Chapter Eighteen: The Truth Of Blackwood Mountain

(Revelations, Part 2)

***

Normally, it would take hours to get back to the Washington Lodge. But to Jordan and Emily, running breakneck through the woods, fuelled by fear and the desperation to get inside and not be killed by the monster they narrowly escaped from with their lives, it felt like seconds—and yet, it still didn't feel quick enough.

It's right behind us! Jordan's panicked mind screamed. It's right behind us and it's gonna kill us, we have to run faster, we need to get to the lodge right now, oh God it's right behind us, IT'S RIGHT BEHIND US!

Then, as if summoned by her desperate thoughts, the Washington Lodge loomed out of the winter haze, so close Jordan could almost feel the stairs underneath her feet.

At seeing the lodge, now a haven for safety instead of a place where a maniac could be lurking, Jordan put on a renewed burst of speed as Emily turned around, Jordan doing the same.

They both let out screams as something darted in the trees, making them run even faster as they bolted up the stairs, taking them two at a time, until they were at the door, banging their hands against it as loud as they could. Wind howled in Jordan's ears as the cold tore at her face and stung her open wound, but Jordan hardly cared, her mind screaming and desperate to just get inside, to have someone hear them and open the door.

"Let us in! Let us in!" Emily yelled, banging furiously on the door.

"Please, let us in! It's right behind us!" Jordan screamed, slamming both of her hands against the door.

"Is that...?" Ashley's voice said.

"It's Em!" Sam. She was okay.

"And Jordan!" That was Mateo. Jordan nearly sobbed at hearing her fiancé's voice.

"Let them in! Quick!" Chris yelled as footsteps sounded before the door swung open, Chris behind it.

Jordan and Emily stumbled inside and landing on the floor, scrambling back and staring wild-eyed at the trees, the haze of swirling snow and darkness obscuring the monster lurking in the woods as Emily screamed, "Shut the door! Oh my God—"

"Hurry and close the fucking door! NOW!" Jordan screamed.

"SHUT THE DOOR!" Jordan and Emily screamed in unison as Sam, Ashley and Mateo pulled them back and up to their feet, Chris closing the door. Jordan sobbed in relief at seeing the door closed, that they were now safe.

"Em, Jordan, are you alright?" Chris asked as Ashley and Sam held Emily while Jordan grabbed Mateo into a crushing hug, sobbing into him as Mateo held her and breathed, "Jesus, Jor, what happened?"

"I didn't think that we'd make it," Emily sobbed as she moved to the couch, Sam and Ashley right behind her.

"It was right after us, I thought that we'd..." Jordan sobbed again, holding Mateo even tighter, as he held her before leading her to the couch with the others.

"You and Jordan were screaming bloody murder," Chris said.

"Are you two okay?" Sam asked.

"You two look totally wiped," Ashley observed.

That was when Mateo noticed her leg. "Shit, Jordan, you're bleeding. Who did that to you?"

Jordan just sobbed, the memory of the monster, its claws tearing through her skin like paper, still so fresh in her mind, that she'd come so close to dying tonight.

"There was something—" Emily sobbed.

"Where's Matt?" Ashley questioned.

"What happened? What hurt Jordan, Em?" Mateo demanded.

"Come sit down, sit down," Sam murmured as she and Ashley helped Emily to the couch.

"He's still in the mines—oh God, he's still in the mines. With that... thing," Jordan gasped out, hand clapped over her mouth as she shook with fear for her friend.

"Something's out there—" Emily managed to get out as Jordan pulled away from Mateo and joined her best friend's side, nodding in agreement.

"Did you guys split up?" Ashley asked.

"A monster—It's a monster!" Emily exclaimed as she sat down, Jordan sitting on her left. Immediately Emily grabbed hold of her hand, holding it tightly as Jordan held it just as tightly back, the both of them trembling.

"It was a monster, it was... oh God, it was so horrible, I..." Jordan let out a strangled noise, hand over her mouth as Mateo sat beside her, holding her.

"Wait!" Chris said, before he asked, "Are you both okay?"

Jordan choked on a bitter laugh. "Barely. We just got out of there with our lives intact."

"I'm fine. I don't feel anything. Jordan got hurt. I just need to calm down. It was moving so damn fast," Emily answered.

