Chapter Warnings: Violence and swearing
Dani and Mike leave the mines and enter the cold frigid air. The cold wind assaults them, making her ever colder from the water still clinging to her clothes. Dani's head was pounding and she was starting to feel dizzy again. Something Mike seemed to notice since he put his arm around her waist. "I've got you, okay?" Mike says and she nods before putting her arm around his shoulder. "Let's go." She says.
They make the trek back to the lodge and Dani thought she could hear yelling. Sam? "Shit. Come on." Mike says and hurries their pace. "Hey!" Dani hears and focuses once again. "Come on, open up!" Sam yells. Dani's friends needed her and she wasn't going to let them down. They reach a small clearing and she sees Sam at the back door. "Guys come on, are you in there!" Sam yells as the duo approaches.
"Let me in!" Sam yells as they are on the porch. "Sam—" Dani says and Sam gasps as she turns. "Shit, you guys! Oh gosh, you guys look terrible." Sam says and Dani can't help the small chuckle, she was sure they did. "Gonna look worse if we stay out here. Come on." Mike says. "May have to break in." Dani says and Sam nods. "Yeah, no one's answering. I hope they're alright." Sam says as she bends down to pick up a rock.
Dani wanted to believe they were but she also felt that doubt. Anything could happen when it came to wendigos. Sam throws the rock through the glass panel and the glass shatters. Sam reaches through the broken pane and unlocks the door. "Okay." Sam says as she opens the door. "You good?" Mike asks Dani as she lets go of him. "Yeah. I'm good." Dani says before following Sam in. She wasn't lying, her dizziness was temporarily gone.
"W-what happened to Josh?" Sam asks after Mike closes the door and Dani swallows hard. "He didn't make it." Dani quietly says. "It got him in the water." Mike says. "Oh God, what an awful way to go." Sam says before turning on the lights. "Not good." Mike says and turns them off immediately afterwards. "He's right. Let's go find the others." Dani says before going further into the lodge.
"Yeah. We should check the basement. Might be someone left down there." Mike says and Dani nods. They head to the stairs with Sam's headlamp illuminating the way. Dani rubs her arms to try and stave off the cold as they go down the stairs. She leads the way to the projection room and goes inside. "How do you rate our chances of survival?" Sam asks and Dani looks at her. "I'm trying not to think about it." Mike says.
"Above average." Dani answers truthfully or at the very least hopefully. She hears the wendigo screech and tenses before she sees Chris running for them. "Go!! Run!" She hears Ashley yell. "Get outta here! Go, go, go!" Chris yells as he does a 'come on' motion with his arm. Chris runs past them and Dani sees both Ashley and Emily running as well. "Go, go! We gotta go!" Emily yells.
Dani felt momentarily relieved at seeing her friends alive before her instincts and adrenaline kick back in. "Run!" Mike yells. She needed to give them enough time to run even if it meant putting herself at risk. "Go!" Dani yells at Sam before running for the door as she sees the two wendigos. "Shit!" Dani swears before slamming it close. She takes off running as she hears them slamming against the door.
Dani is surprised to see Mike running for her. When he reaches her he grabs her hand and pulls before they reach the stairs. "What are you doing? I told you to run!" Dani snaps as they go up the stairs. "I'm not leaving you behind." Mike snaps back as they reach the top. That's when she sees everyone frozen at the top. "Don't. Move...don't move a fucking muscle." Mike whispers and she sees the wendigo on the sphere light fixture above.
Dani keeps as still as she can and concentrates on her hand in Mike's. Anything to keep her distracted from her throbbing head and body. The wendigo gives small screeches as it looks around the room in an attempt to spot movement. She willed her friends to stay as still as they could, lest they draw it down and to them. Mike squeezes her hand as she hears the two wendigos she locked out behind them.
The wendigo on the sphere jumps off as another one moves more into the room. Dani uses her eyes to glance around the room to try and find a solution to their predicament. That was until she heard the two wendigos fighting. One of the wendigos gets slammed into the staircase, breaking the boards as it does. The wendigo gets flown across the room next and hits the fireplace before Dani sees an opening.
"The gas." Dani whispers as quietly as she can to Mike. "What?" He whispers back. "The gas." Dani whispers agains before he takes notice. Dani follows his line sight and sees the lightbulb before the light switch. That could work. "I can distract them." Dani whispers. "No." Mike hisses. Dani looks over at Sam and nods her head in the direction of the light before she nods. Dani lets Mike's hand go and slowly moves to go to the light.
Mike stops her by grabbing her jacket before he moves forward himself. What was he doing? Dani didn't want to risk Mike's life. She draws her gaze to the middle when she sees the two wendigos collide, that was his chance. Dani hears the creak in the floor after one wendigo gets its head torn off. Her eyes quickly dart to where Sam is and sees the wendigo start to approach her.
Dani wills Sam to not move and is thankful when she doesn't.
