Jacob smirked, standing up straight. “Oh no…whatever will we do.”

Gabe stretched, cracking his neck like he was bored. “Alright, now that you know, I’m tired of looking at you three. Let’s get this over with.”

He grabbed the rope tying the trio and yanked them up, forcing them to their feet.

Gabe led them through the set of double doors and back out into the hallway. He stopped just before the coin-locked door, positioning them in front of the sliding door.

“Hey, come on man. I’m sure we can talk this out,” Oscar panicked.

Gabe shook his head. “If one of you tells me who killed Mitch, I’ll at least take the ropes off.”

Tao and Oscar glanced at each other, each of them shaking their heads. Neither of them spoke.

“You’re so lucky I can’t kill you myself. Otherwise, I would have made sure you suffered for Mitch,” Gabe threatened as he took out a golden coin from his pocket.

The metal gleamed under the lighting, strange inscriptions covering the edges. On both sides of the coin, a familiar angel was carved into the surface.

Tao recognized the angel from the website they had browsed after school. Wow. How long has it been? It feels like I’ve lived a hundred lives in just a couple of hours.

Gabe flipped the coin into the slot and the lock clicked open.

The doors to the Cells slid open.

A wave of cold air hit them.

Tao peered inside. The hallway beyond was pitch black.

Gabe grinned and shoved them forward.

But Oscar reacted without thinking.

He spun around and grabbed the edge of Gabe’s coat, pulling him inside the Cells.

Gabe’s eyes widened. He tried to yank Oscar’s hands away, but it was too late.

The force of the pull sent him staggering backward.

The doors slammed shut behind them.

Gabe crashed into the trio and they were all sent barreling towards the floor.

The sound of metal echoed throughout the darkness.

The gun hit the floor with a sickening clunk.

It spun once. Then–

Silence.

Nobody breathed. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke.

And then everyone was sent scrambling in the darkness to find it.

“You idiots! What did you do?!” Gabe shouted in the dark, his voice strained.

Nobody responded.

The trio were still tied together, so they moved like a worm in quick successions. Tao pushed forward while dragging Oscar and Jacob behind him.

As Tao tried to get to his feet, his shoulder slammed into a wall, dropping him back on his knees. A boot crushed Oscar’s fingers as somebody tripped over him.

Jacob was the only one seemingly calm in the situation as he moved with precision making sure to avoid any injuries.

Somewhere in the dark, Gabe’s voice turned sharp.

“I swear to God, once I find this gun, all of you are fucking dead!”

Tao couldn’t react before a hand snatched around his ankle.

He instinctively kicked back, the bottom of his foot connecting with Gabe’s face.

“Ow…you little shit!” Gabe cursed, but his grip remained tight. His fingers dug into Tao's flesh as his other hand clasped at his knee.

Tao gasped in pain, frantically looking for anything that would push him away from Gabe. His hands scraped against the floor, but there was nothing he could use as leverage.

Oscar fumbled his fingers around Gabe’s pockets. He was distracted, so this was the only time Oscar could do something. I brought us into this mess, so I have to get us out.

Then his fingers touched something sharp.

A knife.

Oscar pulled the switchblade out of Gabe's pocket and carefully caressed the blade in the dark to flip it open.

I'm not a killer. I can't do this. I won't become a murderer.

Oscar cut the ropes binding himself and quickly took off his backpack. He scrambled around inside, his hands getting dirty with the blood that had become dried.

Oscar took out the flashlight and switched it on, revealing Jacob crouching behind him.

“Hold still!” Oscar hissed, rapidly sawing through the thick rope that was around Jacob's wrists.

The second the rope snapped, Jacob jerked away the remains of the restraints.

Then they were reminded as Tao let out a blood-curdling scream.

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Gabe had reached Tao’s chest, his entire weight pressing down into him.

Oscar frantically scanned the room for the only thing that could save them, the flashlight beam bouncing off the walls.

The gun was only a few feet in front of them.

Gabe saw it too, the gun cleansing the rage in his eyes.

For a second, he hesitated, but ultimately, slammed Tao’s head into the concrete as he lunged forward.

Jacob didn’t even think. He didn’t have time.

If Gabe got that gun, they were all dead.

So he lunged forward, swishing past Oscar.

Jacob was fast, but Gabe was much faster.

The gun was inches away. I had to do something.

Jacob threw himself forward with all his strength, fingers stretching.

Too slow.

Gabe’s hand wrapped around the grip.

His fingers curled around the trigger.