"It was and it was crawling along the walls like some sort of fucking spider," Jordan got out, shuddering at the memory, of the monster.

"What?" Chris demanded.

"We just had to get away—"

"We had to run, get away from it before it could kill us—"

"Away from what?" Chris grilled.

"Didn't you hear us? There's a fucking monster in the mines!" Jordan yelled, before she retreated into herself, breaths shaky in her throat from whatever had chased her and Emily, had tried to kill them.

"Th-There was this thing, whatever it was..." Emily answered, Jordan nodding frantically alongside her.

"Em, Jordan, you can relax. Josh was messing with us, but we—" Sam tried to assure as Jordan looked at her blankly.

"Josh is alive?" she whispered.

Mateo nodded. "Yeah, he's the psycho. Jor... he stopped taking his meds."

Jordan sat there, stunned and shocked and crushed. "Josh... he promised me he'd keep taking his meds when I started taking mine, that we'd both keep taking them. He promised me."

"I'm sorry," Mateo whispered, holding her. "But it's okay. You're safe. He's not hurting you two anymore with whatever he did in the mines."

"No, Mateo, that wasn't Josh! That monster... it wasn't human, wasn't something you could fucking create as a puppet or animatronic or what-fucking-ever! It was... oh God, I can't even..." Jordan denied, holding herself as she trembled from the memory, the horror.

"She's right. You're not listening to us," Emily said, leaning down as she and Jordan tried to recover as the adrenaline and terror faded away, leaving them trembling and shellshocked by what they'd seen, the horrors that lurked in the mines—the monster, the signs of Hannah and Beth being trapped in the mines, Beth's head, oh God, her head...

Jordan let out a shuddering sob as the memory of Beth's decapitated, frozen head hit her all over again.

"Wait, Em, Jordan, where's Matt? Is he okay?" Chris asked.

Jordan shook her head. "We don't know. When the fire tower fell, he jumped to safety. He's in the mines, with that... thing. Oh God..."

"He saved Jordan, when we were hanging from that goddamned tower before he tried to save me when I was hanging off it about to die. Then he... left, he abandoned us. He's in the mines, he's still in there," Emily answered as she stood up, face wracked with terror and slight anger at Matt.

"What tower?" Sam asked.

"And then we fell into this terrifying mine shaft and he was just gone!" Emily continued, pacing around before she sat back down, like Sam had never spoken. 

"Whoa, whoa, woah, what mine shaft?" Chris asked.

"The one we fell in when the fire tower collapsed!" Jordan exclaimed before she shrank in and whispered, "I wish we hadn't. It was a nightmare."

"We—we were walking down there, in the mines, and it was dark, and we found this... pile. There was Beth's head," Emily revealed as Jordan nodded, choking back on a sob at the memory.

"It was just... sitting on a rock, like some sort of trophy. Right after we fell into this... mass grave of skulls and skeletons," Jordan breathed, shuddering. "I thought that was the most horrifying thing we'd see."

Exchanging a look with Emily, Jordan whispered, "We were proven wrong."

"Wait what?!" Chris exclaimed.

"Jesus Christ," Mateo breathed as he tightened his hold around Jordan, comforting her.

"Beth's head. We found it," Emily said, voice shaking.

"Oh my God," Ashley breathed in horror.

"What the fuck?!" Chris exclaimed.

"That's... Fuck," Mateo breathed, holding Jordan even more tightly.

"Are you guys serious?!" Sam questioned.

Emily and Jordan nodded as Emily exclaimed, "Yes, we're serious!"

"Dead serious," Jordan added gravely.

"I think they fell down there," Emily divulged, Jordan nodding in agreement as she whispered, "We saw signs they had... before we found Beth's head. It's why we never found them. They were in the mines."

"Jesus Christ," Chris breathed as Mateo looked down, eyes wide and haunted at knowing the truth, that he hadn't been right about them being murdered—that their deaths had been something much worse than that.

"But the worse part is neither me or Jordan don't think Hannah died. Like, from the fall, not right away," Emily said.

"What? What do you mean?" Ashley asked.

"I don't know. I feel like she was down there, like starving to death, for weeks, when we were all up here looking for her... we had no idea!" Emily answered.

