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Claudette Morel chewed her lip, warming her hands against the heat of the campfire- a gift from the Entity that her and her fellow survivors had been most thankful for since their arrival to the dreadful place. It had become their safe haven, being their only solace to come to after countless trails with varying outcomes- a place to rest after tirelessly running from individuals seeking nothing but blood spilled beneath their blades.
Claudette exhaled through her nose, lowering her hands onto her knees. The botanist had never been one to speak her mind to the rest of the group, only in the spur of the moment when plans in trials were going awry. She had left the planning to those who were more outspoken than herself- Steve Harrington, for example, who would present his ideas with a shit-eating grin that always had Min rolling her eyes. Claudette smiled fondly at the thought, glancing over the campfire at the brunet survivor deep in discussion with Ace and Ash.
Though, despite everything going on around her, she couldn't bring herself to stop thinking about her latest trial- the idea driving her absolutely mad with no resolve.
The trial had taken place in Midwich Elementary School- a common trial ground that Claudette hadn't given much thought until that moment. Her fellow survivors: Jake, Nancy, and their newest member, Yun-Jin, had separated to find their own tasks to complete. Their killer had been the Trickster, who had spent the duration of the trial focusing on poor Yun-Jin- granting everyone else the chance to focus on their own duties. Claudette found herself in the library fairly early into the match- the place where the thought had initially struck her.
She stared down, barely above the rim of her glasses, at the book in her hand- a book which she had stolen from Midwich's library, and the Entity allowed her to keep. The pages were warped and stained, barely readable by any means, and yet the Entity had allowed her to take it.
"What've we got here, Claud?" She jolted out of her thoughts, head shooting up at the unexpected voice- Meg Thomas, the runner of their group. The redhead flashed a knowing grin, hands on her hips- flicker of the campfire catching her at the right angle to accentuate the sharpness of her features. Claudette swallowed, heart still pounding in her ears from the scare as she smiled back at her. "This? It's... nothing, really.. just something I found." She mumbled, awkwardly patting the spot beside her on the log.
Meg hummed, shrugging her shoulders before taking the invitation and slumping beside the brunette. A hint of doubt etched into a twitch of her brow. "Right, okay. It's nothing. Just something you found. It doesn't look like nothing." She said, laying her forearms across her knees. A beat of silence passed between them, disrupted only by the crackling of logs within the fire and a loud cackle from Ace- whatever the topic of their discussion, Claudette felt no need to eavesdrop. Meg cracked her knuckles, leaning back slightly.
"Where'd you get it?" She turned her head to the brunette, voice dropping low to keep their conversation away from their peers. It was unspoken between them- they had spent enough time with each other to know that they had each other's backs, no matter what. Claudette chewed her bottom lip, curling her fingers around the book's spine. "Midwich. The Entity let me keep it." She said. Meg nodded slowly, brows raising to her hairline before raising the question. "Sooo, what're you gonna do with it?"
There it was. The thought that had been driving Claudette mad ever since she had shoved the damn book into her jacket. This is the stupidest idea I've ever had. She sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know... it's not a good idea." She pulled the book into her lap, catching Meg's side-glimpse out of the corner of her eye. Claud cleared her throat, lowering her head. "I-I mean... it's not.. it's not that interesting..." She offered instead, hoping that the answer would curb at least some of Meg's curiosity.
Would the killers even be interested in something as pointless as this, or were they all destined to be trapped in this never-ending game forever?
Meg frowned, shrugging off Claudette's insistence in favor of her piqued curiosity. "You've had some pretty cool ideas before." She tilted her head back, looking up at the sky- a void of make-believe stars and the Entity's falsified moon. As she tilted her head back forward, she placed a hand over Claudette's own clasped around the book. "I want to help, no matter how stupid it is."
Letting out a shaky sigh, Claudette nodded. She could trust Meg- even if Meg only laughed at the ridiculous idea.
"Meg, have you ever thought about starting a book club?"
~~~
Claudette had expected some initial hesitance, knowing how odd the idea sounded the moment she had spoken it out loud. However, she hadn't expected that Meg would become just as intrigued by the idea as she herself had. The redhead's curiosity soon grew into questions that Claudette hadn't considered- such questions being asked in typical Meg-fashion, at least.
"Well you got the book from Midwich, right? Maybe the Entity will let us take more- I mean, it's not like the killers need them... right? Do.. do the killers even know how to read?"
"Do we even know how to read? Are any of us illiterate? Is it Dwight? I bet it's Dwight-"
"There's probably also a bit of a language barrier issue... between the killers too. Probably. Assuming that, like, the Doctor can't fluently speak Oni."
"Where the hell are we gonna host this anyways? We can't just... bring killers to the campfire, right?"
Then, came the discussion of potential candidates for their shared project, which Meg had gleefully contributed to by asking-
"Maybe the Blight could make out these ink-blot books? Did we think about asking Cheryl?"
