Meg could sense something was wrong. Something in the near future she didn't want to go through, but, she also could sense that she was probably going to have to suffer through it.
She could do it. She could do it. She could do it.
She'd suffered through those two weeks straight out of hell in high school before she'd finally breathed the biggest sigh of relief and then had a break down from the stress. That, had still been the scariest thing she'd ever faced, even more than any of the killers or any of the trials.
So she could handle this. Right?
But the near future was still somewhat far off, enough to relax for the moment, and Meg still wanted to soak up as much warmth from Evan as possible while he spooned her.
She could hear him breathing, his chin was on top of her head so the air flowed straight over her. She could also feel his massive chest expand and retract against her back, gently rocking her with it. The world was still dark, and she couldn't find the strength to move, yet she was still aware that Evan was holding her, and capable of conscious thought.
This wasn't a dream, she'd be completely oblivious if it was, she was no lucid dreamer, not like Quentin. Yet she wasn't fully awake either, she was threading the needle between unconsciousness and conscious. Able to hear, think, and feel, but unable to smell, or see. Probably unable to taste too but that didn't matter.
She focused on Evan's breathing, as it was the only thing she could hear, so either everything else was tuned out, or it was dead silent, probably the latter.
Ever since her very first trial, which had been against the behemoth currently spooning her, she had compared him to a rabid bear. His breathing had been obnoxiously loud, only made louder by the mask, and he'd been cruel and merciless.CHe hadn't been afraid to seize an opportunity when it presented itself no matter how well he was doing, and for a while he only got more ruthless as time went on.
Then one day he just seemed to go soft, he'd give them more second chances, played in a manner that actually gave them a chance to survive, and then that had pseudo escalated to him talking to her.
That previous killer was The Trapper, not Evan.
The Trapper breathed like a bear from the pain in his shoulder and the animalistic bloodlust that dominated his mind.
Evan breathed a little more like a human, still obviously in pain from his shoulder, but strong enough to overcome the rage. He was kind enough at heart to reject The Entity and spare the others because she'd asked him too. Maybe she could see if she could also get those rods out of his shoulders for him, as another token of her appreciation.
Now here she was, freezing cold, and he'd spooned her to keep her warm. Pinned to his dense chest by arms that were easily as thick as her legs and covered in layers of blankets so she'd be comfortable.
What a sweetheart.
As her consciousness fully faded into the darkness, Meg could hear tiny, rapid foot steps and the adorable laughter of a small child echoing.
Meg groaned in his arms and then shifted, pressing her weight into him and further turning her head into his collarbone.
That strange feeling bloomed in Evan's chest again. Sally probably would have known what it was, and then mercilessly teased him about it...
Yeah he could live with not knowing what the sensation was if that was the case.
The last hour or two had been a blur. Evan had found the object of his obsession lying in a pool of her own blood, horridly burnt, and she had been turned into a killer. Then he had carried her across the entire forest to Sally's care, and now here he was, at the final stretch to his estate.
Evan could see the wrought iron gate of his estate, and he made a break for it, finally leaving the cover of the trees. Megan was finally safe, and he would see to it that it stayed that way as long as possible.
Although, what was he supposed to do when he was gone? When he would be in a trial or be forced to trade with other killers? She'd be completely by herself. Was his mansion enough to protect her?
Well, he supposed if she stayed in the master bedroom the mansion would protect her. There were no schematics of the building anywhere and the fourth floor was concealed by trees and fog. The only way even up there was rather hidden, the stairs leading to the fourth floor hallway were closed off by a door disguised to look like the wall, and then covered by a large shadow box.
And even if they got past that, the steel door would be locked. There were only two places to unlock it, with one traditional lock on the inside of the door that only Meg or himself could open, and a complex mechanism spanning the entire house to unlock it from the outside.
It required the specific timing and pulling of hidden levers disguised as house decor within a certain order and time limit to open. Thankfully he'd never needed to use that lock. He only ever locked the door from the inside when he was sleeping. He left it unlocked anytime he was elsewhere.
There had just never been anything worth safe guarding up there.
But the girl in his arms would be there soon, and she was worth more than all of the estate and more to him. Maybe if he was lucky Joey and Susie would come to their senses and leave Ormond for good, start staying on the estate with him. They could protect her if he really felt that the mansion's natural defenses weren't enough.
Although, could he trust them enough to leave his little rabbit under their watch?
He was momentarily distracted from his thoughts as he shifted Megan so she was slung over his shoulder, letting him dig around the pocket with his key chain in it.
Then out of the darkness Evan could hear the sound of metal being unsheathed.
Without a moments hesitation he shoved the key in his pocket while dodging to the side quickly. Right after he did a single neon blade slammed into one of the iron bars, bouncing off, her it was somehow still in perfect condition. Right where his hand holding the key ring had previously been.
Evan slid Megan down his arm in the same motion he used to whirl around to face the now identified killer, setting her against the brick wall far less gentler than he would've preferred.
He stood up straight, putting himself in between her, and the psychopath that now stood in his sights, neon blades raised.
The Trickster, or Ji-Woo.
The Korean had his ever present recording device with him, hidden on his belt and underneath his large yellow jacket. The sleeves of which hid dozens of neon blades. Evan had past experience with them. The Korean was accurate with his throws, not nearly as good as Anna, but he'd improved since his arrival.
They wouldn't save him.
They might have been enough to take down the survivors in the death matches, and just maybe they might be enough to injure a smaller killer like Freddy or Ghost Face. But against someone of his size? With skin as thick and tough as his? They were nothing.
The only credible weapon he had was his neon bat, which was just as annoying to look at. Another advantage Evan had was speed, Ji-Woo was slower than most killers. Just like Anna or Caleb, and also like them he was even slower when aiming his weapon.
Evan was also pretty sure he still couldn't speak English, despite his attempts at learning it.
"I saw what you did to my house." He said.
