Alright maybe this is just me being petty (especially considering that I don't expect to get any comments attacking me for my choice to put some religious comments in here and there throughout the story) (although I do expect some people to be turned off by it) but I mean can you blame me? It's a little irritating when every other story about this amazing pairing basically just craps all over the existence of my religion or makes a joke at its expense. So forgive me for doing the opposite because I find the games actual lore to be pure and utter misery. That and I think the actual in game characters personalities are pretty sucky for the most part, I don't even like in game Meg's character, I like mine or ones from other stories better.
Jake was sitting at the edge of the campfire. He leaned on one of the dark trees and stared into the heart of the fire itself, reflecting on the once comforting bastion of safety the flames had offered. Those once comforting flames had now been perverted into a figurative guillotine, burning Meg alive and then scaring the rest of them with her passing.
Well, maybe not all of them. He had seen Nea and Claudette sneak away from their group in the chaos. Most of the others hadn't noticed, except for Bill.
The former woodsman couldn't confirm, but he had his suspicions as to why the left, and just hoped they were still safe.
Jake himself felt at a cross roads, torn between both sides and his figurative sanity. Susie seemed to just be a girl who'd made the wrong friends and got sucked into murder. Yet she'd also chosen not too give into the trials, and even told them what The Trapper had theorized.
Himself, Claudette, Kate, and Ace had only told their other family members, but that had been a while ago. They had been lost as to what to do with that information, as they only knew what made the entity stronger, not what made it weaker. They also were hesitant to show what they knew because of the suspicion it would garner from the others.
Jake would be doing himself an injustice if he didn't say he was fuming. It was more than irritating to hear the other survivors endlessly complain about the single match against the new fire killer, and then subsequently insult Susie because of their similar appearance. Yes, he would admit he'd formed a stronger sense of attachment to her than he'd thought possible in such a short time.
He'd also easily admit that he knew a lot of his attachment came from sympathy. The poor girl deserved for at least someone to feel bad for her situation. Although it seemed that The Legion member in a skull mask was friends with her from what she'd mentioned in their trial at Ormond.
Jake wondered what he was like. Susie hadn't mentioned much about him, only that he was a bit like a brother and used to be her only friend. Maybe he could get more out of her the next time they were in a trial together.
He closed his eyes and rested his head against the bark, hopping from one thought to another in his mind. He went from Meg, to Nea and Claudette, then to Susie, the rest of his friends. It felt like a chaotic whirlpool which sucked anyone caught in it down to the depths.
The real question was where the depths led to.
He was ripped away from his erratic musing when Bill sat down next to him, the veteran laying back against the closest tree and looking in the same direction Jake was. "Think we'll get the new killer next match?" Bill asked monotonous. Not much emotion had come from him since Meg burned.
Jake closed his eyes, trying to remember how the others described the fire killer and picturing the figure in his head. Small, fast, furious, and able to disguise herself as a survivor. A hoodie like Susie's and a mask almost identical to the Trapper with flaming eyes. She didn't use a weapon, only the fire that erupted from her hands to burn them.
"I don't know if I want to." Jake muttered, anxiety pervading his words.
Bill snorted. "Always knew you lot were smart, it's why Meg loved you all so much. Can't believe the others haven't put two and two together." Bill let the sentence hang, but Jake didn't respond. The woodsman could tell Bill wasn't done yet. "Never considered myself a religious person. Although, since Meg had started to consider it, I'm sure she'd somehow convince me. Sorry I'm getting off topic." Bill said, placing two fingers on the bridge of his nose.
Jake stared for a second, and then pat the older man's shoulder. "I get it. I miss her too." Jake murmured, smiling sadly.
Bill sighed. "As much as I want her back, I actually prayed she wasn't the new killer." He said with a humorless chuckle. "I couldn't believe it, that I actually prayed and that I actually was hoping she was dead." Bill seethed at himself, his face hardened in anger.
Jake let his words sink in for a moment. He too had made the connection, but the idea of Meg being the new killer had been too ludicrous to consider. But when he registered the last of Bill's words, he felt revitalized.
"Don't talk like that." Jake spat. "You and I both loved her like family and we'd never wish she was dead." Jake said, his anger growing and misplacing itself towards the older man. "If anything we should be begging for this to be her!" Jake said, his voice passionate, but not loud.
Jake didn't stop there. "Heck, I'm praying that the next trial we have is against her. Because she knows there's a way out and I won't spend eternity here, and neither will you." Jake said. He'd sat up, now standing over Bill.
"We're gonna get out of here." Jake said. "We have too." He said, his voice going as quiet as the distant sound of the fire crackling.
Bill and himself were locked into a staring contest, and Jake was reminded why Bill carried almost as much respect as Meg herself. His eyes were a dark brown, one that bore into you until you backed down out of intimidation. Bill backed up that intimidation with a tough as nails attitude who would get physical if necessary.
Meg's eyes had been an almost unnatural shade of icy blue. A cold iris that shocked or scared you with the intensity of the color and the intelligence hidden behind it. It was different, but all Jake could see was her icy blue eyes in Bill's dark brown ones.
Most of the time Jake would have been concerned that he'd angered Bill just a little bit too much, and that thought lingered in his head, but this wasn't just any matter. Jake stood his ground and kept eye contact until Bill's facade finally cracked.
The older man let his features relax, he looked away with a breathy laugh. His lips twitched into a small smile, but then his mask became completely undone. Soon his laughter could be heard by all their friends, it sounded amused and almost a little hysterical.
Jake slowly found himself joining in, not even knowing why he found Bill laughing so funny, but soon enough he had fallen on his side. That just made them laughed even harder.
