.₊꒰ 🪓 ꒱:⩩┆( 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙬𝙣 )⊹.*

𝐹𝑂𝑈𝑅𝑇𝐸𝐸𝑁.         ☠︎︎ 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙙𝙜𝙚

⸝⸝ ʚ 🪓 ! ⌗ °• ━━━━━━━━━ "𝑾𝑬 𝑮𝑶𝑻𝑻𝑨 𝑭𝑼𝑪𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑮𝑶!" 𝑴𝑰𝑲𝑬 𝒀𝑬𝑳𝑳𝑬𝑫 𝑨𝑺 𝑯𝑬 𝑩𝑬𝑮𝑨𝑵 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑮𝑮𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑫𝑨𝒁𝑬𝑫 𝑮𝑰𝑹𝑳 𝑭𝑹𝑶𝑴 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑵𝑶𝑾. Every part of Marlowe's body felt as though she had died. Despite her blurred vision, she still made the effort to keep her eyes trained on the creature that peered from the destruction of The Sanatorium, crawling to meet the surface while its skin cracked and burned. It was cased in flames, its pale armor shell glowing orange as it illuminated the storm induced night.

"Can't catch a fucking break..." Marlowe muttered to herself, dragging her flared jeans through the thickening snow.

Mike quickly glanced over his shoulder, and he would do so every few seconds as he saw the flaming creature catching up as it leaped from one tree to another, distributing its flame to the leaves. While Marlowe King had been one of the fastest on the track, she was going far too slow for his liking.

He finally had enough. Taking a hold on her arm, he dragged her behind him at an increased pace. The action forced the girl to scream in pain as the burning sensation shot up to her claw engraved shoulder.

"Lo! Hurry!" Mike rushed her. He felt horrible after hearing he scream from hurting her. But, he would rather Marlowe be hurt for a few seconds than be dead on the snow. He refused to have a repeat of what happened to Jessica.

"I'm going as fast as I fucking can, Michael!" The girl snapped, the pain stirring in her body not helping with her irritation and lowering patience. She was, however, fastening her pace as her mind began to clear from the foggy state it had been in from the explosion. Yanking her arm from the man, she took her pace into her own hands — now side by side with Mike.

Marlowe took a brief glance over her shoulder, and she felt her heart drop.

"Don't mean to alarm you, but it's right behind us!"

"QUICK! In here!" Mike pointed toward the large structure ahead made of tin and rotting wood. He pushed the door open, forcing it to creak and Marlowe slipped through the crack as he followed. The pair chose to use their body weight to hold the door in place with nothing to help lock the door in their vicinity.

Their bodies were shoved away from the door momentarily until they returned to pressing against it. Marlowe took a quick glance through one of the rusted spots in the tin, seeing the flaming creature prepare to throw itself at the door once more.

"Mike! Get ready!"

Although they were both ready for the impact, the tin flew open and knocked them to opposite sides of the mine opening. Marlowe screamed as the thing took a hold of Mike, pinning him to the ground and attempting the claw at his face. Her eyes went from Mike, to the gun that had flung by her feet, and finally to the creature.

She knew she probably shouldn't shoot it due to her condition and she was certainly likely to miss. But she was going to do it anyway. Marlowe grasped the shotgun in her right hand, the weapon clearly unstable in a singular hand. Aiming at the creature as best as she could, she fired and the blast rung out, followed by the creature hitting the tin in the corner of the open area. However, it got back up like nothing had happened.

THUMP.

A shovel swung from the shadows, successfully landing a hit on the flaming creature as the fire began to slowly extinguish.

THUMP.

Stepping out from the shadows holding the gardening tool triumphantly as the creatures head departed from its body, was Sam. All three watched as it collapsed to the ground in front of Mike, its armored skin charred.

      Recovering quickly, the man clapped his hands to get the girls attention and Marlowe threw him the shotgun, watching as he used it to lock the tin door by shoving it through the handles. The girl was sure it wouldn't stop the next Wendigo, but anything was better than nothing.

