Chapter Text
The girl cursed underneath her breath. She held back a groan in pain as her hand slipped from her side, causing more blood to pour between her fingers. Leaning her head against the rusty car, she let out a huff, allowing the feeling of light-headedness to wash over her. The trial had gone to shit. She and Dwight had barely gotten halfway on a generator when he struck; quick as a viper. He had grabbed a hold of her top, and ripped her off the machinery, no warnings nor alarms to help her realize the plight she was soon to meet. Really it had been her own fault, but she couldn’t seem to concentrate the past trials. She wasn’t sure if it had been weeks or even months, but then again there was no point in even trying to understand the concept of time in this place. She couldn’t even say nor guess if someone had asked, how long she had been in The Fog. There would be no satisfying answer to give. It could be several years for all she knew. Dwight had managed to run off amidst her capture but had only managed to lead the horror straight towards Tapp. In the meanwhile, Jake had gotten her off the hook. Frustratingly enough, they hadn’t gotten too far away before the killer was upon them once again, slashing the girl to the ground and following after the saboteur. Considering the amount of time Dwight and Tapp had been placed on their respective meat hooks, it wasn’t too hard to analyse the sounds of The Entity being summoned, and with Jake’s shout in the distance, his fate was as sealed as the rest of them. The only one left was her; bleeding out beside a stack of tires. The sound of another body being ripped away signalled her own incoming doom, and she couldn’t wait. She was so tired and after so much blood and pain during such a quick amount of time, the girl didn’t want anything else than the feeling of The Entity grabbing at her soul. She was done with this trial. As she heard the killer’s footsteps, she couldn’t help her thoughts wandering back towards one special moment. It was the moment that had changed everything; how everyone saw the trials, and how everything had been. The rules were changed and there was no escaping the concern she felt about the consequences. The survivor hadn’t realized just how close the killer was until she felt herself being picked up by her throat. With his strong hand abusing her fragile neck, there was no escaping the feeling of blood finding its way into her lungs, having her dry cough as much as she could with her airways cut off. With one hand she grabbed onto his wrist, more out of habit than a wish for survival. The other let go of the bleeding cut on her side and simply dangled parallel with her body. There was no sign of hesitating in his movements, his knife pierced harshly, yet precisely in-between her organs. She felt a lot of hatred towards the man, perhaps a lot more than for the other torturers of this place.
“Din jävla…” the girl wasn’t able to finish the sentence before her voice stopped, as well as her breathing and heart.
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God, you hated the fire. It was so bright, so flaming… and so very boring. Every single crackle from the flames was almost hurting your ears with how often you had to hear the noise. If you looked close enough in-between the logs, you could see exactly where and when the fire would spark and crackle once more. It was all so repetitive. The campsite that once had been a tranquil and peaceful place in-between a life consisting of mind games and death, did nothing more for you now than wholeheartedly bore you. It wasn’t like that for the other’s obviously, as their lives hadn’t changed. They were still slaves to the rules you all had been forced to follow, but not you. Not anymore at least. Contrasting your teammates, you weren’t placed in any trials. You hadn’t in a long time. Whilst your friends returned and left again to die or survive, you never felt the Entity’s call. They would either come back exhausted and wounded, or they would simply arise from dark smoke, proving their losses. Not you though. Not since that one trial so long ago. You weren’t sure how long it had been, but there were two new people at the campfire even.
As much as you wanted to forget it, there was no stopping the memories of the last time you were in a trial and its aftermath. You hadn’t been quick enough to realize his intentions, and before you knew it, you had been falling. When you had risen from the ground, you had been at a loss at what you saw. The same could have been said for your teammates. As you looked back at the horrifying ordeal, there was difficulty in trying to find the exact words to describe how you felt. There was the feeling of embarrassment of course, but also horror and fear. Sadness, anger, and anguish were strong emotions too; but complete and utter shock was perhaps the most prominent reaction at the time. The frozen moment of the others watching you didn’t last as long as it felt back then when you thought about it. Nea and Claudette had been quick to rush at your side. You couldn’t remember their faces at the time, but now you’d imagine Claudette being frantic and horrified, whilst Nea was probably royally pissed off, yet saddened. You hadn’t realized either when Adam had come up to you, but at some point, as Claudette was checking on your wounds, you felt Nea putting Adam’s coat on top of your shoulders. Every sound had been a buzz and you hadn’t been able to concentrate on what anyone said. You had felt like an empty husk; perhaps still did.
All of that had led you up to the amazing adventure of simply sitting on a log, as you had now since then, and for the longest time. It felt like months, and whilst you hadn’t been sitting all the time, you had grown bored of counting the 1, 437 pebbles that were littered around the campsite’s area. There was no fun in knowing how many roots were visible around the fire; which was 18 and at some point, you had made a game out of throwing a few pebbles into the fire. You had been forced to stop messing with the fire the moment those pebbles were shot right back at you, then hot from the flames. It was apparent that The Entity did not enjoy having small stones being thrown into its offering pit, but even though you had tried to antagonize it, there was no releasing you from your prison around the fire. At first, you had just thought you were to wait a little longer before entering a trial, but as the others would be picked up and returned so many times whilst you were still wearing Adam’s coat and at the campsite, you quickly realized that The Entity was punishing you in a different way.
