Proxy One-shots

There Were Three

"Shit!" Tim's voice broke the silence, followed by the thrashing of leaves. He struggled to bring himself to his feet, especially with the pounding sensation in his head. Speaking of which, he just as quickly took the mask on his face and tore it off, noting the blood that stained the white and coated the leaves on the ground. "I thought I was done with this shit. I-" his own voice was interrupted by the sound of him coughing, violently. He has done this several times, with days and sometimes months of memory missing in between each episode. It never got easier. The wet or damp grounds of the woods left him with a chill that wouldn't leave him for days afterward. He would go back home and realize that he has lost another job due to his lack of clocking in and dependency. 

Another series of thrashing snapped Tim out of his own head. A man in a yellow hoodie stood up as well but didn't remove his mask or his gloves. The third and final figure stood up, wearing goggles and a mouthguard that hung around his neck, exposing his scarred mouth. He had a tendency to twitch rather sharply, which made him more disoriented along with the way he rubbed his head. Two hatchets lay in the leaves, next to where he occupied.

The one in the yellow hoodie merely tilted his head over towards Tim, as if he was the strange one. Tim felt himself backing away before anger bubbled to the surface. "You're working for it, aren't you? Do yourself a favor and tell me whatever the hell it wants from me, or fuck right off and leave me alone." He staggered a bit as he took a step. He didn't forget what had happened to Jay. That thing that has tormented him for so long. What started with Alex slowly infected the poor excuse of a student film group and it all came down to this. The one in the yellow hoodie finally removed his mask, revealing blue eyes and curly, but messy dirty blond hair.

"Brian?"

"You work for it too, Tim. It's not like we really have a choice."

Tim wanted to argue back. He wanted to snap and say that he had a sense of free will and that he would never do any biddings for the tall, faceless thing, but he knew that wasn't true. That thing, The Operator as Jay used to call it, had a way of altering his mind, physical conditions, and memories. In the past, he apparently kidnapped a girl named Jessica, but he had no recollection of it, even after watching the video over and over again. He tried, at the time, to find any logical explanation that the masked man in the video wasn't him and that it was some kind of sick joke, but he knew that it was him, without a doubt. He knew Brian was right. They had no choice.

"Then who's this?" Tim asked, pointing to the unfamiliar boy who moved to place the orange goggles on top of his head. He looked younger than him and Brian, by a few good years at least. "It's bringing kids into this shit now? Jesus..."

"My name is Toby," the boy spoke up, twitching some more as he spoke. Tim paid it no mind and waited for the boy to continue. "He's been following me around for a few months before I just... became like this. I've done something bad." Brian just gave the boy a sympathetic look with nothing but understanding and concern in his eyes. He offered Toby a pat on the shoulder.

"Listen, we can save the life story talk once we get out of here, but it... normal? It doesn't exactly make you do good things." Tim did his best to try and make the mental load on the young man easier than what he was actually dealing with. He probably should have done the same for Jay, but he never realized how deep Jay had already gotten himself in this bog of a situation. "Do you have a place to go?" Toby shook his head. "Alright, you come with me. What about you, Brian?"

"Oh, I usually just stay in abandoned buildings around here. It uses me a lot, so I want to avoid hurting people if I can."

Tim let out a sigh and beckoned the two to follow him. "Come on, there's enough space where I live for the three of us, and I have enough clothes and food for the time being." He staggered some more, nearly tripping on his own feet at a few points. His body also violently coughed a few times and he shuffled his way in a direction. He didn't know where he was going or where the exit was, but in his years of experience, he learned that if he walks long enough, he'll get out of it at some point.