Finally Bill calmed down with a deep breath and Jake tried to do the same. When they were both finally done, Laurie interrupted them before they could continue their conversation.
"What were you guys doing!" She shouted. She was smiling wide and must have been laughing off to the side when he wasn't paying attention. Jake gave a glance at the rest of his friends and noticed Kate was fanning her eyes with a smile and Ace's usual smile had reached his eyes as he put an arm around Kate's shoulders. Feng and David even came over as well from where they'd been talking, smirks on their faces.
Jake's smile came back full force as he turned to face Laurie. "Sorry about that." He laughed. "I don't know why but Bill found what I said funny even though it wasn't meant to be." He said with fake scorn.
"Oh relax, 'just find your spirit amusing boy. It's something special, and you bunch are turning into Meg all of the sudden." He jibed. "Yet for once, I actually believe you. But what exactly is your bright idea Jake?" Bill said as he crossed his arms with a smirk.
The woodsman was rather surprised. It wasn't often that the veteran let someone else other than Meg call the shots without much question, and he momentarily faltered. He caught himself quickly, and even though he was sure there would be objections to his plan, there wasn't anything else he could offer. "There's not much we can do but wait until we see this new killer for the first time. We'll find out if it's Meg, and we're gonna do whatever she says that'll get us out if it is." Jake said with newfound confidence. He crossed his arms and glanced around for any objections.
Other than a singular raised eyebrow from Bill, there was none, so Jake smiled. "Well I guess it's settled then." He commented.
Ace spoke. "Oh you can bet if Nea was here things wouldn't have come together as cleanly." He said with a cheeky smile, and Kate rolled her eyes next to him.
"Oh shut your face you weasel!" A voice shouted from behind all of them. Jake spun around to see Nea glaring at Ace with her arms crossed, Claudette just behind her looking distracted as she glanced around the trees slowly.
"I'll admit it's way too much fun bugging you guys, but I can be serious when the situation calls for it." Nea defended herself, looking insulted as she waltzed over next to Jake and promptly let herself fall on her behind. She crossed her legs and then rested her chin in her hands, blowing some of her bangs out of her face with a huff.
Claudette, with much less drama, walked over to Dwight, David, and Feng and sat down near the three. The healer immediately started a conversation which soon sucked all of them into their own little world. Their words were quiet and low, most likely so the other survivors couldn't hear, but neither could he.
Jake let out a breathy laugh and looked down over at the much more miserable looking Nea. "What's got you so bummed all of the sudden?" He asked.
Nea looked up at him, one of her eyebrows had quirked up and she was now staring at him with a knowing, and somehow sarcastic look. "Alright fine, come down here and I'll tell you." She said with mock exhaustion.
Jake sat down. "Knew you'd crack eventually." He commented.
Nea just gave him a deadpan stare.
"Alright I'm sorry." He spoke with a smile, suddenly wishing he had popcorn. That would be so nice. How long had it been since he'd eaten popcorn anyway?
Unfortunately Nea ruined his buttery fantasies. "Before Claud' and I went into the woods we saw some sort of flash of orange. We got curious, and we found Phillip and The Hillbilly, turns out his name is Max by the way." Nea stated. Now she looked like she just wanted a reaction out of him.
Jake rubbed his chin. "So what? You guys just hung out for that whole time?" He asked dubiously.
Nea nodded. "Yup. It was actually pretty fun, I'm just a little lost on where to go now." She said, looking over at the others and the campfire.
Jake followed her gaze. "You're not just talking about with Max and Phillip are you?" He asked without taking his eyes off the fire.
Nea snapped her head over to him. "Look at you actually using their names for once!" The Swede said proudly. "It's because of that Legion girl isn't it?" She asked with a knowing smirk.
Jake turned to glare at her, but before he could shoot out a witty comeback, he considered her words, and sighed. "Fine, it probably is. Some of them really aren't bad at heart." He said. "But you never answered my question." He asked, now flipping the tide back onto her.
Nea's mood fell as well. "Yeah, I don't know what we're supposed to do to get out of here. And yeah it's a little confusing around Phillip. For a while there I thought he was just acting like he did around me because he's just a huge flirt." She said. However her tone suggested she had more to say.
"He's flirty? Like how?" Jake asked curiously, now very surprised.
"Well if I try and sass him at all he somehow finds a way to turn it on me." Nea said with a laugh. "And he usually does it in a way that insinuates he's attracted to me. At first I brushed it off thinking he was just being annoying." She said, letting the words hang. Jake gave her a deadpan stare.
"Alright I'll bite, go on and shock me." He said with jazz hands, earning a laugh from his friend.
"Well I thought he was just being annoying, but then that went out the window when he kissed me in a trial. So I guess he actually likes me." Nea said with a casual shrug. Her knowing grin told Jake everything he needed to know though.
His eye brows skyrocketed, and if he did have the popcorn he so desired he was sure he would've frozen mid bite and dropped it.
"Yeah. He kissed me, so you better be careful around Susie now. Who knows when she'll jump you?" Nea said with an evil laugh.
Jake regained his dignity soon enough and glared at his friend. "At least I'm not gonna look like a headless bird." He taunted back, and Nea glared at him.
"You have no proof that I ever did." She bragged with a smug smile.
"She totally did!" Claudette interjected from her group, the four not too far away. Nea shouted in outrage, making Jake and the others all laugh. But before Nea could get any more words in, Dark fog rolled in, circling around his feet. It also claimed detective Tapp, Elodie, and Ash.
Looks like he was going to be relying on Tapp should things turn bad, and knowing how Ash and Elodie played, they probably would. Jake turned towards Bill, the veteran had gone silent once Nea showed up, and had probably been listening to them the whole time.
