Karma (Sequel to An Old Friend)//Grumbo\\

6

   The bed was shoved to the side in a matter of seconds, and Mumbo grabbed at the small metal handle. He pulled up the wooden trapdoor, revealing a very slim set of stairs. The two men looked at each other nervously, before ducking their heads into the staircase. Unlike the main staircase that they had arrived from, this was a spiral staircase leading down deeper into ever going maze. Thankfully this time, when they got to the bottom of the stairs, there was only one path to go. Though the original maze was dimly lit, it was nothing compared to the dark walls this deep into the ground, and unlike the maze, the walls were nothing but pact dirt holding itself in place. Their eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness as they walked carefully down the hallway, Mumbo leading the way and Iskall following nervously. 

At the end of the hallway stood 3 doors, none with windows or any indication of which room held Grian, and which room held Sam. Mumbo looked back at Iskall as he rested his hand on the door to the left's handle and pulled out his sword. Iskall pulled out his trident and nodded in reassurance. Mumbo's shaky hand slowly turned the handle and opened the door nervously. The room had metal walls unlike the hallway, and it held a table similar to the one in the room they had come from, a small wooden table holding 3 screens instead of the 1. One screen showed the room they had come from with the sign and another showed the same camera feed they had seen, still with Grian laying on the table. The final screen showed a new room, holding all kinds of different vials and needles, and most importantly, Sam. He was at a table, mixing different kinds of dark liquids. 

The cameras didn't show which room was which, so there was a fifty-fifty chance they could open the door and alert their presence to Sam, or they could find Grian. A fifty-fifty chance of life or death, except Grian's life and not there. If Sam noticed them, they would have to run, giving Sam the opportunity to change location, taking Grian with him. It was absolutely imperative that they open the correct door. Iskall's concerned look expressed all of that to Mumbo silently, and he sighed worriedly in agreement. They exited their current room and stood facing the two doors of fate, contemplating which to pick. Mumbo placed his hand on the door in the center of the hallway, but Iskall shook his head no. Something was telling him not to open that door. Mumbo moved his hand to the other door and slowly turned it.

Grian woke up to see the same sight he had seen over and over again. Table. Metal walls. A single door. His panic every time he woke up had now changed into a more calm and sad realization. His eyes would open, but nothing much else changes. He lays still, unsure of whether he was actually back in real life or not, and waits for his inevitable "death". At this point, his deaths had evolved into anything he could think of. His friends killing him, Sam killing him, nature killing him, it didn't matter. He had seen and felt it all. He could feel his sanity holding on just by the tiniest thread, but he knew it was ready to snap. That's when the door opened. He shut his eyes, desperately not wanting to see what way he was going to die, or by who. 

But suddenly, He felt something other than the usual pain. It felt more like a relief. He felt the tight straps around his wrists loosen before they were completely released, and he stretched his arms. His eyes opened to see what was happening and watched as Iskall stood in front of him, undoing his wrists as Mumbo at the end of the table undid the straps on his ankles, a sword resting on the ground next to him. His brain was taking a while to process everything, trying to figure out whether they were actually there or not. He heavily distrusted them but went along with it anyway. He still had the slightest glint of hope left in him that it was real. He pushed himself off of the table, his legs buckling beneath him due to his inability to walk for the past week. Iskall helped him up, but just as he walked to the door, he felt it. A familiar pain, that of a blade thrust into his back. He stopped, coughed up a large amount of blood, and looked back at the sword, following the hilt to Mumbo's hand, his face completely blank. His real body woke up and panicked at seeing the same sight he had just seen, Mumbo and Iskall, undoing his restraints and holding their own weapons. 

Mumbo noticed first, while trying to loosen Grian's ankles, and felt them move slightly. He looked up to see Grian's eyes wide with fear. He finished unbuckling the strap and walked over to Grian's head, smiling a satisfied and reassuring smile. 

        "Hey buddy, we're here. You're safe now." He quietly coaxed, trying to calm his friend while also not alerting Sam. But as he did so, he noticed Grian was mumbling. He was quietly talking to himself, repeating over and over again,

        "Not again. Not again." Iskall finished undoing the final strap around his wrist, opposite of the door. The moment Grian's wrist was free though, he swung it toward Mumbo. It landed just above his jaw, and in the moment of confusion, he got up and tried to book it toward the door. Like in his dream, however, his legs buckled again and he fell. Iskall ran over to him, but Grian swatted him off as he stood himself up and began to run. He made it out of the door, and Iskall throwing all logic out of the window yelled after him.

        "Grian!" He walked toward the door and looked back to Mumbo, who was now holding his bruised cheek. Reason caught up to him as his eyes widened, realizing that the final door began to open. 

        "Go after him! I'll take care of Sam!" Mumbo yelled as he ran to the opening door. 

        "You sure?" Iskall asked hesitantly.

        "GO!" He yelled, and Iskall ran off behind Grian. The door was fully open now, and a very confused and angry Sam began to step out.

Yay, another cliffhanger. Once again I'm sorry for the delays between updates. I know a bunch of people said it was fine last time I apologized, but I still feel bad. Anyway, we are nearing the last chapters, so get ready for that. Also, I just found out that Rendog can sing like, super well, so I just listened to him the entire time I wrote this. It was quite nice. Oh, and I want to do kinda like a game/competition thing. I watch in total, 11 hermits right now. The person that can guess the most hermits right will get a shout out next chapter. The ones I listed a few chapters ago are 4 freebies for ya so yeah. Recap doesn't count btw. Anyway, thanks for reading, I hope you have a good day/night, and you are lovely. 

ps. here's a hint for the shout out thing. As of now, I don't watch any of the girls. I'm planning on starting to watch Cleo, but as of now, I don't watch any of them. So now I have narrowed it down just a bit.