fucksticks

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                         𝙵𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙺𝚂   . . .   𝚒'𝚖   𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍   𝚋𝚢   𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚜.

indie kaitlyn ka of supermassive games’ the quarry.   cherished by jen   (  thirty-one  ,  she / her  ,  est timezone  ).   NOT a spoiler free zone!

can also be found at:  @mysticwrit​, @hangtherules​​

google doc.       meme tag.

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yeah, so i officially decided to move kaitlyn back over to my multi.  you can find her over at @mysticwrit!  i hope to see you there, but if not, it’s been a pleasure <3

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lowkey thinking about putting kaitlyn back on my multimuse, mostly because i just can’t do multiple blogs anymore lmfao.  but idk if i will or not

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this might be a hot take, but if you can’t even spell a character’s name correctly, you probably shouldn’t be writing that character

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stardustvein​        /        mike.

it’s not that he doesn’t already know he’s fucked up  —   he does  —  but the minute kaitlyn’s eyes narrow like that ,  it drives home the magnitude of just  how much.  he should have just kept his fucking mouth shut.  just another instance in his life where  shutting the fuck up  was the right answer and he’d ran headfirst into the danger zone instead.   god fucking damnit.  

any words he might’ve said are swallowed once kaitlyn moves away from him ,  his hands lingering in the open air for a couple of seconds after she breaks away from his hold.  she makes a beeline for the basement door that he’d pointed out on their  ‘ tour ’  when they’d first gotten here   (  with the commentary of something along the lines of  won’t be going down there !!  )   yet another instance of his  wrongness  and then he hears the door slam between them.  it spikes his fear immediately ,  either kaitlyn is more mad at him than he thought  —   which is terrifying in it’s own right  —   or …   he’s at the door in an instant ,  turning the knob and …  nothing.  it doesn’t budge.  and now his panic truly rises ,  fist coming to pound on the wood of the door.   ‘  kaitlyn ?!  ’   it’s clear in the tone of his ,  his  terror.  a clear indicator to  cut the crap  if this was some kind of a joke   (  very unlikely ,  knowing kaitlyn …  )   

        it all happens so quickly that, even if kaitlyn hadn’t been deep in her own thoughts, she wouldn’t have been able to make immediate sense of it.  she steps away from mike, clearly annoyed, and towards the basement door, determined to get this search over with.  the door opens without an issue and she steps through it and then  —  it just slams behind her, sending a chill of fear down her spine.  immediately, she turns back to the door.  “ mike? ”  she can hear him on the other side, sounding no less panicked than she feels.

        that’s when the arms wrap around her.  kaitlyn’s instincts are better than she remembered, because the moment she feels another person close to her, she shoves her elbow back with as much strength as she can muster, driving it deep into the assailant’s gut.  it’s enough to get him to release her, albeit temporarily, and stumble down a few stairs.  “ mike, open the door! ”  she shouts, back pressed against it as her attacker regains his bearings.  somehow, deep down, she knows the door isn’t going to budge.  it’s up to her to fight.

        so kaitlyn lifts her leg, using the door to brace her, and goes to kick him down.  unfortunately, he’s quick enough to grab onto her leg and, though she’s successfully managed to send him backwards down the stairs, it means he pulls her along too.  she lands hard on multiple stairs.  at some point during her fall, kaitlyn’s weight lands wrong against her arm, the snap echoing through the basement as she lets out a cry of pain.  and then she’s in a heap at the bottom of the staircase, right arm cradled against her chest as she scrambles backwards.  now she sees the man, sees the fucked up mask he wears.  if he’s hurt, he doesn’t make much show of it as he stands.  instead, he saunters over to her and, clearly unhappy with her continued efforts to fight him off, lands a strong punch to her face that has her blacking out entirely.

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stardustvein​        /        mike.

despite the dire situation ,  mike finds himself in no real hurry to go search the basement for weapons.  a basement he’s been in plenty of times for perfectly innocuous reasons ,   and he’s not fond of having to change that.  desperate times …   he pinches the bridge of his nose. 

