My blood pumped through my veins as I ran through the forest, illuminated by harsh, blue moonlight. My breath was short and labored, hitching with every step. A thick fog swirled above the dirt, making it hard for me to get my bearings. It felt toxic, a deep burn residing in my lungs from breathing in so much of it during my short time here.
My chest ached from the hook that had sliced through it twice now. A dirty patch job with a rusted medkit held my skin together just enough to keep my organs from exploding out of my gaping wound. My clothes were drenched in blood, dripping down and melding with the black oil covering my hands.
Another generator. Just one more, and I would be free. She had already sacrificed two of us. She was not going to get me. I just had to find it through this fog.
There! I glimpsed the lights flashing through the tree leaves. Another generator. A single piston slowly pumped with power; it had likely been worked on earlier and subsequently abandoned. I could see puddles of dried blood surrounding the generator as I approached. She must have found whoever was here before they could complete their work. I knelt down in the grass next to the generator, pain flashing through my knees and spine from repeated strain working in this position. My hands deftly grabbed the wires and began twisting and connecting them. More pistons sprang to life with each passing minute.
I heard the scream of my final comrade in the distance. She had gotten him. I peeked around the generator to see her picking him up from the ground. Too close. She turned in my direction and I peeled back, praying she hadn't seen me.
She tossed his lifeless body onto a nearby hook, and the Entity happily swallowed him whole. Shit. No time to finish the last generator now. I crept away as quickly as possible and began my careful journey to the hatch, my last-ditch escape attempt. If I could just reach it before she found its location, I could escape. I had to be quiet. I had to be quick.
She was quicker.
I reached a small cluster of trees just before the clearing where I had passed the hatch earlier. Resting my hand against the trunk, I saw her to my left running towards the hatch. My heart sank. She must have found it earlier while hunting someone else. She reached the hatch, leaned down and slammed it shut.
A loud roar ripped through the air, and I lost my balance as an earthquake violently shook the ground. The ground beneath me split open, large cracks appearing across the dirt spewing fire from every direction. In the wind were the screams of all the tormented souls trapped in these trials, as one by one they were repeatedly killed and brought back, only to go through the agonizing process once more. I could hear my own screams with them.
My time was up. The cracks grew wider by the second, the ground beneath me searing my flesh. Fiery ash floated up from the Earth's wounds, making the air sting my eyes and throat. Every few seconds I could hear a distant bell toll, signifying the inevitable end. I raced to one of the exit gates, praying she would check the other one first.
I was in luck. The area was clear, and I sprinted to the conduit box next to the door. I braced myself against the brick and wrenched the bar down, power slowly siphoning to the door. I could hear her screech in the distance, coming closer to me. I would not die by her hands.
With only half of the required power siphoned, I abandoned the gate, crouching in nearby cover. She appeared in my view and frantically searched the area. The bell tolled, deafeningly loud. I clutched my ears and stifled a scream of pain. Blisters began forming on my skin, overexposed to the fires of the Earth. I begged for her to leave.
I was too slow.
A whirl of air rushed past me, and a bloodcurdling scream erupted from my lungs as the Entity pierced through the ground below me and ripped my chest open. More tendrils erupted from the ground and wrapped around my limbs, squeezing them tightly before violently twisting to the side. I heard my bones shatter, but the pain was already so overwhelming I couldn't feel them. My skin began to disintegrate in the wind, and my mind faded to black...
And with a strong rush of air I was back again. Completely healed, lost in a new location, broken generators with lights flashing around me. In the distance, I heard a chainsaw rev. I wanted to collapse where I stood, to give up the futile struggle. But I knew. Regardless of whether or not I fought for my survival, the Endgame would be the same. And I would wind up right where I stood one more.