Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Simon frantically began to unlock the door out of the college, hearing screams from the monsters that were still lurking; sweat trickled down his forehead, Damn it! Why is my hand so shaky?! He heard the screeches throughout the college. The screams became louder as the creatures limped closer to him. 

Click!

He finally unlocked the door and slammed it behind him. He stood still, trying to catch his breath. After a few minutes, he tried running but winced in pain, making him stop. The monsters from the school had injured Simon, making him walk slower. But he finally had the fuse now so that he could leave.

After walking through that odd structure, he made it to the train station. He saw the locked door and the fuse box. He opened up his messenger bag, grabbing the fuse. Carefully, he placed it in the fuse box, unlocking the door.

Entering the station, he moved cautiously, not wanting to get caught off guard by those freaks. Simon walked over to the escalators and froze before getting on. He heard faint breathing and movement coming over from where the trains were. Simon took out his gun; it was almost a reflex at this point, This must be what being an American feels like. He thought to himself. 

Simon took a shaky breath. As he clenched tightly on his gun, Simon made sure there was enough ammo just in case he needed it.

He figured walking on the stairs would be smarter if a monster ran towards him. Walking down the stairs, he saw something, it was a … person…? He couldn't tell if it was human or not, so he proceeded slowly, raising his gun. 

meanwhile…

David sat on a bench in the station, thinking. He didn't quite remember how the hell he had gotten there, but this place was definitely better than being in the hospital. The last he remembered was being in an area underneath the hospital, he was feeling unusually lethargic during his walk causing him to pass out possibly? When he first woke up in the subway station, there were monsters on hospital beds that were… floating? It didn't make sense, but to be fair, none of what he's gone through made any sense. He had used his shotgun, and he shot them down. However, he couldn't figure out how to kill that flesh thing that blocked the way of the train tracks.

Thinking about the recent events, he grabbed a pill bottle from his pockets, poured a few of them on his palm, and consumed them dry, trying not to choke. He leaned his head back, feeling the effects take place, healing him. Looking around, he thought, Shit, why don't I stay here for a while? There's a vending machine over there with hopefully not expired food, and there doesn't seem to be any monsters here waiting to kill me anymore! Well, none for now, at least.

His thoughts were disrupted by the loud sound of a door opening and closing, Fuck. He panicked and reached for his shotgun in his backpack. He quickly ducked under the bench, holding the gun in his hands, ready to strike.

As Simon climbed down the stairs, he misstepped, causing him to trip; he yelped in shock, falling almost cartoonishly on his face, his gun falling from his hands in the process. "Ow." his voice was muffled on the cold floor. He spotted his gun that had been flung from his fall on the ground about 3 feet away from him; crawling over, he grabbed his gun and stood up, checking his surroundings.

David was slightly startled by the noise, and without thinking, he got up and pointed his gun at this person/creature. "Hey! Who the fuck are you?!" he yelled, squinting his eyes, trying to see this thing clearer. Simon snapped around in confusion and shock. What? Another person? Simon clutched his gun, pointing it towards David. "Who am I? Who are you!? Are you even real?" Simon yelled back. 

"Yes, I'm real! Are you?" David asked in suspicion of him, still yelling. "Wha - Yes I'm real!" Simon scoffed, Maybe if I ignore it, this hallucination will fade away. Simon limped out of view over to a bench that was close by, sitting down and placing his gun next to himself. David stopped pointing his gun at him, but he still held it just in case. David walked over to Simon, mainly out of curiosity.

Simon looked David up and down judgmentally. Nevermind, this is a real person. He just looks like shit. Simon reached in his bag for a syringe of morphine. David looked at Simon, who was holding the syringe. "Hey, you might want to be careful with tha-" Simon rolled up his sleeve, revealing his scars. David's eyes widened upon seeing his scars; he must have been looking at them too long because Simon glared at him, flipping him off. "My bad," David said, putting his hands up and looking the other way.

