Chapter Text
Nobody ever talks about the dreadful feeling that rises in someone before they throw up.
The way your palms become sweaty and your brain begins to panic. All just before you—
Shedletsky clenched his eyes shut as felt the world spin around him. Between the persisting nausea and uncomfortable sweating, the only thing keeping Shedletsky grounded was the toilet he was currently gripping onto.
Shedletsky had no idea how he could have possibly ended up here. He did everything he normally did— wake up, talk to the others, eat, survive— so why now? Why today ?
Shedletsky’s grip on the toilet tightened as he forced down a burning sensation that threatened to come up his throat. Shedletsky was aware he would have to exit the bathroom sooner or later before someone comes looking for him.
Pushing pass the dizziness, Shedletsky stood up slowly before stumbling to the sink. Looking up at the mirror, Shedletsky became aware of how bad he currently looked. His hair, which he had just brush, was now unkempt and he looked as he didn't get enough sleep.The admin let out a deep sigh as he turned on the bathroom sink hoping the water would make the pervious noise sound 'normal'.As expected a soft knocking sound was heard outside the bathroom door causing Shedletsky to be pulled out of his thoughts and turn off the water."I'll be out in a minute.." rasped out Shedletsky.
"Is everything okay in there Shed?" It was Builderman– of course.. Shedletsky stood in the bathroom silent as he contemplated what to do. After a beat of silence, he finally decided to open the bathroom door.
Builderman was greeted by a rather tired looking Shedletsky, which under normal circumstances wouldn't be worrying but considering their current circumstances— this was worrying.Builderman was aware it is rather inappropriate to intrude on someone while they are in the bathroom but the sounds of groans and gagging had forced him awake.Builderman didn't want to barge down the door and demand a answer for what the strange noise was so he instead waited till the disturbing sounds stopped. However now that he standing in front of Shedletsky, Builderman couldn't help but feel that question might sound stupid. It was obvious off the bat that Shedletsky wasn't feeling well.
The other admin had dark bags under his eyes as if he didn't sleep well and on top of that, his hair and what is left his wings seemed ruffed like he had been rolling around. After a long period of silence, Shedletsky cleared his throat causing Builderman to realize he had just been staring that the other man for quite some time.
"Is everything okay there Buildy?" questioned Shedletsky as if he wasn't the one who looked worse between the two of them.
Builderman blinked quickly before regathering himself.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" asked Builderman as he gave Shedletsky a worried look.
Shedletsky's smile slowly fell as he seemed to look past Builderman briefly before refocusing on him again. "I'm fine." answered Shedletsky quickly.
Builderman mouth formed into a frowned as the other quickly shut down any opportunity for a long conversation. "If you say so.." mumbled Builderman as he turned around to allow Shedletsky to continue doing– whatever he was doing.
"I mean it!" shouted Shedletsky.
Builderman looked over his shoulder and gave Shedletsky a pitiful expression. "Sure you do." he mocked.
"Just don't take too long or the other survivors are gonna start thinking you finally kicked the bucket"
Shedletsky let out a dramatic gasp noise causing Builderman simply shook his head before leaving the room.
This would do.
—
Things flowed the same as they normally did. Everyone was up and about doing what they do— Elliot was in the kitchen again, cooking as usual. Noob and Chance were occupying the couch and seemed to be a deep discussion about something, Builderman and Dusekkar was sitting at the unofficial dinner table chatting as well. Spotting the two other admins, Shedletsky promptly made a beeline to them.Of course both men noticed and greeted Shedletsky once he walked over to them.
The morning came and went back rather quicker than Shedletsky had expected it to. By the time noon had hit everyone was now awake and huddled in the main cabin. The cabin was filled to the brim of chatter as everyone ate. Breakfast was energetic as ever, everyone talking about whatever came to mine till the first round started.
Shedletsky listened to multiple different conversations as he took slow bites of his breakfast. For once he was in no rush to eat. Despite how good Elliot made today's pancakes, Shedletsky couldn't help but feel as if he was a few bites away from expelling everything out of his stomach.
