TRAPPED (Remaster Coming Soon)

Chapter 11: The Truth

The trail of blood continued down the short hallway and then went right. It was another long hallway that led to another room. Charlie, Emily, and Max slowly walked down the hallway, occasionally checking behind them to make sure no one was stalking them. When they arrived at the room, Charlie pushed open a set of double wooden doors and stepped inside along with her two friends.
After they were all in, the wooden doors slammed shut. Charlie ran back over and tried to open them, but failed. She turned the other way when she heard a chuckle that was disgustingly familiar. The chuckle and darkness filled Charlie and her friends with fear.
"What was that?" Emily asked.
"I know exactly what it was," Charlie replied sternly.
The lights suddenly flickered on, revealing a person that was frighteningly familiar.
"Agostino," Charlie said, filled with hatred and fear.
Agostino didn't smirk this time. In fact, he didn't even chuckle or laugh maniacally like he always does. Instead, he just stared at the three adults, holding his bloody knife in his right hand.
"What the hell do you want?" Max asked impatiently.
"As you can see, I led you here," Agostino replied.
"Yeah, and I'm guessing it's a trap?" Max said, cutting Agostino off.
"Shut up and listen, boy!" Agostino shouted, finally shutting Max up. He then continued, "I know you guys hate me for doing what I did to Charlie, but I have an important story that might answer your questions, so be quiet and listen."
The man teleported on top of a table and continued his story. "Charlie, I lied to you about being a patient here. Well, I kind of lied to you about Korbitron. Before I came to the asylum, I was a psychotic killer who was running from the authorities. To flee from them, I came to Red Hills Asylum and joined the most powerful corporation in the world, Korbitron Inc. I knew they would be able to protect me from the authorities, so I signed a contract saying I would never be able to return to my real home and I would promise to never tell anyone about Korbitron Inc and their work. At first, I was reluctant because I knew that I would never be able to go back out and kill someone ever again, until I found out about the experiments they were doing. I worked with them, becoming one of the highest ranking scientists they've ever had. It was going great until one day, I committed a terrible act that caused them to fire me and put me through the same experiments the patients went through. The experiments gave me superhuman abilities and powers, but it also left horrible scars on my body." Agostino unbuttoned his suit, revealing a well toned body filled with scars.
Charlie, Max, and Emily just stared at him in awe.
"Why are you telling us this story? Are you trying to make us feel bad for you because it's not working. You're one of them. How do you expect us to feel bad for you? You're insane," Emily spoke up.
Charlie began to panic, knowing that Agostino could and would murder her. She tried to shush Emily, but it was too late. Agostino was already furious.
"You, bitch! I'm telling you this because I know that it will happen to you, too! I was going to help you, but clearly you don't deserve it," Agostino replied furiously.
He teleported in front of Emily and grabbed her by the throat. He easily lifted her up into the air.
"We don't want your help. You would just betray us like what you did to Charlie," Emily replied through choked breaths.
Agostino tightened his grip around Emily's throat and then yelled, "If you don't want to appreciate me, then I'll just kill you!"
Charlie and Max charged towards Agostino to save Emily, but the Guardian appeared and grabbed them both. The psychopath was killing their best friend and they were being forced to watch.
Agostino then proceeded to stab Emily in the stomach. He stabbed her multiple times and then dropped her dying body onto the floor. "Maybe that will teach you to appreciate me!" He yelled. He looked at Charlie and Max one last time before teleporting away with his Guardian.
"EMILY!" Charlie yelled while running over to her. She stopped next to her and then held her in her lap. "Emily, please tell me you're going to be ok," Charlie said while sobbing. Max was also knelt beside her.
Emily was struggling to breathe. She could feel her throat tightening up from being choked. Blood poured out of her stomach and soaked her clothes.
"I..." Emily tried to talk, but it was too painful. She could feel the life draining out of her and Charlie could see it.
Charlie grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Her best friend was dying in her arms.
