[It felt like Ashley had been trapped in that interview room for forever. And god, she dashed out the minute they said she was free to go; stuck in that one dimly lit room, with only one light shining in her good eye (her bruised one had swollen shut by now) just reminded her of being trapped in the shed, in the basement, caught in Josh's fucked up Saw traps... it was getting hard to breathe, so hard, so she needed to get out as fast as possible.
But that meant she had another problem: she was alone. Some of the others have finished their interviews, judging by the open doors and empty rooms, and some, as far as she can tell, are still being interviewed. She doesn't know who left, and doesn't know where they are, so for now, she's just... stuck. Waiting to find an officer to tell her what to do.
She doesn't like being alone. Not now, not after everything that happened. Being alone makes the icy claws of fear wrap around the back of her neck, makes her chest clench and her breath come out in short pants. So she begins pacing, back and forth, from one closed door to the next. She can hear the voices of the officers, but not whoever they're talking to.
But then the voices inside one room stop, and after a few moments, she can hear the scraping of a chair being pushed back. She can't tell who it is in there, but she hopes....]
[Chris has started to forget what it's like to live in the real world. After ten hours of hell on the mountain, followed by fuck-knows how many hours spent reliving all that hell for a bunch of cops who clearly thought they were all out of their gourds...the life he had before he stepped foot onto that cable car seems unreal. Like it was some crazy dream where everything was okay and absolutely nothing was fucked up.
He's spent so long being terrified that his brain doesn't know how to go back to normal mode. How is he supposed to go home now? Go back to that world where everyone lives their regular lives, happily unaware that monsters are real and that people can snap and destroy the people they're supposed to care about most.
Josh.
The betrayal bites and claws at his stomach, it churns around in there and doesn't let up. He could never have believed his best friend was capable of what he did. Never in a thousand years. A billion years. Not Josh.
And now he was gone, lost somewhere on that mountain, probably being chewed on by one of those things. God. He hopes it's not Hannah. That would make a fucked up situation even worse. But that's the kicker, isn't it? Nothing can ever not be fucked up anymore.
They've given him an old, crappy crutch and painkillers, so at least he can get himself out of the room without looking like he's dragging himself around like some puppy that's been run over by a car. He got off lightly, as far as he's concerned.
When he sees Ashley, he wants to smile, he really does, but it doesn't quite make it to his lips. Instead, his shoulders sag, and he gives a small wave with his free hand. Her eye looks worse, he notes. Out of all the things Josh had done that night, this is the one thing that makes him more angry than anything. Fucker. ]
Hey, Ash.
[He doesn't realise how fucking tired he is until he speaks to her. When he can actually speak to someone who isn't a cop making him repeat himself over and over. He doubts he could sleep, though, tired as he is. ]
[Ashley doesn't blame him for not smiling. She thought she'd want to, when they all got out of the lodge and it blew them off their feet and those damn wendigo to bits. She thought it'd be like the movies, where they'd all stare in shock and then break out into cheers and laughter and joy.
But it wasn't like that. There wasn't a single ounce of joy to be had seeing the lodge go up in flames. There was just that knotted feeling in her gut, like she'd swallowed a bunch of rocks, and the desire to just bury her face in the snow and dirt and never get up again.
She's just glad he'd understand. They all would. It was hard keeping it all together enough to talk to the cops, but around each other... around each other, they didn't need to pretend.]
Just some painkillers. Said I could get some better stuff once they brought us all to the hospital.
[She's still tense, on the razor's edge of just managing to keep it together and falling apart again. Her shoulders are hunched up, and she's picking unconsciously at her glove - the one still splattered in almost-dry blood.]
[Nothing was 'good' about this fucking situation. Not a single damn thing. He'd give anything to go back in time, somehow stop this whole mess from happening. He should have talked to Josh more. Spent more time with him. Seen the fissures of his psyche turn into gaping holes. He's supposed to be Josh's best friend, and he let him down.
Boom. Butterfly effect.]