It was a rather unfortunate feeling. Everyone was happily chatting away while Shedletsky felt sicker than two dogs. He had hoped that as the day progressed his sickness would leave him but instead it seemed that hos body was being rather stubborn and refused to overcome such a minor issue.
So now Shedletsky sat in front of his plate feeling nauseous at the sight of his pancakes and chicken.
Perhaps it was the sickness or the building paranoia over the weeks but Shedletsky felt as if every fiber in his being was tingling and as if he was being watched.Shedletsky grimaced at the chicken on his plate as if he had ruined his day. Pushing past his unease, Shedletsky picked up the chicken and took a bite.
Shedletsky chewed slowly, hoping to not cause his body to gag again but atlas he was asking for too much.
His body rejected the food immediately. Shedletsky promptly covered his mouth and dropped the chicken as he suppressed a vocal gag trying to escape his mouth.
As expected, Shedletsky's sudden jerking and gagging caused the others to look at him confused. Shedletsky stood up and rushed to the cabins bathroom before slamming the door shut.
Thankfully his vomiting spree was shorter than before. By the time Shedletsky had stopped and was able to properly breathe again, he felt drained. Blinking away tears, it took Shedletsky a moment to realize that whatever was floating in the toilet wasn't just food— along side the food was something unnatural. instead of a semi-murky liquid, the toilet water was black.
"Hey.. is everything okay in there?"
Immediately Shedletsky jumped at the unexpected voice and quickly flushed the toilet. After taking a second to wipe off his mouth, Shedletsky turned around. Standing in the door frame was a nervous Elliot. Shedletsky couldn't help but feel bad now.He assumed the poor pizza worker felt as if he messed up and caused Shedletsky to get sick.Shedletsky cleared his throat before speaking
"M fine, I just might have gotten a little sick recently." explained Shedletsky. "But it's nothing you caused! I just don't think I can eat right now..." he added quickly.
Elliot wore a concerned expression but whatever he wanted to say, he didn't.
"Would you liken me to save your food or…?"
Shedletsky politely nodded his head."If you could please."
Once Elliot left the room Shedletsky decided sitting on the floor probably wasn't good for his knees and began to sit up but just as his hand touched the sink's countertop, his hand fell. Instead of being in the bathroom, Shedletsky was now outside and sitting in the grass. Looking around Shedletsky realized that he was no longer at the cabin but instead in a round, and judging from his surroundings, probably Yorick's Resting Place. Getting up quickly, Shedletsky brushed off his shorts and began thinking about what to do. He could worry about his own health later, right now he needed to either find a generator or meet up with another survivor. Ironically enough, Luck seemed to be on Shedletsky side for once because as he spotted a generator he also noticed someone by it.
"Hey Chance."
The gambler in question looked behind and gave Shedletsky a strained smile as if he was trying to not say something.
"Hey! Good to see you..I uh heard you in cabin bathroom.. you good?" asked Chance awkwardly.
Shedletsky didn't automatically answer Chance and instead took his time focusing on fixing the generator.
Blue with Blue.. Red with red..
"I'm fine, just feeeling a little sick." replied Shedletsky once he was done connecting the generators wires.Chance, strangely enough, didn't say anything in return. Shedletsky didn't mind.
They both worked in silence till the sound of the generator running filled the area. Shedletsky let out a deep sigh and turned to leave when he noticed Chance's nervous look.
"Something wrong?"
Chance pursed their lip before quickly putting their hand on Shedletsky's shoulder.
"Listen… it's none of my business but if you're ever feeling bad about yourself like...physically, feel free to talk to me. Okay? Ok ,bye!"
Without a word of input, Chance quickly left Shedletsky alone by the generator confused. The admin only stared blankly as Chance's figure disappeared.
Did they think he was anorexic?
After Shedletsky's strange encounter with Chance, the round went by rather normally. Shedletsky had ran into everyone as expected and with that came information.The killer this round turned out to be 1×1×1×1. Shedletsky couldn't say he was happy. So as usual, he deiced to strategize.
"The killer this round is 1×1×1×1, so we'll all need to do our best keeping out distance from them."