      Marlowe smiled as she looked over her shoulder at the blonde, "Holy shit. You know how to swing that thing!" She leaned in to give the girl a hug, tightly wrapping an arm around her as some sort of thanks. Some of her blood made its way onto Sam's clothes.

      "You alright?" Mike asked the blonde, hunching over with his hands on his knees as he attempted to catch his breath.

      "Uhh, define 'alright'..." Sam threw the shovel to the side.

      Mike looked at both girls, "alive, for a start."

      "Yeah, yeah! Alive is good! I can't say the same for Lo... You somehow look worse than you did after your hand got cut off..." Sam observed the girl. Standing like a doll on display, Marlowe spun around. She was covered head to toe in blood, dirt, and fresh wounds. "I thought you two were going to swing by The Sanatorium to get medical supplies... not get put in a worse condition."

      "Well, I wonder whose idea it was to leave the basement," Marlowe chucked an annoyed look over toward Mike who rolled his eyes and threw up his middle finger, "speaking of leaving the basement... What are you doing all the way out here?"

      Sam shrugged, "well... I was gonna warn you both about the Wendigos," she briefly explained and Mike chuckled slightly, pointing toward the charred body.

      "I think we got it."

      "Yeah...." Sam whispered as Marlowe groaned in pain.

      The skin on her arms was beginning to turn purple from the cool weather, and her grey tank top was slowly transforming to become a deep red.

But she would be fine. They were so close to dawn.

"Since most of us are together now, let's find a way down to where this fucker lives and find Josh," Mike established the plan.

"I know some of the way. I came through the mines to get here," Sam lead the way, lighting the path with the torch strapped around her head. "Also, I was not prepared for how ugly that thing would be up close."

Marlowe laughed slightly at the comment, slowing down her pace as Mike came to a halt.

"Y'know I noticed something kind of weird about the Wendigo. One of them had a scar. I saw it before when I was looking around The Sanatorium," Mike began explaining his findings.

Marlowe shrugged, "what are you talking about?"

"I saw some pictures of a guy with the same exact scar - it was one of the miners who'd been trapped back in the 50's... in the cave-in. Which means one of those things is damn near 80 years old. At least."

"Which also means..." Marlowe began putting the pieces, "he ate some of his colleagues... how lovely!"

The three continued through the sharp corners of the mines, as Sam jokes, "spunky for an old timer."

"Yeah, well, they cleaned the place out... killed a lot of people." Mike sighed.

"They?" Sam stopped, turning to face the two that were following closely, "you mean there are more of them?"

"Oh, yeah!" Marlowe smiled, paranoid about how many there actually were, "whole basement of The Sanatorium had them in cages. Which, uh, if we're not lucky... are probably free roaming... because... we kinda blew the place up."

Sam's eyebrows rose at the horrifying words, "oh! Good!"

Marlowe walked by the the edge of the cloudy water, noticing the hand crafted wooden totem. Hints of black patterns decorated the exterior, and as usual, she flipped it to glance at the butterfly shaped hole carved through the hollow wood.

𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺

𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘺 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 — 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘮.

With nothing different from any of the other totems she had picked up, Marlowe dropped it back to the cave's slightly slippery ground without a care.

      "I don't think I want to go in there..." Sam angled her head so that the head torch could give the group a better look at the murky water. It was hard to see anything. Marlowe agreed with her. Left in only her tank top and jeans - she would probably freeze to death.

      Mike observed the cave, "there's no other way through..."

      Shuddering, Marlowe sat by the edge of the water before dropping in, making sure to keep her amputated arm out of the water. The water was already reaching her shoulders, and from what she could tell, the water only got deeper. However, she was careful not to make too much noise as she kept her head above the water, feeling it sting her wounds. For all they knew, the Wendigo was probably able to swim at the same speed as it could move on land.

      Mike quickly climbed in after her, lifting his elbows above the water as the cold seeped through the thick jacket and reached his bare skin. "Come on. It's okay." Mike encouraged Sam as she remained on the rigid edge.

