We walk down the hall cautiously. The walls are once again lined with paintings. This time, however, the paintings are of a single blurred person over and over again. There is something vaguely familiar about the figure that evokes a feeling of being lost in the world, abandoned by all. Every single one has the same unblinking stare, boring into you as you walk by...
We continue down the hall until we come upon a gold door with two figures looking at each other. One had a knife while another held a pouch of some kind. I look at Reiner and Claire, the former still acting weird and the latter finally recovered from whatever she drank earlier, much to her embarrassment. She meekly looked at me on occasion but looked away whenever our eyes met. Seeing as it is my turn, I slowly open the golden door.
Inside are two statues facing each other. One is holding a knife and the other is holding a pouch. Both are facing each other with a white mask on their smiling faces. The mask looks very expensive with flower in-lays and silver outlines. Both have a hand stretched out to each other as if they were reaching for something. I look inside the room a bit and find four chairs. With a plaque lying between all four of them in the center.
It read "Tell them". I sat down in one of the chairs to think for a bit. Tell who what? The statues…or maybe…Reiner and Claire. Tell them what happened after they ate those rolls? Various thoughts went through my mind as the other two sat in the other chairs. Perhaps it meant everything on our minds and to be open.
The two look at the plaque and back at me. Various emotions flit across their faces as they look at me. Reiner had a trace of anger in his eyes still, while Claire simply looked at me, with that same smile. Wasn't that stuff that she drank supposed to have worn off already?
Guess I'll go first. "Alright guys. Let's have a chat." I sat down on one of the chairs.
""About what?"" They ask in synchronized unison.
I start off with the thing that is weighing the most on my mind.
"You aren't going to believe me, but something happened after you all ate those rolls." I take a slow deep breath in and let it out before resuming. "He summoned demons that possessed everyone in the room and Edan is already dead."
("Way to get straight to the point.") Zero casually says, somewhat intrigued.
Both of them stare at me like I just told them that the world is flat.
Reiner opens his mouth in confusion, but when nothing comes out he shuts it. This happens a few times while Claire just looks at me quizzically.
"Your turn." I say to Claire. I distinctly recall the plaque saying 'Tell them' not 'Make them believe you'. Hell, if I were them, I wouldn't believe me either.
"Umm, what am I supposed to say? I mean you shouldn't joke around Jake…" Claire trails off into silence.
I tell them to say what is on their minds. "It doesn't matter what it is as long as you say what is weighing on your mind. It can be about anything."
"…" Claire is silent for a long time until a faint blush comes over her cheeks. She looks at me with some kind of determination.
"I want an answer." Claire softly says.
"What was that?"
"I want my answer…to what I asked you before all this happened." She looks me in the eyes, unwilling to look away.
"I don't know what you are talking about." I play dumb and gesture towards Reiner with my eyes, trying to squash the subject. Not exactly the best time for love confessions right now.
"Which was?" Reiner asked, scowling. Uh-oh. This won't end well-
"I want the answer to my confession earlier!" She yelled, her face completely red. Fuck.
Reiner whipped his head towards me, his face shocked and unbelieving for a moment, followed by a wave of pure anger in his eyes as he glared at me.
"..." Awkward silence ensued. "I'll let you know after we get out of here, how about that?" I tried to postpone it, to no avail.
"I want an answer now Jake, I love you!" Claire said finally, her eyes full of determination. Reiner looked about ready to kill me for a moment, then that anger seemed to fade as his eyes glazed over a bit.
I won't lie it felt unreal. The class's belle just confessed to me, twice. If Reiner wasn't looking like he would kill me any moment, I'd be on cloud nine. However, for some reason, Zero's warning about her came to mind before I could stop it.
"O-oh okay. Why don't we go out then?" I replied. The absurdity of the situation didn't seem to register. I looked at her and felt a bit happy that someone liked me like that. Actually, when was the last time I felt this way?
I turned to Reiner whose face was void of emotion, deep in thought. "Reiner? You okay? It's your turn."
Seeming to snap out of whatever he was thinking about, he turns towards us.
"What?" He asks with a sharp tone.
"Your turn to say something that is on your mind."
"I don't have anything on my mind." Reiner says flatly.
"Really?" I ask him while slightly suspicious.
"Let's just leave already…" Reiner gets up and paces toward the door. "Oh, it is your turn wasn't it?" His hand stopped mere inches away from the door. I walk up to the door and lightly tap it with my bracelet as another light comes upon it. "Got the key." I tell them.
