Chapter Nineteen: Welcome To The Panic Room

(Revelations, Part 3)

***

*trigger warning: depiction of a panic attack*

The remaining group of five waited in the room for the group to come back when frantic footsteps came down and Mike, Chris and Ashley appeared, Mike opening the door as Chris ran in, face white as Ashley and Mike were right behind him.

"Oh my God! Guys! Thank God!" Emily exclaimed as Jordan ran forward to hug Chris, before she looked behind the trio and saw they were the only ones there.

Neither Josh or the stranger had followed them.

"What took you so long?" Sam questioned.

"Hey, where's Josh and the flamethrower dude?" Mateo asked.

"It's not so good up there right now," Chris said as Jordan let him go, Chris leaning against the desk, a haunted look on his pale face.

"Understatement of the night," Mike muttered.

"Like things are any better below ground," Jordan murmured, thinking of the labyrinth of horrors and nightmares that was the mines.

"Chris, where's the flamethrower guy?" Sam asked.

"My question exactly," Mateo said. 

"Ah, yeah. He, uh..." Chris stammered, and that plus his reaction told Jordan enough.

"He didn't make it?" Ashley asked as Emily and Jordan exchanged a look. The guy had risked his life to help Emily and Jordan in the mines, had ensured their lives could be saved with that bag he'd given them, the truth he'd shared to them all before heading out to save Josh with Chris. And now... he was gone.

"Oh no!" Emily exclaimed, hands on her hips as Sam asked, "What happened?"

"The thing it... it tore him apart! Right in front of me," Chris answered, looking down.

"Oh God," Sam breathed.

"Jesus," Mateo whispered as he held Jordan, comforting her as she let out a sob over the guy who'd saved them all, who'd spent who knows how many years fighting off these monsters, and was now dead.

"Alright. These all the doors?" Mike asked as he looked around, scanning all the doors leading in and out of the safe room, the doors that were currently closed.

"Yeah," San confirmed.

"Are you sure?" he pressed, still looking around.

"Unless there's a secret passage or something, these are all the doors, Mike," Jordan told him.

"What are you looking for?" Sam asked as Jordan looked at Chris, noticing he seemed to be favouring one leg over the other.

Frowning, she moved to him and touched his leg, her friend letting out a whimper of pain when she did as Mike answered Sam, "Another way out."

"What?! Mike, are you crazy?" Jordan demanded, head whipping over to stare at him in incredulity from where she was still crouched by Chris as Mike kept looking, staring at cameras that showed the lodge—that this room must have been the room Josh orchestrated the psycho horror prank from as Mateo had filled her and Emily in on what Josh had done.

Josh... Jordan couldn't believe he was gone again, maybe for good this time. While she was devastated he'd stopped taking his meds, was angry his prank could have triggered her anxiety, she was still sad over how he was gone, the fate waiting for him. No one deserved to go that way.

"Mike, I really don't think that's a good idea. We should stay put, right here, until dawn," Sam argued, her and Emily next to Mike. "At least we're safe down here."

"I agree with Sam. It'd be riskier if we left," Mateo said as he joined them, crossing his arms as Jordan gently touched Chris' leg again, feeling a break in his tibia.

"Oh? Yeah? All wrapped up like a little present with a bow on top for that thing to tear us apart on Christmas morning?" Mike argued before he moved to search for another way out in the safe room again.

"People will come for us. In the morning," Sam reasoned.

"You don't sound so sure," Mike said.

"That is what'll happen. Right, Jordan? Em?" Sam argued, before she turned to them both.

"Yeah, I mean... right?" Emily responded, but she didn't sound certain.

"No they will. And we can't go anywhere—Chris' leg is broken. It's a bad idea if we get out of here and Chris puts pressure on that leg, or he'll be taken out as the most vulnerable of our group," Jordan revealed as she searched the room for something to use as a splint, grinning in delight as she found a plank of wood. Grabbing a roll of bandages from the first aid kit, she wrapped bandages around the lower leg to support, then put the splint with some gauze to serve as padding against it, the knee joint and the natural formation of the leg to help make sure it would be in proper alignment until proper medical professionals could fix it, then wrapped bandages around it securely, tying it off tightly. Chris winced, but didn't complain as Jordan found more broken pieces of wood, immobilising the foot and ankle as was proper procedure for splinting a broken leg.

Once that was done, Chris giving her a grateful look, Jordan joined up with Emily and Mateo as Mike declared, "Well, you can wait. I'm leaving."