      "You sure?" Sam questioned, looking below her feet.

      "Well, Mike and I aren't dead yet!" Marlowe whispered, moving through the water until she reached the deepest area where it began touching her chin.

      "Famous last words..." Sam murmured.

They powered through the chilling water of the cave, an occasional drip hitting the surface from the stalactites above. Mike lead the way, getting Sam to turn her head whenever he needed to see the darkest parts of the cave.

"Shit, I can't feel my body anymore," Marlowe's teeth hit against each other, the goosebumps revealing through her skin in every place they could. She believed they were already at the deepest part of the lake, but when she slipped a level lower and had to spit the water that entered her mouth. "Fuck!"

"Lo! You all good?" Mike asked, swimming over to her side.

She dismissed him, "yeah, just going for my morning swim..."

"Wait a minute... I thought you two had already reached the deepest part..." Sam spoke as she joined them, her arms having to lift higher to avoid the water.

"Well, I didn't say that. I said it was okay..." Mike panted, feeling his body freezing up. He couldn't imagine how Marlowe felt with her lack of clothing. "Meaning there weren't any sharks or anything in here."

Marlowe looked above at the rocks holding the cave together, knowing at any moment they could collapse and cave the three of them in, only for them to have the same fate as the miners.

"Sharks! Great!" Sam whispered as she moved her head to direct the light source.

Making it safely to the other end of the lake, Mike climbed out first before extending a hand to Marlowe who was struggling in the water. She was already head level, and she was thankful it hadn't gone deeper as she wouldn't have been able to swim well with one hand.

"I feel like a goddamn dog..." Marlowe rung out her soaked top, the blood slightly coming out and spilling onto the floor of the mine. She shook her body from side to side to let the water out of her pants. Walking forward to allow Sam room onto the platform of the cave, the girl heard the crumping of pages beneath her feet, almost slipping as a result of the texture of the ground.

Sam moved past and picked up the book from the ground, flicking through the first few pages. The other two circled around to glance at the writing.

"Oh, shit. This looks like Hannah's writing..." Mike observed the lettering, remembering distinct characteristics from when she would write his name.

They all waited for Sam to read out the following words...

"I'm sorry Beth... I have no choice. It's the only way I can survive. If someone finds this, Im sorry. I had to... I had no choice."

Chills ran down Marlowe's spine as she read the words over and over again. A part of her knew what Hannah had meant, and the other part of her wish that they had never read that.

"So what? What does that mean? Did she kill her? Her own sister?!" Mike shouted, placing his hands on his head as he began pacing.

"I- I don't know!" Sam shouted back, dropping the book.Marlowe stood in silence, unable to utter the words to them.

"How the hell could they even stay alive down here?!" Mike shouted.

"They didn't."

Mike and Sam stopped yelling in a panic and glanced over at Marlowe.

"Beth must have died first. Hannah ate Beth." Marlowe whispered, covering her mouth with her hand as she spilled the disturbing words that she struggled to believe.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me! No! No fucking way!" Mike pointed at Marlowe, feeling sick to his stomach. Sam was more silent about the ordeal, running a hand through her hair.

Marlowe whispered, "Hannah is one of those things."

      "Oh, my God..." Sam closed her eyes, trying to breathe. "We have to find Josh and get the hell out of here..."

      Mike and Marlowe nodded in agreement, only silence between the two of them until they slid back into the water. "It's out fault..."

      "No... It's not," Mike justified their actions that lead to the situation they were in, "I mean, yeah we played a prank. But we didn't make Hannah eat her sister."

      "But we made them end up here, Michael..." Marlowe whispered as she kept her eyes on the roof of the mine, fighting back the tears. She felt responsible in an odd way.

      Soon, they were at their final destination, where they hoped Josh was. If, of course, he was alive. If not, then they hoped he still had the keys to the cable car.

      Shaking the water from their clothes as they all stood on the platform, Sam pulled the door ahead of them, allowing water that had been contained behind the metal to be set free. However, it was not a peaceful sight.

