Chapter Text
Today was the worst day ever.
The rain was concealing the teardrops streaming down your face. You kept your head down, not acknowledging anyone you passed by. Cold and wet from the rain, you wandered aimlessly through the streets, not having a care in the world where you would end up.
Earlier today, you and your boyfriend mutually decided to break up. Your lives were headed in two very different directions, and it was going to be next to impossible to keep a normal relationship. His job required him to travel. A lot. Over time, he gradually started to travel more and more, and he became more and more distant. He was your whole world, but that was all gone now. All you’ve ever wanted was to be loved by someone, but that ended up not working out. Now you were alone again.
You pushed forward, despite the hole in your heart weighing you down. You felt nothing. However, turning down a dark alley, something bright caught your attention. Yellow police tape warned you to keep out. You stopped in your tracks and looked around. There was no police presence. Strange. Looking past the tape, you couldn’t help but feel some sort of excitement from the thought of checking it out. At the very least, it would distract you from your thoughts. You had nothing to lose, not anymore, so you snuck right past the tape into the crime scene.
There was a clear path leading you to the entrance of the Wrenwood Hotel, but you were confused. The place burned down quite some time ago, why would they be putting up police tape now? Anticipation grew in your gut as you took in the entrance to the building. It was dark and falling apart from the fire and years of neglect. It was not a place you should be. Yet, there was a voice inside you begging you to go forth. You took a deep breath, enjoying the clean air, and stepped through the scorched entryway.
It was hauntingly quiet. The air inside was thick and smelled of decay and ash. You coughed, but you wouldn’t turn back now. The building was surprisingly easy to maneuver through. The hallways were mostly cleared of debris, but there were still some places you couldn’t get to, halls blocked off by burned piles of wood and furniture.
You wandered throughout the hotel’s entire first floor, and you found yourself enjoying the atmosphere. It was giving you a rush of adrenaline, knowing you shouldn’t be here but were. You decided to move on to the next floor, and just when you took a step down the next hallway, you heard a noise that made your blood run cold.
A woman’s scream echoed down the hall. She sounded like she was terrified and in pain at the same time. You froze up. The self preservation instinct in you screamed at you to run, but you knew you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if you heard of a lady being murdered here and you did nothing to stop it. Against your better judgment, you quietly but swiftly ran to the sound.
Hiding behind a corner, you looked around the hall. There before you was a woman with short blonde hair fighting a man off her. He looked sickly, almost like he was possessed by something. He let out a disturbing inhuman growl, and you felt sick to your stomach when he sunk his teeth into the woman’s shoulder. ‘Zombie’ was the first word to come to mind.
As terrified as you were, you forced yourself to move forward. Your foot bumped into a metal bar on the ground, conveniently what you needed. You bent down to pick it up, it was cold in your shaking hands. You took a deep breath and forced yourself to help her; you had never felt more terrified of anything before. Raising the bar, you quietly rushed to the pair, and struck the man hard in the back of the head. He stumbled forward into the woman, but she kicked him in the stomach and backed away.
While he was dazed, you hit him again. He fell forward, yet you continued. You hit him over and over again. You hit him until there was nothing left of his head. You didn’t stop. You hit his body repeatedly. Your boyfriend ran through your mind. You were devastated. But more than that, you were angry. Angry at the world for separating you.
“Hey!” Hands desperately grabbed at your arms. You froze, coming to terms with what was really in front of you. There was no man left, just a humanoid pile of gore.
The bar hit the floor with a loud metal clang and you took a step back. “Oh my god.” You said, voice soaking in disbelief. You were in shock. There was no way you did that. Yet here you were, the one who dropped the weapon.
“H-h-he’s down!” The woman assured you, letting go of your hands. There was a moment of silence that hung through the air. Then you spoke up, “What the hell was that?” Your voice was a bit unsteady. “I-I don’t know.” She paused, clearly shaken up as well. “Who are you a-and w-w-what are you doing here? This is a crime scene, y-you know that right?”
You sighed. “I…I know. I just thought…” You looked down at your shaking hands. You had no good reason for being here. Your voice trembled as you spoke. “I guess I thought it would be exciting? It’s not a good reason—I know… I just wanted to feel alive.” You paused. “Now I just want to go home!” The fear in your voice was palpable, and the terror in your eyes told the woman everything she needed to know. You wanted nothing more than to leave.
“O-ok, ok. Let’s just focus on getting out of here for now.” She was trying to keep it together, but the both of you knew something was seriously wrong here, and you weren’t in the clear yet. “I-I’m Grace by the way. FBI.” You were surprised she was FBI, she seemed more like a scared kid than a federal agent. “I’m (Y/n).”
