Chapter Text
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Gone Hunting
“It’s been three years are you sure you’re right?” Ethan’s friend spoke on the phone full of worry and concern.
He has every right to be concerned, Ethan knew it from the situation to how he sounded on the phone. He refused to acknowledge it, let alone accept it as he drove his beloved car to Dulvey, Louisiana. Where Mia had sent him a message telling him to come take her home. In the three years of silence where none of the local police or anyone has managed to pull up where she could’ve gone, or even if she’d been murdered, Ethan had to believe it was a prank of some kind. Maybe some sick joke to keep him on his toes.
Why?
Was it because he was too caught up in work? He knows the long hours were badgering on her, even when she had her own job to do, just the fact that he sometimes came home far later than her meant they couldn’t really do anything together unless it was the weekend, and she didn’t have a trip to do. They made it work, despite everything and how tired they would be, they still made it work and he loved her to pieces.
Now, even as he pulled up to the last location, an old plantation house quite literally in the middle of nowhere, he stared. Ethan glanced down at his hands, then at the car, still running. He fixed her up himself, bought her from a man that couldn’t keep her in his garage anymore and it took him six months to get her running again with fresh oil and some new parts. He patted the steering wheel as he turned it off, tucking his car keys into his pocket,” Sorry for leaving you here, but I’ll be back soon with Mia.”
He got out and the humidity immediately clung to his skin. He closed the door and slowly walked over to the gate that separated him from the house, a large padlock and chains wrapped around the handles prevented entry. Even when he pushed the little intercom on the side of the gate, there was no response.
“Shit” He muttered as he looked around, before spotting a little pathway that led lower into the land.
Cautiously, he went down, shoes crunching dried leaves and twigs underfoot as he walks. Waving some flies away from his face he soon discovers a van, the whole car covered in grime and dirt from sitting still in the wilds for so long. Ethan huffs, peering down at the thick tarp on the floor and the several pieces of broken equipment and cracked windows.
Weird. It’s like…it was abandoned. Maybe they forgot about it? Or is this part of the prank?
Ethan managed to open the side door, revealing clean seats and a little booklet titled Sewer Gators Episode 17 “Sneak into a Louisiana Ghost House”. A picture with a woman and her coworkers was on the front and Ethan cracked a tiny smile at her happy face. It reminded him of Mia. She loved being on camera, always video calling Ethan instead of sending text messages or phone calls. He liked it too of course, because it meant he got to see her all the time instead of just imagining what she looked like. His heart ached against his ribs as he examined the book a little longer until he turned it over.
There were block letters scrawled onto it in a thick, red marker.
Join us.
Okay creepy is back in session. Ethan carefully puts the booklet back down and glances over to his left, where a gate hung open, a little sign next to it also written in the same marker: Accept her gift.
He hoped that meant Mia, which meant this was definitely a prank. Chuckling a little to ease his own anxiety, he walks through. The pathway left the second he stepped through the old metal gate, the ground awkward and covered with plants. It’s clear it hasn’t seen human feet in a long time, or maybe it never has.
The creepiness only elevates when Ethan sees a man in the distance walk away. He opened his mouth to try and get the man’s attention, but by that time, he was already gone from sight. Ethan sighs and picks up his pace, maybe if he’s fast enough he’ll catch up, and he can ask if he’s seen a lady by the name of Mia Winters wandering around the place.
Instead of catching up to the man, he finds the remains of what he thinks is a cow. Crows flying away from it as soon as he got close. Grumbling, he looks to his left and his blood runs cold. A wreath-like shape is presented with dismembered cow legs with a cow’s skull hanging in the center. Of course, there were some little blades hanging on the sides of it, the glint probably used to keep the crows from picking at the rotting flesh. The stench burned Ethan’s nose and he coughed as he stared at the structure. Real Southern hospitality.
Ethan’s not sure if this was a joke anymore.
Slowly, he crouches and slinks his way under the weird wreath and comes to more plant growth and rugged terrain. Now as he follows the clearer trail, he wonders if everything was alright. The email wasn’t a video, but a simple message. Dulvey, Louisiana. Baker Farm. Come get me. Which was not like her at all. He received it late at night as well, roughly just before he would go to bed. Ethan freezes when he spots several tiny bodies on the earth's floor. Crows. He gulps as he peers down at them, all their necks bent in awkward angles, dead.
Oh, shit did that man from earlier kill them? What the hell is up with this place? Ethan’s worries skyrocket when he spots what he assumes is the back of the house. It looks nothing like the front of it, all covered in vines and mud. He sees some smoke coming from something in front of it and carefully slides down the little cliff. Ethan walks over, tucking his hands into his pockets until he spots something that makes him run over, Mia’s purse.
