CHAPTER ONE

🔪🔪🔪

"At some point, the excitement of hooking one of us becomes more important than the desire to kill us."

🔪🔪🔪

"Shouldn't we help the other woman?" Meg asked softly as she stalked through the forest with Laurie. The woman glanced over her shoulder, looking off into the distance.

"Ash already got her," she assured, stopping as they both came upon a generator. "Hopefully one of them finds a med kit and gets her patched up."

Meg looked around, tense as she strained to listen for the heartbeat. It was one of the few ways they knew a killer was coming, Laurie explained; the louder the heartbeat, the closer they were. She had learned from other survivors, however, that this was not always the case. A phantom cloaked himself in invisibility, silent and yet somehow unable to hurt them without first revealing himself. She was certain there were others like him, or perhaps those with a smaller radius that could not be touched, however the elder had yet to encounter such a killer.

"These generators . . . they power an exit gate?" Meg asked hopefully, keeping herself as quiet as possible.

"Five in total," Laurie murmured back, "and from what I've been able to tell, there's always ever only four of us - and one killer. Careful," she grabbed the girl's wrist as she attempted to cross some wires, green eyes giving her an intense stare, "if you mess something up and it explodes, it'll bring him here. Whatever he is."

"He has bear traps," Meg glanced around, trying to still the uncontrollable shaking of her hands. "I encountered one when I first woke up. I disabled it, but he could easily reset it . . ."

"Then watch where you step," Laurie muttered, sparks flying from her hands, yet she kept going. She too was looking around, the both of them tensing as a soft beat began to pulse against their ears. Laurie kept working, trying to not rush as she shifted her weight. The repairs were taking much longer than Meg would have liked, Laurie quietly murmuring instructions to her as the beat steadily grew louder.

"We should go," Meg whimpered, but Laurie shook her head.

"Wait," she hissed, looking up and around. Meg looked too, flinching as she saw a man dart through the woods. "He's on Ash. Come on, keep going. If he starts coming this way, I'll tell you to run. Remember what I told you about the pallets, windows, and lockers."

"Pallets will slow him down," Meg nodded, chewing her lip as the heartbeat kept its steady rhythm. "Pray he doesn't vault over the window to get to me."

And don't hide in a locker unless you know he won't find you.

Three hooks, and you're out.

That was the ritual, Laurie had explained. The killer hunted the survivors, most taking two hits to down them. It did not make much sense, the older woman admitted, but she suspected it was because the supernatural Entity overseeing every ritual required it to be this way in order to effectively harvest the soul. And, perhaps, it was just an easy way to gain entertainment out of the whole ordeal. Regardless, the first hit would incapacitate them, and a second would take them down. The killer would brutally hook them, and they had two minutes to be unhooked before they were sacrificed to the Entity. They found that if they were unhooked within the first sixty seconds, then the second time they were hooked they had yet another sixty to be rescued before the ritual was complete. But the third time, and they were dead. If they were not rescued after the first minute . . .

Once those sixty seconds are up, fight for your life. And fight until you can't any longer.

Meg wiped the tears off her cheeks, forcing herself to focus despite the fact she just wanted to break down and scream. That would help no one, especially not herself.

Gasping breaths broke their concentration, the blonde from before limping towards them with gurgling wheezes. She clutched her side, clothes soaked in blood as it dripped from the wound and onto the ground.

"No, no," the woman gasped as Laurie stood from the generator, waving her back down. "Let's finish this before he comes back."

"I saw a chest not far from here," Laurie replied softly. "I didn't get a chance to open it, but I hope there's a med kit in there."

"Me too," the third of their party knelt down, beginning to work with them. She did not bother introducing herself, though Meg supposed this was not the time for such pleasantries. Still, her stomach rolled as she saw the woman's fingers coat the wires in blood, the pool at her feet growing steadily. Even Laurie looked worried, occasionally eyeing the visceral liquid as she watched out for them.

"Almost there," the blonde hissed softly, connecting the final pieces. The generator roared to life, the lights above them flashing brightly and nearly simultaneously deafening and blinding Meg.

