Chapter Text
MC groaned. On their skin, the ashy warmth of the fireplace in front of them was comforting. They wanted to fall back asleep, but alas, their migraine pumped pain through their skull. So, they sat up.
It was obviously a different environment, but was no longer menacing. It fluttered with comfort, at least, the most comfort they had felt in some time.
The cabin was wooden, dark oak with the streaks of the wood falling down the walls. From their view as they took a good look around, a hallway laid diagonally from them, pillowing into doors which they assumed were bedrooms. MC sat on a couch, grey, muddy, and not the softest. Slightly ripped at the edges. The fireplace was stone, but along it and the walls beside it hung essence. Sage, rosemary.. they were dry and looked like they would crush if MC clenched it in their palm.
A book shelf stood at the side of the room to their right. It had a couple books on the first shelf, along with loose paper and boxes of some kind. To their left was a desktop that was clearly falling apart. A chair that leaned slightly to the side was tucked under it, and a couple of books stacked on each other. Dust coated the tops of the book cover, except for three lines, a bit thinner than regular fingers. Someone had been in there recently.
MC felt slightly mad at themselves for letting this happen. How stupid could they be? Using up all their supplies early, losing their map, and now they’re at risk for losing the one thing to their name. Their life. They wanted to scream but that would be stupid. The room stirred, and they felt someone coming.
Skeletons. They had seen and been carried by a skeleton. Then attacked by one. MC couldn’t tell if anything that had happened to them was a dream, but they were in this room so that was something. The door in that shed place was locked before, and then the big guy with the speech impediment walked in and tried to chop their head off. How could they ever forget?
The door. They shot their head to the side of the room, and jumped up. A burst of energy ran through them as they remembered that they desperately needed to get out of there. There were no windows they could easily get out of, as all of them were nailed shut with wooden boards. The only solution, main door. Risky, but they didn’t mind facing their own mortality one more time at the possibility of escape.
Gently, they twisted the doorknob.
It was unlocked. The latch clicked, and for some reason they hadn’t expected it to actually work, so they simply shut it and stepped back a good feet. Their heart raced and pumped blood so hard that they could feel it vibrating in their fingertips. They hadn’t actually thought about what would happen after the door was unlocked. Would someone be guarding it? Surely not; They had just opened it slightly and shut it. Not loudly, but definitely noticeable.
They rocked on their feet, staring at the door knob and fidgeting. All their stupid decisions had led up to this point, and this one might be the most important one. Go through or stay in and wait? They might starve if they wait if no one comes in, but it could be avoiding conflict. Someone could come in eventually, but there might be some hiding place if they looked hard enough.
If they exited the room, someone could be waiting out to see if they would come out. Or, maybe no one is, and they can make a run for it. They had no idea if it was just that weird skeleton man, or if there were others in this place. They didn’t even know where they were, and without a map or clean water or food, they might not be able to make it through the week.
Who knows how far they had wandered? It was a matter of “if’s”, but ultimately the flaws were in each situation like big bright signs. They figured they had a big chance of dying either way, because what was a starving kid with barely any energy going to do against a very tall, ferocious, very clearly mentally insane grown man… skeleton. MC sighed, and they suddenly remembered how thirsty they were.
In the end, their hand slowly gravitated to the door knob, where their whole body shook. So much scorching fear had been a part of their day to day life that their body was starting to make them go numb to it. Even if they were to die in the next minute, they would stop feeling guilty about what happened. It would just be pain, then darkness. No more fear or hunger. They made peace with that, and took a deep breath. With everything in them, they took a leap of faith and opened the door.
It creaked, and they looked around. A room with a table, fur rug, wood cabinets, old floorboards, and a scent of citrus, weirdly enough. Every muscle in their body was tensed up, and they opened the door wide enough to fit their body through, and stepped out. They left the door slightly agape, so if escape wasn’t possible and they somehow managed to stay alive long enough, they could run back.
Turning to the right, behind a corner were two arm chairs, a dresser, a closet, and a fireplace that warmed and lit up the area. Straight down where they faced was the front door. Maybe an exit, maybe not, as all the windows seemed fully covered. It seemed like a big enough space for one person to live in, but maybe there wasn’t just one.
With a lot of fear but courage, they walked down the hall, approaching the door slowly. They hoped it was a front door, and hoped it wasn’t a trap. They hated tricks, and they hated being trapped. This felt like being trapped. MC’s only thoughts were of getting out of the situation, but every step was altered by some mistake they made or circumstance they got themself into.
A particularly loud creak of the floorboards made them shutter and cringe. It reminded them of sneaking out of their bedroom when they were a little kid and accidentally crawling a floorboard so loud their mom and dad-
Why did they have to think of their mom and dad at that very moment? They’re not here right now.
Anger sparked, and then they pushed the door open. Behind laid people. Skeletons, specifically. They accidentally shut the door behind them, and stirred to try to open the door again, but that was hard considering they couldn’t take their eyes off the people in front of their eyes.
Skeletons. There wasn’t just one, which was barely plausible in the first place, but two more. They couldn’t get a good look at all of them at once, but one shot a knife in their direction so hard it planted in the wall next to their head. They yelped and scurried to the left. The persecutor of this behavior had a glowing target in the middle of his chest, and dark liquid streaks going down his black eye sockets.
“I was hoping it would hit, not scar the door.” He pulled the knife out of the door, and they couldn’t stop looking at him. Of course, there were so many surrounding them, but they were ready to fight, and they felt ready to die doing it. It’s not as if they had a great chance of winning, but they didn't want to be dismembered without a couple scars. They hated knives.
“Killer, withdraw your weapon.” A voice, deep like a rock spoke, similar to the tall skeleton with the hole in his skull, who they hadn’t realized was standing close to them. He stared with his giant, almost bulging red eye. They moved a foot away to the right, and pressed themself as far away as they could from everyone there.
