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Language:
English
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Published:
2025-05-25
Words:
774
Chapters:
1/1
Comments:
3
Kudos:
6
Hits:
33

Run

Summary:

Found footage from a camera found in a stronghold library.

Notes:

I was experimenting with the writing style a bit with this one so I hope it turned out well :)

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

The camera jostles as a gloved hand reaches out to readjust it, before steadying as it's propped up somewhere. The person who had been adjusting the camera steps back and sits down so they're fully in frame. They appear to be a man wearing a black vest over a red shirt. He has messy blonde hair that looks like it was gelled back at one point, and vivid red eyes.

"Hello." The person says as they glance anxiously past where the camera rests, "Hopefully I'll actually have time for this. Okay, where to start."

"I'm Tango Tek." He looks more focused and serious as he looks straight into the camera. "I run the factory, or, well, I did."

"I… found something." He continues more carefully, glancing past the camera again, "It's important. And dangerous. Essentially I'll, I'm going to be gone for a while. The people looking for what I found can't find me."

"I don't know exactly what will happen, but I do know that the portal can never be opened again, and I have the last key to doing just that."

A crashing sound echoes from somewhere out of sight and Tango jolts forward to grab the camera. The sound of running on a stone surface is the last thing that's heard before the screen goes entirely blank as the recording ends.

- - -

The camera shakes as it focuses in on Tango as he's walking at a quick pace through a dense patch of forest.

"Hi again." He says with a glance to the camera before putting his focus back onto the path ahead.

"I made a bit of distance from them, but I can't run forever. I'm going to need to stop and rest soon." His breaths are heavy as he talks but he doesn't slow his pace.

The world goes spinning for a moment before the camera lands on the ground, displaying only a patch of dirt and moss illuminated by the light of dusk. The scene shifts again as Tango picks the camera back up. After a moment it stabilizes to show Tango sitting with his back against a tree.

"I'm so doomed." He says with a defeated sigh, "I can't keep going like this and I can't risk contacting anyone. My only hope now is to find somewhere to hide the key that they could never find."

Tango twists around to look past the tree that's to his back, "I have an idea for that." He says in a low voice, "But it's risky and I don't have the resources as it is."

"For now I need shelter for the night. If all goes well you'll hear from me again before long."

- - -

The room looks like it's part of an old library that hasn't been used in decades. A circular table stands spaced away from any shelves. It doesn't have any adjacent chairs, and a large leather bound book rests open on top of it.

Tango steps into frame looking significantly more haggard than before. His clothes are torn and dirty, his hair is tangled, and he has dark bags under his eyes.

"It took a while but I'm back, and I finally got here." He gestures at the room around him.

"Unfortunately, I can't explain much about what I'm about to do, in case they manage to get their hands on this footage."

"This is what I've been telling you about, the key." Tango reaches behind himself and pulls out a glowing blue cube that he holds carefully between his hands.

"It's the last thing they need in order to open a portal between our world and another world filled with endless horrors."

"I found a way to hide it. It won't last forever, but it will last a really long time."

"Overworld magic isn't something I've dealt with before, but even if it kills me, at least I did what I could."

Tango turns his attention away from the camera and towards the book that's splayed open in front of him. Still carefully holding the blue cube in one hand, he places the other over the pages of the book.

As Tango starts to speak again his words come out warped and get more and more staticky until the audio cuts out entirely. The cube slowly starts to float as a blue-purple glow envelops Tango. Slowly the cube becomes partially transparent and flickers in and out of view until it vanishes altogether.

The moment that the cube is gone Tango collapses to the floor. The footage doesn't end. It goes on for hours looking at the mostly unmoving scene until, presumably, the camera runs out of battery.

Notes:

I'm genuinely not sure whether I'll add more onto this in the future since I don't have anything planned. Let me know what y'all think about it, and I would love any input regarding the writing style.