"Plus, we saw a cross for Beth and tally marks counting the days. Beth died, so Hannah must have survived the fall and done that. She either starved to death or... or that thing killed her," Jordan revealed, shuddering. "I think I prefer Hannah starving to death than her... being murdered by that fucking creature."

She looked down as she whispered, "If we just checked the mines, then maybe..."

Jordan shuddered again, Emily taking hold of her hand as Mateo held her comfortingly, taking comfort in her best friend and fiancé.

"Jesus, that's... horrible," Chris breathed.

"That's so... fuck," Mateo whispered, running a hand through his hair.

"Listen. In... in the tower, there was a radio, and Jordan and I got through to someone, but that was right when the tower collapsed!" Emily revealed, before the door opened and Mike walked in. Jordan wilted in relief before she noticed the bandage wrapped around his hand, two of his fingers missing... and that Jess wasn't here.

Where was Jess?

"Em!" Mike yelled, relief palpable in his voice, as Emily stood up and they hugged. He turned to Jordan, relief at seeing she was alive in his face as well. "Jor-Jor!"

"Mike!" Jordan sobbed, not even caring about the nickname as she hugged Mike next. When they pulled back, she looked at his hand. "God, what happened to your hand?"

"I could say the same about your leg," he said, before he looked between them. "You both made it!"

"Oh God, Mike!" Emily exclaimed, relief in her face as Chris said, "Yeah, yeah, barely."

"What about Matt?" Mike asked.

"We're trying to figure that out," Ashley told him.

"Mike, Mateo, where's Jess?" Jordan questioned.

"And there was this 'monster' that was chasing them," Chris said right as Mateo told Jordan, "Jess is dead."

"What?!" Emily and Jordan breathed, shock and horror coming over them, because even with their bad blood, Emily never wanted Jess dead. 

"Oh God, what a horrible way to go," Jordan whispered, instantly thinking of the monster, of how horrific, terrifying and painful it would have been to Jess right before it killed her.

"They're all messed up, guys," Mike said, cutting through Jordan's horror and grief over Jess as he looked at Emily. "Emily? Hey Em."

That was when a loud bang came.

"Whoa," Chris said.

"Who the fuck can that be?" Mike hissed.

"Josh?" Ashley asked.

"Matt?" Mateo suggested as he joined Mike, Chris, Jordan and Emily along with Ashley and Sam.

"Jess?" Chris asked hopefully.

"It's not Jess," Mike said.

"Sorry man, but... who is that?" Chris demanded.

"I don't know!" Mike hissed before he looked around him. "We should check it out."

"I got your back," Chris said.

"As do I," Mateo replied, holding the Bowie knife firmly, the edge spotted with blood. Jordan's eyes widened as she realised Mateo must have used it to chop Mike's fingers off from whatever they'd been caught in.

"Good," Mike said.

At that, the guys walked toward the door that Hannah and Beth had run through one year ago and never returned, the girls staying in the living room. Jordan sat near Emily, holding each other's hands fiercely, before her heart lurched with realisation—what if the monster was behind the door? 

Letting go of Emily's hand, she ran to where the guys were, hearing Mike say, "Whoever it is has probably gone by now."

"Unless you want me or Mateo to take the gun," Chris offered.

"I'm happy with the knife," Mateo muttered.

"No, no, no. I think that's less good. You do the door, I got the gun and Mateo has the knife," Mike rebuked.

That seemed to settle it as Chris walked up and grabbed the door knob as Jordan unfroze and ran toward them, screaming, "DON'T OPEN THE DOOR!"

But it was too late as Chris opened the door before it was shoved open, knocking him to the ground as the open door revealed not the monster, but the flamethrower guy who helped her and Emily escape from the mines with that bag that had the flare in it and the warning.

Jordan relaxed as Chris cursed, "Shit! Shit!", then tensed again when Mike and Mateo held the gun and knife raised against the man who ensured she and Emily got out of there alive.

"Ah! Ho-Hold on there!" Mike exclaimed as he kept the gun raised. "Hold on there, mister."

The guy stared at Mike, Mateo and Chris, who got to  his feet and rejoined them, as Jordan hissed, "Guys, stop."

But they didn't listen as Mike ordered, "Freeze!"