"Meg, the Blight would only make it worse. He'd drool all over the pages."
"... oookay, fair point. How about the Nightmare?"
".. hard pass."
Meg had given her a stern frown and promptly stuck out her tongue. "Party-Pooper."
~~~
The Shape had been relentless in it's pursuit.
Meg Thomas kneeled behind the office desk of Lery's Memorial Institute, books tucked securely beneath her elbow- her last-ditch effort to collect the final additions to the club project and return to semi-regular trials. It was a calculated risk, with very low chances of survival- the Shape had already successfully buried it's blade deep into the likes of Dwight, Nea, and David, leaving Meg as the last to face the masked killer.
Silencing her pained grunts as Jake had taught her long ago, she slipped out from behind the desk, wary of her own tracks as she stepped past the activated generators and into the maze-hallway. She recalled seeing the hatch appear not long before she'd been separated from David for the final time- conveniently nestled in the rear corridor near the office, though she couldn't deny the possibility that the killer had seen it too.
I just need to get out with these. Then this is over. She reminded herself, dragging herself down the corridors of the hospital with her heart pounding heavily in her chest. With every step closer to the hatch's location, the rhythmic humming became louder. I'm almost there. I'm gonna make it. The runner hopped through a nearby window, silent on her feet as she stuck to the wall, peeking past the corner- and just as quickly as relief washed over her, it drowned in a wave of sudden dread.
The Shape , the hulking emotionless husk of a man, towered over the dark chasm with his blade held to his chest. Meg cursed under her breath, slamming herself back behind the wall- he hadn't closed it, of course , knowing that she was injured and waiting to catch her off guard. Of course he had. She bit the inside of her cheek, lowering herself into a crouch- squeezing her eyes shut as she thought of what to do.
Dread-filled seconds passed by, the melodic humming of the hatch disguising the sound of the Shape moving closer until his shadow loomed over her crouched form. Meg opened her eyes with hesitance, peering up through her lashes- facing the pale latex of the man above her with an acceptance of fate. There were always other trials, after all. "Okay, you got me. I'm a fucking sitting duck. You win."
She tried to ignore the way her lips quivered as she spoke, usual poise and cockiness drained from her body in the face of the ruthless tyrant. Myers never liked to make their trials easy, far too aware of himself and his surroundings to ensure a heart-pounding victory each time. Yet, in a motion so subtle she nearly missed it, the Shape's head cocked to the side, mask turned slightly down as if scrutinizing her.
Meg blinked up in confusion, sparing a glance down at herself- oh, what the fuck? "The books?" She asked, turning her gaze back to him. Expressionless latex reflected back at her, making it impossible to predict what his thoughts or intentions were under her spiteful scrutiny- considering that he hadn't made a move to kill her just yet, she took her cue to explain further.
"I'm collecting for a project. I mean, I don't know or care if you read or anything, but.." The redhead paused, eyes trailing the Shape's favored blade as it slowly dropped to his side. "You know... a friend and I were sort of starting a book club. If you're not interested in joining, maybe you could, uh, spread the word?" She swallowed, averting her gaze. Why am I doing this. Please shut up Meg. He doesn't care, you're gonna die.
Silence fell between them, and Meg found herself looking back up at the killer. He had taken a half-step back, knife pressed tightly against his thigh- in the right angle of outside light, she swore she caught a pale eye peering down at her from the soulless eye-holes of the mask. But as quickly as she had seen it, it disappeared as he turned his head towards the hatch, knifed hand gesturing in its direction.
"Wh-What?" She laughed nervously, rising to her feet with her brows furrowing. "N-No no, you can kill me. You deserve it after listening to my bullshit." She said, clutching the books in an iron grip. Catching the movement a beat too late, suddenly Meg found herself being hauled over to the dark chasm-
That had been Meg's first time adding "given hatch by Myers" to her memory bank.
~~~
Trials came to pass, returning to the way they had been before Claudette had proposed her idea- no more book collecting, no more panicked invitations to a club. The pair stood atop the stair-landing within the snowy lodge of Mount Ormond Resort, the only location they had been openly provided- Susie, the pink-haired Legion member, had excitedly offered on behalf of her fellow members with the promise that no trial-worthy behavior would be tolerated on their turf.
Claudette assumed, considering how little of a fight had been put up upon their arrival, that Susie had somehow also managed to convince the rest of her entourage.
The botanist leaned her elbows against the rickety railing, fingers absentmindedly trailing the edge of the paper in her hands- the scrap of an offering that had flown out of the campfire after being burned, erased of any hint that it had ever been an offering to begin with. She chewed her lip, reading the list that Meg and herself had compiled over their various trials and musings with fellow survivors.
Jake, Laurie, Quentin, Cheryl.
Wraith, Shape, Legion.
