5 hours until dawn

Despite her aching body, Kori made quick time back through the cave. Her joints screamed for relief that she couldn't give them. A mixture equal parts adrenaline and fear kept her moving hastily despite the pain. Her fingers kept a vice grip on the lantern illuminating her path. Visibly shaking, the lantern creaked as it swung under her unsteady hand.

While grateful for the light, she couldn't help but fear the possible return of the monster. Was monster even the right term? She wondered. The image of its bony, long fingers made her skin crawl. It wasn't an animal like she had originally suspected, but it certainly wasn't human either. Either way, she wasn't keen on finding out. At that moment, the only thing on her mind was getting to Sam, from there they would find the others and get the hell off the mountain.

She approached the hill she had left Sam at and tracked her way up, careful not to let her feet slip on the uneven ground.

"Kori?" Sam called out, sounding uneasy, seeing the light of the lantern.

"It's me," Kori said back quietly partially because she was out of breath and the other part because she didn't want to be too noisy.

Finally reaching the top, the throw the light casted a golden glow across Sam. The blonde let out a relieved breath when Kori came into view. She gave a genuine smile at the sight of the lantern.

"Kori, I'm so glad you're alright. After the shaking I didn't know if something happened to you." Sam explained as Kori drew closer.

"That shaking saved my life," Kori said "I don't know what it was. I doubt an earthquake, but- it was right there, Sammy. That thing from the woods was right there next to me."

Sam gave a wide-eyed stare. Her eyes ghosted over Kori's form and saw the fear clear in Kori's honey hues. The red-head was noticeably shaken and she was paler than Sam had ever seen her. Kori looked as if she had seen a ghost.

"Did you see it?" She questioned cautiously.

Kori shook her head, "No- well, sort of. I only saw its hand and it seemed... human almost, but grosser."

"What do you mean 'grosser'?"

"Unnaturally long, thin, bony," Kori pondered, "Hard to describe really. Try not to think about it too hard, I can assure you it was creepier than what you are imagining." She said seeing the contemplating look on Sam's face.

Sam nodded slowly, "Alright then. Probably for the best. I'm just glad you are okay."

"You too." Kori said back as she sat the lantern down and reached out her hand to Sam, "We need to get moving. I don't know where that thing went or how close it could be."

The blonde nodded and took Kori's hand allowing Kori to help her gentility to her feet, carefully minding Sam's bad leg. The girls positioned themselves so that Sam was once again leaning on Kori's unbroken arm with Kori supporting Sam's injured foot. Kori shifted uncomfortably, feeling the dried blood on her undershirt sticking to her skin. She couldn't imagine Sam was doing much better, but the two knew they had to carry on none the less.

Sam reached down and picked up the discarded lantern bringing it to eye line, "Right, at least you were right about the mining equipment. I don't think we would have made it far without a light."

"Point for the red-head." Kori joked lightly. Taking a deep breath she nodded toward the fork of the cave. "If we follow the tracks we should make it to an exit."

Sam stayed silent for a second before responding, "Unless the shaking caused cave-ins." She said realistically.

Dread filled Kori. She had already thought of that but hadn't wanted to say anything. The current condition of the mine was terrible and she had no doubt that intense rupture has caused something along the way to collapse. All she could do was hope it hadn't been the exit to fall.

"I thought you were supposed to be the positive one," Kori grumbled starting them on their path.

"Well, I'm not feeling too positive right now," Sam laughed dryly.

"Understandable," Kori agreed.

She was finding it hard herself to not let her own doubts set in- for Sam's sake. In reality, the odds were completely stacked against them. Two girls stuck alone in an old mining cave with a murderer on the loose and some unknown monster? Scenarios from Kori's favorite horror movies starting coming back to her and none of them were in her favor, but this wasn't a movie. It was real; that fact only making things worse in her mind. Reality meant there was no hero complex. The strong brave girl or guy were not guaranteed survival because they were crowd favorites, anything could happen.

However, Kori couldn't afford to think like that. Her friends were out there dealing with who knows what. They were all going through hell tonight. Her only comfort was that they were together. She knew Chris and Ash would stick together and it put her at ease that Sam had seen Emily and Matt join them before following Kori into the woods. The thought sent a guilty pang through Kori. If she hadn't run off they would all be together. Strength in numbers. All they would have to do is find Michael and Jessica and they could have left. But, instead, Kori let her emotions get the best of her and she ran, unknowingly dragging Sam into this hell with her. Sam didn't deserve this.

