Red Blood (Karkat X Reader)

The Manhunt (or More Appropriately, The Trollhunt)

[A/N: This whole story takes place in an alternate world where sburb/sgrub doesn't exist. There's most likely no imminent Lord English threat, either. Take that as you will.

The character (you) is also going to be assumed to be female or a feminine gender so I'm not too vague in writing this. If you are not female, then I'm really really sorry. I'll try to make it possible so that you can imagine different pronouns without hindering the story that much. Thanks!

I'd like to thank you for reading this as well! Please note that there is the p9ssi6ility that y9u might 6e triggered, so read the book description!

Feedback is also appreciated, you lovely person!

Enjoy!]

---

It's close to being over. They found out.

You desperately dragged your unconscious friend through the dark Alternian woods, gasping for air. Your eyes scanned your dim surroundings, pulling the alien creature behind you by his legs as best as you could.. You didn't have time to pick him up and carry him the normal way. The drones were surely close by now.

They know about him being different.

In troll society, you would most likely learned that it be better not help him. You would leave him alone, and let your life be spared.

But you were not a troll.

You were a human who arrived on this godforsaken place during a warp malfunction. You and your friends were currently job shadowing a group of scientists and opted to try the warp. Instead of into another room, it had sent you here.

Oh God... the warp can't be fixed yet. The drones have to be close by now... Where can we hide?!

You quickly stopped and glanced around. The closest thing to a good hiding spot was a series of caves. Hiding in one might work... but would the drones be clever enough to find you?

Regardless, you had no choice. You quickly hoisted the troll off the ground and carried him into a cave by some miracle. In fact, it was even a miracle that you could even run through the bloody woods. Carrying another being who weighed about one hundred and twenty pounds or so wasn't exactly a breeze. You could only be glad, though, that your grey skinned friend didn't have those heavy ass like the others...

You staggered into one of the caves and collapsed, rolling onto your back as you hit the cool floor. You took a few moments to regain your breath and composure before sitting up again. Karkat wasn't moving much, apart from the shallow rise and fall of his chest. Bright, candy red liquid was trailing out of a blow on his forehead, which had started to swell some already.

You quickly reached for the dark sleeve of your shirt and tore it off. You had obtained this shirt after entering the house of a troll that had been recently culled. You took their clothes, because clearly they wouldn't be needing it anymore. You then took the black fabric and held it to the wound. Karkat's eyes flickered open that moment.

"What. The. Goddamn-" He cringed slightly.

"The drones are still searching. Stay quiet, and hold the bandage." For once, Karkat didn't argue and held the piece of cloth in place. You stood up slowly. "How bad do you think it is?" You asked.

"I don't fucking know!" He spat, sitting up some and supporting himself against the cave wall. "You are the one who actually knows what it looks like, dumbass."

You peered further into the cave. You couldn't see how far back it went. "It doesn't look great, but I think you'll be fine if you hold the bandage and let it clot. Try to avoid having it get infected or anything, I guess. Obviously, I'm not a doctor."

You started to pace around the cave, running your fingers through your hair nervously. You could hear a quiet whir in the background. It would be a while before the drones caught up to you, but you knew you couldn't stay there forever. You also knew that you had to get off this planet in order to escape your presumably gory fate as well.

Karkat had pulled his sickle out his his bag and was examining his wound with it. Blood was now starting to trickle out at a slower pace, but it still wasn't a pretty sight.

How had this even happened? How could the workers at the testing facility screw up so badly? Well, you supposed it was your fault for volunteering to try the device in the first place. But you were still really pissed. You could only imagine how devastated your mother could be right now. Well, your mother in a sense. Your real mother was a fricking psychopath, and you weren't going to set a foot near her any time soon.

"This is complete goose chase bullshit." Karkat growled, not bothering to go off on his usual long winded tirades and lowered the sickle. He did look angry, but his eyes glinted with slight desperation as well. You didn't really blame him. If he hadn't been tipped off by one of his highblood troll buddies, he would have been culled by now, and you... lord knows what would have happened to you. You were an alien on this planet of violent, sociopathic grey people. It must of been pure coincidence that you had ran into Karkat out of all of the trolls on this planet. He was an asshole initially, but he didn't bother turning you in. That was enough for you to consider him your ally and manage to squeeze your way into his life like the parasite you were.

You even sort of became friends, in an odd sort of way. You ended up living in one of the larger closets of his hive, and in return, you agreed to watch shitty romcoms with him. It was an uneven deal, but it worked worked out for you while it lasted. You even managed to learn more and more about troll society over that period of time. You learned that it was a violent culture, and despite its superior technology in a sense, it was still completely barbaric.

"I'm exploring the cave. Get some rest." You said sternly, flicking on your flashlight. There was no sopor in here, but it was pretty obvious that KarKar would have to deal with it, or else he wasn't going to heal from their narrow escape. The red blooded troll sighed and laid down on the cave floor. You would have to be exceptionally vigilant now that it would only be you. At least if he was culled like this, he wouldn't realize it.

The cave was silent except for the soft whir.

You shined your flashlight deeper into the cave, only to catch a glint of metal. Narrowing your eyes, you headed down into the long, narrow tunnel. As you got closer, your eyes widened slowly. Something was definitely in here. Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted a switch. Praying that it wasn't some fancy cave-self-destruct switch, you flicked it up. In the light, you could see it clearly now.

A giant machine was towering over you.