Im just gonna say this in every chapter that I re edit and write to clear things up. I re did this chapter, partially, hope you all enjoy.

The girl was simply fascinating, he knew that Phillip and Max could understand. They each had their own fascinations with a female survivor.

They'd grown close enough together to share these things, there was a general isolation of the three from most other killers. They were the veterans, they were the best and the most dangerous. Most likely to come back from a trial with a perfect game, so much so that not even the Shape could compete.

He might have had past experience in his outside life, but so had all three of them, and this realm had different rules than the real world, and he simply wasn't as versed in them as they were.

Of course he didn't seem to care, only ever desiring the death of whatever survivor the Entity presented him with and not competition. He had that particular obsession with the blonde who would stab killers in the shoulders if they tried to hook her.

Many killers had "obsessions" the concept first being brought to the Entity's realm with the silent killer.

The Shape's was the young blue eyed blonde girl. Phillip's was the Swedish girl, Max's the dark skinned healer, and his was the red headed runner.

He knew of others as well, The Clown, tended to be obsessed over whichever female survivor he found the most attractive in a trial. But the red head was his biggest obsession.

Evan wouldn't have even known if the Clown wasn't so open about the disgusting ways he talked about the survivors that caught his eye.

He had been playing this sick game for years now and while he couldn't remember all of it, he could remember every detail he's collected on the others perfectly. He did not know if it was the same for the survivors, but he was confident in the assumption that their memories were just as bad.

The question of if it was foul play or not was ludicrous. If the survivors truly didn't remember everything as well than it was obviously the Entity's doing.

The survivors were of less use to it if they gave into despair after all.

Hopefully if that was the case than the little rabbit had been spared some of the memory of what she'd suffered through.

It was fitting that he was a killer though and not a survivor. Even if he had wanted to be a good person he had not been strong enough to stand up to his father until he had nothing left to loose.

Now his punishment was being forced to murder against his will, and endlessly have to listen to the Clown and other killers talk indecently about both female survivors and killers alike.

Although the moments they challenged him to a fight were quite cathartic. Getting to beat them into a pulp for their comments about his red head or few killer friends would almost always be fun.

And he'd never lost yet, and that was why he was feared. Him, Phillip, and Max, the unstoppable trio who'd never lost a fair fight against any of the killers who came at them.

There had been plenty attempts to cheat, other killers taking a swing at their back to cripple them, luring in the more mindless killers into the fray. But after so many failed attempts they rarely tried anymore.

Didn't matter what killer or their power, if they had even a slight sense of humanity or self preservation they hesitated at the sight of the original three.

Of course some killers were constantly locked in their realms until a trial due to their animalistic nature. Such as that freak Demogorgon or the hulking Nemesis.

They were incapable of feeling fear or any self preserving emotion.

But that didn't matter to Evan at that moment, as he stood there in his realm, a recreation of his home estate outside the trials. He couldn't get his mind off of the runner. She was fast, faster than any of the other survivors, even the Asian girl who always had a speed boost after vaulting couldn't compare.

Neither could the girl Phillip was interested in. Both of their speed came from momentum, whether that was because they just dropped out of a second story building or flung themselves through a vault.

But the red head, her speed was all her own. Deceptively athletic for her petite size, the girls legs were powerful enough to outrun any killer.

And that just made catching her all the more rewarding. Knowing that he chased down arguably the best survivor in the realm and caught her was certainly an ego booster.

In fact the other less experienced killers had created a list of which survivors were the most difficult to catch. The original four were the highest among them, but the red head seemed to be the ultimate prize.

The girl with the dreadlocks was a healer, she was not in chases often, more likely hiding in the shadows and healing the runners, keeping the game going as long as necessary, the Asian one was a formidable runner, but the real challenge with him was being fast enough to stop him from sabotaging a hook with a survivor in your shoulder. The nervous one with the tie was even better at sneaking than the healer girl, always picking the best locker or stone to hide behind and getting killers to walk right past him.

But the red head, she looked killers right in the eye and told them to chase her, went out of her way to act as bait to buy her friends time, ran killers in circles and hit them with so many pallets their heads should have cracked open.

