Dreader's Escape

Twenty

I felt completely numb as I limped beside Asher, arm wrapped around his neck and shoulders so that he could help keep me up. We were all extremely silent as we followed Simone, none of us really knowing what to say. I couldn't feel anything; it felt like I wasn't even existing at the moment. Every little bit of hope I had left in me from banishing that entity was now gone. I thought we were all going to get out of here alive, but I was sadly mistaken. I mean... Patience wasn't killed by the creatures, but that just means we have a huge chance at dying due to the natural causes of everything. Just like what happened to Mollie. Without Patience though, I feel nothing. She was too young... Wasn't even sixteen. She was just a little girl.

I felt the tears fall down my face, my grip around Asher's shoulders tightening. Asher noticed and held me closer to him, giving me a concerned look. I know he wanted to say something, but the words just wouldn't come out. After all, nothing he could possibly say would fix this situation. Nothing at all could fix this.

Was it even right to get out of here? I so desperately want to get this place shut down, so that no one would have to go through the pain that all of us have gone through; losing all of our friends... Our family. But even once we're out of here, would I be able to continue living knowing that I've practically lost everything? Was it worth it to stay alive once we're out of here? Would I even want to?

"How are we even going to get out of here, Simone? Is there even an exit? We're farther down than we're supposed to be," Taylor spoke up. Simone hummed as she looked around, a frown on her face. "There... Has to be a way out. The monsters are able to... Move freely around the mountain... They have exits everywhere, b-but... Being down here is not safe. I can feel it," she answered. "Is this place like another one of their feeding grounds?" Asher asked. Simone just nodded, not bothering to really say anything else about it.

I could hear the sounds of the creatures screeching in the distance; the smell of dead bodies growing even stronger the further we went into the mines. At this point, I just... Don't even care if the creatures kill me. I know that's not right, though... Even though I'm sure the three of us don't care what happens to us at this point, we're still going to power through all of this chaos and focus on getting the hell out of here. Even if we've lost everything, we can't allow anyone else to suffer through the same. Honestly, my only concern at the moment is making sure Asher and Taylor get out of here alive-- I don't care what happens to me. I'm injured, I'll only slow them down anyway. If the creatures come chasing us down again, I... I don't have any problem sacrificing myself if it means these two can get out of here. But I know Asher wouldn't let that happen.

I... Have to try. Even if I'm losing hope, I have to try. I know the others wouldn't want me beating myself up like this and talking about giving up. Our goal from the beginning was to get this place shut down; destroyed. If I die, I'd be throwing away all the sacrifices that had been made to get to this point. Giving up meant all of this was for nothing. That going this far and persevering through all this pain was a waste if it meant we'd die before doing what we wanted to do; save everyone.

God, was help even almost here? We don't need the people Lola called anymore, but it's not like we can tell them to turn around. Were the people that guy from Skiiscape called ever going to come or... Did they actually make it here, but just didn't survive? I don't think we'll ever know... Not until we get out of here.

Simone stopped, the rest of us stopping behind her, noticing her tensing up. "What is it--"

"Shh," she interrupted, glancing around. We all listened in to hear what she was hearing, the sound of the creatures growling sounding like they were even closer than before. "Run," Simone whispered, turning to us. Before we could even register what she had said, there was a loud crash behind us, all of us turning to see that a Betrayed has busted through the wall and was now facing us, screaming out and alerting any others that may be in the area. "Oh fuck!" Taylor hissed. Asher immediately picked me up and threw me onto his back, making sure I had my arms and legs wrapped around him as he began booking it down the mines with Taylor by his side. "Go, go!" He shouted, glancing behind for a second to see that it was not only that one creature who had busted through the wall chasing us, but three others, right behind it. "Simone, where do we go!?" Taylor yelled, following after Simone who was floating in front, looking each way to figure out where to go. "Simone!" Taylor called out again.