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What compelled you to come to a place like this in the first place? You should have just stayed on track. First that hotel, then… office spaces?
It only got from there; the new monsters were a hassle and the shakelight proved invaluable when the offices were plunged into complete and unyielding darkness, you just so wished it provided more light than it did.
There had to be an exit from this place, whether it sent you back home or back to that hotel you didn’t care, you just wanted out. Feet were beginning to ache from all the walking you were being made to do.
That had to be why you were too slow- exhaustion is the silent ally of the strange beasts that hunt the humans. Your fingers had barely grasped at the lockers door when a sharp pain ripped through your back, sending you to the floor.
Hitting the ground with a heavy oof, you roll over onto your back, sitting up to both face and scootch back from your assailant.
You’d only seen that squiggly face once before now, and back then you had thought it had looked kinda funny for an entity. No ones laughing now; even something as innocuous as that can be an object of terror when you know the creature hidden in the darkness that it adorns is moments away from bringing your life to an end.
The cold weight of heavy metal falls upon your chest, not enough to crush but plenty enough to hurt like hell; instinctively, you reach up to grab at it. The piece your fingers find purchase on is sharp (the claw of the beast maybe?) and cut into your flesh, but you still pathetically try to push it off of you.
“Get- get off m-me!” you pant out, lungs burning as their oxygen supply steadily begins to dwindle.
“Little fleshling,” the entity drawls out, a voice of venom and contempt. “Flailing in the face of death. Pathetic”
It pushes its foot down harder; the claws push into the flesh, and the warm blood is hard to miss in comparison to the cold of the Rooms, and the rest of your body. Your attempts to pry the creature off of you rapidly become sluggish, then near nonexistent.
“I’m not- I’m not scared of you!” you wheeze out, breathing ragged and laboured; it is impossible to get a good gulp of air from this position. You still cling to one of the claws, even if you have given up on trying to shove it off of you.
"Really now? I could ruin you" the large beast responds balefully. The metal claws pining you to the carpet beneath you dig deeper into your flesh; blood begins to seep anew from your shoulders and abdomen, marring your already tattered and falling apart shirt.
You should be more scared. This entity would only need to apply the slightest bit more pressure to your smaller form and your chest would concave immediately, no resistance. But perhaps that’s why you felt an eerie sense of calm; you were going to die anyway, the least you could do for yourself was to die without fear- not let this thing get the satisfaction of hearing you beg for your life.
Brow furrowed, you stared up into the shining white eyes of the monster pining you to the ground. A small ball of blood of saliva is spat from your mouth and onto its metal legs, barely seen in the dark of the Rooms but satisfying nonetheless.
"You certainly could try" you bite back. If the last thing you were ever going to see in the dark was that stupid, squiggly face, you wanted it to be with the smile washed off of it.
And you were successful, you think, if only for the briefest of moments. Perhaps it was a trick of the imagination, but you would swear down that you saw the monster frown for a split second. Unfortunately, it only returned to its usual smile less than a second after.
“Do not test me, little human-” It abruptly rips its claw backwards; snagged into the flesh of your chest, a small chunk may have been ripped out as you are flung across the room. The small scream is choked out as you collide against the wall and fall to the floor, winded, dazed and gasping to restore oxygen to your lungs. “-The things I could do to you… I shall have you begging for death!”
“Don’t-” You take in a loud gasp as you try to bring yourself up onto your elbow and knees, but fall slightly, too wobbly and weak to sustain your own weight. Not like you would be able to get away anyway, it is already by your side once more. “-Don’t threaten me-” Another jagged, short breath escapes you. “-With a good time!” The grin you try to flash the creature (you assume it can see in the dark) is lopsided and laboured, but enough to convey what you want.
The squiggle-faced creature rears its head back, whether in disgust or surprise you could not tell. What you could tell was that its eyes narrowed in, messy lines blending together so compact its eyes appear as a small blob. It had to be scrutinising you for sure. With your grin faded, you weren’t going to give it more to read; you returned its scrutinous gaze with one of absolute nothingness.
“You little meatbags will say the… strangest things if you think it’ll delay your fate, won’t you?” it responds slowly, cocking its head to one side, brought dangerously close to your own; it can smell your sweat, feel your heat, hear the heart in your chest. Its foot is brought down onto your back; limbs buckle under the added force easily and you collapse onto your stomach.
“Yeah, but…” You have to catch your breath again; the returned pressure, if much less than a few seconds ago, was still suffocating enough to make retaining a steady oxygen flow a struggle. “...Unlike some, I might… I might actually mean it!”
“Perhaps you think you do, so desperate for survival. You would break regardless” it says, a slight humour to its voice. It so does enjoy watching you squirm and wriggle and plead for your life.
“And… if I don’t?” you return.
“If you don’t…” it contemplates its next words for a few seconds, eyes never leaving your own as it did. “...Then you may earn your life… this time”
You stare back in silence, hesitating to speak in return. You just have to remind yourself: this is the only way you are going to make it out of here alive. And if you do, as it put it, break… at least you could die knowing you went down fighting for your life until the very end, not in fear.
“Deal” you say, agreeing to whatever sick machinations the entity could concoct.