A Reason, A Tattoo, A Memory
Introducing the second to last chapter of NO MORE! I really hoped you enjoyed this as much as I had writing this whole thing. Now before I get to sappy, Enjoy the chapter!
"You know, you didn't have to hit me so much, man. Bo was the only one who had a real reason." Josh said, seeming to return to reality a bit more.
"Ah, yeah, I'm sorry about that. I thought you killed Jess." Mike shone his flashlight, only turning his head slightly to look at Josh through peripheral vision. "I was wrong." He admitted. Bo was already far in front of the two in the other room, few steps ahead of them. When they reached the Wendigo's den full of strung up bodies, Bo was waiting for them, looking away solemnly at the flamethrower guy's beheaded self.
"You know, I forgot I had witnessed that. Lord..." She recalled the time she was with Chris and she saw just the streak before his head was detached from his neck. "Oh, Lord." She mumbled again, walking through. She caught up with Josh, letting Mike take lead. "After you were taken in the shed, Josh?" She looked up at him, and he back at her, making sure they both had each other's attention, "Well, Chris came with a stranger who knew all about the Wendigo as I had, and he wanted to help us. We were attacked by that third Wendigo we saw, and he...that monster just ripped the stranger's head from his body, Josh. It was...awful."
"I should have been there. I could have done more to help you." Josh lamented, looking away from Bo.
"There's so many things we all could have done, that's one thing I learned tonight, but you're responses to the things you did do, show more character than if you relish on your other choices." Bo assured him, before returning back behind Mike, who was already out of the room. They lead Josh to the lake once again, Mike plunging into the cold water. "Be careful, the water's sub-zero." She warned before following after Mike. Josh took longer to bring himself in, but succeeded no matter what. The water felt heavier now that Bo was more calm and full of less adrenaline than before. She realized how tired she was the moment she was able to relax.
As they were walking through the water, her relaxation was ripped away when Mike submerged under the surface.
"Mike! Oh my Lord!" She cried, watching him go without being able to do anything about it. Searching under water for him with just her arms was a chore. "Josh, help!" She yelped out, as he just stood there. Rushing up to meet her, he grabbed her hands from under the water.
"He's probably down underneath the current now. There's no helping him yet." Josh told her, still holding her hands in his. Bo's wild eyes met his and for a second, her fears were gone, for a second the world was okay, for a second Bo found her love for Josh once again. The love she mudded down with all of her anger.
Suddenly in front of them, a Wendigo emerged from the water, making Bo scream in terror as it stood there mockingly.
"Bo, it's not real!" He shouted at her.
"It looks pretty fucking real to me!" She yelled, trying to find her unlit torch she beat the Wendigo with, previously. However, it was in none of her pockets or at the other side of the dock. Defenseless, she watched the Wendigo pick Josh up by his throat as he gasped for air. "No!" She shouted.
"Hannah!" Josh yelled back. Bo gasped when she realized what he meant. The Wendigo had Hannah's tattoo still etched on it's skin. The Wendigo was Hannah.
"Ah-!" She cried out as she felt herself get pulled underwater by something, getting only a last glimpse of Josh being carried away by Wendigo Hannah. The shock of the cold water filling her lungs made her heart race as she twirled in the flow. After what felt like hours, she felt a hand grab onto her arm before she could be pulled away further and was hoisted up by Mike. Bo began to cough up water, throwing up what was left in her stomach and feeling every part of her body sting. "Gah-! Josh!" She shouted, sobbing in pain. She had just gotten him back and now he was gone again.
"Bo! You're okay!" He shouted, rushing to her. Bo shook her head.
"No! I'm not okay! Hannah took Josh, sh-she's a Wendigo and she took him right from my fingertips and I could have stopped him from being taken if you hadn't had pulled me under!" She pushed him away from her slightly, her shoulders trembling as she covered her face with her hands. The trauma she felt blocked the coldness of the water on her, she just wanted to drown in it. To just give up and die already.
"Bo, I didn't pull you underwater..." Mike explained looking in the water for any movement. "Bo, I know this is hard, but I need you to stay still. I need you to still help us get out of here." He glanced over at her. Not able to watch the torture she was facing anymore, he peeked around the rock they were behind to see a Wendigo leap onto the dock on the other side of them, where Josh was, and scurry out into the room. That must have been what pulled Bo under, he thought to himself, or there's another. When they were sure it was clear, they trudged out of the water, Bo struggling the most. When they reached the ledge, Mike got out first, his arms anchored on the top of the ledge before pulling his legs up with them. He reached his arm out to his shivering friend, who expressionlessly took his hand and said nothing as he pulled her up.
