In Manhattan, A young woman sat in front of a computer. The room she’s in was dark, with light only coming from the computer screen.

She was short and skinny, with sunken eyes. Her hair was short and white with a small side pony tail. She had red eyes and pale skin that matched her hair.

Her name was Jewel Fretz.

Jewel was typing on the keyboard fiercely. Her eyes moved across the screen scanning for any small change.

When she pressed the “H” button, no H would show on the screen. She pressed it more and more, but no H would show up.
“God Damn it!” She said. “This stupid piece of junk!”

Jewel stormed out of the room.

She came to a larger room with a couch and a television. There was a man sitting on the couch. He was a lanky man with short black hair and brown eyes. He looked back at Jewel.

“Hey babe, good to see you finally come out of your room.” He said.

“Shut up Michael.” Jewel said while she ran her fingers through her hair. “I need you to take me to the store.”

“What for?”

“I need a new Keyboard, my current one’s broken.”

“Again?” Michael said as he turned off the television.

“Yeah, the H key stopped working.” Jewel was standing at the door with her hand on the door handle.

“What’s the magic word?”

“Now.”

“So just the H button? Don’t you think you can get by without it?” Michael said with a raised eyebrow.

“I need every key to do what I’m doing.”

Jewel opened the door and motioned for Michael to walk through.

“What are you doing?”

Michael walked through the door and Jewel followed.

“I already told you!” Jewel said as she rolled her eyes. “I’m making a Virus. It’s just to test my computer skills.”

“But you’re the smartest person I know, do you really need to test yourself?” Michael said as he stepped into the car.

Jewel got into the car with him. Michael sat in the car but didn’t start it.

“You need to put the keys in.” Jewel said while she tapped on her knee with her finger.

“I know, but you’re gonna need to pay me for the ride.” Michael said with a smile.

“Pay you!?” Jewel jumped in her seat.

“Yeah, if you want a ride, it’ll cost you one kiss.”

Jewel blushed as a smirk formed on her face.

“Okay.” She said with a chuckle.

They both leaned in and gave each other a kiss.

“Now say you love me.” Michael said.

“Okay, I love you, now take me to the store.” Jewel said with a smile.

Michael started the car and drove off.

“I nearly forgot what New York looked like.” Jewel said looking out the window.

“Well, maybe if you’d come out of your room once in a while.” Michael said.

“Quiet smart guy.” She said looking at Michael.

“So you admit I’m smart.”

“No, I was being sarcastic.”

“Yeah, I know. Oh, by the way, you remembered you’re umbrella right?”

“It’s not an umbrella, it’s a parasol.” She rolled her eyes.

“Same thing.”

“No, It’s not.” Jewel’s eye started twitching. “They are made from different materials and are used for different means! Parasols are used to block sun and Umbrellas are used to block rain!”

“Couldn’t an umbrella block the sun too?” Michael said with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s not the point!” Jewels face turned red, she pulled at her hair.

“Okay okay, calm dow-”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” She shouted, pointing her finger at Michael.

“God, I’m sorry.” Michael’s eyebrows dropped and he frowned.

Jewel smacked her forehead on the window of the car and crossed her arms. The red in her face started to leave.

“No, I’m sorry…” She said quietly. “I shouldn’t have blown up like that.”

“Well, I was the one who kept pushing it.”

The car came to a stop.

It’s fine.” Jewel looked back to Michael and kissed him. “I love you.”

“I love you more.” Michael said with a smile.
“Don’t you even start.” Jewel said with a smile.

“I won’t, because we’re here.”

“Good.” Jewel ran out of the car.

Michael got out of the car after her. By the time he was completely out, Jewel was already at the front of the store.

“Geez girl, slow down.” Michael said even though he knew Jewel couldn’t hear him.

Jewel waited at the front door for him.

Michael caught up and they both walked into the store.

They made their way to the electronics area.

“While you’re looking for a keyboard, I’m gonna look at the video games.” Michael said.

“Okay, I’ll join you when I’m done.” Jewel said while looking through the keyboards.

Jewel wasn’t able to find the keyboard she was looking for.

A man walked by who worked at the store.

“Break a keyboard again Jewel?” He asked.

“Yes, I can’t seem to find my kind of keyboard though.” Jewel said scratching her head.

“Ah, I’m sorry to tell you this, but the keyboards you like to use have been discontinued.”

“What!?” Jewel pulled on her hair and her face turned red. “That’s bullshit!”

“Sorry Jewel, Those things broke really easily, so people stopped buying them, I’m pretty sure you’re the only one who would actually buy that brand.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Jewel said.

“I’m sorry Jewel.”

“Hey Jewel!” Michael said running around the corner with a smile on his face.

“Not now Michael.” Jewel said with her head down.

“What’s wrong babe?” Michael frowned.

“They discontinued my favorite keyboards.”

“I’m sorry, But I think I know something that’ll cheer you up.”

“What would that be?” She asked while crossing her arms.

“That game you were telling me about is here.”

“I tell you about a lot of games.”

“The one I can never pronounce right.”

Jewel rolled her eyes.

“Zen Mega My Tenshi, I pre ordered it online already.”

“Excuse me miss.” A kind voice said behind Jewel.

Jewel turned around and saw a man with slick black hair and Purple eyes standing behind her. He was a stout and short man.

“Who are you?” Jewel asked with a raised eyebrow.

“My name is Eleven, It’s nice to meet you Jewel.” He said with a bow.

“How do you know my name?” Jewel took a step back.

“Master Zed knows everyone… Oh, Sorry, Master Zed is my master.”

Jewel remembered the name from somewhere, possibly online.

“Go on.” Jewel said. Eleven had gained her interest.

“Well, Master Zed has heard about Hanenbow.”

“What!?”

“Hanenbow?” Michael asked while scratching his head. “Isn’t that the stage in SSBB that you really like?”

“Yes, but in this case, it’s something else.” Jewel turned around to face Eleven. “Go wait by the front door.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

“Okay, okay… I’ll meet you at the front door…”

Michael walked off toward the front door. Jewel turned back to Eleven.

“What do you want with Hanenbow?”

“It’s not what I want, it’s what Zed wants, he wants you to finish it and then release it.”

Eleven was staying perfectly still through the whole conversation. His face wouldn’t even change.

“I would never release it, I’m only making it to test myself.” Jewel looked off to the side.

“How will you know if it works or not?”

“I just… I’ll use it on Michael?”

“I can tell that you really want to know how it will work. You want the world to know what you’re made of.”

Jewel’s head started to hurt. She placed a hand on her forehead.

“You don’t know anything about me!” Jewel shouted.

“Maybe not, but Master Zed does.” Eleven said.

“How could he know anything about me? I’ve never met anyone named Zed in my life.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t reveal that sort of information.” Eleven turned around and walked behind a corner.

“Hey! I’m not done with you yet!” Jewel shouted.

Eleven walked back around the corner and handed a box to Jewel.

“Here, It’s a gift from Zed to you.”

“What is it?” Jewel asked studying the box.

“It’s a keyboard, one that shouldn’t break.”

“How could he-”

“Know you would need one? Well, he knew you’d break your current one eventually, so he had me wait in New York until you’d need one, it’s very simple.”

“That’s not simple at all! How does he know about me!?” Jewel face went red.

“I’m sorry ma’am, but I’m afraid I must be on my way. I do hope we meet again.”

Eleven ran off while Jewel stood there dumbfounded.

2: Hanenbow

Jewel quietly walked out of the store, carrying her new Keyboard.

Who the hell is this Zed guy, and why am I just now hearing about him? Jewel thought as she walked to the car. I know everyone… at least, everyone important I find online, and Zed seems to be some sort of important person, why don’t I know about him?

Jewel wasn’t paying attention and walked right in front of a car as it was backing out of its parking area.

The car’s horn sounded and Jewel jumped.

“Get out of the way you moron!” The man inside the car shouted.

Jewel flipped the man off and continued walking.

She heard the sound of a slamming door, and before she knew it, she was on the ground with the back of her head in pain.

“Nobody flips me off you bitch!” The man said.

Michael ran over to the two of them and tackled the man who attacked Jewel.

His face was red and he grinded his teeth.

Michael had his hands around the man’s neck.

“Michael!” Jewel shouted as she got up.

Jewel pulled Michael off of the man and held him back.

“He’s not worth it!” Jewel said. “Besides… I had it coming.”

“Whatever you say.” Michael scoffed.

He stormed back to his car and Jewel followed.

“I’m sorry you had to see that.” Michael said as he and Jewel got into the car.

“It’s fine, I understand.” Jewel looked out the window. “Thanks for sticking up for me.”

“Hey… If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be a good boyfriend right?” Michael said looking at Jewel.

Jewel looked back at Michael. “I guess you’re right.”

“So did you get a Keyboard?” Michael asked as he started the car.

“Yeah… That Eleven guy gave it to me… God, he was such a creep.” She looked back out the window of the car.

“Why’d you take the Keyboard then?”

“I’m not gonna pass up a free keyboard!” Jewel rolled her eyes.

“Good point.”

The car rolled on and they were almost home.

“Just so you know, when we get home, I’m going to take my daily nap.” Jewel said looking at Michael. “You can feel free to join me.”

“Jewel, I told you this. My mom doesn’t want me sleeping in the same bed with you until we’re married.” Michael said.

Jewel looked back out the window with a frown.

“Oh god, I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine, there’s nothing I can do about it, but I also can’t let it define who I am. Oh yeah, and news flash, you’re an adult, you can’t let your mom tell you what you can and can’t do.”

“I know but… She’s my mom.”

The car came to a stop.

“Well then, I hope that couch is comfortable. You’ll be sleeping on it until you wise up and sleep with me.” Jewel got out of the car.

“I’ve already been sleeping on the couch.” Michael said as he got out with her.

“I know.” Jewel walked into the house and headed for her room.

Michael walked into the house as well and before Jewel completely walked into her room she stopped to say something to Michael.

“You know, Sleeping with me doesn’t necessarily mean we have to have sex. It could just be sleeping in the same bed.” Jewel said.

“I know Jewel.” Michael said as he sat down on the couch.

Jewel scoffed as she walked into her room and closed the door behind her.

Jewel plopped down on her bed and buried her face into her pillow.

“Stupid Michael…” Jewel sighed. “At this rate, It’ll take me forever to finish Hanenbow.”

She rolled over onto her back and faced the ceiling. She grabbed her blanket and covered herself with it.

The blanket was blue and had hundreds of math equations scattered on it.

Jewel curled up inside her blanket and attempted to take her nap.

No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t fall asleep.

“Oh god… Come on, I need my nap. What the hell is wrong with me!? Is it that Zed guy? Is he what’s keeping me up? Damnit, I can’t stop thinking about this guy!”

Jewel tossed and turned in her bed. She sat up in the bed and looked at the box that held the keyboard.

Jewel sat there with a blank expression on her face. She finally got up and put the box in her lap.

Jewel grabbed a pocket knife that she kept by her bed and opened the box.

The keyboard was a crimson black color and had a piece of paper on it.

Jewel picked the paper up and examined it.

“These definitely aren’t Instructions.” Jewel said as she turned on her lamp for light.

“Dear Miss Fretz.” She read. “I have received word that you are developing a virus, yet you don’t intend to even use it? That’s wasted potential if you ask me. I suggest that you unleash it. You’ll never know how good you are with computers unless you do. If you’re up to it, use the virus on this email address. ‘z10@avylon.com’. No caps, no spaces, no underscores. I promise that this will all be okay. Sincerely, Zed.”

Jewel stared at the paper after she read it. She put it to the side and took the Keyboard out of the box.

She ran her fingers across the keys and looked all around it.

