red snow // Dead by Daylight

Chapter 13: Follower

Drift off into the abyss.

   By the time Meg had gotten up the crooked stairs, she had nearly fallen over completely because of her stiff muscles and the pure shock of the situation. This all felt surreal. He was playing with her, and she would surely die. It was only a matter of time. Perhaps, anyway. Meg could hardly imagine the man actually letting her escape. Her heart pulsed with adrenaline as the heavy creaking of the stairs followed her. Would freedom find her? Speaking of which, she began to think about her friends as she skidded towards the small doorway of the shack. She made a B-line towards the area filled with junk, hurdling over the pallets and heaps of garbage without thinking. Were Jake and Nea okay? Dwight was out of the question, but she wondered. Jake hadn't been seen ever since they arrived; surely he had survived. He was capable enough. Meg shook her head internally. This was no time to be thinking about others; it was her life she needed to secure right then. Behind her, she heard snapping of wood as the man smashed the pallet into pieces. A small shriek escaped from Meg's throat as she was suddenly intercepted by a body.

"Meg!" a voice yelled. Nea, huh? She was alive, despite her foolishly brave personality. "He's a good distance behind us, let's circle around!" Nea whispered harshly, grabbing Meg by the wrist and jogging back towards the basement shanty. After a minute in silence beside the ominous ravens in the trees and the faint sound of wood being broken with the occasional angry grunt, they reached the shack. "He's coming!" Nea hissed after the two stood still for a moment to catch their breaths. Nea hastily grabbed a wooden plank lying on the floor, quickly standing flush against the stairs' inner wall, Meg following suit. Loud footsteps outside could be heard over grasses and small amounts of snow, along with the huffing of the killer's lungs. How did he know? A vibration coursed through the uneven wooden floor. He stood for a moment, and then slowly approached the stairs, staring forward towards the wall. Meg's gut began coiling.. surely he knew they were crouched there. She looked at Nea in the corner of her eyes, and saw that hers were squeezed tightly shut. The killer then abruptly leaned downwards and grabbed Nea harshly by the shoulder with unnatural strength, pulling her up. Before Meg could warn Nea of his presence, he had her lifted off of the ground, grabbing her by the neck with one hand. Nea let out a string of curses, both from surprise and pain of her shoulder being crushed in a vice grip. Her voice was rough and cracking, almost as though she was about to cry. Meg, acting on pure instinct, grabbed the wooden plank Nea brought along and bolted up the stairs behind the man. She proceeded to whack his head with it as hard as she could (and as far as she could reach up.) He let out a grunt as he dropped Nea, stumbling back and putting a hand on the back of his head. "Eat shit!" Nea spat out. She then shoved Meg towards the exit as stood, picking up the board that was now on the ground once again. "Run, Meg. I got this," she said shakily, attempting to smile. How arrogant... "You WANT to die, idiot?!" Meg screeched, moving forward to grab Nea. She was shoved away. "I said leave! Just run, okay?" Nea said, attitude flaring to life as she glared at Meg. "Fine," Meg spat. "Your funeral."

She crouched down outside of the window, peeking over the edge. He and Nea were having a showdown of sorts, slowly circling each other with weapons raised. He seemed to do this slowly, challenging. Nea was insane thinking she stood a chance, Meg thought miserably. Despite this, Meg was much too worried about her stupid friend than to just run away like a selfish bastard, though she knew that she would probably fuck herself over by doing this. Her sharp focus was quickly regained as her eyes followed Nea. She lunged backward, completely strafing his slow swing. She then threw herself forward while he was still recovering from the swing, attempting to jab him in the belly with the narrow butt end of the wooden plank. He suddenly grasped the piece of wood in his free hand, staring at Nea for a moment, challenging her. He yanked his hand back, easily pulling the plank from her hands. She gasped, cursing under her breath, but to Meg's chagrin, stumbled forward as well. This was all he needed.

It seemed to happen in slow-motion, really. He seemed to thrust his arm forward much faster than he did before - perhaps he was just doing it to mock Nea? - and forcefully hit her gut with the dull of his blade, stunning her as she grunted from the impact. Stumbling backwards and crouched over slightly in pain, Nea attempted to swing a punch at his face. This was easily guarded by him. He grabbed her fist mid-swing and tilted his head. He proceeded to twist her arm gruesomely, causing Nea to scream. A loud crack was heard as he dropped her now twisted elbow, the bone clearly sticking out in a slightly unnatural manner beneath the flesh. Nea gasped for air, cursing. "You son of a bitch.." She whispered. A low rumble was heard from the killer's throat as he stepped forward, grabbing Nea by the neck and suddenly throwing her against the wall. "S-stop it," She wheezed out angrily, "Stop, you ugly motherfucker!" She kicked his ankle pathetically - a last-ditch effort. He simply stared at her for a moment, as if to say 'You really thought that would do something?', then proceeded to let out a low, twisted chuckle. He raised his boot, slamming it into he her leg. Nea screeched, trying to crawl away. This was beginning to bring back flashbacks, Meg thought, panicked. She had to do something... Nea couldn't end up like Dwight, surely. Meg quickly stumbled up from her hiding spot outside the window and skidded through the doorway, screaming out. "WAIT!"

Both turned towards her, clearly surprised. Nea's eyes quickly hardened in a manner as though a parent was disappointed with their child, shaking her head in disbelief. "Why the fuck did you come back?!" Nea said, her voice broken. His head tilted. While he was distracted, Nea mouthed out a "thank you" before crawling away as fast as she could. Meg stared intently at the man, eyes flaring in determination. "Take me instead."