❪ 𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐘 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒 ❫ , SBG

𝐄𝐏. 30

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┆⋮＃༘⋆⤷ CHAPTER
THIRTY ; STRESS .
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"Are we gonna be able to deal with that?" I asked with furrowed brows as I stared down at the phantoms, I couldn't help but worry since I was the only person out of the group that was always worrying.

"Don't worry; most of them will be distracted by the traps we set up." Malik spoke, glancing over his shoulder at the phantoms.

I hopped off the roof of the bus and onto the ground, dusting off my shoulders as I cleared my throat, it's been itching all day, probably cause my morning sickness.

"Alright, let's go over the plan one more time." Ash says.

Taylor suddenly spoke, her voice shaky. "Are we uh- are we sure we want to do this?"

Ash turns to Taylor with her brows furrowed, "what?"

"I mean- y'know, m-maybe just staying in the graveyard every night wouldn't be...so bad, right?" Taylor questioned as her head was slightly lowered. "Especially with the lights up...couldn't we just hide in here? till the seven hours are up?"

"I- I like that idea.." logan adds.

Malik furrows his brows. "Are you serious? wait a second, I thought you guys wanted out of here? and now you're saying you don't mind being trapped here for the rest of our lives? and you– yeah, you, tyler– why are you being so quiet? HEY! you're the one who pitched a fit wanting to go to savannah, so why you so passive about it now?"

Tyler turns to Malik, obviously irritated. "That was before we knew about the lights and before there was a horde of those things right outside the door! I'm not saying we should stop trying to find a way out– just maybe not with this particular plan. we don't even really need guns anymore, right?"

"This is such bullshit! and you chose to bring this up now?!" Malik retorts angrily. "After all the training, all the prepping, the sneaking around placing traps, and right before we actually do something, you wanna wuss out?"

"There's too many right now!" Tyler replies.

"And that's why we have the traps!" Ash added.

Malik turns around, shaking his head. "No. No! we're getting that jeep. even if we decide we don't need guns. eventually we'll need to go out there and learn how this place works so we can find a way out! that was what we agreed on!"

"Hey, malik. maybe you should—" before Aiden could finish malik cut him off.

"No! don't tell me what I should do!" Malik says. "None of this would've never happened if we never went down that stupid basement! that's not our fault, but if I hadn't been so gullible, if I hadn't agreed, everything would've been fine! If I just would've seen this coming— damnit!"

"Why are you so worked up!?" Tyler shouts.

I stood there beside ben and the others, watching on awkwardly as I crossed my arms.

"Because we're ready now, but if something goes wrong in the future because me and ash let all of us wait and not take initiative, it'd be our fault as the leaders!" Malik shouted angrily.

"Yeah well no one said you two had to be the 'leaders', you both did that on your own!" Tyler said.

"Who else was going to do it?!" Ash says. "i've been hearing those monsters and malik's been seeing them for all our lives so apparently we both have some weird connection to this place! this all happened when the phantom grabbed me and when it bit malik, and we didn't say anything about it. I don't think it's entirely our fault, I'm just confused and scared as you all are."

"But we're the best suited to take 'responsibility' for what's happening, right?! to try and find a way out of this mess and protect you guys at the same time! so if that means dying? then so be it!" Malik yells before he huffed out of breath and blinked a few times, he clenched his fists and was about to apologize until Taylor spoke.

"I'm sorry." Taylor says. "I...didn't realize you and ashlyn were taking on so much pressure on your own. and you're right...I don't want to be here for the rest of my life. the phantoms are just a fact of this place...no matter how many different plans we come up with, how long we put it off, or how many monsters there are, we'll still have to deal with them and get our hands dirty if we want out. the sooner we face and accept that, the faster we'll get our normal lives back. so forget what I said earlier. I just got a little overwhelmed for a moment."

"I still think there's way too many out there." Tyler says. "But...I suppose you both aren't entirely wrong that right now could be our best chance."

"Right? And ben and Aiden don't seem opposed to the plan either!" Taylor added.

"Honestly if you guys don't hurry up and continue, I'm going to jump the wall on my own." Aiden says. Ben put both his thumbs up, still silent.

"Right...haha. See ashlyn, malik, we're okay now! things are back on track. so you guys don't have to worry about coming up with a new plan or feeling guilty for something that would have been our own choice. Oh and! I'm glad you both took lead of the group. not because I think it's your guys fault, but because you guys have always been rational. and your plans have already helped us a lot. just don't forget to trust us with your thoughts, okay? If we had all talked about how we've been feeling up to this point, then maybe we could've avoided getting overwhelmed on our own. we all have to trust and support each other, because that's how teams work, whether you're the 'leaders' or not." Taylor says.

Malik stood there, his brows furrowing as he tried to process what was just said.

Taylor really knew how to calm everyone down.

END OF CHAPTER THIRTY