.

I jog around, meeting them by the cable car. Sam has got her backpack beside her, leading to me having to take a seat beside Chris. I don’t hesitate, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still flustered about what happened. Or what didn’t happen.

Chris starts talking again, this time about how Josh and he met. They became friends in third grade because of a total coincidence. He talks about the butterfly effect, but I completely zone out, mesmerized by the way his lips move and his eyes shine. I can’t take my eyes off him. Imagine how he would feel on top of me, under me, even just standing would be great. I want to feel his lips, his touch.

“Earth comes crashing down, are you still with us?”

I turn to Sam, her hand waving in front of my face. I take a peek to my right, seeing Chris smile weakly at me.

“Um, yeah, what were we talking about?”

I try to be as quiet as possible, making sure to not get too busy looking at him or imagining things. Chris asks about Sam’s mother, wondering how she’s doing.

“Yeah, she also asked if we were a thing. I think she’ll never let that thought go”

“Not even after you marry Josh?”

“Shut up, I could say the same thing to you”

“When I marry Josh?”

“You know what I mean”

We finally reach the top, and Chris goes for the handle, trying to get it open. He fumbles, eventually using both hands to force it open. It still doesn’t work.

“Chris, today please” Sam sighs, and he moves from the door.

“Just try, be my guest”

She looks smug, cracking her knuckles before trying to open it. She tries again, taking a deep breath before putting all her body weight on it. Shit, we’re stuck.

“Okay okay, give me one second” she tries, but fails another time.

“Saaaaam, we don’t have all day” Chris teases, getting back at her.

“Oh shus”

A rustling outside the cable car catches my attention, and I force the others to be quiet. Maybe someone’s here? Footsteps on wood makes both of the blondes start shouting for help. They both slam against the window panel.

“What the hell?”

“Jess! Hey!”

“Jessica, over here!”

She walks in front of us, examining the vehicle.

“Uh, are you guys having a really weird stroke or something?”

I walk forward, explaining the situation.

“Jess, we’re stuck, can you get us out?”

“Pretty please” Sam pleads, hands reaching out in prayer. Jess obliges, clicking a button, making the door go up. Chris walks out first, followed by me, then Sam.

“Oh my god. I thought we were goners, another ten minutes in there and I would have chewed off my own leg” Chris exclaims, hands waving around theatrically. I roll my eyes, and Sam tries to kill her laugh.

“Aw, that’s sick Chris”

He turns to us, showing off himself.

“Look, I got a lot of meat on my bones. This is all muscle down here”

I look down, imagining him without the pants. It might be true, the last time I saw him in shorts was the summer a year ago, when many of us went to the beach. His legs were quite nice. No wonder, I bet he benches like- Sam hits me, bringing me back again. Shit, I’m too obvious with my looks.

“Yeah right” Sam says sarcastically. Shaking her head. He rolls his eyes, turning back to Jess.

She’s holding a red envelope, a familiar name written on the top. Before I can comprehend it, Chris leans down, snatching the paper and reading it.

“Hey!”

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?”

Jess rolls her eyes, hand going to her side and eyes angry. Gosh, I would not want to poke the monster. She tries to snatch it back, but Chris is quick, dodging her.

“Chris!”

“Come on Chris, give it back” I try, but he puts his finger up to silence us.

“My goodness. Seems that someone has a little crush on our good friend and dear class president Michael Munroe. And… what kind of sizzling erotica might our Jessica be capable of imagining, I wonder.”

I walk behind him, hand reaching for the paper and stealing it.

“Hey!”

I hand it back to Jessica, who’s still looking at him with murder-eyes.

“You still have some explaining to do” I urge, not wanting to press too hard.

“Well” she starts, fiddling with the envelope. She seems… weird. “Mike and I are a thing now”

“Damn, drama”

“What about Emily?” Sam asks, a bit confused.

