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That same person kept coming to them in their dreams. That same figure they had a feeling they knew, but could never grasp fully. Their face was always obscured by the brim of a hat, and they were usually turned to face them. Every night, they had the same dream. They could feel everything. The cold and rough stone, slightly made better by a cloth sitting between them and an altar. They looked towards that person, kneeling down next to them. They were shaking, their hands covered in the blood that dripped down Two Time’s side, coming from a dagger in their stomach. That person got up, limping and shaking throughout, fading out of view. They felt their eyelids drop. It was too difficult to keep them open.
Two Time shot up from their bed in a cold sweat, pushing the blankets covering them aside, gasping for air. That wasn’t real. None of it was. Calm down. They took a deep breath, holding their head in their hands. They never figured out what the meaning behind that dream was, and they weren’t about to start now. They sat on the edge of the bed, steadying their breathing and standing up. Opening the door to their room, they stepped out into a lobby area connecting their room with everyone else’s. No one was nearby. They walked down the stairs and into the living room. The fireplace that never seemed to die out was crackling with life, giving warmth to the whole building. To the left of it, a grandfather clock stood tall. A few weeks ago they figured out it didn’t match with the real time, but whenever they were about to get into a round the hands would always point to 12 o’clock. Right now it was…
22:53
In about an hour, another slaughter would take place. Their best hopes were that the killer would slip up, or they could work unnaturally well together. Neither were plausible options. While most of the survivors got along decently well, there was always some discussion or fights in between some of them… They walked to the bookshelf and picked out a random book. They walked to the sofa and threw themselves on it, sighing and opening the book. They weren’t paying attention to what was in it at all. They just wanted a distraction. They could hear the footsteps of the people going up and down the stairs, the creaking of the opening of the doors.
Someone sat next to them. It was Jane Doe. She had appeared in this place relatively earlier, according to Shedletsky, but after some rounds, she was never in another one after. They saw it themselves. It was one in Glass Houses, and they were on the ledge on a balcony. The one chasing them was John Doe. She was standing next to them, they couldn’t see her eyes under her hat but her hands were shaking a lot, and she jumped off. They tried to catch her, but weren’t fast enough. John was right there, but he didn’t chase after her. He stopped and looked. She was talking to him, trying to reason with him. He didn’t listen… She was never very talkative after this event.
They looked back at the clock. It was 23:34. They usually gathered on a table to prepare and make sure everyone was ready. They shut the book and put it back in its place on the shelf and headed towards the meeting spot. Guest, Shedletsky, Builderman and Dusekkar were already there. Shortly after, Chance and Elliot sat with them. The other two still were nowhere to be found, so Elliot set off to find them. Some time passed, the others were chatting or messing around, until everyone was back together.
A chime rang from behind them.
They opened their eyes. They weren't at the table, as they expected, but this wasn't one of the places where they used to run away from killers. This was new. It was located in a valley covered by walls all around them. At first sight, there were a few buildings they could see from where they were, most of them were small huts. None of the other survivors were close, but they figured they should try to help out with the generators anyway. They found a nearby one, crouching down and opening a panel. Someone else would likely be better at this than them, but they were good enough for the time being.
Closing the panel, they thought it strange that they hadn't seen any sign of anyone else yet. They thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to explore for a bit. Most of the buildings themselves were very run down, with some chunks of wood laying on the deck with splinters everywhere. Going through one of the mangled door frames, they weren’t met with much, other than a bloxy cola can, sitting on the desk to the side of the room.
Stepping out again, they looked around some more and their eyes stopped when they found a church. They could see the bell on the top of it, which had fallen from the piece holding it up. It had crashed on the floor beneath it some time ago, but there was something calling to them, begging to step inside. They followed their gut, stepping in.
It wasn’t a huge church, they’ve seen larger in their time, but it was still of respectable size. Most of the benches had been shattered to pieces, but the altar was left intact save for some dust. They walked up to it, with one of the side stairs and approached it. They ran their fingers through it, wiping the dust off parts of it and revealing some paint on it. Noticing that, they used their whole hand to clean the dust. It was a symbol they recognized. The spawn symbol.
