Icies
Chris snaps awake, knees hitting the underside of the dashboard, spine stiff as he curls up on the passenger seat, breathing unsteady. He's in a car, in a car with Sam, who is driving and she's waving a hand in front of his face. Chris exhales shakily, feeling fuzzy and disoriented and he doesn't remember the dream but his head hurts and he can hear the blood rushing through his veins.
"You okay?"
Chris forces himself to sit up, planting his feet on the floor. A wave of nausea hits him. Chris cups a hand over his mouth and he's gesturing to the door and Sam barely manages to swerve off to the side of the road before Chris is throwing the door open and vomiting. She rubs his back as he does, bent halfway out the car, throat burning, tears stinging his eyes and all he can feel is dread, dread and this tiny swell of fear.
Sam hands him a water bottle from the backseat when he's done and Chris rinses the sour taste out until his jaw hurts. Cars zoom by on the highway, rocking Sam's Honda with every fierce wind. Chris slumps down in his seat, thoughts trying to piece together.
"You're safe. You're in my car. I'm Sam, your friend. We're going to fix whatever's wrong with Josh and go to prom and graduate next year, ok?"
"Okay." Chris breathes. "Thank you."
"'s what I'm here for." Sam grins widely. She eases back onto the highway, the gravel from the shoulder crunching underneath the wheels and Chris always thought Canada would be maple trees and deer but it's populated with cities and structures and paved roads and maybe he should've paid more attention in history because he feels very ignorant that not everywhere looks like Devil's Kettle.
"Ready to talk?"
"Better now than later right?"
Sam nods. "So I went to the lodge this summer with The Washington's and Mike. We were all pretty wasted, especially Josh because he was pretty pissed at you. We ended up playing truth or dare but Josh said he wasn't drunk enough for that shit so he left to take a smoke break."
"Just... Josh didn't come back. He didn't come back for a while and none of us noticed until way later because I was pretty trashed and so was everyone else. Well we went looking for him that morning and we couldn't find him anywhere so eventually Melinda and Bob decided to head back to the lodge where there's a landline and Josh was there, asleep. Knocked out on the couch. Mike wouldn't really tell us anything. He only said Josh came back."
Chris bites his bottom lip. "Mike said Josh came back covered in blood. But Josh told him that he had slept in an elk."
Sam's eyes narrow, focused on the road and she sighs heavily. "He hasn't been the same since we got back. At first we thought it was his medication because the doctors have him on this new thing to see how he does but, Chris, this isn't that. I know it's not. This is different."
"I know." Chris considers telling her about how Josh stumbled out in front of his car, covered in blood and red chunks, how he dreams of Josh slicing his stomach open and swallowing down his intestines.
"There's an abandoned sanitarium on the mountain along with these old mines." Sam continues, "I did some digging and there was a collapse and some miners got trapped and the mines were closed down but there was a scandal about it because the owner knew the mines were shit but he still kept having them work."
"So the mines are real.."
Sam raises a questioning eyebrow, eyes locked on the road. Chris clears his throat. Sam frowns. "There are a lot of rumors about the mountain, bad rumors. According to articles, the miners ate one another. 30 of them were trapped but only 12 made it out. No one knows what happened to them."
"What? So Josh is becoming some cannibalizing miner?"
Sam rolls her eyes. "No, jackass."
"Josh said he saw things in the mines."
"It obviously wasn't anything good."
Chris huffs. "How do you know this anyway?"
"Google, bitch!"
Chris can see the mountain in the distance, clouded by thick grey clouds and the sun is gone, bleeding behind a large mass of darkness. Chris has never seen something so intimidating before, something so huge and dark.
They pass through a town on the way to the mountain, shops boarded up, out of business signs posted up high. Trash litters the empty roads, cracks in the pavement that sprout weeds and grass and Chris tries to look for signs of life.
"That's weird. The town wasn't nearly as empty last time." Sam comments. She sounds worried. A gas station remains lit up along the outskirts, parking lot empty aside from a beat up Volkswagen. Sam eases inside, clicking the gear into park beside one of the pumps.
"I need to pee." Sam mumbles staring at the shop. Chris stares at it too.
"I'll come with you."
Sam sends him a grateful smile. They exit the car, sticking close together as they wander up to the entrance. A lone man sits at the counter, old with deep brown skin and fine, dark wrinkles in his face. His eyes flicker up to them before shifting back down to whatever magazine he's reading.
Chris follows Sam to the bathroom and waits outside for her. He stares down at his shoes, hands in pockets, and tries to think. They drove far away from home to try and fix whatever's wrong with Josh Washington. Josh Washington, his best friend, his cannibalizing boyfriend. Nice.
