•Sweet Like Lead Acetate•

•Chapter 10: A Killer•

"Bridget, I don't know if I can keep going anymore..." Henry says, laying against Bridget's chest as she runs her hands through his hair.

"Shhh, it's okay. We'll make it out of this," she says gently to the boy.

Henry lifts his head up and smiles at the black haired girl.

"What would I do without you?" He asks her, grabbing her hands.

She giggles.

"Be very sad. And bored," she says, tapping the tip of his nose.

He smiles.

"You really are amazing, Bridget," Henry whispers.

Bridget blushes.

Meanwhile, Lexi and Weimin were huddled together behind the cash register.

"You alright, Lexi?" Weimin asks, the girl's head on his shoulder while he holds their hands together.

"Yeah....no not really. But I don't have much of a choice but to be strong," she says.

"You do have a choice. Be brave. Or be strong. Because you're both, Lexi. You'll make it out of this," he says, pressing a kiss to the girl's hairline.

She jumps slightly.

"I'm sorry! Was that...I should've asked..." Weimin begins to babble.

Lexi smiled and shakes her head.

"No! No it's okay. You just caught me off guard," she laughs, leaning upwards and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

She smiles.

"If we make it out of this...would you...maybe wanna go out on a date sometime?" Weimin asks.

Lexi nods excitedly.

As for Keegan.

He sat in the corner, nestled between the taffy shelf and the other large shelf.

He was crying.

Sobs wrenching themselves from his throat.

He blamed himself for this. For all of this.

He felt everything. He had never done something this terrible before and he didn't know what to do.

He was contemplating going in the back room and eating every last piece of candy until he died...but what about the others? Would they even make it out if he did that? He didn't know.

So, he just sat. And cried. Alone. Because nobody loved a killer. And nobody loved someone who didn't even love themselves.

The boy was still crying, his eyes puffy and head between his knees when he heard footsteps coming closer.

He looked up, his vision clearing only slightly off the tears to see the other four surrounding him.

"Keegan...this isn't your fault..." Henry starts.

"Yes it is! Yes it is! I chose to break the glass, so I killed Harrison and Sandra! I'm a killer, Henry! Can't you see that?!" Keegan yells, standing up.

"No...we all make mistakes. We have to get out of this. Okay?" Henry says.

Without another word, the boy leans forward and captures the red haired boy in a hug.

"You..." Keegan starts.

Lexi lets out a small shushing noise as the rest of them all engulf into a group hug.

When they eventually pull away, Keegan has a small smile on his lips.

"Thank you guys. I mean it," he says.

Henry nods before leading the group towards the back room once again.

They all gather around the glass cabinet, Bridget pointing and counting the candies.

"1, 2, 3, 4. So, we have a 25% chance of being correct and getting out of here," she states.

"Exactly. And I think....I think I'm gonna go," Henry says.

"Are you sure?" Weimin asks.

"Yeah. I haven't done one yet. It's my turn," Henry says.

Keegan kids, moving aside to let Henry access the cabinet.

The blonde haired boy meanders over, looking closely at all the pieces.

His mind wracks through all the possible outcomes and reasons why the scientist would've picked each candy to be the chosen one. Eventually, he settles on a small fluff of cotton candy.

His mind thinking it's the only one out of place.

The boy picks it up and takes a deep breath, the cotton melting on his tongue as he places it into his mouth.

Henry's breath does a jagged stutter as his eyes glaze over.

"Come on...come on..." Lexi whispers.

However, Henry soon shakes his head.

The group sighs.

"What's it say?" Bridget wonders, stepping closer to him.

Although, Henry says nothing. Shaking his head and motioning he can't say anything.

"Oh....that's strange," Keegan says.

Henry takes a deep breath and heads out to the other room, the group following on his heels.

The boy makes a motion, seemingly opening an invisible box.

The group cannot see his expression, can only see the way his body physically jolts at the sight in front of him.

"H-henry?" Bridget stutters.

Then, as the morning of the second day veers, Henry whips around and points a chocolate brown gun at his friends.

They're all shocked. Frozen in place. Utterly confused and at the hands of their so called friend.