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When the Entity claims a fallen survivor's body and soul alike for its own, said survivor merely joins It for a time while It feeds on the husk it once inhabited. It shall be reborn by the campfire in another body, and the cycle will begin anew. Unfortunately, the Entity is getting a little tired of Its survivors and their ceaseless rambling.
A new Trial was underway, the Entity having deposited its four Survivor and one Killer within the crowded streets of Haddonfield. The Killer was not Its prized Shape, however, but instead the towering, ghastly image of the Plague. A relatively new addition to Its collection, poor Adiris had not seen many hunts since her introduction given her poor performance within her first few Trials, and she (alongside many other Killers, quite frankly) had soon been overshadowed by the introduction of Ghostface. However, she made up for her idiocy by being one of Its most dedicated servants, praying to It day and night painstakingly for hours on end, flourishing numerous offerings and treats. And so, It thought, Adiris will be given another chance. And much to Its delight, she was not disappointing.
Adiris, it seemed, had been preparing herself for her redemption. One of her Pools was already corrupted when the fog cleared, and Adiris wasted no time in claiming its power for her own. Its eyes wandered - the four Survivors entered together, and they wasted no time in crowding around a nearby generator. After several seconds of progress, It watched as smoke and sparks emerged - and a quiet, collective groan was heard. The daring one, Feng Min, immediately removed herself from the crowd and sprinted off, no doubt searching tirelessly for the Hex totem. Ever since Lisa arrived, It mused, Survivors had never properly adjusted to the introduction of Hex: Ruin.
Ruin, indeed, befell them.
Feng Min was quick on her feet, but not as fast as the spitfire of the original four Survivors - and the Plague was faster. Adiris had the sense of mind to do a sweep of her totems first, catching Min off-guard as the girl had just begun her attempts to dismantle the glowing construct. It thought the poor girl's first mistake was not attempting to work through the first generator, which remained unfinished - only an irritated Strode remained on it as the other two had also taken off long before in search of Ruin. Min's second mistake was not running as soon as the heartbeat began. She lingered, and if It had a physical form It would have shaken its head as it observed Min being pulled off the totem and slung over the Killer's shoulder. Several heads darted up upon hearing Min's cry, but as a struggling Min was being taken to a hook Its eyes fell on the still form of Nea, who had stopped in her tracks. Claudette lingered nearby, having hastily hidden within a locker on the porch. Another scream echoed throughout the streets as Min was slid upon a hook. The girl's eyes were on the sky as if she could see It in this moment. The heartbeat began.
Take me, Nea's voice called to It. I'm done. And so be it. The moment Adiris turned the corner and the two made eye contact, the Survivor disintegrated into nothing. For a moment Adiris paused, observing the spot where Nea once stood. Claudette, who had been hiding for an ample amount of time merely a few feet away from the Killer, slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her whimper as a crow perched itself atop the locker and let out a loud Caw! Adiris heard.
The moment Strode pulled Min off the hook, there was another scream from across the street as the doors of the locker were slammed open and Claudette was pulled out.
Fucking garbage, Nea said beside It in her natural tongue. It wasn't sure if It would say so about Claudette.
Min and Strode seemed to share a similar sentiment, at least, throwing one another irritated glances as Claudette was hooked. Being unable to speak in Trials, Min gestured for Strode to rescue Claudette, the former gesturing to the med-kit at her side. The latter nodded, and she was off.
Urban-evasioning off, began Nea again irritability. Just fucking run. Its only response was a rumbling sigh.
Run, indeed, did Laurie do after several seconds of no heartbeat. Such was short-lived, as the heartbeat began anew - Adiris had seen them both and was merely taking a long way around. Upon this Laurie stuttered in her steps, clearly unsure of whether to continue to Claudette - who was soon to begin struggling. The Entity lingered in anticipation, its claws beginning to manifest around the hook, ready to dig into unwilling flesh. It did not have to wait for long; It watched as Claudette's features twisted into frustration, and the bespectacled girl reached up in a first attempt to pull herself off the hook - it would be her last. Adrenaline coursed through It as its claws fully solidified, and immediately one surged towards her chest - the girl caught it with a sharp yelp, and so the struggle began.