Sam's eyes sparked with determination as they walked. Even with her bum leg Sam moved with the same strength as Kori. Inside her mind, Sam was feeling the same self-reproach as Kori. Sam glanced over to Kori, her friends battered and shaken state only cementing how Sam felt. Kori shouldn't have been there. Josh had wanted Kori to stay home, she wasn't supposed to have come tonight, but Sam hadn't thought that was fair. Sam believed that Kori had just as much right to be there as the rest of them and insisted Chris bring her. In Sam's mind, she had unintentionally condemned Kori.

They slugged through the tunnels for minutes in silence. Their small talk was kept to a minimum and had fallen to mostly just one asking how the other was fairing. Both girls were wrapped up in their own heads and their circumstance didn't leave much to make conversation about.

Kori bowed her head looking down at her feet. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. Just a few hours ago they had all been safe up at the lodge, it had been terribly awkward, but they had been safe- all of them. Now even if they all made it back they would no doubt be attending a three-person funeral.

"Melinda." Kori breathed.

"Hmm?" Sam hummed, not understanding.

"Josh's mom. We finally know what happened to the twins, we have proof they're dead, no reason to put off the funeral anymore. Now with Josh." Kori choked slightly, "I don't know how I'm going to face her. She's already been through so much, Sammy."

Sam breathed deeply clearly searching carefully for her words, "It's going to be hard on everyone. For now, I think we should just focus on getting home ourselves, then we can decide where to go from there."

Kori nodded, understanding Sam's words. Now wasn't the time to be thinking of what will happen after tonight, she should be focusing on making it through the night first.

"I've got a theory," Sam said unexpectantly.

"And?" Kori asked, grateful for her friend's attempt at a distraction.

"What if this really is some 'Cabin in the Woods' stuff? What if there is a secret organization under our feet trying to kill us to appease some sadistic gods?"

If Sam was joking Kori couldn't tell. By the sound of her voice, Sam seemed genuinely interested in the thought of some sort of conspiracy. Kori couldn't blame her. With everything that was happening Kori couldn't deny that it all seemed too jumbled together. A giant game with mismatched pieces.

"At this point, I'd believe about anything."

Sam gave a huff, "Well, you're the horror expert here and the detective's daughter, what are your thoughts?"

Kori bit at her lips in thought, "It doesn't make sense. Any of this. Some of it seems staged, like the stuff with the killer, while other stuff has no explanation at all. I noticed something after escaped the room and we found Chris. I wasn't locked in that room for long, fifteen minutes at the most, how did this guy manage to lock me up get to Chris and have time to drag Ashley and Josh all the way to the shack? Not to mention all that blood on the walls and leading toward the shack, there was too much of it."

"You think it's a setup?" Sam asked.

The red-head answered with a shrug, "Could be. Could be just some asshole doing his best to scare us before the kill. A cat-and-mouse game, but there is a problem with that too."

"How would he have known where to set up and that someone would even be on the mountain," Sam stated, filling in the blanks of Kori's own thoughts.

"Exactly," Kori nodded confidently. Her mind streaming with things she had noticed over the course of the night. "There was no way for him to know we would come back, in fact, it's more logical to think we wouldn't have. He wouldn't have had time to set all this up on the fly. Everything has been too perfect on his end. The worst part about it is that he seems to know us."

Sam raised a brow at this, "What do you mean?"

"This guy has been one step ahead of us the entire time. He knows what we are thinking and where we will go. I wouldn't be surprised if he has the whole place under surveillance. He even knew my name, Sam." Kori said her voice growing more quite. "The only person who ever called me Korrine was my mom."

"You really are the detective's daughter." Sam jested thinking on Kori's words.

"My dad used to let me look over his cases with him, not the really bad ones, though. You get the hang of noticing things that don't add up," Kori explained with a shrugg. A long silence settled in. Kori could feel Sam's eyes on her and she knew Sam well enough to guess there was something the blonde wanted to say. "What is it?"

Sam opened her mouth, but quickly closed it. She made a sound like she was started a sentence but stopped. "You never talked about her. Your mom, I mean." Sam said quietly. Kori's brow furred. She clicked her tongue in thought. This wasn't exactly the best setting to be talking about Kori's MIA mother.

"There's never been anything to talk about. She left when I was little." Kori explained shortly. "My dad had taken me to the pier that day. We were gone most the day and when we came back she was just gone."

"I shouldn't have said anything," Sam apologized. Kori muttered a small 'it's okay, really', though she didn't convince Sam. Sam squeezed Kori's shoulder lightly with the arm that was wrapped around it in a sign of comfort.