I'm- [He's about to say 'okay', but he really, really isn't.] They say I've probably torn something, or whatever. The doctors'll know better. For now, I've got this fancy crutch, so I can hobble like a pro. I'll be in the Hobbling Olympics next year; watch this space.
[He waggles the crutch a little. It's a poor attempt at humour, it doesn't carry the same ridiculousness he usually brings to his jokes. It feels horribly, coldly hollow. He's doing it more on autopilot than anything else. Because telling jokes is Something Chris Does.
Maybe a distraction is needed? Yeah. Distractions are good. Maybe they can pretend they're just teenagers who haven't come out of a living hell. Just two teenagers. In a police station. Covered in dry blood. Yeeeep.]
Hey. You hungry? My wallet is uh- [in the cabin] but I think I can wrangle up a dollar from the change in my pockets for the vending machine.
[A part of her is definitely hungry, because honestly, she hasn't had anything to eat since before the cable car trip up to the lodge. A part of her is disgusted at the idea of eating, because.... well. How can you just eat and do normal things after the previous night?
But the smart little voice in her head that hasn't been completely smothered also points out that if she doesn't eat something now, they're probably going to make her eat something once they get to the hospital. And god, if they serve any kind of meat, she's almost certain she'd lose it.
So. Vending trash it is.]
Stale vending machine crackers and poptarts? Sounds like Thanksgiving dinner to me right now.
[She makes an attempt to laugh as well, but it comes out as more of a huff. She was never as good at joking through stressful times as Chris was, so it falls especially flat today.]
I've still got some change too. No reason to add one more thing to fret about here.
[Chris is definitely deciding on a veggie diet for the rest of his life. Meat shall never again pass his lips. Nope.
He manages a little smile for her sake, before moving carefully in the direction of the vending machines. Man, he's glad they gave him painkillers, they haven't done a whole lot, but they've at least taken the edge off. Makes it all a little...duller.]
Then you shall have a vending-y banquet fit for a queen!
[He lets out a sigh.]
I hear that. My worry meter has been maxed out. And it's just gonna get worse once my parents find out what happened. For the first time in my life, I'm glad I don't have my cell phone.
[it's been a long night and a long early morning. He lost the tired feeling and really, couldn't even sleep if he tried. Too easy to close his eyes and feel the darkness of the mine around him. Hear the shrieking of that thing stalking him and Jess. If a person can be tired and wired at the same time, that's about how Matt feels.
He's sitting dead-eyed waiting. Mostly for Jess, but just to see... He hasn't seen anybody else in so long. It makes his stomach twist going back over the last time he saw all his friends. The last time he saw Hannah and Beth, even. It's easy to assume the worst when you've seen the worst with your own eyes.
When he notices someone else coming out of the interview rooms, he glances up to see who it is. Yikes, Chris... The last time they talked was brutal. What does he say?]
[Chris hobbles through on a borrowed crutch, really not looking forward to the inevitable trip to the hospital to find out exactly how badly screwed up his leg is. The last thing he wants is to be put somewhere on a hospital bed and be poked and prodded, or worse, knocked out. Nope. No thanks.
As great a start as that was, Chris doesn't seem to care. He doesn't even have a sarcastic comeback for it, he's just glad to see Matt's here and not dead. He smiles, even if it's tired and not exactly right. ]
Matt, Jesus man, where were you? Emily said she saw you in the mines last. I thought -
[The mines full of wendigoes. He looks Matt up and down, expression concerned, looking for injury. ]
Are you okay? You get hurt? [None of them are okay. None of them will ever be okay again, but he asks anyway.]
[he's equally glad to see Chris, even if he does look like he's been through just about as much of a hell as Matt and Jess. Matt even manages to give a tired smile right back. It's really the only kind of smile any of them can manage at this point.
Honestly, Matt hasn't thought about his own appearance much. The prized letter jacket has blood and burns and dirt from the mine. He nods at Chris's question, taking a breath. He's been over this with the police but it feels different with Chris. Chris looks like he saw the same shit]
Yeah. Yeah, the mines... I fell from the radio tower. Em and I-- we were calling for help. And then-- this fucking thing. It grabbed me and-- if I didn't have a flare gun on me, I think I would've died.
