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Being dragged into her first trial had not been fun. To say she was unprepared would’ve been the understatement of the century, considering how hard she had tried to fight when those strange black apendages came for her out of nowhere, starting at her ankles and soon engulfing her entirely. Even if it was pointless she had struggled, kicking at the things and shouting until she couldn’t anymore. Eyes closed tight, waiting for something horrible to happen to her, but it doesn’t. Nothing does, in fact. She hears those dark whispers and she momentarily feels nauseous but just as it had began, it ended all so suddenly. The feelings left, and she could hear... music?

Slowly, uncertainly, Alice opens her eyes. Her heart was pounding, this was not a place she had ever seen before. It was like... a carnival? So small, though, she can see a huge looming building in the distance. What was going on? Was this real? Maybe it was a dream. If it was, she’d certainly like to wake up right about now.

Trying to clear her head Alice steps slowly away from the carnival and it’s music, towards that large building. Maybe, if she was lucky, there would be answers there.

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Alice felt as if this were some strange dream, or a cruel trick. Or both. However, despite herself, she couldn’t help but to feel comforted by having someone here with her. Someone, not quite like her, but still fairly kind regardless. A non-threatening presence was always nice to have around. Even if he did blend in almost frighteningly well to the darkened forest swallowing the both of them. If it weren’t for his face, in fact, it might be easy to overlook him entirely.

An imperceptible sigh of relief escapes her when Danny says she can stay, tension easing with the knowledge that she’s not going to be forcefully moved. Fingers clench and unclench in her hair, loosening slowly so that she can wrap har arms around her legs. She wants to thank him but the words don’t come, it’s hard to speak when you can barely even breathe. So she listens instead, might as well at least try to learn from him while they’re here. Not that there was much to gain from what he said. If he did try to explain, what would he say? Could it really be much more strange than being trapped in a forest, when it wasn’t even the forest she had originally entered? It was a terrifying thought.

She can feel his eyes on her, but she doesn’t particularly mind it too much. Being watched was nothing new to her. The noise he makes almost startles her, but after hearing it for a few moments she finds that it’s kind of nice. A low, constant sound that somehow hit a perfect frequency to help her clear her head. Alice sits in silence for what feels like a long time, just breathing and listening, Danny’s company like a security blanket against the cold forest. Eventually, she manages to calm herself down enough to relax. “I’m sorry... thanks for being patient with me.” Rubbing the extra moisture out of her eyes, Alice sighs. What a difficult thing to wrap her head around.

“What’s going to happen to me here?”

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This was too much to take in. Alice had been through so much already in the last couple of hours— treatments (of which she was still somewhat under the effects of), a whole riot, a grand escape from a mental institution, and now some guy in a forest was telling her that she was trapped here? Images flash in her mind, everything she’s gone through tonight alone, but they seem muffled and distant somehow. She feels like she’s underwater. Things garble together, warped beneath the water’s surface, she can’t focus on any of it. Not the memories, not the man before her, not that strange dark whispering she’s started to hear in the back of her head.

Her head lowers, to hide her face against the knees tucked tight to her chest. Hands, shaking much more violently than they had been before, raise to card into choppy hair and grip tightly and pull in some poor attempt to reground herself. If her back wasn’t pressed so hard into the trunk of the tree, she might’ve been rocking. Alice’s ears ring but his voice somehow manages to cut through the haze. It doesn’t make her feel much better, but at least it’s something to focus on. Frantically she shakes her head— even if she did want to go to this campfire, which she really doesn’t, she’s not sure if she could force herself to get up and walk there. “This— it’s— too much.” Her voice is wobbly, as if she’s on the verge of tears. “Can we just stay here a little while longer? I just… I wanna sit here. Please, Danny.”

Danny sighed, watching her reduce to a shaking mess. He probably would have felt more bad for her if he wasn’t used to people breaking down like this. Sure, some people handled the news that they were going to spend the rest of their life as food for some eldritch spider thing rather well. Others…not so much. It probably didn’t help that he hadn’t exactly broken the news to her well either, being as cryptic as possible.

“Ok, fine. Sit there. But listen. I know this is really hard to wrap your head around. Hell, even I didn’t want to believe it at first either and spent a good few…what I assume were days…being in complete denial over it. I could try to explain what’s going on but no matter what I say you won’t believe me until it happens.” Not to mention he did get some sick joy in watching new survivors run around confused during trials.

