Her body was still, her breath stopped, she just was lying there in the fog on the cold stone. Time seemed meaningless as the little color the girl had slowly faded back onto her body and her fingers moved in slight twitches. Her chapped, purse lips parted and a small cloud formed as she exhaled slowly. Once the breath was over her eyes shot open in a panic, she quickly sat herself up and whipped her head around seeing nothing but fog. Her breaths were quick and shallow as she gripped her chest.
Slowly she began to calm down and moved both of her hands to look at them. Her body was shaking, she could still feel the pain, she had been killed. She placed her hands on her face and began to cry, digging her nails into her head to try and forget it. She sat there crying, not focusing on what was around her as the fog faded and footstep against stone slowly grew louder as it got closer to her.
"Good hunter, tell me why do you cry."
She stopped and slowly looked up to see a beautiful woman. The woman crouched down and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't be scared, good hunter. I am a doll, here in this dream to look after you," the Doll spoke calmly and after she said that she pulled the girl towards her into a hug. "There is no need to worry now," the Doll said continuing to try to sooth the girl, and it worked for the girl through her arms around the Doll and cried into her bosom.
"Why do you call me the "good hunter"?" the girl questioned as she pulled away from the women and wiped her eyes. "And where are we? Am I truly dead or," the Doll placed a finger on the girl's lips quieting her, then held her hand up to her mouth and giggled.
"One question at a time please, but you are a hunter of the dream this is due to the contract for the blood that is keeping you alive now, and as such you can not die till your contract is fulfilled," the Doll explained as she stood up while holding the girl's hand, bringing her with her.
The girl was truly surprised at the height difference between her and the Doll. She looked up at her in awe before shaking her head knowing what was just explained to her but finding it confusing, no impossible. She swung her hand away from the Doll, stepping back to run, and to find help, to get away from this alien place. Turning her back to the Doll she tripped on her first step and she looked back expecting to see the Doll trying to attack her, but instead was greeted by the sight of a small, skinny, pale, deformed humanoid creature.
"A monster!" the girl thought quickly before pushing herself up and running.
She didn't get far when she realized there was nowhere else to run. Just a white foggy nothingness that seemed endless. There was no escape, it was the end of the road if he wasn't already dead and part of a spell she would be soon. She turned around to see the Doll looking at her with a slight tilt to her head, she looked worried and confused at the girl's actions. Then she felt something crawling, slowly the girl turned her head to see that pale creature climbing across her shoulder. A cold touched sent shivers along her body as she looked down to see more of them, each disfigured in a different way, holding her feet and preventing her from moving. She was frozen stiff in fear, there was nothing more to be done for her to escape.
"Tell me how to leave… please," She slowly begged the Doll, but heard a hollow laughter in response, and it didn't come from the Doll.
"You, a hunter? You wouldn't last past dawn in Yharnam."
The girl turned to see an old man in a wheelchair slowly approach her. Yharnam, she knew that name, that was the place her brother was going to take her to cure her sickness. So that means she made it! The dot began to connect in her mind, the blood that the Doll said was keeping her alive, the contract, the only thing left was what was happening to her with the demons she was seeing, was this part of the contract as well?
"What is a Hunter? Please explain everything," The girl asked, still standing as stiff as a stick at the creatures that were still on her.
"Oh don't be scared of the messengers, they're enjoying getting a rile out of someone like you," The old man said with a slight laugh that sounded more like a cough.
"They don't annoy me, they frighten me!" the girl explained herself loudly as the Doll covered her mouth with both hands and gasped in shock with wide eyes, while the old man continued to laugh at the girl's misfortune.
"Oh good hunter, don't speak ill of the little ones. Speak words, they do not, but here in this dream where they live, they worship hunters such as yourself. Aren't they sweet for the care they give?"
The girl had a questioning, puzzled expression as she looked at them. "Sweet?" she thought as she look on at the small creatures. "P-please unhand me," she stuttered slightly but stated with as much confidence as she could muster before the ones holding her feet looked up with their hollow eye, giving a sense of sadness as the unhanded her and sunk away into the stone. The one on her shoulder stayed where it was and she gave it one glance before deciding to let it do as it wanted.
"Good well I believe introductions are a must. I am Gehrman, friend to you hunters," Gehrman stated as he looked up sighing at the girl's worried expression so she could talk.
"I keep hearing that I'm a hunter, but what does that mean?" She was a bit scared as to what being a hunter in titled her to do, she never once fought let alone killed!
"I'm sure you are in a fine hazy about now so I'll explain. As a hunter of the dream, and of Yharnam you are to slay beast within the nightly hunts. You will kill beast and return her during the day and upon death. Don't worry about your inexperience, you'll have plenty of time to learn during your hunts,"
"But I have nothing to arm myself with! I've never used a weapon!" The girl was hysterical, words came out but soon even she didn't know what she was saying in her worried panic.
Gehrman only laughed at her expense. The night would be long and the hunt most interesting.
A man wearing black pants with the suspenders hanging, and a long sleeved button up shirt laid on a metal table asleep. His left sleeve was rolled up above his elbow and a bandage was wrapped around his whole forearm. Slowly he began to toss and turn in his sleep, sweat building up along his body and he woke up abruptly. His body jolted upward and his wide eye were sickly pale yellow. He was breathing heavily and he closed his eyes and rubbed his head to rid himself of this headache that now plagued him. He groaned as he rested his head on his hands on and squinted his eyes open, now a more human looking dark brown. He looked over to the table beside him expecting to see his sister that he had brought to Yharnam to be cured of her sickness, but the table was empty.