‘  just planning on having the weird ass energy then ??  ’   it’s not exactly any better than actively fighting ,  he wants to turn back the fucking clock.  go back when things were simpler.  maybe even decide not to advocate for emily   (  it’s not like emily would have ever done the same for him  )   but unfortunately it’s not something that’s possible.   unfortunately ,  mike would likely play things out the same damn way even if he was given the do - over.   ‘  oh ,  so  now  it would be saving them.  see ,  I thought we’d already written them off as dead.  ’    he stops then at the bottom of the stairs ,  his hands landing on her shoulders both to stall her and as an excuse for physical contact.   ‘  I would have gotten mad at sam’s decision no matter who the fuck was out there ,  kaitlyn.  and if it was anybody else ,  I don’t think any amount of convincing would’ve stopped me.  it has  nothing  to do with emily ,  and  everything  to do with knowing the goddamn consequences to splitting up.  didn’t think I had to say that …  ’

        her eyes narrow.  he’s oversimplifying the situation, and kaitlyn wants nothing more than to shake some sense into him.  “ that is not how it was meant and you fucking know it. ”  they weren’t assuming that emily and matt were already dead, only pointing out that there was a chance.  the entire decision not to run off to the cabin makes sense to her pragmatic brain, but kaitlyn knows that there’s no way she’ll be able to make it make sense to mike.  he’s being led too heavily by his emotions to see the logic in it.

        “ we’re already fucking split up, mike!  you really wanted to split us up more to go after them?  or maybe you just wanted to play the hero, and fuck any consequences that come from it. ”  this is exactly why she hadn’t wanted to fight with him.  now they’re both upset, in general and with each other.  “ you want to save everyone, and i get that.  but you could’ve died going after them.  i’m not fucking sorry for voting against that. ”  kaitlyn allows a moment for the words to settle, then breaks away from his hold.  “ let’s find these fucking weapons and get on with it. ”

[prismaticella]

🤩 love this game

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stardustvein​        /        mike.

it’s  weird ,  this shift between them.  it’s not the first time mike’s felt it ,  he can distinctly remember a similar vibe when they’d been basically broken up at hackett’s quarry and then forced into close proximity again.  which  —   that’s a little terrifying.  and a huge difference from where they’d been a few hours ago  —   hell ,  twenty minutes ago.  mike had been pretty damn sure he’d never feel like this again ,  not where kaitlyn was involved.  and now ,  sure enough ,  with another terrible situation ,  somehow he’s gotta deal with an emotional one involving the love of his life on top of everything else.  great.  

mike lets out a breath as kaitlyn instructs him to lead the way ,  and he begins trudging across the living room area back towards the stairs they’d only just ascended after jess had come to fetch them.  and his stomach twists unpleasantly at the thought of two more of their friends now basically unaccounted for ,  two more people in danger that he could do  nothing  about.  he sighs again ,  this time more under his breath and looks over at her.   ‘  we’re not really gonna do this again ,  are we ??  fight during a life or death situation ??  I can’t fucking do this ,  kaitlyn.  it’s bad enough without this weird fucking energy between us …  ’

        kaitlyn watches him as he passes her, heading off in the way they’d just come.  with a sigh, she follows after him, and although she sticks close, she makes no attempt to grab for his hand.  she realizes how petty and stupid it all is;  everything bothering her right now is nothing compared to what they’re potentially facing.  still, for whatever reason, she can’t shake it completely.  she can’t stop thinking about the fact that he’d been prepared to walk out the door of the lodge and trek out to that cabin for emily and matt.  there’s being heroic, and then there’s martyrdom. 

        “ i wasn’t planning on fighting, ”  kaitlyn mutters in response.  she hadn’t planned on saying anything about what had passed, because she knows it’s not worth it right now.  but, if he’s going to bring it up  ...  “ you were actually angry with her.  with sam, for not agreeing to drop everything and save emily. ”  she leaves off matt’s name, and it’s not fair, but she can’t bring herself to care right now.  “ i would’ve made the exact same decision she did.  because it was the smart decision. ”

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stardustvein​        /        mike.