Well there goes that theory.
Evan for once, decided that actually responding to the newer killers would be worth it. Usually he stayed quiet just to make them feel stupid for their pettiness, but Ji-Woo was not someone with a patient temper.
"You call that gross mess of shapes a house?" Evan said with a single derogatory laugh. "I've seen wooden shacks that look more like a house than that." Evan spat, limply shaking his arms before cracking his knuckles.
The trickster sneered. "Dumb animal, no appreciation for creativity. Guess I'll have to usher in the new generation by killing the old one." He snarled, twirling his own bat before his gaze fell to Megan.
"Who's she?" He said, his voice sounding much more pleased. Evan recognized that tone, and he suppressed a growl when he saw Ji-Woo leer at her. "When I'm done with you I'll have my fun with her, I'll get to hear both of your screams in harmony. It'll make a great soundtrack." He said, bringing one hand up flamboyantly, like a true showman.
Before The Trickster could even react Evan had advanced right in his face and threw all his strength into a punch, Evan's knuckles connected with Ji-Woo's cheek bones and sent him flying.
The Korean landed in the dirt chin first, his face scraping against the dense ground as he slid over it. A visible indent dragged through the dirt where his chin had torn into the soil.
The Trickster got to his knees, blood dripped from his face and onto the dirt, and he brought one hand up to feel his chin, only to recoil harshly in pain. Evan didn't give him anymore of a chance than he gave The Clown, following him across the terrain and grabbing him on both sides of his head, squeezing like he was trying to crush the smaller man's skull.
Dirt matted his jaw and mouth, blood trickling out of gaps in it around the tip of the chin. Evan was rather thankful the dirt was there, it probably concealed a rather nasty wound. And if his last experience was anything to go by, he didn't want to see it.
Ji-woo grabbed his wrists, desperately clawing at them as his bat had been knocked out of his hands after being launched. After a moment he let go and flicked his arm, a neon blade slid into his hands which he drove up into the bottom of Evan's forearm.
Evan barely flinched, only looking down at the tiny wound before bringing Ji-Woo's head down and to meet his knee. They connected with a crack, blood now spurting out of the Asian's nose to wash some of the dirt off.
Evan yanked the blade out of his arm and threw a right hook. The punch landed, looking like it gave the k-pop artist whiplash, but he spun out the way of Evan's next uppercut. He dodged all the way to his bat, and after it was firmly in his grasp, he charged Evan.
Evan took the two seconds he had before Ji-Woo would be in swinging range to properly analyze the weapon. It was a stereotypical bat, with a blade attached to it that only faced one direction, that and of course the bright neon coloring.
Evan could tank as many of The Trickster's small throwing knives as he wanted, but this would hurt if he just tried to ignore it, his arms weren't that thick.
Momentarily he considered unclipping his cleaver so he could just parry the swings, it would certainly be easier, and Evan was not one for being a show off, so there was no obligation to win the fight with only his fists. However, he knew how much it would destroy the Trickster's pride. That, and there was a certain thrill to a fist fight that was different from that of a duel of blades.
Fists it was.
When the Korean swung sideways at Evan, he brought an arm up to slam into the side of the bat without the blade, sending it off course. The Trickster tried two more swings, both of which were knocked aside as Evan slowly advanced towards him.
At the fourth swing Evan deflected the blade to the left and wrapped his left arm around the smaller man's right, immobilizing it and holding him in place. Evan threw two punches, both of which were narrowly dodged before he grabbed the Trickster by the throat and lifted him up above the ground. The Asian's blade stayed locked to the side as he weakly grabbed at Evan's hand around his neck.
"You will never touch her, nor will you ever be able to defeat me." Evan growled, squeezing tighter when the Korean kept trying to trash out of his grip. Ji-Woo tired to use his left leg to kick Evan in the head, but Evan just let go of his throat and slipped his arm underneath his thigh and locked it under the knee.
"You would be wise to not pick fights you cannot win." Evan snarled, before using his grip to throw the man harshly into a tree. Ji-Woo slammed into the wood with a loud thud and then hit the dirt.
Evan waited for the man to get to his feet despite the rage flooding through his body. He'd had enough! He wouldn't tolerate another killer coming in and threatening the safety of his Megan! He would keep beating this sick degenerate until he refused to get up so the message would get through his thick skull.
Now he understood why some people got such a thrill out of boxing or wrestling, this was an incredible experience.
Evan could only imagine how much fun it would be against a worthy opponent.
"You, still think, that I won't have my way with her?" The Trickster gloated from his spot by the tree. "Or that I won't get to hear your screams? Dumb brute!" He yelled. Evan just laughed, his very thick Asian accent with his naturally high voice and ridiculous outfit making it impossible to take him seriously.
Ji-Woo snarled at his response, twirling his blade and bringing it up before charging, swinging it down at Evan's head.
Evan smirked behind the mask, and lashed out. Both of his hands caught the bat, the heel of his hands on either side of the blade.
The Trickster's eyes widened. "What!?" He exclaimed.
Evan glared down at him. "Nice stick." He taunted, before grabbing the handle and almost crushing the Asian's fingers. Then, with his grip on the bat strengthened, tore the metal in two. The entire upper part with the blade coming off which Evan threw away.
One more missed punch later and Evan kicked the Korean in the chest and sent him flying. He hit the ground roughly several feet away, the new blood covering his entire face.
"Ready to give up!" Evan shouted.
The Trickster didn't say anything in response, he stood and looked at the broken bat handle in his grasp. Suddenly he let out a shout, turning he threw what was left of the handle at Evan and rushed at him.
Evan met his rush, bringing an arm up and smacking the rotating metal pole out of the air.
The Trickster dodged his right hook, so Evan brought both arms up, knocking Ji-Woo's up to the sky before grabbing his neck. He slowly walked forward, forcing the smaller man to take two unbalanced steps back for each one of his steps forward.