He continued to lay there, his mind not registering what happened. Then it hit him, his eyes shot opened wide and he kicked his legs off the table, swinging himself off. His legs hit the ground and gave out completely and he limply crashed to the ground. His headache quickly evolving into something much worse. His hands quickly shot towards his head and he tightly gripped it as he screamed in agony, rolling on the floor. He felt like he was losing something of value and importance, no he felt it being torn from his very being, and as quickly as it happened it stopped. His body was still as he was laying on his back, blankly staring up at the ceiling, sweat drenching his body as he breathed slowly.
Taking in a few breaths he blinked a few times and slowly move each separate part of his body, until he realized he had gained full control over it. Holding a hand gently against his forehead he slowly stood up, looking around at where he was with a confused expression. The only thing he knew for sure was that he needed to leave and find help. He looked around the room walking towards a chair with a piece of paper on it with familiar handwriting on it, it read "seek pale blood to transcend the hunt." He turned to see some doors and he walked to them and pushed them open walking down the stairs slowly his mind confused and loss, leaving his body wandering on autopilot.
The heavy scent of iron weighed down the air as he took in a breath from the new room he had entered. He turned the corner to see a large, grotesque, black furred wolf with torn clothing hanging from its body. It was leaned over a corpse it's back turned to him, as it feasted on flesh of its kill. The man wasn't responsive at all to the terrifying scene before him as his eyes examined the body. It was a young woman in a blue dress, her left sleeve torn off and her forearm wrapped in a bandaged like his own. She had wide cloudy blue eyes, pale white skin, and black hair.
Her skin was peeling away from her skin and fading into light as if it was slowly burning. Her thin abdomen was ripped open as the beast was eating what was inside, blood leaking onto the floor in a pool, and out from her lips. Her expression was horrified and confused, and the man could look away from her face. She was familiar, was did he have to watch this, who was she! The man fell to his knees as he looked at it.
"K-Katherine…" a jolt of pain shot through his head as he quietly muttered that name, and it all came back.
He shook his head not believing what was before his very eyes, his little sister, she was dead. His hands balled into fist so tight blood began to leak out of his palm and drip through his fingers. Tears fell from his eyes as he stood there before he and grabbed one of the rusted intravenous stands. He let out a roar as he raised the stand over his head and ran towards the beast. The beast turned around when it heard him only for the man to bring the stand down on its head. As it made contact it shattered and the beast jumped back keeping its eyes trained on the man. The man was now without a weapon and stood watching the beast as it stalked around him blood leaked from its mouth.
Suddenly the beast closed the distance and swung its clawed paw out towards the man. He tried to dodge but was too slow and was swatted onto his back. He hit the ground hard and quickly looked up to see the beast raise a clawed paw and bring it down towards him. He pushed off the floor barely rolling out of the way of the attack and picked up a piece of glass and jabbed it into the beast's eye. The beast roared in pure agony as it lashed out, swinging its arms and hitting the man, sending him into a wall and successfully dazing him. He heard a low angered growl and looked up but it was too late the beast was already in the air, having leaped towards him. It's mouth open wide baring its bloodied fangs, and the man held his arms up to shield him as he turned to look away.
"NO!" he shouted as a click was barely heard in the background.
The sound of flesh tearing and blood spilling filled the air. The man felt blood drip on his face and looked up to see a woman wearing a worn brown leather dress, trousers under, and boots and gloves to match. She held an old weapon with a curved blade and handle as well saw teeth on the parallel end of the blade. This crude looking weapon had been stabbed into the creature's chest along with a pistol that was shoved into its mouth preventing it from digging its teeth into her. Even so the creature continued to growl out of hunger and hatred, then the woman pulled the trigger causing its head to explode into a lump of gore, spraying everywhere. She then followed by holstering her pistol and placing both hands on the handle of her weapon and ripped upwards, but got the blade caught and violently twisted it to pull it out completely, freeing it from the beast torso as she pulled in a downward angle. The beast fell forward and she pushed it back with her hand causing it to hit the floor with a thud.
The man thought he'd be sick, but then his savior beat him to it as she dropped her weapon and vomited on the floor. The man was surprised as he looked at the girl as she fell to her knees holding her stomach and coughing. Taking in a breath she stood up again and wiped the vomit and blood off her face and then held the other hand out to the man to help him up. The man took it and looked up to see a face he never thought he'd see smile again. Katherine, his sister was the savior that stood before him. He was frozen as she helped him to his feet. The man then wrapped his arms around her, bringing her close for a tight hug.
"I thought you were dead," he said as he cried while holding her.
The young woman, Katherine didn't know what to say because of what had happened when she was killed. So she just hugged her brother back, and for her it was strange because of course she could remember him but couldn't recall her own name. That was another thing they would need to talk about. They just held onto each other for a little bit longer as he eventually stopped sobbing and just quietly bowed his head to rest it on her shoulder.
"Marcus… we should probably continue on," Katherine said as she slowly let her arms fall to her side, but the man didn't move. "Marcus?" She questioned beginning to worry for him, only for her brother to tighten his grip.
"I was so scared… I still am Kate… please I don't want to feel that helpless again, don't ever leave me again," Marcus said slowly shaking as he held.
"I won't," Katherine said as her brother move quickly releasing her from his embrace and grabbed her shoulders so he could look into her eyes.
"Swear to me."
"I promise. Can you let go of me now? You're hurting me," she said as her brother raised his hands off of her.
"I'm," Marcus muttered quietly, not finishing his apology. "let's go," he said much more clearly as he walked around his sister and froze as he could still see a bloodstain on the ground, but there was no longer a body. "What's going on…"
And that's all folks. It was supposed to continue on to either the central yharnam lantern or the cleric beast, but I ran out of ideas... oops... I'm going to think about how to continue it from here and try to get another one out soon.