"Fill Nea in on our idea about the new killer for me while I'm gone okay?" He asked. Nea said something in question from behind him, but his hearing began to disappear as the fog grew higher.
Bill nodded his head in confirmation, and then the fog took him away.
Jake opened his eyes to The Macmillan estate, The coal tower specifically. No timers, two killers checked off the list. He immediately looked around for any other survivors, but found none. Although, if he ran into the new killer, he'd have to purposely look out for survivors.
Like the others had mentioned, the map looked different. Things were shifted out of place, and an entire section of the coal towers second story was missing, leaving a gaping hole and a drop off that completely cut off the generator.
He was in between the coal tower and the hill, and even the latter was different. It's shape disfigured and erratic, looking like a scaled down mountain or hill.
Trees were placed differently, some lanes of dirt that always remained clear had thick grass in them, trees too. Jake headed into the jungle gym, his feet rustling the tall grass that wasn't supposed to be there. The brick walls were a little higher than he could remember in some places, and barely above his head in others. He remembered Meg had named each of the loops, and that this one was called a long wall.
The vault was on the long wall, and the pallet at the opposite end of the gym. Jake went over to the pallet, only to find the sight that greeted him was not as it should have been.
The hall was extended, with two openings on either end. One with half of a pallet, and the other with an upside down vault. It was something he'd have to slide under to get through.
What in the world was happening here.
Jake put it to the back of his mind and turned around, looking at the generator. Just fix the machine, hope the others fixed generators of their own, and then leave. Just like always.
He bent down to the machinery. Each generator has the same gears, pistons, and the same wire layout, each individual wire color was always different from the last trial, but it never changed from the four colors of blue, red, green, and yellow.
Thankfully that remained unchanged, or Jake felt he'd actually regress the generator more than fix it. Every couple of seconds he took a glance around to see if anyone was there, but came up empty handed each time.
Finally, once the generator was almost three quarters of the way done, he heard a feminine giggle and a terror radius blare in his ears. He tensed up, already spinning on his heel in a one eighty to see who it was.
Too his surprise however, when he spun around, he found Susie standing just two feet away from him. It was hard to tell, but his best guess was that she was looking him in the eye with their almost even height. Before he even had the time to finish thinking Susie moved and pinned his arms to his sides in a tight hug, her head resting on his shoulder.
"Hi Jake!" She said excitedly, sounding much more alive and enthusiastic than the last time he'd seen her.
"Hey Susie." He wheezed out, feeling like his ribs were caving in from how tightly she was squeezing him.
"Oh! Oh! Sorry! I'm sorry!" She said, letting go of him and backing up guiltily. "Sorry I forgot the survivors don't have the same strength as us." She said, awkwardly holding her elbow with the other hand.
Now able to breathe, Jake waved a hand at her casually. "Don't worry about it. But, what's happened since last time?" He asked, rubbing his ribs and feeling the faint ache in them.
"Oh! I don't know if you've heard yet but there's a new killer! I met her at The Trapper's mansion yesterday!" She said excitedly, which instantly caught Jake's attention.
"You met the new killer already!" He said urgently, grabbing the girl's shoulders.
"Awwww man, I was hoping you hadn't known yet." Susie grumbled.
Jake couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, she kicked some of the other survivors butts a while ago and their still sore about it. But you met her? What did she look like?" He asked, still keeping his tone of urgency.
Susie tilted her head at him. "Oh well she didn't take her mask off, but she seems really close to the Trapper, and he called her 'The blaze'. Me and Joey went to his estate, and she was with him when he came back. He even was carrying her almost the whole time." Susie said nonchalantly.
Jake's mind was whirring. Meg had been close to The Trapper, and the others had said she'd even kissed him. Now this new girl just showed up and was getting carried around by the most feared killer in the realm? It sounded too good to be true. "Did she ever tell you her real name? Or anything about who she was?" He asked, gripping Susie's shoulders firmly.
Said female still had her head tilted at him. "No, she seemed uncomfortable, but why do you want to know? I don't have competition do I?" Susie asked with an overly flirtatious tone, placing one finger on his chest.
Jake was taken aback, and he could feel the confusion roar in his mind and cross his facial features. He focused back on Susie when he heard a snort, and then another, and within second Susie was doubling over while trying and failing to contain her laughter.
"Oh man! I am so sorry!" Susie laughed louder this time, and Jake couldn't help but notice how joyous it sounded. "I can't keep that up, oh man-" Susie cut herself short with wheezing laughter. She put one hand on him as she bent over, the other resting on her knee while her head laid on his shoulder.
Jake, despite his urgency to learn about the new killer, smiled at the girl. She had legitimately caught him off guard, and now was simply too amusing to not crack a smile at.
After a minute or two of more wheezing laughter, Susie was calm enough to stand back up and look him in the eye, well it seemed like she was. At that thought, Jake momentarily forgot about the new killer.
"So there's no way to take your mask off?" Jake said out of the blue.
Susie tilted her head. "I don't know. You already know we can't take them off ourselves, but me and Joey were always too afraid of making The Entity mad to see if we could take each other's off." She said with disappointment.
Jake's face hardened. "Well I'm not, and it's worth a shot right?" He said, looking at her questioningly.
Susie hardly moved, and for several moments all Jake could hear was her soft breathing, and see the shadows of leaves dance over her mask. Then, in a small, weak voice, she responded. "Okay." She almost squeaked out.
She took a step forward until she was within his personal space and leaned her head forward slightly.
