A Different Iteration | MH/EMH crossover

Chapter 1

Jay had tried to avoid it. He really had, but he'd had no other leads. Returning to the Red Tower was painful, especially after finding the tape of Alex there the first time. It definitely had unsettled him to see Alex say that "everyone was gone". Regardless, Jay had no other choice but to return to the tower, just to make sure there really wasn't anything else here. Camcorder in hand, Jay stalks around the length of the building. He knows that there is nothing that can really get him, but the fear of the Operator looms over him. After determining that there really isn't anything left, he sighs a breath of relief, which is quickly ripped away. In the distance of the treeline, a gray and red blur moves quickly deeper into the forest. Jay was startled to hear the sounds of shouts not far away from him. His mind begged for him to run, run, get out of there- but he couldn't bring himself to.

Instead, Jay turns in the direction of the shouts. He jogs slowly in that direction, scolding himself for doing this, but unable to ignore it. Slowly the shouting dies down, causing Jay to put more force into his run. He brings himself to a stop briefly when he finds a building. There is a person, no, a corpse, Jay realizes, recoiling in disgust. The body is indiscernible, too shredded in the face to be recognizable. Jay almost vomits right there, but he manages to swallow it down after remembering the shouts. There was multiple voices, meaning this couldn't be who he was looking for. He takes off farther in the original direction, trying hard to forget the glimpse of the body that seems to invade his brain.

He runs about five yards before he comes across a small opening in the trees, to a small enough path for a group of people. This is exactly what he finds, a group of three boys with varying injuries, similar to that of the body Jay found. He inches forward, taking in the distinct appearance of each. One is wearing a beanie and appears to be mostly uninjured. The second one is wearing a black cap and band tee with more obvious injuries, deep gouges along his arm and even a slightly smaller one on his leg. The last one is a bearded man, who appears to have the worst injuries out of all of them. He has a deep wound on his side with a fair amount of blood pouring out of it. The worst thing is, the injuries look inhuman, as though they were from some otherworldly entity. Jay hears a twig snap and it takes him a few seconds to recognize himself as the culprit. The guy in a cap spins around to face him, inching in front of his friends and drawing a knife on Jay. He speaks venomously, clearly trying to asses Jay for any threats, to which Jay raises his hands, almost forgetting about the camcorder in them.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" The guy in the band tee asks, scooching forward with the knife out. Jay tries his best to remain calm and also keep this on camera, worst-case scenario someone needs to find out what happened to him.

"I'm here to help," Jay replies, taking a deep breath to steady himself. "I heard you guys shouting, wanted to help." The guy doesn't seem fully satiated, lowering his weapon slightly.

"Who says we want your help?" the guy all but growls. Jay shrugs, gesturing to his friends.

"Maybe your friend there? Look, like it or not, you three are clearly in trouble and I'm offering you a solution," Jay answers reasonably. The guy grumbles and sheathes his knife. Jay sighs, rushing to the side of the bearded man. He rips some of the man's shirt, using it to put some pressure on the bleeding. Fadingly, Jay thanks Brian for sharing his medical studies to anyone who would listen. "If you guys help me get him up, we can get him in my car," Jay offers. The beanie guy eyes him for a second before nodding, helping Jay get the guy balanced between them. For the first time since Jay has encountered them, the bearded man picks his head up and looks around, his gaze catching on something.

"Evan, behind you!" he rasps out. Apparently what had gotten his attention was a long-limbed thing that was pale and inhuman. Its skin was stark white and its hands were more like claws, having to be at least three inches each. The guy in the cap, 'Evan' Jay notes, spins to face it with a twisted grin. The one in the beanie shuffles, and starts to move forward taking Jay with him. "Evan, make sure you follow us!" He shouts behind them, still helping Jay get the other guy to the car. Jay takes the lead, guiding them as best he can while holding someone up. They make it to the car relatively fast, Jay and beanie guy helping the bearded guy into the back seat, beanie guy sitting in the back with him. Jay gets around to the driver's side, starting the car and watches the tree line for Evan. It takes a minute, during which Jay can hear the others speaking softly to each other, but Evan comes sprinting out of the tree line and towards the car. He hops into the passenger seat just as the pale thing emerges from the tree and Jay reverses out of the parking lot as fast as he can. There is a long beat of silence that Jay is the first to break.

"I'm going to take you guys to my apartment instead of the hospital if that's all right," he says, looking briefly at Evan who nods. Jay takes that as permission and drives them to his apartment building rather fast. He manages to get them into his apartment without much hassle, although he does stare mournfully at the blood stains in his car he'll have to clean. Jay gets all three of them into the bathroom, where he takes out his first aid kit and gets to word on the bearded guy first. Jay helps him out of his shirt and has him sit on the toilet lid. He cleans the wound and starts bandaging it, while Evan cleans his wounds in the tub.

"So, who are you? I only know one of your names," Jay asks, not sparing them a glance. He feels the guy in the beanie shift behind him.

"I'm Jeff and the guy you're patching up is Vinny," Jeff says nervously. Evan glances between Jay and Jeff but Jay doesn't look up until he finishes bandaging Vinny. He helps Vinny get his shirt back on and switches Evan so he is sitting on the toilet seat. Jay helps Vinny get onto his bed, leaving him to rest and returning to the bathroom. Evan now sits on the counter instead but Jay just sighs and gets to bandaging his arm first.

"Do you know what that thing was," Jay almost spits at the word thing because the thought of it makes him want to vomit. Jeff clears his throat and Evan just sighs. Evan is the one to speak.

"No, we don't. We know that it's dangerous and should be stopped, though," Evan speaks grimly, as if they have had encounters before. The thought makes Jay shudder as he goes to wrap Evan's leg.

"What are you guys doing in town?" Jay questions, moving on from the last topic. The guys must sense it because they humor him.

"We were in town looking for someone," Jeff says slowly. Jay finishes wrapping Evan's leg and backs up, standing near the bathroom door.

"Who?" Jay asks, his voice curious.

"A guy named Tim Wright."

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1.3k words

Hello everybody! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I might be slow to update but I am really excited about this fic! I hope you guys enjoy what I've got coming. :)