by Asteroth
Prologue
Few people would willingly place themselves in the path of a killer. Even fewer would do so totally unarmed merely for sport. But across many worlds, many times, and many places there are those who choose to do just that.
The reasons are many: An insatiable lust for danger. A strange bond with your would be killer. Even a lack of something better to do.
Whatever the reason there is a time, and place, where these desires can be made real. Where some strange power has enahemorrhage the most unique killers from across worlds to practice their art uninhibited for one day. But with the stipulation that the killers and victims must both volunteer.
----
A crowd was gathered in a dim nondescript room. Waiting for a strange man shrouded by shadow to address them.
"If you are here" he began "then you already know what is about to happen. I am merely here to remind you of the specific rules."
"You are victims. You will be scattered throughout the domains of this realm. Your goal is whatever you choose, survive the night, die, or even turn the tables and kill your stalker. It does not matter."
"Some of you have chosen to be placed with a specific killer, you will find yourself placed within their domain. Each killers domain was designed to their unique specifications. As such the realm may be deadly in and of itself or it may contain valuable tools of survival."
"Remember, no behavior is prohibited. You may claim whatever weapon you find, and maim or kill anyone you should come across. You may have been forced to arrive as defenseless victims, but that does not mean you must stay that way."
"Congratulations to you all. Now let the games begin."
Part 1: The Not so Helpless Damsel
Lisette peered at her surroundings. A dark forest, typical. They almost always choose eerie manors, crumbling concrete (basements, factories, etc), or spooky forests.
Whatever, it didn't matter, Lis didn't mind. She wasn't terribly sure why she came here. She just felt the urge to give someone a run for their money. Feel the thrill. An odd reason to put oneself in the path of almost certain death, but good enough for Lis. Now her objective was to find a suitable foe. Some kind of savage beastman or crazed hick were not her idea of an attractive killer so, while the inhabitant wasn't necessarily like that, the forest wasn't too promising.
Lis decided to quickly move for the next realm before she was noticed. She ran through the forest hoping to find a landmark, realizing she would need good luck to find a way out. She felt a wave of relief on seeing a path. Quickly she followed it and soon saw a door into the ground, much like those used for cabin cellars but without the cabin, and hastily descended it.
-
Comimg out she found herself descending a stairwell, the walls appeared to be quality and interior.
"Probably a manor then." Lis thought to herself.
Reaching the bottom of the stairwell she found herself in a grand dining room. Like most places in this realm it was a distorted vision. The room seemed to feature blades in entirely inappropriate places, for instance the legs of some of the chairs. Clearly the realms killer had to be some kind of idiot offering so many deadly implements. Upon looking up Lis realized what kind of idiot. The ceiling had the
words 'I'm only what you made me!' written on it in blood.
"Ah fuck. Some fucked up rich boy with daddy issues" Lis mumhemorrhage to herself.
Still, even worse was the fact this didn't make him much less dangerous. Serial killers often seem to thrive on miracles to not be caught or killed. Meaning their apparent competence isn't always a good measure of how deadly they are. Lis knew she wouldn't be able to just leave unnoticed this time, the killer would definitely already be on the prowl.
Lis figured the most obvious routes to the next realm would be a backdoor or a basement door. Finding either would not be easy.
"Well, I'll never get anywhere standing here."
Lis ran for one of the hallways. Passing the huge dining table she grabbed a bladed... runcible spoon?!
"Whatever." Lis thought "It'll do."
Swiftly she disappeared down a corridor.
---
Lis moved through the long stretching corridors. She met no resistance, but could here numerous encounters occurring around her. She knew that in this place there was no way to tell what sounds are real and what fake. After some time she heard the sound of someone approaching. Lis looked and saw a man in a white button-down shirt running towards her. It only took a few moments for her to see he wasn't likely the killer; he lacked any weapon, wore a frightened expression, and looked rather too sane.
"He's coming up behind me. Run this way!" The man shouted. Lis decided to comply.
The two ran down a corridor, Lis realized having this person around strongly boosted her odds of survival especially if she used them right...