He leaned with his back against a tree, crossing his arms as he stared down at her. A low noise started coming from him, a noise for lack of any better word was like a purr. Though it sounded more like congestion with an underlying hint of wind howling rather than anything an actual animal makes. Still, it might have been an attempt at trying to comfort her, given that cat purrs are said to have comforting properties. At the very least though, the sound broke the eerie, unnatural quietness of the woods.

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This was too much to take in. Alice had been through so much already in the last couple of hours— treatments (of which she was still somewhat under the effects of), a whole riot, a grand escape from a mental institution, and now some guy in a forest was telling her that she was trapped here? Images flash in her mind, everything she’s gone through tonight alone, but they seem muffled and distant somehow. She feels like she’s underwater. Things garble together, warped beneath the water’s surface, she can’t focus on any of it. Not the memories, not the man before her, not that strange dark whispering she’s started to hear in the back of her head.

Her head lowers, to hide her face against the knees tucked tight to her chest. Hands, shaking much more violently than they had been before, raise to card into choppy hair and grip tightly and pull in some poor attempt to reground herself. If her back wasn’t pressed so hard into the trunk of the tree, she might’ve been rocking. Alice’s ears ring but his voice somehow manages to cut through the haze. It doesn’t make her feel much better, but at least it’s something to focus on. Frantically she shakes her head— even if she did want to go to this campfire, which she really doesn’t, she’s not sure if she could force herself to get up and walk there. “This— it’s— too much.” Her voice is wobbly, as if she’s on the verge of tears. “Can we just stay here a little while longer? I just... I wanna sit here. Please, Danny.”

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So, maybe Alice was a bit delusional about the whole situation. In general, too, but that wasn’t the point right now. She believed she was safe, here, in this creepy unfamiliar forest with a stranger who she had convinced herself was someone just like her. As if that would be any better. In her defense though, she had only just arrived. To her, it was only a short amount of time since she ran through those gates, and into the forest. And here she was, still in a forest. Why should she believe that it wasn’t the exact same one?

The stranger’s words come as a harsh and confusing slap of reality. Not a straight jacket. It was just something he bought. He really wasn’t like her after all. Pale cheeks redden as reality sets in, and Alice’s gaze drops instantly back to the ground. Stupid, stupid! Of course it wasn’t a straight jacket, they didn’t make them in black… she thinks. Hands pull the edges of her cardigan closer together, a feeble attempt at hiding the hospital gown she wore. “O-oh, uhm…” Her voice came quietly again, that level of comfort all but evaporating in an instant. “Sorry I had just assumed.” How uncomfortable.

Eyes locked onto the other’s boots, Alice tries to focus more on what he’s saying rather than what she’s feeling. To be honest though, she couldn’t fully comprehend what he was talking about. Trials? Rewards? A plaything… Alice could at least understand that. She had felt that way most of her life. But it still didn’t make much sense. This stranger looked strong, and healthy. It was hard to imagine him being held captive. Especially since he was just out wandering around. If he didn’t like whatever was happening, why didn’t he just leave? Or fight back?

Something feels so wrong about the way he says that. “We’re never going to leave this forest.” We? As in, her too? A small spike of panic stabs at her heart. “What do you mean… we? It’s just a forest. I’m just waiting for my friend, and then we’ll leave.” Her voice holds a note of fear, mirrored in her eyes when she steals a glance up at his face to see if he had shifted into something more threatening. Thankfully, he hadn’t. “I’m Alice.” A pause, she had neither heard nor uttered the damned name in years now. “Why do they call you Ghostface?”

Oh, he sure as hell tried to fight back. Sometimes it felt like he was the only person here trying to fight back, and sometimes he wondered if he was one of the only ones who could. It seemed like most people who came here had some level of extreme trauma or emotional distress, making it easy for the entity to dig its claws into a person’s head and control them…at least on the killer side. In comparison, Danny just kind of…showed up one day following a night of murders.

And then there were the survivors. Most of them seemed to just accept their fate, holding out hope that if they cooperate, they’d escape. 

Either way, his words seemed to have some impact on her, which was probably a good thing, even if he could have gone about it better. “Eh, you’ll find out eventually. Don’t worry, I’m not actually ghost, the Spirit beat me to that power.” No harm in throwing in some humor that she probably wouldn’t understand, right? “But yeah. I’m serious when I say once you’re here, there’s no getting out. And I hate to say it, but your friend probably isn’t coming. for you. But hey, that’s a good thing for your friend. It means they’re not stuck in this hell like us. So do you still wanna hold out hope that everything is normal or do you wanna listen to me and go to the campfire?”

