Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Do you fear death?

It is said that your whole life flashes before your eyes, perhaps to find a way to avoid the inevitable end. But in your case, you feared dying alone, ignored and forgotten while your spirit softly embraced death, your body withering away and so did your memory.

However, now was silent, not any flashes, not any light, just your weakening breath while you struggled to keep your eyes open just a smidge. The snow beneath you felt like daggers against your skin, your lips blue and quivering as short puffs of smoke left your mouth while you wheezed out in pain.

Your weak gaze flickered to the reddening sky for a bit as a deep and thick fog settled around you. Tears wielded up in your eyes as you felt a strange feeling of uneasiness overtake your senses.

Your senses that seemed to slowly evaporate as you found yourself unable to close your eyes, or do anything, unable to breathe, choking on your unending tears while strong shivers wrecked through your whole body.

“Is this where it ends?”

A booming voice resonated, coming from seemingly nowhere and everywhere at once and breaking the silence with a single sentence. Your ears rang and you swore you could see a massive eye shatter the snowy sky in half, looking straight at you; through you.

It was watching.

“It’s colder now, isn’t it?”

The voice added, the last remains of strength leaving your body as a sharp pain shot through your whole system. A mute but tragic scream left your lips before your world turned dark.

“You belong to me now.”

—--------------

A sharp inhale, a painful groan, eyes shooting wide open.

You woke up with a keen scream, your whole body tensing painfully as you regained consciousness, noticing immediately the crimson hue of the sky and fog around you, similarly to what you remembered from your death.

Dead.

You were supposed to be dead, lying frozen on the cold ground back… there.... You remember the pain, the silence… the cold and the uncomfortable feeling of this eldritch gaze on you as you uttered your last breath.

Suddenly, the sky changed colors, turning back to a dark grey faster than you could blink, the surrounding fog dissipating just as fast and the strange uneasiness from the unknown pressure you had previously felt, leaving while you let out a sigh you didn’t know you were holding.

Now that the invisible pressure was gone your body felt as if it would crumble at any moment, your eyes heavy while you struggled to stay upright, sitting on soggy dirt. You released a weak groan as you finally caved in to your body’s demand and laid back down on your back, contemplating the starless sky with tired eyes.

Weak and disoriented, you couldn’t quite tell how much time passed while you laid there, motionless, only you, your thoughts and soft breathing. But suddenly you heard voices and steps coming your way, but your body felt so heavy that you found yourself unable to move or look at the unknown.

The voices felt distant and almost foreign as they approached, but as soon as this thought entered your mind, you found yourself able to understand whatever was being said.

“Noob swore the sky turned red but he’s the only one who saw it.”

A gruff voice said to an unknown interlocutor. You stored the strange name in your mind, maybe it will have a use later.

“Wasn’t Taph with him. Did they see anything?”

A second voice, more melodic, questioned with a tired sigh. From what you could tell, these strangers had not witnessed the same thing as their mentioned friends and were now investigating.

“Not from what they've signed. Maybe It was just checking in…”

The first voice added after a short break, their footsteps now dangerously close to the place you were laying, unmoving.

You wheezed out, pain curling into your lungs as you forced yourself to sit up, a ringing and uncomfortable noise started in your ears while you pulled yourself upward, to at least see and be more visible between those tall trees in the dark.

Heavy eyelids and unfocused eyes, your head wobbled as you kept yourself upright. But then you spotted them; two men. And once they spotted you, they stopped dead in their tracks.

The first man on the left was tall, at least from your standpoint, a grey skin tone, rare for a Robloxian. You couldn't quite see their face as it was shadowed by a black fedora and a pair of dark headphones. His clothes were hard to decipher in the darkness but they seemed to be wearing some kind of suit.

Next to them, a slightly taller man –not much taller- but way bulkier; larger shoulders and a posture that screamed ‘military man’. If his stature wasn't enough to guess so, his military uniform and combat vest would have been indicator enough. The man seemed to have short blue hair, common for Robloxians; guests mostly. However, similarly to the other man, you couldn't quite focus on his face, slightly too far away for your tired and unfocused eyes to correctly see in the dark.

The world seemed to slow down for a minute as both parties took each other in before you wobbled again and crumbled under your own weight, exhausted from your fight against gravity.