It’s one of her favorites, the light color still in good condition as he carefully examines it and finds her driver license still inside, although it’s covered in a strange, dark substance that doesn’t come off no matter how hard Ethan rubs at it. He glances at the purse one last time before pocketing her license and slowly approaches the house. A wooden swing set nearby rocks in a faint breeze making Ethan watch it for a bit longer than he liked before looking back at the house.
His chest tightens as he looks at it, the way the roof dips from the added weight of vine growth and damage from storms and nature. A dirty wooden board leads up to a sunken porch, the wood rot already strong enough to make him cough. It was sickly sweet, forcing its way down his throat the way some kinds of perfume do as he pushes forward. He must, for Mia. To get some answers and to get her home safe.
Ethan missed her and he’s more than relieved to learn she’s okay.
His heart said otherwise once he got closer to the door. The windows were covered with planks of wood and fish netting. A weird, putrid stench slowly building the further he walks. His heart decided to imitate a hummingbird, fluttering desperately against his chest as he eyed down the door.
It was already open, an electrical light flickering just above it.
LED. He thought as he glanced up at the white light before peering into the darkness beyond the entrance.
If there’s LEDs around here, that means there’s electricity. How the hell do they have that in the middle of nowhere? Transformers?
Ethan hated how quickly his brain tore into that issue, his engineering instincts clicking as he walked in, now instead of searching for Mia, he eyed the walls and the ceiling and the floor. He looked for little tell-tale signs of electrical wiring and other little things that his electrical engineering buddies at work would complain about for hours on end. He was just a systems guy, not one to focus on merely one issue, but the whole project. That was always his job, to see how all the little individual pieces would click together in the big picture.
Eventually, he realized he was already in the entryway, flashlight shining a bright beam down as he shook himself out of his stupor. There were two doors, and after looking at both, he chose the one on the left, the white door opening with a soft creak.
The door behind him clicked closed with a snap. Ethan sighed. The hallway he walked into was a mess. Either this place hasn’t been used in a long time, or it’s been ignored. He slowly walked past messily boarded holes in the walls, and old photos and paintings covered in dust and grime. A cabinet was tucked at the end of the hallway, and it was chained shut.
Ethan fiddled with it, feeling the metal against his palm as he looked at the frame.
“Locked” He sighed softly, rattling the chains once before looking over to what he assumes is the kitchen.
If the bugs flying around unclean plates in the sink, were any indication. Great. Ethan sighed once more as he walked in. He was going to go nose blind at this rate from the amount of stench he had to deal with. For once he missed the reek of machine oil and solder as he opened a pot on the table, cursing when massive cockroaches scrambled out of rotted…something.
He couldn’t tell if it was a meal or what, but he was too busy throwing off the massive bugs to care. Grumbling, he made sure he was roach free before he spotted a newspaper on the corner of the dining table. Grinning, he walked over and peered at the title before the last remains of his optimism about coming here went out the window.
Over 20 Missing in 2 Years
He looked around at the house, once again taking in the broken dishes, broken glass, rotten food, and bugs crawling everywhere. Ethan glanced down at his file that he brought with him, Mia’s last message plain as day.
Dulvey, Louisiana
Baker Farm
Come get me
The slow crawl of cold made his limbs shake as he took a short breath. His lungs expanded and settled, even as his heart began to pound a different tune, taking on the role of a solid drum of anxiety instead of the hummingbird’s swift wings. Something wasn’t right here. He doesn’t know what but by God if he does find Mia around here, he’s getting her and they’re leaving jokes or consequences damned.
He forces his legs to move despite all his instincts tugging at his conscious that he needs to get out. Ethan pushes forward, focusing on his one objective: get Mia. The tiny hallway beyond the kitchen reveals a stairwell up and another dark entryway just down the hall. He goes upstairs first and finds a VCR tape sitting on a dust desk that’s pushed into the far corner of the room. There’s a little series of circuits along with a button that says Attic on it as well, but he ignores in favor for the tape. There’s neat little handwriting on it: Derelict House Footage.
Huh, he’ll have to watch that later. Ethan tucks it into his pocket before heading back downstairs, running a hand through his straw-blonde hair, making sure there’s no dirt or bugs in it. It’s a bit longer than he likes but he can worry later about getting a haircut. His boots make the wood creak and groan underneath him despite how slowly he moves. Guess he won’t be able to sneak around. Ethan takes one last look at upstairs before walking down and peering into two dark openings.
One leads to a small little room. Ethan investigates it first, trying to find any evidence of life or Mia. All he finds is another boarded up door with rusted nails sticking out in odd angles. He grumbles a little bit at the messiness. He could probably pry it off if he wanted to. Finally, he goes to the other way.
It led to another hallway. Ethan exhaled heavily through his teeth, the noise a soft hiss,” Fucking really?? Who the hell built this house and why is it full of hallways??”
