Ten Days Til I Die

•Chapter Sixteen

TW: Mentions of blood and gore

Ty's grip on Devyn's hand tightened as he let out a shrill of pain. "I want everything to stop. I want this pain to go away." Ty cried, mumbling the words over and over again.

Devyn waited with Ty while the rest of the group had left for the other room since Devyn made them. She didn't want them to have to see Ty like this any longer. Devyn had her head resting on her hand, her arm resting on her bent knee. She looked down at Ty's stomach, watching his bloody guts wiggle around as he took sharp breaths.

"Dev?" Ty asked suddenly. "I'm here. What's up?" She asked, looking up at his tear-stained face. "Can I go now?" He sobbed quietly, slightly tilting his head to see Devyn. "Whenever you're ready, Bubs." Devyn sniffled, wiping her teary face with her sleeve. Ty chuckled slightly as Devyn watched his gaze begin to fade. "The night sky is so pretty. Looks like a good night to fly." Devyn's lips began to tremble as her eyes began to fill with fresh tears. "Goodnight, Ty." Devyn sobbed. Her eyes focused on Ty's face as he took his last breath. His muscles loosened, allowing his head to drop to his side. His eyes gazed off, looking at the wall on the other side. Devyn sniffled, pulling his hand closer to her.

Devyn sat there, holding his hand, for almost five minutes when Mark came in. Devyn's gaze met Mark's. Her skin was red and puffy, her eyes still watering. Her grip on Ty's hand caused her hand to sweat. "Love, come on. You can't sit here all night." Mark sighed, pulling Devyn away from Ty.

He started wiping the tears off Devyn's cheeks when she shook her head. "I'm okay, really. Let's just go back to the group and find the Heart of the Building." Mark sighed. He glanced back at Mark, seeing his eyes closed.

"All buildings have their own special heart. Some have the frontage, while others have the back rooms, storages, or even the operating room. My guess is that this place has a different one. That it isn't a well known place in the building." Kyle spoke.

Devyn zoned out, looking down at her pants that were covered in blood and dirt. Grimacing, she frantically tried wiping whatever she could off, but it only smeared. Great.

"–And maybe this room could be our key to freedom." Devyn looked up at Kyle. "What did you say?" She asked. Kyle looked at her, confused. "I said a lot of things. Were you not listening?" He asked, sounding hurt. "No, no. The last sentence. What did you say in the last sentence?" She asked.

"I said maybe the room where the Heart is could be our key to freedom." Kyle looked over at Devyn, unsure of what was going on. "It's all adding up." Devyn mumbled, closing her eyes. "What is, Dev?" Mark asked, touching her shoulder slightly. "When you all disappeared, after Baylee died, I heard this taunting, menacing voice boom throughout the halls. It said something, a riddle of some sorts." Devyn explained.

"What was the riddle, Dev?" Kelly asked. Devyn thought back, wanting to make sure she wasn't hallucinating or dreaming. "It said something along the lines of 'Hidden deep in the maze lies a key to freedom. The seeker must be wise enough to make the right decisions and choose the right path. One wrong turn could end your life or the lives of your friends.'" Devyn looked up, glancing at the group.

"Maybe this place is all just a game, like Jake had called it. Whoever trapped us here obviously left clues for us and maybe what he told me was part of a clue. We all called this place a maze, but maybe it actually is. And we just have to find the key. The Heart of the Building. That is how we will be free. That is how we defeat It. By finding the end of the maze."

The group nodded in union, understanding what Devyn had said. "Maybe our 'wrong turns' were what had killed them. We get different 'tasks' and if we lose, someone loses their life." Devyn looked over at Mark, who seemed to be the only one understanding her fully. "So, let me get this straight. If we fail a 'task', then someone dies?" Debby asked. "I'm not saying it's true, it's the only thing that made sense to me from that part of the riddle." Devyn speculated.

"What else did the Voice say?" Mark asked. Devyn thought back once more, trying to remember. "It said, 'The key to finding your friends isn't so small, but it isn't so easy to find. For something that isn't small, but cannot be found, may as well be lost.'"

"Sounds like this Voice is trying to tell us something, but we can't figure it out." Ryan inquired. "Maybe the deaths are just to throw us off balance. Maybe they have nothing to do with the riddles at all." Ryan added. Devyn could see where he was coming from, but something still wasn't adding up.

"Then why kill them off if it had nothing to do with the riddles?" Kelly asked, looking over at Ryan. "To scare us. Whoever put us here is obviously trying to keep us from leaving, or finding anything out, so when someone gets too close to the answer, they die." Ryan said.

"So that's what Baylee was talking about." Devyn muttered. "What did Baylee say? What did she see?" Kyle asked. "She told me she was looking for a way out and when she walked down the hall she died in, she left something digging into her. When I saw her again, after you all disappeared, she attacked me. She told me I had to tell you something, but I had no idea what she meant. Until now." Devyn looked up at Ryan, who looked back at her, waiting for the rest. "What was it?" He asked, impatient.

"Baylee knew the way out."