At Claudette's side, Meg chewed on her nail, pale eyes flickering between the names, and the others present in the lodge. So far, the list had proven fruitful- to the disgruntlement of some of their fellow survivors. Meg's gaze darted between Laurie and the Shape- distanced on the couch only by Jake and one of the Legion's members, Joey. Maybe.. we should've thought about this a little bit.
As if sensing the redhead's nerves, Claudette placed her hand over Meg's, clenched around the railing and slightly reddened from the cold. Mount Ormond, despite the fire ignited at the heart of the lodge, was not the warmest place to host- on the other hand, its sheer size gave the survivors an advantage in the event that one of the killers decided to flip their murder switch.
Meg sighed deeply through her nose, forcing her jaw to stop quivering as she turned her head to speak. "Do you... think it was a bad idea to invite both Laurie and the Shape?" She raised, dropping her voice to a whisper to be shared amongst themselves. Claudette, appearing almost indifferent to their predicament, shrugged her shoulders. "I.. don't know. I guess we skimmed over that when we were planning."
"I didn't actually think he'd show up," Meg commented offhandedly, turning her head back to their club members- catching Jake in a one-sided conversation with the Shape beside him. As odd as it looked, she found herself smiling at the small interaction- two men who were notorious for their silence, locked in hushed solace with each other in a crowd of people. "So what, your cute little party is gonna turn into a massacre?"
The pair jumped at the sudden voice, heads turning almost completely over their shoulders to look behind them, further up the stairwell- Frank, the leader of the Legion. Boot knife flipping between his fingers, he leaned across the railing, masked face reflecting the light of the campfire. Meg scowled at him, hands clenched into fists. "Hey, you were invited too, asshole. We'll blame you for not trying to stop it."
The Legion member raised his hands in feigned defeat, chuckling to himself. "Woah. Chill with the hostility, red. We're supposed to be friends here, right?" He offered- anger pooled in the pit of Meg's stomach at the cockiness of his tone. She ground her teeth, moving to fire back at him- stopping abruptly as Claudette's gentle hand graced her shoulder. "Meg... why don't we go and see how everyone's doing?" She spoke softly, hand squeezing her shoulder.
An unspoken plea to diffuse and drop the conversation, both knowing that Meg's temper could bring the downfall of the club. Silently taking the hint, Meg huffed at the Legion leader, before turning on her heels and allowing Claudette to pull her away before the situation escalated- all the while grumbling under her breath. The brunette guided her down the remaining stairs, quietly leading her to the open space beside the staircase- where an absent generator usually sat during trials.
Still half-pulled into a conversation, Quentin, seated on the floor between Jake and Joey's knees, acknowledged the pair with a tired wave, turning his head back to respond to something Laurie had said. Susie and Joey had also taken to joining their conversation- Susie seated herself on the couch-arm at Laurie's side, mask pulled up to her nose to reveal a row of beaming teeth, excitement bouncing off of her in waves.
Before Claudette could comment, she felt Meg nudge her with her elbow, nodding her head towards the opposite end of the couch. "Is he..?" The redhead trailed off, lips tilting into a confused frown. Claudette blinked at her, following the direction of Meg's observations- oh . Jake Park, sunken into the cushion of the stained couch with book in hand, openly yet quietly reading aloud to the Shape at his side- whose head had tilted slightly as usual.
The botanist laughed softly, smiling at the sight. "Well... at least he's keeping him away from Laurie." She looked back at Meg, who met her eyes with uncertainty. Whether it had been Jake's intention to keep the Shape preoccupied or a fateful connection between the two, Claudette mentally thanked the saboteur- eyes continuing to follow along the rest of the group, finally stopping at the final two members.
Cheryl Mason, distancing herself from the group on a worn cushion, hands already wrapped around a book and content in her lonesome- and the Wraith, attempting to blend into the background behind her and away from anyone's scrutiny. Another perfect match-up- two somewhat otherworldly beings, both placid when left to their own devices.
"They all look so happy," Meg's observation came softly, careful that the conversation would be kept between themselves. Claudette nodded in agreement, returning a smile to Laurie who spared them a quick glance. "Maybe they were all feeling the same way I did." The brunette said, wrapping her arms around herself. Despite being nearer to the fire than they had been at the top of the stair-landing, a chill ran up her spine.
Meg looked at her, brows pinching together. Claudette took it as a means to elaborate. "I mean.. the reason I started this. That I even thought about it... I wondered if anyone else would be interested in forming relationships outside of the campfire.. and I think that maybe we were all feeling alone. I think maybe we were all looking for a better way to spend our time away from the campfire."
The redhead nodded softly- understandingly , turning her eyes back towards the rest of the group, caught in their own conversations. "I didn't really look at it that way.. that's actually super smart, Claud." She grinned to herself, barely giving the brunette a moment to process what was happening before Meg's arm wrapped around her shoulders. "Y'know what? I think this might be one of your greatest ideas yet.
"Let's do this more often."