He goes to the white door first, nearly punching the door open from the surge of anger. That anger quickly leaves as sudden as it arrived, the hush that fell after the door opened sinking its teeth under Ethan’s skin.
Goosebumps raised as he shuddered, taking in the massive pile of papers on the ground and several polaroid photos that littered the room, glinting like jewels in his light. He kneeled, taking the one that resting on top of the pile, and startled.
It was a picture of Mia. Ethan gulped, hands starting to shake as he found another one on the coffee table. This one barely showed legs on a bed with a strange man taking up most of the picture. Ethan hoped it wasn’t Mia’s legs on there. A third photo laid on one of the leather armchairs, and it was a picture of a cell.
A cell.
Ethan’s breath came out in a rush as the silence became deafened all at once. No longer could he hear the bugs, or even the creaking of the wood. It was like the house itself was holding its breath. Slowly, he raised his head until he saw the static tv nearby, somehow still connected to power. No, not somehow, there’s electricity running through this place he just doesn’t know how. He put the photo down and pulled out the tape. Carefully, he walked over and slid it into the player that sat above the tv.
Immediately, the tape rolled, showing the people he saw from the front of that little booklet in that decrepit van. It was eerie, they were rolling footage of the places he just went through, and then further. It revealed several noises and issues, until Ethan heard a scream and watched in horror as the camera guy found one of the members, dead. He then fell, the camera landing with a loud noise as it focused on the poor man’s bloodied mouth and bleeding eyes, blood trailing down his forehead like tears. Loud footsteps and then that large man appeared for a moment and the tape ended.
Ethan jumped when he heard a thud from outside. Cursing softly, he made sure his footsteps were light as he made his way out of the room, glancing back at where he came from with caution. He just witnessed two murders on a fucking tape. This place wasn’t safe and why was Mia here??? A million questions danced in his head as he pushed forward, only for them to slowly sink back into that haze in the back of his mind.
Mia said not to worry. She said she hated to see me fret and panic over the smallest things. She’s fine, this is a big prank.
Except it wasn’t a prank anymore. Ethan rubbed his forehead as he walked, hand briefly resting on the door as he took a deep breath. He didn’t bring any pain pills with him and he can’t handle a headache at the same time. Only to find the door was locked.
Frowning, he glanced back at the other room. Don’t tell me I have to go back in there. Ethan cursed under his breath and headed back. A little more investigation found him a little lever in the fireplace and a quick tug on it caused a cubby to open behind him. Grinning, he walked over, excited at the little secret before the situation caught up again and he eyed it worriedly.
A trap?
He shined his light into it.
Nothing.
Baby steps. Carefully, he crawled forward until he pushed open the door a little wider, revealing a dark and decrepit room, just like everything else in the house. Ethan got up to his feet and spotted the ladder leading down to his right. He headed over and slowly started down only for the wood to give, the ladder steps cracking and breaking underneath him. Ethan shouted and landed flat on his back as he stared up at the completely broken ladder. No way back up.
He took a rattling breath, a brief spark of pain racing up his backside as he sat up slowly. It wasn’t that far of a fall thank God, but it was just enough that he knew he’ll feel it in the morning. Groaning quietly, he gets up to his feet and rubs his hands clean on his pants until he saw the little dark pathway.
Fuck.
It’s the same place that man was found dead in the tape. Anxiety coupled with adrenaline seeped deep as he walked forward, the pain completely gone in favor of surviving. He just wanted Mia back and suddenly he’s knee deep in a possible murder house. LEDs flickered eerily above his head as he walked, following the natural path in the damp darkness. He’s actually surprised they use LEDs this far out of town-
Focus Ethan! No time to do that!
He does manage a small chuckle at the thought of using LEDs as a coping mechanism for the situation that’s slowly unfolding in front of him, until his feet touch water. Ethan looks down, and grimaces, hard.
The water was a murky, putrid green. Trying not to gag, he takes a slow, deep breath and steps in, immediately falling up to his armpits in the water.
“Christ it reeks” Ethan mutters under his breath as he slowly pushes forward, the water sloshing around him like it’s the first time it’s been moved in years. He ignores the way it’s almost slimy on his skin as he moves, going so far as to lower his head closer to the nastiness due to a drop in the ceiling. He starts to see the doorway in the end and excitement makes him move faster at the thought of leaving the water.
Too soon. A strange gurgle comes from the water, and he splashes backward in surprise and shock. A dead body floats to the surface, its face entirely green and leaking fluids that may not be water. The face grins at Ethan, teeth showing since the lips were long gone. Ethan grimaces at the scene and wonders if that’s the body from the tape that was skewered on a rusted pipe…
He makes a wide berth around it and gets out, shaking himself like a wet dog as he tries in vain to get rid of the feeling that he just swam in dead infected waters. Gagging at the thought, he doesn’t hesitate to push the door open, silence be damned as he just wants to get out.