Jake paused, but then slowly raised his hands up. He slid his fingers in between her mask and her hood, and then the cloth fell backwards. Susie's dyed blue hair was frizzy, yet pretty clean after so long in containment, unlike the dirty but relatively straight strands that fell on her shoulders. Her neck was thin and elegant, with only the skin on the front having dirt stuck to it. Even still it felt soft as his finger tips brushed past it.
Jake then moved his hands to the string wrapped around the back of her head, and just as his fingers began to unwind the knot, Susie grabbed his arms.
He looked down at her confused, and she looked up at him. "I just...I just need a second." She pleaded.
Jake's face softened, and he let her drop her head onto his chest and hug him. He gripped her in return tightly, trying to be reassuring as he squeezed her to him.
After a couple more shaky breaths Susie stood back again, and nodded.
Jake gave her a reassuring smile and returned to the string. He unwound the knot, and then pulled her mask off from the chin. Before he even looked at her he tossed it across the room like it was a piece of garbage, and then he turned back.
Susie was, in a word, adorable. She was adorable in an elegant and beautiful way.
She had grey eyes and a thin nose that fit with the delicate yet defined ridges of her cheeks and jaw. Her bangs were also frizzy, but fell over her eyes earning a displeased but equally cute whine. Her hands came up to brush it away angrily, and Jake noticed that her face wasn't much cleaner than her hands despite the mask. Although he probably was even worse.
He could see her cheeks were flushed, the red even creeping down to her neck as she looked at him and then nervously at the surrounding area in a repetitive pattern. Jake hadn't even realized he was smiling at her.
"I don't see why you were so nervous." He commented, watching as Susie's nervous grey eyes slid back to his face. "You're pretty cute for a killer."
Susie's blush raged back onto her face as she failed to stutter out a retort.
Jake laughed at her embarrassment without shame before pulling her into a hug. Susie took the chance without hesitation, hiding her head in his shoulder and crushing him against her. Thankfully she wasn't squeezing so hard that he thought his ribs would crack.
Suddenly Jake got an evil idea, and with an equally devilish smirk, he slid his hands lower on her back, pretending to rub her comfortingly. Once he knew she wouldn't be able to react in time he dug his hands into her sides at the waist, above her hip bones and beneath her ribs.
Susie screamed and threw herself off of him, hitting the floor with a thud and scrambling to her feet. She watched him like a cornered dog as he laughed hysterically.
Jake was laughing to hard to speak, but once he calmed down he stood up again and slowly walked closer to her. "I'm sorry." He said with a wide smile. "Come on, let's hug it out."
"Oh no! I'm not falling for that again!" She seethed at him, her eyes glaring into his skull with faux rage.
Jake kept slowly walking forward as Susie did the opposite until she hit the wall. When she did, he took a large step forward and grabbed her hands. "See?" He said with a raised eyebrow. "I won't do it again...yet." He added on quickly, earning a displeased grunt.
"However, I will do this for just a little bit." He said deviously, before his fingers found her neck and started wiggling.
Susie squealed, and before she could try and wiggle free Jake Trapper both of her wrists in one of his hands and held them tightly.
Idly he noticed that she seemed to forget that she had supernatural strength, but he wasn't going to point that out to her.
"N-no! S-stop!" She laughed, laughing as she failed to stop him.
"Alright." He said, and just like that he was done. His hands stopped tickling her neck and he pulled her against him for an apologetic hug.
Susie was still laughing as she hugged him back tightly, even swaying from side to side a little bit as he held her. She pulled back, still smiling, and then Jake noticed her braces.
They were like the ones he had as a young teenager, the standard set of titanium wire and metal brackets. Only he had chosen a much less bright color for his brackets. He'd gone with white so they'd blend in more, Susie had a wide array of colors on them, almost like a rainbow.
Those braces spoke volumes about who Susie was. She was bright, colorful, animated, lively, and fun. Yet she was shy, scared, nervous, and rather insecure. It was something she hid away behind her mask to avoid ridicule, yet something that was a badge that told anyone who saw it who she was.
She didn't deserve to be here, as a killer or survivor.
Jake felt a sad calmness wash over him, slowly enveloping Susie as well. He took a step forward and hugged her a third time, but this one was more than a ruse to poke at her or for fun. This was similar to when he removed her mask, for comfort, but this time it was for both of them.
"I'm sorry you had to suffer here." He said quietly, watching through the shack door carefully.
Susie gave him a gentle squeeze. "You don't deserve to be here either. Do you believe..." She trailed off, seemingly lost in her own reveries.
Jake tried to guess what she had wanted to say. "If we'll get out? Yes." He said. "I've never been more hopeful." He said confidently.
"W-well that was a question I had, but I also was wondering if we could find each other outside of the trials. I don't know if it's possible though." She said somberly, her chin on his shoulder as she presumably watched the door behind him.
"Actually it is." He responded, and he felt Susie tense in surprise in his arms. "My friend Meg, she found The Trapper outside of a trial a while ago, and then my other two friends Claudette and Nea found The Wraith and The HillBilly." He said.
"Wait what?" Susie said, pulling back and gripping his arms. "Who are those people? And they found the original three?" Susie asked, sounding both confused and anxious.
"Claudette is like me, one of the original four, she's black, has dreadlocks, is really good with med kits." He listed off, looking to see if any of those rung a bell.
"Oh!" Susie said. "Yeah I remember her, she's really hard to find."
Jake smiled. "Yeah that's Claudette, even stealthier than Nea. She's the girl with the short dark hair and tank top, sometimes she'll wear a painting gas mask."
Susie nodded her head. "Yeah, she can be really annoying. I don't think I ever wanna hear another flashlight click again in my life." Susie grumbled, and Jake couldn't tell if it was genuine anger or not, but he gave a short laugh anyway. "Trust me, it's irritating even to us, but we used to tolerate it knowing it made you guys mad." He teased.
