All you could remember was your assailant's terrifying grip. The obsidian eyes of the clown stared into your own as an oxygen mask was brought up to your mouth. The cold gas burned at your nostrils before your eyelids gained weight and your vision faded, his grip appearing to soften as he laid you on the cold floor.

"I'm sorry.." You could faintly hear before you drifted off.

Now, you were in a dark room, the only light coming from a hanging lightbulb on the ceiling, the only sound being a moth that buzzed as it collided with the warm glass.

Your mind was groggy as you accustomed to your surroundings. A thick layer of dust rested on everything in the room except for you.

Where were you?

You had to be in the lodge. There were no signs of any melted snow on your body, so you couldn't have been taken outside.

You gazed down at your body as it sat in a wooden chair, your ankles free from restraint while your hands weren't.
You wiggled your wrists, but the nylon restraining them wouldn't budge.

Oh God, where did the maniac go? What was he gonna do to you?

Fear set in. You unconsciously let out a whimper as you began to struggle.

Then, you heard voices.

"What was that?" A feminine voice asked, it laced with concern.

It was Sam.

"I don't know, where did it come from?" Answered a male.

Mike.

"Sam! Mike!" You cried, your wrists starting to itch from the restricting fabric.

You heard footsteps before their two faces met yours in the doorway.

Quickly, Sam knelt behind you to undo your binds while Mike stayed in the doorway on lookout.

"This guy..he.." You began, still in a daze.

"We know, we're gonna get out of here. Are you alright?" Sam asked, looking you over.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank God you found me." You replied, slowly standing.

"Where's Josh?"

A silence set over the room, a brief glance being shared between Sam and Mike that you almost didn't notice.

"The psycho..he got to him." Sam explained, knowing she couldn't stomach a lie to her friend.

You felt like the world turned upside down and gravity was shut off, your body flying into the darkness of space. The darkness consuming you like you were drowning. Your heart hurt, and tears broke the surface of your eyes before spilling over like a splintered dam.

"Hey, stay with us, come on." You heard Mike's voice, it snapping you from your pained daze. His hands were on your shoulders as Sam looked at you with a sad look as well.

You only nodded, your eyes still having a far away look to them as your mind raced.

If only you had stayed with him, you could have protected him.

You could have saved him.

But no, after the seance, you were dead set on being alone. The thought of communicating with Hannah's spirit took a toll on you. You needed to think, and so did Josh as Chris and Ashley explored the library.

Meekly, you followed Sam and Mike as they snuck down a grimy corridor. You tried not to think about the amount of dust you were inhaling as the particles danced in front of your face.

Then, you heard crying. It was muffled, but there.

"Is that.. crying?" Mike questioned before hesitantly opening a large metal door.

The sight that was brought to your eyes caused your breath to catch in your throat.

Ashley and Chris were tied to chairs, a gun in Chris's hand as he sobbed, a pair of rotating sawblades slowly descending upon them.

Coming in for the kill.

The three of you rushed over, a mix of yells coming from all of you.

"Chris!"

"Ash!"

"No!"

Then, a figure stepped in from the shadows, his mask sickeningly familiar.

The sawblades slowly stopped moving, the dwindling whir of them leaving the room in silence.

The silence was interrupted when Chris pointed the gun at the masked man, firing it several times.

But there was no blood. The man didn't even flinch.

"Ah, Chris, Chris, Chris. You've heard of blanks before, right?" 

Your blood ran cold as the maniac reached up to take his mask off.

But nothing could prepare you for who lied under it. 

The small smile, the glint in his eyes.

Josh. Your Josh.

"Josh?!" you cried, confusion gripping you. Was everyone pranking you? Why would Sam tell you he was dead? What was going on?

"See, did you feel humiliated, scared? Like my sisters did one year ago? It's not fun being pranked now is it?" He wasn't talking to you, but rather the group standing in front of him.

"What the hell is happening?! Because as far as I know, I've been knocked out for the past hour." You snapped, feeling like everything was hitting you at once.

"Your boyfriend dressed up as a killer and has been terrorizing us all night!" Ashley cried from her seat as she trembled.

