Chapter Text
another mission, another day of fear and dread.
the contractee is shuffling around, nervously squeezing their arms as they walked around the map— trying to spot anyone, someone, atleast, but there was not a single person in sight. they mumbled under their breath, hands shaking as they walked— but they try to stop it. there’s probably someone still alive, right? they can’t all have died and gone this fast in the mission, right?
they look around, and they spot nothing. no people or items at all, and they fear the worst. they should atleast try to search for the artifact, try to actually do something useful for once. they know their team completed all side objectives, so they don’t need to do those. for a second, they think, what if they were the only one left alive? and they shiver at the thought.
and yes, they knew the director would bring them back, but even knowing that they were still terrified of death. they haven’t been in the company for very long unlike their teammates, making them the rookie of the group, one of the more easier ones for the entities to hunt for. and- god, their last two missions- their last two deaths, they didn’t even wanna think about what happened.
( they screamed and screamed when the thing lifted them up in the air, kicking their legs and struggling for air- and they begged, someone, please help them, they can’t breathe- someone save them- someone- ANYONE, SAVE THEM!— )
they’re pulled out of her flashback when they hear yelling from afar, making them by instinct go and hide behind a sign. they peeked their head out- catching a glimpse of one of their teammates getting chased by a man in a suit, black curly hair and holding a gun in one hand and a briefcase in the other. this was a new entity- to them atleast, but based off the data logs they read, they remembered a entity that was relatively like a normal robloxian. what was he called again? something with ash ?
they snap out of their thoughts though, when a scream erupted their ears- their teammate was shot, and he falls backwards towards the edge and into the ocean, and they gasp. oh god. oh no. their watch on their wrist burst out in alarm- they’re the only one left. and to make things worse, the entity swiftly turns his head towards them direction. he saw them.
jolting back, they freaked- stumbling over themselves and running off back where they came, trying to get as far away as they could from the entity. as they did, they could hear distant footsteps behind them, and that encourages them to try to speed up more. if only they found the artifact before- maybe they wouldn’t be in this situation and already be back at base! their vision get blurry as they run, and they shake their head to try to clear their head.
they could feel their legs start to strain, but they ignored it, trying to force themself to keep moving forwards, and then- WHACK!
something hits them in the back of their head, causing them to stumble in a daze and fall head first on the floor. they hold back a pained noise, ears ringing and head pounding, they try to get up, but their body gives out on them. their thoughts are filled with ones of panic- ones that are yelling at them to keep moving, and so they try, they try to crawl away, but a sharp pressure on their back stopped her from doing so- digging into their spine, and they go limp for a second. their body aches.
they slightly turn their head to see what was stopping them- and the entity looms over, looking down at the contractee, and they wished they could just curl up into nothingness right now instead of facing what was going to happen next. he raises his gun, and they flinch— shutting their eyes as they pull their leg back and instinctively tries to kick the man’s shins, which works, to their surprise. the pressure on their back is relieved, and the man stumbles backwards, almost falling, but he catches himself. they try to get up and run- but their legs give out on them immediately and they fall to the ground, and they realize they’re done for.
they whip their head around- crawling backwards at the approaching man, vision blurry and tears pooling at the corners of their eyes- they bump into a wall and stops in their tracks, curling up into a ball and covering their face as they try not to sob.
their teammates told them to get used to it, to death, as it was bound to happen a lot- but they couldn’t, they’re frightened. how could they not be?
and they sit there, cowering, shaking, waiting for the inevitable. . but it didn’t come. they hear the man crouch down and feels the sting of metal right at their forehead, but he didn’t fire, not immediately.
and that made them lift their head upwards. they almost slam their head against the wall by jolting back when they see the man just staring- observing? they couldn’t tell. his eyes were narrow, like he was scanning them. then to their surprise, he says something.
“‘r you a new recruit or somethin’ ?”
they blink. they take a moment to process what he said, before hurriedly nodding their head- anything to delay what will happen. he tilts his head, curls falling to the side, before back forwards. “should’ve guessed, you ‘r terrible at runnin’. ain’t you a bit young’r then what the director hires?” the contractee shrinks a bit more at that comment, and they look away. he seems to understand though, so he doesn’t push any further on that note.