The room he enters is dimly lit, and the shine of rusted bars greet his flashlight as he steps in, dripping wet. Water falls onto stone in soft tinkles, and he breathes out raggedly as he takes in the sight of the rusted bedframes and jail cells.
What the fuck is going on here? What the fuck. Why am I here???
Mia.
Right. That’s the mission, he needs to get Mia. Although she better come out soon or he’s going to lose it. He quickly walks past the rusted jail cell and ignores the weird drawing next to him until he sees the weird, degrading spiral actually has words. Ethan pauses, then turns back around, shining his flashlight onto the surface of the wood.
The words were written repeatedly in a spiral until it dissolved into scribbles: I’m sorry Daddy I will not be bad anymore.
Ethan looks at it one more time before turning on his heel and walking away. He doesn’t have the time nor the ability to think about the implications of that as he continues to look for Mia. He finally sees a warm glow of light and walks forward. This jail cell is cleaner, and he can see a figure of someone on it, but his gaze also catches something red on a table nearby, which was lit dimly.
Bolt cutters and a little slip of paper along with pictures and detailed reports next to them on the walls. Ethan frowns, looking down at the list of names on the paper before looking back up at the wall. It looks like some kind of research? The names either say dead or turned on it, and-
Holy shit. Mia’s name was on the list, but next to it was neither dead nor turned. His gaze traveled back to the warmly lit jail cell…could it be…?
He shouldered the bolt cutters, taking one last glance at the weird reports on the wall before approaching the cell. Sure enough, laying on a cot, was Mia.
“Mia?” He called but there was no answer.
He messed with the chains before cutting them open with the cutters and walked in, he grabbed her by the shoulder, relief flooding his system,” Mia! Thank God, I found you it’s me Ethan!”
Mia’s head rolled in an unusual way, dark circles under her eyes as they squinted open,” Ethan…? Ethan!”
He grinned at her,” Are you alright? Everything okay?”
Her face changed from recognition to…shock,” You shouldn’t be here.”
She pushed away from him and scooted backwards on the cot. Ethan held out his hands for her, but she batted them away, shaking her head as she repeated the statement.
Ethan tilted his head to one side as he regarded her,” What do you mean? You contacted me.”
“No no!” She responded sharply, Ethan flinching backwards at the harsh tone before she looked at him with wide eyes and continued in a softer tone,” I wouldn’t…did I?”
Ethan slowly shook his head, hands still slightly raised, a painful feeling sparking across his skin as he waited for her next move, eyeing her hands and feet, waiting for that tell-tale tension before she snaps forward. It’s always his fault in that regard, he always does something that makes her upset, and he must take the punishment. Even now, after traveling all this way to rescue her, she still looks at him with the same eyes as she did when they first got married.
She always looked right through him. Even now, as she got up to her feet, eyes a million miles away,” Did anyone see you?? Did he see you???”
Ethan put his hands up further, worriedly glancing at the cell gate,” Mia what? He? Who else is here?”
Mia shakes her head, and for a moment Ethan believes she’ll fall into one of her episodes again and braces himself. Instead, she grabs him by the hand, something she hasn’t done since their first date, and leads him out,” We have to go. Now. Before Daddy finds out.”
“Daddy?” Ethan repeats, following her with confusion,” Mia what the hell is going on- “
“We need to go now!” She shouts and Ethan flinches, falling quiet as he obediently follows her.
She hurriedly walked away, leaving Ethan no choice but to follow. They walk past the weird table and to a corner of the wet, dark room.
“Where are you taking me” Ethan gently asks, making sure his voice is soft to not startle her.
Her head whips around unnaturally fast despite his best efforts, eyes now a frenzy,” Someplace safe.”
Ethan decides this’ll be the only time he’ll get answers,” Are you gonna tell me what the hell is going on?”
When she merely looks down at her shoes he changes tactics, stepping closer,” Baby, you’ve been gone for three years.”
At this, her eyes lose that frenzy, her whole body going still.
“…Three years? Has it really been three years?” She whispered, hands coming up to the sides of her face as she seems to lose her sense of reality for a moment.
Then, without saying anything else, she turns her back to Ethan, and walks forward. The motions are slow, cautious, but stiff. Ethan wanted to ask her, hell, he wanted answers. Even as he followed her carefully, watching her every move, he knows it’ll be for naught. It’s rare for her to give out rewards like information or attention. It’s never his wants that are the biggest issue; it’s her wants that matter.
They pass by a poorly boarded wall that Mia stares out of, her breathing accelerating before she twists away from the wall like it burned her.
“Mia what is this place?? What did they do to you??” Ethan finally asked.
“Not now” She snapped, then sighed,” We need to get out of here first.”