"Mike, there's no key for the cable car," Emily revealed.

"And if you try to climb down the mountain, that's basically suicide with those things on the prowl," Jordan pointed out, crossing her arms, eyeing Emily worriedly as she held her shoulder near her bite.

Mike turned, an epiphany on his face. "Josh. He's gotta have it."

"Josh?" Sam repeated as Mateo had his own realisation, scowling.

"Why would Josh have the cable car key?" Jordan questioned.

"One of his dirty little tricks," Mike said, Mateo nodding as he added, "Probably wanted to keep us all trapped here and then have the key be put back in the station like it never left."

"Great. Great!" Sam muttered.

"If that fucking thing got a hold of Josh, then... we're shit outta luck," Mike said.

Jordan frowned, looking at Emily, thinking the same thing as Jordan asked, "What if Josh's alive and it decided to kill him later somewhere else?"

"What?" Mike asked, frowning. "What are you talking about, Jor-Jor?"

"I don't know, Mike. It's possible..." Emily said, picking up on where Jordan left off.

"What's possible?" Sam questioned.

"It may have taken him to the mine," Emily divulged, Jordan nodding in agreement as she crossed her arms as it made sense—like a spider trapping a fly in its web.

"What?" Mike asked.

"How can you guys be so sure?" Mateo questioned.

"We saw some horrible stuff down there," Emily went on, turning around back to the desk and conspiracy board. "I think it's where that thing lives and... huh."

"What is it, Em?" Jordan questioned before she noticed the book as well, Emily picking it up.

"Em? Jordan?" Sam asked, but neither of them responded as they stared at the book.

"Fuck it. I'm gonna get that key. Right from that thing's goddamned bedroom, and then I'm gonna get us all the hell out of here," Mike declared.

"Not alone—Jordan and Emily barely got out of there, Mike, and they were together. Going alone is practically suicide. If you're going, then I'm coming along with you," Mateo said, making Jordan turn to him, heart snapping against her chest.

"Mateo—" she started as she moved to him, but he grabbed her and assured, "I'll be fine, querida."

"You don't understand. Those things... it can kill you so quickly, like it did with the flamethrower guy. You can't underestimate it," Jordan insisted.

"I won't. Me and Mike will watch each other's backs. I'll come back to you, Jordan. I promise," Mateo assured, holding her as he whispered, "I want to live to the day I get the honour to call you Dr. Delgado. To call you my wife."

Jordan held back a sob, holding him close as they pulled away.

"Em, what is all that?" Sam asked, the question drawing Jordan and Mateo back to Emily and Sam now beside her. Immediately at Emily's side, Jordan's eyes widened as she saw what was on the table was all from the bag the stranger had given her, that the book must have belonged to him as well, Mike also joining them as the five of them stared at it.

"It's that old guy's bag," Emily said.

"He gave it to us before we escaped the mines," Jordan explained, heart cinching at the reminder of the stranger's death.

"Is that a map?" Mike asked, looking at the paper with what looked like the entirety of Blackwood Mountain and the mines on it.

"If it looks like a map, it must be a map, Mike," Mateo muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"That guy was prepared for anything," Sam noted.

"Not quite," Mike said.

"What is this place?" Emily asked, looking at a place marked on the map near the mines.

"Whatever it is, it looks creepy as fuck—and that's saying something given where we've just been," Jordan commented, getting shivers just staring at the illustrated place on the map.

"Oh my God," Mike breathed, him and Mateo having looks of realisation as Mateo revealed, "It's the Sanatorium."

"Wait, the Sanatorium? The same place that reporter and the sheriff talked about searching the grounds of for Hannah and Beth?" Jordan asked, Mateo nodding to confirm that it indeed was.

"Wait, wait, wait. What is that?" Sam asked, confused and curious about the Sanatorium.

"Mateo and I were down there. It was horrible," Mike revealed.

"It was the stuff of nightmares," Mateo said, before looking at Jordan and adding, "Not like the mines sounded any better."

"You were?' Sam asked.

"Yeah. The patients... they were mostly these miners after a cave-in happened in the 50s. A safe had all their clock-in cards, like they didn't want anyone to know they were there," Mateo divulged.

"Some of them survived but, like, fifteen of 'em didn't make it," Mike revealed. "There was this reporter and I think he figured out there had been some, like, big cover-up going on. I found these plans—they knew the mine was a death trap, but they let the miners keep working anyway. And... I'm not sure what it means, but I found this chair, with dried blood all over the place, like... somebody'd been tortured."