“This is a pretty nice keyboard…”

Jewel walked over to her desk and plugged in the keyboard. She powered on the computer and made her way to the program she was using to make the virus.

Jewel began to type on the keyboard speedily.

She analyzed the screen seeing the new characters appearing as she typed them.

Jewel kept this up for hours, typing away at the keyboard.

She pulled away from the keyboard and admired her work. She looked over at the enter key and pressed it.

Jewel opened her email “jewelthenerd@avylon.com”. She typed in the email given in the note and attached the virus.

“Alright, here goes nothing.” She said right as she hit the send button.

She sat at the monitor for two minutes and got an email back to her.

Jewel opened the email and her screen turned a magenta color.

“What the hell!?” Jewel shouted as she jumped back in her chair.

The screen started to produce static.

“This is the effect that Hanenbow was programmed to have, but There’s no way I could have gotten it, I have ten different Virus Protection devices installed in my computer.”

Jewel pressed the keys hoping that something would happen, but the screen remained the same.

“Does Hanenbow delete Virus Protection? Is it really that strong? I don’t remember programing it to do that. I must have done something wrong… That or whoever gave me the pamphlet must have left this effect out of it to trick me. If that’s true, then I was a fool to even trust him.”

Jewel continued to stare at the screen with her jaw hanging open.

“You know what, I’ll just… I’ll go to bed, and It will all be back to normal by tomorrow.”

Jewel laid down in her bed and covered up with her blanket, however, she was unable to fall asleep.

Hours passed, and it was eventually two in the morning. Jewel was still awake.

She heard a loud siren in the front of her yard.
Jewel got up and looked out her window and saw three police cars and two men were walking up to the front of the house.

There was a loud banging on the front door followed by it opening.

Jewel listened to what was happening through the door.

She was breathing heavily and felt like she was about to explode.

“What do you need officers?” Michael said.

“Do you know anybody who goes by the name Jewel Elizabeth Fretz?” One of the police said.

“Yes, that’s my girlfriend. Her room is over there.”

“Michael you moron.” Jewel whispered to herself.

The police pounded on the door.

“Come out now!” They shouted.

Jewel was pushing her body against the door hoping they wouldn’t come in.

“Don’t make us have to use force!” The other one said.

“If you don’t come out calmly in ten seconds, we’re taking the door down!”

“What did she do?” Michael asked.

“She unleashed a Devastation Virus, it’s already spread all across the US.” One of the police said.

“What’s a Devastation Virus?”

“It’s a virus that destroys computers from the inside.”

“How do you know it’s her?”

“We got a call from a trustworthy source.”

“Come on Jewel! You can make this easy for yourself!” The other one said.

Jewel finally caved and opened the door.

The officer grabbed her by the arm and cuffed her hands behind her back.

“You have the-” The Police started.

“Right to remain Silent, I know.” Jewel said.

Jewel was escorted out to the police car.

Michael just watched, dumbfounded as this happened.

As Jewel was put into the car, a white smoke appeared and surrounded the whole area.

Jewel became woozy and soon passed out.

3: Forest of Death

Jewel was lying on the ground of a forest. She was completely naked except for underpants.

The moon was glistening off of the dew on the grass underneath her. Trees were everywhere making it hard for her to see far into them.

Jewel felt a sharp pain on her upper left arm, but when she looked to see what was causing the pain, she couldn’t see anything there with it being too dark out.

“Michael?” Jewel called out.

Jewel sat up covering her chest even though no one was around to see her.

“Michael, are you there?” She called again.

Jewel looked around and saw a small pile of clothes.

She picked them up and put them in the moonlight. There was a tag on them that said Jewel Fretz.

Now that she was in the moonlight, she could see what was on her arm.

When she looked, she saw an “IX” Tattooed on her arm with a barcode underneath it.

Jewel put on the clothes to cover herself up.

It was a gray short sleeved shirt, Jean pants, socks and shoes.

“Is my parasol anywhere around her?” Jewel asked herself.

Jewel searched around the area hoping to find her parasol. She did find something, but not what she was looking for.

She found a fence that seemed to run along the whole forest.

“Maybe I need to get to the other side of this.” Jewel thought.

She placed her hand on the fence. She jumped back in pain and landed on her bottom.

“FUCK!” She shouted. “God Dammit stupid fucking fence!”

Tears started to form in Jewel’s eyes from the pain.

“MICHAEL!” Jewel cried.

She stood up and looked around once again. She found a path and decided to take it.

“I hope this will get me out of here… Where even is here?” She asked herself as she walked.

Jewel stopped walking for a moment to take a look at the plants. She came to an orange flower and studied it.

“Okay, I at least know I’m in Arizona, seeing as how this flower is only found in Arizona. Well, at least I have a general idea of where I am.”

Jewel continued to walk down the path.

She walked for hours until it was morning. Now she began to stay more in the shade while she walked.

She came upon an old house that was falling apart. There were holes in the roof and the siding was coming off.

“Hello!?” Jewel shouted at the house. “Is anybody in there?”

A head poked through the door. The head was soon followed by a whole body. He was wearing the same clothes as Jewel. There was a “V” tattooed on his neck.

He had short black hair and shining blue eyes. He was slender and his face was thin.

“Who are you?” He asked.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Jewel said as she crossed her arms. “My name is Jewel, who are you?”

“Levi.” The man said.

Jewel raised an eyebrow. “Levi?”

“Yeah.” he said as he scratched his head.

Jewel remembered the name Levi from online. The face even matched the name that it was paired with.

“Levi…” Jewel thought. “It could just be a coincidence that he looks just like the Levi on the news.”

Jewel ran her fingers through her hair.

“Okay then Levi.” Jewel said. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Uh, you to, that’s an odd tattoo you have on your arm.” Levi said pointing at her tattoo.

Jewel looked down at her arm.

“Yeah? You’ve got one too.”

“I do?” Levi asked as he looked at his own arm.

“No, on your neck. there’s a V tattooed on it.”

“Really?” Levi said attempting to look at his own neck.

Jewel rolled her eyes at his effort.

“And it’s not the only thing there either.” Jewel said as she crossed her arms.

“What else is there?” Levi said as he quite trying to look.

“There’s a barcode underneath it.”

“What could that be for?” Levi asked as he walked closer to Jewel. “And what do the numbers mean?”

“How should I know!?” Jewel asked as she threw her arms up. “If I were to guess, I’d say that they either mean the numbers they are, or that they’re roman numerals. I think the latter is more believable.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, there’s an IX tattooed on my arm.” Jewel said pointing at her arm. “IX is the roman numeral for Nine. V is the roman numeral for Five.

“So does that mean there are Seven more people in these woods?” Levi ran his fingers ran his fingers through his hair.

“Could be, or more.” Jewel looked off to the side.

“Why would there be more?” Levi asked while looking in the same direction as Jewel. When he saw nothing was there he looked back and scratched his head.

“I don’t know for sure. unless we find someone with an X or maybe even an XI tattooed on them we’ll never know.”

“If you don’t mind me asking.” Levi turned around and faced the house. “How come you didn’t assume I lived in the house?”

“Because who in their right mind would live in that thing.”

“Good point, so what should we do then?”

Jewel looked around the area.

“Well, I think we should find a way out of here.”

“How do we do that?”

“Do I look like I know!?” Jewel shouted. She rolled her eyes. “If I knew how to get out of here, I’d already be gone.”

“So then I think if we keep walking we should end up out of here.” Levi said.

“Think again, there’s an electric fence surrounding us.” Jewel lifted her hands and showed Levi the marks that the fence left on them. “This is probably gonna scar me.”

“Why would you touch an electric fence on purpose?” Levi raised an eyebrow.

“Because moron! I didn’t know it was an electric fence at the time!” Jewel crossed her arms. “And I never said I did it on purpose.”

“No need to yell.”

“Whatever, I just want to get out of here.”

Jewel turned around and started walking down a path. Levi ran up to her.

“Why are you following me?” Jewel asked as she continued walking.

“Because you seem to know what you’re doing.” Levi said with a smile. “You seem smart.”

“I seem smart? I am smart… But thanks anyways.”

“No problem. So, Let’s get to know each other. Where are you from?”

Jewel hesitated before answering. “I’m from Manhattan.”

“Manhattan?”

Jewel slapped herself on the forehead. “New York City.”

“Oh, I see.”

“You’re not very smart are you?”

“I’m smart in some things, like health, I was a health teacher.”

Jewel’s eyes widened as she looked at Levi. Her mouth was hanging open. His name, his face, and his occupation was all she needed to figure out just who Levi is.

Jewel gulped and looked around at her surroundings.

She saw a large metal building.

There was a massive door with numbers on it with the building.

“What’s this?” Jewel said with curiosity.

Levi continued to walk forward.

“Levi do you see this?” Jewel asked.

Levi kept walking. Before he knew it, a tree smacked him in the face with a low hanging branch.

“LEVI!” Jewel shouted.

“Huh!?” Levi said.

“Well now I know you haven’t been paying attention!” Jewel’s face turned a slight red.

“I’m sorry… What were you saying?” Levi said while rubbing his head.

“I found something moron!”

“What did you find?”

“A… a building I think.” Jewel scratched her head.

“You think?”

“Yes, I think, it could just be a giant block of Metal. It’s more likely that it’s a building though.”

“Then just call it a building.”

“Just shut up and get over here.”

4: Brain Power

Jewel and Levi walked closer to the door. A button and a lever by the side of the door, and a large “3” and “9” were directly on the door. A fraction bar separated the three and nine.

“Three and Nine huh?” Levi wondered as he scratched his head.

Jewel looked over to the button and lever. She walked over to them and pressed the button.

A monotonous robotic voice started to speak.

“Hello, and welcome to The Zed Game.” The voice said.

Jewel’s eyes went wide and her jew dropped.

“Zed?” Levi said. “Like the guy that Eleven told me about?”

“You met Eleven too!?” Jewel asked.

The voice spoke again, not letting Levi answer.

“In this game, you will need to do simple puzzles in order to escape this forest.” Jewel and Levi stood still and listened to the voice’s monologue. “To participate in these puzzles you must open the doors. Each door is opened with math. The numerator must equal the Denominator. If you fail these math problems or any of the puzzles, you will die. You might be thinking, then I’ll just find the door out of here and I won’t have to do any puzzles. That is not the case. The key to open the exit door, is in one of the buildings as well as other prizes. It is in your best interest to play through all of the puzzles. If you have any questions, There will not be an answer, for I am pre recorded. Good Luck.”

Levi looked to Jewel with a raised eyebrow. “I… Didn’t understand any of that.”

“I don’t really blame you. First off, We have to do puzzles if we want to escape this forest.”

“I got that much.” Levi rolled his eyes.

“Don’t you roll your eyes at me! You told me that you didn’t understand any of it!”

“I was exaggerating a bit.”

“Well don’t, you moron! You make yourself look dumber when you do that. What is it you don’t understand?” Jewel held onto her forehead.

“The whole thing about math for the doors.”

“Alright, well I think what it meant is the number on top is the number of people who have to go in.”

“Then what about the number on the bottom?”

Jewel walked closer to the door. She stared at the Nine on the door for a long while.

“Well.” She said. “It’s possible that the numbers tattooed on use have something to do with it.” She turned back to Levi.

“Like what?” He scratched his head.

“Well, your number is five, and mine is Nine. Let’s say that the door said Two and fourteen instead. That would mean two people whose numbers equal fourteen would have to go in, and five plus Nine equals Fourteen. Do you get it now?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Levi nodded his head. “So for this door we need three people whose numbers equal nine?”

“Yes!” Jewel smiled as she jumped in victory. “There may be hope for you yet.”