In the beginning, the others hadn’t dared to ask you what had happened because, in a way, they all knew. You had been a shaking mess when you had sat down with the help of Claudette; the feeling of his essence and your blood slowly drying between your thighs. Tears had been silently rolling down your cheeks as pain erupted the moment your rear touched the wooden surface. It was clear that you had been bruised from his administrations. You hadn’t been able to say anything when they tried to make contact with you. Your brain had been in disarray; one part was anxiously trying to understand and sort all the feelings and thoughts that ran through your head – every worry and horror both past, present and future. There was the shock that was washing over you about how he had exposed his actions towards you to the others – the fact that he had orchestrated your humiliation by presenting you painted by him. Then there was the present issue of how the others would react to hearing about your abuse. You had been so anxious about whether or not you were going to tell your fellow survivors about what had happened, but he had taken that choice away from you. Now there was no telling how they would respond in the future. Would they abandon you for it? Would they hate you or think that you were lying if you told them everything? The fear of them leaving you was the worst of all, as there was no way of knowing, and if they did, what would you do if he found you again?
The other part of you was blank. Just blank as if everything you knew that had happened was still foggy and unfathomable. As if there was an empty hole inside of you that with every moment grew in size. In a way it reminded you of the eyes of his mask; a black pit that sucked you in. The more you thought about the abyss, the more you if felt as if you were falling, dizzy and afraid of the impact, should you encounter something in the dark. You couldn’t help but fear the possibility of the black void inside of your swallowing you up.
It had taken you a lot of time before you felt like speaking to anyone. For a while, you had only sat in silence, clenching the white coat around you and staring into the flames. You had wanted to run between the trees until none of their eyes were on you anymore and cry your heart out, but you knew that they would never let you run off on your own. After all, it was still The Entity’s realm and you knew you couldn’t trust anything of its creations. So instead, you would sit in silence, drowning in the emotions you were experiencing and the physical pain that simply wouldn’t vanish. Every single noise and sound you could hear would startle you and you would constantly be looking around you. It didn’t matter if this was a “safe zone”; you still felt his gaze on you.
At some point, the others would be talking again, mostly to the new woman who had been sitting by the fire when you arrived. At first, you hadn’t acknowledged her existence even, but with time, you were aware of her. She was really beautiful, with a glow that screamed comfort and elegance. Perhaps it was the fact that she was wearing a blazer set. You had startled Kate, who had sat beside you when you asked for her name, but you learned that the newcomer was Jane Romero, a previous TV host, as she now was a survivor; the same as all of you. There was a new danger as well that had arrived at The Fog, and The Survivors that had met her first alongside Jane decided to call her The Plague. After hearing how she was torturing your teammates, you were both disgusted and agreeing on their choice of name. At least there was something
Realizing that you wouldn’t meet her as you were never called after, it gave your uneasy stomach a better feeling, but you knew deep down that she would never be more of a threat than your very own abuser.
With time you had managed to speak up about what had happened to the group, about how it all started and how it all ended. David had sputtered some angry curses as you had spoken, but you knew they weren’t directed towards you. Kate had been horrified to hear what had happened after her falling from the MacMillan tower, and Bill had muttered something along the lines of “Sorry, kid.” Feng Min, who also had been there the first trial, was sitting uncharacteristically silent as you spoke. Jeff had been horribly disturbed to hear what his handcuffs had been used for and had hurriedly and furiously thrown them into the fire. Unfortunately, when he returned after dying at a trial later, they were magically back at his hip. The Entity’s sick games were still in fruition it seemed.
Nea had also spoken up about what she had seen and had expressed her frustration and anger by kicking a rock, which accidentally hit Dwight on the cheek. He seemed to have been lost in his thoughts so the pebble had startled him so badly that he had fallen off the log. Even with the serious tone around the campsite, there was no helping the muffled chuckles and laughter that erupted, and surprisingly, you found yourself giving a silent chuckle as well. Even though you felt horrible and was in pain, there was something about that small moment that made you somewhat feel better. Perhaps it was that no one had been worried about making a sound, or the fact that at that moment, no one had their focus on you. Strangely enough, you somewhat felt better.