Seeing that a change in pace was needed, Sam redirected Kori's attention back to the situation at hand, "So if the killer is a setup, what about the animal?" She asked. "You said it seemed human but wasn't."

"Now that I dunno. I'm kind of stuck on the idea it's something straight out of 'Splice'."

Sam glanced over to Kori, "I've never seen 'Splice'."

Kori gave a humorless laugh, "Probably a good thing then." Kori's own voice started to become ragged with each jerking step they took. The tightening of her chest returned and Kori took in deep shaking breaths. Sam was quick to notice her friend's struggle and pulled her weight back forcing Kori to a stop.

"Kor, do you need to rest?" Sam's soft voice was laced with concern. It suddenly hit Sam just how bad Kori's condition really was. Kori's current injuries only added to the stress on her body caused by her asthma not to mention the fact Kori was practically carrying Sam. A new wave of guilt washed over the blonde.

"No, we can't stop. Just, could you reach around and grab my inhaler?" Kori asked gruffly. Sam nodded and lifted her arm off of Kori's shoulders and fished around the girl's pockets for the inhaler.

While waiting for Sam to find the inhaler in one of her many pockets, the sight of a tiny orange spark caught Kori's eye on the ground. Her gaze quickly focused in on a small black object, its end was dimly lit with the faintest orange tint. Kori's stomach dropped when she realized what it was- a cigar, a recently discarded cigar. It became all too clear that she and Sam weren't alone in the caves and she highly doubted that the monster from before was a smoker.

"Uhm, Sam?"

"Finally, here you go," Sam answered lifting the inhaler up to Kori's mouth, thinking that was what Kori had wanted.

Kori didn't move to take the inhaler in her mouth, her eyes shifting from Sam to the cigar, inviting the blonde to follow her gaze. Sam gave a confused look before glancing ground at the ground as well. Sam stared at the dying light.

"The killer?" Kori's voice betrayed the fear they both felt.

"I have a hard time believing anyone else would come down here for a smoke," Sam answered back.

Kori pulled Sam back into a walk, this time with more vigor, ignoring her own pain. Sam was quick to follow suit understanding the need to get away as quickly as possible before the guy came back. They didn't get far before a voice stopped them both dead in their tracks.

"HELP ME! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME!?"

Both girls whipped their heads around at the sound fo the voice. It sounded frantic and scared, and frighteningly like Jessica. Kori met Sam's gaze.

"That's Jess!" Kori exclaimed, her mouth wide open. Her body filled with fear and relief. Jessica was alive, but not for long if she kept making so much noise.

"How did she get down here?" Sam questioned. Her tone drew Kori's attention. Kori watched as Sam squinted at the tunnel in question suspiciously.

"No idea, maybe she fell too. Sam we have to get to her. What if she doesn't know about the monster or the killer?"

Michael and Jessica had left the group hours before the psycho's attack at the lodge. Kori doubted either of them had the slightest idea of what had been going on that night, probably having been more wrapped up in each other than anything else. Then again, what if the psycho had found them too?

"PLEASE! ANYONE!" Jessica screamed again.

Kori was about to step forward when Sam pulled her back. Kori snapped her head in Sam's direction. Sam looked cautiously down the tunnel. Her lips had formed a tight line and she seemed to be struggling with something in her own mind. Breaking from her trance, Sam pulled Kori back shaking her head.

"Something isn't right."

"What are you talking about?" Kori demanded, her eyes darting toward the tunnel the voice was coming from. "That's Jessica, Sam, and from the sound of it she isn't much better off than we are."

Sam shook her head again, this time with stronger intent, "Why isn't Michael with her? You know as well as I do that Michael would never let Jessica wonder off alone." Seeing the conflicted look on Kori's face Sam sighed, "Remember what you said about things not adding up? That things seemed staged?"

Kori stood silently thinking. They had just come to the realization that the killer was down there with them. What if it was another set-up? Kori began to understand where Sam was coming from.

"So what? Do we just walk away?" Kori asked unsure, "It could be Jessica, Sam. She could be hurt, Michael could be dead for all we know." While she did get Sam's reasoning she couldn't imagine abandoning Jessica. Any anger Kori had previously held toward the more ditzy blonde dissipating at the idea of her in danger.

"I can't explain it, but this doesn't seem right," Sam said almost pleading with her tone for Kori to listen. "That cabin her and Michael went out to is at least a mile away from where we fell in. What are the chances that she just so happened to wander off and find her way into these exact caves?"

