Work Text:
Josh huddled in a corner of the mines. He had given up trying to run from his monsters and was now cuddled against the wall in the fetal position, with his head buried in his legs.
His friends were gone. They abandoned him. They hated him. He was alone. Always alone. Even Dr. Hill had left him now.
Except that wasn’t true was it? He wasn’t alone. No. His sisters were here.
They. Wouldn’t. Leave. Him. Alone.
Every since they disappeared, all he wanted was his sister's back. He had pulled away from everyone. His friends. His family. He was so tired of the loneliness.
Now now he just wanted them to go away.
He was a bad brother. He was a bad brother. He was a bad brother.
It’s not his fault? Why were they so mad at him? All he wanted was to show them what they did! To remind them what they took away!
His friends were already forgetting about his sisters. They were all moving on with their lives. Except for Josh. Josh could never move on.
But his so called friends all paired up like a bunch of mismatched socks. Emily and Mike couldn’t seem decide who they wanted to be with. Josh felt a giggle escape him despite his desperate attempts at being silent.(Be quiet or they’ll find you.) Had to try every flavour to find your favourite one, right? Josh could relate.
He couldn't let that happen. They couldn’t let that happen. His friends had to remember what they did to them. He couldn’t let them forget.
Except Chris. And Ashley. Hannah didn’t think they were ever going to get their act together. But Beth said all they needed was a little push. And isn’t that what he did? Give them a push?
But is that you want? The voices whispered to him. Won’t that make you more alone then ever?
He didn’t understand why they were so mad at him. It was just a prank, Josh. Isn’t that what they had told him. Hannah just couldn’t take a joke. Didn’t he just do the same thing?
But he wasn’t laughing then and they weren’t laughing now.
Why weren’t they laughing?
She deserves it! Jess had said. If that was true then they deserved Hannah ever did. Hannah’s only crime was having a crush on someone who who would never like her back. They killed his sister’s. And why would anyone pretend to love Hannah? How could anyone not love his baby sister?
You don’t love us, whispered Hannah. You wanted us to die.
NO! NO! Leave me alone!
If you love us, why do you want us gone Josh? Screamed Beth, her voice spitting and angry. You just got us back. You want us to leave you. You wanted us to die.
NO! NO! I didn’t want you to die! I didn’t want you to die!
Josh had barrelled to his feet, away from the spectres of his sisters. “I did what you asked,” he screamed, his hand clutching at his head, tearing at his hair. “They killed you and I didn’t let them forget. I got revenge.”
His sisters disappeared and in their place stood Dr. Hill. Not the frightening and aggressive one from his mind, but the calm and kind psychiatrist who promised to help him on that very first appointment.
“Holding onto this anger and resentment towards your friends is not healthy, Josh.” He tapped a pen against the clipboard that he was carrying. “ What happened to your sister’s was not their fault.”
Of course. Of course it wasn’t their fault. It was his fault. His sisters had told him themselves. He was supposed to look after them. He promised his parents he would protect them. They were his little sisters and when they needed him he was passed out on the kitchen counter, drunk.
“Think about Chris and Sam,” Dr. Hill continued calmly. “They had nothing to do with the prank. They didn’t deserve what you did to them.”
Oh god. Oh god. Chris. Sam. He’s sorry. He was so sorry.
But Chris thought it was funny. He had laughed. No. No. That wasn’t his prank was it? Chris played his own prank. And they had all laughed. (Except Sam. Sam didn’t find it funny. Or did she?)
Wasn’t it the same? They all liked to play prank on each other? What’s the difference? What did he do wrong?
But Chris was really mad. Chris was so mad he punched him. And Mike. Mike was really mad too. He didn’t understand. Why was everyone so mad?
Didn’t he push Chris and Ashley together? Didn’t he leave them alone together? Didn’t he let Chris play the hero and choose Ashley over even his best friend?
(And didn’t that hurt. In hindsight that little game might have been a little more selfish than he intended. He wanted to see who Chris would choose. Wasn’t that what everyone wanted to know? If there was anyone who would choose you first? But of course he chose Ashley. He knew that. He planned for that. They always chose the girl in movies didn’t they?)
Ashley. He punched Ashley. That’s why Chris was so angry. He didn’t mean too. She hurt him. He was so mad and he just didn’t want to be hurt anymore.
And Mike? Why was Mike mad at him? Something about Jess? He hurt Jess? He killed Jess?
He wanted to say there was no way he could have done it. That he would never hurt Jess. But he didn’t think he would ever hurt Ashley either. And he just. Couldn’t. Remember.
He killed his sisters and he killed Jess and that’s why he was here, alone. That’s why everyone left. Because he’s a monster. They hate him. Or maybe he killed them too.
It took him a long time to notice that Dr. Hill had once again left him. His sisters were gone too. He made them leave again. And now he really was alone.
A monstrous screech brought him momentarily back to reality. He stood against the rock wall trembling as some new monster that his mind conjured up just to torment him skulked into the room. His breathing was loud in his own ears as he desperately tried to breath through his panic.
The creature stopped a hairsbreadth away from his face. It reached one thin, bleached white arm towards him.
A bang resounded throughout the crevice and the monster reared up with a screech of pain.
“Huh, what do you know?” He heard from somewhere behind the creature. “The basketcase is still alive.”
The monster whirled up as something hit it in the chest again and it was engulfed in flames.
