I'm Sorry

11. Matt and Jess

Matt didn't understand.

He had good grades. He was good at sports. He had a girlfriend. He normally wasn't mean to people.

What bad luck had sent him into this death trap?

The mines were horrible. The only light came from weak lanterns whose glows didn't make it out any further than two feet. What's the point of having lanterns if they don't help you see anything? thought Matt as he continued walking through the caves.

Another thing about the mines was the actual environment. Water dripped from the ceiling, probably caused by the heavy snow above it, and broken signs warning cave-ins were seen constantly.

Matt just wanted to leave. The constant screams of monsters behind him made him move faster than he normally would. He walked for a while, until he saw a light. He moved suspiciously towards it, wondering what exactly it was since all the lanterns here were horrible.

Matt approached the table the object was resting on, until he discovered it was a flashlight. He picked it up, smiling and admiring this new tool.

Then he was hit over the head with a shovel.

He was about ready to kill whatever it was that attacked him after what hell he had been through over the course of the night. Then he took a closer look at it.

Signature blonde braids ran down her back. Besides that, Jess was almost completely unrecognizable. Her face and legs were covered in scratches, some small, almost like paper cuts, and some big which reminded Matt of gashes or stab wounds.

"Jess?"

Jess didn't say anything, only let the shovel fall to her side, a guilty look appearing on her face.

"What the hell happened to you?"
She sighed.
"I was with-with Mike, and this-this thing took me and dragged me away! It cut me and dropped me.... but Mike came.... He-he.....he saved me."
Matt smiled gently at her.
"I'm glad you're okay, Jess."
"So you don't think I'm crazy?"
"No, Jess, of course not. Some of those things you were talking about attacked me and knocked down the fire tower when me and Em were in it!"
"Then where's Em?"
Matt frowned, and Jess looked like she felt bad for asking in the first place.
"I don't know."
He chuckled sadly.
"I'm such a great boyfriend, right? I stick with her and help her even over the stupid unimportant little stuff but when she's falling off a cliff, I can't do anything."
Matt sighed.
"I'm so sorry, Emily. Wherever you are, please know that," he whispered quietly.

Jess smiled at him sadly. She felt fatalistic. She felt like she would never smile or of pure happiness again. And maybe she was right.

A loud screech came from the tunnels behind the two.

"M-Matt?"
"Jess, can you move?"
Jess nodded slowly, a little unsure about her physical condition.
"Then let's go."

Matt put his arm around Jess and started to walk forward. Doubts flooded his mind. Bringing Jess is a death trap. We're both going to die! But Matt, being the hero he was, valiantly directed Jess all the way to a fork in the tunnel.

He knew the shrieks were too close for comfort now and that walking would get them both killed. Matt looked up. Only a few feet away was a wooden door that looked like it could easily be broken through if he ran fast enough. If he ran fast enough. Matt gazed at Jessica. If he ran, there was no way Jess could make it out, even if Matt practically dragged her.

At that moment, Matt hated that he was indecisive. The monster was coming closer, making their chances of escape slimmer by the second. Without giving it another thought, Matt raced forward towards the wooden barricade between him and the outside. He ran at it full force-

yet he didn't even make it crack. Matt continuously did this with no success until he heard something. It was small. It was quiet. Especially over the noise of death itself.

With great sorrow, Jessica had said,

"why?"

This question could mean a lot of things, but Matt found it directed at himself. Why did he run to the barricade when Jess and he could have easily got out through the other side? Together? He turned around to look towards the girl.

What Matt saw made his heart shatter into pieces. The monster picked Jess up and tossed her at the ground, her screams disappearing at the hard impact. She was still alive though.

Matt wished the drop had killed her. He knew the pain she would have to bear after that would be horribly overwhelming, but all he could do was stare, tears silently streaming down his face.

The monster stuck it's claw in Jess' mouth, pulling her jaw loose. Matt could hear her shallow breaths. Oh, how he wished she didn't have to go through this. The monster made a cut across Jess' face and removed her jaw completely.

Matt knew at this point she had to be dead. But he couldn't think to run as the monster jumped to him. He could only think of Jessica and how his selfishness left her dead and Mike likely broken-hearted, if he was even alive.

Matt looked up at the towering beast, and couldn't help but scream as it pushed him to the ground. He banged his head on a rock and drowsiness overcame his features.

He felt as if he was dreaming. That he'd wake up and Jess and Mike would be together, laughing at something. Anything. He imagined the rest of the group. Ashley and Chris were gazing at each other in such a way that you couldn't help but smile when you looked at them. Josh and Sam were standing by the fireplace, Josh telling a joke that made Sam laugh. Sam's laugh caused Josh to smile at her. As for Matt, he was with Emily. They weren't doing anything special, just appreciating the fact that the other was there, that the other was alive.

The thought made Matt happy. But a large fist slammed and smushed his face in, breaking his nose and breaking through most of his skin. A burning sensation washed through him. He wanted to cry, but he felt as if it was too late for that. Everything was turning to black.

Before the fists hit him for the final time, Matt thought of two words. He tried to think them with such a power they would be projected for everyone in the universe to see. Two words, that'd somehow solve all of the world's problems.

"I'm sorry."

And he was gone.