Simon rolled his eyes and injected the drug into his freshest cut; he sighed, feeling the morphine course through his body. He rolled his sleeve back up and tossed the used syringe onto the floor. "Are you done?" David asked, Simon looked up at David and noticed that he wasn't holding his gun anymore. "Yep." Simon said, folding his arms. David sat down on the bench next to Simon, but not too close, he barely knew this guy. 

"Soo…" David started, tapping his knees, "What's your name?" "It's Simon." Simon answered. "Nice, I'm David," he said, pointing to himself, smirking in pride.

"Where are you from?" David asked. Simon thought for a second. Why does he keep talking? Cant he see im not interested? "Kirkville… you?"  "Markland." Simon raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Markland? That isn't close by… how did you even get here? The door to the subway station was locked." Simon questioned, narrowing his eyes; he beside himself, ensuring his gun was beside him. "I don't remember." David sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "I remember being in the hospital, then entering this underground area. I might have passed out, but it's kinda hard to tell what's real and what's fake," he added. 

" I -I don't know. Maybe I'm just going fucking insane." David groaned, facepalming himself. "Probably." Simon shrugged. David rolled his eyes at him, punching him in the shoulder weakly.

"So how are we going to kill that thing smartass?" David asked, pointing his thumb behind himself and raising an eyebrow. Simon tilted his head in confusion, he looked over to where David was pointing. " Huh? - Oh , what the fuck?!" Simon cringed, finally noticing the creature blocking the tracks. Picking up his Glock, he shoot it 7 times at the creature. When it didn't work, David laughed at him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You don't think I haven't tried that? I'm pretty sure it needs to get run over by that train." He said, pointing his finger toward the train with the lights on.

"Hmm," Simon hummed, "I think there might be something upstairs that can activate the train." he theorized. Simon grabbed his gun and got up, beginning to walk upstairs, David shrugged and followed behind him.

Chapter Text

Ascending the stairs, the sound of a blood-curdling scream and the harsh screech of metal scraping across the ground rang throughout the station. Simon could easily recognize this monster, having come across it several times. He swallowed a lump in his throat and continued to walk cautiously up the stairs. Reaching the top, the monster finally revealed itself, vile crimson blood poured out her mouth, instead of eyes, there was a black void; the sight of it all made Simon uneasy. 

She let out another scream at the sight of Simon, pulling back the metal blade appendages that replaced her arms and swung them toward him. 

Reacting quickly, he fired a few shots, only missing once, each shot making it cry out in pain. After the 6th shot, the monster let out a final loud wail before decapitating itself. Simon lowered his gun, letting out a shuddering sigh of relief. 

He took a moment to wipe his forehead with the backside of his glove, the sweat and blood from his forehead mixed together, leaving behind a sticky faint residue. Turning back to David, he realized he was staring at him, David's eyebrows were raised and his mouth was slightly agape. "What?" Simon asked, combing his fingers through his greasy bangs. David finally noticed Simon looking at him, he blushed in embarrassment. "Huh? Oh-uh, nothing,"  

Standing there for a minute or two, he hesitantly placed his sweaty hand on Simon's shoulder. "So… are you good? You don't need any of your er— morphine, right?" Simon shook his head no, weakly smiling. David awkwardly smiled back, taking his hand off Simon's shoulder. Simon reached into his pockets, feeling around for magazines. There ended up only being one, he didn't like the feeling of being short on ammo, but this would have to do.

Taking him out of his thoughts, David asked, scratching the stubble on his chin. "Well, where should we go?"

Simon spotted a door he'd seen earlier. "You see that door?" He pointed out, elbowing David softly on his side for his attention. "I saw it on my way here, I'm pretty sure it's locked. Looks like it might be important though…"

David nodded, glancing down a hallway, zoning out a bit. "What about that yellow hallway?" he suggested. Simon paused for a second, thinking before he responded. "Sure, let's check it out."

They walked down the yellow hallway littered with trash and graffiti. The lights buzzed, adding an ambiance to their short walk.