Grace bent down to pick up a key that was on the man’s body. “I know we need to get out of here, but I h-have to check upstairs first. Its procedure. Just stay close.” You nodded. There’s no way you would be left alone in this building while the possibility of running into one of those things remained.
Grace shakily placed the key in the lock and slowly opened the door to the upper level. Immediately she froze. A chill ran down your spine. From upstairs, a faint melody drifted down to you. You and Grace locked eyes, not saying a word. She took a step closer, and you grabbed her arm. “Grace!” You whispered. “Please, let’s just get out of here!” You begged, not wanting anything more to do with this creepy building. She took a deep breath. “I c-can’t leave yet, I have to see.” Committed to figuring out where the music was coming from, she started heading up the stairs. You would not be caught dead staying down there by yourself, so while your instincts were screaming at you to run away, you followed her.
The both of you slowly crept up the stairs; each creek of the steps sent waves of panic over you. Whoever was up there must know you were coming. Finally you came face to face with a dark wooden door opened just a crack, a dim light pouring out from it. You both stood motionless. Chances were, there was nothing good beyond the door. Whether Grace realized that or not, she moved forward anyway. Grace slowly opened the door and hesitantly took a step inside the room, you close behind her.
What you saw terrified you to your core.
Seated in front of a crackling fireplace was a dark figure, a man. There was a record playing next to him; if it wasn’t for the fact that this building was abandoned and burned down, he would have looked completely normal. Well, maybe not so. Looking closer, you could tell something was just a bit off about him.
“H-hello?” Grace called out. The man took a breath in. He sat in silence for a moment before he spoke. “It hasn’t been easy to track you down. But here we finally are.” He sounded calm and composed, yet there was an eerie undertone to his voice. “W-w-who are you?” Grace questioned.
“Why, I’m the one who planted that body.” He picked up a metal object sitting on the table and placed it over his eyes. You started to get a very bad feeling about him. He continued, “I’m the one that brought you here. I know now that you’re the one I’ve been searching for.” He slowly stood up. “You are special in ways beyond your comprehension,” He turned around to face you, eyes hidden under that metal mask. “Miss Ashcroft.”
The tension was thick in the air. No one moved, no one breathed. That was until he spoke again. “And it seems you’ve brought a friend, what an unexpected surprise. She’s beautiful; I can’t wait to get to know her.” He smiled, it was a malicious smile that sent a shiver down your back. You wanted to be anywhere but there in that moment.
You didn’t need to be a genius to see that clearly he had bad intentions for the both of you. You turned to leave, but the door slammed shut. You let out a cry of panic as the door knob refused to budge. “Grace!” You yelled for her help, but there was nothing she could do. Footsteps approached, and you spun around just in time to see the man tear Grace away from you and throw her to the floor. He knelt on her back and wrapped a hand around her throat. She struggled to breathe, and in seconds, she passed out.
Your body refused to move. You were completely frozen in terror. The man’s gaze shifted from Grace to you, and that smile remained on his face. He stood up and began to walk a few steps toward you. You tried to run away, but there was nowhere you could escape to. You were trapped in this scorched room with him. Suddenly, he gripped your arm harshly and yanked you backward into him. His large, tall body pressed against your back, and a hand wrapped around your neck.
“Please don’t kill me!” You begged. “I-I’ll do anything you want—anything! Just please, please don’t kill me!” His fingers caressed your neck gently as he was deep in thought. He chuckled. “Anything?”
“Yes, anything!” You didn’t give it a second thought.
He laughed harder now. “Oh my, I could have quite the fun time with you.” He whispered in your ear, and you could feel his breath on you.
He squeezed your throat tightly, and in only a moment, you began to black out. You choked out a pained cry. Just before losing consciousness, he loosened his grip, allowing you to breathe. You gasped for air as your lungs begged to be filled. “So close, weren’t you?” He whispered in your ear once more, and you felt a warm sensation growing in your lower stomach.
He gripped you tighter, but not tight enough for you to black out. He was curious to see how you would react to not so much pressure. You whined, a noise that could almost be mistaken for a moan, and you knew what he was doing. He was teasing you. He was turned on by this.
Your hands desperately tried to pry his own off your throat, but he wouldn’t budge. His free hand wrapped around your body and held tightly onto your hip. You were completely trapped. “Don’t fight it, let me hear you.” His nails dug into you as his grip on your airway tightened. You cried out again, louder this time. Your hands stopped fighting him. There was no escape; the best thing for you to do was to obey him if you wanted to keep your life.
“Good girl. So obedient.” You couldn’t see his face, but you knew he was smiling. “Rest now, dear. We can have more fun later.” You started to see black. The light was fading, and the world was becoming so distant. Your body felt weightless as you gave in and lost consciousness.
