Slenderverse One-shots

Dark Halls ⊗ MH

A03 Request: Brian meets Masky for the first time

He was still groggy as he regained consciousness, not that it was easy to tell when the world was nearly as dark with his eyes open as they were closed. Brian sat up, rubbing the back of his head only to wince with a hiss of pain. The area where he'd been hit was still throbbing and the confusion he felt over what exactly happened wasn't helping.

"Alex and I were filming and then..." That was where his memory got hazy. Brian recalled his throat feeling scratchy and coughing, Alex being annoyed, but afterwards he didn't remember much.

All he was really certain of was that it was now night and he was somewhere in that abandoned building. If he hadn't been worried about being caught and getting in trouble earlier he definitely was now. As his eye adjusted he could clearly see he was alone in the room, though how he ended up in this place in particular he wasn't sure.

"Alex?" He called out for his buddy while standing and making his way to the door.

The hall stretched in both directions, each way lined with more rooms and looked equally deserted. Brian wasn't sure which way to go and just settled for picking a direction, hoping to find either the exit or Alex—or both. His footsteps crunched with each step as old painchips and who knew what other debris broke under his shoes. As quiet as he was trying to be, it didn't work too well.

Looking into the rooms as he passed by, he started to wish he'd pushed Alex harder to pick another location for his character to reflect. This place was already creepy enough in the daylight; it was even worse now that it was engulfed in shadow. There was almost a constant feeling of being watched. Brian wasn't much of a fighter, but he wished he had something to defend himself in case someone unfriendly did show up.

A scuffling sound made him tense up as he cautiously walked closer to another doorway. Brian's breath caught a moment, fearing whether or not he should call out for Alex again. However, at this point he'd almost welcome getting caught by security. At least then maybe he could find a way out and feel safe again. "Alex? Is that you?"

Peering into the room he saw something move in the corner. His eyes widened in shock as he found Tim. Brian didn't know what the guy was doing here but he had to wonder if this was why his calls hadn't been returned. "Tim! Tim are you okay?"

Several coughs as the shorter man curled tighter beneath the thin, raggedy blanket was the only response he got... At least until he crouched down. Brian was close enough to reach out, though still couldn't tell if Tim was hurt with the lighting. As soon as he tried to reach out to help Tim lunged forward with a feral sound.

Brian slammed back onto the ground, Tim's full weight pressing down on him. The initial shock that his best friend would turn on him blinded Brian to the vice-like grip on his throat until he tried to call out to the dark haired man above him. Maybe it was the fact he was quickly losing oxygen but he swore there was something in Tim's eyes that wasn't right.

"T-im... pl-leassse." Brian choked out, his feet kicking and scraping on the ground while he tried to pry the hands off his throat.

Faintly, he could hear more sounds coming from the hall. Hazily, Brian saw a figure step into the room with a loud shout. The grip on his throat released immediately and Tim's weight lifted quickly as the man charged for the newcomer. All Brian could do was cough and gasp for air while the room rocked in his vision. His movements as he tried to turn and see what was happening behind him were uncoordinated.

"...Alex?" His voice rasped out as he watched his two friends fight. "What is going on?"

Neither of them paid Brian any attention. Feeling better, he got to his feet, staggering closer. A loud thunk made him wince as Alex swung the pipe and landed a solid hit to Tim's head. Brian stepped forward as he watched the man collapse to the ground, concerned for Tim's wellbeing.

"Alex what the hell is going on?" He was alarmed to see Alex wasn't about to let up and was about to go in for another strike. Brian panicked and ran forward, shoving the crazed director away. "Alex, stop!"

"Move." Alex's grip on the makeshift weapon didn't waver.

Fear shot through him; he'd never seen Alex like this. Between him and whatever was going on with Tim he almost had to wonder if this was some crazy dream and he was still lying unconscious on the floor. Brian didn't get a chance to decide before Tim was on his feet again, sending Alex to the ground while the pipe fell to the floor. He watched as Alex tried defending himself from the punches being thrown at his face, unable to decide who exactly to root for.

It made him feel bad to run, to abandon both of them to whatever fate decided, but Brian couldn't think straight on the matter. Alex had looked prepared to bash his skull in—and thinking about it might've been the one who left him in that room—while Tim wasn't himself at all and had also tried killing him. All he wanted to do was hide and wait this out until morning. Better yet, maybe he'd wake up and everything would be normal.

"If only it was that simple..." He skidded around a corner, faced with another hallway. He ducked into one at random and hoped for the best.

He didn't know how long he sat huddled in the corner straining to hear if anyone was coming. While he'd been able to hear their fighting faintly at least an hour back, it had long since gone silent. Brian almost started to think it was safe until a faint crackling of paint chips underfoot came from the hall. They grew closer and closer... and then stopped outside the room. His eyes were met by dark voids on a white mask.

"Is that... Tim?" He couldn't speak. The man watching him remained mute as well.

The person he'd once seen as his closest companion stepped into the room, causing Brian to instinctively press harder into the corner in fear the masked man was about to finish what he'd started. They paused and finally broke their stare to turn and leave.

His heart was pounding in his chest, which only made his head hurt worse. Brian nervously got to his feet and peered down the hall, watching as the masked figure paused several yards down to glance back and give a small gesture to to follow. He wasn't sure that was the best option but surely Tim was still somewhere in there... Brian began following after him.