Lost in the Fog

Frenzied Thoughts

Time has no meaning. Death is a constant, but not a finality. Those with power fight in a game of cat and mouse. And the Campfire is the only refuge in the fog.

These were the rules Izuku had to take to heart. It was hard enough to accept that heroes wouldn't be able to help. Ash Williams retold his stories about fighting armies of demons and deadites, as a knight, a hero in shining armor, but most of the other survivors aren't like him. They don't fight the killers head on, but instead use trickery, deception, diversions, and bait to force the killers to hunt on their terms.

It wasn't easy, but he did pick up a few tips. Laurie Strode taught a few things about self defense, standing up against them by making them believe you are vulnerable. Steve Harrington taught  some tricks about standing against them in defense of those who were just saved, although he did say this at the start: "I know you don't really need the help with this, but I figured I'd give you a few extra tips."

The greenette accepted all they were willing to teach him, although there were certain things that they couldn't. Not because they didn't want to, but because they're a core part of themselves. For instance, Boon magic. Most survivors didn't have the capacity, due to its strength being rooted in faith. Mikaela, Jonah Vasquez, and Yoichi Asakawa couldn't teach their boons, because their faith couldn't be transferred over. At least, not yet. I had no faith yet, as it wasn't something that could be created on a whim.

However, he wasn't discouraged. Perks developed from personality, and they were confident that he'd get some good ones. After all, very few have perks that stun the killers directly, and they seemed to believe that my attack on Ghostface was a perk. Only Jane Romero, Jill Valentine, and Laurie were capable of doing so, and two of them were traps set up ahead of time.

David King, to his surprise, didn't use his Dead Hard perk to tackle and wind the killer, but to either gain distance or avoid a hit. When asking him why, he replied gruffly: "You 'aint want'ing to fi'ght all them monsters out there 'ead on. Tha'd be schtewpid, innit?"
Izuku was confused... so far, he'd only seen people. "Monsters?"
"Yeah... there 'aint just men an' women out there..."

That concerned him, as he was lucky that Ghostface was a smaller, human killer. I had no idea what the next could bring...

In time, the other survivors, always 4 at a time, were taken for a trial. Some returned like he had, many had been sacrificed, while many returned through the trees, as if they escaped.

Izuku was forced to admit, that over time, his curiosity surrounding the wood around the campfire grew. He'd seen shapes wandering between the trees, but no threat from them. However, what interested him the most was the path heading away from the campfire. It wasn't in the direction of any of the trials, as people would arrive from different directions, but never from the main path. He decided he was going to wait for everyone to stay distracted. The other survivors, with all of their good intentions, often got in the way. They wanted to keep each other safe, and the only guaranteed area was wherever the campfire's light touched. But Izuku was getting restless.

However, he wouldn't get the chance to explore it quite yet, as another trial was about to begin.