Chapter Ten: Herman

Herman wasn't proud when he thought back on his life, knowing now that it was nothing but a series of poor and misguided decisions that left him slowly spiraling towards insanity.

It all made sense in his mind at the time, but now Herman knew better, knew that the Entity had been grooming him for various roles for decades.

How very patient It was. And how persuasive.

Herman didn't realize the extent of his madness until he woke up a survivor. Then it was like a light switch went off in his mind, suddenly bringing awful clarity to his life, the things he had done, and most especially all the people he had hurt. The horror he felt at that had almost driven him insane for the second time.

It was only when he looked up and saw a very familiar creature in the sky that he understood it wasn't all his fault.

Herman took responsibility for his actions. He knew the blood was on his hands. But he also understood he wasn't the only one at fault. He had been manipulated and used and he would be thrice damned before he let it happen to anyone else. Or so he told himself at the time.

But being fully lucid hadn't been easy and all too soon he was crushed by the weight of his guilt.

The Doctor didn't have to feel anything.

But now that was over as well and Herman was left with fresh blood on his hands. He didn't deserve Sally's tears or her relieved smile when he said her name and he especially didn't warrant being cared for by people he had repeatedly tortured, maimed, and killed.

But Herman was wise to The Entity's games now and he didn't allow the weight of his guilt to drag him under yet again. Instead, he hid behind his anger at times and ruthlessly pushed his emotions down at others. If that left him physically ill sometimes he considered it his just punishment.

Focus, became Herman's mantra because although he didn't have much official training for the positions he had held in his former life, he'd learned a lot along the way.

Herman studied Claudette's notes and added his numerous observations before borrowing enough blank pages to write a detailed dossier on each killer. Philip was instrumental in this process because he had been around much longer than even Herman. It was he who turned Herman's mind to the problem that the survivors couldn't possibly know about without their help.

Just as The Entity had wrung the last bit of hope from Herman by first making him a survivor, so too did it suck out the final bit of energy from its killers when they inevitably broke. Philip had seen it happen two times during his tenure and Herman once.

It wasn't pretty.

"Death isn't an escape for us either," Herman told Dwight after their one of their weekly group meetups. "We have to find the old ones."

"Yes," Philip cut in before Dwight could say anything. "They, too, must be freed. Then and only then can we kill The Entity. Otherwise, It will still have the energy to suck in more people."

They all knew it to be true because after freeing Evan, Max, Lisa, and Anna, a new killer and survivor had both appeared. Detective Tapp made no bones about the demented soul inside The Pig. Just as they were drawing strength from their new companions and making plans, so was The Entity.

"Wait, the old ones? How old?" Dwight asked.

"We do not know. We cannot know because we do not know how long It has preyed upon us."

"There could be hundreds. More, even." Herman frowned as he considered the fact. "Or less. We'll just have to investigate. Take a small team to where It keeps them."

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Dwight laughed but there was no humor in it. He looked about as shocked as Herman imagined he would be at the revelation.

"As you know, The Entity likes to compartmentalize. It's also not fond of waste. And not the best at creating our environment."

"Indeed. We are lucky to have air. Imagine suffocating in this place because It did not know better." Philip suppressed a shudder.

"This is sounding better and better." Dwight shook his head. "Okay, just tell me the rest."

"Have you ever ah, fallen out of a trial?" Herman ventured. It didn't happen as often as it used to so he wasn't sure Dwight would know what he was talking about but the other man surprised him by nodding.

"Yes. Once."

A collective shudder passed through them all.

"Are you saying that's where It keeps them? Oh, God." Dwight looked like he was going to be sick. "Who would...who do you think should go?"

Herman wasn't at all pleased about this but, "it would have to be Sally, at least. We don't have another way of getting back up here without The Entity."

"Not true. I can help." Herman turned to find Lisa quietly watching them. "Don't forget about me." Her smile was small, but genuine.

"I'm going too. I never needed this power before but I know I can make others invisible too. The Entity does not see. No, It will not find us," Philip said, with a decisive nod.

"Okay, fine," Dwight said, "You and Lisa for now. We can have Sally stand by to teleport you up in case things don't turn out like we planned. Now, the question is, how do we get there from here?"

"You're probably already thinking this but we're not as secure here as we might like to think. If we dig deep enough we will break through." Herman knew from his own experiences falling off the map how thin the ground they were walking on actually was. It wasn't something he particularly wanted confirmed but they had little other choice. If they wanted to escape this place they would have to breach it and face the horror of the void underneath.

"You're absolutely sure there's a bottom to it?" Dwight asked, as if he'd read Herman's mind. He still looked a little grey.

"Yes. I have seen it before. I was invisible when I fell so The Entity did not find me at first. It is a long, long drop, but there is a bottom. No light but still I saw everything." Philip tapped the side of his head and Herman nodded. He remembered the way Philip had acted after that particular fiasco, the haunted look in his eyes.