The tiny moment of ease hadn’t lasted long, however, as someone had been dragged back to a trial, and then more. At some point, another man had shown up at the campsite; Ashley Joanna Williams. It was evident that he preferred to be called Ash, as he probably was a little embarrassed over the fact that if you only had heard his name and not seen him, you’d probably think it was a new female in The Fog. Still, he was a charming and funny man, and you found yourself enjoying his company around the fire. He had a lot of weird and funny stories to tell all of you, and you would soak up everything you could to tame the boredom you felt. Ace also seemed ecstatic about the new survivor as he had proclaimed how “fresh it was to find another soul similar to his own”. Contrasting Ace’s carefree and gambling persona, Bill and Tapp was rather “boring and strict” as Ace called it, and were no fun. Finally, Ace could play cards with a “like-minded gentleman,” and not “this bunch of children”. David, who usually was Ace’s card-playing companion, had taken a lot of offence, which was always amusing. It was refreshing to see some life around the fire, as you always felt a pang of guilt about how everyone felt they had to walk on eggshells around you. It also frustrated you, but you knew they were just trying to do the right thing. That was were Ash was an angel sent from above; a loud and boasting man who whilst knew what had happened to you were still talkative and would bring some light to the place.
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You were sitting at the log as always, digging a stick you had found into the fires. Kate was sitting on the log at your right, humming a soft tune whilst brushing her hands through Quentin's curly locks as he was dozing off leaning against her. They seemed to have gotten a strong bond throughout their time in The Fog, a sort of sibling-like relationship. Kate had once told you that he reminded her of her younger brother, Ethan. She had said that whilst her younger brother was 15 before her time in The Entity’s Realm, he was probably closing in on Quentin’s age as he was frozen in time as a 17-year-old. You could see it had hurt to have spoken about her family, as it was clear she loved them very much, but now she seemed to be pleased with just softly dragging her fingers through his hair and untangling a few knots. Jeff, Meg and Ace were sitting there too, but no one seemed to be in a talkative nor gaming mood, and so there would have been silence around camp, had it not been for Kate’s soft voice and the horribly boring fire.
The silence didn’t last long as the fire was suddenly surrounded by black smoke rising softly from the ground and upwards, and before you knew it, Dwight was standing in front of you. You all knew the schtick and so you all just watched him sit down on the log beside Jeff. Tapp arrived shortly after, and then Jake. Last was Nea, clearly tired as she sat down beside you. The trial had gone sour and it was obvious on their faces.
“Who was it?” asked Meg as she re-did her shoelaces. What she received was a choked silence, as Dwight almost answered, but stopped himself. The four of them seemed uncomfortable. It was all the answer you needed.
“You weren’t gone for long, was he quick?” you asked monotonously. You didn’t want them to know how much it affected to talk about The Shape, but you knew it wasn’t hard to read through your tone.
“And brutal,” replied Nea, “There wasn’t any stalking or waiting, he just… he just attacked us before we could do anything.” You could see that she was pondering about something. Noticing Nea stopping, Dwight spoke up.
“Very few of us have managed to escape when we’ve come up against him, and it’s been going on for a while no-,“ he was unable to finish his sentence before Nea told him to shut up. You could see him freeze up and he moved his eyes down in defeat.
“Nea, it’s okay, “you told her softly.
“No, but he shouldn’t go off about-“
“And you shouldn’t go off on him,” you continued. You knew her intentions; she didn’t want what he said to influence you, but it didn’t matter if he said it or not. Silence would be an answer as well.
She bit her lip as she turned her head away from you. It was obvious that she was insulted, but probably knew where you were coming from. After sitting for such a long time around the fire, you really had nothing but time, and you learned quickly that Nea was a bit like wildfire and would need her own time to calm down.
You all sat in silence after that. Feeling an itch on the nape of your neck you move your hand back, only to stop the moment as your fingertips brushed over a certain mark. Your whole body gave off a small shiver and your hair rose on your arms, but no one seemed to notice. Your fingers, that at first had skipped away from your skin, found their way back to the bruising, slowly feeling around it. Your skin dipped a bit at the places his teeth had put their mark, and it gave a painful ache around the area. It took a second, but you realized that your breathing had suddenly gone a bit erratic, your chest rising quicker than before. You had touched the marks he had laid on you before, as they just seemed to always stay fresh, but this time was different – the wound had given an unusual sensation when you had touched it.
Your chest was riddled with his bites, and if you sat in a specific way, there was a faint feeling of him on your hip. You hurriedly looked around the fire; no one was looking at you and Nea was purposely not giving you any of her attention. Your shaking intensified as your mind ransacked your body for information of where he had been – The Shape. No, Michael; where Michael had been. As your mind focused on the places he had touched you there was a warmth erupting from inside. Your wrists were now catching fire as you almost felt your bones crush to his grip, your neck was sweaty and bruised, hurting no matter the position. Your chest ached from all the bite marks, but perhaps most from the pained cut over your heart. It was beating so fast and your breath was so loud, so why didn’t the others notice? Your mind looked deeper. A whimper dislodged itself from your throat as you felt him on your hips, bruising your cheeks from his pushes and it was just too much. Sitting on the log only simulated his pressure. With every part of your body screaming out in pain and faint pleasure, you felt yourself heave for breaths. Your eyes shut themselves as you tried desperately to stop the tears and the feeling of molten lava running through your veins. Couldn’t the others hear you? Did no one notice or care that you were shaking and whimpering? That you were in pain? Hurriedly you snapped open your eyes.
