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❝lives lost,
promises made.❞

THE DARK MINES buzzed with a sort of insidiousness that sent shivers down Florence's spine. The freezing air from the opening she entered through nipped at her back and pushed her hair forwards. Her eyes strained to see mere feet in front of her. Aching sensations burned in her ribs while her head still throbbed from when she fell what seemed like an eternity ago; time moved strangely on the mountain, even more so after everything started going wrong.

There was something incredibly evil lurking in the mountains, dwindling through the mines. It had taken the love of Florence's life right from her.
It tormented her and nearly killed her, and it could be nearly killing Josh as she was searching for him. Though, finding Josh was getting harder and harder without any form of light — except for the dull lanterns scattered around the ground. Additionally, there wasn't anything that could act as her compass to guide her through the mines. She was going at her search completely blind.

With no light and no tell of where she should go, Florence's frustration and worry were beginning to skyrocket. All she wanted was a sign — one sign — that Josh was still alive. She'd been through enough tonight, she didn't need to lose Josh, too.

After thinking that there was a psycho tormenting her and her friends, getting battered around every corner, seeing Josh 'die' and then being forced to watch Ashley and Chris play Russian Roulette, only to find out that Josh was playing a sick prank on them to seek revenge for his sisters — it was all so screwed up. And now, finding out that Hannah and Beth had been dead in the mines in this whole time, and that there were monstrous creatures cursed to the mountain was pushing Florence to the brink of psychosis.

She was petrified by the fact that she was tiptoeing through the mines, battered and bloodied, desperately searching for her boyfriend who had not only hurt her, but had betrayed her and her friends.

Still, despite her unyielding fear, she pushed on. Despite every screwed-up thing that Josh had done to her and her friends tonight, he didn't deserve to die. She couldn't stand the thought of losing him to one of those creatures that looked like they'd crawled straight out of hell. He was still her boyfriend and she still loved him. That's why she made it her mission to save him.

━━━━━━━

As Florence trekked through the mines, limping and hissing every few steps, she came across a lantern that was bright enough to cast a warm light a few feet around it. It wasn't much, but something was better than nothing. All the other lanterns around were too dull to use, the one she found must've had more oil than the others. Fortunate.

She picked up the lantern, pushing the gun into the front waistband of her pants for easy access. She used one hand to hold the lantern and the other to hold her ribs in an attempt to alleviate some of the pain. She tried her damndest to ignore the aches and focus on finding Josh but her bruised, or possibly broken, ribs were making it hard to even breathe, much less go trekking through a labyrinth of the dark and cold mines.

Nothing compared to the pain in her head and in her ribs, not even that time she broke her arm in sixth grade trying to do a flip getting off the monkey bars at the park to impress her friends. Wishing she could be as courageous as she was then seemed silly, but it helped provide her with enough confidence in herself to keep going. She told herself — repeatedly — that if she could break her own arm just for the sake of impressing her friends, then she could surely push through the pain in her ribs and her head to save her beloved boyfriend.

The lantern she'd picked up was providing her with a sufficient amount of light to guide her through the many twists and turns of the mines. Eventually, she spotted from footprints left in the gravel aside the tracks on the ground. Hope filled her at last — they could belong to Josh.

Her hope was shattered, though, by the distant and unsettlingly familiar screech of the cannibalistic monsters she and Josh encountered mere minutes ago. She gasped, instinctively swinging her head around to see if there was one nearby waiting to pounce on her. Fortunately, she didn't see anything.

Now even more on edge, Florence continued walking while simultaneously attempting to quieten her heavy breathing.

Fear coursed through her veins as she walked.

The dim light of the lantern casted a warm yellow shadow on the rocky walls of the mines and lit her path just enough to ease her fear that there was a monster waiting for her just ahead. She turned around every now and then to watch her back as she got farther and farther from the entrance to the mines. She could no longer feel the below-freezing breeze from the undoubtable blizzard outside blowing at her back, letting her know that she was far enough in the mines now.