‘  when have I ever done anything stupid ??  ’   mike tries to lessen the heaviness for just one measly second ,  but isn’t sure he manages it.  his own anxiety threatens to eat him alive.   ‘  roger that ,  ’   he says ,  dropping a nod.  though there is no goddamn assurance he could make that didn’t sound like wishful thinking.  false hope.  and that’s what jess’ promises sound like to him.  mike thinks about hugging her ,  but decides it’s too  this could be the last time I ever see you  for his liking.  but maybe he’d come to regret choosing to forgo the hug.  either way ,  he turns to chris and pats his shoulder a couple times.   ‘  you got this …  ’   and then lower ,  more under his breath ;   ‘  we’ll keep an eye on ash …  ’ 

chris nods at mike ,  then turns to jess with a shrug.   ‘  ready as I’ll ever be.  hey ,  maybe I can grab that gun ,  too.  assuming we can get down there …  ’   he throws it over his shoulder ,  mostly for kaitlyn’s benefit.  then the two of them are exiting the lodge ,  mike’s locking the front door behind them again ,  and the atmosphere is  really fucking weird.  ashley seems to feel it as well ,  and shifts slightly on the couch ,  her hands balled into fists.  

mike lets out a breath.  he knows without even looking at her that kaitlyn’s not exactly thrilled with him ,  and can rightfully assume that sam is pissed.  one of those things bothers him far more than the other …   ‘  we should get weapons ,  something ,  anything  we can use if it comes down to it …  ’   a pause ,  his hands shoving into his pockets.   ‘  there’s a baseball bat in the basement.  might be a few ,  actually …  ’

        admittedly, kaitlyn hopes that they’re able to grab that gun on the way to the cable car station.  she doesn’t like the idea of the two of them wandering through the woods at night with absolutely nothing to defend themselves with.  “ if you run into this fucker, give ‘im hell, ”  she calls back to chris.  she waits until they’re out of sight, then crosses her arms and starts pacing.

        sam nods as mike speaks.  “ i’m sure there’s plenty of stuff down there that could be used for weapons. ”  she glances at ashley, frowns as she takes in the state of her face, the continued darkening around her eye.  “ do the two of you want to go see what you can find?  ash and i can make sure everything’s shut tight  ...  and i want to see what i can do about that eye. ”

        “ yeah, we’ll see what we can round up, ”  kaitlyn agrees with a short nod.  she’s not particularly looking forward to searching the basement with a killer on the loose, but unfortunately, that’s where they’re at right now.  “ if you need anything, just  ...  uh, shout really loud, i guess. ”  god, why does every terrible situation have to come with such a painful lack of cell reception?  she pauses, taking a long breath before forcing herself to look in mike’s direction.  “ after you. ”

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stardustvein​        /        mike.

some part of him knows he’s fucked up.  some part of him knows how crazy it is to see sam actually get worked up like this ,  get  angry  like this …  mike can’t really say if he’s ever really seen her like this ,  but that’s not what he’s focusing on.  not in the slightest.  he’s too busy stewing in his own anger ,  in his almost disbelief that  no one  seemed to give a shit.   (  maybe that’s not fair ,  but no one was on his fucking side of things …  )   he scoffs and shakes his head.  there are more angry words on the tip of his tongue ,  more scathing commentary.  but then jess decides to speak up ,  and his gaze cuts over to her as she speaks. 

it’s emily.  like that was somehow enough.  like she could just give this psycho a verbal thrashing and he’d take off with his tail between his legs.  he  knows  it’s emily.  knows she’s tough ,  and  smart.  and far too stubborn to die ,  but it does little to quiet the worry that swirls like a storm inside him.   ‘  you don’t know that …  ’   but at least ,  when he speaks to jess ,  much of the venom seems to have left him. 

the urge to comment on sam’s hypocrisy rises up again ,  but is soon quelled again as jess steps up to volunteer to split from the group.   ‘  nuh uh ,  no fucking way.  you’re not going alone …  ’   you shouldn’t be going at all.  now ,  all of a sudden ,  the idea of splitting up for any fucking reason sets his teeth on edge.  

chris also moves to stand.   ‘  she’s not …  I’ll go.  my idea ,  it’s only fair.  if we can get there and everything’s still in working order ,  jess can go for help and I’ll come back and report on our successful mission …  if not …  ’   he trails off ,  the rest goes unsaid but is felt regardless ;   if we don’t come back ,  we’re probably dead somewhere.   