As if the pain was inflicted by the push of a button, it was all gone. All the pain vanished from your being, now only leaving the ‘normal’ ache and your distressed breathing. That did, however, not matter at all. What did matter was how silent it was. The fire’s crackling wasn’t as prominent, and Kate’s smooth melody was nowhere to be heard. She was nowhere to be seen either. None of them were. Your eyes darted around the campsite, looking for someone – anyone. Quentin was no longer dozing off on your right, nor was Jake standing behind a log, watching like a bird as always. Dwight was gone, and Nea was nowhere to be seen as well. Had they all gone to a trial? Had they all heard The Entity’s call? There was a prominent sense of unease slowly seeping into your bones as you realized you were absolutely, and wholeheartedly alone. Alone. You had never been alone during your imprisonment to the campsite; the other survivors coming and going at different times. What was going on? The silence was almost deafening with how loud it was – it practically hurt. No crows were in the distance cawing. You were all on your own now.
The seconds passed into minutes, and as time went on, your uneasiness increased. “What if the others weren’t coming back? What if they were still at camp, whilst you were the one that had been moved? Were there more campsites? Was there anything you could do? Would you be all alone? Could you escape? Maybe if you left the fire you could find them again. Maybe it was holding you back?” With all the questions running around in your mind, they fuelled your shaking legs into rising. Something felt wrong, or rather: something was wrong. Goosebumps riddled your arms and the air seemed thicker almost as if every breath took more to inhale. You felt a single drop of sweat roll down your neck. Feeling unprotected, you tightly clenched your borrowed coat around your body. Looking around, your eyes paid attention to the forest. Nervousness and dread ran through your bloodstream as your eyes darted around you. Your pulse had been rising but abruptly stopped the moment your eyes caught sight of the deviation from the trees. As your eyes caught sight of the pale silhouette in the distance, it felt as if you had been kicked by a horse in the chest. You couldn’t breathe. As if linked, you were both exposed to the other one’s stare. The coat you were wearing was so bright beside the fire, and you felt like a lighthouse attracting all that could see it, and he did. He had found you. It didn’t matter if it was The Entity who led him to you or if it was his own search for you that had brought him to the camp. All that mattered was that the man who had brought you so much suffering was here; the man who had taken you apart and who had forced you to be presented as a broken toy to your teammates, dripping with his presence. After what had felt between weeks and months, Michael was here, and he had come for you. Even though there was a part of you that had been happy about not going into any more trials, you had always been anxious about him finding a way to you. In a way, you had always felt his gaze on you, as was the reason as to why you never left the camp. It was clear now that said hunch had been correct. Even with him standing at the edge of the forest, close to 10 meters away from you, there was no stopping the feeling of him breathing down your neck. It was suffocating.
Without warning, he moved forward and it felt like your heart restarted it’s beating. You wanted to cry and run off into the distance, to increase the space between you, but there was a voice screaming louder than the others as you stood frozen and shaking. Even as tears began to form and you felt your body shake, the voice forced you to stay put; to not leave the fire. His stride was focused and determined as always, and whilst the distance between you decreased by the second, there was something that made it feel like time slowed down.
Suddenly, he ended his strides towards you and stopped a bit away from the logs surrounding the fire. For a moment you both looked at each other, your heart beating in a frenzy. Your gaze was broken, however, as he turned his eyes down towards the ground in front of him, as if inspecting something. You didn't know how to react. You two hadn't seen each other in such a long amount of time, and when he actually found you, he was more interested in the dirt? You were so baffled. All this time you had been filled with terror and anguish, with rage and sadness, and now that you met him again, you didn't know what to do. You were a shaking mess, uncertain yet detecting his every move and prepared to flee.
His face turned back up to you again and your eyes caught his hand tightly clenching his knife. It almost looked like his movements released tremors up his arm. Something was wrong. His mask went back to the grassy floor and returned back to you. With every second of him fidgeting you found your shakes calm themselves as you observed him. What was he doing? Seeming frustrated he moves to the side a few steps before he stopped again. His eyes were following the ground as he walked, almost as if following the line of a circle around you.
That's when it hit you. Your hunch telling you to stay put and him stopping abruptly and not moving past a certain point; it all led to one conclusion - he couldn't. Something was stopping him from moving forward. Following the view of The Shape's shoulders, you could see them heaving as it seemed like he was trying to go forward.
"Michael?" Your voice was shaky and coarse, yet the monster of a man had no difficulty hearing you. His eyes shot up to you, his entire being appearing to be clenched and frustrated.
"You can't reach me, can you?" You ask him uncertainly. It was clear that he wouldn't verbally answer you, but seeing how he looked so tense, there was no need for a vocal reply. "You can't get me as long as I am here. There's a barrier stopping you," you continued. Somehow you managed to sound calm with just a bit of wavering in your voice, despite your mind and all your senses were in total disarray. Your eyes shifting to where The Shape stood, it looked like there was some kind of wall that blocked his way to you, and that it was infuriating him. He couldn't touch you. Could it be that this was his punishment? That he was given the possibility of seeing you but would be unable to actually hurt you? Was this The Entity’s way of playing a sick joke on him? Continuing to see him fidget and look around you for an opening left you with a feeling you couldn’t discern; perhaps an emotion you had not felt in what seemed like ages.