Dani sees Mike break the lightbulb and she winces, hoping it doesn't draw the wendigo. She also notices Chris go out the door, that left Ashley, Emily, Mike, Sam and herself. Dani's heart starts to race when she sees the wendigo heading towards Mike now. "Sam go for the switch." Dani whispers to her before looking back at the wendigo. "Hey asshat!" Dani yells. The wendigo looks in her direction before heading towards her.
The wendigo stops in front of Dani and she doesn't dare to move an inch. The wendigo walks away from her because she doesn't move and she notices the tattoo. It was Hannah. She noticed Sam hiding behind a pillar and the Hannah wendigo moving towards her instead. Dani slowly digs into her pocket before pulling out Beth's watch. She was hoping to keep a memento of her best friend but it didn't stop her from tossing the watch a few feet away from Sam.
Wendigo Hannah screeches before heading towards it and Dani feels someones hand slip into hers. "Come on." Mike hisses and Dani is torn as she sees Sam move hiding spots. Sam looks at her and mouths 'go' before Dani sees another wendigo on the stairs. Mike pulls her slowly towards the door as Dani watches wendigo Hannah go towards Sam's new hiding place. Wendigo Hannah screeches in Sam's face before moving away from her and relief washed over Dani.
She lets Mike pull her towards the door as Sam takes off running for the light switch. They exit the lodge and Dani anxiously waits for Sam. She sees Sam at the door before the lodge explodes and Dani is knocked off her feet from the pressure. Mike breaks her fall again before Dani gets to her knees. She needed to know if Sam cleared the explosion. She gets to her feet and hurries forward before she sees the others, including Sam.
Mike and Dani help Sam up to her feet before Dani sees the flaming wendigo head. That's when Dani hears the motorized whir of helicopter blades. "Guys." Dani says as she spots the helicopter and the rising sun. Dani can't help the peel of laughter that comes out of her before the others joined her. They made it until dawn. Well most of them, Dani feels a pang or hurt and loss when she thinks of Josh, Jess, and Matt.
Everything else went by in a blur. From being treated for a minor concussion to being hauled into the RCMP police station. "Miss Castillo?" Dani hears before raising her head to look at the police officer. "You say something?" She questions. "You need to tell us what happened on that mountain." The cop says. "The only way we know what happened is for you and your friends to tell us the truth." The other cop says and Dani almost snorts.
"I remember where we were now. I don't feel like talking and I know that you can't make me." Dani says and gives a sweet smile. She learned a long time ago not to tell cops about the supernatural and she wasn't going to change that now. "Miss Castillo just make it easier on yourself. We saw your record." The you get cop says and Dani leans forward. "My juvenile record I may add. There is nothing on it that's recent. I'm going to repeat myself one last time. I suffered some injuries and hit my head pretty hard so unless you're going to charge me with something you have to let me go." She says.
Dani hears a knock on the glass mirror in the room before the two cops leave. Dani leans tiredly back in the chair. She couldn't wait to have a nice hot shower and go to sleep, even though she knew that nightmares were waiting for her. She picks at the dirt under her nails as she waits for them to make a decision. Either way she wasn't going to talk but she knew the others very well could and most likely would.
That fact separated Dani from her friends and she couldn't blame them for it. Before she could self reflect any more the door opens and she raises her head to look at them. "You're free to go." The older cop says and Dani stands. She fights off a wave of dizziness as she heads for the door and walks right past the two men. "We will find out the truth, Miss Castillo." The younger one says and Dani can't help but smirk as she turns her head to look at them.
"You couldn't handle it. Have a nice night boys." Dani says. She leaves the police station and sees a cab on the corner. Dani hops in before giving the name of the motel she was staying at. "Thanks." Dani says as she hands the cab driver the few bills she had in her pocket before getting out. She digs her keys out of her pocket and goes to her car before opening the trunk. She digs into her bag before pulling out a burner phone and charger.
Dani mentally thanks her dad and brother for always being prepared as she slams the trunk door down. She does however mentally curse herself when she realizes she needs to get a new key for the motel. She goes to the office and heads inside before the woman at the desk gives her a once over. "I need a new key for my room." Dani says. "What happened to the one you were given?" The woman questions.
"Pretty sure it's fully melted by now. Look it's been a long night and I just want to go to bed." Dani says. "There will be a charge for the key." The woman says. "That's fine. Just give me a new key, please." She says. Dani wasn't sure if the woman was deliberately taking her sweet time or if it was just her current impatience but the clerk took a while before issuing a new key. "Don't lose this one." The woman says and Dani has to bite the inside of her cheek to not give a sarcastic reply.
"Sure thing. Have a good day." Dani says before grabbing the key and leaving. She heads to her room and unlocks it before heading immediately to the bathroom. She starts up the water for her shower before stripping down and hopping in. The hot water felt great against her skin and all she wanted to do was clean herself off. She watched as the bottom of the tub turns brown from the dirt coming off her skin. It felt like she was shedding a layer of skin but no matter how hard she scrubbed she couldn't shake how she failed Josh.
