Please. Shall play again.

A familiar voice pleaded to me, pulled me out of the darkness. The shadows peeled away. My fiance's terrified face sat in front of me.

"Ani?" he asked quietly. I nodded. Every bone in my body ached. My hands burned. My heart pounded. He held me tight. "What the fuck happened? I woke up and you- this- this thing-"

"I have no idea," I muttered, though my eyes were drawn to my palms. Scratches crisscrossed my palms. "I..." I looked at him as tears started to fall down my cheeks. "I don't know if you'll believe me."

We sat on our bed, he held me close. While I had been running for my life, a black mist had encased me. My fiance explained a burning sensation emanating from it. He had seen it lash out at me and cut my palms. He tried everything to get to me, but it was like pushing a brick wall.

I was out of tears when I spoke again.

"I think it's going to take me back."

"Think we can prepare for it?"

I shrugged, exhaustion slamming into me. I slumped against him. "We can try."

He kissed my forehead, and I slowly drifted to sleep.

I woke up to my fiance stroking my hair. He offered a teasing smile.

"Your dream boy is alright. Looks shaken, but he uploaded while you slept."

"I told you," I muttered in my haze. "He's not my dream boy. You are."

He kissed my forehead again. "Still think you need better dreams."

He went back to the computer room as I grabbed my phone. Sure enough, Mark had uploaded a new video. A vlog, specifically. Bracing myself, I clicked it.

"Hey guys."

His voice was shaking, though the only reason I could tell was knowing where he had been.

"I meant to stream today, but something came up. I know, I know. Unfair and all that. And, well, honestly, I want to tell you all what happened, but..." He trailed off and looked away from the camera. He jumped a bit as Chica decided it was lap time. He hugged her around the neck, then looked back up at the camera. "It's a pretty fucked up thing, honestly. And I don't think its over. So. Just." He hesitated. My stomach churned.

"I hope you are safe."

I paused the video. He looked as terrified as I felt. In the flood of comments, I wasn't sure what to make me stick out. So many viewers expressing confusion but support, saying they would stay safe, he shouldn't worry about them. But that wasn't what it was, was it?

A shudder ran down my spine as I typed two simple words.

Bing bong.

I stared at the letters for a long while. A throw away joke we had given, but maybe? And my YouTube name included my actual name. Would he know how it's spelled?

I hit submit and unpaused the video. It amazed me that he was able to keep the perfect cadence on his farewell.

It took a while, but eventually the little red number appeared next to the bell. I opened the message from Mark's channel, my brain still trying to comprehend that that was happening. He expressed mild confusion at my choice of identifying myself, it had taken him a bit, but was happy I was safe. The rest of the message...

Was a jumbled mess. Though not as if he couldn't type it. Something had glitched the words. Not even the special glitchy text I had seen all over the internet, but shifting, moving, black shapes. It was horrific to watch. I wondered if he saw it too. I tried to reply with what had happened when I got back. When I hit send, the text moved and shifted in the same way as his. A harsh whisper needled my brain.

Survived together, silence apart.

I frowned. Then went back to his vlog. It replayed just as it had the first time. I shifted around in my bed to sit up. Once I pulled my phone's camera up, I made sure I could properly see myself, then hit record. I had no idea if it would work, but I recorded a companion vlog. Not mentioning his involved, obviously, but an update for all... six... of my subscribers that, well, things were happening. I kept it short, since I didn't want to turn on my computer again. There was no real change once it was updated until much later.

Ding dong.

It was a little surreal to see Markiplier comment on one of my videos. If the PM didn't do it, that did. Any other situation, I might have screamed in glee. Instead, I just started to cry. Cry terrified tears of horror.

All of this was real.

The Entity took us again that night. My fiance and I had put me in harder clothes, and tried to take my purse filled with supplies. When I woke up, just moments before Mark, I was in a plain shirt and loose capris. So much for being able to prepare. Mark and I got our bearings, then sat down on the logs.

"Vince and I found the door you and Kevin opened. We just made it, the Hillbilly was right behind us," I explained. The fire crackled during a brief pause.

"It doesn't work like the game," he replied. At my quizzical look, he continued, voice low. "Only one pair gets to leave through the doors." He grimaced as I sputtered. "Kevin was with me, but wasn't able to cross the threshold. I wasn't allowed back in."

I felt my heart race. "But Vince- The- The chainsaw- He wasn't-"

Two fight three

We looked to the fire. Tendrils of shadow crept out.

I was happy to discover Mark also fell off the log to get away from them.

Two find doors.

It danced on the ground. It surrounded us.