By this time everyone knew what the best option for survival was.1x had a wide range for attacking and made sure to get the most about of damage in every time they swung their swords.
"Shedletsky, you ran into Chance right? Do you know where he went?" asked Guest.
Shedletsky shrugged his shoulders."Hell if I know. He immediately ran in the opposite direction of me once we finished turning on a generator."
Dusekkar let out a annoyed sigh. "I'll find them. Hopefully by the time I do, he won't be dead this time."
Guest and Shedletsky wore a similar expression of worry."Are you sure?" questioned Shedletsky.
If Dusekkar could muster a offended expression, then it would be very prominent at this moment.
"I'll be fine. You are aware I last longer than Chance." snapped Dusekkar.
Shedletsky put his hands up defensively as Dusekkar stormed off, leaving him with Guest. "Shedletsky I know this might sound rude–" started Guest.
Shedletsky didn't even need to hear the rest of the sentence. "Yes… I'll distact 1x.." he grumbled.
Guest's eyebrows shot up."Are you sure? If you don't want to—"
Shedletsky promptly cut Guest off. "If I didn't want to, I would have said no."
"I hope you know this isn't me just running away" joked Guest as Shedletsky began to walk off in 1×1×1×1 assumed direction.
Shedletsky rolled his eyes as he felt a smile creeping onto his face.
"Oh I'm very aware, now shoo. Go find someone to protect already."
Shedletsky could hear Guest let out a low laugh as he continued to walk.
—
Finding 1×1×1×1 was somehow harder than saying the beings name. It was if, for once, they wanted nothing to do with Shedletsky. The thought almost made the admin laugh as he walked around the limited map, looking for the familiar green torso-ed figure.Shedletsky could have sworn he looked everyone yet he found now signs of 1x anywhere. At some point during hid searching, Shedletsky had began to wonder if everyone had been killed and he was actually in fact alone.
Fortunately, or not, Shedletsky's ears picked up on the sound of chains dragging against the ground. As if on queue, Shedletsky froze. He found himself standing still trying to figure just where 1x was at yet he couldn't and instead could only hear the sound of their chains getting closer and closer. The noise practically had Shedletsky's hair standing up out of anticipation.As expected, he was meet face to face with the adversary, 1×1×1×1. As soon as Shedletsky made eye contact with 1x, he watched as their expression shifted from a concentrated expression to one of pure rage."You!" shouted 1×1×1×1.
"Me!" replied Shedletsky as he began to turn and run away from the angry forth dimensional being.
The chase began immediately. It was almost like muscle memory at this point. Shedletsky lungs expanded and contacted rapidly as he dodged attack after attack. It didn't help that 1x's chain basically gave away what side they were going to attack from. Things were going rather good for Shedletsky, he was dodging every attack and even managed to parry any attacks if possible.
Just as 1x was about to attack again, Shedletsky noticed a opening and decided to take it. Shedletsky's grip on his sword tightened as he prepared to strike came to as sudden stop when a sharp pain shot through his body causing him to drop his sword and wrap his arm around his torso.
No...not now
1×, who was about to block, took this opportunity to get a hit on Shedletsky.Shedletsky let out a sharp yell as he felt a cold blade dig into his shoulder. Turning his head, Shedletsky realized that 1×1×1×1 had in fact got him. Silence immediately fell between the two unlike their usual encounters. There was no laughing, yelling, not even a snarky comeback— just silence. Between the pain, Shedletsky wondered why 1× had yet to say anything yet.
When Shedletsky looked up, he noticed that 1×1×1×1 wasn't looking at him but rather his shoulder. Shedletsky, confused, followed where 1x eyes lay and shiver run down his bad. Where he was cut was coated in a dark liquid, but it wasn't blood this time. The liquid was too dark to blood yet it wasn't something Shedletsky could identify— at least, not right now.
With his free hand, Shedletsky promptly pulled the blade out of his shoulder despite his body screaming in pain. 1x didn't even try to stop him, instead they let out a loud howl which caused Shedletsky to jump."What's so funny?" asked Shedletsky as he touched his shoulder before pulling his hand away out of pain.
"It's rather funny to see how the mighty have fallen." answered 1×1×1×1 through their laughs.
