F!ReaderXSusie

Introductions

"How long does it take to get to the main Campfire?" I asked as we trudged through the trees. It seemed like we had been walking for a while.

"Oh, we're almost there, don't worry!" Dwight said happily. He seemed slightly more relaxed so I guessed this place was a safe spot for him. "It's just ahead-I can see it now," Nea stated as she pushed a branch aside.

Indeed, I could see a rosy glow up ahead that indicated another campfire that grew in size and intensity as we approached. I was looking forward to meeting everyone else, I had gotten a brief description from Nea during our trek so I wanted to see how accurate she was.

"Hey, *𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐫s*, we got a new Survivor! Come and meet her!" Nea yelled as we entered the ring of firelight. Dwight had already disappeared into one of the many tents I saw littering the ground close by. I went and sat on one of the logs around the campfire and crossed my arms while I waited for people to show up.

Nea ducked inside a small, two person tent and had a short conversation with whoever was inside then came back out. She was followed by an extremely athletic redhead female who looked grouchy at being woken up. Her hair was in braids and she wore a dirty red tank top and blue leggings, both made for running.

As I looked on quietly, more people showed up; a dark haired man in a forest green jacket and tan pants came up with a sweet looking black woman who had glasses. They waved quietly and went to sit on the logs across from me.

I heard a twig snap behind me and turned around to see a curvy Latina woman with a business suit nod at me. I nodded back and noticed she was followed by a grizzled older man with a beard and cigar wearing combat clothes.

Nea plopped down next to me and cleared her throat. "Alright now that some of us are here, let's start the introductions!" She proceeded to name everyone and they nodded, waved or smiled as their name was mentioned.

"The ginger is Meg, she's the speedy one-" Meg simply nodded at me, unsmiling. "The dark haired guy is Jake, he's really good with animals" Jake nodded at me, studying me with dark eyes. "That's Claudette over there, ever need to be healed, go to her," Nea continued, motioning to the black woman. Claudette smiled softly and gave me a small wave that I returned. "And here we have Jane and Bill, Jane is good at distracting the killers and Bill has a knack for getting back up after a bad hit." They both nodded at me.

"Nice to meet you all," I said politely, getting murmured responses. "But you said something about...killers?" I asked, turning to Nea with a confused and worried look.

"Yeah, so long story short kid, you've essentially been kidnapped to a different realm where you'll have to escape from a bunch of killers for eternity. If you die, you get resurrected just to do it all over again." Bill spoke up with a raspy deep voice. "Even if you do 'escape' it's only a brief win."

My eyes widened in shock and horror, "Wait, WHAT?!? Please tell me he's joking...?" I looked around at everyone but they all looked away in silence. No one would meet my frantic gaze, until Claudette finally looked at me and her eyes softened.

"I'm sorry, but what he said is true. Whatever world you came from, whatever home or friends you had-that's all gone now. We all have the same story; we were taken by the thing we call the Entity and we're here to serve It's whims. It loves to see us suffer and It somehow feeds off our emotions and the Killers bloodlust."

She came over and sat next to me on the log, while I tried to make sense of what she said. "So...I'm basically doomed to be killed over and over again, for eternity, just to please some...𝐸𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦?!?" I asked bitterly. Half of me thought this was a sick joke but this would explain what I heard and saw, and how I even got here.

"I'm afraid so," she said and placed her hand over mine soothingly. The part of me that wasn't panicking noticed her hand was warm and soft. "It's not so bad, once you learn how things work here," she continued. I glanced at her, "How is any of this 'not so bad?'" I snarked.

"Well, I only say that because it is tough when you're new but you sort of get used to it after a while. It helps knowing the maps and the Killer you're up against," she continued. "All of us have been here for a while, so we'll do our best to help you, right?" She looked at everyone, getting various signs of agreement. Meg didn't do anything until Claudette stared at her meaningfully, then she sighed and nodded reluctantly.

I looked at the ground, clenching my hands into fists and inhaled deeply. I did this when I was trying to calm my nerves or get over a panic attack. Claudette noticed and quietly placed her hand on my shoulder, rubbing in soft circles. I exhaled slowly and nodded at her to show I was fine now.

"Well, if I'm gonna be here I might as well start learning, huh?" I gave everyone a confident grin and stood up. "Anything you guys can teach me would be greatly appreciated."

Everyone gave me a nod or murmurs of approval, even Meg looked at me with surprise and a hint of respect.

"Alright noobie, that's the attitude!" Nea praised as she jumped up. "You still haven't even met half of us, but we'll get to that later. For now, we'll focus on trying to teach you as much as we can before your first Trial."

𝑇𝑖𝑘𝑎𝑟 - 𝐵𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