Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ethan flexed his arms, straining slightly against the duct tape, pinning his wrists to the arms of the muck-covered chair he was sitting in.

He didn’t know what was going on; his head was spinning, and he felt like he was part of the sludge laid out on the table before him, as he felt like his insides were slithering under his skin.

He was basically alone now, after refusing to eat the “food” that woman... Marguerite? He believed her husband, Jack, had called her.

It wasn’t a great sign of getting let go if they were saying their real names without worry. Not that he had much hope to begin with; these people were crazy, and that much was apparent.

He had thought he was a goner after Jack had come at him with a knife, trying to pry his mouth open, until Jack and his son hurried off after they were interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

He would have held out hope that it was help since they mentioned a cop, but it was more likely the cop would be dead before he got a chance to scream for help.

Plus, he came here for Mia, and he would be damned if he was leaving without her. Sure, she cut off his hand, but he had it back now...Sorta. He wasn’t sure how he had it back since staples didn’t work for reattaching bones and tendons, but thinking about it only hurt his head more, so he chose to just go with it.

From what he heard and saw, Mia didn’t seem to be in full control of her body, and maybe even the Bakers weren’t either.

He didn’t know what was going on, but he knew he had to save his wife if it was the last thing he did.

A small creak caught his attention, and he glanced over at the last remaining person. An old woman in an old, rusty wheelchair made of wood. The old woman stared into space, not having moved or made much sound since Ethan had awoken.

She seemed practically comatose—not too much danger to him, looking too frail to do anything. She was thin and sunken-looking; her skin was practically see-through, and her eyes were almost lifeless.

“Wanna give me a hand?”
He quipped, giving a little chuckle at his unintentional joke as his eyes dragged over his wrist once more, taking in the staples.

He got no response like he expected, and he let out a sigh, knowing he didn’t have much time. Any member of the family could come back any second; if he wanted a chance to save Mia, he would have to escape.

‘Mia... fuck, this was all fucked up!’ He thought to himself as he gripped the edge of the arm chair his hands were taped to, until his knuckles turned white.

He glanced at the old woman once more. “I bet this isn’t the family you imagined, huh?”

He said it with a hint of sadness in his tone, and to his surprise, the old woman’s eyes snapped to look at him for a moment before seeming to cloud over again.

Ethan hesitated before speaking again. “This isn’t what I imagined either; I just wanted my family back. Mia and I were planning to have kids before she disappeared. I could never move on, even after three years; I won’t lose her again.”

He was more determined than ever; he didn’t know why he was blabbing all this at the old woman. Maybe he just needed to say it out loud to keep his will; for god's sake, he was a systems engineer; he wasn’t built for this.

Ethan jerked his body back and forth, using the momentum of his body to tilt the chair. He tilted far left and squeezed his eyes tight, preparing himself for impact.

He felt the rush of free fall for a moment before slamming down on his shoulder with a loud crash as the chair crumpled.

He groaned softly as sparks of pain shot through his side. Despite the pain, he gathered himself up, knowing the crash might have been heard by a member of the active family.

He stood up, picking off the bits of duct tape off his wrists that remained stuck.
He glanced over at the old woman, finding her eyes on him once more. They looked clearer and focused more.

He felt trapped there for a second, stuck under her watchful eye. There was something dark and unsettling about her.
He shook his head to clear his mind. It was a creepy family; all of them were dark and unsettling. Best not to dwell.

“Thanks for listening, but I’ve got to go find my wife.”

He felt the need to say something, despite it being most likely that she wouldn’t comprehend what he said. With one last glance at her, he headed off to try and find Mia. 

Chapter Text

Ethan frowned at the phone line as it clicked softly, indicating the person on the other line had hung up. Zoe was as short and cryptic as she was on the other calls Ethan had with her.

He groaned with pain as he held his side; he had been thrown around like a rag doll by that psycho Jack. He just knew the image of Jack's brains being splattered backwards and the image of the top half of the cop's head sliding off that shovel were going to haunt him for a long time.

He had never seen people die like that before, and definitely not basically by his own hand. Sure, Jack pulled the trigger, but that gun was in his hand.

It was luck that he had found the key to opening the door to the main hall when he was climbing his way out of the garage. He had almost missed it. He definitely would have if it wasn’t awkwardly sticking out of the frame.

Now that Jack was dead, Ethan felt a bit safer. He knew that Marguerite was still somewhere out and about, as was their son Lucas, but they felt like less of a threat to him.

He looked around the wide room, with the two dingy staircases going up to a second floor.
“For crazy monster people, they had a big ass home.”

He muttered softly to himself as he reloaded his gun, keeping the safety off just in case. He was not going to die after coming this far.

Zoe had said something about keys, and it looked like he needed three dog heads. Ethan sighed, knowing he was going to have to search the whole fucking place to find the heads.

He headed up the stairs to his right, his gun held at his hip. As he walked, his mind wandered slightly. He was only in a little pain, and it was already fading, but he had really been fucked up.

He had been thrown, blown away, in a car crash, and smacked around in that fucking garage. He should have at least broken something, and should have probably died. Yet he hadn’t; he was fine for the most part.

His head hurt as he thought about it, and he was already at the top of the stairs. He needed to focus on his surroundings, so he let it go for now.

