
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/13462197.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Major_Character_Death, Rape/Non-Con,
      Underage
  Category:
      F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi
  Fandom:
      Outlast_(Video_Games)
  Relationship:
      Eddie_Gluskin/Original_Character(s), Original_Female_Character/Original
      Male_Character, Original_Male_Character/Original_Male_Character
  Character:
      Original_Male_Character(s), Original_Female_Character(s), Eddie_Gluskin,
      Waylon_Park, Miles_Upshur, The_Walrider_(Outlast), Chris_Walker, Richard
      Trager
  Additional Tags:
      Prostitution, Drug_Use, Drug_Abuse, Underage_Character(s), Canon-Typical
      Violence, Alternate_Universe_-_Canon_Divergence, Angst, Interspecies
      Relationship(s)
  Stats:
      Published: 2018-01-23 Updated: 2018-03-09 Chapters: 4/? Words: 4794
****** The Iron Oven in the Candy House ******
by Sine_Nomine101
Summary
     Eddie manages to survive the incident with Waylon park. He was even
     found and given another chance in a new place.
     Unfortunately the new facility, no matter how clean, is much much
     worse. It's gonna take several miracles and a literal ton of luck to
     even live never-mind escaping. But the only thing Eddie has is a
     manila folder.
***** Into The Beasts' Belly *****
The Underground sounded like a rebel meeting spot on paper but it was far from
that. It was where you sent things that could never blend into society. As a
result most of the inhabitants were beyond insane, genetically mutated, or
results of secret government programs. The Underground was well...underground.
It had a small housing and and an even smaller commercial district. This and
the stadium like lights fit under the roof of the 190 ft cavern. When it was
‘night’ the blaring lights were shut off, food was expected to be rationed, and
if you didn’t work you didn’t get housing. Women usually married so that they
didn’t have to work at all. The children helped at home instead of going to
school since there wasn’t any school.
The economy was based heavily on the mines, clothing industry, and jewelry.
Food came from greenhouses that used lights that were different from the ones
embedded in the cavern roof. Because the Underground had to have some kind of
freedom to bring in money to its owners there was a guard like force called
Custos. For citizens to become apart of this for they had to (like above ground
police) go to the academy.
 
Nothing was ever peaceful in humid human disposal of a 'town’. Crime was out of
hand despite the efforts of the Custos. Illegal drugs and alcohol found their
way to the market no matter how dangerous selling was. The prostitution was
even worse. It was almost an industry by itself.
 
When Murkoff Corporation went down (along with Jeremy Blaire) there was an
abundance of people who couldn't be rehabilitated and integrated back into
society. The Underground was were these people were sent.
Eddie sat in cuffs on the inside of some armored vehicle. He couldn't remember
how he ended up there or how he had survived the rope accident at Mount
Massive. Everything was a blur. Eddie looked down at himself sighing in relief,
his suit hadn't of been removed. He shifted slightly and looked across at the
only other person in cuffs slouched in a deep sleep. He could only assume the
guy was from the same asylum. Eddie wouldn't be able to find out until he woke
up. He was sure it was a drug induced sleep.
There were 6 more people in the back with Eddie and the sleeping guy. But he
didn't have to guess who they were because the black padded gear gave it away.
All of the guards appeared to be male and made no movement. Eddie cursed
himself for hanging up the useless bodies of failed brides. It was probably why
they brought in enough to outnumber him. If he had just crushed them into the
vents then maybe he would have less security to deal with. Eddie relaxed and
thought about the situation, if he didn't calm down he might miss valuable
information. First he thought of trying to get a guess on where he was going.
It wasn't prison. The guards didn't have any markings on their gear that a
prison guard would have. Wherever it was Eddie knew it was a place that
preferred confidentiality. That's the only reason for the missing
identification on the guards. Not to mention he hadn't of seen a psych since
before Mount Massive went to hell. So they obviously weren't trying to put him
back out on the streets. The conclusion Eddie came to just made him miss the
chaos of an almost forgotten asylum. Whoever had him now was a lot worse than
the machine itself. If they didn't kill him with the experiments then it would
probably be the conditions instead.
