PANIC ROOM

Fifteen

 I get to my feet. New segmented neck armour regenerates in the place where Finn cut it. I wipe my eyes and put my mask on.

"We'll go this way; you guys go that way. Johnny's in charge." James orders, as half of the group split to follow him.

We all know the uncertainty of our future. I doubt I'll see Finn or Jacob again. My habitual reserved personality is overpowered as I say goodbye. Jacob seems surprised as I hug him but returns it regardless.

Others bid each other farewell, in the cold male way so that they won't convey any emotion or weakness. It's crazy how close a group of strangers from all over the world can get in two days.

Others, however, show more emotion than ever before. James embraces me longer than what is considered comfortable.

"I'm sorry, I really am." He whispers gently. I nod, breaking away from the embrace and not looking back as I walk towards my team.

My team consists of Johnny, Mark, Sam, Andy, Tommy, Harry, Jaemin, Nick, Taro, Mike and Peter. Sam passes me a sharpened knife. I accept it without a word.

"Let's go!" Johnny tries to remain cheerful but is failing miserably. We run forward down the long corridor. I hear Mike mutter a prayer as we turn around the corner, yearning that we don't die yet.

It's all clear, eerily silent besides the sound of our footsteps. We pass into a junction. Six different tunnels surround us.

One leads us to the exit. I watch the others, as they try to decipher the puzzle.

"That one there will lead us back to the glass room, whereas this one will lead back to where Will died." Mark reasons, eliminating each option with logic.

"But what if some overlap, like that one..." Taro contends, but I'm no longer concentrating. The sound of a struggling animal, begging in a foreign language. It's close.

I slip into the closest tunnel. The sound gets closer. I peer around the corner, pressing a gloved hand over my mouth.

The words 004 Charlie glint on his back in the low light, as he corners the other candidate. My stomach wrenches with disgust. I should've left him. Fuck my stupid heart.

"Dozens of teams get trapped here." Chris's words replay in my head, as Charlie slits the struggling candidate's neck, blood flicking onto the wall behind.

He is a Murderer.

I stumble away from the wall as a breath escapes from beneath my mask. He turns, spotting me instantly.

"Don't run from me, 020." He laughs, as I run back up the corridor. He's faster, swift on his feet as he trips me up, blocking the exit, just like day 1.

Only now, he's going to kill me.

I crawl away, back into the corridor, the candidate's body lying limp in a pool of blood.

"Charlie please! I helped you, help me..."

"Oh so that's why you helped me?" He spits, saliva flecking onto my visor. "to manipulate me?!" 

I stare at him, terrified

"I knew you liked me, 020." He sounds pained. Remorseful.

"Then why are you doing this, Charlie?" I ask desperately, as the wall looms closer.

"Because it's my position. Don't expect a whole villain monologue – stop running away and accept your fate!" a crazed laugh accompanies his speech, eyes wide and frenzied beneath his visor. He throws his mask at the dead candidate.

"I should hate you. I know I should. But I can't bring myself to."

 I bump into the wall, there's nowhere else to go. He kneels, his face close to mine. He removes my mask, crushing the visor with his bare hands.

"God, I want to see your face as you die."

The cold steel of the blade is beneath my chin. He presses slowly, drawing blood. Footsteps run past the tunnel.

No one can save you now, 020.

Charlie licks his lips, preparing to slice through my throat.

The sound of a spring releasing.

The bloody tip of a crossbow dart resurfaces in his forehead. His blood blots onto my face. His grip on my neck loosens, his head lolling forward, the lethal tip of the arrow poised towards me.

Candidate 004 was eliminated

I duck, plunging out of the way. The body slumps forward, revealing the figure in the corridor, crossbow still mounted on his shoulder.

"I fuckin' promised, didn't I?"

"CHRIS?!"