“Pretty clear cut actually, Em’s out, I’m in. Easy as that”

“If you say so”

This was definitely going to be a long weekend. And considering the strong personalities to these two, there was going to be noise. Loads of it.

“Alright, alright, let’s just get up to the lodge already. I’m getting tired of all this nature and junk”

“It’s beautiful up here” I exclaim, looking at the view. The sunset shining yellow lights on the snow-filled treetops. The big surrounding mountains and skies. Sam puts a hand on me, also admiring it.

“Sometimes I forget to just take it all in”

“Yeah, the view is beautiful, let's go!” Chris interrupts, pulling us out of our moment. Jess doesn’t follow, and I turn around, giving her a questionable look.

“You guys go ahead, I’m just going to wait here for a bit, you know, see who else is coming”

“You mean Mike?”

“I mean… whoever”

I turn back, waving my hand as I start walking.

“Don’t freeze your toes off”

“Not planning to!”

The woods get denser as we move higher. Small sounds making me turn my head several times, expecting to come to meet with a wild animal. I flinch every time, and Sam does too. I know she gets the same eerie feelings as I do here. It’s no surprise, really. She lost her best friend in the world. I did too. She walks ahead, leaving me and Chris to struggle in the back.

“Not in your best form, Chrissy?”

He laughs, a dark one, lower octave which is probably a mix of tiredness and grunts. He gives me a weak look, eyes looking over me. I’m struggling as well, legs almost giving out. If it weren’t for the fact that he’s also a bit tired, I would’ve begged him to carry me. Wouldn’t be the first time.

We try not to walk on the ice, grabbing the occasional railing to hold ourselves steady. I take a step uphill when I suddenly slip. Under the snow is a large patch of slippery ice. I yelp as I fall back, bracing myself for the impact. A hand grabs my forearm, holding tightly, too tight, almost bruising. I don’t fall, but open my eyes as I see Chris staring at me intently, hand holding me up and the other on the railing, keeping us both from falling.

“Watch your step”

“Thanks, I’m trying to”

“Ice’s covered in snow, a bit difficult”

“I pray to god that I’ll not slip and get a concussion”

“Don’t worry, if it happens, I’ll get you down again”

I smile at the thought. Not of me being hurt, but being in his arms again, feeling his warmth. His hand leaves mine, making sure that I grab the railing firmly first. We continue our way up, the path getting easier as we pass the icy bits.

Taglist: @porcelainbluedove @b3rryb3t

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admirationandromantics · 2 months ago

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Guilt and Grudges, Prologue

The awaited time is done! 52 000 words later, aka 88 pages, plus a couple of months and you get results! I'm finally posting the first chapter of the Chris x reader game based story. Thank you all to those who have supported me through this time! Anyways, I'll be making a taglist for this one (didn't do it on the Josh one), so please send me a message or comment if you're interested in being on it.

There'll be a total of 12 chapters. 1-10, as in the game, but also a prologue and epilogue included. There'll be one chapter posted each day. Please keep in mind that I'm not a professional writer, and there will be mistakes here and there. This story will also feature less smut than the Josh one, as to complement the characters correctly (Don't worry, there will be some, and it will be hot and heavy. Bear with me!)

The night was icy and cold, but the fire in the lodge kept us all warm inside. The annual winter getaway to the washington lodge was upon us, and the dark snowstorm outside made the mood much cooler and mysterious. I loved it. I think we all did.

The party was barely beginning, everyone drinking and having the time of their lives. Sam was sitting with her drawing pad, Ashley and Matt were joking around, and Mike and Emily were going out in the hall every now and then to make out, Jess interrupting them regularly to steal Em away. They did that many times throughout the night, sly smiles on their lips as they came back into their room. I don’t know what they were planning, but considering the girl, it was going to be nasty.

I sat on the couch with Sam, Chris, and Josh, everyone joking around and laughing. Chris has had a few too many beers, making him stutter and slur his words. Josh was even worse, sentences being completely backwards and laughing at every little thing that was said.