The moving stopped and Eddie looked around hesitantly he should be getting out,
right? He was proven wrong when the guard closest to him stabbed a syringe into
his shoulder. Eddie jumped shocked and tried to fight. His vision was already
darkening though. He didn't make it off the cold metal bench before he slumped
and became still.
Eddie woke up with a jerk, he was sure he would have to fight as soon as he got
up. Instead he realized as he took a scan of his surroundings that there was no
need to fight. There were only 3 people this time. One of them was a small
blonde woman in a bland navy dress that was droning on and on. Eddie wasn't in
the mood for listening, he couldn't remember anything plus not to mention he
wasn't happy about being stabbed.
“Mr. Gluskin?” Eddie snapped his head to attention looking at the woman. This
was bad. He practically had amnesia, was somewhere that was yet to be named,
and he couldn't pay attention. Something was off Eddie just had a hard time
figuring out what that exactly was...great he'd stop paying attention again
after going off on a tangent.
“Edward.” The woman added a firmness to her tone that irked Eddie. He decided
to respond in the same tone.
“Stop. I can't even focus right now. What happened?” Eddie was more than
offended when the woman sighed like she was annoyed
“About 3 days after the initial release of the footage and data from Waylon
Park a team of people went to Mount Massive to retrieve anyone who had survived
the incident. You along with several others were brought out.” Eddie would sit
back if he could but decided to slouch against the table as an alternative.
“What do you plan on doing with the others and I?” Eddie wasn't going back on
the machine or anything like it. If he had to he could take the 2 guards
standing behind the woman. He straightened out as much as he could.
“You're all going to a better place.” Eddie finally looked at the woman and
raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Stop beating around the bush. Where are you putting us?” He hated speaking
like he was an ambassador of patients from Mount Massive. But he couldn't seem
selfish either, it wouldn't do to look cold-hearted.
“I don't have clearance to tell you anything more about it. I can tell you that
you'll be fed and clothed. You'll have to work for the extras though. You won't
be experimented on unless you have been debriefed.” Eddie was even more
confused. It just sounded like he would be stuck with another company. Great.
“So then... you're releasing me?” Eddie said slightly hopeful. He decided not
to let it show.
“Of course not. You're a monster in human flesh. Communities and people just
wouldn't feel safe living around you. In this place you'll be surrounded by
others like you.” Eddie was not only angry again he was upset too. There was no
way he could find a wife in a hole somewhere. He'd die alone.
“Sure. Are you going to give me a job or something?” The woman seemed to become
uncomfortable immediately. The awkwardness that permeated from her face was
enough for Eddie, it made up for her awful attitude.
“I have a file with your job and bunk number. You'll get your own place when
you can afford it. The boys down at your job will teach you the rest. I'm going
to unlock your cuffs and hand you the file.” She stood and took a key from her
pocket before removing the cuffs.
Turns out Eddie would work in some kind of mine. He didn't know what he was
mining exactly. The woman said it payed good. Eddie though it wasn't a job you
gave to someone you liked. Eddie stood and followed the guards out after his
cuffs had been put back on
The hallways we're featureless and white. The guards led him to the outline of
an elevator at the end of the hall. The elevator exterior looked futuristic
while the inside looked mechanical. There were dents along with the markings
from welding. Once again the cuffs were removed. Eddie was then shoved into the
elevator. He spun around to give the 2 behind him an evil look.
“Fight all you want to. The elevator ain't gonna stop.” The doors closed and
the descent began
***** Acidic Fire *****
Chapter Summary
     Eddie finally gets to work, what a great day. Right?
Eddie was downright sick by the time the elevator stopped moving. The trip down
was too long for it to be a floor in the building, maybe they were being shoved
in the basement? But then how did it have enough space for a mine and bunking
space. The woman explained a small town not a mental institute. He didn't get
any meds or any kind of doctor. Things seemed great. Eddie knew better than to
get too happy though.
