A little something based on an old thread with @malpractitioner that I've had rotating in my brain for a while. Cut for length!
After one last look around and with some irritated grumbling, Riley finished the last of her night shift and headed home into the night. Winter had arrived in full force and in the earliest hours, well before the plows and salt trucks got out to clear it, the snow made the city almost unrecognizable. Street lights now offered a hazy glow instead of harsh shadows and the usual car honks and sirens were replaced by the soft hiss of snowfall and crunches underfoot.
Block by block, she made her way home, enjoying the scenery as snow filled in her footprints. But as she approached the outermost edges of campus, with the oldest and most neglected buildings and almost a dozen blocks still to go, a cruel wind began picking up. She was prepared for a few flurries, not a blizzard, and her layers were proving insufficient.
Cold. Burning, numbing cold crept deep into her bones, chasing all sensation from her hands and feet as she stumbled up the steps of the old, imposing medical building and tested the handle. Expecting it to be locked, Riley was almost startled at the ease in which it opened, the warmth inviting her as she slipped in.
"Hello?" Riley quietly asked the sprawling darkness. But only silence answered back. Perhaps the cleaning staff forgot to lock the door when they left? Were they still here? Was she not loud enough?
"Anyone here?"
No response. Just cold, quiet, darkness and the soft drip of snow melting onto the floor.
A bit odd, but nothing to worry about. She was just grateful for the chance to warm up enough to get the feeling back in her hands before braving the rest of the way home.
Wandering deeper through the halls, she had just turned to leave when she heard it. When walking through the woods, people will sometimes jump a bit before realizing that they've noticed a snake in their path, and this was eerily similar. Her eyes widened, hair stood on end and heart raced before she could even register the single scream ringing through the hall, clawing its way to escape, to anyone who might hear it. A single, desperate, and terrified, "HELP ME!" Came from down the hall behind her.
And then it was quiet again. Nothing to be heard over her own heart in her ears. Leave. Immediately. But who could be down there? Doesn't matter. What would have made them so scared? Do you want to find out? Maybe I can help them? Your phone died hours ago. Isn't it better to know what danger may be there?
Riley crept deeper into the dark, taking care to step lightly and listen for any sign of who or what screamed, but it was just her footsteps and the silence around her. Until she noticed a soft glow from a small window on a door to one of the labs and crept close enough to peer in.
It was hard to tell what was going on at first, some papers on a desk, some chemistry equipment, an empty coffee maker, some chairs tipped over... and a body on the floor. Horribly still, eyes rolled back and mouth agape in a post-mortem scream. Locked in horror, time slowed around her until movement caught her eye. Someone else was in the room, and he saw her.
At once, she turned heel and raced back to the entrance, stumbling blindly through the shadowy labyrinth. The halls seemed to have gotten longer since she first wandered through, she couldn't have really walked so far, right? Did she pass through these classrooms already? Did she take the right one? Before she could despair, she saw it, the soft red glow of an EXIT sign. With a loud 'CRACK' she ran into the handle, but the door didn't budge. It wasn't locked. It was frozen shut.
"Riley?"
So caught up with the door, she hadn't heard him approach, now blocking the main hall. Despite the darkness, she recognized the long limbs, large glasses and imposing stature of her psychology professor, Doctor Jonanthan Crane.
"What are you doing here?" He didn't sound angry, moreso confused and almost amused. Like they ran into each other at a gas station out of town, instead of getting caught for murder. He looked slightly disheveled compared to his lectures during class, eyes bloodshot and shirt untucked, but the way his gaze pierced through her was all the same.
"I swear to God, I didn't see anything." The words spilled out without control.
He paused for a moment, before simply stating with the authority of an educator getting a confession from a problem student, "That's not what I asked, is it?"
She stared for a moment, so wound up with her own fear she had to organize her thoughts enough to go through that night's events. Starting with her shift ending, the freezing walk and her stumbling back to their current conversation. Whether he believed her, or cared enough not to, she couldn't tell. He just stood there. "I swear, I won't tell anyone."
There was a flash of amusement as he took a few steps toward her. Riley had nowhere to back up. "I can't see why you would, it's your word against mine, isn't it?" Who would you believe? He didn't have to say it, she already knew the answer and it made her insides twist. A celebrated doctor and professor, head of the psychology department versus a mentally ill drug addict. Who would you believe? Who would you believe?
He closed the gap between them and terror wrapped itself around her neck like a noose, slowly growing tighter. "Please dont kill me." It was hardly louder than the soft buzz from the sign above, but it wouldn't have mattered. She was going to die, alone and terrified, just like the other student. But this time, without anyone snooping around to find out what happened. Would anyone even notice she was gone?
Terrified and with no way out, a memory flashed through her mind, a final hail Mary. It couldn't make things worse, could it?
"I'll help you! Y-you need help with your experiments, right? If you don't kill me, I swear I'll help you." There was a flash of surprise as he studied her face, leaving her in the agonizing limbo between life and death. Time dragged as he clearly relished her uncertainty, before turning and gesturing for her to follow.
"Alright then, let's get started. "
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I was sorta-kind of fortunate as well as privilege to had seen and interacted with a lot of mgs blogs. From canon muses to even oc's. Despite being small in terms of community size they were very active and encouraged a lot of crossovers with other muses, I think those that were around even knew we were a small in an otherwise large vast ocean of other fandoms (If that makes any sense). I use to joke that whenever there was a major announcement concerning the games especially when it came to five I would say, "Let the legends come back to life". Sadly I think after that people just stopped logging in or lost interest which is completely fine and understandable. Regardless I am happy to have seen them here and I can only hope they are in better spirits or places.
(( i feel that, nonnie - i was in the far cry 3 fandom when that game came out and it was some of the best rping of my life - you get all those people around with a love of the series & there is that sorta feeling of clinging to those people coming back, but, people move on or stop rping or find other characters / fandoms.
even in the ffvii fandom, that i've been in since the remake - after the hype died, a lot of players vanished. other fandoms, real life. all of that shit. a lot have returned slowly but there's a few who totally dipped. i miss 'em. and, like you say, you sorta hope that the next instalment or thing will bring them back.
we really can only hope that those peeps are doing well.
who knows, nonnie, maybe if konami takes inspiration from the silent hill revitalisation, maybe they'd remaster the old games? i've been holding onto hope of another collection but for modern consoles - it's a damn shame that people aren't getting into mgs because it's starting to become inaccessable ( i mean, 4 is still only ps3 isn't it? ) - i feel your feelings anon but in regard to other fandoms - it's almost bittersweet.
but, if you're an rper or ever want to / have time - deffo come about & write! who knows, maybe we can all bring the fandom back to life. it can be like vamp and never die
( ignore mgs4 for the last bit ok ok ) ))
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