“What’s that suppose to mean?” Levi put his hands on his waist.

“It means that you’re not a stupid as I first thought.” Jewel turned back to the door.

“Hmm… I don’t know if I should feel complimented or insulted.” Levi scratched his head.

“I meant it as a compliment.” Jewel said as she looked back at Levi. She looked back at the door and studied it.

Jewel placed her hand on her chin as she looked at the door.

“So we just need to find more people to go through this door.” Jewel said as she turned to face Levi once more.

“What do we do until then?” Levi asked.

“We wait… You didn’t happen to find anything to pass the time in that house?” Jewel sat on the ground under a tree.

“So where do you think we are?” Levi asked as he sat down across from her.

“We’re in Arizona.” Jewel rested her head on her knees.

“What makes you think that?”

“Earlier I saw flowers that are indigenous to Arizona.” Jewel looked to her side and saw the same flower. She picked the orange flower and put it in her hair.

“How far away is Arizona from Illinois?”

“About five states away. Why?”

“I live in Illinois.” Levi stared at Jewel for a moment. “Maybe I can get to know you better.”

“I guess.” Jewel said looking of in the distance, hoping to find anyone else. “Well, you already know I live in New York, so that means I’m even further from my home. Anyways I don’t usually leave my room. I basically live in it. I only come out for food and water, and sometimes to see my boyfriend.”

“You live with your boyfriend?”

“Technically he lives with me, seeing as how I own the house.”

“How old are you?” Levi asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m eighteen.”

“Geez… Eighteen and you already own a house?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, so what exactly is it you do in your room?”

“Play video games, watch the news on my computer, and I make computer programs.” Jewel looked down.

“That’s all you do? Seems like a boring life.”

“Says the one who teaches for a living.” Jewel looked back up at Levi.

“Well, I don’t really teach anymore… I quit a while back. But when I did, it could be fun sometimes.”

Jewel looked back toward the ground.

“Yeah well… I’ve always kind of liked how my life was going.”

Jewel sat silently.

“So uh… I’m guessing you probably miss him… Your boyfriend I mean.” Levi said.

“Of course I miss him!” Jewel looked with narrowed eyes. She appeared to be crying.

“Hopefully he doesn’t think you left him.” Levi sat down in front of her.

“He won’t…” Jewel looked down toward the ground.

“Why’s that.” Levi raised a brow.

“Because… None of your business!” Jewel got up. “Leave me alone, I barely even know you!”

“Come on, we’ve been around each other for like… a few hours.” He held his arms out to his side.

“Exactly, I barely know you.” Jewel walked away with her arms crossed.

Levi stared at her for a moment before he spoke again.

“If you tell me, I’ll tell you more about myself.”

Jewel looked back at Levi.

“What makes you think I want to know more about you?”

“I don’t know…”

Jewel and Levi heard a rustling in the bushes. They looked over to see two people.

One of them had a large jawline with a cleft, he was skinny but also muscler. He had bright blue eyes and slick black hair. There was an “III” Tattooed to his lower leg with one of the pant legs cut off to show it.

The other man was small and skinny. He had red hair and blue eyes. He had an “I” tattooed onto his palm.

They both wore the same outfit as Jewel and Levi.

“Who are you guys?” Levi asked.

“Who are you guys?” The man with black hair replied as he crossed his arms.

“I’m not talking until you do.” Jewel said.

“I’m David.” The man with red hair said. “But you can call me Dave.”

“My name’s Robert.” The man with black hair said. “Now it’s your turn.”

“I’m Levi.”

“I’m Jewel.”

“I see.” Robert said. “So, You two Dating or something?”

“Oh god no.” Jewel said. “We just met today.”

“So you’re single?” Robert smiled and raised an eyebrow.

“No, I’m not, I have a boyfriend.” Jewel growled.

“I could see it. A sexy girl like yourself should have one.”

Jewel started staring daggers at Robert.

“Don’t call me that!”

“Wouldn’t that be a compliment?” Levi asked.

“I just don’t like it when people call me sexy.” Jewel took a deep breath. “So do you guys know what you’re doing here?”

“Not a clue.” Dave said.

“Yeah, I just woke up in this forest last night.” Robert said.

“Yeah, same here.” Jewel said as she nodded her head.

“Same goes for me too.” Levi said.

“So then do any of you know where we are?” Robert asked.

“We’re in a forest in Arizona.” Jewel said.

“How do you know that?” Dave asked.

“You see this flower in my hair?” Jewel motioned to the orange flower in her hair. “This flower only grows in Arizona.”

“I’d believe it.” Robert said. “So uh… What’s with that metal thing?” Robert motioned to the door with the numbers on it.

“It’s a door and if we want to get out of here, we have to go into it.”

“Why don’t we just walk out of the forest?” Dave asked.

Jewel lifted up her hands to show the marks from the fence.

“There’s an electric fence around the forest.”

“Damn, there goes that plan.” Robert said.

“So then… How do we go through the door?” Dave asked.

5: First Trial

“Alright.” Jewel said as she studied the door one more time. “As you can see, the door has a number three over the number nine, judging by what the recorded message said, three people whose numbers add up to nine can go through.” She turned around to face the others. “Levi’s number is Five, and mine is Nine.”

“How do you know what your numbers are?” Robert asked.

“They’re tattooed to our bodies.” Jewel said. “Robert, you’re number three, and I can’t see your number Dave.”

“Three…” Robert wondered. “Oh, so that’s what that tattoo was all about, roman numeral for three.”

“Then I guess I’m number One.” Dave said as he showed his palm.

“Wow, this is perfect.” Jewel said with a smile.

“How?” Robert asked.

“All of your guy’s numbers add up to nine and there are three of you.”

“I think I know what you mean.” Levi said.

“I’d hope so, I told you how we do this twice now.”

“Then how do we open the door?” Robert asked.

“I’d have to guess that we’d have to pull that lever.” Jewel said as she pointed to the lever on the side of the door. “You guys weren’t here for it, but there was an pre recorded message that telled us what to do.” Jewel pulled the lever.

“The door has been opened.” The message said. “You have thirty seconds to meet the conditions of the door. If the conditions are not met, the door will close forever, and everyone inside will die.”

“Okay get in there now!” Jewel shouted at them.

Levi, Robert, and Dave ran through the door. It lead to a small room with another door just like it.

The door closed and they were left in a small square shaped room.

A red grid of light moved down the room and scanned everyone in the room.

“The conditions have been met. You may proceed to the next room.”

The other door opened and they were let into the next room.

This room was painted completely red with all black furniture and a plant in the corner of the room.

Of the furniture, there was a couch and a television.

There was also another door on the other side of the room with a Two on it.

“Huh… I wonder what this place is.” Levi said.

“It’s a red room…” Robert said as he sat on the couch.

“I can see that.” Levi crossed his arms.

“I think we need to get through that door.” Dave said.

“Hmm… Sounds better than the idea I had.” Levi said as he placed his hand on his chin.

“What was your Idea?” Robert asked.

“Uh… Okay, I didn’t have one.” Levi gave an awkward smile and scratched his head.

Robert stared at Levi then turned his attention to the television.

“I wonder what’s on.” He said as he pressed the power button.

The screen turned on but there was nothing but a blank screen with a green rod on it.

“Um… Why is there a green rod on the TV?”

“I have no idea.” Levi said.

“Maybe it’s a clue for us to get out of here.” Dave said.

“Another good Idea! You’re on fire!” Levi high fived Dave.

When Dave looked at Levi’s face, he saw him give of a smile that looked almost sinister.

Dave backed away. “Okay…” He said.

Back outside where Jewel was.

“I wonder what’s going on in there.” Jewel said to herself.

She sat down on the ground under a tree for shade.

“Levi…” She said. “I hope his last name isn’t Haxton, otherwise we’re dealing with a murderer.”

Jewel looked over and saw a small blue bird fly nearby. She smiled at the sight of it.

She heard the sound of footsteps and the bird flew away.

Two people walked into her field of vision. One of them was a lady with her hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her shirt was cut low to reveal cleavage. there was an “IV” tattooed on her left breast. She was fairly skinny and looked like she hadn't eaten in a long time. Her eyes were sunken just like Jewel’s.

The next person to walk up was a younger black boy who wore the same thing as Levi, Robert, Dave, and Jewel. He almost had no hair, and on the side of his head was a tattooed “VI”.

“Hey.” Jewel said getting their attention.

They both jumped as they did not expect Jewel to be there.

They looked over at Jewel and they both gave a small smile.

“Another person…” The lady said.

“Who are you two?” Jewel asked.

“My name is Rhythm. I don’t know his name, he won’t talk.” She replied. “What about you?”

“My name is Jewel.” She said as she got up off of the ground.

“That’s a pretty flower in your hair.” Rhythm said.

“Thanks.” Jewel blushed. “Wow, It’s nice to finally meet another girl out here.”

“You mean you’ve met other people? Who are guys?”

The smile on her face seemed to fade away.

“Yeah, is that a problem?” Jewel asked.

“Um… Can we swap shirts?” Rhythm looked down.

“Why?”

“It’s just… I don’t like guys seeing me like this. He’s been fine.” Rhythm pointed to the boy she was with. “He hasn’t even tried to look at me in that way.”

“I know what you mean. but be warned, I don’t have a bra under this thing.” Jewel nodded her head.

“I don’t either.”

The boy turned around and covered his face with his shirt.

Jewel smiled when she saw him do this.

Jewel and Rhythm took off their shirts and swapped them.

“Well, It’s a little small, but I think It’ll do.” Rhythm said.

“I guess we aren’t the same size. But you think you can deal with that?”

“Yeah. You can look now.” Rhythm said to the boy.

He turned back around and uncovered his face.

“So, I couldn’t help but notice that you also have a number on you.” Jewel said.

“What do you mean?” Rhythm scratched her head.

“I mean, you have a four on your breast.”

“Oh, those letters? I didn’t realize it was Roman Numeral. I guess your right.”

“And yours is Six.” Jewel said to the boy. “Uh… This is going to sound stupid, but since we don’t know your name, can we call you Six?”

He nodded his head.

“Six it is then.” Rhythm said. “I like the sound of that.”

Back in the room with the others, they were looking around the room looking for any green rod.

“Did any of you check this plant yet?” Levi asked.

“No.” Both Robert and Dave said at the same time.

“Then I’m doing it.” Levi said as he pulled on the plant.

when the plan came out of the pot, it didn’t have any roots. A clicking sound could be heard when it was removed.

“What was that?” Robert asked.

“I think it unlocked the door.” Levi said.

“Well, lets find out.” Robert pressed a button that was next to the door.

The door opened quickly.

“Wow! It did!” Levi shouted.

Levi ran into the door and Dave followed.

“Aren’t you coming?” Dave asked Robert.

“There was a two on the door, I think that means only two people can go through.” Robert replied.

The door closed and now Levi and Dave were on their own.

6: Only One

Levi and Dave were scanned and the door opened.

They walked into a dark room. As they walked forward, a spotlight shined on top of a metal contraption.

This metal contraption was a large chair that had an orb on one of arm rests.

The robotic voice started to talk again.

“Welcome Number… One… And Number… Five… You will be playing a game called Pillars of Truth. You will have two chances at this game. You will not be allowed to leave until you have won the game.”

Levi and Dave walked closer to the chair.

“The person with the lowest number, please sit in the chair and put your hand on the orb.”

Dave sat in the chair and did as the voice said.

When he put his hand on the orb, a cuff wrapped around his wrist, making him unable to move away.

“What the hell!?” Dave exclaimed.

“Dude, relax. It’s not like it’s hurting you right?” Levi asked.

