The Blackwood Curse

Two Hours Until Dawn

We trudge along a cold, dark tunnel. Chris's torch beam sweeps along the floor ahead of us, along with the light from Sam's head lamp. Josh hasn't left my side the whole time, and I can tell he doesn't intend on it. He's gone into protective boyfriend mode, and I can't blame him. Not after Jess and Em. Suddenly he grimaces and staggers to the side, steadying himself against the wall. 
"Josh?" I catch his arm and give him a worried frown.
"I'm...I'm fine..." His voice sounds weird; shaky, breathy. Suddenly, something occurs to me.
"Oh god, you haven't taken your meds, have you?" I whisper so that the others can't hear.  Josh shakes his head, avoiding my gaze.
"Kinda got distracted a little"
I don't want to leave him in this state, but at the same time I promised I wouldn't tell the others. I made that promise back when he was diagnosed, and I don't intend on breaking it now.
"Okay...okay, okay. Just tell me if you feel off and I'll...heck, I don't know, do something"
Josh nods, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Come on guys! We have to find Mike!" Sam calls over her shoulder.
"Coming!" I reply, pulling Josh upright and leading him along the tunnel. Only a few moments later he places his hand against his forehead and groans loudly. The others turn and watch us.
"Just...go on without me. I'm slowing us all down"
"Yeah. That's gonna happen" I scoff sarcastically. "You're with us, whether you like it or not"
"What's wrong? Josh, are you okay?" Ashley puts her hand on his shoulder comfortingly. He grins widely, wiggling his eyebrows.
"I am now" he smirks before winking at her. I whack his arm and roll my eyes.
"Ugh. He's fine" I shake my head before muttering; "unfortunately". We progress onwards, my hand firmly clasping his. I don't know how long we've got, but it's not looking good. The mines aren't going to help, I know that much for certain. I can only pray that he can keep it together long enough for us to find Mike. The passage seems to stretch on forever, but we eventually reach the doors to the Sanitorium. Sam goes to open them, but they don't budge. She pulls on them with her full weight, straining, but they still don't move one inch.
"Mike must've locked it behind him. Crap! There has to be another way in" She explains, pacing around uneasily. I look down and notice that I am standing on a grate.
"Should we try this?" I address the others over my shoulder.
"Do we have a choice?" Josh retorts. Stepping back, I pick up the pole lying across it and stick it through the grate, using it as leverage to slide it off of the hole. Sam drags it off completely, then joins us as we gather around the circular opening into the ground.
"This sucks" Ash wrinkles her nose in disgust.
"Uh huh" Chris agrees, handing her the torch.
I glance up at Sam.
"After you" I gesture at the ladder leading down into the darkness. She huffs and obliges, lowering herself down slowly.
"Hey. It's not so bad. Do you think this is the tunnel to the Sanitorium?"
"Of course it is. Where else would it go?" Ash shrugs. Once Sam reaches the bottom we start to follow her one by one. I let Josh go before me, then I climb down before Ash, who goes last. My feet make contact with the ground just before she calls;
"Hey, we should close this? Right?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, what if something's following us?"
Sam bounces on the balls of her feet impatiently.
"Yes, fine. Close it. But we gotta keep moving. Can you just catch up? Please?"
"I don't think that's a good idea, Sam" Josh warns her.
"Well, you can stay with her. I want to find Mike before something happens to him" Sam marches off, obviously anxious.
"Me and Josh will stay. You guys go ahead"
The others go after Sam while Ashley drags the grate back over with a high-pitched metallic squeal. She climbs down and joins us, then we set off after the rest of the group, who seem to have completely disappeared. We stroll quickly, the darkness claustrophobic and heavy, the air damp and musty. We reach a ledge, and an echoing cry bounces along the walls. Josh tenses beside me, and I tighten my grip on his hand.
"Please tell me you heard that too"
"Yeah. I did"
"Oh, good" he lets out a relieved sigh before frowning. "It's not good, is it?"
"No!" Ashley gasps. I snort as I hold back a laugh, but it's short lived when the call comes again.
"Help me!" It says. It sounds like a female voice.
"Who's there? Anybody?" Ash inquires, shining the light around the cave.
"It sounds like Jess" Josh comments, and we both nod in agreement.
"Jessica? Is that you?" I shout, but there is no reply. Only more calls and sobs.
