An ACTUAL ENDING for The Quarry

2 - Re-United in the Lodge - (Ryan)

As soon as Laura walked away, Ryan let a few tears silently fall to the ground. It was so frustrating crying but not really knowing why. He should feel happy right now, right? This had been the most eventful and stressful night in his whole life and after killing Silas, it was all over. Maybe crying was just his body's way of releasing all that emotion, but not necessarily because he was sad. Sad isn't how he would describe how he was feeling, it was a bit more confused, over-stimulated, and... so tired. Now that he thought about it, he felt incredibly tired, like his knees would just give in at any moment.

Ugh get over it, Ryan angrily thought at himself, I just want to find my friends and go home. As much as he wanted it to, he knew that there was no way the night would end that smoothly. Well, technically it was morning now. No wonder he was so tired, he had been running around all night and only now, as the sun rose, he thought about sleep.

The door of the lodge opened with a loud creak making Ryan wince. Why did that make him jump? Now that there weren't any giant wolf people on the hunt for them, he didn't need to be worried about making sounds.

Wait... He didn't need to be worried about making sounds... "GUYS? IS ANYONE IN HERE?!"

He thought he heard shuffling coming from Chris' office, so he called out again, "HELLO? IS SOMEONE IN THERE?"

He slowly made his way towards the office, still being a little cautious just in case.

"RYAN?!" A voice called from the office.

That voice definitely belonged to Dylan. At the sound of his voice it almost felt like the tear ducts behind Ryan's eyes had been patched up and there were no more tears for him to cry, he was too happy now.

"Dylan!!!" Ryan shouted back.

"Wait-" Dylan and whoever else was in there began to speak a little more quietly.

"Abi do you have the keys?"

"Uhm I put them on the desk I think..."

"Ugh, can't I just kick the door down."

"Wait we don't know if it's safe yet."

"If it wasn't safe then why would Ryan be here literally SHOUTING! You guys are too slow I'm just kicking the door."

"Emma-"

There was a loud bang and suddenly the door was on the floor. Ryan had just gotten there to see a smug Emma walk out, followed by a defeated-looking Kaitlyn and a shocked Dylan and Abi.

"Uhm-" Ryan wasn't exactly sure what to say to that, but it didn't matter anyway because he was cut off by Dylan practically tackling him into a hug.

It felt like his throat had been snared by a thorn bush, he couldn't manage a single word as Kaitlyn, Abi, and a semi-hesitant Emma joined them in a group hug. Maybe it was better to not say anything right now and take in this nice moment. This was the first really 'nice moment' they had all shared in a long time, or at least what felt like forever.

As most of them pulled away, Dylan refused to let go. Ryan didn't even notice that he was closing his eyes until he opened them to see Kaitlyn Abi and Emma awkwardly staring at them. He pushed Dylan back but kept his hands on his shoulders.

"Is it-" Dylan started.

"It's over. I killed Chris. And Laura killed Silas. The one who was really at the top," Ryan felt tears pool in his eyes again at the thought of it.

Dylan smiled, his eyes practically shining. He couldn't tell if it was just his brain admiring Dylan or if his eyes were actually glowing... maybe he was also about to cry. But Ryan was too... distracted to even think of that. He was distracted by the way Dylan looked at him, almost desperate. It's almost like... He wants to kiss me, Ryan realized. But right at that moment he suddenly felt the girl's eyes staring at them, and something from in the deepest darkest corners of his brain shouting a message of hate, that he couldn't do that, especially not right here right now. The same thorny vine that entangled his throat wrapped its evil tendrils around his heart. He let go of Dylan and moved a little to the side, now wanting to address the group. Why did I do that? Ryan questioned himself, a little frustrated at his instincts, whatever, it doesn't matter, I have a lot to tell them anyway.