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It was only a few weeks after the one year anniversary of what Chris referred to as “the Blackwood Pines event” when he got the call from Mrs. Washington. He had been living most of his days in a blur, waiting for any news on what had happened to Josh, and trying and failing to get his old life back.
Things had been hard when Beth and Hannah disappeared.
Things were even harder when Josh was taken.
When Mrs. Washington called him, he almost didn’t answer. He figured that it would mean one of two things: that they had found Josh and brought him home safe and sound and alive; but he knew that, realistically, the call was to tell him that they were giving up. That Josh couldn’t be alive. That they were going to stop searching, because they would rather continue hoping and praying that he would find his own way home, over finding his dead body at the bottom of an abandoned mineshaft. Chris took a deep breath, counted to five, and answered.
“Hello? Chris?” Mrs. Washington sounded tired. Relieved. Exhausted. Chris braced himself for the worst, closing his eyes.
“Hey, Mrs. Washington. What’s up? Any news?”
Silence. Chris waited with bated breath, assuming she was figuring out the best way to soften the blow. To tell him to stop waiting, because her son wasn’t coming home.
“We found him. Josh is home.”
Chris felt the moment freeze in time. He couldn’t have heard her right. Josh couldn’t be in the right condition to come home. Even if they had found him, he was down in the mines for over a year. Trapped with the wendigo for over a year.
“Chris? Chris, are you alright?”
“I… I need a minute, Mrs. Washington. He - Josh is really home?” Chris somehow managed to coherently convey, his hands anxiously shaking his phone against his ear. Deep breaths , he tried to remind himself. In. Hold. Out. Hold. In. Hold. Out. Hold.
“We found him a month ago,” Mrs. Washington continued, despite Chris’ plead for a moment. “He was finally well enough to come home last week. He’s been asking to see you. He… he says he doesn’t remember anything after arriving at the lodge.”
“He’s asking for me?” Chris asked, standing up and reaching for his coat without hesitation. If Josh wanted to see him, then he wasn’t going to make him wait another hour.
“Yes. If… If you’re coming to see him, though, then you should know that Josh still has problems. He may be well enough to come home, but he’s still not well.”
Chris paused. “What do you mean, not well? Does he still… does he see Hannah and Beth?”
“No, thankfully. He just… has a tendency to forget where he is. Who he is. His spells don’t last very long though, and they haven’t been violent. He just… gets scared.”
Chris nodded to himself, grabbing his car keys before leaving his apartment. “I’m on my way.”
The drive to the Washington’s mansion was quiet. Chris got used to the silence without Josh around. Josh had grown quieter after the disappearance of his sisters, but he had never been as deafeningly silent as his absence was.
Chris couldn’t wait for the silence to be filled again.
When he finally arrived, the front door was already unlocked and opened for him. He walked inside, looking around the once-cheerful place that he had once considered his second home. Now that Josh was back, perhaps it could become both of those things again.
He looked around, walking down the front hallway to the main living room, passing the family portraits without a second glance. Josh was home now, and he didn’t need to be reminded of Hannah and Beth.
Josh was sitting on the couch when he finally reached the room. The bags under his eyes were darker than Chris had ever seen them, his skin paler than ever, and his hair was shaggy like it hadn’t been cut in a few months. He had scars on his face, and probably his body too, but Chris couldn’t see them because his clothes hung over his frame like he had shrunk two sizes.
When Chris started to approach him, Josh looked up. He and Chris watched each other for a few minutes, taking in the presence of each other for the first time in over a year. Josh finally smiled gently at him, rising to meet Chris. (Despite becoming unhealthily skinnier, Josh had grown a few inches taller. Chris supposed he had a few wendigo physical traits left that wouldn’t go away.)
“Hey, Cochise. Been a while.” His voice was raspy and hoarse, like he screamed often. Chris rushed forward, pulling Josh into his arms.
Josh froze, hesitating before allowing himself to hold Chris back. They settled into each other, Chris holding Josh as tightly to him as he felt he could.
“Did you miss me that much?” Josh joked, but he held on just as tightly.
Chris relaxed, leaning more into Josh’s embrace. He was home. He was found. He was safe. None of them would ever be the same after the events on Blackwood, but Josh was finally home. He was there, in a tangible and physical sense, and a mostly-mental sense. Josh no longer heard his sisters' voices - which was good in Chris’ perspective, bad in Josh’s - but he did occasionally forget where and who he was. But that was ok. Because he was safe. Because he was home. Chris sighed his contentment when Josh burrowed closer, letting him rest his head on Chris’ shoulder. No matter the events of the past, Chris trusted him as much as he ever had.
“Chris,” Josh whispered softly, his rough voice easing a little in a quieter tone, relaxing his grip.
“Yeah?” Chris responded, backing up a little to look at him again.
Josh grinned, crooked and toothy and wicked, and he tightened his hold so Chris couldn’t escape. “I'm sorry.”
Chris woke up in his bed screaming. The Washington's had given up on their search earlier that week. Josh wasn't coming home.