It's a lot of fun getting to check the traffic to this story. Thanks for reading!
I'm updating quickly as a Christmas gift. So, Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
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Chapter 3 Contemplation
Successful communication turned out to be only part of a much bigger issue. Kate tried to remain as patient as she could, but her enemy wasn't always the Wraith, and the waiting was truly agonizing. How long would it take until they were able to complete a workable plan with sticks and tactile communication? Because Kate wasn't even entirely sure where to go with the little information she had.
It might have been premature for her to write 'escape plan' when it was more like 'escape aspirations.'
She also didn't know how long she might stay alive for.
When she next saw the Wraith, opportunity gripped her. She knew which message she needed to send first. STARVE. She wrote the barely legible message with twigs, and he pretended like he was slowing down in order to taunt her, when really, he was trying to read what she wrote. The feeling of being able to pause a killer for any reason filled her with ecstasy.
And he knew what she meant. Starve the Entity of sustenance. He chased her some more, again pretending to slow down so she could read his message in the dirt.
How?
Kate took a chance and pointed at him and then back at her. You and me. And the others, too. We'll work together, she wanted to say. The Entity won't be allowed to devour anybody ever again.
For the first time ever, a killer looked scared. It was a frightening revelation—staring at a scared being that held so much power. He grabbed at her to keep up the appearances of a hunt. Kate neatly dodged, performing a somersault.
Kate tisked. What was a good word for vulnerable? Exposed? Losing strength? How would she tell him that the Entity was getting weaker?
She didn't get a chance to write anything else. The killer suddenly looked at her with anger, his blue eyes dancing with rage. Her confidence shattered like a broken compact mirror. The edges of her mouth twitched downwards. He grabbed at her again and succeeded in catching her.
He's not willing to risk himself, she thought.
XXX
The Wraith sat alone in his dark room. Pitch black. He felt a kind of cold that didn't originate from his room, but it was like frostbite, nonetheless. It was deep and painful.
But most of all, it was lonely.
He felt a kind of coldness that clung to his soul—if he still had one.
The Entity was currently livid. If the Wraith's cold misery was not so deep, the Entity's white-hot anger would have thawed him out. What were the killers doing that they'd had no fatalities in thirty-eight days? Because shortly after the Wraith hooked that survivor girl in a rage, she'd been rescued by a teammate again. The rescue was embarrassing. He was losing his touch as a killer, apparently. He must have been really distracted by her proposition.
Each of the killers received a short torture session for their failures.
And he was angry because she dared asked him—of all people—for his help. She dared requested that he risk himself on her behalf. He squeezed his staff. Who did she think she was? Or better yet, who did she think he was? He was a killer, and he could not help her even if he wanted to. He had no power to stop the Entity that tortured him and the others regularly.
The Wraith thought of that survivor girl again. He couldn't get her out of his head. He'd been able to stay his hand long enough to listen to her. Not once but twice. He wasn't even sure what made him pause and listen to what she had to say.
The twigs and the tactile communication. Clever girl, he admired. Something that the Entity wouldn't be able to see. At least, not immediately.It was probably smart enough to catch on after a while.
ESCAPE PLAN, STARVE.
He knew what she meant. She'd figured out that the Entity needed to feed off of live beings in order to continue its miserable existence. If it couldn't eat, then it should die, right? The immediate problem with this plan was that the Entity could also feed off of hope. Hope and strong emotions. Maybe not as efficiently as sacrifices, but it still could.
He was surprised that he could still understand the survivor's message; it had been a while since he'd read anything. He used to like to read classics mostly, he remembered.
When he realized she was trying to communicate, it had been the greatest amazement of his post-life. If he could have seized in astonishment, he would have. The feeling of fingers traveling over his body—which was not quite his body—was extremely peculiar. But if he'd had more time, maybe he would have relaxed and listened some more. He thought he could remember a similar feeling of hands running over his body because he had loved before. But those memories were far away, and he had no desire to dig them up.
If these messages continued, the Entity would find out. Then it would severely punish the Wraith like it did a long time ago when he first resisted it.
And that's why he had to reject her request.
Right?
He couldn't stop thinking about the idea of escape, though. He asked himself again what had made him listen if he was so sure there was no chance of escape, especially since he was so scared.
Maybe it was just nice to finally be able to 'talk' to someone again. To rebel a little bit. He hadn't spoken in a really long time. Then there was also the curiosity that piqued his interest. And then the hope that followed. But he just couldn't do it.
A booming epiphany suddenly struck him:
Who was he?
That the survivor girl was willing to fight the Entity…
And he was not?
His eyes widened. The thought was the most vivid echo he'd ever heard—it revived his tired mind and body like a charged battery. How could he allow fear to control him when the survivor girl was willing to risk initiating contact with her hunter? She had to go through tortures just like he had to, and yet her tenacity was unchallenged.
It was then that he made his choice without even thinking about it. He would get out. He would go home. Because he was stronger than this, and because an eternity of serving the Entity was a fate worse than death.
The Entity was not a god. It could be starved and even killed, and there was a way to do this if he was careful enough.
In order to starve the Entity, he would have to cut off its resources: live sacrifices and strong emotions. The immediate gateway to accomplish this was obvious—kill the other killers.
If the Wraith could smile, he would. He'd have to do it quickly, but it was possible.
He looked forward to seeing the survivor girl again. Because he owed her a rescue.
And an apology.
And about a thousand thank you's.
XXX
Comment question:
Who is your favorite survivor in Dead by Daylight in terms of playability or lore?