Chapter Text
Jake sighed as the fog circled around his body, the Entity’s presence weighing heavily in his mind, feeding off the last of his failure as it forced his wounds to heal from the previous trail he had endured. He almost wanted to vomit when he looked down at his torn abdomen, watching lost organs reform out of seemingly nothing while the skin and muscle knitted back together, his torn shirt and jacket being repaired afterwards.
It had been a horrible match against the hag, where she had the home field advantage of the Pale Rose variation of the Swamp. The Entity had selected Jake for the fifth trial in a row, mixed with Meg, Feng and Quentin A decent team in Jake’s mind, he knew Meg could easily keep a killer busy in chase, while Feng preferred to be the gen jockey in every game. Quentin, despite looking ready to fall asleep at any given time, acted as a great team member, ready to help out with whatever needed to be done.
Exhaustion from back to back trials had made Jake sluggish at that point, no matter how many times the Entity would reset one of them after a trail, the stress of a difficult trial would still linger, especially if the stress kept building. Considering Jake had to deal with trying to survive against the Spirit, Nurse, Trapper and Bubba already, he was feeling drained at the beginning with his trial with the Hag.
Jake had found her totems at the start of the game, which he thought was a great sign that the game would have been a bit easier on them. Oh, how he was wrong. The hag had hooked Meg by the time he had broken her last totem and immediately bee-lined in his direction. The totem had been in a rather close spot, so he hadn’t been able to hide quick enough and his fatigue had caused him to make sloppy mistakes as he tried to loop her, leading to a failed chase and hook before Meg had even been rescued.
The Hag had returned to the hook, just in time to see Quentin getting Meg off. A hidden trap helped her down the injured runner, leaving her on the ground as she chased after the dreamwalker. She had managed to snowball them easily that game, her traps well calculated and place and Jake found himself as the unlucky receiver of the ivory mori that she had secretly brought, specifically for any survivor that she caught cleansing her precious totems. She had killed the others on the hook before unleashing it upon him.
He shivered at the memory, the Hag’s mori was probably the most unpleasant of the killers, the sensation of being torn open and watching as she literally eats you alive is not something you can easily get used to. Jake would prefer to suffer the Trapper’s wrath any day over the Hag’s, and that is saying a lot when Evan absolutely despises Jake for his antics with his traps and hooks.
The fog around him started to lift after his resetting had been completed, the dark woods of the survivor’s realm greeting him for the countless time as the glow of the campfire flickered up ahead. Considering he had come back alone, Jake had to guess that the others had already walked back to the fire, no doubt sitting down to join the others to talk about the trials outcome.
A twinge of jealousy struck Jake when he stepped forward, damp earth squishing under his worn boots with each step closer to the glowing fire and the growing sound of voices. Despite being the first survivor taken and being there to meet every new face the Entity brings to the campfire, Jake never felt that he truly could connect with anyone else, only having a mutual relation in the name of working well in the trials.
Not that they were turning him away, quite the opposite really. The group of survivors were always kind to one another, with a few friendly quarrels here and there but no major fights. Even some of the more stuck up characters that had joined had seemed to ease into the life at the campfire, happy to sit and chat or merely enjoy the fake fire while listening to others talk about trials or their lived before the Entity. They were always so welcoming….
But why would some talks suddenly halt whenever Jake came near the fire, either falling to hushed whispered tones or ceasing all together in favor of a different topic and resuming as if everything had been normal, but with a few glances his way. It was like being a kid again, walking in on his father talking about him or about something he didn’t want shared, only to try and hide when he noticed Jake. It seemed to happen almost every time he came to the campfire.
Living on his own for years, Jake had learned how to observe his surrounding with great details. He would notice when eyes glanced his way, when Dwight might share a glance to Claudette and Meg whenever he went to greet the newest survivor at the time. There had been times he had noticed a twitch of a nose when standing near the others, making him fear that he stunk, only to find no odor himself and to be reassured when asking someone else.
These interactions had made he stray further from the fire, finding a spot past it in the forest where he could relax in private without having to deal with quick glances and hushed whispers. He would only come to the fire after a trial, checking in with brief words before walking away to his private spot, the ache of loneliness growing worse as he tried to ignore it. At least the crows would always be there to greet him without judgment.
“Jake, you are back!”
Dwight’s voice startled Jake out of his thoughts, the saboteur now taking notice that he had broken through the treeline into the camp’s clearing. Again he noticed how the voices he heard in the forest had lost their same volume now that he had made himself known, even Dwight’s shouts don’t normally affect conversations in such a way.
“We were worried when you didn’t show up with the others, they told us about the rough trial against the hag. Did you manage to make it out?”