Chris wipes at the corner of his eye with his knuckle, musing over what they'd possibly find up there. He doesn't know if he wants to but he does want Josh to be okay, to be safe and human. Chris slumps against the wall, sighing. He didn't care about prom and he wished he would've said something more meaningful to Josh when his best friend said he wasn't going to make it. Something besides a stupid joke about colors.
The door clicks open and Sam reappears with a grimace. She's rubbing sanitizer on her hands and wrists and Chris doesn't realize she's speaking until she places a hand on his shoulder. Chris focuses.
"You okay?"
"What if we find something bad?"
Sam forces a smile. "What if we do? I didn't come here fearless, Chris. I came to help my friend. You came here to. We can't think about that. I love Josh. You love Josh. We're scared, sure, but imagine how he feels. He's alone in this, Chris."
Chris sighs. "You're right. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. You're still here so it gives me courage to go through with this. For Josh." She holds out her pinky.
Chris curls his own around hers, feeling a bit more determined, a bit more steady and he wants to graduate with Josh a year and a half from now, wants to go to prom with him.
"For Josh."
Sam buys more water bottles while Chris fumbles with lighters, lighter fluid, matches, any fire related thing he can manage to afford. Sam sends him a questioning look when he comes to the counter.
"He's afraid of fire now. Maybe whatever's up there is too."
"Nice." Sam grins.
The older man behind the counter sets the magazine down and rises from his plastic chair in two fluid motions. He takes a glance at their items and turns a knowing gaze to them.
"Kinda young to be hunting monsters." The man smiles, beginning to scan a water bottle. "A bit inexperienced, I might add."
Sam looks at Chris. "Is that what's up there?"
The man raises an eyebrow at her, wrinkles smoothing into a crooked smile. He's missing a few teeth, a gleaming sliver of gold tucked in the corner of his mouth.
"That's what they say. A lotta people moved this fall after a family was found dead." He scans another water bottle.
"A family?" Chris speaks up.
The man nods. "Man, wife, their four year old. Found in pieces. People were saying a monster came down from the mountain."
Sam grabs Chris hand, squeezing painfully. "When exactly did this happen?"
"Late July." The man supplies helpfully. "That'll be $8.98, miss."
Sam fumbles with her purse, cheeks burning and she looks sick as she shakily hands him her parent's credit card. The man swipes it easily as if the conversation is just weather topics.
"Has that happened a lot?" Chris asks. He knows Sam won't.
The man shrugs, starting on the lighters. "The people around here have always been weary about the mountain. Said something evil lives up there. Something old and dead. No one goes up there. After the bodies were found, everyone left."
"You don't believe them?" Sam inquires.
"I do. But I'm not going to give up my shop, my home. I was raised in the shadow of Blackwood. I plan to die in it." The man smiles. "Take the lighters. Id recommend hair spray but I don't sell those."
Chris pockets the lighters and matches with a shaky nod. The man sits back in his chair, smiling softly. Sam collects the water bottles quietly. She stares at the plastic tops with a determined expression.
"What is it?" She asks.
"My people call it a wendigo." The man says, opening his magazine. "Something foul and evil."
"Why aren't you stopping us?" Chris asks.
"I've seen that look before." The man gestures to their faces. "It's been a while, but a man came through here looking for his grandfather and he had the same look. I don't know what happened to the man, but I hope he found what he was looking for. I hope you do too."
The walk back to the car is a slow one, snow crunching under their boots and Chris turns to look at the mountain hovering in the short distance. It gleams, shadowy and darkened and a fog sits atop of it.
"We'll have to park at the bottom. You can only get to the lodge with the cable car."
"Don't you need a key for that?"
"Beth gave it to me." Sam says, opening the driver's door. "She wanted to come, so did Hannah, but I need someone to keep an eye on Josh. And I was afraid.. I don't want anything to happen to them. That's why I asked if you'd come. We both have reasons to go up there."
"You knew I'd come?"
"I know you love him. Which is the same thing." Sam smiles, disappearing inside. Chris sputters, staring intently at the spot she stood in. His face feels warm. He climbs inside with a embarrassed expression. Chris had never thought about it before. He had a crush on Josh forever and love seemed a bit too broad a word to place.
"It's okay. You'll have plenty of time to consider what I said on the way home." Sam chuckles, cranking the car up and they're driving again. The road is long, long and winding and Chris' ears pop as the trees start to spread out sporadically until they're driving through forest and snow. He can make out the blurred outline of a gate in the distance, large stone walls creating a border around the land. The trees grow thick, densely packed and dark.