So this church worshipped the spawn as well? That was great news! Perhaps that meant that there were more worshippers out and about doing well. That was a nice thought to have. They looked towards the benches, looking at one in a relatively stable one. Seeing as this church worshipped the spawn, it would be proper to offer a prayer or two now that they were here. They jumped down the stage and kneeled down behind a bench, clasping their hands, closing their eyes and whispering to themselves.
“Oh great Spawn
Allow us to revere the rebirth of flesh and soul.
We thank thee in death, we thank thee for life.
We grant you our unwavering devotion
In exchange for another chance at life.”
They opened their eyes again, and raised themselves up. They should probably check in on some of the others and try to help them in any way… They were about to turn to leave, but a loud stomp outside stopped them. Shit, they should hide.
They dashed to the altar, crouching behind it and trying to keep quiet. They couldn’t tell which killer it was gonna be this time, they should get some more information before they could form a strategy to avoid them. The steps got closer and louder, they were in a tight spot. The steps stopped right in front of the altar.
What was going on? Why would one of the killers stop at a church for the spawn? It was too strange. They dared to take a peek and try to find out who that was. The tip of a hat. None of the killers wore one. Suddenly, a realization hit them.
That point of view looking out from the altar.
That figure, sitting on the bottom of an altar as if regretting.
No, no, no, no.
As if a bullet was fired through it, memories rushed through their head. Everything came back to them. They couldn’t remember until now, but… the thought of him. Why couldn’t they remember them before? He was a huge part of their life before entering this sick situation.
“Azure-?” they unconsciously whispered.
Agh! They ducked behind the altar again. Why did they say anything?! Now he knew that they were there. But… they had died. They killed him themselves. Stabbed them on an altar just like this one… How could he be back..? Has…. has the spawn intervened? That was incredible, though now was hardly the time to think about that. They covered their own mouth, trying to drown out any sound they could make. If they wanted to get out, they should sneak by Azure whenever the opportunity opened.
They went to the side stairs and that was Two Time's window of escape. They circled around the altar, making sure to not get seen and diving behind one of the benches. They looked back at where Azure was and…
Oh…
Oh spawn…
His whole form changed.Their back was covered in tentacle-like extremities, slithering along the walls of the church next to them. His whole body was covered from head to toe in a substance that looked like tar. The only thing he kept was the hat he wore. Was…
This was their fault, wasn't it? They're the reason why Azure got changed so drastically like this…
They couldn't handle the guilt. They thought what they were doing was right! It was for the spawn! A sacrifice was needed. Breathing became an impossible task. They were panting as if they had just been chased.
They heard wriggling coming from the altar. It sounded similar to the one made by Azure's tentacles before. They kept their head down, but there was a tentacle crawling towards them on the floor. They pushed themselves up, desperately running out of the church.
They couldn't breathe, their lungs just couldn't keep up. They weren't sure how fast or how far they ran, but they felt so weak. Their legs and arms and every muscle was so sore. They sat down on the side of a building, trying to get themselves some time to get themselves together.
The clinking of metal hitting the ground stops them. Trying to not get seen, they slowly try to get a glimpse of where the noise came from.
Then, the infamous sound of a body hitting the ground. They saw it was Shedletsky's. A tentacle had pierced his heart, and he had dropped his sword trying to fight it off. Oh Spawn… he really was out to kill them all.
“Man… this new one’s weird as hell…”
A voice called out from behind. Turning around, Two Time saw those pitch black glasses staring back at them.
Wait.
No! They couldn't let anyone see them in a state like this! They could think they were a traitor, or even figure out they knew about Azure-!
“GET AWAY FROM ME!”
Without thinking, they shoved the gambler away, no one could see them like this. They couldn’t let that happen. He looked up at them, but they couldn’t read their face and try to guess what they were thinking. They just ran. They heard a scream from behind them and right after, an explosion. They didn’t dare to look back.
They found another of the broken cabins, sliding under a table and hiding under it, placing their knees to their head. Tears flew down their eyes, the situation was too much to handle for them.
“Hey… Two Ti-?”
They glared with piercing eyes and dilated pupils in the direction the noise came from. Noob was checking under the table, and they stumbled back in fear, tripping and hurrying to get up. They dashed out of the cabin, leaving them alone again.
