Friday the 13th (NijiEN) oneshot

Chapter 1

Trees swayed in the breeze, a silent lake nestled between the wooded land turning murky as clouds blotted out the night sky above. The artificial glow of the cabins flickered unsteadily as the only source of illumination, shadows stretching within the forest beyond the islands of light.

In the distance, a flare of light went up, followed by a short, sudden scream that was quickly swallowed by the wind.

Within one of the cabins, a man sat against the wall, gritting his teeth as he bandaged his torso, blossoming crimson patches staining the faded white. His right arm lay limply at his side, wires sprouting from the elbow as it emitted sparks intermittently, a constant hiss whistling from the gap. Gashes of all shapes and sizes adorned his legs, the whirring of motors leaking out as pungent oil dripped through, staining the wooden floorboards dark.

For a moment, he raised his head, the whisper of a scream reaching his auditory sensors, and he paused, carefully shifting his body so he could kneel and see through the dusty window above him, his left arm gripping the window sill tightly.

All he could see was darkness as static crackled at the edges of his vision, patches of his visual feed cutting every now and then. He could barely make out the outlines of the trees and wooden fences surrounding the cabin, and after moment, he slid down, his left hand unable to support him any longer.

The floorboards creaked heavily on impact, a dull thump echoing in the empty room. He simply sat there for a while, taking slow, deep breaths as he shut his eyes.

But he knew he didn't have much time, so he reluctantly forced his eyes open again, the bags under them evident as he put the finishing touches on the bandages around his stomach.

Just as he did so, he heard footsteps outside.

They were heavy, a slow, steady beat of drums against the earth. The sound of grass crunching reached his ears, and he swore he could hear something dragging on the dirt, like a plow, or a shovel.

His chest started rising and falling more rapidly as he sat there, desperately praying for his motors and wires to stop making so much noise. His fingers didn't so much as twitch, his body a motionless statue on the floor.

The footsteps walked past the window he was next to, a harsh breathing entering his ears as it came close. Then it stopped.

The harsh breathing continued unabated, his heart slowly turning into a jackhammer in his chest. The clock hanging above the wall opposite him stared at him impassively, the hands moving agonizingly slow. The ticking was almost in sync with his mechanical parts, and then it hit him.

Gently placing his left arm in a position that wouldn't make sound, he powered down most of his body into sleep mode, leaving only his visual and auditory sensors online. As a result, the whirring of motors died down, along with the electric sparks and smoke.

He would be unable to move for a full ten seconds since he needed to reactivate the systems, but in exchange he would be completely silent.

Immediately, he regretted it.

Shards of glass rained down on him, transparent dust coating him like snow, glittering beneath the electric lights. A particularly big shard slipped past his face, a bead of blood running down his brow as it pierced the skin and drew a line of scarlet.

He could see whatever had broken through the window casting a shadow on his leg, but he couldn't move and look up, as powerless as a doll.

It hung in the air above him for a few heartbeats, the rough breathing outside louder than ever with the glass barrier gone.

He watched as the shadow slowly receded past the boundary, a few wooden splinters falling on his head as something scraped past the window sill.

Then the footsteps started up again, and the breathing grew fainter, sinking back into the background noise of rustling leaves and shaking branches. After a while, it disappeared completely.