The Trickster grabbed his neck in retaliation, but it did nothing. Evan grabbed that hand, twisting it to the side before letting go of his neck and pushing him backwards by the arms.
The fight was thrillingly fun. Evan could easily see recreational fighting being his new hobby, but as he shoved the Korean backwards he could see Megan sitting against the brick wall, limply, probably cold too. This had to end now.
With a roar Evan forced the smaller man to his knees, punching him in the face repeatedly until he was dazed. After he still wouldn't fall he grabbed the Asian by his head and slammed it into the ground.
Ji-Woo still had some fight in him it seemed, as he stumbled to his feet weakly. Evan growled, why wouldn't he just give up already! Evan brought his arm up, and in the same rotation of his shoulder, his fist came crashing down, knocking the man face down in the dirt and then kicking him onto his back.
Without a moment's hesitation he stomped on the smaller man's chest, and then again repeatedly until he heard ribs crack. Evan took his brown boots off of the smaller man, idly wiping them on the dirt to get some of the blood off. The Trickster laid in the dirt, blood coming out his chin, nose, and now his mouth as he coughed it up.
Now it was over.
Evan unclipped his cleaver, looking at the rusty, blood stained metal, and then down at the psychopath beneath him.
For Megan's sake, and for his own, he'd make this quick.
"It would be in your best interest to never threaten her safety again." He growled out. Then with one large slash Evan raised the cleaver high and sliced down directly at the Korean's head. He closed his eyes before the blade could meet, not feeling much but a few drops of blood hit his arms.
Good, it wasn't too bloody then.
With a huff of exertion Evan pulled his cleaver out and flicked it to get some blood off before clipping it to his belt. He'd clean the rest of it at the mansion, couldn't let it get anymore bloodstained than it was.
Calmly he walked over to Megan, but before he picked her up, he bent down in front of her and placed his head against her's. "Forgive me." He rumbled, before picking her up again, feeling her shiver and curl into him unconsciously.
She felt cold, at least her clothes were, and if she was shivering than her skin would obviously feel the same as well. He had to get her inside and comfortable quickly then. But as he closed and locked the gate behind him, walked through the trees and around his placements of traps, he was smiling.
He couldn't help it, because despite his pride, and how it would never let him admit any romantic attraction to the girl in his arms, he still felt incredible around her. Her presence brought a blooming warmth in his chest, the need to protect her, to make sure she was alright, that he was her guardian. He'd make sure the other killers knew that to harm her was to die at his hands.
He owed her a lot, and he'd make sure he returned the favor in anyway he could. Just defending her from Ji-Woo and keeping her warm wasn't enough to match what she'd done for him.
The mansion finally came into sight, as tall an imposing as ever, the effect only heightened by the fog that encircled the upper fourth floor. Evan locked the large front door behind him, and headed towards the secret door to the upstairs. He had shown that to Megan when he gave her a tour, although he doubted she would remember where it was located. She'd memorize it in time, because he wouldn't stand to leave her alone in that flaming bungalow out in the woods.
Evan passed through a small family room, but he paused just before he fully exited. There was a fire place, cold and empty, as he had not touched it in ages.
He could start a fire and use that to keep Megan warm. Although, he didn't want to make her start sweating. No, the master bedroom was safer anyways.
He'd just use the fire place to warm her when she woke up.
Evan opened the large steel doors, and then the thick oak ones to the master bedroom. Deja vu hit him in the face, it was only such a short time ago that he placed Megan in this bed to rest while she recovered from her bear trap wound. Now here he was, placing her here to rest for something much more grievous.
Evan set her down at the foot of the bed so he could fling the sheets over to the side. He pulled her hood down and took the mask off, placing it on the second bedside table that he didn't use. Then he carefully lifted Megan and, with one last nuzzle of her head, he placed her in the center of the bed and pulled the sheets back over her, making sure they went up to her shoulders.
His little blood bird instinctively rolled onto her side, first facing him, before shivering violently with an audible, shaky exhale and tossing over to the opposite side.
Evan frowned. Then realization struck and he walked over to the obnoxiously large closet. He sneered as he looked through the shelves and hangers.
His father's greed and pride knew no bounds.
Then he found what he was looking for. Evan came out with a thick crimson red blanket and draped it over Megan. She shivered, before curling into it, still facing away from him.
Just when Evan was satisfied she was warm enough and was about to turn and leave, she shook again, stretching her legs out and mumbling. His head perked up at the sound, and leaned over the bed to hear her better.
At first it was unintelligible groans and the occasional shaky exhale, which made Evan realize she was still cold, but then she mumbled something he could understand. Something that made his heart thud in his chest.
"Evan." She grumbled, her face scrunching up and relaxing again. Her shoulders hunched as she curled into herself as tightly as possible.
She was going to give herself sore ribs when she woke up if she stayed like that. So he ever so gently put his hands on her shoulders and tried to uncurl her spine. But the moment he let go she just groaned and tried to curl back into a ball
Evan sighed, his lips curling upwards at how stubborn she was even when asleep. Well, if he did what he was about to it certainly would be nice, so why not? She had asked for him anyway hadn't she?
Evan went back into the large closet, he was unable to take his mask off, but he could change into an actual shirt instead of his standard rubber overalls. Then he switched into the most comfortable pair of pants he had, and went back towards Meg.
He lifted the sheets upwards and slid underneath, making sure to stay on his left arm to keep the metal rods from tearing into the mattress. He bumped into Megan's back. Once he was settled, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly to him, resting his chin over her head. He tried his best to relax.
Megan breathed in deeply, and then exhaled softly. He found the rhythm rather soothing, and closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep.
His eyes then shot open when he felt his little rabbit's head push upwards into his neck and chin, settling there tightly. His face flushed and his heart pounded momentarily. Then his chest flooded with physical and emotional warmth as he felt her push against his chest, squeezing in as tightly as possible.