“No,” Dave took a deep breath. “It’s not.”

“Okay good.” The sinister smile started to reappear on Levi’s face, but Dave didn’t notice.

“Welcome, you are about to play the Pillars of Truth. There will be three rounds, and in each round, you will be asked three questions. Now starting round one. What is your full name?”

“David McCarthy.”

There was a sound of a bell.

Ding.

“How old are you?”

“I’m twenty one.”

Ding.

“Do you have any siblings?”

“Yeah, two actually.”

Ding.

“Moving on to round two. Have you ever kissed another living being?”

“Yeah.”

Ding.

“Are you a virgin?”

“This is getting a little personal, but no, I’m not.”

Ding.

“Have you ever watched… Zed, do I have to say this?”

There was another, more masculine voice in the background.

“No, just asked if they ever watched something Lewd or something like that.”

“Okay… Have you ever watched anything lewd.”

“No…”

Ding.

“Really?” Levi asked. “You’ve seriously never watched porn?”

“Seriously, I haven’t.” Dave replied.

The voice began to talk again.

“Moving onto round three, Have you ever murdered another person?”

“No.”

Ding.

“Have you ever sold an illegal substance?”

“Once, but it was an accident.”

Ding.

“Have you ever raped another person?”

Dave paused and started to sweat. “No.” He finally answered.

This time instead of the bell, there was the sound of a buzzer.

“You have answered untruthfully, you must now be punished.”

Needles shot out of the orb and into Dave’s hand. He could feel a liquid come from the needles and into his veins.

“You have been injected with a toxin known as Sarin. Once you are dead, the game may continue.”

“No! NO I DON’T WANT TO DIE!”

“Woah, you raped someone?”

“NOW’S NOT THE FUCKING TIME LEVI! I’M GOING TO DIE!”

Tears formed in Dave’s eyes. Any hope he had was now gone.

Levi started to form a grimace. He clamped his hands down on Dave’s arm.

“What are you doing?” Dave asked.

“I’m stopping your blood flow, this should delay the poison.” He clamped tighter and tighter.

“How do you know that’ll work?”

“I’m a health teacher, it’s my job to know this stuff.”

The clamp unlatched from Dave and he was let go. A drawer popped out of the side of the machine. It had a cleaver in it.

Levi sawing and gave off a sinister smile.

“Use the knife given to you to cut the number off of the fallen comrade.” The pre recorded voice said.

“You don’t have to now, because I’m okay… Right?” Dave said.

“Technically you still have the poison in you… So yeah, you’re dead.” Levi said as he picked up the knife.

“WHAT!?”

“Except.” Levi started to laugh. “It won’t be the poison that kills you!” Levi spun around and brought the cleaver down into Dave’s shoulder.

Dave screamed as the knife cut into his shoulder blade.

Levi’s smile was now a fully wicked smile. Blood splattered onto him.

He brought the knife up again and cut into Dave’s neck.

Dave could no longer scream, the only noise to come from him was a gurgling noise.

Levi began to laugh again. He picked up Dave’s hand and cut it off.

“Oh my god, that felt so good!” Levi shouted.

Levi sat in the chair and placed his hand on the orb.

“What is your full name?” The voice asked.

“Levi Haxton.”

………

Back outside with Jewel, Rhythm, and Six. The sky was beginning to get cloudy. Jewel felt a chill go down her spine. She gulped and started to take deep breaths.

“Is something wrong Jewel?” Rhythm asked.

“I just. Something doesn’t seem right, and I don’t know how to explain it.”

“I understand.” Rhythm nodded her head.

Without warning, the door opened.

All three of them looked over to see Levi and Robert walking through.

Levi was covered in blood and had Dave’s hand in his back pocket.

They both had frowns on their faces.

“Where’s Dave?” Jewel asked.

“He’s dead.” Robert said. “He was poisoned and Levi was forced to cut of his hand.”

Jewel’s eyebrows lowered and she made a grimace. She got up and walked over to Levi. She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in close.

“What did you do to him!?” She questioned.

“I only cut off his hand! He was already dead when I did it.”

Jewel let go of Levi.

“Fine… I’ve got my eye on you.” Jewel backed away from Levi.

“So who are these people?” Robert asked. “And also, what happened to you clothes? I’ve got to say, they make you look hot.”

“I don’t want to wear this anymore.” Jewel said with a blank expression.

“So does that mean you’ll get naked for me?” Robert rubbed his hands together.

“Robert, if you open your mouth one more time, I am going to rip your lips off.”

“Just tell us how these people are.” Levi said.

“Fine.” Jewel turned to Rhythm and Six. “The girl is Rhythm, her number is four, and that’s Six, we don’t know his real name, but we’re calling him Six because his number is six.”

“Did anything good happen in there?” Rhythm asked.

“Actually, yeah.” Robert said. “Levi got a keycard that’s suppose to let us get into a mess hall or something, y’know, so we can eat and stuff.”

“Where would we find a mess hall?” Jewel asked herself.

“How should we know?” Robert said.

“I wasn’t asking you.” She put her hand on her chin.

“Actually.” Rhythm spoke up. “Six and I passed a mess hall on the way here, but we didn’t go in because it was locked.”

“Okay then, Can you lead us there?” Levi asked.

“Yeah, sure.”

7: The Rest Of Them

The group of five walked down a path that Six was leading them down. Six was up in front while Robert and Levi walked together. Jewel and Rhythm walked toward the back. Jewel almost never let Levi out of her line of sight.

“Any Idea of how far this Mess hall is Rhythm?” Jewel asked.

“Not to far.” Rhythm answered. “It doesn’t really look much like a Mess hall though. Sure, it has a sign on it that says Mess hall, but it looks more like a regular cabin.”

“Well, at least we know what to look for.” Jewel said still looking at Levi.

Rhythm saw her looking at her like this. “Why do you keep looking at him like that?” Rhythm asked.

“It’s just… I’m not sure what to think about him.”

“Levi was the first person you met here right?”

“Yeah, but I’m just wondering if I can trust him or not.”
“Because of what happened in the thing with that Dave guy? He said he was poisoned.”

“Yeah, but it’s possible that he’s lying.” Jewel crossed her arms.

“It’s probably best not to think about it right now. You can’t go accusing people of killing someone without proof.”

“Yeah… I know.” Jewel looked down.

“I’ll try to change the subject. So do you think we’ll meet any other girls.”

“It’s likely, but not guaranteed.” Jewel put her arms back to her sides.

“How many people do you think are in these woods?”

“I don’t know, I’d say at least nine people, maybe ten.”

“I could see that.” They didn’t say anything for a while.

“So what’s Michael like? That’s his name right? Michael?”

“Yeah, it’s Michael. He’s kind of an idiot, but I love him. He’s really cute and he always puts me before anything else even though sometimes I treat him like crap. Do you have a boyfriend or a husband?”

“No, and I don’t want one. I don’t really like men.”

“Oh, I see, so you're a lesbian. I don’t judge, after all, I’m pan.”

“I’m not a lesbian, I just don’t like guys, although if Six were a little older, I could see myself wanting him.”

“How old is he?”

“I don’t know, I assume he’s around 13 or 16, he looks a kid.”

“Would you two stop talking about your sexualitys.” Robert said. “At first it was kind of hot but now it’s just weird.”

Six started to run forward. Rain droplets began to fall from the sky.

“Did you find it Six?” Levi asked.

Six looked back and nodded.

The rest of the group ran after him.

They all came to a building that looked fairly large. It was like a log cabin but it had the words “mess hall” Printed on a sign out front.

They walked up to the porch and to their surprize, someone opened the door.

On the other side was an older man. He had gray hair and a cleft in his chin. There was crow’s feet in his eyes and he seemed to be pretty lanky. He also had a large nose. He wore the same clothes as Levi, Robert, and Six.

“Why hello there!” He said kindly. As he spoke, a “II” could be seen on his tongue. “Wasn’t expecting to meet anymore people here.”

“Any more?” Rhythm said. “So there are more of you?”

“Why don’t you folks come on in and see for yourself.”

The group walked in and saw three more people in the room.

One of them looked small and frail. She had short white hair and bright blue eyes. She seemed to give off a blue aura. She had an “X” tattooed on her left eye. The girl sitting next to her had short blond hair and blue eyes. She also had freckles all over her face. Her clothing had one of the sleeves cut off to show a “VII” tattooed on her shoulder. Lastly was a girl sitting on a couch. She had Silver hair and green eyes. She was fairly slender. She seemed to keep eyeing Six ever since he walked into the room.

“My name is Andrew by the way, But most people just call me Drew.” The old man said.

“My name is Silver.” The silver haired girl said.

“I’m Nicki.” The blond girl said.

“Um, I’m Oracle.” The white haired girl said as she looked away and blushed.

“Nice to meet you all.” Jewel said. “My name’s Jewel, That’s Levi, Robert, Rhythm, and we call the kid Six.” She said pointing to each person.

“Y’know, I was beginning to think I was the only guy here.” Drew said. “But it seems we’re still outnumbered.”

“There was another guy.” Levi said. “But he died.” He scratched his head.

“Oh, that’s a shame.” Of all of the new people they met, Drew seemed to be the one who was least phased by this statement. “Why don’t you folks make yourself comfortable, and if you get hungry, there’s plenty of food.”

The group sat down in various places.

Six sat down next to Silver, but she immediately moved to the other side of the room.

Rhythm then sat down next to Six where Silver once was. Levi and Robert sat on a separate couch than Six and Rhythm. Jewel stood near Drew.

“So Drew, how many rooms does this place have?” Jewel asked.

“Well, there’s this room, then there’s a bathroom, and there’s four bedrooms.”

“Hmm… I see.” Jewel placed her hand on her chin. “So I guess we should figure out who’s sleeping in what room. But before we do that I want to get to know everyone else.”

Jewel looked out the window and saw that the rain was starting to come down harder.

She walked up to the person who was closest who happened to be Silver.

“You’re name’s Silver right?” Jewel asked.

“Yeah, what do you want?” She replied as she leaned up against a wall.

“I just wanted to get to know the rest of everyone here. So that I know what I’m dealing with.”

“Good luck. You’re not getting anything out of me, Drew’s a creep, Nicki is a moron, and Oracle’s too shy.”

Jewel gave a deep breath and walked away. Now she walked up to Oracle.

“Hello, You’re Oracle?” Jewel asked her.

“Yeah…” Oracle answered quietly.

“So where are you from?” Jewel bent down.

“New York.”

“Really!? No way, so am I. What part of New York, I’m from Manhattan.”

“Oh, Not New York City, I meant the state, I’m from Albany.”

“Oh, well it’s still cool to meet people from the same place as you are.”

“Where’s everyone else from.”

“I’m from Montana.” Nicki who was sitting close by said.

“Montana? And your name is Nicki right?” Jewel asked.

“Yup.”

“Are you by chance Nicki Layno?”

“That’s me.” She said with a smile.

“I saw you on the news, you burnt down three houses.”

“It was an accident I swear!”

“All of the evidence points toward Arson.”

Nicki looked away with a pout.

“Fine then, now back to your question Oracle.” She said as she looked back over to Oracle. “Of what I’ve been told, Levi is from Chicago, Illinois and Rhythm is from Seattle, Washington.”

“So people from all over huh?” Oracle said.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Jewel smiled.

8: Sleeping Buddies

Eventually, Jewel walked to the center of the room and whistled to get everyone’s attention.

“Alright, everybody.” Jewel said. “The weather has made it pretty clear that we’re staying here tonight. This cabin only has four bedrooms, so some of us will have to share. I already have an idea of who should sleep with who.”

