DYING LIGHT

THE DESCENT

Summary: The Tower had gone too quiet for weeks now. With no response over the radio, an ex-champion kickboxer named Mad Jack decides to drop by the Slums to check on family. Unfortunately for her, she is forced to make a pitstop right into the Coast of Scanderoon, the next door city to Harran and now overrun with the infected.

If she wants to stay alive in this city, Jack's gonna have to make buddies while 'studying' the zombies. But she also can't let anyone know the little side project she's been tasked with or the other secrets she has. No one outside the Ravs should know. Not even her cousin.

What's more, something predatory is lurking behind her, following far too close to her shadow...

PROLOGUE ARC: WELCOME TO SCANDEROON

PILOT

"I learned to recognise the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both."

― Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

"First I'll kill you, bitch."

The vials were the answer. They had to be!

No, they were the cure! That cult leader lunatic was talking out of her ass. Only one way out? Turn on that nuke and kill off millions to save billions? No, like fucking hell was he gonna do that!

Enough of losing more lives because 'the ends justify the means'. Enough of losing friends around him!

Enough was enough!

He was done with this voodoo, higher morale shit! He was finished with following orders!

The weakened runner scrambled to the thin vials of dark-blue liquid.

"...And save my friends…"

Get the vials, get out, and get back to the Tower.

"And you can rot in hell."

Kyle Crane had his goal set in stone. People depended on him, on these vials making their way home. There didn't have to be any more sacrifices!

So much has happened to him over the couples weeks - since the day he parachuted down to Harran, got bitten and was thrown into the thralls of the Harran Virus outbreak. Where the dead rose on their feet and attacked in the modern century. For days, he watched, he fought, he survived and his entire journey led him to a hidden place called the Countryside, on the rumor that the people there weren't affected by the virus.

And during his time there, he had learned a lot - more than what he anticipated. What he had wanted to know. Things escalated for the worse, like it always has for him until he dealt the final blow at his enemy inside this hidden research facility.

But he didn't come out of the fight unscathed. Something was wrong with his head. Something wasn't right with his legs. It was fatigue, wasn't it? He barely got out of there alive!

It was all right. The battle was over. His long journey could finally end and it could be over with the outbreak! There was nothing stopping him now: no Rais' men, no infected, not even the Mother. She was dead for good and he could save everyone back at the Tower!

He wanted to laugh out loud. But he had a job to do. He had to keep his mind focus! Focus! You know what you have to do, he told himself. Everyone was counting on him!

He picked one vial. Two. Then a third for good measures. Once he confirmed he had all three in his hip pouch, he was off, tumbling his way for an exit.

But things were making it hard on him. Or was it himself? The walls around him blurred into a dizzy, sickening soup. He was almost swimming in it and yet some leftover willpower ushered him to keep going. No. Don't stop. He couldn't afford a short rest.

Then the visions flashed.

He was gone under for a couple of minutes, watching the faces violently snarl at him. Try to kill him. They were enraged with him for leaving them behind. For abandoning them! But his body kept going. Once he surfaced back up to reality, he found himself clumsily wobbling into some white containers. Somewhere else.

"You can't change anything, Kyle."

This didn't feel right. He couldn't put his finger on why. This dizziness was taking far longer than he expected, along with this killer headache.

"What's happening to me?"

"You'll see for yourself…"

The colors were wrapping around him into shiny spheres. Again, he went down. Like drowning at the bottom of the ocean and he was clawing back up for a breath of air. A set of old mattresses softened his lumbering fall.

"I… I killed you! I fucking killed you!"

Where was she? Where?! He'd find her and do it again if he had to!

"This is a poison…"

"It's not a poison!" His anger died out quickly as he desperately pulled out a vial. It was confirmation to himself, just to calm himself down from losing to insanity. "It's a cure!"

Again, he squeezed his fingers on the vial. It was real. Not an illusion! This was it: the answer to everything!

"Lena?" he called over the line after keeping the vial away. "Lena, I'm coming back with the medicine. We'll be able to help everyone now! Tell Camden that he has all the time in the world… No! Tell him that we have a new lead… A better one…"

Again, he went under. The flashes were getting worst. When he breathed back up, he was by a barricade of blue containers. He heaved himself over them to spot a ray of hope gushing down a manhole.