I look over at Sam, giving her a tight smile. These guys were going to drink until they laid flat on the floor. She nods over to Chris, signalling for me to talk to him. She knows about my crush, how I yearn for his attention and presence. But I was never brave enough to tell him that. He’s a jokester, a smart and funny guy. He’s incredibly pretty, his eyes sparkly and vibrant. I feel completely hopeless when imagining him. She knows all this, and has several times tried to make me confess, but I refuse. Worst case scenario, he doesn’t feel the same, and everything will change. We have a good, friendly dynamic, and I don’t want to ruin that.

I signal back to her with my eyes, saying “No way, never gonna happen”. She smiles kindly, as if she’s trying to say that it’ll be okay. I shake my head in response.

“Is this that type of girl-language us men can’t understand?” Chris asks, looking back and forth between us.

“I would say it’s an exaggeration to call you two men” Sam responds, a smirk playing on her face.

“Oof, hard one. And why would you say that?”

“Because you need a brain”

“Hey, I get the best grades in my class” Chris defends, and I laugh at their banter. Josh is paying close attention, well, as much as he can in his state.

“Well, maybe there’s other things you should be smart about” She says, looking over at me. Panic rises in my chest at her boldness. Shit, shit, shit. Chris looks over to me, confused by her statement.

“Do you get what she means?”

“No idea” I answer, killing her in my mind. God, was she going to get yelled at later. Maybe I would sneak in while she took a bath, stealing her clothes and hiding them somewhere in the lodge.

Josh shifts his gaze between me and Chris, thoughts battling in his mind. I look at him weakly, unsure about what he’s thinking about. Suddenly, he gets a realization.

“Omg, Chris, she has a crush-”

Sam quickly covers his mouth with her hand before leaning in and whispering in his ear. My heart falls by the words, the panic rising once again. This can’t be. Why can’t this man keep his mouth shut? He turns her head, whispering back, and she laughs. Chris furrows his brows, not understanding what’s happening. Finally, Josh turns to us again, taking a deep breath.

“Well, didn’t you hear me, Chris?”

“You just said she has a crush? On who? What is happening?”

“Dude, chill. I just said that this girl has a crushing need for more alcohol” he raises his hand. “Look at her, almost sober. Serve the lady, Chris, be a gentleman” he continues, smiling at his own cleverness.

“Jesus Christ, well the lady can ask me herself, can she not?”

I laugh, the saving being a tad funnier than anticipated. Chris rises, taking my glass in his hand.

“Does anyone else want something?”

“Six shots!” Sam shouts, and he sighs loudly while walking back to the kitchen. When he’s out of earshot, I focus my attention back on them.

“Are you guys insane???”

“Not only you Sam, but you too Josh? You almost made me friendless!”

Both of them laugh, not taking me seriously. I give them a smack on each knee before leaning back on the couch again. These people were monsters. And Josh almost ruined me.

Chris comes back, a couple of shot glasses, spirit, and a drink for me. He puts everything down on the table, and Sam is quick to sit up and start pouring the alcohol. I give a smile and thank him when he hands me the glass. Fingers brushing slightly against each other as I grab it. The small contact colours my cheeks, and I turn away in embarrassment, afraid that he’ll see.

“Drink up!” Sam shouts, handing everyone a small glass each. There are still two on the table, and give a look.

“The last ones?”

“Just drink”

We all clink glasses before gulping down the liquid quickly. Gosh, how horrid this night was about to be. The nasty aftertaste lingering in my throat. I grimage, unable to stop myself. I look up to Sam, who does the exact same thing. Josh is unphased, having drunk so much that he can’t feel the flavor anymore.

“And two more!” Sam urges again, filling the glasses and placing one to her lips and giving me the other. Just for the girls I guess.

