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It’s a hospital, you realize as the old door creaks shut behind you. Or at least, it was. You scramble into the nearest room, searching for a weapon or…anything, really. A dilapidated gurney takes up most of the space. On your right is a cabinet with a loose door, revealing dozens of little vials. Each one is filled with different kinds of liquid, in varying states of discoloration. You pick a vial at random, giving it a cautious sniff. The smell almost knocks you off your feet. You don’t know what’s in there (the label is too faded to read) but maybe it’ll give you enough time to escape.
You hear a bang as Jonathan crashes through the front door, and suddenly wish you hadn’t barricaded yourself in a room with only one exit.
You hold your breath, listening as he shuffles around the building. “Y/N….come on, I know you’re in here. I’m not gonna hurt you.”
Bullshit, you think. You peek through the tiny pane of glass set into the door. He’s walking around much too casually, like he’s already won. Why hasn’t he bothered to check your hiding place yet? You suppose it doesn’t matter; it’s not like you have anywhere else to go.
Your mind races. What are the chances the liquid you’ve chosen is dangerous? Lethal, even? Probably next to nil, but no one likes having an unknown substance injected into them. Now, if you could just find…
…A syringe! You notice a large one further down the hall, its needle bent backwards. Getting to it may decide whether you live or die. You crack the door open, keeping Jonathan in sight. He either hasn’t noticed you or is so sure of his victory that he doesn’t care. You tiptoe along the wall, not daring to breathe.
You’re within a yard of him when he turns calmly to face you. “There you are, beautiful. I thought I was gonna have to drag you out of there.”
You circle him, trying not to make your objective obvious. “I knew I couldn’t hide from you forever…”
“No, you couldn’t.” He looks almost genuinely sad as he follows your movements. “Y/N, I know things didn’t start out well between us. I know you’re with someone else now. But I don’t love you any less. I’m willing to forgive you.”
You freeze. “Beg your pardon? YOU are forgiving ME?” He nods earnestly. Sometimes you can’t believe people like him exist.
You’ve finally reached the syringe, bending down to pick it up. “I did love you, Jon. I really did. And then you went and shit all over it.”
He puts up his hands, taking a step back as you load the syringe. “Take it easy, sweetheart.”
“Take it easy? Did you take it easy the first time you raped me, or the second? Or how about when you almost killed my best friend?”
“I was just showing you how much I—“
“No! No. You’re done explaining. You lost your chance. And I say fuck. You.”
With that you leap forward, latching your arms around his waist as he staggers back. He kicks and shoves at you as you struggle to hold on.
“Get off me, you little—shit!” He howls as you finally manage to jab the needle into his leg. Jonathan kicks you in the jaw, throwing you off of him. “What the hell did you just put in me? Huh?”
You groan, rubbing your jaw. You can taste blood on your tongue. “Fuck you, Byers.”
He’s on you before you’re done speaking.
He pins you down, grabbing your chin and twisting it as far as it will go. “Want me to break it, you little bitch? I asked you a question.”
You grip his arm, well aware he’s much too strong for you to pull him off. “I-I dunno…”
“Liar.”
He flicks his wrist and your jawbone dislocates. You squeal in agony. Whatever you injected must not have—wait. Jonathan pauses above you, frowning. He looks confused. “What…what did you—“
*****
The world is spinning. Jonathan waves his hands in front of his face, staring as they blur. Whatever you put in him must be taking effect. He turns back to you, noticing that you’ve managed to crawl out from under him. He reaches for you but misses. There’s two of you, then three—then one again. He’s fighting the urge to black out.
“Come back here, you little bitch…”
He doesn’t notice that you’re sobbing, your dislocated jaw hanging off your face. You inch away from him, and he does his best to follow. You have nowhere to go: it’s just a long, dusty hallway with not even a window to open up the space. He’s gonna get you either way.
*****
You freeze. A bumpy concrete wall rises before you. In the corner is a hole so dark, it seems to suck the shadows in. You move toward it curiously. It doesn’t look like it leads outside…but then, where does it go?
You glance back at the man behind you and decide the mysterious crevice is the better option. You crawl inside.
It smells unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. Like mold, mildew, animal fodder…and something else. Something you want to define as supernatural.
When at last you come out on the other side…you’re back in the hospital.
Or are you? It’s different somehow. This building is facing the opposite direction of the one you were just in. It’s darker, and something like ash drifts lazily in the air. Where exactly are you?
Just as you’re thinking it’s a little too quiet, a jarring sound pierces through you. It’s like a roar, but higher pitched and at the same time deeper than anything you’ve ever heard before.
Your mind doesn’t bother trying to figure out what it is. You stand warily, edging toward the door. Jonathan’s voice echoes all around as he calls your name. “Y/N? Please, you…you have to come back…I’m not joking…”
It’s like you’re under water. Sounds ripple through the air, and the air itself feels electrified like it’s about to storm.
You shiver in the dim light as long grass tickles your legs. At least, you think it’s grass…
The roar sounds again, closer this time. You follow the noise as best you can, keeping low to the ground and hiding in the brush. You’ve almost forgotten that you’re the one being chased. Almost.
***
Jonathan scrubs at his eyes furiously, still dizzy from whatever the hell you stuck him with. He doesn’t want to be here—but he can’t exactly let you go, can he. He stumbles through the trees, tripping several times over nothing at all, barely keeping your small form in sight.
Why are you so goddamn stupid? Why won’t you listen to him?
Shit. He’s lost you.
Jonathan surveys the blackened trees for a minute, searching for any sign of you. The whole place reeks of rotting meat and festering wounds. He can hear things creeping through the undergrowth. But things, small things. Unnatural things. Unholy, even. And they probably all want to kill the two of you.
A piercing scream echoes through the woods. It sounds human. It sounds like you. Of course, there’s no way to be sure here…
He follows the sound as best he can, winding deeper and deeper into mottled darkness. At last he comes upon a clearing, smelling of blood and buzzing with something like flies. Carcasses litter the ground—some animal, some alien. A few are even humanoid. It chills his bones to see them all strewn about, in varying states of decay. And to the right, covered in blood and collapsed against a corpse, is you.
“Y/N?” It comes out in a whisper. “Y/N? This—this isn’t real. It can’t be. It can’t…”
He cradles your limp body, mindless of the blood that spills over his arms. “Please, Y/N, don’t do this to me…”
He can’t feel. He can’t hear. He can barely see. You were everything he had. There was always, only, ever…you. And now there’s not. He can’t comprehend it, but then he doesn’t want to.
Jonathan lets your body fall, allowing himself to collapse beside you. He holds your red-stained body close, plants a kiss on your cheek. Nothing matters now.
Then your eyes pop open and something stabs through his ribs.
*****
You cough as blood pours out of your mouth. Jonathan doesn’t move, doesn’t speak. He just stares as blood starts to gush from the stick in his heart.
“You—you…tricked me—“
“And you fell for it,” you spit.
Jonathan opens his mouth to say something but blood bubbles out of his throat instead. You scramble away from him, keeping low to the ground. Watching for any predators. “You told me to go for something vital next time. Looks like I got it.”
You watch your one-time friend crumble to the ground, red liquid pooling all around him. He crawls toward you, choking on each breath he takes. Then he drops. His chest stills. Cold water floods your veins as you realize it’s over.
Game. Set. Match.