mike’s gaze flicks between chris and jess ,  then comes to rest on kaitlyn.  and one who knew the full story of what had happened at hackett’s quarry could practically see the wheels turning in his head ,  comparing this to the time he’d split up with kaitlyn and  —   he shakes his head ,  tries to shake the thought away.  he moves over to jess instead ,  resting his hands on her shoulders gently.   ‘  hey ,  don’t do anything stupid ,  you hear me ??  any sign of trouble ,  you get your asses back here.  promise ??  ’

         kaitlyn stands back, watches all of these exchanges with slightly narrowed eyes.  it isn’t until jess volunteers to go to the cable car station and mike vehemently refuses to allow it that anything in her expression changes;  a sardonic smile tugs at one corner of her lips, though there’s no hint of amusement in her features.  she hates that it all makes her feel  —  angry?  bitter?  —  that mike would be willing to run off and play the hero for emily and matt, but refuses to allow anyone else to make a sacrifice.

        “ mike  ...  ”  jess doesn’t even have the chance to finish her counterpoint, because chris is pulling himself to his feet, offering to accompany her.  her gaze flickers in ashley’s direction, notes the look of concern and fear in her features.  she tries not to think too deeply on it as she looks back to chris and offers a faint smile of gratitude.  jess may have planned on going alone, but she has to admit she’s relieved not to have to.

        “ you’re both gonna be fine, ”  sam assures them, and if determination alone was enough to guarantee results, this would undoubtedly be the case.  “ just keep your eyes peeled and stay together. ”

        jess meets mike’s gaze with a slight smile and a roll of her eyes.  “ i should be telling you the same thing, ”  she replies, giving him a knowing look.  “ we’ll be okay.  and i promise we’ll come back.  but you all better be okay when we get back. ”  her gaze travels across every face in the room.  taking a deep breath to prepare herself, jess turns her attention to chris.  “ you ready? ”

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stardustvein​        /        mike.

mike rounds on sam somewhat incredulously.   ‘  seriously ??  ’   two more of them could be dead ,  for all they know ,  and she’s really worried about having control over the situation ??  he gives his head a shake.   ‘  where’s  their  control ??  we’re really just gonna fucking leave them out there alone ??  that sits right with you ??  ’   he demands ,  his gaze snapping to kaitlyn as she agrees with sam’s assessment ;  huge surprise.  

mike makes a noise of frustration ,  his hand running through his hair again.   ‘  they left  last night.  he could’ve fucking started with them ,  we don’t fucking know !!  we  won’t  fucking know unless someone goes after them !!  ’   his voice rises along with his desperation.   ‘  we’re just gonna leave them to the wolves ??  like hannah ??  like beth ??  ’   he gives another shake of his head ,  taking a few steps away from rest of them ,  his arms folded against his chest.  was it rational  —   was it sane ??  —   to hike two fucking miles with a killer on the loose ??  no.  but this mountain had already taken too goddamn much from them.  the idea of losing more is enough to send him teetering precariously close to the edge.   ‘  they could be out there  dying  while we ,  what ??  sit cozy in the lodge and wait ??  ’

‘  mike has a point …  ’   chris pipes up somewhat reluctantly.   ‘  I don’t  —   I dunno about going after matt and emily but …  someone needs to try and get to the cable car station.  we need to know if we can get the fuck out of here.  otherwise we really are just sitting ducks waiting for some manic to come in here and slice us all up.  ’

        sam is about as levelheaded as they come, but mike’s anger seems to get under her skin a little.  as if the situation isn’t difficult or stressful enough without arguing amongst themselves.  “ none of this sits right with me, mike! ”  she shoots back, and there’s a definite bite to her words that isn’t normally there.  “ you think i’m happy to potentially lose two of my friends?  again? ”  there’s a hardness to her features as she holds her arm out to gesture to everyone in the room.  “ i’m trying to look at the big picture.  i’m trying to keep as many of us alive as possible.  so i can either count on the six of us being okay, or i can gamble that on two people who might  —  ”  might already be dead.  “ this way, at least, i know. ”

        kaitlyn, for her part, remains silent, not entirely sure what to say.  she may know where mike’s anger and frustration is coming from, but it does nothing to alter her stance on the matter.  and as much as she’d like to try to calm him down, she doesn’t have the mental capacity to do so at the moment.

