Thomas and Virgil took a look at the surroundings. It looked like the Mind Palace but if it were in the Upside Down.
"Wow." Thomas whispered
"Yeah I know. Creepy." Virgil said. "Now, we need to do this as careful as possible. If anyone stays too long-" they heard a noise. That could only mean one thing. The two of them ran towards the sound because there were no invisible walls stopping them. Once they ran as far as they could, the two of them saw a figure nearby. Thomas and Virgil knew who it was immediately.
"You shouldn't have come." Roman didn't see the two of them approach him. He didn't even turn around, but he knew that they had found him.
"You shouldn't be here too. It's not good for you!" Virgil almost yelled.
"It's not good for you either, Virgil. Get yourself and Thomas out if here while you still can."
"We're not leaving without you, Roman." Thomas said.
"You have to."
"Roman, please come back with us."
He turned around to face the two of them. He looked far more worse than he did earlier that day. He was a mess. His demeanor was much more grim than usual and his eyes were dull and cold. There was no more spark there.
"You don't understand!" he screamed. "I've been in here too long! You need to go back without me!"
Thomas and Virgil were too shocked to say anything. They could barely hear Roman whisper, "please." He looked up at them. This was the first time that day that he actually met their gazes. Virgil finally spoke.
"No."
"Virgil, I mean it. Go without me. If you don't you'll get into more danger."
"Roman, like I said. We're not going back without you. I'm serious." Thomas responded.
Roman was on the verge of tears. "It'll just make it easier if you go without me. Besides, you all won't need me anyway..." he looked back at the ground.
"Can you just tell us why you suddenly came here?" Virgil asked.
"I..." Roman was about to say something when he suddenly fell to the ground as if all his energy had been extracted. Thomas and Virgil ran over to him and kneeled down. Roman looked up at them. "I'm begging you both. Please go." His voice was barely a whisper. Right after he said that, he faded into unconsciousness. Virgil and Thomas were speechless. They looked around not knowing what to do or where to go.
"Even if we listened and went," Virgil whispered, "I don't think we could get out. We've been here for too long."
