Chapter Twenty-Four: The Lair

(Repentance, Part 2)

***

When they got inside the lair, Jordan staggered back in horror and despair as she caught sight of what was hanging from the ceiling.

"You see that?" Sam breathed as she, Mike and Mateo also stared at what was dangling from the ceiling, suspended by chains and hooks like carcasses in a slaughterhouse.

"Yeah," Mike replied as they walked further, Jordan forcing herself to move as she stared at what, or who, was hanging above them.

"Bodies," Sam whispered.

"Yeah. A lot of them," Mike murmured as Jordan stared at the headless body of the stranger, who'd fought the Wendigos and had imprisoned them, who'd saved her and Emily, who'd tried to save Josh with Chris. She clapped a hand over her mouth, sobbing at the sight of the heroic man reduced to nothing more than meat for these monsters he'd spent his whole life fighting, at the sight of all these bodies, nausea, horror and grief rattling through her. Mateo held her as she heard Sam sobbing.

"No!" she cried out, at seeing the stranger's body so callously displayed.

"I'm gonna be sick," Mike muttered as he turned away.

"He tried to save us. He...." Jordan sobbed as Mateo held her, even as he was locked in his own horror at the sight of the man dangling from the ceiling, as they all tried to encompass their horror and despair over seeing it.

And yet, Jordan couldn't see any of the bodies being Matt or Jess, couldn't see either of them hang from the ceiling.

They're still alive.

Clinging to that hope even as she buried her face into Mateo's chest, holding her as Jordan let out her despair and grief over the stranger, over the hero he'd been, as Mateo grappled with his own horror and despair at seeing the stranger reduced to that.

But through her sobs, Jordan thought she could hear a muffled voice. A familiar voice.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Mike hissed, heading to wooden slats blocking a section of the lair, Jordan pulling away from Mateo to join him as she ignored looking at the stranger's body, Mateo and Sam beside her. "Hold on. Wait, wait, wait. I think I saw something."

"You did?" Mateo asked as he, Jordan and Sam peered through the slats.

And saw Josh, standing in a cavern, rambling, "No. No, no, no, no, I don't... I don't take orders from you."

"Josh!" Sam and Jordan yelled in unison, Jordan's heart pounding. Josh was alive, he was alive.

And they had to get him out of there. Now.

Mike grabbed the door, opening it and letting him, Jordan, Mateo and Sam in, as Josh kept rambling.

"I don't take orders from you, you can't tell me what to do."

"Hey. Hey Josh!" Mike called out to him as Jordan's heat wrenched at seeing her friend like that, at knowing it was because he hadn't taken his meds—or, perhaps, his meds hadn't been helping an entirely different problem at all.

Whatever the case, Josh was sick, was struggling with his mental health, was in desperate need of help. As someone with her own struggles with mental health, with her battles with her anxiety and panic attacks, it tore at Jordan to watch Josh, and had her determined that no matter what, he was getting out of here and getting help.

She wouldn't leave him behind.

"You can't tell me what to do anymore!"

"Josh?" Mike called out again, getting nearer to him.

"You with us, man?" Mateo asked, also getting nearer, Jordan and Sam right behind them.

"Buddy?" Mike asked.

"You can't tell me what to do!" Josh sobbed, holding his head before he straightened up and said, "Okay. Okay. I trust you. I trust you. I trust you."

The four exchanged a look before they headed to Josh as his eyes widened with horror, rambling and gasping in horror at whatever he was seeing.'

"Josh? Josh! Can you hear me? It's Jordan. JOSH!" Jordan yelled, shaking him by the shoulder.

"Josh, man, can you hear us? It's Mateo, Jordan, Mike and Sam. Are you with us? Josh? Josh!" Mateo exclaimed, also shaking Josh by the shoulders.

"What's the matter with him, guys?" Sam asked, looking at Josh in worry.

"He's tripping or something," Mike replied before he smacked Josh across the face to snap him out of it. "Josh!"

Josh blinked rapidly, regaining clarity. "M-Mike..."

"Josh! Hey man," Mike said, as Jordan sighed in relief at seeing Josh was back with them.

"Don't h-hit me, p-please," Josh begged, hunching like he was expecting Mike to do it again.

"You were deep in it, man. Full mental jacket," Mike told him, stepping away.

"Me and Jordan were shaking you and calling your name, but you just wouldn't snap out of it," Mateo informed as Josh noticed Jordan, shock and slight guilt on his face.