Normal Bo would joke about steroids or how her weight could pull an arm off, this Bo said absolutely nothing. He had an awful feeling Bo or anyone, not even himself, would never be the same after tonight.
As Sam got to the top of the wall, she swung her arm up to reach the ground level and hoist herself up, feeling the cold snow melt underneath her hand. One leg was over, then two and she was finally done with her rock climbing days. The screams of let-out Wendigos from the Sanatorium reverberated throughout the nightmarish woods.
She sighed as Sam started her hike through the woods, not wanting to run. The howling continued, making her uneasy as the snow crunched under her feet. She reached another lake, groaning out loud as she dropped in, the small bits of ice forming were shattered as she paddled through, quickly. Stopping when she heard the screeches of hungry ex-cannibals, she surveyed her surroundings before rushing through once again.
As she neared the shed, soaking wet, she heard more cries of the unwanted creatures and she picked up the pace, full force running with the mentality that something was chasing her. She ducked under the fallen tree trunk and jumped over a rock before jumping down another rock wall that wasn't as tall as the few she's climbed. Reaching the cabin, she smacked the door, trying to get in.
"Hey!" Sam shouted into the glass pane of the door. "Come on! Let me in!" She pounded some more, the screeching stopped from behind her but she continued to try the handle, anything to get their attention from inside.
"Sam-"
"-Ah!" She cried when she heard someone call her name, she flipped around ready to defend herself when she saw Mike, his eye completely jacked up and his lip busted on the corner. "Oh! Mike! You look terrible!"
Bo suddenly came out from behind him, and if she thought Mike was terrible, she was worse. Her forehead contained a huge gash that was bleeding over her eye and her skin was pale from her Hypothermia, a scratch marked her cheek bone and she was limping even more than before.
"Oh-Oh my God." Sam breathed out, at the sight of the living zombie. Bo made no movement, no regular wise-cracking smile beholded her. It was like as if she was just skin and nothing else. Just completely hollow inside.
"We'll all be worse if we stay out here." Mike grumbled, glancing behind him before taking a stone and throwing it at the glass pane, sticking his hand through and unlocking the door from that side. When they opened the door and entered the Cabin, it was just as creepy inside as it was outside, but nonetheless, the two seemed to relax, Bo was still the empty shell of herself.
"What happened to Josh?" She asked, almost instantly regretting it when Bo walked away further, not looking back at the two.
"He was taken." Mike explained for her. "By a Wendigo. Bo thinks it was Hannah who was the Wendigo."
Sam let out a breath and shook her head, solemnly.
"It was Hannah." A croaky voice took the two of them by surprise. Bo turned around slowly to face them. "I saw the same butterfly tattoo that was on her arm, on the Wendigo."
"That would explain the journal we found. All that strange poetic stuff and then the creepy incoherent stuff at the end." Sam explained. "While we were in the water, I found it washed up along with the flamethrower guy's head. It was pretty water-damaged but now that you said that, Bo, it makes sense."
"We need to check the basement. Might be some left down there." Mike ordered, his voice almost as mono-toned as Bo's. As they walked down the stairs, they made no effort to talk to each other as Bo was normally the talkative one, initiating jokes and conversations. When they reached to go to the basement, Chris, Emily and Ashley suddenly appeared running for their lives.
"Go! Run, run, run!" Chris shouted at the three, racing them up the steps. Emily ran as well, screaming as she went by. Mike quickly swooped up Bo, knowing she wasn't well enough to process the danger they were in. Running with her, he left Sam behind him. Racing up steps with creatures inhumanly faster than you were with a sick teenager on your back is hard, and Mike now understood why. Emily and Chris stood completely still as they watched the Wendigos swing on the modern chandelier hanging from the Washington Cabin ceiling. Bo was still in Mike's arms, both afraid that letting her down would trigger the creatures to attack.
Sam suddenly appeared sprinting at full speed but stopped when she heard Mike whisper, "Don't move..."
Two other Wendigos appeared around Mike and Bo, scurrying on the carpet, watching the other monster hanging from the ceiling. They seemed to challenge each other, screeching over the next. As they fought, the bigger Wendigo grabbed the other and smashed it over the stairs before throwing it into the fire place, breaking a pipe and releasing a gas in the air. Mike watched the pipe carefully, discovering a plan awake in his mind. Sam noticed his eye sight and she looked over at Mike, with an approving nod, understanding what he wanted to do.
Setting Bo down carefully as the creatures were distracted, he moved forward. She watched helplessly as Mike exited the room and Sam backed, making a noise as she did so and caught the attention of the Wendigo who had just ripped another's head off it's body.