Susie glared at him with a low growl, to which Jake feigned offense before continuing.
"Well finally there's Meg. She's one of the original four, she's got red hair and is really fast, also has the longest record of escapes in a row." Jake said with a hint of pride.
"Oh my gosh." Susie murmured. "Thats her name? Meg? That infuriating runner? The one that not even Evan or The Wraith can catch on a good day? Who I'm lucky if I even get one hook out of?" Susie questioned.
Jake nodded his head. "Yep. Easily the best survivor of us all. She told us a while ago that The Trapper had started sparing her in matches and even found her outside of the trials." Jake said. "But one match, some of the other survivors saw her kiss him on the cheek, and when she got back to the campfire, they killed her..." Jake trailed off. "They threw her in the fire, and she never came back." He trailed off.
He turned to look at Susie, ready to apologize for killing the mood when he saw her gobsmacked appearance. Her jaw was practically on the floor and her eyes were bugging out.
"I can't believe it." She said.
"What?" Jake asked with a raised eyebrow.
"She's the new killer." Susie said. "I only met her once, but I saw one of her fingers in her sleeve. It was horribly burnt, and Evan was so...protective of her." Susie said hesitantly. "He was carrying her for nearly the whole time, and usually he's so...curt and aggressive with new killers, yet he was so polite to her. It has to be!" Susie said excitedly. "I don't even know why I'm excited but it finally makes sense why she was so hesitant around me and Joey! She already knew him and she trusts him! I knew there was a reason I thought they liked each other!" Susie exclaimed.
Jake felt elated, he felt on top of the world in that moment, and it was thanks to Susie.
Before she could react he'd pinned her once again in a tight bear hug, one which she immediately reciprocated with equal strength and a pleased hum.
"Thank you!" Jake said, he felt like he could shout that to everyone in the map.
Meg was alive! She was alive and all he had to do was pray he got put in a match with her, and hopefully three of their family would be there too.
Jake then felt tiny, but no less deadly fingers dig into his sides.
Right above the hip, right below the ribs.
He just had his own move used against him. Although he was much more dignified than Susie had been.
Jake shouted as if stabbed and backed up, watching Susie carefully as she giggled. The giggle was an innocent one, but there was an undertone of mischief that had Jake's feet twitching.
"So? I think I want a little more payback for you tickling me, and I think I'm even getting a little more used to this flirting thing." Susie said. She walked over to her mask near the vault and picked it up, sliding it into her hoodie pocket before turning back to look at him with another giggle. Although this one sounded far more seductive.
"Wanna see how long it'll take before I catch you?" She said with a wide smile, loosing some of her previous coquettish aura in favor of her previous childlike excitement.
Jake smirked back confidently. "I've been here much longer than you Susie?" He said challengingly. "You don't stand a chance. Although if you do you should probably put the mask and hood back on so I don't end up like Meg." He commented with a hint of humor.
Susie's face blanched at the thought, and with two fluid motions the mask slid over her fair and beautiful complexion and the hood slipped over her frizzy, unkempt hair. "Let's go." She said with a giggle.
Jake smiled. "You know I'm starting to see what Ace meant when he said you still might take my throat out." He teased. "You're quiet a little minx when you're comfortable." He said boldly, earning a gasp from Susie.
"You take that back!" She seethed at him, already bending her knees to pounce.
"Why don't you make me?" Jake challenged. "Although I should probably be worried about you doing more than that if you catch me." He said cockily, looking idly at the trees to further egg the girl on.
Susie growled, and Jake took his que to run.
"You are so in for it when I catch you!" She shouted after him.
"I'm looking forward to it!" He shouted back.
Susie just shouted in frustration, and he laughed. He was so dead if she caught him.
Although that upside down loop might actually come in handy now.
Meg could hardly remember a time when she felt this cozy.
Susie had been called into another trial, and despite how Meg had already taken a liking to the girl, she prayed that if her friends were in there that they got out. Joey was out trading items with other killers. Which just left Meg alone at the mansion with Evan. Although, perhaps she should rephrase how she interpreted it.
She was all alone, in the massive maze of a mansion with a very large, insanely strong, and attractive man who was in love with her, and who's question she didn't know how to answer. They were also in a pseudo hell hole, but even that was beginning to fall apart.
Meg almost rolled her eyes at nothing realizing that she was living the dream of every girl in her twenties back in the real world, in one of those edgy young adult novels. Ones which Meg had, some what shamefully, read out of boredom and loneliness before she was taken.
Meg heard a large inhale of air, and then a quiet. peaceful exhale from Evan. The aforementioned giant had laid awake in their bed while she slept, he'd told her so. Then once she was awake he had lifted her in his arms with a thick blanket and taken her down to a living room. Now he sat on a couch, his head tilted to face her, obviously lost in either his thoughts or boredom while holding her snug against him.
She was in his lap, sitting mostly on his left leg while her legs stretched over and past his right, covered by the thick blanket, her head laid underneath his collarbone. Meg hadn't been able to look him in the eye without blushing furiously since he'd confessed how he felt about her. However, it hardly seemed to bother him.
So while her mind still raced on how to feel, what to say, what logic to use to decide, and everything else she was worried about, Evan was still there. He still held her to him like she was precious. But she could sense the aura he gave off, even with her sitting in his lap comfortably.
She had felt that presence hundreds of times in the trials. Only then it had been unnerving, now it was more controlled, more restrained, used to intimidate in defense instead of to break someone's nerve before the attack. It once made her jittery, difficult to work on machinery without her fingers slipping or a mistimed movement.