I found Jess and we both somehow got out of there alive. [it takes him a moment to realize part of what Chris said]
[Oh hell, that makes their treatment of Josh even worse. Jesus. He runs a hand through his hair, exhaling, trying to find a calm place. ]
She's ok. She's been though some...really nasty shit, but she's okay.
[He leaves out the whole bite and Mike going to shoot her thing. No one could pay him enough to be the messenger for that piece of information. ]
Wendigos. That's what those things were. Actual fucking monsters. There was this old guy living on the mountain who's been fighting them for years.
[He tries not to think about the last time he saw the old man. The guy's head rolling about in the snow. That's something to add to his nightmare collection for the rest of his life. ]
She-- Jess was pretty messed up, man. She fell down into the mine, just like me. Hell, I saw Emily fall. I thought she might have-- fuck. [he rubs at his eyes. So much to process he feels like he's still just trying to breathe. But Emily's alive, so that's one weight off his shoulders]
Wendigos. Great. [he's not sure if he feels better having a name to put to the thing. And Chris said "them", like there was more than one. Matt lets out a slow breath. He and Jess got away from one, which in itself was a miracle for how beaten up they were. If the others had to deal with more...]
Remind me to send that guy a thank-you card. [Matt no]
[It had been days since the mess on Blackwood, the police hadn't exactly been willing to believe their story, but the Washington's were so bent on finding their lost son, they didn't care much about pressing charges for the burnt up lodge. For now, anyway. Chris knew the family well, but this...this had broken them beyond recognition. He wasn't sure they'd have a saving grace for very long.
Chris had no idea how he was supposed to deal with life after this. How he was supposed to find some kind of normalcy after any of this. How could they even contemplate normal any more? He'd holed himself up in his room and done little more than that. He wanted to reach out though, check on his friends. That was his nature, after all. If he could put everyone else before him, he'd be able to NOT deal with his own shit.
So, Mike will be getting a text message at probably some ungoldy hour in the night: ]
[ The idea of actual recovery is hard. No one really understands what they went through up on the mountain, and no one wants to believe it either - and why would they? Who wants to think that one of the Washington kids turned into a flesh eating monster and went after all her friends before running off to do God knows what with her brother in the depths of the mines? No one. Mike is sure he wouldn't believe it himself if he hadn't been there, if he hadn't lost part of himself surviving for as long as he had.
Even now he has moments where he feels like he's still wandering the mines or the Stranger's hideout, that he might blink and Wolfie will be there guiding him through dark corridors and keeping him away from the Wendigo. He'd fought hard and checked in on Jessica - her parents were keeping her in hospital for a long while, understandably - and he was left to settle down in his bed, cuts and bruises tended to and his chest sore as he tried to just deal with it all.
He almost falls out of bed in shock when his phone goes off, his hand grabbing it with a hissed curse. It's just Chris, but - yeah, he guesses what's going on. ]
[He could give a hundred reasons for reaching out. Most of the false. He's really not GOOD at this opening up thing. He's the supportive one, and having to lean on others just doesn't sit right with him. He needs to make sure his friends are okay before he can deal with his own stuff.
...Trouble is, he's not sure if any of them will ever be "okay" again. ]
[ For a moment Mike wants to laugh. What's he supposed to say here? Just shrug it off as 'yeah, I'm fine, no nightmares of creepy fucked up monsters stalking me through a house that I almost blew up in'? Sure, that works, and he fights back a bitter laugh as he turns over in his bed, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to pretend that he can't hear the Wendigo screeching in his ears.
Chris is trying though, really trying, and while they were never Best Buds he appreciates it. He has to try in return, no matter how much his mind hurts or how strange and broken his body feels. ]
Honestly? Been better, you know? Can't really sleep, but getting there. How're you doing, Chris? Probably the same, huh?
[Sat outside the police interview rooms, Chris was finally left in the quiet to let the full gravity of the situation fall on him. Everything that happened that night had snowballed into a pile of horrible shit. As it grows and grows he realises more and more than there's no way he can handle this. How can they face anything like a regular life any more?