Jacob’s eyes sparkled in the dark, the entire room slowing down for him.

Gabe smirked.

And then he pulled the trigger.

Silence.

A deafening silence spread throughout the hallway.

“W-what?” Gabe’s grin disappeared. The safety was on.

Jacob didn’t hesitate.

With one final push, he stretched his arms out, diving straight into Gabe’s side, knocking him off his feet.

The gun fell from Gabe’s hand, clattering across the floor once more.

Tao groaned, pushing himself up from the concrete, his vision still blurry from his chest being crushed.

Oscar was frozen like a statue, simply holding the flashlight towards the scuffle that Gabe and Jacob were in.

They threw punches at each other on the ground. Jacob landed a hit to Gabe’s ribs, but Gabe retaliated, slamming a knee into Jacob’s chin.

Jacob threw his head back, his chin erupting pain into his head.

Gabe clutched at his stomach, but he was already crawling towards the gun.

But Tao saw it first.

And he did not hesitate.

The gun had slid just beyond their scuffle, near the exit of the hallway where everything remained pitch-black after it.

This was it.

If Gabe got the gun again, they were dead.

Jacob was flat out on his back, Oscar was frozen, and all stood between death and life was me.

Tao’s hands clenched. His entire body was still aching, but he had to force himself forward, ignoring the pain.

He moved.

So did Gabe.

Tao’s heart pounded in his ears with each step that he took.

Jacob, catching his breath while trying to sit up, shouted, “Tao! Look—”

Too late.

Gabe grabbed the collar of Tao’s shirt, and yanked him straight into the floor.

Tao hit the floor, his body going immediately limp.

Gabe stepped over him. “Stay down, kid.”

He turned, his hand reaching for the gun.

A shadow brushed past Gabe.

And before he could even react, a foot connected with the gun.

The weapon skidded across the floor, spinning once.

And landed straight into Jacob’s hands.

Gabe’s heart sank.

He tried to lunge, but it was too late.

Jacob switched the safety off, and fired one shot.

Bang.

Gabe’s body jerked violently.

Then slowly, he collapsed to the floor.

His body hit the floor with a thud, his lifeless eyes staring into the ceiling.

Blood seeped from his forehead.

Jacob lowered the gun, his breathing stabilizing.

He stared at the body for a moment.

Then he let out a deep sigh. “Stay down.”

Tao exhaled shakily, finally recovering from being dropped on his back.

Oscar stood frozen. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his hands shaking.

He had done it.

He acted impulsively again.

And someone was dead because of it.

Tao rose to his feet and limped over to Oscar, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Oscar.”

Oscar snapped out of it. His arms stayed at his side.

Then, slowly, he looked up to Jacob.

Jacob wiped Gabe’s blood off the gun, then tucked it into his waistband.

“Are you fucking crazy?!” Oscar burst out, his hands shaking violently.

“Huh?” Jacob met Oscar’s gaze, confused.

“I said, are you fucking crazy?!” Oscar exploded, sweat dripping from his head. “Why did you kill him?!”

Jacob scoffed, stepping up to Oscar. “If I didn’t do that, we would all be dead. Is that what you want?”

“N-n-no of course not. But we would’ve had him at gunpoint. There was so much he could tell us. There was no reason to-” Oscar began breaking down, but Tao was there to hold him up.

“It’s okay, Oscar. But it had to happen. Calm down for now,” Tao whispered, trying to reassure his best friend.

Jacob tilted his head towards Gabe’s corpse. “You know what? If he had the chance, he wouldn’t have hesitated to put a bullet in your skull. Or Tao’s. Or mine.” His voice dropped. “So I didn’t hesitate either.”

Tao locked eyes with Jacob. “That’s enough.”

Jacob clicked his tongue but didn’t argue.

Silence enveloped the hallway, thick and suffocating.

The only sound was Gabe’s blood forming into a pool onto the floor.

Tao looked toward the room ahead past the hallway exit—The Cells, shrouded in blackness.

“Come on. Go pick up your backpack and hold the flashlight tightly,” Tao spoke softly at Oscar.

Oscar swallowed hard, but he didn’t have any more energy to fight back. His hands were still trembling, but he walked over, carefully avoiding Gabe’s body, to his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder.

Jacob exhaled sharply. “We need to move. There’s no way out of the Cells unless we go through the elevator at the very end like I mentioned. All this corpse serves now is a reminder of what needs to happen if we want to make it out alive.”

And one by one—

They stepped into the dark, leaving behind the last remains of whatever innocence they had left.