"In here!" the man yanked them into a room.
It appeared to be another sitting room, clearly most of the endless rooms here were redundant. The man slammed the door behind them.
"We're never going to last holing up in here." Lis offered, trying to give the fellow a chance.
"We'll just have to try our best. It's much safer than running around"
"Alright then. We'll do our best."
The duo waited. After some time, Lis couldn't keep track of how long, they heard footsteps outside the door. Her companion gestured for her to come closer and listen. It was clear someone was walking up to their room. Lis knew exactly what she intended to do. She moved behind her companion who stood perched in the doorway. A poor plan for certain, trying to pounce a killer and fight them hand to hand, but she was more than willing to let him try it. Soon they heard a knocking on the door.
"I know you're in there!" A quite chipper male voice rang out.
Lis' companion steeled his stance. In just a moment the door flew open (how was unclear, the handle never moved), moving towards them rapidly was a reasonably handsome but quite insane looking young man in ill-fitting overly adorned nobleman's clothing. The lunatic was holding a jeweled letter opener sharpened to a point. Both Lis' companion and the lunatic charged towards each other. Knowing she had to act fast Lis pushed her companion forward slamming him onto the killers blade.
"Huah?" The killer let loose a shocked exclamation. Due to the surprise he was not able to retract his blade quickly enough to defend himself. His grunt quickly became a gurgle as Lis slammed the bladed spoon into his neck. Both bodies collapsed to the floor rapidly bleeding out.
"Sorry." Lis apologized to her dying companion "It was the only possible way to beat him and get out of here."
She ran out of the room to find the next realm.
---
Emerging from the stairs down Lis found herself in the next realm as she hoped. This one appeared to be a variant of the classic crumbling industrial style. Old concrete walls, rusted iron pipes (mostly broken) running along the walls, and almost no light. Also heat radiating from many of the pipes made her suspect a furnace room was near.
"Finally, this is a good sign" Lis thought to herself. Anyone could occupy a place like this. She knew it could easily end up with a degenerate freak far worse than the forest. But the fact it's simply styled after an abandoned building meant anyone could be hiding in it.
Lis moved down the corridor, finally looking forward to seeing the killer of the realm.
After passing seemingly endless dark tunnels with branching corridors and small rooms, usually containing rotting crates and broken shelves, Lis finally heard footsteps approaching.
Quickly hiding in a crumhemorrhage patch of wall Lis peered out. Gradually the figure came into view, it seemed to be a woman, very pale with long black hair wearing tall leather boots and a sleeveless latex bodysuit.
"Perfect!" Lis excitedly thought "I mean it's not creative, but almost exactly the type I wanted. Now let's see if she's good enough to get me."
Lis train of thought was abruptly interrupted by the clatter of blades striking the wall behind her. The killer had clearly spotted her. Lis leapt up and bolted down another corridor. While moving though she quickly glanced at the blades to see if she could use them, however they looked to have shattered completely.
"Damn! Clever planning."
Lis ran through the tunnels. She knew she could grab a section of pipe as a weapon, but that would be exhausting and slow her down. Clearly this killer liked stalking unarmed victims. Also she hasn't seen a single other victim. Either they were all dead by now or the killer was keeping them separated.
She decided to go with the only plan she could think of and follow the warm currents to find the furnace room itself. As she ran through the corridors she would occasionally catch a glimpse of the killer stalking her.
Soon the air began to burn and the sound of fire echoed through the tunnels. Lis knew she was near her goal. Rounding a corner she saw a massive iron structure with pipes extending out of it all along the walls. Ducking and hiding around a corner Lis waited for the killer to arrive.
It didn't take long before quiet footsteps could be heard approaching. Before she could even react a black and white form tumhemorrhage in front and past her. Lis felt somethng slide around her neck. Finally fearful she pulled away from the wall but was already chocking on the cord. The killer could move even quicker than expected, however strangling is perfect for trying to execute her plan.