He swallowed any other questions as they pushed forward. The room appeared to be an examination room. With a hospital bed and strange lumps tossed in the corner of the room that reeked of dried blood. Ethan didn’t want to know what was inside of them even as Mia’s breathing grew harsh,” I think it’s this way.”
“Mia, we have to talk. That message you sent me” Ethan asked softly, worried beyond his mind as he watched her shake in place.
She raised a quivering hand, pointing her finger to something past Ethan’s shoulder,” Not me. That wasn’t me!”
“But you did-“Ethan protested.
She sharply turned that hand into her chest,” But I didn’t.”
Ethan bites back a curse. Frustration added to the concoction of emotions turning around in his stomach as he looked at her. It’s been three years, she looks like Mia, talks like her, but it’s like she’s a ghost of herself. Whatever happened here broke her many times, but he can’t even get a simple yes or no answer from her.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm, at least for her, to make her feel safe,” Okay fine. Just tell me what’s going on.”
“I’m telling you everything that I know” Mia snarls, her face stark white in the low lighting, eyes shiner than nickels on the sidewalk at noon.
She turns around slowly and nods to herself before speaking,” We have to go this way.”
“Are you sure we should be heading this way Mia” Ethan couldn’t help but ask as they ended up at a tight space.
Mia looked over at him, the normal Mia would’ve been sharp, her gaze like a rattlesnake’s tail. A warning. Instead, there was a cool blankness as she nods,” The family used to bring food through here I remember.”
“Okay…” Ethan sighed and squeezed through the tight space, the drag of stone against his back reminding him this wasn’t some nightmare but reality.
They reached a door at the end of the tunnel and Mia smiled,” It’s here! I remember! There’s another door just beyond it.”
The door pushed open, and they walked in a warmly light room. The couch well-worn and the walls covered in broken planks of wood. A shattered plate lay on the floor next to Ethan’s shoe when he stepped in, looking around cautiously, one hand on the bolt cutters. Mia walked over to the boarded wall, and her breathing went sharp again as she nearly screamed in frustration,” It’s not here. It’s gone. It’s gone!”
Ethan reached out, only to freeze when her body went still again as slowly turned around to look at him with a dreamy smile,” We’re going to be a family now that you’re here.”
“Mia what-“Ethan started to ask, but she walked past him, muttering about how there has to be another door nearby as she collapses onto the couch, clinging onto her head.
Ethan watched her, worry and frustration just seconds away from giving him a headache as he exhaled slowly through his nose. He can’t let her know he’s frustrated with her.
“I’ll…I’ll go look for the other door. Stay there Mia” He told her instead, but she didn’t reply as he went to the little room across the couch.
Water dripped from the ceiling as he peered in and spotted a little doll on the floor near the back of the room. Frowning, he stepped forward and kneeled, gently picking up the doll. Ethan shuddered, staring in disbelief at the doll, as it looked eerily like Mia.
He heard Mia scream seconds later and the sound of wood breaking,” No!!! No leave me alone!”
“Mia?!” Ethan called and sprinted out the room, only to be greeted by an opening in the wall and no Mia.
Swallowing, feeling those warning bells grow louder in his head as he jogged through the opening, leading to a dark staircase heading up to a white door. As he walked up, the white door creaked open, and he started to hear the thick drum of rain. He didn’t have much of a choice, creepy door be damned. Ethan pushed it fully open and revealed a well lit hallway. A phone sat on a little stand halfway in and Ethan greedily walked over to it, finally someway to contact someone! As he grabbed the phone and held it to his ear, his heart dropped to his feet.
All he heard was the dial tone of disconnection. There’s no way he can call someone now, especially with the weather like it is. Thunder rumbled as rain continued to pour outside as he searched a drawer and found an old map: Guest House Map.
Huh. So, this whole time I’ve been running around in the Guest House? Why the hell would they keep her here and not at the main house?
He hears thumping behind him when he pokes his head into a trashed bathroom. Luckily, there’s a bottle of antiseptic sitting on the counter, and he grabs that for later, in case Mia has cuts or bruises from her time here. The thumping gets louder, and he peers back at where he came, wondering who the hell could be knocking so loudly.
Sighing, he slowly walks towards that door, lightning flashing outside as the rain drums even louder on the house. Ethan stands before the white door, the thumping stopping as soon as he stands there and he looks down at the doorknob for a brief moment. After gathering his courage, he carefully twists and opens the door. It yawns open, revealing the same dark staircase he climbed just moments ago, and he hears a soft groan. He stares, straining his eyes to see in the dark as he hears a slow, dragging sound that gets louder.
“…Mia?” He calls out tentatively, and then he sees her crawling up the stairs like she lost her damn mind.
Heart in his throat, he scrambles backward only for her to move at inhuman speed, grabbing him painfully by the jaw as she stares at him, eyes strangely dark with thick, dark veins pounding against her forehead as she bares her teeth and snarls at him. He fails, trying to shove her away only for her to do it for him, throwing him backwards with a strength she shouldn’t possess.