"We should check it out. It might be her" Ashley urges us. I shake my head.
"Bad idea. I read flamethrower guy's book while we were in the basement. It said the Wendigo can perfectly mimic their prey. Don't you think Jess would be calling us? Our names? Plus, what are the chances that she's down here at the exact same moment as us? It's suspicious"
We all exchange various glances, then nod.
"Let's go join the others. It's the best bet"
We jump down the ledge, landing in a puddle at the bottom. Josh suddenly whirls around as if he's heard something, his breathing quickened.
"Josh? Hey..." I grab his shoulder and turn him to face me. "You alright?"
"I thought I heard...Hannah..."
Fuck. Not good. Not good at all. He's starting to go downhill already and we're barely in the Sanitorium, let alone the mines. I cup his cheeks in my hands and look up at him.
"You're fine. It's all alright" I assure him. He breaks into a smile, but I see the fear growing in his eyes. "You don't have to do this"
He stares me straight in the face and says with a deadpan expression;
"Try and stop me, you English psycho"
"That's British, and I'm a high-functioning sociopath, thank you very much" I correct him in a mock-offended tone.
"Did you just quote-?"
"Yup"
"Of course" he shakes his head.
I kiss him quickly, lightly before taking him by the hand and going after Ashley who has shuffled off while grumbling something about 'third wheel'. It doesn't take us long to find the others as we bump right into them as soon as we turn the corner.
"Hey! Glad you're safe, guys" Sam claps a hand over her chest and sighs. There's a little light at one end of the tunnel, so we all make towards it. We come out into a clearing of sorts, and on the other side of it is a steep wall.
"Look! Over there!" Ash indicates the remainders of a ladder at the top of the wall.
"Great" Chris drawls sarcastically.
"You can say that again, bro" Josh bites his lip.
"The ladder's toast! We're never gonna make it up there!" Ashley groans defeatedly.
"No no, I think I can. I think I can do it. It's like a rock wall" Sam reassures us.
"Same here. Doesn't look so bad. I climbed up one just like it with...with Em" I add, trailing off at the end.
"Dammit" Josh curses, knowing that if I'm going he'll probably tag along, whether I want him to or not.
"You were always the best at climbing class" Chris eggs him on, patting his back.
"Gym"
"Nope" Chris gestures at the wall. "It's climbing class"
"Head back to the lodge" I tell him. "We'll be okay, really"
"I'm not leaving you. Not this time, you British high-functioning sociopath"
I clap my hands.
"Yay, he got it right!"
"You're such a child"
"I know"
The others turn back to the lodge, calling 'good luck!' over their shoulders while we take our places at the base of the wall.
"Josh, you go round the outside. It'll take longer, but it's safer"
"Are you implying that I'm the weakest one here?"
"Yes"
"Fair enough"
Sam and I are both pretty athletic, so we take the shortest route up the middle of the wall to save time. We get up a little way, then Sam stops.
"Okay, I'm gonna jump to that wooden thingy over there. You don't have to do it if you don't want to"
"What do you take me for, a wimp?" This earns a laugh from Josh who is climbing a couple of meters away. She goes upwards a little, then jumps for the 'wooden thingy' as she put it. She grabs it, but as she goes to put her knees on it a section snaps off.
"Sam!" I yell in fear.
"I'm okay! I'm okay!"
She's still holding on to a beam that juts out of the rock. She mumbles something to herself, finds a foothold, then makes another leap for a higher ledge. She gets on that, then climbs the rest of the way to the top, telling the wall that she 'fucking beat' it. Josh joins her at the top as I ready myself to jump for the beam. I push with all of my strength, keeping my eye on it the whole time. I grab it successfully, my arms aching in protest as I jerk to a stop. I scrabble for a foothold, then prepare to go for the same ledge that Sam did. Again, I jump and grab it without any problems other than my shoulders having a new-found hate for me. As I climb up, however, I hold onto a plank of wood that comes away in my hand. I manage to find a piece of rock just in time, but my heart is hammering in my chest. I get to the top quickly, and without any further hitches.
"Well that was fun"
"Shut up, Josh"
"Lurve ya"
I grin and roll my eyes. Proceeding through the mines, we come to a staircase. Just as all of us reach the top, a few heavy rocks plummet from the ceiling and smash it behind us.
"Jesus!" Sam exclaims.