While you passed out from exhaustion, you couldn't witness the rapid and panicked approach of the two men as they quickly spoke to each other.

“It didn't say anything about a new person.” Fedora man begins, crouching near your unconscious body, uncaring about putting dirt on his fancy dress pants as he checks on you.

“I almost thought they were an NPC from the lack of life in their eyes.” He added before receiving a harsh slap on the back of his head, yelping at the military man's action.

“What?!” They harshly sneered, grabbing onto your wrist to check on your pulse while a cold shiver ran through his body at the contact of your skin.

“They're really cold.” The military man noted flatly before the other could utter any additional words.

“Chance, go warn Elliot. I'm bringing them inside. We need to get them to warm up.” He ordered calmly, yet urgency present in his actions as he carefully picked you up in his arms, holding you close like you were made of glass. Chance didn't wait for further instructions, standing up –dusting his pants off– and hurriedly trotting away as they made their way back to a large cabin.

Perhaps you could've been really made of glass, from how cold and rigid you were, shivering in his hold as he tried not to frown at the sight of your pale skin; hypothermia he had guessed.

Wherever It had brought you from was definitely way colder than here and you were clearly not dressed for cold weather. Or perhaps it was a side effect of the sudden dimension travel, he couldn't quite tell.

The walk to the cabin was short, the man's steps hurried as he knew your well being was on the line. However, he knew that your life wasn't truly in danger, not here at least, not in the safe zone. It wouldn't allow a new toy to whither away this fast…

That's the words he repeated in his head as he stepped through the threshold of the large wooden house, multiple pairs of worried eyes settling on his hulking form and the smaller one in his hold.

A young looking man approached, his gaze focused on the stranger in his friend's arms, worry etched upon his tired features as he silently led the pair towards the lit fireplace, casting a soft glow and warmth on them.

“Hypothermia?” He questioned the military man. Though it seemed to be a rhetorical question.

The blue haired man simply hummed as he settled you down onto the large couch facing the fireplace while the younger man placed a thick blanket on your shoulders, tucking you in.

The silence in the room was deafening, everyone worried for you but also about you. New survivors were rare but always announced, yet, you suddenly appeared with no warning.

Something was off.

A shiver cursed through your body, shaking uncontrollably from the difference in temperature between your body and the room. The young man immediately saw it and frowned, his head snapping towards the onlookers as he thought.

“Shedletsky… Can you… sit with them? You're usually the warmest around here.” Finally he spoke, beckoning another, shorter man closer.

“Me? I mean… sure..?” The brunette awkwardly pointed to himself, a nervous smile on his face as he approached the couch, his bare feet padding against the floor.

Shedletsky settled next to you, your cold body contrasting greatly with his warmth, making him shiver as he awkwardly wrapped his arm around your shoulders. Unconsciously, you cuddled closer, the urge to absorb the comfortable and much needed warmth while you continued to shiver.

“Jeez! You weren't kidding, Elliot, they're ice cold!” The man said through gritted teeth as he struggled to not reel back from the feeling of your cold face against his shoulder.

A few others snickered at the man’s statement while Elliot simply gave him an unimpressed stare. The military man –who had previously disappeared– approached the couch once again, a warm piece of clothes filled with rice, in his hands. Without a word, he placed it on you, mostly at your feet to make sure you wouldn't get frostbite from the lack of blood circulation there.

The cook quietly thanked him as they both turned away, leaving Shedletsky to play radiator.

“So… no one heard nun’, right?” Asked a short grey haired man with a thick accent –wearing a security cap with some sort of builder uniform– sitting on the first few steps of the stairs. Most shook their heads while some others voiced a negative answer. Effectively, no one had heard anything.

“No one heard a thing, silence is king.” A strange man with a blue pumpkin head spoke up, his voice soft and neutral as he spoke while slightly hovering above the ground effortlessly.

“A question outlay; who are they?” He added, tilting his strange head to the side as all eyes in the room fell on your shivering form once more.

The Fedora man; Chance, coughed into his hand before the silence could stretch any longer.

“Well… We won’t know until they wake up.” They stated the obvious, fixing his sunglasses with a slight push of his index before shooting you a look from where he stood.

“But obviously they’re a survivor like us, or they wouldn’t be here!” Chance finished brightly, and it seemed that stating the obvious was enough to cut the strange tension that had previously settled in the cabin upon your strange and mysterious arrival.

