Chapter Text
[The Frozen World - Émilie Simon]
This place hadn't changed in a year. Was the snow as white? Sam wasn't sure about that. She was looking through the window of the bus, which was driving her to the blackwood pines, three hundred sixty-five days after Washington's tragedy. The sky had greyish tones and the top of the mountains were hidden behind the heavy clouds. A mysterious fog rose little by little. It wouldn't have bothered her one year ago, but today, it was different. Maybe Beth and Hannah's ghosts were floating here, beneath this wet grey screen, watching their friend coming back to the lodge.
She wondered how was feeling Josh. It was him, who asked everybody to come here and have a sort of birthday party last year. It was kinda paradoxical: he wanted to forget what happened to his sisters by celebrating their death. It was really weird. Anyway, Sam liked him enough to do that. If it was the only way to make him feel better, she was ready to commemorate the twins' lost with him. She missed him. He was the kind of person who had this little indescribable thing that could have made you melt. Even if he was often oversexualizing everything, she didn't mind. It was never unhealthy, embarrassing jokes. It was just ... Josh. His smile was pretty seductive too, like the rest of his body: his clear eyes, which had a strange but beautiful color between green and blue... His black soft hair, the shape of his lips, his olive skin. The only thing she didn't know about was... "Stop it, you stupid girl. He was your friend. There was nothing between him and you." she said to herself, realizing she was biting her lower lip.
A sudden stop threw her against the seat in front of her. She quickly took her pink backpack and step out of the bus. She deeply wanted to abandon it on the road, but it was a gift from her mother, so she'd better keep it. Joshua laughed at her each time she was bringing this babyish bag with her. At least, he took it for her each time, he could be a gentleman sometimes.
The night had almost fallen, the snow was already submerging her ushanka. She made her way to the cable car, but Chris wasn't waiting for her. Nobody was here, except her. She decided by herself to come back in the mountains, to find her friend who had disappeared in the depths of mines. Authorities were formal: he was probably dead. He couldn't survive without food, in the winter cold, wounded and alone. It was impossible. Nobody tried to search his corpse or the cause of his decease, and this was driving her mad. Yes, he had done stupid things, like this horrible prank, but he was, first of all, a human in distress. She imagined him, waiting for any kind of help that never arrived. Maybe the police were right. What was she expecting? To win a fight against tens of wendigos? She sighed and opened her backpack. A photo of her and Josh was inside, she was certain to have put it in her bag before she left, but she couldn't find it.
"I'll search for it later."
She climbed into the cable car and relaxed a bit. She wouldn't be disturbed by anybody, Washington's didn't want to enter in the lodge, after their three-loss, it was too hard. They gave her the key and didn't stop to repeat she could do what she wanted with it. She was surprised by their behavior. They weren't really curious about their children's death, as if they already disappeared from their memories. It looked like everybody on Earth had become blind. Friends, family, each of them had forgotten about Hannah, Beth, and their brother. She looked at the ground, while a tear was rolling on her pale cheek. She felt guilty and monstrous. She abandoned Josh. But now was the time to be forgiven.
Mike was still angry, because of what his "friend" had done, Chris was always avoiding the subject and Matt was neutral but too scared to go with Sam. And the girls... Well... They tried to forget this story as much as they could. Ashley was scared to death of Josh himself. After all, he hit her in the face, for a "revenge game". Sam was quite comprehensive. Jessica, after her hospital sojourn, decided to cut off contact with the rest of the group, including Mike. But she kept talking with Sam for a while. The two women admitted that Josh was their crush before the incident. Jess hoped so much that her boyfriend at that time said "yes" when she asked if he was serious about letting Joshua coming with them for their little... Shindig. In fact, the braided hair girl wasn't mad or scared anymore. The past was behind her and talking about him wasn't so irritating. For Emily's part, it was impossible to have a normal conversation when Josh was put on the table. She was turning hysterical and having nightmares for entire weeks about the mines and the creatures living there.
Someone knocked at the window of the cable car. Sam screamed out and hurried to the booth bottom. How was that possible?
"Who the hell are you?" she asked.
"If you stop yelling like a dying pig, maybe we will be able to introduce ourselves." answered a man with long straight black hair
"What do you mean by ourselves ?"
