Kill First, Die Last...[COMPLETED]

Chapter 15: Floor 3

Ashley's POV:

'Floor 3-The staircase'

Oh my God...the staircase

As the glass doors open to reveal the shining staircase, I'm blinded by the bright, scalding acid, sloshing in its giant container, illuminating the room with shades of crimson and amber.

'Ash...you okay?' Daryl must've noticed my quick breaths, my watery eyes and my sweat-stained face.

'Yeah, yeah, I'm ju-I'm jus--'

'Task 3-The best light is from...'

'...the burning bridge...' I say in unison with the voice.

Of course I would know. This is All's floor.

Suddenly, pitch-black plagues the room as the lights are shut off.

Fuck! Ma-Ma and her creativity.

We'd have to walk up the moving stairs in the dark, not knowing if taking the next step will be our last...

Daryl quickly clutches my hand in his.

'Don't worry, I'll be the light that you need' He lightly chuckles. I wish I could see his expression right now. His reassuring smile but darkness just consumes everything.

'Let the Games begin!'

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Drip, drip, drip, drip...

Standing in her death place makes my heart sting in agony. My eyes flood with tears as my mind is invaded with that look on her face. The fear splattered face when she was falling to her death. And she knew it. Panic and anxiety torrents my body as I feel her absence. 

Dread blankets around my body as I feel her. Feel her stepping on those stairs, feel her holding Sky's hand, saving her, feel her falling into the darkness, feeling he let go...

I shake those painful thoughts out of my mind. Now's not the time to mourn.

'One small step at a time, 'kay?'

With Daryl in front of me, I take the first step.

My trembling foot hovers in the dark as it rests on a cool surface. Okay, okay. Good, so far.

'50 seconds left' says the robotic voice. Damn! 10 seconds gone already? Time sure does fly when you're having fun.

As both of my feet are on the step, it slowly shakes, almost making me lose my balance.

'Be careful, we don't have a lot of time left. We have to go faster..'

Great.

Daryl rushes, dragging me with him. Most of the time, I land on a step safely. Occasionally losing my balance but He catches me in time.  

We manged to get about 3/4 of the way.

'Haha. Hey Ash. Not long left' Daryl says as his body shakes with every step he takes. I can feel his fear. I know he's just as scared as me. I know that---

'Aagh! FUUUCK'  I almost fall over because of his thunderous scream. But I hold on tight. My heart races as I cling on to him for dear life. My heart races as I hear him screech in agony.

'Daryl! Daryl?! You okay? What happened?'

'I-I'm okay. I-I'm okay, I-I just, My toe, the acid--'

I hear the angry, hungry acid sloshing below us. I can her it burning with starvation, yearning for us to take the wrong move, to trap and melt us away, like they did with Alli. I squeeze his hand in reassurement. I help him to his feet, blindly in the dark. 

'Daryl. Come on. We'll worry about that later, okay? Let's get through this first.'

'...20 seconds remaining...'

Shit! Her voice is getting really annoying right now. Just like Ma-Ma's

We carry on walking the steps, fear possessing me as I struggle for air. I can hear the acid slopping in the tank above us. It's probably almost to the brim.

'Ash! Ash! We're nearly there..!'

I smile in gratitude and relief. But my smile soon fades as I take a wrong move, I slip from the edge of a step, my balance is pushed over, causing both of my feet to splash into the acid. The acid rises to my shins, the scolding acid sears my skin. I can feel it devouring me as I scream from the brutality. I feel like I'm going to die. I feel like Ma-Ma has won. I feel like Alli. I feel like Ma-Ma has got both of us sisters. Killed us the same way.

'DARYL! HELP ME! HELP ME! DARYL!' In these moments, I feel like Sky, feeling the acid crawling all over me, seeping into my torn flash, dribbling into my gunshot wound, scars that will never disappear, scars that will forever be a painful reminder. Suffering just like the way both Alii and Sky did.

No! No! No! Don't let it defeat you...Don't let her make you lose...!

I feel Daryl scream my name as he picks me up from the scorching acid, once again holding me in his arms as the acid drips back into the river of poison. 

He walks up those steps, occasionally shaking, tilting his balance as I feel my skin disintegrating in the dark. The throbbing pain latches onto my feet. I know it won't leave for a long time.

'...5 seconds remaining...'

'Oh shit! Oh shit!' I feel Daryl's body rattling against mine as he tries to make out the steps concealed in the shadows.

'..4,3,2...'

Daryl stops moving.

Suddenly, the lights are turned on.

...1...o...Game over. Something I hope I will never hear.

I see the same friendly face smiling back at me as I feel the warm tears cascading down my face.

We look behind us and see the tank flipping upside down, a river of toxic splashing into the container. I stare at the scene before me. This is what killed Alli. 

I explode into a river of tears and sobs as the thought stayed glued to my mind.

'It's okay, hey, its okay...we made it'

I know. i know. We did it.

I survived something she couldn't.

I stare at her death place. The last time I saw her. In pain. What she went through, the most unimaginable pain possible, where she died a horrible death. I know how she felt. I went through everything she did, except I survived it. And I will have to live with it.

Don't worry, Alli. When she loses, you'll finally be able to rest in peace.