"Shut up.." hissed out Shedletsky.
"You– a admin who did everything to get rid of me, has come back to the beginning of his torturous cycle." 1×1×1×1 gave Shedletsky a thin smile as the admin glared back them.
"Tell me deceiver, what was it this time? The fear of being useless or the fact you've been reduced to being hunted like a rat ?"
"I SAID SHUT UP—"
Then with speed neither of them knew Shedletsky possessed, the man lunged toward 1x.
—
"Are you sure they are around here?" asked Elliot nervously as he looked around walking.
"I'm definitely sure." reassured Guest. "I heard the sound of chains around here followed by footsteps." Elliot glanced over at Guest while they both continued searching. Elliot didn't doubt Guest but the last thing he wanted was for both of them to end up dead. Not to mention— Elliot had no faith in Shedletsky and his survival skills. The man wasn't exactly what Elliot would call the best counter to 1×1×1×1. Shedletsky wasn't as bad sentinel but when it came to doing the job…He was rather clumsy to be frank. Shedletsky couldn't hit his targets and he had aa tendency to not be attention to his own health.
In Elliot's own opinion, Shedletsky was the last person he would choose to go against 1x.. and yet Guest told him that Shedletsky willing agreed. Wonderful…
After walking around for a bit more, Guest suddenly stopped Elliot. Elliot gave Guest a confused expression about the sudden stop but noted the sound of chains. Elliot didn't need to be told who those sounds belong to so without a second thought or discussing anything, Elliot ran toward the sounds.
"Shedletsky! We—"
When Elliot turned the corner, he was greeted by a sight he didn't expect to see.
"Elliot? What's wrong…" Guest's sentence trailed off as his eye also landed on the same scene Elliot was looking at.
In front of them was both Shedletsky and 1×1×1×1 but Shedletsky had 1x pinned to ground with own sword that seemed to be going straight through their body all while Shedletsky himself was ontop of them and stabbing them repeatedly.
It was a rather disgusting scene and Elliot was pretty sure there was enough blood that someone could mistake this for a horror movie filming.
Elliot didn't know how long he stared at the scene unfolding in front of him before he turned away while letting out a gagging sound. Guest too looked away, unsure what to do.On one hand, 1x was a killer so this wasn't wrong to do but what Shedletsky was doing almost felt excessive— cruel even.
But.. the most haunting part was how Shedletsky look.The admins entire front part of his body was soaked in blood, if you could even call it that , from 1x. It was on his torse, his hands even his face… but what really scared Guest was Shedletsky's expression.
Guest had been around Shedletsky enough to see many different expression on the admin but… he's never seen Shedletsky this… happy?
Anger? Joy? Excitement?
Guest couldn't figure out what expression he saw but he had no plan on figuring out any time soon.
Just as Guest was about to suggest that they stop Shedletsky, someone shouted.
"Shedletsky! "
Both Guest and Elliot turned their heads in the direction of the voice and saw that it came from Builderman who looked exhausted as if he ran to get here.
At sound of his name, Shedletsky finally stopped stabbing 1×1×1×1 and turned to see who called out his name.
"Shedletsky… what are you doing?" breathed out Builderman as he looked between Shedletsky and 1×1×1×1.
Shedletsky stared blankly between Builderman, Guest and Elliot then down at 1x. The admin sat there momentarily before quickly getting off 1×1×1×1, mortified as if he wasn't aware of what he had just done.
"What did you do Shedletsky?" asked Builderman again, this time with a lot more urgency in his voice.
Shedletsky found himself unable to come up with a response, he had no idea what to tell the other admin. One minute was distracting 1×1×1×1 like he was asked to then the next minute he was…
Shedletsky was snapped out his dissociation as he felt Builderman shaking his shoulder.
"Shedletsky…" Builderman's voice was no louder than a whisper as the other gave him a look of deep concern.
"I was fighting 1x…" recounted Shedletsky as he took in a deep breath.From the corner of his eyes, Shedletsky spotted 1×1×1×1, who was still lying against the dirt, unmoving. Briefly, Shedletsky panicked and wondered if he had actually killed them.
