Dead By Roselight
Chapter 20: Risky Moves
After managing to get away from The Nurse with help from Lucy, Yang was able to find Graham and explain what had happened with Phillips and Sheila. The blonde man at first couldn't believe the fact that one of the members of his group had actually been a sadistic serial killer this whole time, but realized it was the truth after some thinking. Once he thought about it, Sheila's behavior had always been rather strange and she seemed to be strangely obsessed over Ruby. All in all, there was a good amount of proof that to support Yang's story.
"To think that a person like her had managed to get into our group...!" Graham cursed. "I am so sorry about this, Yang. As the leader, I should have been able to realize Sheila's true nature, before things got this bad with her."
"You don't need to apologize. You couldn't have known," the brawler said. "Instead, I should be the one apologizing. After all, I was supposed to be looking after Phillips, yet I took my eyes off him, allowing that crazy bitch to get him."
"You shouldn't be blamed for what Sheila did," the group leader said. "While the loss of Phillips is indeed a heavy one, we can only push forward. He was someone that we could always rely on to fix the generators, but now that duty falls upon us."
"If it helps at all, I do have some mechanical skills in me," Yang suggested. "Not only did I build my weapons as part of my training as a Huntress, but I also used to work on my motorcycle. Depending on the generators, I might be able to fix them."
"That is good to know. Perhaps our situation isn't completely hopeless," Graham said with some confidence in his voice. "For now, we should focus on getting the generator fixed, so we can get out of this damn realm."
"Understood. By the way, I might have found something interesting. I found a video camera with a note attached to it in one of the rooms in the asylum. They might have some important information in them."
"That indeed sounds interesting, but we should focus on fixing the generator for now. I'll be going with you, so we'll have a better chance of getting out of this alive."
Yang nodded, agreeing with the bespectacled man. They both started to make their way to the asylum, as they were willing to bet that the generator was located there.
On their way to the building, the two survivors suddenly heard the shrieking of The Nurse. They immediately hid in some nearby bushes, hoping to avoid being seen by the killer. As they were waiting for the threat to pass, they saw that The Nurse was already chasing someone. It seemed like the ghostly killer was still trying to get Lucy, who was dodging all of The Nurse's attacks.
"Come on, you slow bastard! Can't you do any better!?" the pink-haired girl taunted. "At this rate, I'm going to fall asleep!"
Meanwhile, Yang and Graham watched as Lucy kept avoiding The Nurse's attacks with ease. It was like she had been made to do this.
"That's amazing," Yang said as she watched Lucy avoid another teleportation attack. "Ruby's notes said that you should only try to avoid The Nurse's attacks the way she is as a last resort. However, she is making it seem like the easiest thing in the world, and she's doing it without showing any fear. Just what is she?"
"It is indeed impressive, but we shouldn't get too hopeful," Graham said. "Lucy can only keep avoiding those attacks for so long before she runs out of stamina. We need to find that generator fast or Lucy might be in trouble."
The two survivors waited for a moment, until they were certain that The Nurse wouldn't notice them, before quickly making their way to the asylum. Once inside the building, Yang and Graham began to go through the rooms at a fast pace, not wanting to waste too much time on a single one. It took them some time, but they eventually managed to find the generator in one of the asylum's rooms.
"There it is. Now we just need to fix it," Graham said while catching his breath. "Are you sure you'll be able to fix it? Remember, if you make just one mistake, it could draw The Nurse to us."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Yang said sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. "Listen, right now, we don't really have any other options. With both Howard and Phillips dead, I'm probably the only one in our group that can do this. Or do you perhaps have someone else on your mind that can fix a generator?"
The blonde man frowned a bit, but knew that his companion was right. With both of their mechanics gone, they had no choice but to rely on Yang right now. She was their best bet at the moment.
"Alright, but be careful," Graham said. "I'll be watching out for the killer, so you can focus on your work."
With her work set out for her, Yang began to work on fixing the generator. At first, she was uncertain as to what she should do, but quickly began to figure out what needed to be done. Thanks to her experience with working on vehicles, the blonde was able to pick up on what was wrong and how to fix it.
For some time, the two survivors were able to work in peace. Graham kept watch over the hallways, not seeing any signs of The Nurse, while Yang kept repairing the generator. The only sounds that they heard were the brawler's tinkering, the occasional shriek from the killer and the sounds of the generator, telling them that Yang was in fact making progress.