Ethan tuned back into his surroundings, and his eyes landed on the old woman from before. That caused him to pause his steps slightly. She looked slightly worse than before, with her hair thinner and her eyes more sunken.

‘How in the hell did she get up here?’
He thought to himself.
Sure, he had noticed she had disappeared from the dining room before, but he hadn’t dwelled on it due to him trying to find Mia and not get murdered by Jack.

But how could she have gotten up from her chair when she could barely move her neck?

Ethan hesitantly walked forward, his footsteps seeming to echo softly. She moved her head, facing him slightly, but did not give any other reaction.

With what he had seen before with Jack surviving a metal rod to the face and being set on fire, he was skeptical that she was harmless.

She hadn’t attacked him or tried to stop him from escaping last time, so he said, Fuck it, and crouch next to her so she didn’t have to strain her neck to look up at him.

“Hey Hun.”
He muttered awkwardly, not knowing what else to call her, and calling her an old lady or grandma felt rude. He half expected her to attack him or go all psycho, but her cloudy eyes just shifted to his face before flickering around again.

He sighed, letting out the bated breath he had been holding. He pushed some hair out of his face that had been stuck to his forehead with sweat.

"You could have warned me about your... son? Son-in-law?”

He said, raising an eyebrow slightly, he hadn’t seen her in any photos with the others, so he wasn’t sure who’s side of the family she was from.

“I got my shit rocked by him; it wasn't fun in the slightest.”

He groaned out, tilting his head to the side, causing a little pop as he rolled his sore neck.
“I really hope I don’t have to do that again; I’m made for computers not fighting. You know what I mean, right?”

He asked, giving her a second to answer, knowing full well she wouldn’t. Her eyes flickered to meet his something unreadable in them.

He hummed “Exactly!”
He said it as if she had answered.

“I can tell you are like me, a lover, not a fighter, but we can handle ourselves, huh?”

He teased softly, his body relaxing as he talked. A mental strain was loaded off his shoulders at being able to voice his thoughts and not feel like he was going crazy in his own mind.

Ethan knew he didn’t have time to waste, so he sighed as he stood up, using his free hand to brush invisible dirt off his pants. He gave the old woman a soft grin. “Thanks for letting me talk your ear off. I have to find some keys. Any clues?”

He said this, raising his brow at her again before sighing and shaking his head after a small pause.
“Worth a shot, I'm going to go find my wife. I'm sure you have heard of her; if I can, I’ll come back for you and try to get you out of here.”

He promised sincerely, even though he knew this woman was probably just as infected as the rest and wouldn’t live long with how her health seemed to be heading in the short time he had seen her.

“So don’t run off, alright?”
He said, doing little finger guns at her, there was a long, awkward pause as he was met with nothing but silence. He started feeling slightly embarrassed as soon as he did it. He made himself cringe at his corny little dad joke.

He gave an awkward little chuckle. "Uh, okay, see you.”

He muttered with a tiny wave as he hurried through the door that led to a hallway to escape the awkward moment.

He left so quickly that he didn’t notice the cloudy eyes that followed his every move and the giggle that sounded like a little girl echoing through the main hall.

Chapter Text

Ethan limped up the basement stairs; he once again had just finished fighting Jack. He really hoped that man stayed dead this time, because that was insane.

He had some scissor chainsaw thing! It was fucking ridiculous.

To top it all off, there were those big ass mold things; they seemed docile enough. Despite the sharp teeth and some even having a big ass weapon arm or crawling.

They didn’t seem to attack him; they growled and freaked him out, but more than anything, they seemed to be watching him.

He didn’t really like that either, but he wasn’t going to test his luck by attacking one. He tried his best to ignore them and to think about them like a pet of some sort.

You wouldn’t blink twice at a dog, would you? So he did his best not to think about it. He really tried not to think about most of the shit he saw and heard; he tried to focus on finding Mia since it made his head hurt to think too hard.

What really confused him was that Jack kept screaming at him about him being someone’s father; he was pretty damn sure he didn’t have a kid.

Jack had been pissed that he was trying to take someone from him and be “her” father instead of Jack.

Ethan wasn’t sure who Jack was talking about; he thought maybe Zoe, but he was pretty sure Zoe was close to his age, so why would he be replacing Jack as her father?

He just groaned at the thought and continued on with his avoid-and-ignore tactic.

He reached the top of the stairs, turning to go down the hall, when his eyes caught sight of a figure in the hall.

“Oh fuck!”

He cried, pointing his gun at the figure. He didn’t immediately shoot in case it was a mold creature, and he was glad he didn’t.

Once his eyes adjusted, he realized it was the old woman. He let out a sigh of relief at it not being Jack or one of the fucking others.

“Damn Hun, I just about pissed my pants.”
He said it in a soft tone.

He didn’t question how she got here either; like he said, it was better not to pay attention to it.

He looked down the stairs to see one of the gross crawling mold things staring at him. The door creaked and slowly closed, hiding the creature.

He shivered, his face scrunching up in disgust.
“I have a pretty good reason for being jumpy, in my opinion.”
He muttered, coming around to see her face.

She looked more sunken in again, her hair slightly in her face and her clothes drooping slightly like they were too big.

