Chapter Text
You sat with your back to a tree, taking space away from the survivors at the campfire. You needed the quiet, something that was always in short supply around the others.
You didn’t blame them of course, they needed the conversation as a means to escape. It was just unfortunate that it wasn’t what you needed; and with how terrible the last few trials had gone, you had decided to venture farther into the woods than you had ever previously.
The fog thickened around you as you listened to the insects and other wildlife skittered around. You were certain it was fake, you’ve never seen any critters in all your time here.
The same could be said of the stars in the sky, they were placed too uniformly to feel real. There was no variety, no differing colors or shapes. Still you gazed up at them, trying to find a semblance of peace in them.
A cracked twig broke your reverie but you didn’t move or run. You just find yourself letting out a deep breath and letting whatever was to happen happen.
“What are you doing out here?”
The soft voice didn’t remind you of any of the survivors. Which was… unfortunate. Still you were shocked that a killer would speak to you, not like they weren’t capable. You've heard them cuss or mutter under their breaths before.
“I’m taking in the quiet… It’s as peaceful as it’s going to get here.”
The killer let out a hum before walking over to you. You let your head fall to your knees and waited for them to do as they pleased, hoping it’d be quick so you could pop back into existence by the fire.
Only you didn’t feel the weight of an ax burying itself in you nor the slide of a knife as it pierced you. Instead a loud thump sounded beside you causing your head to pop up.
They sat next to you? Crossed legged as they rested their head against the trunk. You took in the sight of the legion, their face covered by a mask stitched together to keep it from falling apart. Their pink hair fell from their hood and rested against the grimy fabric.
Their head tilted as they noticed your staring. Their calm demeanor left your hair standing and caused your heart to thrum harder in your chest. While this was most likely a trick you couldn’t help but play along.
“What about you? What’s a killer to do in your down time?”
They scoffed, “Susie.”
You cocked your head in confusion, which you assumed they understood because they clarified it as their name.
“I just would prefer you to use my name over calling me a killer.”
Your face pulled together as you tried to understand which caused them to laugh.
“I’m sorry Susie, I guess I’m having a hard time understanding. I was expecting to be killed when you found me.
“Oh… No, that’s only in the trials. At least for me anyways. I’m sure if some of the others found you, you’d be less fortunate.” They shrugged.
You gaped like a fish staring at them as your brain struggled to process the idea of a killer who didn’t actively wish to kill or even be referred to as such.
“Well thank you then, for allowing me to be fortunate”
A melodious giggle came from behind the mask, “You’re welcome! But you still haven’t told me your name.”
You offer yours to be polite, “Have I stolen your spot?”
“No, I was just taking a walk when I stumbled over you.” They paused for a moment but seemed to steel themselves before they spoke again, “You didn’t even try to run… Why?”
“I’d just end up back at the survivors' fire.”
They stayed silent for a second, “Hard trials?”
You sighed, “Really hard, I’ve died my last few. My teammates had even ignored me while I’m hooked because of my bad luck.”
“That… that sucks dude, I’m sorry.”
You wave them off, letting them know it’s nothing they need to worry about. “Honestly I just need to get better at looping, I'm always stumbling or running into a dead end.”
A hum sounded next to you but they didn’t follow it up with words. Instead the two of you sat in silence, looking back at the fake stars in the sky. Surprisingly it wasn’t awkward. You nor they felt the need to fill the air and you appreciated it.
That was until the fog thickened around you trying to drag you into unconsciousness. You groaned and knocked your head back into the tree.
“This was nice, I’m sorry I can’t stay longer. Spider Bitch wants me on her next trial.”
They let out a dark chuckle, “Don’t worry, I’ll see you soon.”
They held up their hands as they were losing form and drifted into the fog. Oh, that spider was such a sadist.
You gave them a weak smile, “No hard feelings then?”
Your vision began to fade but you caught their nod before you were engulfed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you felt your consciousness return, you opened your eyes to see the stars again, this time the entire scenery had changed. You watched as snow gently fell from the sky, landing on and around you.
Unfortunately it felt like nothing, the entity probably not understanding the feeling; instead you felt its weight and with no change in temperature, leaving you unsettled.