"Not to mention we found these death certificates and medical reports about patients attacking the staff and killing them. One said one of the victims was eaten," Mateo revealed, a sick look on his face before he pulled a broken camera out of his cargo pants pocket. "I found this camera with an intact memory card, but given what else we found and everything else... I don't even want to know what this reporter tried to photograph on it."

"Oh my God," Jordan breathed, face full of horror. The mines were still terrifying, don't get Jordan wrong, something that would always haunt her nightmares for years to come if—when—they got out of here, but the Sanatorium and what Mike and Mateo found in it sounded pretty damn close to being the most horrifying place on. the mountain.

"Michael, Mateo, I'd like to maybe focus on how we're going to get the fuck out of here, please?" Emily requested, a pointed edge to her voice.

"I'm just saying, it's weird how much crazy shit's gone on up here," Mike said, Mateo nodding in agreement with his best friend.

"What's weird is that there's a tunnel leading from the lodge to the Sanatorium. See?" Emily said, pointing to it.

"I hadn't even noticed that," Jordan admitted as she looked at it. A shard of unease spiked through her. Could the monster use that to come and get them? Jordan hoped—prayed—it wouldn't.

"That's how we got back here," Mike revealed.

"We saw this. When Jordan and I were down there. That's where it lives," Emily divulged, pointing to a spot on the map.

"Yeah. It looked more horrific than anywhere else in those damn mines. All it needed was a neon sign saying it was its lair," Jordan murmured, sarcasm colouring her tone.

"Then maybe Mike and I can use the tunnel to head back to the Sanatorium, go through it and then go down that tunnel leading right to the lair. Catch it off-guard or while it's gone trying to find us and get the key—maybe rescue Josh if he's still alive," Mateo said, sounding like a plan. And though Jordan was worried, a spark of hope burned in her. If it wasn't there, if Josh was alive and they got the key and by some miracle they all got to the cable car station alive, then they could just go down the mountain. They'd be free.

"Em..." Ashley's nervous voice said, causing Jordan to turn as Ashley held Emily's injured shoulder, making her turn around as the redhead stumbled back, questioning in a trembling voice as she pointed to her bite wound, "Em, what is that?"

"Huh?" Emily asked, looking confused.

"What is that?" Ashley repeated, sounding even more hysterical as she stumbled away, Mike, Sam and Mateo also getting away from Emily. Only Jordan remained by her side as Emily looked confused and nervous.

"Ash..." she started, holding her shoulder.

A look of horror and pure, hysterical panic came over Ashley's face. "Em, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! Oh no, oh no, oh no!"

"It's nothing. I just—it bit me, and—" Emily tried to explain, but Ashley hysterically cut her off, "It bit you?! What bit you?!"

"The ah... the Wendigo," Emily revealed.

"Right after we escaped," Jordan added.

"The what?!" Mike exclaimed.

"It's nothing really, it's not a big deal," Emily assured.

"I disinfected and cleaned it earlier, guys. It looks like just a normal bite," Jordan explained, not liking the looks Ashley and Mike were giving Emily. it was just a bite after all. 

"You okay?" Sam asked, concerned for Emily.

"Shit," Mike hissed.

"It doesn't hurt anymore. Really. And Jordan fixed me up earlier. It's not that bad," Emily said, sounding nervous.

"Em. If that thing bit you..." Mike said, giving her a look that had Jordan gape at him incredulously. "Em..."

"I know what you're thinking. And I'm fine," Emily assured, a note of panic colouring her voice.

"Are you?"

"Yes!"

"Mike, if she was gonna turn into one of those things, wouldn't it have happened by now?" Mateo asked, looking unsure as he stared at Emily.

"Emily, at least let us check it out," Sam requested.

"Jordan already did, and I'm fine! I'm fine, guys! Please, you have to believe me," Emily protested, tears glinting in her eyes at her ex and one of her friends turning against her just because she'd been bitten.

"I believe you. It's just a bite, guys. It's just a bite!" Jordan said, defending Emily as she glared at Ashley and Mike, not liking the hysteria and panic building up in the room.

"Emily. If the Wendigo bit you... you could turn into one of those things," Mike said.

Jordan scoffed in disbelief. "Are you for fucking real, Mike?"

"Oh, that's ridiculous," Sam scoffed, also in disbelief. At least Jordan and Emily had one other person on their side.

"Yeah, it can just be nothing, Mike," Mateo defended, Jordan giving her fiancé a grateful look.