        “ michael  ...  ”  now it’s jess choosing to speak up.  her arms are crossed over her chest, as if preemptively hoping to defend herself from his frustration.  “ don’t forget.  it’s emily.  she’s  ...  she’s tough.  and she’s smart.  they’re probably okay. ”

        unfortunately, chris does have a point.  sam heaves a sigh, bringing a hand up to rub circles into the middle of her forehead;  she can already feel a headache coming on, and it’s only the beginning of the night.  “ i still don’t like the idea of splitting up, ”  she points out, making sure that everyone knows it.  “ but we do need a way out of here, so  ...  ”  sam drops her hand, sets it on her hip as her gaze roams over the others questioningly.

        “ i’ll go. ”  jess steps away from ashley and chris, shrugging one shoulder.  her hands are a little shaky at the prospect, and she’s glad they’re safely tucked away from view.  “ i’ll be fine. ”  probably.

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stardustvein​        /        mike.

mike’s gaze cuts to kaitlyn briefly as she speaks.  he almost looks like he intends to say something ,  but then sam’s speaking again and  —   ‘  nah ,  emily’s not …   she’s not fuckin’ capable of something like this …  ’   he’s adamant ,  shaking his head.  she might be an ice queen ,  but there’s a difference between seeming uncaring and being able to start off - ing your own friends …  it’s just not in her wheelhouse ,  mike  knows  it’s not.  but it does bring a new ,  terrifying thought to the forefront. 

‘  fuuuuuck …  ’   mike runs a hand through his hair ,  making it even more disheveled than it had been previously.   ‘  they’re still fuckin’ out there …  and that cabin is so goddamn far away ,  if something happened to them ,  we’d never hear it.  not in a million years …  ’   they already hadn’t heard the shit that had gone on with  josh ,  and that had been significantly closer …   what if this fucking psycho had gone after them first ??  what if they were both already dead ,  and none of them would know because they had no way to even attempt to contact them ,  no way of knowing other than to trek all the way out there when there was a killer on the loose. 

so he can’t really concentrate on the  who.  not right now ,  not when his mind has already gone to the  worst case scenario.  were emily and matt his favorite people right now ??  hell no.  did he want them dead ??  also  hell no.  he’s mentally checked out when kaitlyn suggests the washingtons as potential suspects   (  which he would have argued against  )   and comes back to focus right around when she asks chris about the gun locations. 

chris seems to take a minute to realize kaitlyn’s actually talking  to him ,  and longer still to register her question and his response to it ;   ‘  no.  and ,  I mean …  even if I  did ,  they’d be locked up.  and without josh …  ’   he trails off.  another beat of silence.   ‘  wait ,  there was one at the shooting range.  but that’s all the way back down the mountain ,  near the cable car station.  if you could get that far ,  you might as well just make a break for it …  ’

fuck.  this one is silent ,  because chris definitely has a point on two levels ;   there’s no way the washingtons had firearms up here in lodge that weren’t locked away ,  and if they could get the one they  did  know about ,  it would be virtually pointless.  which really fucking sucked.  he’d feel a lot better if kaitlyn was armed …   ‘  great …  ’   he lowers his head for a moment ,  sucks in a breath.  maybe what he’s about to say isn’t necessarily going to be  popular ,  he doesn’t really know but ;   ‘  so ,  someone’s gotta go after em and matt ,  right ??  ’   mike says finally ,  raising his head to address the room.

        already, kaitlyn can see the thoughts forming in mike’s mind, the obligation to go off in search of matt and emily.  but if he thinks she’s going to let him wander out there to save their asses, he’s got another fucking thing coming.  “ maybe that distance’ll work in their favor, ”  she remarks, not sounding particularly concerned.  perhaps she should be, for mike’s sake if nothing else, but she just can’t bring herself to care about what’s happening out at that cabin while the lot of them are in danger here.

        right  ...  of course the firearms would be locked up.  kaitlyn has to give them props for their gun safety, even if it’s incredibly inconvenient at the moment.  that does mean, at least, that if they can’t access the guns, neither can this killer.  “ okay, well there has to be some other options around here.  baseball bats, knives  ...  something.  i’m not walking around here with a murderer roaming around the place without some kind of weapon in my hand. ”  the fact that she’s already gone this long without something to throw around or swing is a miracle.

        ah, and there it is.  kaitlyn had been wondering when mike would voice that idea.  already, she’s shaking her head.  

