To keep yourself awake, you’d often stretch or pace the room, but never letting go of the shotgun, or at the very least, only putting it down for a microsecond right beside you.

            Your stomach growled & you wished there was a way to retrieve food but you weren’t willing to risk it.

            By the time the second day arrived, you felt half dead.

            Anytime you saw yourself in the vanity mirror, you lost more & more sight of yourself. Your skin was tight, your face saggy from lack of sleep. But you were determined, you had to be. It was either you or Ransom, you chose yourself.

            But as you sat there in a chair across from the door, you felt your eyes flutter close & your arms begin to lose strength.

            You hadn’t meant to fall asleep.

            In your dream, you were still sitting in the chair in Ransom’s room. It was dark outside but the window glowed orange. Smoke filled the room but you could still breathe. You got up from the chair & approached the window. Outside, the world was burning. Men, women, children ran through the flames screaming & crying. Wildlife trampled them over & birds overhead sang their tunes as you watched these faceless strangers die in more ways than one.

            You stood at the window for some time, watching it all unfold. There was no panic or fear as it all occurred before you. In the reflection of the window, you saw the door behind you open & a giant black mass approached you.

            It was in that moment that you couldn’t move. Your feet were glued to where you stood. Your eyes stationed on the black mass growing bigger in the reflection, moving closer & closer to yours.

            It was getting hard to breathe & your hands were moving in search for the shotgun but they came up empty.

            By the time you raised your eyes back to the reflection, the mass was directly behind you. It was so massive & dark that it took out your own reflection.

            “_____.” The mass whispered in a hush tone. It was quiet & loud all at the same time; speaking softly into your ear but echoing off the walls of the room.

            You winced, wanting to cover your ears with your hands but you couldn’t move those anymore either.

            The mass slowly began to envelop you. It started at your feet, clouding them until you could no longer see them then slowly began traveling it’s way up your body.

            Tears blurred your vision as the mass grew higher & higher.

            A choked scream was lost in your throat as the mass finally came to face you. It was nothingness. Endless. Abysmal.

            It wrapped you up in it’s arms & the next thing you knew, you were falling.

            It felt like you had been falling for minutes when the sound of your name returned.

            “_____.” “_____.” “_____.”

            Louder, louder, angrier.

            You reached out to grab anything, for your father’s hand, a lifeline, anything to stabilize you but it was only the darkness that surrounded you.

            “_____!”

            You shot forward in your sleep, falling from the chair. The shotgun clattered to the wood as it fell from your lap.

            Scared, you immediately snatched the gun, pointed it at the door, & pulled the trigger.

            Wood splintered & the room shook with the bang.

            When you realized you were awake, you slapped yourself once. Your hands were shaking & your skin was coated in a thin layer of sweat.

            The door had a massive hole near the top of it, littered by smaller holes around it.

            “Fucking hell!” Ransom’s voice hollered from the other side.

            You readjusted the shotgun in your hands & held it up, your breathing coming in pants.

            “Quit fucking shooting at me!” He yelled, banging on the door once.

            Through the hole near the top of the door, Ransom’s face appeared. It was only his eyes & nose but he looked furious.

            “I brought you fucking food, you little shit.” He hissed.

            You kept the gun pointed.

            “_____.” His head dropped for a moment, only the crown of his head in view, “I want to start over. Let’s start over. You’re making this very difficult.”

            You, of course, said nothing, never dropping your eyes from the door.

            When he raised his head once more, his eyes met yours, “You’re going to die in there. You’ll starve to death if you don’t eat. If you don’t sleep, you won’t know what’s real & isn’t.”

            His words brought no comfort.

            Your eyes flickered over to the windows. No, you had already decided against jumping out. It may have only been the second floor but this was a mansion, not a regular house. A jump from that height would break your ankle or both. What chances at survival would you have then?

            “Please.” He slapped his hand against the door, “Just eat something.”

            You lowered the gun only slightly to glare into his eyes, showing how strong your distrust was.

