Chapter Text
A bitter taste lingered in Dwight’s mouth as he silently made his way back to the fire.
“You’re still bleeding,” Jake muttered directly into his ear, and Dwight determinedly did not flinch.
“I’ll be fine. I wasn’t the one who had to be resurrected by the Entity,” Dwight replied.
Jake made a noncommittal noise. “It wasn’t really help, what the Entity did to me, Dwight. Part of me made it to you, and part of me went with the Entity. So I was never fully dead.”
“I still watched you die,” Dwight said firmly.
“It won’t be the last time,” Jake told him.
That doesn’t make it better, Dwight wanted to say. He wanted to ask Jake about the kiss, but if it wasn’t fully Jake, Krueger probably had some manipulation. “It felt off,” he said. “Not the same.”
“Sorry,” Jake mumbled, resting his head on top of Dwight’s. “Not that I could stop it, but I’m sorry.”
Dwight squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “That’s fine. It’s just…”
I saw my sister and knew it wasn’t her. I was with Meg, and suddenly things didn’t feel right. You were there, but not, and it felt different from how Krueger normally manipulates things.
“He manifested my sister,” Dwight said quietly.
Jake’s head lifted. “Emily?”
“Yeah, she um.” Dwight swallowed harshly. “She gave Claudette her sweater, and Claudette was still wearing it even after we determined Emily and Meg weren’t real.” What are you trying to say, Dwight?
Jake didn’t say a word to that, and Dwight continued. “It’s just… you were there but not.” You kissed me. “I didn’t know what part of it would linger. I didn’t know if you’d come back.”
Jake shifted his arm, still holding on with his left hand while moving his right to rub Dwight’s hand. “I’m still here.”
“It was stupid.” I thought I lost you. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Didn’t I?” Jake asked quietly. “I let you think I died.”
“That’s not-“
“It was still me, even if I don’t remember it,” Jake said insistently, and there was an undertone to his voice that made Dwight swallow harshly. “I can’t believe I did that to you.”
“It’s not like you had a choice.”
“There’s always a choice,” Jake murmured, squeezing Dwight’s wrist. “I’m sorry.”
That’s not the point, Jake. Dwight swallowed again. “You’re here now.”
“I’m here now,” Jake echoed. “I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon, Dwight.”
You called me Dweet, Dwight nearly said. He didn’t know why it felt significant to him, other than the fact that it had been Jake calling him that. Emily had been the only person to ever call him that before, and he ached to hear Jake say it again, but he couldn’t tell him without telling him why.
“What are you worrying about now?” Jake asked. “I’m not going to bleed out on you. Promise.”
“That’s not what I was worried about,” Dwight said weakly.
“Everyone will be fine. They’ll have Bill and Claudette to coddle them.”
“Bill doesn’t coddle people.”
“He doesn’t coddle you, you mean,” Jake muttered. “Wish he’d let me leave the fire out without suspicion. He’s got a suicide watch, you know.”
“You did kinda bring that on yourself,” Dwight pointed out.
Jake grumbled something into Dwight’s hair.
“What was that?”
“Nothing,” Jake said. “Just glad you seem to trust me a bit.”
“I can see your exact location, and I trust Claudette to warn us when something’s wrong.”
“So you don’t trust me?”
I do, Dwight thought to himself. “Whatever makes you sleep at night.”
“That thought is not comforting, actually,” Jake replied. “How do I get you to trust me?”
This continued the rest of the way back to the fire, and Dwight was relieved that everyone else seemed to be fine.
“They’re back!” Meg’s voice rang out loud, and everyone turned.
Claudette and Meg were moving in an instant, and Dwight tried to let Jake down before they got there, but he did not succeed. Jake made a noise of discontent as Meg pulled him off Dwight’s back, and Claudette was already undoing Dwight’s shirt to get at the nasty wounds across his side.
“We’re fine!” Jake said, shoving at Meg. “Stop touching me.”
“What happened to yer clothes, Park?” David asked, seeming amused.
“None of your business,” Jake snapped as Quentin handed Meg a medkit.
“We shouldn’t be crowding them,” Bill called. “Park, walk yourself to the med tent.”
Jake muttered something else to himself before glaring at Dwight, who shrugged helplessly.
“We got a new survivor, Sarge,” Bill announced, sitting down beside where Claudette quickly worked to heal Dwight’s wounds. “Detective David Tapp. Sound familiar?”
Dwight shook his head. Bill glanced at the detective before leaning closer. “Min says he’s another movie fella. Or maybe a video game character. A series called Saw.”
“Did you bring this up to Meg?”
Bill shook his head. “Haven’t had the chance. She just got back from her run when you two came back.”
Dwight chewed at his lip. “Talk to Meg. She’ll probably have a better idea of the hunter he came with than I would.”
“Min thinks it’s a guy called Jigsaw,” Bill said as Claudette slipped away to go to the medical tent to check on Jake. “Loves puzzles and torture.”
“Just what we needed,” Dwight muttered in frustration. “Does Detective Tapp know Jigsaw?”
“Some kind of serial killer. Shot and killed Tapp.”
They exchanged a weary look. “No future for him back home then. A serial killer?”
Bill nodded. “It doesn’t sound good.”
“No,” Dwight agreed, looking at Tapp, who was sitting grimly beside Ace as he explained a card game. “It doesn’t sound good at all.”