Colors: Life After Death Halloween Short - The Unholy Land Part 1: The Game Begins

I know I don’t normally think something as optimistic as this, but I have a feeling that tonight is going to be a great night. The day is October 31st, the day of All Hallows’ Eve, or Halloween, and is it just me, or did time go really fast? It feels like only yesterday that we were at the end of April. Anyway, the holiday was banned at my family home, as my father would always tell us that it promoted unholy teachings and thoughts of greed and violence... whilst being a greedy and violent person himself. Having this new sense of freedom, and friends to spend the holiday with, I can finally celebrate this day as I always dreamt about. Decorations to make the neighbour kids run in terror, food that looks gross in a delicious way, and to top it all off, a costume that will put the chills down even the bravest of spines. While I think the castle back at Decain would be an amazing place to throw this kind of party, we all decided to hold it here, and since I’ve been hearing noises outside my room, I just know the decorations will be something special. I know it’s still very bright outside, and we still have lots of time left before we all meet up, but I can’t wait any longer.

I decide to leave Lyle to sleep in the little bed I made for him, and walk out of my room to see the most amazing... what the hell is this? Plastered across the wall of the hallway, I can see a row of paper plates, bound by tape with spooky faces drawn on them in black paint. In the corner, I see a small patch of cobweb, which looks real until you compare it with the actual cobweb just above it. I know this is my first time celebrating it here, and I truly appreciate that, but this stuff wouldn’t scare a timid toddler. Just across the way, the light from the window shines on Blanche, who is happily putting them up, minding her own business as I see that she is bopping along to something playing in her headphones, as she is holding a cardboard box and a roll of tape. I decide to walk up to her and tap her on the shoulder, which turns out to be a little mistake. She screams loudly as I scream back in surprise. She quickly whips her headphones from her ears and darts her attention to my direction, before taking a deep sigh of relief.

“Liz. Do me a favour, will you? Never do that again.” Blanche says, slowly catching her breath back as she grabs for her chest.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d be so jumpy.” I say, wondering how different she would have reacted if I would have been an intruder right now.

“You... know me, right? I don’t like surprises, especially scary stuff. Our experience in Decain nearly killed me.” Blanche says, going back to putting up her decorations, already forgetting about the fact that I actually did nearly die there.

“Anyway, what’s with these plate things?” I ask, running my finger across them to feel that the paint used to make the faces is still a little wet, getting a black smudge on the tip of my pointer.

“Aren’t they great? I made them myself. I may not be the best artist in the world, but I think I really outdid myself this year. You see, Andy and I like to go all out for each other and Reeve on Christmas, and as much as I respect the spirit of Halloween, some of the decorations you can get these days... they are pretty damn scary. So we make our own.” Blanche says, continuing to place the plates on the wall with tape until her hands are empty. “Done.”

Just then, Reeve, wearing his usual suit, starts to walk from the top of the stairs, walking towards us with the nicest smile on his face.

“Miss Blanche. How are things going up here? Ahh, good morning, Miss Eliza-“ Reeve starts to ask Blanche, before turning towards me.

“Please, call me Lizzie or Liz.” I say to him, not wanting to sound rude, but I’m still not warming up to the name I’m stuck with.

“Oh my. I apologise. Alright, Miss Lizzie. Are you all prepared for tonight’s party?” Reeve asks me, looking embarrassed with himself.

“You don’t need to apologise for anything. But yeah, I’m all ready. So, what’s the plan? Ghost hunting? Spooky games? Pin the tail on the rotting roadkill?” I ask them, wanting to know what they normally do at these parties.

They both look at each other and shake their heads, leaving me wondering what we could have in store for us.

“Ahh. Now I would say trick or treating. I know we’re way too grown up for that, but I’ve never done it before. Am I right?” I ask them, excitedly.

They once again shake their heads, leaving me even more confused and out of ideas.

“Alright, I give up. Come on, tell me what spooky hijinks happen at the Locksley House every October 31st.” I say to them, as the anticipation and suspense becomes too much to handle.

“Well, we tell scary stories, listen to music and order take-out... with desserts.” Blanche says, pausing for emphasis, as if I was meant to be blown away and left beyond words... oh, I have suitable words right now.

“This has been a tradition we’ve kept every year since Miss Blanche and Master Andrew were only little.” Reeve says, ruffling Blanche’s long blonde hair, leaving it slightly messy, as I see Blanche’s eye twitch as she rushes to fix it.

Now I feel guilty for thinking of saying something. It is their house, and something they clearly feel comfortable with, so who am I to judge or ask them to change it, just because I’m here? I swallow my pride and my speech of disappointment down to the depths and lock it away. I’d rather be slightly bored for a night than awkward silence for the unforeseeable future.

“Can’t wait.” Those are the only two words I can really think of saying right now, talking through an artificial smile.

Feeling slightly disappointed and guilty, I walk down the stairs to see more of the paper creations that the family have made, scattered all over the place. Some with bodies, some with horns, and occasionally some with both. I can smell something nice coming from the kitchen, as my feet walk me closer, as if the song of some tasty siren. I look into the room from the doorway, and see something I didn’t quite expect, but still lovely. Roxy seems to be cooking with Andy, like she’s teaching him how to do it. From the smell of it, it’s got to be cupcakes in the oven. Seeing them get along so well, for Roxy’s sake, I can’t stop my face from smiling.

“Alright. That about wraps up the preparation of the mini cupcakes. We’ll let the oven do its thing and resume this in about 20 minutes. Then I can teach you all about decorating them with icing.” Roxy says, sounding happy with herself, whilst also giving off the professional stern tone that she just seems to always carry with her.

“Thank you so much, Roxy. I’m honestly the worst when it comes to this sort of thing.” Andy says, taking her hand between both of his, shaking them excitedly.

I can practically see Roxy’s soul leave her body, and her heart skip a beat. Her eyes suddenly go wide, before she regains her cool composure and casually pushes her glasses from the tip of her nose, smiling a cheeky half grin.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about that. With a little practice, you’ll be making food more divine than any poem could ever describe. We can get you there... together.” Roxy says, smoothly taking his hand in hers... holy crap, is she going for it right now?

They just stand there, looking into each other’s eyes, as I grip the doorway in suspense, wondering where the situation is going to go from here. Suddenly, Andy starts to lean in, as Roxy preemptively closes her eyes and puckers her pink lips. Andy reaches for and grabs his keys on the counter just behind Roxy, and walks out of the kitchen, passing me as he leaves.

“Thank you again. I’ll be right back. Just got to get something from the car... hey Liz.” Andy says, as he walks out of the kitchen and out of the front door.

I look back at Roxy, who is still closing her eyes and preparing for that kiss, like she didn’t hear a single word he just said before, just stuck in her own little fantasy. