Mold and Blood (Ethan Winters x Reader)

Sewer Gators 2.0

The humid air clings to your skin as the narrow road twists through the murky bayou. Trees tower above, their gnarled branches reaching out like skeletal hands, while the faint sound of the car's AC buzzing fills the air around you.

Next to you, Josh is gripping the steering wheel a little too tightly, glancing at the road with focused eyes. In the backseat, Anna is practically bouncing with excitement, her camera already out and rolling.

"You guys are going to love this!" Anna exclaims, camera rolling as she leans forward between the front seats. "The Baker family is exactly the kind of twisted mystery Sewer Gators would've jumped all over."

Josh glances at you, his grip on the wheel tightening even more as the road ahead winds deeper into the bayou. "Yeah, can't wait," he mutters, not quite matching Anna's enthusiasm.

But it's hard to deny the atmosphere. The swampy air feels heavier with every passing mile, the dim light filtering through the trees, casting long, shadows. When you're not thinking about where exactly you're driving you might even have enjoyed being surrounded by the nature of the bayou.

And as the car rumbles along the uneven road, Anna chatters away from the backseat, entertaining you and Josh with stories about the Sewer Gators and what amazing news about the Baker family might wait for you. "If we're lucky, we might actually find some clues about what happened to the bakers. I mean, think about it – a whole family just disappears, and no one even figured out why? There has to be something they missed."

You remain quiet, watching the swamp creep closer to the narrow road. The trees are thicker now, their moss-covered limbs hanging low over the water.

Josh scoffs lightly, his eyes flicking up to the rearview mirror to meet Anna's. "And you think we're going to solve that mystery? The same one the cops and who-know-how-many investigators couldn't crack?"

Anna leans forward, undeterred. "Come on, it's exactly what Sewer Gators would've done! If they had the guts to check it out, they'd have been all over this place. We could be the ones to piece it together, maybe even film it ourselves. You know, make it big!"

Josh rolls his eyes, his fingers tapping impatiently on the steering wheel. "Sewer Gators... they were a mediocre film crew at best, Anna. Half the time their footage was shaky, and the rest was them running around screaming. I still don't get how you can be such a fan."

Anna lets out a laugh. "That's because you don't get it. It's not about how good they were – it's about what they were after. The unknown, the forgotten stories."

As you listen to their discussion you eventually decide to chime in. "I still don't know why you need me here," you mutter, glancing over your shoulder at Anna. Josh has a clear reason – he's the only one with a driver's license. Anna, well, this whole wild idea was hers to begin with. But you? In your opinion, you have nothing of value to add to the group.

Anna leans closer, grinning as her camera focuses uncomfortably close to your face. Instinctively, you lean back, grimacing at the intrusion. "You, my dear friend," she says in a dramatic tone, "are our joker."

"Joker?"

"Yes!" Anna then rummages through her backpack with exaggerated excitement before triumphantly pulling out a small set of lockpicking tools, waving them in front of your face like some prized artifact before dropping them into your lap. "It's an old house. Gates, doors, whatever – we might run into a few obstacles. And you, lucky for us, can pick locks."

You pinch the bridge of your nose, sighing. "I learned that as a party trick, not to trespass."

"Same thing," Anna quips, slumping back into her seat. She then turns her camera toward the trees, filming the branches reaching over the road like bony fingers.