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So, maybe Alice was a bit delusional about the whole situation. In general, too, but that wasn’t the point right now. She believed she was safe, here, in this creepy unfamiliar forest with a stranger who she had convinced herself was someone just like her. As if that would be any better. In her defense though, she had only just arrived. To her, it was only a short amount of time since she ran through those gates, and into the forest. And here she was, still in a forest. Why should she believe that it wasn’t the exact same one?

The stranger’s words come as a harsh and confusing slap of reality. Not a straight jacket. It was just something he bought. He really wasn’t like her after all. Pale cheeks redden as reality sets in, and Alice’s gaze drops instantly back to the ground. Stupid, stupid! Of course it wasn’t a straight jacket, they didn’t make them in black... she thinks. Hands pull the edges of her cardigan closer together, a feeble attempt at hiding the hospital gown she wore. “O-oh, uhm...” Her voice came quietly again, that level of comfort all but evaporating in an instant. “Sorry I had just assumed.” How uncomfortable.

Eyes locked onto the other’s boots, Alice tries to focus more on what he’s saying rather than what she’s feeling. To be honest though, she couldn’t fully comprehend what he was talking about. Trials? Rewards? A plaything... Alice could at least understand that. She had felt that way most of her life. But it still didn’t make much sense. This stranger looked strong, and healthy. It was hard to imagine him being held captive. Especially since he was just out wandering around. If he didn’t like whatever was happening, why didn’t he just leave? Or fight back?

Something feels so wrong about the way he says that. “We’re never going to leave this forest.” We? As in, her too? A small spike of panic stabs at her heart. “What do you mean... we? It’s just a forest. I’m just waiting for my friend, and then we’ll leave.” Her voice holds a note of fear, mirrored in her eyes when she steals a glance up at his face to see if he had shifted into something more threatening. Thankfully, he hadn’t. “I’m Alice.” A pause, she had neither heard nor uttered the damned name in years now. “Why do they call you Ghostface?”

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It was fortunate that Alice had yet to encounter the mad doctor, especially given her current situation. She might not be able to contain that unbridled terror, and end up in a much worse position than she already was. It was ironic though, Herman really would’ve fit right in where she was from. But that… was a terrifying bridge to be crossed when she got there.

Unsteady on her own feet, the patient reaches to place her hand upon the tree for support. Her eyes close for a moment as the world goes fuzzy, and eventually she lowers herself to sit, knees pulled up to her chest as she tries to clear her mind. “Sorry, I guess I’m still kind of out of it… the whole thing was just so sudden, but I guess I can’t complain. At least we’re free, right?” That made a smile fit much easier on her face. In fact she almost looked peaceful, eyes closed with a comfortable smile. As if she hadn’t fallen directly into the mouth of another predator waiting to snap on her.

Ignorance was bliss, after all.

“Thank you, for waiting with me. He probably shouldn’t be… too far behind, I hope. We got jumped at the gates by one of the doctors.” Her smile fades at the memory, and Alice finds herself worrying for the man’s safety. But he wasn’t unarmed, and someone as big as he was surely wouldn’t have any problem taking care of himself. Right? Alice blinks and looks back up at Danny from where she’s sitting, tilting her head ever so slightly. “A campfire? All the way out here? That’s… strange. I guess you were one of the first ones to get out then, right? If you’ve been able to explore a little?” A dainty hand motions for him to sit with her. “By the way, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a straight jacket like yours. What were they doing to you? If… that’s ok to ask.”

What the absolute fuck was she going on about? Obviously she was talking about something that happened before she was taken. The logical conclusion he could gather was that she escaped from somewhere and now thinks shes hiding out in a forest. Or something. 

The question about the straight jacket really threw him for a loop though. How the hell do you answer that? Clearly she’s been through some shit if that was her first thought. “Uuhh…yeah…this isn’t a straight jacket. It’s actually just a leather trenchcoat that I bought years ago. No fucking idea what the point of these things are but they look cool.” He said, grabbing one of the straps dangling from his arm for emphasis. 

“But I can tell you this. I’ve been spending the last…fuck if I know how many years anymore…being the plaything of someone who I ‘lovingly’ call Charlotte. Day after day…put through trials to please her. Perform well in one of her trials, you get a reward. Perform poorly…heh. You don’t wanna know what she’ll do to you if you perform poorly. Of course, I long since stopped giving a shit. No point. There’s no pleasing that bitch.”