He was the only one who didn't make it out and Dani felt partly if not wholly responsible for his demise. She could have gone back for him to make sure he was dead but she didn't. She felt too weak and powerless to do that. Dani bites her lip to try and hold back the tears that wanted to escape for her friend. He deserved so much better. That's when it hits her like a punch to the gut and she can't stop the torrent of tears. Not just for Josh but Beth and Hannah.
Dani takes deep breaths to calm herself and once she's successful she turns off the water. She hops out of the shower before towel drying herself. She puts on her panties before grabbing her brother's t-shirt and putting it on. Dani goes into the room before flopping down onto the bed. Even the cheap motel room bed felt amazing against her body. Dani hears a knock on the door and groans. "Who in the hell could that be?" She grumbles as she crawls off the bed and heads to the door.
Dani opens it and she's surprised to see Sam, Chris, Ashley, Emily, and Mike. "What are you guys all doing here?" Dani questions and sees that they're all holding things. "We're having a movie and a sleepover, why do you think we're holding this?" Emily says. "And she's back. Come in." Dani says before stepping aside to let them in. "You may want to put on some pants." Sam says and Dani sighs.
"Well I didn't think anyone would be here and I don't sleep with pants on." Dani says and closes the door once everyone is in. "Dibs on a bed." Mike says before throwing himself on it and she glares at him. "Don't even think about it, Munroe." She warns and he smirks. "First come first serve. Besides there are two." He retorts and Dani groans. "It was until you put your ass in my bed and we both know that's not the point." She grumbles. "Stop being a salty Susie and be happy to see us." Chris says and Dani can't help but smile. He was right.
"Fine. I'll go put on pants." Dani grumbles. She grabs a pair of sweatpants out of her bag before slipping them on. She was far too tired to go to the bathroom and put them on. She also stopped caring when it came to her friends. "Move your ass over." She tells Mike before he does as she asks. Dani crawls under the covers next to him as Chris plugs his laptop into the television. "Hope you guys don't mind a rom com. I think we've had enough horror for one night." Chris says.
"By all means." Dani says. "I will be a gentleman and give my spot to Sam." Mike says and Dani can't help but smirk. "Must be so hard giving up your spot next to me." Dani says and Mike winks at her. "It is, but we can make up for it later." Mike says and Dani rolls her eyes. Mike gets off the bed and Sam climbs in next to her as Chris puts on About Time. Ashley and Emily set up in the other bed as the boys get comfortable on the floor before pizza is soon passed around. Dani savours each bite as she watches the movie before she starts to get tired again. She didn't make it a full 30 minutes before she falls asleep.
Dani hears Alex yell in pain and she takes off running in that direction. "Alex! Where are you?" She calls out before she hears an inhuman screech. It was here. She rounds the bend of the hill and sees Alex on the ground, blood pouring from him. She runs towards him but it was like she was going nowhere and he seemed just as far away. "Alex!" Dani yells and she's finally able to reach him.
Dani places her hands on his abdomen in hopes of stopping the bleeding and feels the familiar grief and tears rush out of her. "You failed him, Dani. Like you failed us." She hears before turning her head to see the blood covered Washington siblings. "This can't be real." She says before she feels movement on her hands and looks down. Alex was turning into a wendigo. Dani stumbles back and lands on her butt before she's back in the mines.
"Come play with us, Dani." Beth says and she looks over to see her best friend walking towards her. "Dani. Dani. Wake up." She hears a familiar voice say. Mike? Dani looks over and sees him approach her from the darkness. "Hey. Hey. You're okay." Mike says as he bends down in front of her. "You're okay. It's just a dream. Come back to me." Mike says as he lightly grabs her face. She can feel the warmth and starts coming to.
Dani's eyes slowly open and they focus on Mike's face. "Are you okay?" Mike whispers and she feels like her chest is heavy but nods. "Yeah. Thanks." Dani whispers back. "Move over." He whispers and she hesitates before complying. Mike crawls in beside her before wrapping her up in his arms. "I'm right here. Just remember that." He whispers and she nods. "Good night, Mike." She whispers back before getting comfortable beside him. Dani closes her eyes and drifts back into sleep. It was the first time in a while that she didn't have nightmares.
STATUS UPDATE
Traits:
Charitable - 6/10
Funny - 7/10 ↑
Honest - 6/10 ↓
Brave - 10/10 ↑
Romantic - 7/10
Curious - 9/10
Relationships:
Sam - 10/10
Ashley - 9/10 ↑
Chris - 10/10
Josh - 8/10
Jess - 5/10
Mike - 10/10
Emily - 4/10 ↑
Matt - 5/10
Author's Note
There's only a chapter (maybe two) left and it's been a fun journey. I am thinking of continuing the story by either doing one-shots or another full blown story with Dani on a new case. Thoughts?