My Safe Haven [Aiden x Reader] (REWRITE)

Part 3 - K.O

The longer you walk, the more cautious you are of your surroundings and the thing in front of you.
You open a few more crates, finding a flannel shirt and a handgun with only one bullet.
"Ah, here, down this hallway." It leads you down a hallway with white walls.
You can't wait to tell Quinn about this when you wake up. He'll think you're crazy.
The hallway extends for a long time, until you reach a pair of double doors.
"Now, when we enter this next level, you need to be very cautious. Temperatures can rise to a boiling heat. You'll be burned alive if you get caught in it. As soon as you feel the temperature start to rise, you tell me."
You blink, "Uh... okay."
You're not much of a fan of being told what to do so sternly, but if you want to live, you'll have to deal with it.
It opens the door, and walks inside, with you following after.
It's a long hallway with concrete walls and floors; pipes line the walls.
"It did get a little steamy..." You mutter, mostly to yourself.
However, the thing must have superhuman hearing-or you were talking too loud-because it heard you, and replied.
"Yes, it might feel that way. But that's completely normal. Tell me if you feel the room temperature get hotter."
You nod, and follow it as it walks.
The more you walk, the more nauseous you get from the heat.
Your calves burn and your feet ache, you feel like passing out, and you're sweating probably more than you have ever.
"Ugh..." You groan, "I don't feel too good..."
"Hang in there, we just have to find the right door." It pats you on the back, causing you to flinch.
"My apologies, did I act too soon?" It pulls its hand back.
Before you can reply, a strange dark shape appears at the end of the hallway, making a noise similar to a roar when it spots the two of you.
Your heads shoot to the monster as it charges at you.
"Run!" The camera-creature shouts, grabbing your sweaty hand and pulling you forward.
The camera-thing runs pretty fast, so it's hard for your aching legs to keep up.
Not to mention its hand is slipping.
"Hey!" You pant, "S-Slow down!"
It didn't hear you.
To make matters worse, you trip and fall.
The lack of pressure on your feet would feel relieving, if there wasn't a most likely hostile entity chasing you.
You look behind you, seeing the entity get closer and closer.
You hear the camera exclaim as you close your eyes, waiting for death.
But, death never came.
You hear a wham, then a thud.
You open your eyes to see the camera had just KO'd the entity.
Well, it didn't knock it out, but the entity was down on the ground.
The camera turns around, and picks you up in its arms, carrying you.
You blush out of embarrassment.
It's a bit silly.. Who was there to see you anyway?
You let it carry you as it runs; you can hear the entity running behind you both.
You feel your vision start to fade and your eyes grow weak and tired.
The heat has finally gotten to you.
You close your eyes, and fall into sleep.