“So you get to pick who we sleep with?” Silver said.

“Not all of you, just some.”

“Well enlighten us Jewel.” Drew said.

“Okay, so first off, I think I should sleep with Oracle.”

“Why me?” Oracle said.

“I just think you’re nice is all, so far I’m trusting you.”

“So what about the others.” Levi said.

“I’m getting there. So now I think that Drew and Robert should sleep in a room. and then Levi should sleep out here in the living room.”

“Why do I have to sleep alone?” Levi exclaimed.

“Because someone has too.” Jewel wasn’t going to say the real reason why, which was because she didn’t trust Levi at all.

“I’m fine with sleeping with Robert.” Drew said.

“I guess I don’t have any problems with the geezer.” Robert said. “No offence.”

“None taken, I know I’m old.”

“Fine, I’ll sleep by myself.” Levi said.

“Good, now that just leaves Silver, Six, Nicki and Rhythm.”

“I’ll sleep with Six.” Rhythm said.

“Okay, I’m fine with Nicki.” Silver said.

“Okay good, that worked out better than I thought it would.”

Night finally came, and each pair went into their own rooms while Levi stayed out in the living room.

Jewel and Oracle were fixing up the bed to get it ready for sleep.

“If you want, I’ll sleep on the floor.” Oracle said.

“That’s not necessary, this bed is big enough for two people.” Jewel replied.

“Okay, I just didn’t know if you’d…” Jewel began to cough violently.

“You alright?” Jewel asked.

“Yeah… I’m just dying.”

Jewel laughed. “That’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

“No it’s not…”

Jewel paused. “You’re…”

“Yes, I’m dying. You see, My appendix was corrupted, and by the time we found out, it was too late. I could die in any moment.”

“Oh god…” Jewel covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be. There’s nothing I can do about it, I’ve already accepted my fate.”

“Oracle… What’s your last name?”

“Hymn.”

“That explains it, you volunteered to be a test subject by some guy name Hank Harrison right?”

“Yeah. I just hope I don’t die in this forest.”

“Yeah, Neither do I.” Jewel lied down on the bed, and Oracle did the same.

In another room, Silver and Nicki were getting ready to sleep as well.

“What do you think of the new people?” Nicki asked Silver.

“I don’t know, I barely met them.” Silver laid on the bed.

“I don’t really like Jewel all that much. She was kind of mean to me.” Nicki sat on the edge of the bed.

“Jewel’s a little nosey.” Silver yawned.

“You can say that again.” Now Nicki laid down next to Silver. “So where are you from?” She asked.

“Why do you care?” Silver replied.

“I’m just making conversation.”

Silver sighed. “I’m from Wallberry in Georgia.”

“I’ve never heard of that place.”

“I didn’t expect you too.” Silver turned to her side.

In the next room was Drew and Robert. They didn’t seem to care about having the bed made.

“It’s been a long day.” Robert as he plopped onto the bed.

“It certainly has. I wonder where we even are.” Drew replied.

“Jewel said we’re in Arizona.” Robert moved around to get comfortable. “And it’s all because of a flower she found.”

“I suppose that makes sense. So where are you from boy?” Drew laid down on the bed next to Robert.

“I’m from LA, how about you?”

“Minnesota, but then I started to travel around.”

“Yeah? Why’s that?”
“Oh, I was part of this game, It’s called Into the Dark.”

“Never heard of it.”

“That’s probably a good thing.”

“Why? Is it bad?”

“Well… Yeah it’s bad.”

Robert laughed. “How bad?”

“Children are forced to kill each other.”

“Oh… Yeah, that is pretty bad.” Roberts laughter died out.

“Yeah, nobody's perfect.”

“I guess not.” There was a pause. “Since I know your secret, I’ll tell you mine.” Robert sat up. “I’m a drug dealer.”

“Really? What did you sell?”

“Anything that had a name. Mostly meth and cocaine though. My family needed the money, and it paid pretty well.”

“I’ll promise to keep that secret if you keep mine.” Drew said.

“Fine by me.” Robert laid down and faced away from Drew.

In the final room was Rhythm and Six.

Rhythm had already made the bed up and was laying down. Six began to lay down on the floor.

“What are you doing that for?” Rhythm asked.

Six did not answer.

“Oh come on, please answer me, you don’t have to sleep on the floor you know. It’s okay to sleep with me.”

Some sort of noise came from Six’s mouth, but none of it were words.

“Come on, spit it out. You’ve known me the longest out of everyone here, you can talk to me.” Rhythm hung her head over the bed to look at Six more. “Let’s just start off small… What’s your real name? How old are you?”

“I… I…” Six started. “I’m not supposed to talk to white folk.” He finally said.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“My dad, He always told me that I wasn’t suppose to talk to white folk or I’d get in trouble.”

“Well your dad’s not here, you can talk to me, it’ll all be fine.”

Six took a deep breath. “My name is Michael, I’m nineteen years old… That answer you question?”

“You’re nineteen!? Wow, you look so young. I don’t mean any offence by that though. And by the way, I think Michael is a wonderful name.”

Six looked back at Rhythm.

“Come on up here.” Rhythm said as she extended her hand.

Six grabbed her hand and sat up on the bed.

“So why does you dad tell you not to talk to white people?”

A tear started to go down his cheek.

“Because he blames white people for what happened to us.”

“What do you mean? Tell me what happened.” Rhythm placed her hand on Six’s back.

“Well.” He said with tears in his eyes. “My family was always in debt and we struggled with extreme poverty. My dad would tend to borrow money from people but he’d never be able to pay it back.” His voice started to break. “Eventually, they got tired of it and they came to our house and broke his legs. After that, I had to be the one to take care of my family. I’d go to a bunch of store and steal food and things like that. When I got caught they took me away, and… I just want to know how my family is.” Six started cry uncontrollably.

Rhythm grabbed him and hugged him tightly. She started to cry as well.

“It’s okay… Everything will be just fine, when we get out of here, I’m going to help you find them. Even if it’s the last thing I do.”

Back in Jewel and Oracle’s room. Oracle tugged on Jewel’s shirt.

“Jewel.” She said.

Jewel rolled over and looked at Oracle.

“What is it?” She asked.

“Do you hear that?” Oracle said.

“Yeah, it sounds like crying. I’ll go check it out.”

Jewel got out of bed and followed the sound of the crying. She opened the door that had the crying on the other side. When she opened it, she saw Six being held by Rhythm.

“Is everything alright?” She asked.

“We’re fine.” Rhythm said.

“Okay… Just checking.”

She closed the door.

She turned around to find Levi standing directly behind her.

Jewel jumped. “Holy shit!” She exclaimed. “Don’t do that. You scared the shit out of me.”

Instead of answering her, he lunged for her and grabbed her by the chin.

“What do you have against me!” He said. “What is your fucking problem!”

“Get your goddamn hands off me right now!” Jewel stated.

Levi let go.

“I’m just looking out for everybody here.” Jewel said. “And quite frankly, I don’t trust you one bit!”

“Why!?” Levi threw his arms in the air. “Is it because of Dave? He was poisoned!”

“Maybe he was, but I’m just saying, you walked out of that place with blood all over you.”

“I was forced to cut off his hand.”

“Yeah, but cutting off just the hand would have left as much blood on you than it did.”

“He was poisoned!” Levi raised his hand in a fist.

“Don’t you dare even act like you’re going to punch me, you’re too much of a pussy to even do it!”

Levi punched Jewel right in the face. She was on the ground and Levi began to kick her in the stomach.

Finally, someone ran out of one of the doors and slammed Levi into the ground.

Jewel looked up and saw Oracle on top of Levi. While her attack surprised Levi, he was easily able to push her frail body off of him.

Jewel quickly got up and pushed Levi into the couch, making him fall backwards onto it.

More people began to walk out of the rooms. Rhythm, Drew, Robert, and Silver being the ones to come out.

“You’re a fucking murderer!” Jewel shouted. “I never had any proof… But now I know! I know that you’re Levi Haxton! You killed your wife and parents, and even more! You’re a monster!”

“My name isn’t Fucking Haxton, it’s Ross! I’ve never even been married!”

“Jewel…” Rhythm stated.

“Who are you going to accuse someone of something they didn’t do next?” Levi said. “Maybe you’ll call one of us a rapist. Maybe you’ll even call one of us a terrorist. You’re full of shit, you know that!”

“But…” Jewel said.

Levi got up and looked her right in the eye and said.

“Go to hell you ass hole.”

9: Jewel or Levi

The next morning, the rain was completely gone. Most of everyone seemed to be avoiding Jewel. Rhythm, Oracle, and Six were the only ones who seemed to want to be around her.

Jewel was sitting in the corner of the living room with Rhythm.

“I was sure of it.” Jewel said. “He’s got to be lying, How am I the only one that sees through it?”

“Jewel.” Rhythm said. “Nobody's right all the time.”

“I am. I’m never wrong. I remember there was a serial killer in Illinois, which is where Levi is from. This serial killer was a health teacher, which Levi was, and the serial killer’s name was Levi Haxton.”

“Well this Levi says his last name is Ross.”

“He’s lying!” Jewel stood up. “I’m going outside.” Jewel walked out the door, leaving everyone behind.

“Good riddance.” Levi said.

“Who does that bitch think she is?” Silver said. “You can’t just call someone a murderer without proof.”

Oracle walked out of the house to check on Jewel.

She was sitting on the edge of the porch.

Oracle sat down next to her.

“I believe you Jewel.” She said. “About Levi that is. I was there when he attacked you, So I’ve seen what he can do.”

“Thanks Oracle. Some how, I’m going to expose him for the killer he is.”

“How will you do that?”

Jewel balled her hand into a fist.

“I have to catch him in the act…”

“How will you do that?”

“I don’t know…” Jewel grinded her teeth.

The rest of the group walked out.

“We’re going now.” Levi said.

“Where are we going?” Oracle asked.

“We’ll keep heading up the path.”

“We never followed a path.” Oracle stood up.

“That’s because you guys came from a different direction. Drew says you found this place from the back door. So anyways, If we keep walking maybe we’ll find a way out of here.”

“Who made you leader?” Jewel said.

“Robert, Nicki, Drew, and Silver did. Now come on, let’s get going.”

Levi started walking off down the path. Eventually the rest followed him, including Jewel. As much as she didn’t want to, she had to if she wanted to escape.

Oracle walked up to Jewel.

“Hey Jewel.” She said.

“Hey…” Jewel said as she continued walking.

“I don’t think people are really liking you after what happened last night.”

“I kind of figured. At least you, Rhythm, and Six aren’t totally pissed with me.”

Rhythm and Six also walked up behind them.

“Did I hear my name?” She asked.

“Yeah, I was just saying that you, Oracle, and Six aren’t completely pissed with me.”

“Well yeah, so far you and Michael have been the only one’s nice to me.”

“Michael isn’t here.” Jewel said. “He’s back in New York.”

“Oh sorry, Six’s name is Michael.” Rhythm said while looking at Six.

“No shit? How’d you find out?”

“He told me.”

“So you actually talked to her?” Jewel looked over to Six.

“Y… yeah.” He said.

“How cute.”

Rhythm leaned in to Jewel. “And turns out.” She whispered. “He’s nineteen.”

Jewel gave off a smirk.

“Hey guys!” Levi shouted. “I found another door!”

Everyone ran to where Levi was. There was a large door with the Number Ten printed on it.

“A ten…” Drew said.

“The last doors had two numbers on them.” Nicki said.

“Maybe it means everyone has to go through it.” Jewel said.

“Shut up bitch!” Silver shouted. “No one asked you!”

“I’m just trying to help the group!”