Evan closed his eyes and held her tighter, the feeling of contentment returning stronger than ever. He wouldn't mind doing this every night for the rest of his life.
Yeah, that sounded nice.
Jake had retold the story of Susie rejecting killing to his friends, they had all been surprised. Along with the new freedom in the trials, it really seemed that things hadn't slowed down after Meg's death after all.
Briefly after Meg had died Dwight noticed that the usual restrictions on movement and talking had been placed back in the trials. But they soon returned as they'd all rallied in Meg's memory, and it had begun to return as it was before.
There were even strange occurrences beginning to take place, such as details in the terrains that always appeared in a consistent spot to shift. The most obvious example had been during a trial at Cold Wind Farms. Dwight had been with Yui, Steve, and Ace, on the Rotten Fields.
The killer shack, which was consistently placed in the center of the open corn field, had been shifted all the way to the side, close to the wall in place of a jungle gym. The center of the map had just been a blank slate of dirt without any cover whatsoever.
Nothing more extreme than that had happened, although Dwight with Jake and Claudette had tried to take advantage of the newfound freedom for any advantage they got. Although the only member of the original three to show himself in a trial had been the Hillbilly.
He'd started ignoring all of them in the trials, not hitting any of them and only ever taking much of an interest in who was there when Claudette showed her face. He'd follow her around curiously, watching her movements with a fascinated gaze and breaking down the wooden doors for her. He also let her stun him and broke the pallets for blood points.
Then again, with Meg gone, they couldn't have the original four in a match now, so the Hillbilly made up for his two colleagues absences. Without Meg, many of the newer survivors were getting sacrificed by killers like The Doctor more often. The skilled runner no longer there to distract the killer for the whole game anymore.
Dwight himself had done the same thing many times, he wasn't a pure blooded runner like Meg, and despite his skills only improving when working with others, he could hold his own when left alone with almost all of the killers.
Dwight awoke in the middle of the Disturbed Ward, and immediately began scanning his surroundings. He was using his three own personal skills with Meg's speed training this trial, just in case he got caught in a tough situation.
He spotted Feng not too far off, he already knew that Nancy and Jill were his other teammates, and decided to use his three seconds of speed to rush over to her.
Unlike most survivors, Feng wasn't easy to scare. So when she heard him running over, she looked over without a single care but a nod of acknowledgment.
"Hey, any idea who it is?" He whispered, walking over to a close by generator with the Swede on his heels.
"Nope." Feng responded, popping the P as quietly as humanly possible. She bent down to work on the generator with him, and very shortly two pistons were already firing at full speed. The buzz telling them that Nancy had been injured.
A haunting screech rang out from the distance, followed by Nancy's scream of pain. Her red aura appeared in the distance. Strangely enough however, she was not picked up immediately. Perhaps Jill had a flash light and the now identified Nurse didn't have a wall to face when she picked the other girl up?
That theory was ruined when Dwight saw movement in the second story of the ward, and saw Jill calmly walking past the hole in the wall and out of sight.
What was The Nurse doing?
Suddenly Jill reappeared in the window, throwing herself out of it and landing in the grass before sprinting away. Dwight understood why when he saw the ghostly form of The Nurse herself float past the same hole in the wall, although instead of following Jill's scratch marks, she left for a different part of the building.
That didn't make any sense. Dwight had gone against The Nurse hundreds of times ever since Nea's arrival, and after so long he knew she wasn't stupid. So what was she trying to do here? She'd hardly even blinked either, only doing it once to get Nancy. Said girl had obviously recovered as much as she could, and was now crawling away towards him and Feng.
Dwight turned to Feng. "I'll go get Nancy, you finish this." He whispered with a nod. Feng retuned it, giving him a thumbs up before focusing back on the machine parts.
Dwight got up and ran off, no longer exhausted he tore apart the landscape. Moving that fast felt exhilarating, no wonder Meg loved it so much. If he'd been this fast in the real world he would've wanted to keep running all the time too.
Unfortunately he was too slow. The heartbeat and The Nurse's screech roared in his ears at the same time. The female killer appearing not to far off right next to Nancy, and again, instead of grabbing her, she surprised both of them.
She spoke.
"I'm so sorry." She said, just loud enough for Dwight to hear with the dead silence of the arena. "A girl as young as you shouldn't have to suffer something as horrific as this." The masked woman murmured before producing a roll of bandages from somewhere in her grey dress.
"Don't worry, I'm a professional." She said, her voice much more lighthearted than before, bending down to prop Nancy up before cleaning and wrapping the wounds on her back. The Nurse was slow and methodical with her treatment, and it showed in the results, as Nancy was able to haul herself to her feet like she'd never been injured at all. Normally it took twice as long and twice as many medical supplies for anyone to heal another survivor from downed to healthy. Not even Claudette was that good.
Sally hovered near the still frightened, but perplexed teenage girl. The coppery pink bone saw had been clipped on to the back of her belt and left there, her hands now empty except for small splotches of blood that she wiped off on her skirt. "Go on and finish the generators with your friends dear." She said, sounding similar to the mothers Dwight saw in old movies his parents saw as kids.
Nancy hesitantly looked around, before looking back at The Nurse, and then she looked right at him. The Nurse followed her gaze, and spotted him amongst the rubble.
"You can come out." She said. "I won't hurt you anymore." She said, just short of a shout. She had sounded sincere however, so Dwight hesitantly stepped out and took a few steps forward, maintaining enough distance to run, but also enough to protect Nancy if need be.
The Nurse boldly floated forward, not acknowledging Dwight's flinch backwards. She stopped right in front of him, bringing a pale white hand up to his chin and grasping it, tilting his head upwards to meet her gaze through the quilt. "I always thought you were just too cute before, but now look at you, finally found your stride and confidence." She said, giggling at herself and letting him go. She turned around and floated to the the side, forming a triangle with himself and Nancy.