He takes in a shuddery breath, head in his hands as he tries to calm himself. Josh was gone. Josh was fucking GONE and he didn't do enough to save him. Shit.
His inner self hate-rant was interrupted by the sound of a door opening, and someone being ushered out. ]
[ By the time they let her out it felt as if she had spent hours sitting in that room, bright light shining down at her face, answering question after question after question. None of it really matters, the police don't believe her, don't believe any of them, but she answers and she pleads and she feels herself get angry as though that will be enough to swallow her grief.
They survived, sure, bruised and battered and broken in so many ways but alive. That's... she's glad, relieved, but not all of them made it out, not all of them are still standing here. Despite everything, despite what he did, Sam... god it makes her sick to her stomach to think of Josh, betrayal and grief rolling together in a wave of nausea.
It's just that much sharper when she is ushered out and Chris is standing there, that much harder to swallow as she steps towards him without hesitation. ]
Chris! [ Smile too worn, too tired, but she smiles regardless and throws her arms around him. ] God, are you alright?
[ Aches and pains aside, evidence of it all still clinging to her skin and her clothes. ]
[He returns the hug, shifting his weight a little so he can do so without resting on his fucked up leg. They talked about hospitals, but he's guessing there's going to be a long-ass time before any of them are going to get treated yet. ]
I'm thinking of a new nickname. Limpy Joe. Has a ring to it, doesn't it?
[Yeah, he's just going to...displace all the pain and terror with crappy jokes, don't mind him. ]
[It was some time after the were rescued and interviewed. The first thing she did after it was check on her friends; More importantly, check on Chris. Sure they'd always been close friends, but that night put them through so much... In a single night of horror, they'd more things about each other than you probably had in a while; Guess that's what happens when your lives are on the line. If nothing else, she was just relieved that the blood splatter on her wasn't actually Josh's blood. Although.... he never did turn up in the end...
What they needed now was to be able to rest. They needed to be able to just lie back and sleep peacefully after everything that happened. Nothing would erase these memories from their minds and they'd stick like nightmares for a while, but it was finally over. While part of her just wanted to go home, shower, change her clothes, and be with family... she felt it was more important to spend time comforting the others who had gone through the same experiences as her. And by that she meant the one person she'd spent the most time with.
So there she was, waking up the next day as the daylight nearly blinded her. It took a moment to realize that she wasn't in her room, but curled up next to Chris on the couch at his place. They'd tried to just watch some romcoms to relax a bit, but at some point she must have fallen asleep. Maybe if she didn't move, she could pretend that she was still asleep and enjoy cuddling with him longer?]
[Rest hadn't come easy to Chris in the least. He felt there was still something he could have, should have done to help Josh. He should have noticed he was off his meds. He should have been a better friend and got him help. He shouldn't have left him alone on that fucking mountain. Josh's betrayal ran deep, but the thought he could have done something to prevent it ran deeper.
Rest has not come easy, with worries like that rolling around in his head. But finally, finally he fell asleep, head rolled back against the couch, snoring gently. Having Ashley around had done a lot of good. The entire night on the mountain had been an utter shitshow- except for Ashley. In a night full of regrets, he couldn't say he regretted anything with her. Having her around last night had helped ease some of the tension, given him the chance to relax- even just a little.
Ashley stirring was enough to bring him out of sleep, with an ungraceful snort and a flailing of his free arm. It took a hot second for his brain to catch up with the rest of him, and remember he wasn't still on the mountain, nearly dying. He was in his room, safe and sound. He feels the weight on his other arm and remembers oh yeah, Ashley, and turns to offer a sleepy smile- his glasses still a little askew from sleep. ]
[Ashley had woken up a few times in the night due to it, but she didn't mind if it meant she could comfort him the best way she could. It was tough... She'd said it before, but she'll say it again. She'll always be grateful that he chose to keep her safe when he could have just as easily sacrificed her to save Josh. I mean... after all... He'd lost his best friend and despite how deranged he'd gotten during the night-- No. Not even during the night. It was probably something that had been going on for a while without them knowing. Even if what Josh did was wrong, she couldn't entirely blame him for it.