“As far as I’m concerned you’re not part of the group, and neither is Oracle for siding with you.” Levi said. “And Rhythm and Six, I’d suggest you choose a side real quick.”

“But I don’t want to side with anyone.” Rhythm said.

Six leaned over to Rhythm and whispered. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I think we should go with Jewel, we’ve known her longest, and she’s always been nice.”

Rhythm looked at Six for a long while.

“Okay Michael… Whatever you say…” Rhythm looked back at Levi. “We’re with Jewel.”

This made Jewel smile, but Levi’s reaction was the opposite.

“Fine.” He said. “Have it your way, we outnumber you anyway. Five to Four.”

It was now clear that all of them were separating one way or another. Jewel, Oracle, Rhythm, and Six were faced against Levi, Robert, Drew, Silver, and Nicki.

“Anyways.” Levi said. “I think all Ten of us are suppose to go through this.”

Jewel made a fist at him stealing her idea.

“There’s only Nine of us though.” Silver said.

“Don’t worry, we have the tenth person taken care of. You see, a while back he was poisoned and died, and I was forced to take his hand for his number.”

Silver gulped. “Oh… I remember hearing someone died, but I didn’t know that part.”

Levi ignored her and pulled the lever, opening the door.

“Alright.” He said. “We don’t have much time, so get in here.”

Everyone piled into the door. A red net of light went down and they were scanned. After they were scanned they were let into the next room.

It was blank with two doors. Both doors had Five’s printed on them. One the first door, under the five was the number Twenty-One and on the second door, under the five was the number Thirty-Four.

“Great, more math.” Levi said. “Robert, I remember you telling me you’re good at math. Can you figure this out?”

“I’ll try.” Robert replied.

“I’ve already figured it out y’know.” Jewel said.

“I didn’t ask you now did I!” Levi snapped.

“No, but I did it anyways!” Jewel grinded her teeth.

“Just give her a chance.” Six said.

Levi looked over at Six and punched him right in the face.

“Shut the hell up! You sided with her, you don’t get to talk!”

Immediately, Rhythm tackled Levi and pinned him to the ground.

She started to punch him in the face repeatedly. “You fucking psycho! Don’t you lay one finger on him!”

Robert and Silver pulled Rhythm off of Levi and held her against the wall. Tears were running down her face.

“Levi, let’s just let her tell us.” Drew said. “It would save us time.”

Levi got up and looked Drew right in the eye. “You guys made me the leader, so I call the shots! But to humor you… Fine, Jewel, tell us who’s going through each door.”

She didn’t like it, but she told them. The faster they’re out of there the better. “You, Robert, Drew, Oracle, and Dave’s hand will go through the first door, and Me, Rhythm, Six, Silver, and Nicki will go through the second door.”

“Fine… Let’s just get this over with.” Levi said as he walked to the door.

At the same time, both levers to the doors were pulled and they both opened.

10: Death Match

Jewel, Silver, Nicki, Six, and Rhythm walked into their designated door. When they were inside, a red web of light scanned them. Eventually the next door opened.

They came to yet another room with two doors. This time, the doors both had the number two on them. they both also had a fifteen underneath them.

“What?” Silver said. “They’re both the same?”

“That’s a little confusing.” Nicki said.

“I can tell you how to get though if you’ll listen.” Jewel said.

“Fine. But just this once.” Silver said.

“You and Nicki will go through one of the doors, and Six and I will go through the other one.”

“So I have to stay in here?” Rhythm said.

“Yeah, you’re going to have too.”

“Please take care of Michael for me, don’t let anything happen to him.”

“I’ll be fine.” Six said with a smile.”

“We’ll take the one on the left.” Silver said.

“Fine by me.” Jewel said as she pulled the lever to her and Six’s door.

Silver did the same, but for her door.

Both of them walked in and waited to be scanned.

Over on the otherside with Levi. They had faced the same outcome. A room with two more doors, except this room had different Numbers than the ones one Jewel’s side.

These doors also had Twos on them, but the first door had a seven under the Two, and the other door and an eleven under the two.

“This one is first grade material.” Robert said. “Levi, you and Drew will be going through the door on the left, and Oracle and Dave’s hand will go through the door on the right.”

“Good work Robert.” Levi said. “Okay Drew, let’s get going.”

“Right.” Drew said as Levi pulled the lever.

Levi handed Oracle Dave’s hand and she also pulled her lever.

Levi and Drew we’re scanned and let into the next room.

The next room was completely white with only a door and two metallic collars on the floor.

Drew picked one up and examined it.

“Oh god…” He said.

“What?” Levi said.

“These collars… They’re the ones we use in Into The Dark.” He gulped.

“Into The Dark? What’s that?”

A voice began to speak, it was the same as the other pre recorded messages.

“Hello Number… Two… and number… Five… You are about to play in a game of Into The Dark. Please put your Collars on.

Drew reluctantly put on his collar, and Levi did the same. They latched themselves onto their necks

“In this game, you must defeat your opponent. Your opponent will be the only other person in the room. To defeat your opponent, you must kill them. There will be a time limit of Five minutes. If nobody is killed within this time limit, your collars will activate and you will both die. Now, let the battle begin.”

Levi began to smile.

“Well, It’s been nice knowing you Drew.” Levi said as he pounced on him.

Drew was unable to get Levi off of himself, he was too old and weak.

“Since you’re going to die, I’ll tell you a little secret. I actually did kill Dave and Jewel was right all along!”

“You bastard! How could you do this!?” Drew demanded.

“Because I love doing it!”

Levi wrapped his hands around Drew’s neck.

Drew wasn’t able to do much, but he kneed Levi in the groin making him come off.

“Shit!” Levi shouted. “You’re going to pay for that!”

Levi moved quickly and grabbed Drew by the head. He forced him over to a wall and started to bash his head against the wall. He kept this up until eventually, his face was completely caved in and destroyed beyond all recognition.

Levi gave of a wicked smile and gave out a huge laugh.

The collar fell off of Levi and the voice spoke again.

“Congratulations, you have won. Before you walk through the door. make sure you have cut off the fallen contestant’s number.”

A drawer popped out of the wall. There was a knife in this compartment. Levi took the knife and cut out Drew’s tongue.

Levi then put the tongue in his pocket and opened the door.

Back on the other side. Jewel was in a dark room with Six. There was glass on one of the walls that showed into another room with Silver and Nicki.

Silver and Nicki were in a room exactly like the room Levi was in.

Jewel couldn’t hear a single thing that went on in the room.

Silver and Nicki both put on the collars.

A voice began to speak in Jewel and Six’s room.

“The two you see are going to fight.” The voice said. “Only one will be allowed to leave the room alive.”

“Oh my god…” Jewel said.

They saw that tears started to fall down Silver and Nicki’s eyes.

Silver reluctantly pushed Nicki to the ground and stomped her face in.

Eventually, Silvers collar fell off.

She grabbed a knife from a drawer that popped out just like with Levi. She cut off the skin of Nicki’s shoulder and put it in her pocket.

“You may now walk through the door.” The pre recorded voice said.

Jewel pulled the lever to open the door.

Her and Six walked in and were Scanned to go to the next room.

When they got into the next room, they saw Silver crouching on the ground and crying.

“Silver…” Jewel said.

Silver looked over at her and Six.

“I can’t… I can’t believe I did that.” Silver said with tears in her eyes. “I didn’t even think twice. I just… I did whatever I could to survive!”

Jewel only looked at Silver with her eyebrows hanging low and a frown on her face. “I’m sorry…” Jewel finally said. “I wish none of this had to happen. Nobody should have to do that.”

Silver looked up at Jewel.

“Why are you being nice like this? After I’ve been such a bitch to you.”

“I don’t know, usually I’m a bitch too, but we can all be bitches from time to time.”

Silver smiled a bit.

“Okay… Thanks Jewel, even if you did accuse Levi of being a murderer, I guess you’re kind of alright.”

Jewel extended her hand and Silver took it and brought herself up off the ground.

11: Killers

Jewel, Silver, and Six were in what seemed like a pretty large room. It was dark however except for a spotlight that shined on a machine. The machine was fenced away from anybody in the room. There was a lever on the outside of the fence, and on the inside was a block and a sphere on a conveyor belt. There were also two holes in the ground that were the shape of the objects on the conveyor belt.

The pre recorded voice started to speak yet again.

“You must solve the puzzle in front of you.” It said. “To solve it, you must get the correct objects in the correct holes. Do not overthink this.”

Jewel walked forward and pulled the lever. The conveyor belt started to move. The block feel into the square shaped hole. The sphere rolled over the block and fell into the circle shaped hole.

“Congratulations!” The voice said. “You may now exit the building.”

“It was really that easy?” Silver asked.

“Yeah…” Jewel wondered. “Holy fuck! This building was just to waste our time!” Jewel spun around to face Silver and Six.

“That’s insane!” Silver said. “That can’t be!”

“I’ll explain it when we see everyone else. But I’d say it’s likely that the other side is missing a person as well.”

Jewel, Silver and Six walked back into the room with Rhythm. When she saw that Nicki was missing her heart dropped.

“Where’s Nicki?” She asked. “Did she?”

“I killed her…” Silver said. “I was forced to do it.”
Rhythm started to grind her teeth.

“And you just expect me to believe that!? She was a human being just like me and you!”

“Rhythm.” Six said. “She’s telling the truth. Me and Jewel were forced to watch them fight from a separate room, There was nothing we could do…”

Her anger started to fade away. “Okay Michael… I trust you.”

“You have Nicki’s shoulder right?” Jewel asked Silver.

“Yeah…” Silver started to cry a bit.

“You have her shoulder?” Rhythm asked. “How’d you manage that?”

“It’s just the skin of her shoulder.”

Rhythm didn’t answer this time. She only turned around and opened the door.

Her and the rest of them walked through the door that lead to the room where the two groups diverged.

Back in the area where Levi was. After he walked through the door, he came to a room that was exactly like the room Jewel came to.

Eventually, he heard the sound of a door opening. He turned around to see that it was Oracle. The door closed behind her and she was no longer able to get away.

“I was hoping I’d be in a different room than you.” Oracle said. “I saw you kill Drew in cold blood.”

“What?” Levi said. “We were forced to kill each other. I only killed him in self defence.”

“You were smiling!”

At that moment, Oracle grabbed on to her abdomen and fell to the ground. She started to shout in pain.

“What’s wrong with you?” Levi asked.

“It’s my apendix, It’s… I’m dying, I’m dying…”

Levi smiled. We walked over to Oracle and kicked her onto her back. He then started to laugh as he stomped on her stomach repeatedly. Blood shot from her mouth.

“Oh wait.” Levi said. “I almost forgot, Since you’re going to die, I need to take your number, to bad they didn’t give me anything for it. Looks like I’m gonna have to pry your eye out with my own hands.”

Levi bent down and forced his fingers into her eye socket.

Oracle was screaming at the top of her lungs.

He pulled out the eyeball, but it was still attached to her. Levi placed his foot on top of her forehead and forcefully pulled the eyeball out. The cord that attached the eyeball to the body completely snapped.

Oracle was still screaming. Blood poured out of her eye socket. She wasn’t dead yet, but she would be soon.

The pre recorded voice said the same thing as it did on Jewel’s side.

Levi pulled the lever and the puzzle was complete.

Just as Levi was about to leave, Oracle said something.

“Don’t think you can just get away with this.” She said. “Jewel will take you down, weather you like it or not.”

“Like I care what you’re going to say, you’re practically already dead.”

Levi walked through the doors and collected any body part that may have been left behind.

Before he walked back into the room where Robert was, he took a moment to compose himself so that Robert couldn’t see his joy in the killings.

