The campfire crackled without warmth, casting a sickly orange and yellow glow around the clearing. The darkness at the edge of the campfire's glow writhed with hidden shapes and malicious intent. Chainsaws could be heard revving in the distance and piercing shrieks occasionally punctuated the deathly stillness and bone-chilling cold. Crows circled ominously, glowing red eyes observing everything.
A teen suddenly appeared by the campfire, unceremoniously dropped onto his back with a thud, gasping for breath and clutching at a bloodstained shirt that hid wounds that were no longer there. He just lay there for a while, his breathing harsh, eyes glassy, and body shaky with phantom pains that left a scream at the tip of his tongue. He remembered dangling from a meat hook, struggling to free himself and desperately praying for someone to help him as claw like appendages descended from the darkened sky and impaled him. The last thing he remembered before his vision went dark was a single thought.
"When would this nightmare end?"
He grimaced as he hauled himself up to sit on the well worn log. He remembered sitting here quite often, watching the flames rise and fall, with total strangers turned family and just waiting for the entity that brought them here to call. Exhaustion gripped at him and draped itself over his limbs like a well-worn coat of lead. He wanted so desperately to sleep, but every time he closed his eyes, he was back in the trial. Back to darkness, pain, and desperation. Panic had become a close friend, pushing him to his limits and beyond as he ran away from the screams and the haunting laughter of the monsters that called the realms their hunting grounds.
The Nurse, in her asylum, where he could still hear the screams of the damned if he tried hard enough.
The Trapper, where the looming foundry and dark mine dominated a forest of shadows and darkness.
The Hillbilly, in the farm that sits amid a sea of corn where the scent and feel of blood permeate the very ground.
The Wraith, in the junkyard where the ominous crunch of the crusher and the screams of the survivors fit together all too well.
"Monsters... The lot of them..." he thought as he ground at his eyes with heels of his palms as if to block out the memories.
"Clyde!" a voice cried out, accompanied by frantic footfalls and heavy breathing. The teen, Clyde, looked up before hiding a grimace of pain to pull the onrushing girl into a hug.
"Murf! Where are the others? Did they make it out okay?" he asked.
Murf all but collapsed onto the log. "Coming. I'm not sure where Sujan is but Alex was right behind me." She pulled up her pants leg to reveal a nasty gash and hissed in pain as the denim from her jeans brushed against the open wound.
Clyde sat down next to her. "Here. Let me.", he said as he pulled out a beat up medkit from beneath the log. He cracked open the latch and surveyed its contents.
"Only enough for a couple more patches before we have to go out there and find a new one." he thought grimly.
Murf didn't say anything, but extended her leg to him and let him put her back together. A few moments passed in silence, interrupted only by the splash of antiseptic and the winding of the gauze.
"You didn't have to save me, you know," she whispered quietly, eyes downcast. "We all end up back here anyways."
Clyde just shook his head as he pinned the gauze into place and carefully rolling the hem of her jeans back over her shin.
"It's not about not ending up here again. It's about keeping what's left of our humanity and not becoming one of them."
Murf just hmm'd in response. "I tried to save you, you know. But I don't think Macmillan liked you saving me. He just stood there, staring at you."
Clyde thought back to that time as he hung from the hook. Through the haze of the pain, he could barely make out the outline of the Trapper's form as he struggled to keep the claws from impaling him. He remembered the burning irritation and hate in his eyes as they stared each other down.
"...but he still killed you."
Murf's voice snapped him out of his reverie and he snorted.
"...yeah, no shit. But we can outsmart him and maybe, eventually... overthrow him if we worked together. We can't afford to be predictable and selfish."
Another two sets of footsteps soon joined them, and the two turned around to see Sujan and Alex stumbling out of the darkness, Sujan trying to keep the twisted frames and shattered lenses of his glasses on his face as he was helped along, and Alex toting her ever present toolbox and sporting her trademark smirk and grease stained cheeks.
The two of them hunched over, breathing heavily. "Sorry. I had to save this numbskull."
Then she shoved him. Hard. "What the hell were you doing looking for the hatch for, idiot?"
Sujan fell against the log with a crack. "I'm sorry ok! I panicked! I was hiding from him inside the Ironworks and couldn't see the gates when my vision went off and I thought you all left!"
Alex's eyes blazed with anger, and she hauled him up by his collar only to throw him down again. "You thought we all left? Why yo-"
Clyde stepped in between the two held Alex back. "We can't be fighting. There's better things to worry about. Let's get the two of you patched up first."
Just as he pulled out the last roll of gauze and the last bottle of antiseptic, a new sound of running footsteps reached the groups' ears and they turned to see a girl running up towards them, tracksuit scuffed and face bloodied. Her strawberry blonde hair was done up in a ponytail and tucked underneath a cap. But her eyes stared at them with an unbridled panic.
The group and the girl just stared at each other before Clyde spoke, summing up everyone's thoughts rather eloquently.
"Oh shit."
So this story was a theory I had about DbD's lore. Specifically concerning the Lost Tapes, Alex's Toolbox, and the various perks that you can read about the Lost Tapes in. We never see these people or hear about them. My theory is that these survivors are- were- mentors to the current ones. Where are they now? Read to find out.
Anyways, thanks for checking this little story of mine out. Leave a review, favorite, whatnot on your way out! It means a lot to me. Thanks!