Quintessential | Joshua Washington

Survival - VI

Stuart was dead.

Quinn felt the blood rush to her head, she felt a pain in her chest; she felt dizzy. She felt sick.

Stuart was dead.

Though she was vaguely aware of the others saying things behind her, she could no longer hear them, the blood pounding in her head had become incredibly loud. It was all she could focus on.

Stuart was dead.

Slowly she managed to drag herself to her feet and look down, her eyes locked with the dark vacant ones of her best friend. At least it was quick.

Stuart was dead.

She felt a hand on her own and she looked down; she saw Sam had grabbed her and she ripped herself from the blonde's grasp, she didn't want comforting right now. Why had the Wendigo thrown his head? Was it taunting her? But...why didn't it just come for them? Why was it keeping back? Quinn shook her head, she needed to think, they were in greater danger now than ever and she couldn't lose her cool – there would be a time for her anger and grief but this wasn't it. She had four other lives to take into consideration – Quinn was a hunter and it was time for her to act like it. Instead, she detached herself from the situation, keeping her breathing steady and controlled just as her father had taught her to; she started to look around the cavern, she spun on the spot slowly trying to take everything in...behind them. On the wall were markings, symbols...wards.

Slowly, she ran her hand over them; a ghost of a smile almost appearing on her face. "Quinn?" Sam's voice was quiet and worried.

"This is why it won't attack us," Quinn told them softly, "These are wards that keep the spirits away...pops set them up around the mines so there'd be safe zones." Her shoulders suddenly slumped and her hand balled into a fist. "Looks like he's still protecting me." The four friends watched Quinn in silence, their concern for her growing.

"Quinn, are you...?" She slowly raised her head but didn't turn to them.

"I'll be fine. Jus'...just give me a minute." She exhaled deeply.

She deduced that Josh must have wandered from his original spot into this one, which was probably why he was still alive – possibly the only lucky thing to have happened to him throughout his whole ordeal...that and his sister recognising, and not murdering him. 

The Wendigo was trying to get Quinn away from the wards so it could kill her too; she shook her head, a look of grim determination settling onto her face. "Not today you piece of shit." She made her way over to her duffle bag and rooted around in it for a few seconds before finding what she was looking for, she handed a pair to Mike.

"Are these...?" He examined them carefully and popped them on.

"Night vision goggles, yes indeed." She placed on her own and looked into the darkness in the direction Chris and Mike and come from. There is was. Lurking just outside of normal human vision, hanging back but stalking them still.

"Why didn't you wear these earlier?" Mike asked, "It would've made seeing a hell of a lot easier."

"Because they reduce peripheral vision, they're fine if you're in a space like this but wandering about in the dark with them can be dangerous, it's easier to be attacked from behind or the side." She explained, "You see it?" Mike nodded, and they both took aim. 

Quinn suddenly sighed and stopped aiming.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"Even if we can see it now, bullets don't do any actual harm. We need to lure it out and burn it, it knows we're here even if it can't always see us so it won't be going away any time soon." She glanced at Mike and he shook his head.