Every killer hated her, and every killer wanted the bragging rights of having her head.

His own feelings were mixed and he was unable to decide what he wanted from her. But did he want her head? His actions in the last trial certainly disagreed. Did he want her respect? Admiration? Companionship? She'd stood out since the beginning, yes. But that was because of her natural demeanor and appearance.

Natural confidence combined with bravery and a willingness to sacrifice herself on top of her athletically beautiful appearance created a spitfire that called out to him like a giant sign with his name on it.

And his inability to understand it infuriated him to no end. He had already started slipping, showing weakness out of no where to the girl, making it look like he was missing his strikes, going just slow enough for her to make it to a pallet. Sometimes even taking it far enough to carry her to the hatch over his shoulder when she was downed and alone.

Thankfully the other killers didn't know about this. They couldn't see the trials he played in and Phillip and Max wouldn't let it slip either. Out of a bond between the three and because if they ever let it be known that Evan had a soft spot for the girl that he'd expose that they both had soft spots for female survivors as well.

Of course Evan was the most vehement in denying it was a soft spot, it was a simple curiosity, all the mercy he'd shown was for the sake of experimentation. See how she reacted to him . At least that's what he said to Phillip and Max.

Max, well he wouldn't deny he had a soft spot for the healer, it made sense after all, she had to be on the compassionate side to be a true healer. That kind of natural kindness drew Max in like a moth to a bright light. So starved of affection his whole life that he'd leap at the chance of it.

Phillip was more complicated, there was no denying he wasn't fully sane just like the three of them. But Max's came from simply being raised terribly despite his nature.

Evans was similar, but Phillip, well he had his problems from childhood but they were largely from the endless violence that followed him, not parental issues.

Although maybe that was why he liked that beanie girl so much. He'd never encountered someone with her personality before, Evan knew Phillip was smart. Incredibly so for his time and upbringing, it must have been something about her sarcastic nature. Well, she seemed sarcastic from what Evan had gathered listening to her shout at him in chases, not unlike his little red head.

But he couldn't let himself become weak, he had to be strong, had to crush all opposition to himself and the girl proved to be his greatest foe in the arena and in the mind. He'd have to force himself to kill her so he could finally get the Entity to stop constantly whispering in his ear.

A bubbling in his gut arouse at the thought. He might have enjoyed killing the survivors sometimes when they had been particularly cocky and practically asked for it, but that didn't mean he liked killing all of them.

Some of them seemed far to young, such as that blonde the Shape was always after, or the boy Freddy tormented.

Did she deserve that? He didn't even know what she was like before but it was obvious she wasn't like his father. If she was she'd be a killer alongside him, although he doubted he would have found himself intrigued by her like he did now.

He needed something different, observation perhaps, probe her and then gauge her reactions to a wide variety of circumstances. Figure out what she was like and see if that helped him make any sense of it.

See if he could come up with anything or if Max and Phillip could bounce ideas off of him.

But just his thoughts weren't enough to stop the disgust at the thought of killing her without reason.

So he'd resign himself to dealing with it upon the next trial.

And fortunately the fog swirled around him at that very moment, swirling up until everything disappeared. When he could see once more he was in Red Forest, standing in the middle of the killer shack next to the edge of the map.

Hopefully the girl was here as well.

He had brought one of his largest bags with him, and the darkest camouflage for his traps he had. Setting one on the vault location outside of the shack window and then moving on towards other vault locations around jungle gyms and the main temple.

Eventually he found some survivors on a far away generator, the man in the white overcoat, the one with the huge beard, and the blonde Asian girl. They all scattered at the sight of him, fortunately they hadn't found the generator they were working until moments before his arrival.

Evan gave chase to the bearded one, making a note in the back of his mind that he'd have to find the fourth one if he didn't want generators going off while hunted these survivors. But as Evan chased him he began noticing little things here and there, less restrictions on movement and gesticulating that were complete game changers when used correctly. He had noticed these before, and while they seemed to be breaking the entity's rules, Evan had never held regard for its rules and desires.