A way out. A ladder, at the end of the tunnel. Out of this damp sewage.

With all the determination he had left, Crane pushed himself onwards. Ignore all the one-second faces going by. The masks, the symbols, the crazy fanatics, fuck all of them. They were history. That damn Mother voice in his head was just the after-effect from having his brain smashed up inside - that was all. Because she was silent now, no more whispering.

Replaced by something else. He couldn't hear it but it was somewhere at the back of his mind.

A scratch. It hadn't been there before, had it?

Just go, Crane. Get out.

Out into the light.

Once the delirious runner was up on the surface, everything was relatively clear in his head. The blurriness had stopped and he found himself like waking up from a bad dream and dropping into a surreal one.

The manhole he crept out from was at the edge of a playground. Wherever this place was, it wasn't another location with the undead hiding in the tall crops or dead carcasses littering the streets. It was a sunny peaceful afternoon for a cozy suburban area with well-cut lawns behind picket fences.

No zombies. No cries of help. No outbreak.

The only stirring of movement Crane saw was a car driving by and that at the playground. Playing by the jungle gym were two kids while an adult - their mother - was watching nearby.

"Where am I?"

It felt alien to Kyle. After everything he had gone through, everything in the Slums and the Countryside, none of this felt real to him. It was as if he had been dropped into a reality where the virus didn't exist and everyone was moving on with their lives. There was never an outbreak wherever...here was.

He hopped down to the park. Maybe the family could give him some details. Where he was, what was happening, all the questions. He needed to get to the others pronto-

The visions flashed again in his head - violently. One of the infected launching at him with bared teeth for a split second. And she was familiar.

"Aaaaa!"

Suddenly, one of the kids pointed at him. They were looking at him directly with terrified faces. Why? Both children rushed over to their mother like chicks under the protection of the hen's wings.

"W-What?"

He reached out-

And gasped at the sight before him. His hands...they shouldn't be his hands. Orange veins like molten lava running through him, glowing out of crusty, disgusting blackened skin. Nails were sharpened and wrapped into deadly talons.

He had seen these kinds of hands. Only at night. These weren't his hands!

But they were attached to him.

No. No! What is this? What...why is this happening?

More screaming around him.

He wanted to yell. He wasn't a monster. He was trying to help people! Save them! Scream out his name, Kyle! To confirm that he was still human. He was still inside!

Please! Someone hear him!

Then the dimming of one enormous light caught his attention.

The sun was going down. And just as it slowly descended behind the houses, something crept out from inside his head. Settling into the corners of his grey matter and making itself right at home.

Foreign. Primitive.

Hungry.

Dark whispers telling him to tear, rip, kill. Getting louder and louder as the night was drawing closer.

NonononoNO!

He turned back to the family. He wanted to tell them to get away but a snarl came out instead. The unknown energy was building up inside his muscles, readying him for the stalk. The hunt. His teeth were aching for some sinking into flesh. And look over there, someone in the back of his mind murmured toxically at him. Easy prey.

Get them.

Stop! This isn't what I wanted!

He tried again.

RUN!

But all that came out of his mouth was the howl of a bloodthirsty monster.

Two weeks later...

The loud, bouncy lyrics of sunshine and joy echoed uncannily throughout the dark, damp tunnel.

Vroom went the small boat, propelling smoothly across the gentle foamy waves. All of its engine noise taunted the slow walkers at the banks, attracting them closer to the boat. But as they limped towards the sound of the propeller, they clumsily fell into the saltwater without looking. Like chicken who can't swim, they sunk right under after a few clawing at the sides.

The driver didn't pay any heed, her fingers tapping to the music and her eyes upfront. As of now, the water was one safe haven without any undead able to reach her. The channel was the only best route surely could get her to her destination without any sort of dangers.

The end of the tunnel was within sight, the morning sunlight seeping in powerfully once the boat exited out.