Adrenalin rushing, eager to match herself against the beautiful killer Lis grabbed the cord around her neck and flung herself to the ground pulling the killer with her. She could feel the latex clad body pressed against her.
"Ok.." She thought to herself. Already light-headed from strangulation "Only one chance at this."
Lis flung her body into a roll dragging the killer with her. Both bodies sloppily rolled towards the wall. With a hissing thump Lis felt the her opponents body hit the wall. And more importantly her target: the heating pipes covering said wall.
Flesh hissed as it cooked and mixed with melting latex. Lis could smell the vile odor. She could feel her killers heart race, the tiny gasps they release from the unexpected agony. Lis could not know what they were thinking, but the body pressed so tightly to encompass her revealed every sensation. So much agony.
Her thoughts muddled. Melting into the oppressive heat. She could feel herself fading with her newly scarred killer quite alive. Everything was becoming sensations of pain, heat, and reek of charred skin and latex.
"Well. At least I gave her the fight of a lifetime..."
Part 2: To Feast on Blood and-
"The only thing you have to remember is stick together." Akane reminded her classmates for the fifty-seventh time.
The others just nodded in agreement. Everyone, even Akane herself though she wouldn't admit it, was distracted by their surroundings. An abandoned version of the school they came from. Rotted and destroyed, broken desks lying out in the halls, and pitch dark, only visible though the flashlight they themselves brought. The dust encrusted shattered remains of the windows revealed only pure darkness outside.
The five students were there for the future of their school. A killer had been stalking the school for years preying on the students. These five had agreed to almost certain death for a chance to confront her and put a stop to the killings.
"What do we do first?" Aoi spoke up "We don't have anything to fight back with." The others nodded their agreement.
"First we need to scavenge whatever we can find as weapons" Akane replied "Then we go to the safest room we can find. I'll explain things further from there."
The girls scavenged the hallways. Fortunately the damaged state of everything left a number of options. Akane wrapped cloth around a shard o glass for a makeshift knife. Aoi took one of the thin metal legs from a desk. Chiyo and Rin both took lengths of wood. And Miki broke a discarded bottle and used it. The group then moved to one of the abandoned classrooms.
"Alright," Akane began "the killer will try to pick us off one by one. We have to stick together, but if we just sit against a wall facing the door then killer will probably not show at all. We're the ones with the burden to win here. It is going to be near impossible, but we need to try to attract her attention while still being ready to fight back. Remember; we aren't all going to survive the night."
Akane quickly outlined a basic plan. Chiyo and Rin would stay in the room they were in right now. Aoi and Akane herself would move to the next room over. And Miki would stand in the doorway to see down the hall. This way all five would be near each other and no one would be out of sight of at least one other student.
------
Akane slumped down against the wall next to Aoi, who turned to face her.
"What are we really doing here?" the girl asked "We don't actually stand a chance against a killer who's stalked our school for years without trouble. And now we face her on her own terms."
"We're here to do our best." Akane replied "This is the only way we can be sure she will come after us. I know we don't have any real chance of victory, but I want to know I tried. Besides everyone here volunteered, they'll have to answer why they came."
The girls simply slumped back until they heard a scream from the next room.
------
Chiyo and Rin were trying to pass the time.
"Nine." Chiyo said.
"Eight." Rin responded.
"Seven."
"Six. And don't forget three."
"What? Why the heck would I forget three?"
"I dunno. It seemed to make sense at the time."
"You're weird." Chiyo dismissed her.
The girls slumped down against desks in the room and gazed towards the windows out into the darkness. Several minutes passed.
"Rin?" Chiyo turned around. There was no trace of Rin anywhere. Her heart beating fast, rapidly panicking she looked around the area.
The broken glass that used to fill the window frame was gone.
"AKANE!!!"
-------
Akane and Aoi rush into the room and Miki looks in from the doorway.
"What happened in here?" She demanded.
"Rin disappeared! We were sitting here and she's just fucking gone! How could it do that without making sound?!" Chiyo screamed out near incoherently.
