Work Text:
Brian woke up to the soft chirping of birdsong as he rolled over on his mattress, the springs giving an uneasy creak as he shifted. He'd found it soon after leaving his old life behind, and, as crispy and stained as it was, this bed was one of the few luxuries he had left.
He slowly sat up, the mattress sagging under his weight as he stretched. A chill breeze swept through the long-empty windows of the old hospital, sending small flurries of dust and dirt whirling across the floor. The rusting pipes and peeling paint were all too familiar to him. His camera sat on the floor, the lens cap protecting it from dust, as his water bottle rolled listlessly across the floor.
Brian didn't want to spend another day closed in on all sides by these flaking walls. He didn't want to be left alone with only his thoughts for company, not again. He couldn't bear it.
Today, he decided, he wanted to get out a little. Get a little vitamin D, or something. Maybe he'd get lucky and find another broken vending machine, or a really good dumpster to go through. Hell, maybe he'd find a whole meal outside a restaurant.
God, was this what my life has come to? Pathetic...
After tiredly skimming through a bit of footage, he packed his water bottle and camera cable, and left, with his camera loop attached to his hand to prevent any falls. He wasn't in a position to afford any repairs, and he protected his camera as much as he could.
Leaves crunched under his ratty trainers as Brian begun his long trek back to civilisation. It was autumn now, and the caramel-coloured foliage dotted the trees, with fallen leaves dusting the path. Bright green needles brushed against his arms, from trees that looked like the Christmas tree he'd hoisted up only a few years back with his… his friends. He still remembered how Tim had tied a few baubles up on the branches, and how Jay taken some wonky photos as Alex tried his hand at some Christmas-themed keyboard songs with Amy sat smiling next to him. It was yet another reminder of how time was passing, quickly and cruelly. Just how long had he been out on his own…?
He shook his head. There was no point in wondering about the past. He needed to focus on what he could do now to restrict Alex's that thing's influence, to tie up this mess. And to document that, he needed to sort out and edit his own recordings, and for that to happen, well, he would need to...
A sharp headache stabbed through his head as his camera – recording footage obediently, as always, - showed flickering bursts of static. A hacking cough built up in his throat, his ribcage tightening. He felt the unwanted presence of something alien and strange, something that did not belong, a feeling that haunted his nightmares.
Picking up the pace, he begun to run through Rosswood, through the routes he now knew like the back of his hand, away from the hospital and toward the car park. Brian coughed into his hoody's arm, trying to muffle the wheezing as best he could. He tried not to let his gaze linger too long on the too-tall blurred trees around him; no need to attract that… that thing's attention more than he already had.
Eventually the headaches, coughing, and static wound down – thank god – as he staggered to the car park. He leant against a fence post to catch his breath for a minute before heading toward the town.
Brian had a job to do, and he'd be damned if he didn't do it.
-
He knew people were staring at him, but he had long since stopped caring. He knew his hands were dirty and callused, he knew his face was rough and unshaven, he knew his hair was knotted and grimy, but as long as he kept his head down and went mostly unnoticed, he would be fine. He kept repeating this in his head, his mantra.
Everything is fine.
-
As it often did, his treacherous imagination once again reared its head as he walked along the pavement, his eyes flitting across the street signs.
But what if Alex sees you? What if Tim or Jay are around here, what if one of them recognises your face?
Of course. Wearing his frowning ski mask would draw too much attention in crowded areas, and Brian didn't want to be seen as someone trying to hide his identity from the police. Like some kind of criminal. So he went barefaced, with the mask on around the park and the others' cameras.
Brian pulled his yellow hood further down his face, and walked faster. He could only hope Alex was staying away from crowded areas; he was trying to limit the sickness, wasn't he? So he wouldn't be in a place like this, he hoped.
-
After a little while, he found himself at the place he needed; the Tuscaloosa public library. He kept his head down and walked through the automatic doors, letting a rush of cold air into the building. He relished the warmth of being inside a proper building, of being somewhere that wasn't a broken down building in the middle of nowhere. Somewhere that was actually habitable to humans.
This building was his haven. Heaven, even. Brian would spend his hours refilling his water bottles at the public taps, stuffing paper tissues into his backpack (Hey, you never knew what you'd need out in the woods!), and even borrowing a book from time to time. Sometimes he'd do some research on cryptids and mythos around the area through the archived newspapers under the guise of searching up for a college project, but there wasn't much to go off of.
(Though he was intrigued by the documented 'Stirling City Library Blaze,' with its photograph that had drawn the interest of paranormal fans a few decades back. Sadly, the original photograph had been long confiscated, and the only copies he could find were blurry or not maintained well, but there was indeed something all-too familiar about it.)