Your gaze met Josh's, his mouth slightly agape as he was met with your hurt expression.

"Babe..I didn't hurt anyone..I made sure you were just asleep, nothing more." He said, his tone sounding like a child who was just scolded.

"Josh that's still-"

You were cut off by Mike, his voice filled with rage.

"You're fucking lying, Jessica is dead!" 

The room stood still, a breathe catching in your throat. 

"What?" Josh whimpered.

"She's dead! You're gonna fucking pay you-!"

He was cut off as you intercepted him, your hand grabbing his wrist before the gun in his hand could touch Josh.

"Mike! Let's think clearly for a second!"

He was seething, his dirt covered face portraying a scowl.

"You were in on this, huh?! You a fucking murderer too?!"

"No-!"

He shoved you aside before grabbing a hold of Josh, Chris joining him as they restrained him.

"Babe! I didn't do anything wrong! Tell them that! I did not hurt Jessica!" Josh yelled as the two men pulled him out of the room.

Your gaze was locked into the ground, your frame trembling as a hand rested on your forearm. Sam gave you a sympathetic look before backing off to check on Ashley, who was distraught as well.

You shakily ran out of the room, finding a set of stairs before making your way outside. From there, you followed the sets of footprints to an outbuilding beyond the lodge.

"Mike, she didn't do anything, don't hurt her!" Was the first thing that met your ears. Josh, his voice was desperate as he pleaded.

The snow crunching under your feet alerted the three, causing you to become uneasy as they turned to look at you.

"I'm not gonna hurt her you asshat." Mike huffed at Josh before facing your distraught expression.

"Can I please just talk to him? For a minute?" You asked, your eyes pleading more than your words.

Chris and Mike exchanged a look before shrugging and stepping out, Chris speaking as he passed you.

"Good luck. He's totally out of it."

And with that, they were out of sight.

You shakily stood in front of your boyfriend, his wide eyes softening at your presence.

"I didn't kill anyone.."

You gulped, wanting to believe him. Why hadn't you known this was going to happen? What had you missed?

After his sisters went missing he went to therapy. He stayed at an institution for a while. Meanwhile, you responded to every call, every text. You visited as much as you could, and you held him as he sobbed into your shoulder. Was there more you could've done?

"Josh... if that's true, a lot could've still gone wrong! What if the sawblades killed Ash and Chris?? What if you gave me too much gas when you grabbed me?"

His head tilted, his jaw clenching.

"I made sure it wouldn't! Why don't you believe me?!" He yelled, his eyes filling with anger and hurt.

"Josh, you dressed up as a clown and chased me like you were going to kill me! I can't trust you right now, even if I want to!" You cried, not believing what you were hearing. You wanted so desperately to wake up and this be a dream.

"They turned you against me! You're just like Mike and the others huh? Go and sleep with Mikey boy if you don't trust me!" He yelled, his outburst ending in random mumbles as he shook his head, his shoulders slouched.

"Josh.." Tears pricked your eyes "What you did turned me against you. You need help.."

"Shut up! I should've known you were like them! You can't take a joke either! You're a fake! A phony!"

His words felt like stabs in your chest, tear spilling over onto your cold cheeks.

"Josh, there's good in you, but until you get help, we need to be apart. I can't be with you when you're like this, when you think torturing your friends is right!" You tried your best to steady your wavering voice, trying your best to stay strong.

"You never loved me! If you did, you'd understand! Go! Leave me alone! Let those assholes beat me up if that's what, what you want!" He panted, his mouth forming more mumbles as he rocked back in forth in his restraints.

"No Josh, please-"

"GO! GET OUT HERE!"

You couldn't hide the sob that escaped your throat as you backed up into the cold outdoors. You turned your back on him as you ran towards the lodge, the bitter wind not hurting your skin as much as his words hurt your heart.

He's not himself. We'll take him to get help and he'll be alright. He needs to take his meds, it'll be alright.

******************

Josh gazed down at his blue overalls as he rocked back and forth in his stool, tears slowly running down his cheeks. A shrill shriek sounded in the distance, and he wasn't sure if it originated from his mind or not.

"Please..please come back. I'm sorry. I didn't..I didn't mean it..I love you.."