It slowly took steps towards Sam, making her heartbeat rise up in her throat. The Wendigo's attention suddenly changed to Mike who had just broken the light bulb. Sam and Chris took the time to run out of the cabin.
Bo sighed in relief, as she watched them run. At least they were alright. She decided that for all Mike did for her, Bo could just do this one thing for him and yelled out, making the Wendigo scream and change direction to her, it's glazed over eyes bulging out of it's bald head. Bo watched Emily run out as well, she just needing Mike and Ashley to leave.
As Bo risked her life for him, yelling out to the Wendigo that neared Mike, he closed his eyes taking a deep breath. It changed it's course and he shook his head. This is like suicide, he thought to himself, a self-sacrificial suicide.
He saw how calm she looked, it encouraged him how brave she always was in the face of danger. As it screeched at her, she only closed her eyes. Remaining still, it passed her, looking for another target to kill. Realizing Ashley had not yet exited the building, Bo made a movement to hide behind a pillar, mentally yelling at her to leave.
The Wendigo screamed once again, making Bo's lip curl in disgust. She wanted nothing more than to get revenge on the very things that tormented her and took away Josh from her, twice. She felt it's head only a foot away from her's at it squealed again, it's jaw unhinging several inches more than a normal jaw should. Bo heard the snarls, the groans and basically felt all the anger replaced fear inside of her create an abnormally thumping heart beat.
Bo's life was spared again as another Wendigo from before came into view, the huge creature tackling each other. Now, she just needed Mike to leave. Come on, Mike, she thought to herself, please don't be dumb and stay with me. She hid behind the fireplace, allowing a chance for Mike to leave.
But he didn't. Mike lingered by the doorway, just almost there but not quite. Come on, Mike, come on.
As the Wendigo scurried around the fireplace, she noticed something walking through the hallway, the creatures ignoring it. A small animal, a fox, prancing around as if nothing was going on.
It looked over at her and suddenly she was gone.
She was with Josh again, on their first date. When they missed the bus home and he had to walk her home so he could explain to her father why she was thirty minutes past curfew.
She was with Josh when they snuck into a pasture because Josh promised it had the best view of the stars.
She was with Josh in Theater Arts when they first met, him always giving sarcastic answers that made her laugh.
Now that she was gone, Bo seemed to float over the woods, with Josh, Chris and Sam as they searched for Hannah and Beth. Bo remembered that as they all searched for Josh's lost sisters, she was the only one who took the time to take a fox out of a trap. The only one willing to spare a second of her time for someone else in need.
She relived moving to the new school, Jessica there to help her. Bo saw her sweet sixteen, her ski-resort trip with her parents in sixth grade, the times her and her father hunted together before he got his job at age eight. She relived her whole life, always seeing a fox in each picture. Whether it was sneaking cake or sitting on a window sill, it was there, and Bo realized she had the mark of the fox with her forever.
Then she lived another life. She met an Ojibwe hero by the name of Iyash who seeked her guidance, as she gave him the test of a lifetime for him to prove himself worthy.
Bo relived the tale of a son, Ayas, whose mother was abused by his father and she gave him tools used to kill his father, acting as his 'grandmother'.
She saw a Cree woman begging her to help her son, who was lost from home. She remembered leading him home to his family, only disappearing before he saw her again.
"Bo," an old woman appeared before her, as Bo stood on a hill, a silky red dress the color of the fox next to her flowing behind her in the wind "my lovely, Bo Anne. You finally have met me, but I've known and watched you for a long time, quietly. Now that you have seen you're true life, you must know you have been chosen for this time. You have been chosen to save this mountain for the sake of your people."
"My people?" She questioned.
"You are the wise and kind protector of the human race. You contain the spirit of Waagoshii Mindimooye. You have been chosen by her yourself."
"Then where is she? I'd like to talk to her about her pitiful decision making skills." Bo admitted. She watched the grandmother's gaze fall on the fox next to her. "You're kidding."
"I am not. I came here to tell you you're story is not done yet."
"My story, what are you talking about?" She questioned, looking up in the sky, wondering what kind of shrooms she ate before now. The sky was a purple, blue color up above, the stars twinkling, but as you looked over the horizon, it was a mix of red, green and orange as the sun was halfway over the rolling field of hills.
"Josh is still alive. It is your journey to find him. Save him, Waagoshii. Save him."
•••
I'm sorry if that was kind of confusing. I'm going to go through and edit all of this later in life huehuehue. (Update: I'm really not going to, I'm too lazy HA)
But anyways, if you liked this, make sure to show your support for a second book and vote, comment and add to your reading list! I'll see you...in the last chapter. *cries*
Graphics credit @ girlpotterheadxx
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