Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Until Dawn or any of its lovely characters. This piece of writing is mine, though, so please don't take, repost, etc.. It's also rated T for language and some slight gore. I hope you enjoy!

The police deemed the events at the lodge to be the result of the mystery man the Blackwood Mountain Park Rangers had been hunting since 1998. The evidence was all there to them. Known threats to the Washington family, collected fragments of burnt newspaper detailing a suspect wanted in suspicion of arson all over the grounds, and fresh clues around the house all pointed to the mystery man. That's what they told the news at least.

The survivors knew, however, that this was not the case. Of course the police wouldn't believe their story of cannibals turned monsters, they'd disregard their story as the insane tale of traumatized children. There's no way they could tell what they went through without sounding crazy. Ashley, Matt, and Chris had wanted to tell the authorities everything, but Mike and Emily had brought up how absolutely ridiculous they'd sound. They had put it to a vote, Jessica voting not to tell because she couldn't bear the thought of their story being mocked all over the news and Sam finally voting no because the thought of people poking fun at Josh's death by wendigo made her sick to the core. So, they kept quiet.

When the inferno at the lodge had finally sizzled down, the authorities had informed them that they would be searching the grounds vigorously for their attacker and missing friend. Sam insisted that she come with them, rattling off why she should go for closure and to help them find clues until the authorities finally caved. She had to find Josh... or worse, his body, what might be left of it anyway. She had to say goodbye.

Chris insisted on going as well, for the same reasons. He had to make peace with his best friend, despite what Josh put them through. Mike joined in the trip as well, but not for the same reasons. He needed to see the place where they almost died again. He needed to understand and process everything that had happened. The doctors discouraged it, considering the risk of infection in his missing fingers, but that was just one more reason for him to investigate.

Emily couldn't bring herself to go back to that place. She almost died dangling hundreds of feet in the air from a broken radio tower and was almost eaten alive by monsters she had never thought to logically be real, not to mention that her ex-boyfriend had almost shot her to death in that place. No, she couldn't go back, never again. That's one nightmare she's resolved to forget and close. Matt, of course, stayed by her side and didn't join the group going back to the lodge either.

Ashley was too traumatized to join. She wanted to be with Chris and make sure he was safe going back there, but the fear was too much. The flashbacks of that place refused to leave her mind. Every time she closed her eyes she saw those horrible creatures and heard their spine chilling screams. Jessica didn't join them either, her injuries far too serious. The doctors said that she was lucky to be alive considering the trauma her body took. There was no way the doctors were letting her out of the hospital to go searching for clues in such an unsafe terrain.

After four days of hospital observation and police questioning, Sam, Mike, and Chris joined a team of firefighters, park rangers, and detectives to go back to the place that had almost cost them their lives, making sure that they waited until dawn.

A/N- The next chapters will be much longer than this, but I hope you've enjoyed the preface to my story and will stick around.