"Find another generator," Laurie shot to her feet. "Cheryl, with me. Meg, fix what you can, meet up with Ash if you get the chance."

"N-no, I can't go alone-" she squeaked, receiving a vicious glare which caused her to pause.

"Learn to," the woman spat at her, grabbing Cheryl's arm. "We'll find you once we get her some help. You do your part."

Meg watched them go, her own heart thundering in her chest in tandem with the beat in her ears, which she realized was growing steadily louder.

Ignoring the pang in her heart from Laurie's rejection she took off in the opposite direction, throwing herself through the trees. In her haste she nearly forgot to watch her footing, her eyes quickly looking towards the ground. Slowing down, she noted how the heartbeat diminished, becoming quieter as she weaved through the foliage. Another abandoned structure slowly emerged from the mist, Meg taking deep breaths as she ducked around a corner. It was only a few walls, a window to one side as a pallet rested against the opposing wall. She briefly considered throwing it down preemptively, however she was certain the noise would alert the killer to her location.

There was no generator, Meg swallowing her terror as she ventured past the ruins. Thankfully, it was not long before the quiet hum of a generator, weak and unfinished, reached her ears, the young girl picking up the pace.

Pistons lazily chugged along, a few connected wires barely powering the poor thing. With several quick looks over her shoulder Meg started working, the shaking of her body having yet to even pause. Anxiety ate at her like an illness, the fear of losing focus as equal as being too focused, Meg shivering as a chill ran down her spine.

She had barely touched the wires when the heartbeat came back again, its presence becoming stronger much faster than Meg predicted. As its strength nearly doubled in intensity within the second she flinched, dropping a wire. It sparked against another, the generator's engine releasing a vicious bang as the mismatch caused a part of it to explode.

Shielding her face just in time, Meg caught movement out of the corner of her eye, looking over the top of the generator. There, closing in swiftly, was the killer, his gruesome mask grinning at her with demented delight, his rustic cleaver dripping with Cheryl's freshly spilled blood. His long strides were closing distance at impossible speeds, the trap in his hand swinging viciously.

Not a second thought came into her mind as she burst into a sprint, running back towards the ruins, praying she could lose him before he could catch up. Aggressive slams resounded behind her, a quick glance over her shoulder revealing the killer had paused to kick at the generator, undoing some of her hard work.

Cursing under her breath Meg turned a corner as fast as she dared, brushing past the pallet for the time being and stopping to catch her breath. The pounding in her ears remained, now almost certain she was the new prey to this insane killer.

I don't want to die. I don't want to die.

The beat now flooding her ears she saw her pursuer round the same corner, following a trail only he seemed able to track. She ran straight towards the window, throwing herself over it and turning to return to the pallet, hopefully to buy herself some time with a loop-

"Ah!" She screamed, searing fire tearing up her leg as the bear trap's teeth sunk into her flesh, burying itself so deep she swore it touched her bone. Falling into a heap she took a deep, ragged breath, screaming again as her hands clamped around the rusty iron.

"No, no, no," chanting as the beat got louder, she looked over her shoulder to see the knees of the killer. "No, no, no!"

A vicious hand grabbed the back of her shirt, the bear trap releasing her as the Trapper hauled her over his shoulder.

"Let me go!" She screamed, beating her fists against the taut muscles of his back, his spine rippling as he bent down again to reset his trap. Meg wriggled, attempting to kick at his face while simultaneously beating against the bones which protruded from his back, tears running in waves down her cheeks. With her fear the pain dulled, but all she could think about was the hook, the hook, terrified of the implications of the horrific device offering her up to the Entity. She could not see where the killer was going, only hearing his footsteps and eager breath as he strode towards a hook.

"Hey!" A woman barked, light suddenly bursting forth and illuminating the forest around the pair. The killer's chest shook as he roared in pain, dropping Meg like a sack of potatoes to the ground.

A hand gripped her forearm, Meg looking up as Laurie tugged her to her feet.