She exhaled with a final laugh and turned to face them. "Well you should go find your friends, I suppose I'll just find something to distract myself with until the end of the trial." She said, her head tilting backwards and one hand stroking her chin in thought.
Dwight was still too shocked to reply, Nancy seemed to be the same. Both of them looked at each other and then the floating killer who was lost in her own mind. Dwight motioned for Nancy to come over to him, and he met her half way, putting himself in front of her.
The Nurse laughed merrily. "I said I wasn't going to hurt anyone. But if it makes you feel better I'll go now." She said humorously. "Can't even stand around anymore." She joked. The Nurse brought a hand up, the skin glowed with yellow fire-like cracks on the skin. She turned and looked up at the second story of the ward, and then let go. Her screech rang out, especially loud at such close proximity, and a trail of strange black ash followed her to the second story before vanishing just like the killer.
Dwight stared up at the dark ward, taking in the details of the cracked domed roof and exposed burnt planks. The heartbeat was still echoing in his ears, but far quieter. He looked back at Nancy just as two generators went off from two directions.
He nodded at her and pointed over to some unlit lights pointing up towards the sky in the distance, nodding before looking back at the ward. Nancy ran off, her footsteps fading as she ran into the fog. Dwight sucked into a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart.
He didn't have to do this. He didn't need to, there was no obligation, no benefit to it. So why bother? He should just turn around and go help the others finish the last three generators and open the gates. So why did the curiosity about the killer scream at him from the back of his mind?
Hadn't this been similar to what Meg did? Go after a killer with the hope of finding answers and a way out? Nea had met The Wraith, Claudette had met The Hillbilly, and then Jake met Susie.
Nea had met the Nurse when she had spent some time with The Wraith out in the forest hadn't she? She said that The Nurse had taken care of her injuries and seemed rather close to The Wraith.
Dwight recalled that their original plan had been to find a way to contact The Trapper and ask him what Meg's idea had been, and to also tell him of Meg's death. Yet that had been rather easily achieved when Jake found out that the masked, trap wielding killer had told Susie Meg's idea, and now it seemed even more killers were suddenly following their example.
More than just the Hillbilly, one of the male legion members in the skull mask had stopped killing, and now The Nurse was doing the same.
He wanted to know why.
So now more than half convinced he'd finally lost it, he walked into the ward, listening to the heartbeat grow increasingly louder until it became obnoxious. Heading over the dirty stone and up the old wooden steps till he found the female killer in the main room, looking amongst the beds and the uncompleted generator.
She obviously heard him, because she turned and looked directly at him. Dwight froze, questioning whether or not he should run.
"Oh don't be shy, I could use the company." She said mischievously. Her hand slipped behind her back. Dwight heard a clicking sound and saw her bone saw appear in her hand. Just before he could run, The Nurse placed it down on a table next to one of the old hospital beds.
"Like I stated. I'm done hurting people, And how could I ever ruin such a handsome face." She gushed, her voice dissolving into another giggling fit. Dwight felt his face flush at the compliment. Being called handsome was certainly a new experience.
"Oh I'm sorry, don't mind me. I'm just trying to enjoy myself." She said, her voice sounding easy going. Then she sighed, and her voice fell to a much more somber tone.
"I've spent so much time here." She said, almost lik a pre requisite to what was to follow. "Unknowingly letting it twist my mind, even back in the real world. I lost myself in this ward, and then I forgot who I was and what I'd become when I arrived here. I know everyone else feels the same." She trailed off, looking up to the sky like a woman asking questions she knew only God had the answers to.
"This...place, this ward, this entire Entity, it's misery incarnate. It sucks away at your soul and your mind like Satan himself. Yet there used to be such a satisfaction to my time spent in the beginning. Like when I struck you and your friends down that I was winning a battle, one bigger than just some trial." Her voice fell to a whisper, her head falling to stare at her blackened and ghostly feet.
Dwight stood in the doorway, stunned. She was right. He'd felt what she described, the misery and the worry for his friends. But he'd become stronger through his bonds. The Nurse, did she even have anyone to talk to when the killing got to her? Did any of the killers?
He felt bold, but calm flowed over him like a waterfall. That's what confidence felt like, the rush of passionate emotion, whether it was rage, fear, hope, or any other turbulent emotion. Combined with a freezing ice to slow it all down, but the ice didn't feel cold. It was relaxing, soothing, like peace of mind. He could think clearer and found his tongue and jaw moved smoother.
Dwight took several steps forward towards the melancholy killer, standing just out of arms reach and looking at her as she glanced back at him. He broke the stand off. "I know exactly what you mean." He said kindly. "And I also believe you, that you won't kill us I mean." Dwight said with a laugh, scratching the back of his neck habitually.
Old habits die hard.
The Nurse just laughed. "I'm sorry, but you're just too cute, it's funny." She giggled some more. "But, thank you. I mean it. It's wonderful to know someone understands." She said, her face unreadable. Although Dwight was under the impression that she was smiling.
There was silence for a moment, and that was when Dwight figured out she was probably hoping he had something else to add to the conversation.
He coughed, partially out of the strangeness of the situation, but also just to clear his throat. "Well, I can't imagine how it was for you. I've always had the other survivors to talk to when I couldn't take it anymore." Dwight said, relaxing pretty quickly.
He picked up quickly, doing his best to not let the conversation lull. "Well, anything else you want to talk about. I'm all for an in depth dive into the meaning of life." Dwight said with a nervous laugh.
He paused. "Oh I'm so sorry, I'm Dwight Fairfield." He said, placing a hand on his chest and letting it fall immediately.
The Nurse stared at him. The mask was darker near where her eyes should be, the cloth just a little grayer. She continued to stare at him, as if she was reading his mind and soul to judge him.
Then, she tilted her head, giggled, and straightened her posture. She placed a hand over her own chest eloquently, and spoke. "It's a pleasure to meet you Dwight. I'm Sally. Sally Smithson." She said, her voice taking it's previously kind tone.