        fortunately, sam also doesn’t seem too keen on the idea.  “ i’m not sure how good an idea that is.  at least in the lodge, we can attempt to have some control over the situation, but out there? ”  sam sighs, shakes her head.  “ we’d be moving blindly. ”

        “ agreed, ”  kaitlyn interjects hastily, giving mike a very pointed look, one that clearly says you’re not going.  “ besides, if this guy’s plan is to do as much harm as possible, why would he make that long trek just to trade  ...  six people for two? ”

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stardustvein​        /        mike.

mike lets out a sigh of relief as sam comes over.  at the very least ,  he can account for these people.  chris and ashley are shaken ,  but unharmed.  sam and jess are both well within line of sight and they’re safe.  for now.  and sam has always been a voice of reason even in the chaos ,  so having her around immediately comforts him on some level ,  though it barely touches the current level of panic that he’s trying to keep under control.  his grip on kaitlyn’s hand is unwavering ,  like if he lost this lifeline he’d been totally lost ,  adrift.  it’s not an inaccurate assumption.  

mike watches as jess heads over towards chris and ashley ,  then his gaze flicks back to sam as she poses the question ;   who ??  who was up here with them ,  and shockingly ,  despite the shellshock that threatens to consume him and make him a goddamn useless husk ,  mike has some ideas …   ‘  I don’t fucking know  —   but sam ??  they know us.  they fucking  have to.  ’   and that’s arguably the most terrifying thought of all.   ‘  jess said the doors were locked ,  that someone took the time to prevent her from being able to get to ashley …  that means they fucking knew the layout of the lodge.  or …   they’d been here before ,  somehow.  and …  ’   he lowers his voice more now.   ‘  how the fuck else would they know to make chris choose between ash and josh ??  his best friend and the girl he’s fucking in love with ??  that wasn’t a goddamn coincidence …  ’

        “ wait, what? ”  this revelation manages to pull her out of her thoughts a bit.  it’s not the first time a person has been mentioned as the perpetrator of all of this, but for whatever reason, mike’s words are the first to really cement the thought into kaitlyn’s head.  a person is responsible for this  —  real, human, mortal.  of course it’s a person.  because the werewolves had been a fluke, a one-time nightmare that kaitlyn never intended to relive.  as fucked up as it is, kaitlyn feels a sense of relief surging through her limbs.  a person, she can deal with.  she can deal with some kind of supernatural creature, too, but this is much easier.

        “ well, we’re all accounted for, except for  ...  ”  sam considers the thought for a moment, then shakes her head.  “ i can’t see emily doing this, no matter how angry she is.  and matt definitely wouldn’t. ”

        “ who would want to hurt you guys? ”  kaitlyn asks, her mind clearer now as she glances from sam to mike.  “ josh’s parents? ”  perhaps as revenge for the death of the twins?  but that doesn’t explain josh’s fate  ...  something tugs at her thoughts, an idea begging to be formed, but it doesn’t quite catch.  she waves a hand to dismiss the suggestion.

        sam straightens a little, an idea coming to her.  “ chris and i saw a wanted poster on the way up here  ...  it was old, but maybe worth mentioning? ”

        kaitlyn gives a half-nod, half-shrug, looking over sam’s shoulder.  “ hey chris, any chance you know where josh’s family keeps those guns?  if there’s some psychopath roaming around the grounds, we’re gonna need some kind of protection. ”

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stardustvein​        /        mike.

everything sounds  muffled ,  like his head’s underwater.  while he theoretically hears everything that jess says ,  he processes very little of it.  the doors were locked ,  mike.  why the  fuck  were the doors locked ??  he doesn’t know why his brain fixates on that ,  on the absurdity of it.  josh was  dead ,  who fucking cared about the doors ??  there was some fucking psycho up on the mountain with them playing fucking  games ,  or something …  the doors were  not  the important part of all the information that jess spills but …   ‘  why the fuck were the doors locked ??  ’   he blurts it regardless ,  not that he’s expecting jess to have an answer ,  but it buzzes around his skull like an angry fucking bee demanding to be voiced.  