He frowned and crouched down. He hesitated before pushing some hair out of her face and behind her ear. Her skin was cold, and she barely had any reaction other than her cloudy eyes following his hand.

He let his hand drop to his side and sighed, “No offense, hun, but you're not looking too good. I wish there was something I could do to help; I would offer you some water if I had any.”

He muttered, looking at her with sad eyes. He understood how horrible it was to be stuck in this place, but she was bound to a chair slowly rotting away, trapped in here and in her own body. It must be a nightmare.

“I just fought Jack again; he’s still kicking my ass. I won in the end though.”
He said this, sticking his nose up in pride, and looked back at the old woman with a soft smile.

“I keep seeing those mold creatures; they are a bit scary-looking. They haven’t done anything, which I’m grateful for; if I had to fight those on top of your family, I might go crazy.”

He said it with a chuckle as he stood and leaned against the hallway wall. He crossed his arms, his gun resting against his forearm.

“I haven’t found my wife Mia yet; I saw a tape, so I know she’s in the old house with Marguerite. I just hope she’s okay; this place has already changed me, and I’ve been here a day… I think.”

He said not really knowing his persecution of time was all wonky.

“Anyway, she’s been here for three years, so who knows if she’s even the same woman I married? Not that it matters; I still love her. I just wish she would talk to me and tell me the truth.”

He muttered, running a hand through his hair. He glanced back down at the old woman, who was staring at her lap.

“You probably don’t care much, huh? Boo hoo, my love life right.”
He said it with a light chuckle.

“You must think I’m crazy for coming here and doing all this. Even if she lied and disappeared, she’s still my wife, and I’ll do anything for my family.”

He said it proudly, his chest puffing out. The old woman glanced at him, blinking, before looking back down.

Ethan moved off the wall and moved to kneel before the old woman once more. He put his hand on the arm of the wheelchair.

“I have all the dog heads, so I’m going to leave this house. I don’t know how close I am to finding Mia or getting out of here, but I intend to keep my promise to try and come get you. Just hold on a little longer, and I’ll get you some help.”

He said, with a flame of determination in his eyes, that he stood and headed down the hall with one last look at the old woman. He went out through the crow door into the main hall.

Ethan scanned the area quickly before making his way to the front door; it almost felt unreal that he finally made it.

He slipped the dog head from his pocket and pushed it into the slot on the right of the other two dog heads. He took a step back as the door made some noises and clangs before stopping.

He took a step forward when he heard a creak, like someone taking a step on the floor boards. He whipped around, scanning the area one more time.

His eyes trailed up the stairs before landing on a figure crouching at the top of the right staircase.

It was a little girl in a black dress and boots with long black hair. She was crouched, holding onto the wooden banisters, and staring right at him.

He froze, staring right back at her. A million thoughts went through his head, but one stuck out. ‘She felt familiar’.

The door clanged with a creak as it slid open on its own, catching his attention. His head snapped to the door. He then looked back at the top of the stairs, only to find the little girl gone.

Ethan blinked and rubbed his eyes. Maybe he had hallucinated her or something. He thought to himself as he headed to the door.

It didn’t matter; he didn’t have time to dwell. He had to find Mia, and if he could still feel eyes on him as he walked out into the courtyard, then who cared?

Chapter Text

Ethan navigated his way through the basement, crawling with mold creatures even dimmer and damper than last time he was down here.

He felt like he had been trapped in this hell hole for days despite it only being a night. It was thing after fucking thing with these freaks.

He had finally killed that bug bitch and gotten her lantern, he had gotten the D- Series Arm only to see the little girl from before sitting on the floor staring at him from the little square hole in the wall.

He had called to her but she had run off disappearing before he could crawl out. He didn’t know who she was but he couldn’t help but fear for her, a little girl in a place like this wasn’t safe.

…

Despite his worry, he didn’t have time to search for her, he had to get back to Zoe and make the serum to cure her and Mia.

Ethan had been heading to the Trailer when he heard a voice, it sounded like it was in his head but… that was impossible.

“Why are you trying to get rid of me Daddy?”
He heard a whiny whisper like that of a little girl.

He whipped around looking for the source of the voice when it spoke again.
“I don’t need them! Leave her, take me away!”

He gripped his head as pain shot through it and down his spine, he let out a groan stumbling through the dirt.

It took him a second to recover but as he looked around he still couldn’t find the little girl anywhere near him.
He saw mold creatures crawling around and a few stumbling off but no little girl.

He sighed, shaking it off. He didn’t have time to think about what he heard. He was gonna drive himself crazy if he did.

He was just about to enter the trailer when something caught his eye, a mold creature was staring at him. It was weirdly peaking around the trailer unlike any of the others he had seen.

Almost like a shy girl staring at him instead of a horrifying mold monster.
A shiver went down his spine at the weird behavior and he hurried inside.

Of course, his luck as it was, it wasn’t that easy. That freak of a son Lucas had Zoe and Mia, he was sent on a wild goose chase all over the house now.

This brings us back to the present moment, Ethan was headed to the dissection room once more to see the cop's body.

He was guessing that was what Lucas’s note meant, he had finally reached the door to the boiler room only to find the old woman sitting there in the middle of the room.

