AFTERMATH [until dawn]

Chapter Fifteen

JESSICA

"There's something I need to tell you about. Something I saw when Em and I were attacked."

All of the people in the room went silent after Matt's sudden statement. His serious tone worried Jessica—she never really thought of him at the type of person to speak so grimly about anything.

Emily was silently watching everyone's reactions from the side. Matt probably told her already... When she caught Jessica's eye, Emily shook her head. It's not good, she mouthed.

"What is it, Matt?" Sam asked, looking a little apprehensive.

"Well..." Matt scratched his head and glanced at Emily, looking to her for support. Emily smiled softly at him, and Matt looked around the crowd one more time before clearing his throat. "Okay. So... You guys probably heard that Em and I were attacked by a Wendigo in our taxi, right?" Lots of nods around the crowd. "Well, the Wendigo first dragged the taxi driver out of the car, then Em and I tried to get out without him, I mean it, noticing, but it heard us and started coming towards us."

Jessica sucked in a breath, imagining the scene vividly in her head. Mike heard her and put an arm around her, guiding her to resting her head on his shoulder.

"It's okay," Mike whispered in Jessica's ear. "They're okay."

"The Wendigo jumped to the roof of the taxi and just kind of stared at us. Em and I eventually made the car explode and we ran away. The Wendigo got thrown off the car but as we were running, I turned back and—" Matt choked on his words and shut his eyes, like he didn't want to say whatever he was going to.

"Matt," Emily said quietly and went over. She put her arms around her boyfriend's waist gently, whispering something reassuring. Matt took a deep breath and looked around the crowd once again.

"The Wendigo," Matt said slowly. "You guys probably wont believe me—maybe I made a mistake, I'm not even sure anymore, it was confusing and I probably hallucinated or something—"

"Matt," Emily repeated in the same soothing tone as before.

"Right. Sorry." Matt started again. "Basically, the Wendigo that was chasing us... Kind of stopped after it heard our voices."

Stopped? Jessica could feel the tension in the room as everyone tried to interpret what Matt just said. Stopped? Why would it stop? Unless...

"And," Matt was actually getting nervous. "When I looked back at it, I thought it—it looked like, like... Josh..." He ended the sentence in a whisper.

Everyone was stunned into silence. Josh? JOSH? Jessica covered her mouth with her hands. She couldn't believe it. He must have just imagined it, it can't be, oh my god, poor Josh... No, it can't be true...

"What?" Chris asked, choking on his words the way Matt did a while ago. "What?" He repeated.

"I don't know, I swear, I was knocked out right after, but it really looked like him to me and I—" Matt looked like he was on the verge of tears. "I don't want it to be true, I must be wrong..." He was swaying, unstable on his feet. "Just tell me I was wrong and... And we can all forget about it. Forget I said anything."

Everyone looked horrified at the thought of their dear friend turning into a Wendigo. It's possible, but, I really don't want it to be true... Jessica thought. The old man was the only remotely calm person in the room. He rubbed his chin silently and pondered something.

"It could be true, though," George announced gravely, saying aloud what everyone was thinking. "You said he was taken by his Wendigo sister... He may have survived, and the only way he would have survived was..."

"Stop," Sam said, tears slowly running down her face. "This can't be happening, it can't be real—" She sobbed loudly, a broken sound of pain and agony that made Jessica's heart ache. Jessica suddenly noticed that Sam was standing at the side on her own, and nobody was there to support her—when all the others had their boy/girlfriends next to them.

Wordlessly, Jessica left Mike's warm embrace and walked over to Sam. Her blonde friend looked up at the sound of her approaching and blinked, causing more tears to run down her face. Jessica reached out and hugged Sam. She held Sam tight as the girl shuddered in her embrace, overwhelmed by emotions.

"Matt," Jessica asked softly. "Are you sure about this?"

"I..." Matt looked uncomfortable and guilty. He seemed to feel bad about making Sam cry and scaring everyone. "I know that I really thought it looked like Josh. I..." He bit his lip. "That's what I remember. I really think I saw him, but of course I might be wrong and all that—"

"It really does make sense," Ashley said under her breath. Chris—along with everyone else in the room—turned to look at the quiet girl. "He—It—didn't attack Em and Matt, right? Any random Wendigo wouldn't have done that. He recognized you guys." Ashley looked terrified of the idea, but she kept going. "It—It makes sense," she said numbly.