Simon kept glancing behind himself in paranoia. He held his Glock tightly, the cold metal of the gun becoming warmer, adjusting to his body heat. When they reached the end of the hallway, a grey rusty metal door was there, almost like it was waiting for them to arrive. "Well, I think this is it," David said, tapping the door with his knuckles. 

The hinges of the door grated as it opened, the unpleasant sound echoed across the room putting Simon and David on edge. David peeked inside the place before entering. A cold breeze swept past him; paint from the walls had been chipped and scratched off, you could hear the sound of the old lights flickering and the droplets of water dripping from the pipes. David bit his bottom lip nervously before looking back at Simon. Simon shrugged and looked at the door. David turned to face the door again, holding on tightly to his shotgun and walking in.

"I'm going to go over there to check, you should check the rooms for anything useful." David said.

"Shouldn't we … stay together?"

David sighed and turned to look at Simon, putting his hands on his shoulders. He could feel Simon tense under his touch. "Dude, it's fine, this part is just old." David reassured, patting Simon's shoulders before letting go of him. He gave him a thumbs-up and walked into the room.

"Alright, whatever you say." Simon exhaled, waving his hands in the air. Simon followed in from behind, checking in the first room.

When he entered the dark room, he saw the familiar sickly pale woman he'd seen from the apartments. She took notice of him immediately and began slowly floating towards him.

Fuck! 

Realizing this, he frantically grabbed a magazine out of his pocket. As he was about to reload his gun, the monster raised her hand. In seconds, a strong force washed over Simon. A haze clouded his thoughts, his mind went fuzzy as the sides of his vision became blurry.

His hands that were no longer in his control pressed his gun under his chin, what used to be his lifeline, was now turned against him. He screamed internally, feeling the cold, unyielding metal of the barrel on his skin; it sent a shiver down his spine, increasing his anxiety. Simon tried lowering his gun, but his body wouldn't allow him. His finger, no longer his own, hovered over the trigger. Tears escaped the corners off his eyes, he shut them as tightly as possible, bracing himself for what was about to happen.

3 gunshots fired, making Simon's ears ring.

The gun fell from his hands, clacking on the floor, no longer under her control. Opening up his eyes, he noticed the woman dead on the ground, a puddle of blood beginning to form around her. Turning around, he saw David holding up his shotgun with smoke floating from the muzzle. David shoved his gun in his backpack and ran over to Simon, his eyebrows were furrowed in concern and confusion. His fingers pressed firmly onto the back of Simon's bloodied hoodie, seemingly to ground him.

"Dude what the fuck happened?" Simon's eyes darted off to the side, unable to look at him.

Look at you, you're pathetic. Needing a stranger to be at your aid, he should've let you blow your brains out, then maybe you wouldn't be such a burden.

Simon wiped the tears off his cheeks with his sleeve, " I-I don't fucking know ok?" Simon mumbled, shrugging David's hands off his shoulders.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, they spotted an open door at the end of the corridor. David walked in first. It ended up being some sort of control room, probably to regulate the train or subway station in general. The controls had a thick layer of dust on them as if they had been abandoned for a while. David's gaze landed on two levers on the control panel.

He immediately ran over without a second thought and impulsively flipped the levers. They heard the electronic sound of a button beep, signaling that something had been activated. Glancing over his shoulder, Simon commented, "I think you unlocked something."

"Wowie, look at me, doing something useful." David combed back his hair with his hand, smiling smugly. Simon rolled his eyes, he couldnt help but smile a bit.

Walking back into the hallways, Simon heard the familiar metal blades scamper on the floor. The two boys looked at each other briefly and began running to the other part of the station, not wanting to deal with it. 

…

Walking to the other part of the station they found another door, the button next to it was green letting them know it was accessible. David walked in. Simon followed behind until he felt his phone vibrate, stopping, he grabbed his phone out of his pocket to see what was causing it.

Low Battery Warning.

"Ah shit." he groaned, tapping the phone against his palm. David paused, realizing Simon stopped walking.

"What is it?" He asked.