"He said it was from eating each other! Remember, he said that!" Ashley yelled, amping up the hysteria, the panic, the tension boiling in the room.

Jordan gaped at the redhead in shock. "Did you have selective hearing back there?"

"Wait, is that how it worked?" Sam asked.

"I don't know..." Mateo muttered, sighing in frustration.

"Yes!" Ashley yelled hysterically, fully committed in her belief in how it worked. "It happens if it bit you! You're gonna turn into one and then you're gonna turn on us! Oh my God, oh my God, OH MY GOD!"

"NO! That's not how it works, Ashley!" Jordan shrieked, staring at them in all in shock and disbelief. "He said it was cannibalism—as in, one thing eating another of its own kind! And trust me, those monsters are not fucking human! Not anymore! Emily is fine! She isn't infected or gonna turn into one of those things! And even still, you'd have to eat someone to turn, not be bitten by one, and Emily hasn't eaten anyone! It's just a fucking bite!"

A beat of silence after Mike's outburst, the air tense, bristling with hysteria and panic, before Mike said, "Emily, you can't be down here with us."

"What?!" Emily demanded as Jordan stared at Mike in shock, then her eyes narrowed as she exploded, "Are you serious?! Did you not hear one fucking word I just said, Mike?!"

"Mike!" Sam yelled.

"Dude, I think that's going too far," Mateo said.

"You gotta go," Mike insisted, not wavering.

"Are you kidding me?!" Emily yelled.

"No, Emily is not fucking going anywhere! You'll be sending her to her death!" Jordan yelled, glaring at him as she stayed resolutely by Emily's side, defending her to the last because she was right, she knew she was right even as everyone said she was wrong, hysteria and panic and fear distorting their rational thinking.

"You're putting us all in danger," Mike said firmly.

"Like hell I am!"

"You'll be putting her in danger! You'll be fucking killing her if you send her out there!" Jordan screamed.

"Emily, you can't say here!" Mike yelled, ignoring Jordan.

"Yes she fucking is!" Jordan shouted. "And if she is going, then I am too! I won't abandon my best friend, not like you are doing right now."

"Jordan—" Mike started, but Jordan shouted, "No! Mike, for a second, listen to me and think rationally! If it's from a bite, wouldn't the guy have freaking said that earlier? He didn't! He didn't because this isn't how it works and you're not thinking clearly here! Neither you or Ash are! This is fucking hysteria and misconstruing what he said! It's cannibalism, not fucking infectious bites from a monster, and I won't leave Emily's side because I know I'm right and you will too if you just stop and think!"

"Mateo, get Jordan away from her," Mike ordered after her spiel.

Jordan gaped at him, before she glared and grabbed Emily's right hand as she fisted her other, making it clear if Mateo was going to take her away, then it would be with a struggle.

"Mateo, get her away from Emily. Now," Mike ordered again.

"No," Mateo said, glaring at Mike and not moving to separate the friends.

"What?"

"No!" Mateo yelled, turning on his best friend. "Have you considered Jordan may be right? We might be getting it wrong here and killing Emily if we send her out of here, and Jordan too!"

"Mateo—"

"Mike, just cool your head, okay? We don't know if it works like that. Maybe it's just a bite," Sam reasoned.

"THANK YOU!" Jordan yelled, letting go of Emily as she raised her hands in the air. "I'm not the only person thinking with their fucking brain here!"

"I've seen what these fuckers can do," Chris whispered, making everyone turn to him, to the haunted look on his face. "I don't want to see it again."

"What is this? Guys. What are you doing?" Emily pleaded, terrified. Jordan moved closer to Emily, glaring at them as the tension and hysteria and panic bubbled higher

"Door's right here," Mike said, gesturing to it. "I'm letting you do this voluntarily."

"Oh no, you're just making yourself feel better about sending me to my death since you know there's a Wendigo out there ready to rip me to pieces like it did with—" Emily started retorting, standing right in front of Mike and glaring at him before Ashley shouted, "Okay, oh my God, will you just go!? Go! Get out of here!"

"She isn't going fucking anywhere! And it's a package deal, Mike. She goes, I go with her! You'll be sending both of us to our deaths for something you're fucking wrong about that you acted out in hysteria over!" Jordan yelled.

"Jordan, shut up and get away from her before she turns and eats you!" Ashley yelled.

"Shut the fuck up, Ashley! You and Mike are doing a fucking witch hunt against Emily over something that doesn't need to be worried about!" Jordan roared.