Another screech echoed somewhere in the mines that seemed far enough away, but not far enough for Florence to not hear it. The sound was comparable to that of a tortured animal with a distinct mixture of a human crying out in pain; it was horrific, something that came straight out of a nightmare.

Panic bubbled in her chest.

Her heart began to pick up.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

Florence tried to remind herself that now wasn't the time to slip into an attack, and that if she did, she would only be drawing attention to herself. She couldn't afford to panic right now — not only because she didn't want to increase the chances of being found, but also because if she did, she would lose time to find Josh. She couldn't risk either of those things. She'd have to push through the attack on her own.

"Breathe." Florence whispered to herself, following her own instruction with a few deep inhales and exhales. Her heart slowed its hastened thumping in her ribcage and allowed her to collect herself as she walked. Slowly, she calmed down — at least, as calm as she could get while she was traipsing through a mine system filled with monsters and searching for her missing boyfriend.

As she walked, she came across a totem lying on the ground near a small flight of wooden stairs that were on the path of the footprints she was following in hopes that they were Josh's. She leaned down, groaning lowly in pain, and picked up the totem to turn it over. She noticed it's deep black outline.

»Florence slipped from the edge of the cliff as she attempted to hide from the Wendigo hissing on the other side, plummeting hundreds of feet down where she landed on a shard of broken wooden fencing. The fence struck her through her stomach, killing her within moments.»

Florence set the totem down, continuing on her trail.

Something in the pit of her stomach told her that she wasn't going to make it out of these mines without dying or at least coming close to it. Another inkling told her that, sooner or later, she would have to run; run for her life or run for her love, she didn't know. All she knew was that there would come a time when she would have to run for something. Although running seemed nearly impossible with how much pain she was in, she pushed every negative thought as far back into her mind as she could. All so that she wouldn't lose motivation to keep pushing on. Giving up on Josh because she was hurting wasn't an option when he could be dead or dying right this moment.

Saving Josh was all that mattered to her now. Not his stupid, cruel prank that left her and her friends traumatized. Not the fact that in one night, she'd had more panic attacks than any other day in her life. Not that she had abandoned her morals and used a gun and was shooting to kill. Not that she learned that her best friends — who she still had hope were only missing — were dead.

No, none of that mattered to her right now.

Finding Josh in the twisted labyrinth of the mountain's grim reality was all that mattered now. And she wasn't stopping at anything until she found him, alive.

While she was walking, she stumbled across a mound of something. With furrowed eyebrows, she leant down to see what it was. She used her lantern to get a better look. A petrified scream escaped her bruised lips when she saw that it was a pile of human skulls. Her hands clasped over her gaping mouth, tears pooling in her eyes.

Lying in a pile on the gravel flooring of the mines was a pile of at least a dozen skulls, almost like they were part of some feeding ground. The scene before her was just like the feeding grounds she'd seen in zoology textbooks discussing animal's hunting patterns. Whatever lurked in these mines and chased them outside was a sinister, otherworldly creature. And she'd just stumbled upon its feeding ground.

Her stomach twisted, sour bile rising up towards her throat from her bowels. Thick saliva pooled in her mouth as her stomach bubbled sickeningly. She stumbled backwards and hurled, but only bile came out. Using the sleeve of her jacket, she wiped the corner of her mouth and took a few deep breaths.

"Holy shit." Florence breathed in shock, eyes wide.

She had been to funerals before, but they were all closed-casket and never in her life had she seen human remains, much less human remains that were sitting in the middle of a feeding ground. Something about seeing those skulls unsettled a part of her that ran so deep it just about touched the bottom of her soul.

It was horrifying, utterly traumatizing.

All she could think about was how each of those individual skulls belonged to a person who actually existed. Those skulls weren't fake like the ones she would see in the seasonal decoration section of department stores during Halloween time. No, these were real human skulls that actually belonged to people with hearts and souls. Now, they were all dead and their remains belonged to a cannibalistic creature who lurked on Mount Washington searching for another innocent person to devour.

