hardlydead | open post ye wankers

[ david laughs, but both evan and ghost face have heard that sharp huff of a laugh to know it's not at all amused. it hits enough to make a spark of panic run sharp up his spine, but he's always known in the back of his head that ghost face would know what he's been up to out here. ]

[ seeing evan's bulk moving closer hits with another spike of panic, makes him pause mid-step at seeing potentially the one person in the fog he wants to see the least right now. or ever. but david swallows that, stays focused on what's important right now. ]

Hopin' for a show then, eh?

[ he mimics that light tone right back, but he's more interested in keeping the fucker talking so he can get a better idea where exactly ghost face is. doesn't bother looking at evan, just circles slow and careful in the same direction from the opposite way to keep ghost face boxed in. ]

Almost hate to disappoint, but I'm sure you'll live.

[ that's a joke. because david's going to fucking kill him. ]

[ evan's not sure if david's seen him or not. it's not important right now. what matters is keeping ghost face in his sight, because if he looks away for even a second the fucker will disappear for good.

he circles, and david, he notes, circles the other direction. keeping him from running. or maybe trying to lure him around to evan so he can scrape the two of them off on each other and run. but - that's not really david, is it? he won't run from a fight. not even a bare-fisted fight against a blade.

ghost face realizes very quickly what's happening. being caged in by a man who does that for a living and a man who doesn't but has probably picked up the basics. it won't be much of a fight if he lets them drive him, and he won't be driven. he needs to get someone to charge first. needs to make the first move, because it won't be long before he can't keep them both in his sight. ]

Oh, no, I've already seen the show. [ truth or lies? with him, it's hard to tell. ] I was just curious how quickly you'd come back. Again.

[ the again is derisive enough to make even evan angry. as if the fuck who can't stay off someone else's property gets to mock someone else for that - but he doesn't attack yet, because the insult isn't leveled at him directly. not yet, anyway.

and the traps are still lying in wait. even if ghost face is avoiding every one so far. ]

[ again pings off the inside of david's skull like a bullet ricocheting, but he can hold his temper. this isn't a fight, not yet, but similar rules apply. he can hold it long enough to wait for an opening, let it pool and sit ready to be unleashed. ]

Less time than it took you to come slinking around again, I'd bet.

[ david keeps moving in ghost face's direction, slower than he'd like, but for once thankful for the traps because it means once he starts closing in that asshole can't just bolt. ]

[ he glances evan's way, just to make sure he's still moving, probably closing distance faster than david is by a significant margin, but that's fine. if he can keep ghost face's attention on him, make it so he can't keep both of them in sight at the same time, that's plenty. gives evan the chance to get the drop on him. ]

[ ghost face considers the answer, and knows he's being circled. he doesn't turn back to look at evan but he knows he's there, can practically feel him prowling through the fog like some kind of rabid bear. his options are dwindling and he knows it. well, it's not as if he's never been backed into a corner before.

david will be a lot easier to kill.

evan keeps closing the distance, adjusting where he's going and the speed as ghost face swerves to avoid traps or to try and be unpredictable. unfortunately for him, predictable is all he's become these days. ]

Isn't that a little harsh toward yourself? Or are you starting to regret letting someone twice your size get a hand on your ass?

[ evan grimaces, and slows, readying for a lunge. ghost face does not, tilting his head as he watches david, a hand wrapped around the handle of his knife. ]

Are you faking all that moaning just to get him off?

He's not twice my size.

[ of course that's the part that david takes immediate issue with. ]

[ the rest of it isn't easy, the idea of being heard like that is mortifying, makes something in david sieze in a cold panic. has anyone else heard him? he has a pretty unique voice, anybody who heard would know immediately that it's him and what's happening. why he's here. would they know, just from listening, the way evan manages to turn him into a fucking wreck sometimes? ]

[ it's difficult to shake that train of thought, david works his jaw in anger, but he takes satisfaction in realising how close evan is. doesn't even bother firing off a retort, easy as it would be, several come to mind quickly enough. it's not like ghost face is going to have a chance to reply anyway. thoughts of violence flit through david's mind as he readies himself to follow up after evan does whatever he's about to do. the idea of taking that asshole's head and slamming his face into the ground is a particularly appealing thought. ]