"We aren't—" Ashley started to argue before the hysteria finally boiled over as Mike grabbed the gun and pointed it right at Emily.

"Whoa!" Sam yelled.

"Jesus, Mike, what the fuck are you doing?!" Mateo yelled.

"Okay," Emily gasped, terror on her face.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Mike," Sam said, rushing to him as Jordan stood near Emily, gaping in shock at Mike as he pointed the gun at Emily. "Calm down!"

"Mike, put the fucking gun down!" Mateo shouted.

But Mike ignored Mateo and pushed Sam away, gun still pointed straight at Emily.

"You're going to shoot me?" Emily asked as she backed up to the desk, fear and shock trembling through her voice as she stared at the man she once loved. "Mike? Me?"

"Mike, this is fucking crazy! This is fucking insane! You can't shoot Emily!" Jordan yelled.

"This is the safe room, Em!" Mike yelled.

"Please!" Emily pleaded, getting on the desk and cowering on it.

"It's not safe as long as you're in it! Not for us!" Mike yelled.

"No," Emily cried. "Don't—don't do this!"

"I'm really sorry," Mike said, stepping closer as he held the gun.

Jordan stared at Mike, then her eyes narrowed and she stood in front of Emily, shielding her from the gun as she snarled, "Put the gun down right now."

"Jordan! Get out of the way! Please!" Mike yelled, voice cracking on the last word.

"No! You want to shoot Emily, you want to have my best friend's death on your conscious, then you'll have to fucking shoot me first!" Jordan yelled, her heart racing with anger and dread and the need to protect Emily, to save her life and not have her be killed out of needless panic. 

"Jordan, move!"

Jordan remained stubbornly in place, protecting Emily with her body and the glare she was delivering Mike.

"Mike, don't shoot them! You shoot them, you shoot Jordan, I'll never forgive you because we both know she won't fucking move! Don't do it!" Mateo yelled, but it was like his voice was underwater, the world blurred out except for Jordan, Emily, the gun and Mike.

Mike stared at her and she stared coldly back, eyes narrowed as she taunted, "Do it, Mike. Pull that trigger. Kill us. That will keep everyone safe, after all. You'll just have our blood on your hands for the rest of your goddamned life. To know and live with the fact you made a fucking mistake out of mindless panic when you do."

She stepped forward until the gun was pressed against her forehead, the metal cold against her skin. Staring at Mike with eyes as blue and frozen as ice, and in a voice as cold as a winter storm, she snarled, "Do it."

The atmosphere was electric with tension, as everyone stared at Mike, at Jordan with her head against the gun, willing to give her life to protect Emily who may or may not be infected with a monstrous curse, Jordan glaring at Mike even as everything churned within her, because Mike wouldn't do it, he wouldn't shoot her, he wouldn't do that, he wouldn't, he wouldn't.

But would he, though? Would he?

She didn't know, and that terrified Jordan even as she made the boldest, riskiest move she could ever damn make in her entire life.

Mike kept the gun raised, finger hovering over the trigger and Jordan swallowed as the barrel seemed to press in deeper, imprinting a ring of cold steel to mark where the bullet would go, where it explode her brains everywhere. She tried to think she wasn't afraid, but she was, she was afraid, she was going to die, at least she was going to die protecting Emily, she wasn't ready to die, she was supposed to get married, oh God, Mike was going to shoot her, he was actually going to shoot her and maybe Emily as well after she was dead, oh fucking God—

But before Mike could do anything—or could do nothing, his mind wracked with indecision, with the want to keep everyone safe and the terror he'd be killing two of his friends, killing the girl he once loved and the girl who was the love of his best friend's life, was engaged to him—Mateo lunged forward and slammed the gun out of Mike's hands before it could go off, pushing Mike away from Emily and Jordan for good measure, standing in front of them protectively—and saving Jordan's and Emily's lives in the process.

"Mateo! What are you doing?!" Ashley shrieked.

Mateo just glared at her as he raised his knife and yelled, "No one is fucking shooting my fiancé and her best friend! If you do, if any of you try anything, I've got a fucking knife! So let's all calm the fuck down and, as my future wife said earlier, think with our fucking brains and not murder anyone for one goddamned second!"

Silence filled the air uneasily after Mateo's outburst as Emily and Jordan stared at Mateo, as Mike picked the gun back up and stared at him, hand shaking on it as he said, "I wasn't... I couldn't... Fuck, I can't do it. I can't."

He lowered the gun and turned away, pacing as Sam said, "You did the right thing. Both you and Mateo."

