Chapter Text
“Good…all signed and sealed.” The wheelchair bound minister said, unseeing eyes peering down at the sickly child that laid on the gurney before him. “Now, let’s begin the transfusion. Oh, don’t you worry. Whatever happens… you may think of it all a mere bad dream.” His vision began to blur and it was getting harder for him to keep his eyes open. The last thing he heard before everything faded to black was the unsettling laughter of the minister.
When he opened his eyes once more, it was all dark and the minister from before was nowhere to be seen. The only thing he could hear, aside from his own breaths and beating heart, was the sound of something dripping. Tommy looked around the room, trying to locate the source of the sound. To his right there was nothing to be seen, but he spotted a large pool of blood on the floor to his left, with something large beginning to rise from it. He couldn’t move, couldn’t speak or scream, all he could do was watch as the bloodsoaked beast emerged from the pool; taking slow steps towards him. It stretched out a large paw towards him, claws foul and sharp, but before it got the chance to touch him, it erupted into flames; causing it to howl with pain, collapse on the floor, and fade away.
Out of the corner of his eye, Tommy spotted something small beginning to climb up onto the gurney; hands, small and unusually pale hands, had grabbed on to the edge of the gurney. It didn’t take long for the malformed creature to climb up on the gurney, followed by many others. His eyes darted around the room as these creatures climbed onto him, heart beating pounding in his chest. Tommy squeezed his eyes shut, wanting this nightmare to be over.
“Ahh, you’ve found yourself a hunter…”
After an uncertain amount of time, Tommy awoke, heart still beating after that terrible dream. What even were those things? Were they real, or were they a twisted creation created by his own imagination? Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself into a sitting position. Looking around the room he spotted no sign of that beast, those things, or the minister. On shaky legs, he got down from the gurney and made his way toward the door. The less he thought about this, the better…thinking about things too hard had a tendency of making him anxious and fearful, more than he usually was.
He opened the doors, its hinges creaking, and made his way downstairs. There were noises coming from the other room, what they were he couldn’t quite make out, but he was curious to find out about what was making them.
Treading carefully, Tommy stepped inside the larger room and was greeted with the strong coppery smell of blood. He scrunched up his face, finding the smell to be almost unbearable, but he had to get used to it. With steps as light as feathers, he crept towards the source of the sound, and peeked around the corner.
His heart almost skipped a beat at the sight of a large beast, standing over a pool of blood, tearing into some unfortunate soul that got caught in its jaws. Tommy could feel his heart beating in his chest, and he slowly made his way back to the room before this one.
Okay, okay, okay… there’s a beast in the clinic… large, hungry…and angry. He took a few shaky breaths, trying his best to calm himself down. There is nothing around here to use as a weapon so fighting it isn’t an option. But there is enough space between it and the door for me to make a break for it. Running away from danger was a skill he was a master at, being forced to do so from a young age. He took another breath and snuck back into the large room, treading as quietly as a mouse. When he was about halfway there, the beast stopped eating and turned its attention to him. He rolled to the side as the beast lunged at him, bolting up the stairs faster than he’d ever ran before.
The doors that stood closed to the clinic were forced open when he slammed into them, hurting his shoulder in the process. He didn’t have the time to fix that, not now at least, and made his way to the iron gates that stood closed in the courtyard. Using all the strength he could muster, and a little bit of elbow grease, Tommy opened the gates. The shrieking they made was probably loud enough to be heard by half the city.
He took a quick look around, scouring the area for anything that might prove useful to him. On a body down in the little area before him, he found a couple of blood vials and quickly stuffed them into his pocket. This night was going to be rough, so he needed to get a hold of anything that may help him. Tommy made his way up the cobblestone street, and sighed in annoyance when he saw that the gate to his right was closed. He was so busy focusing on the gate that he didn’t even notice that one of the townsfolk, bloodcrazed and mad, had snuck up behind him before they yelled something about him being a filthy outsider, followed by terrible pain from his back being struck with an axe. He cried out in pain and moved out of the way before he got the chance to strike again. He ran towards the lever that sat on the ground and pulled it, the ladder sinking down.
The bloodcrazed Yharnamite didn’t seem too keen on letting him go and tried to attack him again. Unlike last time, Tommy managed to dodge his attack and pushed him away, sending him tumbling onto the ground. This certainly didn’t deter him but it did buy Tommy enough time to get to the ladder and climb it. He ascended the ladder fast, faster than he’d ever climbed before. Halfway up the ladder a loud shriek was heard, inhuman and echoing, making him stop and look around.
What was that? He hadn’t seen or heard the sounds of that many creatures, so he didn’t have anything to compare the sound to. All he knew was that it must’ve come from something large, much larger than anything he’d seen so far… He swallowed, feeling his fear beginning to set in again. It’s probably not anywhere near here, right? Looking down, he saw the same Yharnamite staring up at him, eyes empty and face contorted in anger. Tommy didn’t wish to be anywhere near him and made his way up the ladder faster than before. Once he’d reached the top of the ladder, Tommy flopped down on the filthy ground below him, looking up at the pale orange sky and catching his breath. He winced in pain as the wound on his back made contact with the muddy stone, adrenaline starting to wear off. Digging through his pockets, Tommy pulled out one of the blood vials he’d picked up earlier and looked at it.
He hated getting injections and the mere sight of needles made him anxious, but he gritted his teeth and sighed. This was just something he needed to get used to, else he wouldn’t make it through the night. He held it over his thigh, hand shaking nervously and heart beating. Out of everything he’d seen so far, this is what scared him the most. He closed his eyes and jabbed the needle into his thigh.