When he was done, he walked through the door and on the other side was Robert.

“Where is everyone?”

“They died.” Levi said with a fake frown. “I was forced to kill Drew in something called Into the Dark.”

“Into the Dark? Drew told me about that game… Okay, I believe you, but what about Oracle?”

“Aparently she was already dying of some sort of sickness. Oh yeah, and I have both of their numbers too, I have also still have Dave’s hand.”

Robert took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s get out of here already.” Robert said.

Levi and Robert walked through the door and entered the place where the two groups split up. Jewel, Six, Rhythm, and Silver were already in the room.

Jewel noticed that Drew and Oracle were missing.

“Where are they!?” Jewel demanded.

“I was forced to kill Drew.” Levi replied. “And apparently Oracle was already dying of some sort of sickness.”

Jewel’s eyes widened. There was no way Levi could have known about the sickness, So for him to know that, she figured he probably didn’t kill her.

“So where is Nicki?” Levi asked.

“I was forced to kill her.” Silver said.

“That’s fine, she didn’t really do anything anyways.”

“That’s fine!? She was one of the people who believed you! She sided with you! Don’t you even care!?”

“Why should I care? It’s not like I’d known her long.”

“You’re heartless!” Jewel shouted with her hand in a fist. “You probably enjoyed killing Drew! And I’ll bet you're sad about Oracle’s death because you weren’t responsible for it!”

“You take that back!” Levi walked closer to her.

“Never!” Jewel spat in Levi’s face.

Levi jabbed Jewel in the stomach and pushed her to the ground.

He got on top of her and put his hands on her neck.

Six, Rhythm, and Silver pulled Levi off of Jewel and held him back.

Levi brock loose and looked back at them.

“What the hell Silver! You’re with them now!?” He said.

Levi walked over to the exit door and opened it.

“Fuck all of you.” He said as he walked through the door.

12: Rebecca

Levi walked out of the room, without letting anyone else go through.

“That guy needs to calm down.” Rhythm said.

“Maybe we all need some time to cool down.” Six said.

“That sound’s good to me.” Jewel said as she opened the door.

“When we get out there, I’ll try to help Levi calm down.” Robert said.

“I’ll stay with Michael if it’s okay with you guys.” Rhythm said.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, who’s Michael?” Silver asked.

“Michael’s Six.”

Silver narrowed her eyes. “Okay…”

The door opened to the outside where they saw Levi kicking a tree. His face was completely red with anger.

“Robert.” Jewel said. “Make sure he doesn’t get into anymore trouble.”

“Yeah, got it.” Robert said.

Robert walked over to Levi and talked to him.

“Michael.” Rhythm said. “Let’s head up further along the trail, maybe we’ll find something to help us out.”

“Kay ma’am.” Six said.

Rhythm and Six began to walked off down the trail.

“How much you want to bet they’ll end up fucking?” Silver said to Jewel.

“I don’t know.” Jewel said. “Probably not very high, I don’t think Six would allow it.”

Silver mumbled something to herself, but Jewel was unable to understand it.

“How about you and I walked back a ways. Maybe talk some.” Jewel said.

“Fine… It’s not like I’ve got anything better to do.”

Jewel and Silver walked back down the way they came. They already had the intention of coming back the way they came.

“So…” Jewel said as they walked. “How are you doing? About the whole… Nicki thing I mean.”

Silver began to cry. “Please don’t make me relive it again!” She said with her voice cracking. “God… I can’t imagine what Levi’s going though. He’s witnessed the most deaths out of everybody. Although you probably still think he killed them.”

“Actually, I kind of believe him with Oracle’s death. You see, That night we stayed in the cabin, Oracle told me about her sickness and how she was dying of it.”

Jewel looked down.

“Y’know… I’m never going to be able to get over all of this. I’m sure I’ll be able to hide it from people, but I will never be able to get over this.”

“I probably won’t either.”

Silver stopped walking which made Jewel stop.

“Jewel… In case we don’t make it out of here.”

“Shut up! We’ll make it out of here!” Jewel said.

“Just listen to me. If I don’t make it, I need to get this off my chest.”

“Fine… What is it?”

Silver took a deep breath.

“So, I grew up in Wallberry, Georgia.”

“Will this take long?” Jewel asked.

“It might.”

“Okay.” Jewel sat down on the ground.

Silver sat across from her.

“So anyways, I grew up in Wallberry, Georgia. I had a normal life, friends, family, y’know. But when I turned ten, my dad started to take me to group meetings of his. After I started to attend these meetings, I started to change… both mentally and physically. I dyed my hair to this silver color.” She said pointing to her hair. “I even changed my name to Silver.”

“Why Silver? And what was your real name?” Jewel placed her hand on her chin.

“I don’t know, I just liked the name Silver. And my name was Rebecca, but my legal name is Silver now.”

“Okay, continue. What was this group all about?”

“Well… I’m sure you’ve probably noticed the way I act around Six… or as Rhythm is calling him, Michael.”

“Now that you mention it, I have notice a bit I guess. So I’m guessing this was some sort of racist group?”

“KKK…”

Jewel’s eyes widened.

“Yeah…” Silver looked down. “To be honest… Nicki wasn’t the first person I killed, but she was the first white person I killed, and when I saw her lifeless body on the floor of that room, I realized what I had been doing. Whenever I killed a nigger, I only saw them as some sort of animal, but when I killed Nicki…” Silver started to cry. “I finally realized what a monster I was! I don’t deserve to live!”

Jewel put her hand on Silver’s shoulder. “You’re only human, we make mistakes… I suppose all that matters is the fact that you know that what you did was wrong now.” Jewel sighed. “I’m not use to consoling people… I need to get better at that… I never see my boyfriend even though we live in the same house, I never come out of my room. I guess we are all kind of bad people, nobody’s perfect…”

Silver didn’t say anything after that. All she did was hug Jewel.

Jewel gave out a little chuckle. “When I first met you, I thought you were just some bitch.”

Silver laughed. “I am just some bitch… But so are you.”

“You could say that again.” Jewel stood up. “How about we go ahead and head back to the others. Hopefully Robert was able to calm down Levi.”

Silver got up and they walked back to where everyone broke up.

Eventually, when they got far enough. They saw Levi sitting on the ground with Robert. Levi was holding his forehead while Robert was talking to him. Robert looked up and saw Jewel and Silver coming.

“How you boys doing?” Silver said.

“We’re fine.” Robert said. “I was able to calm him down.”

“Good.” Jewel said. “So Levi, there was something I wanted to say earlier but you started freaking out.”

“Fuck you!” Levi shouted.

“Yeah, like that, so anyways, Did you notice that the last challenge was just to waste our time.”

“No, I was too busy with all the death!” Levi stood up and so did Robert.

“Well, there wasn’t any prize or anything. If I recall correctly, the first puzzle had a prize right? The whole cabin thing, but this didn’t have a prize.”

“What makes you think I care?”

Jewel lowered her eyebrows and gave off a grimace.

“Can’t you at least try to be civil. I’m trying. Come on, let’s just start over.” Jewel extended her hand. “What do you say… Levi Ross.”

Levi smiled and grabbed her hand. “Fine.”

13: Fish Tank

Levi and Jewel seemed to be able to make up fairly well. Although Jewel was still a little sceptical of him, She was willing to try to make amends with him.

“Why don’t we start heading up the path and catch up with Rhythm and Six.” Levi said as he started walking.

Nobody replied and simply started walking with him.

Robert walked with Levi. Jewel and Silver stayed back and talked.
“Jewel.” Silver said. “Can you do me a favor and not tell anybody about what we said back there? Especially Rhythm and Six.”

“I’ll keep it to myself as long as you know for sure you’re a changed woman.” Jewel replied.

“I swear.”

“Are you two keeping secrets?” Levi asked.

“We’re only talking, mind your own business.” Silver said.

Levi narrowed his eyes and looked forward.

Jewel and Silver decided to stop talking about what they had previously discussed. They changed the subject instead.

“So Silver.” Jewel said as they walked. “Did you have any significant others?”

“Yeah.” She answered. “I have a boyfriend. His names Aaron. What about you.”

“Yeah, I have one. His name’s Michael.”

“Do you live with him?”

“More, like he lives with me, I’m the one who owns the house.” She chuckled.

“You look kinda young to own a house, how old are you?” Silver’s eyes widened.

“I’m eighteen.” Jewel said like it was no big deal.

“Oh my god, eighteen and you own a house!?”

“Yeah, I had a lot of money left over from college, and plus Michael helps pay for the house too.” She shrugged.

“College!?”

“Yeah, I’m really smart, probably the smartest person on earth.”

“What’s your IQ?”

“Two Hundred eighty seven.”

“Oh my god…” Silver’s eyes widened more. “You’re parents must be proud.”

Jewel looked away. “I hate my parents…”

Silver tilted her head. “Why?”

“I don’t like talking about it.” Jewel crossed her arms.

“Okay, I’m sorry, I won’t bring it up again.”

“I can see Rhythm and Six.” Robert said.

Jewel looked ahead and saw Six and Rhythm standing next to another large metal door. They seemed to be standing pretty close to each other and as the group drew closer, they stepped away from each other.

“Hey guys.” Rhythm said. “We found the next door.”

“What were you two doing before we got up here?” Robert asked.

“We were just standing around.” Rhythm looked to the side and blushed. “We weren’t doing anything…”

Robert raised a brow.

Levi interrupted them by reading out the numbers on the door.

“Five and twenty-seven.” Levi turned to Jewel. “Who’s going in?” He asked.

“It’ll be you, Silver, Robert, Oracle’s eye, and Dave’s hand.” She replied.

“M’kay.” He said as he pulled the lever to the door.

The door opened and Levi, Silver, and Robert walked in with Dave and Oracle’s body parts.

“I hope we don’t have to do many more of these.” Rhythm said.

“Yeah, same here.” Jewel said. “So what were you two doing when we walked up?”

“We weren’t doing anything!” Rhythm said with a blush.

“Yeah, you’re lying, you’re avoiding eye contact, so you’re lying.”

Rhythm blushed even more, and Six started to blush as well.

“Fine… We were kissing alright, so sue me!”

Jewel laughed and didn’t say anything.

Back in the metal building with Levi, Silver, and Robert. They had came to a large room with five doors on the other side of the room. There was also a fish tank full of piranhas. There was also a hold in the wall.

They went to the fish tank first.

There was the basic fish tank gravel in the bottom. A miniature treasure chest rested at the bottom of the tank.

“I saw a hole in the wall.” Robert said. “Maybe that chest will have a key in it to go into the hole?”

“Sounds good to me.” Levi said. “Will the lid of the tank come off?”

Silver pulled on the lid, but it wouldn’t budge.

“No dice.” She said. “But there is a hole on top of the lid.”

“Well we can’t just stick our hands in there.” Robert said. “Those or live piranhas, they’d bite all the skin off our bones.”

“Let’s look around.” Levi said.

The group looked around the room.

Eventually, they all met up to discuss what they found.

“I found this rod.” Robert said.

“I found what looks like a handle.” Silver said.

“I found a little hole in the bottom of the fish tank.” Levi said. “Anybody got any ideas?”

“I do.” Silver said as she swiped the rod away from Robert.

She placed the handle on the rod. It was a perfect fit. She then placed the rod, inside the hole in the fish tank.

“Here goes nothing.” She said as she started to crank the rod with the handle.

The chest started to rise. It was attached to some sort of pole, but nevertheless, it rose.

Eventually the chest was sticking out of the hole in the lid.

Robert opened the chest and a key was inside.

“Called it!” Robert shouted.

He placed the key in the hole and turned it. The doors each started to glow and a one was illuminated on each of them.