"I hope you did," Ashley muttered waspishly as Mike continued to pace, wracked by his decision.

"Shut up, Ashley. If not for you, Mike wouldn't have tried to blow my fiancé's and Emily's fucking brains out," Mateo snapped, glaring at the redhead. She shrank at his heated glare.

"Maybe, for now," Mike said, sighing. "Shit... fuck, fuck."

Turning to Sam, Chris and Ashley, he ordered, "Keep an eye on Emily. If you see anything weird... You guys know what to do. Drag Jordan away from her by force if you have to."

"Yeah," Ashley mumbled as Jordan just stared at them, Mateo glaring at Mike even more,

"No one leave. Okay? It's not safe out there," Mike ordered. "Mateo and I will be back soon."

Placing the gun on the table, Mike turned and left the room, Mateo following behind him—but not before he moved to Ashley and snarled, "You're lucky Jordan and Emily aren't dead. I would have killed you myself if they had. Count yourself fucking lucky. Chinga tu madre."

Ashley stared at him, wide-eyed and trembling as while she hadn't understood Mateo's last words, she got the anger in them, in the words she had understood. "I..."

Mateo glared at her, snapping, "Vete a la verga, Ashley."

Ashley shrank into herself further as Mateo left to join Mike, giving them all one last death glare as he snarled, "No one kill Emily," then he was going, heading into the Sanatorium along with Mike.

With Mike and Mateo now gone, Jordan stayed near Emily as she crouched on the desk as Sam walked toward Chris, Ashley hovering. Jordan stared into space, the protective anger and adrenaline fading now as she comprehended what had happened, what Mike had almost done.

"He nearly shot me," Jordan whispered. "He could have shot me and Em because of that fucking bite, he could have killed us, he could have shot us, why did I move so close to that gun, holy fuck that gun, oh God, Mike nearly shot me, he's my fiancé's best friend and he nearly shot me, he nearly shot me, could have shot us, oh God, oh God, oh God..."

Jordan breathed in and out sharply, the breaths coming fast and rapid as her mind screamed over what had happened, the air not coming into her lungs as her chest squeezed with a phantom pressure as it rose and fell rapidly, her entire body trembling as her heart beat frenetically and oh God she almost died, the gun almost went off and hit her, she could have died, she almost did, Mike nearly shot her, he nearly shot and why wasn't she breathing, why wasn't she breathing, was she dead, he shot her, Mike shot her, she could hear the gun explode, as loud as her heart and as fast as her breathing, she almost died!

"Hey, what's wrong with Jordan?" Sam's voice questioned, sounding like it was underwater, the roaring in Jordan's ears and her exploding heartbeat and the sound of a gun going off and splattering her brains and blood everywhere as her mind screamed and her breaths came fast and rapid and not enough air not enough air not enough air!

"She's having a panic attack! Everyone, get the fuck away from her!"

Emily. Emily, her best friend, who always knew how to help her, who'd defend her ferociously and she would too, had done so right now, had stared a fucking gun down and now her heart was exploding like a gun and she couldn't fucking breathe.

"What can we do to help her, Em? Does she need one of us to help her breathe and ground her?" Chris.

"Stay the hell back from her! Give her space! Don't crowd her! That's how you help her!" Emily barked.

"Shouldn't you be doing the same?  Don't want to be near her when you turn." Ashley, voice venomous and accusing.

"I won't abandon my best friend when she's having a fucking panic attack over nearly being shot," Emily growled, before her voice turned softer as she murmured, "Jordan? Jordan, I'm here. It's Emily. I'm here. You're going through a panic attack, but it's okay. I'm here and you're safe. You're alive. You're safe. It's okay. It's okay."

"Em," Jordan tried to say, but her voice got trapped in her throat, all the air in her lungs needed to keep breathing as hyperventilation stole it away.

"It's okay, Jordan. I'm here. We're okay. We're safe. Just tell me what you need," Emily murmured, as Jordan felt her hands slowly take hers, their touch familiar and comforting and grounding. Emily. Emily, who was always there. Emily, her best friend. Emily, who was still alive and not turning into a monster.

"You. I want... Right n... you..." Jordan forced out, her sob strangled by her rapid breathing.

"I'm here. I'm here, Jordan. Can I hug you?" Emily asked. 

Jordan made herself nod and Emily hugged her, the embrace secure and familiar, as Emily requested, "Can you breathe with me? Can you do that for me, Jordan?"