      Marlowe screamed and moved out of the way of the stream, witnessing the decapitated flesh flow through the water past her feet. Chris's head stopped in front of her, his eyes rolled back and the flesh and bone of his neck exposed. The head of the stranger that had saved her life followed closely, stopping by Mike.

      "Oh Jesus!" Mike leaped over the head and ran to be beside Marlowe, holding her close to his body.

      The last head followed, but with the lack of water, it remained by Sam's feet. "Matt! Oh God!"

      Marlowe felt it coming up. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

      She faced the water as the build up from her stomach burnt her throat and spilled into the lake they were just swimming through. Mike quickly moved her hair from her face and turned away, the noises were enough to make him sick, let alone the sight of it.

      "Guys- You see that?" Sam grabbed their attention.

      Marlowe wiped her mouth against her wrist, not caring about her disgusting that was. In the distance she saw the silhouettes. The heads had not travelled far from their bodies. Strung by chains, the remaining bodies of Chris, Matt and the stranger hung in the air as though it were a local butcher.

      "Fuck me..." Marlowe closed her mouth quickly, however, feeling the second round start up as she rested her hand against her stomach. She looked back at Matt's head, and then to his body. Emily probably had no clue. And upon seeing Chris in that state once again, she felt a deep hatred for the red head that was probably snug in the basement.

      Well, no. If she was there with only Emily, she was sure they were at each others throats.

      "Wait wait wait!" Mike held back the sick he felt in the pits of his stomach, "I think I saw something..."

      Peaking through the wood panels that separated them from the person Mike spotted. Marlowe couldn't believe it.

      "How the fuck is he still alive?" She whispered, looking at Josh Washington in a delusional state whilst still dressed in his killer maniac overalls. However, she was still glad that he was alive through all of this. Happy he wasn't strung up like the others.

Marlowe hurriedly pushed through the door between them and Josh, running over to him during his manic state. "Josh! Hey! It's us!" She waved her hand in front of his face, but he only repeated three word over and over again.

I trust you.

"Sorry for doing this, man," Mike whispered before raising his hand — the sound of the slap across Josh's cheek echoing against the mines rock walls. He moved back as Josh came back to his senses.

"M-Mike?"

      "Josh! Hey man-"

"Don't h-hit, p-please," Josh raised his hands, looking at the three people in front of him. Marlowe was still unable to believe this was the same man from the start of the night. Only ten hours ago did he seem fairly normal.

Mike sighed, "you were deep in it, man. Full mental jacket."

The one handed girl couldn't help herself, and she pulled Josh into a hug. After reading the notes from his sister, she felt so guilty. "We didn't think we would get you back..."

She pulled back when the hug wasn't returned. But, she wasn't offended. Josh was mentally incapable of knowing what was happening.

"Josh..." Sam got his attention, "Hannah was down here for weeks... a month? She dug Beth up!"

Mike stopped her, "let's just get the fuck out of here. We'll do all of the explaining later, okay?" Sam nodded, moving toward Josh while Marlowe was still thinking of the sight on the opposite side of the wooden paneling.

"Okay, Josh. Do you still have the key for the cable car?" Sam asked him, speaking slow enough for him to understand.

Nodding, he pulled out the key from one of the pockets in his overalls, "y-yeah... here."

"Alright, lets... just get a move on." It was a few minutes before they came across an opening above, seeing the light breaking through into the mine.

      Mike shook his head.

      "Josh won't be able to make it up there," and he looked toward Marlowe and her absent hand, "neither will you."

Sam thought for a moment, "okay. If you help me up I can go back and tell Em and Ash we're okay," she explained, looking up at the gap, "you two take Josh back the way you came and we will all meet at the lodge."

Mike hunched over, setting his hands up for Sam to step on. He grunted when she did, but still managed to lift her onto the ledge. "Be careful."

"You too," she whispered, looking at both Mike and Marlowe, before shortly disappearing from sight.