Jake glanced as Dwight walked up to him, greeting him with a smile and a pat on the shoulder. He admired how hard Dwight tried to take on the role as leader, trying to look after everyone despite his own timidness at times. He was always the first to greet others back from a trial, cheering them up if it was a loss or congratulating them on a win.
It hurt Jake more when he noticed Dwight acted strange around him like the others did, despite his glances being more focused on worry.
“No, she mori’d me right after the others were taken on hook, she wasn’t a fan of me cleansing her hexes and the Entity was taking its time stitching me back up. I’m going to go take a nap, I’ve been in five consecutive trials and I think I’m starting to understand how Quentin feels.”
Jake shrugged off the shoulder pat, dipping his chin a bit more into his scarf while tucking his hands in his pockets. He stepped past Dwight, ready to get to his tree to take a rest and ease the bags he could feel tugging at his eyelids. His legs even felt sluggish, his boots kicking up dirt and leaves when he didn’t lift his feet up enough.
He didn’t get far when Meg came dashing over to step in his path,
“C’mon Jake! Why don’t you stay here with us at the fire and rest, the heat will feel better than being out in the forest, I’m sure of it. You can even lean against my shoulder as a pillow if you want to.”
Claudette joined Meg at her side, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder as she gave him a caring look. She was always the most caring, her heart filled with empathy.
“Please stay here and rest, I know how far your spot is in the forest, it would only tire you out more and it has been a while since you have spent time with us. I can make up some tea as well, I found fresh herbs just a little bit ago.”
Jake shook his head, offering the two a small smile.
“I can’t sleep well with too much noise and would rather not disturb you all.” A lie, while he did prefer peace and quiet when he relaxed, Jake never had trouble falling asleep in the presence of chatter. It was the feeling of eyes on him that always unnerved him and made him restless. The stares of his crows were nothing like the stares of other people.
Jake stepped past Meg and Claudette, ignoring the obvious scoff that David gave at him rejecting their offers. He just shut it all out as he delved back into the darkness of the forest, going down a worn path to his favorite tree.
The tree was different than most of the generic ones in the forest created by the Entity, it was much bigger, with many thick and sturdy branches jutting out of it. The trunk had a little indent that was perfect for him to curl into, the thick roots jutting from the ground made a decent enough place to rest his head when cushioned with moss and leaves.
Crows were always covering the branches whenever Jake found it, the feathery creatures cawing in greeting, while some swooped down to land on his shoulders and outstretched arms if he offered them. They would make him chuckle when a few would rake through his messy hair with their beaks, pulling out stray twigs and leaves that might have gotten caught in it.
He never understood how these crows that the Entity had created, had grown to have such a fondness for Jake in his time spent in this realm. They weren’t like crows from the real world, yet they held many emotions in their eyes and wielded great intelligence. While in a trial they were stuck having their own roles to play, they were much more lively in the survivor’s forest.
Jake had tried teaching the others how to bond with the crows like he did, at least to the point of keeping them from flying off as much in a trial and possibly alerting the killers, but it never worked out well. Either the crows did not care for the other person or someone a rash as David would tick them off and cause them to attack in a feathery fury with pecks and scratches.
Jake smiled as he greeted them back with gentle brushing of their feathers. A few of them had to adjust as he made himself comfortable in his little nest in the tree, stretching out on the bed of gathered leaves and resting his head on a root. some gathered at his side, watching him with their beady, red eyes. More sat on the tops of the tree and the biggest one, that he liked to call Chi-Chi, made itself comfortable on his stomach.
“You guys have no idea how good it feels to take a moment to relax. I don’t know what I did to deserve all these trials, back to back when there is more survivors now than ever!” Jake huffed, stroking Chi-Chi’s feathers and letting his eyes rest as he simply enjoyed the presence of his friends. It wasn’t the same interaction that he craved from the others, but it did help ease how alone he felt, even if only a little.
“I’m done for now and if another trial happens before my nap, then fuck it, I’ll just sleep through it in a bush. There are others that haven’t had a trial yet and I’m too tired to care.” He yawned, already feeling his mind start to shut down now that he was still and comfortable.
Chi-chi made a chirp at him, nuzzling his hand in sympathy, causing Jake to smile slightly, before his muscles relaxed and he found himself drifting off into a dreamless slumber. He often wondered in the Entity fed off of dreams too, since he never could recall being able to dream in this place.
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Jake immediately got the feeling of something being wrong when he opened up his eyes from his nap, blinking a few times to clear the blurriness of his vision as he stared up at the endless night sky above him. It took a few moments for his brain to register what he was seeing and to note the major difference he might have been sensing.
The moon. Stars.
Not the artificial Moon that Jake had seen in a few of the killer maps, sitting in the sky with a dull glow and unmoving, no, Jake could feel the soft moonlight radiating from the half moon that shone above him with stars twinkling all around.
