Post Dawn

14: Trauma

Mike tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he drove further and further away from the Washington Mountain.

He kept looking over to Sam who had only moved an inch since the had left the mountain itself. She hadn't said a word to him.

"Hey Sam?" Mike called out.

She moved her head, barely. He wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been looking at her.

She said nothing. "Sam, what happened up there?" He asked her.

He waited for a moment. For her to answer. To acknowledge him speaking at all but she didn't move. She didn't speak.

He looked back towards the road and bit his bottom lip as he started to grow worried and agitated at once.

He waited a few minutes.

To see if she would say something. Look at him. Out the window. Something.

Nothing. He went to speak but was stopped as he heard Sam's voice.

"I just- I flashed to the cabin. That thing screaming in my face. I was terrified then. I'm terrified now. I thought they were all dead and now they're just- they're just back?" She asked.

Mike let out a breath out of the side of his mouth as he tapped the steering wheel once more.

"What do you wanna do?" He asked. Sam shrugged and shivered. "I don't know." She admitted.

Mike looked over to Sam and then back towards the road. "We've got to kill them." Mike said.

Sam looked over to him with wide eyes. He could see her expression out of the corner of his eye. "Mike.."

"It's the only way. We can't tell anyone else about this. And I know you have the same feeling I do right now. If we don't kill them, they'll come back. I know it and so do you." Mike explained.

Sam looked out the window and crossed her arms again.

She said nothing. She just looked. Watched the street go by in front of her.

She knew he was right. But she didn't want him to be.

"Shouldn't we try and call someone? Or tell the others?" Sam asked.

Mike shook his head. "No one would believe us. And you and I both know what everyone would do if they found out. It wouldn't help anything."

Sam nodded, still looking at the window as Mike now only focused on the road in front of him.

Although his thoughts threatened to wonder what would happen, or what was happening on that damned mountain.

~~~~~~~

Soon after Matt had left Jessica's room, a doctor entered. "Hello again Miss Riley." The doctor said with a sad smile accompanying him.

"Hi." Jess quietly greeted.

The doctor sighed and looked down at his clip board and then looked back to her. "Alright. I'm not going to try and make this sound better then it is."

Jess sat up a little and winced at the pain in her side. 

The doctor walked over to the bed and put the clipboard down. "We need to transport you to another hospital. We've been monitoring you and we know about the night terrors you've been having."

Jess felt herself starting to panic. What about her parents? Her house? Her little sister? What about Matt?

The doctor must have seen her panicking as he spoke, "You'll be able to have visitors. But not too many to overwhelm you. But you'll need the help they have there. Its a nice establishment. With a place all to yourself. You'd need someone to be there with you. It's just a precaution."

Jess took a breath as Matt walked in. He saw the doctor on the bed and Jess who was still breathing rapidly. "What's going on?" He asked.

Jess looked at him and then to the doctor. "Can he stay? With me?" The doctor stood and walked over to Matt and looked him up and down. 

"You would make sure she was okay? Help her?" He questioned.

"Yes. I swear." He said as he gave a quick look at Jess. The doctor nodded and patted Matt's shoulder as he left the room.

"So. Where exactly am I staying?" Matt asked. Jess laughed as he sat down on the bed.

"They're transporting me to this different hospital. That's all I got. They know about the nightmares I've been getting."

Jess had told Matt that she had been having nightmares but not exactly what they were about. There were many but one in particular that repeated.

She could have only one in a night or multiple. One was of her being torn apart by one of those Wendigos. One was of Mike running after her, screaming her name trying to catch her. But he never could.

But the one she would have most nights, being dragged by the Wendigo, endlessly. But this time, no one was coming after her. She would scream so loud as to get anyone's attention. For someone to help her.

But no one ever did. She would wake up in a cold sweat every night. She would look around her room, out of breath in search of one of those things.

There was never one in sight.

"You might need to see a therapist for these.. terrors."

She remembered a doctor had said. "Where is it?" Matt asked. Breaking Jess from her thoughts.

"I, I don't know. All I know is we're gonna have to go there soon. I don't know if that'll be before or after I'm done healing."

Matt nodded. "Alright. I'm here with you every step of the way."