“Josh!”
A female's voice this time. One he recognized.
“S-sam?”
“Josh we’re gonna get you outta here.”
Another male’s voice, this time softer.
“C-Chris?”
There was the sound of something whooshing in the air and something exploded against the monster’s skin. This time it was enough to send it running into the shadows.
They came back for him? He wasn’t alone?
Two sets of hands reached for him but he pulled away. He couldn’t trust himself anymore.
“You aren’t real,” he insisted. “None of you are real.”
Chris’ hand reached around him, holding him still, surprisingly strong. Sam’s hands went around his face and forced him to look at her. “We’re real,” she told him. “We are. We’re real and we came back for you.”
“Well, those two came back for you,” Mike chimed in. “I’m just here to make sure these two idiots didn’t kill themselves over a dead guy.”
Sam ignored him. “I know it’s not fair, but we don’t have time to deal with what’s going on with you right now. We need to get out of here before that thing comes back.”
Josh trembled in their arms, but he couldn’t bring himself to look away from his friend’s face. “Be- before, before w-what comes back?” he asked.
“Are you kidding me?” Mike asked. “Did you miss that freaking monster that tried to take your head off just now?” He was standing off to the side, his gun trained away from them, eyes fixed on the shadows around them.
“No,” Josh said shaking his head insistently. “That’s not real either.”
“Oh my god,” Chris realized. “He has no idea what’s going on. He thinks everything was just in his head.”
An inhuman screech came from far away and the group collectively jumped.
“Okay,” Sam said decisively, trying to haul Josh up by the sleeves of his arm. “We don’t have time for this. We need to go.”
Josh pulled away from her and fell backwards, crumpling to the ground. “No. No. No. No. No. No.”
“What now?” Mike said impatiently, watching as Sam and Chris failed to pull Josh up or even calm him down.
“I killed my sister’s,” Josh rambelled. “I killed Jess. I’ll kill all of you. “I’m a monster.“ He flattened himself back against the rocks. “I- I think I should stay here,” he said quietly.
Before Sam or Chris could protest Mike was marching past them. He angrily grabbed hold of Josh and hauled him to his feet. He used the momentum to propell the boy towards the exit.
“Fuck no,” he snapped. “You are not staying here. Not after we came back down to this hellhole just to rescue you. Because, turns out,” and here there was an incredulous twist to his voice,” you didn’t actually kill Jess.” Here his voice turned somber. “And she’s not ok, but she’s alive. And she’s with the others, who are also alive. And I’m not going to be the one to tell the Washington’s that the only one who didn’t make it out was one of their kids. Again. So, you're coming with us if I have to knock you out a drag you there myself.”
He ended the rant by swinging the older man by the arm that he still had kept a tight grip on, to deposit Josh directly in front of him so he could look him in the eye.
“Got it?” he asked.
Josh could only nod silently, wide eyed.
“Good.”
The other two quickly caught up to them and they started the long trek out of the mines. There escape wasn’t easy. The wendigo’s made a few sporadic and terrifying appearances. But Chris and Sam kept them at bay as Mike lugged Josh around like a particularly heavy blow up doll.
They only allowed themselves a moment to breathe when they finally breached the surface and the burning structure of the lodge came into sight.
The sound of a helicopter’s wings broke through the fire’s roaring and Emily’s voice carried over to them.
“There! They’re over there. We told you they’d be back.”
Several rescue team members ran over to them and brought them over to the helicopter. Emily and Matt looked relieved to see them and despite . Emily’s insistence that she knew they'd make it back alive, the others looked just as shocked as the rescue team.
Ashley mustered up a smile for them through her tears. “Welcome back,” she hiccuped.
Jess who was already in the helicopter strapped to a gurney came to awareness. She attempted to lift her head, fighting against the sedation they had given her for the pain. “Mike,” she called weakly.
“We only have room for one more with her,” said one of the medics. “The rest of you are going to have to take the other one.” He motioned towards a second helicopter that was already touching down.
Without a word Mike walked past the group and pulled himself into the helicopter beside the prone girl.
The rest of them huddled into the second helicopter.
Sam had her arms around Josh comforting him as he mumbled softly to himself and rocked back and forth a little in his seat. One of the medics had expressed some concern over his condition,even offering a similar sedation to the one they’d given Jess. Sam and Chris waved her away insisting that they could take care of their friend.
Chris had one arm on his shoulder and his other hand in Ashley’s, attempting to comfort them both. He was determined to keep everyone he loved within reach.
It was hard to believe that they had all made it out alive.None of them really let themselves relax until the helicopter was well into the air. Looking at the burning lodge from above gave a feeling of numbness, although the insanity of the night all happened to some other group of kids or like none of it was even real. Like it was a movie or a game that was way too immersive.
A woman was sitting beside Emily and Matt. Her eyes were glued to the teenagers. It was clear she wasn’t just another medic. At her side was a holstered gun.
“You kids are going to have to explain everything that happened here eventually, you know that right?”
Chris snorted. “You wouldn’t believe us if we told you.” He turned away from the window and turned back to his friends. The people who were against all odds still alive. They people who needed him.
It didn’t matter what came next. They all made it through the night, The hard part was over and they could handle whatever came next. They would figure out a story to tell the authorities and their parents. They would get help for Jess and Josh and everyone else. And they would it make it through this. Together. No man left behind.