Dead By Daylight [OneShots]

The Mastermind X Reader (P3)

I had never been this anxious when at campfire. It was legitimate to say that I was never on the edge, battling the insanity that threatened me every now and then to overwhelm me and take over me. But lately, I had to admit that my condition prior to the current scenario was not as problematic as I had perceived it to be.

I was able to reasonably comprehend the situations. I was able to keep up to the morale of my teammates. I had been able to segregate my inner conscious from my situational awareness.

But I was not the same as my former self. A lot had changed over the course of time, from my childhood to my adulthood. But the sudden change was petrifying. I was gradually losing myself to the darkness that I abhorred.

The darkness that now comforts me...

Chris wasn't the same since our last trial. He had become considerably weaker and slow, and the last time I was compelled to touch his forehead. He was sweating badly, and my suspicions were proven right. He was running on high fever. He groaned and moaned every now and then, making me feel the pity I never wanted to feel for a man as strong as him.

But it was way worse for Claire than anyone else. She was close to losing her only family, her brother. I tried consoling myself and her that the infection was soon going to be cured, and that the weakness might subside. But it didn't happen. After what seemed like hours, his condition had only deteriorated. I never knew, but his nose was starting to bleed occasionally. I had never seen fever do something like that, but then on closer inspection, I could see vague signs of that awkward infection.

My eyes caught something slimy around his neck, making me jolt upright in terror and pull Claire away from him.

"(Y/N)?! What the hell?!"

"Claire! Look at his neck. You need to be careful, it's not what you think it is."

She was puzzled by my sudden change in demeanor, but then she contemplated on my decision and carefully looked around his neck. Her expression changed from that to pity from terror in a split second.

"Ouroboros?" She mumbled, "It can't happen here. It shouldn't have been here at all."

"We don't have time to think about how it has happened for now. Take precautions, we need to do something quick before it's too late." Mentioning the time running out made Claire go pale. That was one dreadful end she refused to accept in the face.

"No! I'll do whatever I have to. He's not dying on me like that."

"He'll not. There has to be way. If that can be cured there, it can be cured here as well. Maybe...Pustula serum?" I looked at Claudette hopefully, but her sulking expression...no, that didn't add up to what her eyes showed.

My eyes went wide at her.

"No way! Claud, don't tell me."

"I have tried my best, but he's not in a condition." She shook her head in disdain, "I would have let him drink it, but he's not in a condition to overpower the affects of the serum."

"He might, that is probably the only way." I retaliated, grabbing her by the shoulder, desperate.

"I know. But you and I both know what that serum does to us all. Even for the killers, it is hard to resist the extreme powers it holds. You consumed the petals, and you know well what has been happening to you all this time. You should be glad, that you managed to somehow survive, considering that the amount that you consumed wasn't as pure as the one we retract from them."

The revelation left me shaken. I never knew I was that close to ending my life, even if starvation was something I couldn't bear.

"I don't know how you survived. Maybe you were too determined to live through that. But you know the hell that dawned upon you. You were running on high fever for hours, maybe a day or two now. Then suddenly you were too agile. But the thing is, your body met the requirements. You were in a position to deal with it, but Chris is not. He is already frail, hanging by the thin thread."