You lifted yourself and crouched down, quickly observing your surroundings. Susie was somewhere here and you needed to be prepared for her. The coast was clear so you let out the breath you were holding. It was time to find a generator.
You crouched around the lodge searching while listening intently for if your heart started to drum in your ears. Luckily, you hadn’t run into them or even gotten close for that matter and in that time you hadn’t heard a single scream.
It was odd… Normally at least one of your teammates would have been found and a chase would start but silence filled the air. It allowed you to find a generator and begin repairing it. Wires needed to be stripped with your nails and spliced together, letting the electricity flow to all cylinders; Gears needed to be cleared of any debris; and the fuel lines needed to be properly attached.
Eventually the machine started chugging and the light above you turned on as a chime sounded out, letting the killer know you were here and just finished the generator. You turned to run only as soon as your heart began to kick into overdrive.
But it only got louder as you ran and as you turned the corner you slammed into somebody, causing you to bounce off them and land on the floor. You winced and looked up at Susie as she held her sharpened ruler and stared down at you.
Fuck you should’ve realized you were running towards them, but Susie didn’t move just stared at you.
“Uuuh… H-Hi Susie?”
They crossed their arm to grip the other close, “Hey… Do… Do you want a head start?”
You sighed in defeat, “No, don’t worry about it. You got me fair and square, I should have realized I was running towards you.”
“At least get up? I think it’d be more fair that way.”
They lowered her hand to you and you took it, allowing you to get up.
“You okay? You haven’t found anyone else yet.”
They sighed, “I-I was gonna say that before we were summoned, I’ve been having the same luck when it comes to my trials.”
Ah… Surprisingly you felt bad for them and so you chuckled at the two of your luck, “Well at least you’ll get me.”
They stared at you and you can tell despite the mask that they were surprised.
“We… “ They paused and looked away, “don’t know that for sure, I’ve been struggling to get even one survivor in my last few trials.”
“Well, we’ll see how it goes. Do you just wanna hook me? I don’t really feel like being stabbed anymore than I have to.”
They didn’t respond, instead looking at you in silence.
“N-no? Okay… Do you want to count to three?”
“Five.” It's all they said.
You nodded, “See you soon.”
Then you ran, counting in your head until you reached five but your heart remained silent. Hell you even stood still because you were in disbelief that they hadn’t started the chase. It left you weirdly upset so you stomped back the path you took but they were gone by the time you got there.
What were they thinking! They’re supposed to be a killer, they can’t be getting all sentimental just because you talked once. Was it even allowed? Like you’ve heard of some killers taking pity on survivors but that’s a rarity. You’re determined to find them and confront them after you help finish off the rest of the generators.
You stormed off and crept along the lodge looking inside windows while checking for another generator. A siren sounded in the distance followed by a scream ringing out and another from a different voice soon after. It seemed that two of your teammates finished a generator but got caught.
You ignored them because neither seemed to have been incapacitated. Instead you peaked into a window and found a generator, you pulled yourself into the room. You crept closer only for a head to pop out above the generator to reveal Dwight.
“J-jesus… you startled me. H-hop on the gen with me?”
You nodded and rushed to the otherside, pulling at wires.
“Do you know what killer’s out there? They’ve been really quiet?”
You hum, “Yeah it’s the legion… Susie specifically.”
“Y-you know their name?!”
“Yeah, I ran into them outside the survivors’ campfire and we talked for a bit.”
“You… You talked to a killer! And they didn’t y’know… kill you?”
“Nope.” You made sure to pop the P.
The two of you remained quiet as you focused on the task at hand. That was until Dwight decided to break the silence.
“Is Susie the pink haired girl?”
“Pink hair, yes.”
He hummed only for the generator to explode on his side, obviously your little conversation distracted him enough to cross two wrong wires.
“Fuck!” He stood up quickly and ran away.
You laughed at his panic and continued working on the generator, if Susie was going to come then let them. You stripped wires and tied them together then moved on to clearing debris that blocked the gears. Eventually a sound played from the siren and the light turned on. Good, three generators down.
That was when you heard your heart start beating louder. You found a spot and leaned you back against the wall and waited to be caught.