He shrugged, crossing his arms behind his back. “She’s also the reason why we’re never going to leave this forest.”

Danny knew she wouldn’t believe him if he told her the truth the way it was. This way was probably a little easier for her to swallow, and hey, he wasn’t lying. He really had nicknamed the entity Charlotte due to it being a spider…thing. “Name’s Danny, by the way. Or Ghostface if you ask the others around here.”

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Hey uh...would you mind if I...gLITTER BOMB! AHAHAHA

Alice hardly has time to open her mouth to ask what a glitter bomb even was before the sparkling flecks scatter everywhere, coating everything nearby in a layer of shimmer— Alice herself included. Her eyes are wide, momentarily stunned by the quick procession of events that just took place. Slowly, she lifts her arm, and looks down at it. The worn fibers of the cardigan are covered in glitter, they would never come out. In fact, it would be hard to get any of the glitter off at all. All over her clothes, her skin, all in her hair...

Slowly, Alice smiles. An extremely rare sight to behold, a delicate hand raises to her mouth to try and withhold the growing fit of giggles, that erupts soon after into full laughter. “Where did you even find all of this?”

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It was fortunate that Alice had yet to encounter the mad doctor, especially given her current situation. She might not be able to contain that unbridled terror, and end up in a much worse position than she already was. It was ironic though, Herman really would’ve fit right in where she was from. But that... was a terrifying bridge to be crossed when she got there.

Unsteady on her own feet, the patient reaches to place her hand upon the tree for support. Her eyes close for a moment as the world goes fuzzy, and eventually she lowers herself to sit, knees pulled up to her chest as she tries to clear her mind. “Sorry, I guess I’m still kind of out of it... the whole thing was just so sudden, but I guess I can’t complain. At least we’re free, right?” That made a smile fit much easier on her face. In fact she almost looked peaceful, eyes closed with a comfortable smile. As if she hadn’t fallen directly into the mouth of another predator waiting to snap on her.

Ignorance was bliss, after all.

“Thank you, for waiting with me. He probably shouldn’t be... too far behind, I hope. We got jumped at the gates by one of the doctors.” Her smile fades at the memory, and Alice finds herself worrying for the man’s safety. But he wasn’t unarmed, and someone as big as he was surely wouldn’t have any problem taking care of himself. Right? Alice blinks and looks back up at Danny from where she’s sitting, tilting her head ever so slightly. “A campfire? All the way out here? That’s... strange. I guess you were one of the first ones to get out then, right? If you’ve been able to explore a little?” A dainty hand motions for him to sit with her. “By the way, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a straight jacket like yours. What were they doing to you? If... that’s ok to ask.”

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As her gaze cast away from the stranger’s face, Alice took close note of his clothing. It was… strange, to say the least. She had never seen anything quite like it before, and her mind grasped for pieces of familiarity within the dark fabric. It looked like leather, maybe, old and worn. Gloves and boots, with a hood. It didn’t make much sense, until her eyes caught sight of the ribbons as they swayed limply around the man’s form. Almost instantly her mind supplied memories of the straight jackets from the sanatarium. Could that be it? Was he someone just like her, recently escaped from that horrible place? Even if there was hardly any evidence to back her theory, Alice relaxed at the thought.

“I haven’t been to the city since I was little. I don’t even remember it anymore.” A weak laugh escapes her. “My memory’s not so good after the treatments.” If they really were one in the same, she was certain that he would understand. At the very least he seemed to be one of the more lively ones, his tone of voice so easy and relaxed. Maybe he hadn’t been there as long as she had.

What leaves his mouth next though makes her pause. Alice’s head raises, and wide eyes scan their surroundings carefully. It was dark and foggy, very hard to see through. Difficult… but not impossible. She was convinced that almost anything was possible now that she was free. Easier with the stranger’s presence her gaze settles on his face not his eyes though, never into his eyes and she offers a ghost of a smile, something to try and comfort him. “It seems like it… but it’s not so scary if you think about it hard enough.” A shaking finger raises, to tap lightly at her temple. “A forest can’t go on forever, you can only go halfway into it before you start to leave it. We’ll make it out eventually. I’m waiting for my friend but you could come with us if you wanted, we could all leave together.”