Once she collected herself, Florence continued walking.

She pondered what other horrors she would see in the mines.

How many secrets had been buried down here, in this endless labyrinth of death and horror which had danger lurking around every other corner.

As she thought, several thunderous screeches echoed not too far behind her.

She whipped her head around, briefly catching a glimpse of a fleshy creature lurking in the shadows mere feet behind her. It looked as if it was waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce on her and considering she was stood right in the middle of its feeding grounds, she was practically an animal caught in a trap whose only option was to slowly die.

"Shit!" Florence cursed behind gritted teeth.

She threw her lantern towards the creature as hard as she could, silently praising herself when she heard it collide with its tough skin and it groaned in pain.

Yanking her gun free, Florence began to sprint through the claustrophobic mines. As she ran she made sure the safety was off, fortunately it was. She quickly cocked it.

An enraged screech boomed behind her, the creature right on her heels.

Florence grunted in pain, for sprinting with broken ribs and a concussion was quite painful as it seemed. She refused to stop, though, much like all the other times tonight when she had to run to save herself or someone else. Stopping was never an option for her.

The creature was getting too close for Florence's comfort while she ran.

She turned around as she ran and fired her gun a few times in hopes of hitting the creature. Two of her bullets missed it but the last one she shot hit it directly in its chest. The creature fell to the ground but only lied there for a moment before it jumped back up, even angrier now.

Huffing, Florence faced forwards and continued to run.

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"NO! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" Florence heard a familiar voice scream in a panic.

Although he sounded like he was in distress and in some kind of trouble, he was alive.

Josh was alive.

Her heart thumped rapidly in her chest as she ran towards the sound of her beloved's voice. Her torso and head were aching painstakingly as she pushed her legs forward through every twist and turn she came across. She kept running until she found an opening where Josh was stood looking around and panicking as if he was hallucinating.

"Josh!" Florence gasped through heavy pants, stopping beside him.

He didn't look at her and kept looking around him and whimpering, like he was seeing something she wasn't that terrified him.

She grabbed his shoulders and shook him lightly in hopes of breaking him out of whatever nightmare he was stuck in. "Josh! Josh, it's Florence. I'm right here."

Tears streamed down Josh's face, strained cries leaving his lips. "Please! Just go away!"

"Josh, please. I'm right here." Florence pleaded. She hated every second of seeing him fall apart right in front of her and knowing she couldn't do anything to pull him out. All she could do was wait until the hallucinations passed.

Josh's eyes glazed over after a few moments, his whimpers ceasing. He seemed to click back into reality over the course of a few moments, breathing heavily and trying to collect himself.

Florence squeezed his shoulders lightly. "Josh? Can you hear me?"

Finally, Josh's gaze connected with Florence's and it was like everything fell into place. He let out a sigh of pure relief and enveloped her in a tired hug immediately. He squeezed her tight in case one of the monsters came up and tried to steal her from him — he never wanted to let her go ever again, not after tonight.

"I can't take orders from them, Flo." Josh whispered.

Florence's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She pulled back to put Josh at arms length so she could attempt to read him. "From who, Josh?"

Josh shook his head, looking around as if he were still seeing things. "From Hannah and Beth."

Florence's heart twisted.

Before she could respond, Mike and Sam came up from behind the two of them soaking wet and seemingly frightened out of their minds. Florence didn't doubt that they had trekked through enough of the mines to see the horrors they beheld. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen or experienced, something straight out of hell.

Sam's eyes landed on Florence and immediately she ran up to her and engulfed her in her arms. A relieved sigh fell past her lips, her eyes fluttering closed.

"Jesus, I thought you got killed out here." Sam breathed into Florence's shoulder.

Florence bit back the tears welling in her eyes. She couldn't possibly begin to gauge the relief and ease she felt wash over her seeing that Sam and Mike were alive.

Anywhere outside the cabin, especially the mines, was not safe. Leaving the cabin was a death sentence, a suicide mission.

