All of Our Mistakes Are Never Forgotten(StarlessandBibleBlack)PART-2

Everyone in the base camp gathered in the den to celebrate only a week left out here. We all gathered snacks and the last few cases of beer that remained in the fridge. That only left us with the hard stuff. Although I wouldn't turn down anything with vodka or whiskey, it still wouldn't be as enjoyable as a beer. For the first time in a couple of days, I allowed myself to relax. With everyone in the base gathered together, I wouldn't have to worry about Roger springing an attack on me. I took off my shoes and placed my feet up on the coffee table. For the first time in days, I was able to let down my guard.

That's when it hit me.

Roger wasn't with us. At first, I thought I must have overlooked him. As I glanced at everyone in the room once more, my worst fears were confirmed. Roger was nowhere in sight. I started to panic. He was sitting in a chair to my right whenever the movie first started, but he had now vanished. Without drawing too much attention to myself, I darted my eyes around the room and started looking for any sign of him. Out the corner of my eye, I saw movement. I turned my head towards the window to see someone's shadow being cast upon the snow by the floodlights. It slowly moved across my field of vision before vanishing out of sight.

"There's someone outside…" I whispered with my eyes still staring out the window.

David and Drake, who were both sitting on the couch next to me, turned their attention towards me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. What'd you say?"

"I said there's someone out there." I spoke louder this time and managed to grab the attention of everyone in the room. My boss paused the movie, and I could tell he was irritated at my disruption.

"Dammit, MacReady! What the hell are you blabbering about this time?"

I pointed out the window and spoke again.

"You damn well heard me. I said there's someone out there!"

My boss scowled at me, and I returned it with an even fiercer one. He walked over to the window and pressed his face up against it to look outside. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.

"By God, he's right. Someone is out there."

"It's Roger…" I said under my breath before leaping from my seat.

I zipped my parka up and rushed through the front entrance. While everyone else scrambled to gather their jackets, I rushed in the direction the shadow had been walking. I soon heard the familiar crunch of snow under boots as everyone else joined me outside. I turned a corner of the building and was met with the sight of Roger kneeling in the snow. I slowed my pace down to a gentle walk. I finally came to a stop about six feet from where he knelt. As I heard everyone else run up behind me, I held out an arm and motioned for them to stop. Everyone listened and came to a halt, leaving the only sound being that of the howling wind. I turned to face them and spoke with command in my voice.

"Stay where you are. I don't want a single one of you to move unless I say so."

Everyone nodded their heads. I turned and walked towards the figure that knelt in front of me. As I walked around Roger, I glanced down at his hand. Clenched in his grasp… was a straight razor, the blade shining brightly in the floodlights. My attention then turned to the green stains in the snow.

"What the hell is that?" I whispered under my breath as I leaned in closer.

��…Antifreeze…" he said with a hint of pride in his tone.

I was surprised at Roger's sudden response. I took a few steps back and withdrew the knife from my waistband. Pointing the tip in his direction, I motioned for everyone else to gather around us.

"Stay back and remain on guard," I let out. Outstretching a trembling hand, I watched as Roger kept his gaze pointed out into the void that surrounded us.

"Please, Roger… hand over the razor before something happens that you'll regret."

With breath leaving his mouth in a white cloud, Roger slowly turned to me. I'm not sure how long he had been outside, but his face gone pale and his hair had been frosted over. He slowly raised the blade. Everyone behind me gasped and moved forward. As they got closer, Roger quickly swung the blade around.

"All of you better back the fuck up right now!"

They listened and retreated.

"Listen to me, Roger. You need to consider what you're about to do."

He chuckled and brought the blade closer to his face.

"What I'm about to do? I've already fucked up my life beyond repair. Anything else I do can't possibly make it worse…"

Roger stood up, never breaking eye contact from me. I remained perfectly focused on him. I didn't want to give him any chance to make a move on me. He lifted his head up towards the sky and took in a deep breath. He let it out slowly, letting his breath go out into the air like cigarette smoke.

"It's not happy with us right now. In fact, it's down-right fucking pissed with a fair amount of us. You all have a little more time, but my time on this Earth has come to an end."

He slowly lifted the blade and as he continued to stare into my eyes.

"It says my death will be easy since I go first."

Roger then placed the blade up to his throat and sliced a deep gash into his flesh. The blade made a tearing sound as it ripped his neck open. I watched as the dark crimson fluid gushed from his neck and splattered onto the snow. As it traveled through the air, the floodlights caught the liquid and reflected on it with some kind of sick beauty. Behind me, I could hear multiple people vomiting. I'm not sure if it's entirely correct, but I could swear I heard someone faint and fall to the ground.

Roger dropped down to his knees, and the razor slipped from his hand. It fell into the snow and vanished from sight. Even though I thought it was over, blood continued the pour out of his gaping neck. It sounded like he tried to speak, but all that escaped from his throat was stomach-churning gargling noises. I had to place a hand over my mouth to stop myself from vomiting. I watched as Roger's eyes rolled up into his head and he finally fell forward.

