I shake my head as Mike and I head down to the mines. "I was not prepared for how ugly that thing would be up close."
"Yeah..." Mike nods, "So I noticed something kind of weird about it..."
"What?"
"The Wendigo... It had a scar."
"So?"
"I've seen it before."
"What are you talking about?"
Mike shakes his head, "I saw these old pictures of some guy with that same scar - and he was transforming into a Wendigo."
"You're kidding."
"It was one of those miners who'd been trapped, back in the 50s... in the cave-in. Which means that thing is 80 years old. At least."
"Spunky for an old timer."
"They cleaned the place out... killed a lot of people."
"They? You mean there's more of them?"
"Oh yeah."
"How many?"
"Too many."
"I think we're close. To the lair." I look around the mines.
"How can you tell?"
"I don't know. I just have a really bad feeling..."
"Ditto." Mike nods and looks around as well.
"I really don't want to go in there..."
"There's no other way."
"There is. It's just wait here to be torn apart."
"I think I'd rather go in there."
I sigh, "Normally I'd agree, but I'm not so sure we won't face the same fate no matter what we do." I shake my head, "I can't believe they use to be people."
"Yeah, at least one is a miner. A few are from the Sanatorium. I guess they were experimenting with them."
"They were what?" I look over to Mike in shock.
"Yeah, they were creating them, for lack of a better word."
I shake my head and look around some more in the mines. As I look around I find what looks like a grave "Mike... Is that what I think it is?"
"Shit..." Mike walks over, "looks like a grave."
I shake my head and look around the grave, finding Beth's watch, "oh, God... Mike..." I lean down and pick it up, "This is Beth's! This is here watch!"
"What? Let me see..."
"It looks like there was a cross too."
"So this is where she was buried."
"But... who dug her up?"
'Maybe you were right about Hannah eating Beth to survive, "Mike shakes his head, "Let's keep moving." Mike steps into the water I hadn't gone in before. "Come on, it's okay."
"You sure...?"
"I'm not dead yet."
"Yet..." I take a deep breath and follow him in. "It's freezing. I can't feel my toes."
"Could you before?"
As we continue on we start to get into deeper water, "Wait a minute. I thought you'd reach the deepest part."
"I didn't say that." Mike shakes his head, "I said it was okay, meaning like there weren't any sharks or anything in here."
"Sharks. Great! Thank you." Mike and I walk through the water to another ledge and climb up. When I look around I find a journal. It looks like it's Hannah's. I read it out loud, "I'm sorry Beth... I have no choice. It's the only way I can survive anymore. If someone finds this, I'm sorry. I had to... I had no choice."
"What does it mean... Jesus."
I turn the page, "Oh god... It makes sense... I think... Hannah dug up Beth. It was Hannah!"
"Not that's ridiculous. I was fucking with you."
"Michael... Michael, it has to be. It's the only thing that makes sense- Beth died in the fall."
"So what... what does that mean..."
"So Hannah must have buried her. Hannah was down here... for..."
Mike shakes his head, "I don't believe any of this!"
"She would have been starving... she would have been desperate..."
"Fuck!"
"We need to find Josh. Right now."
Mike nods and the two of us get back into the water. "It's getting deeper." Mike comments from ahead of me.
"Yeah, uhm..."
"Okay. hey, it's sloping up again. We're gonna make it."
"Don't jinx us. Also you say that like I can't swim."
The two of us get out of the water again, "Come on, we made it." He smiles. We unlock a door which suddenly opens. "Whoa!!" Water gushes from the door, tripping both of us, "Oh Whoa... whoa..."
"You see that...?"
"Yeah..."
"...bodies..."
"Yeah. yeah, a lot of them. Oh.. oh my, God." Mike shakes his head as we look at the body of the stranger, "I'm gonna be sick." Mike turns his head, "Wait wait wait! Hold on. I think I saw something..."
Mike and I peer between wood boards and see Josh. He looks like he's in the middle of a break, "No... no no... no no no... I don't ... I don't take orders from you..."
"Josh!" I smile.
Mike and I find a way to get to Josh, but he is still in a delusional state, "I don't take orders from you, you can't tell me what to do..."
"Hey... hey, Josh!" Mike calls out.
"You can't tell me what to do anymore!"
"Josh? Buddy?" Mike and I slowly approach Josh.
"You can't tell me what to do!! Okay... okay... I trust you... I trust you... I trust you..."
I shake my head, "What's the matter with him?"
"He's tripping or something." Mike shakes his head.
I walk up to Josh and place my hands on his cheeks and shake him slightly, "Josh..."
Josh shakes his head, "E... Elena?"
"Josh... Hey..." I smile softly up to him.
Josh looks over to Mike, "Don't h... hit me, please..."
"You were deep in it man, Full Metal Jacket." Mike shakes his head.
"We didn't think we'd get you back..." I move my hands to Josh's shoulders, "Josh... Hannah was down here for... weeks... a month?! She dug Beth up!"
"Elena..."
"Mike..." I turn to Mike.
"Let's just get the fuck out of here."
"Okay... Josh, do you have the key for the cable car?"
Josh nods and takes the key card out, "Uh... Y-yeah... Here." he hands the card to me.
"Good... " I look up, "See that over there? That means there's a direct way out. C'mon."
Mike looks to and Josh, "There's no way Josh is gonna make it up there."
"Okay. If you can help me up, I can go back to tell the others we're okay."
"Yeah... yeah, good."
"You bring Josh back the way we came and we'll a;ll meet at the lodge."
"Be careful."
"You too." I nod and look over to Josh, stepping over to him and kissing him softly, "Come back to me. In one piece... everything else we can figure out together..."
Josh nods as I head back to Mike, who is ready to give me a boost, "Alright let's go."
I nod, "I think I remember this from Cheer." I put a foot into Mike's hand and he lifts me up. I grab a length and start to climb. I decide it's best to take things slow right now. When I get to the top, I make my way back through intersecting paths meeting together to a lake. I drop down into the lake and shriek due to the cold. While wading to the other end of the lake, I stop when I hear something loud. I don't stop for long and climb out the other side and shake myself off. I continue walking to a high ledge, where I slip and slide down and land hard on the ground on my stomach. I lay there for a moment and take a deep breath, "come on, Elena, get up..." I mumble to myself as I get up. When I walk past the shed, where I hear a loud Wendigo howl, before breaking into a spring. I duck under a tree log while running. "SHIT!" I stop and scope out my area, but then continue running. I jump down a ledge and run. I jump over a broken jar and before long arrive at the lodge and desperately try to open the door. "HEY! HEY!!!!! COME ON OPEN UP!!!! GUYS COME ON ARE YOU IN THERE?? LET ME IN!!!"
"Elena?" I hear Mike behind me.
I turn and see Mike, "Shit, Mike! Oh gosh you look terrible..."
"Gonna look worse if we stay out here... come on!"
I grab a rock off the ground and smash the door. Reaching through the hole and unlocking the door from the other side. Mike and I run inside. "Okay... Mike... what happened to Josh?"
"It got him."
"Ohhh, God..." I shake my head, "What do you think we should do?"
"We should check the basement... might be someone left down there..."