'This is going better than I thought! I'm pretty sure that I'll be done soon!' the blonde thought to herself, as she was almost ready. 'Now I just need to put these two wires together and-'
Unfortunately, what Yang had tried to do had not been the right thing to do, as a small explosion came from the generator. Both survivors' faces turned pale, as they were certain that The Nurse must have heard the noise just now and would be heading their way soon.
"Dammit! We have to run!" Graham yelled. "Come on, Yang! We don't have much time!"
"Just a second!" Yang yelled, going back to working on the generator. "I know I can fix this thing! I just need to do a bit more and-"
True to the blonde's words, she managed to get the machine fixed. The generator was now letting out a steady rumbling sound, telling anyone that heard it that the machine was now properly working.
"Got it!" Yang said happily, as she got up and made her way out of the room with Graham. "Now we can finally open the gate and get out of this-"
The rest of the brawler's words died in her throat, as she got to the hallway. Her eyes went wide and her face turned pale, as she saw The Nurse standing in the hallway, looking at her and Graham.
"RUN!" the bespectacled man yelled as he began to run to the opposite direction from the killer. "WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO RUN AS FAST AS WE CAN!"
However, unlike Graham, Yang wasn't running. Instead, she stood still and stared straight at The Nurse, who was readying a new teleportation at the moment. For some reason, the blonde knew that simply running away wasn't going to save either one of them from this. At best, only one of them could possibly get away. That was a result Yang refused to accept. She had already lost too much to allow it.
Just as The Nurse used her teleportation, the brawler ran towards the killer, rolling underneath the ghostly woman just as they went past each other. Thanks to this, The Nurse was unable to hit Yang with her weapon and she was also too far away from Graham in order to get him either.
It seemed like the blonde's little stunt had somewhat angered the killer, as she kept her attention on the young girl that had managed to avoid her. The Nurse lifted up her left hand again with a strange glow around it, showing that she was about to teleport yet again. And just like last time, Yang managed to dodge out of the way of the attack.
"Run! While she needs to recharge her teleport!" the blonde yelled at Graham, who had been watching in awe at what had just happened.
"R-Right!" the bespectacled man managed to say through his amazement and began to run away from the killer.
The two survivors were soon running as fast as they could, hoping to escape the ghostly killer. They quickly made their way through the building, while having their progress be interrupted by The Nurse, who managed to regain her teleportation powers. When this happened, Yang would take it upon herself do distract the killer, draining her of her power, so that they could resume their escape.
It didn't take long until Yang and Graham had managed to get out of the asylum. Once outside, the two survivors managed to find themselves some bushes to hide in. The Nurse loomed near them for some time, before finally giving up and teleporting away, deciding to search for some other prey.
With the ghostly killer gone for now, Yang and Graham were allowed a moment to relax and catch their breath. Their latest escape had gone incredibly well, but it had left both of them drained of their stamina, so they needed to rest for a moment.
"I have to say, I've never seen anyone other than Lucy or Ruby move like that before," Graham said, clearly impressed with his comrade's skills. "However, you should have known that was VERY risky. What made you do that?"
"...I think I'm just tired of losing people, which made me do what I did," Yang explained. "For as long as I can remember, I've been losing those close to me. I think that one of the reasons I decided to become a Huntress was in order to make sure I wouldn't lose anyone important to me anymore. But despite my best efforts, I've kept losing those important to me. First it was Ruby, then my teammates and friends from team JNPR, and now I've lost Howard and Phillips too. I somehow knew that if I were to simply run away from The Nurse, at least one of us would have died. I just didn't want that to happen. No matter what."
"Woah... You're just like Ruby said you were," the bespectacled man said with a smile, surprising the brawler. "Strong, loyal and willing to risk her own life for the sake of others. I'm honestly honored to have met you."
"R-Really? Ruby said that about me?" Yang asked with wide eyes.
"Not just that, to be honest. She had numerous stories about you and her teammates. I guess you became a sort of an inspiration for our group," Graham answered, thinking back to when Ruby used to lead their group. "However, there is also one other person you remind me of."
"Who is that?"
"My older sister," the blonde man replied, causing the brawler to go wide-eyed. "Back before I ended up in this world, I tried to become a Huntsman, like she had. My sister was the one person I admired and respected in the whole world, so I wanted to become someone like her. Unfortunately, it turned out that I was born with a strange condition that made it impossible for me to properly use Aura, so my dream was crushed."