"Run!" She pushed the girl forward, the skittish youngster needing no further prompting to start running away, hearing Laurie keeping pace beside her. As they ran the heartbeat subsided for a brief moment, then surged to life once more, the trapper on their tail as he stormed through the underbrush. Even then, Meg felt desperate relief for her saviour, simultaneously sobbing and gasping for breath as they ran as fast as they could possibly manage, her injured leg limping along pathetically.

Laurie turned around with almost impossible speed, activating the flashlight in her hand again as the killer was nearly among them, the beam hitting him directly in the face again. He snarled, swiping haphazardly with his cleaver. Laurie leapt back, starting to backpedal swiftly, turning the flashlight off once more after effectively blinding him.

"Keep going!" She shouted at Meg. "Find Ash, he has the med kit!"

Worried for Laurie and yet knowing full well she was better off without her injured self getting in the way, Meg obeyed. She limped as fast as she could, wishing there was some way she could find the others without blindly running about.

Avoiding the windows and entrances to ruins at all costs she slowed as the heartbeat within her faded, Laurie leading the killer away in another horrible game of cat and mouse. Her ears strained, listening for any possible noises the others could be making, unable to help seethe and cry out as her ankle throbbed.

It had been a bum joint to begin with, Meg realizing she had not had any problems with it prior to getting trapped. Before all of this, she had been jumped and her ankle borderline destroyed by an unknown assailant, though she was almost certain it was an intentional sabotage by another, jealous teammate. Limping around on it was nothing new to her, but the pain was significantly different. This throbbing was a sharp, burning type of pain, unlike the ache of her broken bone.

She wondered what a med kit of all things was going to do for her.

As she wandered the thrum of the malicious heart occasionally reached her ears, but just as quickly faded away, the girl wondering if she was just getting good at avoiding the killer, or if he was being led through a rather complex loop by Laurie. Either way, she was just grateful he was no longer after her.

That caused a sob to burst from her throat, bubbling out in frantic, heaving breaths. She had been close, so close, and if Laurie had not been there . . .

Having yet to experience - or see - a successful hook, she felt she was underestimating the true fear which should have been coursing through her. She prayed to never have to experience it.

Another soft thrum of a generator eventually pierced through the mist, leading her into a thicket of trees. She saw Cheryl, the woman's torso wrapped tightly and stopping her bleeding, and she actually looked much better than when Meg had first seen her.

The blonde's head shot up as she sensed Meg's presence, letting loose a breath and tilting her head up to call softly over the generator.

"Ash, she needs healed."

A man stood from behind the generator, Meg flinching briefly, as he was not what she expected. His expression was rugged, salt and pepper hair swept back from a face that was perhaps at one point handsome, but age and stress had caused hard and permanent lines to crease his skin. His jean shirt was covered in blood, though that was not nearly as alarming as his right hand - what was supposed to be his right hand.

A metal replacement, very reminiscent of a Star Wars prosthetic, replaced his entire arm and half of his forearm. Its joints creaked softly as he moved each finger, beckoning her with it while clearly ignoring her horrified expression.

"Get over here, kid," he grunted, mutter barely heard over the thrum of the engine, "and gimme the ankle."

Limping over Meg just awkwardly stood there as he popped open a bright red kit, her ankle suspended in the air close to his face. Without much ceremony he grabbed her shin, holding the appendage steady as he began wrapping it with gauze.

And as simple as it was she felt immediately improved, finding he only had to wrap it a few times before it was almost as good as new, the disgruntled man throwing the remaining material back in the kit and snapping it shut.

"Laurie teach you how to repair a gen?" He asked gruffly.

"She told me about it," Meg knelt down, already displeased by his cold attitude, "and I know to be careful."

Sticking her hands in the greasy device she started to work, Cheryl and Ash silently continuing with her. With the three of them together the repair went much faster, though she suspected the two of them were nearly done with it before she managed to find them.

The generator's lights flashed to life with the final repair, Ash leaping to his feet and looking around.

"We've got one more," he informed them. "Let's find one before Laurie runs out of steam - or hiding spots."

"There's one back that way," Meg pointed, though she had to give a vague direction, as she already could not recall which way she had come from, "I was working on it before he . . . found me. And got me."

"Where you were trapped?" Cheryl questioned.