Being apart of the whole "prank", even if it was to watch the events unfold... It made her feel sick. It was the stupidest thing that she'd done hands down and she felt awful about everything that happened. She just wanted to make it up somehow. Josh may have been acting crazy, but he didn't deserve his fate. And even so, Chris chose her over him. She was so thankful, but also felt a little guilty that she was the one that lived in retrospect. So if she could do anything to comfort him, she would do her best.
Guess she can't just pretend to be asleep yet. Seeing his sleepy smile made her heart flutter a little. And they were so close. They both wanted to say something the entire night the other day, but being close to dying made it hard to focus on it. All of her feelings she felt came boiling to the surface. Flushing a light pink...]
A-Ah yeah. I... just woke up myself. [Pushing it off for a little longer.] How... are you feeling?
[It was the worst choice he ever had to make. Worse still, knowing it had been for nothing. He'd carted that shit around him like a spectre, thinking he'd willingly sent his best friend to his death. He never, ever regretted saving Ashley- not once, but god if he wishes he could have saved them both. Not that it matters. It was just pretend. It still made his stomach churn. He thought that, perhaps, it always would.
His feelings towards her have always been such an awkward, bubbling mess- it's like returning to form for him. Except it's not quite so much any more, is it? The mountain changed things, and he knows they really should talk about those things at some point. Probably sooner rather than later. But he stalls out at first, back to the same awkward dance they have around each other. ]
Like I've been hit by a Mack truck- but that's improved from when I felt like I'd been hit by a Millenium Flacon earlier so that's something! [Oh noooo, why did he say that? That was so nerdy. That's not cool, Chris, come on. He adjusts his glasses, clearing his throat.] I...uh. How about you? You okay?
[Ashley wanted to address it. Considering how they'd learned how precious life was and how time was so much shorter than they expected, now that they had the chance to really talk it out when they weren't trying to stay alive.... Wasn't it better than losing the chance to do so again? Even if she knew that, she still felt really awkward about actually saying it. But should she? She kissed him before he left to get Josh after all. She should be able to do this much now.
They may be stalling it out, but she appreciated his joke; nerdy or not. In the end, that was one of the reasons why she liked him so much. She found it cute and charming in a way that maybe others wouldn't. She also felt more at ease with him. She was a bit of a nerd herself, so maybe that helped.]
I'm okay. Well... As okay as I can be anyway. Do you think I can tell the others that I beat someone bigger than me up like... "You should see the other guy".
[Okay, that was a bad joke too, but she's trying. But than her thoughts drift back to those feels she felt and that kiss.]
Hey... uhm.... Chris? Can we... We need... to talk about something. [It was now or never.]
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gimme dat golden ending
But that meant she had another problem: she was alone. Some of the others have finished their interviews, judging by the open doors and empty rooms, and some, as far as she can tell, are still being interviewed. She doesn't know who left, and doesn't know where they are, so for now, she's just... stuck. Waiting to find an officer to tell her what to do.
She doesn't like being alone. Not now, not after everything that happened. Being alone makes the icy claws of fear wrap around the back of her neck, makes her chest clench and her breath come out in short pants. So she begins pacing, back and forth, from one closed door to the next. She can hear the voices of the officers, but not whoever they're talking to.
But then the voices inside one room stop, and after a few moments, she can hear the scraping of a chair being pushed back. She can't tell who it is in there, but she hopes....]
... Chris?
one golden ending on the house!
He's spent so long being terrified that his brain doesn't know how to go back to normal mode. How is he supposed to go home now? Go back to that world where everyone lives their regular lives, happily unaware that monsters are real and that people can snap and destroy the people they're supposed to care about most.
Josh.
The betrayal bites and claws at his stomach, it churns around in there and doesn't let up. He could never have believed his best friend was capable of what he did. Never in a thousand years. A billion years. Not Josh.
And now he was gone, lost somewhere on that mountain, probably being chewed on by one of those things. God. He hopes it's not Hannah. That would make a fucked up situation even worse. But that's the kicker, isn't it? Nothing can ever not be fucked up anymore.