"What happened then?" Yang asked, curious as to what happened to her comrade in the past.
"Well, my family's members had always become Huntsmen and Huntresses, so I kind of became the black sheep of my family. In the end, I stopped receiving invites to the family celebrations even," Graham explained. "But even then, my sister kept contacting me, as she was worried over what might happen to me. However, that obviously ended when I ended up in this world. I bet that my sister is still doing her work as the great Huntress that she is, helping those in need. I just wish I could have become someone she could have been proud of."
"I'm pretty sure that you've already achieved that goal," the blonde girl said, surprising the blonde man. "I mean, you have been surviving against the worst possible odds far longer than most people could ever hope to. Not only that, you've been helping others that are stuck in this horrible world during that time. If you were to ask me, I'd say that you've been doing the job of a Huntsman far better than most actual Huntsmen do. Your sister would certainly be proud of you, if she were to know about what you've done here."
For a moment, Graham couldn't do anything but stare at Yang with wide eyes. For all this time, the bespectacled man had been wondering if what he had been doing was good, so it was honestly comforting to hear such kind words from a person like Yang.
"Thank you, Yang. That really means a lot to me," Graham said, truly grateful for his comrade's kindness.
"Hey, just telling the truth over here," Yang replied with a small grin. "Now, how about we go and get out of this damn place already?"
Now that the two survivors were done with their moment of rest, they got out of their hiding spot as silently as possible and began to head towards the exit gate. On their way there, they managed to meet up with the rest of their group, before reaching the gate itself. It didn't take long for them to open it and make their way out of the realm.
Just as the group of survivors made their way out of The Nurse's realm, said killer managed to appear before them one last time by teleporting close to them. However, by that point Yang and her group had already managed to get outside the are the ghostly killer could move in, so they didn't really need to worry about her.
Now that they had escaped The Nurse, Yang could finally explain to the rest of the group what had happened with Phillips and Sheila. To say the least, they were quite saddened to hear about the fate of their youngest member.
"Oh hell... To think that Sheila could do something this shitty to poor little Phil," Eloy said sadly. "That just isn't right..."
"Kid was always a person you could trust in here. He didn't deserve this kind of fate," Bill said. "Hope he can rest in peace, and that Sheila burns in hell."
Lucy didn't say anything, but she was visibly saddened by what had happened. A couple of tears even fell from her eyes.
"I know that Phillips' fate is saddening for us all, but we must keep moving forward," Graham said. "Also, I think Yang might have found something interesting for us."
All eyes turned towards the brawler, hoping to see what she had found.
"I found a video camera with a note attached to it in one of the asylum's rooms," Yang explained, pulling said objects out of her pockets. "I haven't yet looked into them, but they might have some important information in them."
The blonde first looked into the video camera, hoping to see if it had a DVD in it that had been recorded on. Unfortunately, the camera was empty with no disc inside it.
"Well, that was a letdown," Yang said with a sigh. "I was hoping that someone might have left a message in there for other survivors."
"You might actually still be able to see what was recorded with that thing," Bill said. "Some of those cameras come with an internal memory, where the latest recording is saved. There a chance that whatever the camera was used for the last time is still in there."
The brawler turned the camera on and started to look through the different functions the device had, eventually finding the internal memory. Much like the old soldier had said, there was still a recording in there. Yang selected the file and the video began to play on the camera's screen.
The blonde's eyes went wide, as the person that appeared on the screen was none other than her sister, Ruby.
Author's notes: I kind of rushed through this chapter, as I wanted to get it done as soon as possible. I tried my best to make this chapter as interesting as possible, but I really wanted to get through it quickly, as I'm more interested in writing the following chapters.
I forgot to add the explanation for Lucy into this chapter, as there have been a lot on my mind lately. I'll do it in a later chapter, though. I promise.
There are a couple of things on my mind right now that have been taking time from me working on these stories, but I'll still try my best to continue them.
Also, there's one thing that's REALLY hindering my progress. THIS FREAKING HEAT! Seriously, why do people like it, when it's so goddamn hot!? At least when it's cold you can easily fix that problem with warm clothes and such, but you can only do so much to cool yourself during summer! It sucks!
Anyways, hope I survive through this damn heat and I'll see you next time.
RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Dead by Daylight belongs to Behaviour Interactive.