It was also a nice bonus being able to swing freely and in a wide arc that could hit multiple people in 180 degrees was much more exciting and rewarding in a chase. Evan hated killing yes, but if he didn't do it the survivors would just be put against someone more loyal to the Entity like the Clown or Ghost face. That and he didn't want anymore rods in his back and arms.

He landed a hit on the survivor, he dashed forward but just ended up cornering himself. The man in the over coat and the Asian had been following him, a flashlight in the girls grip. And unknown to them, Evan knew they had been there the entire time.

So he struck the bearded man down and stepped over him, facing away from the wall. Within moments they both appeared, of course Evan had baited them, and they were met by a swinging steel arc hitting them both. Two simultaneous groans of agony greeted him and the two stooges split in different directions.

Now most killers would get greedy and try and down all three, but Evan knew the more devastating effect was actually getting hooks rather than downs. Since they had split whichever one he didn't chase would just come back here, and even if he got those two the fourth one would make an appearance.

Evan lifted the man up now facing the wall in case the girl was feeling smart, and carried him to a hook.

Now satisfied with how much pressure was on the survivors, he tuned around and went to the most likely area the other two would be healing.

He arrived back at the generator he had found them at, their blood still on the grass, heading away from the temple. He took just a few steps forward and stopped, listening. His patience was rewarded with a scream of pain, his unnerving presence always did make the survivors mess up whatever they were doing, healing or repairing alike.

The blonde one ran away to a bunch of circular stones with a pallet while overcoat ran for a farther away jungle gym. He chased the blonde, but as usual in trials he was to far away to reach him in time, she got through and then feigned going to the left to buy herself a few seconds.

The chase only lasted a minute or so, one of the only reasons she didn't go down sooner was the amount of vaults with wide walls around them.

She had gotten cocky. He knew that he alongside Phillip and Max were the most feared killers by survivors as well. They had as much practical fighting skill as all the killers after countless brawls with the new ones when said new killers felt entitled to what they had.

But in the trials they were the absolute best at using their abilities to the fullest, Bubba could never beat Max with a chainsaw, no other stealth killer could sneak around like Phillip, whether it was Michael, that ever annoying Ghost Face, or that self righteous Pig.

And the Hag or Freddys snares and wards were jokes compared to his bear traps. Not to mention that he was just better with his placement.

Being able to survive against the first killer ever put in a trial, even if it was only for two minutes, must have really inflated this Asian girl's misplaced ego.

He was already close behind her, but she had the audacity to stop at the pallet, not even trying to feign running around the corner and then slamming it down. She just stopped for a fraction of a second before trying to hit him with it, but Evan had long since figured out how to get a hit in through pallets.

So he lunged before the girl could drop the pallet, his cleaver connecting with a scream from the girl right as the generator in that very same jungle gym lit up like the Fourth of July. He grunted at the wood hitting his skull, but Max had taught him how to endure such annoyances.

He merely smashed the pallet with his strength and stepped through to see if the other survivor was still there. At first he came up empty handed, no one leaning around a corner nor were there scratch marks.

However when he glossed over the actual generator itself, he saw something very peculiar indeed.

Through the gaps in the whirring machine parts of the generator he could see a pink and black pixel camouflage shirt. And hanging just below the front of the generators metal exoskeleton was the tip of a braid.

A deep, red braid. One that he was sure would look glossy and even more eye catching if the owner had time to care for it properly and wasn't trapped in hell with him.

It was his favorite survivor.

His hands twitched. He should strike her down, see if that made it easier to prove that his interest was a passing phase.

He could hear the entity whispering, joining his inner debate. Yet unlike every time he's ever heard it before, the whispering was unintelligible.

He clenched his cleaver so tight he wondered if his inhuman strength would bend the handle out of shape.

All he had to do was walk a few steps forward and swing, send her running away bleeding, then hang her Asian friend and hunt the red head down and do the same to her until this crippling curiosity went away.

Attachments made you weak, attachments were not for strong men like himself, like his father.

