Anna was awarded with a new outfit which made her beam with joy. She had a cat-like mask with a red scarf around her neck. She had a long dress-like blue coat with gold trim. She absolutely love it, seeing now she won't be cold.
"You look adorable." Anna looked over to see Philip but he looked different. He had a white cloth over his shoulder that covered his torso. His head was covered in white wax dripping down the cloth. The wax seemed to grow up into a wicked crown and what set at the tip of the crown was a single flame of fire. His golden eyes stared at the masked girl.
"Wow, you really-" Anna was cut off by Philip holding his hand out, smiling. "I hope I don't frighten you." Philip said with a smirk, taking her hand. "You mind holding this while we take a walk?" Philip smirked, causing Anna to grow red under her mask. "Are you always a flirt?" Anna asked, holding his hand as they took a stroll. "Not always." Philip told her, which Anna looked at him. "What? I'm just a hopeless romantic." He told her with a sheepish smile.
"Now that's believable." Anna chuckled, they stopping by some boxes. Philip sat down, his back against them as he motioned Anna to lay besides him. She sat besides him, talking about matches and sharing how ridiculous it was at some point. "If you could," Philip's tone changed, making Anna look at him, concerned. "Would you leave? If you could just stop killing, would you?"
A silence washed over them, as Anna thought about it. "After I lost my mother," Anna began slowly, making Philip look over at her. "I sought revenge, seeing what the elk did. After my very first human kill, I felt the same warmth and enjoyment that my mom gave me." Anna smiled, but her lip quivered as tears fell down her face and down to her jawline. Philip slowly took off her mask to see her black eyes shaking with sorrow. She had puffy red eyes that were responsible to the tears that harden on her cheeks.
"Every single kill was one she taught me. If I did it wrong once, I would do it thirty time in a roll perfectly and if I got it wrong I would start all over. Then on to the next as if she was right there. At times I did think she was there, holding my hand and hugging me. I would here the sweet 'good job!' she would tell me." Anna smiled as tears didn't seem to stop as she remembered everything. "Then they started to stop," Her voice changed into a low, sadden state, "One day, I didn't feel her presence. The only time I did was after a few couple of kills. Those couples quickly turned into doubles, and triples, then finally now, hundreds. Sometimes I could barely hear the slightest of her praises. Now I can only hear the the whispers of my name, her soft words fighting against winds like a hurricane."
Anna couldn't help but let out all the pain she kept inside as Philip cuddled her. He let his hand go down her back in a soothing manner as she wept into his arms. "So, yes. Yes, I would do anything to stop killing. To stop this forsaken curse." Anna sniffled. Philip used his thumb to gently wipe away his tears, kissing her forehead. "Maybe, just maybe I could find a way out of here. What do you say?" He smiled as Anna looked at him. "Let's do it."
***
Anna woke up with such a headache and her heart pounding. She lifted her head and stood up as she looked out to the campfire. The killers and even the survivors were around the campfire, which was a rare sight to see. Confused, she walked over to them, her hum that seem to never end calmed her down.
She saw Philip talking and smiling as his hands made cute motions. Shadows flickered on the rocks as the shadows shaped into animals, such as dogs, cats and at some points, even humans. His little flame on the top of his head flickered as a small breeze went over him.
"Hey what's all the fuss about?" Anna asked, sleepily. Philip smiled brightly. "A new survivor of course! Hopefully this person can help us break through the Entity's spell for good!" Philip said with so much enthusiasm like a little kid discovering they got exactly what they wanted on Christmas.
"What's their name?" Anna asked, causing the masked girl gaze fixed onto an unfamiliar face. The girl had brunette hair, which was tied into a ponytail, some of the hair managed to slip out of the hold and fell over her eyes. She had small thin glasses that had added to her look and made her look adorable and innocent. She wore a warm brown hoodie that seemed to shield her from the cold. She had black shorts on which shown how dirty and blood her legs had gotten, even if she'd been here for a day or two. Depending on the killer's empathy for new comers, Anna didnt know if she experience being sacrificed. The last thing that finished off her look were her gray-like salmon color, with a dash of pink, Nike's.
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(Thank you hopebug14 for drawing this adorable photo)
"Hello, my name's Hope." She smiled, her hand reaching out to the masked lady. Anna flinched at the kind gesture. She surely is new, isn't she? The new survivor didn't seem upset but still had her hand out. Anna sighed, giving in to shaking her hand. "What's your strength?" Jake asked bluntly, which caused a punch to his shoulder. "Rude." Meg scolded. "Oh, it's fine! I'm an artist." Hope smiled shyly. "Oh?? Cool!" Nea yelled, wrapping her arm loosely around her shoulder. They began laughing and began to talk about games and ideas of art they could pursue.
Anna looked over at Philip, who was smiling at the new girl. Anna couldn't help but feel jealousy blooming up in her stomach, but he wasn't obviously to it. He stood up and held her in his arms. "It's okay, Annabear." Anna blushed at the nickname as he slowly lifted her mask, and kissed her.
The small chatter and Kate's song played softly as they couldn't help but smile. Maybe, just maybe, they'd be able to see the outside world again.