It took a few seconds before they came barreling through the door with their knife held above their head, at least that was true until they saw you and froze in place. They dropped their hands to their knees trying to get back their air after suddenly losing their frenzy.
“You know you can’t just wait to find us after we finish a generator.”
They huffed, “I-It's the easiest way to find you guys… And it’s not like I’m not searching for you before they’re finished.”
You hummed, “I see, well do you let everyone have a headstart from you? Then not chase them?”
“T-there was another survivor that showed up, I-I chased them instead.” They gripped their arm and looked away.
It was a horrible lie really, no one would run right next to a generator right after it had been finished. Which led you to just hum out your disbelief.
They suddenly straightened and pointed their finger at you, “Wait! Why do you even care? I’m the killer! You’re supposed to run away, not chide me for not being good at my job!”
“Because you’re letting me get away with it!” You raised your hands in disbelief. “You stopped as soon as you saw me, aren’t you supposed to stab me? You’re acting all weird just because we talked for a little bit.”
“You said you were having a hard time so I thought I’d take pity on you for this trial!”
“Take pity on yourself, you haven’t even gotten one of us!”
They let out an annoyed groan, only for a siren to sound letting both of you know the last generator had been completed.
You looked at them and nodded your head in the direction of the noise, “Isn’t that your cue? I’m gonna go wait by the fire, come get me when you finish up.”
You strode right past them as they stood in shock, walking to the center of the lodge and finding a seat around the stone fireplace. You kicked up your feet and listened to the sounds around you.
It didn’t take long for you to hear a scream, then followed by the opening of one of the exit gates. Your teammates must be dodging Susie well because you didn’t hear anymore screams before you felt a timer linger over you.
You were the last one in the trial, looks like everyone else escaped. You waited, still, until your heartbeat began to play in your ears.
“The gates open, you might as well go.”
You hummed, “You didn’t get anyone?”
Silence came from them but it didn’t matter you already knew the answer.
“What's the punishment for that?”
They sighed before walking over and sitting on the opposite end of the couch, “What the Entity doesn’t get from sacrifices she takes from me.”
Ah so torture, pretty typical. You stretched and let out a soft groan before asking the punishment for just one sacrifice.
“Is a lot less than none. You stop getting punished at three and at four you get rewarded, but I haven’t gotten there yet.”
You stood up and patted the seat of your pants, “Well let’s go then.”
They looked up at you, “Just go to the gate.”
You shrugged, “I’m gonna stay here, so either I will be sacrificed by you or I will go directly to the Spider Bitch.”
They groaned but got up, “Fine but you’re going to meet me back at that tree after the trial.”
“That’s fair.”
You let them pick you up and bring you over to the nearest hook. Your determination couldn’t suppress the scream of pain that tore through you as the hook pierced through your shoulder.
“Oh shit, are you okay?”
You panted for a second but managed a nod before spindley claw-like limbs descended from the sky and because you didn’t put up a fight, pierced directly through you.
As your consciousness was fading you heard Susie one last time, “I’m sorry… ”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You felt your consciousness returning, just thought with no form but then you felt yourself thicken in the fog. Your legs felt real as they walked against your control, your body followed soon and as with every second you became whole again. You legs stopped right at the edge of the fog with the survivor camp just outside.
You stepped forward causing the fog to vanish and all the survivors turned to you. Most of them were shocked and confused.
Dwight was the first to speak, “What happened? We had the gate open and the rest of us got out. You hadn’t even been hit once!”
You rolled the shoulder that had been pierced, “They didn’t get anyone so I felt bad.”
“You let them sacrifice you?! On purpose?!”
Murmurs spread throughout the crowd of survivors but you ignored them, “Yup and now I’m gonna go meet up with them, bye y’all.”
You walked away from the crowd in the direction of the tree you and Susie had first met. It didn’t take long but when you got there they were already there, pulling at grass.
“Yo.”
They startled and looked up, “Jeez dude.”
It caused you to laugh before you sat down next to them, “You’re pretty jumpy for a killer.”
Which of course earned you a groan, “Don’t call me that, please.”
“Sorry you told me not to last time. I shouldn’t have done it.”