The doors finally opened to a large lobby with people running from here to
there. They would yell across the room occasionally at each other and throw
things across tables and chairs, it was chaotic to say at the least. As soon as
Eddie stepped out of the elevator the doors snapped shut behind him. He
sincerely wished to be back in the metal box. Eddie held the file tight in one
hand as he used the other to touch the shoulder of a woman rushing past. She
kept moving even though he was sure she felt his hand. Stepping away from the
elevator shaft Eddie walked deeper into the room. He became frustrated
eventually. No matter how many people pass none spoke. He knew he stood out.
The suit was too colorful when compared with the apparel of others in the room.
Eddie yanked a small bearded man with dark blonde hair toward him. He shoved
his file onto the man’s chest.
“Oh! Your the new one I’ve been hearing about.” The man stated in a thick Irish
accent as he took a look inside the other’s file smiling slightly.
“You’re coming with me sonny. Name’s Lorcan, I lead the boys down at the mine.
I’ve got your uniform.” Eddie liked Lorcan. The man played no games and spoke
in words not riddles. The taller of the 2 nodded before speaking quietly.
“So who’s the other guy that will end up with the other bunk?” Lorcan laughed
then pointed a thumb at himself.
“Consider yourself lucky. I’m not much but I won't cause you trouble.” Eddie
nodded again. Things shouldn’t be too complicated all he had to do was make
money, find a good woman, marry her. Lorcan was too rough to be a wife. The
Groom could tell from the roughness of his hands that his body was far from
pliant.
 
Lorcan was talkative and the other appreciated that. The place and its roads
were mostly made of leftover material from the mine. It made the whole ground
look like patchwork. Eddie didn’t mind since his entire suite came all to close
to matching it. There were only 100 something people that lived in the ‘Cavern’
as the Irishman called it. The once Murkoff patient thought about the impact
that size of population could have on a community. He knew that the town
probably had their personal lives intertwined like some kind of monstrous
spider web. It would be better to lay low for awhile. Yes he wanted a wife but
he didn’t to quarrel over her. Eddie didn’t need to step on any toes...he was
virtually the new kid.
The snapping of fingers in his face brought the taller of the 2 miners back to
reality with a jerk of his head. Lorcan just smiled softly shaking his head.
“You know you had come to a complete stop before I got you back? Don’t worry so
hard or you're bound to walk off the edge of a cliff.” Eddie turned his head
slightly confused.
“What cliffs?”A small hand came down heavy on his back in a sporting way. If it
was in any other context the Groom would’ve been pissed.
The mine itself was just as shabby as the rest of the cavern. Their bunks were
in a building across the dirt road of the mine. Their uniform consisted of a
grey jumpsuit, underwear, and a white tank. They would get up at 5 and stop at
11. Lorcan was especially specific about the time. Eddie could do anything
before 5 and after 11. The job itself was simple, grab a pickaxe and hack away
at the dark stone grey walls. If he saw anything then he had to put it in a
cart. That was it. The tiny Irishman promised a hardhat after a couple weeks of
work. Eddie wondered if it was because the new guys got crushed often. He hoped
that wasn't the case.
Lorcan showed him around their boarding pointing out his bed. But when Eddie
turned around to ask about recreational the other was gone without a trace. A
frustrated sigh left tired and old ribs before Eddie laid down. The Groom knew
there were women here, they had been at the place where Lorcan picked him up.
It made slight sense he hadn't see any. What woman would hang around the mines?
Eddie rolled over onto his side closing his eyes slowly even though his mind
was still busy with the situation.
A miner Eddie had never seen shook him awake. The patches of discolored soon
were more sickly grey than usual, he had to warm up and get his blood pumping.
It would go away. Apparently the stranger had been speaking while Eddie was
thinking of his skin.
“-et up and get dressed. We gotta get to work big guy.” The stranger shifted
awkwardly by the side of Eddie's bed.
