Park stared at her with sharp, dreary eyes. Clearly, he was bleeding profusely through his jacket and would soon start making a stain on the sheets. That was fine, since she was able to usually clean out the majority of stains from it. But what wasn't fine was the hard look he was giving her. The boy wasn't reacting viciously, but was instead as still as a fox, waiting for the bigger predator to pounce or even move.
Sally stood precariously still, not wanting to frighten him nor cause a commotion. She was sure if she moved even slightly, he would probably do whatever he could to escape that room. It would not bode well for how many killers were not that far in this pre-made building.
The building itself consisted of a large array of all of the current map keypoints. Here she could work on injured survivors, familiar in the circular emergency room of the asylum and others observed the current matches over the balcony of the Thompson house, or sit away in silence against MacMillan's upper floors.
Now, what should she do to progress? Time had stood still and she was sure he was ready to flee.
The Entity's breath fanned hotly throughout the room, ruffling the boy's hair and her skirts. He didn't look away from her but she could see him shudder.
She, however, had to move now. A new body was coming in, and she had to get them safely tucked into their own cot. From the corner of her eye, through the linen bag, she could see David appearing just above one, his body limp and heavily bruised from the fight he had just endured.
With a smooth turn of her floating form, she stretched her arms out and caught him with a strange ease, hands glowing alight with the help of her skill; her gift.
Well, if she couldn't work on Jake, she would have to make sure he wouldn't try to sneak out while she worked on Mr. King. She could see the puncture marks of the hook, the Entity and the sledehammer on the side of his head. There was quite a bit of damage, but she could make do with tending to these wounds. It wasn't like anyone else was anything to sneeze at when she came around.
Sally still snuck a glance towards Jake. She watched his stiffen a little at his shoulders, his face pale and his arms quivering from how he was holding himself up.
She didn't like him looking like that.
Putting her hands delicately in front of her and lacing her fingers, she approached as gingerly as possible towards him, though she was sure it didn't matter. She was prepared to get hit with a pillow or punched.
But he didn't move.
It was almost delightful, to see him just looking up at her and not running away. Although, she still wanted that prey aspect to them. If she tried to intervene again with anyone else's kills or fully disobeyed the Entity during a match, she wouldn't go about unscathed.
Her hands came up and settled on his shoulders, forcing him down back onto the cot as another breath passed by. Jake listened, cringing quite a bit before he managed to lay down. She tucked him gently into the cotton covers before immediately moving to the next spot, her hands opening for Ace Visconti.
Clockwork.
Now the question was how she was going to be able to get Jake patched up when she wasn't even really dead. Did the Entity miss the last shot to Jake's chest while on the hook, or was he just slowly bleeding out and dying without either of them realizing it?
For someone, she was getting really bad chills up through her body, no matter how dead she happened to be.
Sally tucked Ace's body into place before floating over towards Jake, who still cringed at her arrival. She still deemed this as good, as he was not freaking out and he wasn't finding her like some sort of safe territory.
Good boy, she thought. Be scared of me, because I must listen to my commands now. Hopefully, Meg had been able to say that there was something wrong as to why Sally hadn't hurt her. Right now, the only thing Sally could do was hope because she could no longer pray. Her prayers went nowhere except a void that simply echoed her sorrows and her distaste.
With careful and cold fingers, she began to unzip Jake's jacket to look at his wounds. He tensed up again, looking extremely uncomfortable, but that didn't stop her from carrying on. She had to see what had happened with the Entity and its serrated teeth. There was no way that it could have missed. There had to be purpose to it, as it was always looking to taste the blood of the survivors.
Once she began to lift up his black turtleneck, he made noises under his breath, clearly in distaste of the undressing. Sally looked up to him and managed a painful sigh. He was making it harder than what it needed to be, so maybe if she showed him she wasn't just undressing him for fun, he would relax.
She dropped his shirt and dipped down back across the floor to collect her supplies. However, she knew better than to let him leave her sight and spun around midway with her pick-up routine. Jake had one foot on the floor, his entire body shaking from fatigue and strain.
The Nurse stood up with her half-full basket of supplies on her hip and her other hand also positioning itself on her hip. It would at least show her displeasure in him trying to run away. She couldn't blame him, but she was still willing to scold him like a mother to a child.
Jake slowly tucked himself partially back into bed, but since he had moved so much, he was already in poor shape and couldn't make it back in.