The sneaky bright rays slipped past her shades, making a slender, gloved hand lift up and shield her eyes. But once her vision finally readjusted, she glanced at the familiar Mediterranean coastline of Harran. The blue water and crystal clear sky weren't breathtaking enough to dress up the city from its own horrors: the many streams of black smoke and the screams of the damned. Isolated apocalypse was upon humanity and while the destruction laid waste in the streets, the city seemed to rebel against it. The walls were still staying strong and whatever survivors were left inside were trying to push through. One more day. Just one more day.

One more day of surviving the Harran outbreak. Or surviving the infected. Or surviving from each other - men turning against one another just to live. The scenery of Harran's fall reflected that as true as the cold steel that stabbed into someone's back.

So the driver of the small speedboat couldn't help but feel slightly stunned at the sight. She scanned her eyes along the terrain, spotting the edge of the Slums in the distance - only a thin line on the horizon. So close and yet so far away. The proverbial grip in her chest was a little tight but she shoved that grim thought out with a little ritual of hers. Enough to calm the nerves down like always.

Breathe in. 1, 2, 3, 4. Her fingers counted. Breathe out. 1, 2, 3, 4. Rinse and repeat.

It's going to be fine, Jackie. You'll find them.

Then her short attention drifted to one thing on the dashboard. Because it annoyed her. A weird bobblehead knockoff, probably from China by the quality of the material. She was told it was some game character - a rap singer with an open black shirt, red bandana over his eyes and one big golden B-pendant chain around his neck. It just tempted her to poke at it and watch the head bobble.

"You sure have some weird taste, Lenny..." she uttered, a thick accent escaping her lips.

There was then a feeling of vibration in the pocket of her sling bag. At first, she decided to let it run - because she knew who it was going to be. Maybe this upcoming earful would be less deafening since it was still daybreak. Her friend would be looking for a perk-me-up right about now.

That was what the woman was betting on. She slipped out a small earpiece into her ear, linked to the walkie-talkie on her belt.

Beep! "Jack. Do you read me?"

Oh, she could hear the sweet, lovable voice of her comrade. Loud and clear. Steaming and ready to give her a vocal one-two punch. So she deliberately kept quiet and watched the scenery again.

"C'moooon. I know you can hear me!"

"Sorry about that, Bones. Just admiring the view."

"Where are you? Everyone's been looking for you all morning."

"Somewhere near the Coast. Should be at the Slums in a few hours."

"Ok. I don't even know which to be angry at. Thinking you got killed. Or out of all the places in Harran to go to, you're going there! You don't even have a Lifeline...! Asem's going to be pissed."

"Actually, she gave the OK."

"Wait. Seriously?"

"You gotta do what you gotta do for family. And she knows it better than me. Besides, I'll be back in a jiffy," she reassured him before drifting the conversation off. "You know, this boat ride is rather relaxing."

"Well, that explains Lenny going ballistic this morning. Geezus, Jack. What were you thinking? You could have been gunned down by the Navy."

"Like I said, it's just a short visit. Tower's been silent since last week now and that nitwit of a cous is probably losing his marbles again. So I'm just gonna drop by and give him a pep talk."

"You never liked your cousin."

"We had our falling. But he's a bloody fool and he's all I got in this world. And hey, I get to meet up with Champ and her brother again. Won't they be surprised to see me. And see what the fuzz is about with their new runner too. Tells me he's been doing good with the folk there."

"Sounds like he's completely the opposite of you."

"Ah-ha. Oooh, good one. Remember. I'm the only one who's doing this little pet project for you. And when have I never done a good deed for you guys?"

"No, I mean - you are a good person! But sometimes your methods are...unorthodox."

"At least it delivers the bread on the table. And sounds like I'm not needed over at the Ravs. Maybe I should extend my stay at the Tower instead."

"What - No! Of course you're needed. Stop putting words in my mouth!"

She chuckled. "I'm kidding, Bones. The Ravs is my home now. I won't abandon ye all."

"Heh. That's good to hear. Asem would take my head if you did…"

"Our fearless leader? Nooo," Jack chided. "She'd make you stay on radio duty for another week."