Jordan nodded again as Emily breathed in and out deeply, Jordan feeling the vibration of her breathes through her body, feel the steady heartbeat of Emily against the juddering beat of hers as Jordan breathed with Emily, sharp and shaky, as Emily whispered, "Good, that's good, Jordan. Just keep breathing. Just keep breathing with me, babes. We're okay. We're alive. I'm not turning into anything. It's gonna be okay. We're okay. Just keep breathing in and out. In... and out."

Emily inhaled and exhaled deeply and Jordan copied her, breathing in and out, until her breathing steadied and her heartbeat slowed down, her body shaking no more. Still, she held onto Emily, whispering, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for getting in front of the gun. I couldn't let him shoot you, Em. I couldn't let him shoot you even if it meant he shot me. I just couldn't."

"It's okay. It's okay," Emily murmured as she helped Jordan up, bringing her back to the desk as they climbed on top of it, Emily still holding Jordan as she clung to Emily, breathing in and out as the last of the anxiety and panic that had flooded her system, that triggered her attack along with nearly being shot, faded away as Sam and Chris looked at Jordan in concern and Emily in shock. They knew Emily was the one who helped Jordan the most through her attacks—fuck, when they were still in high school, Emily had been the first to get out of her seat and go straight to Jordan and snap at whoever was crowding her or making fun of her—but she'd always took Jordan away and They never saw exactly how Emily helped her through it, even as she told them what to do if Jordan was having an attack and she wasn't around to help her through it, something Chris had taken to heart when he helped Jordan through an attack months ago with Mateo. Seeing this side of Emily along with her bitchy, vicious side... it was quite a shock.

But it was clear that no matter how kind and gentle Emily had been to Jordan, it was clear she was still Emily Davis as she glared ferociously at them, bristling protectively over Jordan just like Jordan had been minutes ago. That Emily would use her bitchiness to protect Jordan Rutcher at her most vulnerable—even against the friends who'd mostly turned on her to defend the one who'd unwaveringly stuck by her, even willing to take a bullet to protect her despite it trigging that attack.

That glare was directed the most to Ashley, filled with acidic venom as the redhead wandered over to them, Emily and Jordan scooting back like she was the pariah in the room, before Emily looked down and confessed, "I thought that... that he was going to help us."

"Who? The flamethrower dude?" Sam asked, an olive branch.

"Yeah. Now we don't have a chance," Emily said, morose.

"No, guys, it just means we've got to be tough. We gotta do this on our own," Sam countered, grinning as she tried to raise everyone's spirits.

"She's right. If no one's saving us... then I guess we have to save ourselves," Jordan murmured, even as she felt so fucking exhausted. But she had to keep going, just a little bit longer, try not to fall to pieces again. She had to try and be strong again, for herself, for Mateo, for Emily, for just a bit longer.

"I don't know if I can," Emily mumbled. Jordan grabbed her left hand and squeezed it comfortingly.

That was when Jordan noticed Ashley had taken the stranger's book and retreated to the desk with the computers to read it. She tried to glare at Ashley, but she didn't have the energy to muster up her anger as she leaned against Emily, sighing heavily as Emily stroked her hair, comforting and grounding Jordan at once.

"This guy's a little OCD," Ashley commented from the chair after a little bit. "There's a lot of history to this."

"Yeah, no shit," Jordan sniped, sarcasm dulled by fatigue of both tonight and her panic attack.

"This says that because the Wendigos are mutated from humans, when they hunt us, they know how to perfectly mimic their prey," Ashley informed after a minute of reading it.

"That's comforting to know. I could have gone the rest of my life without knowing those things can fucking mimic us so they can kill us easier," Jordan muttered sarcastically.

A minute of silence passed, before Ashley said, "Oh... Oh no, no, no, no, no."

At that, Jordan sat up, frowning as Sam asked, "What? What is it? What does it say?"

"Is it about the bites? Am I... was I wrong?" Jordan asked, fear on hers and Emily's faces. If Jordan was wrong, if the bites were infectious... was she going to lose Emily? Did she and Mateo save her life, only for Jordan to lose her best friend to those monsters after all, just in a different way neither expected?

Would she have to be forced to kill her, just to spare her that fate?

Emily's grip tightened on Jordan's hand, her body trembling as Jordan held her, trying to comfort her as Sam walked over to Ashley, as the redhead said, "It says that... well... the bites... if it bites you, it's not infectious. It doesn't do anything."

Jordan's eyes widened as Sam demanded, "Let me see that!"