Enjoyment. Schadenfreude. Your fear somehow subsided slowly but surely as adrenaline began to pump more vividly in your veins. He couldn’t touch you. For once he wouldn’t get his way. He wasn’t in control of the situation. After such a long time in the darkness, a feeling similar to red velvet began to flow through you. The sensation that ran through each fibre of your being was warm and welcoming, yet foreign in a way. Like seeing a well-met face from your past. You couldn’t describe it if you wanted to, but it was consuming. There was the small indication that laughter was building inside of you, but you didn’t dare to- no you couldn’t, could you? The possibility of laughter erupting in a place such as The Fog was impossible, if not heresy. Yet, you could not deny the push from inside as you tried your hardest to contain your fountain of emotions.
His eyes went back to studying your face, and perhaps that was the trigger that fired the bullet because before you knew it a soft chuckle found its way from your throat. The shivers that once were of fear were converted into something perhaps darker, yet more inviting. There was no way of stopping the feeling of delight from taking its hold of you as he realized your change of manner. He knew you knew. The small chuckle that left you at first returned as a giggle that you were unable to contain. He couldn’t get his way! The Entity had stopped him! He was the one who was getting punished this time! Was this even possible? Was it even imaginable to think that for once you’d come on top? There was a special type of pleasure you found in his frustration as you knew he had lost. The bubbling emotion inside of you had a clear name, yet you dared not think it.
“It’s stopping you, isn’t it? You…” your words were almost desperate as they flew out between a fit of laughter. Nothing that you had ever experienced had ever been more hilarious than watching Michael not being able to do what he wanted. You couldn’t help it, it was just too amazing, “You were tricked to think you could get me, didn’t you?” His reaction was nothing more than an intake of breath as you saw him try to move his feet forward. You were angering him beyond doubt, and even though an anxious voice inside you begged you to stop your taunts, there was no way that was possible.
“You’ve lost, Michael,” your taunt seemed to be the last straw as harshly tried to move the hand brandishing his knife forward. Your insolence had angered him, yet it was most likely his inability to hurt you that was the real fuel to his fires. Before you could reason with your legs, your right foot went forward. Then the left. The instinct telling you to stay close to the fire was as silent as the grave and the only thing audible was the crunching of leaves, your heartbeat, and the murderer’s aggressive breaths. With each step towards him, you found the thick velvet almost choking you as a smile found its place on your face. His shoulders were heaving with each step, but the past horror his aggression had given you were being suffocated.
It was only when you had left the confines of the logs circling the fire and walked a few meters onwards that your legs forced you to stop – a short distance between you. Your heartbeat was racing, yet you somehow managed to stay visually calm. At such a close range, there was no stopping your eyes from taking him in. It really felt like it had been such a long time since everything. In front of you was The Shape in all his glory. The blue coveralls were as dirtied as always, but perhaps there were more bloodstains now. His hands were as rough as always, harsh and there was proof of his brutality as you faintly could see blood underneath his nails and scratch marks on his knuckles. Then there was the ivory pale face of death staring down at you. It didn’t matter if he was seething in anger or absolutely indifferent; the expression in front of you would never change. Many a time had you been forced to tell yourself that it had been your mind playing tricks on you when you saw his ghostly features in the distance. Looks like it wasn’t so far fetched that it could have been him. The mask had some darker patches, but it was the splash of blood around his left eye that got your attention. He had been busy in your absence and there was a dark part of you that couldn’t help but wonder whose blood it was. You simply kept staring at each other as the seconds passed, fully taking in each other.
“You’ve hurt me, Michael. Like no other,” you began. You hadn’t realized you had spoken before the words had already been said, “I never imagined that there was anything worse than death that could ever happen to me in this place, and then you came along.” It was hard to voice what you wanted, but the need to release all the feelings you had kept inside for such a long time was too strong. The suffocating anger and amusement that had controlled your actions were slowly fading as you spoke and reality took its hold of you. “You’ve broken me like no other, and I can’t even try to explain my own emotions,” there was no stopping your confession. Slowly, but surely small tears began to arise as your throat began to burn. He really hurt you. “You know, I used to believe that death was the most horrid event that ever could happen to a person, but not anymore. Not since I was dragged here and have died myself… so many times.” The last words came out as a shudder erupted from inside, “I’ve experienced my own life ending so many times in such a short amount of time, and yet I can only say that when it all comes down to it, death was nothing more than a blessing, no matter the pain involved.” The tears that had built themselves had begun to slowly flow over as your speech became more and more erratic and shaky. There was no reaction to your words, but you knew he listened. He always paid attention to his surroundings.
