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. Every single one is the same image.

We continue down the all 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, former still acting weird and the latter finally recovered from whatever she drank earlier. 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 mask on their face. The mask looks very expensive with gold 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 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.

Guess I’ll start this off. “Alright guys. Let’s have a chat.”

“”About what?”” They ask in a 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.

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 can feel my face get a little hotter. I don’t really know how I feel about her to be perfectly honest. We never really talked much outside of school and don’t really have anything in common.

“I’ll tell you after we get out of here alright?” I stall putting the issue aside for now. Yea I feel bad about doing it, but I don’t want to give her a half-hearted answer. She simply nods quickly before blushing and looking away. Reiner is beginning to act weird again.

“Reiner? Your turn.” Seeming to snap out of whatever he was thinking about, he turns towards us.

“What?” He asks now paying attention.

“Your turn to say something that is on your mind.”

“I don’t have anything on my mind.”

“Really?” I ask him while slightly suspicious.

“Yea let’s just leave already…” Reiner gets up and walks toward the door. “Oh, yea it is your turn wasn’t it?” His hand stopping mere inches away from the door. I walk up to the door and lightly tap it with my bracelet as another light comes up on it. “Got the key.” I tell them.

Reiner immediately walks through the door followed by Claire. 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 now, both of them reaching for something beyond it…

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 vot-” I begin to say, but I was immediately cut off by Reiner.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“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 wrote 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 runs into the hallway beyond.

“Reiner wai-” I call after him a little too late. “Dammit…”

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 backwards, 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 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 cold calculative 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!

“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 not quite registering that this is really happening.

“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 dagger deep into his right eye.

He starts to scream but I pull him harder and twist the knife in his eye, trying get it as deep as I can. 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 girl’s voice.

“Let me help you…” Instantly my racing mind calms down as I grab the other dagger with my right hand and shove it into the side of his neck. I take it out and shove it back in over and over again until he slumps against me, but I don’t care. I keep going while feeling the 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…

“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 three keys now as there are three lights out of five lit now. I look at Claire again and she just backs away a bit.

“L-l-lets ju-ust go J-Jake.” Claire says with a terrified 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 absentmindedly put it in my pocket and follow after Claire. My mind in utter shock and disbelief about what happened. I push any and all thoughts and run after Claire while still bleeding.

I enter the next room without Claire in sight. 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 leaves my back as I fall and turn to see Claire holding a bloodied blade. 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.

“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.

“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 yo-”

“Since your first day of class Jake. It was really difficult being around so many snot-nosed brats, ill 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 this words and gave an enchanting smile.

“Your cute little Claire never existed in the first place… hahahah! Why would I ever want to be with someone as worthless at you? Did you really think that I would ever like you?” She said as she went toward the black box and opened it.

"I'll take this, it would be better suited for me anyway~" She took out a 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 my friend. But it 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 surprise him with five lights lit. How are you feeling Jake? The boy mentally askes himself.

“…”

Only silence is heard back. 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 calm murder.

No wonder he doesn’t want to respond…I wouldn’t want to either. He comes upon another room and proceeds to go inside…