"You need to go." muttered Builderman as he shifted in front of Shedletsky's view, blocking out 1x's body.
"What? " rasped out Shedletsky "But–"
"The others are most likely going to be here soon." spoke Builderman, completely ignore Shedletsky's plea.
"They most likly saw me running and willing eventually follow me. You.. need to clean yourself up.."
Shedletsky watched as Builderman gestured down to his current state.He didn't argue, there was no need. Instead Shedletsky stood up and decided to walk away in a different direction, hoping he wouldn't bump into any other survivors at the moment.
The walk was too quiet for Shedletsky's liking. Despite the events that just occurred, Shedletsky found himself craving any kind of talk or even noise but it seemed that even the round itself wanted Shedletsky to suffer in awkward silence.
As Shedletsky continued to walk, he let out a low wince. The admin grimaced as he looked at the deep cut in his shoulder. Normally Shedletsky would be willing to put up with such pain but it was this wound that had caused of all this madness to occur.
Without a second thought Shedletsly put his hand on the cut before removing it quickly. The cut burned against his touch.
The admin let out a grunt as he slowly stopped walking and slumped behind a wall. Shedletsky had no idea just how far he had walked but he was pretty sure that nobody should be able to find him now. Hopefully..
Things weren't going like they were supposed to..Today was meant to be as 'normal' as any other day. Get up, eat, do a round, sleep then repeat.
Yet, instead Shedletsky found himself wiping off 1x's blood off his face and his hands as best as he could.It probably wasn't any better that he looked like he just committed a murder.
Eventually Shedletsky noted that both his nausea and the sharp pain he felt had disappeared.
Shedletsky's couldn't wrap his head around why though. Up till now, he had felt nothing but a occasional sickness and now the pain from being cut but for his pain to suddenly stop—Was it because of 1x..? No.
Shedletsky refused to give 1x's comment a thought. Whatever the adversary had thought was happening was simply impossible. Shedletsky should know. He is unfortunately someone who doesn't particularly have any strong emotions that could be labeled as 'fear', 'anger', 'hatred'… even when 1×1×1×1 made their fateful appearance all those years again, Shedletsky didn't feel any type of anger or fear.
The admin closed his eyes as he took his a deep breath then exhaled in hopes of clearing his mind.There was so much happening and yet.. all that Shedletsky could think about is rushing to his cabin when the round ends and hiding in the shower for the rest of the day.Hell… Builderman might just let him do that if he begs enough.
Shedletsky's head shot up as his ears picked up on the sound of a branch snapping.Shedletsky didn't run, he really didn't have anywhere to go to anyway.
After a moment, there was a sound of footsteps and then followed Elliot, who seemed nervous.
Or maybe he was scared. it was hard to tell
Shedletsky awkwardly turned away from Elliot, hoping the other would have some common sense to leave.Shedletsky didn't want the others to see him like… this . It was too humiliating. And yet for some reason, Elliot began to walk over to Shedletsky.
Neither of two said anything as Elliot pulled out a medical kit and began to bandage up Shedletsky's wound.The only occasional sounds where Shedletsky's winces as Elliot tightened the gauze around his shoulder. When Elliot had finished bandaging up Shedletsky, he didn't say anything, instead he quietly stood up and left.
Shedletsky didn't blame him. This experience was probably just as traumatizing as it was from him as it was for Shedletsky.The admin slowly closed his eyes as he waited for the round to be over and thought about what he was going to do when all of this was done.
—
As soon as the round ended Shedletsky basically made it his mission to become scarce. Getting to his cabin was easier than he had expected it to be. When he and others were all teleported back to the main cabin, nobody made a attempt to stop him or even talk to him– not that he was complaining.
Once he got to the cabin, Shedletsky immediately locked himself in the bathroom. His eyes avoided looking at the mirror as he practically tore his clothes off and took a shower.
Shedletsky didn't care of the temperature of the water as he scrubbed his body.All he cared about was ridding himself of the blood on his body. There was no blood him yet he felt the need to scrub himself cleaning.