Reiner immediately fast-walks through the door followed by Claire, looking concerned. I was also concerned about him. Especially how his eyes glazed over for a split second there. As I was about to head out, a slow grating sound comes from behind me. I turn and see the statues aren't facing each other anymore. I move to the right a bit and realize something.
The statues are looking at the door, both of them reaching for something beyond it. A closer look at the statues now shows something else. They have different expressions now as they reach out towards the door. The one with the bag shows a haughty smile, while the other shows wrathful anger.
I go through the door and into another hallway. This one is very plain yet clean with not a speck of dirt anywhere inside. I run to catch up to Reiner and Claire as we arrive at another door after some time.
We go through another door and end up in a very small room. A plaque on the exit reads: "Enter the team leader's name --------".
We look to the right and see a line on the stone wall with a single red crayon underneath it.
"Let's vote-" I begin to say, but I was immediately cut off by Reiner.
"I will do it." Reiner says with a dark and solemn tone while looking at me.
"Reiner, I really think Jake should do it." No sooner than when the words left her mouth, did Reiner sprint to the wall and furiously write his name on the line with the crayon.
"I SAID I WILL DO IT!" He shouts at us. We hear a click as Reiner runs to the door, gets the key, and sprints into the hallway beyond.
"Reiner wait!" I call after him a little too late. "Damn…"
("Jake I think that he's gone...")
(No way. He's better than that. I believe in him!)
("Jake he's-")
(Shut up! He's just stressed. We all are...he has to be...)
("...")
Claire and I start to chase Reiner through the next hallway with numerous plaques on them. I see them fly by as we finally catch up to him, only for him to go into the next door. We run over to the door, throw it open and run inside while panting heavily.
The room is a white cubic area with a single pedestal with a black box on it. On the box is a small plaque that reads: "You can only save one."
"WHAT THE HELL REINER!" I yell at him. Reiner mumbles something and walks over to a pedestal. I yell at him again when he suddenly turns around and runs at me.
("JAKE DODGE HIM!")
Zero's voice snaps me out of it and I barely dodge something whizzing by my face. I look at Reiner and at what he has in his hands. It's the machete that he picked up back then in the octagonal room. Quickly stepping backward, I clumsily pull out my two daggers. I definitely don't know any way to fight with them but I won't just roll over and die without trying.
"What the fuck Reiner?! Why are you doing this!" I shout at him. He ignores me and keeps swinging at me. One lands on my arm, sinking in a bit as another swing barely skins my cheek. I feel a warm yet stinging sensation on my cheek as liquid rolls down to my chin. A foreign feeling starts to accumulate in my heart.
(Zero I could use your help here! I don't know how to fight using just daggers dammit!)
("Why did you grab them then?!")
(I don't know, they felt familiar for some reason, now SHUT UP AND HELP ME!)
("Just dodge the way I tell you to while looking for an opening.") Zero says with a serious tone.
I start to follow his instructions and watch as Reiner becomes more and more agitated. After two more swings, he stands there with a cold look in his eyes.
"I am the leader Jake, so listen to me right now. Claire is MY woman you hear? I won't let you have her. She's mine…mine…MINE…YOU CAN'T HAVE HER!" He brings up his machete again as I jump out of the way. I look at Claire as she sits against the wall, probably in shock from the sudden turn of events. Her mind seems to not be registering what happened.
"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU JAKE! NO ONE GETS CLOSE TO MY GIRL!" I try to dodge again but misstep and fall on my back with my right dagger falling from my hand. "DIE!!" He brings the machete down on me and into my right hand that was trying to push him away. My hand painfully slides to the hilt of the machete and grabs his collar. With every ounce of my strength, I pull him close to me as my left-hand slams the but dagger onto his right eye.
He starts to flail but I pull him harder and bash his face with the butt of the knife, trying to knock some sense into him. We roll around a bit until my hand is jerked sideways as he pulls the machete out of it. I look over at the other dagger I dropped which is now in arm's reach. Reiner brings the machete down towards my neck as I guard with my left dagger. In that split second I hear a familiar woman's voice.
"Let me help you…"
Instantly my racing mind calms down as time seems to slow. Ice seems to pour into my mind and veins as it cools down immediately. I grab the other dagger with my right hand and shove it into the side of his neck.
Wow. This feeling...
I take it out and shove it back in.
This feels...good.