It wasn't surprising that Mike and Sam made it to them alive, they were both strong and had an immense amount of fight in them; they were survivors — all of them were after tonight.

They'd made it through Josh's sick prank that both physically harmed them and mentally traumatized them, the emotional distress of finding out that Hannah and Beth weren't missing but actually dead, and fighting for their lives against cannibalistic monsters who were once humans.

Each of them were still alive even after everything they had gone through, it proved that they were stronger than they thought.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Florence told Sam before letting go of her and looking back at Mike who was stunned staring at Josh. Josh was cradling his head as if he was hearing things, tears falling unto his bruised and bloodied cheeks.

"Is he alright?" Mike asked Florence, pointing towards Josh.

Florence shook her head softly. "No. He needs his meds. We have to get back to the lodge, quick, before that thing finds us."

"The Wendigo?" Sam questioned. Fear was threaded through her shaking voice.

Florence could only nod.

Josh seemed to snap out if it as the three of them talked, quietly asking them all what happened. That's when Sam explained what she and Mike saw on their way to Florence and Josh.

"Hannah was down here for weeks, a month. She dug Beth up." Sam began tearfully, eyes glossy.

Florence's heart broke even more. Tears pooled in her eyes. All she could do was look down to blink away the tears and be strong for Josh, he needed her to be strong right now. What good was she if she was breaking down?

"Sam." Mike cut Sam off, seeing both Josh and Florence reel back at the knowledge of what really happened to Hannah and Beth. "Let's just get the fuck out of here."

"Okay. . ." Sam agreed, breathing deeply before turning to Josh. "Josh, do you have the key for the cable car?"

Josh nodded, patting himself to feel around for the key. "Um, y-yeah. Here."

Sam sighed in relief as she took the key from Josh's hand. She pocketed the key to keep it from falling out anywhere and looked around for a way out. Her eyes quickly caught an opening of sorts above some rocks, like a rock wall.

"See that over there?" Sam asked as she pointed towards the opening that allowed light to stream in to the cave. "That means there's a direct way out. Come on."

Mike gently grasped Josh to guide him forwards in case he slipped back into a trance, but not before looking back at Florence and ensuring that she was okay to continue on her own. She had been through a lot tonight and he was perfectly willing to guide her if she needed him.

Florence saw the caring look in Mike's eyes and offered him a small yet grateful smile, nodding to let him know that she was alright to continue on her own.

Mike scoffed when he saw how high up the opening was. "There's no way Josh is gonna make it up there."

Florence moved next to Josh, holding onto his arm to let him know that she was there and that she was supporting him. It was necessary for her to be there for him, physically and emotionally.

"Josh?" Florence whispered, catching his attention. "Are you okay? You with me?"

Josh hummed lowly with a nod. "I'm here."

Florence gently cupped Josh's cheek but only for a moment.

Sam looked between Josh and the opening. She, too, knew that the likelihood of Josh making it up the wall and through the opening was slim to none. "Okay. If you help me up I can go back to tell the others we're okay."

"Yeah, good." Mike agreed.

"Mike, bring Josh and Florence back the way we came and we'll all meet at the lodge." Sam ordered Mike.

Florence departed from Josh to say a quick goodbye to Sam. The pair hugged, squeezing each other tightly just in case it was the last embrace they would ever share. After tonight, they both knew the immense importance of cherishing one another and saying proper goodbyes.

"Please be careful." Florence pleaded with Sam, her eyes tightly closed. "Don't die out there."

Sam chuckled lightly. "You be careful, too. Watch your back in here, we both know what's down here."

Florence nodded in understanding, letting go of Sam and returning to Josh's side to allow Mike to boost Sam up the wall. With her decent flexibility and athleticism, she was up the wall and out of the cave in no time.

That left Mike to show Florence and Josh the way out.

He was the only one among them with knowledge of how to get out of the mines considering Josh wasn't very lucid when he was being dragged through them and Florence was so focused on watching her back while simultaneously desperately searching for Josh that she couldn't memorize the way she came.