After another short silence, Elliot let out a short sigh, scratching his messy hair before passing his hand over his tired face with a deep groan. He then clapped his hands once, then twice before speaking.

“Let’s go people, let’s just… Do whatever. They need rest and warmth, not to be monitored like a criminal.” He said, motivating the others to go on about their day while waiting for your awakening. Elliot then turned to Shedletsky who had fully settled and lazily melted into the couch as you continued to steal his warmth, his eyes closed and breathing relaxed.

“Shedletsky, if you need to go I can take your place.” The young man spoke which made the brunette crack open an eye, smiling groggily.

“Nah, I’m good… Great, even.” He muttered before lazily closing his eyes once more leaving Elliot to simply stand here.

The young man looked at the duo for a second before slightly dusting off his clothes and walking away into a different room.

—--------

 It was after a long wait of 6-ish hours that you finally opened your eyes, blinking slowly as the light from the fireplace slightly blinded you. You groaned, crunching up your body as you cuddled as close as humanly possible to the heat source on your left, which chuckled in answer, stopping your action as your blood ran cold.

 Your eyes shot open while you stared at the strange man you were cuddling to, his dark hat and headphones barely familiar through the panic that suddenly overwhelmed you. You searched for their eyes but found yourself staring back at yourself through the dark sunglasses he was wearing.

 Suddenly you reeled back in terror with a loud, blood curling scream. You flailed around, your movements entraved by the heavy blankets over your body, which brought you barreling to the ground in the blink of an eye.

With a loud thud, you stopped your flailing, now brought to the ground from your mistake as the stranger laughed out loud, holding his ribs like this was the funniest thing that ever happened.

 “Woah man! That’s one hell of a way to wake up!” They laughed while you removed the warm and heavy blanket from your body, grumbling colorful words under your breath. Hurried steps echoed before a voice exploded at the man.

 “What the #### Chance!?” The young man cursed before rounding the couch with heavy steps and aid you from your fluffy blanket prison. Elliot helped you by unwrapping your body from the large piece of fabric and easing you back onto your feet while Chance was still trying to catch their breath. Once you seemed stable on your feet, your eyes met your savior and he awkwardly smiled as he kept his hands on your forearms to keep you standing and stable.

 “Are you okay…?” He questioned you, letting go of you as your weak and wobbly legs struggled to keep you upright. But before you could speak the fedora man spoke.

 “Awe come on! What about me and the fright I got from their scream!” They spoke, a grin on their features as they played with a coin, flipping it skillfully between their fingers. Though, despite his skillful display of coin play, you found yourself frowning, eyebrows knitting together while your mouth pouted with an uncontrollable twitch.

 Yet before any further words could be exchanged, another person entered the room, steps coming to a halt when they noticed your awake status. Recognition flooded your eyes as you noticed the blue haired man who gave you a curt nod upon noticing your gaze on him.

“I’m glad to see you awake.” Guest began, approaching you in a few steps, Elliot moving aside before the taller man put a gentle hand on your shoulder.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, his eyes meeting you in an hypnotizing moment, any words you had in mind now completely evaporating as you stared blankly at him.

 The silence seemed to stretch for an awkwardly long moment as you blankly stared up at him, the only thing snapping you out of your staring being a chuckle from the fedora man. Always here to save the day it seemed.

“We know Guest look big an’ scary but you don’t need to outface him like that.” They snickered, their tone amused if not teasing.

And finally, after what seemed like an eternity, you spoke. Your voice barely above a whisper as your throat felt like it was burning from the inside.

“I’m sorry… I just haven’t seen anyone… In so long…” You managed to croak out before a cough escaped –many others following suit– making you struggle to regain your breathing.

A gentle hand began to pet your back as your fit slowed to a stop, tears flooding your eyes while the sharp pain in your throat made you swear to mutism. Elliot, now back at your side, tapping your back in a slow rhythm, smiled gently when you looked up at him, his eyes devoid of judgement but filled with worry.

When the men were sure you would not start coughing again, Elliot excused himself to go fetch you some water, and as he disappeared through a nearby doorframe, Guest approached you once more, his hand reaching for yours in a formal handshake.

