Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The moment he had tried to move it has felt like white hot pain, like he had been shot. He knew he hadn't been shot, he had fallen.
He had felt his back hit the ground from that two story fall, his mind was foggy he has been able to remember blurry faces and yelling but the yelling had stopped a while ago.
Tim was there, Tim was crying, then Tim was gone.

He felt hopeless doomed to die painful and slow. He managed to turn his head slightly, but all he saw, was that thing, that faceless thing that has ruined his life.
It spoke low and filled with static " my child, it is not your time yet."

It's body began to move closer, it's lanky suited body filled his mind with static, and his vision went black.
It let so peaceful, he thought this ment he could rest, with himself and the memory's of his friends.

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It was awhile before he reopened his eyes to the sight of a tan colored bedroom, blank walls and a small table next to the mattress on the floor that has a clock and a small hand mirror on it.

Slowly getting up he grabbed the mirror looking himself over, under the loose black t-shirt he had bandages wrapped around his arms and torso. The blue jeans he wore were staind with dirt and grass.

The wooden door opened slowly, a younger boy stode awkwardly in the door frame, his head locked to the ground, his messy brown hair fell over is eyes and a grey mask coved the lower part of his face. The boy spoke quietly and barely audible, " your things are in the bathroom" his head twitched as he spoke. After speaking the boy closed the door and was gone.

Confused he slowing went to stand up. Peaking his head out of the door he saw the open door to a bathroom and slowly walk to it. Inside on the corner of the sink was his clothes, his yellow hoodie and black gloves. Along with is gun it's holster and the pill's he has stolen and his camera . Laying under these items was his cloth mask and a note. His mask was the same as he could remember it black fabric with too red eyes and a red frowny face.

He read the note a few times over
" No one is to know who you are, throw out who you were. You are no longer Brian thomas, you are 'hoodie'."

He threw the note in the trash, he didn't want to read it again. His head hurt, and he put his weight into the sink looking at his reflection, dragging a pale hand over his face his eyes were dull and his dirty blond hair and grown out passed his chin.

With a sigh, He put the gun in its holster, pulled on his sweat-shirt but his camera in ita pocket. He pulled the mask over his face, pulled the hood over his head and left the bathroom and made his way to the stairs, where he saw the same boy before.

Chapter Text

The boy lead hoodie to a small office like room. The moment hoodie stepped inside he felt as if he were drowning, the air in his longs was gone and he began to violently cough. After a few moments the coughing subsided and he could breath fully again.
hoodie finally noticed the thing that was in the room, it sat at it's desk like any normal person, but It was not. It's lanky limbs called Hoodie over. It spoke a voice so hollow that he believed It was all in his head,

"Come here." It's voice was a command I was not asking it was commanding.

Hoodie slowly walked closer to it's desk, the thing reached its hand to grab hoodies wrist, pulling him closer, the thing dragged a finger over the top of hoodies hand, drawing that symbol he'd seen Alex draw so many times.
A circle with an X through it.
That thing carved the Symbol into hoodies hand. He tries to fight it but he couldn't get his wrist out of the things grasp.
The pain was horrible, a searing pain that coursed through his whole arm. Then the pain stopped it was sudden the pain was there then it was dampened, living only a faint buzzing feeling throughout his arm.

Hoodie pulled his hand away, putting pressure on carved wound, as it started to slowly bleed.

" You know who I am, you know who you work for now." The thing began to stand and with a long finger pointed to the younger boy still standing in the open doorway
"You will be working with Toby, the boy right there" it's voice droned, pointing to the boy in the door way.
Hoodie could see now see the boys… Toby's eyes were mix of fear and sorrow.

"Now hoodie, we have two main rules,
Don't leave the forest
2.You will do what you are told or you will be punished."

"Do you understand?" It's voice was dizzying it took all of hoodies will to not fall over.

Hoodie nodded "yes sir, I understand". He was fighting the urge to vomit and cough the moment he began to speak.

"You're dismissed" it waves it's hand, motioning for them to leave.
Hoodie Reyes to slowly walk out, but the coughing came back worse then before, and he ran to the bathroom he had been in before, ripping his mask off to cough into the sink, he coughed violently for a few minutes before it stopped, and he opened his eyes to see the sink was covered in blood, his blood
"Oh fuck" he thought. As fast as he could he turned the sink on and tried to rinse the blood down the drain. It was almost gone but the sink was now a faded pink color.
He breathed deeply, looking down at his hand, the bleeding had stopped, but it left both of his hands red and sticky, in a huff, he turned the water back in and wash his hands, striving them hard to get the now drying blood off. Finally he turned the water off, and dried his hands and walking back to his "room".