But was he his father? He had killed him after all, admired the man and then despised him after all those poor miners that had been killed. For what? Money? Security? Dominance?

Could he walk forward, look her in the eye, look her in her icy blue eyes... and swing?

Almost angry enough to yell in frustration he turned around and grabbed the Asian. Slinging her over his shoulder and walking away with one last quick glance at the red head who began to peak her head out with his departure.

She looked worried, yet relieved as he carried her friend away to death.

He hung the Asian, her scream and aura alerting all her friends to where she was. Now she could be used as bait to find the others, but until they came he started off in the direction he'd come from, going back to try and find the red head.

He'd only gotten so far before he heard the Entity alerted him that the Asian had been unhooked.

He spun on his heel and startled charging back towards the hook, looking through the gaps of the trees to find which ever survivor did it.

The Asian girl was long gone, but the red head stood defiantly waiting for him, like a soldier or gladiator daring her opponent to come and fight. And if that was the case he'd be happy to oblige and continue their little game.

On the outside he looked perfectly normal. But his his internal debate now roared even louder, playing dumb wasn't an option anymore. The red head, almost as if sensing his internal crisis, blew a kiss at him. He was smart enough to know it was a taunt, along with the wink that followed right after. But that didn't stop the tidal wave of confusion and several other unidentifiable feelings and sensations that crashed down upon him like a hammer on hot steel.

His father would have told him to kill her, to knock her down and keep swinging until she was a lifeless indescribable stain on the ground.

The girl held her position until he was mere meters away from her, just about in swinging range. He raised his arm to swing, ready to follow into whatever direction she dodged. But he couldn't help the tightness in his chest at the thought of her blood all over him and his cleaver.

So when he swung she dodged to side, dashing away as fast as a rabbit. In spite of all the things he wasn't willing to come clean about, he would admit his chest loosened knowing the girl was uninjured.

But that was weakness, that's what he'd been raised on. He had to make the infuriating feeling go away! He had to end both of these distracting and confusing games!

So he pursued almost instantly, chasing her through the trees until he saw her objective. Another jungle gym, guaranteed pallet and vault location to waste his time.

He couldn't let that happen, but of course he was too far behind her, having to follow her in loop for at least three tries just to get hit on the head with a pallet and be denied any progress.

A little head pain was better than hearing her agonized cries however.

Everything felt wrong, it felt off. But whenever he got closer to her, when he was able to make out the details of her clothes and see the muscles on her back flex and contort as she pumped her arms. He felt better, less nauseous, like he could breathe easier.

But he had to kill her, that's why he swung at her, he was just making the chase last longer so it would be more satisfying. The prey was putting up quite a fight, that always made it more enjoyable to win.

That's why...

He stood up to his full height, and prepared to smash the pallet, but the red head was sitting there on the other side, staring at him.

It was then that he was truly struck by how beautiful she was, now that she wasn't bleeding on the ground with multiple wounds or on a hook. She didn't have this agonized look on her face, she looked scared, but she was curious.

She stared right into his mask like she was trying to look him in his eyes. Unfortunately for her it was too dark behind the mask for her to see, but lucky for Evan he had an unrestricted view of the spitfire.

And he was enjoying the view too much. She had muscular, deceptively powerful legs that were able to put so much momentum behind each stride. Her hips flared out a little bit but not overly so like one particular female survivor. Her waist curved back inwards again just enough to give her a slight hourglass figure that wasn't too noticeable unless you were looking for it.

Her chest was modest, especially in the conservative black vest and long sleeved pixel camo shirt underneath that most likely made it look even smaller. He could imagine she was grateful for that fact since it must have been easier to run.

Her arms were thin, lithe, and strong for her size, being able to yank down such heavy pallets as well as support her own body weight on hooks, vaults, and struggle as hard as she did.

Her neck was thin but graceful with the faintest of tans on her skin that kept her from looking like she never went outside.

She must not tan easily.

And her face...