“I suppose this is the best moment to welcome you here, despite the lack of a few of our members.” He said, making you realize that the room seemed gigantically empty for a group of three men. So they were more.

You held onto his hand, shaking it curtly before letting go as he introduced himself.

“As you’ve probably heard, my name is Guest. Guest 1337.” You nodded as he finished his sentence, telling him your name in exchange before the sound of a coin falling to the ground ended the formal greetings. You turned your gaze away from Guest, your eyes shifting to the ground as the origin of the noise was at your feet.

You picked it up, twirling it between your fingers for a short second before looking at Chance, handing him back the small object.

“Thanks! The name’s Chance by the way.” They said, now holding the coin between their thumb and index finger.

Right at that time, the cook entered the room once more, his red uniform quickly catching your attention. He swiftly moved to your side again, silently handing you a tall glass of warm honey water with a kind smile.

“Here you go!” The young man hummed happily before introducing himself as well, gently shaking your hand similarly to Guest.

You quickly downed the drink, humming with satisfaction as you immediately felt the benefic effect of the warm honey. You silently thanked the admins for bringing such a kind soul like Elliot to your aid.

With a smile on your face, you thanked Elliot before handing him back the now empty glass. He said nothing, simply disappearing for a few minutes in the next room, probably putting the glass away.

Chance and Guest had silently observed the interaction, waiting for you to speak once more, knowing Elliot’s healing abilities would soon kick in. But you said nothing, apparently satisfied with everything, not curious or wondering where you were.

This realization brought an uneasy feeling to Guest. He wondered where you came from. How terrible it was for you to prefer being here in an unknown place stranded with strangers rather than wherever was home, your home.

However, before he could question you about your origin, or even tell you more about this place, every light source shut down, sending everyone spiraling into darkness in a deafening silence.

Chapter Text

It was barely a few seconds later that light reached your eyes again. Blinking once, then twice, you immediately noticed the change in scenery.

Grass was now settled under your form, with tall pillars of dirt stretching high above your head in strange ways –mostly just resembling high walls with window-like openings–. A few flowers were scattered around you and you could spot a singular scarecrow here. In the distance on your right, stood a tall and dark house, but the ominous feeling emanating from it made you decide against going near it.

You jumped upon feeling a warm hand on your shoulder, making your head whip around with a dizzying motion. Crouching behind you was Elliot, a tight but kind smile warping his mouth. He made a shushing motion, his index over his mouth before you could ask him where you were.

Silently, the young man grabbed your hand, pulling you away from where you were, seemingly knowing where to go, dragging you over a white bridge creating a path over a weird purple river, and from the sulfuric smell you could easily guess that waddling into this strange liquid would not be pleasant. Shortly, you were able to spot a graveyard in the distance with a few other people littered around, on guard, awaiting something…

The first person who noticed your approach was a man with a blue pumpkin head. They waved at Elliot and the action pulled the attention of the two remaining people nearby. To your surprise, the pumpkin-headed man did not walk but floated your way, his long grey robe flowing with the motion, clutching a long wooden staff in its grasp. It was slightly uncanny to see a Robloxian with a pumpkin shaped head…

Their head swiveled  your way as Elliot slowed to a stop.

“I am glad to see you well. Welcome to hell.” The strange man greeted, a nervous smile carving his pumpkin face. Your eyebrows shot up with surprise. His way of speaking was very… unusual and quite surprising to say the least…

“Thank…you?” You squeaked out, not really knowing what to say before introducing  yourself to him –upon  Elliot’s encouragement– while the two others finally reached you.

The wizard suddenly waved his staff around, a strong beacon emitting from the tip in a strong ray of red light as he looked at something behind you that you couldn’t quite spot, but from the noises and scream you could guess some kind of fight was happening.

“My name is Dusekkar. I fear this is an au revoir.” He said before rushing past the both of you, in the direction he sent his spell. And before you could understand anything else, something seemed to alert Elliot as he gave you a worried look.

“Okay, listen carefully.” He started, rushing his words as he grabbed your attention by putting his hands on your shoulders and squeezing a bit harshly to accentuate his words. “I need to go help the others, so I want you to stay with Builderman.” He concluded, completely passing over the second man’s name as he glanced at him –giving him a cold look– before running away in the same direction Dusekkar previously disappeared to.