Laurie, being close enough to hear Claudette struggling and the heartbeat, made her choice. She ran up to Claudette as Adiris turned the corner, and when the hooked one saw them both - she let go, and Adiris caught up. There was a screech as the Plague's censer slashed across Laurie's back, sending the injured one sprinting off and over a fence. An explosion echoed in the distance as Hex: Ruin was no more, and Claudette's being was soon felt in the space. Nea wasted no time.
You're fucking stupid, Nea snapped, You should have waited for Laurie.
Claudette, of course, wasn't easily angered. You should have run instead of giving up, she replied calmly, I had to let go because the Plague would have gone straight for me if Laurie had made the save, and I would have died anyway. You still had a chance.
Fuck you. All you ever do is crouch around the place the whole time and never do generators.
Feng was the first to leave the generator, Claudette said, now sounding a tad irritable. May I remind you it was your idea to also look for Ruin?
Fuck you. Wear something other than dark colors for once, you bitch.
Maybe don't wear a neon pink wig?
I will throw you into the campfire -
Neither one of them was paying attention to Laurie, who had been downed in the last few seconds and had just been hooked. The Entity observed solely as she struggled once, then twice, then thrice, and then there was another surge of adrenaline as one of its claws came towards her chest. Much to Its surprise, she let it pierce her; that was when her teammates noticed.
Wait, Claudette said in alarm, How?
She killed herself, dumbass. I would too if I had to personally watch you get yanked out of a locker, out of all the fucking ways to get caught, like you had Dwight's small ass brain.
Thank you, Nea, the former snapped, The Plague had Barbeque and Chili, we already established this.
I'll show your ass Barbeque and Chili -
Nea, emerged Laurie's voice, Thank you, so much, for making this Trial hopeless for us before it even started. At least Feng had found that stupid totem. If you had just tried to hide, we wouldn't be in this situation.
When Claudette spoke, now she sounded rather angry. Laurie! Why would you do that? Try to farm me, then kill yourself on the hook? You should have run and let Feng go for it. There was enough time.
You'd think with her killer brother, she'd have the sense and survival skill to live out this Trial. Dumb blonde luck. Well, looks like my work here is done.
You killed yourself on the hook too, Claudette, reminded Laurie, and Nea... you didn't do anything.
I hope you de-pipped, and if we get out of here, I hope you die in a car crash.
•••
Feng Min found hatch, luckily enough. When her fallen teammates returned to the campfire, she had several choice words for the three of them - and they, in turn, had much to say about one another. They were not given long to ramble - the fog was already returning, and they all cried their complaints as it swept them all in its haze.
When it cleared, they didn't recognize their surroundings. They shared gazes - a new map, a new Killer? Why them? Normally, the Entity gave them a sort of "rest period" after Trials, unless it was punishing them for their poor performances?
They next noticed the size of the place. Min gestured towards the large fence encompassing a small stretch of space, and a large, striped tent in front of them. Eyes narrowed, they banded together and inched towards the tent. It was Laurie who hesitantly reached out and pulled back the flap, which revealed nothing but darkness within. Lips pursed, and without any warning, she went in. The others, startled by her sudden decision, shared more gazes before, holding onto one another, they followed.
•••
Denny said he had found it within a chest in the woods, just beyond the treeline of their camp. It hadn't been there before, he insisted, but they never much liked to go beyond the somewhat-comforting glow of the campfire anyways. Lilian suggested they could be used as potential offerings, and no one certainly objected to that. A pile of pictures, faded and yellow, their edges frayed.
Denny, being the jokester that he was, was brandishing his "favorite" to anyone who was interested enough to take a peek. Few of them cared for the history, if there was any, behind the offerings, but their companion seemed particularly delighted about whatever it was that he pulled out of the pile. The others seemed to like it quite a bit, too, given their bright-eyed smiles and chuckles. Maria had never seen them all in such high spirits, and her curiosity tugged at her enough for her to go over to the man.
When Denny noticed her, he perked up. "Maria, holy shit, you gotta see this!" He insisted between laughs, holding out the picture. She took it.
FADED PERFORMERS' PHOTOGRAPH
Tremendously increases the chance of being sent to the Entity's Circus when burned.
"An old, yellowed photograph of four clowns."