Two find keys.

I yelped in pain as darkness stabbed my hand. Mark's own pained scream followed. Like a needle sewing a hem, the shadows pierced our arms, from palm to shoulder, Mark to me and back again. Each stab sent a wave of fire through me. The mist encased us.

Traps give freedom.

The mist settled, leaving me alone among trees. A dim blue light illuminated the entrance to a mine. I bit my tongue. No one else was around. My arm pulsed a bit in pain. Then the side began to burn. I gritted my teeth and started to walk. No generator lights were in sight. Crows cawed in the distance. The smell of coal and oil burned my nose as I ducked by the wall of the mine entrance. MacMillan Estate. If this was the Entity playing games, I hoped it kept the theme. I hadn't seen any bear traps, though.

Pain shot through my arm. I bit back a scream. It had all focused on my hand. I turned to continue moving.

The pain shifted.

I stopped and stared. My elbow burned, as though an inch above embers. I turned towards it. The pain drifted to my inner arm. I took a step back. It got more intense. I took two steps forward. It dulled. I stared out over the estate, then followed the pain's release. It left me feeling exposed at times, no cover around me, but no movement could be seen in the fog.

"Fuck!"

I jumped out of my skin at the curse. A feminine voice, from behind a rock.

"Hello?" I called out as loud as I dared. A face appeared in the shadows. Blue eyes pleaded with me. I ducked behind the boulder. The girl sat there, failing to keep drips of blood from escaping a nasty gash on her arm. I felt something surge through me, and my hands almost worked on their own. I watched in a bit of wide eyed horror as the Entity's magic stopped the bleeding.

"Yeah," she murmured. "Took us by surprise, too."

"Did you see what the hunter looked like?"

She shook her head. "James and I try not to. If you can hear your heart, you run."

"Or hide," I muttered. "So you've done this all already?"

The girl nodded. "Against some creepy see through fuck." I shuddered. I was NOT looking forward to facing the Wraith – assuming I made it out of this fucking estate alive.

"Samantha, by the way."

I shook my thoughts. "Ani."

She jerked her thumb to point behind her. "There's one of those machines over there. Bet we can get it rollin' faster together."

I nodded and followed her lead. I tried not to think about decisions we'd have to make later. The burn became more intense, but I decided to ignore it for now. We had a generator to work on, and it took almost no time at all to get three of the pistons moving.

A scream of pain echoed in the night.

Samantha and I stopped. The same cold stone from before radiated in my chest. Samantha stared into the mist, color draining from her face. The cold slammed against my right side, the same place as her gaze.

"Keep working," I stated, already at my feet. "I'll help 'em."

I took off as fast as my legs let me. The cold feeling made it hard to breath, so I focused on my arm. The burn was waning. The same direction as the cold.

Ba bump

I dove for cover. My heart pounded in my ears. Boots crunched nearby. Leather and metal creaked, accented by heavy breaths. A low growl made my spine tingle.

My pounding heart left my ears as the cold drained from my chest. I peered out into the dark. Just ahead of me, almost completely hidden, were metal teeth of a trap, tucked away in the tall grass.

Trapper.

I crept towards it, and almost without thinking, reached out. Energy shot through my hand like lightning, and the trap snapped shut. I fell back in surprise. As I tried to catch my breath, my eyes darted back and forth.

Nothing.

I shook off the feeling and continued on. Samantha must have finished the other generator – or was at least close – so I hunted for a new one. The one I came across sparked and sputtered, the pistons starting to slow. It calmed when I started to work on it.

I finished just in time to hear my heart in my ears. I ducked into the shadows. A looming form skulked in the mist. A horribly scarred giant of a man came to view. Faded overalls and a horrific, grinning mask set a terrifying figure. On his shoulder, struggling to free herself, was Samantha.

She screamed as the nearby hook pierced her shoulder. The cold feeling froze my breath. I heard metal creak as the killer set another trap before wandering away. When my heartbeats lessened, I made my way to her. She struggled with the hook, a dark essence quickly forming around the hook. She barely seemed to notice me until I grabbed her sides.

"Oh thank fuck," she breathed. "Let's go, he's still close."

We ran a ways before finding a spot for me to heal her. Once the bleeding stopped, we crept towards some nearby, dim lights, and began to work.

When I gave it one last shove, the lights flared to life, followed by a triumphant horn. Warmth bloomed inside me to the north, and we took off running, Samantha just behind me. Along the mine shaft, around debris, through grass.

I screamed.

The trap held my ankle fast.

I cried out for Samantha's help.

She ran, far past me, out of sight into the mist.