“You’re going to be the death of me”

“I plan to”

The guys cheer as we drink down the liquid, letting it down our throats and further. A wave of nausea hits me, making me reach for the drink Chris brought and taking small sips. The drink tastes good, too good. I could drink this for breakfast.

“What is this?” I ask, turning around to face him.

“Orange juice and some other stuff”

“I can’t taste the booze”

“That means it’s working”

I take another sip, trying to feel the taste, but still can locate the strong contents.

“Fucking hell I’m going to throw up” Sam exclaims, pushing past Josh and running to the bathroom. All of us laugh, seeing her try to climb the stairs while holding herself. Poor girl.

“So” Josh starts, looking over at us again.

“When are you going to sleep with Mike?” I choke on the drink, starting to cough. Chris places his hand on my back, giving small pats to help me. I compose myself, looking up at a smirking Josh. Chris opens his mouth before I can.

“What kind of question is that?”

“Didn’t ask you Cochie”

I look back and forth between the two, Chris being tensed up, his hand still on my back. I try not to think about it, how his fingers grace over the hem of my bra.

“I agree with him, why would you ask that?”

Josh leans forward, his smirk still going strong.

“Nah, the man just gave me a vibe when he looked at you. How could you say no?” I shake my head in response, he knows who I like, why would he bring this nonsense up? Unless he's trying to unleash something, trying to make me confess on my own. What a sly move.

“Not only is he dating one of my friends, but he’s also not my type”

“Okay, then what is your type?”

“As if I’m gonna tell you”

“Oh, come on”

“Fine” I sigh, laying back on the couch. “Someone kind”

“Everyone can be kind”

“Well, I’m not fucking done am I? And we already know that you’re not on the list Josh”

Chris laughs, giving his buddy a nudge. God, what else am I going to say?

“Someone smart and caring, someone big, like body-wise, right?”

“Right”

“Um, I don’t know, someone funny who I can easily get along with. And can fuck me senseless of course”

Both of their eyes widen at my statement, surprised by how forward I can be.

“What? If we’re talking about a romantic partner, can’t I have sexual criterias?”

Josh laughs, shaking his head. Chris’s hand is still on my back, more tense than before. I hope I didn’t scare him away.

“Maybe Sam needs help in the bathroom” I stand up, taking the drink with me.

“Watch out, she might fuck you senseless” Josh shouts after me. I give a sarcastic laughter in reply, showing him the finger. God, what a long night this was gonna be.

***

I walk over to Beth, slightly struggling to keep myself up as I do. I sway from side to side, gripping chairs and the counter to stop myself from falling.

“Hey, too much for you?” Hannah laughs, hands coming around me. I lean on her, letting her take me to the kitchen counter and sitting me up.

“Never enough”

“When are you gonna stop drinking?”

I take up my cup, filled with whatever the other guys mixed. “Not until dawn”

Beth comes just as I gulp down the liquid, giving Hannah a side stare as she notices me.

“If you survive until then”

I give a snicker in reply. This wasn’t bad, and with Chris being passed out, I didn’t need to be careful. Before, I was terrified of getting drunk in front of him, scared that I’d say something I didn’t mean, but not now. I could lose control, and no matter what I said about him, he didn’t hear it.

“When was the last time you drank this much?” Hannah asks, hand coming to steady me yet again.

“That’s a good question, I don’t know”

“At least we get a good show” Beth comments, giving me a tap on my back. I smile in response, looking back to the living room. Jess and Emily are fidgeting with Chris, I don’t know what they’re doing. I try to make out what they’re holding, but my blurry vision fails me.

I’m blasted, I know that. Everything spins as I move my head, dizziness and heavy heartbeats overtaking me.

“You good?” Beth asks, suddenly worried. I try to form words as I feel something acidic in the back of my throat.

“Shit”

She runs over, grabbing hold of me and running through the bathroom. We make it to the hallway when I black out.

