V & V - Rageous Rageon Redemption.

Frozen In Fear

Kid Ritz POV:

We wait a few minutes for any other creepy Sage Boy to crawl down the tunnel, but none do.

I stand Orchid and me up and walk us slowly back the way we came. Though we move quickly, I do my best to keep my footsteps silent.

Eventually, we reach the Personnel door without having run into anyone else. I assumed the door would have been left ajar, but it's not.

I try the handle and get the door to open. I move it as quietly as possible, confused as to why I don't hear anyone. I open the door a smidge until I stop, blinking a few times to see if my eyes are playing tricks on me.

I squint and jump back violently as I realize what I'm looking at. I flinch so hard I nearly fall to the floor, my hands flying straight to my mouth as I resist the urge to scream.

Orchid looks at me worried, then at the crack of space I opened between the door. I try to stop her from looking by grabbing her hand, but she investigates anyway.

I watch in silent terror as she sees what I see, her body jumping so hard she falls onto me. She gasps quietly, looking at me terrified while gripping my arms.

My eyes have adjusted enough to where I can make outlines of the objects in the tunnel, such as crates or odd pieces of equipment.

I walk us a few feet away to an object I recognize as a clothes rack. I move us behind it, feeling safer with the clothes hiding us as we kneel.

I pull out my phone, growing even more worried as I see the battery is getting low.

Kid Ritz: *You saw what I did, right?*

Orchid: *Why were they standing there? It looks like whoever's there is staring straight out the door, but they're stuck.*

Kid Ritz: *I feel like if they could, they would move. Why would they be standing right at the edge of a doorframe? And why would they look as scared as they do?*

Orchid: *I don't know, but I want to get out of here. We should try opening the door all the way, or at least enough to slip out. It seems like all of the lights are off in the Rage Dome, and I don't want to be in the darkness longer than I have to.*

Kid Ritz: *I agree. I want you to stay behind the rack with my phone, ok? I will go try to open the door. If anything happens, remain hidden.*

Orchid looks at me, her eyes wide with worry. I grab her hand and rub my thumb over her knuckles. I pull her into a hug, feeling just as worried as she is.

Kid Ritz: "I'll be right back."

I whisper in her ear before I stand up slowly. I creep back to the door, my heart pounding as I turn the knob. I open the door enough for my body to move through, yet what's in the hallway waiting for me is insane.

The Rageon we saw staring at us through the door is here, yet somehow, it doesn't look like he's moved an inch.

His body holds a pose that looks like he's bending down to look through the door, with his eyes and face frozen in fear.

His whole stance looks like he's a realistic, life-like statue. I move my hand to his shoulder, tapping gently.

He doesn't do anything, his shoulder feeling hard and stiff.

I look past him and step out further into the hallway. It's pitch black, so I can't see more than an arm's length in front of me. From what I can see, however, is not good. A few other Rageons are standing in similar positions, some looking as if they were mid-scream or in the process of running away.