"If you still want to turn back..." I joke nervously. We stroll along the gangway which is built into the side of the cave, nothing but darkness beneath us. It makes me feel a bit nauseous. Josh abruptly stops ahead of me, and I can tell even in this light that all of the colour has drained from his face.
"You see that...right?"
"What?"
He points a long, quivering finger.
"That! That thing! What the fuck is that!"
There's nothing there. My heart sinks right down to my boots. He's getting worse.
"Josh, honey, it's not real"
"But it's right there...there!"
"I know, baby. But it's not real" I soothe him, turning him away from the 'thing' and stroking his hair. "What does it look like?"
"Like Beth, but it's not Beth. Zombie Beth" he whispers quickly, his breathing erratic.
"Zombie Beth isn't going to hurt you, okay? She's not real" I hate seeing like this, having to talk to him like he's a child. He closes his eyes.
"Not real...not real...not real" he chants over and over again. I take his hand and keep on stroking his hair with the other, comforting him. Reassuring him 'Zombie Beth' isn't real.
"Max, what's going on? There's something you're not telling me" Sam folds her arms, obviously agitated by his state. I lean in and whisper to him.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better...better. For now"
"Sam wants to know about it. She's worried" I explain, making sure he's aware. I don't want him to not know what's going on. It's his secret, after all.
"...okay. We should probably tell them soon anyway" Josh consents.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I'm sure"
I give him a soft smile and turn back to Sam.
"A few months ago, Josh was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He's been taking meds for it ever since, but tonight he couldn't get to them"
Although shocked, she seems to be understanding as she asks;
"Do you think he'll be okay?"
I avert my eyes.
"I don't know. He heard Hannah in the tunnel, and now he's just seen Beth. I'm not sure how much longer we have"
"We should get going, then. As fast as possible"
"Agreed"
Speed-walking along the rest of the gangway with Josh in tow, we make it to the end in about a minute. Just as we reach it, however, there is a screech above us. Josh starts muttering to himself, until I persuade him that we heard it too. A crowbar lies on the side of the walkway and Sam picks it up, glancing around suspiciously. We reach a heavy metal door which I pull open with a grunt of effort. Suddenly, we are in the woods again. We all breathe in the fresh air gratefully, feeling the cold snowflakes land on our skin. The serene atmosphere seems to bring Josh back down to Earth considerably. There is a fork in the path ahead, so we decide to go right purely on a whim. The path takes us through the forest and over a bridge before we finally reach a side gate into the Sanitorium.
"I don't think this would be a good place for him" I tell Sam, observing the dilapidated building. Even now I can hear the faint screaming of Wendigos.
"No, but we can't just leave him out here"
I turn to face him. He's looking around distractedly, his eyes a little wider than usual. The moonlight reflects on his face, making him look so innocent and child-like. I resent what this illness has done to him, but I don't view him as any lesser for having it. I'll love him no matter what.
"Josh?"
He looks back at me with a smile.
"Yeah?" He responds calmly, but his voice trembles at the very end. He's getting worse by the minute, I can tell. It's not looking good at all. I should have made him go back to the lodge. At the same time, he doesn't calm as easily with anyone else. It's an unsolvable problem.
"I'm going to need you to close your eyes"
He pulls a face.
"Seriously?"
"Just trust me, okay? From what Mike said there's some seriously weird shit in there. It will only make you a lot worse"
"Oh-Kay. Fine" I can see he doesn't like the idea, and I don't either, but it's the only way. He sighs loudly and closes his eyes.
"I don't like this any more than you do. But it's for your own good so...no peeking"
"Peek-a-boo" he drawls cynically. I glance back at Sam, who has her eyes cast sadly to the floor. It's so hard to watch him slowly deteriorate until he is imprisoned in his own warped mind. I suppose I'm used to it now; know how to deal with it. But she isn't. I feel a pang of sympathy for her. I remember how heartbreaking it was the first time it happened.
"Let's go. They could have meds in there. If we give them to him in time, he won't fully recover but at the very least he won't get any worse"
Sam yanks the door open with the crowbar, leaving the way open for us to go through. I gently lead him along behind me. 'Like a puppy' I think to myself bitterly. I overhear him murmur to himself about feeling like a child, but he doesn't try to pull away. He knows it's his best bet, but that doesn't mean he has to be happy about it. I hear a thud come from inside the building, turn my head, and a scream forces it's way from between my lips until I clamp a hand over my mouth to stifle it. A Wendigo has its face pressed to the window, its teeth bared and its empty white eyes trained on me. Josh grabs me from behind and pulls me against him with trembling hands.