She let go of the fancy pose and smoothed the fabric of her quilt over her face. "I hope you can keep up with me." She teased, poking him in the chest with her index finger.
Dwight felt his inner competitive instinct flare up. It was something he hadn't felt, at least to this degree, in years. Not since he'd first started working and pushed himself to rise the ranks of the business. "I can do it." He said, meeting her challenge with a small smile.
"Ooh?" She said coyly. "Confidence and looks." She said, crossing her arms and leaning forward a few inches. "Well, I certainly got lucky didn't I? Let's have some fun with this hmm?" She said.
Dwight blushed, before his face hardened in determination.
"Alright." He said. "Challenge accepted."
Nea cursed as the generator she was working on blew up in her face.
How did she mess up that badly! She hadn't had a generator blow up in her face in weeks or months at most!
It was just the beginning of the round too! Now the killer would know exactly where she was and would come gunning for her.
Hopefully it was Phillip? Nea sighed, she knew it was naive to hope that he was the killer. He hadn't showed up in any trials since Meg had died, neither had The Trapper.
She still couldn't hear a heartbeat, so maybe it was a stealth killer? If that was the case than Nea only had to worry if it was Michael or not. The Pig and Ghost Face weren't newbies but they weren't as threatening as the killer in the blue jump suit. He was as hard to face as the Doctor or Hag.
When nothing happened, and no one could be seen near or far in the green palleted landscape of Autohaven Wreckers, she started to slowly relax. She was at the blood lodge, working on the generator right on the porch of the main building.
Idly, Nea wished Phillip was here. She looked up at the wooden building and took in the sheer state of disrepair it was in, remembering how it looked outside of the trials. She hadn't gotten much time to look at it, but it had seemed nice. A two story log cabin with a custom fire place and a large closet. Too bad that closet was the basement in some of the trials on this map, just like this one.
Nea was with Elodie, Steve, and Leon. Those three had been left untouched, the buzz in the back of her mind staying quiet. None of them were injured, but Nea hadn't heard any generators complete either.
It was rather disconcerting. Which killer was it? What were they doing? And how did they keep the others from doing any generators?
Nea heard a whooshing sound, and her mind immediately kicked into auto pilot. She knew that sound, that sound of the Wraith decloaking somewhere nearby. The sound that terrified almost every survivor here, a death rattle.
However, Nea was too slow to move, as she felt large, ashy hands cover her mouth and the other wrap around her stomach. She was pulled back against his chest and lifted above the ground so she couldn't run. Instinctively she tried to kick him in the shins or something, anything!
"I can't be the only one with Deja vu right now, right my dear?" He purred, chuckling before placing her back on the grass and slowly letting his hands slide off of her.
Nea shivered at how slowly his hands moved, and she flushed in anger and embarrassment when she heard him laugh a second time. The Swede whirled around to glare up into the much taller man's skull, her fists clenching when she saw the smug smile on his face.
"Listen here buddy! One, I can't be seen with you! It's extremely dangerous for me. Two, That right there was basically groping me, alright? And Three, Next time you choose to scare me like that instead of letting me know you're there, I'll make sure you never get to show that smug smile again." She seethed, pointing one finger up at his still smiling face.
Phillip, was unfazed however, and in response leaned forward until his face was mere inches from hers. "Oh but scaring you is part of the experience, and it's fun for me. And, as for the first part, we both know you enjoyed it." He said, his chest shaking in barely contained laughter. "But how is me being near you a danger? I'm the only killer here." He said, stating the obvious.
Nea flushed at his words but maintained her glare nevertheless. Phillip just kept laughing at her when he realized she was blushing. Then she got an idea.
She smiled, a devilish, evil, knowing smile, which only widened when Phillip stopped laughing to look at her curiously. His head tilted as he met her stare unflinchingly, but no doubt surprised.
"You are such a flirt aren't you. You were so afraid of me hating you but now that you know I don't, you think you're some kind of hot shot and that you can say anything if it gets to me huh?" Nea said challengingly, and Phillip just gave a short laugh. He nodded his head, some of his smugness coming back.
"Well then." Nea prefaced. "I'm going to start running, I want a fair 5 second head start, you're going to chase me. If you can't catch me before the last generator goes off-" Nea was interrupted by two generators being completed. "Just as I thought." She commented, returning his earlier smug smirk. "If you can't catch me before those last three generators are completed, than you have to do whatever I ask of you for the next trial, and you meet me in the forest and show me all of Autohaven." She said, crossing her arms and cocking a hip as she stared up at him.
Phillip brought a hand up to his chin. "Why won't you tell me why it's so dangerous for me to be near you." He said, having lost his humor and staring at her with concern.
Nea's eyes narrowed in confusion, but she had left that question unanswered hadn't she? "I...I don't wanna talk about it. But the other survivors aren't harmless, and they don't like it when a survivor talks to a killer." She said, holding her left elbow with her right hand.
Phillip's eyes narrowed. "Have they hurt you?" He said, his voice turning darker.
Nea looked up at him and shook her head before letting it fall back down. "Can we just do the bet?" She pleaded.
Phillip's Fave softened. "Fine. What do I get if I win." He said with a raised eyebrow.
Nea sighed in relief, she was off the hook for now. Now she tried to come up with something he could want from her. Then she found it, and started humming. Trying to pretend she was still contemplating.
"I know you're trying to stall." He said, placing one hand underneath her chin and forcing her to look up at him. "I'm afraid that trick won't work on me my dear." He purred.
Nea huffed, irritated he'd caught her. "Fine, you caught me. But...if you manage to catch me, and as a reward for being so smart. How about a kiss?" She said, giving him a knowing look.