***

My body is slumped upon the bathroom floor. The cold and hard tiles make contact with my back and head. I try to open my eyes, groaning from the raging headache taking over. How long have I been here? Where’s Beth? A large shadowy figure is in the corner of my vision. “Chris?”

“Yeah, still alive” he answers, sitting against the wall. He gives a cheeky smile, looking me up and down. His face is full of scribbles and writing all over his face. He isn’t wearing his glasses, instead drawn on ones and a red heart. I smile at him, trying to hold my laugh.

“I’ve already seen it, you can laugh”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about” I giggle, unable to stop. He rolls his eyes, holding out a hand for me.

“I don’t think I should sit up”

“I think you should drink some water”

He helps me up, my back supported by the bathtub. He hands me a glass, and I grab it with both hands. He doesn’t let go, instead helping me pull it up to my face and letting me drink. The cold liquid makes it in my mouth, washing away the awful lingering taste which was there before. I signal for him to pull the glass away.

“Where’s Beth? What happened?”

He smiles, eyebrows rising as if surprised by my question. “You don’t remember what happened?”

“And why are you awake? You were passed out”

He only laughs in response, putting the glass up to my lips again. I drink up, and he puts it down beside the sink. His body falls down beside me, sitting and letting me lean on him.

“Beth helped you throw up”

“Oh no”

“And I woke up”

“Oh no”

“Oh yes”

I look up at him, my pleading eyes making contact with his orbs.

“Please tell me you didn’t see anything”

“I saw too much”

“Nooooo” I whine, burying my face in his big shoulder. I feel my cheeks heat up from embarrassment.

“Beth left like, five minutes ago to check on the others”

“So she left me on the floor, ready to choke on my own puke?”

“Hey, I’m here, I’ll make sure you don’t die”

“Oh? The big, brave, handsome Christopher will make sure I lean over the toilet it I must”

“Handsome huh?”

I hit him in the arm, not feeling how hard. Judging by his laughter, it wasn’t that hard.

“If it helps, she brushed your teeth before she went”

My tongue automatically feel around my mouth, maybe that was the slight taste of mint. I hum in response, head fully relaxing on him. His arm goes around my back, holding me tight. Maybe to stop me from falling? I don’t know, I just know that I like being in his embrace, benign close to him.

“Why aren’t you sick?”

“You know I never get hungover”

“Lucky”

“But I do pass out. If I didn’t then this wouldn’t be on my face” he points a finger to the scribbles and I laugh. I can’t help it, this warm and cozy feeling overcoming me. He’s kind, funny and smart. With or without his glasses he was handsome. And he’s much more attractive than he gives himself credit for. I’ve seen his arms, and I’ve seen him in tight shirts before. That thought alone gets me going.

“Want to wash it off?”

“Tried already”

“I’ve got some makeup remover in my bag”

I stand up, surprised when I don’t immediately fall down again. I look at him, and his arms are lifted around me, ready in case I fall.

“I’m fine”

“Just making sure”

I see my bag on the counter, and of course my toothbrush is on the top of it. She’s too kind. I must remember to thank her in the morning. I grab a couple of pads, drenching them in the liquid before making my way over to him. I sit myself on his lap, grabbing hold of his chin to move his face.

There’s a slight blush on his face, his mouth is slightly ajar and eyes blank. He grabs my thighs with both hands, letting me sink completely down on him. I start rubbing, first slowly, but it ends up rougher and rougher to get all the ink off.

“You’re gonna rip my skin off”

“Almost done”

I take the last line, and his face looks good as new. A little red maybe, but that’ll fade. I hold his cheeks with both hands, staring deeply into his eyes. He does the same, breathing heavily and looking down on my lips. I don’t know if it is the alcohol, the intimacy or just the surroundings of the cabin, but I lean in, carefully connecting his lips with mine. He responds, opening his mouth and letting me go deeper. He tastes like alcohol, but I’m not bothered by it. One of his hands goes to the back of my head, gripping my hair and pulling me closer. My arms go around his neck, fingers messing up his hair. The kiss gets wetter and sloppier as we keep going, breathing uneven and difficult. We both pull back, surprised by the encounter.

