AFTERMATH [until dawn]

Chapter Three

MIKE

Mike sat at the sofa in the small, cramped "living room", holding his hand in his hands. The television was switched to the News Channel, but Mike gave it no attention.

He's looked forward to this reunion all day—all year, actually. He has spent most of his time here with Jessica at the Whitetree Psychiatric Specialist Centre. He's been with her through most of her treatments, encouraged her to take her medicine, even waited outside most of her therapy sessions. Jessica was glad for his company—he assumed she was, at least. She barely spoke to him about it...But, again, she barely spoke to anyone.

When the seven of them had escaped Blackwood Mountain on the plane, Jessica had been the most unstable. She hated feeling helpless, and was confused by everything—the lodge on fire? The mines? Wendigos? Hannah, still alive? Everyone else was just as shaken up, so it was up to Mike to explain everything to his girlfriend (it also gave him an excuse to avoid Emily's accusing glare in his direction). When he was done, she just looked at him, bewildered, shook her head, and told him she didn't want to hear about it anymore.

After they had been interviewed by the police, they each had their own therapy sessions with certified psychologists, who gave them an evaluation and prescribed each person different pills. Mike got pills for PTSD and anxiety, two of the relatively less severe diagnosis compared to what some of the others had. Jessica, however, was taken to a hospital and evaluated by 3 different psychologists, who all decided that she would have to stay in the psychiatric center until she got better. Mike had volunteered to stay with her and watch her if she needed it—after all, who else would he go to? Sam was another possible choice, he guessed, but last time he saw her she didn't seem to want any company.

Jessica's condition "has not improved, but neither has it worsened", according to her doctor. She suffered panic attacks in the middle of the night and often started crying in the middle of the day if  a flashback from Blackwood suddenly came back to her. She blamed herself for almost everything that happened, she confided in him once. If only she hadn't thought of pranking Hannah—none of them would have ever encountered Wendigos, and all the Washingtons would still be alive.

Mike had tried his best to comfort her, but he wasn't really good at it. Most of the time, Jess ended up going back to bed to sleep and hope whatever emotion she was feeling would disappear by the morning.

Mike hated feeling helpless, but he didn't know what to do. He had to be here for his girlfriend, or he would go insane, not knowing who to stay with and what to do. He needed someone in his life.

He turned when he heard soft footsteps behind him. Jessica stood, behind him, her long blonde hair cascading down her shoulders. She was wearing one of his overlarge t-shirts and jogging pants, with her makeup freshly done. She was staring intently at the television, listening to the news reporter discuss some recent cases of murders.

"Gosh, that sounds awful." Jessica said to herself.

"Jess." Mike said, standing up. "How are you feeling?" He started to walk towards her.

"I'm fine, yeah. I took my meds early today." She said, allowing Mike to wrap his arms around her. His three fingers on one hand felt awkward, but he dismissed the feeling. She was still watching the news. "Those murder cases... Did they catch the murderer? You don't think-what if they're Wendigos?" Her voice lowered to nothing more than a whisper. "I mean, look at that." She gestured at the TV. "That looks gruesome."

Mike glanced at the television. He hadn't heard a word the reporter had said and, frankly, had no idea what Jessica was talking about. Paranoia, he thought. Everything reminds her of Wendigos.