As you were about to follow him, a heavy hand fell on your shoulder, forcing you to stop and turn around, facing the short man while he shook his head in dismissal.

“ Don’t follow him lass, you don’t wanna know what’s goin’ on over there.” He warned you, his accent thick as you took in his appearance.

His stature was short –shorter than you in fact– and similarly to Chance, he had a grey complexion and hair. The man was wearing a dark jacket with the roblox logo and a red shirt underneath, he was also rocking a pair of dark and dirty jeans with a dirt-covered pair of work boots. You could spot a pair of wing-like ears peeking from under his construction helmet as he spoke, though any other pair of wings was nowhere to be found and it didn’t feel quite right to ask him about it.

“Y’know it’s rude to stare.” He coughed awkwardly, breaking you out of your staring before you apologized. Gently but urgently, he led you away from the nearing commotion and you gave one last look behind you –unable to see anything– before following him.

While walking away toward what seemed like a rotating contraption –hidden away in the farthest corner of the small graveyard– you looked at the other man, unnamed and apparently not willing to share his identity.

He was tall, yet not as tall as Chance or Guest who were towering over you. But you guessed he was tall enough that you still had to crane your head up in order to meet his eyes. He wore a short sleeved blue shirt with a weird looking face on the front and a pair of black pants. From what you’d seen previously, he had a pair of pink glasses and the oddest accessory was probably the burger-like hat sitting on his short and messy brown hair, topped by a small and smiling yellow head. Similarly to Builderman, he had some sort of unnatural attributes, though in his case it was a pair of black horns sprouting from his forehead and a small tail that you could see tucked between his legs.

“That’s 007n7, or Seven. He’s a bit off, don’t mind ‘im.” The shorter man told you, –the odd comment flying right over your head– as he noticed your silent interest in the other, which made Seven stop and give you an awkward smile, flashing his teeth –decorated with bright magenta braces–. You smiled back but jumped when a sudden scream was heard in the distance.

You looked around panicked, wondering what was happening for someone to produce this heart wrenching scream, when the sudden apparition of Elliot, now bloody and beaten, completely threw you off, panic running through your veins as you took in his state.

Just a few minutes ago he looked perfectly healthy and fine, but now his skin had taken a different shade –almost green- as huge amounts of blood seeped out of his body. It seemed Elliot had received a hit to the face, his right eye completely swollen and blood running out of his nose, but the worst was definitely the large gash on his side he was desperately pressing on as he limped his way to your safe spot.

The higher being that created this terrible and dark world was probably laughing out loud now, as a large black sword pierced right through the young man's torso –blood bursting out like candies out of a piñata–. He gasped –his eyes wide with terror– stopping in his desperate run before stumbling and falling to the ground –dead– while a terrified cry escaped your throat.

Despite your better judgement, you desperately tried to run to him, to make sure he was still alive and that this was just a terrible welcoming prank. However your action was abruptly stopped as arms wrapped around you, shielding you from the morbid view and keeping you where you were safe while you cried and whimpered into the man's shoulder.

It felt like forever before you managed to stop your cries, sniffling as you pushed yourself out of the man's hold, looking up at Seven as he gave you a pitying smile.

This situation felt surreal and way too familiar… Elliot’s body now strangely warping into someone you couldn’t fully remember…

You clenched your teeth, your hands coming up to grasp your head as a searing pain shot through your system. The sudden sight of your distress made Seven’s worry grow by the second as your eyes suddenly rolled back and you plummeted against his shoulder, barely managing to grab you in time as you felt limp.

“A cold forgotten planet. A smiling face and affections untold. Healing lies as truth wounds the weak minds. The cold cannot reach you.

All will be lost to the bacteria.”

You gasp as if you've resurfaced from an infinite pool of ice cold water. You were on the ground now, and in a different spot than before –hiding behind a large table in what seemed like the creepy house you had spotted before–, though Seven and Builderman were still with you, Guest –had appeared from seemingly nowhere– mending to wounds on his arm as he glanced from behind the wall he was leaning against.

“Wha-... What's going on-?” You groan, your head still painful as you try to sit up, 007n7’s hand on your shoulder slowing you down as he gives you a worried frown and a disapproving shake of his head. 