You peel open your eyes to stare at a metal ceiling.
You blink a few times, then sit up, rubbing your head.
"Good morning."
You look beside of you to see that the camera is still with you.
"...You." You furrow your brows at it.
It tilts its head.
"You... You punched the shit out of that thing!" You grin with awe as you recall the way the entity fell to the ground after being punched square in the face with only the camera's fist.
"..Yes, I did."
You huff in bewilderment, looking heavenward for a moment before glancing back at the creature across from you.
Though, it feels almost wrong to call it a creature now.
"What did you say your name was?" You ask with a smile.
"Aiden." It replies.
"Aiden, I see." You etch the name into your mind, "I'm [Y/N]."
"[Y/N]. A beautiful name. It's nice to formally meet you." It- No, he holds his hand out for you to shake.
You take it, and notice that his handshake is firm.
"Alright, where are we now? Are we still in the same place? Where's that monster?"
Despite the rapid rate of your questions, Aiden manages to catch it all and respond calmly, "We're in the electrical station, it's a new level. The entity is gone, we outran it."
He means HE outran it, you fell unconscious.
You hum in understanding as he stands to his feet.
"We're looking for an elevator. It will be hot in this level as well, but not as hot as the previous one," He holds his hand out for you to take; you gratefully accept as he continues, "There are dangerous entities here, so stay close."
"What kind of entities?" You tilt your head curiously as you begin to follow him down the concrete hall.
"Oh, plenty. Let's see... Hounds, Facelings, Wretches, Deathmoths..."
He begins to list tons of scary sounding creatures that you hope to never encounter.
"That certainly sounds... friendly."
He flinches a bit, looking at you, as if he realized he had said something wrong.
"Oh, uh... I- Um.. W-well, there's not all bad things here. This level is rich with resources! Ah.."
He looks around frantically, and grabs a bottle of Almond Water off of a shelf.
He holds it in front of you.
"See? Almond Water! There's plenty of resources here. There's false outlets, liquid pain, firesalt, royal rations-"
You hold your hand up, interrupting him.
"I'm gonna stop you right there. I have no idea what that stuff is."
He wrings his hands together, and laughs nervously, "Ah, of course. Here, shall we?"
He offers one of his hands to you, and you hesitantly accept it.
He pulls you up to your feet, and walks over to the door, stepping out and holding it open for you.
What a gentleman.
You walk out, smiling at him curiously.
He leads you down the claustrophobic hallways, through twists and turns.
As you're walking, you notice a figure hunched over on all fours. It's making noises resembling snorting and growing...
Aiden stops and reaches his arm out to prevent you from going any further.
Not that you were planning on it...
"What is that...?" You whisper.
"Quiet." He responds with a whisper as well.
Your eyebrows knit together as you stare at the creature.
Aiden starts to slowly back away, pushing you slightly with his arm.
You get the hint, and back away, taking the hall you passed.
When you're far enough away from it, you speak more clearly.
"What was that?" You ask.
"A Hound. They may appear incredibly skinny, but they're actually very powerful. It's best to stay out of the sight of one that's growling." He replies in a calm manner, as if your life wasn't just on the line.
You look away with wide eyes, making a baffled "huh" sound.
Silence takes over the atmosphere as the two of you walk through the warm hallways.
The both of you enter rooms on the side every now and then.
You managed to find almond water, a knife, a flashlight and a few batteries.
You tug at your collar, feeling sweat build up on you.
"I'm never gonna get used to this heat..." You mutter, mostly to yourself.
However, he really must have a good sense of hearing because he heard you.
"Oh, this isn't the worst it'll get."
You look up at him, but he keeps his eyes(eye?) forwards.
"What do you mean?" You ask.
"Well, some levels are deadzones... some are even inescapable. It's mostly chance here."
You blink in disbelief, looking forward again with eyes as wide as plates.
Your mind wanders back to your family and friends, and what would happen if you didn't return.
Or maybe... what would happen if you did. After... decades.
All of a sudden, Aiden breaks you out of the trance by speaking.
"There, an elevator."
You blink, and look around, noticing a metal door that resembles an elevator's.
"Oh.. Oh! O-Okay, let's go."
The two of you walk to the elevator, pressing the button.
There was only an "up" button.. weird.
Eventually, the elevator doors open, and you both step inside.
There was only one button, and it was labeled "4."
You look at Aiden, and shrug as you push the button.
Classical music starts to play throughout the elevator.
There's an awkward silence between the two of you... but then your stomach rumbles, breaking that silence.
Aiden looks at you, and you feel your cheeks warm up.
You reach in your pants to get the small bag of buttermilk ranch pretzel pieces you got, and start munching on them.
Aiden looks away, and you think you see his shoulders bounce, but you brush it off.
Soon, you arrive at your destination.
The doors open to reveal a place that looks almost like an empty office building, and you raise an eyebrow as you step out.
You look around, noticing windows.
Your eyes instantly light up with hope.
"A window!" You grin, running over to the window; however, before you can reach it, Aiden grabs you by the arm.
"[Y/N], no!" He shouts.
You jolt at the sudden contact and sound, "Ow! Dude, what the hell are you doing?" You look back at him with an angry expression.
"Those are traps, [Y/N]. They aren't real."
"Traps? Traps!? You're crazy! This could be my only way out!" You shake away from his grasp, but he grabs you again, "Let me go!"
"[Y/N], please! You don't know how many people I've seen fall victim to these windows! Please, I need you to trust me!"
You stare at him for a moment, contemplating whether you should trust him.
Well... when has he ever lied to you before? He's saved you all this time...
You look back at the window, and sigh.
"Okay... Okay, fine... I trust you." You reply.
He lets you go, and speaks in an exasperated tone. "Thank you... Thank you so much."
You roll your eyes, and start walking.
It's a bad idea, but you're so filled with anger right now that you don't care.
It's a high possibility that Aiden wasn't lying to you at all, but you're mad that your hope of escape was shot down like that.
Aiden lets out a noise of surprise, and follows you quickly.
An awkward silence takes form in the air as the two of you walk through the empty building, until Aiden clears his throat.(?)
"You know... There's water fountains and vending machines containing Almond Water scattered around the level..."
You decide to give him the silent treatment, continuing to walk about the level.
You never even asked how to get out or if there was anything you should watch out for, you just walked and hope he'd point it out.
You walk for what feels like an eternity until you notice a stairwell.
You almost pass it, but Aiden points it out.
"Ah, [Y/N]! An exit!" He reaches out and touches your shoulder gently.
You look back at him, then at the stairwell.
"That's... an exit?"
"Yes, follow me." Aiden replies as he quickly makes his way up the stairs.
You follow behind him, not wanting to lose the only form of protection you have.

Dale a tu cuerpo alegría Macarena
Que tu cuerpo es pa' darle alegría y cosa buena
Dale a tu cuerpo alegría, Macarena
Heeeey Macarena, ay