They took off their mask and you got the first glimpse of who they were. They’re quite pretty, despite the sad look on their face, there was even the hint of pink braces when you looked at her frown. Suddenly the mask flashed in your mind and you connected the stitches to their braces. You let out a loud laugh that they jumped at.
“What? Is there something on my face?!”
You wiped the tears that were threatening to fall from your eyes, “No, no. I just realized the stitches on your mask are braces.”
Their face blew up in a dark blush. “S-shut up… “
“It’s cute, I promise.”
With that you had the mask slam into your head, you shook off your stun to look at them as they pouted at you.
“You were so reluctant to sacrifice me but you’re still okay with throwing your mask at me?”
“Yes and I’ll do it again.”
You grabbed the mask from the floor and handed it back to them, “Fine… I’ll stop teasing you.”
“Thank you… “
You nodded, “So I never asked, how should I refer to you?”
“Oh uhm… She/They. You?”
“She/Her.”
She nodded, “Sooo, how are you feeling?”
“Hmm… My head hurts but that's probably because of the mask you threw at me, other than that my shoulders healed. How about you? Not punished too severely?”
She shook her head, “Not badly, thanks to you. The rest of the Legion, my family, even praised me when I got back.”
“That’s good! I’m happy to have helped.”
They nodded and stayed silent for a moment, which you respected. There was no need to force the conversation along and the quiet was nice.
“Can- Can I hold you?”
It shocked you hearing that from her, you looked back at them to see a dark blush spread across their face. They didn’t look at you, instead looked off at a dirt patch that really seemed to have captured her attention.
“Y-yeah, i-if you’re sure?”
She nodded and spread her arms, which you crawled in between resting your head on her chest. They tucked their face into your hair as their arms encompassed you.
“I’m sorry for hurting you… “
It was mumbled into your hair but you still heard it.
“Don’t worry about it, it's your job.”
She scoffed, “Hell of a job… “
“Can I ask you about that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well you’re the first… “ you wracked your brain to try to find an alternative to killer, “non-survivor here that I’ve met that doesn’t seem to enjoy what you do.”
They took in a deep breath before sighing it out, they didn’t respond so you planned to let it go.
“This place is a punishment for something me and my family did.”
You shifted to look up at her, “What do you mean?”
“We killed someone, back in the real world… Frank stabbed him first then the knife was passed between us all. I wanted to fit in so I stabbed him too… “
You stayed silent but felt as she started to scratch your scalp, seemingly to comfort herself.
“We were taken right after we buried the body. The rest of the Legion adapted fast, I-I didn’t. I just don’t have the drive when I’m alone.”
“So you don’t like doing this? It’s why you prefer I call you Susie?”
They nodded.
“I’m sorry… “
She shook her head, “Don’t be, this is my punishment. I deserve it.”
“And the rest of the Legion are okay with that? You not… “ Another pause to find a euphemism, “performing?”
“They bully me about it but it’s not anything that serious. They’re still my family, they just want me to succeed and when I’m with them… I do too.”
“That’s heavy… “
“Yeah sorry for dropping that on you after only knowing each other for an hour or two.”
You laughed, “Dude you're fine, there’s no therapists here so you gotta get the emotions out somehow. Even if it's to practically a stranger while you’re hugging them.”
Their face bloomed in another dark blush, “Look I just killed you, let me comfort you and myself.”
You hummed and pulled closer to her, “And thank you for this, I haven’t gotten much physical touch since I got here.”
“It’s no problem, the rest of the Legion wouldn’t comfort me like this after a trial so thank you.”
You hummed and lifted your head, “I’ll make you a deal?”
She looked down at you, “Yeah?”
“Yeah, we meet up at this tree. I solve your problem, you solve mine?”
“Oh? What’s my problem?”
“You feel guilty after trials and need comfort, you come here and I’ll give you all the aftercare you need. In exchange, you hold me… like this.”
She tilted her head and stared into your eyes before nodding.
You beamed at her with a big smile, “Awesome, then it's a deal.”
They smiled back and you got to see her cute smile and braces.
The two of you sat like that with her scratching your scalp as you listened to her heartbeats until you drifted to sleep.