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❝taken.❞

SNOWFLAKES FIERCELY BIT at Florence's cheeks as she trekked through the forest and along the path that led to the shed where she prayed Josh was.

The whole way she had been holding out the hope that whatever it was the had chased and almost killed Emily hadn't gotten to him.

She didn't know what she would do without him. After already thinking she had lost him once and completely shutting down, it became clear that she wouldn't be able to handle losing him for real.

She shook her head, attempting to shake away the fear that she would walk in the shed and find Josh dead, killed by the monster that lurked on the mountain.

A distance screech caused Florence to jump. With a sharp inhale, her hands found the gun in her waistband and pulled it free.

She took a quick glance around her and picked up her speed to continue on towards the shed with the remnants of the unsettlement the distant screech brought her.

Instead of allowing herself to be distracted by her pessimistic thoughts she focused on getting to Josh and staying as far away as possible from the creature in the forest.

The gun remained in hand, her knuckles turning white as she tightened her grip every time she felt her nerves spike.

Her anxiety crept up her spine, itching to overwhelm her along with her growing worries.

Worse-case scenarios swam around in synchronization with her pessimistic thoughts, causing her hands to tremble.

Having another panic attack was something Florence couldn't afford due to her blatant exposure and the lack of security she had.

Breaking down wasn't an option, so she swallowed the urge to let her anxieties and worries was over her.

She resorted to using the tactics she developed after she was diagnosed with panic disorder to calm herself down and avoid a panic attack.

She focused on a single objective — saving Josh. In addition to that, she took slow and deep breaths to settle the growing pit in her stomach.

Silently thanking her doctor who taught her the useful tactics, she continued along the path and eventually made it to the shed.

More than relieved to hear Josh mumbling to himself inside the shed, Florence pushed the gun back into the waistband of her pants.

She began inspecting Josh for any wounds that hadn't been there when she left only half an hour ago, luckily finding none.

"What are you doing back here? Me and Mike were having a sleepover." Josh asked her curiously upon her unexpected return.

Florence offered him a forced smile. "Mike went back to the lodge. That's where you and I are going."

Josh shook his head. "I'm not allowed to leave, remember? They tied me up here so I would stay away from the lodge."

Florence walked behind Josh, kneeling down to untie him from the post. "Change of plans. We're safer in the lodge than we are out here."

"What does that mean?" Josh wondered. He was still coherent enough to see that something was bothering her and he knew that when Mike ran out of the shed, something was wrong.

"We've just gotta go, Josh." Florence tried to tell him.

The last thing she wanted was for him to worry about what lurked on the mountain. Whatever it was, a monster or some hostile creature, he didn't need to worry about it on top of his wavering mental state.

Florence freed Josh and although his hands had been untied, he didn't stand up.

Florence furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Josh, we have to go. Right now."

Something switched in Josh's mind. Things seemed to become a little clearer for him. "What's wrong?"

Florence noted how his tone of voice had changed. It wasn't high pitched or shaky like it was when he had been slipping into his psychosis, it sounded normal.

"Josh? Do you remember why you were put in here?" Florence quizzed him.

She wanted to be sure that his psychosis was fading before she took him with her, for he didn't need to be around everyone else if he was still on the brink of completely losing his mind.

Josh looked at her as though he were confused. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

Florence shook her head lightly, brushing it off. "No reason. Are you feeling okay to walk? We need to go back to the lodge."

Josh hesitantly stood up from the stool. "I think so."

Florence grabbed his arm and led them out of the shed and through the snow.

Josh looked over at her as they walked, sadness written across his face. "I'm so sorry for what I did to you."

Her heart clenched. "It's okay, Josh. You weren't in the right headspace."

Josh shook his head. "That doesn't make it okay. Chris was right, I hit Ashley and I hurt you. I put you guys through so much a-and I shouldn't have done that!"

A single tear fell unto Florence's cheek.

She tried to swallow the suffocating lump in her throat as images of all of her wounds crossed her mind; the scratches and on her wrists from struggling in the ropes, the gash on her forehead from falling when he knocked her out the second time, all of it.

Josh never meant to hurt her or any of them. He wasn't in his right mind and he did things that he didn't mean. He had things to answer for that he would answer for, but Florence wasn't angry at him like everyone else was.

She understood that the parasite that his medication fought off had momentarily taken over when he stopped taking them. Now that the parasite had stopped eating away at his brain and she was there to help him, he had room to get better.

Florence still intended on keeping her promise.

"You'll be okay, Josh. I promise." Florence assured him before a loud screech could be heard in front of them. It sounded much closer than it did before, causing Florence to stop in her tracks.

Whatever the creature was had targeted her now, and it was closing in on them.

"What the hell was that?" Josh asked, panicked.

Another inhuman screech echoed closer ahead of them.

Florence tugged on Josh's arm, breaking into a sprint with him stumbling beside her. They ran alongside one another, both of them feeling the presence of the unknown hostile creature behind them.

"Don't stop!" Florence panted, forcing herself to keep running as fast as she could manage.

Freezing cold air blew into her lungs, her throat burning with every inhale. The muscles in her legs screamed in pain. Snowflakes slapped against her cheeks, melting into her skin painfully as though little needles were penetrating her face.

Florence kept moving as the creature roared behind them.

It drew closer and closer to them with each fleeting second.

She knew what she had to do and she knew what could come of her risky decision.

"Josh, keep running!"

"What about you?"

Florence lightly pushed Josh ahead of her, giving her time to stop and yank the gun from the waistband of her jeans.

She fumbled with the gun, hastily digging up the remnants of what Josh's father had taught her about properly using a gun. While she had forgotten most of it due to her distaste for weaponry and everything it brought with it, she retained the important parts — how to cock it and how to reload it.

Turning around, she made contact with the creature that had been lurking on the mountain. It was inhumanly tall and had immensely stretched limbs. Instead of fingernails, it had adorned thick claws that were stained with crimson liquid. Flesh was tightly stretched over it spindly limbs, wrapping around its slim figure like thin armor.

Sharp fang-like teeth pertuded from its mouth that lacked lips from what she assumed was frostbite. Large eyes popped out of its veiny head, the eyes clouded as though the creature were undead.

Pushing away her fright and momentary shock, Florence tightened her grip around the gun as it jumped closer to her and Josh.

She used what little she remembered to cock the gun and blindly aimed it towards the fleshy creature with clouded eyes running at them.

Pressing her finger down onto the trigger, a bullet fired into the creature's side. It fell into the snow with a pained chortle.

Florence silently praised herself for hitting her target despite her lack of knowledge or training. However, her pride was washed away when the spindly creature sprang from the ground and roared. She had made it mad.

Florence repeatedly squeezed the trigger but quickly ran out of bullets and the creature still hadn't gone down.

She had slowed it down but it wasn't enough.

Before she could run away, it grabbed her arm and swung her into a nearby tree. With a loud grunt, Florence slammed into the trunk of an oak tree and fell to the ground and the gun flew from her grip and into the snow meters away. She fell to the ground with a cry, mustering up enough strength to roll onto her side and ensure that Josh had gotten away.

Only when Florence looked around for him, he was gone along with the creature.

"No," Florence mumbled, desperately scouring the surrounding area for him. She came up empty, much to her dismay. "Josh!"

There was no reply.

The last thing she heard was a single screech from the creature before an unsettling silence loomed over her and the crushing realization that the creature had taken Josh.

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