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She knew it would happen eventually. The entity had every incentive to make it happen; between the paralyzing fear of a trial, the bitter pain of betrayal, the raw anger the abandoned would hold onto. The fury would surely sharpen their knives and blacken any speck of mercy she would receive. To leave the Legion, to toss the invulnerable title of a bloodthirsty killer to the wind. To instead join the ranks of the battle-hardened survivors, the ones with enough determination to see another sanctuary fire. They were akin to warring groups, fighting for their opposing goals in an uncaring realm.
And now Julie found herself face to face with the consequences.
The familiar body shape of her dear friend, the vibrant hair spilling out from her oversized hoodie. The details were all she could take in, her broken body unable to flee. The wounds were too great to lift herself, forced to the ground as Susie towered menacingly above. The situation was her worst fear realized.
The foreboding she had found when the trial originally began, how she hoped it would be anxiety alone rather than a gut premonition. The snow had softly floated by, the ambience as familiar as an old friend. The Albertan scenery originally sparked a sense of home, a place of refuge. Now all that remained were the torn remnants of a broken bond. She had prayed for a different killer, for a different fate. That sliver of hope had diminished as each of her newly found friends perished, slaughtered mercilessly like cattle; as if they were mere means to an end rather than living breathing persons.
The grip on her knife tightened well her masked eyes glared down at her. The eerie silence stretched between them, filled with several unvoiced questions. The emotion-fueled tension threatened to drown her. From the Legion, Frank would hold no mercy, after their rough fall out he’d have all the more reason to hunt her down. Joey would be kindest, however, his ability to prioritize finishing the job left little room for pleading. Susie...she held the most uncertainty in her eyes.
Originally she had been the sweetest amongst her shy and timid nature. Sure she'd join in their ruckus each night, but she was simply happy to be included. But after the Entity had grabbed them, she changed. It was subtle at first, her ability to kill seemly growing stronger but they had assumed it to be out of necessity. Killing just enough to avoid punishment by their ruthless captor, a means to survive. It didn't stop there as they assumed, her double kills becoming triple, then soon she was slaughtering everyone within in a trial. She rarely had escapees.
The shocking aspect was her demeanour, she had been a 'crybaby', unable to relax before or after a trial from anxieties. Joey had attempted many times to take double the trials to cover them both but it solemnly worked. Over time she grew quiet, a far off look taking her features in place of her overflowing tears. Frank only ever offered vague answers to Julie's offhanded concerns, shrugging off any concerns or contradictions that came to mind. In hindsight, those interactions only added fuel to their dumpster fire of a breakup.
Next came joy, devious smiles shot to Julie behind Frank's back. An eerily calm reassurance whenever the couple had fought. She'd simply lay against Julie, humming a tune as her mind looped the prior fight. Every thought of Frank simply reassured her that he’d been an awful choice, one she craved but left her with regret. She'd been too caught up with the turmoil surrounding her former lover, never truly noticing the eagerness Susie had to a trial, how menacing and detached she seemed.
"So, traitor… " her muffled voice snapped her back to reality. Time was lost, unaware of how long they'd been frozen during her recollections. "How do you expect this to play out, huh?"
Her head tilted slowly, voice swelling with poorly hidden excitement as if they were merely playing a game. The knife gleamed in the light as she pretended to inspect it, its once silver colour now coated and dripping crimson. The harsh wind ruffled their bloodied clothing, it's howl almost masking the Entity's distorted commands. The words were not in a tongue one could understand, strange, she'd never heard it like this before.
"Are you really going to follow Frank? After all that fuckers done?" She spat back, ignoring the trembling, the obvious threat. She was fueled by a wave of intense anger, of her own betrayal for listening to that man.
"Frank?" A burst of intense laughter spilled out, unable to speak without howling. "You really think I'm doing this for that asshole?"
Her manner sent a deep unnerve into her bones, chilling her to the core. She'd never seen the woman like this, with a wary hesitance she would state it as frightening. The threat she posed provided a greater unease than anything she had faced prior, save for the maddening entity itself during the anxiety-riddled deal to switch sides. She subtly pushed her body away, attempting to put any distance between them that she could manage.
"No," she knelt down, grabbing her jacket and yanking her forwards. She was practically straddling her now, inches from each other's face. "This is far more personal, Julie."
"What the fuck have I done to you?" She hissed, taking her wrist and shoving it away forcefully. The jacket could rip for all she cared.
Without ceremony, Susie gave no outward emotional response to the rough treatment. With a chilling casual movement, she simply grabbed the arm that shoved her away. With unnatural strength, she forced it to the ground, stretching her arm further into the snow-covered dirt. A scream erupted from Julie's throat as the knife pierced her hand, pinning it violently to the ground. Tears welled in her eyes, glaring at her venomously with clenched teeth.