He jumped slightly his hand going over his heart in shock, he hesitated before walking over to the old woman.

She looked worse and worse every time he saw her, her skin was practically seethrough and her hair practically string.

Her veins were popping looking more dark and black than blue.
He put his hand on her head stroking it softly “Hey hun, what you doing down here?”

He muttered looking at her, he didn’t know why but this nonverbal comatose woman held a place in his heart. Maybe he just felt bad for her but he found himself caring for her genuinely.

She probably didn’t even recognize him or would kill him if she could move after being infected by the mold. Yet he decided to believe that her little looks were her acknowledgment and that she liked his visits.

He smiled “Have you seen the keycards I’m looking for, wanna give me a cheat sheet to where Lucas hid them?”

He said with a tired smile, he was sure he looked more like shit every time she saw him too.
Her eyes flickered to his face then past him, he sighed running a hand through his hair.

“I’m almost out of here, Jack and Marguerite are gone. I’m gonna deal with Lucas, then get out of here with Zoe and Mia. I won’t forget about my promise to you, if I have a way back to you I’ll come. Even if I can’t I’ll send help, for you and that little girl I keep seeing.”

He said softly, her eyes flickered back to him for the first time locking on him for more than a second. He felt a shiver go down his spine, something was unnerving about her gaze. It felt familiar, close to the gaze that he had been feeling on him the whole night.

Suddenly he heard a shuffle behind him, he whipped around to see a mold monster stumbling toward him.

He froze, his instinct was to shoot at it but none of them had attacked yet. He wasn’t sure if that was its intention and attacking now could set off the rest to start coming after him.

He held his breath as it stumbled forward and slowly reached out. It moved more like a puppet on strings, unlike the usual mold creatures.

This one jerked and stumbled, its movements stiff and awkward, it reached its hand out slowly.

Ethan sucked in a breath, his eyes wide as he fought against every instinct in his body that screamed at him to move.

The molded hand landed in his hair and stroked his head softly.
He looked at the creature wide-eyed and confused as it stroked his hair pushing it behind his ear.

His eyes flickered to the old woman; her eyes were vacant staring into space.

A shot of confusion went through him and he stepped away, he locked his eyes on the old woman.
“A-are you controlling these things?”

He stuttered out his eyes wide, he could feel his hands trembling. Her eyes shifted back to him and the mold creature seemed to snap out of it stumbling away.

He crouched down to look at her his eyes wide and curious.
“Oh dear, did you make them or do you just control them?”

He whispered, biting his lower lip in thought, he didn’t expect her to respond but he couldn’t help but ask. It was interesting he hadn’t expected her to be able to do this.

There was something in her eyes maybe hesitance or fear, he wasn’t quite sure but he couldn't help but shoot a comforting smile at her.

“That’s amazing! thank you for keeping them from harming me, that would have been troublesome.”

He said with a big smile, if those had been a problem it would have taken up a lot more ammo and med kits for him to get this far.

“I knew you were special, you’re quite something hun.”
He muttered rubbing his chin.

He thought he saw her eyes widen a bit but maybe he was seeing things.

“Alright, hun just keep me safe like you have been and we’ll all get out of here in no time.”

He said standing up and brushing off his knees, he hurried off to the dissection room.

As the door closed behind him the image of the old woman was gone, replaced by the little girl.

Eveline stared after him with a big smile on her face “Soon, we will be a family”

She whispered into the dark room, a giggle slipping past her lips as she disappeared from the room.

Chapter Text

Ethan had finally made it to the snake door with the stupid snake key; he was really getting tired of having to find all these stupid fucking keys. He let out a sigh of relief as it unlocked the door. He was pretty sure he had all the keys; now he just needed a keycard.

If he ever had to search for a key again, he was going to throw a bitch fit.

He had come straight from the dissection room; he had to get the first keycard.

On his way, he hadn’t come across any more mold creatures; maybe his little old lady friend was keeping them away.

His girl was doing her job keeping them away; sure, she never used them to attack him, but they still creeped them out a bit.

Ethan found her to be extraordinary—her abilities and the fact that she was still in control of herself. The little granny could control mold creatures, which were way less creepy than bugs, so he could handle it.

He took an educated guess in assuming that she was infected with mold, he hoped to be able to save her despite knowing it was unlikely, there was little to no chance she was clean.

He was just glad that she seemed a little saner than the others; if she was attacking him on top of everything, he would have had a much harder time.

Sure, she was in a wheelchair and looked to be slowly dying, but she did have control over the mold monsters. Having to fight those would be a bitch, but he was glad he could take a breather with her.

Even while being chased by Jack, he couldn’t help but stop to talk to her, even for a moment. It was like she was his anchor, keeping him from spiraling.

Ethan pushed the snake door open and was hit with a rush of warmth; light streamed out from the door. The room was well lit and looked slightly cleaner than the rest of the house.

There was a bed in the middle, so he guessed it was a bedroom; who’s he didn’t know? He glanced around the room to make sure it was safe when he saw a familiar sight that made him freeze for a moment.

The little old lady was sitting in her wheelchair; he felt like his brain was short circuiting. How in the world had she gotten up here so fast?