The realm they had been trapped in had always been plagued in night, with the exception of the Ormond and Coldwind maps, but never did the Entity care to put detail in the night sky. Sure it would have a flat imitation of the moon, and simple unmoving dots that supposedly acted as stars. But it never did try to recreate the beauty and realistic movements of the night sky that Jake had grown to love in his time living off-grid.
Now here he was, bathing in the gentle glow of the true moon, the stars glittering and covering the night sky like a work of art.
Jake sat up quickly, pinching himself and wondering if maybe he finally was dreaming, but the pain did nothing to change his current perception. Even the crows were staring, curious of the strange occurrence that a creation of the Entity would have no prior experience of.
“It has been so long since I’ve enjoyed a real night sky.” He sighed, standing up with his head still craned up towards the sky, taking in the details he could see of the moon. From the different colors to the shadow that covered half of it.
He must have been staring at it for a good few hours, almost in a trance and half expecting it all to be taken away like a sick tease from the Entity. He could sense the fog picking others from the fire for trials, but several passed and tugging had drawn him to the fire for his own trial yet.
The Entity would usually host a certain amount of trials per feeding period, as the survivors had dubbed it, but the amount could vary based on how well it was able to feed from each trial. Jake has seen the Entity stop around six trials before, but also progress to around twenty trials for one period before letting its mice rest. But even that wasn’t an accurate way to track time when trial times couldn’t be tracked.
Jake barely counted seven trials passing before the Entity ceased for this feeding period, when he noticed the half moon had turned into a waning gibbous, now looking to be three-quarters full.
The saboteur found himself lighting up with excitement. Not only had they been granted the ability to experience the moon again, but the Entity seemed to have linked its phases with its feeding time. Although the phase shifted much more quickly than a normal one, time in the Entity’s realm might not be the same as what Jake knew back home.
A rustling in the bushes to his right had him jolting, head snapping fast enough that he almost gave himself whiplash. The bushes jostled a moment more, before a brown rabbit came pouncing out. It paused a moment to look at Jake, before bounding off further in the forest.
“A rabbit? That can’t be… The only animals here are the crows.”
There had never been animals in the forest before. With survivors no longer requiring food and drink to survive in this ungodly place, it had been figured that the Entity saw no need to feed its own source of food. But seeing the critter had Jake excited but equally worried about the changes occurring.
Was the Entity falling apart, with holes that allow the other world to seep through, or is this all a trick, new implements for a new game it might thrust upon them. It had Jake getting to his feet, unease now settling in the pit of his stomach as he mulled over the possible answers.
“Jake!”
He heard his name being shouted before seeing meg coming sprinting down the path that lead to the fire, despite her having ran the entire way, the runner barely seemed out of breath when she stopped before him, a worried look creasing her brow.
“Meg, is something wrong?”
“N-no, well sorta….” She shifted on her feet, rubbing at her arm nervously. “Did you notice it, the uh..” She trailed off, pointing up at the sky.
“You mean, the moon and stars? Yeah, it is pretty hard to miss something new in this place, it is a rather nice change actually. It has been a long time since I was able to sit out under a real night sky. There was a rabbit running through too, before you showed up.”
Meg looked around in disbelief, trying to catch a glimpse at the furry creature that was long gone by that point. She gave up when she saw nothing and looked back at Jack, noticing how the nature lover enjoyed basking in the moonlight without a care. After the shit the Entity put him through the last session of trials, she wouldn’t blame him for it, but idle chatter wasn’t the reason why she came out into the forest to find him.
“Hey, Jake….. Can you come back with me to the campfire? We need to have a group talk.”
He frowned slightly at her words, taking a moment to adjust his scarf and dust off any debris that had clung to him from his previous nap on the ground.
“What for?”
“It is…complicated. I’m not sure how to explain it to you by myself. Can you just come back with me, please?”
She chewed at her bottom lip for a moment, it was rather strange to see Meg act in such a nervous way. While she can have her moments of being scared like the rest of them during a trial, she was normally pretty confident when talking with others. Her behaviour had Jake further worrying about what the group needed to talk with him about.
Could it be the reason why they act differently towards him than they do each other?
Taking a slow breath and releasing out a sigh, Jake gave the redhead a nod, as much as he didn’t want to have a confrontation with the others, a small part of him hoped it would help fix the awkward connections they had with him.
“Fine, but I’m not going to run the whole way like you did. Go ahead if you want, I’ll be behind you.”
Meg beamed, her mood visibly lifting as she smiled at him.
“Thanks, Jake. I’ll meet you back at the campfire.”
With that, Jake watched as she sprinted off back down the path , eventually vanishing from sight through the brush as he walked after her. His palms were getting sweaty in his gloves as he walked and Jake could feel his heart picking up pace the further he walked down the path that was now bathed with moonlight.
He only hoped that nothing horrible was about to happen.