“God, you are so stupid sometimes.” She couldn’t tell if her voice was filled with frustration or amusement, possibly both. Her fingers crept along her jaw, moving to cup her face despite her non-subtle attempts to move away. The touch rose goosebumps along her skin, making her want to tear her hands away again. “Do you have any social awareness? Can you pull your head out of your ass for once and pay attention to other people?”
“Like you’re one to talk,” She spat back, spit splattering against her creepy mask. “At least I’ve turned over a new leaf, now I’m helping instead of killing, you pathetic-”
“You ran! You didn’t ‘turn over a new leaf’!” She shouted, removing one of her hands to rip the mask from her face. A deranged look of wrath painted her features, lips forming a firm snarl as her eyes held raw fury. The grip of her chin tightened, likely bruising her skin. “You're selfish! You ran by yourself because you only think of yourself! You didn't think Joey would join? That I would join? Poor timid little Susie? Who could barely kill anyone? You just wanted to avoid seeing Frank!"
"That's not it!" Her voice cracked, body shaking from her own rage. The sensation burned, energy building with no outlet. She knew she couldn't keep inflicting pain onto others to save herself, her conscience wouldn't allow it any further. But… she did leave them, she didn't give a thought to them besides Frank. Her voice went low, barely a whisper. "Not… Completely…"
"What was that?" Her tone became playfully teasing once again as she turned to better hear her. Her free hand cupped her ear, her expression a mocking giddiness. "I couldn't quite hear you, traitor."
"I didn't say anything else," she spoke firmly, clearly uncomfortable in her lie.
The scowl returned, clearly dissatisfied with the response. The next clue to her anger came in the form of a swift fist. Pain shot through her skull as blood rushed through her nose. Her vision became spotted, her focus dulling as the ache throbbed through her head. The only sensation to break through was the wind curling around her form as her upper body was lifted again. Susie's grip returned to her jacket, the only force keeping her from becoming limp on the ground.
"You're a really bad liar," she whispered, almost sultry in her trickster manner.
"I didn't want to leave you," her words dripped with emotion. They were swirling, unable to tell where one began and another started. "I just…"
"You just what?" She emphasized the final word, pushing for her to spill, to admit her regrets.
"I don’t know okay! It’s more complicated than that," Defeat and exhaustion laced her tone and body. Part of her would rather just be hooked and be done with it all. Returned to the sanctuary, to those with no knowledge of her history, who only regard her as another survivor without blood on her hands.
She clicked her tongue, softly dragging her words out as if she were talking to herself. “Alright...alright, alright.”
A silence fell, leaving Julie as her body throbbed. Dread hanging as she tried to keep herself from imagining what brand of torture her former friend would subject her to. In the Entity’s realm it would last for much longer, the body more resilient to damage, more willing to endure brutality for better or worse. She wouldn’t throw her new vulnerability away now, she would keep her morals in the face of it all, but damn she would take being anywhere else right now.
“If that’s how you want to play this...” Susie's trailed off as her free hand grasped the knife’s handle. With a quick motion, she removed it’s blade from her flesh, letting crimson spoil the ground underneath painting her palms. A cry left her lips, hissing in agony from the unexpected sensation. “...so be it.”
“Are you going to kill me finally?” she attempted to bark through her tears and distraught state.
“This early? Are you mad?” Her raised brows and slight frown were akin to a teacher insulting her intelligence, a step away from simply calling her a dumbass outright. "No, I want to make my next message very clear."
With great force she slammed the knife into Julie's thigh, a sickening grin spreading from the action. A distraught yelp flew from her mouth, her non-injured hand clenched into a firm fist. Tears were flowing down her cheeks, the salty taste slipping into her mouth as another, unexpected taste mixed. Susie's iron tainted floral scent overpowered her senses, her strange temperature brushing against her skin as they kissed.
Disgust, pleasure, surprise, pain, all and more swirled within her as their lips continued to lock. Her body had gone stiff, rigid paralysis taking her from shock. The only movement between them was the tremble gripping her body. The ache in her leg worsened as the knife subtly pressed deeper, feeling the skin tear around its blade. It was only a minute but it felt vile, repulsive, violating, and worst of all part of her enjoyed it.
"This is a taste," she purred, ripping the knife from her freezing flesh. "Of your future, of your fate…"
She grazed its tip over her cheek, watching in sadistic satisfaction as a thin cut formed, blood leaking to the surface. Its prick sent a chill down her spine, an uncomfortable twist grabbing her stomach.
"I will hunt you. Every. Single. Trial. I'll hunt your friends…" she took hold of her chin, thumb rubbing against her skin as the knife laid awkwardly in her palm. "kill each of them before you can do anything to help. Then I'll take you. You'll be my reward and I'll be your torture."
The words pierced her heart, accompanied by the blade. A mix of mental and physical agony danced in her chest as Susie pulled her closer. Blood travelled her throat, gagging as the liquid poured from her mouth. She felt it twist in her heart, the metal pulling her life from her. The sensation of her lips brushing her ear almost missed in her fading senses.
"Let's begin the Hunt, my doe."