Even if she had used her mold monsters to get her up here, it made no sense that she was up here before him. He had gone straight up to the room without many stops or turn-arounds.

Ethan tilted his head to the side and closed the door behind him softly. She had her eyes closed, but he doubted she was really asleep.

He headed over to her and crouched down like always. “Hey doll, how did you get up here? I just saw you in the basement; are you stalking me?”

He spoke in a soft, teasing tone while glancing at her forehead; her thin hair was in her face like always. It was in her face every time she popped up, no matter how many times he pushed it out of her face.

Ethan reached up once more as her eyes fluttered open. He rested his hand on her head and used a thumb to push her hair from her face.

“You don’t have teleportation powers, do you? That would have been helpful before; I could have used a little partner in crime. So many keys and so many locked doors could have avoided so much pain.”

He said with a little fake pout that slipped into a comforting smile.

“Doesn’t matter; keep your mysterious powers to yourself. I just need to find that first keycard from somewhere in this room... I think.”

He used the wheel of her chair to pull himself up and began walking around the room. He riffled through drawers and looked in the closet, not coming up with much.

“You know, I’m kind of glad to have you around. You make me feel braver and less scared; it gives me a reason to keep going. Sure, my goal is to save Mia, but it’s easy to lose hope not being able to see her, hold her, or protect her. You... you are here. I know you can probably protect yourself, but I still have my goal to help you.”

He said in a soft mutter as he searched for a hidden switch or note that would help him find what he needed.

Ethan was looking through one of the dresser drawers when he heard the sound of mechanical spinning. He turned to look towards the location of the sound.

The clock on the nightstand was changing time; the hands of the clock moved on their own to 10:15. Ethan looked at it with confusion when the bed jolted.

It creaked loudly before sliding to the side with a click. As it slid, it exposed a set of stairs under the bed going down.

“Oh shit?”

He muttered softly as he gazed down the stairs. He glanced over towards the little old lady.

“I’m assuming this is your doing; nothing goes right for me without you, huh? My little lucky charm.”

He stepped over to her and gave her a kiss on the forehead without thinking; he wasn’t quite sure why he did it.

She was a random old woman, family of the people trying to murder him, and most likely contaminated by mold to the point of no return.

Yet...he left a strong protectiveness over her; he felt like they had grown close despite her never speaking a word.

Maybe he was crazy; maybe the house of horrors had finally gotten to him and he was already batshit.

He didn’t care why, in the end, he cared for her. She felt like someone who deserves someone to care for them, and he was happy to provide that.

“Thanks for the help, hon. I’ll see again soon, probably.”

He muttered, giving her one last smile before heading down the stairs. The bed slid closed behind him, stopping him from going back the way he came.

He didn’t look back after it closed; he continued down the dark stairs.

He never looked back, so he never saw the black-looking boots, just barely visible from the crack between the floor and the bed.

Never saw the gloomy-looking little girl crouching down to look through the crack peeking at him with her fingers resting on her forehead.

Never saw the little smile that spread across her lips as she felt love for maybe the first time in her short existence.

All Ethan could see was the way ahead, the way that led to saving his wife and getting out of here alive with the people he wanted to save.

Chapter Text

Ethan could feel pain in his leg, from being thrown around or from fighting mold monsters he didn’t know. His leg was stiff, causing him to limp as he made his way up the stairs of the first house he had been in.

It had not gotten any better after finding Lucas; he had found Mia and Zoe after that little fucker got away. Zoe had been able to make two cures only for Jack to show up one last time.

They had once again fought, and Jack looked even more monstrous than ever. It had taken one of the cures to be able to finally put Daddy in the fucking ground.

That itself was good, but it also presented Ethan with a choice: who got the only cure?

He felt like a monster having to choose between the two; both deserved to live. The choice was obvious though; Mia was his wife, and he had gone through hell and back, so he wasn’t leaving without her.

Zoe had helped him and was probably the only reason he was still alive, but he had to choose his wife.

The real kick in the ass was he had no way back to the grandmother; she was probably just as infected as Jack. So even if he had another cure, she would die just like Jack did.

Hell, even if he got another cure and she survived, she looked on death's door anyway. Plus, how would he get her on a boat or to his car? In the end, there was no way he would be able to keep his promise; she was going to die here.

So he got into the little motorboat with Mia, leaving behind two people he had promised to save and who were the only reason he even made it far enough to escape.

It made him feel like crap, but there was nothing he could do.

He had tried to get Mia to tell him what was going on, who was Eveline, and how Mia even ended up in this mess.

She was about to explain when they came up on a huge wrecked ship.

“What the fuck?”

He muttered before a sharp pain went through his skull. He grabbed his head, crying out as it felt like his brain was going to explode.

The voice of the little girl he had heard before rang through his head once more, sounding angry and bitter.

“Where are you going, Daddy!? Why?… Why are you leaving me behind?! YOU LIAR! I WON'T LET YOU LEAVE! IM NOT STAYING ON THIS FARM!?”

Her voice shreaked so loud he thought his brain would rattle in his head; he cried out from the pain doubling over.

Mia let out a shocked gasp and grabbed his forearm.
“Ethan!? ETHAN!”

She cried out in a shrill voice, confused at what was happening to him.