Florence kept Josh at her side as Mike diligently lead the two of them out of the mines.

"You didn't. . .you didn't have to hit me so much, man." Josh told Mike, his voice hushed and distant.

"I'm sorry about before, man. I thought you killed Jess. I was wrong." Mike admitted.

Looking back, he didn't have to beat Josh as much as he did but in the moment, even with Florence pleading and wailing in his ear, he felt as if he was justified. He still had no idea where Jess was or if she was even alive but it provided him with some solace knowing that Josh didn't kill her.

As the three of them walked through another feeding ground for the Wendigos, Florence saw a headless body hanging from the ceiling and she nearly threw up at the sight.

"Holy shit." Florence mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut as they walked past the dangling body. "Oh, my God."

"Sorry, Flo." Mike apologized behind gritted teeth, for he forgot to warn her about that.

The more they walked, the colder Florence got and the more her whole body began to ache.

It hadn't crossed her mind until now that she was definitely pushing her body past its limits — she was moving around with broken or bruised ribs and a heavy concussion, all paired with an unknown amount of cuts and bruises that were burning significantly from the freezing cold air blowing into the mines.

She couldn't stop, though. Stopping was asking to be killed and she couldn't afford that, not when they were almost out.

Mike looked over to Florence and Josh. "There's some water we've got to cross through. It's cold as shit but it isn't too deep. Will you guys be okay going through it?"

Florence gently reached up to run her hand across her ribs, though she couldn't withstand her own touch for long before she yanked her hand away from the pain. "When I went looking for Josh, a Wendigo caught up to us and it threw me into a tree. I think it broke some of my ribs."

Mike ran his hand through his hair in stress. What else would be thrown at him and his friends?

"Do you think you can make it through the water?" Mike asked her with concern in his eyes.

Florence nodded immediately. She didn't really have a choice even if she didn't think she could wade through the water. "I'm good. I can do it."

Josh remembered seeing Florence get thrown just seconds before he was captured and taken away from her. He remembered his stomach dropping as he watched her body fall limply to the snow-covered ground and how it nearly killed him not being able to run to her aid.

"I'm sorry." Josh suddenly said to Florence. "I'm so sorry."

Florence looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. "For what?"

"You're hurt. Bad. All because of me."

Florence shook her head, grabbing Josh's hand. "Don't think about that now. Focus on getting out of here, okay? We have to get out of here or we will die. Understand?"

Josh nodded slowly, looking deep into the determined eyes of the love of his life. Even decorated with cuts and bruises, limping with intense injuries from all throughout the hellish night she had been through, she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Ever since the first day he told Florence he loved her, all Josh could see when he looked into her eyes was a picture of their future; it was bright and beautiful, filled wit happiness and laughter.

Josh would marry Florence and they'd have a small wedding with their family and all of their closest friends and soon afterwards they would have children. Josh's sisters and their friends would have been amazing aunts and uncles to their kids, loving them eternally and unconditionally just as him and Florence did.

Florence would've been a great mother who was loving and gentle, she would've molded their kids' hearts into gold. Josh would've been a great father who showed his children how to be strong and fight through any challenges sent their way.

The two of them would have been amazing parents who raised their children in a household filled with love and joy.

It would've been pure bliss until they laid on their deathbeds, peacefully dying from age right beside one another until they succumbed to their fates in each other's arms.

Together forever.

But instead, Josh's sisters were dead and he was falling off the deep end on a mountain haunted with cannibalistic monsters he dragged his friends and the love of his life on back on. Florence was hurt and they were being chased, looking over their shoulders every second to make sure they weren't about to be captured or brutally torn apart.

Nothing was okay.

All Josh could see now was impending doom that he felt looming over him. Somehow he just knew that his fate was coming to a close sooner than he thought, way sooner.

He wanted to give Florence the thing he had been holding onto for months now, the promise ring that he bought for her the day before graduation that he planned to give her on her first day of college, starting to way to the rest of their lives. He'd brought it on the trip thinking just in case, and now he was mentally thanking himself for bringing it along.