            “If you come out, if you eat…” His eyes bored into yours, “I’ll let you leave.”

            Your breathing paused at that. But that look in his eyes, that darkness, it was full of lies. You scowled.

            “I will, _____!” He grit out, “I’ll let you fucking leave me.”

            Lowering the gun for only a moment, you signed to him one word: liar.

            Ransom glowered at that.

            “Fine. Fucking starve then. And when you die, I’ll bury you out back with the rest of my family.”

            Then he stormed away. You listened intently as his footfalls carried himself down the stairs & far away from you.

            But Ransom was right. You were going to die in here.

            Night fell & with it exhaustion returned. Your methods of staying awake were no longer working. Sometimes, you’d see shadows appearing in the corners of the room but when you turned to stare at them they would disappear. Your body was fighting to live but it was shutting down. You hadn’t even had water. Your lips were dry & peeling, the bags under your eyes growing bigger by the minute.

            You just needed one more day, one more day to come up with another plan.

            As sleep threatened to steal you once more, you found yourself sitting on top of the bed, resting against the headboard. The shotgun was in your lap, still pointed in the general direction of the door, but you felt your body begin to slump over.

            Just for a minute, you told yourself.

            As your head fell to the side, the darkness welcomed you eagerly.

            Again, you were in the same room but when you glanced at the window this time, there was no orange glow. You slid off the bed & approached the window. It was quiet & dark & eerily still. Your reflection did not greet you.

            A knock sounded nearby & when you turned to face the rest of the room it was empty. No furniture, no art on the walls, and the door was missing as well. It was simply a hole in the wall.

            You willed yourself to move towards it. As you did, you gazed down the hallway but the hallway was outside, the road leading back to the farm you grew up on.

            A smile graced your lips as you took a step out. The gravel crunched under your feet & for the first time in months you felt relief wash over you. Your steps grew faster & louder until you were full on sprinting up the road. When your house came into view you reached your arm out.

            It was glowing in the dark, music could be heard but it was muffled due to distance. You didn’t stop running but no matter how hard you pumped your legs, you never got closer.

            You wanted to scream for your dad, your mom, your old life, for the world to return to normal. The front door of your house opened, revealing your mom. She had her hair & she peered outside, not seeing you. She called your name, asking you to come home.

            I’m here, I’m here! But she didn’t hear you.

            Behind her, you saw your dad just inside sitting at the dining room table. He was laughing. Really laughing. Those were rare moments for him, laughing so hard his body shook. You didn’t know what he was laughing at but you wanted to hear it once more. You wanted to hug your mom, dance in her arms, witness your dad’s smile as he watched his two favorite people truly live.

            But then the dream shattered. Your house exploded from within. The windows blew out & your mom disappeared along with your father’s laughter.

            A scream tore from your throat & you continued running but the house grew smaller, being replaced by a giant black mass.

            You fell to your knees, scrambling backwards, the gravel cutting into your palms as you attempted to crawl away from the cloud that was fast approaching.

            In a second, the mass reached you, yanking your legs & pushing you down. You reached out blindly, wanting to fight it off but your hands only caught air.

            As the mass blanketed you, one face appeared out of it.

            Ransom.

            He had red eyes as his arms appeared from the darkness & reached for your throat. You gasped at the contact, it feeling all too real.

            His face would glitch & distort as he bared his teeth down at you.

            “I told you,” He hissed, “I told you you would die in here.”

            Then the black mass around him began to fade & a familiar ceiling began to form above him. You winced & squeezed your eyes shut.

            Wake up. Wake up.

            But then you couldn’t breathe. Actually couldn’t breathe & your eyes tore open.

            Ransom was here. Really here.

            A strained cry tore from your throat as you thrashed beneath him. Your eyes danced dizzily around the room, spotting the shotgun on the floor. A cold chill danced across your legs & you realized the windows in Ransom’s room had been shattered.

            “I wanted this to work!” Ransom yelled, his spit collecting on your cheek. “You did this, _____. This is all your fault.”

