3rd PERSON POV
Hunters' Side
It was finally the day of the match. The day where Jack gets to pick himself as the hunter, and the moment he told Hastur to make Aesop as one of the survivors... it is happening now.
The sun had not shown its presence and the whole Oletus Manor was nothing but pure silence as each of them are still in their slumbers.
Despite all that, only one man is awake. Awake with fear in his eyes. Awake with an everlasting anxiety and concern.
Joseph.
Pacing around uneasily in his Victorian decorated room, he stared at his window, hoping that the sun won't make its presence.
He closed his eyes as he bit his lower lip. The list of those who will partake in today's match is still clear in his head.
Aesop Carl- Embalmer.
The Photographer knew it is something normal - Aesop is a survivor and he has to play against hunters- but he just cannot let it all go as smooth knowing the fact that Jack will be the one going against the embalmer and his other three.
He had it playing in his head like a tape the moment the now bloodlust Ripper slapped the Geisha without hesitance and the moment he pinned him towards the wall without saying a word.
If Jack had gotten bloodlust now...
What will he be like in the match?
The Photographer stared at the portrait that lies before him.
It was the last pic he had taken with Claude before losing him.
Joseph rubbed his thumb on Claude's face. The photo was taken the moment Claude had gotten very sick that standing off the bed would be a strain for him.
The sound of him coughing was still clear in his mind.
The Photographer knew he should not think any bad stuff or anything negative, especially after what Aesop told him yesterday, but everything had gotten this way, and the fact that Aesop really reminds him of Claude.
His weak physical body. His anxiety.
Will he suffer the same fate?
"NO!" Joseph yelled to himself as he slapped himself in the cheeks. Hard.
He then deliberately walked outside, only to find Jack standing there, humming tunes in the lobby.
Jack was in his maskless form. And even with his human face revealed Joseph can still get the look on his eyes.
Bloodlust. Hate.
The moment Jack walked away, reality hits Joseph like a train.
The sun had risen, making it the start of the match.
***
Survivors' Side
Aesop woke up with his head spinning badly despite him taking his pills according to the given dosage. But the moment he opened his eyes, the pain hits him inhumanly.
Trying his best to open his eyes, he was surprised to see Emily and the other three gathering by his bedside, or at least that is what the embalmer thought.
"Aesop! Thank Goodness!"
Emily's voice made his eyes flutter open, only for him to close it again.
"W.. what happened? Why am I here? And my head... it hurts...."
"Dude. It's the time for the match. That match.... You were here the earliest and we found you passed out here..." William said as the embalmer had his both hands on his head.
It was when everything hits Aesop. The match against the Ripper. It's today. It's happening.
"Aesop? What are you doing? You can call off the match if you don't-"
Aesop had his hands on Emily's lips when the usually dull look on the embalmer's eyes turned into a sharp one. Something all the survivors, even Aesop himself- never thought would happen.
"Emily..." The embalmer said.
"It's okay. I'll handle this."
"Aesop, wait!" Eli chimed in the moment Aesop stood up, leaning on the table for support. The Seer did not get chosen for the match, but knowing that the Embalmer did and that he woke up with his sickness back just concerns him.
"Are you fucking kidding me?! Look at your condition! You, having a match with your head spinning?! You crazy! What if the Ripper hunts you first?! What if--"
Too late. The Seer was still yelling on top of his lungs when Jack showed up in the other side of the matching lobby, making the bell on their side chime.
"I'll manage..." Aesop said to the Seer as he, Kurt, William, and Emily were transferred to the map where Jack had planned.
***
Aesop's eyes twitched as he realized Jack had chosen the Red Church as the match location.
Did that Ripper choose this map because I am an embalmer?
Aesop shook his head as he reached for a cipher. That was when he heard Kurt yelling out the Ripper is nearby.
"Aesop, remember. Jack is dangerous. Whatever you do in the match, try your best to not let him find you."
The embalmer nodded as Joseph held his hands, tightening it within every word.
"Listen, Aesop. Once three ciphers are done, look for the dungeon. Just go for it."
"Joseph, you don't have to be this--"
"Shush, Aesop. Jack is on a rampage. Not only that he hunts survivors too, but he started harming us hunters too. He slapped Michiko when she was talking to him."
The embalmer froze as Joseph sighed.
"Michiko told me he is just trying to remember who he was before all this happened, but if he harms people I-- Okay, whatever you do, Aesop, be careful. Please."
Joseph then pulled him into a hug as tears streamed down his eyes. If only the embalmer knew there is one other thing he wanted to let the latter know.....
"ALL CIPHERS DECODED!! EVERYONE YES!!!" Kurt said, snapping the embalmer out of his trance.
Aesop looked around. The ciphers are decoded and Emily is currently opening the exit gate. As for Kurt, he received one single hit from the Ripper, but the hunter did not chair him and chose to hum his usual tune instead.
Running to where Emily and the others are, the embalmer cannot help but feel anxious as everyone fist-bumped him.
"We avoided the Ripper! Yes!"
"Now let's get outta here..." William said, flexing his muscles as he made it out of the gate, along with Kurt and Emily.
The other three was still in a state of relief that they did not realize Aesop is still there, his splitting headache coming back to him.
As the embalmer's eyesight started going blurry, the sound of footsteps and hummings approached him.
The embalmer tried to move, but the pain in his head is too much for him to bear. Tears started streaming down his face.
"I found you." The Ripper said, adjusting his claws.
"You fell right into my trap."
It was when Jack pulled out the act that no one, even Joker, would expect that would be done by one who had always been so good and wise as a match official.
The Ripper held Aesop in the air, and plunged his claws towards the embalmer.
Right in the chest.
YOU ARE READING
Fate (DISCONTINUED)
Fanfiction"But I'm a mess." "No. No one is a mess here but this world." Joseph Desaulniers had once been everyone's average happy boy. Wealthy and happy family. A strong and unbreakable bond with them all. But it was all no more since he lost everything. His...
