They headed down the stairs in a line. Zoul, Shay, Maddie, and then Tessa. They figured this would be the best defensive line to protect Shay and Maddie more.
They walked down the stairs and into the hallways. They decided to stay together this time. They all decided to go right then come back around and go past the staircase.
They walked as a group, checking each door. Every time a door was opened the group tensed in anticipation and prepared themselves for what lay behind the door.
Tessa opened a door and peered into the dark room. She could make our shapes in the room but couldn't tell what they were.
She saw something move, coming towards her, fast. Oh no. Tessa felt a murderous intent coming towards her.
Quickly, she slammed the door shut right before the figure reached her. In the light of the door she saw a face. The face of a crazed man. Specks of blood covered his face.
She felt the figure ram into the door. Unable to keep it closed the door open just enough the figure could stop it from closing again with his foot.
The others ran towards her as soon as they heard all the noise. Shay helped to push the door shut with Tessa. Maddie kicked at the foot till Zoul pulled her out of their way and slammed his knife down on the foot.
There was a screeching as the knife was pulled out of the foot and the door slammed shut. Tessa and Shay stuffier to regain their balance. Tessa was breathing hard. She was the only one to see the killer.
She knew now that the objects she saw were bodies. That room was a duplicate of the one upstairs, the only difference was he was there. He was sitting behind that door and no one knew what he would do.
Zoul and Tessa sat with their backs against the door as they planned. Tessa could hear faint laughter from inside the room and what she thought was the sound of bone being cut.
They planned to have Tessa and Zoul run I tot he room, armed with their knives of course, and try to kill him. While Shay and Maddie stay outside and guard.
"Why do you guys get all the fun?" Shay groaned. "I wanna fight someone as well!"
"You can fight anyone, who's not us, that comes near that door," Zoul said pointing at the door behind him.
"Alright, let's get going. We don't have all day." Which was true they had one day and one day only to find a way out.
While Tessa and Zoul both mentally and physically prepared themselves for the battle to come, they told Shay and Maddie to run at any signs that they would lose.
Standing up, Tessa and Zoul exchanged glances at each other. They decided that Zoul would go in first then head off right. Tessa was to turn on the light then headed off to the left.
Zoul flung open the door, and it bounced against the wall. Zoul headed in the room, Tessa right behind him.
Tessa felt along the side of the wall looking for the light switch. Instead of a light switch she found a hole in the wall. There was no lights then.
Leaving her hand on the hole she turned her head to look for Zoul in the light of the open door, but he was too far in the darkness to see.
"There's no light s—" Tessa was cut off by the feeling of a hand touching hers. Tessa gasped in shock, jumping backwards, yanking her hand back.
She reached for her knife, only to find it gone. She tried calling out for Zoul, but he didn't answer. Then she felt her body being shoved down towards the ground.
And there she was, laying on the ground, with a middle aged man laying on top of her. She screamed as he started to grope her with her own knife. It felt disgusting and she started screaming her refusal and hatred for it.
Then she heard a little giggle from in front of her. The next thing she knew both of the man's arms were gone. To replace them was blood, lots of it.
Blood showered her in waves, as she watched the man scream. Then she watched as a knife entered through his back and out her chest.
The man fell dead on top of her. She couldn't move under his weight, but then he was lifted off her. She watched as Shay rolled him off her with ease.
Maddie stood by her feet, her eyes wide and her mouth in a twisted grin.
"I saved you, Tessa," Maddie giggled.
Tessa was speechless. What was she to say? How does she respond after all of that?
"I—where's Zoul?" Tessa asked instead.
They all looked around the room, Tessa volunteering to search the rest of the room, while Shay looked nearby and kept an eye on Maddie.
Apparently this happened whenever Maddie wanted to kill. She would start laughing and couldn't stop. As Tessa walked through the dark she could hear the echo of Maddie's laughter coming from behind her. She was glad Maddie saved her but she was concerned for her health.
As Tessa tried to see in the dark, she ran into something that moved when she touched it. It was a little warm but not really. She felt around the object and to her it felt like flesh. More specifically the flesh of a human's leg.
She'd forgotten. She forgot that this room was exactly like the other. She had ran into one. She ran into a dead body.
She walked with her hands out so that she didn't run into anymore bodies when her foot caught on something on the ground and she fell.
She knocked her head against the thing she fell over, a groan sounded from her. Strange. It had a deeper echo. Then she realized the thing under her was warm. She felt hands go to her side.
"Tessa?" Zoul said from underneath her.
Embarrassed, Tessa jumped up and mumbled her apologizes. Zoul explained to her that he went to look for the killer but the killer came up from behind and knocked him out.
Tessa would tell him what happened to her but the memory was painful for her to recall for some reason. What would've happened if Maddie wasn't there? Her brain thought. He probably would have raped you and then kill you.
Tessa reaches down and grabbed Zoul's hand to help him up. After he was up, Tessa led him through the maze of bodies hanging lifelessly from the ceiling, by the hand.
By the time everyone was back outside of the room, Maddie had stopped her laughing and seemed more distant than usual. Shay said this usually happened once she went off the deep end.
They went on back to the stairs. They couldn't stop to rest now, they had to move on. They reached the stairs and headed down to the 23rd floor.