His cheeks are red, hair messy and eyes lustful. He looks magnificent, and I want to do something more about it. He looks me up and down, hand gracing my thigh up to my waist. He doesn’t know what to do now, and honestly, I don’t either.

“Maybe we should stop” he finally says. My heart falls, but I just nod in response. I take a deep breath, standing up, getting off him. Shit. I pushed the boundaries too hard. He didn’t want this, he was caught up in the moment and so was I.

“Um, yeah”

“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that-” he starts, but is interrupted by a loud yell.

“Hannah!”

The yell roars through the night, like it’s being screamed outside. We take a look at each other before running through the hall and down the stairs. He’s right on my heels as I occasionally skip one or two steps. What’s going on? We arrive at the entrance of the lodge, everyone standing outside without their jackets.

“You know, I think you’re the last person she wants to see right now, Mike”

“What’s going on?” I ask, looking around confused. Everyone but Hannah and Beth are here.

“It was just a small prank, got a little out of hand” Mike replies. I still don’t get it, what prank?

“Where’s Hannah and Beth?”

“Hannah overreacted, just ran out into the forest, Beth ran after her” Emily comments dismissively. She walks inside again, pulling Mike with her.

“There’s a fucking storm outside!” I yell. Both of them can be in danger, and you could barely see a few meters in front of you because of the snow. I grab Sam’s arm hard, pulling her into me.

“Try to wake Josh, let’s just make sure they get back okay” I state, and she gives a nod, walking inside again. I look over at Matt and Ashley, both of their faces covered with guilt. I don’t need to talk to them right now. I turn on my heels and start running down the snowy trail.

“Wait!” I hear Chris yell after me, but I don’t wait. The faster we find them, the better. No one should be out in this weather alone. I run down the path in the freezing cold. I should’ve taken my jacket, but there's nothing to do about it now. The occasional animal sounds scare me, especially in the dark. The path has lights, but they’re far apart. I jog just to keep my warmth, arms going around myself for that extra bit of comfort. I look down, noticing some fresh foot marks. They must’ve gone this way. The snow is still heavy, and the footprints are getting less and less visible as I continue. Out of all the days to pull this prank, it had to be today? I jump over a couple of fallen branches, almost slipping on the snow-covered ice when I land. I take a right, hoping to find them around the corner.

“Hannah! Beth!”

I’m met with a flock of deer, some of them running away as they notice me. Shit. I put my hands up, carefully walking backwards to avoid agitating them. A loud inhumane scream is heard throughout the forest, making me stop in my tracks. What the hell. I keep walking slowly backwards, each step taken carefully. Please don’t let a bear come out. Maybe Hannah and Beth are already back at the lodge. I decide to think positively, and take one last step backwards before turning.

My chest immediately hits a large figure in front of me, and instinctively I scream. Chris’s hand goes over my mouth, muffling my yells.

“Shh, stop, it’s me”

I calm down, my heart raising so much I feel it in my throat. I feel tears threatening to fall in the corners of my eyes. I need to get a hold of myself.

“Have the others come back?”

“I don’t know, I came to get you first”

“They could still be out there”

His hand goes to my arms, feeling my cold skin. When he does, I realise how warm he is, or maybe how numb I am.

“Shit, you’re freezing”

“Chris, what if something happened?” He takes off his jacket and puts it on me, forcing my arms inside the soft sleeves. He’s still wearing a thick sweater underneath, not being too cold.

“They’ve basically grown up here, they’re probably back at the lodge right now”

I nod. That makes sense. They know these woods like they know their backyard, but why haven’t I heard them? And what was that horrid scream?

“Have you woken Josh?”

“I don’t know, come on, let’s get you back”

I look behind as we walk, the previous footsteps now being invisible to the eye.

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