It was superhuman, and it hurt like hell when his back slammed into the wooden wall. He landed with a groan, planting his hands on the ground as he struggled to get up, the breath knocked out of him as he gulped down air. As soon as he did, she was standing there waiting, and lunged for him once more, this time with a knife. He shouted, immediately having to fight for his life as she tries again and again to stab that weapon through his heart.
Pain blossoms as she nicks his arm, then his hands and then he cries out when the knife goes straight through his palm. Hissing in pain, he grabs her face as she struggles against him, that weird darkness pulsing underneath her skin as she howls, and Ethan barely shoves her back. She’s on him in an instant when he tried to turn and run and he barely grabs onto the knife with both hands, entire body screaming as his blood drips dark onto the dirty floor. Thunder roars outside as she screams and pushes forward in a dizzying motion, and he shouts.
He stumbles backward, a bone deep ache pulsing his heartbeat from his shoulder as he realized she stabbed him in the shoulder. Ethan curses, staring down in shock as Mia drops the bloody knife and he stumbles away, his hands stained red as he can feel the pain settle in a way that made his head spin. Breathing short, he looks over at her in shock as her hands go to her head once more, shaking her head like she’s trying to get rid of something,” I can hear her…”
“I can feel her clawing her way back inside me!” She wailed, then looked at Ethan with eyes that met his for once in their entire marriage.
“GET OUT!!” She cried as she slammed her head into the wall next to her, Ethan shouting in surprise, raising bloody hands to try and get her to stop.
“GET OUT OF MY HEAD-“Then her eyes turn glassy again,” I’ve been bad” She whispered to Ethan like she was telling a dirty secret,” I deserve this.”
She gives one more violent jerk and falls to the floor, her blood on the wall. Ethan exhales, hands going to his hair as he digs in and fights against tears. He takes shaky breath after shaky breath, the adrenaline currently wreathing its way in his system as he feels it numb the pain and wash away the fact he was injured.
“What the fuck are you Mia” Ethan gasps, voice cracking as he wheezes out the question, pulling out the bottle of antiseptic he grabbed.
He carefully poured some on his hands, hissing at the sharp sting before dousing his shoulder with the rest. His head hurts, everything aches and now he must be dreaming. This is just a freakish nightmare. He’ll wake up soon, with Mia, alive and safe in their bed.
Right?
He got up to his feet, the room spinning briefly as he takes a deeper breath and stumbles away from her body. He’s unsure if she’s dead or merely knocked out, but whatever she’s become it has some freakish qualities to it.
Swallowing and ignoring how the taste of copper was thick in the air, he pushed forward, adrenaline keeping his senses sharp as he walks. Hell, his hand already feels better, the sting already gone as he flexes his fingers and opens the door. The door remains firmly locked. Cursing, he glances back over at her body, heart pounding. He tries to walk past her as gingerly as possible, only for her body to click as it rose at an unnatural angle, grabbing his stabbed hand and twisting it down, making Ethan shout in shock.
The black is so thick now he can’t even see Mia anymore as she hisses,” LEAVE ME” and throws him through a wall.
Ethan whines, the ache so bad now he can barely think straight as his head pounds. He gets up to his feet and stares in shock and horror as she takes the bloody knife once more. He spies a hatchet on the floor nearby and quickly snatches the weapon, facing his wife with an energy he didn’t know he had.
“Go” She rasped, body swaying as she lifted the blade.
He raised the axe in response,” I don’t know what the fuck are you but whoever you are, get out of Mia!!”
“You shouldn’t have come Ethan! Now you’ll be dead too” She snarls and lunged forward.
This time the blade is blocked as he uses the hatchet’s weight against her, although it’s still a tough power struggle. Even though he's normally stronger than Mia, this Mia moves and speaks unnaturally. He slams the butt of the weapon against her skull several times and she doesn’t budge until he finally gives up on not harming Mia.
He sees red as the hatchet moves suddenly smoothly and bites deep into her right shoulder. Immediately, the black leaves Mia’s face as she stares at Ethan in shock, before those familiar eyes roll up and she collapses onto the ground. A thick pool of red soon forms around her and Ethan barely stumbles away, tears falling to the ground, mixing with the red.
“I’m so sorry Mia oh God” Ethan barely warbles out, feeling sick to his stomach as he walks away.
The phone rings. Ethan curses, body jumping at the sudden loud noise. Is it just him, or did the storm outside get worse? Grunting, he moves over to the phone, and answers it after a pause.
“You really shouldn’t have come here” A woman’s voice, thick with a southern accent, greets his ears.
“Who’s this? What the fuck is going on??!” Ethan snaps in response, patience fully shredded now as he looks around in fear of seeing a stranger. Or Mia.
