Chapter Text
You stood there, staring off as the other expendables fought over the research in the drawers. You had already seen one of them die, but that was not what had you in such blank shock.
It had been over a hundred runs. Still, the crystal seemed unattainable.
After that third run, you had begged and groveled on your knees, pleading to just go back to prison and live out your sentence. You cried and tried to bribe them, and they told you to get back in the submarine.
If you were not distracted by terror, you could still feel what happened. How many times had you died to a simple angler because you were too scared to get back in the locker? It had to be at least half of your passings, you were sure of that.
It had become that fish’s favorite joke. What was his name? Sebastian? You could not care less. You feared he would hurt you next if you got too close. You feared that the wall dwellers would do it. You even feared your fellow expendables, as there was nothing down here to stop it if they all teamed up on you.
You feared that everyone was full of lust, and knowing your own quiet and awkward manner you feared that you were the perfect, weak little doll to be used to release that.
You snapped back in as your teammate gripped your shoulder, reminding you to follow along. You felt sick when they touched you. Your heart beat faster. It was illogical.
You still felt that accursed slime coating your body, even though it had been ages. You may have died so many times, but you had at least managed to avoid getting anywhere near that creature at all.
You had begun to wonder if it had really been that bad. You must be overreacting. It must have been the air down here, or the constant impending doom. There was no way it had been as bad as you had remembered. You were almost tempted to get back in a locker and prove to yourself it wasn't as bad as you thought. Not almost.
The thought crossed your mind every time you saw those glowing purple eyes, or the puddles on the floor. You almost craved it.
Your fear of being raped again was almost a craving. You wanted to feel the pain again, to prove to yourself that you were a victim. You wondered if you would fight back if it happened. You wondered if you really would get in one of those lockers just to die that horrible death. You were terrified of that thought.
The idea of it happening again was paralyzing, but here you were worrying about if you would put yourself in that situation again.
You wondered if it was your fault for getting in the locker in the first place. If it was your fault that it did that to you. It was a mindless creature with a desire to feed and reproduce, how could you be angry? There was no opposing mind to blame for this. It was any creature's natural instinct, every creature had an inborn desire to satisfy its hunger and lust.
You had known the creatures down here had no desire to let you live. You had known you had to be wary. You were not wary. You were not careful. You had nobody to blame but yourself.
A dark green figure approached you and your body was filled with the sensation of static. You found yourself with your teammates again, several doors ahead. Actually, there was only one of them now. It seemed one had died in those few passages you had forgotten to pass through.
You pulled yourself back together and followed behind them. Another door shook open and a vent cover flew across the room. The all too familiar voice of Sebastian called you into his little shop.
You went in second. You did not want anyone behind you.
Your last remaining teammate spoke avidly and sarcastically to the mutant, purchasing a few items. You stood there in the corner patiently, staring at the floor.
They oh-so-stupidly pulled out their flash beacon, and within seconds, they were on the ground dead.
Sebastian didn’t say anything. You caught an almost concerned gaze from him, but you couldn’t tell if you made that up in your head. You didn’t want to be in here alone with him. You didn’t want to be alone with anyone.
You grabbed the key card off of the table and left.
You were alone now. You hated being alone. That's why you always joined the largest expedition you could. Just look where that got you.
The key card played a little tune as the door processed before unlocking it.
You checked behind you. You checked again. You listened carefully. The ambient noise down here always kept you in a state of panic; or rather amplified the panicked state you were already stuck in.
A chill went up your spine as you passed a locker. You stopped and looked at it. There was a puddle on the floor in front of it and the vents glowed purple.
The thought ran through your head again.
Get in.
It wasn’t that bad. You’re being dramatic. Get in.
A high pitched cry sang out, echoing in the hallway you stood in. The lights had not flickered, but it was coming. It was coming. It was coming.
Get in.
Trembling, you pulled open the door. It did not hesitate to grip its prey.
It's your fault. It's your fault, it's going to happen again. You wanted this. You wanted it because it makes you feel good to play the victim.
You fought violently, kicking, scratching, screaming at the top of your lungs and trying to bite at the tentacles that encapsulated you once more. You tried to claw at its eyes, and it screamed back at you.