The time and place weren't ideal and it certainly wasn't what Josh pictured when he imagined giving the promise ring to Florence but he wanted to do it now before it was too later.

He had a feeling something was coming — coming for him.

It was now or never.

Josh dug it out of his pocket, keeping it enclosed around his fingers to keep Florence from seeing it too early.

"I have to give you something before it's too late." Josh told Florence, his voice trembling. "I've been waiting to give it to you but I can't wait anymore."

Nervousness filled Florence's body as she looked into Josh's eyes.

Josh grasped Florence's hands in his own, slipping the ring into her palm. "I love you. So much. I know I haven't been the best boyfriend lately and that a lot has happened in the last few hours, but my love for you hasn't gone away. I wanted to spend forever with you."

Tears slipped past Florence's eyes and fell unto her cheeks. She felt the cool metal of a ring fall into her palm as Josh spoke.

"This is a promise ring. It's my promise to you that I'll be waiting on you, waiting to spend forever together. I promise." Josh poured his heart out to the woman he loved more than life itself, tears falling freely from his eyes. "In case we don't make it out of here, please remember that I'll love you forever and I'll never stop waiting on you."

Florence sobbed, leaning in for a passionate kiss. Their lips pressed together for what felt like the last time, the puzzle pieces connecting perfectly like they always did. She clenched the ring in her hand as she cupped Josh's cheeks lovingly.

Josh pressed their foreheads together after they pulled away from the kiss. "Together forever. Okay?"

"Together forever." Florence repeated, pulling away to slip the ring on her right ring finger, the left ring finger was for an engagement ring.

Although some part of her that resided deep down inside knew that Josh just said goodbye to her, she subconsciously ignored it and took his speech as a mere declaration of love and a promise of eternal infatuation because it didn't cross her mind that she could lose him getting out of the mines.

"That was really sweet, guys, but we really gotta go." Mike hurried them.

Florence chuckled, stepping closer to the edge of the platform that sat above the water alongside Josh.

Mike jumped down first, followed by Florence and Josh.

Florence hissed in pain as her feet collided with the ground beneath the waist-length water that was even colder than she could have imagined. Her ribs ached and her head thumped rhythmically, but she waded on behind Mike with Josh at her side.

Mike was leading the way when suddenly, he jerked downwards. He whimpered in fright as something seemed to latch onto his leg. "Oh, fu—"

Florence gasped as Mike was yanked into the water, her hand flying over her mouth.

She was now fully aware that there was something beneath the water and she had two choices in front of her, save Mike or save herself and Josh and get out of the water as quickly as possible.

"Mike!" Florence screamed, bending down to shove her hands in the water to feel around for him. Despite the pain that spiked throughout her chest as she bent down, she desperately felt around for Mike in the freezing cold water.

She was cut short, though, when a screeching Wendigo sprung out of the water and inched towards Josh.

"No! You're not real!" Josh screamed in fear. "No you're not."

Florence was frozen in terror.

Josh's eyes frantically looked around before he spotted a familiar butterfly tattoo on the Wendigo's left arm, the same tattoo his sister had. Pain pulsed through his already broken heart. "Hannah!"

Mike arose from the water, coughing and panting heavily. He immediately saw the Wendigo staring Josh down and reaching down for him whilst Florence stared up at it, frozen in place with fear. Mike knew exactly what he had to do, what Josh would've wanted him to do.

He slowly waded towards Florence and the second he got close enough behind her to grab her, he placed a hand around her mouth to keep her from screaming and locked an arm around her stomach. He knew her ribs were hurt but this was the only way he would keep all of them from being murdered or taken. He quietly hid himself and Florence behind a rock in the water to avoid being seen by the Wendigo.

Florence snapped out of her brief trance as she felt Mike silently taking her away from Josh and the Wendigo. She began thrashing around, desperately trying to escape to avoid leaving Josh alone to be inevitably torn apart or taken.

Tears pricked her eyes for what must've been the millionth time that night. She frantically clawed at Mike's hand against her lips as she kicked her legs.

