Two Souls Bound
SEVEN
"Tell me everything." Claudette says as she and Meg work on a generator. They're facing the Wraith, and Meg can't help but think of the conversation she had overheard before, about the killers struggling in the trials. It seems absurd, since Meg spends every second of the trials worried she's going to find herself on a meat hook.
"He laughed, Claudette." Meg says as she pulls out a broken piece of the generator. She's scarcely able to believe it herself. "He actually laughed. As in, human emotion."
"That's crazy." Claudette shakes her head, pressing a button that sends the generator roaring to life. "He didn't try to attack you or anything?" She dusts her hands off and stands up, and Meg does the same. The two start cautiously making their way to another generator, with its lights dimly flickering in a plea for help. Meg nods in agreement.
"I heard the others talking, too." Meg checks the area, just to make sure there wasn't a murderous figure with a bell nearby, and then starts working on the generator. "The one we're facing now? His name is Philip. I guess he struggles a lot with catching us? And the banshee lady was comforting him about it, and your soulmate was listening too." Claudette looks thoughtful.
"And Evan didn't attack you?" Meg shakes her head.
"Nope. He tried to intimidate me, but I think that's just Evan." Meg shrugs. "Maybe we were wrong about them, Claudette. Maybe they're civil outside of trials."
"We might be wrong…" Claudette concedes as they work on the generator. "But we also might not be. After all, even if they can't kill us outside of trials, I bet they can still hurt us. And they've never tried to approach us civilly, before. Ever."
"Well, there's a first time for everything…" Meg murmurs under her breath. And a plan starts to form in her mind.
…
She's cautious, and, for once in her life, patient. She doesn't want to clue Dwight or the others in to what she has planned. She offers to take watch, brushes off their protests- and Claudette's raised eyebrow- and waits for them to fall asleep. Then, she gets up and creeps into the woods, towards where she thinks the killer's base is.
There are three of them, at the fire. Evan, the girl killer, and Philip- the Wraith. Meg takes a quiet breath, resting on her heels as she watches them. She has no idea where the fourth one is, but she just hopes he'll stay away from her.
It takes a while. The killers don't talk, huddled around their fire pit. Evan is skinning some animal, the woman is fiddling with something in her lap that Meg can't see, and Philip is staring up at the night sky. None of them show any signs of leaving, and Meg feels her hope wane. Maybe this was a waste, after all. Still, she's here already. Might as well wait just a few more minutes…
Meg dozes off against a tree, still hidden from the killers. She wakes with a start when she hears a voice- Evan.
"Here you go, Sally." Evan hands her the skinned meat, and Sally nods her head in thanks. Or at least Meg assumes thanks, since Sally always has her head covered, even in the presence of other killers. Meg would wonder why, but honestly she's too impatient to launch her plan and she doesn't really care. Evan stands and stretches, and Meg's eyes are drawn again to the Soulmark on his shoulder. Is it her imagination, or has it grown? Her eyes might be tricking her, but she swears she can almost see some details in the vertical lines of the mark.
"I'm going to go see where Max is." Evan says, walking-thankfully- in the opposite direction of Meg outside of the camp. Sally calls something out to him, but Meg doesn't hear it. She waits for a moment, watching the remaining killers curiously.
From what she's been able to glean, Sally and Philip definitely seem less violent than the other two. If there were anyone to test her plan with, it'd be them. She takes a deep breath, gathers her wits, then rushes forward and stumbles into their camp and crashes into the ground.
The two killers whirl around in alarm, then stare in confusion at the teenage girl who has intruded on their camp. Meg lets out a hopefully convincing gasp, crawling backwards.
"I'm sorry!" She cries out, trying to put as much 'pathetic harmless girl' into her voice as possible. "I got lost in the woods, I didn't mean to disturb you, please don't hurt me!" She continues the act of terrified teen, while at the same time watching their reactions.
Sally and Philip seem legitimately confused. And they haven't murdered her yet, so that's definitely a plus. They glance at each other, and then turn to look at the girl. Philip steps closer to her, and the flinch Meg gives isn't an act, but all he does is hold a hand out.
"It's alright." His voice is quiet, soothing. The type of tone one would use with an injured wild animal- unless that person was Evan, probably. "We aren't going to hurt you."