Once again I shove it in his neck. Then again, and again, over and over again until he slumps against me, but I don't care. I keep going while feeling the intoxicating calmness. I keep stabbing him over and over again. The feeling of warm liquid against my hands, the tearing and sinking feeling of the blade hitting flesh and bone, watching the life drain out of his eyes, god it's so-
"JAKE STOP! PLEASE JUST STOP JAKE! HE IS ALREADY DEAD SO STOP IT!!!" A high-pitched scream tears me away from something and I look down…
His body is completely mangled. His neck is bent in impossible ways as blood was sprayed across the floor. Numerous holes fill his shirt and his skin. I drop the daggers and back away.
"C-Claire I…" She looks at me terrified.
""Ding!""
I look at my bracelet to find that I have two keys now as there are two lights out of five lit now. I look at Claire again and she just backs away a bit.
"Let's just go...Jake." Claire says with an oddly calm voice. She quickly walks over to the door and taps it with her bracelet, getting our key.
After she left, I walk over to the black box while trying to process what just happened to me. The box opens without any effort and a pink vial of liquid is inside with the label "Revive within 20 seconds." I look at Reiner.
(He's already gone Jake. If you try to bring him back, you'd only revive the demon inside him.)
I put it in my pocket and slowly follow after Claire, trying to process everything. My mind was in utter shock and disbelief about what happened. After a while the pain starts to come back, slowing me even further.
I enter the next room after a few minutes without Claire anywhere to be seen. Where did she go?
I walk up to read the familiar plaque, a sharp pain explodes between my shoulder blades. I try and turn around but the blade keeps me rooted in the spot.
The blade sharply twists inside, bringing unknowable levels of pain, more than I've ever experienced. The blade leaves my back as I fall and turn my neck to see Claire holding it, blood dripping from the metallic sheen. My already chaotic mind instantly stops when I see her holding it. "I am sorry Jake, the plaque said 'Only one may leave through the door to the right'. So, it was either you or me. Thanks for killing that piece of shit by the way. His demon wasn't really matured anyway."
"Claire what…are you…talking about?" I try to ask between gasps for air. Pretty sure she nicked a lung or something.
"Their demons Jake. I'm talking about the demons that possessed everyone. Well not exactly everyone, seeing as you are still fine. I wonder how you did that?" She says with a whimsical tune and angelic smile.
"Were you…possessed as…well?" I ask her as she slowly walks away toward the door.
"No, I wasn't possessed Jake. In fact, I helped Gary summon them all here in the first place."
"You…how long have you-"
"Since your first day of class Jake. It was really difficult being around so many snot-nosed brats, I'll tell you that much. But don't worry, you will die with the rest of them…eventually.
"I will…kill…you and get Claire back…" She turned around at these words and laughed.
"God, you're an idiot. Your cute little Claire never existed in the first place… hahaha! Why would I ever want to be with someone as worthless as you? Did you really think that I would ever like you?" She said as she reached into my pockets.
"I'll take this, it would be better suited for me anyway~" She took out the vial of liquid and stuffed it into her pocket before walking out of the door laughing.
("Jake…") I hear Zero's words as my mind starts to become dizzy and light-headed from the blood loss.
(I tried Zero…I really tried. Seems like you will get to re-incarnate after all.)
("…") Zero is silent for some time as my vision fades from red and gradually black around the edges.
("I can save you Jake, but…") Zero says hesitantly. ("You won't be in control of your body for some time afterward.")
(Go ahead Zero…Just…please don't…forget me alright.)
("You won't be forgotten my friend, but you won't be going anywhere either.") Zero says with some amusement.
Jake feels his consciousness pulled towards a deep dark area as white lights start to gather around him. The lights gather and become brighter and brighter until he has to close his eyes and let the dark feeling envelop him…
***
Sometime later, a boy regains consciousness and lays on his back. He looks at his bracelet only to see two lights lit still. (How are you feeling Jake?) The boy mentally askes himself.
("…") Silence answered Zero.
Giving a deep sigh, the boy walks forward to the door and goes into the hallway beyond. He walks slowly down the hall, his mind wandering from everything he has seen since that woman shoved him inside of Jake's soul. The fear, the teamwork, the betrayal, the murder...
No wonder he doesn't want to respond…I wouldn't want to either.
"--------" Inhuman roars started to faintly echo inside the facility from the vents in a cacophony of multi-octave chaos.
"...Fuck."
The time-bombs have started to go off. Now its time for the Demons to play.