At that moment, anyone who had not vomited or fainted crowded around his fallen figure. I didn't join them, however. I stood in place and stared out into the night. While everyone else was losing their sanity in front of me, I tuned them out.

The Shape had gotten closer. It was now halfway between the base of the mountain and our camp. I'd been watching it over the past week, and it had barely made it a quarter of the way as of last night. Although the physical proof stood before me, my mind refused to grasp the fact that it had moved that quickly. As everyone else hovered over Roger, I stared at The Shape. Even though all I could see was a solid black mass, I still had the uneasy feeling that it was staring right into my soul.

Day 23

We've come to learn that Roger cut the radiator tubes of the snow crawlers. There's antifreeze all over the snow. It didn't take long for the engines to freeze over and become completely useless. We can easily patch the tubing, but there's no point. Any extra antifreeze that we stored, Roger had cut the containers wide open.

My boss sent out a call on our radio asking for assistance this morning. It'll take a couple of days, but we should have new snow crawlers coming to pick us up. We've all made a decision this morning to cut our assignment short. As soon as new snow crawlers arrive, we are all getting the hell out of here.

While everyone else just seems saddened by Roger's suicide, Drake and I know what really killed him. He was manipulated, but we're not going to tell anyone that. Could you imagine what everyone would say or do to us if we told them Roger killed himself due to elements completely out of his control? I surely can, and it wouldn't be a pretty sight.

Day 24

Someone destroyed our radio in the middle of the night. We had all gone to bed saddened by the news that snow crawlers would take an extra three days to get here. They're being brought in by a fleet of army helicopters. Apparently over the next few days, the weather is supposed to be too bad for them to fly.

When everyone woke up this morning, we discovered that the weather had died down a little bit. My boss went to the radio room to see if the helicopters could make it through today and discovered the damage. It looked like someone had taken an axe to it. Shards of metal, broken glass, and fractured bits of circuit littered the floor. While everyone either stood in the room or looked through the doorway, my boss slowly turned to us and glared.

"I've had enough of this! I'm instituting a curfew. If I see a single one of you outside of your rooms past 10 p.m. without my permission, I will shoot."

I tried to speak up in protest but was silenced by the loud bang of a gunshot echoing throughout the room. My boss had pulled a pistol from his waistband and shot it into the floor.

"I'm only going to say this one more time. I don't want to see a single fucking one of you outside of your rooms past 10. Do I make myself clear?"

No one spoke a word, including me. We all nodded our heads and shrank back in fear.

"I said, do I make myself clear," he roared.

This time, everyone responded with a unison, "yes sir…"

"Good. Now get the hell out of here. I don't care what you do, as long as you stay inside. I'll be patrolling around here. I don't want to catch anyone somewhere you're not supposed to be."

As we all shuffled from the room, I felt Drake place a hand on my shoulder and keep me at the back of the group. He leaned in and whispered into my ear, being extremely cautious not to let anyone overhear him.

"Follow me back to our room. There's something I want to show you."

We returned to our room and he locked the door behind us. He then went over to the window and made sure no one was peering inside. When he confirmed that we were completely alone, he crawled under his bed and slid out a long metal case. He pulled a key out of one of the pockets on his parka and used it to unlock the case. When he lifted the lid, I was met with the site of a double-barrel shotgun.

"Jesus, Drake. Why the hell did you feel the need to bring this with you?"

"Because I don't trust some people. I know it seems like a paranoid thing to do, but I care about my protection as well as the safety of my friends and family. Right now, you're not only the one friend I have here, but you're also the only person I can trust."

He removed the shotgun from its foam cradle and held it up in front of me.

"I want you to take this to your shop and cut off the barrels. That'll give this thing one hell of a kick."

When he thrust it into my hands, I found myself unable to speak. My father had always kept guns in a cabinet in our living room, but I'd never touched one. This was my first time holding a firearm, and I was supposed to take it to make an illegal modification?

"Drake, have you lost your mind? How the hell am I supposed to sneak past our boss and get outside? If he sees me out there, he won't hesitate to put a bullet through my head."

Drake held up a finger and motioned for me to pause. He reached into another pocket and pulled out an orange pill bottle. He twisted off the lid and emptied a few of them into his palm.

"That's why we're going to give him one of these."

I raised an eyebrow, not liking where this discussion was heading.

"And may I ask just what exactly those are?"

"Suvorexant. They're pills for people with insomnia. I took one the first few nights we were here until I got comfortable. I have trouble adjusting to sleeping anywhere that's not my bed, so I thought I should bring these with me. All we have to do it slip one in his drink or grind it up in his food and he'll be out like a light."

I massaged my temple where I could feel a headache beginning to grow. Letting out a slow groan, I finally mustered up the courage to speak.