They've given him an old, crappy crutch and painkillers, so at least he can get himself out of the room without looking like he's dragging himself around like some puppy that's been run over by a car. He got off lightly, as far as he's concerned.
When he sees Ashley, he wants to smile, he really does, but it doesn't quite make it to his lips. Instead, his shoulders sag, and he gives a small wave with his free hand. Her eye looks worse, he notes. Out of all the things Josh had done that night, this is the one thing that makes him more angry than anything. Fucker. ]
Hey, Ash.
[He doesn't realise how fucking tired he is until he speaks to her. When he can actually speak to someone who isn't a cop making him repeat himself over and over. He doubts he could sleep, though, tired as he is. ]
Did they give you anything for that eye?
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But it wasn't like that. There wasn't a single ounce of joy to be had seeing the lodge go up in flames. There was just that knotted feeling in her gut, like she'd swallowed a bunch of rocks, and the desire to just bury her face in the snow and dirt and never get up again.
She's just glad he'd understand. They all would. It was hard keeping it all together enough to talk to the cops, but around each other... around each other, they didn't need to pretend.]
Just some painkillers. Said I could get some better stuff once they brought us all to the hospital.
[She's still tense, on the razor's edge of just managing to keep it together and falling apart again. Her shoulders are hunched up, and she's picking unconsciously at her glove - the one still splattered in almost-dry blood.]
Do you... do you need help? With your leg?
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[Nothing was 'good' about this fucking situation. Not a single damn thing. He'd give anything to go back in time, somehow stop this whole mess from happening. He should have talked to Josh more. Spent more time with him. Seen the fissures of his psyche turn into gaping holes. He's supposed to be Josh's best friend, and he let him down.
Boom. Butterfly effect.]
I'm- [He's about to say 'okay', but he really, really isn't.] They say I've probably torn something, or whatever. The doctors'll know better. For now, I've got this fancy crutch, so I can hobble like a pro. I'll be in the Hobbling Olympics next year; watch this space.
[He waggles the crutch a little. It's a poor attempt at humour, it doesn't carry the same ridiculousness he usually brings to his jokes. It feels horribly, coldly hollow. He's doing it more on autopilot than anything else. Because telling jokes is Something Chris Does.
Maybe a distraction is needed? Yeah. Distractions are good. Maybe they can pretend they're just teenagers who haven't come out of a living hell. Just two teenagers. In a police station. Covered in dry blood. Yeeeep.]
Hey. You hungry? My wallet is uh- [in the cabin] but I think I can wrangle up a dollar from the change in my pockets for the vending machine.
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But the smart little voice in her head that hasn't been completely smothered also points out that if she doesn't eat something now, they're probably going to make her eat something once they get to the hospital. And god, if they serve any kind of meat, she's almost certain she'd lose it.
So. Vending trash it is.]
Stale vending machine crackers and poptarts? Sounds like Thanksgiving dinner to me right now.
[She makes an attempt to laugh as well, but it comes out as more of a huff. She was never as good at joking through stressful times as Chris was, so it falls especially flat today.]
I've still got some change too. No reason to add one more thing to fret about here.
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He manages a little smile for her sake, before moving carefully in the direction of the vending machines. Man, he's glad they gave him painkillers, they haven't done a whole lot, but they've at least taken the edge off. Makes it all a little...duller.]
Then you shall have a vending-y banquet fit for a queen!
[He lets out a sigh.]
I hear that. My worry meter has been maxed out. And it's just gonna get worse once my parents find out what happened. For the first time in my life, I'm glad I don't have my cell phone.
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gold ending
He's sitting dead-eyed waiting. Mostly for Jess, but just to see... He hasn't seen anybody else in so long. It makes his stomach twist going back over the last time he saw all his friends. The last time he saw Hannah and Beth, even. It's easy to assume the worst when you've seen the worst with your own eyes.
When he notices someone else coming out of the interview rooms, he glances up to see who it is. Yikes, Chris... The last time they talked was brutal. What does he say?]