By the time Shedletsky was done with his shower the water now a mixture of dirty water and a dark liquid. For a moment Shedletsky wondered where the extra blood came from before remembering the cut on his shoulder.Shedletsky once again found himself sick at thought of what he had done.
He had almost killed 1×1×1×1— and he had done so without any hesitation. No fear, no second thoughts only pure rage.
Shedletsky felt stupid, depressed even.He was feeling so many things and yet he kept thinking about himself.
The admin let out a weak laugh which quickly devolved into a coughing fit.
Shedletsky was now undeniably aware of his situation. He was not going to make it at this point.He was either going to die via coughing up his insides or die by becoming—
Shedletsky promptly took a sharp inhale, stopping his own coughing as he heard the cabin's front door open then close.
That was most likely Builderman. Shedletsky left the bathroom once he was dry and dressed again in new clothing that wasn't damaged or covered in blood. Builderman gave Shedletsky a surprised look as he wasn't expecting the admin to be cleaned up so fast.
"That was fast.." spoke Builderman. His tone didn't hold any amusement or even disappointment, making it hard for Shedletsky to tell if he was angry or about to go on a long lecture.
Shedletsky didn't say anything as he put his bloodied clothes in his laundry basket.
"Not much of a fan of being covered in blood." he eventually replied.He didn't mean for it come out like a joke but he was feeling too nervous right now.
"Shedletsky. " snapped Builderman.
Shedletsky quickly turned around to face Builderman with spew of words on the tip of his tounge but as he opened his mouth, he didn't say anything.
This isn't something he wanted to be angry about. This wasn't something he was going to lose his friend over…
"Shedletsky.. you have got to tell me what's going on." pleaded Builderman. "I want to be able to help you but I have no idea what's going on and you haven't told me or anyone anything…"
Shedletsky bite down on his lip as he felt Builderman reach out and grab his hand. His hands felt cold compared to Builderman's.
"It's nothing serious.." mumbled Shedletsky as he pulled his hand away.
"Nothing serious? Shed you just almost killed 1x out! Shedletsky that's your—"
"I know! " shouted Shedletsky. "You think I'm not freaking out over this!"
"Then why won't you tell me–" gritted Builderman.
"What am I supposed to tell you Builderman!?" shouted Shedletsky. "That since we've arrived here, I've been feeling my very being slipping away from me?!"
"That when I sleep I fear that I won't wake up and instead will be Telamon again?!"
The room fell into silence as Shedletsky breathed deeply with his fist clenched tightly. Shedletsky wasn't even aware he was yelling till the room stopped echoing leaving nothing but the sound of the crickets from outside.
"You've charged Shedletsky.." reassured Builderman, but Shedletsky felt nothing from the others words.
"A simple name changed won't change a whole person Builderman." snapped Shedletsky.
Builderman was unsure what else he could say. He wasn't aware of the inner turmoil Shedletsky had been working through and now he felt was rude.
Builderman wanted to reassure Shedletsky that such worry was just a fantasy but the worry across Shedletsky’s face looked serious and he wasn't about to make the other man feel worse.
"Shedletsky…." started Builderman.
"You should sleep in someone's cabin today." Interjected Shedletsky cutting off whatever Builderman planned on saying.
"Shed–"
"Please… Builderman for once, just..please." muttered Shedletsky.Builderman pursed his lips but eventually nodded his head in agreement. Neither admin said anything to each other till Builderman was properly leaving for the night.
"Are you sure?" questioned Builderman.Shedletsky nodded his head as he leaned agaisnt the door frame.
"I'm sure."
Builderman let out a annoyed sigh. "If you say so."
The rest of the night seemed to past by slowly as Shedletsky tossed and turned.The admin found himself constantly getting in and out of bed as he paced between the bathroom and his bed as his stomach churned and body sweat an unnatural amount.
At first Shedletsky assumed his nerves sweats came from the nightmares he was having but once he calmed down after awaking, his body was still very much awake. By some magical miracle, Shedletsky manged to get sleepy but that wasn't till it was basically four in the morning.
Shedletsky dully looked at the cabins ceiling as he felt his eyelids becoming heavy and before he knew it, he had passed out.