[ evan's certain ghost face is fixed on david now, even if he's still aware of evan's presence. the way the insults are directed at david, trying to get him to attack, seem telling. but they're pissing off evan, too. he doesn't care if he gets overheard or seen. doesn't care if ghost face knows, because that takes the power out of knowing.

but that doesn't mean he likes the fact.

so he swings the cleaver, intending to either take off ghost face's head or at least split his skull, but the assumption that ghost face was fixated was wrong because the cleaver just cuts through air as black leather drops down faster than the eye can follow.

there's a moment where evan realizes what happened, but then ghost face is lunging forward, toward david. knife out and up, ready to slice and slash and stab before bolting away and figuring out his next move. split seconds. that's all he has. split seconds and careful footsteps. ]

[ part of him was really hoping evan had it, but, well. david takes a joy in this that he knows evan doesn't, obvious in the short exhale through his nose and the tug of a smile at the corner of his mouth when he catches the rush of black coming toward him. ]

[ david dips back, lifts his arms to block the knife, but he's not letting that fucker get away if he can help it. he snaps out with a hand to grab at one of the loudest strips of fabric in the world that hang from ghost face's arms, tries to grab it and wrap it around his hand so he can yank him back the second he tries to get away. ]

[ he doesn't hit, but that's fine; it was a clear attack, david ready for it. the grab he expects, too, but not toward the strap. he can't control that. at least, not whenever he really needs to.

david gets it and when ghost face tries to jerk back he doesn't go very far. his sixth (or seventh, or eighth) sense lights up and he lunges forward instead of dropping down or fighting stupidly to try and free himself, because evan's right behind him, snatching at his hood, trying to cave his skull in. no, ghost face goes straight for david again, dropping the knife into his other hand to go up and under into somewhere soft.

but the hand wrapped around the strap is keeping him in place. keeping him from making distance that he needs. the leather snaps tight around david's hand without anyone's intervention. evan rips his cleaver out of the ground and lunges in again to try and grab, at least, and yank him back before that knife finds its mark. or any mark, really. ]

[ ghost face is at a clear and severe disadvantage, it'd be easy to call this a win the second evan got involved, but david knows from experience he's not the kind of person you can count out until they're out. it's not a mistake he'll make again, even if evan would complete the job if he didn't. ]

[ he feels the sting of the knife against his stomach, but it doesn't go in far enough for david to worry. if anything, it's a benefit. means he's close enough for david to try and grab that wrist, lifting a foot at the same time to kick one of his legs, aiming to try and take his knee out. ]

[ evan yanks ghost face back, which is bad for him even though the knife finds its mark. then david snatches at his wrist and kicks. ghost face manages to keep his knife arm free, but the kick lands, almost dislocating the knee and sending him to the ground - or at least it would, if there wasn't a hand gripping the back of his coat like grim death.

it leaves him hanging, but he's dealt with worse. he slashes at david's offending arm while trying to grab some part of evan that's close enough to hurt, but it's too difficult. still, he writhes and kicks with his good leg, making life difficult for everyone, and eventually evan decides against trying this standing up.

he doesn't drop ghost face - he throws him down. the knife flashes in the partial moonlight as he goes, but before he can jump up or stab at anyone's legs evan's got a boot against his head. it should be enough, except that ghost face doesn't stun easily and this gives him the opportunity to run the knife straight through the top of the boot into evan's foot.

that drives him off a few inches. it's enough. ghost face swings the knife back at david, but with his knee out of commission, he's not going far. ]

[ the knife slashes his arm, but with the adrenaline surging through him david barely notices it. he lets go of the strip of fabric as evan throws ghost face to the ground, moves around to his side, but that's as much time as he gets before evan's having to back off thanks to a knife in his foot. david doesn't waste time giving ghost face the chance to get up and get away. he stamps down on that injured knee to hopefully break it and descends immediately, trying to pin that arm with the knife with his leg as he moves to straddle his chest. no fucking way is he letting this shit scramble away again. david snarls, grabs at his hood to pull his head up with a sneer. ]

Nothin' to say now?