“‘ow long you’ve been workin’ for them, the director?“ he speaks out. this time, they manage to mutter out a shaky response. “tw- two months. . s-sir.”
the sir part was unintentional, but they were nervous and had no idea what his name is- well, maybe, they weren’t sure. “ ew, no need to call me sir. know me by my name, ‘nd nothin’ else. “ he sounded- what, disturbed? at the thought of someone calling him sir.
nonetheless, they shakily nod their head. with a hum of slight surprise, the man backs up a bit from them. “tell you what. i snagged the artifact from one of your teammates before knocking ‘em off the edge, how about i hand it to you, give you a headstart, let you complete the mission? ” . . and for a silent moment, they are genuinely dumbfounded. he lets out a snirk at seeing their face, before standing upwards. “not kiddin’ , ill let you try to get the artifact outta ‘ere, scot free!”
they don’t believe it. wasn’t the whole reason why he was here was to like, not let them retrieve the artifact? why even give them the chance?? they’re so confused, and yet, they couldn’t exactly waste their one shot of getting out of a mission unscathed and doing something useful for once, so. . they push themself up, legs shaky. and they nod. he nods back, a smirk on jis face as he opens up the briefcase and hands them the scroll, which they take. . .
and immediately dashes off with it. as long as their legs don’t give out on them again, they should be able to make it- just gotta keep focus on the scroll and not like, spontaneously die like that one teammate. easy. easy.. the retrieval area wasn’t that far, and they were running at their highest speed possible- maybe they could make it!
is what they would be thinking if they didn’t already hear the footsteps of the man (ashle?) behind them rapidly approaching. then— they hear something get tossed behind them, whipping around in the wind, and they duck by instinct- the briefcase narrowly missing their head.
they were sorta stumbling as they ran, getting hit by a briefcase and banging your head on the floor will do that to you, but they didn’t let that hold them back. they were right there, just a couple more studs and they’d make it, and they’d finally prove they weren’t deadweight to the team- that they could do something useful for once in their life, and—
BANG.
there is ringing in their ears, and they stumble forward- almost falling over themselves, and there is a sharp pain in their leg. they almost stop in their tracks, tears automatically forming and falling as they bit back their sobs and kept pushing through- until they were right infront of the retrieval area. then they fall over, and as one last act- they toss the scroll straight at the square, and then it disappears. there is a successful sounding beep on their watch. they did it.
their body slumps onto the floor, as they try not to sob over the burning pain in their leg- they could barely feel anything else, only the pain. they bite their tongue to shut themselves up, as they shuffled to the side and attempt to sit up. their body is shaking, everything hurts, and their ears are still ringing.
they hear the man’s approaching footsteps, and they don’t bother to look up at him, even when he crouches down. “ ay, you did it! sorry ‘bout the leg by the way, wasn’t aimin’ at that part. “ they give a small nod, but they barely hear what the man said, and curls up- well, to the best they could anyway. their injured leg stays straight.
“.. are y-you, going to have to kill me now?” they mutter, speech shaky and weak as they wipe their tears, peeking a eye out at him, and the man shrugs. “well. you gotta head back to your base, yeah? i doubt their pickup crew will arrive in time before you bleed out, so it’ll be quicker.”
they nod slightly. they felt dizzy, and maybe it was cause of the blood loss, but they felt exhausted too. he was right, they should go back to base already, shouldn’t they? they need to do their reports and get their paycheck, or, something. they inhale sharply- feeling the stinging pain of their wound- and they nod.
“aight. try to not look, yeah? this outta be quick.” they hear the man shuffle around to get a bit farther away, and hearing the click of a gun- they shut their eyes tight. usually they would be terrified, even if knowing it’s temporary, but this time they just feel nervous. a more muffled version of the fear in their chest, they supposed.
maybe it’s because they weren’t actively getting mauled and or hunted down. they inhale, then exhale, and a loud bang rings out, and they swiftly lose all consciousness.
( when they wake up back at base, their teammate question why it took so long for them to get killed. they don’t know how to respond- but they simply say they got lucky for a while. )