Sam parks in front of the gate, grasping different articles of clothes in the backseat. She wraps a scarf around her neck and slides into a warm looking jacket. Sam offers him a jacket but Chris merely shows her the four he's wearing and she laughs.
The gate is broken so Sam helps him climb over the crumbling stone walls with an amused expression because he can't properly grasp the edges of rock and he should've paid attention in climbing class because this shit is ridiculous. Sam, however, climbs the wall with smooth ease and precision and Chris considers punching her.
The air is still, no sounds of life or nature, just a somber silence that shakes Chris to the core. Sam grabs his hand. He squeezes back and they begin the ascent to the cable station. Chris expects to see squirrels or a bird or something but all he sees is snow, snow and trees. His fingers tighten around Sam's, skin stretched stiffly against the bones and it only seems to get colder the longer they walk.
The cable car station is a small structure, built like a tiny train station with snow capped benches and a wooden rail that sat adjacent to it. Sam tugs off a necklace hidden underneath her shirt. A bright gold key dangles at the end. Chris follows her inside the security room, taking in the various electronics and newspaper articles stapled to a dart board. Sam slots the key into a tiny hole and turns. A clicking noise fills the room, followed by the slow churn of gears shifting.
"Ready?"
"Yeah."
They wait for the cable car, huddled close together and Chris wraps one of his jackets around Sam because her teeth are chattering and she laughs again at how many jackets he's wearing. The cable car stops in front of them and they clamor inside, bumping shoulders and Chris focuses on Sam's weak smile because he doesn't want to look outside when they're up so high.
"Josh said you were afraid of heights."
"Perfectly reasonable fear."
"Suuuure." Sam giggles. "Let's talk about something. We probably won't have time to do anything else once we get up there."
"How are you and Beth?" Chris inquires. Sam blushes, lips twitching into a wide smile and he feels envious.
"We're great. Absolutely marvelous. She's great, Chris." Sam sighs happily. "I thought she might've been humoring me at first. With the dating thing but she brings me lunch at school and actually uses the front door sometimes so she can see my parents. It's nice. Having someone like you so much."
"Yeah."
Sam turns her warm smile to him. "Let's talk about Josh."
"What about him?"
"You finally get your childhood boytoy and this happens but you're still here, Chris. He won't be the same after this."
"I know." Chris says.
"Are you ready for the aftermath?"
Chris shrugs. "I have to be."
Josh would need him, would need someone to stick by him. Chris was afraid, afraid of Josh, afraid of this mountain and what dark secrets it holds but he also knows Josh is afraid, afraid and fading into nothing and Chris doesn't want to watch Josh disappear.
"I'm afraid we'll be too late." Chris admits. Josh had said he was getting tired, tired of whatever war was going on in his mind. Sam reaches over and touches his knee, giving it a small squeeze.
"We won't and you can tell him all your sappy feelings when we fix this."
"I don't even know what my feelings are. I just... want to not be scared." Of Josh, for Josh. Chris was tired of being scared to fall asleep, scared of falling asleep next to Josh.
"Me too." Sam says. "I'm scared for our friends."
Chris nods, sneaking a glance out the window. It's just trees and white and his breath fogs a bit of the window. He thinks of Josh and it's unfair how when they almost get it right, when the reality where Chris confesses and Josh accepts, Josh becomes a monster. It wasn't fair that when Josh finally starts looking at Chris the same way Chris looks at him, Josh is dying. What kind of bullshit is that.
"I don't know if I love him." Chris says suddenly and he looks at Sam, who stares back at him intently. "I don't know but I know this shit sucks and I want to hold his hand and tell him about how much of a jackass he is."
Sam smiles. The cable car rocks to a stop and they're here. Near the lodge, on the mountain, to find out how to fix Josh Washington. Josh Washington, his boyfriend, his best friend. Chris curls his hand into a fist, lightly touching the bite on his shoulder. His mind burns with images of Josh staring at him from outside his car, the Josh he doesn't recognize with blood on his face and furious guilt in his eyes. He thinks of Josh climbing through his window when Chris can't sleep, thinks of Josh wrapping arms around him and kissing him and whispering how everything will be okay and they'll be okay.
But Josh didn't say that last night. He said he was growing tired. Josh was giving up. Which meant Chris was going to lose him. He was going to lose Josh again and he just got him.
"I want to save him."
Sam pulls the cable door open. The bitter wind rushes inside and she looks back at him.
"Then let's go."