This is my first ever DBD fanfic... Just doing it because to be honest, no offense, but I have yet to see one that satisfies me on here. Not saying mine will be better, just saying the ones here that I've seen don't quite suit me. So... here goes~

Death is not an escape.

Those words rang in the ears of the young girl who found herself sprinting through sharp blades of grass. They stung her cheeks and arms as she ran, but she couldn't afford to stop now. The killer was hot on her trail, her heart pounding fast and loud in her ears. I'm not gonna make it, she screamed in her head. Staring down the window before her, she quickly reached out and threw herself over it as fast as she could...but not before the sharp blade of a knife came down on her and knocked her to the ground. I was just fine! How did he get enough power to -

Her eyes suddenly caught site of a tiny structure of bones hidden next to a locker. In that structure was a small fire.

Oh... Of course. As she was picked up, she saw one of the other survivors running over to save her. It was Bill. Her heart soared as she realized she might just get out of this trial...the way she'd wanted to, that is.

The second the girl was hooked, she didn't even need to push the Entity's claw away from herself as Bill ran up from behind the killer and lifted her off of the hook, turning to block the killer from hitting her. "Run, Meg!" She nodded and ran, feeling a short burst of endurance. Borrowed Time, she thought. Bless you. She looked back to see the killer lifting his blade to swing at Bill and down him on the spot, but just before the knife came into contact with Bill, Meg heard a small explosion from behind her. Running out from beside the locker came David, getting behind Meg and pushing her in the direction of the opened gate.

"Go on out! Dwight and I will handle this," David assured her, waving her out while Dwight stepped over to David from behind a tree.

"Oh... We will?" the nervous leader asked.

David resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead grabbed the other's wrist, heading over to Bill without giving an answer.

Bill came running around the corner, now bleeding, with the masked killer now in pursuit. Dwight and David quickly got behind him and the three ran out, following Meg's footsteps.

Behind them, the killer turned and smacked the brick wall of the gate and yelled in frustration, turning away as the trial map faded to black, taking the killer with it.

Arriving at the campfire, Meg sat on a log and awaited her rewards. Bill, Dwight and David joined her not long after, and they all silently accepted their rewards before going to the other campfire, the larger one that had become the main part of every one of their lives. This time they were all too tired to discuss how they might have ranked, so instead they all sat around the fire to see the others in silence.

Claudette walked up behind Meg and smiled as she put a hand on the young athlete's shoulder. "Back so soon? How'd it go?" she asked in her typical cheery voice, one laced with a French accent.

David looked up at her from Meg's right side and chuckled. "Easy. We all got out, and he even had us exposed after all the generators were done."

Dwight nodded in confirmation from David's other side, but still looked a bit spooked. Perhaps it was because he would have been sacrificed if he'd been hooked once more in that trial.

Meg stretched her legs out in front of her and rolled up the sleeves of her jacket. "Wonder where ol' Legion ended up with no sacrifices. You think the Entity punished him?" she mused.

Claudette chuckled as she sat on Bill's other side, leaning forward to look at Meg. "You're always wondering that," she noted, "aren't you?"

"We're always ending up back here at the campfire. It's been almost three years. We have this," she started, gesturing to the large fire before them, "the sad excuse for a 'store,' and the trial preparation area... but we always come back here. You can't tell me that not even once have any of you wondered where the killers go back to!" Meg retorted. "Obviously they go somewhere. They weren't just created by the Entity... Ask Laurie. Michael was a real person too. And Freddy. And I've heard about Leatherface."

Claudette shrugged, leaning back and closing her eyes. "As long as they're away from us, I don't really care where they are," she sighed, crossing her arms.

Dwight frowned. "You mean they actually do just live to kill us and sacrifice us?"

David chimed in from beside Dwight, giving him a teasing nudge. "Of course." As Dwight's expression suddenly turned to one of horror, he quickly explained his answer. "Just like we only live to run from them. It's the job the Entity gave them, just like it gave us. That's why they're called killers-"

"-and we're called survivors," added Bill, who'd been silent up until now. "It's just that simple. You should know that better than any of us. You were one of the first."

Dwight hugged himself in a most insecure way. "No... Remember what was found in the journals? We weren't the first... And we won't be the last. People die off once they give up hope of ever escaping... And that's when the Entity consumes them for real."

Meg laughed. "Yeah, because they all gave up too soon. We can't give up. The Entity isn't immortal. Someday we'll all be free. Even the killers."

Dwight's eyes widened. "Free to wreak havoc on the rest of the world?!"

Meg sighed. "No... I'm pretty sure most of the killers wouldn't."

Bill sat up slightly as he'd been leaning back. "Apparently, the more these people fought against the Entity, the more disfigured they became. So killers like the Spirit and the Doctor... They likely didn't want to become a part of this any more than we did."

"True..." Dwight sighed. "Still, I don't trust them," he insisted.

"For good reason," Bill confirmed, giving the younger one a nod. "You shouldn't. Not here."

"Trust them or not, I still can't help but wonder what they do when they're not in a trial. Do they sit and talk like we do?" Meg pressed.