Oh, if only she knew.

Treatments? His immediate thought was that she had somehow managed to come in contact with Herman. If that was the case…fuck. Though the more she talked, the more it was clear she meant something else entirely, which quite frankly was a relief. No new survivor should get wrapped up in one of Herman’s experiments. Well…no one period should ever get wrapped up in his experiments, but especially not someone who just got here.

That said though, it became clear to him that she hadn’t figured out where she was yet. At this point, he had two options. Break the news to her, even if she probably wouldn’t believe him…or play along for the time being. The latter sounded more fun. Besides…Danny knew all too well that the woods were not a safe place to be wandering around in. For one thing, other killers who are bored and looking for something to do. The other being the way the woods tended to get to you after a while, and you start seeing things that may or may not actually be there. For as much as an asshole as Danny could be, he did have some level of morals, and couldn’t just leave her here by herself.

“Uh huh…I mean…fuck I’m not doing anything. I’ll wait around for your friend and then you can prove me wrong. And hey, if worse comes to worse, I do know the way to a campfire that you can stay at. It’s not the nicest place in the world…actually it’s pretty shit…but it’s something!”

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As her gaze cast away from the stranger’s face, Alice took close note of his clothing. It was... strange, to say the least. She had never seen anything quite like it before, and her mind grasped for pieces of familiarity within the dark fabric. It looked like leather, maybe, old and worn. Gloves and boots, with a hood. It didn’t make much sense, until her eyes caught sight of the ribbons as they swayed limply around the man’s form. Almost instantly her mind supplied memories of the straight jackets from the sanatarium. Could that be it? Was he someone just like her, recently escaped from that horrible place? Even if there was hardly any evidence to back her theory, Alice relaxed at the thought.

“I haven’t been to the city since I was little. I don’t even remember it anymore.” A weak laugh escapes her. “My memory’s not so good after the treatments.” If they really were one in the same, she was certain that he would understand. At the very least he seemed to be one of the more lively ones, his tone of voice so easy and relaxed. Maybe he hadn’t been there as long as she had.

What leaves his mouth next though makes her pause. Alice’s head raises, and wide eyes scan their surroundings carefully. It was dark and foggy, very hard to see through. Difficult... but not impossible. She was convinced that almost anything was possible now that she was free. Easier with the stranger’s presence her gaze settles on his face not his eyes though, never into his eyes and she offers a ghost of a smile, something to try and comfort him. “It seems like it... but it’s not so scary if you think about it hard enough.” A shaking finger raises, to tap lightly at her temple. “A forest can’t go on forever, you can only go halfway into it before you start to leave it. We’ll make it out eventually. I’m waiting for my friend but you could come with us if you wanted, we could all leave together.”

Oh, if only she knew.

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Danny was always the first to know when a new survivor showed up in the realm. He could just sense it. Maybe it had something to do with being made of the very fog that always blanketed the place, but either way, he had made it his goal to be the welcoming party for every new survivor. Hey, at least Danny was usually nice to people. There were worse killers someone could encounter out there.

“Yeah, I could say the same thing about you.” He snorted. She obviously hadn’t figured out where she was yet, which was understandable. 

Danny himself was dressed in his usual outfit minus the mask, which he really never wore outside of trials anyway. The ribbons on his jacket stayed limp and not floating around, a conscious choice on his part to make himself seem a little less threatening. “Too bad neither of us are gonna be getting back any time soon. Once you’re here, you’re here forever.”

Wow, Danny, that was needlessly cryptic.

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consume.

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@dreadful-shroud said: -eye emoji- danny will even give her the picture (also im sorry i havent replied yet brain has been too blegh to write x.x)

;; that would be so amazing! It would freak her out so bad lol. Also don’t worry! I totally understand, take as much time as you need

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;; ok, I’m really excited to write Alice’s first death

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        i wanted to scream.          i wanted to scream.          i wanted to scream. 

                                    but, how could i                                       when i couldn’t                                   even  b r e a t h e ? 

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;; when coming up with perks for Alice, I had a lot of ideas! One of them I still really like, I’m considering replacing Independence or Paranoia with it

Shut Down - You’ve suffered a long life of abuse, and it’s left you with questionable coping abilities. You no longer scream or grunt in pain when injured, but taking damage inflicts the oblivious status effect for 40/35/30 seconds. “It helps if you clench your teeth. Just make sure you don’t break any of them in the process.” -Alice Foster