“Nothing that I’ve ever experienced has ever been as unfathomably painful as the life you forced upon me and I can’t understand why you’ve done this,” you cried. By now the tears were flowing without any thought of stopping and your voice was similar to that of a hurt mouse. Everything hurt. Your body, your mind, and soul. Everything felt so loud inside your mind, everything screaming and watching you as you broke down in front of him – in front of the man who had done all this to you. How could there exist a man so horrible and filled with so much hatred that he could ever wish upon someone so much agony? You knew there was no answer to your question as your eyes returned to his. Through your wet lashes, you looked upon the one who would never express himself to you vocally. You, on the other hand, could.
“You may have broken me, Michael, but know this,” you stopped as your voice wavered. His presence was so intimidating, yet you knew you couldn’t stay silent – not after such a long time.
“I don’t belong to you.”
As if the words had been your chains, you looked up at him in astonishment. He had stopped his aggressive breathing, now only looking like a frozen statue. He had heard your words and it had affected him. You had managed to stand up to him and force him to listen to your words. You had confronted him. As silent as the morning sea, you stared in silence at each other. Both just being. Suddenly he straightened his back. He hadn’t been slouching, but with the slight stretch of his spine, he towered above you even taller than before. A sudden tingle inside you rose up from the pit of your stomach, but not before he took a step forward.
Your heart stopped the second you saw him come forward. Your mind blanked as you watched him; time seemingly standing still. How had he done it? He couldn’t walk onwards before so why now? Your instincts knew you wouldn’t be able to get an answer to your questions and automatically forced your legs into action. You quickly turned to run, but only got to take a few steps before you felt strong arms encircle your midsection and arms. Screaming out in shock and horror you felt yourself leave the ground as he lifted you to his chest and dragged you back with him. Now it was his breathing that was almost deafening as you desperately tried to escape his clutches like a wild animal. Your screams and cries did nothing as you stumbled in his grasp. How had he managed to get to you? He clearly couldn’t walk past that point! He had obviously stopped at a certain spot because he couldn’t come close to the fire.
A gasp was forced from you the moment before you hit the ground. You had been lucky and had not landed on your back and gotten the air knocked out of you, but instead, you felt an almost electric-like pain go through your body since your knees and arms had. As you gasped out you shakily turned around. The sight in front of your eyes sent shivers down your spine. Standing above you was an angel of death in his purest form. With the light from the fires behind him, his features were darkened yet his shape was glowing. His Shape. Once again, he had lived up to his name like so many times before. The killer’s knife was reflecting the moonlight on one side and the flames on the other. He was Death in its purest form. It didn’t matter if such a long time had passed, nothing had changed between the two of you. He was the killer and you were the survivor. He was a predator and you were the prey. There was no difference between now and the earlier times he had relished in his power over you. Or maybe it was? Staring up at The Shape there was no way you couldn’t notice how his shoulders rose at a high speed. This wasn’t just enjoyment at your expense; this was a full-on sadistic pleasure that had been waiting for this special moment. He had been waiting for you to make a mistake like always. Each and every time he had come for you, it had because of some error you had made. It all began because of you unmasking him the first time you met. Because you hadn’t been aware of your surroundings several times. Yet this time you couldn’t understand how he even had managed to get you.
It was clear that he was not interested in that at all, as his focus was wholeheartedly on you. There was no stopping the flinch as Michael slowly descended on you. There would be no reason to try and run, but you did it anyway. Desperately you grabbed a hold of the ground beneath you and hurriedly tried to drag yourself away. Anticipating your move his free hand snatched your ankle in a bruising grip. You couldn’t help the whimpers as you felt the harsh tug pulling you back. The pricking of sharp stones and roots dug into the back of the coat, but it was little comfort against the burn that came from the friction. The moment you returned underneath him, his hand left your pained ankle and instead went as quick as a viper to your neck. There was nothing you could do but gasp for air and grab at his hand. With the old bruises still not healed the pain was much more immense than you had ever felt before. Tears flowed down your cheeks as you desperately tried to get him off you. Your airflow was further restricted the moment you felt him lift you up towards him, as the hand brandishing his knife went to your back, the blade threatening to dig into your skin. With one leg kneeled on each side of your hip he forced you into a sitting position. In a way, it was similar to the way he had held you when he had forced you to watch him undress himself the last time he had his way with you. This time, however, he simply stared at you. No, he inspected your face. It seemed like it had been a long time for him too. Somehow it infuriated you to see him so calm whilst studying your features. As always, he was calm and calculated whilst you wore your emotions on your sleeve.
“Take a picture it’ll last longer, “you spat at him between clenched teeth. Your voice had been almost muted due to his pressure, but you knew he had heard you, “What is it, Mikey? Have I got something on my face?” you continued to antagonize him. As much as there was terror streaming through every vein in your body there was also a burning fury that washed over you. Just staring at the pale mask that had haunted your mind for such a long time made your blood boil. The other killers had been just that; killers. They did the job that The Entity gave them and nothing more and if they had done their job well, they were given the option to kill with their own hand. The Shape had been the same, but it was clear that Michael didn’t enjoy only following The Entity’s bidding. Or maybe it was the evil deity who pushed him to do this out of curiosity. You couldn’t be sure, but in the end, it didn’t matter since it wouldn’t change the outcome.
