Until Dawn AU ~ Redemption

Chapter Five - Return

Jessica's hair continued to fall onto her face as she shivered from the temperature. Instinctively, Mike wrapped one of his arms around her, as together they stood with the remainder of the group as a helicopter landed across the way from them.
As they had been sat at breakfast only a couple of hours earlier, a man had introduced himself to the group after clearly eavesdropping on their conversation. He had offered them a helicopter ride on, and eventually off, the mountain, which the friends didn't particularly trust, but had reluctantly agreed to in the belief of it being their only, and quickest option. Together they agreed to finish off their breakfast before collecting anything they may need, and meeting outside of the hotel in an hour. There, the mystery man had agreed to send a friend to drive them to where he'd land the helicopter for them to ride in.
Extremely worried for the safety of her friends, Jessica had mulled over the possibility of her going to mountain. Deciding on remaining at the hotel, she still desired to see them off so had asked to come along in the car ride.

"Just promise me you'll be safe!" Jessica pleaded as she sat cross legged on the edge of the bed, watching Mike change his clothes to a warmer set instead of his thin fabric t-shirt.
"I will, I promise!" He reassured her, glancing towards where she sat looking anxious. "I'll be back before you know it." He heard a small whimper from Jess, triggering him to drop what he was doing and place himself beside her. "I'll be fine, Jess, and so will you. I'll hurry back."
Letting out a few tears, Jessica leant against Mike for comfort. "Please do..." She slumped her frail and weak body, brushing away her tears with one hand, the other finding Mike's hand.
"Stay strong Jess." Mike gently kissed the top of her head, whispering into her hair.

Watching as the helicopter pilot waved them over from the pilot's seat, Jessica knew it was her cue to say goodbye. Most of the friends took a few moments to wave goodbye to Jess or announce a quick 'bye' before heading off the helicopter, wanting to be on their way. Mike simply stood with Jessica, closing his eyes, reluctant to leave. Much to his surprise, it was Jessica herself that pushed him away.
"Mike..." She smiled softly. "You were right, I'm going to be fine." She almost didn't believe her own words, but she forced herself to push through, for Mike's sake. "You're very brave for doing this, you know..."
Mike smiled in return. "I'm just helping a friend." Wrapping his arms around her for one last hug, he ran his fingers through her hair. "I'll see you soon." He felt her nod, and chuckled to himself. Pulling away, he lightly placed a kiss on her lips. It was only short, he didn't want to make it feel like a goodbye kiss. He was going to return to her.
"Goodbye, Mike." She kissed him on the cheek. "I love you..."
Mike was a little startled at this sudden remark, but he was happy to hear the words. "I love you too..."
Turning away from Jess, he began to head towards the helicopter.

Ashley stared out the window, watching Mike walk towards them. She'd been nervous for a little while, but had forced the feelings away, knowing that there was little point in having them. She'd chosen this path. She felt a hand intertwine with her own, and she glanced to her right to see Chris looking down, tapping his feet a little. Squeezing Chris' hand gently, she was surprised to find herself being the one comforting another instead of someone usually having to comfort her. Glad of the change, she smiled to herself, taking in deep breaths.

"How are you feeling?" Chris asked as he pulled on a pair of walking boots. He'd looked over to where Ashley had been staring at her own reflection in the mirror of the hotel room. She had been extremely focused, and was twirling the locket round her neck as if in a trance. Hearing Chris' voice, she jumped slightly, but turned to face him.
"It's funny..." She laughed. "I thought I'd be terrified, but I'm not. I thought it'd be just like before. I'd scream and cry, and I'll make my nightmares ten times worse." She shrugged. "But I don't think they can get any worse." She took her place on the bed next to Chris, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'll be terrified whilst we're there, I'm sure..." She paused. "How are you?"
Chris shook his head, dismissing her question. "I'm trying not to think about it. If I stop for even one second to see how I'm coping, I'll just freak out."

Ashley hoped Chris would be calmer once they reached the mountain. He had of course been the one to keep Ashley calm whilst they were originally hunting for Sam, before they knew anything about the Wendigos. But, after the incident with the flamethrower guy, Chris had become a lot more nervous. Ashley didn't want to rely on him, but she'd prefer it if they could rely on one another, and keep each other relaxed and stable.

Emily and Matt had been coping in a similar manner. Their thoughts on each other were still not so perfect, but for now, they had decided to push everything aside, and keep each other company. It helped a little to have someone there. Whilst Matt had been preparing himself for the return to the mountain, he had been sure he'd heard sobbing through the wall. A little worried, he'd checked up on Emily to find her in a flustered mess. Instead of pushing him away, Emily had thrown her arms around Matt, and sat crying in his arms, letting down all of her walls which she used to keep up so well.

Their time on the helicopter was only brief, but to the friends it had felt like an eternity. The helicopter landed with a bit of a jolt, the friends had all sat in silence, the only sound being the spinning blades, until they'd groaned or squealed after the landing.
"Sorry!" The pilot chuckled. "Bumpy ground."
Helping each of the passengers off the helicopter, the pilot folded his arms. "I'd wish you all good luck, but luck doesn't really matter on this mountain." He simply nodded at the friends as he spoke.
Mike turned to face the mountains, turning his back on the pilot. "Here we are again."

"Josh, you can't stay here!" Sam pleaded, tugging at his arm a little. Josh batted her away, falling to the ground, frustrated. Sam had hurried over to Josh, desperate to get the both of them out of there.
"I-I want to stay..." He muttered.
"Why?" Sam slumped to the ground next to him. "The Wendigo will come back-" She paused. "She'll kill you!"
"N-no..." Josh shook his head, looking towards Sam. "Hannah won't kill me. She left me here. I want to be with my sister."
Sam sighed. She had no time or energy to sit arguing with Josh. Every second of her time was precious whist she had no food or fresh water.
"Look, Josh..." She bowed her head. "I'm going to get of here. I don't want to die. I'd like it if I had some company, I don't feel so safe down here."
For a brief moment, Josh tilted his head, another glimpse of his sanity returning to him was evident. It was also clear, that Sam had hit at something. Josh cared about Sam, that was obvious, and he wanted her to be safe. Pondering over a few possibilities in his head, he began to stagger onto his feet.
"O-okay..." He rubbed his head. "I'll stay b-by your s-side for a little w-while..."
Sam jumped onto her feet, grinning to herself. "Thank you."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N - Oh my gosh, I've been seriously neglecting this story. What has it been? 2 months! I'm so sorry I didn't continue this. At first I decided I wasn't going to, but after seeing it become a little more noticed on here, and other publishing sites, I knew I had to finish it! So, I will be continuing this story, however the updates will be fairly slow due to college work. But I will try my best :)!