“My name’s Zoe. There should be a way out through the attic. Go there. Now” There’s a click and the line is dead once more.
Ethan groaned again, feeling the weight of the situation hit him fully. Now he has to trust this ‘Zoe’ and try the attic. Only the last time he checked; the attic was depowered. There was a missing fuse in the fuse box. Growling, he looked around one more time before moving back towards the other end of the hall, he gets the feeling the door is unlocked now.
He passes by the room he was rudely thrown into and spots not Mia’s body, but the hatchet he used to strike her down. Ethan freezes, entire body tensing as he looks around wildly,” Mia?”
There’s no answer. He picks up the hatchet again, the weight oddly easy in his hands as he takes one last look at the puddle of blood before leaving. He can’t think about how she’s able to walk after losing that much blood. Ethan can’t think anymore, he must act. The world dances again dangerously, a pulsing feeling running through his body as he leans against the wall for a moment, breathing heavily.
He’s lost a bit of blood too, he’s woozy. Ethan hopes the adrenaline would be enough to keep going as he pushed off and moves one foot in front of the other. He ignores the bloody handprints on the walls around him as he keeps walking. Instincts and senses on fire as he jumps at every little noise. From the rain outside, to the creaks of wood under his feet and from the house. Everything was so loud now, why?
Am I going crazy??
He finds the locked cabinet once more and Ethan grins as he pulls out the bolt cutters. At least she didn’t try to take the tool away from him in their scuffle. When he unlocks it, inside is a little fuse labeled: Attic.
Ethan’s body pounds as he takes the little object and runs back to the kitchen. He doesn’t wait, nearly falling as he slides around the doorway, only to see Mia’s body move through the hallway just in front of him, staggering like a zombie. When he races after her, more than ready to knock her out again, she’s not there. Panting, he looks around before he remembers the attic and goes to the living room. Ethan shoves the fuse into the box, careful electronics be damned as he wants out of this nightmare. There’s a soft click as the orange light flickers to green and he grins brightly at the brief feeling of victory. Escape is in sight.
Unless Zoe was lying to him. That dark thought tears through his system and he grits his teeth, ignoring the sudden surge of pain as he starts down the hallway only for a cold hand to grab his. He startles hard, the hatchet coming up immediately only for Mia to smile at him, all bright and familiar,” Ethan Ethan! It’s okay baby I know you wouldn’t hurt me.”
He sees her shadow and the weapon she’s hiding behind her back. Ethan stares, distraught at her as the blackness reappears just as suddenly as it vanished,” But you shouldn’t have done that!”
The wound on her shoulder appeared to be closed, still slick with drying blood as she threw him to the ground with that unnatural strength and he screams when she shoves a screwdriver right through his healed palm,” It fucking HURT”
Wait…healed???
He doesn’t have time to jump on that thought as he thrashes like a fish, trying in vain to get that screwdriver out. Ethan hears her walk away and grab something that rumbles alive: a chainsaw.
Ethan panics and his fingers slip against the screwdriver, by the time he manages to pull it out that chainsaw comes flying and he throws up the hand in defense. He screams as the chainsaw bites through with bloody teeth, spraying it as his hand lands on the floor, detached from him. Ethan looks down at it and feels himself lose it. She grabs him, laughing in his face as she throws him across the floor. He groans, barely clinging onto consciousness as he grabs his now handless arm. Blood spurts in thick gushes, staining everything red as he stumbles upstairs after she walks away, screaming about how everything needs to be burned down.
Ethan pushes the attic button with his good hand and the attic staircase comes down. The bleeding stops as he waits, and he stares down at the bloody mess in shock before looking away again as his stomach lurches. He can’t afford to lose wind now. He goes up the stairs and finds a room to his right. He opens the door and finds handgun ammo and an M19 handgun just lying there. Ethan sighs raggedly as he takes it, he doesn’t have that much gun training, barely recalling the one time he went to a shooting range with friends in the summer one year, but he knows how to handle one. He removes the safety and loads it with the bullets, checking the magazine as he does as best he can with one hand.
“Okay fine” He grits out as he carefully holds it.
He’s probably in delirium now with how much everything hurts. Keep going. The exit is around here somewhere. Ethan just needs to find it. He finds another white door that leads to a dusty big room, where a ladder leads up and out. Ethan grabs the nearby ammo on the table and tucks it in his pocket as he quickly walks over to the ladder, tucking away the gun as he starts his slow ascent with one hand.
The roar of a chainsaw greets his ears as he climbs, and he looks up in shock as wood falls from a torn window, revealing Mia’s corrupted face. He quickly started going back down but she throws herself through the opening, knocking him and the ladder to the ground as she wails,” LEAVE ME!”