kaitlyn and jess have a quick exchange that goes mostly over his head ,  but he does feel kaitlyn’s gaze on him and he holds her gaze with a furrowed brow for a moment or two.  then ,  he gives a shake of his head and begins to trudge back towards the living room ,  one hand still holding fast to kaitlyn’s ,  the other around jess’ shoulders.  at least until they reach the stairs ,  and mike lets jess start climbing them first ,  following quickly behind with kaitlyn.  

the living room is pure chaos.  sam paces with a worried expression ,  ashley is seated on the edge of the couch cushion covered in what looks like blood ,  her knees bouncing erratically as she hugs herself.  chris hovers near ashley protectively ,  his expression grief - stricken.  and  just like that ,  mike’s back at hackett’s quarry.  back when they’d first heard abi’s screams coming from the woods ,  ryan and him had dragging a bloodied nick back to campfire  —   he sucks a sharp breath into his lungs and shakes his head to clear it.  

        it feels a lot like an out of body experience, following jess back up the stairs and into the living room.  none of it feels real, because how could it possibly be real?  what is the probability of their ending up in a life threatening situation twice in as many years?  kaitlyn is grateful for mike’s hand around hers, anchoring her to the present.  if it weren’t for that, she’s fairly sure she’d have mentally removed herself from this situation entirely.  she gives his hand a squeeze as they reach the living room, both in an attempt to reassure and an effort to hide the fact that her hands are shaking.

        “ mike, thank god. ”  sam stops pacing the moment her eyes land on the three of them;  she immediately beelines towards them.  “ i don’t know what the hell is going on around here, but  ...  ”  she trails off, shaking her head.  “ are you alright?  kaitlyn? ”

        as sam’s gaze shifts between the two of them, kaitlyn nods.  “ we’re not hurt, ”  she assures sam;  to say that they were alright would have been a huge lie.  “ are they okay? ”  her attention slides in ashley and chris’s direction;  seeing them distraught, with ashley covered in blood is enough to transport her back to that night at hackett’s quarry.  it makes her feel physically ill.

        “ they’re pretty badly shaken, ”  sam replies quietly.  she and jess share a look and jess nods, heading over to the two in question.  sam watches her retreat, gaze slowly finding mike again.  “ who would do something like this? ”  her voice is quiet, but there’s still an intensity to it.  “ we’re supposed to be the only ones up here. ”

[freaksurrounded]

stardustvein​        /        mike.

fuck.  the minute jess comes into view ,  he  knows.  might not know  what ,  but he knows something is horribly ,  horribly  fucking wrong.   (  he’d always known ,  hoped it was just his paranoia ,  but …  )   the broken sound of his name leaving jess’ lips ,  the way she throws her arms around him …   it feels way too much like it had a year ago.  when they’d waited and waited.  waiting for the twins to come back and they never had …  it takes mike a minute to remember how to respond ,  he feels  numb.  like someone had injected ice water into his veins.  he doesn’t drop kaitlyn’s hand ,  but he does wrap an arm around jess in a half hug ,  and the thought floats unbidden into his brain ;   who died ?? 

he bites it back ,  and luckily kaitlyn seems to be firing on more cylinders than he currently is.  what happened ??  yeah ,  that’s the normal question a person would normally ask in this situation.  normal people didn’t immediately jump to  who died ,  but …  mike watches the tears roll down jess’ cheeks then  —   it’s josh.  michael ,  he’s …  he’s dead  —   he plays it over in his head.  again ,  a third time.  and with each reiteration ,  it seems to make  less sense ,  not more.  

‘  wait …  ’   mike barely manages it ,  squeezes his eyes shut and plays her words over in his head again ,  his own breath hitching.   ‘  what the fuck do you mean he’s  dead ??  we just  —   he was just  fucking  —  ’   did that matter ??  that they’d just seen josh ,  that he was safe in the lodge a few hours ago ??  no.  they’d all learned that lesson already ,  the hard way.  it feels like history repeating itself ,  and the arm that he still has around jessica tightens on pure impulse at the same time that he squeezes kaitlyn’s hand.  

        he’s dead.  it feels as though the world tilts a little beneath kaitlyn’s feet, and if it weren’t for mike’s tight grip on her hand, she’s sure she would have stumbled.  it feels like a nightmare, and she wants nothing more than to wake up.  she may not know josh well, may not be emotionally attached to him, but she knows that mike does and is.  and after everything mike has already been through, after everything he’s already lost, kaitlyn can’t bear the idea of him losing even more.  her hand tightens around his, a reminder that she’s here, that she’s not going anywhere.