"Calm down." Akane firmly stated "This isn't surprising. We just need to be more careful. Stay in better contact. It probably killed her instantly before removing her body."
Akane sighed. Something unfortunate occurring to her. "If I turn around I'm not going to see Miki in the doorway anymore am I?"
Chiyo and Aoi both turned around.
"N-no..." Chiyo stuttered out.
"You're not." Aoi finished.
"Fuck..."
--------
"What are we doing now?" Chiyo nervously asked as the remaining trio moved through the ruined hallways. Akane was gripping both of the others hands tightly.
"Finding her. Our only chance is to get her to come after us together. So I just need to keep a hand on you."
"So it's the same plan as before?"
"Pretty much." She firmly replied.
Akane continued to swiftly drag them through the school without any apparent aim. They other two looked nervously at eerily abandoned classrooms as they passed by.
"Ackh!..." Akane felt Chiyo's hand stiffen up. Immediately spinning around she saw a knife firmly imbedded in her companions neck.
"Come on! It has to be in that classroom!" Akane shouted. Pointing to the doorway next to Chiyo.
The two quickly pushed by their dying classmate and rushed into the room. To her left, past Aoi, Akane saw a figure shrouded in darkness.
"Ao-!" She desperately tried to warn her, but saw that it was too late. The figure had already grabbed the girl. The enraged schoolgirl threw herself towards the killer pulling out the shard of glass she had kept earlier. A sense of satisfaction coursed through her as she felt herself impact the figure outthrust weapon first, even as a resounding pain flooded her head and darkness veiled the world.
------------
"Ughh...."
Akane moaned as she gradually came to.
"So you are finally awake." A mature feminine voice rang through the stabbing pain of her headache.
She tentatively opened her eyes and endured the further jab of pain. It appeared she was in the remains of the school cafeteria. The remains of long ruined tables littered the floor, as well as miscellaneous kitchen tools. She herself had been seated at an intact example of one such table. Spread out in front of her were several candles giving out orange light, illuminating an enticing display of victuals. Steaks cooked to perfection, hearty stews, among other wondrous sights. Also illuminated was the beautiful woman sitting at the side of the table. She appeared to be between 35 to 40 years old, with long straight black hair, and a thin though not overly delicate frame.
"You're the killer." Akane mumhemorrhage out.
"Yes, I would say that is quite apparent." The woman responded. "And you are a fine victim." She pointed to a large cloth tied around her lower stomach as a bandage "Not many girls lodge glass in me. That should explain the inevitable 'why am I alive' question right now."
"Well then why do you do this?" She asked.
"Here have some of the food, it's heavenly." The woman offered. However Akane looked at her extremely skeptically. "Really? I could rip out your eyes and stuff your ovaries in the sockets and you think the food will do something terrible? Have a nice meal, there are many far more terrible sins you could commit than not letting this rot."
Despite having an inkling of were the meat probably came from Akane slowly began to eat, everything really was cooked to perfection making for a delightful taste.
"I can tell you the schoolyard legends are entirely false." The woman set to answering Akane's previous question. "I was not a previous student terribly bullied, and now returned for revenge. Although like almost all murderers there is nothing about my sonhood I would recommend. Instead I was a teacher, a teacher who developed very strange tastes."
"That's all?" The student inquired. Finding the stories end rather abrupt.
"It is hard to drag it out. I left the school on good terms, waited a while, and now live out my fantasies. Follow your destiny. If you don't have one, then find it."
"So now you're going to keep killing the students." She stated.
"Yes. Your mission failed. But it never mattered anyway. You will wake up in the morning knowing you tried. That you did what mattered. And that is why you came." The woman stood up and approached her. "And maybe, just maybe, you will walk away with a destiny."
Akane felt the same sharp pain in her head. And the same blackness.
----------
The next day Akane dealt with a barrage of questions. Mostly she told the truth, everyone else died but she got knocked out and woke up back home.
Life moved on. The students still feared the killer. The only thing different, was that every now and then Akane would look at the girls around her and remember the heavenly meal she had by candlelight.
The End