But the guy simply grabbed the gun and twisted it out of Mike's hold, her friend yelling, "Ahh! What the—Alright, alright! Just... take it easy, grandpa."

Mateo charged forward with the knife, but Jordan stopped him, yelling, "Mateo, what are you doing?!" 

"Trying to get this creep not to take one more step further!" Mateo yelled.

"This creep saved me and Em!" Jordan shouted.

"What?" Mateo asked, lowering the knife as he and Jordan stepped back to join Mike and Chris.

"Okay. Everybody, just calm down," the stranger ordered, slamming the door closed as, without the darkness of the mines, Jordan got a good look at his face—grey hair hanging around his face underneath a grey beanie, pale skin, missing teeth, and scar running across his right eye, blinding it. "Now, just move over there. Go on, move! Let me say what I came to say."

They did as he instructed, joining Sam, Ashley and Emily as they sat down, Jordan and Mateo next to Emily, as the stranger turned to the fireplace and continued, "I'm here to tell you what you're up against being back on this mountain. You should never have returned. I don't know why you did after what happened last year."

"You mean with Hannah and Beth?" Ashley asked.

"Yeah, how could you know that without being involved?" Chris demanded.

"Or responsible?" Sam accused.

Jordan whirled to Sam, hissing, "Quiet. He helped me and Em in the mines—he pretty much saved us with what he gave Emily and by warning us."

"You hold onto your horses," the stranger said, turning back to them. "I don't take kindly to you kids coming up here to my mountain."

"Your mountain? I'm sure the Washingtons would be very surprised to hear that," Mike said.

Mateo looked at Mike sharply. "It wasn't their mountain to begin with, Mike. It was Indigenous land first."

The stranger chuckled. "Your friend's correct, mostly. This mountain don't belong to me, it's true. But it don't belong to the Washingtons. This mountain belongs to the Wendigo."

A chill shuddered in the air after the stranger had said the name of the creature that had tried to kill Jordan and Emily.

"Who?" Chris asked.

"What's he talking about?" Sam questioned.

"What the hell's a Wendigo?" Mike muttered

Mateo frowned. "It sounds familiar..."

"Let's hear him out," Sam suggested.

"Agreed," Jordan murmured.

"Not like we have a choice," Mike said as they all turned back to the stranger, and what he had to say.

"Now I'm only going to tell you this once. It doesn't matter to me if you believe it or not," the stranger said. "I got reasons to... get it off my chest."

"See? I told you! He's guilty as shit!" Mike accused. "Guilty of something!"

"Quiet, Mike," Jordan hissed.

"Shh! Shut up, Mike!" Sam whispered.

"There is a curse. That dwells in these mountains," the stranger went on, looking at them. "Should any man or woman resort to cannibalism in these woods, the spirit of the Wendigo shall be unleashed."

Jordan shivered as Mateo whispered, "That's why it sounds so familiar. I heard about it through research I did on a History project about folklore, but I never thought..."

Mateo shuddered again as Jordan held his hand, comforting him as a look of realisation dawned on Mike's face as he breathed, "Oh crap."

Another look of realisation came on Mateo's face as he looked at Mike. "I was right. Josh didn't kill Jess, Mike. It was this... Wendigo."

Mateo shuddered again as the stranger looked at all of them and advised, "You're going to need to find somewhere safe."

"The basement might be okay," Sam suggested.

"Okay. Get down there now. All of you. And wait," the stranger said.

"What? Why? For how long?" Sam demanded.

"Until dawn," Emily and Jordan told the blonde in unison.

Silence lingered before Mike revealed, "Guys. I ran off and left Josh when I heard screaming."

"Shit," Mateo whispered.

"Where did you leave him?" the stranger questioned.

"In the shed," Mike answered.

At hearing that, the stranger's face grew grim as he said, "Your friend will already be dead."

"No. No, he can't be," Chris denied as he stood up. "We were just with him!"

"A lot can happen quickly on this mountain," the stranger said as Jordan thought of the mines, of how quickly the monster had moved—so quickly that it wouldn't have taken it long to kill and eat Josh.

Jordan shuddered at the thought.

"No. I'm gonna go get him," Chris decided, believing that Josh was still alive.

Jordan stared at him, bug-eyed. "Are you crazy, Chris?!"