        jess is shaking her head slowly, as though doing so will keep her own words from being true.  “ i was just relaxing and  ...  i heard ashley screaming, but i couldn’t  ...  the doors were locked, mike. ”  the idea that she’d been so close, that maybe she could have done something to help, to keep josh from getting hurt, is enough to make her feel sick to her stomach.  “ i got sam and we found ashley and chris and they said  ...  they said that josh was dead.  that some  ...  that some guy tied him and ash up and  ...  and made chris choose. ”  the shaking of her head becomes more frantic as she dissolves into tears again.  “ i don’t know. ”

        “ where are the others? ”  kaitlyn asks, trying to push through the ringing in her ears, the fear that wants so desperately to morph into a full blown panic attack.  her voice barely sounds like her own.

        “ l - living room, ”  jess answers shakily.  kaitlyn merely nods once, her gaze lifting to find mike’s.

[freaksurrounded]

stardustvein​        /        mike.

the second she turns to face him ,  mike is punched squarely in the face with  regret.  it’s not surprising ,  considering what they’d went through ,  that kaitlyn is also …   triggered   (  he hates that word  )   by whatever the fuck the commotion is ,  but he still hates to see it.  hates to hear that tiny bit of dread that she can’t manage to keep from her voice ,  hates the grim expression she wears ,  like they’re about to go back into battle.  he shouldn’t have fucking brought her here ,  shouldn’t have fucking  come.  maybe he’s overreacting ,  maybe it’s nothing.  but mike can’t help the way he immediately jumps to the worst conclusion ,  experience has taught him that sometimes ,  the  worst conclusion  is exactly what you get …  

he lets out a harsh exhale.   ‘  yelling ,  I think …  ’   it had to be yelling ,  for him to have heard it from this far away and with a whole floor separating.   ‘  and I don’t know why they’d be yelling …   maybe if emily was still here ,  but …  ’   he trails off ,  quickly running through the permutations in his head ;   jess ,  sam , chris , ash ,  josh  —   not exactly a recipe for an actual fighting ,  under normal circumstances.  mike quickly presses a kiss against her mouth ,  as if knowing they might not have much of a chance for that once they leave this bed.   ‘  I love you …  ’   he murmurs ,  brow furrowed before he kicks his ass into gear.  he’s almost positive he can hear footsteps on the stairs …   he takes a couple minutes to get properly dressed once more and waits for her to do the same before he offers his dominate hand for her to take and steps out into the hallway. 

        yelling.  that’s never a good thing, but maybe it doesn’t have to be a life-threatening thing.  if for some reason emily had returned to the lodge, it’s perfectly logical that there might have been a fight.  but something about the way mike presents that possibility makes kaitlyn think that he finds it improbable, and her heart sinks a little bit more in her chest.  it doesn’t help that he chooses that moment to kiss her and remind her that he loves her.  it’s perhaps the one instance in which kaitlyn hates to hear those words.  it feels like a precaution, in case it’s the last chance he’ll ever have to say it.  as if it could be a goodbye.  “ i love you, too, ”  she replies quietly, the words feeling like ash on her tongue.  and then she pulls herself out of bed and dresses, fumbling a little as she tries to keep her growing panic at bay.  the only comfort she receives is the feeling of her hand in mike’s as they leave the safety of the guest room and step into the hall.

        they’ve barely taken a few steps before a figure comes into view, rushing in their direction.  it takes a moment for kaitlyn to register that it’s jess.  “ michael! ”  she exclaims it through tears as she reaches them, throwing her arms around mike.  

        beside them, kaitlyn’s body grows rigid with fear and foreboding.  “ what happened? ”  she asks, because something must have happened.  something is definitely wrong.

        jess pulls back, a few tears rolling down her cheeks as she seems to remember that kaitlyn is there.  her breath comes in shuddering waves and she still hasn’t completely relinquished her grip on mike.  “ it’s  —  i heard screaming and i couldn’t  ...  ”  jess coughs as she struggles to get the words out.  “ it’s josh.  michael, he’s  ...  he’s dead. ”

[freaksurrounded]

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