"Ugggh, she would do that... And, Jack. Are you sure you want to be doing this away from the Ravs? There's nobody to get you if you go under. And no one outside the Ravs can know about this 'project' you're doing."

"Don't fret, mate. I'll be careful. I'm only birdwatching here, see how those freaks of nature think. And let a few Biters take a few snips off me-"

"For collecting data, not screwing with your life," the young man on the other end heaved a heavy sigh. "We have no idea if that will even work. We haven't finished the tests, for Pete's sake!"

"Look, you said it yourself. It worked. It takes time for the infected to go down but the secret weapon worked. And if I can get the data you need, then we can help the Tower out with that cure of theirs, right?"

"Theoretically, yes. But-"

"Then it's a better solution than just waiting. I beat the odds and I'm the only one brave enough to get close enough for those samples. You know that."

There was a muffled scream - hands over a mouth. Bones was surely having a hard time trying to win this one-sided argument. "...You were cutting so close to the thread last time. We can't lose you again. Your cousin...if you two really do care about each other, then he's gonna be real broken about you."

The tension could be heard through the earpiece. He was still beaten up about the previous week. Hell, it was understandable so Jack couldn't help but feel a little apologetic.

"I know, Bones. I know. I'll...try to be a bit more careful."

"That doesn't give me a vote of confidence. And you're not going to listen to me one way or another… Ok. You're wearing your PACT, right?"

Jack raised up her left wrist, glancing at the black digital bracelet with a thin green monitor - pulsing with the easy readings, from reading her adrenaline spikes to chemical influx. "As always. You should really come up with a better name."

"Shut up and keep an eye on the color. When it hit blue, call me with the results. When it hits red, call me! Keep that tracker on at all times, got it?"

"Got it."

"And no fists!" he hissed. "Just...find a weapon. Craft it out of thin air, for all I care. But no hand-to-hand combat. Don't even be a hero. We can't lose our best fighter out there."

"Oh, come now. I'm Mad Jack. I'm immortal."

"Was. Keyword, was Mad Jack. Don't make me read your file again," he groaned, letting a pause swing by. "Contact HQ when you've arrived at the Slums."

"Yes, dad. You'll hear from me in three hours."

"What is it?" Over the line, another voice could be heard in the background as her worried companion moved away from the mic. "Jack, heads up. GRE has been sighted over the horizon. Asem thinks they might be sending the cavalry in for surveillance."

"Asem's always right on her keen sense. Wasn't there some rumors about them leaving a bomb in Harran?"

"That was the military's doing. And pray to God, they never find it. I am not going to go down in that kind of blast of glory."

"Amen to that."

"They're coming in hot and heavy too. So avoid those jarheads at all cost. We don't need attention."

"Affirmative. But you know they could just bring in another bomb."

"Jack, why can't you just be optimistic for once?"

"I'm being realistically optimistic. There's a difference."

"Just get back here in one piece. Good luck."

With the other end gone cold, the runner kept the earpiece back in its original spot.

"...I don't think I can promise you that, mate."

Looking back at the scenery again, she decided to retract back her earlier thought. It was a bittersweet sight. The infected filled the streets like packs of lionesses, slow and sluggish by day and by night, much greater threats came out, thirsting for flesh and blood. And that was just the tamest part of the city.

Citizens were struggling with food, water, and even Antizin. Survival of the fittest was the main game for the past few months, leading to factions being self-deluded beacons of hope while lashing at each other for the drops. The most dangerous one she had heard from the Slums was one large group by a psychopath. And she could only imagine the city was turning into ruins - with the airdrops on complete halt more than two weeks ago. Well, that's what happens when a city was abandoned by the whole world. Humans turned far more threatening and vicious than the undead freaks. She knew that from her own experience.

So when she'd reach the Slums, Jack was going to stay low - no unwanted trouble needed while she'd stay over.

"...Harris, you'd better be alive or I'm kicking your arse when I find you."

Just as she glanced back to the bow, something caught her attention in the distance. Stirring up sea foam across the surface fifteen feet away. It was barely in the seconds that she noticed the strange form heading towards the boat.