Sally sighed again before she picked up her all of her fallen supplies, watching him still.
Even as she floated back over, he remained silent but he was eyeing her up and down. Now it was her turn to feel a little awkward since he wasn't cowering away anymore. She decided to not let it get to her. Instead, she focused on how she had to fix him somehow before the Entity noticed.
This time, instead of fully lifting off his shirt, she tugged on the hem of it, asking for permission. He chewed the inside of his lips for a moment before he sighed, shrugging off his coat and then moving to pull up the shirt. However, there was a quick realization that he couldn't. There was too much pain for him to function appropriately to get if off.
Sally had practiced this many times before with past patients. She began to help slide it off now that he was ready. Even as she lifted it up to his stomach, she could see the multiple abrasions, cuts, bruises and then the vicious, serrated marks from the Entity. He hadn't even got to his chest and she knew it was awful as drying blood coated his entire front.
After a moment of silence, once she was done with her medical analysis, she came to the conclusion that she had nothing to put him under with. Unless death counted.
Slowly, she sighed before she spoke to him, using the little voice in her head.
Hello. She watched him jump but continued. I'm afraid I'm going to have to put you under.
He responded, his voice low and quivering from the pain he was enduring as his shirt finally fell free. "Put me...under? Do you mean kill me?"
The Nurse looked over his chest and felt horror run through her as his body revealed that he was, somehow, barely alive. Only inches apart were stab wounds and Jake's still-beating heart. In awe, she almost forgot to speak again.
Yes. I cannot heal you without immense pain with stitching.
"So I survived for nothing?" he asked, his tone bitter.
You weren't supposed to.
An ominous growl echoed from high above, like the stomach of a large creature that was too close. She glanced upwards at the ceiling, feeling this awful chill cling to her very being. It was as though she was being sucked into a maw of something that had finally had enough of her duties.
Quickly! She pinned him against the table so hard he almost went unconscious, his head hitting the cot. Breathe little! Don't move, keep your eyes closed, don't make a sound! Just in case he wasn't quick enough, she tossed a towel over his face before he could even probably close his own eyes. She had moved room spots too, as she had immediately hopped from Jake's bedside to David King's, needle and thread in between her small fingers.
Darkness, like an unfathomable void, swept through the area. Suddenly filling her head were memories of her last moments at the asylum, with her deceased love and then the screams came, ripping through her cerebral cortex like a trapdoor spider clawing for front door prey. Pleas and ungodly noises drilled into her body as she knew that these sounds were from neither Heaven nor Hell. It was not the river of Styx, it was not the Underworld and it was not a place that was deemed familiar by human standards. There was no name to give it, for it was nothing and everything all at once, swallowing, choking, chewing and vomiting words of the forgotten realms.
It was only a second, but Sally felt like she had lost her mind for that single second. Bloodlust coursed through her veins for just long enough to leave her quivering and softly wheezing into her hands.
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Shivers cascaded up her spine. Sally looked up, seeing those legged teeth dancing in front of her face, aiming uncomfortably close to her eyes. She shook her head to answer, immediately straightening up.
ππππ€.
Pain swelled through her abdomen but she was left no time to scream as she was thrown across the room, landing on top of Jake's chest. There was the softest grunt of pain resounding from him that she could hear near her ear.
Sally glanced up towards his face, gagging on blood that was surfacing from her unseen mouth. She could see his right eye looking at her from beneath the mussed towel, wide and afraid.
She couldn't speak. Not in any way. In silence, she softly patted his face, fingers quaking.
The feeling of a knife sliced through her chest and Jake's, piercing through his heart so violently that his entire body jerked. He made no sound and appeared to die instantly. But it wasn't enough for the Entity, she could tell.
She was thrown again so hard she hit the wall, her bones becoming displaced in her left shoulder and her hips bruising. Her scream was nothing but air as she hit the floor, almost lifelessly.
It hurt. It hurt so much, but there was nothing she could say. All she could hope for was that they understood that not all of them were true monsters.
A shadow melted in front of her, removing light from whatever sources there were.
With a hiss, Sally looked up to see Herman's tortured face. His spiked bat was in his hands, but she could see his fingers quivering. It wasn't his usual twitching from his static shock. It was from something else. From the ground, she could hear the faint whispers of the Entity in Herman's ear.