Now, it was actually comforting.
It was predominant, just as it was before, but now it held an air of possessiveness, or jealousy. It also screamed of safety and protection, like a bastion or a keep. It had changed, although, Meg's feelings had as well. Where she once feared she now took comfort, and that had changed everything between them.
So while his presence gave her comfort, and acted as a balm to a rash, she knew it was still as terrifying and unnerving to those who were his enemies as before.
He was a large wild bear, his roar angry and loud enough to scare off all but the strongest or the stupidest of opponents. And he combined it with the strength to outlast and overpower them all. Yet he had the control to be this gentle with her. In a way, it was almost like she had tamed him. That she was the one exception to his aggression and now a companion she could trust to be right behind her when she needed him no matter what. The only person he'd roar in defense of other than himself.
Meg finally drifted off of her thoughts, instead of the figurative bear who held her in his arms. She thought of actual bears, black bears, brown bears, polar bears. Beasts of the woods and tundra who were at the top of the food chain in several of their cases, yet they were incredibly fluffy and adorable when they weren't snarling at something. She thought of those videos online of people who had bear encounters, or zookeepers who'd befriended them.
That would have been so incredible to see a bear up close without a cage separating her from it, and of course knowing it wouldn't hurt her.
Meg looked up at Evan, seeing the bottom of his jaw and mask, his eye holes just barely visible to her. Her own mask was gone, so she reached up and took his off.
He looked down at her with a small, almost invisible upturn of his lips. "Thank you." He said.
"No problem." She responded, now feeling her blush return. She lowered her head again quickly and hid it beneath his chin, feeling the rumble in his chest and neck against her as he laughed quietly. He nuzzled down against her, and brought one hand up to run through her hair without a word. She stood no chance once his fingers began rhythmically pulling her hair, and soon her eyes were drifting shut again.
Right before her consciousness faded, she heard Evan murmur something in her ear, and although she couldn't tell what, his deep voice still made her shiver.
She woke up seemingly not much later, the fireplace in front of them was still cold, as she'd refused to be remotely close to any form of fire bigger than a candle. Her eyes fluttered open, but she didn't move, because to her surprise, Evan was holding her hand.
He was awake, and he'd taken her left hand and lifted it a just above her lap. Both of his much larger and stronger hands were gently cradling the burnt flesh. Her skin had once been softer than his, but now it was the opposite, despite how rough and calloused his was.
The back of her hand rested in his right palm, his phalanges curling around it as his other hand gently stroked the disfigured skin. Then the same hand moved to tracing the back of each of her fingers, and finally, resting on her ring finger.
Meg assumed he was still unaware that she was awake, because he then leaned forward and kissed her knuckles, giving a second and final one to the knuckle of her ring finger again. Then he gently set her hand down still resting in the palm of his. His other returned to her hair and slowly began stroking it.
Meg decided to announce that she was awake before he put her back to sleep again with the hair pulling. She softly moved her left hand and weaved her fingers in between his bigger ones, and then she curled them tightly. She felt Evan shift, his chin rubbing against the crown of her head as his hand gently squeezed her's back.
She broke the silence.
"How did you...fall in love with me?" She asked hesitantly, both nervous and growing excited out of her mind.
Evan was silent, his breathing rocking her slowly.
The longer he was silent the more Meg realized it had been a bad idea. "I'm sorry for asking, I ju-" She was cut off.
"No, you are not at fault for anything. I am merely...hesitant to tell the story." He informed, sounding unsure.
Meg made a move that would once have been bold, but now was standard with how much physical contact they made. She placed her hand in his cheek and slowly dragged it down until her fingertips left his jaw. "It's alright." She said. "Take your time."
Evan sucked in a large inhale, and then spoke.
"I do not know exactly when my attraction began, but I do know that I always thought that you were beautiful. Your hair was, and is gorgeous, and it felt like it was calling to me." Evan said calmly.
"Sweet talker" Meg teased with a smile, and she felt Evan smile back.
"I grew obsessed with you, searching each trial for you because I did not know what to do with my attraction. I had thought it weakness. Yet then, Phillip and Max confessed their own attractions to your two friends. I have always felt immense discontent at being trapped here, but if I did not kill The Entity would make me suffer." Evan said, giving her a squeeze, and Meg thought about Nea and Claudette. She hoped they were ok.
"But then, my once raging disobedience came back swiftly. I began to feel sympathy for you, and even guilt at your pain. After I started sparing you, I even began to feel guilt for other survivors." Evan said.
Meg herself was growing emotional. Her excitement was still there, but there was also an innocent excitement appearing alongside it, a hopeful one that grew with each of his words. She felt joy begin to rise up in her, so much so that her eyes started to water, just like when he confessed to her.
"When I spoke to you, I finally found perspective. I recognized the person before me as a fascinating woman who I simply had to know more of. So I did, I found you in those woods, and with each passing conversation, each interaction, I found myself more attached to you, more protective, more possessive. As if you were already mine." He rumbled. Meg hung on every word.
"When I found you in that small house, burnt and unconscious, I finally felt fear for another person after decades. I took you to The Nurse, as she is the most medically adept of all of us. While she wrapped your burns, I killed the Clown out of rage. He has a perverted lust for you, and I wouldn't allow it." Evan growled out.
Meg put a hand on his cheek again soothingly, and the effect was almost immediate. He turned to look down at her. "Forgive me." He said.
She nodded, just wanting to know what happened after that.