And it was coming. Fast.

"What the hell-?!"

Despite her best effort to avoid, the unknown thing hit the bow. Hard. The sheer force bashed the boat right to a 45-angle left, heading towards a stone pier close back. There was nothing she could do but brace for the impact.

CRASH!

"GARGH!" Her whole body went flying, right onto a pile of blue garbage bags, cushioning her abrupt fall. The full brunt knocked the wind right out of her as she rolled off with a huff of pain. For a few undesirable seconds, her vision went blurry as she forced herself back on her knees. She wasn't alone on the dock, she couldn't waver. Biters were everywhere, staggering towards the one noise they heard: her welcoming.

Then she remembered the boat. Its side smashed and with nothing to pilot it, it aimlessly drifted away from the stoned dock. Away from her.

"No! The boat!" Jack hurried after it-

"Grooooaaawnn!" Coming in unexpectedly, an 8-feet-tall Goon lifted up a rebar. High up it went, ready to crack open her head like a watermelon.

"Whoa!"

THUD!

The concrete beneath the spot she was just on cracked apart as she skidded a good three, five feet back. The Goon's hollow white eyes glimpsed with raw instinct. To kill a puny human.

"Yeah, you know what? Keep it!"

No human being would dare go up and fight a Goon - not even her. That was crazy talk! And she had her fair share of craziness. Jack knew the odds and it was very much against her. She was defenseless and carried little on her - the rest of her equipment was now at the bottom of the sea.

But speed was the best tool a runner could use in times like this. Speed was vital. So Jack was off. No time to stop for a split second or she'd be chomp food.

There was one slight problem. There was nowhere else for her to go for safety! After the pier was a two-storey-tall, thirty-feet-long barricade. An extra wing of Harran's City Walls, creeping into the coastline and stretching from one end of the beach to the other. It was a new addition after the rebuilding of those surrounding walls in the past, now barred with all sorts of protection to keep any infected hoppers from jumping over. The Coast was a closed-off area with the GRE and authorities establishing a means of protection from the nearby quarantine areas, bordering off the shorelines and the city of Harren.

That was why she took this route - no zombies along the coastline and most of all, no Navy. Now she was going to pay the price.

"Someone! Anyone!" she hollered along the side. Just one kind soul over the tall concrete wall to hear her and pull her over, which was highly unlikely. They'd shoot her on sight. If she must, she was going to have to take a dip in and face whatever was lurking in the water.

Her sprint dropped to a skip and a halt as her eyes widened at a new sight. Crumpled rocks laid waste on the floor. From a giant hole in the wall.

How? When did this open up?

The questions didn't matter right now. Her life did!

The gurgling groans and snarls closed in right behind her. Surrounding her. The zombies picked up the pace on their new prey as she galloped through the tear. Sure enough, beyond the walls were more infected, heads spinning round to fresh tasty prey.

Oh. Perfect.

"Get up, Jackie! Floor's lava!"

With a foot on a fence and another on a sliding, she swished her way up to the second deck of coastal houses. Hopping from one balcony to the next, Jack eyed around for any likely safe spot to stay for a good amount of time, just to get her bearings again. Either way, being up and above was far safer than below on the streets.

"Graaargh!"

"Oomph!" She didn't notice the Viral coming fast at her, out from an open door and both came tumbling off the balcony. This time, there was no soft cushion for Jack. "Gargh!"

A blinding pain wracked through her body in an instant. Her ears rang as vertigo hit her hard. Oh, did she really hope her skull was fine - Bones would never forgive her if he heard about this. But as her head cleared up, she felt another source of pain still lingering.

On her leg. The Viral that fell down with her was latching onto it, climbing its way up with a hiss.

"Get off me!" She kicked it off with one fell swoop. No sign of a tear in the fabric but a bite wasn't and shouldn't be her main concern. Because a second Viral was darting after her.

Quickly, her hand searched behind her and gripped on a pipe lying around. The space between them wasn't enough time for her to use it like a weapon - the infected runner already pinning her down with its rotten body, flaying saliva at her. Jack quickly pushed back the snapping jaws with the pipe at the neck and one shoe pushing back on the chest. But most importantly, she was spending too long on the ground.