Chapter Text

Closing the door behind himself, he threw his mask on the table and inhaled deeply.

"What the fuck, what the fuck!" He whispered to himself walking in circles in the cramped room. Trying to clear his head he removed the contents from his pockets,
•pill bottle, check
•camera, check
For good measure and to keep that thing out of his head, Brian took to of the pill swallowing them dry, after a brief struggle to swallow the pill he gave a closer inspection to the camera he had, it wasn't his it was too new to be his. Memories flashed and flooded his mind.
-marble hornets
-Tim
-Alex -Jay
God, why could he not remember their faces, their voices. Why was it so hard. He had spent years of his life with time, and he could barely make out his face. The only face he saw was covered in that stupid mask. Brian tried to shove the painful memories away.

"Fuck, I need to clear my head." Brian had been reminded that that Thing had said they were in a forest, and sure enough with a quick look out the single window in "his room" he could see what looked like forest the went on forever. In a last ditch effort to at least be out of this hell house, Brian grabs his pills and camera and shoved it into his pockets. He also grabs the mask pulling it over his face, an pulling the hood over his head. Walking out of the room he made his way down the stairs like he has before this time he was trying to be quiet he really didn't want to find out who, or what else lived here.
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The house was a god damn maze, he could have sworn that it was not following any rules of physics it went on for ever hallways that don't line up, corridors that didn't lead to anything. It took Brain a solid hour to find anything that looked like a door to the outside, lucky the door that he did find was not the main door it was some small side door. Relived to finally be able to leave the house he open the door.

Brian was greeted with fresh cool air, the smell of pain was so strong it was almost overwhelming. But it was so nice, it wasn't too cold the sun filtered in between the tree branches and a small breeze was enough to dampen the mid summer temperatures. Taking his opportunity he began to walk through the forest listening to the sound of animals and birds, The quiet scratching of pine branches. He could see deer grazing in small groups. He must have zoned out while walking because when he came back into thought he was in a semi large clearing, with one giant willow tree on the middle.

"Wow..." He said quietly. Determined to make this his resting spot he began to scale the truck of the tree attempting to get up to one of the thicker branches about 20ft up. After a less then easy climb given that he was trying to to reopen the fresh wound in his hand, but he got there eventually. He couldn't see much throughout the pine trees, expect for the distant house, which was definitely more of a mansion, dark wood and pointed and flat roofs. A mix of disgust and what felt like fear bubbled up inside him, he had know idea were he was, and for all the world would care he was a dead man, no one would be looking for him. He was stuck, till he would hopefully drop dead in some less then painless way. Even with those less then kind thoughts there was something calming about this forest, it had a familiar
Feeling too it, like an old friend coming to say hello.

In the trees he could think he could let his mind wonder relax himself enough to be aware of how much his injury's didn't hurt. His hand was nothing but a dull pain like that of a rug burn, and his back did hurt but not as much as he knew it should, he has fallen two stories directly on to his back for Christ sake it should hurt more then just a bruise. And yet it didn't hurt that much. it was that Thing of course, it made people stronger, made it so they couldn't die so easily of course, it was why Alex wouldn't die, that Thing wouldn't let him. Brian pulled his legs to his chest taking a deep breath.

"God this a shit show" he laughed to himself, "what would my mom think of me now..." God what would she think of me he thought.
Brain took another deep breath filling his lungs with cool air, he could rest here, he felt safe. He was so tired. It wasn't long before his memories became dreams of a better life, as he passed into a light sleep. An am unknown amount of time passed when Brian was awoken to the snapping if a branch about 40ft away from him. It jolted him awake, the sun was not as high in the sky as it was when he fell asleep, and from his spot in the willow tree he would see two figures enter the forest clearing talking quietly, he could make out one of them as they got closer, the boy from before, Toby. Next to him was a tall man in a plain black hoodie, he had short dark hair and what looked to be a blue mask with black eyes, a thick liquid seemed to pour out of the mask holes dripping in to the grass. The nameless figure spoke up,

"There's someone in the tree. I can hear them breathing, are they who we are looking for?" They spoke, there voice was almost similar to the Thing in the office but the figure they was more human, a human voice with scratchy undertones as if he has just woken up.