"Alright, let's go you fucked up son of a bitch," Mike whispered, and Marlowe looked at Josh and back to Mike.

"You talking to him?" She pointed. "Or me?"

"Obviously you, Lo."

The pair dropped into the water, helping Josh as best as they could to keep up. He was slow, but not too slow. Marlowe's skin was growing used to how cold the water was. It helped to numb the aching she felt everywhere.

"Mike." Marlowe stopped in her path, seeing something move in the water below as bubbles rose to the surface. "There's something in the-"

"OH FU-" Mike's scream was silenced as bubbles followed his body disappearing in the water.

"MIKE! MICHAEL!"

Something grasped her ankle, wrapping around the jeans as it pulled her below the waters surface. Her scream followed through to the water, and the bubbles rose as the water filled her lungs. She couldn't see in a haze of panic, but on impulse began to thrash around as she saw blood in the water. She was sure it was Mike's.

When her head poked through the water and she was able to obtain air, a rough hand covered her mouth. "Don't scream."

"Mike-" Marlowe whispered, facing him. His face was cut up, and so was the green jacket he wore.

Another scream echoed through the mine, and Marlowe looked through her wet hair, witnessing the Wendigo spring from the water and grasping Josh it its pale claws.

"Hannah!" Josh shouted at the creature, and it paused.

Marlowe and Mike took note of the butterfly tattoo on the creatures bicep as it dropped him and took Josh by the wrist, dragging it back into the darkness where they had just gotten him from.

The Wendigo was indeed Hannah Washington. And all of the Washington children had now suffered at the hands of the mines.

⸝⸝ ʚ 🪓 ! ⌗ °• ━━━━━━━━━ 𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑰𝑹 𝑾𝑬𝑻 𝑪𝑳𝑶𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑺 𝑺𝑳𝑶𝑾𝑬𝑫 𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑴 𝑫𝑶𝑾𝑵 𝑨𝑺 𝑻𝑯𝑬𝒀 𝑹𝑨𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑹𝑶𝑼𝑮𝑯 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑵𝑶𝑾, 𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑴𝑷𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑻𝑶 𝑴𝑨𝑲𝑬 𝑶𝑼𝑻 𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑰𝑹 𝑺𝑼𝑹𝑹𝑶𝑼𝑵𝑫𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺. Mike and Marlowe ached for the lodge, spotting the structure in the distance as the snow storm was clearing up fairly quickly the closer it got to dawn. Upon squinting her eyes, the girl made out the red figure standing at the door where she had nearly lost her life. Sam.

      Hearing the trudging through the snow, Sam spun and yelped, looking at the disheveled pair in front of her. "You two look terrible-" She whispered, observing Mike's eye. Marlowe had already looked terrible, but her face spoke about something that no words could.

      "Gonna look worse if we stay out here..." Mike said, looking over at Marlowe whose skin was paling every minute from the cold and her wounds. As she shivered, she was on the verge of passing out, but the deep breaths she took were pulling her through. She stood up straight as Sam picked up a nearby rock, passing her hand through the glass and unlocking the door to the lodge. If only it had been that easy for both her and Chris when they faced their fate at the same door.

      All three rushed into the comfort of the lodge. Not that there was much comfort anyway. The floorboards were stained with a trail of blood from when Marlowe's hand had been ripped away from her body. And the freezing temperature could still be felt through the break in the glass of the door.

      "Guys... what happened to Josh?" Sam questioned. She knew what the answer was most likely going to be, but she wanted to confirm.

      "It got him." Mike whispered.

      "Oh, God. What an awful way to go..." Sam shook her head, her hands hovering over the light switch before flicking the lights on. They flickered, turning off before switching themselves back on briefly, the flickering continuing. Marlowe quickly switched them back off.

      The girl shook her head, "probably not a good idea."

      "What should we do?" Sam whispered, and Marlowe shrugged, passing the question onto Mike.

      "Let's check the basement... Hopefully they're still left down there," Mike proposed.