It pulled at your garments as you tried to rock your metal cage. It found its grip on your limbs, and you knew it was over. It was happening again. It's your fault. You should have just died in the hallway, maybe even gotten yourself killed by something else long before.
You could not help but be vulnerable. It was your instinct to let yourself be destroyed like this. Your voice was becoming hoarse again as you cried for help. Nobody was coming to save you from what you did to yourself, even if there was someone in this godforsaken facility with enough human decency to do anything but let it invade your body and melt the flesh off of your bones.
It pushed itself into your nude body, and you fought with renewed vigor. You pulled and yanked trying to get free, but something snapped.
It was your arm. You wailed in pain. Each thrust jostled your body enough to bring new burning to the fracture. You were left helpless. It began to eat away at you.
Cold air hit you hard as you were pulled out by an unlikely savior, but really the only person that could.
The locker slammed shut, and you slumped on the floor, whimpering like a beaten dog.
Through shaking, sniffling breaths, you struggled to recollect the diving suit that had been dumped on the floor, the only light being that from Sebastian’s glowing eyes and esca.
“Don’t look at me.”
Without a word, he turned away. The silence was uncomfortable. It burrowed into your head.
You struggled to redress yourself. You groaned in pain as you tried to push the broken arm through the tight sleeve.
The slime already began to eat away at your skin. You struggled to pull on the pants with one arm, dizzy from the pain in the other. You felt nauseous. You didn’t want to live anymore.
“Are you alright?” Sebastian asked in a tone completely lacking sarcasm, very unlike him. “Can I look now?”
You vomited on the floor from the pressure of everything.
He turned around and tried to put his hand on your shoulder.
You pulled away, backing into a corner.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” He said softly.
You didn’t trust him. You didn’t trust him one bit. You were frail, vulnerable. That creature had already weakened you enough. It would be so easy for someone to take advantage of you again.
“I’m not allowed to hurt you.” He tried to joke to lighten the mood, but the room was pitch black and the lights were broken. He moved towards you cautiously.
You tried to back further into the corner, but you couldn’t.
He held out a hand like you were some frightened animal. Which you were.
This wasn’t right. Where was his sass? His sarcasm? He wanted to hurt you. This was a trick.
“Can I see your arm?” His voice was so gentle. This couldn’t be the same shopkeeper.
Maybe. Maybe you should just trust him a little. Maybe he could put you out of your misery. Peacefully.
You reluctantly held out your broken arm, swelling at the break. Bone poked through the skin and oozed blood, some of which had begun to dry and crust over. You winced as he held your arm in his own.
“I have some medical supplies, but you’ll have to come with me.”
“Noo,” You groaned.
“I’m going to carry you there.” He picked you up and held you against his chest.
Your entire body was on high alert. It took all your will not to hurt him to try and break free.
You went through a series of doors and vents, and you ended up in a room you’d never seen before.
You were set down gently in a hammock stitched from scraps of clothing.
On the other side of the room, Sebastian searched through the drawers of a beaten file cabinet for something to treat your wounds.
He came back over. “Give me your arm again.”
You outstretched your arm. You prayed he hadn’t brought you here because it was secluded. You prayed he wasn’t fixing you just to break you again.
He pulled up the sleeve and you winced. “This is going to hurt. A lot.”
Without giving you time to process that, he yanked at the arm and forced the bone back into place. You cried out again, your throat begging you to stop making noise.
He cleaned off the broken skin with hydrogen peroxide and bandaged it.
“Are there any other wounds?”
The acidic slime had been eating away at you. You had no energy to tell him that. It was making holes in your stomach, and eating away at your ankles and wrists too. Not to mention the slime that had gotten between your legs. You would never let him treat that.
“I’m sorry.” You choked. “It's my fault.”
“It's not your fault. You didn’t know it was in there.”
“I did. I knew it was in there and I got in.”
Sebastian stared at you for a second. “Why?”
You wish you knew the answer. You wish you knew why you got in that locker. He was going to kick you out and let you die on the cold floor. You were going to die anyway.
“I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking.” You whispered. “Please don’t let me die alone. I don’t want to be alone.”
“Can I stop you from dying?” His soft voice almost returned to his snarky bargaining.
“I want to die. Just not alone. Don’t let me die alone.”
“I won’t.”