Damn… Why did everything have to go so wrong?! They pushed two people away already, and there’s not many of them still alive… They got out from under the table, looking outside from under the doorframe. They haven’t helped a single person since they started… An empty feeling in their chest grew. Guilt. They did nothing of worth the whole time, only having breakdowns and shoving and scaring people away. Useless piece of…
They breathed in and out. Maybe praying could help calm their nerves… They started heading towards the church. They had a feeling they were being watched, before it quickly went away. When they went inside, they went up to the altar and looked at it intensely. Their knees gave out, and they could only kneel before the altar.
Everything was their fault. Everyone else dying, how unsettling they were to others…
What happened to Azure-
Their hands gave out as well, and soon followed their tears
They were engulfed in shadow, the light from outside the church blocked by the same figure, standing in the way. There was something off about Azure this time. They looked exactly like they did before they sacrificed them. He was smiling at them, but that face hid something. Two Time crawled backwards as Azure got closer. Their back hit a wall. He was chuckling at them.
“...you're not him…”
The figure was stunned for a second, before smiling again and dissolving into thin air. Was that… an illusion? What kind of sick creature would twist their memories to do that?!
A distant scream sounded out. They felt a sharp feeling on their back. Something poking at it from the inside when…
Their bones emerged out of their body, tearing through their flesh, leaving a stream of blood gushing out of the wounds. They recoiled in pain as they continued to force their way out. It was excruciating. After a few more seconds of the painful process, they extended out into the shape of wings and they were finally able to breathe.
They pushed themselves up. Azure could be close. They used a bench to support themselves until the effects from the respawning process settled.
Some footsteps rang out from the church's entrance. It was Azure. The real one.
Maybe this would be a long shot, but… If it worked for her…
“Azure…”
They glared at Two Time while they got up from the bench. Their tentacles were soaked in blood from their teammates, dripping down and that sound echoed through the walls.
“I'm…”
They swallowed their words. Their throat was swollen.
“I know apologizing won’t do any good anymore… I made a choice, back then… and I chose the spawn over you, but…”
He stomped closer.
“There never was a need to choose. I was… dumb, impulsive, selfish… I can’t turn back time, but please know-”
Azure was up on their face now.
“I would have chosen you instead.”
That sparked a reaction in them. Their muscles seemed to tense up, locking in place, none of them dared get any closer to Two Time. The two of them stared at each other for a while, directly into each other’s eyes. Azure’s pupils were shaking, part of them didn’t want to hurt Two Time. This couldn’t be their own choice. They would have no reason to hurt the others.
Two Time placed their hand on Azure’s cheek. It was cold, and irritating to their skin. It didn’t matter.
“I know you. You wouldn’t do this. So please… fight back… Azure.”
They pulled his head closer to theirs and-
They woke up.
They were at the table again.
All the other survivors were looking straight at them. Their reactions were a mix between confused, worried and angered.
They forgot they could see others after they died. They saw everything.
“I believe you owe us an explanation…” Guest cut the strange awkwardness of the silence.
“I-I-I don't owe you anything..!” They tried to argue back. Their stuttering didn't make them seem any more innocent.
“Who the hell was that? How did you know them?” His voice was blunt and intimidating compared to other times he talked.
“Sh-shut…”
“Did you have a past with them?”
“I-” They stopped for a second. They couldn't handle the barrage of questions. “It's none of your business-!”
“So you did. Explain, now.”
“You don't know what it's like…”
“Know wh-
“YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING AT ALL. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I WENT THROUGH. Have you EVER had to kill YOUR OWN PARTNER and then SEE THEM AGAIN, OUT FOR YOUR NECK? DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT DOES TO SOMEONE?”
Everyone else stepped back, scared of them lashing out. They were standing on the table and even Guest had a scared gritting expression. They looked down, seeing their hand hold out a dagger straight to his neck.
Two Time's heart sank. They stepped back, dropping the dagger on the table. They weren't looking behind themselves and they fell to the floor with a loud thud. The only thought they had was running. Getting out. They could be safer in their own room.
Someone tried to grab their hand, but they managed to slip out and run up the stairs. Some of them were chasing them, but they were faster. They got to their room, slammed the door and turned the lock. They could hear the others pounding at the door, asking them to unlock it. They were whispering between each other.
Oh spawn…
They just wanted their partner back…
Was that too much to ask?