An odd chill raced down Kori's spine. Mismatched pieces came to mind again. Her head was telling her Sam was making sense, but her heart was pleading with her to help Jessica.

"PLEASE!" The voice, Jessica's voice, begged again. It started to sound like a broken record and, as strange as it sounds, slightly less like Jessica each time it called out. In fact, it sounded angry.

"It could be Jess," Kori repeated not sounding as confident as she did before.

Sam's body was tense against Kori's. Her eyes closed for a second as she shook her head, "And what if it isn't?"

Kori felt torn. She couldn't just leave Jessica to die, but after everything that had happened she couldn't guarantee it even was Jessica. She had seen first-hand what the psycho was capable of. What if Jessica was already dead? The psycho had killed her and was using her voice to draw them in? The morbid thought made Kori sick and it sounded insane, however, insanity seemed to be the theme of the night.

"CAN ANYONE-" The voice this time was cut off by a loud yell. A man's scream echoed off the walls followed by the familiar screech of the monster. The girl's jumped, and quickly turned themselves to race down the opposite tunnel.

They moved quickly to the best of their abilities. The sound of the screeching followed them as they fled. Every bone in Kori's body stung as she ran. She was basically pulling Sam along, forcing the blonde to move past the pain of her wounded leg to keep up. They had no sense of direction at that point. They moved frantically from one tunnel entrance to another, hoping that the monster would not be able to follow them.

The sound of a gunshot cracked through the air and startled both girls. Ducking down, Kori lost her footing and fell face first, dragging Sam down with her. Kori landed on her wounded side, biting into her lip so hard she felt a new layer of blood pour out. Sam was unable to hold in an agonizing scream as she fell onto her wounded leg.

Kori wheezed, her breathing became dangerously shallow as she fought for breath. She felt something hit her chest harshly and saw her inhaler laying on her stomach. Sam had managed to hold onto it throughout the whole ordeal and had thrown it at Kori. Kori quickly took two puffs from the object, breathing deeply while the medicine entered her lungs.

"SAM! KORI!" A voice yelled from down the tunnel. Jumping like a frightened cat, Kori rolled up into a sitting position. Her eyes focused on the dark-haired male running in their direction, gun in hand, Michael.

A tense, pain filled, yet genuine laugh took her as she watched Michael run toward them. He was just as roughed up as they were. His clothing ripped and covered in dirt and blood. The sight of his bloodied left hand caught Kori by surprise. Michael kneeled down and eloped Kori in a strong hug, which she returned. He smelled of musk and blood, yet with the vaguest hints of his cologne still clinging on.

"You guys are okay," Michael smiled at her. "You both look like shit, though." He asked letting go of Kori and moving to Sam.

"You're one to talk," Sam huffed out, hugging Mike as well.

Michael glanced over the both of them. His eyes widening as he really took in the condition of Kori's arm and how Sam clung to her leg. "Sweet Jesus, what happened to you guys? How'd you end up down here?" He questioned helping them to their feet.

Kori glanced over to Sam her eyes turning sad as she addressed Michael's question, "We fell. I had run off and Sam came after me then some creature started chasing us further into the woods."

"We saw the mine opening and ran in thinking it would be safe. It was too dark and neither of us saw the drop off- fell straight down. I don't know how long we were unconscious." Sam finished.

Michael cursed looking them both over. They both looked like pure hell, frightened and bloody... just like Jessica had been. Michael's fist curled at his side. A protective instinct took over him as he looked between his battered friends. He hadn't been able to save Jessica, he hadn't been able to protect them and now she was dead. He wasn't going to let the same fate take any more of his friends.

"No concussions, right?" Michael asked directly. He gently reached over, his thumb grazing the cut on Kori's temple causing her to tense. "Anything broken?"

"No concussions," Sam answered, "But I'm pretty sure Kori's arm is broken. I'm not to sure about my leg."

Kori looked at Michael closely. She had been so happy to see him she missed a crucial detail, "Mike, where's Jessica?"

Sam and Kori watched as Michael's face contorted into one of pain and they knew they had their answer. Sam covered her mouth with her hand, 'dammit' she whispered her voice cracking. Kori's eyes began to water. Jessica was gone and that fact led to a new questions- what was it they heard in the cave?

"Some psycho pulled her out of the cabin window and dragged her out to the mining sheds. I found her laying on the mining lift... I tried to get to her, but the lift dropped before I could reach her." Michael explained.