Sitting up he waved the stranger away before getting dressed. He wondered
briefly where Lorcan was. Eddie didn't get to think on it for a long because
there the stranger was again dragging him off to the mines. The crossed the
dirt road and walked into the mines. Work wasn't foreign to the Groom but when
he walked into the mines he felt the spark of deep hatred for the woman who
handed him that folder. What made it even ‘better’ was that Eddie knew the
feelings had to be reciprocated.
As stated before, they got off at 5. A rough hand came down somewhere on
Eddie's back and although it had only been about a day, the taller of the two
knew it was.
“Oy hey there, you finished? I wanted to show you the town.” Locan gave a
beaming smile to Eddie that was oddly taken up with mostly Irish canines.
“So there's more to this hole?” Eddie snapped at the other. He was hot and
tired, the last thing he wanted to do was walk around all over again. What
could be more exciting than going home after work?
“Oh come on chap, I know you're gonna love this.” Seemingly ignoring Eddie's
annoyance Lorcan pushed Eddie out of the mines. The groom threw down the axe
allowing it. The Irishman was a dead one if he wasn't taking Eddie to an area
with the opposite gender.
***** Acidic Fire Digestion *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Eddie hadn't of wanted to follow Lorcan anywhere but he was glad he did. There
were a couple of stores, with one being a cloth and thread store. The Groom was
more than pleased. He could actually make a white dress. Besides that there was
a grocery store of sorts, a hardware store, a clothing store, a doctor's
office, and other buildings designated to work. Eddie yawned stretching as they
walked out of the doctor's office. Lorcan roughly patted the others back
smiling.
“Come on don't tell me you're tired, the real fun hasn't even started yet.” The
taller of the two gave Lorcan a glare. His patience was running thin.
“And what do you want to show me now?” Eddie didn't hide is irritation at all.
He was already tired when Lorcan pushed him from the mines. But he had finally
seen women. They weren't what he was looking for. One had more than her fair
share of arms.
“Well some businesses don't open until the lights go out. I'll come find you
when the street lamps come on.” With that Lorcan was gone. Eddie assumed he
meant the obnoxiously bright lights that always seemed on.
 
The lights went off about an hour later. The Groom stopped looking through
fabrics of the cloth store to see the street lights flicker on one by one. It
was a dull yellow color that was almost relaxing compared to the harsh white of
the earlier ones. Eddie nearly jumped when Lorcan clamored into the store.
“Eddie! There you are, let's go I'm dying to show you the bar.” The other
nodded and waved a small goodbye to the woman with many arms, he refused to
count them. As they stepped back outside the Eddie noticed how much cooler it
was when he got out, he blamed it on the overhead lights.
“I’m just going to clear this up before you drag me somewhere else but I’m not
interested in prostitutes.” Lorcan gave a harsh laugh shoving his hands into
his pockets.
“I know, I’m in charge of the new miners. People upstairs send me a list
warnings when I get a violent one.” Lorcan said looking off into the dark
distance.
“And did they say anything about me?” Eddie glanced at the other. His mind
immediately went to Mount Massive, back to the gym once covered in blood and
pieces of leftover rope.
“Nothing extreme. Just to keep you away from certain things.” Lorcan was
careful to keep the long list of these certain things behind alcohol sour lips.
Eddie was supposed to have his own room so he could stay away from the male
miners, he had to be supervised when taken anywhere, and he was absolutely
forbidden from seeing women. But Lorcan had tried following the list with
others and it didn’t work well. They want what they can’t have. Lorcan just
showed them everything on the list after their first day, most were too tired
to actually be aggressive.
“What did they say Lorcan? Tell me now.” Eddie's threatening tone was the least
of the Irishman’s concern. He took a turn down the gravel path with the Groom
in tow. They were soon at a plain 2 story house with a small amount of light
coming from the windows, Eddie assumed candles.
“Well I'm supposed to keep you away from people but I've done this for awhile
and that's the worst thing I could do.” If Eddie knew he was supposed to be
isolated from everyone then he might become angry no matter how tired he was.