His arm slowly raised up, shaking violently against a force. A noise, estranged and static, left his pried mouth.
She already knew what was happening and let her head lay on the ground.
It's okay, Herman. I know you don't want to.
Her punishment began.
The fireside was quiet. Meg and Claudette had paired up to go hunt for food, though it wasn't necessary anymore. For some reason their hunger had slowly begun to die off, making it easier for them to survive and not hunt so much in their spare time. Sometimes there were treats that were dropped off to help them live and they didn't question the idea of it, as it ranged from blankets to moonshine or even new clothes.
Dwight decided he wouldn't touch moonshine after the last time he had it. Quentin himself wondered if it would put him out so hard he wouldn't have nightmares, but Laurie was against it entirely. She wouldn't let him down the whole bottle just so he'd stop seeing his strange dreams. At least, not yet.
Feng was noisily talking about the diary entries with Nea. To her, they made no sense. There was no order, no names to give off and the pages sometimes were missing or not even filled in. It was frustrating her to hell. Especially because they didn't trust her little tantrums near the fire, especially Dwight. The boy had made it very clear that he wasn't quite comfortable around her when she was angry.
Nea herself wasn't bothered much by what they were missing. Sure, it was a pain in the ass, but she knew that they would come together to figure out how to eventually get the hell out of dodge. Right now, she had to trust the companions that kept sticking up for her.
Meg herself was suspicious about all of the endeavors and trials, as well as Quentin's constant nightmares. The evidence to anything was little and it was driving her nuts. They had managed to barely sew on the Hag's page into the rest of the spine due to how grimy and muddy it was. As well as the fact that Meg had it folded for quite some time in her back pocket due to forgetting it.
"Hey, Claudette?" she asked. "Has Quentin seemed a little suspicious to you lately?"
The other girl rose from the nearby bushes, raising an eyebrow as she had collected quite a load of herbal supplies. "Hm? I mean, yeah, a little. But that's probably because he never sleeps, you know?" Concern etched itself across her face for a moment, truly showing the woman's empathetic skills. "I'm hoping some of these are some herbs that will help him get to sleep. I'm pretty sure this one is chamomile."
Meg shook her head, amazed by the botanist as usual. "Alright, come on. Let's get back. I managed to at least get some rabbits, so now we gotta go back and skin them."
Claudette shuddered and Meg couldn't blame her. It wasn't happy work, but it fed them. Thanks to Jake, she knew how to hunt at least a little effectively and be able to not feel so terrible over killing wildlife. It was for survival, even if they couldn't even survive for that long without the trials wrenching through their hope.
A comfortable silence fell between them as they trudged on back. They came back just in time to see Laurie gathering the others around to talk about Myers and his presence. Feng and Quentin had never met him, but Dwight certainly had and was paler than a clean light bulb. He was hugging his knees and chewing on his lips so hard there were little bloody marks. He was the first to look up, beaming once he saw food.
Laurie turned, her eyes glowing with the fire. She smiled. "Oh! Welcome back, girls!" She gave a soft wave with her hand before she settled it back on her knees. "We got some more storytime in and we found another box. New clothes."
There was a very crude looking box sitting over near the hairline of the forest, clearly filled with quite a few items. Meg decided to not question it as she began to get to the skinning process, watching
Claudette immediately go out of interest to see what was in the cardboard box.
"Oh!" Claudette pulled up an outfit, blinking several times as she saw her name on a name tag that swung loosely from the sleeve. "It... It has our names on them?"
Laurie shrugged. "Who knows? I think if we get more clothes that help us blend in with our surroundings, that's great for survival."
Dwight cleared his throat, fiddling with his tie. "Um... But we don't even know where they could have possibly come from. Even if we do, it might not be safe to just accept so many gifts."
The gamer hit his shoulder with a snort. He cringed and rubbed his shoulder, clearly finding it a hard hit. "Don't worry so much about it, Dwight! We're getting things, that usually means good things, right? And I don't think clothing can hurt us when we're in trials."
"Unless it's too colorful," Quentin murmured, yawning widely for the sixth time within five minutes. "Then we'll end up looking like light beacons."
"Unless some of us are good at running." Nea folded her arms and legs, looking defiant. Laurie and Nea shared a small glance before looking back towards Quentin, detailing how they felt confident enough in their ability to run around without getting killed immediately. Nea was used to the cops. Laurie was used to her brother.