"Y-yeah," Meg was unsure if she was supposed to feel embarrassed, unsure if they could actually hear her from all the way over here. "Just past the ruins there."

"Let's get going then," Ash started running, Meg wondering if he was just doing so to be in charge, or if he actually knew where they were going.

"How can you tell?" She asked, starting to pick up the pace with them, "how do you even know where I was?"

"Well, we can hear when someone screams," Cheryl supplied helpfully, keeping her voice down, "no matter where they are. And when you are downed, or in your case trapped, an aura suddenly activates. It's a red spot in your vision."

"Like when you went down," Meg suddenly put the pieces together, a little bewildered. An aura? What was that even supposed to mean?

"You could probably see him pick me up and hook me," Cheryl said bitterly, "that's an aura. Yours lit up when you stepped in that bear trap."

Meg nodded slowly, her spine stiffening as a heartbeat began to pulse delicately against her ears. Neither Ash nor Cheryl seemed that concerned, even as they got closer and the steady beat became louder. Meg followed, desperately trying to push down her instinct to get away, run, wanting to trust the pair which seemed to know quite clearly what they were doing.

She suppressed a cry as they ran past Laurie, the woman's hand clutching a bleeding side, the flashlight in her hand slick with blood. She was still several yards away, closely followed behind by the Trapper. His deep, ragged breathing was audible even from this distance, Meg shuddering as she recalled hearing it rattle against her own body.

Looking forward at Cheryl, a lump formed in her throat. The woman had been hooked once already. Did she know someone was coming for her? Or did she hang there, wondering if this was it for her?

The generator from before was still alive, though barely, its soft noise helping lead them to its location.

"Wait," Ash stopped, Meg nearly ramming into Cheryl's back as they too skidded to an immediate stop. He crouched down, metal hand slowly reaching forward and into the tall grass. A vicious snap echoed in the forest, though the man's reflexes proved swift in avoiding the bear trap's metallic clutches. Meg felt sick as the sound reverberated through the trees, both her and Cheryl looking around for any other traps nearby.

"I think we're clear," the blonde brushed some hair out of her eyes, taking a deep breath before working on the generator. Meg knelt beside her, the heartbeat now a steady throbbing in her eardrums. Laurie was keeping the trapper busy, but at a single location.

They made significant progress when the woman finally screamed, Meg's gaze snapping up to see her red aura glowing amongst the trees. She nearly miscrossed a pair of wires, refocusing on her task even as worry clogged her throat.

"We need to help," she gasped, going to leap to her feet when Ash snapped his steely gaze to her.

"You stay right there," he instructed viciously, his tone enough to get Meg to settle back down on her knees again. "Let's get this finished as fast as possible. This is her first hook, she can wait."

Meg stared at him, wondering if he was being serious. "We can't just-"

Laurie screamed again, Meg's mouth agape as her aura briefly became stronger, showing her body curled in on itself against the hook which pierced her. Her hands fisted.

"I'm not leaving her," she snarled.

"This is our last generator," the man returned her savage spite, "the faster we get it done, the faster those gates are activated and we can open them. Once that happens, then we get Laurie. She knows we're coming."

"Does she?" Meg challenged,

"We don't have time for this," Cheryl hissed at both of them. "Ash, go get Laurie. Meg and I can handle this generator ourselves."

He turned his glare onto the other woman, who matched his look with equal intensity. Meg refused to work until he finally sighed, throwing the medical kit on the ground.

"Keep this," he said sharply, "because it'll do me no good if I get downed."

Turning on his heel he started jogging off, Meg glaring at his back before finally working on the generator once more.

Cheryl sighed. "I promise you, we don't leave people behind," she spoke quietly, "but you need to understand when we're this close to opening the gates, our priorities change. Laurie is safe on that hook for now - she isn't going anywhere. We get this gen done, we get those gates open, then we can all escape."

"I just-" Meg bit her tongue, but only for a split second, "she saved me. I can't just let her die."

"She won't," Cheryl chuckled with a soft breath of air, "at least not this round. Laurie's tougher than she looks."

Chewing on her lip, Meg continued working on the generator. This time she connected the final wires, Cheryl whooping as it roared to brilliant life.