Crystal, icy blue eyes that sharply contrasted her deep red hair, a thin, angular face with faint cheekbones, a smooth, small, and even chin, topped off with thin pink lips that constantly shouted taunts at any killer who'd dare test his or her luck against the best of the best.

She was stunning, and he couldn't help himself.

He lost track of time with how long he stared at her like a school boy who'd just hit puberty and was just now seeing a girl for the first time again. Eventually he was able to distract himself from her stunning appearance, he began wondering what she was thinking about while staring at him. She most likely had questions, why was he doing this, who was he, what did he know about the entity, and would he stop killing her and her friends.

A tiny corner of his mind wondered if she found him as physically appealing as he did her. He tried to crush the train of thought, so much so he imagined himself stomping on it. There was no way she could find her own murderer attractive.

But for as hard as he stomped on it in his head, he couldn't help but daydream of scenarios where she didn't hate him, where they were just friends, where he wasn't a monster and she wasn't his victim. Where they were a man and a woman in the normal world.

To his utmost rage he was taken from his sweet fantasies by the sharp ding of a generator being finished in the distance. No...he had to kill them, he had to prove he wasn't weak.

But who exactly was he trying to prove that to? His father was dead, his mother was dead, he never had any siblings and all his friends were long gone.

No... he had to get the red head to understand. He had to find a way to trap her, figure out what made him so enraptured by the sight of her. Show that he wasn't a dumb brute who could be swayed with a pretty face.

He couldn't let them drag him down with them, and he had to figure out why he could bring himself to hurt the rabbit.

So he smashed the pallet with his foot as hard as he could, and it shattered instantly.

The girls eyes were wide with fear, she stood paralyzed at the sight of the shattered pallet, and while unseen to Evan, was bathed in a red glow.

Her arms flew up to protect her face, her form slightly trembling. Evan prepared himself to swing, tensing his arm and just as he began to flex his shoulder, he got a peek of her face through the gaps in her arms.

Her eyes were clenched and she was biting her own lip in terror.

He held still, once again staring at her, but now uninterested in her ability to draw him in by just her appearance. Now fascinated by her ability to somehow come off as innocent. She wasn't the average weakling that most survivors were, she was different.

The girl looked at him from behind her arms in curiosity, obviously confused as to why he hadn't tried to kill her. He understood her confusion, he himself was clenching and unclenching his cleaver, indecisive as to what to do.

'Kill her!'

Then another ding went off, closer than the last one. Only two generators left before they all got out.

He'd be damned if he let his new idea get tossed in the trash this easily.

So he grabbed the girl and tossed her over his shoulder, listening to her shout of surprise and feeling his lips twitch at the sound.

He needed answers, and he'd kill to get them, but he couldn't kill the girl.

So he found a locker, four actually, and gently set her down into one. He drank in the appreciation and wonder that shown on her face when she realized he wasn't going to hook her.

The effect was rather ruined however upon seeing her eyes widen in surprise when he shut the doors on her, breaking one handle and bending it around the other.

Now with the girl most likely incapacitated for the rest of the match it would be much easier to get the last three.

Many would assume he'd have to kick it into overdrive in order to get three survivors with one generator being worked on and three others to check.

Evan only had to put the standard amount of effort in, these three weren't the red head or her friends. They were of no consequence or risk.

"HEY!"

By the time the girl shouted he had already made it around the corner of the jungle gym, but he whirled around faster than he realized he could with wide eyes upon hearing her voice.

It sounds much rougher than he guessed it usually would since she was yelling, but that hardly subtracted from the effect it had on him.

It's pitch was much higher than his own, but it was not nasally nor could he hear much of an accent. The accompanying slam against the locker doors and the creaking of the handles had him bewildered by the girls strength.

He knew she was stronger than most women her size, but the handles of the lockers weren't the thinnest pieces of metal either. At this rate she'd break out in a few minutes or less.

He'd have to be quick.

So he beat the other three survivors down, routinely heading towards the redhead to make sure she hadn't broken loose. He hung the bearded and overcoat once each, their generator progress wasted from his hex. A dark trap hidden in the grass right in-front of it, the hex itself was far away from the completed generators. Entirely safe from harm.