Quentin sighed and moved to lay on his side, turning away from the fire that burned bright for them.
"Tired, Quentin?" Meg asked. "You should-"
"No." His answer was so abrupt she stopped her skinning process. He had known what she was intending to say before she even said it. He continued with a sigh. "My nightmares don't stop, Meg. They never will until I get rid of something that I've been trying to for a long time."
"What's...that?"
Quentin chuckled at Dwight's timidness, finding it a tiny detail he could relate to. "Just inner demons, you could say."
No one replied and Quentin took the quiet blissfully.
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All of the survivors shuddered as the voice of the disgusting creature filled their heads. It was like an ooze that even dripped down their shoulders.
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There was a trial!?
That meant that the one before had already ended. But where was everyone? None of them had come back, but suddenly there was another trial, waiting to pick them up and whisk them away into nothing.
Quentin stood up first, his shoulders tense and the bags under his eyes suddenly more prominent than before. "Who is it!?" he yelled, his chin up towards the sky. "You know who it is, don't you!?"
All that answered him was the pathway to nowhere glowing crimson and a cold wind kissing the sweat on the back of his neck.
Feng grabbed at his shoulder suddenly, her face etched with worry and frustration. "What's going on Quentin? Do you know something we don't?"
Meg's mouth ran dry as he turned, a hateful look on his face just as fierce as Laurie's when speaking about Michael. His eyes had sparked brilliantly to life as if burning.
"Maybe I do. And I'm going to kill it if I can." His gaze flickered towards the dyed road, his tone hateful. "It shouldn't even be here, tormenting me, tormenting any of us. Yet, here we are." His fists clenched.
"If I can't kill it now, it will always run away with the answers I need, the people I want to protect."
Without warning, he took off down the road at full sprint, not bothering to explain anymore.
Right behind him was Laurie. She stooped down to grab her medpack and tore after him, her heels clipping along the dirt road as she strapped the item to her belt. She didn't call out, nor did she try to. It appeared she just wanted to keep up with him before he got hurt.
Feng stood up, immediately starting to trot after them. "We need one more if we're going to just fucking die!" she called over her shoulder. "Quentin, I'm going to kill you for not saying anything about this damn killer!" Unlike the other two, however, she was much slower, given how she was never that athletic unless she was being chased.
Following after them was Nea, who took her time. She cracked her neck, stretched back and rolled her ankles, all of which popped and crunched. Dwight cringed but she didn't seem to take notice.
"That better be some damn good rabbit when we get back," she said, waving a hand towards the others. "I'm with Feng on this one. When I catch up to him, he's got lots of explaining to do for not telling us about the bullshit ahead." Then she left in a jog, seeing the other two up ahead still racing at the speed of sound.
Meg, Claudette, and Dwight sat in silence, only hoping that their friends would make it back peacefully. If they didn't, the camp would become more and more lonely as the endless night went by.
Laurie grabbed at Quentin's shoulder once his footwork had finally slowed. His breath was heavy with hers but she managed desperate words through her panting.
"Quentin, you have to tell us what's going on." Her grip on his shoulder increased as she tried to make him come to a stop. Eventually, he did, his chin pointed away from her. "Come on, Quentin," she urged.
"If we end up going into a match we know nothing about, we'll be in danger!"
His shoulders tensed and quivered. After a long moment, he turned around, his eyes glittering with moisture. Laurie stopped, eyeing his fallen expression.
"I'm sorry, Laurie," he whispered, his fingers coming up to rub at the tear ducts. "I just want to fight it. Fight everything and live happily. I want-" he choked on a sob, "I want to save the ones I failed."
Her eyes stung with raw emotion. It wasn't every day a guy cried in front of her but every time it happened she felt for them entirely. They were always raised to not give into showing their emotions, so to have one man break down before her own eyes was heart-wrenching.
"We can do it, Quentin. And so can you." She gripped both of his shoulders, forcing him to look at her. With reluctance he was staring at her, a hand trying to hide the awful shape of his turned mouth. His sweater was even pulled up well against his arm. "We're here with you. Four of us against one. All that's standing in our way are five generators that we can power through."
He began to shake his head. "No. He's going to hurt all of you before we even get somewhere."
"Then I'll be a distraction."
Quentin looked up, his wet eyes showing shock and horror all in one color. "What? No! You can't do that? If anyone should do that it should be me, Laurie!"