"I spoke to Sally, and took you back here. While I walked with you, I thought of how you saved me, you revealed who I wanted to be without even trying." He said absently, looking up at the ceiling before back at the fireplace. "Just as I reached the gate. The Trickster attacked us, he desired to kill me, and then abduct you. The two of us fought, and I found a love of boxing while we did. As the fight ended, I saw you leaning against the estate walls, and I knew you must have been cold, you were vulnerable. I would not stand seeing it, and so I ended it immediately." Evan said. Meg felt warmth that wasn't body heat in her chest.
"Everything I have found myself doing, is in service of you, for your comfort, or your safety. I had to accept my reality of infatuation, and I had to admit it to you." Evan concluded, looking down at her to see her reaction.
Her vision was blurry and she felt moisture fall down her cheeks, and then rough skin wipe the water off her cheeks. But that only made more tears fall. Yet, the entire time, Meg was smiling like and idiot, and she hadn't felt this close to blurting out a reckless reply since high school.
Ever since that night. The night that still haunted her. The one that scared her straight.
Meg's mood fell, her tears slowly dried, and her smile faded. No, she shouldn't let that seven year old incident determine how she treated Evan. Evan was not that...that boy, he was far better, he was a real man, someone she could easily see herself trusting with such an important act.
So why hasn't she said yes then?
Was she afraid? And if so, what would she be afraid of? Would she be afraid of him leaving her? That didn't make sense.
Or was she afraid she wouldn't be able to keep him? That he was too rare of a man to possibly hold onto when he was sure to have other women who'd want him too. Women who were probably even better looking than her, and also willing to do things that she wasn't.
That made more sense. The idea that she wasn't good enough.
Yet, he'd taken an interest in her. He'd chosen her, and everyone knew that Kate was better looking than her. Heck, Laurie and Zarina were too. She was far from the prettiest woman out of the survivors.
"Is something wrong, my little rabbit?" Evan asked slowly, his head tilted at her in confusion.
Meg glared up at him. "What are you psychic?" She said, trying to make a joke about it, but her tone fell uncomfortably flat, sounding like an insult.
After a moment of silence, Evan spoke before she could apologize.
"I am sorry if I have upset you. I-" He was cut off.
"No, wait." Meg said pleadingly, her hand coming up to his other shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so mean. It's just, so much to process, and I feel so conflicted, and you somehow can always tell when I'm upset and..." She trailed off, breathing shakily as more tears threatened to fall.
Before she even knew it Evan was leaning down, his lips pressing softly against her forehead.
Most girls would have thought he was overstepping since she'd never said she loved him back, and yes, Meg hadn't. But even through the haze of emotions she was able to fully rationalize that one action, and she was perfectly content with it.
"Thank you." Meg whispered. She felt unable to say more, to say the obvious words caught in her heart and throat that she so desperately wanted to. Yet they were the words she was so utterly terrified to say.
Did she have commitment issues or something? No...that couldn't be it-
Evan's giant like hand rested upon her left cheek, his palm big enough to stretch from the bottom of her temple to her jaw. Meg shut her eye and let his hand shield her face from the outside world, almost making her sleepy again. "You always can tell...when I'm upset." Meg said, her face now morphing into a small smile.
Evan chuckled.
She felt him stand up, her own form still in his arms as he now held her bridal style. She was still lost to any memorization of his mansion, and with how he wasn't taking any stairs, she was clueless where he was taking her. She trusted he had a purpose in mind, so she simply relaxed, and closed her eyes.
"Don't fall asleep just yet." Evan rumbled down to her, and Meg blinked her eyes open. Seeing the ballroom from a day or two ago. He was slowly carrying her towards the window at the opposite end, the glass clear and reflective, without any staining whatsoever.
Evan gently set her on her feet, and she immediately leaned into him, still trying to leech heat out of him.
"Will you tell me about what your life was like?" Meg asked quietly, still able to feel at peace from her tiredness.
Evan tensed above her, but soon relaxed with a low sigh. "Yes." He said. "Where do you want me to start."
Meg hadn't been slow in her mind to think of her next question in advance. "You don't have to be super detailed, but just tell me what your parents were like, your hobbies, and how you got here." Meg said, and while Evan thought of his response, she recognized how insensitive she'd been.
"I'm sorry if I'm asking too much, but I don't believe you deserve to be here, and I want to know what your father did to you. Because I want to help you." She said with determination, giving him an affirmative squeeze to back it up.
Evan leaned down and bumped the top of her head softly. "My father was not always a monster." He prefaced. "When I was a young boy he used to play games with me, he indulged my childlike mind and he loved my mother." Evan paused, and the words almost made Meg smile. She wished her dad had stuck around, much less done that.
"He was very busy, he had a growing empire to manage. However, one day, he came back from a distant state, and my mother had never been so overjoyed to see him." Evan said, his voice turning deeper, almost sad. "I watched as they embraced each other, and even at merely half a dozen years old I knew I desired what they had. Yet, as I grew older, my father began to loose his previous self." Evan finished ominously, and it was then Meg's concern began to take over. She placed a hand on his cheek comfortingly, and Evan seemed to calm somewhat.
"He never lost his wits, but his heart for myself, for my mother, for those who worked as his subordinates, it withered away and died." He almost growled. "No one could escape loud disputes with him, no matter how trivial. He had taken a deep love of the earth's pleasures. Money, power, wine, and other women. I had been entirely oblivious for more than a decade afterwards." His voice fell to a whisper, and Meg held him tighter, committing all his words to memory.
"One day my mother disappeared, and my father claimed she drowned swimming." Evan said, and Meg almost felt confusion, yet also fear for the man who she held, even though these were past events.
"My mother hated the water." Evan proclaimed, and it was all Meg needed to hear to know what happened.