Before Ethan could answer her or even try to calm himself, the boat rocked and branches of mold erupted from the water.

“M-MIA!”

He cried out before the little motorboat was overtaken and dragged down along with both of them.

…

That was the last thing he remembered before he blacked out; he awoke to a dim room that was too bright for his eyes. It looked like he had teal-tinted glasses on as a normal-looking Jack Baker tried to calm him.

It was fuzzy, but he remembered Jack going on about how he and his family were victims of Eveline, who took over their minds and caused them to act the way they did.

He begged Ethan to free his family.

Ethan didn’t know much about Eveline; he knew she was behind whatever happened here and that he had to stop her.

From what he had gathered from random notes around the farm, Eveline was a biological weapon.
Meaning she was most likely the little girl he kept hearing and seeing in his head.

He would have thought that maybe she was just made to look like a little girl, but she kept calling him Daddy. That meant that she was probably the little girl Jack kept talking about, the one Ethan was “stealing” from him.

He had always had a soft spot for children; from what he gathered, she was a child raised in a lab and experimented on.

So he couldn’t help but feel bad for her; she was just a little girl.

He didn’t let himself go down that rabbit hole though; sure, he was sympathetic towards Eveline, but if what he knew was right, she had caused countless deaths and was behind his wife going missing.

…

After he had awoken? From his dream-like state, he found he was encased in mold.

He could hear the voice of the little girl fighting with Mia.

“He’s mine! I’ll make him my Daddy! He promised to be with me, just like you promised!”
The small voice screamed.

“He’s not your father! I’m not your mother! You are a lab freak, Eveline!”
He could hear Mia screech.

He felt a pang of guilt at hearing her speak like that; that little girl wanted a family, and Mia was so cruel—no! She was a bioweapon and had caused Mia mass amounts of pain.

She didn’t deserve his sympathy or Mia's kindness.

He could hear Eveline scream in rage, then nothing; after a second, he heard the mold being ripped away.

Mia freed him from the mold and shoved a vile into his hand; of course he couldn’t catch a break, and Eveline infected Mia again.

Mia shoved him out of the room with the last words, “Now go kill that little bitch.”

…

Ethan had made it back to the Guest House; the way back had been gross and rocky.

He trudged through disgusting water and into dusty tunnels, visions of Eveline screaming at him, calling him a liar, following him the whole way.

He had to start fighting the mold monsters because they started coming after him. He didn’t know why, but he could guess that the grandmother no longer had control of them.

Eveline probably took back control and was throwing everything she had at him if the monsters and shaking tunnels were any clue.

Ethan made it back to the house without dying, which was a plus, only to find an empty wheelchair, the grandmother's empty wheelchair.

He felt his blood run cold at the sight; he feared something bad happened to her. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to go look for her, but he knew he had to kill Eveline first.

He would look for her after.

…

So here he was, after fighting through illusions of memories and a screaming little girl who feared the E-Necrotoxin he had. He made it to the stairs leading to the attic.

He pushed himself up the stairs, turning to the right; there was the big boss fight.

A cute little bioweapon full of rage and fear, all directed at him.

Eveline used her powers to try and throw him back.
“STAY AWAY!”

She screamed, sending wave after wave of energy.

Ethan fought against them, digging his feet down and bringing his arms up to block any debris.

He pushed forward, only taking small breaks when she was about to send a wave; he was scared that if he tried to move during one, she would send him flying.

“YOU ARE A LIAR! Get away! I hate you! You are a bad daddy; you were supposed to save me!”

She screeched on the top of her lungs, her hair whipped around her as her face scrunched up in anger.

Ethan didn’t understand what she meant, but he ignored it, thinking she was just doing childish rambling. His eyes were watering from the wind smacking him in the face as he got closer.

Finally, with a sigh of relief, he reached her; he grabbed her firmly to make sure she wasn’t going anywhere.

“No!”

She screamed just as he stabbed the syringe into her, injecting the E-Necrotoxin.

Ethan was suddenly blinded by light; he groaned out and shielded his eyes.
He blinked rapidly to get the black dots out of his vision.

He looked back at her to see his syringe buried in the neck of the grandmother.

… “E-Eveline?”

He gasped out as he felt his whole body run cold; it all began to click into place.
Her screaming about his promise to save her, the control over the mold creatures.

It made so much sense now that he felt like an idiot not to see it. There were no pictures of the old woman, but there was one of little Eveline.

Hell even the notes he had read about Eveline aging and changing.

He had been hanging out with the very thing that had been trying to kill him essentially.

Ethan cried out, his eyes widening as her skin started to sag and melt. He yanked the syringe from her, tossing it to the other side of the room.

He dropped to his knees, his hand hesitating to touch her as she began to tremble and sob like a child.

“It hurts! IT HURTS!”
She cried out, her voice hoarse and distorted.

He felt his stomach drop; she was Eveline, but she was also the woman he felt safe with, telling her everything on his mind without hesitation.

The woman Ethan had promised to do everything in his power to save. He had brushed her hair from her face and comforted her.

She had helped him find his way around and never used the mold monster to harm him.

Now he has just given her something to kill her—his little partner in crime.