"That's...thank God you're alright," Dwight said.

"It is true. My god watches over me even now. I do not deserve it but I am glad to be of service."

Herman wouldn't have believed such a thing before but after everything he'd been through he knew gods and monsters were real.

"Lisa, are you sure you're okay with this? You can teleport over that big of a distance?"

Lisa hid her smile behind a hand. "Dwight, I don't think you realize this but my range is much greater than Sally's." She put a hand on his arm and squeezed. "Thank you for caring enough about me to ask."

Dwight's face flamed and Herman couldn't help but manage a thin-lipped smile. "O-of course."

Lisa gave his arm a pat and let go. Dwight cleared his throat. "We should have a meeting and inform the others. We'll do it tomorrow. Just a recon mission. For now."

Everyone nodded their agreement and went their separate ways, Dwight to a trial and the rest back to the cabin. Feng was roasting several crows over and open fire and she shrugged at Herman when he looked her way. "Had an itch."

Herman acknowledged her with a tight nod before going in to find Sally. He sat them both down on a couch and didn't speak until he held her hands clasped in his. "I know I don't have any right to ask this of you, but-"

"Herman, you know I'd do anything for you." Sally kept their hands clasped together and she squeezed.

"This is different." Herman's eyes involuntarily narrowed as he considered what he was about to say. He hated it, hated all of this. Most of all, he didn't want to lose Sally. She had been the one bright light for him from the beginning-through everything. Even as The Doctor he'd still felt something and maybe that had been why he lasted so long as a killer. He looked at Sally now and pursed his lips. "You might not come back."

Sally met his gaze to let him know she was taking this seriously and then she smiled. "I don't believe that. Go on."

Herman sighed and told her about their plan. Then he held her in his arms and vowed he would do so until the time came for her to put her gifts to work.

It came too soon, as it turned out. Herman and Evan and Max dug the hole and found the gap in reality and then Lisa and Philip went in. Lisa put down three marks and gave instructions to activate them in exactly one turn of the hourglass. Herman hovered near Sally as the rest crowded around the hole and stared.

"I'm glad it's not me," Ace said, verbalizing what everyone was already thinking.

Herman couldn't help but agree and he hoped beyond hope that Philip's god was indeed watching over them all. He gripped Sally's hand a little harder just thinking about it-any embarrassment he might have felt at such a gesture had been stripped from him ages ago.

The sand trickled ever lower under Herman's careful eye and when it was gone, Dwight stepped into Sally's mark. Immediately, her doppleganger appeared. Everyone waited for it to move but it didn't.

The apparition disappeared with a wet slurp and it got quiet.

"This is why she used more than one," Dwight said, to quiet the murmuring that had arisen. He waited for a moment before activating the second one. Another Sally appeared and for an instant Herman thought he saw it twitch. Then it, too, disappeared. Now, a palpable tension ran through the group. Dwight stared at the last trap and smiled, but it was shaky. "We'll give her a minute."

Dwight had them turn over the hourglass and they all listened to the sand hissing through it. Herman realized then that he was sweating and he took his hand out of Sally's. "Sorry."

"No, some of that's from me," she said, and grabbed his hand back. Herman rubbed his thumb along her hand and tried to remember to breathe as Dwight stepped on Lisa's last trap.

One second Lisa was standing there by herself and then everything happened at once. Lisa, covered in blood, her arms full of Philip and two other people and that song, that awful song so loud it blotted out all the screams.

Herman saw Jake's head go sideways and then Dwight's. The rest scattered like roaches into the surrounding forest. Herman pushed Sally behind him and brandished his electric baton. "Get out of here."

"No," she said, her own weapon appearing out of nowhere. He grimaced and then readied electricity in his palm, but Jake was asleep before he could release it and as Herman watched he saw Jake lurch forward past Feng as if impaled. Four deep red stains leaked down his chest. He opened his mouth, closed it, and as Evan and Herman and Sally watched, Jake fell to the ground amid Feng's screams and was still.

"Fuck you, Freddy," Evan cried and raced forward swinging his meat cleaver. Meanwhile Sally apparated next to Lisa and the others before blinking them to safety. Jake's limp form remained in Feng's arms and she was sobbing now while Dwight was racing around trying to avoid the invisible menace.

Herman charged in without a thought and guessing where Freddy was, sent a shockwave his way. He was rewarded with an inhuman scream as both this and then Evan's cleaver found their mark. Blood splattered Evan in the face but he kept swinging until suddenly, mercifully, the music stopped.

Dwight raced for the bloody patch on the ground at the same time that Claudette exploded out of the woods toward Jake and Feng. Dwight reached down and came up with Freddy's hat and claw. It wasn't long before wind whooshed through the clearing but Herman's eyes were all for Sally where she appeared covered in red.

"She's dead," Sally said, her voice quavering. "They're all dead."