-Michael-

Michael’s heart pounded with such force, that his entire chest tremored. He could feel every pulse branching outward from his core to his fingertips and toes. Never in his life had he undergone such torment, such that the grafted beast from the prior floor was essentially a forgotten memory. Beside him, the charm that hung from Charlie's magical staff was heard bumping against the tip as their entire body shuddered.

“Michael. What do we do?” Charlie asked, holding their staff closely with both hands. ‘Should I cast one last spell? Would any spell of mine even harm a statue?’

Despite his fear, Michael stayed calm enough to formulate a plan. “We have to find the other books and Susan. It’s obvious that taking a book activates the statues, and since only two are active, as far as we know, Susan is probably still out there somewhere. The more eyes we have, the better.” Michael’s eyes were beaming with resolve, yet his entire body still quavered as if he were stuck in a blizzard. “We’re going to make it to Heaven, Charlie. That’s a promise.”

Inside their collective mind, Mike was at a loss for words. He wondered, had he been in control of the body this entire time, how differently would things have panned out? Nonetheless, he was more than complacent being within the safety of their shared body's mind; it beat being chased by murderous statues.

Charlie, still vibrating like a wet puppy, nodded. “Okay, I trust you. I’ll follow your lead.”

Michael's eyes searched the library before locking onto the stairs beside them, leading to the upper level. “How long can you open your eyes for? Close to a minute, right? We’ll switch who watches the statues every fifty seconds. Let’s check upstairs first.”

Charlie's head bobbed. “Okay. I’ll watch the statues.”

With their backs glued together, both Charlie and Michael ascended the staircase as a unit, Charlie’s eyes remained open, poised as they locked those statues into place. Internally, the two of them were counting in their heads, and as that number began closing in at fifty, Charlie could feel the urge compelling them to blink and grow stronger.

“Switch.” said Michael. “Don’t take your eyes off of them until you have confirmation from me.” As Charlie swapped positions with Michael, their eyes remained locked onto their pursuers.

“Okay. I’m looking.” Michael whispered, feeling a chill run down his spine as he watched both statues track him with their eyes. Meanwhile, Charlie used this time to blink, applying the moisture back into their eyes with a sigh of relief.

The two of them continued onward for a handful of steps. “Susan!?” Charlie called out into the endless library.

No response.

However, the sounds of heavy footsteps making their way up the stairs sent a shiver down Charlie’s spine. Michael hadn’t blinked, but the statues were out of his view, following the path they took up the stairs before reaching the corner.

Michael used this time to blink. “Keep going. I can last for another minute.” he told Charlie, leaving his eyes locked on the junction just before the Jester’s smile crept around it.

“Susan!” Both Michael and Charlie began calling for the businesswoman. Internally, they were both praying that she was alive. It wasn’t because they cared about her, in fact, they thought she and her husband were rather annoying, but she would be a valuable asset to solving this puzzle.

For what felt like an eternity, Michael and Charlie continued through the ever-expansive library in search of one of the books, swapping out the leader as the other played the role of the watcher. Luckily, the statues seemed only to take the shortest path toward them, lacking the intelligence to attempt any pincer attack. Even so, both Michael and Charlie were still vigilant in case the statues changed their pattern.

Though they called Susan's name numerous times, reaching far beyond one hundred attempts, not a peep was heard from the businesswoman. "Susan!" Charlie desperately called out one final time, but alas, there wasn't a reply.

"We have to be prepared for if Susan has already been killed." Michael said as he led the path, his eyes scanning the entirety of the branching paths ahead of him. "If that's the case, there could be another statue already running around up here."

Charlie felt their heart sink to the lowest depths of their body upon hearing Michael's words. This whole time, they were able to ward off two of the statues without much trouble, but three or four sounded impossible. "We're going to find her." Charlie whispered, choosing to cope rather than face the potential reality.

Michael nodded, playing along despite his own doubts. "You're right. She has to be here somewhere."