"Oh.? Yes you would be right, that is who where looking for, the newbie as you put it. He my partner now, and form what slender tall me he pretty strong." Toby spoke softly to the figure next to him, his voice partly muffled by the masks he wore.

"Ah your partner, that explains why I wouldn't have been able to find him with the sent of his blond. He's a dog, just like you working of the big guy, it's almost scary how it can mask how you guys from me and the others with heightened senses." The figure gave a small laugh crossing his arms a tilting his head

Hoodie stays in the tree, looking down at the two people below him. Tilting his head in return.

"I just came to tell you that dinner is almost done, we just need to go and get a plate then will leave you alone" Toby said.

Brian thought about it, the chances of them wanting to kill him were low, so he would risk it. He jumped from the tree, landing quietly.

"Look who finally decided to join us. Names Jack, EJ if you will." Said the figure, he held out a leather gloves hand Brian took it carefully shaking it.

"Hoodie."

"Fascinating, that it would take another human as it's dog." EJ laughed, deep and guttural.

"Let's just get going," Hoodie said starting a fast pace back to the mansion.

Toby and EJ not fair behind, the walk was impossibly quiet, no animals not nature masking any noise. When they arrived at the mansion the entered in the front door, EJ going off to another room, as Toby led the way to the kitchen, handing Hoodie a plate from the cupboard. Hoodie put some solid on it as and a piece of chicken, but that was it. The looks he was getting from the others that filed in and out of the kitchen where setting of his fight or flight. The walk back to his room was shorter than is failed attempt to get out of the mansion, finding his room in a quick 10 minutes. Still corridors can lie.

His plate of food was cold when he placed it on the small table, next to the plate he placed his pills and camera, he pulled the masked over his nose, debating on whether he wanted to take it off or not. The bright alarm clock read the time as 7:46pm the sky was begining to turn a mix of orange and red. Brian sighed making up his mind, and pulled open the window next to him, leaving his food untouched, the window was big but it was large enough that Brian could squeeze through and place his feet on the lip of the roof under the window, carefully maneuvering to a flatter part of the roof, near his room. It seemed his and a few other rooms where on the very top floor allowing a dare he say beautiful view of the tree line and the incoming sunset, that was now mixing with purple and black as night began to over take it.

Brian Stayed in that roof till the moon came out and the stars lit up the sky, he felt calm looking at the sky like his life wasn't totally fucked. It was nearing 1am when he finally went back threw through the window, a small lamp Brian didn't remember being there was turned on bathing the room in yellow light, the weight of today laid heavy on his shoulders, he took the gun from his belt his left hand gliding over the cold barrel, it was loaded, he... Could. If he did he would be free, right? The thing wouldn't bring him back again, like it did before. Brian with his left hand, gun in his right pulled his fabric mask off and threw it on the night stand. He puts the gun to his head, finger hovering over the trigger.

"Do it you coward, it the least you could do! After everything! Just pull the damn trigger!" He yelled at himself, his hand was shaking, memories of a happier time flooded his mind, before the thing before marble hornets, Before Alex, Before he knew that it was Tims fault. no, no it wasn't Tims fault, don't blame him, he couldn't do anything, it was Alex, all Alex.

"Fuck..!" Brian pulled the gun away from his head, putting the safety back in a putting in back into the holster.
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He was slumped against the wall on his maturas, his shoes kicked off to a random corner he couldn't care about right now. The clock in the table now read 4:30am, Brian had been awake of all of 4 hour hours after putting a gun to his own head, his hand was still shaking, off an on a tremor would when he tried to grip his gun. He had tried everything to make it stop. Through his brain fog a voice breaks through in his mind, maybe not a voice, but a thought that is not his own.

Come to me

Brian doesn't want to, but his body moves, putting on his shoes, his gloves, dry swallowing two more pills (for good luck) and pulling in his mask and hood. He didn't know why his body knew where to go but it led him to that Things office, what ever it wanted to call itself.

"Hello Hoodie," it's voice is already suffocating him " I have I job for you" it drones, a flat voice, that is not so much a voice as a though taken from.

"What kind of job, sir?" He can't breathe.

"There is a women in this forest, she has over stayed her welcome. Get rid of her. " it's voice shakes the room, if it weren't for the pills, Hoodie would have passed out by now.

"Y-yes, sir." Hoodie finally replies.