Game Over

Andy stumbled in the darkness and fell against a cold wall, leaning to catch his breath. How long had he been going? A few hours? A day? He opened his eyes again to look around. The sky was dark, speckles of light sprinkled across the blanket of darkness. Virtual reality was just as beautiful, if not more than, real life. A faint smile tugged across Andy's dry, chapped lips as he slid down the wall to sit on the desert floor. For once, he just wanted to rest and do nothing... His eyes slid closed again, letting himself forget about his current mission.

The sounds of the desert at night were somehow calming. Although, there wasn't much to be heard. It was mostly the sound of a gust of wind picking up loose dust, and a few animals that had been programmed into the setting.

Programmed.

Somehow that was unsettling to Andy all over again. The thought that he was in a video game should be odd enough, but it was more so that he was more relaxed by the surroundings of a programmed set of surroundings than he was anywhere else. Andy opened his eyes again and looked around. He should probably keep going.

Andy stood and looked around a bit more. There was nothing in sight... At all.

Wait.. if there was nothing, why was there a wall? Andy turned to finally look at what he had been leaning against for the past few minutes. His eyes widened. Woah...

Before him was the structure he had been looking for; the one that supposedly had Eve inside. Andy took a deep breath and looked around for an entrance.

"Who are you." A voice behind him rasped.

Andy whirled around and saw a large figure, covered head to toe in a black cloak and head concealed by a mask. In it's right hand was a large staff.

"Did Deviant send you?" Andy sighed as he observed the figure. "I'm not going back till I get Eve, got it? So go report back to him and leave me alone." He turned around again.
The figure didn't say anything for a minute.

"Are you with the Wild One's?" The figure said in the same tone.
Andy looked over at it. "Uh. Yeah? I guess? I'm Prophet, I'm new, so I'm not really with them, I'm more so just tagging along."
"Perfect. Another one."
Andy frowned. He couldn't see because of the figures mask, but he could hear the smirk in their voice. Before he could respond, he felt something collide with the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground.

| | | |

Andy awoke, vision spotted as he adjusted to the new surroundings. "Wha... What?" He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut as his head throbbed. "Where am I?" He croaked.

"Prophet?" A shaky voice sounded from the darkness. Andy's eyes shot open again. Was it really her? "Prophet... Tell me it's you... Please..."

Despite the pain in his neck, Andy turned his head, seeing part of a girls face in the light that was coming from Andy's barred window. Her visible cheek was dirty, but there were trails evident from tears. She looked absolutely terrified.
"It is you..." She whispered, exhaling in relief. Andy shuffled over, wincing a little.
"Eve?" He grimaced, rubbing his sore neck. "Hey... Yeah, it's me..."
Eve lowered her head and rested it against the bars that divided their small cells, her hands weakly gripping onto two of them. She relaxed a hand and let go, sliding it through the space between the bars. "I was hoping someone would find me... I just want to get out of here..."
Andy took her hand in his own and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You will. I'll find a way out." He promised. Eve lifted her head.
"But you're stuck in here with me."
"I know- I... I know." Andy sighed. "But I'll find a way... Trust me."

"Quiet!"

Eve jumped back, pulling her hand away from Andy. The guard began to storm over angrily. Andy frowned.
"What?"
"We aren't s- supposed to talk to the other pri-"

"Figures it's the newbie." The guard snorted. "C'mon. Someone's gotta teach you the rules." Andy's cell door was slid open and a large hand grabbed him by his leather jacket.
"No, don't!" Eve shrieked as she watched Andy get thrown into the wall across from the row of cells. Andy grimaced, slumped down against the wall. Before he could open his eyes, he was picked up and thrown over the guards shoulder, being carried off all while Eve continued to cry out in protest.

| | | |

Deviant stepped inside the F.E.A.R. headquarters, feeling the desperation, tension, and hopelessness in the air all at once. Destroyer grabbed his arm.

"Are you sure you want to go in by yourself?" He asked carefully.
Deviant nodded. "They're not going to want to talk if I have everyone with me. If I'm not out in an hour, then you do you what you feel you need to do."
Destroyer let go of his arm and took a step back, nodding quietly. Mystic held eye contact with Deviant briefly.

"Be careful." He sighed and then turned, moving everyone back. Deviant smiled a little and saluted his followers before moving inside entirely. The air was thick, the darkness and the fear of the unknown making Deviants's chest tight. Was he scared? No. But he was definitely uneasy.

The walls were all the same cold, stone grey. The bit of light came from broken, flickering light fixtures that hung on the ceiling. It wasn't enough light for Deviant to see very far, so he took slow steps.

"Hello, Deviant..." The voice belonging to the figure before him was dripping with sick amusement. Deviant stopped and stared at the man who sat before him. He was dressed in a plain black cloak, the hood draped over the top of his head and covering his eyes. His lips were black, teeth yellow, skin pale but in the sickly way. Not like Andy's skin. Andy's was pale... like a porcelain doll... Precious. But the pale that the skin of the man before him wore made Deviant's stomach churn in disgust.
"Hello, William." He seethed between grit teeth, fists balled at his sides.
"I'm glad you came... I have something that I believe belongs to you." William mused, crooking a finger in the direction two guards. "Bring him in!"

The guards stepped aside and Deviant turned his attention to the boy being dragged by his limp arms. Once in the room, he was dropped and the guards stepped back. The boy who had been brought in lifted with his head, showing his face. It wasn't a pretty sight. No, not at all. There were yellow and blue bruises decorating his face, one eye almost swollen shut. His lip was split severely, and... overall the kid looked pretty banged up.
Deviant stared, his eyes widening. His jaw fell open as he gasped in horror, watching the boy fall back to the floor with a painful whimper. "No..."