Michael and Charlie continued their search for the last two books and Susan, however, things were looking bleak. The library was endless, leading them to believe that they were just lucky, or perhaps unlucky, to have found the Prince when they did. Yet, just before they were about to lose out on all hope, they found yet another statue. "There it is!" Charlie exclaimed, though that excitement almost instantly turned to fear upon realizing the implications of this event. Once they were to take that book, they would be chased by not two, but three statues. Nonetheless, Charlie led them forward as Michael watched the statues follow them down the narrow aisle, trapping Michael and Charlie between them and the King's statue.

"We're gonna be trapped!" Charlie realized, hesitating even to approach the King.

Michael pushed backward, compelling Charlie to move forward. "He won't act until we take his book. Just squeeze past him and I'll grab the book from behind."

"Okay." Charlie tumbled forward, doing as Michael instructed. The two of them, with Michael still watching the statues, placed their backs against one of the bookshelves and slid past the King.

"I need to blink. Watch them for me." Michael whispered, getting a nod in response before Charlie stared at the statues. Even after all this time, the Jester's smile still caused Charlie to feel queasy. At times, it almost looked as if the mouth was moving, like the Jester was alive and breathing.

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"Alright. Let's go." Michael once again assumed his role as the statue watcher as they snuck past the King. Once they had enough space, Charlie and Michael once again pressed their backs against each other as Michael slipped the book out of the King's hand. As he did so, he could hear something within the King move, and though Michael couldn't see from behind the King's head, he had a feeling it was the King's eyes that moved.

Charlie and Michael were clever enough to memorize the general area in which they'd come from, therefore it was a simple task for them to head back to the paintings. At least, they thought it would be simple.

After turning a corner, and walking out of the aisle in which the King was found, Michael could only spot the Jester and the Prince peeking around the same corner. 'Where did the King go? Is there not enough space?' was his first thought.

Mike also found the behavior strange. From the inside, Mike was able to keep calm and theorize what was going on. After a few seconds passed, a hypothesis was formed.

Michael! Think chess! Each piece acts differently! What if the King- Before Mike could finish that thought, both he and Michael could hear Charlie yelp.

"AAH! Wh- The King!" They whimpered, stopping in their tracks as the King was seen peeking around the corner of one of the library's aisles. It was as if he was waiting for them to pass, to ambush them.

"He has the ability to flank..." Michael had been doing a decent job at preserving the facade of having an adequate grasp on his own sanity. However, this curveball nearly broke him. Mike could discern Michael approaching his limit due to their linkage and attempted to share some words of encouragement.

Listen, kid. I'm scared shitless too, but you and Charlie have to move! As long as those two stay together, one of you can keep an eye on the King.

"We're fucked..." Michael whispered. "We're so fucked, dude. Take the body, back. Please." He was so far out of it, that he didn't even hear Mike speaking until he raised his voice.

MICHAEL! You know I can't do that unless you take damage and you know we can't afford to do that right now. We're fucked if you don't MOVE! Besides... Mike swallowed his own pride; it was a struggle, but he was able to nonetheless. I'm nothing but the brawn. We need your brains to get out of this situation. I wouldn't have even come up with the idea to place the books on the bookshelves. You're the best suited for this.

Michael believed those words, yet he was still frozen in place. Mike just needed to give him one more push to make him budge.

Besides. You have two people relying on you, me and Charlie. Maybe three if that broad is still kicking. As much as I hate to say it, I'm banking on you, kid.

'He's right. I can't let others get hurt because I'm afraid...' Michael exhaled, still keeping his eyes on the Jester and the Prince down the hall. "Fine. But I deserve a break after this. This is the second time, that I've been thrown under the bus."

"Michael?" Charlie could hear him muttering to himself; quite frankly, they thought he'd lost his marbles. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Michael nodded. "Just giving myself a little pep talk. Just follow my lead." Michael grabbed Charlie's hand, interlocking their fingers with his before leading them down the aisle adjacent to them, their backs still touching. They both used this small window to blink as much as they could until the footsteps sounded as if they were closing in on them. Inside of his head, Michael was forming a miniature map, tracking the positions of all three statues. Tracking the Prince and the Jester was simple enough, they were following the two of them using the path of least resistance. The King, on the other hand, was chasing them with some sort of strategy.

