welcome to the game // joshler [✓]

what did you expect?

tw: gun violence

making sure to shove a handful of bullets in my pocket beforehand, i quickly made my way to the staircase and went down into the potential pits of hell.

i'll admit, i was terrified, this wasn't like anything i've done since i met these guys. not to mention, i always had their help. this time i was doing this rescue mission solo, and i wasn't sure how well this would end up.

the air got a lot colder down in this part of the basement, and the vibe was a lot darker. something was definitely off, and then i remembered melanie and her warning as it ran through my head:

the only way to get to the monkey house was through the psych ward.

i tried, desperately, to repress my fear. to help convince myself, i thought of just how badass the others were when they helped each other or me, and then i remembered i was the only who always needed saving. and that didn't help, like at all.

with these thoughts haunting me like a rain cloud over my head, i hesitantly went through the door that lead into the basement. it was dark, little light came from a door at the end of the long corridor.

there were prisoner cells aligning either side of the elongated hallway, and i wasn't prepared to check any of them since they were in the psych ward. i began speed walking through the darkness until i saw something a few feet in front of me and to the right.

from what i could see it was some sort of tall figure, his head was slightly cocked to the side, his face scratched up, and he had this crooked smile on his lips. to make this all better, his eyes were red and bloodshot, and there were dark red stains on his white nightgown.

i stared at him for a few seconds until i realized that would only make things worse, so i decided to keep walking and try and avoid him, though that didn't work. i heard his rather loud footsteps trailing behind me.

i gripped my gun and subtly took its safety off as o kept walking, i wanted this to be the last resort, but it was somewhat comforting to know i had a weapon. 

this guy was following behind me for a while until abruptly, he ran in front of my and firmly gripped my shoulder, and with him being a lot taller than me, this was quite intimidating.

his nails dug into my skin, his eyes practically bulging out of his head, and through that crooked smile of his, he whispered, "shhhhh, if you make any noise... you'll wake jesus."

i stared at him in confusion for a second but decided this really wasn't worth my time. i heavily sighed and before i could even get out of his grip, it got a lot tighter and his smile quickly convulsed into a frown of anger, "I TOLD YOU TO STAY--"

*bang*

out of impulse, i shot him. and the one time i did what i was supposed to, i ended up killing the guy, bullet went straight through his head. oh my god, i just killed him.

his corpse fell to the floor and the sound of screaming patients could be heard, following by the clanging of metal. my heart racing, adrenaline pumping, i ran down the hallway full speed and to the door at the end of it.

i immediately tried jiggling the doorknob but to no avail. the sounds were getting a lot louder but not enough to overpower the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. i was breathing heavy, erratically, my anxiety running wild as my body went into full on panic.

and that's when i felt another arm grab me from the left side and pull me into another room. the door quickly shut and my senses repaired themselves to see i was in a concrete room with patrick.

i noticed there were two computer monitors on a wooden desk behind us, showing the view through a security camera of two different rooms. my gaze, however, quickly shifted to the confused and slightly annoyed patrick.

"h-hi." i awkwardly greeted, that look still never left his face as he spoke, "josh?! what the hell are you doing down here?!" he whisper-screamed. i didn't answer from shock and from being unsure of what to say to him.

i went back to looking at the monitors and finally getting a better look at them. one of them showed the hallway i was just in while the other one displayed a very familiar-looking room, from its top right corner, showing a stage. after a few seconds, it finally hit me.

it was showing the monkey house.

my eyes widened at he sight, and that's when patrick took notice of what i was looking at. then he looked worried, "y-you shouldn't even be here--"

"why're you watching the monkey house?" i immediately questioned him. his face fell pale and he bit his lip nervously as he refused to make eye contact with me.

he paused, "i-i'm not," he shook his head, "i... i just... make sure the power is working... l-like i can control
the lights, the cameras--"

"so you just watch and let it happen?" i squinted my eyes at him, now trying to suppress my anger. he shook his head again, "n-no," he sounded slightly scared now. "i don't like it-- at all-- but it's my job-- you have to believe me that i don't want to do this--"

"oh, so you're okay with your boyfriend working in the monkey house?"

his jaw dropped slightly, and the color drained from his face, "n-no," he shook his head in denial, "pete said he's just doing cleanup-- he doesn't condone it either--"

"patrick," i cut him off, "pete tried killing my freinds and i. theres no way he wouldn't condone--" patrick interrupted me again, "he said he was just defending himself that night-- josh he's a good g--"

his sentence was interjected by petes voice coming from the monitor projecting the monkey house. the both of us turned to look and listened to the conversation between ryan and him.

"hey ry, i'm leaving the door unlocked," pete told him, "mel said she wanted to come and watch the show." ryan signed, "yeah whatever, the show is startin' soon though, she better hurry."

the conversation paused as they were setting up tools and props on the stage, until ryan spoke up again, "so what d'ya tell patty?" he cooed, pete chuckled, "told him i was here for cleanup, couldn't tell him i was a participating audience member." he explained, laughing along with ryan again.

i looked over at patrick, whose eyes watered and he covered his mouth with both hands. he stared at the screen in disbelief, and now i couldn't help but feel guilty.

"p-pat? you alright?" i tried getting his attention, he took his hands away and sniffed, wiping a few tears escaping. with his lip quivering, he said, "h-he lied to me..."

"i'm sorry, pat--" i was cut off by him abruptly walking over to the desk to grab his keys, and looked at me with determination mixed with anger. he then declared,

"c'mon josh, i'm putting an end to this."