The free bathrooms and – as he had found from experimentation – sometimes-kickable-for-freebies vending machines were nice bonuses, too, not to mention the kind librarians who didn't mind him staying for long periods of time, even with his less than stellar personal hygiene. And the free camera charging was a godsend. Too bad it wasn't open 24/7, but, hey, he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
He wandered into the library computer room. There were a few people parked around the machines: a college student here, a few older people wrangling their emails over there, a couple other young adults in the corner.
Perfect.
Going up to the computer in the far corner, Brian scooted onto the chair, which squeaked in protest as he sat down. He awkwardly shuffled up to the computer, plugged his camcorder in, and begun his work of editing his footage. He stuffed his cheap earphones into his ears and absorbed himself into his work.
-
"No, I don't want your damn paid subscription-" he muttered under his breath, fighting with the editing software. It was just his luck for the program to start acting up during a vital moment of his video rendering, and it was then when something dawned upon him.
The room was silent.
At some point, the tapping of typing from the other users had faded away. But he'd looked up only minutes ago and seen them, and he hadn't heard anyone leave… Hell, even all the bags and worksheets from the previous occupants were still static where they had been before.
As if responding to his unease, the temperature begun to drop. First a slight chill, then an undeniable coldness crept upon him.
Brian begun to shiver, eyes darting around the room. His eyes landed on the window where-
Somehow-
It was pitch black outside.
But he had arrived in the morning, how…
How was it already nighttime? It couldn't be. No...
In the corner of his vision, the screen began to fizzle. Pixelated, colourful static began to build up as his stomach sunk with dread. His headache began to return as Brian involuntarily squeezed his eyes shut.
This couldn't be happening, this couldn't be happening, not here, not in one of the few safe spaces he had, it can't…
"Sir?"
His eyes snapped open.
"Sir, are you okay?" the voice of a librarian washed over him.
"Ye- yeah…" he stuttered. "I'm, uh, fine."
The people were all typing at their computers. They hadn't moved an inch. And a quick glance told him it was only noon outside.
What the hell was that?
-
Brian left the library after hastily finishing up his editing and uploading his footage online. He was shaken. Had that thing followed him out here, or was he falling to a new low?
His stomach growled. Right. In all this mess, he'd hardly eaten, and he'd have to… dumpster dive, or something. He'd definitely need to get some more pills, especially with the increasing presence of… it.
Pills, huh… Tim…
Maybe he could check out Tim's place.
Brian felt a twinge of disgust at himself at thinking of his old friend as just some source of food and meds, but what choice did he have? He wasn't exactly swimming in cash himself, after being on the run for god knows how long. And he'd only take what he needs, right?
He swivelled around, and started walking towards the bus stop that would take him to Tim's house.
-
It was dark by the time Brian got to Tim's place, with his mask hastily pulled over his face before his arrival. He slipped his gloves on too.
Brian jimmied the window easily. Too easily. He could imagine the kind of chastising he would've given Tim back in their college days if he'd found his house in this state back then.
Don't think of the past, don't let your nostalgia distract you, get the food, get the meds, then get out!
(It wasn't really fair of him to judge Tim though, was it? Neither man was in a stable state.)
He stepped in, keeping a good eye on his surroundings. Not the easiest with a wad of black fabric covering his eyes, but Brian was used to the obstruction after doing this time and time again.
The lights were on, so Tim was in. He'd have to be extra careful, then. Slipping fully into the room, – Tim's bedroom – Brian immediately began searching for the pills. He was painfully reliant on the white capsules, and they were by far the most important item he needed right now.
Tim's room was a mess. Piles of clothes everywhere, a few plates of old food sitting on the desk – it pained Brian to see Tim in this state. He'd always kept his place fairly clean in the past, so he had to be deeply rattled to have ended up like this.
A little bit of exploring through his old friend's wardrobe rewarded him with an orange-tinted bottle with a couple capsules left. Rooting through an old pile of clothes gave him another, with a few more pills this time. He was slipping his ill-gotten gains into his bag when he noticed something on Tim's table.
A photograph. Specifically, a photograph of him and Tim, at college. Tim had a small smile on his face, his eyes looking directly into the camera, whilst Brian had his arm around Tim's shoulders, grinning toothily with sparkling eyes. The photo was bright, and full of hope.
It was like looking at a whole other version of himself. Unrecognisable.
Where did everything go so, so, wrong?
At that moment, Brian heard footsteps approaching the room. In mere seconds, Tim would open the door.
And so he fled, through the window and into the night.
The photograph wilted on the table as a light breeze blew through the open window.
wannqur Wed 05 Nov 2025 02:42PM UTC
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dogs_r_cute Wed 05 Nov 2025 02:53PM UTC
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