[ probably shouldn't goad him like that, but all things considered it's a very small show of spite from david. other things will occur to him later, ways he could really embarrass this fucker, make a mockery of him, but that kind of vindictiveness rarely if ever strikes in the moment for david. ]

[ in the moment it's usually all rage and violence, and that is very clearly the case for him right now. he twists his hand in the fabric of the hood to both get a firmer grip and tighten it around ghost face's head and slam his head into the ground. as many times as he can get away with. it'd be easier to just stomp him out, but david's not making the same mistake evan did. ]

[ there's a noise that escapes the mask at that stomp - along with the cracking of the knee itself, because while it might not be totally shattered it's really fucked up now, and despite everything he might say, ghost face isn't immune to pain.

nor is he immune to getting pinned. as evan staggers back, favoring the foot that didn't just take a knife through the top of it, ghost face finds himself caught, unable to rip his arm free from david's knee crushing it just below the elbow. he tries like hell, but it doesn't work very well, especially when his head's getting jerked around, smashed into the ground over and over. enough to disorient, almost enough to stun.

but not completely.

he writhes under david, rips at him with his free arm, and in the few momentary breaks in the violence his voice comes out from under the mask again, this time riddled with pain and spite and all the darkness that grew in him over the years: ]

Do you scream like that for everybody - or just him - you fucking whore?

[ it's not a particularly clever insult, but stripped down the core of him he isn't thinking much beyond getting the hooks in as deep as he can. even if he dies here, david's not going to forget what he said. and he's not going to forget the hand that snaps up, fingers aiming for his eyes -

or he wouldn't, except evan gets involved again, cleaver lashing out to catch that arm before it finds its mark. it doesn't cut the whole thing off, but it buries deep enough to cut bone. ]

[ something about the dig actually startles david, not enough to make him pause or let up in any real way, but enough that it shows on his face — a moment of surprise followed by raised eyebrows as he processes the words. and would argue he's never screamed for evan, unless screaming after having a metal hook violently shoved through his body counts. ]

Jealous?

[ it's not a clever retort either, but it's david's mouth running on autopilot while he shifts tack. ghost face's mask isn't like evan's, it's plastic, not likely to offer much protection. he barely even notices evan swing the cleaver for ghost face's arm as he starts driving his fists into ghost face's... face. not really caring that his hands are likely gonna come away cut up and bloody, focus singular on beating this man to death like it's the most important thing he'll ever do. ]

[ the response might surprise ghost face later on, but the resultant violence won't. with his arm still stuck on evan's blade and his knife hand pinned under david's knee and his own knee just about broken, he's essentially helpless to defend himself from the attack.

evan watches in silence as david beats his face in. the mask cracks under the blows, which would be a bigger problem for ghost face if he hadn't already been bruised and bloodied to hell and if the continued punches raining down on him didn't make him even more unrecognizable than before. the shards of plastic cut into them both, and the fabric tears, and eventually he can't even struggle to try and free himself just from the force of the hits alone.

when the arm caught in his cleaver goes limp, evan jerks it free, but he still doesn't get involved. the insult even got to him, and it wasn't even directed at him. david has a handle on this. he doesn't need someone else coming between him and a target. evan knows he personally never appreciated it, and he's not going to step in to stop violence against this particular trespasser for any reason.

it's not long before there's no more movement under david at all. no more strength to try, the world subsumed by pain. but ghost face isn't dead yet, given the noises coming from underneath the shattered mask; every breath drawn through broken teeth and a swollen throat is a struggle, but he's still breathing. ]

[ there's a moment of hesitation from david when he realises the body under him has gone still, where he sits there and looks down, paused with heavy, panting breaths. this is usually where he'd leave things. before now, maybe. even through the rage brought to a boil, the roar of blood in his ears, david sits there panting as part of his mind yells at him to stop. that he's going to kill this guy. ]

[ but... isn't that the point? isn't that what he has to do? besides the million reasons it's the best thing to do here, last thing david needs is getting shit from evan and ghost face for not having the bottle to see it through. shit, if this was the real world he'd be doing everyone a favour by killing this guy. ]

[ david swallows and tucks his hands into ghost face's hood to grip the sides of his head. the more efficient option of breaking his neck doesn't quite occur to david, instead he pounds the back of ghost face's head against the ground with full force and a roar of effort each time until his skull caves and there's no life left in there. ]

[ it's not now he would do it. but that's fine. everybody kills differently. and david means it. that's what counts.

when he sees the skull cave in evan doesn't flinch; he can see the way the hood suddenly crumples, the way there's one final violent shudder in the body before it goes still again. dead again, and at the hands of a survivor, helped by a killer. that'll sting.

evan waits a few seconds, then wipes the blood off his cleaver against the leg of his waders and offers down a hand to help him up. ]

C'mon. Your hands are fucked up.