Her hands came up to grab at his own, holding him steady with a gaze of iron.
"We can do it, Quentin. I've been an object of obsession for long enough. I can stall. I can run. I can survive. You just have to believe in me."
Her heart fell a little when he shook his head, pulling away from her a little. Feng was approaching, heaving air like a hungry fish at the water's surface. "He... He doesn't- he doesn't come when you're awake."
Feng gagged and looked up, heaving out a wheezing answer. "What? Say what?"
The highschooler turned away, rubbing at his shoulders. "He walks through dreams and kills people on through that. Once you fall asleep, you can't wake up on your own. Anything can happen once you're there."
Feng sniffed, straightening as Nea joined them. "So, you're telling me we can't even fight him? And we have to be asleep to see him?" She threw her hands in the air. "How the hell do we do anything when we're asleep!? We sleep in a game and we're dead! DEAD!" She threw her hands in the air.
Quentin turned around, his fingers slightly quivering from anticipation and anxiety. "I... If he is with this weird Entity...then I think he has to abide by some rules. Right...?"
"We'll have to see when we get there," Nea said, moving on ahead without them. Whatever they were going to face, if they died then they would make it back somehow. That was how it worked and she knew how to get away already. If she needed to run, she would run.
Silence would've fallen on them all but thanks to Feng it warded off.
"So how did you meet this guy? In your dreams, right?"
Quentin rubbed his arm, heaving a shaky sigh. "You could...say that. I wasn't the only one in my town either that experienced it. A lot of other teenagers did." His eyes became downcast, watching the crimson dirt pass beneath his feet. "Some of us didn't make it. Some of us were taken. That's why I'm looking for them now. I didn't imagine I'd end up in another realm entirely from the dream one." He sighed. "I can only hope that they're here. Safe and okay."
Feng gently punched his shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll be here with you. We're a team, at least. We..." She paused, clearly thinking of how to word her next phrase. "We're kind of relying on one another. I don't..." Another pause. "It's not my playstyle, but I'll go with it."
Laurie watched them share a glance and the mood lifted a little. She had almost forgotten that those two, who were almost completely different in demeanor and thought, were in a trial with Bill beforehand. Three against one. They definitely didn't pair up well but they did seem to have some form of a connection. Perhaps it was also because Feng saw how terrifying it was to die.
She closed her eyes, hoping to ward off the memories of what had happened to her back in Haddonfield. They had yet to return to that spot. For that, she was thankful.
"Um..." Hearing Nea's hesitance made her eyes open. "What just happened?"
Laurie stared, looking around at the new found place. Asphalt replaced dirt and buildings replaced towering trees of pine and cypress. Faded yellow and white lines traveled through a small piece of a town, where trucks and old vans had been long left abandoned for some reason or another. They had collected dust and grime from weather and some tires were even flattened in their time of existence.
The woman looked to the right, eyeing an ivy-covered, chain-link fence. Through it, she could see a small section of white picket fence blocking off a swing-set, a toy car and many other children's toys that were scattered around in the growing grass. Right against another fence, wood and made tall, was a hook that swung of its own volition.
The game has started, hasn't it? She shuddered.
"Start the generators," Nea began, crouching down low and making herself invisible in the nearby shrubs. "Look for clues, look for goods, look for anything we can use. We have to have the upper hand here, otherwise, we're all dead."
Laurie nodded and took Quentin gently by the bicep, shaking him a little to make him look at her. His gaze was already fogged in memories, his breath coming out in shakey clouds from the chill in the air. His panic was real and she had to get him out of it now.
"We've got to do this, Quentin. You know where to go, right?" He opened his mouth but she didn't let him speak. "Do as Nea said. Find what you can and get us out of here. I know what I'm going to do. You just have to help me."
Feng grabbed Quentin's sweater a bit by the sleeve to get his attention before she pointed in silence over towards the generator next to two parked cars. And a meat hook. He visibly shuddered but after a single glance to Laurie for encouragement, he made his way with Feng to where that spot was.
Laurie breathed a sigh before she looked up, deciding she could take a little "tour" around town to gather ideas of where to go, how to escape and how to hide. There was her glass shard in her pocket still and she knew that she could throw the killer off of anyone's track just by looking in the wrong direction. That was fine. As a babysitter, she could stand the hits but she had to keep this thing off of everyone else.