"Have you just completely lost it? I mean seriously; we're talking about drugging our boss so we can sneak into my shop and modify a firearm. Do you not see how asinine this sounds? This isn't normal."

"Normal? What part of any of this would you consider normal? We have something waiting outside that's drawing closer by the day. It drove someone in this camp to slice open their throat and destroy our snow crawlers. And now, I think it made someone destroy the radio. When you consider what's happening all around us, I would consider this plan to be quite normal!"

At first, I didn't exactly know what to say. I'd never seen this side of Drake before. I was unsure whether to be proud of him for standing up or be afraid at how commanding he could be. I went with my first option, and then reached out and grabbed the pill bottle from his hand.

We waited until dinner was cooked. As food was set out on the table, Drake and I went into the kitchen to make ourselves a drink. When I asked if anyone wanted me to make one for them, my boss and a couple of other people said yes. I was thankful that I would be able to drop it in his drink and not have to put it in his food. With all the drinks made, I took out a plastic bag from my coat pocket. I had ground up the pill to a fine powder earlier that day. I emptied the little bag's contents into one of the drinks and made sure to mix it well. I made a mental note of which drink to bring to my boss and set it down in front of him. He took a sip and then stared at the glass with a raised eyebrow. I felt my stomach turn at the thought of being caught.

"My God, this whiskey is terrible."

A wave of relief washed over me. I gave a laugh and set down the rest of the drinks on the table.

"I don't really know what you expected," I said with a laugh. "Don't expect good quality when the federal government is paying for all of our supplies."

He shrugged his shoulders and finished off the drink. I looked over to my side and saw Drake wink at me. Now, all we would have to do was wait.

It was around 11 p.m. when our boss finally crashed on a couch in the den. We left our room with the shotgun concealed underneath my parka. Drake had put a pistol in his waistband in case we got into an altercation and needed additional protection. He had managed to grab it out of the supply room before our boss locked the door.

We opened the front door and ran outside. Drake made sure to shut the door quickly, but not slam it and make a sound. As we made our way around the side of the building, we crouched under any windows to avoid detection. By the time we reached my shop, I could feel the cold penetrating my clothing. I opened the door and fled inside. The two of us basked in the warmth that filled the small building.

I pulled the shotgun from my jacket and placed the barrel in a vice. I was able to use a powered saw to cut. No one would be able to hear it over the howling wind outside. The saw made easy work of the barrel and was able to cut it off in under 30 seconds. I filed off any burs that remained from the cut and released it from the vice. We both exchanged satisfied glances and left the shop. As we entered back into camp, we made sure to shut the door quietly again.

"Well, well, well…"

Drake and I both turned to face down the hallway. Our boss stood at the entrance to the den, an axe gripped tightly in his hands. My throat tightened and I struggled to breathe as terror filled my body.

"It's not happy that you disobeyed its commands. You will have to be punished."

I reached into my parka and wrapped my finger around the trigger of the shotgun. By the time I removed it from underneath my clothing, he had already sprinted to us and swung the axe. Drake and I dropped to the floor as the metal blade pierced the door behind us. While he struggled to dislodge it, the two of us scrambled away with our backs still on the floor. With one final grunt, he pulled the axe from the metal door and turned back towards us.

"All you boys had to do was listen to me. Was it really that fucking difficult?!"

He swung the axe again. Drake and I both rolled over to the side as the blade made contact with the floor. The concrete chipped under the immense force of his swing, sending small fragments flying. By this time, others had poked their heads out of their rooms. I could see the desire to help in their eyes, but they were too fearful of their own safety.

My boss lifted the axe over his head and prepared to swing down on me. I pointed the shotgun at his chest and took a shot. The loud bang echoed throughout the entire base and left my ears ringing. The impact of the close-range shot sent him stumbling back into a wall. I watched as his arms slowly lowered, and the axe slipped from his hands. It hit the floor with a loud clang. I watched as the white shirt underneath his unzipped jacket began to grow a red spot. He slid down the wall and ended up sitting on the floor. He took one last breath and then toppled to one side.

"You… you killed him…"

I turned to find Drake still sitting on the floor and shaking with fear. It was at that moment I realized what I had just done. I had taken the life of another human being. The fact that I was justified in doing so still didn't settle right with me. I continued to sit on the floor and gather my thoughts as everyone left their rooms to come investigate. I tuned out their hushed voices as I stood up and walked towards the nearest window.

"Oh, God…" I let out under my breath.

The Shape had moved even closer. It now stood within the reach of our floodlights. They could barely reach it, but I could still see it. I didn't hear the shotgun hit the floor as I dropped it. All I could hear was a ringing in my ears. My vision began to blur around the edges and soon faded to black. The last thing I remember was falling to the floor and my head making contact with the concrete.

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Credit: StarlessandBibleBlack (Creepypasta Wiki • YouTube)