[ no comment on the dead man. no judgment this time. why would there be? david didn't back down. there's a dead ghost on the forest floor, just like there should be. just like there would be if david hadn't showed. ]

[ he's in a bit of a daze, first just staring down at the cracked and broken and bloody mask, then at the backs of his hands in response to what evan says. as if the cuts and blood are on somebody else's body, not his. too dazed by all this to even question the offered hand, just takes it to pull himself up silently. ]

[ this is the second time now that he's leaving a dead body on this estate, and while this time he may not have done it alone, he's still the one that finished it. barely a second of hesitation to it either. david looks down at the body again once he's on his feet, stares silently. something about it being here again feels significant, but he doesn't know why. ]

[ is this what he is now? or maybe it's what he always was. something muzzled and restrained, but always waiting for an excuse. after all, it's not the act itself that's making him feel nauseous.
it's the grim sense of satisfaction with it that churns and makes him feel sick with himself. ]

[ for evan, this is nothing new. other people kill each other on his property - not all the time, but more often than he'd probably like. as long as they don't bother him he leaves them be. sometimes he watches the fights and kills the loser if they don't die on the way out.

this is a little different. for one, david's still alive, and likely to remain so for a while. the fact that he lets evan pull him up is telling. no words, no arguments. nothing like their last conversation. or their last meeting.

he gives ghost face's body one last long look to make sure it's not about to jump back up again, and then he motions to david to follow. back toward the mine, to fix up the cuts. his own injuries will heal - the stab to the foot's still making him limp with every step, though - so those aren't as important.

and if david's too stunned to follow, he'll get him by the upper arm to pull him along. normally he'd leave him be. funny how things change. ]

[ david startles a little as the pull on his arm jolts him out of his thoughts, but he follows evan quietly, almost without thought, as if he's simply moving because somebody told him to. because his mind is still replaying the sensation of feeling a skull cave under his hands and it's a little hard to think about anything else right now. ]

More time. [ difficult, but not impossible. david says it with the tone of someone who just remembered something, thinking out loud more than anything. ] S'what I meant to say. More time than him.

[ not that david really expects evan to remember a stupid exchange david and ghost face were having, nor does he expect him to care. it's just weirdly annoying now that he thinks about it, and it's an easy thing to focus on instead of the uncomfortable,
conflicting feelings. or other things he's still too shell-shocked to take notice of just yet. ]

[ evan glances at david when he speaks, having no idea what he means - he was only half paying attention to the words, at least up until they grew an edge and it was impossible to ignore.

he wonders if he should do something about ghost face, for a few seconds. if maybe there's some worth in putting the fear of him into the sneaky bastard. but it probably won't work. besides, he knows what that last insult was - the desperate rage of someone about to die. even ghost face will be irritated with it later, he's pretty certain.

and he wonders, briefly, about the way david responded before the violence. focused on the wrong things. accusing him of jealousy. probably for the best than silence, than just rage. god knows evan would have just broken him in half, and given him exactly what he wanted by doing so.

back down into the mine, avoiding traps and making sure david does the same because he knows he's not paying attention right now. after that, he probably won't go anywhere while evan gets what he needs. patching him up again. last time it was worse than this, but there was something different in the air. ghost face crawled away, david said last time. this time he didn't have the chance.

evan gets the old, not-exactly-clean bandages and snags the water bucket from the forge with the slightly-cleaner rag on it. blood in that doesn't make a difference to him. he waits until david's settled, either on a workbench or against one, before starting to pull the plastic shards out a piece at a time. ]

[ if evan wasn't making sure david didn't step in a trap he would almost certainly have lost a foot. last time, when it was evan, david was significantly more injured, but he'd at least had the luxury of sitting for a while to gather himself before heading out. he'll be embarrassed about it once the haze clears, on having to rely on evan to get him down here safely because he can't be trusted to do it himself, but at least right now he doesn't have the wherewithal to wonder why evan's helping him like this instead of seeing a job done and leaving david on his own. or killing him. ]

