Academy Murder Party

~:Chapter 26:~

A butterfly haunted by illusions.A boy removed from seclusion.A pair struck with two.A coward afraid of boo!A clown who forgets,A betrayer full of regrets.

I have the power to save them all.

Yet death shall not forestall.

* * * 

Brent slammed the door shut behind him, pressing his back against the door as he exhaled and inhaled, taking in as much oxygen as possible. They were behind him, just waiting for him to come outside that door. He knew it. He knew they wanted him dead for what he had done, and he wouldn't let them take him alive. 

In front of him, a small screen flickered to life. He turned, stepping forward to look at it. It looked like a small tablet hanging from the ceiling amongst a black void. He looked around, feeling himself being swallowed up by the black hole. It was all around him like a snake had wrapped itself around him, choking the light out of him. He gasped, backing away from the screen up against the door, hiding in the screen's glow.

The sound of something banging off in the darkness made his heart skip a beat, causing him to yelp out in terror as he faced the direction of the sound, staring off into the night. He held his hands out in front of his face, bracing for the impact of whatever creature lurked to lunge at him, yet, nothing came of it. All he saw were his hands, shaking wildly. He placed them down, wrapping his arms around himself and sliding down the door, coming into a seat on the dark ground. The screen's blank white light flashed at him, and he placed his head down on his lap.

A soft clicking noise alerted him, causing his gaze to shoot upward just in time to catch the lights flickering to life. He looked around, taking in his surroundings as he could feel himself calming down, his heartbeat slowing and his shaking slowly beginning to subside.

The room itself was tiny; most of the concrete walls were outlined in pipes and other miscellaneous objects, like a ladder, or broken wooden shelves, all of which he ignored instead of focusing on what was in the middle of the room. Behind the screen, a small tablet-like device hanging on a cord from the ceiling was a large glass rectangular box, taller than it was wide. It sat on a cylindrical metallic pedestal, with a small circular piece of metal sticking off of it connected by a stand, holding a large red button.

Inside the box, however, was a beaker. The bottom half was filled with a green liquid, while the other half was empty. However, the very top portion had a red band around it and the bottom, separating the empty beaker from whatever liquid was inside it. He approached the glass, placing his hand on it and staring at what hung from its top. A small gadget made from wires and a few gears suspended a small white pouch, reminiscent of a teabag. He looked at it curiously until the sound of something behind him caused him to jump.

"Green Trial. Paranoia," The speaker said aloud. "The lights will turn off, and the mechanism will activate, slowly lowering the bag into the beaker. Pressing the button will turn the lights on and stop the mechanism. Stopping the bag between the two red lines will unlock the vaccine. However, you can only press the button three times. Failure to do so will cause the bag to mix with the chemical, creating an explosive compound. Press the red button to start."

Brent returned his gaze to the glass, staring in horror at the mechanism. If he failed, he would be blown to bits, yet, he needed to do it to live, and the only way to do just that would be to retrieve that vaccine successfully. His hand, shaky, moved slowly towards the button. As he did so, he kept his eyes on the mechanism, feeling his trembling fingers brushing against the smooth, excellent surface of the controller. Closing his eyes, he gulped before pressing it.