He had promised to save her and then tried to leave her; no wonder she was so angry.
He would never be able to cure her because she was made of what needed to be cured.

Despite now knowing she was Eveline, he couldn’t bring himself to stop caring for her.
Yeah, maybe she wasn’t the weak old grandmother who was bound to a wheelchair; she was something worse.

She was a little girl who was forced to slowly rot in her own body, a little girl who just wanted someone to care for her so she could stop being so scared and alone.

Ethan panicked, resting his hands on the sides of her head. He cupped her melting face as black tears slid down her cheeks.

“Oh! OH GOD! Honey I’m so sorry! I didn’t know!”

He choked out desperately, wiping her tears, trying to hold her together. He pulled her close as she fell out of her chair into his arms.

He couldn’t bring himself to care about anything else or how complicated their relationship had just become. He just wanted it to stop; he didn’t want her to die, especially in such a gruesome and painful way.

“It hurts!”
She whimpered.

“I-… I just wanted a family.”
Her white, unseeing eyes shifted towards his face.

“Daddy? Please… I don’t wanna die.”

Ethan felt like he was slapped across the face; she leaned against him, and he brought his hand up, his eyes watering.

He once more brushed the hair from her forehead; he kissed the top of her head.
“I know, I know I’m so sorry. Daddy’s here; I won't leave you.”

He said letting her live out her fantasy in her final moments.

Eveline sobbed and began coughing up black goo; she spasmed and jerked. After a moment, the sludge began to spread and stick to him.

Ethan held her close until his arms were holding nothing. His clothes were damp as nothing, but a puddle remained under his knees.

His hands shook as he blankly stared down at what was left of Eveline; his body felt hollow.
He had grown attached to the grandmother and Eveline by extension.

Sure, Eveline ended up being the “villain” he was fighting against, but she really wasn’t a villain. She was just a little girl, bioweapon or not; she had just wanted a family and didn’t know what else to do with herself but lash out.

Sure, the lashing out was extreme, but super kid means super tantrums.

Ethan was so lost in his own spiraling mind that the world around him just drifted away; he couldn’t hear the loud helicopter sounds or the yells from men outside.

He was dizzy and overwhelmed with an intense wave of horror and sadness. He wanted to cry and vomit; he wanted to collapse and never move, but after everything, he couldn’t just shut down now.

He picked himself up and started running.

The world blurred as he ran; he blocked out any sound or movement, letting his body carry him to where he needed to go.

He let his mind shut down while running on autopilot; he hid his consciousness in the back of his mind. As he ran, as he got back to his car, and even as he drove away without looking back.

He continued to run on autopilot until he started to run out of gas; he finally pulled himself out of his mind.

He wasn’t even sure why he was so affected by Eveline's death; he barely knew her. Despite that, it felt like he had lost a piece of himself. She was just a child—a highly dangerous child but a child nonetheless.

He had grown to care for her as the grandmother, and it had transformed over to Eveline because they were one in the same. She had helped him survive and get out.

Ethan pulled into a gas station and parked at one of the pumps. He got out and hurried off to the bathroom.
It was a one-person bathroom; luckily, he closed the door, locking it behind him.

Not caring about how disgusting the floor probably was, he sunk to the floor; it couldn’t be worse than the baker's house.

He finally let the tears fall; it had been a psychotic single night. So much had happened; not only had he lost his wife multiple times, but now he had lost... Hell, he didn’t even know what to call her.

Ethan sniffled, leaning his head up, trying to stop the tears. He hugged his knees to his chest; his breathing slowed as he took deep breaths.

His breathing covered up the slithering sound; it wasn’t until he felt a small little hand brush the hair from his forehead that he noticed the presence of another in the bathroom.

His head snapped down quickly, and he looked at the small figure in front of him. Eveline was kneeling in front of him, looking at you with a confused little face as she took her hand back.

Ethan’s mouth dropped open as he looked upon the young girl once more.
“W-what are you? How are you here?!”

He said it in a shocked voice.

Eveline looked at him with a soft smile. “You are part of me, Daddy; I didn’t want to go. So I stuck with you; as long as you're alive, so am I.”

She said, a giggle slipping past her lips.

Ethan pulled away from her and stood up “You aren’t real.”
He muttered to himself more than anything.

“God! That house got to me; I’m hallucinating on my own now.”
He spoke in a tone full of disbelief and slight hysteria.

He hauled himself up from the floor and quickly got away from Eveline. He unlocked the bathroom door and yanked it open, grabbing his head as he stumbled out of the bathroom.

Eveline followed Ethan out of the bathroom without a word; he chose to ignore her, hoping it would go away. He took deep breaths, calming himself as he entered the actual gas station, her paddling behind him like a baby duckling.

Eveline looked around the gas station like it was something she never saw before, but she was raised in a lab, so she probably hadn’t.

Ethan walked over to the counter, placing a twenty-dollar bill from his wallet that he had left in his car, before going in to the bathroom.

“Can I get twenty on pump four?”
He grumbled, sure he looked like a mess; his eyes were probably puffy, and his voice was definitely hoarse. He was dirty as all hell and definitely smelt like death.

He didn’t even want to think about how his stapled hand looked.

The clerk behind the counter was an old woman in her 50s; she had deep wrinkles and was quite short.

