Deep within the asylum's bowels, I thought about the Wendigos - ancient, evil spirits of the wilderness - their haunting howls sending shivers down my spine. Their presence instills a sense of primal terror as if you've stepped into nightmares.
I'd be a godamn liar if I said I hadn't had my fair share of those dreams. I'm not sure what's mine or what's Billy's, and that made it worse. It's not his fault, of course. We didn't know that this shit would happen.
It's been a blessing and a curse. Learning the things I do now, I know that the older man was fighting literal demons, and he lost. That doesn't make it any better, but I at least had some clarity about the situation.
With each step I took in the place, it's as if I uncovered fragments of dangerous secrets hidden within the asylum's grim history. The walls bear faint scratches, remnants of desperate souls trapped within.
Rusty chains hang ominously from the ceiling, hinting at the asylum's dark experiments and the torment endured by those unfortunate enough to have crossed its threshold. Blackwood is a sick fuck. I saw that firsthand.
"Jason!" Billy hailed me, snapping his fingers in front of my face.
"Mm-what?" I mumbled.
"I've been calling you," Billy explains with a frown.
"Uh, I spaced out," I sighed.
"I figured," he nods. "It happens to me, too, sometimes."
I clear my throat, and I decide to change the subject. I didn't particularly appreciate where my thoughts were going. I came out here to clear those thoughts, and it didn't work.
"What happened to make Eric run down there like that?" I ask him.
"CENTCOM," he sighed. "They were poking around the place."
"I could have sworn we sent 'em off," I scoffed.
"That's what confused me," Billy admits, tapping his temple.
"What were they doing?" I ask next.
"I assumed they were looking for the patient files from my group," he croaked. "I saw myself turn into one of those things...why aren't I one now?"
"When a Wendigo is killed, the spirit possessing it is freed," I explained. "So you're just...you...now."
"I don't remember any of it," Billy claims.
"Maybe you oughta be thankful for that," I shrugged.
"After what I've seen, I am," he agrees.
"H-how did you react?" I asked. "I mean, I felt the shock, but..."
"I guess I could compare it to seeing people turn into vampires," Billy points out.
"...Fair enough," I sighed. "It's fuckin' crazy, learning that our families are meant to fight shit like this."
"I've been curious about my brother," Billy admits.
"So have I," I admit. "Alice hasn't been able to find the ship."
"I've been thinking that what happened there kept him from coming home," he surmised. "That's when they must have gotten to your father."
YOU ARE READING
FallOut (BOOK 2)
FanfictionCENTCOM has been taken down, and the Marines have been given their lives back, as well as new opportunities for love, friendships, and fighting for what they believe in. After they survived the temple of Naram-Sin for the second time, they head to t...