But now that he'd hung the one in the overcoat twice and he was grappling with the Entity Evan was worried the other two would wisen up to what he'd done and free the girl. She'd come charging in to save anyone she could in any way she could and would undoubtedly try and stand in his way, a sweet, addicting challenge.

But unfortunately one that he could not Indulge in immediately if he wanted to have her later.

He spotted the one with the large beard running through the trees, the man was still injured and knew Evan was close by, but he didn't know from which direction. Perfect.

The man lasted all of five seconds before getting struck down, right as the Asian pulled the overcoat off of the hook and the red head slammed the locker doors open and stumbled to the dirt.

It had taken her two minutes to get out, but the fact that she had still was impressive. He hadn't just haphazardly bent the handles either, he'd made sure they were tightly bound.

Rain soaked her clothes and shimmered on her skin as she glanced up at him with wide blue eyes that were only enhanced by the atmosphere of the red forest.

He needed to subdue her again if he was going to win, but he also needed to hook the others too.

Making his choice his quickly advanced on the girl. She scrambled backwards, getting to her feet only to stumble and fall in a panic. The predator in him was practically singing.

When he reached her she had backed herself against the wall, closing her eyes tightly and looking away.

The predator was roaring, but sadness crept through his chest at the sight of the trembling girl. He had seen her cry in fear before, long ago before there were so many killers and survivors.

He had cornered her in the control room for the iron works of his estate. A trap was on the other side of the vault, while he stood in the doorway with another trap ready to place at his feet.

The others were dead, and neither he or her knew where the hatch was. She was injured. Hunched over with her left arm holding her side to slow the bleeding.

She turned around the face him when she realized how cornered she was, her face agonized and her lips trembling.

It was the very first time he had felt pity for a survivor, and since the rules were strictly upheld, he had struck her down and carried her around the map until he found the hatch.

Now he was faced with a very similar situation, and the pulsing in his chest was becoming unbearable. Trying to nullify the feeling he pushed the front of his cleaver in the wet dirt and bent down on one knee to observe her.

Then the girl turned to look at him.

He could see the faintest moisture at the edges of her eyes, a instinctual reaction to the pain she knew was coming. It gave way to confusion at his position and inaction.

Slowly her neck relaxed and she turned fully to look at him through the holes of his mask.

He was almost lulled into another limbo at the icy blue of her irises, but brought all his willpower to tear himself away and check behind him at the bearded man. He was still down but he wouldn't be after dealing with the redhead if he took too long.

Turning back to the girl the sadness came back with a vengeance. She no longer was on the verge of tears, but she was still cowering despite her curiosity and confusion. So, much gentler than he could ever remember handling a survivor, he scooped her up and threw her upper body over his left shoulder.

He set her down in the locker next to the one he had originally locked her in, preparing to shut her in this new one.

He really shouldn't have been as surprised and startled as he was when the rabbit like girl made a dash for the gap underneath his left arm. However he wasn't surprised when he managed to snatch her out of her run without even thinking.

She wasn't the only one with incredible reflexes.

He held her up around her mid riff with one arm, the other grabbing one locker door and shutting it. He bent the handle preemptively and quickly set her down and shut the second door in her face, bending the other one into another metal knot.

Now with one less survivor to worry about for now he turned around fully intent on finishing it before the rabbit girl could escape.

None of the generators had been completed, and only one had any progress, which he kicked.

It took him much longer than he would've liked to find one. They had all started doing their best and sneaking around to avoid his traps, he surmised.

Were they searching for the red head?

With maniac intent he stomped back towards the jungle gym she was at, circling the walls like a bear trying to sniff out an attacker.

When he heard an explosion of a generator in the distance he knew it was time to go, so with a itchy tingling in the back of his head he left to find whoever was dumb enough to cross the wrong wires.

He eventually hooked both of the men individually and now had the blonde Asian on her first hook.

It was rather repetitive. Evan thought to himself as he chased the bearded man down. How many times had he killed the exact same survivor over and over again.

He never wanted this.

