Seeking a Better Ending - Seek x Reader

Guiding Light

...it was probably just a weird feeling.

"Last door," Seek said, pushing open the wooden door labeled 100. The warm light clicked on above the entryway, and you stepped through. This was it.

Room 100 was unlike any other room in this accursed hotel. Dust filled the air, clinging to any surface it could touch, and making you cough. The walls were a cool shade of grey, and in the middle of the room, there was a heavy, steel door- not one like the countless, wooden doors you'd passed through to get here, but one more like a garage door. There was a lever to the left of it that you pulled, only to immediately regret that decision.

A growl-like trill filled the air, reverberating through the tiny space. Dust fell from the cracks in the ceiling as a familiar creature swung from the balcony above the stairs to only a few feet away from you. Light streamed from between the teeth in its mouth, and it reached for you, only to tear metal from concrete instead, almost falling into the darkness beneath the stairs.

Figure was back.

You ran back towards the other room, not stopping to look behind you. Quickly scanning the small room, you grabbed Seek's arm and pulled it with you towards a wardrobe. It whispered your name questioningly as the doors shut behind you, enclosing you two in the small space.

"Figure's back," you whispered, the volume of your breath barely above a breath of air. Seek's eye widened, and it wrapped its arms comfortingly around you.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know it would be here," it whispered back, its voice equally soft. Then you both froze as Figure stood outside your locker, growling in that strange, terrifying way that echoed through the room and sent a chill down your spine. You could hear it outside, listening for the sound of your pounding heart. You buried your head in Seek's shoulder, holding it close as Figure leaned closer to the closet. After what seemed like several eternities, it turned and left, stomping away.

You breathed a quiet sigh of relief, nearly collapsing against Seek. Its arms were cold against your back, but the contact filled you with a certain amount of warmth. You stayed there together until you heard the click of a door shutting.

"It's gone," Seek said, "let's go."

"Okay," you breathed, opening the closet door. Figure had indeed left the room, and the door you had entered through was shut fast. You turned to head up the stairs with Seek beside you, guided by some strange instinct. The metal gate at the top of the stairs swung open with a creak, and you winced at the sound. It was much too loud for your liking, and would certainly have alerted Figure to your presence if it hadn't been stuck in the other room. Down the hallway, there was an elevator- the exit?

Yeah, no, the power wasn't on. It wasn't going to be that easy.

There was a key on one of the crates, gathering blue sparks as it sat untouched. You grabbed it, moving with sudden unthinking resolve back down the stairs. It was only then that you noticed Seek wasn't following you anymore. It was waiting at the bottom of the metal stairs, staring intently at the floor.

"Seek?"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you anymore," it said, making eye contact with a spot on the wall.

"Oh, why?" You stopped walking just short of the end of the stairs.

"I'm not supposed to be here. This is Figure's domain."

"I see," you began, that's-"

You were cut off by the sound of something slamming against the door, accompanied by the alien scream of the blind creature. Figure hit the door again, shaking dust out of the cracks in the walls.

"Hurry," Seek whispered urgently, "turn the power back on, then run to the elevator. I should go." It started to turn away. You lept off the bottom step, wrapping your arms around the startled entity.

"Please don't go," you begged, "I'm not sure I'll make it without you." I'll miss you, you wanted to add, don't leave me. Seek stood in stunned silence in your embrace.

"You made it past Figure the first time, didn't you?" it asked slowly, after a moment of consideration. It whispered your name softly, like something sacred, before continuing. "I believe in you."

"I'm scared."

"I know." It backed away from you, pulling itself out of your arms. "I'm sorry."

"Will I ever see you again?" That was wishful thinking, you thought as Seek started down the second flight of steps. It paused, looking back up at you.

"I don't know." Then it was gone.

...whatever. You had no time to waste.

You turned to the side, facing the locked steel door. The sign on the door read High Voltage.

Perfect.

The key fit into the lock, turning to the side with a click. The door to the power room swung open, and you stepped inside. You flinched as the room shook again, and another inhuman scream rang out through the final few rooms.

Just keep going, you thought. The panel at the end of the room swung open, and you were greeted with a set of ten small switches, each with a corresponding number. A tiny screen flashed with numbers next to an orange square, alternating between a filled shape and just an outline. You moved with uncanny quickness, flipping the switches you knew were correct. How you knew they would work, you didn't know, but you didn't have time to think about that. A bar at the top of the screen began to fill, and after half a second it reached the top with an electronic chime. A glowing box suddenly filled with yellow, and the numbers above it changed from 0/3 to 1/3.

Okay. You can do this.

Two more sets of switches, and the panel slammed shut. You shakily turned around, running for the stairs. You heard the sound of wood breaking behind you, and the terrifying heavy footsteps of the Figure grew louder and louder. You could see the elevator now as you rounded a corner. You reached for it, arms outstretched, straining for the sanctuary it promised.

...

You didn't quite make it.

Figure screamed both in anguish and in triumph as its long, spindly arms grabbed you by the shoulders. You thought you heard the dim, distant sound of the elevator door closing as rotting teeth pierced your neck.

You died to the Figure...