      They followed the blood stains in the floorboards from Marlowe's rampage. One step at a time, they felt slightly at ease. They were safe right? They could make a plan in the safe room. It was close to dawn, but they could still make it to the cable car if they tried. But the Wendigo would most definitely still be out there.

      Stumbling into the theatre room, the all too familiar screeches filled the air.

      They were not safe. Not yet.

      Marlowe made it to the door that lead from the theatre to the basement. Emily's screams could be heard from down the hall until she appeared in their sight. "Go! Run!"

      She was first out of the theatre room, and Sam followed in suite as she heard the screeches again. Mike was next, urging Marlowe to follow as he disappeared around the corner.

      But Marlowe waited for the screams of the final girl. Ashley rounded the corner as Marlowe gripped the handle of the door. The Wendigo was growing closer, or however many there were, and they both knew that.

      There was a look in Ashley's eyes. "Please! Marlowe! I'm sorry!" She pleaded. "I was scared and I froze!"

      Not one, but two creatures appeared behind the girl.

      "PLEASE!"

      When one leapt toward the girls, Marlowe took it upon herself to shove the red head backward and into the creatures grasp as she slammed the door and locked it.

      All Marlowe could hear were the girls screams as she moved away from the door. The girl was screaming her name.

      Perhaps it was terrible, but where Ashley was unable to open a door, Marlowe King was able to close one. "Sorry..."

She walked backwards and away from the door as she heared the tearing of flesh followed by eerie silence. Then the raveging on the other side of the door began as the creatures threw themselves at the door, chipping away at the wood one piece at a time.

And Marlowe was not willing to stick around.

Sprinting away from the theatre room, she followed the drying blood trial of her previous misfortunes. Marlowe was panting as she skipped over a few steps, lengthening her running stride. Adrenaline kicked in as she rouded the top of the staircase, coming to a halt as she looked up at the centerpiece that hung from the ceiling and loomed over the living room.

The Wendigo hung from it, crawling from one side to the other as it observed through the sound and movement of everything nearby.

"Don't move... Don't fucking move a muscle." Mike whispered to the girl. When he looked around, he noticed they were missing one. "Where's Ash?"

"They got her..." Marlowe didn't stutter in her lie. Technically, it was not a lie. The thing did get her.

While the remaining four did not move, the creatures she had locked behind the door scaled the side of the walls before joining the one hanging from the centerpiece. Marlowe glanced up once more, looking at the Wendigo that was high up, taking notice of the butterfly on the bicep. Hannah.

Was it an it? Or was she a she? Marlowe was not sure what to call it. But she knew it wasn't the Hannah that she had known.

A loud thud shook the floorboards as Hannah in the consumed form of a Wendigo joined the others, challenging one of the Wendigos that Marlowe could have sworn that she had seen back at The Sanatorium. Lunging at one another, the Wendigo with the butterfly tattoo smashed the other creature into the staircase. Over and over until it grew tired and threw it across the lodge, breaking an exposed gas pipe.

All three glanced toward the active gas that leaked into the room, a small stream of air just barely visible. Their eyes moved to the lightbulb, and around to the light switch located by the lodge's door. Marlowe craned her neck over her shoulder to look at Mike, nodding her head in the direction of the light bulb. They all knew the plan.

Whilst Mike began his careful footing, the Wendigos preoccupied themselves in attacking one another. Their teeth grazed the armored skin and the scene only lasted for mere moments as the consumed Hannah took the Wendigos head in its hands, its razor sharp and thin claws tearing it clean from the body.

Marlowe flinched. All she could picture was the similar fate of Chris.

Stepping back, Sam's feet grazed one of the many creaky floorboards, catching the Wendigos attention and luring it toward her and Marlowe. Still and silent they remained. Hannah's disfigured and unrecognisable body looked at them, its clouded eyes unable to see them due to the lack of movement.

The attention was quickly diverted, however, as Mike took the glass bulb in his hands and allowed himself to bleed as it shattered.