Hey. [good start, Matt]
excellent choice
As great a start as that was, Chris doesn't seem to care. He doesn't even have a sarcastic comeback for it, he's just glad to see Matt's here and not dead. He smiles, even if it's tired and not exactly right. ]
Matt, Jesus man, where were you? Emily said she saw you in the mines last. I thought -
[The mines full of wendigoes. He looks Matt up and down, expression concerned, looking for injury. ]
Are you okay? You get hurt? [None of them are okay. None of them will ever be okay again, but he asks anyway.]
no subject
Honestly, Matt hasn't thought about his own appearance much. The prized letter jacket has blood and burns and dirt from the mine. He nods at Chris's question, taking a breath. He's been over this with the police but it feels different with Chris. Chris looks like he saw the same shit]
Yeah. Yeah, the mines... I fell from the radio tower. Em and I-- we were calling for help. And then-- this fucking thing. It grabbed me and-- if I didn't have a flare gun on me, I think I would've died.
I found Jess and we both somehow got out of there alive. [it takes him a moment to realize part of what Chris said]
You saw Emily? She's okay?
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[Oh hell, that makes their treatment of Josh even worse. Jesus. He runs a hand through his hair, exhaling, trying to find a calm place. ]
She's ok. She's been though some...really nasty shit, but she's okay.
[He leaves out the whole bite and Mike going to shoot her thing. No one could pay him enough to be the messenger for that piece of information. ]
Wendigos. That's what those things were. Actual fucking monsters. There was this old guy living on the mountain who's been fighting them for years.
[He tries not to think about the last time he saw the old man. The guy's head rolling about in the snow. That's something to add to his nightmare collection for the rest of his life. ]
If he hadn't shown up, we'd of all been screwed.
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Wendigos. Great. [he's not sure if he feels better having a name to put to the thing. And Chris said "them", like there was more than one. Matt lets out a slow breath. He and Jess got away from one, which in itself was a miracle for how beaten up they were. If the others had to deal with more...]
Remind me to send that guy a thank-you card. [Matt no]
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leaves you random pictures
awww yes
Chris had no idea how he was supposed to deal with life after this. How he was supposed to find some kind of normalcy after any of this. How could they even contemplate normal any more? He'd holed himself up in his room and done little more than that. He wanted to reach out though, check on his friends. That was his nature, after all. If he could put everyone else before him, he'd be able to NOT deal with his own shit.
So, Mike will be getting a text message at probably some ungoldy hour in the night: ]
You up?
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Even now he has moments where he feels like he's still wandering the mines or the Stranger's hideout, that he might blink and Wolfie will be there guiding him through dark corridors and keeping him away from the Wendigo. He'd fought hard and checked in on Jessica - her parents were keeping her in hospital for a long while, understandably - and he was left to settle down in his bed, cuts and bruises tended to and his chest sore as he tried to just deal with it all.
He almost falls out of bed in shock when his phone goes off, his hand grabbing it with a hissed curse. It's just Chris, but - yeah, he guesses what's going on. ]
Sure, man. What's up?
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...Trouble is, he's not sure if any of them will ever be "okay" again. ]
Checking in on you. How're you holding up?
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Chris is trying though, really trying, and while they were never Best Buds he appreciates it. He has to try in return, no matter how much his mind hurts or how strange and broken his body feels. ]
Honestly? Been better, you know? Can't really sleep, but getting there. How're you doing, Chris? Probably the same, huh?
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also leaves you random pictures
YES ALL OF THE PICS
He takes in a shuddery breath, head in his hands as he tries to calm himself. Josh was gone. Josh was fucking GONE and he didn't do enough to save him. Shit.
His inner self hate-rant was interrupted by the sound of a door opening, and someone being ushered out. ]
...Sam?
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They survived, sure, bruised and battered and broken in so many ways but alive. That's... she's glad, relieved, but not all of them made it out, not all of them are still standing here. Despite everything, despite what he did, Sam... god it makes her sick to her stomach to think of Josh, betrayal and grief rolling together in a wave of nausea.