[ he leans against a workbench, becoming more aware of where his body hurts now the adrenaline's fading. he can feel the sting of slashes on his arm, blood cooling on the skin. when he looks down he can see where blood has seeped into his shirt, pulls it up under his chest to have a look, but there's really not much to glean from that. just a bleeding wound. luckily ("luckily") david at least has enough experience being stabbed by now to know it's not deep or serious on account of the fact he can still move without issue. ]

[ almost wishes there was an injury to be really concerned about though, something to focus on other than the fact he's stood here covered in his and another man's blood, wondering what that means. probably nothing, really. but when he glances over in the direction evan went, it does ring with some concern. that evan's probably one of the people he's most similar to here, and, well. look how being a murderer worked out for that miserable bastard. ]

[ it occurs to evan, briefly, that he shouldn't be doing this. beyond just the fact that david will heal on his own if left alone long enough, he shouldn't be doing it. he's helping a survivor of his own volition. again. why?

maybe it's the violence. maybe it's some sort of backwards belated apology for their last encounter, as if he could ever consider the concept of apologizing. maybe it's because he's not interested in seeing someone else wander by and take pre-revenge for ghost face, or to let ghost face come back himself and finish the job. in which case killing david would have been easier.

he doesn't think about it more than that, figuring that either the question will answer itself, or he'll forget about it. the lack of time here means every hour is the same. eventually, it'll be forgotten. has to be.

so for now he focuses on david. once one hand is free from plastic he wipes off the blood, eyes the wounds, wraps them up with a rough but experienced hand. god knows how many times he's fucked up his own fists enough beating someone to death; he could do this blindfolded by now.

as he reaches for the other hand, knowing the gut wound isn't that severe if david's still standing: ]

Made me look bad out there.

[ it's not angry, or a threat. he was expecting to use david as a distraction to run ghost face through; instead, david just about wholly took him down. it's almost impressive. would be, if it wasn't ghost face who died. ]

[ david stands there quiet save for the occasional hiss or wince as evan pulls plastic from his hand, keeps his hand relaxed and pliant so he can wrap it up easily. his other hand he leaves resting over his gut wound, watches evan clean up his hand with a vacant gaze. ]

[ at his comment, he looks up at evan and frowns. it takes a second for him to get what he's talking about, and then huffs out a small, quiet laugh. ]

Nah. It's Ghost Face.

[ he's a slippery bastard, but not exactly tough. ]

[ as he starts the process again on david's other hand, evan snorts. ]

Means I shoulda got him at the neck first try.

[ of course, he was aware he was being followed the whole time. despite it all, ghost face is good at getting away. getting out of situations he has no right to get out of. not when there's two people coming at him, apparently, but ... still. he should have done more than hit him, disorient him, and almost take off his arm. ]

Means he shoulda died way before all this.

[ the plastic pieces are small enough that he's not sure he can get them all. he's not a doctor; he doesn't have the tools. but he does what he can. ]

Still. Impressive what you did.

[ and then a probably very unwise comment, coming straight from the part of him that did things like that on the regular, way back when, and a callback to a conversation they had once before even he can barely remember now: ]

Different with your hands, ain't it? Feelin' him go.

[ david shrugs a shoulder. he knows evan has a lot of experience there, but from david's point of view it wasn't a bad showing from either of them. keeping ghost face from slinking off into the shadows to escape or strike again is half the battle. no point arguing that though — evan clearly feels he should've taken the asshole's head at the first swing. maybe he's right. ]

[ then he brings up that and david feels his stomach twist in discomfort at having to acknowledge it, eyes widening briefly in a silent panic. it was satisfying and made him hate himself all in one and he tries to reason it out, justify it in knowing ghost face would've killed him and felt no particular way about it. trying to use logic to push past the worry that maybe he's a bit more like these fuckers on the other side of the fence. a bit more like evan then he'd care to admit. ]

Yeah.

[ he clears his throat, gaze falling to evan's chest, to his hand as it's cleaned and wrapped. anywhere else. ]

Probably could've done it faster.

[ never mind that he didn't want to. ]

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