Hybrid

Chapter 6 : Toward the enemies

You just appeared next to the campfire, ready to sit on the first log you find, when the three of your teammates rush to you. Adam reaches you first:

" I'm a liar if I tell you that I'm not impressed. Hearing about your prowess from someone like Leon was already something. But seeing you running the killer for a full trial... all while making fun of him... That was a real show to watch for!"

Zarina joins with a cute smile, almost flirty, and hands you a map:

 "Listen, I've hoarded a bunch of stuff like that over time. From medkit to flashlight, I got them all. Ask me anything you want at any time."

You take the map gratefully, promising that you won't miss an opportunity to start a match with some tools to help. The map is made out of vellum; probably made out of human skin. It is sealed with a simple leather string, which reminds you of the rare map description. You wonder how the 'aura reading' works here. And how will you be able to keep track of the usability of that map? Do you have to count every second? It was 8 right? No... 12?

You're pulled out of your thought by Jake softly grabbing your left shoulder and giving you a very serious look:

" When the killer stabbed Adam at the beginning, I was around and I heard you talking with that psycho. Why were you asking questions about your killer and why did he say that it 'never showed up'?"

Everyone loses their smiles as they try to figure out if they trust you enough to not do shady deals with the killers on their backs.

" I didn't plan to talk to him at first. He started to chit-chat with me and I took the opportunity to ask what we should expect from the new menace that came with me."

They all silently agree on this smart move of yours. But they remain watching you, waiting for something. Maybe you should answer the second part of the question.

" He said that he has no idea what my killer looks like because it didn't spawn with them. There IS  a killer but it is nowhere to find yet."

Everyone shares a mix of curiosity and anxiety, clearly wondering what could have come down with us and why the entity kept it away from now on.
Jill raises her chest with confidence and asks you :

" Do you have any idea of who or what could be the new killer? I know that many of us aren't related to them but some like me know who they brought into this nightmare. Just spit all of the potential threats that come to your mind."

" I don't know. There are so many serial killers and horrible people that had existed in my world and this is without considering the entity could get inspired by any horrific fiction that had been created. I know which creatures or people I wouldn't like to meet here but they are so many I can't make a relevant guess."

Everyone seems disappointed but they can't be mad at you. As Jill said, many of them had no clues of who the fuck was their killer.
After some more bantering, all the survivors ease up and get back to their usual activities.

You take your chance to vanish in the woods and initiate your plan.

Find the killer's camp.

You know it exists somewhere. You want to understand better your surroundings and having a sneak peek at the enemies is a good start. You didn't tell anyone about your goals to avoid scaring them or losing their trust. And they might not know where it is anyway since they discovered with you that killer getting selected for a trial is watching on them.

You have no clues about where to go and if you will ever find it. Even worst is you're not sure if you will find your way back and hope for the entity to pick you up for a trial to get teleported back home.
You just selected a random direction, the one that was behind everyone's back, and sunk into the forest.

As you get deeper through the woods, you realize that not only the forest is oddly silent due to the lack of wildlife, but there is a permanent oppressive feeling that makes your ears buzz, your head spin, and your eyes cloudy.
You think it might be the entity telling you 'you're going too far and you should go back before I get angry'. You don't care and keep going, limping on every dirt bump and root you encounter.

You walked like this for... quite a while. It is hard to keep track of time here.

You are about to give up and sit down until the entity teleports you to a game when the oppressive feeling slightly lightens up.
Did you find it? Or maybe you turned in a circle and got back to the campfire. Whatever, you just want to get out of here.

You feel suddenly energized as your dizzyness vanishes and noises emerge behind the trees. Finally, you found a way out.

The more the trees are spreading, the more noises you hear. Mostly voices but some grunts and gurglings make you slow down. You prick up one's ears and rapidly understand that you're not back at the campfire.

you're now moving quietly, hoping you will not get under someone's vigilance. You stay behind the last line of trees for cover and examine the scenery beneath your sight.

In the middle of a clearing, similar to the survivors' one, lays the foundations of what could have been a MacMillan estate building with some bricks and scraps all around it. On the center of the foundations burns a large metallic barrel, surrounded by crates or pallets as sitting spots.

You try to count all the silhouettes and find only twenty-two of them. Before you got teleported here, Dead by Daylight killer count was up to thirty. You should be able to see thirty-one people here, taking your own killer into account.

You want to stay there a bit and see how is the ambiance between killers but suddenly scream in agony.

Your whole body hurts. It feels like it's stretching and tearing apart. You fall on your knees and look at your superior limbs with horror. They ARE stretching. Your phalanges gain twice their length, your skin turns completely white on your arms, and deep grey on your hands; fingertips and nails merge into claws.

Your pain is almost over when the dark fog gets into your vision. All you can hear is the killers' agitation around you before you get teleported to your next trial.

You are not prepared for what will happen next.