His only reply to your comments was a tighter grip around your already beaten neck and a pull that forced your faces to almost touch. As much as you tried to recoil away from the man, he just pulled you closer to him – so close that the tips of the mask touched against your cheek. Seemingly anticipating your unwillingness, he simply pushed himself even closer. There was no stopping the tear that fell the moment you felt him breathe in your scent as he had done several times before. Him forcing himself through your comfort-zone was an invasion all on its own and hurt so badly to know you were back in his grasp. Feeling yourself becoming lightheaded because of the loss of air, your hands went from his wrist to his shoulders to weakly push him away. Your temples were pounding and you were beginning to see dark spots. Noticing your fight dying down he returned to look at you before releasing your neck. The feeling of your throat’s airways opening hurt a lot more intensely than you could have imagined as your cry only came out as a throaty squeak. You dared not try and touch your neck as you knew it most likely was battered and blue beyond reason. The sound you emitted also came to a holt as the hand that had been holding your back let go and your upper body hit the ground. Your neck whiplashed backwards and hit the dirt floor. Had this been the real world you were sure you would have gotten a concussion by now. You almost felt like throwing up. With the world spinning and you incapacitated, he violently ripped open the coat, ripping the buttons straight off. You had been only in your birthday suit when you had fallen through the hatch and with your last piece of coverage removed, there was no barrier between your body and his eyes. Your cry was choked up as any type of sound burned your throat.
You weakly tried to cover yourself with your arms, but he just pulled them harshly off your chest. Uncharacteristically of him, he dragged his fingers slowly down your front. With the simple touch of his finger, he left a trail of heat between every mark he touched. Your body was in discord as it both shivered from the cold and began to sweat from the heat he emitted. The bite marks and redness were still riddling your chest and collarbone, but it was a medium-sized band-aid that had caught his attention. The wound he had made back when he had cut your bra off you had been patched up by Claudette, which seemed to infuriate him as he harshly ripped it off you. The sudden sting had awoken some of your lost consciousness and you looked up at him with blurry eyes. This wasn’t just some regular hunt for him this time; no, he was inspecting all he had done to you. There was no difference between whether or not you were fully dressed or naked – you felt bare to his stare as he picked up every detail he could. You wanted to curse him out, but the only sound you were able to make were pained whimpers. The feeling of uselessness was overwhelming as you harshly pushed him away from you, tears spilling. You just wanted this to be over. No more trials nor waiting by the campfire. Death had once meant something to you, but that was a long time ago, and now it was a false symbol of its former self. Now you just wanted it to end. Your pushes did nothing to move him away, as he simply grabbed ahold of your respective wrists before forcing them on each side of your head. With him leaning over your entire being it became once again clear to you how much taller he was; how he was more physically superior to you in every way. For a moment you just stared at each other, his mask enshadowed by his posture, making it impossible to decipher how his eyes bore into yours. Was there fury in his gaze? Arousal? You couldn’t help but conclude with both as he forced your left wrist into his other hand that had moved to above you. With his free hand, he grabbed ahold of your thigh and pulled it away from your other and slowly, but deliberately, pushed his knee in-between.
With your legs spread for him, you whimpered as you heard him take a heavy breath. He had waited such a long time for this moment. With his hand still on your thigh, you flinched the moment he began kneading his fingers into your thigh. A movement that at most times is used as a romantic gesture between lovers felt wrong and harsh as he felt you up. His grip went higher as he dragged it up to your pelvis. With his fingers touching your hip, his thumb drew circles right above your womanhood. Still, his mask was clearly in the direction of your face, intensely watching your face turn a darker shade of red. He had waited such a long time for you to be in his grasp once more and now he would enjoy and drag out every single moment he could.
“Michael,” your voice was rough and came more like a whimper. It was forced out of you and it pained your vocal cords enough for you to know that your words would be limited. As he heard his name from your lips he tilted his head to the side, clearly acknowledging you. Slowly, he leaned closer down to your face, but this time with the lips of the mask hovering above your own. With such short proximity between you, there was no hiding what was behind the eyeholes of the mask. As you had seen him such a long time ago, his eyes were visible. Even though one eye was a dull milk-like colour and the other greenish-blue, they seemed oddly perfectly matched. As if the eye where he could see you were the oceans deep and the vast abyss, his grey one was the fog and mist surrounding you at the surface; both forcing you into a deafening and drowning submission.