They glanced at the skeleton who ordered ‘Killer’ to stop, and he looked nothing like the others. Dark bones, silky with a type of liquid, and… Tentacles. They stared at those for a second longer than appropriate but then recognized how he was at average height compared to all the others. He looked like a leader. Drawn and put together.
“You must be confused.” He said, his tone sturdy. They didn’t speak, or acknowledge what he said, instead looked dead into his singular pupil. Another weird thing to note about him. He seemed to be acting genuine, but they didn’t trust him.
“No need to be so stoic. We’re not going to kill you.” Yet.
He took a step forward, resulting in a huge shift of movement from them. They felt like a scared cat; Ears back, tail puffed. He stopped in his tracks.
“It seems we’ve had a bad introduction. I apologize for that. Time is fleeting, and we have been rushed.”
Tell me about it, they thought.
“Let me leave.” Those were the first words they had said in who knew how long, and they scratched their throat. He tilted his head slightly, observing them as if he was to find something other than fear and stubbornness. They remembered dually how they were just a kid. It seemed no one thought of them that way anymore.
“I’m afraid that isn’t quite possible.” He grasped his bony chin, just looking. Staring. What was he staring at? They glanced down at their body, and they looked starved. They clearly were, and they felt like it too. As the initial adrenaline was starting to wear off, they felt as if their body was going to let out on them eventually, and then their dead body they’d be left with these psychos.
“And why not?” They muttered. So scared. Pure fear, like swearing you heard something shuffle in the dark.
“I’ve heard you know where useful supplies may be?” He replied. Oh. That.
If they had a map in front of them, readily available, maybe they could recognize where it was. Whatever gave them any chance of living, they supposed. They looked back and forth through the skeletons. They seemed ready to kill. Best to make this moment last.
“…I was looking for it.” They said quietly. It felt as if speaking too loudly was going to get them stabbed.
The man was silent for a minute, before turning to his right, and walking up to a shelf. He opened a drawer, and shuffled through it. They wondered what was in it, but then he pulled out a map, and they knew what he wanted.
He laid it flat on the table, using two wooden cups to hold the sides down flat. In front of the flag sat a couple of markers, in which someone could lay them on a specific part of the map. They gulped.
“Would you mind going through with your proposal?” Their heart pumped, and suddenly they were jittering again. They crossed their arms, trying to take up as little space as possible as they walked forward to the clearly damaged table.
They looked at the map, and it served as a huge issue as they had no clue what they had wandered off to after that zombie attacked them… Who knows how long ago?
The people around them were stiff, heavy with an aura that let them know that they had gone through a lot. MC wondered what it was. Death of a loved one? Maybe multiple? Starvation, thirst? Illness?
Anger filled them suddenly. Gaze on the map, they knew they were taking way too long, but so many thoughts clouded every sense. The had lost people; many had. They had been wandering alone for weeks before, hungry, no time to mourn. Then, jealousy came. A warm home, probably food available, secluded, (did they even need water? Did they even need food?)
They were staring right through the map, hair covering the edges of their expression just enough to keep the outward look of composure. A swallow, then jealousy passed, and all that was left was… Carelessness. So what if they lived or died in this moment? What was left? The world was melting in front of them, and there was no way they could solidify it again. These dickheads didn’t deserve their hep. Fuck their promise. It kept them alive, but they can’t promise to MCs face that they won’t kill them after receiving information.
At the same time, they had fought so hard to survive to this point. It would be a waste throwing it away, throwing their life away. Life had grown precious; from freshly grown fruit to a healthy, living deer, life was something that they enjoyed anytime they saw. Even if they hated these people now, they were alive and here. However, they couldn’t afford submitting to such desires. There was more to be done, more to see. They would make sure of it.
Find another way.
“No. No, I won’t.” The air now felt… uncomfortable. They hadn’t exactly expected to not be stabbed immediately after saying that. Pretty okay start. They mustered the courage to look up to the poised skeleton, his appendages flicking behind him. They are definitely sharp enough to stab.
“Now, you did initiate a bargain—“ he started.
“I may have initiated something, but I can’t trust that immediately after telling you the location of what I ‘promised’, you won’t kill me.” It felt risky interrupting, but it seemed to get their point across clearly enough. Screw them, if he kills them, then they will never have a chance at telling them anything they need.
His eye stared deep into theirs, not faltering. MC was uncomfortable, but fear was out of the question. They felt a shuffle behind them, and flinched slightly, fully prepared for a sharp blade to meet their flesh.
“That is… reasonable.” He stood stiff, his words hiding undertones of frustration.
“I suppose I was too desperate asking so soon,” His hand grasped and rubbed over his bony chin, his permagrin settling into something more sharp, “How about an addition to the bargain?”
“Like what?”
“You provide physical labor in exchange for necessities. After, say, four months, you’ll lead us to this spot. We split necessities and go our separate ways.” He spoke intelligently, his tone fixed on staying calm and showing his status, as if he was better. They listened, considering.
It didn’t sound bad. It sounded generally reasonable. The only thing was, they had no clue if four months would be enough time to prove genuine trust for one another. What else were they to do? They could starve if they refused, and they were still pissed off at all of these skeletons.
“However, I feel as if I should mention that if you end up being incorrect about this town having supplies… it won’t be fun for you.”
Ah. It was too good to be true. They just had to hope that four months would be enough. Four months to gain a bit of weight, become fitter, learn more about the environment… maybe come up with an escape plan in case.
With a tilt of their head down then back up, MC reached their hand upward to the tall skeleton. They really were just a child.
With a slight narrow of his singular cyan eye, he grasped their hand; A deal formed tight.
“Don’t disappoint.”