It was like magic how fast the blood had healed him. He knew it could heal wounds and treat illnesses, but didn’t think it’d happen this fast. Tommy pushed himself off the ground, brushing off any dirt that might’ve clung to his clothes. The first thing he saw when he looked around was a small house, away from the other houses he’d seen behind the gate. There was a lantern sitting on the side of it, a warm, red glow emanating from it. Something he hadn’t noticed until now was the strange lamp that sat in the middle of the ground. That seems like an odd place to put a lamp. In contrast to the lantern that sat on the side of the building, the glow of the curious-looking lamp was a cold, silvery colour, almost reminding him of moonlight. He crouched down in front of it to get a better look, it seemed normal for the most part, aside from the strange glow and the slight ringing sound that came from it.
Maybe this is a special kind of lamp they only make here? Though, I do wonder what they’re using to get this colour. It doesn’t look like any flame I’ve seen… His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone coughing and Tommy turned his head, looking towards the source of the sound. The coughing continued for a few moments, sounding strained and raspy. It stopped for a little while, then started back up again. He got up from where he was crouching and approached the window, he couldn’t make out any details but he did see a dark shape sitting by the window; most likely the one who was coughing. Seems like Tommy wasn’t the only one having a rough night. Tommy reached a hand through the bars, hesitating a little, before knocking. The coughing stopped and a startled gasp was heard, followed by the sound of someone shifting in their seat.
“Oh. You must be a hunter.” said the man, his voice hoarse from coughing.
“I…I am.” He wasn’t used to speaking to people, so his voice ended up being soft and barely louder than a whisper. He cleared his throat a little bit, then continued, “Yes, I am... I hope I’m not bothering you, mister, I was just checking to see if you were okay…” and sane, though he dared not say it aloud. The man chuckled and broke off to cough again. “Could be doing better…” He paused, “You’re not from around here, are you?”
Tommy pondered on whether or not he should answer that, most yharnamites weren’t too keen on outsiders… then again, would this man really be talking to him if he viewed outsiders the same way as everyone else?
“No, I’m not. Came here seeking treatment, had to sign a contract to get it…” he remembered sitting in that room, trying to fill that paperwork out was a nightmare when he could barely read.
“Then we’re not so different, you and I.” the man sighed, letting out another cough. “You must’ve had a fine time with it. Yharnam has…a special way of treating guests”.
“...I’ve noticed” Tommy instinctively touched the place where the axe had struck him not long before. It hadn’t even been here a day and had already gotten attacked by something. He shook his head, wanting to forget about that.
“I’m Tommy. May I know who I’m speaking to?”
“You can call me Gilbert.” he replied, pausing to take a few breaths. Gilbert wasn’t used to speaking for very long, either, but for different reasons. "I don’t think I could stand if I wanted to. But I’m willing to help, if there’s anything that can be done.”
He shifted a little, trying to think of something he needed, something he needed to ask. But there are so many things I don’t know, where do I even start?
“Have…have you seen any others? Anyone else who might be outside…or anyone in general who could help me?” He hated being alone, especially in places he didn’t recognise. As much as he liked talking to Gilbert, he knew he couldn’t stay here the whole night.
“Other hunters?” Gilbert hummed, taking a few moments to think about it. “I think I saw another one patrolling here in Central Yharnam…although, I don’t know his name.” That made things more difficult. How could he find another hunter if he didn’t even know their name or what they looked like? “Now that I think about it, I did see him walk past my window roughly an hour ago. Massive fella, and wields an axe. If you miss him, you must be blind.”
Tommy nodded at hearing this information. “Okay, huge hunter, wields an axe. Got it.” He turned to leave, but it felt rude to do so without saying anything. “I best be off then,” he began, turning his body in the direction of the strange lamp, “stay safe in there!” Tommy heard Gilbert draw in a breath only to break out in a coughing fit; even if he’d only known Gilbert for a few minutes, it still hurt to hear someone as kind as him be so terribly ill and in pain. Why must the kindest people be the ones who suffer and endure the most? It just isn’t fair.
It took a few moments for the coughing fit to stop, and Gilbert’s voice was somehow a little shakier than before. “I’ve lived thus far, have I not?” Despite the strain speaking put on his voice, Gilbert still found the time to make light out of a less than stellar situation. “This town is cursed… and I suggest you make a swift exit when morning comes-” Gilbert didn’t get to finish the sentence before breaking off into another fit of coughing. “Now… go.” was all he managed to say between the coughs, making Tommy wince a little. He’d been like this only some hours before and it saddened him to see someone else with a similar affliction.
As a very small act of kindness, he rooted through his pockets until he found the unusually smooth stone he’d picked up a few years ago. There wasn’t anything special about it, really, but it did make Tommy feel luckier whenever he had it near him. He left it by the windowsill, hoping it’d provide even the slightest bit of luck for the poor man.
After a few moments, he stepped away from Gilbert’s window and crouched down beside the lamp. He wasn’t sure why, but something compelled him to touch it. Tommy held a hand out to the lamp and flicked it with his fingers.. Oddly enough, this caused the lamp to light up; its silvery light shining brighter than before. Groans were heard below him and he jumped back when he saw those pale things again. The minister had said that was all a bad dream, but seeing these things while he was wide awake was almost enough to make him question whether or not he was actually awake.
The strange creatures looked up at him with curiosity, some of them gestured at him and then at the lamp. Did they want him to touch it? After a few moments, Tommy scooted over to the lamp again, hesitated for a few seconds before finally touching it. A strange glow surrounded him as he felt himself begin to fade; whisked away to a place most will never see.