In a way, it was like being a mother bird, always remaining flighty to keep the predators away from the rest of the family.
She walked down the barren road, listening attentively. Almost nothing sounded but the rustle of grass and the slightest hum of the wind that could be detected winding through houses and homes. Or at least, that's what she figured they were. From the outside, she could see some paintings, carpeting and one even had a dimly lit fireplace. There was a lot to look at from her perspective but she had to stay away from the generators. She couldn't afford anyone to get caught.
A lullaby reached her ears. Children sang an intelligible song but it was just enough to raise goosebumps on her arms. Just enough to make her head spin around as it got closer.
What was this? Was this like the heartbeat from Michael? Was it different?
She didn't panic nor flee, her heels rooting themselves to the ground as she looked around as best as she could, looking for anything that would signify what was coming.
A chill washed over her. An ache appeared behind her eyes and she sighed, rubbing at them to try and wake herself up.
Oh God, why am I suddenly so tired? It's like I was hit by fatigue.
Laurie found it hard to balance herself. She laid a hand on the nearest car hood and put her forehead against it, feeling chills wave down her spine uncontrollably and she couldn't stop it.
Heat draped over her entire body, shocking her into a more wakeful state. Her head lifted up off of her hand only for her to see the spectacle of ash raining down from a sky that had become extremely bleak and grey, like a rainy day that somehow lacked all rain. Not only did she lift her head to see ashes but the familiar terror radius began to clip at her very body, acting as an alarm.
Something wet ran along her right ear, curving at the shell of it.
She screamed as she jerked away, immediately bringing her shoulder up to her ear to wipe it off onto her short sleeve. A cackle answered her, deep and riveting, so much so that it felt like frequency beats dropped itself onto her chest. She found the source of it as well and her heart leaped into her throat.
"Why, if it isn't Michael Myer's plaything. What a pleasant surprise!" Since when had these killers talked? Drying lips parted into a wide grin, revealing crooked teeth.
The man was about her height, posing with confidence in black boots and clothing that looked like it had been ripped or burned. It was if the man had escaped a house fire. His hat was tipped, angling down just enough over his face to hide more vicious burns. Her eyes took all of those burns in a second, seeing how they marred his skin and disrupted the original color of his own pigmentation. This man clearly had possibly been a victim of severe burning.
Hanging onto his hands were leather gloves, followed by what she knew was a weapon. Knives ran at least 4 to 5 inches in length, resulting in an awful claw that made her sweat.
Michael's knife was one thing but this was for someone much more agile than a walking brute.
"Seeing something you like?"
Laurie snapped out of her reverie to glare. She was met by the image of him licking up his blades, not once dropping his gaze from hers. Disgusted, she made a face and spoke with a hiss.
"No, no I don't. What the hell do you mean by Michael's plaything? What do you of all people know about that man?" Her defiance clearly made him snort and give quite a laugh.
"Oh wow, you do remind me of someone," he hummed, switching topics. "You remind me of a very, very familiar boy." The blades came up to his chin, mocking the "thinking" posture. "Ah!" A single claw went up before he addressed her, grinning like a bobcat. "I know who you remind me of!"
"Stay away from him! He's done nothing to you!"
Another wave of heat pounded at her, almost weighing heavy.
"Oh, he hasn't? See, that's where you're wrong, little miss Strode." His footsteps towards her made her immediately back up, feeling her heels click on the crumbling asphalt. "This is a little nitpicker we're talking about. A little boy that has been so incessant on finding his little gal friend that he has made me angry!" His claws raked up the side of the car she had just been at, leaving gaping wounds in the steel.
Laurie found her voice despite her drying mouth. "You will leave him alone!"
"You can't tell me what to do, little missy," he purred, suddenly stepping forward and dropping through the asphalt, disappearing like a mole. Laurie gawked again at the magic he had just performed, tensing up again as he breath fanned over her left ear. "Because you're in my world. I own you."
A generator popped over by the chainlink fence, where Quentin and Feng had gone. Judging by the slight shift of pressure behind her, the man had looked up.
Without thinking, she popped a foot behind her. Her heel dug into his shin, causing him to curse and pull back to tend to his leg. Laurie took this chance to run forward and then around him, sprinting as hard as she could.
