AFTERMATH [until dawn]

Chapter Two

MATT

Taking a deep breath, Matt knocked on the dark wooden door that led to Emily's room. He closed his eyes and listened for the sounds of his girlfriend inside.

"Matt?" Emily's voice was slightly muffled by the door between them.

"Em, can I come in?" He asked softly, not wanting to startle her. There was a pause before the door opened, revealing a disheveled Emily. Her dark hair now reached her shoulders, and it was a mess—as if she had repeatedly run her hand through it. She had her usual dark makeup on, and she was wearing a leather jacket with tight jeans and hiking boots. He watched as she reached for a scarf to cover up the vicious Wendigo bite on her neck.

My girl, Matt thought with a smile. She's still so beautiful.

Emily had changed after Blackwood. She had escaped early, Ashley trailing behind her out of the burning lodge. Matt was not with her until they were picked up by the helicopter—where she had run into his arms and sobbed. They held each other on the plane, the same way Ashley and Chris, and Mike and Jessica did. Sam was on her own during the plane trip, but she didn't seem to mind. She was lost in thought and blankly stared out the window most of the time.

Matt noticed the change in Emily almost immediately. She had always been an intelligent, independent woman who could take care of herself. She used to behave like she was better than everyone else—and, to Matt, she was in fact superior. After Blackwood, however, Emily became much more reliant on him. She was much more cautious and controlled her emotions. Her anger outbursts were a lot less frequent. From the moment he held her in his arms during the plane trip, he knew—he knew that things would never be the same again.

She wasn't used to letting her vulnerable side show, Matt knew. His girlfriend feared failure and wanted to be the best at everything. He knew she was much more insecure now, from the way her eyes would dart from left to right during their conversations, searching for danger, to how she would walk so close to him when they were out in public. Matt wanted to be there for her. When they first got off the mountain, he'd promised to himself that he would protect Emily no matter what. All they had was each other to get over the past.

"It's time, yeah?" Emily asked. Matt nodded and she walked inside, picking up a duffel bag. "Let's go, then." She stalked past him and towards the door.

Matt ran after her.

"Need my help with the bag?" He asked. Emily gave him a look.

"It's fine, Matt. Like you said before, right? There's more to you than just being a lean, mean, luggage-lifting machine?" She said it with a friendly smile that seemed strange on her face. Emily seemed to genuinely mean what she'd said.

"Sure." Matt shrugged, and they walked out the door together. Matt locked it behind him before rushing onto the front porch, where Emily was trying to hail a taxi. The two of them stood together in silence, waving at passing cars, until a taxi finally stopped for them. He helped her get in before climbing in and sitting next to her in the backseat.

"2015 White Street, please." Matt said, reading the address on his phone that Sam had sent to him the night before. He did not know what exactly the address was—all Sam told him was that Jessica and Mike would meet them there. Maybe they live together, like Emily and I. Could any of us even handle living alone, after all that happened? Matt wondered. Anyway, it must be a nice house—even the street name sounds expensive.

The taxi sped along the highway. Emily reached for Matt's hand and grasped it tight. He turned to her.

"You nervous, Em?" He asked her, squeezing her hand reassuringly. Emily shook her head, suddenly pulled her hand away, and looked out the window at the passing cars. Matt waited in silence—he knew she would start talking to him sooner or later.

"I just..." Emily finally turned to her boyfriend, who was watching her expectantly. "Seeing everyone again. Seeing... Mike again." She finally let out. "He tried to shoot me, Matt. Ashley too—she didn't do anything to stop it even though she knew I wasn't contagious." Emily paused again. "And, you know, I'm not particularly friendly with anyone else in the group anyway. Nobody really likes me. I'm the bitch, Matt. I'll always be." She ended her sentence with a small sniff, then turned away so he wouldn't notice.

"Em..." Matt hated hearing the pain in her voice. He climbed over and carefully put his arms around her.

Emily stared blankly out the window again.

"I'm scared, Matt. Every time we get together something bad happens. The Wendigos always attack us, and we've already lost all the Washingtons. This shit always happens at this time of the year. Why the fuck are we meeting up again? This is going to end so badly, I know it." Emily moaned, and collapsed back against Matt.

Matt tried his best to comfort her—he still wasn't used to the vulnerable side of Emily.

"Hey, Em." He whispered to her. "Look at me." She turned to face him. "It's going to be fine, okay? In case you haven't noticed, the five people we are about to meet are stronger than we think. We've all fought Wendigos, and we know we have to watch out for each other—for Hannah, Beth, and Josh's sake. And we will. So there's nothing to worry about." Matt smiled. "Everyone's changed since Blackwood. We were all desperate then—now, though, I'm sure everyone's forgiven each other for everything."

"I haven't forgiven Mike," Emily snapped. Matt was trying to think of what to respond when he heard her laughing. What a strange but wonderful sound, he thought.

"I'm kidding, Matt. We'll see if he apologizes—I'm still going to act mad, though." She shifted around until she was relaxing in Matt's arms, before continuing. "But you're right. I'm just worrying too much."

Matt laughed quietly before Emily looked up and kissed him—a slow, soft kiss that reassured him everything was going to be fine. Matt kissed her back, grinning, and they continued like that for a while until the car came to a sudden stop.

Matt pulled away and turned to look out the window. The car was parked in front of a metal gate at the foot of a mountain. Inside, there were multiple buildings—one large white house, and a couple other smaller ones around it. Moonlight shone through the large amounts of trees inside, creating an eerie feeling. It was a large, beautiful compound—although something felt wrong. Maybe it was the barbed wire lining the top of the walls, or the too-plain, white, organized buildings—whatever it was, Matt hated it. He was half-tempted to tell the taxi driver to turn the car around.

Four armed guards walked out of their stations and approached the car. Matt watched as one of them rapped on the window of the taxi. The driver rolled open his window and listened as the guards asked him a question. Then he turned back and faced the couple in the backseat.

"Kid," the driver asked. "We're here. Who you visiting?"

"Visiting? What—" Emily started to ask, before her voice cut off as she read the name of the complex in front of them. Matt saw it at the same time, and both of them just stared at the words, dumbfounded.

Next to a small plaque with the address, "2015 White Street", was a brightly illuminated sign with the name of the "compound" in front of them: Whitetree Psychiatric Specialist Centre.