𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐘 ━ until dawn (CURRENTLY EDITING)

━ seventeen

Mike looked down at Florence. He told Sam, "I gotta find her a place to rest until dawn. One of those things, I think, broke some of her ribs just before she went into the mines looking for Josh. She can't take much more moving around. She definitely can't keep running."

Sam winced, immediately moving to take Florence from Mike so she could get a good look at her ribs to determine the damage. If her injuries were that bad, she definitely couldn't keep moving around and she certainly couldn't run anymore.

Florence remained limp and unmoving as Sam carefully pulled up the several layers she was wearing to get a good look at her ribs. Sam hissed and reeled back slightly at the ghastly sight; there were large blue and purple bruises spread across her torso where her ribs were. They looked fresh and very painful. There was definitely damage done.

"Shit, that's bad." Sam said quietly before lowering Florence's clothes and gently handing her back over to Mike.

Florence didn't even flinch as she was passed around and examined by her friends, for she was miles away inside her head.

"Let's check the basement, might be someone left down there." Mike instructed, grunting as he walked ahead with Florence in his arms and Sam following close behind them.

"Easy." Mike mumbled as he helped Florence get down a couple sets of stairs. Considering she was slowly making her way towards becoming deadweight with how little she was able to move, it was getting harder and harder for Mike to move her. Regardless, he wasn't planning on giving up on her. It was his self-appointed job to get her off this mountain safely and he intended on doing just that.

"Come on, Flo. We're almost there, then you can rest." Mike assured her in hopes of providing her with some encouragement to keep her at least moving her feet. It seemed to help though, because she started moving her feet a little more.

"Good." Mike praised, "Almost there."

Florence heard Mike — distantly. She appreciated his encouragement more than she could vocalize in that moment. She wasn't actively trying to give up on him, but she was stuck so far away that it was hard to move, especially with how much pain she was in. After everything she and her friends had been through and how much they lost, all she wanted to do was lay down and sleep for years. She couldn't give up, yet, though. Not when they were so close to being rescued. Soon, they would be off the mountain that did nothing but tear them apart and torture them. Once she was home and healed, she could mourn the loss of her best friends and her beloved boyfriend.

Even in her trance of sorts, Florence was still holding on to some hope.

"How do you rate our chances of survival?" Sam jokingly asked Mike as they neared the doors that lead to the basement.

"I'm trying not to think about it." Mike sighed.

A sudden screech echoed from what seemed to be the basement. Then came a rush of their friends all running for their lives and practically knocking Sam, Mike, and Florence over in the process. It all happened in a matter of a few chaotic seconds.

"Go! Run!" Ashley wailed.

"Get out of here!" Chris roared, "Go, go, go!"

"Go! We gotta go!" Emily screamed, running after Ashley and Chris.

Mike hiked Florence up and began sprinting as fast as he possibly could behind his friends. He winced a little, as he knew that running had to have been hurting her. Despite this, in a life or death situation, she would have to bare the pain if she wanted to live. And he wasn't willing to give her the choice of living or dying — he was getting her out of the lodge and off the mountain whether she wanted it or not.