“They each have a one.” Levi said. “Maybe that means that each of us has to go through them.”

“You think?” Silver said.

She walked over to one of the doors and pulled the lever next to it.

“See ya on the other side.” She said.

The door opened and she walked through it.

Robert and Levi both picked their own doors and walked through them.

Levi had a smile while he was in the door. He thought about how he had gone so long in the game with fooling everybody into thinking he wasn’t who he really was. He only dreamed of who his next victim would be.

14: Tiles and Trials

Levi was scanned like he was in all of the other doors. The door opened and he was let into a white room. The floor of the room was separated in a grid of five rows and three columns.

The squares on the floor started to glow one by one. Each one had a different musical note with them.

The pre recorded voice spoke.

“Welcome.” It said. “You will now participate in the Kinetic Bombardment game. The rules are simple, Match the order of the glowing tiles. If you miss one, you will be shot with Kinetic Bombardment rods which will result in an instant death.”

The tiles began to glow once again.

Levi studied the order in which they glew and stepped on the tiles.

He started with the tile in the bottom right hand corner in the room.

As he stepped on it, the tile glew green.

He then moved to the next tile which was in the middle of the next row.

After that he moved to the third row with the tile furthest to the right.

Next was the middle tile in the fourth row.

The next one he stepped on was the furthest left tile in the third row.

Next was the tile furthest to the left in the fourth row.

Finally, he stepped on the middle tile in the fifth row.

All of the tiles on the floor glew a purple color.

The ground shook as the door opened.

Levi walked through the door and came through a dark room.

Another door opened behind him. He turned around and saw Silver walking through the door.

“Silver.” Levi said.

“So I guess our doors, all lead to the same place.” Silver said.

“So then Robert should be here any minute.”

Right then, A light turned on at the far side of the room. The pre recorded voice began to talk as well.

“Welcome.” It said. “On the other side of this room, is a key card that will open the door that leads out of this forest.”

Levi and Silver’s eyes widened.

“All you have to do, Is walk on this.”

The whole room illuminated and a large gap in the floor that looked bottomless was revealed. The only thing else was a narrow beam of iron to act as a bridge.

“We have to walk… Across that?” Silver said.

“You go.” Levi said.

“Are you crazy!?” Silver shouted. “You go!”

“I’m not walking on that.” Levi crossed his arms.

They stared at each other for a while.

“How about we play rock, paper, scissors?” Levi suggested.

“Fine by me.” Silver said. “This is one fucked up rock, paper, scissors.”

“Go on three or Go on go?” Levi put out his hand.

“Go on go.” Silver put out her hand.

They both said at the same time. “One! Two! Three! Go!”

Back outside with Jewel, Six, and Rhythm.

“So Jewel.” Rhythm said. “Do you still think Levi is a killer?”

“I don’t know what I think anymore.” Jewel replied.

“What do you think they’re doing in there?” Six asked.

“I wish I knew.” Rhythm said.

“I know one thing.” Jewel said. “If they come back and one of them is missing, I’m killing Levi.”

“Woah!” Rhythm said. “Don’t you think that seems a little harsh?”

Jewel looked down. “Maybe a little… I guess it was a bit of an exaggeration.”

“What if none of them come back?” Six asked.

“Don’t say that.” Rhythm said.

“If they don’t come back, we’re fucked.” Jewel said. “Half of the numbers are in there, and we need those things to get through the doors. Without them, we can’t escape.”

Back in the room with levi and Silver.

“God damn it.” Silver said with a sunken head.

“Sucks to be you.” Levi said. “Rock beats Scissors.”

Silver walked over to the beam and stepped onto it. Her heart dropped into her stomach in fear. She began to breath heavily.

She walked further down the beam.

“Don’t fall.” Levi said.

“Shut up.” Silver said in frustration.

She continued to walk forward. Eventually, she was able to make it to the other side. She grabbed the key card and turned around.

She began walking on the beam once more. Levi stood at the exact area where the beam ended.

“Throw me the card!” Levi said.

“Are you insane!?” Silver shouted at him. “I’m holding onto it!”

“No, give me the card, it’ll be easy for you!”

“It’s just a card, I think I can handle it.”

“Then give it to me when you get back over here.”

“Fine.” Silver said as she continued walking. “Move out of my way so I can get off.”

Levi moved out of the way and Silver stepped onto the floor.

“That was nerve wracking.” Silver said.

“Now give me the card.” Levi said holding out his hand.

Silver handed him the Key card and walked to the door that Robert should have come out of.

“We should probably check on him.” Silver said.

“I guess.” Levi said as Silver opened the door.

They both walked in, and on the other side in the corner, there was a clump of metal rods stuck in the ground, each of them sticking out of a bloody corpse.

It was Robert. Parts of his body were falling off, his face was completely messed up beyond recognition.

“Oh my god!” Silver said with tears in her eyes. She moved away and puked.

Levi punched the wall in anger.

“GOD DAMN IT!” He shouted.

“It looks worse than Nicki.” Silver said.

Levi didn’t say anything, All he did was run out the door, and Silver followed.

They came to the room with the piranhas, but there weren’t there for long. They finally walked outside where Jewel and the others were.

Jewel’s eyebrows lowered. “Where’s Robert!?” She demanded.

“It’s awful.” Silver said. “He was destroyed by these… these rods!”

“Kinetic Bombardment Rods.” Levi said.

Jewel looked down. “So I guess you didn’t really do it.” She said.

“Did you get his number?” Rhythm said.

“We didn’t need to.” Levi said. “We can get out of here now.”

“Really!?” Six shouted.

Suddenly everybody except for Levi and Silver grew smiles on their face.

“Let’s just get out of here.” Levi said. “The exit’s probably still down the path.”

He started walking, and the rest followed him.

15: Final Trial

The group walked down the path, hoping that they’d find the exit soon. They were just happy that they’d finally be able to get out of the forest.

“Levi.” Jewel said. “How do you know we can escape for sure?”

“We got a key card that will open the exit door.” Levi replied as he looked back at Jewel.

“Maybe you should give me the card then.”

“Why?”

“How do we know you won’t leave without us? That’s why.”

“I won’t, and I could say the same about you.”

Jewel gave him a grimace.

“Don’t worry Jewel.” Rhythm said. “We’re all together, we’ll escape together.”

“I’ll finally get to see my family again.” Six said. “I can find out if their okay.”

“I’ll go with you hon.” Rhythm said as she put her hand on her back.

“Thank you.” Six walked closer to Rhythm.

Jewel turned her attention to Silver who was sulking. She walked over to her.

“What’s up Silver?” She asked. “We’re escaping now, why do you looks so glum?”

“It’s because of Robert.” Silver replied. “Jewel, you didn’t see him. His body was all messed up and mangled. It made me puke.”

Jewel stomach got a little queasy.

“Just try to take your mind off of it.”

“Easy for you to say, I’m gonna need counseling after this.”

“There it is!” Rhythm shouted.

Everyone ran forward and came to a giant door with the number Eleven on it.

“Eleven?” Jewel said.

A voice started to speak, but this was a different voice than from the pre recorded ones.

“Congratulations, this is not Pre recorded by the way.” A man’s voice said. “You have made it to the end of the Zed Game. Please disregard the eleven on the door, any number of people can pass through.”

“Who are you!?” Jewel shouted.

“Why Jewel, I’m Zed of course.”

“So you can hear us?” Levi asked.

“Yes indeed.” Zed answered.

“How?” Silver asked.

“Cameras. They’re everywhere.”

“So then you saw us naked at first?” Rhythm said in disgust.

“Who do you think put the tattoos on you?”

Rhythm started to shiver. “You fucking sicko! When I find you I’m gonna kill you!”

“I’m sure you will. Anyways, just enjoy your freedom.”

Levi walked forward with the key card in his hand. He was about to scan it, but he abruptly turned around.

“What are you waiting for?” Six asked.

Levi started to give his evil grin. “Y’know… I’ve had a lot of fun here, I’d hate to ruin that.”

“What the hell do you mean!?” Jewel demanded.

“What do I mean?” Levi started to laugh. “I mean my name is Levi Haxton bitch! That’s what I mean!”

Jewel jumped back in a rage.

“You fucking psycho! You murderer!” Jewel screamed.

“I believed you!” Silver shouted.

“So you did kill Dave! He wasn’t poisoned at all!”

“Actually he was poisoned, I just killed him before the poison did.” Levi laughed. “My only regret is that I didn’t kill Oracle, Nicki, and Robert. But I still have you guys.”

Levi held out the key card and ripped it in half.

Jewel grinded her teeth and lunged at him. She went for a punch, but Levi knocked her back.

“You’ve killed us all! You’re a terrible person!” She screamed.

“This is getting interesting.” Zed said while still on the speaker. Tell you what. Since I’m happy with how this has turned out. I’m going to give you all another chance. As in, Jewel and Levi will fight, and the winner get’s to decide the fate of all of you. Either you all escape, or you all stay. You see, I have full control over all of the doors.”

“Why those two?” Silver asked.

“Because, out of everyone here, these two have known each other the longest. Oh yeah, and if any of the rest of you help Jewel or Levi in any way, I will never open the door. So leave them be. Okay, let your fight begin.”

Without warning, Levi pounced at Jewel.

She rolled out of the way and got up.

“You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted to do this.” Jewel said.

While Levi was hunched over the ground after pouncing at her, Jewel kicked him in the stomach.

“You’ll pay for that bitch!” Levi said.

He got up and punched Jewel in the gut, and then once again in the face.

Jewel fell to the ground. Levi grabbed her by the hair and held her up.

“I think I’ll take my time with you, I’ll savor every moment of this.”

Jewel spun her head around and bit Levi’s ear.

Levi began screaming in pain. He pushed Jewel off of him, but his ear went with her.

“You bitch!” He screamed.

Jewel got up and spat his ear out of her mouth. She walked over to a nearby tree and pulled a branch off. She ran at Levi and hit him on top of the head with the branch.

She discarded the branch and started stomping on his torso.

When she finished, Levi was still alive, but he couldn’t move.

“I won…” Jewel said.

“Very well.” Zed said. “What fate do you choose?”

“Open the door.”

Zed did not reply, however, the door did open slowly.

Jewel walked towards the door, and so did Rhythm, Six, and Silver without any words.

“Finish me off bitch!” Levi said as he crawled toward them. “Come on, Kill me!”

“That would be too merciful.” Jewel said. “I want you to suffer.”

The door started to close as Levi crawled forward.

The last thing they saw before the door finally closed was Levi reaching for them.

Levi was now finally gone. Six quickly hugged Rhythm and she comforted him.

“Don’t worry, It’ll all be okay.” Rhythm said.

“Jewel.” Silver said. “What you said back there, I know he’s a bad man, but… that was kind of harsh.”

“I don’t care…” Jewel said.

The room they were in started to move sideways, like an elevator, but sideways and not up and down.

Jewel put her fingers through her hair.

“My flower’s gone.” Jewel said.

“It’d probably be dying anyways.” Rhythm said.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Nobody talked for the rest of the time they were in there.

Eventually, another door on the other side opened.

They saw a road and a grassy field.

“Finally…” Six said. “We’re free.”

Zed’s voice began to speak again.

"Someone has been alerted about you, and he will come pick you up. He does not know about what happened in there, and he must not know, so do not let him know what happened.”

“Fine.” Jewel said.

“Good. And once again, congrats.”

They saw in the distance a car driving toward them.

“That must be it.” Jewel said.

The car came to a stop next to them. The window rolled down and a familiar face with purple eyes was seen in the driver seat.

“Hey, I’m Eleven, you the guy’s I’m picking up?”