"Oh, Mike." Kori said softly. She reached over and placed her good hand on his forearm. Michael reached over and wrapped an arm around the red-head. Kori had meant to comfort Michael, but truly it seemed to be her that needed it the most. Kori didn't want to believe it. That was two friends in one night. Kori had been so sure that Michael and Jessica were okay, that she would have arrived back at the lodge to see both of them safe and ready to leave.

"The killer," Sam said quietly with a shake of her head prompting Mike to look at her in confusion.

"You guys know about him?" Mike asked.

Both girls nodded their heads. Kori casted her eyes to the ground leaving Sam to answer. "He was at the house. Kori thinks he's been watching us this entire time. He's been waiting for us to come back." Sam said. She saw Mike's confusion grow and quickly answered the question he was about to ask, "We are positive this is the same guy that killed Hannah and Beth. Michael, he-"

"He killed Josh too." Kori pipped up just loud enough to be heard.

Michal froze, his eyes searched Kori's face. her honeyed eyes were bloodshot and hollow. He tightened his grip on Kori. Michael's anger began to rise. That bastard was going to pay. First the twins now Jessica and Josh?

"Where is everyone else?" He asked Sam.

"Hopefully back at the lodge. Last I saw them Emily and Matt were meeting up with Chris and Ashley." She answered.

"That's good," Michael said his voice even. "I saw a map of this place in the asylum, these tunnels should lead us right back to the lodge."

Kori raised her head in shock, "The asylum? What were you doing up there?"

The asylum was the one place on this mountain Kori had never dared to go. To say she had been shocked to learn about its existence in the first place would be an understatement. She had always wondered why the Washington's had bought the mountain knowing about its history. The pure idea of the place gave her chills.

"That's were the killer went." Mike said, "After he killed Jessica I followed him through the tunnels and it led outside the asylum. I followed him in, but I never caught up with him. Accidently lit some old barrels of oil on fire. Barely avoided getting blown up."

"That explains the caves shaking," Kori muttered.

"I don't think the killer got far," Sam cut in. "Kori and I found a cigar not far from here still lit. We also heard Jessica, Michael."

Michael tensed at this. His body going rigged and he quickly shook his head, "Not possible, I saw her die." His voice sounded slightly unsure. Eyes ghosting between Kori and Sam, looking for answers.

"We know that now," Kori said. "The voice was calling for help. I wanted to go toward it, but Sam said something didn't seem right. We got chased off by that creature from the woods before we could actually see what it was, I'm almost glad now. It was more than likely the killer trying to draw us in."

"That bastard." Mike growled out, "When I find him-"

"I think we should focus on getting back to the lodge first." Sam insisted, "If the killer and the thing that chased us are both down here we are sitting ducks. The others might be at the lodge by now."

Kori could tell Michael would have rather tracked down the killer. His jaw clenched and his hands balled up in fists. She didn't blame him. He had killed Jessica basically in front of him. He deserved whatever it was Michael wanted to do to him, but it wasn't logical to stay. With Kori and Sam both injured Michael would be on his own and they were both vulnerable. This sense seemed to come to Michael as he nodded confidently.

"You're right. We need to get to the others." Michael looked between the girls taking a glance at both their injuries, "Kor, you can walk on your own, right?"

"I'll be fine, but you should help Sam."

Michael nodded. Walking over he gestured for Sam to give him her arm. The two positioned themselves so that Sam's petite form was leaning comfortably on Michael, who was defiantly a lot more steady than Kori had been while trying to help her.

Once the three of them were settled they began to walk down the tunnel in the direction Michael suggested the lodge should be. Kori trailed slightly behind the two of them only hoping the rest of their friends were there safe and waiting.

So... Have I ever told you guys how much I love you? If not I feel it's appropriate now. I am so sorry for these late updates. We all know life gets in the way, but even I find my absence ridiculous and I am more than sorry for that. I am so close to finishing this story and I plan to see it through. Someone asked me this before; I do plan to add chapters after the initial ending. There are a lot of ends that need to be tied before I happily leave this story completed.

We shall be seeing Josh next chapter! I'm biting my own nails at how this is going to go and I can't wait to see the response. I am really happy that you guys enjoy me going off canon with some of this and I do plan to continue that at some parts. Thank you guys so much for your patience and I understand if any of you are angry. You guys are so supportive and though this chapter was kind of slow I promise to it up to you in the next because it will be emotional. As always if there are any thoughts, feelings, or concerns feel free to PM me. Thank you to all the reviewers, followers, and favorites. Special thanks to 'soundwxves' for her sweet pm. I hope you like it :)