"You have to leave me. You have to finish this journey and show everyone how messed up this place is," Emily finally managed to choke some words out. She found it even harder to breathe than before. She knew this was going to be it. "Charlie, Max," She leaned in closer and then choked out her final three words, "I love you."
Then, everything went silent. Emily's body went completely limp and her bright blue eyes lost their color.
Charlie felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. She was devastated. What just happened felt unreal to her. She didn't want to believe it had actually happened, but unfortunately, she couldn't. Charlie felt the sudden urge to cry again and then began to sob into Emily's lifeless body. The memories that they had together flooded into her brain, causing her to cry even more.
Max, who was also crying, got up and walked over to Charlie, pulling her up and into his warm body. Charlie buried her face in his sweatshirt and soaked it with her salty tears. Max rested his chin on her head and held her tightly.
"Charlie," he started, "we need to move on. I know it's going to be hard, but it's what Emily wants. We have to finish what we started. We can find Agostino, stop him and Korbitron, and then get the hell out of here." Max tilted Charlie's head up with his finger and looked directly into her eyes. He wiped the tears from her cheeks and tried to smile for her.
Charlie turned to Emily's lifeless body and then turned back to Max. She thought about it for a second and then nodded silently.
"Good. Now let's get out of here," Max said while running to the other side of the room with Charlie. He pushed open another set of double doors and held them open for her.
Charlie looked at Emily one last time before walking through the doors with Max and closing them. She screamed when she turned around and saw Agostino standing directly in front of her. Max quickly jumped in front of her and scowled.
"What do you want?" Max asked impatiently.
Before he could answer, Charlie pushed Max away and leapt towards the psychopath. She pinned him to the ground and held his arms there so he couldn't move. She dug one of her knees into his chest.
"Son of a bitch! You killed my friend!" Charlie yelled in his face, with tears streaming down her own. She gritted her teeth and continued, "You don't deserve to live anymore! You are a sick bastard!" She yelled one last time before yanking Agostino's knife out of his pocket and moving her arm down to stab it into his chest.
Before it could pierce his skin, Agostino grabbed Charlie's arm and pulled her closer. There was a glint of sadness in his eyes and his facial expression showed sorrow. "Charlie, I did not mean to do that. I wasn't in my right mind. You know I have a mental issue. It's not my fault."
The words hit Charlie, who was still struggling to push the knife into him. She processed the information and then loosened her grip on the knife, allowing it to fall onto Agostino's black suit. Tears still streamed down her face.
Max, who was still on the floor from being pushed over, helplessly watched Charlie and Agostino. He felt bad for the guy, but still hated him for killing one of his good friends.
Charlie covered her face with her hands and continued to bawl her eyes out. She was still sitting on Agostino's stomach and he knew that she wasn't going to move anytime soon.
The killer gently moved Charlie's hands away from her face and pulled her closer again. He wiped the tears from her cheeks and held her head softly in his gloved hands. "I want to help you two get out of here. I know, you probably don't trust me, but I can truly save you from Korbitron and the other threats here. I may not be able to stick with you the entire time, but I can guide you with messages," he explained.
Charlie and Max were conflicted. They knew that Agostino couldn't help his sudden mood swings and violence, but they didn't trust him after what he did to their group. He scarred Charlie for life.
Charlie gently pushed Agostino's hands away and replied with a crackly voice, "I need to talk to Max."
Agostino nodded slowly and Charlie stood up. She walked over to Max and helped him up.
"What should we do?" Charlie whispered.
"I know we shouldn't trust him, but it could be our only way out of here," Max replied.
"Alright, so we're gonna get his help?" Charlie asked.
Max nodded reluctantly.
Charlie walked back over to Agostino and told him, "Ok, we'll listen to you. But no tricks this time, please."
Agostino smiled and replied, "I promise, but I'm warning you now, I won't always be around to help you. Korbitron is still here and I don't want them to kill me. If they kill me, you lose your way out."
Charlie and Max nodded.
Agostino nodded one last time before turning around and saying, "Well, I must go now. Keep an eye out for my messages." He winked at Charlie and then teleported away.
"That man is something else," Max said while staring at the spot Agostino was just standing in.