"Hey!" Marlowe shouted at the creature. Its attention passing back to her and Sam. Multiple rows of teeth were revealed as it hissed in her face, and the girl could feel the things breath on her face. She was lucky that the creature couldn't pick up on the smallest movements as her whole being shook.

Using her eyes to look around instead of her head, Marlowe glanced at the front door of the lodge as it widened. Emily looked over her and gave a solid nod before fleeing from the lodge. Marlowe only hoped that it was safer out there than in the lodge.

Marlowe's heart beat against the cage that contained it as her foot slipped out of nerves, activating one of the creaking floorboards.

"Shit."

Face to face with the creature, she looked Hannah Washington in the eyes as it took her face in its claws. Marlowe believed that would be her end, but her body hit a nearby wall as Sam called the creature over. Marlowe's tears stung as she bit her tongue, threatening to scream.

Mike squinted over at the girl, witnessing the awkward position her left arm was in as she moved her right hand away from the dislocated shoulder. Using the wall to help her, Marlowe King stood back up one more, holding her shoulder as she hid behind a pillar.

"Fuck face!" Mike called the creature over to where he was, stood in the same place by the sofas.

It gave Sam the opportunity to run from the lodge and seek refuge alongside Emily Davis. In turn, Marlowe took the chance to hobble her way to the nearby wall, nearing the lodge's door.

Watching the creature crawl over to the sound of Mike's voice, Marlowe witnessed it grow closer as it hopped from one post to the other.

He looked over at her, and toward the small, delicate vase that sat on a nearby side table. Marlowe nodded.

"Psst!" Marlowe whispered, just loud enough to gain the creatures attention. Mike shifted closer toward the door.

"Over here!" Mike grabbed its attention again before it got too close to the girl.

Once it was away from her, Marlowe shimmied toward the vase. Planting her body around the corner, she gently took it in one hand. She hoped that she could throw it far enough for them to run. Mike was far closer than she was.

The delicate ceramic flew across the lodge, landing back by the sofa's and shattering among the wooden floorboards. A screech filled the air, as the creature moved in the blink of an eye across the lodge to investigate the sound.

'Now' Marlowe mouthed.

Mike ran through the door, waiting for the girl in the snow as she sprinted for the light switch.

Her slim finger flicked the switch. Over and over. Still, no reaction.

The light switch failed? But it had only worked just moments ago?

Looking over her shoulder, the creature knocked down by the gas pipe arose, screeching in her direction as she panickily flicked the switch again.

The others stood in the snow, waiting for the explosion.

"Mike! The lighter!" Marlowe shouted as the two Wendigos were headed her way.

He fumbled with his pockets for a few seconds before chucking the lighter at her.

Catching it in a singular hand, Marlowe rushed down the stairs to create distance as the lighter flickered on. Her arm wound behind her until she threw it forward, the flame passing through the doorway as the Wendigo rushed at her.

The Washington's lodge blew into flames, similar to The Sanatorium. The ash from the burning wood blending in with the snow.

Marlowe King remained among the snow as the blurred figures of what remained of the group surrounded her, their voices muffled. Was she dead?

The light in the sky was not from the fire. But as the sun rose, she knew they had made it.

To dawn.

⸝⸝ ʚ 🪓 ! ⌗ °• ━━━ '' - «🕸»‧₊˚𓍯 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚
╰┈➤ i said i'd finish this in seven days! about ten days ago! i rewrote this chapter 3 times bc i hated it. i was also going to split this into two chapters but fuck it, here's the full one of 5500 words.

but anyways, this story is finally complete for the second time! the extra chapters; the epilogue and death scenes for marlowe will be out in a few days (hopefully)!!

our survivors; marlowe, mike, sam, emily.
dead; matt, chris, ashley.
jessica's ending is up to your interpretation. did she survive? if she did was she ever rescued by the team and found? all up to you! and josh is turned!

thank you to all of you for reading this. and to some of you for reading this for the second time. and thank you to the people who have waited for me to finish this since feb/march last year !