Once again, the man invited her to step out of the cabin. She obeyed and saw behind her interlocutor a young lady. She looked tired and worried.
"So...hum...Hello, my name is Lucas, and this is my sister, [Y/N]. I suppose you're Samantha, am I right?"
"How do you know my name?"
"Can we talk in the lodge? We're running out of time."
Sam nodded and followed Lucas through the woods she strode across, covered in blood and dirt, a year ago. She walked beside [Y/N], who didn't say a word since they had met. Lucas's sister had [Y/H/C] hair too, [Y/S/C] skin and [Y/E/C] eyes. She was hiding her chin and her lips into her winter jacket collar, but Sam was convicted that it wasn't because of the cold weather. The girl was hiding from something. Wendigos? Did they know about them?
"Are you alright, [Y/N] ?" she asked.
[Y/N] turned her head in a jump and quickly nodded. Before Sam could say anything else, Lucas shouted their names. They were in front of the lodge. The blonde woman breathed a huge sigh of relief. Finally, she would be able to take a hot bath, have some rest and find answers to her questions. Lucas opened the door and let his sister and Sam enter the lodge.
"Alright, guys, Sam is here, we can start our investigations." declared the tall man, by putting off his long black felt coat.
"What the fuck are you doing here, you all?" asked Sam.
Indeed, all the band was sitting in the living room. Chris stood up and explained to her that Lucas had contacted him a few weeks ago, to help him and his sister to find their common friend, Joshua Washington. At first, he was reluctant and doubtful. How Josh could have survived? But the revelations of Lucas convinced him to save his old best friend and tried, in turn, to persuade Ashley to come with him. Mike, Jess, Matt, and Emily have been informed too, one by one. They hesitated, as did Chris, and finally agreed that they couldn't let Ash and Chris alone in the mountains, where too many wendigos were roaming.
"And what's that super mega secret that changed your mind?"
"There is a way to get back from the state of wendigo. That's why [Y/N] and I are here. I'm the weapon, she's the brain. But we need as much help as possible, and this is the reason why we called the seven of you." replied Lucas.
"Maybe you could let your sister talk for just a second?" suggested Emily.
[Y/N] lifted her eyes in surprise and seemed more worried than ever. She walked slowly to the center of the room and sighed.
"Yes, there is a solution. Our father, Jack Fiddler, was a wendigo hunter. Chris saw him dying by the hands of a creature."
"He was your father? Oh God, I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. When we learned his death, we deeply wanted to get our revenge and become hunters too. Then your witnesses were broadcasted on TV and radio, with Josh's disappearance... And also the mysterious slaughter of two forest rangers, in the same mines. We had finally a true goal, which worth to die for: save our friend."
"Wait, wait, wait, how do you know him?" asked Mike.
"I have been in the same class as him since preschool, and when we entered high school he was giving me Spanish tutoring. He quickly became friends with Lucas, and... he and I were getting closer from day to day."
Sam felt something breaking inside her. Was it her heart? So when Josh said he was very happy that she had come to the birthday, was he only talking about a special friendship? Her cheeks got red and she had a lump in the throat. Lucas put maps, notes, and illustrations on the coffee table. The group paid great attention to [Y/N] 's brother's explanations. Sam's vision became blurry.
"Hey, guys, can you continue without me? I need to... rest a bit. I don't feel very well."
Lucas was about to protest but his sister stopped him and allowed Sam to go upstairs and have a bath. She headed towards the bathroom, locked the door and lighted some candles. She remembered what happened last year. Josh had hidden a camera and filmed her, naked, then only wrapped up in a white towel. If it has been kind of traumatic a year ago, today she was afraid to admit to herself the truth: she would have loved to see her in a bathtub, in Josh's arms. She felt like a true psychopath, but she couldn't stop thinking about that. Oh, how she dreamt to be in a flimsy outfit, in hot water, with him, the only man she had truly desired. While she was undressing, she was thinking about the things Joshua could have done to her in this bathroom, if she had invited him to join her the last time she saw him, in his normal state. She slipped into the water and imagined his body against hers. God, he was probably the hottest thing on these mountains. Her hand slowly reached her crotch and started to skim herself. She closed her eyes a few seconds and reopened them in a whisper. But what appeared in her sight absolutely terrorized her!
"Joshua? Is that you?"