Meg sniffs, looking up at them with the eyes she always used to get out of trouble with. "You won't?"
"Of course not." Sally says, hovering forward- why does she float, anyways? How does she float? Her legs are mangled, and it hurts Meg's feet just to look at them. "We never hurt survivors outside of trials."
Success! Meg makes sure to keep her elation hidden, instead putting on a relieved expression. "Oh. I didn't know that. I'm so sorry for bugging you, I just got lost, and this forest all looks the same, and…" She flinches when Sally gets on her level and wraps her arms around her. Meg is stunned as the woman shushes her,
"Ssh. It's alright, dear." Meg imagines she's smiling, even though she can't see her face. "I'm Sally, and this is Philip." Philip nods, holding out his hands to help both of them up. "What is your name?"
"Meg." Meg answers, wiping the tears away from her face and taking a half step back. They weren't hostile, but Meg isn't sure that means much in this realm. "Meg Thomas."
"Well, Meg Thomas," Philip smiles at her, and Meg is surprised to find herself smiling back at him. "Would you like help finding your way to your camp?"
"Do you know where it is?" Meg asks him, glancing quickly behind him. She needs to hurry this along- if Evan finds her, the charade is over, and she has at least one furious killer after her- probably more. Philip nods, and Meg smiles at him.
"Ok then. Thank you." And she finds she really means it. She had run into this camp hoping unrealistically that she wouldn't be killed on sight. Instead, she finds two rather kind individuals, both willing to help her.
We were wrong. Meg thinks giddily. They are more than killers.
"Your jacket has a tear in it." Sally comments, observing her. Meg bites back a retort. Of course it has a tear- she's been stumbling through hell and shoved onto meat hooks. "Would you like me to fix it for you?" She gestures to a pile of cloth by the fire, where Meg sees a small makeshift sewing kit. So that's what Sally had been doing with her hands earlier.
"Sure." Meg says, partially because she's still afraid of what happens if she angers them, and partially because it is cold out and she'd like to have a fixed jacket. She sheds the torn material and places it in Sally's outstretched hand.
"I'll make sure to get it back to you when it's done, Meg." Sally nods, then starts floating back towards the fire, still examining the jacket. "It was nice meeting you!"
"You, too." Meg says awkwardly, following behind Philip as he starts back into the woods.
What just happened?
…
Philip, Meg learns, is quiet. She knew he was stealthy in trials- the Wraith was by far the hardest killer to see in the arenas- but even here he doesn't say much. Meg wonders if it's because he's drowned out by the louder and brasher Evan all the time.
"You guys really can't attack us outside of trials?" Meg asks after a few minutes of silence. She's hesitant to ask, but she wants to make sure she's correct. Philip glances at her, then shrugs.
"We probably could attack you, if we wanted to." He says. "We're able to hurt each other- Evan and Max spar all the time as a way to keep in shape. But I don't think any of us care to." He offers a small smile. "I know it may be hard to believe, but we must submit to the will of the Entity just as much as you do." Meg frowns, thinking about this for a moment.
"What's the Entity?" She asks. She's purposefully taking smaller steps to delay returning to her camp, and she thinks Philip knows. He seems perceptive like that.
"The Entity is the lord of this realm." Philip answers, gesturing to the forest around them. "He's the one who brought us all here, and arranges the trials. We exist to serve and amuse him, all of us." Meg scowls at this. She doesn't like the thought of being a toy for anyone, much less a lofty god.
"Does he talk to you?" Meg asks. Philip looks at her, surprised, then nods.
"Yes. How did you know?" Meg shrugs, picking at the hem of her shirt.
"I've…watched you all, before." Meg admits sheepishly. "In trials and outside of them. And sometimes it looks like you guys are…listening to something that isn't there. Like you can hear things that I can't."
"The Entity often whispers to his servants." Philip nods. "He encourages us to go after our prey, praises us when we are victorious…shames us when we fail." He looks down at the ground, and Meg is reminded of the conversation he overheard between him and Sally the other day.
"Well, I can't say I like the thought of being murdered." Meg says dryly. "But I guess it makes sense- that you guys are pawns in this like we are." Philip nods at her.