"You can't go out there, Chris!" Ashley exclaimed.

"I'm supposed to be his best friend and I let him down," Chris returned, guilt written all over his face along with determination to save Josh and the stubborn belief that he was still alive.

"No, he let you down. Chris—he let all of us down," Ashley countered.

"I don't care. I'm going to get him," Chris said, unwilling to budge or change his mind on this. Despite the danger, despite what Josh had done with the prank, he was willing to go and get Josh back.

"Then I'll go with you," the stranger told him.

"I don't need your help," Chris declined.

Jordan barked out a laugh at that. "You do, Chris. Trust me, you really do."

"Going alone is suicide," the stranger said, voice unwavering.

Chris frowned, before he said, "Fine."

Turning to the others, the stranger ordered, "The rest of you. Get down to the basement. Be safe. Don't go outside again until we're back."

Looking at Chris, the stranger said to him, "You don't seem to understand the magnitude of the situation."

"Well, I'm going to get Josh, aren't I?" Chris asked.

"No, I'm going to get Josh. You're going to help me. Do you understand?" the stranger corrected.

"Uh... yeah, I think so," Chris replied.

"You need to follow me. And do everything I tell you," the stranger ordered, before he turned around to the door.

As he did, Mateo stood up and offered, "Let me come with you."

Jordan whirled to him. "No. Mateo, don't."

"She's right. Going alone is suicide, but more than two is a death sentence. Stay with the others. Protect your girl," the stranger ordered. His expression softened somewhat as he added, "She and her friend there have been through a hell of a night. Stay with her."

Mateo clenched her jaw, but as he looked at Jordan, the stark terror on her face and remembered how frightened she'd been when she and Emily had returned to the lodge, he changed his mind and nodded. "Okay. I'll stay."

The stranger looked at them before turning to the door, Chris right behind him as they went to get Josh. As they did, Jordan remembered that three of them, including her, were currently injured.

"I'm going to find the first aid kit," Jordan said, standing up and walking up the stairs, heading straight to the bathroom—that's where it always usually was. Her hunch was correct as she found it in the cupboard, grabbing it and heading back downstairs. When she did, she noticed that Ashley was gone, but decided to put it out of her mind as she rejoined the others and they headed down into the basement, into a section below the lodge Jordan hadn't even known was there, down labyrinthine corridors until they entered a room with a conspiracy board on the wall, closing the door behind them.

Once inside, Jordan turned to Mike.

"Let me see that, Mike," she ordered gently. Mike hesitated, then put his hand out as Jordan unwrapped the bandage and examined the stumps.

"Okay, it looks clean and the bleeding's stopped. But I'm gonna have to clean and disinfect it and then wrap it again with fresh bandages. It'll need stitches to help it heal, though," Jordan diagnosed as she grabbed the small bottle of water inside and poured water onto the stumps, Mike hissing in pain.

"Sorry," Jordan apologised, before she grabbed the rubbing alcohol and put that on a spare wad of gauze, warning, "This will hurt," before she pressed it against the stumps.

Mike hissed in pain again as Jordan wiped the bandage across the stumps, disinfecting them before she rewrapped the stumps. 

"Thanks, Jordan," Mike mumbled.

"Anytime," she murmured.

Looking at the door, Mike said, "I'm gonna go back upstairs. Wait for Chris and the flamethrower guy to come back."

They all nodded as Mike left, closing the door behind him. Once he did, Jordan turned to her own leg as Mateo grabbed the supplies, saying, "Let me, querida."

"I can—" Jordan started, but Mateo said, "Let me treat your wound, Jordan. Let me help you. Please."

Jordan looked at Mateo, before nodding. "Okay."

Looking at her wound, Mateo rolled up the torn leg of her jeans before he unscrewed the bottle of water and splashed it onto Jordan's leg, Jordan wincing as he gently wiped the excess water and blood away. After he did, Jordan looked down, eyeing her injury critically. 

"I think I'll need stitches for it, but not as many as I thought. It's just bled a lot and hurts like a bitch. I don't think any vital arteries were cut either, which is good otherwise I'd be bleeding out. But none haven't been, and I don't think any tendons or ligaments were cut as well or I wouldn't even be walking, and the bleeding's already stopped, so I should be fine with it just being disinfected and bandaged until some medical professionals can get it properly stitched up, honey," Jordan diagnosed.