Pushing open the wooden door Locan stepped inside. The other was hesitant but
followed anyway.
Eddie was sure he would walk into some foul smelling hole with women being sold
from cages. He was quite surprised to find it was far from his expectation.
There seemed to be something intricately designed everywhere, whether trailing
after someone or hanging off of something. He took a look at the members of the
house who padded around with bare feet on a wooden floor. They all seemed
unique, Eddie had yet to see any repeats. The decor was dimly lit by several
lanterns and candles. He didn't see any outlets or light bulbs though. Lorcan
continued deeper into the house and although Eddie wanted to stop to look
longer he followed the other.
“The woman who owns this house has something just for you.” The smaller of the
two turned to smile half heartedly. Eddie didn't trust the smile. He still
continued to ask the question set up for him.
“What do you mean? It's not a hole in the wall. It's not somewhere to find..”
The Groom stopped himself. Why did telling Lorcan he was looking for a wife
feel like a bad idea.
“A wife?” Lorcan said it calmly as he turned to walk up the stairs. Eddie's
file had more than one list of warnings, one for people and one for shops. The
Irishman assumed with all the jewelry and clothing store restrictions that the
guy was looking for marriage.
“Well yeah. I'm not going to marry someone that's been with someone else
though.” Eddie had made that mistake too many times. He sure every last 'slut’
that hung in the gym was far from virgin. Maybe he could try to mold her into
the perfect wife. Yet the women here reminded him less of prostitutes and more
of gold diggers living in one house. He didn't want to settle. He could if had
to at the end of the day
“I know I know. The upstairs portion is specifically for people like you. Trick
is, you have to buy them to actually have them.” Eddie tilted his head
slightly. So it definitely wasn't a hole in the wall.
“Let's just say I like one, how much are they? I'm not buying a car.” Lorcan
couldn't help the laugh that forced its way out. Who compared car prices to
people prices?
“It usually depends on height. The shorter the cheaper.” Lorcan waved at the
doors in front of the stairs. “Their all in their own separate rooms, and try
not to be picky there's only 3.” With a pat on the Groom's back the other
trotted back downstairs. After a little consideration Eddie chose the door
farthest to the left.
Chapter End Notes
     I'm so sorry this took so long! I'm gonna try to post way more and
     get on a schedule for updating :')
***** Intestines Don't Act Like Incinerators *****
Eddie opened the door the to find an unnaturally tall and lean creature. He
could not see the others face but he liked the way her back looked. Long blond
hair that reached the end of her pale blue back, swayed slightly with her
smaller movements. But he quickly remembered the nice but excessive armed lady
from the store, he was sure she probably had a nice back too. The front was
always a different story so with a sigh Eddie spoke hoping she was beautiful
all around.
“Can you please turn around?” The Groom kept his tone soft and gentle. He
couldn’t force her to do anything, not yet.
“No. I’m tired of shocked faces and men upset at me for not looking one way.”
Her voice held a weariness to it along with the frustration of being
‘different’ in an already eccentric town.
He didn’t want to get her hopes up so he turned and left. Eddie shut the door
behind him moving on to the door in the middle. He opened the door slowly
afraid that the other one had been agitated by his sudden entrance. Before he
could fully push the door open someone was already opening it from the other
side. She was much smaller but still came up past Eddie's shoulders, bright
green eyes darted around. He assumed she was nervous.
“Uhm..I can't really..” Eddie frowned and in the moment he smelled something.
It reminded him of Lorcan and that was enough for him to put his hands up and
back away. The Irishman was annoying, it wasn't enough for Eddie to force
himself on the woman though. She gave the Groom a gentle smile and softly shut
the door.
He stepped back and looked at the last door to his right. It was the last one.
Still he felt as if it would turn out like the other two. Eddie was going to
head back downstairs when questions started popping into his head. He opened
the third door like he opened the second. No one came to open the door and no
one was sitting there waiting to reject him. Eddie stepped inside the room
glancing around the room. The blackness coming from the window halted his
curiosity. It was so dark almost bleak if it weren’t for the color, smells, and
decor brightening up the space. A woman came from the door by her bed wrapped
in a towel. He studied the pieces of skin her could see. She was covered in
scars and bruises. When the two met eyes Eddie raised an eyebrow. With a tired
sigh the Groom spoke slightly annoyed.
