Until Dawn

4.1 - Violence

FOUR HOURS UNTIL DAWN
Location: Washington Lodge Basement
Time: 0305

Y/N

"Y/N. Why are your shoes off?" I heard Sam ask me as we walked out of the room. I shined my light in the new hallway. "There was no other way I could've gotten out of the ropes and the guy who roped me did a crappy job tying my feet together." I told her as I removed a plank from a door. "Aren't you feet cold then?" Sam asks as we walk into the new room. "I still have my socks on. So I'm fine." I told her as my feet were numb.

We continued walking as I saw a figure. I stopped and told Sam to stop too. "Who's there?" I asked out loud. The figure stopped and walked towards us. They came into the light and held both of their hands up. I put my light down.

"Mike." I let out as he gave us a sheepish smile. "Hey..." He lets out. I nodded. "Jeez. You like hell." I heard Sam say as she closed the door behind us. "Nice to see you too." He answers back. I then noticed something.

"Mike? Where's Jessica? Is she not with you?" I ask him as he hangs his head low. "Jessica is dead." He tells us as my eyes widened. "What?!" Sam queries with an outcry.

"He killed her, guys. There's some maniac on the mountain who is trying to kill us. All of us. And I swear to God, when everyone is safe and accounted for I am gonna hunt that fucker down and rip his nuts off one at a goddamn time." Mike seethes with anger.

"Whoa." Sam softly lets out. "I know how you feel, Mike, I would do the same, but right now, we have to find the others." I said as he nodded. We were stopped in our beginning tracks as Sam spoke up.

"This guy who you're talking about...he attacked me. He showed me these videos, too, and one of them showed Josh being killed...just...ripped apart by this huge fucking sawblade..." She starts. "Jesus Christ!" Mike says in disbelief. "And...I think...somehow Josh is involved in all of this--" Sam starts as I look at her for her to go on.

"Wait...What? How?" Mike asks her. "I'm really not sure, but...there was a message from his doctor, and...it mentioned a plan that was like, a bad idea, and now he's dead!" Sam speaks as I shook my head. I already know about his therapy sessions, but this is getting way too confusing.

"What the fuck is going on around here..." Mike lets out as he grasp his head and shakes it. I then started to remember the times when Josh would always pull a prank whenever I came to the lodge.

"Hey...what if...what if he's the one causing all of this? What if he's the one who orchestrated everything and someone is doing the dirty work for him?" I let out as Sam and Mike look at me if I were crazy. "It was just a thought..." I told them. "No shoes?" I heard Mike ask me as I wiggle my toes. "I'll be fine. Let's just --"

"Please!" 'Huh?' I looked around to see where it was coming from. "What was that?" Sam questions. "I can't! I can't decide!" I heard another shout. "Is that crying?" Mike queried. 'It sounded like...Chris...?' I queried as I went back out into the hallway and saw a metal door. I rammed into it, and it didn't budge.

"Be a teamplayer, Y/N." I heard Sam tell me as she walks next to me. "Okay then. One, two!" I shouted as we both ram into the door as it opened. I looked up to see Ashley and Chris sitting in front of each other strapped down to a chair.

Then, a man with a skull mask walks in. "No! No no no! Get away!!!" Ashley shouts. I then saw Chris aim a pistol at the masked man and shot him. 'No bullet impacts?' I thought to myself. "Oh, Chris...Oh Chris, Chris, Chris, Chris." The masked man started. "What the fuck?!" He shouts in shock.

"Oh, you've heard of blanks before. I mean really." The man tells him as Sam, Mike, and I walk in. I took out my pocket knife and ran to him. I pushed him over and hovered the knife over his mask.

"And I'm guessing you know what a pocket knife is, huh?" I ask him as I gripped the knife over his mask. The man started to chuckle as I forced my forearm down onto his throat as he started to choke. "Y/N!" I heard Sam shout.

"I'm not, Sam! Even though I really want to." I tell her as I got off the man and put the knife away. I picked him up by the collar and fisted my hand. I pushed him as hard as I ever could as he stumbles back. I felt a hand stop me as I tried to go after him again.

I heard the man chuckle as he slowly gets up. "I forgot you took boxing class, Y/N." The man tells him as I seethe with more anger. "How the hell do you know that?!" I spat at him as I tried to get out of the person's grasp. The man stood in front of us as he takes the mask off. "I fucking knew it..." I muttered as I glared at him.

"...Josh?" Chris lets out as Josh started to laugh. "Josh!" I heard Sam shout out as I felt the grip loosen on me, but still held me down. "Josh..." Mike says in disbelief. "Oh, oh very good! Everyone one of you! Got my name!" Josh exclaims as I felt Sam tug on my arm and point towards Chris. She lets go as she takes care of Ashley.

I unfastened the restraints on Chris's wrists and ankles."And after all, you've been through! Good, good-good-good. I mean how does that feel? Right?" Josh asks us. "How does it feel? Do you enjoy feeling terrorized? Humiliated? I mean, panicked?" He continues, but then, he pointed at me.

"You stayed calm just like I predicted, Y/N. But then, at the last minute, I knew you would crack!" He tells me as he starts to laugh again. "All those emotions that my sisters got to feel once or year ago! Only guess what? They didn't get to laugh it off! No! Nope! No no no! They're gone!" He shouts at us.

I then felt my hands start to shake as I remember the memories again. "I don't know if you noticed this, Josh, but none of us are laughing." Mikes points out. "Oh come, come-come-come-come. Why the long faces? Come on!" Josh exclaims. "It's good to get the heart racing every now and then, right?" Josh asks us. I then started walking towards him. Josh stops as he starts backing away. "Y/N-!" Sam starts but I held my hand up.

I grasp Josh's wrist as I talk into his ears with a shaky breath. "If this was for payback for Hannah and Beth, then you should've just targeted me." I backed away from him as he gives me a confused face. "Wh-What do you mean, Y/N? Everyone is at fault here!" Josh shouts at me as I shook my head.

"No, Josh. You should've targeted me. Not them. It was me...I'm the one at fault." I told him as my hands continued to shake. "Josh. They're not missing...they're dead...I...I killed them. It was my fault." I told him as I held my hung low and started to cry.

"I was there, Josh! I was there! And so close! But then...I didn't reach...I froze." I told him as the memories played in my head over and over again. "Do it, Josh. I know you want to--"

THUMP

"Y/N!" I heard Sam shout as Mike held her down. Josh picked me up and started beating me up. "Why didn't you say anything, Y/N?! Huh?!" He shouts at me as he started to shake. He stopped punching me as he grasps onto my jacket. "I'm sorry..." I apologized.

"Did...Did they say anything before...before..." I nodded knowing what he was going to ask me. "Beth...she told me...it wasn't my fault...and it was theirs." I told him as he looks over my shoulder. "Theirs?" Josh questions me. "Josh...no...the one who's in fault is me! Not them!" I told him as he started walking towards the group. I started pushing against him to stop him from getting to the group. "Theirs?" Josh continues as I felt his hand grab onto my shoulders and fling me away.

I hit my head on a beam as I felt a warm liquid run down my forehead.

"It's not your fault...it's theirs..."