"Are they even able to talk?" David chuckled. "I only ever hear them grunt when we smack 'em with pallets."

"Again, they're real people. I'm sure they know how," Bill reminded.

Claudette shrugged and sat on the ground, staring into the fire before them. "We can only wonder..." she mused silently.

Bill sighed and leaned back, arms crossed, closing his eyes. "You do that. I'm gonna rest up."

Meg let out a short hum, quickly getting lost in her own ideas.

Not too far off in the distance, Laurie walked toward the campfire, humming quietly to herself. Seeing the small group that had amassed there, she stopped. Oh, they just came back from the trial. I wonder how that went, she thought to herself, noting Dwight's expression. Still shaken up, naturally. Despite having been there longer than most of the others, including Laurie herself, Dwight never seemed to get over his fears of the killers and everything else that came with the trials. She stifled a laugh before arriving at the fire and gazing around at the others. "How'd the trial go?" she asked, looking at Bill and Meg. Obviously Dwight had been in the trial, given away by his expression of lingering fear, and Meg and Bill looked tired. Otherwise, she couldn't determine if it was David who'd been in the trial with them or Claudette.

David spoke up, answering both her verbal question and the one she'd been silently wondering about. "It was easy. Pathetic Legion."

Laurie smiled. Naturally that was the proud man's response. She still had no clue how hard it may have been. David always said it was easy, even if he was sacrificed, in which case he would say whatever goals they did accomplish before he was sacrificed were 'easy.'

"I almost got sacrificed..." Dwight replied, glancing up at Laurie. "But we all made it out eventually."

Laurie nodded once and sat down on the ground near Dwight. "Sounds good! So your rewards were plentiful," she chuckled, earning a nod from the four.

"Gotta say, I bet we pissed off the Legion," Bill commented. "Heard 'im hittin' the wall as we all headed out. Sore loser."

"Sometimes they get mad about that. Maybe the Entity punishes them for not doing well in a trial. After all, aren't we only here to have the Entity feed off of our fear?" Meg asked.

Bill sighed again. "More about this wondering crap? You gotta stop thinking about the killers. They don't give a shit about you, and gettin' curious'll only earn you a smack with a blade," he chastised.

Meg frowned. "I wanna see what they go through. They're people too."

Claudette raised a hand slightly. "Meg is right," she chimed in. "They are people. Or...at least they were. Maybe we can find out where they go after the trials."

"Yeah," Meg exclaimed, "exactly! Like, what do you think they do between the trials? Prepare for the next one? Or talk with each other, or even the Entity?"

Bill could only chuckle and roll his eyes at this point, shaking his head. "Silly silly."

Meg huffed quietly. "It isn't silly. I wanna find out. Next trial, maybe we should ask the killer."

Laurie listened in quietly but said nothing, eyes closed. What if she tried to talk to Michael; the Boogeyman? Would he stop and listen? Could he possibly have been as confused as she was upon first entering this strange realm? She knew he never spoke, but would he at least answer in nods, or even just listen if nothing else? Only time could tell... Perhaps Meg would ask him the next time she saw him, and if not, Laurie found herself wanting to try.

"Laurie." Bill's voice snapped Laurie out of her thoughts, and she opened her eyes to look at him as he spoke. "Don't you go pondering this stuff too," he warned. "It's dangerous. And it ain't worth it."

Laurie only bowed her head slightly, a grim expression on her face, before nodding slowly to acknowledge the old man.

Meg crossed her arms and huffed once more, pouting slightly. She'd gotten herself excited and Bill seemed to just want to rain on her parade. "It's not like being sacrificed in a trial will actually kill someone. It literally wouldn't kill anyone to at least try," she muttered.

Bill sighed heavily. "But risk getting hit? You know how much that hurts. Is it worth it?"

"I'll bring a med-kit," Meg countered.

"Do ya have any?"

"...No. But... someone can heal me." The girl glanced away. She wanted to try. It was better than saying she never even bothered.

Bill just stared at her for a few moments before speaking again. "You do what you want. But when it gets you hurt and ends up ruining a trial for you just 'cause you wanted to ask, don't come cryin' to me; that's all I'm sayin'."

"Yeah, yeah," the young girl mumbled, looking away.

Having heard her, Bill shot her a glance, but said nothing more.

Laurie stood up to head away from the fire. "I'm gonna go take a walk... I'll be back later," she announced. After receiving nods of acknowledgement from the others, she turned to leave, Meg's idea burning in her head. What if someone did try? Would the killer respond? she wondered. Maybe I should try next time I see Michael... I at least know him. Well, sort of know him. He's been trying to kill me, but I'm pretty sure in this world they have to play by the Entity's rules or else be punished. Why else would he have mercy on me and only do what the others do as opposed to kill me outright? Not just using a mori, but actually killing me... Yeah, I'm almost positive he can't. So maybe I'll ask. Worst case scenario, it costs me the trial. She nodded to herself, confirming her decision, but continued walking away from the fire to avoid mentioning it around Bill...who clearly disapproved of the entire idea.

Regardless, it was decided what Laurie would do the next time she saw Michael.