-
You drifted in and out of consciousness, but never were awake enough to fight back. You could tell you were in the back seat of a vehicle, and that your head was resting on someone’s lap. Your eyelids were too heavy to open completely, but you opened them just enough to see the man from earlier. It was his lap you were on. He was stroking your hair while talking with an unseen person.
Your mind was too cloudy to distinguish what they were talking about. You heard mentions of “Zeno,” and “Elpis,” but it was impossible to pick out the details. Suddenly, you became incredibly dizzy, and your head began to pound. You lifted a hand to your forehead and groaned. The sudden pain was excruciating.
The man shifted in his seat, and you felt him stroke your cheek. “Shhh…I know it hurts. You’ll feel better once you’ve rested some more.” You opened your eyes for just a moment, but it was long enough to see the strange man place a hand over your mouth. Within seconds, you were out cold again.
It was unclear how much time passed, but the next time you woke, you were in an unfamiliar bed. You groggily rubbed your eyes and sat up. There was a lingering pain in your head, but it was far less than before. The room you were in was dimly lit by a few lamps, it appeared old and untouched for a long while. The smell of dust hung heavy in the air. The room itself was fairly basic; there was a restroom to your right, and a door across from the bed, along with a few pieces of furniture. “Where am I?” You whispered to yourself.
Swinging your legs over the side of the bed, you stood up. You were a little unsteady at first, and it took a moment to catch your balance. Once you were steady, you approached the door and turned the handle. “Shit.” You swore in frustration. It was locked. Of course it was locked.
Checking out the rest of the room would hopefully prove to be useful. You checked in the drawers of the furniture, but they were all empty. You made your way into the bathroom, it was especially dark. Flipping the light switch did nothing. The cabinets were void of anything useful, all they held were a few towels and a hospital gown. You were about to leave, but that’s when you noticed yourself in the foggy mirror. It was in desperate need of a cleaning, but you could clearly make out 5 dark bruises on your neck—the pattern of a hand gripping your throat.
The bruises throbbed when you touched them, and you winced. What was that guy’s deal? You left the bathroom and returned to the bed. Sitting on the edge, you looked at the room from a new angle, hoping to find any way to escape. Unfortunately, you didn’t see anything useful. Even the windows were barred shut. You were stuck here until someone could open that door, which hopefully wouldn’t be long. Your stomach growled, now was not the time to be thinking about food.
Suddenly, the doorknob rattled. You gasped and shot up from the bed. The distinct sound of a key unlocking the door was followed by the door opening.
Standing before you was a different man. He was tall, blonde, and had some sort of dark marking on his face. His eyes were hidden behind black sunglasses, but you swore you could see a piercing gaze staring right at you. He had a lit cigarette between his lips, and had something draped over one arm. You stayed silent, only hearing the pounding of your heart.
“You’re awake.” He said matter of factly. “Victor sent me to retrieve you. You are to have dinner with him.” He tossed something onto the bed next to you. A dress. “Put that on.”
You started at it. A long black very elegant looking gown stared right up at you. It was beautiful. Highly creepy, but beautiful. “W-what’s going on? Who are you?" You finally broke your trance. The blonde man sighed. “That doesn’t matter. All your questions will be answered by Victor. Just put that on.”
You stared at the dress again, unmoving. You didn’t know what to do. There was no way you were going to put on a dress given to you by some creepy old man; you would not give him that satisfaction. “Please, can’t you just let me go?” You quietly asked. “That’s not going to happen.” He sighed and proceeded to shut the door. He took the cigarette from his mouth and put it out with the bottom of his well cared for shoe, then he took a few slow steps in your direction, still giving you space for now.
“Now are you going to put that on, or do I have to strip you down and put it on you myself?” A shiver ran down your spine. If it weren’t for the circumstances, you may have found that extremely hot. Maybe it was hot regardless.
Shoving that thought out of your mind, you grabbed the dress. “I-I’ll put it on.” You took a step toward the bathroom, but were instantly stopped. You had no idea how he got so close to you so fast without you hearing him, but he aggressively grabbed a hold of your arm. “I don’t think so…you will change where I can see you.”
“What?!” You gasped. “You heard me.” A look of predatory amusement was growing on his face. You were appalled. Was he seriously going to give you zero privacy? You yanked your arm out of his grasp and stared at him. There’s no way this was happening. “Can you…turn around at least?” He smirked. “No, I don’t think so.” Blood rushed to your face and you could feel your entire body getting warmer.
You started to walk backward away from him; he inched forward. You backed up until your legs hit the bed, but he kept advancing until he was right in front of you. He grabbed your chin in his gloved hand. “Maybe I’ll just undress you myself.” He forced your face to the side and you felt his breath on your neck. “If you resist, I’ll kill you.”