Hearing him growl behind her was awful. It was one thing, again, to have Michael Myers, who made no sound at all. This man was clearly able to get under peoples skin with his magics and his tone. It was like a fox or even a grinning leopard on you. Perhaps it was even worse but she couldn't decipher which one. Not yet, anyhow. What she couldn't put her finger on was how he had disappeared under the black asphalt.
Laurie took a sharp turn towards her right, ducking under a hook and passing by a pallet.
How did he disappear like that? Was it something only he could do? The Nurse had an ability that had her go through walls but this seemed different. Maybe even more lethal.
Quentin's voice echoed through her head. If you fall asleep, you can't wake up on your own. Anything can happen once you're there.
Laurie paused to look over her shoulder. He wasn't there but the heartbeat still was. She ran up a flight of stairs, knowing very well that he could hear her.
Was she dreaming? Did she just happen to fall asleep right at the car?
Nea's own generator popped in the distance and judging by the light, it was in that house that was just off of the road, right next to the largest building. Perhaps a school?
Keep it up, guys, she thought as she climbed out of a window. I think he's angry.
S
he jumped to the ground as the noise of swiping blades echoed behind her. It looked like he had just barely missed her and thanks to Nea's teaching, Laurie was able to land with a roll and sprint off. Balanced landing wasn't easy but it was a great thing to know how to bounce off of the ground and not break your ankles.
"You little bitch."
Out of instinct, she leaped to one side, avoiding another swing of the claws from her right side. He stood there, grinding his teeth, letting his fingers scratch against one another and hiss.
"You're a clever little one, aren't ya, missy? Well, I'm afraid playtimes over. You can jump around Mikey-boy all you want but you're not gonna do that with me. Not when I have other fry to catch."
Dirt fell away from her carefully placed feet. It was like standing on a coffee table and you misplaced your feet on the old glass. It didn't break. It just fell.
She screamed as she felt herself fall into nothingness. With the fear of being buried alive flashing through her head, it stopped as abruptly as it had started. The soil wrapped itself around her waist like a hand. She could feel it holding her legs still and crushing her hips, even as she wiggled to try and free herself. Pushing off of the ground didn't work either.
More magic- No. More of what he wants, what he can do. This is his realm.
"Now hold still, so I can make this all nice and easy for us both."
She flinched and shut her eyes, watching his arm rise up above his head. The babysitter braced for pain, to where it would force her to slowly bleed out and die again.
"Laurie!"
The blow didn't come but fear twisted in her throat. She dared to look up, feeling cold shivers despite the heat of this state.
The killer chuckled up above her, menace dripping from his tone as they both eyed Quentin up and down. His hands were greasy and his eyes were wide but he seemed to know exactly what was going on. His eyes searched over the area, passing over the killer, his lips curling into a snarl.
"Leave her alone, Freddy!"
Laurie struggled helplessly. "You fucking dumbass!" she screamed. "Run! Run away! I'm doing this for you, don't be a dumbass!" His eyes landed on her and she threw her fist so hard on the soil that she felt her pinky dislodge at a negative angle. "RUN, GODDAMNIT!"
Freddy raised a hand, aiming for the boy who now took off and ran. Quentin was fast and ducked inside the nearest building but that didn't make this killer frown. Not at all.
"He can only run for so long, Laurie Strode," he purred, looking at her from the corner of his eye. "I always catch my prey. Now, you be a good girl and mind your own business and I won't come kill you, too."
The soil relaxed on her body as he walked off where Quentin had disappeared to.
With a gasp, she crawled out of her dirt confines and stood up, trembling from head to toe. She had to get to a generator or find Quentin. Be a distraction, be a runner, not a punishment to others.
Remembering a generator inside the house she had just run through, she stumbled through the grass, crawling over the wooden vault then through the window. Her legs and hands quivered all the way and she could see blood from her broken pinky. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered but saving others that already meant so much to her. She couldn't lose them again.
Laurie shoved her hands into the generator, trying to make it spark and draw noise, trying to get it to blow up in her face. For once, nothing was happening. The machine was fixing itself so slowly that there were no skill checks to be found, nothing that popped up like it usually would.
"Come on, oh please come on!" It sparked almost nothing in reply to her. In anger, she stood up and shoved her heel into the mechanics of it.
The generator reacted violently to her outburst, throwing her leg to one side and, ultimately, her. Her head cracked against the wall and the last thing she could see was that ashes fell no more in her line of sight.