Seriously? This was how she was gonna end up? Getting eaten by these bastards?

"Mad Jack...isn't gonna die here! Not. Until. I say so!"

Just as she was about to boot the Viral off-

"Rrrargh!"

The Viral was gone. Two bodies rolled off, the force nearly taking her along for the ride. And from the two bodies, she saw one rise up triumphantly and exhume out another roar - loud and fierce that it made Jack's heart jump to her throat. It was pure domination to the other infected that said: "this prey is mine!". Jack scrambled as far as she could go, her back hitting the stone rim of a fountain while she bore witness to a one-sided feral fight.

Great, a second new type she'd never seen before. It had been a while since Jack felt fear and she was shaking in her shoes. Because that thing was a beast, bashing the Viral to a bloody pulp with its bare fists.

Fists? Wait. Zombies don't punch. They flay their arms at victims in an attempt to overwhelm them, but they didn't have a shred of intelligence to 'punch'. And those fists? They were split-opened claws, enough to tear flesh apart instead of beating on meat.

Suddenly, yellow eyes snapped right onto her.

Just the eyes and the baring of canines. Maybe before the infection, the bastard was wearing some sort of head covering - now turned into draping rags. Which was good. Of course, she didn't want to see its ugly face. Its whole body was already hideous with bone spikes piercing out through the back of its jacket.

But it was clear to her. Those eyes had one thing in sight. Locked.

It wanted Jack.

"Fuck! Are you kidding me?!"

She climbed back onto her feet and bolted for an uphill street. The dead onlookers hawked right behind her, around her and in front of her. One good swing of the pipe and she sent a head flying off. Then the next. The predator's roars and the sound of a few backers falling like flies didn't tempt her to peek back. Sounded like the tough guy didn't want to share her with the other zombies. She took that conflict between 'their kind' as a blessing in disguise.

"HEY!"

Jack gazed up to the voice. Up the stretch of road ahead, she spotted a fenced-up warehouse and with a person jumping up and down on a platform, waving her arms at the brunette.

Oh thank goodness! Survivors!

Two more joined the short runner on the top, clearly in similar runner attires as Jack herself. They pointed out handheld spotlights with the purple lens as if they were assault rifles, right at her.

"Blast it!"

The lights didn't seem to do anything, almost invisible under the bright sun. But the sound of sizzling skin and aggravated hisses made her realize one thing. Ultraviolet lights.

"Open the gates! Hurry!" the black-haired teenager hollered down below, which whoever was behind the gates compelled. The heavy grate doors growled loudly but opened too slowly. It was a tight squeeze, which Jack quickly dropped down into a skid and slid right through the narrow gap.

A loud roar echoed behind her. It wasn't the predator with the golden eyes.,That sounded a lot bigger.

"Close it! Close it!"

One thug that towered even most men Jack knew in her lifetime hurried to the center of the gates and with all his strength, cranked them shut. The gates suddenly banged, the force pushing even the hulk off his feet. Time was ticking: the teenager quickly dropped down to hurry up with the locks while more people joined, armed to the teeth.

"Keep the UVs on that thing!" The dominating voice of a man boomed across the front yard of the warehouse. "Get some heat out now! Will, check out our visitor."

Jack couldn't sit up and watch the rushed activities unfolding around her. She couldn't even assess her situation other than that she was safe and help was here. An old man in his fifties, with a stethoscope around his neck, kneeled beside her and immediately uttered out words she couldn't understand. Polish? Then he tried Arabic. Next, English, "Are you alright?"

More or less but Jack was all too weary to speak up. She simply listened to the sounds telling her that things were slowly getting back to control within the warehouse. Running for her dear life did her body in a little. Every muscle in her was burning. She was even too numb and tired to notice the doctor examining for any injuries. Her breathing, her pressure, all the basics of first aid. After all, her mind was too preoccupied right then and there.

This day wasn't supposed to end like this. Her boat wasn't supposed to crash, she wasn't supposed to make an emergency pitstop at the Coast and she definitely knew this city wasn't supposed to be overrun with infected.