            You reached up, your arms growing weaker by the second as Ransom choked the life from you, but you managed to rake your nails down his face.

            But it was nothing to him. His eyes were indeed red with rage, determined to kill you.

            “N-n—” You grasped for the last thing, the last fucking thing you had to save yourself.

            His hands softened, only loosely, not enough to gain air as he stared down at you.

            “Ran—” But stars danced in your vision as his hands around your throat never ceased. But as you struggled to say his name, something he’s wanted since the day he met you, Ransom finally let go.

            He stared down at you, his chest heaving, his brows furrowing as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His eyes were still red, maniacal.

            “You…” He breathed out, “Say it again.”

            Your vision swayed, darkness picking at the edges. Blindly, you reached out, your hand seeking out for the shotgun on the floor. Then your vision darkened & nothing came for you.

            The first thing you felt when you came to was your wrists bound. Your eyes shot open & you gasped, memories of Ransom in your room flooding back to you. But as you jolted forward, you were unable to move.

            Glancing down, you saw your wrists bound to the arms of a dining room chair, your ankles fairing the same. Panicked gasps parted your lips as you glanced fearfully around the room.

            You were back downstairs, tied at one end of the dining room table much like you had been the night the strange man with the strange name appeared. But now Ransom was nowhere in sight.

            As panic gripped you, your eyes danced around the room, looking for any object you could potentially reach to cut yourself loose but even the dining table had been cleared of any objects.

            A whistle sounded behind you & you immediately stilled.

            “We’re not going to have any repeats, _____.” His voice was soft, even, but filled with warning. The hairs on the back of your neck prickled as you felt him slowly approach you from behind.

            Your teeth sunk into your lower lip, your body shaking as he grew closer & closer to you. When he finally reached you, his hands found themselves on your shoulders, rubbing them affectionately.

            “I could’ve killed you.” He leaned forward, his mouth at your ear as he spoke in a hushed tone, “Should still kill you, but…”

            He finally moved to your side where your eyes could meet his. But what you saw made your heart falter with a new fear.

            “Then you said my name. Or tried to.”

            Ransom stared adoringly at you, but that wasn’t was the most concerning issue.

            It was his eyes. They weren’t just bloodshot. In this lighting & with his face so near to yours, you could see the other clear signs. One pupil was blown, the iris becoming red itself, while his other eye…the iris was black.

            He was infected.

            Tears spilled from your eyes as you peered at him. The more you looked at him, taking in his pale skin, the redness blotting his cheeks, the bald spot just above his temple forming, you realized you weren’t just fucked. You were indeed dead.

            Ransom smiled, his eyes tracing the features of your face, “Say my name. Or I will kill you.”

            “You’re dead.” It was the first time you had truly spoken, a full sentence even though it was only two words.

            Ransom frowned, shaking his head, “So are you.”

            Licking your lips, you finally looked away, hoping to find a mirror or reflective surface somewhere in the room to see how badly you were likely infected as well.

            But Ransom’s hand found your chin & forced you to face him once more.

            “No, no, no.” He cooed, leaning forward until his face was almost pressed against yours, “Say my fucking name.”

            Your lips trembled as you accepted your fate. You had nothing left to lose now. After being locked in the bedroom for who knows how many days, you had no idea Ransom was infected to begin with, you couldn’t see how fast the virus was taking over him.

            Staring into his eyes, one red one black, you couldn’t stop the tears, “Ransom, you’re sick.”

            The sound of his name on your lips caused him to flutter his eyes closed. He looked almost blissful, if it wasn’t for how sick he appeared.

            “I know.” He whispered gently before opening his own eyes to stare back at you, “And by the time I’m finished with you, you will be too.”

finally an update for this series. sorry it's been so long. been working a fuck ton & am currently dealing with some bullshit medical issues.

please prepare yourselves for the next chapter as it will be the darkest chapter of this series.

as always, please share your thoughts with me via dropping an ask, commenting, or reblogging with reviews. i'm eager to your thoughts.

thank you for reading!

oona<3

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