Team Halloween
Location: Haunted Village
The first two things that Elijah instantly became aware of were the throbbing headache pounding in the back of his skull and the bright light filtering in through his closed eyelids. Dammit, did he forget to close his curtains last night? He had bought blackout shades for a reason. There were perks to being an insomniac but the flipside meant he also liked to sleep in well past sunrise once he was actually able to fall asleep.
As his foggy mind struggled to wake up, Elijah mused that he must've somehow fallen asleep on the floor of his apartment. That or he rolled off his bed in his sleep, which he had done before. Those were the only reasons his sleepy mind could come up with for the hard surface under his stomach. Groaning as he started becoming more conscious, Elijah sucked in a sharp breath as his headache intensified only to wake up immediately in a coughing fit upon sucking in a mouthful of dirt. He pulled himself to his knees and hacked out the particles in his throat until he could breathe properly again. Jesus, he really needed to clean his floor...
Slowly opening his pale green eyes, he blinked at the warm sun lighting up his studio apartment and moved to stand so he could close his curtains and go back to sleep. However, once his eyes completely took in his surroundings, they widened only for him to tightly shut them again and further rub the sleep out of them. When they were open again, Elijah realized he was in fact, not seeing things. Surrounding him wasn't the familiar furnishings of his modest flat but what looked like a ghost town; abandoned buildings, tumbleweeds, the works. Well, shit, that explained the dirt still coating the inside of his mouth and the feeling of rocks jabbing him in the stomach as he slept. Those facts alone guaranteed this wasn't another one of his vivid dreams.
How did he end up here? He hadn't started sleepwalking had he? No, he lived in the city. There was no way he had zombied his way to an abandoned village. Were there even any of those near where he lived? He didn't think so... The last thing he remembered was answering that ridiculous questionnaire before booting up the newest horror survival game he just finished downloading. Although Elijah couldn't recall actually starting to play. His memory went blank after answering the last question...
"Shit, what the hell..." he muttered out loud as he rubbed his throbbing head.
Elijah then became aware of a weight on his back that his earlier shock had failed to register until now. Pulling the item from his back he noticed it was a black nondescript backpack that he didn't recognize as his own. He unzipped it, not even thinking that it may belong to someone else. Inside were a couple water bottles, a handful of what looked like meal replacement bars, a matchbox, and a tiny pocket knife. Reaching inside, Elijah was about to grab one of the bottles to help alleviate the dryness of his dirt coated mouth but thought better of it. If his hours of grinding survival games had taught him anything, it was that he would need these later when dehydration started to settle in. So instead he grabbed the matchbox and shook it, confirming that it was full. Next he grabbed the knife and removed it, zipping the backpack back up and replacing it on his back.
Flicking it out, he ran his thumb over the blade to test its edge. It was definitely sharp but too small to really do much damage. At most it would probably serve as a tool around camp. He shoved it into the pocket of his khaki shorts only to notice another small item already in his pocket. Releasing the knife into his pocket, Elijah's hand closed around the other item and pulled it out, recognizing it as a black USB drive.
Halloween was written upon it in an ornate script. Odd... This definitely wasn't his. The idea of someone he most likely didn't know putting something in his pocket while he slept made him feel uncomfortable. He decided to put it back in his pocket for now, but shoved it into the opposite pocket from the knife. If he really needed the knife in a hurry, he didn't want to grab the USB first by accident.
Dusting the dirt off the front of his plain black tank, Elijah decided to start investigating some of the abandoned buildings. He still didn't know what in the name of sanity was going on but might as well keep a cool head and deal with it until he found answers. He would start with searching for more supplies but Elijah wanted to be quick about it. There was something about this village that gave him the creeps, the tingling feeling of being watched causing a shiver to run down his spine. Starting with the building closest to where he woke up, he stopped dead in his tracks once he crossed the threshold. There slumped in a wooden chair was a young girl that seemed to be close to his age wearing an identical backpack to the one on his own back. That couldn't be coincidence. This was just getting ridiculous. What the hell was going on?! Rushing over, Elijah knelt down in front of her and gently started shaking her.
"Miss? Excuse me, miss? Wake up."
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