"None of us have control over this situation." Philip says. Meg notices that he looks bitter about this, and feels a bit surprised. It never occurred to her that maybe the killers weren't happy with killing. She's always assumed that Evan and his friends relished shoving her and her allies on meat hooks. Meg stops and waits for Philip to turn back to look at her.
"Do you not like killing?" She asks softly, searching his face for an answer. He hesitates, then shakes his head.
"I do not. It is something that was thrust upon me, even before the Entity took me within his grasp." Philip smiles ruefully. "But we cannot change who we are." Meg thinks about this for a minute, then shakes her head.
"No. I… I think we can." She gives him a determined look, stubbornness shining through. "You, and Sally, and the others- you chose not to attack us. You know where we are outside of trials, and you and Sally could've attacked me just now. But you didn't." Meg smiles. "I think that, while we can't control the situation, we can control how we act in it. And I think we control who we are, as well." Philip thinks about her words for a minute, then smiles at her- a true smile, teeth and all. Meg thinks it makes him look rather handsome.
"Wise beyond your years, Meg Thomas." Philip nods. "Perhaps you are right. And perhaps we need not be adversaries outside of trials after all." He looks up at the sky, gaze wistful. "I do not enjoy killing, but I do enjoy a challenge. The trials provide me with those, even if I am last place among the killers." He turns and starts walking, and Meg follows. "I don't intend to stop fighting in those trials- and I don't think my brothers or sister will, either. But outside of trials…well, I see no reason why we can't all get along." Meg grins.
"I agree. And I don't think us survivors will ever stop fighting, either. But if none of us gave a challenge, the trials would be really boring for all of us." Philip gives a quiet laugh in agreement, and Meg continues. "If it helps, I think you're actually one of the scariest killers." She nods at the disbelieving look Philip gives her. "I mean it. You blend in so well with the shadows… You've given me and the others a few good scares in there." Philip smiles at her again.
"Thank you, Meg." They reach the edge of the clearing to the survivor's camp, and Philip stops short. Meg stops with him, waiting with a raised eyebrow as he hesitates.
"If I may ask… You have seen this before, yes?" He pulls up his sleeve and reveals his bicep, where a small mark resides. It's lopsided: one part of it is slowly growing, starting to reveal details, while the other part remains a solid black semicircle. Meg nods slowly.
"The survivor with that mark is named Nea." She says. "She's kind of a lone wolf. She avoids our camp, so I don't know much about her. I'm sorry…" She honestly wishes she could give the man more information about his soulmate, but she only ever sees Nea in trials these days. And Nea definitely hadn't seemed thrilled about having two killers for soulmates.
"Is she safe?" Philip asks quietly. Meg swallows as a rush of emotion floods into her. Seeing someone genuinely concerned about a person he's never really met… It's touching.
"The last time I saw her she was." Meg answers honestly. Philip smiles at her, then looks up at the sky again.
"Sally and I worry about her, our missing soulmate." Philip says softly. "I can only hope she is happy. But regardless, the Entity grows restless. A trial will begin soon." Philip smiles at her, offering his hand, and Meg takes it. "Good luck, Meg Thomas. Try to be a bit more careful wandering through the woods. Evan does leave traps out to catch game." Meg smiles back at him.
"I'll take that into consideration. It was nice meeting you, Philip. Tell Sally I said thanks. And maybe see if the other killers would be willing to be civil outside of trials. I'll mention it to the survivors as well." Philip nods, and turns and heads back into the forest. Meg is amazed by how seamlessly he melts into the trees. She takes a deep breath, then turns and heads back to where the other survivors are sleeping.
Maybe. Meg smiles to herself. Maybe this could work.
TBC
A/N: Another chapter down! And we get more of Sally and Philip (Caring Sally is the best Sally btw). I hope those two live up to your expectations, and if you have any tips on how to write them I'd love to hear it! The more the killers and survivors interact, the more interesting this story will get, so I'm definitely excited! I'm hoping to get at least two more chapters in before the end of the month, but we'll see if my schedule allows it. I'm also planning on updating Leashes soon, and maybe writing another oneshot or two for No One Escapes Death. If anyone has any suggestions for oneshots, I'd love to hear them.
As always, thank you for your reviews and encouragement! It definitely helps me continue to write, even on days when I struggle. Thank you all for being so awesome!
Until next time!
~EndWillows