"The King is smarter than the rest, but that makes him more human. We just have to predict what he'll do next! Turn!" Michael's hand squeezed Charlie's and the two of them turned down another aisle just before the King could corner them.

"How did you know?" Charlie asked, seeing as how they both narrowly avoided the King.

"I told you. I'm predicting his movements! It's like playing a fighting game- Turn!" Before Michael could finish his sentence, he and Charlie make a quick right turn, once again avoiding the King's path.

"In a fighting game, you can predict your opponent's moves, whether they go mid or low. It's called a mix-up. Turn!" Yet again, the two of them wrapped around a corner before the King could get to them. "If you're good enough, you can tell if your opponent is going low or mid. That's what I'm doing right now with the King. There's a pattern. Turn!" Michael started leading the path, picking up the pace ever so slightly, though still going slow enough so Charlie could keep up whilst going backward.

"The stairs!" said Michael, still leading the way, turning right at a branching path. All they needed to do now was go down one more hallway and then turn left at the stairs. However, Michael noticed something odd.

"Where'd the King go?" The King's statue was nowhere to be seen. Michael searched his surroundings, but he failed to see what the King had done. Nonetheless, it didn't matter, as long as they could place the book where it belonged, the King's position didn't matter.

Michael and Charlie turned the final corner and reached the stairs, though upon seeing what was waiting for them, Michael halted in his tracks. On the opposite staircase, past the paintings of the four statues, the King was waiting, staring at him. "I found the King." Michael whispered. "But he's not blocking our path. Keep an eye on those two."

Charlie nodded as the two of them made their way down the steps, locking gazes with their respective statues. Once they reached the bottom, where the two opposing staircases connected to the wider staircase that was perpendicular to them, Michael slipped the King's book into the proper slot. Unfortunately, he could see in his peripheral vision that the Queen's book was still gone, therefore, he and Charlie were trapped. They both would have to blink soon and in the blink of an eye, their pursuers would be able to smite them.

Just when all hope was lost, Michael and Charlie could hear whining in the distance.

It was Susan!

Neither of them could look, but Susan was backpedaling toward them, keeping an eye on the Queen pursuing her. Michael and Charlie could only hold their eyes open for another thirty seconds, but that was plenty of time for Susan to place the final book and hopefully end this nightmare. With the Queen's book held tightly to her chest, Susan continued shuffling backward as tears and snot fell from her face.

“Yes! Great work, Susan! You’re almost there!” Michael's eyes stayed on the King as he cheered her on. His heart was pounding, his ears were ringing, and he couldn't tell if that was sweat or a little bit of pee in his boxers. Regardless, he knew he just needed to hold out for a little longer!

The Queen peeked around the corner, her speed was beyond that of any of the other statues. She came to a halt once Susan’s eyes locked onto her, but the sudden movement compelled Susan to jolt as she took a step back. Susan's foot then landed awkwardly on the carpet, snapping the heel of her shoe. As she fell backward, the world around her seemed as if it were going in slow motion as her head raised toward the ceiling. She tried as best she could to maintain eye contact with the Queen, however, the moment that eye contact was broken, the Queen dashed forward and grabbed Susan by the face, digging its fingers into her eye sockets.

Susan released a guttural scream as the sounds of flesh being torn apart reverberated off of the library walls, leaving her fate to her comrades' imaginations. Michael and Charlie looked forward with quivering eyes, having lost all hope of surviving as Susan's screams continued. What may have only been a handful of seconds sounded like an eternity of pain, though her screams did inevitably cease. Still looking forward at the King, Michael could then feel the Queen's gaze.

The anticipation was consuming him from the inside, such that he could hardly stand. He wanted to run; he wanted to scream, but it was as if he had no mouth.

After a moment of silence, the Queen's statue bolted toward him, and all Michael could do was brace for impact.