"My phone is almost dead, I won't be able to use my flashlight anymore." Simon sighed, slipping his phone back in his pocket. "Wait," David's tongue peeked out from the corner of his lips as he began rummaging through his stuffed backpack. The sound of items moving interrupted the quietness of the corridor. 

David's eyes lit up, revealing what he'd been looking for, a flashlight. "I have this with me, it's pretty shitty, but it's better than nothing," he said, pressing the button on his flashlight to turn it on. Nothing . David's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

" Hah – just uh, just give it a second." he urged, pressing the button repeatedly. Nothing . He pressed it over and over, still ending up with the same result. "It was just working! " he yelled, gritting his teeth in agitation.

Simon watched in silence.

Man, this guy is crazy.

His thoughts were interrupted by hearing the noise of the flashlight break. David had lost his shit and broke the flashlight on his leg. He cursed under his breath, rubbing his now bruised thigh. The commotion alerted a Faster, who began quickly approaching them. Simon's head snapped towards the monster, he pushed past David and shot it. Looking to his left, he saw a door leading to another control room. Simon walked in and pulled down the levers.

They heard the train engine start, and the noise of it crushing the flesh monster. Simon dragged David out of the corridor. They walked back to the trains, Simon tapped on David's shoulder. 

"There's a door over there."

"No shit." 

They walked carefully towards the door, ensuring they didnt touch what was left of the creature. Upon entering the room there was a short hallway with a large vent opening at the end. Reaching the vent Simon looked down in it. It was pitch black. In the darkness, there was a ladder that led down to god knows where and two flares. Simon picked up the two flares, putting them in his pockets in case he needed them.

He climbed down the unstable ladder, being consumed by the darkness. David followed behind, hoping there weren't any monsters down there. In the black void, they couldn't see each other, hell, they could barely see their own hands. David waved his hands around the darkness, searching for Simon. His palm ended up landing on the other's face, unintentionally slapping him.

" Ow! " Simon hissed, rubbing his cheek, glaring at where he assumed David's face was.

"Sorry." David whispered, his face flushed.

Simon didn't respond. He dug through his pockets, his hand emerging with a small red lighter and the two flares. He lit the two flares, handing one of them to David who let out a soft Thanks . Simon skimmed around the room.

"I think we're in the tunnels." he said. Simon wondered which way they should go, he picked the skin around his nails in thought.

David noticed the flares illuminated Simon's face, emphasizing his messy hair and sunken eyes from sleepless nights. The smeared dried blood on his forehead, a reminder of what he's been through. David felt his heart race as he gulped at the sight, heat rising to his cheeks, caught in a mix between pity and undeniable attraction.

"Follow me." Simon said, David snapped back to reality and tried remaining his composure

"Alright."

The tunnels twisted like a complex maze with numerous dead ends. Stale, musty air added to the unnerving feeling they felt. Ignoring this feeling, they continued to walk, occasionally ending up in dead ends; they did, however, end up finding a few more flares.

Reaching a ladder, they climbed it. They had to crawl in the vents. 

Simon crawled in first, lighting a new flare before he continued, tossing his old one on the ground. The narrow confines of the vents made him feel claustrophobic; he heard the metallic clatter and vibrations of the vents as David followed behind.

As they reached the end of the vent, out of nowhere a monster crawled out of the shadows and into the vents.

The monster attacked Simon, making him let out a groan of pain. Clenching his fists, he repeatedly punched the monster until it fell.

Confused, he looked down to where the monster had gone.

What the-

There didn't seem to be a floor, only a bunch of pipes. He couldn't tell how low or high the ground was, it was just utter blackness, the void seemed endless.

"David, whatever you do, don't fall ."

"What does that mean?"

Simon swallowed before speaking again. "We have to climb on the pipes since there isn't any ground." David stared blankly for a few seconds, then let out a quiet laugh. "Haha, very funny, there's no ground! "Simon pursed his lips, "I'm not joking."

David's smile faltered upon hearing this. Simon let out a breath, wiping the sweat from his finger tips onto his pants. He crawled out and balanced on a pipe. Carefully, he walked over to another pipe that was at eye level and held onto it for support.