He was familiar with the sensation of desperation, the feeling that he'd never get out, never be free, always be forced to be the Trapper and never know who he would've become without the Entity.

His father would be proud of what he'd become. A strong man free of all restrictions of attachments and foolish desires. Endlessly slaughtering the maggots who dared to think they were better than him.

But would his mother be proud? Evan thought to himself as the prey fell at his feet.

The blonde was unhooked, and Evan looked up apathetically expecting to see the man in the overcoat. But was greeted with the sight of the red head.

She was staring him down with a glare, her eyes darting down to the man at his feet and then back at him.

He couldn't hurt her, he already tried to and failed pathetically. So he just grabbed the bearded man.

Well at least until the man with the overcoat started running around right infront of Evan trying to distract him. Despite the fact that the man was still bleeding as well. But of course they all forgot what he was best at.

They often forgot how fast his agitation made him. Especially considering he got extra furious after his bout of sadness at the thought of his disappointed mother. The man's over confidence was quite helpful in slicing him down next to a tree. He hung the bearded man as quickly as possible, before heading back to where the man in the overcoat was.

The two girls were still variables to consider, but he had an idea. Grabbing the man in the overcoat he walked away through a bush in between two trees towards a hook, walking ten meters before dropping the man and heading back to where the bearded one was hooked.

He knew his little feign wouldn't fool the red haired girl, no she was too smart for that, but he was willing to bet on the Asian's intelligence. So he didn't feel the need to worry when he swung at the person going for the save without even looking at them.

He was correct, the blonde screeched as she went down, making a duo of survivors bleeding out in the grass, and one fighting off the Entity.

And his favorite survivor watching from meters away, now all alone.

But it didn't improve his mood.

He grabbed the Asian first, one less survivor just made everything more difficult for them and she was dead on the next hook.

He was glad he'd brought that putrid oak, permitting him to kill the Asian and head back almost instantly, finding where the girl had unhooked the bearded man and led him aside to heal.

She was trying to heal him fully, a risky move. One that in most circumstances would have worked, but not here, not with the hooks so close, not with him so fast when carrying prey.

The two finally split apart realizing they'd never pull it off. Evan swung at the bearded man, the two finally breaking away.

But the cleaver hit the girl instead.

Evan couldn't identify the emotion he felt at hearing her agonized cry, having seen her dive in front of the other man before he could react. But after she screamed and disappeared into the main building his apathy was temporarily forgotten and replaced with rage.

He broke the rules of the entity, reaching out and grabbing the back of the bearded man's jacket and yanking him back. Striking him to floor with far more force than necessary to put the bleeding man on the ground.

He hung him with extra force as well.

He had hit her, he had spilt her blood and torn her flesh without meaning for it to happen to her.

Now they were all dead but her, and he'd struck her.

He had struck her.

It wasn't right, it shouldn't have been right, yet he felt nothing hitting the other survivors. No. Where was she?

Within two minutes he'd found the hatch in a jungle gym far from the house. Waiting for the girl. His mother had always said that he couldn't ignore his problems, that he should apologize to those he'd hurt. But she had been talking to him about small children his age when he was only 5. That didn't apply to adult life like his father had said right?

He heard footsteps sprinting towards the assortment off old walls, breaking him out of his reveries. The girl came speeding around the corner, abruptly stopping just outside of arms reach when she realized how close he was.

His arm shot out before she could make it very far, his grip was just strong enough to keep her from slipping out or pulling him but enough to not hurt her.

Curiosity had been eating at him this entire time, like whether or not he should kill her. The whispers of his father certainly said he should. But his mother's words were more clear than he could ever remember them in this realm.

However the only concerning thing was that the Entity was silent on the matter, it was not urging him to strike her down and sacrifice him.

But he'd made his choice.

"I'm not going to hurt you" He stated bluntly. He knew what happened the last time he tried to hurt her, he didn't want to feel like that again.

The girls jaw dropped, which was rather cute to see her so bewildered.

He could see the gears in her head spinning at a mile a minute. She seemed smart despite her obvious athleticism and boldness in the face of danger.