"M-Max? Are y-you okay?" He stammers, grabbing at my clothes desperately, his eyes still closed. "Max!"
"I'm fine, just got startled is all"
My voice quivers, and I place my hand over his to let him know I'm okay. He lets out a long breath in relief, nuzzling into my hair. Sam smiles softly, then mouths 'we need to go'. I stroke his cheek gently, then gently back out of his embrace.
"We'll be okay. Just trust me"
I back away, leading him along with me. We stop when we find a way into the building, readying ourselves. I guide Josh's hand to Sam's shoulder and let go of it.
"Okay. You stay by the back gates with Josh. Anything tries to attack you, you know what to do"
I turn to enter the building.
"Where are you going?"
"To find meds for you"
"Nuh-uh. It's way too risky" Sam puts out her hand to stop me, but I wave it away.
"I'll be fine. You guys stay here in case Mike appears"
With that I slip in to the Sanitorium and start to fumble my way through the darkness. The wind whips around my ankles, seeping in through holes in the bottom of the wall. My eyes adjust quickly to the thick darkness, and once they do I start looking. For what, I'm not sure; a door that says 'Staff Only' is probably a good place to start. I hear chain-link rattling nearby, and I crouch down carefully, starting to creep forwards slowly. The rattle comes again, louder this time. I poke my head into a corridor, and halfway along it has a door just like the one I'm looking for. However, the Wendigo on the other side of the hall apparently had the same idea. I freeze, my breath stopping in my throat. It stalks towards me, but doesn't seem to see me. I remember the flamethrower guy saying that they couldn't see you if you didn't move. As it twists it's head around, searching for me, I move so little that I am barely breathing. With a final stare, it turns around and slinks away again. I heave out a sigh and scramble towards the door. I bust it open with my shoulder and jump inside, slamming it behind me.
"Okay, what've we got?" I mutter to myself. It's like a storage room; it's just as cold and draughty as one. I sneak around as quietly as possible, inspecting the labels on the shelves until I find 'Medicine'.
"Found ya. Now...D, D, D...ah! There you are" I look through pill bottles until I find some that are in date. Hang on...if this place was closed in the fifties or sixties, how come there is some usable medicine? Someone must have been here recently, in that case. Oh well, I'm definitely not complaining. Suddenly, something start banging on the door. I jump and back away from it in fear, my back banging into the shelf behind me. My fist clenches tightly around the pill bottle, my natural instinct to protect it. It's Josh's only hope of surviving the night, and there's no way I'm letting that go.
"Max! Max!" A voice whisper-shouts through the wall. It's not Josh, so it has to be...
"Mike! Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me. Where are the others?" He replies. I crouch by the door, listening hard.
"Sam and Josh are outside. I'm getting meds"
"Uh...why? Something you're not telling us?"
"Something neither of us are telling you. I'm sorry Mike, but I can't say right now. It's not my secret"
There's a pause on the other side, and for a moment I'm worried he's been hurt.
"Okay...okay I can work with that. Fuck it" Mike speaks up eventually.
"Thanks, Mike. Let's get out of here, shall we?"
I throw open the door and immediately find myself enveloped in a warm hug.
"I was so worried about you guys" he chuckles nervously, patting my back and then letting go.
"We were worried too, Mike. Come on, let's go, we don't have much time"
There's an ear-piercing screech nearby.
"You don't say"
We turn on our heels and flee for our lives. Claws scrabble and scratch on the concrete behind us, drawing closer by the second. We burst into a room filled with stacks of barrels, making a beeline for the staircase the other side.
"Run!" Mike yells.
"What do you think I'm fucki-?"
I'm cut off when Mike whips out a gun and shoots one of the barrels. It explodes into a cloud flame, igniting the others beside it. Mike almost yanks the rusted door off of its hinges, pulling me through. I feel an intense heat round me, licking at my heels, then there is a huge, low boom. We are thrown forwards by a shockwave of force, landing front-first in the snow. My fingers wrap around the plastic bottle securely as I scramble to my feet beside Mike. Josh and Sam rush towards us, watching as flames engulf the building completely.
"Got any marshmallows?" Mike pants, the orange glow reflected in his wide eyes.