Mateo nodded, doing what Jordan did with Mike and pressing disinfectant-soaked bandages against the wound, running down the entire length of her calf. Jordan hissed as stinging pain from the disinfectant raced up and down her leg, but it was nothing compared to the pain of the injury right after it'd been inflicted. Once it was done, Mateo wrapped the bandage around Jordan's leg, methodical about it.

As he did, he murmured, "Do you think Josh is still alive?"

"I don't know. I don't... I don't think so. That thing... it moved so fast, Mateo. It would take it a second to kill Josh," Jordan whispered. "It's pure luck and thanks to that guy me and Em got out of there with our lives and a few injuries between us."

"Injuries? Plural?" Mateo asked, concern creasing his brow.

"My head hit the platform as we fell down and I went unconscious—I'm fine. I don't think it's a concussion, probably. Emily's knee got scraped, but I bandaged it with my top immediately after, and a piece of metal railing fell on me, but I'm just bruised. Nothing feels broken or crushed," Jordan listed off, Mateo staring at her in shock before he pulled her into a hug.

"Shit, Jordan. I'm sorry you and Emily had to go through that. I'm sorry you got hurt at all," he whispered.

"It's okay. Better hurt than dead, right?" Jordan said, smiling weakly.

Mateo looked at her, expression soft. "I'm sorry about Beth. I'm sorry you had to find that out in such a horrific way."

Jordan shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself as she whispered, "It was horrible. That thing... it must have decapitated her after she died from the fall, must have... eaten her body, then did the same to Hannah. I'm horrified but I'm also... relieved that we know what finally happened to them?"

"It's closure," Mateo murmured. "Not in the way we wanted or could ever dream of, but... it's closure to know what happened to them at last, no matter how horrifying it was. At least they're at peace."

Jordan nodded. "Yeah."

She sighed, leaning against him. "I'm glad you're okay. That you're alive."

"Me too," Mateo whispered, holding her. "When I heard about Jess, I just thought of you, and... I can't lose you, Jordan. I don't how I can continue on if one of those things killed you or I lost you in some other way."

"You won't lose me, Mateo. Just like I won't lose you. We'll get out of this alive," Jordan swore as she held him. "And even if we die... we'll still find each other."

Mateo's mouth quirked up in a half-smile. "A thousand lifetimes, right?"

"Exactly," Jordan replied.

She and Mateo kissed, a soft, gentle kiss, to remind each other they were alive. That despite the horrors of the night that were still continuing, they were together and could make it through this. That they were safe.

Moving away, she headed to Emily, untying the makeshift bandage as she cleaned and disinfected the scrape before tying a fresh bandage on it. When she questioned Emily softly if she wanted her to treat the bite, Emily nodded and Jordan cleaned and disinfected it, deciding not to bandage it given the awkward position of the bite. Looking at her best friend, she squeezed her hand as she whispered, "Hey. We made it. We're alive and we're safe."

"Yeah, we are," Emily muttered as she looked down, something clouding her face.

Reading it, Jordan murmured, "Matt's gonna be okay. He has the flare gun—that could scare it away and give him time to escape."

"Yeah, but what if he's dead? Like Jess?" Emily asked. "I hated her, she broke girl code, but she... we were close, Jordan, almost as close as we are. She was one of my best friends. I can't... I can't believe she's dead. I can't believe that thing killed her. I..."

Emily shook slightly, eyes glinting with tears she refused to let fall, but Jordan wrapped her arms around Emily, comforting her as Emily accepted it, before she let go and the friends stayed close together, Mateo hovering between them and the door, as they all waited for Mike, Ashley, Chris and the stranger to come back with either Josh or not.

And while it was entirely possible he would be already dead, Jordan hoped he was still alive.

She hoped he was.

***

THE TRUTH IS FINALLY REVEALED!!

Yes, Mateo and Jordan reunite and won't be parted again–for now at least

And the stranger told the truth and everyone knows what's REALLY on the mountain and Chris and the stranger are after Josh >:)

Bur everyone else is safe—for now >:)

Next chapter should be coming soon!

Please read, comment and vote!

GhostWriterGirl out!