It's just that much sharper when she is ushered out and Chris is standing there, that much harder to swallow as she steps towards him without hesitation. ]
Chris! [ Smile too worn, too tired, but she smiles regardless and throws her arms around him. ] God, are you alright?
[ Aches and pains aside, evidence of it all still clinging to her skin and her clothes. ]
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I'm thinking of a new nickname. Limpy Joe. Has a ring to it, doesn't it?
[Yeah, he's just going to...displace all the pain and terror with crappy jokes, don't mind him. ]
How are you holding up?
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What they needed now was to be able to rest. They needed to be able to just lie back and sleep peacefully after everything that happened. Nothing would erase these memories from their minds and they'd stick like nightmares for a while, but it was finally over. While part of her just wanted to go home, shower, change her clothes, and be with family... she felt it was more important to spend time comforting the others who had gone through the same experiences as her. And by that she meant the one person she'd spent the most time with.
So there she was, waking up the next day as the daylight nearly blinded her. It took a moment to realize that she wasn't in her room, but curled up next to Chris on the couch at his place. They'd tried to just watch some romcoms to relax a bit, but at some point she must have fallen asleep. Maybe if she didn't move, she could pretend that she was still asleep and enjoy cuddling with him longer?]
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Rest has not come easy, with worries like that rolling around in his head. But finally, finally he fell asleep, head rolled back against the couch, snoring gently. Having Ashley around had done a lot of good. The entire night on the mountain had been an utter shitshow- except for Ashley. In a night full of regrets, he couldn't say he regretted anything with her. Having her around last night had helped ease some of the tension, given him the chance to relax- even just a little.
Ashley stirring was enough to bring him out of sleep, with an ungraceful snort and a flailing of his free arm. It took a hot second for his brain to catch up with the rest of him, and remember he wasn't still on the mountain, nearly dying. He was in his room, safe and sound. He feels the weight on his other arm and remembers oh yeah, Ashley, and turns to offer a sleepy smile- his glasses still a little askew from sleep. ]
Oh uh... hey. Is it morning?
[Chris, it's light outside, come on, buddy.]
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Being apart of the whole "prank", even if it was to watch the events unfold... It made her feel sick. It was the stupidest thing that she'd done hands down and she felt awful about everything that happened. She just wanted to make it up somehow. Josh may have been acting crazy, but he didn't deserve his fate. And even so, Chris chose her over him. She was so thankful, but also felt a little guilty that she was the one that lived in retrospect. So if she could do anything to comfort him, she would do her best.
Guess she can't just pretend to be asleep yet. Seeing his sleepy smile made her heart flutter a little. And they were so close. They both wanted to say something the entire night the other day, but being close to dying made it hard to focus on it. All of her feelings she felt came boiling to the surface. Flushing a light pink...]
A-Ah yeah. I... just woke up myself. [Pushing it off for a little longer.] How... are you feeling?
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His feelings towards her have always been such an awkward, bubbling mess- it's like returning to form for him. Except it's not quite so much any more, is it? The mountain changed things, and he knows they really should talk about those things at some point. Probably sooner rather than later. But he stalls out at first, back to the same awkward dance they have around each other. ]
Like I've been hit by a Mack truck- but that's improved from when I felt like I'd been hit by a Millenium Flacon earlier so that's something! [Oh noooo, why did he say that? That was so nerdy. That's not cool, Chris, come on. He adjusts his glasses, clearing his throat.] I...uh. How about you? You okay?
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They may be stalling it out, but she appreciated his joke; nerdy or not. In the end, that was one of the reasons why she liked him so much. She found it cute and charming in a way that maybe others wouldn't. She also felt more at ease with him. She was a bit of a nerd herself, so maybe that helped.]
I'm okay. Well... As okay as I can be anyway. Do you think I can tell the others that I beat someone bigger than me up like... "You should see the other guy".
[Okay, that was a bad joke too, but she's trying. But than her thoughts drift back to those feels she felt and that kiss.]
Hey... uhm.... Chris? Can we... We need... to talk about something. [It was now or never.]
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this is so late sorry Deerington's plot exploded
Don't even worry about it. I've been very slow on the RP front and finally catching up