His eyebrows shot upwards, and Nea laughed out loud. Oh it had all been worth it to shock him like that. "You're not the only one who can mess with people big guy." She said, and she reached an arm up to pat his shoulder. His eyes never left her hand as it touched his shoulder and then pulled back. The eerie white orbs suddenly snapped to her dark blue eyes.
"Deal, but you also have to tell me why it's so dangerous for you to be around me. Your time starts now." He said.
Nea booked it.
She ran as fast as she could, using Meg's training to run through the piles of scrap towards a jungle gym near the wall of the map.
Nea wasn't a fan of the trials, she didn't think anyone was, not even David. But she always had a small appreciation for running. Now with Meg gone she paid more attention to it, and found that when in a trial, it was a nice distraction. The feeling of exertion and the focus required to not "eat it" was a great distraction from the negative emotions.
Like Meg being gone now. But this wasn't a trial, it was a trial only in name. This was a friendly competition in the form of a bet, and Nea didn't know if she should regret offering what she did or not.
Instead she focused on not cutting herself open on the metal scrap and running for it. Her five second grace period had long ended, and she'd heard the whooshing noise of Phillip cloaking to come chase her. When she checked over her shoulder, she could already see his shimmering form deftly walking through the scrap in a manner so graceful it shouldn't have been possible.
Surely a third generator would be completed any second now right? Hopefully if all of them had split up and weren't just sitting around than it would.
She was the obsession, she could feel the buzz clawing at her brain even more than usual. It's what happened to the obsession, and every other survivor got a buzz whenever the obsession was being chased. So they knew he was on her and that they should be fine. As if pre planned a third generator erupted in the distance, the golden outline fading into the mist and the ringing ping of its completion stopped vibrating.
Nea felt renewed vigor, and focused back on the path ahead of her, briefly checking the sky to see if there was a generator at this particular jungle gym. There wasn't, so Nea charged head first in without hesitation, now able to hear Phillip's ragged breathing before the bell sounded. It was a four wall jungle gym, all of them perpendicular to each other.
She vaulted the window, her head snapping back to see where Phillip was, only to hear the bell sound again right next to her, he'd faked her out. She vaulted back over the window and just barely felt his now visible finger tips graze the back of her green tank top.
Just to rub it in as he stared at her she tea bagged him. Then she ran for the pallet when he brought one leg up and over the vault. "Oh, taunting was never part of the deal. I think that constitutes a second kiss for me if I win." He said cheekily, simply walking straight into the pallet and letting her stun him, Nea soon found out why when he recovered almost immediately.
"Hey!" She almost shouted at him. "No, that's not how bets work!" She said childishly.
"Well I can let you go with only one. If you answer my question right now." He said, surprising her as his arm lashed out over the pallet and grabbed her arm. He pulled her in and leaned over the wood. "Well my dear? What will it be, especially now that I won." He gloated.
Nea's face twisted in determination, and she tried going boneless, trying to fall down enough until he wouldn't be able to hold on and let go.
"Oh that was not the correct move my dear, I think you underestimate my strength." He said, the strength of just one arm being enough to keep her awkwardly upright. He clipped his axe to his belt and reached out to grab her with both hands.
Nea started squirming like a fish out of water, getting her feet under her and doing her best to wriggle out. She should've known that wouldn't work, all the killers were stupidly strong, why would he be any different? Her eyes shot down to the pallet beneath them both, and she got an idea.
Just as his second hand reached her other arm she yanked both arms away from the one holding her and grabbed the pallet. With all her strength she lifted it up and tried to crush his arm in between it in the wall. "And you...underestimated...my...strength." She said, struggling under the heavy weight of the pallet.
He let go of her just as the fourth generator was completed, yanking his arm out before the wood could trap it and pin him there. Before he could make a move in any direction Nea used her now exhausted arms to yank the wood back down, most of her strength gone.
The pallet didn't connect. "It seems I did, although, I can't say I'm not having fun. Nor can I say I'm not pleasantly surprised. Toned women always were the most attractive to me." He teased, before going invisible again.
His legs appeared in embers as he broke the pallet, his actions far faster than normal. She knew that power of his.
Nea ran for it, ignoring the blush she felt at his statement on her physique. He uncloaked again a few seconds later as her legs carried her to the shack. But now Phillip was close enough that he was almost in arms reach. His shadow just barely popping up in the bottom of her peripheral vision.
Nea ran through one of the door ways, but unfortunately for her, she'd gone through the one without a pallet. She tried to make a break for the window, but as she put all her body weight on her shaky arms, she could feel Phillip's gangly but insanely strong appendages grip her and yank her back. All of which happened as the final generator was completed.
Her chest heaved as she sucked in air, her back pressed against Phillip's chest while his arms remained comfortably over her stomach. She gripped onto his forearms for support, trying to get her legs back underneath her, only to feel them quiver from her non stop run.
How long had they been at it? A few minutes at least right? More than that? Maybe it just felt like more because she hadn't gotten an adrenaline rush the entire time.
Was she really that comfortable around Phillip to think he wouldn't hurt her anymore? Because she hadn't gotten that extra boost, and she couldn't remember a time she ran a killer for so long in one shot. No matter how hard she searched her memory, she couldn't remember running one for so long her legs turned to jelly.
So she was reduced to clinging to the killer who she had just ran from to stay upright. Neither of them said anything, so Nea took the chance to let her mind wander. Had she gotten out of shape? Was she not as good at running as she thought she was?
Could anyone else have made this run without feeling as weak as she did, or was she the odd one out?
No, that was childish thinking, she did what she could in the trials and she was good at it. She didn't need to compare herself to the others. She did her part and she helped the team, and saved the newbies. But of course, there was one person Nea knew could have done what she had just did without her legs giving out.
Meg.
She could've ran the whole distance she just did and still had the strength to do it again.
Nea missed her.
Phillip, surprisingly, was not smug. Instead one arm tensed to hold her up on its own while the other came and brushed her bangs out of her face, stroking her cheek afterwards while they both caught their breath.