None of this was how she planned. But then again, most of her plans never went the way she wanted them to go.

"B-Bloody fucking dandy…" was all she could muster out as a murmur. Jack finally let the exhaustion win the battle this time and shut her eyes. Didn't matter if she received more pain when the back of her head hit the dirt. She was gone out like a light. Jack could figure out what was going on after some rest.

One thing was for certain. Guess she was stuck in Scanderoon for a while.

A/N: Hello all. So this is my interpretation of what happens after the Following. Or in other words: what happens when you've been having a lot of fun writing a sequel to the Vile ending, right down to even game ideas (especially when you have a game design degree!). But DL has become a gem to me that I wanted to do a complex fanfic that not only continues after the end but picture it like it's a whole new game: from new locations, new enemy types, new plot points and characters, new explorations, new combat and so on.

What made me start on this fic and even the game itself, I have to give thanks to a youtuber (GalmHD) for let's playing it. It got me to go into the game itself for all its lore and story, while having fun with my close friend for shenanigans. I had already started this fic before I first played it (mostly cuz I got spoiled to the ending thanks to Youtube autoplaying that one scene...whoopie.) But the ending, the game, everything, motivated me to construct a huge sequel. And once I finished the game, it made me even more determined to write on - a sorta redemption/closure fic to the game.

This is still a Kyle Crane story, no matter what. This is his redemption arc while the red herring protagonist, Mad Jack, is to serve as his wingman (for a lot of reasons later on, cough) - with plans and circumstances that will affect the development between them, for the better or worse. And yes, it's OCs, but I do hope each original creation I make is as fresh and well-polished to your liking, even for Mad Jack - a more rounded brawler with her own personality, backstory, and own gameplay skillset. I know people aren't mostly fond of OCs, which is why right now, I'm gonna say this: she's basically just the deuteragonist for the majority of the plot.

Moreover, Jack is a creation based around the relationship between Brecken, Jade and Rahim. I found it odd how for some lines, Brecken was a bit protective over the two. And of course, there could be reasons. But I've always thought of an idea that there was someone being a common denominator between them that created the bonds between them. A link. So Jack Brecken, aka Mad Jack the Wild Dog, based on how I think she'd interact with these three people - Brecken's cousin, Jade's rival and mentor and Rahim's guardian before the outbreak. And with that, created one powerful plot point I have: Kyle Crane learning Jack knew the siblings and keeping the secret from her that they are dead. Something I've yet to come down this fic but it's gonna be one emotional part of the story. Plus, I designed Jack to provide a darker counterpart to Crane and to highlight the facets of his personality. Metaphorically, while Crane represents white lies, Jack represents the brutal truth. The false hero, and the honest villain. There is going to be a lot of dynamics I have, not just between them but with the whole world of Descent.

Another note: I've been plotting out the overall plot, divided into 5 main arcs (prologue arc is currently being revamped on the go). And with the rise of Dying Light 2 close around the corner, I have some ideas of how this fic can tie into that story without having any problem of lack of continuity. As stated on paper for the end of DL, Harran has fallen and so are all characters and that will be what I'll follow too (at least for the canon ending anyway) to make this fic a possible open-end tie to DL2. In order words, the Descent is not gonna have a happy ending like the Following did. For Kyle, Jack, the DL characters and Descent characters. It was right to me to make plans on how the ending will be because honestly, anything like an outbreak or a war or a disaster - people die. And you can't stop the inevitable. I'll give my conclusion once I read that last page of Descent.

Ok enough rambling. I hope you'll enjoy this and review. Please let me know if there are some problems or mistakes I can improve on. Or lore I should tackle. Thank you very much and welcome to the Descent.

Edit, 10/10/19: Hey all, this is a minor update which probably current readers won't see but I'm going over my chapters for some small revamp and fixes. Nothing to major but also some added things to make the flow better. One thing I'm doing is organizing these chapters and separating them into arcs so I'm not all over the place onwards. There'll be a total of four arcs, and a fifth being the prologue arc. 18/10/19 - Reedited for minor mistakes and errors.