David looked down into the darkness. Man did he hate heights, how the hell was he even supposed to somehow balance on these pipes without falling?

Simon realized David was having a bit of trouble crossing over, obviously afraid. He extended his hand out for David to take, noticing his fear and hesitancy. David accepted it.

The pipes led to another ventilation system. They crawled inside and found themselves back in tunnels upon exiting the vents.

Walking, they found yet another ladder. After they climbed up, they saw two vents. David suggested going to the right one, Simon nodded and gestured for him to go first.

David squeezed in. Entering the vents he got hit with a revulting decomposed smell. He gagged and despite the scent, continued to crawl further. The smell ended up coming from a dead cat.

"That's fucking nasty," he whispered, pinching his nose in disgust. Simon crawled in behind him, the scent pungent. Scrunching up his nose, he asked, "Ugh, whats that smell?"

"It's a dead cat, pretty fucking gross."

David maneuvered around the cat. When Simon was face-to-face with it, he couldn't help but feel bad for the poor creature. Getting closer to it, he gently caressed the top of the cat's head with two fingers, trying to block out the sound of the maggots squirming around in its intestines. He looked at it one last time before moving again.

Exiting the vents, there was a short hallway with a door at the end. In the hallway, they spotted an opening in the floor with a metal ladder leading down into another section of the train tracks.

As they made their way down, they noticed a vent positioned above one of the blue trains. They climbed up with ease.

Entering the vents, Simon found a few magazines for his gun, stuffing them in his pockets. In the end of the vents, once again, there was no ground, but instead a large fan spinning at incredible speeds. Simon stopped, "Hey, you might want to be careful." He warned, turning his head over his shoulder to David. David looked down, biting his lip nervously. Simon carefully stepped out. Glancing behind his shoulder, he looked at David, he looked like he was going to shit himself.

Simon sighed.

David felt the rough fabic of Simon's glove on his skin, his warmth seeping through them. Their eyes met, Simon's dark brown eyes held David's gaze. "Can you stop being a pussy now?" Simon asked, no real mal intent behind his words. "Shut the hell up Si." David said, his face flushed pink.

Simon laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling. He led David out of the area and of course, there was another vent leading out. Crawling out of what seemed like the 20th vent, there was a door leading to a corridor. Exiting the corridor they found themselves in a different subway station. Walking along the train tracks, they heard the sound of a gunshot. Simon stopped, slightly taken aback by the sudden noise.

"I told you not to come closer, you stupid psycho! " Dr. Purnell shouted, his voice slightly muffled by the gas mask he wore. Simon's eyes widened.

Fuck, is that the doctor guy?

Simon crouched slightly, walking slowly to get a better peek on what was going on.

"Look what you made me do to you. Oh well, you probably would've done it to yourself ." He scoffed, making his way out the station.

Did he shoot that guy? We better follow. Simon thought to himself.

He walked out to the platform. Simon came across the man Dr. Purnell had been talking to, well, what was left of him. He was shot in the head, his head was blown into pieces, a bunch of brain fragments were splattered across the floor. Simon put a hand to his mouth and ran to the end of the platform, vomiting all over the train tracks.

" Dude what the fuck! " David gagged. 

David glimpsed to see what made Simon vomit.

Ah.

David turned his attention back over to Simon. He patted Simon on the back, his hunched over body spat out the remaining throw up and spit.

Gross.

Simon stood back up to his normal shitty posture, wiping the excess off his mouth with his sleeve. "We need to follow that guy." Simon coughed, pointing towards the direction Dr. Purnell had left.

"Did you not just see and hear what he did to that guy? I'm not trying to be next," David argued. 

"Why can't we just find our way out of this ourselves?"

"David please, I know he has the answers to this!" Simon pleaded, "Do you even know if what we're experiencing is real? Because I sure as hell don't." Simon grabbed onto the collar of David hoodie in desperation. "He can be our ticket out of this mess, then we can go back to our normal lives! He's bound to know something!"

...

David groaned, lolling his head. "Fuck, fine, we'll follow this weirdo."