You don't understand what's happening. You were laying in your bed, wondering if you should take that job at the local library when a thic black smoke crawled under the kitchen door.
You jumped out of bed, scared that you forgot to turn the oven off and it will burn the entire building down.
You open the door promptly to see only black smoke everywhere. Carefully, you enter the room, face covered by your shirt, and try to find the origin of this mess.
One step.
Your eyes and throat sting and you feel the urge to cough.
Two steps.
You feel dizzy, nauseous, the world start to spin in a way that defies physics laws.
Three steps.
It's spinning faster and stronger. You're having a hard time keeping your balance. Breathing hurts.
Four steps.
You fall on the ground. Heavy, numb and pale.
It spins more and more. It hurts too. You can't breath anymore.
Was that a gas leak?
It's too late to ask. As you feel your consciousness slowly slumber into the void, only one thought remains.
I don't want to die.
I don't want to die.
I don't want to die!
I DON'T WANT TO DIE!
I DON'T WANT TO DIE!
...
...
I don't want to die.
...
...
When you think the end has come, a voice resonate in your head. You don't understand its words, it's using a language you never heard about. But strangely, you understand it's message.
You are the new hope feeder and the first to cross the line of both being a prey and a predator.
What ever it is, it doesn't give you enough time to put sens with those words that you feel yourself fall.
After a bit, you land somewhere, in the dust. The fog get thinner and thinner and finally dissappear.
The first thing you see is a bright light. Too bright for you. You take a couple of secondes to accommodate.
The light source is a campfire.
Now your eyes can focus, you start to see trees being the flammes. Many trees. Clearly a forest.
Some trees are moving.
You need to focus a bit more to realise that you are not alone. In fact, a large groupe of people is surrounding you.
None of them are moving yet, they just stare at you in silence, like they are waiting something from you. Maybe a sign, something to tell that you are alive.
As you start feeling your body again, you try to stand up ; but it's quite hard when you're still half paralized. Someone approaches you and hold your arm to give you support. Another one join on the other side and you are now on your feet.
Since you can't keep your balance, they gently bring you to a nearby log to sit you on.
You take a couple minutes to deep breath and wake yourself up before trying any type of interactions with the strangers around you.
" Where am I ? " you finally say.
" You want the optimistic or the pessimistic version ? "
" The realistic one. "
Another voice join in :
" Hard to be realistic in a world like this but to make it simple, we are in the entity's realm. A kinda pocket dimension from a sort of maleficent god-like arachnid creature. "
You freeze. Why does this description remind you something. Like, a déjà-vu?
You slowly rise your head to scan everyone faces and soon realise that you know ALL of them. You know exactly where you at and what does it mean.
Just thinking of it, you feel yourself faint again.
You wake up a minute later,next to the same campfire with the same person surrounding you.
It wasn't a dream.
This time, you don't need help to get up. You literally jump away and get in a panic crisis.
" No, no, no, no... Why is this real? It can't be real! Why am i not dreaming. Oh no, oh no... why me? Why did it had to be me? No..."
"Hey. Hey ! Chill out ok. I know it's hard to believe but that's the truth we all have to deal with and..."
"I know exactly what it is, Nea ! "
You go back to your monologue without noticing that everyone is looking at you in shock.
" How did you know my name? I've never met you before. Damn, I thought Jeff was the creepiest."
" Hey! Not cool."
A young man with glasses that you know as Dwight get closer and ask you how you know Nea and if you know anyone else here.
You stay where you are, pale and sweaty, staring at them in the eyes. They are all ears, waiting for your answer.
"You don't understand... you can't understand. I know you all. I know everything about this place... the entity... the killers... the survivors... i even know some secrets of yours."
A black lady with a strong french accent named Élodie steps in:
" Make us understand then ! Whatever how strange and abnormal it is, explain it. If you know us that well, you must be aware that we've witness many shits down here. We can handle some more weirdness. "
They all smile and nod at Elodie's speech and invite you to sit back and relax while giving a bit of storytelling next to the campfire.
Figuring out that panicking won't change the fact that you are now stuck here forever, you listen to their advices, ease up, sit on a log, and spill the tea.
" Where I come from, in my world, all of this, all of you, are just part of a video game named Dead by daylight. I used to play that game a lot before and I was playing as much on the killer and the survivor side."
They stay silent. You can feel the tension building up as much as they get how uncanny this situation is.
" On a scale of ten, how weird is it to you Élodie? "
" Shut up Steve. So... Um... What's your name though? "
" (y/n). My name is (y/n). "
" Fine. Nice to meet you (y/n). So, you are telling us, that before coming here, all of this was a video game and you were playing with our lives? "
" What? No! I mean... I wasn't playing with your life since the game wasn't actually controlling anything or anyone here. It's more like... I don't know how to explain it. "
" As if a fiction came to life in an other dimension. I think I get the idea. "
Thanks to Haddie, those who started to tense up, thinking you were the one manipulating their lives, relaxed a bit.
" Yes, exactly. And I got even more weird for you. "
" It can be weirder? " asks Yun-Jin.
" Well, in the game, some of you were concidered 'original',meaning that you only exist in that game. But some of you are 'licensed' meaning they came from other stories, like books or movies, and were put in the game. Like, fiction inside fiction."
" Can we stop for now? I'm starting to have a headache and I'm not sure on how I should feel about all of this. "
" Leon is right. That's a lot of informations we need to 'digest' if I can say so. I'd say we ask more question about how your world was later. Let's first welcome you properly. Welcome abord (y/n). You are now a survivor. "
Nea comes by and firmly pat your should. Everybody try to relax and have fun together.
You are a survivor.
Somethings feels odd but you can't tell what. You decide to chill for now and celebrate with them.
Better to get any opportunity to have a good time before you get in your first trial.