"You are an incredible runner, I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I did." He said, pausing to suck in a deep breath. "If you believe that you won the bet, than I will concede." He said, careful to make sure she stayed balanced.
Nea felt surprised, and she looked up at him to show it. She slowly shifted, letting him stabilize her as she turned so she was facing him.
"I...did have a...lot of fun. And because...you just offered to let...me win. You don't have to do...whatever I ask next trial. And...bend down for me will you?" She asked breathlessly.
Phillip obliged, leaning forward until his head was at almost the same elevation as hers, and their faces were just a foot apart now.
"Because you were so willing to let me win, you can have this as a prize." Nea spoke, before leaning in. She put one hand on his cheek and pressed her lips against the other one quickly. She pulled back, and seeing his surprised expression, laughed.
She took a few wobbly steps back, seeing if she was strong enough to leave. Which is exactly when she hit the floor with a thump.
Phillip broke out of his seemingly short trance, his head snapping down to her as he immediately walked over to lift her up onto her feet. Nea grumbled. "I can't stand this, I'm never pushing my legs that hard again." She complained.
Phillip chuckled, giving her a tight hug. "Well, I hope you don't mind, but why is it so dangerous for you to be seen with me." He asked, his voice turning soft and comforting.
Nea's mood crashed. Did he even have to know? Why was he so insistent on it? She didn't want to think about it all over again, she wanted to move on and get out. For Meg.
Phillip seemed to sense her sadness, because his fingers began gently rubbing her back, only going as far as they could stretch. "I apologize if it is unpleasant to think of, but I want to know why it is dangerous for you to be around someone as obviously dashing as myself." He said with a small smile, trying to lighten her mood.
It worked, because she quietly laughed into his chest before punching him there too. He didn't even grunt from the force of it, which only reminded Nea of their power dynamic.
She sighed dramatically before looking up at him. "Do I have to?" She whined childishly.
Phillip's lips twitched in a barely surprised smirk. "Yes I'm afraid you do you overgrown toddler." He said, still struggling to not give her the satisfaction of laughing.
She huffed. "Fine." Nea sobered up again. "Not all of the survivors are like my friends and they aren't willing to give you guys a chance. They caught Meg with the Trapper a while ago, and they said she kissed him on the cheek..." Nea trailed off, trying to shut out the memory of Meg screaming.
Phillip hugged her tighter, one of his hands ran though her short hair, and it helped her relax. The next breath she took was shaky, but it wasn't from exhaustion.
"They killed her. They shoved her into the campfire and...it was like an endgame sacrifice. She burned alive and then was just... gone. No one's seen her since." Nea whispered, forcing her eyes shut again and squeezing him with all her strength. If her previous punch was anything to go by, then he could handle all of her arm strength, and she was right. His breathing was hardly effected at all, his chest still expanded without difficulty against her.
She shifted her head until her ear rested right over his heart, and she listened to it beat. It was probably just slightly smaller than her left lung. Nea remembered a moment from one of her childhood biology classes. She hadn't paid attention at the time as she hadn't cared about high school. All she'd wanted was to do whatever she wanted whenever with no one to tell her what to do.
Now she wished she'd payed more attention, and lamented at how immature she'd been, but she did remember one moment from it. The bigger the creature was, and by extension their heart, the slower it would beat. The larger it was the stronger the muscle and more blood it could pump, so it was slower. So only logically, men's hearts were slower than women's , but if Nea had to guess it was probably so close you'd never notice unless you slowed it down.
But with this behemoth of a man in front of her, she could just barely hear the delay between each vibrating contraction. It was soothing almost.
Phillip squeezed her. "I understand." He said.
Nothing else needed to be added on top of it.
"Are any of your friends still here? You must leave soon." When Nea eventually pulled her head back she realized that the endgame timer had started, and was already halfway finished.
"I-oh." She mumbled, before focusing on the little buzzing. It was rather quiet with the exception of the timer. All of them were gone, she was alone. "No, it's just me now." She said, seemingly uncaring about the timer as she rested her head back over his heart. Her calm was interrupted when she felt her legs be swept up from underneath her, and she let out a surprised squawk, clutching at Phillip instinctively.
He was chuckling at her, and his feet were already carrying her out of the shack and towards one of the open exit gates. The timer only had one third of its duration left.
Nea growled at him and elbowed his bicep while an embarrassed flush crept up her face.
Phillip carried her to the exit gate, brushing his head against hers like a cat, to which she angrily shoved his head off of her. Infuriatingly he just kept smiling at her before setting her on her feet inches from the invisible barrier.
"Awww, don't feel bad. It was adorable." He drawled out, crossing one arm over his chest while the other held his chin. "Besides I'll make it up to you right now." He said, only slightly more serious with his tone.
Nea's glare faltered. "And how exactly are you gonna do that? The rounds about to end." She said, crossing her arms and cocking a hip at him challengingly.
"Simple." He said with a smile, one that screamed he knew something she didn't, and it irritated her to no end not knowing what he was thinking. "This." He finished, and swooped down to her level.
His hand cupped the side of her face while his other arm pulled her flush against him by the waist. Just as his lips pressed firmly against hers.
Nea's eyes bugged out, but before she could do anything, he pulled back. Phillip looked her right in the eye with a cheeky smile, gave a her wink, and then shoved her across the barrier before the round ended.
His wink had shown just the slightest flash of amber in it.
I'd like to say that the earlier mention of Meg being on the fine line of in between a dream and conscious has happened to me. It was four days before my fifteenth birthday and my cat meowed in the hall for three hours. It was completely dark and I couldn't move, but I could think and hear him the whole time. Also I took HEAVY inspiration from the first two cutscenes in Raiden Vs Senator Armstrong from Metal Gear Rising Revengeance when I had Evan demolish The Trickster. I think it's obvious that Evan is Armstrong and The Trickster was Raiden, although I didn't completely copy it.