“Stay down, lass.” Builderman warns, busy with creating a brand new spinning contraption –pulling out parts from seemingly nowhere– while Guest gives you an unreadable look, his eyebrows furrowed, darkening his otherwise bright eyes.

“I thought you were having a panic attack-” Seven explained, his voice barely above a whisper as distant footsteps could be heard from further away, showing that the man was clearly aware of this threat lurking around, as much as they all tried to protect you from it and pretend it didn’t exist. “Then you suddenly passed out.” He added, scratching his right horn –probably a nervous habit– while his tail nervously swayed behind his crouched form.

Without a word, Guest left –through the doorframe standing tall behind Builderman– going to deal with the unknown threat that was apparently getting some sort of sick and twisted fun from hunting every single one of you down. Builderman looked at Guest leave from over his shoulder as he finished his job, checking the watch on his wrist before giving a relieved sigh.

“One minute left.” He simply stated without further information, yet Seven seemed to get whatever ‘one minute’ meant as his shoulders relaxed while he removed his hand from your tense shoulders after giving them a gentle squeeze in an attempt to comfort you.

“How are you feeling?” Seven murmured –bringing his attention back to your wellbeing– his face way closer than what would be considered normal but perhaps he feared you wouldn’t hear him over the sound of the nearing tussle.

“Like… someone who witnessed a murder…?” Was your hesitant answer, the image of Elliot's dead body appearing like searing hot iron in your mind, a shiver running through your spine and bile rising up in your throat like an acid tsunami as tears threatened to flow out of your eyes once more.

A short and quiet snort left Seven, his shoulder shaking as he tried to avoid laughing at your genuine and clear distress.

Lucky for him, you didn't take it to heart, your answer was a bit humorous and people had different ways to deal with grief… so be it.

A strong shiver wrecked your body, making you visibly shake and for some unknown reason, you felt terribly cold, almost like you were somewhere else completely. You shivered as you readjusted your sitting position by wrapping your arms around yourself in an attempt to stop your body from shaking.

“I had… some kind of… memory flash?” You started, both men's attention now on you, Builderman’ eyebrows furrowing in confusion as you trembled. “I think it's from where I was. Before this…? I don't remember a lot actually…” You added with a quiet groan, your voice growing quieter as you hear multiple sets of footsteps nearby, yet still out of view.

The older man seemed to hear them as well, looking through the large doorframe a few feet away, as Seven spoke after checking his own watch –that you just now noticed on his left wrist, sitting pretty next to a red colored wristband–.

“Your memory will come back when it's time. We all went through this and we all know how frustrating it might feel for you right now. Just… don't worry.” He tried to cheer you up, despite his awkward way to go about it.

Builderman approached once more, his expression lighter as he took a final glance at his watch.

“Alright lads, time's up.” He said, but before you could ask what he meant, he shushed you. “We'll see ya on the other side!” He smirked a short second before your world turned completely dark again.

—--------

When you opened your eyes –that you had unknowingly closed– you were back in the cabin, 007n7 sitting next to you as he also seemed to come back to his senses and Builderman was a few feet over on your left –currently standing up with a grunt–.

You frowned, the pain in your head now more present and painful than it had been before, your eyes squinting from the pain.

The cabin felt gigantically empty now, and despite the flaming pain blooming in your temples, you still worried about Guest’s whereabouts, hoping he was safe despite the wounds you remembered he sustained and the fight he had gone through –despite you not witnessing any of it–.

A man walked into the room, perhaps he should’ve expected your shocked and down right terrified face as he stepped closer to you, whipping his now damp but clean hands on his dark pants as he approached you with a calm pace.

Elliot stopped in front of you, crouching while offering you his hands and a nervous smile.

“How are you feeling?” The clearly not-so dead man questioned. You gasped –unable to find any words to utter– hands leaving your head to suddenly wrap around his neck as you brought him down into a bone crushing hug, hiccups and cries left your mouth, tears now flowing freely out of your closed eyes.

It was strange, because similarly to earlier, –back in that weird place– you saw someone else for a brief second, someone with a face you couldn’t quite remember and a name stuck at the tip of your tongue.

And as weird as it sounded, you felt some sort of deep and unnatural attachment to Elliot, probably due to how gentle and patient he had been with you since your awakening, but you truly felt shattered and lost when you had witnessed his demise earlier.

