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‘Sweetheart…’
‘Wake up…’
‘You need to get up Honey…’
‘Mama needs you awake right now…’
‘JASON WAKE UP!!!’
The man named Jason shot open his eyes from his mother's usual gentle voice suddenly shouting at him. He immediately darted his eyes around frantically without moving an inch. He wasn't able to recognize the place he was in, nor did he smell any familiar scents.
Where was Jeff and Slendy? Did they find a new shelter to stay at and decided to move him while he was asleep? Even if it was uncharacteristic, it wasn't impossible, so he stood up from the wooden floor and got a better look at his surroundings.
‘Mama… Do you know where we are?’ He asked telepathically, eyeing where he presumed the ghost of his mother was floating, which he felt was always on his right side.
‘Seems like we were taken to a cabin of some sorts, by whom I have no clue.’ She replied back with a slight tone of frustration. ‘Keep your guard up Honey. Something tells me that whoever did this is stronger than anything else we faced before.’
Jason nodded and gripped his machete tighter. He took one step forward. When nothing happened he started to rush to the door in front of him. He swung it open and tried to run out only to get pushed back by an invisible force.
He stumbled on the ground for a second before staring at the outside view. He stayed quiet, slightly embarrassed that he was knocked down to his behind with his mother present.
“Not so fast Slasher.”
“!?” Jason spun around and threw his machete to the ambiguous glitched out voice, only for it to get stuck in the wall. There was nobody behind him. He dashed to the side and kept his back against the wall. He looked around and couldn't see anybody in the room with him.
“Hey~ That wasn't very nice. You didn't even let me introduce myself.”
“...” Jason didn't reply. He stood still and focused all his senses in finding the root of the voice.
‘Jason behind you!’ His mother suddenly shouted.
His eyes widened as the wall behind him started to ooze out corrupted black and red code. He jumped away and stared as it started to form a tall silhouette. It appeared to wear a long top hat with a bright red ‘S’ imprinted at the front. One of its eyes snapped open first before a smaller and droopier one opened later.
“Now now, don't be scared. I'm not gonna hurt you.” It told him with a deep laugh at the end. It didn't have a visual mouth but the voice definitely came from it.
“...”
“Right, you're not much of a talker. That's fine. Ahem–” It slid closer and a tentacle from behind it slithered over to him. “I'm the Spectre. I brought you here because I just knew you would be the perfect individual to play in the new game I'm beginning. You'll be playing the role as a ‘killer’, your goal? To slaughter the ‘survivors’ and win. Though right now I'm still gathering the rest of the players–”
Jason cut him off (figuratively and literally) by pulling out a dagger from under his sleeve and swiping at the glitchy tentacle, cutting the tip right off and letting it drop to the floor. He then pointed his dagger to it, his own eye turning red with murderous intent. He didn't need to verbalise his clear disdain of it.
The Spectre didn't flinch at all, it actually squinted its eyes like it was smiling. The fallen tentacle squirmed its way back to the Spectre and with that it regrew it back to a full tentacle.
“Slasher was it? Real name Jason? Let me tell you this before I continue to explain the whole situation. I. Don't. Keep. Disobedient. Pets.” Its voice grew closer and deeper as it continued. “I can snap you out of existence and find someone else to fill in your shoes. Though you're lucky I like you so I'm gonna be really clear about this–”
It started to grow taller, wider, and eventually, it engulfed everything around him. “You WILL play my game and you WILL like it. Either play or die and it'll be a real shame if you choose the latter.”
‘Jason we have no other choice here. We can't do anything but agree with it.’ She whispered, unknowing if it was capable of hearing her.
The Spectre tilted its head all the way to its torso. “Listen to your mother. She knows what's best for her son.”
“Y-You ca-can he-hear h-her?” He painfully mumbled out.
The Spectre's eyes curved even more, its pupils almost disappearing completely. “Why of course I can. Nothing gets past me.”