"I drew as a child, for enjoyment. My mother taught me, and throughout the years my father lied to me. Twisted me against myself and the workers, as well as the other children I saw at my schooling. My father hated my passion for it, he called it weakness, berated me for it, even beat me." He said calmly, as if it was nothing important. Meg's jaw clenched, and her hug grew ever tighter. She felt her skin grow hot and her face flush in rage, but it was soon doused when Evan chuckled and squeezed her back.
"I appreciate your anger on my behalf Megan." He said. "However there is nothing you could have done to change the past." He said.
Meg felt more determination flood her. "But I can help you now." She rasped, feeling an unknown sadness creep through her behind her determination. Sympathy, that's what it was.
"And I shall not stop you." He said with a small smirk. "You have done much for me already, I no longer hear the Entity speaking in his voice. Not since you changed me." He comforted.
Meg relaxed at his words. Brief red flags flew in her head when she heard of the Entity using his father's voice, but she calmed knowing they were gone from his mind now.
"Continuing. I drew when I was restless and felt unaware of where to go, I drew my father drowning my mother. Instead of beating me for it, he framed it in his room. Soon after my uncle began to visit the manor more often, he was my father's brother, and they shouted at each other viscously, until one day he disappeared as well." Evan trailed off, and Meg stroked his cheek to bring him back to reality.
He looked down at her burnt hand, and stepped out of the hug, slowly spinning her around until her back was to his chest. It was then that he reached around her and clasped his hands over her own, holding her there as they stared out the window.
Although Meg wasn't focused on the trees. She was focused on her and Evan's reflection.
"He said a bear killed my uncle, but I knew the truth. So I drew it, and the same thing happened. I felt a strange sense of admiration for him." Evan admitted, shame in his voice. "He was like an invincible titan. Unfeeling for those around him, only focusing on his economic empire, and he seemed untouchable because of it." Evan said.
Meg rubbed her burnt fingers against the inside of his calloused hands.
"I'm sorry you had to suffer through that." Meg whispered.
"Thank you" Evan responded, his lips curled into a sad smile. "Thankfully I am almost done...do you know how to play the game Chess?" He asked suddenly, and Meg raised an eyebrow at him.
"I know the rules, but I'm not very good at it." She admitted. Her mom had known how to play, and had been quite good at it. They'd had a board at the house, but somewhere along the lines they had lost it and just never got a new one.
"Would you be interested in testing yourself against me?" Evan asked with a lighthearted tone. It was then Meg realized that he was doing his best to distance himself from his father, almost like this was a final goodbye to what the patriarch of the Macmillan family had done to him.
"Absolutely." Meg said with certainty. "Let's go as soon as you're done." She said, feeling a bit of her previous liveliness come back with Evan's warmth.
Evan smiled. "Well, then to finish it, there isn't much to say. My memory is the haziest at the end, before I was taken. All I can remember is that I grew cold to the world, and the only thing I lived for was serving my father." He said.
Meg nodded, her memory was also fuzzy the closer she got to being taken. The only thing she could remember was going on a run, and then seeing a white building in the distance, almost like a hospital.
Evan spoke. "I only fear that there is something truly monstrous I did within that haze. Something I cannot remember, and something that you would look at me with disgust for." He confessed, still holding her tightly to him.
Meg slowly twirled out of his hold, and gestured for him to pick her up. Once more she rested in the crook of his elbow, and now with her head above his, she put both hands on his cheeks. "I won't promise to never be disappointed in you, or to never get angry at you." Meg started. "But I will promise, that as long as you regret anything you've done wrong. I will always forgive you." She declared, sliding her fingers off of his face and resting them on his arm for support.
Meg had felt overcome with several emotions the entire time. Anger, fondness, concern, sympathy, and dare she admit it...love. She didn't know if Evan felt as overwhelmed as she did, but she did know he felt the last of the emotions on her list.
So even though Meg knew why he began to slowly lean closer to her, and even though she never figured out why she'd been afraid to respond to his earlier confession in kind, she leaned forward too.
Unfortunately, the moment was ruined when Evan's eyes snapped down to the forest floor through the window. He immediately tensed, and he backed away from the glass quickly. So much so that she squeaked and gripped him tightly to not fall over. Meg was breathing harshly, but not from fear, although there was now an immense annoyance burning in her heart.
"What the heck was that!" She said angrily, and Evan looked at her apologetically, making her anger immediately sizzle out.
"I saw a figure through the trees. I feared the worst, however, it is just Joseph. I am sorry for interrupting the moment." He said, and Meg's heart melted.
"You giant, cheesy, doting..." Meg couldn't find the right words. "Bear!" She said intensely.
Evan smiled. "Little rabbit." He said in response, and Meg blushed.
"I'm not little." She said with her arms crossed. "You're ruining the moment again you clueless brute." She said tauntingly.
"Please accept my apology." He said with a smile.
His hand came up and it gripped her chin, but before either of them could do anything, black smoke swirled at Evan's feet, and directly beneath her as well.
Meg wanted to scream.
"Both of us are being called into a trial!" She almost shouted. "You're really telling me the Entity can't just go piss off and pick two of the many psychos it's got for once!" She said angrily.
She snapped her head over to Evan when he chuckled. "I am afraid not my little blood bird." He said. "However, the trials will come to an end, and when they do. I will be here waiting for you." He said.
Meg huffed in amusement. "So cheesy." She muttered.
"Do not deny that you enjoy it." He said with confidence. The smoke rose up until it almost fully covered them.
"Before we are taken, I must get this off my chest." Evan said. "I will be waiting for you, and we shall pick up where we left off my rabbit." He said, and his next words made her shiver as the smoke took them both.
"Because you are mine."