You squeezed Elliot closer, and he chuckled at your affection while Seven stood up behind you, giving you an unreadable look before skedaddling out of the room after the cold glare Elliot gave him. Builderman simply busied himself with checking on the other members of the cabin, who were not in sight but who could be heard in the next room.

Gently, he rubbed your back as you cried, anxiety, fear and some unknown pent up emotions leaving you all at once while you squeezed the poor man.

This whole ordeal now seemed like a really awful prank, but the exhausted look in Elliot’s eyes was a surprisingly great indicator that it was, in fact, not an elaborate prank.

After a bit, your cries and tears came to an end, whipping the watery remains off of your face with your sleeves before looking up at Elliot as he gently let you go.

“You probably have a few questions.” Yeah that was an understatement… You nodded, snot dribbling down your nose as you embarrassingly tried to wipe it away, but Elliot stopped you and gave you a tissue he magically produced out of his pants pocket.

“We’re going to explain everything, but you need to meet everyone first.” He clarified simply, standing up and offering his hand once again after you finished blowing your nose into the tissue that you ended up storing in your back pants pocket.

With a silent huff, the young man pulled you up to your feet, keeping your left hand in his right to lead you toward the doorframe further inside the heart of the cabin, into what seemed to be a large dining area with a few tables and chairs arranged like it was a canteen.

You spotted a few news faces, but your attention was immediately brought to the people you had not seen since the weird and scary episode; Chance, Dusekkar and Guest.

They seemed alright for the most part, Guest looking terribly tired and Dusekkar probably feeling similarly as he wasn’t floating but now simply sitting down on a chair, speaking with Builderman about something you couldn’t quite catch before they stopped and turned their attention to you.

You spotted Chance further away, chatting quietly with a chubby looking bird man, who had his back turned to you as he was sitting on a backward chair, babbling about who knows what to the fedora man. He had short, fluffy and curly brown hair and you could spot the faintest sigh of two golden wing-like ears, similar to Builderman's. However, like the older man, this stranger had no other larger wings, though you guessed they were hiding underneath his white t-shirt as you could spot a few feathers peeking out from the bottom hem.

Opposite to them, sitting quietly in a dark corner was another stranger with an unnerving smile stretching their features, staring blankly into the void. Their hair was a dark blue, almost like a night sky and their pale skin was highlighted by the dark and revealing outfit they wore. Similar to Seven, this stranger had a spiky looking tail, laying limply around them as they zoned out.

Finally, the last person you spotted in the room was a TV-headed woman who was quietly doodling away on a notebook, her pink screened red head swaying from side to side as she hummed a song to herself. Decorating her head was a black and red cap with the Roblox logo on the front and she wore a red sleeveless hoodie with a pair of black skater jeans.

Elliot coughed loudly in his fist to get everyone's attention before gently pushing you toward an empty chair, your ears and cheeks reddening as you felt so many eyes on you.

“Sit down, this is going to take a while.” The young man told you before taking one last look around. “Alright everybody, time for introductions.” He hummed, clapping his hands together to motivate everyone but mostly himself.

“I'll start by saying that we are missing Noob and Taph, though I suspect they're listening.” He started off, his words slightly unsure as he continued. “They're just a bit… erm… shy with strangers I guess…?” You nodded, thinking that they would simply meet you once they felt ready, in their own time.

“Over here we have Shedletsky.” Elliot pointed behind you but as you turned around to face the man and greet him properly, you ended up face to face with him, way closer than expected. You jumped back, almost toppling off of your chair but stabilised right in time as the chicken man laughed loudly, clutching his stomach like this was the funniest thing ever.

“Man, you should've seen your face!” He snorted and you frowned, turning away, not wanting to give him any further attention, now unable to see how Shedletsky and Chance silently giggled like two idiots behind your back.

Elliot simply shook his head disapprovingly, pointing towards the person sitting in the dark. “That's Two Time.” He introduced them but they barely reacted to the mention of their name, their tail slightly twitching as they muttered something under their breath.

Then finally he turned his attention to the TV-headed woman, but before he could say anything, she jumped to her feet, approaching you with a wide smile displayed on her screen. “Oh. My. Admin! Finally another gal!” She happily said, wrapping her arms around your neck in a gentle hug as you softly but awkwardly laughed.