"J-Jordan, I—" Josh started, but Jordan cut him off with a hug.

"I'm so glad you're alive," she whispered hugging him tightly as, tentatively, Josh returned it.

"You're.... You're not mad, Sidney?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm mad. I'm mad and disappointed you went off your meds and decided to pull a twisted horror prank on us. But I'm just relieved you're alive," Jordan replied as she let him go, stepping away.

"We didn't think we'd get you back," Sam said, grinning in relief, before it fell as she revealed, "Josh. Hannah was down here for... weeks, a month! She dug Beth up."

"Sam," Mike, Mateo and Jordan said in unison, as Jordan glared at Sam. Given the fragile state of Josh's mind right now, Jordan doubted this was the right time to tell him one of his sisters died after they both fell into the mines, that the other had survived the initial fall and then cannibalised the one who died just so she wouldn't starve to death and then turned into a monster right after the act had been committed.

"Guys," Sam gritted out.

"This is not the time to tell him," Jordan hissed, giving her a firm look.

"Jordan's right. Let's just get the fuck out of here," Mike agreed.

"Okay," Sam said, backing down on telling Josh what really happened to Beth and Hannah—especially to Hannah—as she asked him, "Josh, do you have the key for the cable car?"

"Uh, y-yeah. Here." Josh answered, pulling it out and handing it to Sam.

"Oh good," the blonde breathed as Jordan let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, good. Now we just need to get the fuck off the mountain without getting killed," Mateo muttered.

"Given how tonight went, that's either gonna be really easy or we're all gonna end up dead," Jordan commented sarcastically, Mateo letting out a bark of laughter.

"Yeah, that seems right," he said.

Jordan tried to crack a smile as Sam noticed an entrance up above them, pointing to it. "See that over there? That means there's a direct way out. C'mon."

"I am all for getting out of here," Jordan said. She was willing to get out of here, to leave the mines and not be in them again. Even if it meant climbing again, she was still willing to do it to leave this labyrinth of horrors behind her for good.

They all walked over to it, Mike having a firm hold on Josh as he did. But as they stared up at it, Mike scoffed.

"There's no way Josh is gonna make it up there," he said.

Mateo nodded, adding, "Same with me, with my shoulder."

Jordan winced, realising now how right Mike and Mateo were. "They're right. Josh and Mateo won't make it up there—it'll be a miracle if Mike and I will be able to. I hate to say it, but they're gonna have to go back the way we came, Sam."

Sam, realising this, nodded. "Okay. Mike, Mateo, if you guys help me and Jordan up, we can go back to tell the others we're okay."

"And if it's close to dawn, we can either hole up in the lodge or try and get to the cable car," Jordan added on.

"Yeah. Yeah, good," Mike said.

"You guys do what Jordan said and bring Josh back the way we came and we'll all meet at the lodge," Sam ordered, Jordan nodding in agreement.

"Be careful, Sam, Jordan," Mike said as he bent down to give Sam a boost up.

"You too," she replied before Mike boosted her up and onto the rock wall.

Mateo turned to her as he bent down, fingers laced together. "You stay safe, okay?"

"I will. As long as you do, too," Jordan replied.

"I'll try," Mateo said. As Jordan stepped on his laced fingers, he added, "I love you, Jordan."

"I love you too, Mateo," Jordan replied, bending down to kiss his head before he boosted her up. Jordan grabbed hold of the rock, climbing just behind Sam to the top as she heard below her, Mike say, "Alright, let's go, you fucked up son of a bitch."

"Mike," she heard Mateo say, but Jordan hardly heard him as she focused on climbing and not fall, hoping that the three beneath her and Sam could get out of here alive.

Please stay safe. Please get out of here. Please.

***

Yeah, about that...

Yeah, Jordan reunited with Josh and hugged him! I think, out of everyone, she'd be the most sympathetic to Josh given her own struggles with her mental health and anxiety, as though while she's mad and disappointed Josh stopped taking his meds, she's just relieved to see him and would want to help him get the help he actually needs to deal with it. If only that could have happened...

But yeah, they've split up again! And we're nearing the end of this fic! Only a few more chapters left to go!! I can't believe how quickly this story has come to its end, but I've really loved writing this and Jordan and Mateo (I think they're my fave couple to write, and that's saying a lot considering Stowan has always been my number one couple for so long...) and I hope you've been enjoying it as well—and what's in store next >:)

Please read, comment and vote!

GhostWriterGirl out!