She wore bright red lipstick and bright blue eyeshadow like a little girl doing her makeup for the first time, yet she made it work.

She had a name tag on that said Tracy, and she looked at him with an unimpressed look. Her eyes traced over him, a permanent frown on her face.

“Uh huh”
She muttered softly, raising an eyebrow.

“Does your daughter want that candy bar or-?”

Ethan froze at her words and looked to his side. Eveline was next to him, holding a chocolate bar in her tiny hands.

The clerk… She could see her too; that meant that she wasn’t a hallucination?

Eveline smiled up at him, and he felt his mind going a mile a minute; despite that, he could only think to say one thing.

…

“Yes, yes, she does.”

…

Ethan zipped a zip-lock bag closed; inside was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the crusts off and the actual sandwich cut into triangles.
Opening a moving box in the kitchen; he dug through it to find what he was looking for.
He pulled out a lunch box and put in the sandwich, an apple, a juice box, a packet of fruit snacks, a cookie, and a little sticky note he had written on.

He hummed in approval at the neatly packed lunch and zipped it up, putting it on the counter. He was already dressed for work at his new systems engineering job.

Ethan’s new house looked empty with bare walls, only filled by furniture and unpacked moving boxes.
He had just moved in, so the only places unpacked were the bedrooms.

Little footsteps came right for him, and he turned just in time to get the wind knocked out of him as a little body slammed full force into his stomach.

“I'm ready, Daddy! I even picked out my own outfit!”
Eveline claimed proudly sticking her nose in the air.

She hugged Ethan around the waist on her tippy toes, looking up at him with a happy smile.
Her hair was pulled up in high pigtails; she was wearing a long-sleeve white shirt with a plaid dress and black shoes with buckles on them.

Ethan smiled down at her with a fond look; she looked cute in pigtails despite them being uneven and definitely not perfectly parted.

Eveline didn’t care though; she was just happy Ethan was doing her hair; even if he kind of sucked at it, he was still learning.

“I’m very proud of you, hon; you look very pretty.”
He said it in a soft tone with a slight wheeze.

He patted her on the head, chuckling before pulling away. He picked up her lunchbox, holding it at his side.

“Now go get your backpack; we can’t miss the bus on your first day of school.”

Eveline gave a nod and scurried off to go get her backpack; he headed to the front door.
Once she bound back over, he grabbed her hand and walked her to the bus stop just as it was pulling up.

Ethan kneeled down in front of her, holding her little hands in his. He gave her a serious look.

"Now, Missy, no funny business, and remember what I taught you. Keep your cool, no powers, do the right thing, and most importantly, make some friends.”

He said as his lips slipped into a smile and he bopped her nose, making her giggle.

He kissed the top of her head as she spoke, “I promise, I’ll be good.”

Ethan nodded. “I know you will.”

Eveline put on a brave face, glancing towards the bus; she hadn’t left Ethan for more than an hour or two in almost an entire year.

“You promise you will be here when I get back.”

She said in a vulnerable little voice that broke Ethan’s heart; he gave her a smile and made a little cross over his heart.

“Cross my heart, honey. I’ll always be here waiting for you.”

Ethan stood up, placing a hand on her back and giving her a light push towards the bus.
“Off you go!”

Eveline smiled, giving him one last tight hug before running to the bus. The doors closed behind her, and he watched her walk down the aisle.

A little blond girl had an open seat next to her and waved Eveline over so she could have the seat next to her. The two exchanged a smile and some words he couldn’t hear as the bus drove off.

Ethan could help but smile as he watched the bus drive away. He really hoped this went well; he just cared about his little girl being happy.

…

The last year had been hectic; Ethan had decided to leave most of his old life behind. Mia ended up being saved; she was alive and safe; that was all he needed.

Despite getting her back, he didn’t want to stay with her. After all they had been through, they weren’t the same people; hell, he wasn’t even sure if he ever knew Mia.

After finding out what her real job was and her involvement in Eveline's past, he couldn’t see her the same.

Ethan and Eveline had been found by Chris Redfield and taken in a couple hours after he had stopped for gas.

It had taken lots of begging and convincing to keep Eveline from being killed and even more to convince them to let Ethan take her in and treat her like his own.

The E-Necrotoxin that was supposed to kill Eveline wasn't strong enough; it had severely weakened her but not killed her.

Lucky for her, Ethan had been holding her, and she was able to attach herself to him since he was made of mold as well, which had been a horrifying realization.

Using him, she was able to rebuild herself as young as she was before the baker house. She began to age rapidly again, but Chris and a team of scientists were able to find a way to stop that while also suppressing her powers.

Ethan had heavily advocated for her to be able to lead a normal life, so she went through training to learn how to function in the outside world.

Ethan stayed with her every step of the way, and they became closer; soon enough, they saw each other as real family.

It wasn’t long before Ethan adopted her; she passed all the rest of her training, and they moved to a new town to start a life. Sure, it was with close monitoring, power suppression medication, and regular check-ins, but they would be able to live like normal people.

Well…

Normal people that were made out of mold and had more trauma than most people ever could imagine, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be happy.

They both got the family they wanted and needed, all because Ethan Winters is a blabbermouth.