Transfixed on his gaze you failed to notice the hand on your hip moving before you gasped out as he pushed his fingers into your depths. A strangled cry came from you as you arched your back. Intently he focused his gaze on your expressions as you felt his fingers roughly feel around inside of you. It was nothing more than utterly painful as it seemed that also your insides were still fresh from his abuse. Time was truly no reality anymore. Crying out you tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but with your hands locked together and with your legs spread by his hips there was little you could do to escape the unwanted touches. You being sore seemed to not halt Michael’s dedication at all, and only appeared to be fueling the cruel fire inside of him further. You couldn’t help but gasp as he reached deep enough to touch your most sensitive of places. Noticing your plight he kept abusing the bundle of nerves as you whined out. It was only the moment a new tear ran down your cheek that he retracted his hand. You wanted to cry hard, but the agonizing burn in your throat prevented you from further visibly falling to pieces. Michael shifted his weight on his knees for a second before he leaned further away from you. The feeling of him not smothering you was welcoming as you shakily breathed in. Your focus, however, was immediately brought to the hand in front of your face. Michael had brought his hand for you to see, and the sight sent a shiver down your spine. His fingers were glistening with your essence, but what was more prominent and horrifying was the red and white fluids. The blood was evidence of how violent he had treated you back then, and his seed only proved that you hadn’t managed to clean all of him out of you. You could still remember the tearful shudders and embarrassment you had felt when you had been standing at the outskirts of the campsite behind the trees desperately trying to get all of him out from within you. Claudette had come with you and had been forced to hear your crying as she had been turned around to give you your privacy. You had never before been as happy over the fact that the med-kits had cleansing wipes as you had been back then.
Michael seemed to too be inspecting the mixture of you both. It was only for a few seconds, however, before you saw his focus return to you. Not able to wiggle away, he dragged his wet fingers across your face, wiping your wetness and blood, and his seed off on you. It was the last drop that made the glass overflow as you ignored the pain in your throat and began crying. He was such a monster – a sadistic monster who found pleasure in degrading you in horrible ways. As your tears fell you could hear the prominent sound of his zipper being pulled down. Staring up at him with teary and shaky eyes you pleaded with him to stop, but your sight was only met with the man above you breathing heavily as he shuffled with his clothing. The hand that had been clenched around your wrists left you abruptly as he instead lifted your hips up to meet his. It seemed that he was tired of fooling around as he ground himself against your abdomen. The feeling of his manhood sliding up against you had your hands fumbling with getting a grip on the ground as you hurriedly tried to shuffle away from his advances. His only response was a grip on your hip before he guided himself into you. Feeling the push against your opening your hands flew to his wrists. Noticing your struggles he pushed harshly forward enough for his tip to be inside of you. With both hands moved to your hips he steadied you for a second before he aggressively pushed into you the rest of the way, only stopping the moment he felt your pelvis against his. A low and dark growl-like sound erupted from his throat as he leaned his head backwards. This was the moment Michael had been waiting for; for you to be struggling underneath him as he took you until you bled and cried. You had already done that earlier, but at the feeling of him filling you up left you wheezing for air as you struggled not to hyperventilate. With every push of his hips against yours, his grip on your hips increased. As much as you tried to push him off you, there was no stopping his violent assault against your cervix.
“Michael! Stop! Please!” you choked up as you were pulled back against him with every thrust. Your cry for mercy seemed only to fuel his fires as he harshly grabbed your neck and began squeezing the life out of you. As a reflex, your hand had followed his, but it was clear that your retaliation could do nothing to stop the fury that was Michael. His pushes seemed to be increasing in strength as black spots began to cover your sight. Your heartbeat rang in your ears as you felt the thundering of your temples against the pressure. Your other hand that had been struggling with forcing him to release your hip went towards his abdomen to stop his harsh pushes, but it proved fruitless. With every second of him grinding and thrusting against your walls, you found your fight dying down. You couldn’t stop him, he was in control and was too strong.
Just as you felt everything blur into darkness he released your battered and bruised neck and you gasped out for air. Instead, Michael leaned onto his forearm as he supported himself above you. With the closer proximity between you, his pace increased drastically. It was clear that he was reaching his peak as he seemed to try and hold back his voice. It was just the moment your hands went to the front of his overalls that he suddenly thrust himself as far as he could inside of you. Your insides were already in pain, but feeling his seed fill you up burned aggressively against your soreness. His face was directly in front of yours and his heavy breaths were the only thing you could hear as he ground himself into you with a final push.
You couldn’t have said how long the moment lasted as you felt dislocated with your body. One part feeling every single sting and burn he had forced upon you, the other a mere spectre of its former self. Seemingly tired he pushed himself away from you; a pained whine leaving your lips. Was it over? Was it truly over now? Would you just disappear into nothingness as you felt yourself dislocate from your vessel? The slight tickle that ran down between your cheeks and dripped down on the grass signalized where he had left his mark this time, like all times before. As you felt your mind leave yourself you barely acknowledged the feeling of his knife impale itself between your ribs. As quickly as it had entered you it left and re-entered. The feeling of your lungs filling up with your blood as you coughed was familiar. It seemed that Michael had not only wanted to have his way with you but had also the strongest urge to kill you as well. The cold shiver that ran through your veins signalled your last moments and there was only one thing that ran through your mind.
In all your time in The Fog, with every moment agony, there had been one tune that had been the most beautiful of them all. The sweet song of death was as mild and suffocating as ever, and the best you could ever experience.