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Emily demanded as she stood up, Jordan right behind her.

"Em, it says you'll be okay," Ashley said.

"It says what?" Emily repeated, a furious bite to her words.

"You're going to be fine. Jordan was right," Sam assured.

"Fine?! Mike almost shot me! He almost shot Jordan! How is that fine?!" Emily demanded.

"I was right. I was right, and you needed the guy's fucking journal and not your own rational sense to realise that? You needed his journal instead of just listening to me?" Jordan asked, anger and disbelief surging in her. "We almost died, Ashley! I had a fucking panic attack right now because Mike wouldn't listen and he nearly shot us! We could have fucking died right now!"

"He didn't shoot you guys—" Sam tried to mediate, only for Emily to angrily cut in, "And this bitch almost let him!"

"Hey! That's not fair, she was scared," Sam tried to defend.

"I'm the one who's scared."

"Emily and I nearly died over nothing because you were scared?" Jordan asked cuttingly, eyes blazing blue fire.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Emily, Jordan. I didn't know what was going to happen. None of us knew," Ashley apologised, trying to justify herself.

"Except we did. The flamethrower guy literally told us what would turn someone into one of those things before he died. You just refused to listen and give into the hysteria you created," Jordan growled, glaring at Ashley.

"There's—There's no excuse! There's no excuse for this!" Emily yelled a heartbeat after Jordan, her and Jordan walking away as Jordan slung her arm around Emily, comforting her as they processed Jordan had been right and if they only listened to her, Mike would never raised the gun against them, wouldn't have almost shot them and that plus what Jordan did by standing in front of it to protect Emily would have never trigged a panic attack from Jordan.

"Please, Emily, Jordan, please just try to understand," Ashley begged, having walked up behind them.

Shrugging off Jordan's arm, Emily turned and snarled, "Understand the palm of my hand, bitch."

She slapped Ashley, sending her to the ground with a whimper before the redhead stumbled away, apologising, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so, so sorry."

"You should be," Jordan snarled. "You fucking should be."

"Shit," Sam breathed, making Jordan look at her as she read the stranger's journal, a dawning look of horror on her face. "Shit, shit, shit."

"What is it? Sam, what's wrong?" Jordan demanded, the anger fading out in favour of worry at what Sam had just read.

"We've got to get to Mike and Mateo. Like now!" Sam exclaimed, panic in her voice.

"Sam, what is it? Is my fiancé in danger?" Jordan demanded.

In response, Sam handed her the journal, and Jordan's eyes grew wide with horror as she read what Sam had read—that the stranger had captured every one of the Wendigos on the mountain and imprisoned them in the Sanatorium.

Right where Mike and Mateo were.

"Oh fuck. She's right. We have to warn them. Now!" Jordan yelled, placing the journal back on the desk as she ran to the door, opening it as Sam, Emily, Ashley and Chris followed right behind her, desperation and panic fuelling her.

To get to her fiancé and Mike before it was too late.

***

The entire Emily bite scene:

Me: Welcome to the panic room! Where your darkest fears are gonna come for, comfort you! Welcome to the panic room!

But in seriousness, I did enjoy writing this. And RIP the stranger, you were a good, heroic dude :( And yeah, Jordan treated Chris' leg, as she should, and a plan was formed... right before it all went to shit

The bite scene... Normally, I like Ashley, but I hated her in this and not freaking remembering it was CANNIBALISM that caused the transformation, and Jordan, and Mateo and Sam to some extent, being the only rational people in there as Jordan defended her best friend and stuck by her, as she should. And yeah, she would have taken that bullet if it meant protecting Emily, even as it and the fact Mike nearly shot her (he wouldn't have, though, even if Mateo hadn't stepped in, he wouldn't have shot her) triggered her to have another panic attack :( Fortunately, Emily was there to help her through it

And yeah, Mateo gave Ashley quite the snarled comment before he left with Mike. That's gonna be... tense

And yeah, while she is a naturally kind, compassionate and warm-hearted person, Jordan was fucking pissed at Ashley at finding out not only was she right, but both she and Emily were nearly killed because Mike and Ashley refused to listen to her, and it's gonna take a long, LONG time for Jordan to forgive her (if Ashley is still alive for that)

(Also, that "Understand the palm of my hand, bitch" is such an iconic line)

And now, they all know the Sanatorium is not exactly safe right now and off to warn Mike and Mateo, who'll learn that firsthand >:)

Please read, comment and vote!

GhostWriterGirl out!