"Alright!" She cheered, her head turning in the same direction to look at a brilliant white light, one which was paired with another nearly equidistant from it that it was the survivors. "Those are the two gates. We just need to open one. Come on!"

"Laurie isn't unhooked yet," Meg saw her aura plain as day, anxious as Cheryl picked up the abandoned medical kit.

"Ash will get her, don't worry," she assured, seeming to have a lot of faith in a man who, Meg, thought, did not seem to really care about any of them. "Let's get to that gate before big and nasty does. Some killers will stake out the gates to try and keep survivors from opening them."

Meg followed her, the pair jogging towards where the first light had lit up.

"How many killers have you gone through?" She asked, then immediately continued with, "if you want to tell me. I, uh, don't know how personal this all is."

Cheryl's smile was thin.

"Only four," she said, her cheeks becoming a little more pale, "Laurie and Ash helped me through them all . . . we . . . we lost Yui."

Her voice cracked at the end, Meg immediately feeling guilty for her prying.

"You don't need to keep talking about it," she said, ducking her head in shame. I must be a sorry replacement for her. "Let's get these gates open."

With a nod and a deep breath, Cheryl's head perked up again, the pair of them coming upon a rather odd, out-of-place sight.

Metallic doors, appearing to be made of thrown-together materials, were firmly shut together. Meg saw a lever next to them, its lights brightly lit to indicate there was power feeding into the mechanism.

So close to surviving.

But . . . then what?

Cheryl gripped the handle and pulled, an alarm blaring out into the arena behind them to indicate its activation. She held it tight, keeping it pressed down as the doors inner mechanisms began to move from within, Meg listening as the heavy machinery groaned to life.

Covering Cheryl's back she looked out, heart hammering wildly in her chest.

"Laurie's aura is gone," she announced in relief.

"Hopefully they're at the other gate," Cheryl spoke over her shoulder, "but if not, that means they're coming our way. Which also means big bad and ugly is also heading towards us."

"He can't follow us out of here, can he?" The inexperienced survivor asked fearfully.

"You have to sprint past the stonework," Cheryl replied grimly, "then you enter a new arena, and the Entity prevents the killer from getting to us for a solid sixty seconds. Then the game begins anew, with a different killer."

The alarms blared again, the shriek of moving old metal announcing the opening gates. They parted slowly, carefully revealing yet another arena shrouded in mist, this one just as unnerving as the first.

"If you want to run ahead, go for it," Cheryl said as she carefully stepped into the entrance. "But I'm going to wait here, and make sure if anybody is hooked they aren't left for dead."

Meg took a deep breath. "Will I see you again?" She asked, worried.

"Yes," the other woman sounded so sure.

Still, it did not sit right with Meg to just leave, taking post right next to her.

"I won't leave you behind," she promised, offering Cheryl a small smile, "back-up for the back-up."

That elicited a small, but still genuine laugh from her. "Thanks," she flashed a grin, the two of them staring out into the map.

They did not have to wait long before the sound of the beating heart grew near, Meg taking a fearful step back as Cheryl tensed to run. From the trees they saw two figures weaving back and forth, one limping along as the other sprinted beside them, and just past their frantic forms . . .

"Let's go, let's go!" Ash shouted as they broke through the trees, Cheryl and Meg turning and making a break for the exit. A cold chill swept through her body, the woman unsure if she had been dunked in ice water or if a supernatural presence had just washed through her. Yet as she continued on she realized her weariness was replaced with energy, her ankle healing.

Looking back she saw Laurie slowly straighten into an upright position, her hand falling from her side to reveal the wound slowly closing up. Skin stitched itself together, the blood on her clothes remaining, yet she looked as if she had just stepped out of a haunted house, not a fight for her life.

Meg shouldn't have, but she did, looking past the two elder survivors to see the trapper staring straight at her, his white mask grinning from behind the black tendrils of something evil keeping him at bay. She shuddered, slowing to a stop as the next arena slowly faded into view, the four of them standing amongst more trees.

"Yet another forest," Ash huffed. "That's just groovy."