“W-Will she–” He coughed harshly and tried to soothe his throat by swallowing his spit which didn't really help moisten it.
“I can just read your mind if it's easier to communicate like that.”
‘You can do that!?’ He was quick to try asking.
“Yep.”
‘Oh. Then… I got some questions first.’
“Go ahead.”
‘Will my mother be able to join me in these games?’
“Of course! I wouldn't want to separate a parent and their child. I'm not a monster.” It chuckled at the end.
‘And what happens if I lose?’
“You'll die.”
‘WHAT!?’
“I'm joking!” Its figure slimmed down and went back to the initial form it showed him. “If you lose multiple rounds, you won't be able to get any rewards!”
‘Rewards? What kind of rewards?’
“The rewards range from being able to; get delivered any food or ingredients of your choice, improving shelter and personalizing your room, immunity from phantom pains, communicating with your friends and family from back home–”
‘That's if I win?’
“That's if you win continuously and get enough points to purchase that reward.”
‘...’
“What?”
‘So nothing bad will happen to me if I lose?’
The Spectre laughed. “If you're asking if I will punish you for losing then no. Unless that is something you want me to implement?”
Jason shook his head immediately after that.
“Good boy, but if I notice that you're purposely losing to spite me… then I'll make sure to take your precious little mommy away from you. That should be enough to motivate you to actually win.” It told him while looming over his face.
Jason nodded with a huge gulp.
“Now any more questions before I head out?”
‘Yes… can I ask where exactly we are?’
The Spectre floated midair and crossed its transparent foggy legs. “Youre standing on an island in a realm I created. There's no exit and the only way to leave is if I allow it.”
Jason's expression fell even more, even if he was on the killer's side and not getting killed– he was no more than just a pawn, a toy, a victim of its cruel game.
The Spectre stared at him for an entire minute before clapping its hands together. “So it's settled!”
Jason held his sleeves tightly and nodded again. ‘When do I start?’
“Once I gathered up the first couple of survivors.” It backed up and Jason watched as it started to sway its non-existent hips towards the wall it appeared from. “I'll be adding more killers later on too. Try to be friendly with them.”
‘Wait–’ He reached out and tried to step closer but the Spectre forced him to stay put. ‘What do I do in the meantime!?’
“Right now explore your new home. I'll visit you every so often to keep you company.” It suddenly paused and bent its neck all the way backwards and twisted its head to look at him properly. “I chose you first for a reason. Don't make me regret that.”
Jason stood there awkwardly waiting for him to leave, but before it left, it said one more thing.
“You'll be referred to as just Slasher from now on. Don't take offense but it's far more intimidating than just being called Jason.”
‘O…kay.'
It then left. Just like that.
“...” His shoulders lowered and he shifted his attention to his right side. ‘Mama, what should we do?’
‘We'll follow along with its wishes for now, just until we find a way out of here. In the meantime let's take advantage of what it's giving us. Proper shelter and proper food that isn't leftovers thrown in the dumpster of a 2.3 restaurant–’
‘This is definitely an upgrade.’ He responded while picking up the dagger he dropped seconds prior. He stared at the lingering code that stained the tip.
‘And best of all– we get the opportunity to kill numerous people!’
‘I suppose… but why me…?’ He asked, walking to the wall that his machete was stuck on before tugging it out. ‘Why did it pick me first?’
‘It is rather odd. If anything it should have picked your friends for the role too.’
‘I miss them already.’ Jason– No– Slasher sniffled. His grip on the handle of his weapon shook before he fell down with it. ‘I'm scared ma. This is nothing like the things we've faced before. It's much stronger than me. I can't protect myself, nonetheless you.’
‘Oh Honey… we'll be okay. It doesn't seem to want to hurt you– well not in a regular sense. From what it appears, it seems to actually be fond of you… use that to your advantage and stall for time. We'll eventually find a way out.’
Slasher clung to his knees and sniffled again. ‘I hope so.’