“What is it this time? Another guy?” She nodded almost bashfully and looked up
wide eyed before he could respond, she had remembered something.
“Vivienne only let’s the..submissive ones get sold. She brought something
aggressive to the house about a week ago and she still hasn’t brought him down
from the attic. If you're looking for a person that’ll fight then that's the
place to go.” Eddie nodded at the information and gave a small smile to the shy
woman. He walked out shutting the door behind himself. Walking further down the
hallway the Groom found a hanging string. It led to a hatch in the ceiling. He
pulled on the string and the following ladder. Eddie climbed up it, he could
already see the odd blue light.
The room was small and more home like than the others he had seen. It was still
lit by candles but the lanterns held blue glass instead of clear. It gave the
room a cool feel. When he didn't see anyone he pulled the the ladder and hatch
shut. Eddie didn't think he was supposed to be in here, Lorcan would've told
him if he was. He stood and turned to look at the room better. If he didn't
know anything he'd assume it was an empty room. But no one had come down the
hallway or from the attic. Whoever it was still had to be in here. Eddie took a
step toward the bed with no real reason when something from under the bed
hissed. If he wasn't a mass murderer already he might of jumped. The haphazard
way the blankets laid covered their only way to look at each other. With the
hiss and the empty room Eddie took it as a victory. This one really wasn't
friendly.
He took a couple more steps, growling dotted between each one. The Groom looked
to the window trying to gauge how much time he had. The red glow was distant
and it didn't give much information on the time. With a sigh he gave up and
tried to focus on getting her out from under the bed. It had only been noises
so he wouldn't be shocked if they couldn't speak at all.
“Why don't you come out..” Eddie thought for a brief moment, there had to be
incentive. He wanted to stand out.
“I'll bring you something if you do.” It was silent for a very long time. He
thought it was lost and was on his way to being mad he had to settle when a
smaller voice came from under the bed.
“I want cigarettes.” The voice sounded like it belonged to a male. Eddie
couldn't be more happy. He shook his head stopping fantasies and smiled.
“What kind?” He tried to keep the same tone the other had given him. His was
nowhere close but softer than usual.
“Newports.” Eddie nodded. He couldn't see yet he guessed that it belonged to
someone younger. He had only seen teenagers and that memory was lost with all
the other small details of his past life in the machine.
“So can I know your name? I'm going to be getting you cigarettes anyway.” There
was another silence, much longer than the first. His darling didn't disappoint
though.
“Kadir.” Eddie smiled and tried the name out getting closer to the bed. There
wasn't a hiss or a growl.
“That's a beautiful name, Kadir. I'm Eddie.” There was that silence again and
then the smallest whisper. He knew it was his name.
“You can get closer..I don't mind.” He might not of heard it if he wasn't
focusing. He scooted forward slightly and sighed. It would take time but she'd
be his and only his. Eddie snapped his head back when he heard the creak of the
stairs. He stood and said some sort of goodbye.
“I'll be back tomorrow with your stuff, I swear darling.” He was halfway down
the ladder when Kadir responded.
“I'll see you tomorrow Eddie.” The Groom smiled wide and continued down. He was
pushing the hatch closed when Lorcan came behind him bringing a hand down on
his back.
“So how'd you like it?” He decided to nod and give a small smile to the
Irishman. It was him who had brought him here so Eddie tried to say thank you.
“Yeah..thanks..could we uhm..” He didn't know why he couldn't get it out but he
just couldn't. Lorcan seemed to understand.
“Yeah no problem big fella. We'll come back tomorrow.” Eddie nodded again and
followed Lorcan out. They split ways and Eddie finally laid down in his bunk
exhausted. It was an odd relief while he was awake, which wasn't a long time.
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