To Reverse a Curse

Chapter 2

    "Chris," Mike says, switching on a flashlight, "Come on,"
    I hesitate, but follow him into the tunnel. "Let's find Josh," I say.
    "Where could he be, though?" Sam asks, switching on the head-lamp she's wearing, "His ankle was hurt when we found him, so he couldn't have gotten too far, and for all we know, Hannah may have..."
    "No," I say, "He's alive. I know it,"
    Sam and Mike, who are still in front of me, look at each other, and then Sam looks at me. "But, Chris," she says, "if he is still alive..."
    "Which he is," I insist.
    "...he would have been down here for more than a week," she says, "We may be too late,"
    "No," I say, "I refuse to believe that. We're going to find him, and we're going to bring him home,"
    Sam sighs, and glances back at Mike. They share a pained look, and then they turn back forward, continuing down the tunnel.
    'I hate how they treat me like a child,' I think to myself. 'I fought wendigos before. I'm not entirely helpless.'
    We reach an area that seems to be half flooded.
    "This is..." Mike starts, but his words get caught in his throat. "This is where she got him," he manages. He points to the middle of the water. "Right there," he says, "He recognized her. He said 'Hannah', and then she dragged him that way,". He points across the water.
    "Then, let's start by heading that way," Sam says.
    "But, how are we going to get across?" I ask, "I don't see a boat or anything,"
    Sam and Mike look at each other.
    "Him first?" Mike asks.
    "Him first," Sam says.
    Mike nods, and he puts his hand on my shoulder. "Chris, buddy," he says, pulling me toward the edge of the platform we're standing on, "I'm just going to apologize for this now. But, keep in mind, we're all going to have to suffer this,"
    "What?" I ask, but his only answer is to lead me off of the platform. He stays on the platform as I plunge into icy cold water up to my belly-button. "HOLY JESUS CHRIST!" I exclaim, "Mike! What the fuck, dude?".
    The cold of the frigid water claws into my legs, threatening frostbite.
    Both Mike and Sam are trying to stop themselves from laughing.
    "Sorry, Chris," Mike says, "but...you're now a worthy wendigo hunter,"
    I scoff and roll my eyes, but I can't help but start laughing as well. I slightly bow. "Why, thank you, master hunter Mike," I say, "Now, get in here so we can freeze our balls off together,"
    Mike laughs as he sits down on the edge of the platform, and lets himself fall into the water. He takes a sharp intake of breath. "Okay," he says, "It's colder than last time,"
    Sam just shakes her head, and lowers herself into the water as well. She jumps in place in the water a little, gasping slightly. "Yep," she says, "much colder than last time,"
    Mike slightly laughs, and starts to trudge forward through the water. He leads us in the direction he indicated earlier, the ground underneath the water sloping down slightly so that the water is nearly to my armpits.
    As we continue our slow, waterlogged pace, lightning fast movement out of the corner of my eye makes me stop.
    "Monarch!" I say, quietly. "Monarch!" I repeat.
    Mike stops.
    Sam takes a moment, but then she stops as well, realizing what I said.
    A light growling sound to our left echoes through the mine-shaft.
    I turn my head very slowly, trying to look at who or what is there.
    A large, pale wendigo is perched on an outcropping of rock, scanning the area, possibly looking for us. It sniffs the air, crouches down, ready to pounce, and springs forward. I'm ready for it to land on one of us, but it sails over Sam's head, and plunges into the water yards from us.
I fight the urge to panic and run away, knowing full well that if I did, all of us would be killed. I swallow, thinking of Ashley, waiting for me at home. Thinking of her almost always calms me down.
The wendigo wades through the water, heading away from us. The sloshing of the water gets further and further away, but none of us dare to move.
I try my best not to hyperventilate. 'This is even more tense than in the lodge,' I think, 'There were more wendigos then, and they knew we were there. This time, it seems like we're going to get away unnoticed.'
The sloshing stops, and I can hear the wendigo crawl up onto the bank or platform, or whatever on the other side.
Slowly, I turn my head, and I watch the wendigo stand up to its full height, turn back toward us for a second, and then dash into a mine shaft.
I exhale and relax my shoulders. I had stood tense that entire time.
"That was close," Mike says, "Let's keep moving,"
Sam and I nod, and we continue forward, trying to keep quiet, but finding it impossible.
We reach the other side, and Mike pulls himself out first. He then helps Sam up, and then me.
"This way," Mike says, heading to the left, "He must be through here,"
    Sam follows him, at a quick pace.
    I follow, wary. I find myself in a small room with chains and a bird cage hanging from the ceiling.
    "Oh, god," Mike says, stopping, covering his nose, "Ugh...that's...disgusting,"
    I step around him to find a bloody pile of bones and cloth. As I stare for a minute, I recognize the coat. "It's...Flamethrower Guy," I say.
    "Or what's left of him," Sam says.
    Mike crouches down, and picks up a bone.
    "Ew, Mike..." Sam mutters.
    "Huh," he says, ignoring her, inspecting the bone, "that's...weird,"
    "What?" I ask.
    "It's covered in scratches, like the bone has been gnawed on," Mike says, "like his corpse was eaten,"
    The hair on the back of my neck stands on end.
    "Well," Sam says, pulling out an old journal, "He did write that wendigos have an appetite for human flesh, living or dead. Maybe Hannah got to him?"
    I can hear a low growl from behind us. "Guys," I say.
    "Maybe," Mike says, "But...I...I don't know. Strange and gross as this sounds, some of the blood looks kind of fresh, for a dead guy, like the flesh was just recently eaten,"
    The growling gets louder.
    "Guys," I say again.
    "Well," Sam says, "Maybe Hannah just recently got to eating him,"
    I slowly turned around to see a figure crouching in the shadows behind us. "Guys!" I say, "M-m...m...monarch!"
    They both instantly go silent.
    The figure crawls toward us, slightly limping. The growling gets louder the closer they get. Then, the figure steps into a beam of light.
    I gasp. "J-Josh?"