By then, Sam had calmed herself down. She gave Jessica a warm smile, but her eyes were stormy—something was brewing in her mind.

"So," Mike said after a brief silence. "You're saying—or, suggesting—that, Josh survived, and that he turned into a..." He couldn't say the word.

"Wendigo," Emily finished his sentence for him. She looked sad as well, leaning into Matt for support this time.

Mike shook his head.

"I..." Mike looked at the ceiling as he recalled the events last year. "I saw Hannah drag him away. He—He was alive." His eyes widened as he realized something. "Shit, this is all my fault."

"What?" Jessica asked, confused. How could he blame himself for this?

"We were wading through this—river or something, and Hannah dragged me underwater... She released me without harming me then went after Josh." Mike's voice became more pained. "I, I was scared. I hid behind a rock while she went to Josh, and I... Fuck!" He slammed his hand against the wall beside him, startling everyone. "I could have saved him, couldn't I? If Hannah really didn't want to hurt me, I could have jumped out from behind that stupid fucking rock and saved him, and maybe Josh would be alive, fine, and here with us instead of turning into a—into one of them!"

"Mike!" Jessica exclaimed, and ran back towards her now-crying boyfriend. Shit, everyone's crying, this is a mess. What do I say to him? I don't know—

"Kid," George's gravely voice cut through the sound of Mike's sobs, and he turned towards the old man. "It's not your fault."

"How could you say that?" Mike responded, gritting his teeth as a fresh wave of tears threatened to flow out of his eyes. "How? I was right there, I didn't do anything, and now..."

"It's not your fault," the old man repeated stubbornly. "You can't twist history and blame yourself for everythin' that happens. Of course you could have done somethin'—there'll always be those damned "what if"s. But they're in the past. If you really need to blame someone, blame Wendigos for existin'."

Mike couldn't seem to think of a response, so he just nodded.

"George," Sam began, speaking up again. All eyes turned to her curiously. "You said that Jack had a cure, didn't you?"

George narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, but—" he began, but Sam quickly cut him off.

"Then he must have had more than one copy of it, right? That means there is a Wendigo cure somewhere on the mountain in his... Lair, or whatever." Sam's eyes were wide and there was a desperate, panicked look in them.

"Well—" George bit his lip, not sure how to respond.

"So if it really was Josh out there, we could get the cure and turn him back!" Sam looked everyone in the eyes. "Right? And he'd be completely fine, just like George is now! Right?"

Everyone was quiet, but they seemed to have different reactions to Sam's words. Chris and Matt seemed like they were actually imagining the scenario—the hopeful looks in their eyes gave it away. Ashley still looked terrified at the prospect of Josh as a Wendigo. Emily and George exchanged doubtful glances. Jessica glanced at Mike, only to find that he was watching her reaction as well. In unison, the couple shrugged.

Mike agrees, Jessica thought, surprised. I don't actually know what to think of this... It sounds too good to be true, somehow.

"What are you suggesting, Sam?" Mike asked just to clarify.

"I think we should get the cure and somehow find Josh, then save him." She replied, seemingly sure of herself. Mike didn't want to say anymore in fear of angering the girl, so he just nodded again.

"Sam," Emily said hesitantly. "It sounds possible, but... Matt said that he thought he saw Josh. We aren't 100% sure and... How would we get the cure? How do we know its still... Wherever it is? Even if we got it, how would we find him? Save him? So much could go wrong here, and,,, Do we really want to risk it?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Sam spun on Emily with a furious look on her face. "We have a chance to save Josh. We could bring him back. And you're seriously going to just stand there and challenge me? Right now? Are you really that heartless, Emily? Do you not care about anyone at all? Would you not take "risks" for someone you cared for? What is wrong with you?"

"Woah, woah, Sam..." Chris quickly went over and put an arm on her shoulder. Sam shook it off.

"Chris, we literally have a chance to bring Josh back. Josh. Why would you let her stop you? I thought you were best friends!" Sam shouted, upset.