Ethan barely dodges the weapon and lifts the gun; he aims and fires. The recoil is jarring as his whole body aches more from the jerk as he watches blood spill from the bullet wound on her shoulder. He can’t stop. She got up from a hatchet to the shoulder, he’ll have to pump her full of lead until she couldn’t move anymore. Getting up to his feet, he fires again, and again.
Bullets land on her shoulders, one on her thigh causes her to stumble widely, the chainsaw cutting through a support beam as she screams in rage. The two dance around each other, one firing bullets and the other wielding a heavy chainsaw as they snarled and fought like animals.
“What are you hiding Ethan???” She snarls as she lunges, but the weight of her chosen weapon causes her to stumble and he takes the opening to shoot her again, this time in the face.
That should’ve stopped her cold, but instead it merely causes her to stumble a few feet backwards, a hand going up to clutch her face before she glares at Ethan. He fires again and races past her, going back where he came from. She chases, cutting through the door instead of opening it and he turns around, taking aim again despite his aches and fired twice more.
It took ten shots for her to stumble, and finally collapse onto the floor, blood pooling thickly around her once more. Ethan exhales and drops the gun, his body trembling as he can’t look anymore and turns, ready to run away when a dark figure moves faster than he can react. Suddenly, that man he saw earlier in the day is in his face, the same man that also appeared on the tape. He looks at him once before raising a fist,” Welcome to the family son.”
The single punch rocked through the rest of Ethan’s adrenaline shield, and he collapses onto the ground like a ragdoll, the world fading away in a pool of darkness.
He’s stuck now.
Washington D.C.
Same Afternoon as the Incident.
The secretary walks into the little meeting room, opening it after he knocked,” Agent Kennedy?”
A man looks up from where he sat on the couch, he was dressed in a silver-blue suit, his dirty blonde hair in his eyes even as he looked up. The barest hint of piercing silver-blue eyes greets the advisor,” Mark”
He clears his throat, suddenly feeling tiny against this man as he sits down across from him and puts down the file on the glass coffee table that sits between them,” You’ve been called on a mission, if you accept it, the President knows you also have several other missions at hand currently, but this is…a sensitive case.”
Leon Kennedy eyes the closed file for a moment before reaching forward and taking it. He opens it and soon leafs through the reports inside, gaze sharpening as he reads something that catches his attention,” An unidentified BOW in Dulvey, Louisiana? That can’t be right, there hasn’t been any attacks on U.S. Soil since the New York incident.”
“That’s why the President authorized you access to the file. Currently Blue Umbrella and B.S.A.A. are en route to the scene, but he believes with your… specialty, you should also go down there and investigate the area. You are a D.O.S. agent after all."
Leon frowns as he reads it again. The location was narrowed down to the one human establishment in that area: the Baker Family farm.
Family huh. Why do I get the feeling this is going to be like another BOW situation that also happened to have a so called ‘Family’?
“I know you’re our best agent when it comes to handling BOWs. You probably have the best streak of luck I’ve ever seen.”
“It’s not luck Mark” Leon sighs, putting the file down as he looks at the secretary fully,” I’ve simply been in the wrong place at the right time. Look, I get why the President allowed me to look at this, but if the B.S.A.A. is handling the situation then there’s no need for me to go down there- “
“We have suspicions it may be linked to a Mister Brandon Bailey.”
“I don’t know who that is.”
“You should, it’s one of the men that worked with Albert Wesker” Mark replied.
That name alone brought over several years’ worth of pain and war to Leon’s memories in an instant. The back of his head throbbed, and that phantom itch that never went away after he came back from Spain pulsed inside of him for a moment.
Leon took a deep breath, he briefly glanced out the window, taking his time to choose his words carefully to hide his own eagerness. I just want out of this stupid suit. Is what he told himself as he leaned forward,” When do I leave then?”
“Five minutes, there’s a plane already on its way as per order of the President. It’ll take you to the B.S.A.A base that’s stationed near Dulvey” Mark replied as he got up, Leon mimicking his movement as the two shook hands.
“Best of luck to you agent” He chirped.
Leon rolled his eyes, smiling thinly,” Thanks. I’ll be back when the mission is done.”
The two walked out of the room and Leon immediately headed to his room. A quick change of clothes and throwing anything else he needed in a small duffle and an agent came to take him to the plane. It was a small, private jet, no doubt normally used for pleasure flights by the President’s family, although now it had a purpose. Leon tried not to bounce over to the jet, he was already relieved at the change of clothes, his worn leather jacket already acting like a second skin as he entered the plane.
The pilot greeted him with a wave and told him to buckle up. They were in the air as soon as he told the pilot he was buckled into a seat. The turbulence rocked him, but he was focused. Dulvey. There was an unidentified BOW there that could be made by a man that worked with Albert Wesker…
That spelled trouble. Big trouble.
Leon can only hope he makes it there in time to save the United States. Again.
He can’t catch a break can he.