Her teary eyes widened as Josh was lifted out of the water and dragged away by the Wendigo.

His screams echoed throughout the mines and broke Florence's heart entirely.

Florence screamed from behind Mike's hand, though it was muffled. She repeatedly dug her fingernails into his hand, trying to pry it away so she could pull the Wendigo's attention away from Josh and onto herself. If she created a distraction, Josh could get away.

Mike didn't budge whilst she continued to thrash around and claw at his skin. He wasn't risking her life or his own; he knew that he couldn't afford to.
His heart clenched as Josh was dragged out of sight, his bloodcurdling pleads and screams echoing against the cave walls.

He could feel Florence go limp in his arms. Once he knew that the Wendigo was far enough away, he let her go.

Florence wailed, untangling herself from Mike's arms. She pushed herself through the freezing water and in the direction Josh was taken despite the seething pain in her chest. She didn't care if she was risking her life or how irrationally she was thinking, she couldn't bare to lose the one person she had left.

"Florence!" Mike called after her, moving as quickly as he could manage through the water to catch up to her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back, ignoring how hard she fought against him.

"PLEASE!" Florence sobbed, yanking at her arm. "I have to save him!"

Mike bit back the tears pooling in his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat. "He's gone, Flo."

"No he's not!" Florence screamed, falling to her knees once Mike pulled her up the wall and unto the ground. "We have to save him! Please!"

Mike bent down to reach eye-level with Florence, grabbing both of her cheeks and forcing her to look at him.

"He's gone." Mike whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Florence's whole body trembled as the weight of her soul-crushing loss fell upon her. Her heart shattered because she realized that she had lost everyone; her best friends, her boyfriend, and now she would be left alone to lose herself if she even survived until dawn.

"NO!" Florence wailed, paining Mike with each heart wrenching sob that wracked her body.

Josh was gone.

Florence let out one last scream, the pained, gut wrenching, sound echoing against the stone walls of the mines.

Hannah was gone.

Beth was gone.

And now, Josh was gone.

She had nothing left.

Mike pulled Florence into an embrace, hoping to comfort her. In response she clung onto him, wrapping her fist around his shirt. He rubbed circles on her back and allowed her to cry into his shoulder, her tears creating a wet spot on his shirt but he didn't care.

He watched her heart break, saw every ounce of joy she had left fade. There was no brightness left in her eyes, no shine that signified her happiness.

Mike had never been extremely close to Florence like the twins or Josh, but he was her friend and he did love her as he loved his other friends. She and him had become friends in sixth grade when she offered him a half of her sandwich once she saw that he didn't have anything to eat.

Ever since she was a kid, Florence had been the kindest person Mike knew. She put her heart into everything she did and always put others before herself. She was caring and compassionate and never allowed anyone to fall when she was around.

Florence was the group's moral compass, their safety blanket of happiness and kindness, and she had always been there for all of them.

Now, after she had lost everything, Mike refused to let her feel alone. She had carried each of them more times than they could have counted. Now it would be their turn to carry her.

"It'll be okay." Mike assured her in a hushed whisper, tears of his own falling unto his bruised cheeks. Grief and guilt washed over him simultaneously, but he held Florence anyway.

He lost Josh, that much he knew, but he wasn't going to lose Florence too.

Mike, knowing all too well that the likeliness of her being able to walk on her own wasn't good amidst her grief and pain, helped Florence stand up. He kept a secure arm around her waist to steady her in case she fell. He then began to basically carry her through the mines.

"We're gonna be okay, Flo." Mike told her tearfully. "We'll make it out of here. I promise."

Florence couldn't find the strength to mutter a reply but she gave his hand a small squeeze to let him know that she heard him.

He smiled softly.

"I won't let anything happen to you."

Josh would have wanted Mike to protect Florence — to keep her safe when he couldn't anymore. Mike made a silent promise to Josh that he would give his life protecting Florence.

No more lives would be lost, not on Mike's watch.

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