Her eyes shifted to over his right shoulder. To the metal hooks and rods.

"What is your name?" He asked. It was obvious the conversation wasn't going anywhere and so he had to keep it going. However the girl had seemingly lost her usually bravado, as all she could manage was stuttering incomprehensibly at him.

"I-u-uh-Meg." The girl said quickly, still flexing her arm to get out of his grip.

Evan's lips quirked at the girls nervous response.

"I should have been more clear, May I know your full name?" He asked with the faintest hint of amusement creeping into his voice despite his attempts to stifle it. Thankfully the girl didn't seem to fully register it as she just stuttered out her full name.

"M-Megan, Thomas." She finished. Evan liked the name. Megan Thomas. It was the most common name for his time, but perhaps she was from a different age where there more like her.

No they wouldn't and couldn't be like her, they just shared a name. They'd never be able to be like this rabbit like girl he held in his grasp.

"It's my pleasure to meet you Megan Thomas. My name, is Evan Macmillan." He said politely, a certain lightness to his tone that was unusual to his own ears. He didn't have any obligation to tell her his name. But he supposed it was rude to ask a lady her name and not give her yours in return.

Her eyes seemed to light up at hearing it however, and that made the questionable decision worth it.

It was then he felt a drop of blood touch his fingers that held her lower bicep. It was her right arm, and he was no stranger to having blood on his hands. Half of it usually being his own, however nearly all of it from this trial had come off on the wet shrubbery.

Right, she was bleeding and injured, because of him.

He didn't bother going back and forth in his own head this time, and simply gave in to instinct. Gently putting some pressure on her arm until she was facing away from him.

The first thing he noticed, was her hair. It was in it's classics three braids, but it was damp and glistening from the rain.

It wasn't the same as being able to thoroughly wash it in a proper bathroom, but it gave the undoubtedly silky strands a glossiness that was magnetic to him. So much so he had to hold himself back from cradling one of her braids in his hands to feel it.

He forced his eyes south to her shoulder blades, and was met with the full extent of what he'd done to her. He traced the little bit of tan skin around the wound. It was incredibly soft, smooth, it wasn't scarred disgustingly like his own. And it felt wondrous against his hands.

"Proud of your work there buddy!" He heard her jab.

It wasn't like he didn't deserve her anger, but it didn't lessen the discomfort at it being directed at him so personally.

"I apologize for hurting you." Evan said, not quite monotone but he wasn't exactly as remorseful as he wanted to convey.

"I had never intended to hurt you. It was meant for the one with the beard. Unfortunately I am unable to fix this mistake I have made, so I will let you go." Evan said. It would be best if he didn't take too long, didn't indulge too much in case the Entity punished him. Or even worse, if it punished the girl for his naivety.

Oh how he wanted to help her, to bandage the wound. He certainly knew how, he'd spent enough time caring for himself from his fathers lessons on strength. It was a miracle his fingers and jaw were even properly aligned with the rest of his body.

But there were no tools to fix such an injury. Of course the wound itself was much less so than it would've been in reality but it still had to hurt and was deeper than just a small cut. All the chests were empty and the med kits drained.

No there would not be any fulfilling of his hidden desires this meeting, but perhaps in the ones that inevitably would follow.

He tried to be gentle with her as he corralled her towards the hatch, and when she refused to work with him he backed her up until gravity would force her hand.

But she just shocked him by actually gripping his overalls with her fists to hold herself up.

"You're just gonna let me go? And you can talk? Why?" She questioned. She was quite curious wasn't she. His father wouldn't have approved oh him being in the company of someone so nosy.

His mother would've called her independent.

"Yes, yes, and even I do not fully understand." He said as I grabbed her wrists, now she was only being held up by him.

"This will not be the last time we cross paths. I need to understand this complex situation as much as you do." He told her, staring directly into her eyes even if she couldn't see his back.

Then he let go.

"Thank you!" He heard her shout from the dark abyss of the hatch. The trial ended within a second afterwards, and he was dumped back into his mansion. Right in the master bedroom.

"You're welcome."