You pet her arm as she hugged you, then finally let go after an extra squeeze. “It was soooo boring being here with all these testosterone filled idiots. They can't even draw!” She complained dramatically as she stepped back, letting you breath, and out of the corner of your eyes you saw Elliot rolling his eyes while Builderman, Dusekkar and Guest laughed at the interaction.

“For their defense… I don't think I'm really good at drawing either.” You timidly told her, looking away as a static-y laugh left her voicebox. “Don’t worry about it girl, I can teach you!” The robot said proudly, her thumb pointing towards herself like it was the highest honor. You silently thank her, which made her laugh once more before she grabbed a chair and sat down next to you, happily swinging side to side like an excited puppy.

“Introductions aside, ya probably have questions.” Builderman suddenly spoke, bringing everyone back on track, looking at him expectantly.

“I suppose we can start by explainin’ where we are n’ what happened earlier.” He hummed, carving out a discussion path for the others and all you could do was simply nod dumbly.

“I guess the easiest way to go about it is to say it frankly.” Guest spoke up, as no one seemed to dare start. He walked up to you, his arms folded behind him and his back straight, almost like he was giving a speech to a platoon of soldiers.

“You died.” He spoke flatly, his eyes staring blankly into yours as you blinked, confused. You stumbled over your words, babbling like a toddler, unable to form a full sentence before a scoff was heard behind you. “But you've been granted a second life by The Great Spawn!” Two Time said, their smile brighter than earlier, as they spoke about this unknown entity.

“I don't… remember dying…?” You spoke, your headache coming back full force as you tried to remember, to no avail. Just the cold feeling in your body making you shiver again and again.

“None of us truly do. Though it is the only way through.” Dusekkar explained with his usual rhymes, his head shaking like he couldn't believe it himself.

“Actually… some of us remember. It's just not a pleasant memory.” Chance pointed out with a nervous chuckle, patting his chest, almost like a phantom pain from a previous wound was bothering him.

“Or we'd rather forget.” Was the soft voice of Seven, pulling your attention to him as you jumped from his sudden apparition. He gave you a small wave with his right hand before going further away into the room, leaning against the wall rather than sitting on a chair.

“What we know about this place is that it was created and is controlled by a higher being, stronger than any admins.” Guest continued his explanation, a disappointed frown forming on Dusekkar’s pumpkin face while Builderman and Shedletsky looked away, ashamed. You raised an eyebrow, wondering if these three were admins. It only clicked in your mind but, you knew Builderman was an admin, since you had heard of him before. But you couldn't recall hearing about Dusekkar and even less about Shedletsky…

“We call it The Spectre.” He revealed with a growl, frowning deeply just from the mention of this being’s name.

Seven sighed from his spot before pushing himself off of the wall and joining Guest into his explanation.

“This Spectre is the reason we have to go through those ‘survival games’ against killers.” Seven continued, revealing what you have been missing this whole time. Killers. You were all being hunted by genuine killers.

A dizzying sensation took to your throat and an acrid taste overflowed your tastebuds. What kind of sick bastard would gain amusement and pleasure from torturing innocent people. What did you even do to deserve to be here…?

You wanted to ask why. Scream your heart out and destroy everything around. But that wouldn’t be fair to the others. They probably went through the same emotions as you. You can’t even remember your past, what you did before you presumed death and not fully how you died.

Gaze to the ground, still trying to wrap your head around this whole ordeal, you asked.

“Why can’t I remember…?” You mumbled angrily, more at yourself than anyone.

“It blocks our memory.” Shedletsky was the one to answer, scratching his chin lazily like this whole discussion was boring him. “It gives it back to us when it breaks us the most.” Well that was totally not creepy and ominous.

You shivered once again, standing up abruptly as you exhaled a shaky breath. You needed air. You felt like you were suffocating and the pain in your head was unbearable. You stepped away, directing yourself toward the door you had taken to enter. Someone was about to stop you before you bolted, running outside, your breathing fast and uncontrollable.

You ran the furthest away from the cabin, hiding yourself into the treeline as you slowed to a stop. Sitting on the dirt you tried to control your uneven breathing but each thought you had brought back that awful feeling back, pushing you back into your panic attack.

After a while, your breathing calmed, your body relaxing as you drifted into a dreamless slumber, laying there on the ground between tall dark trees, cold and afraid.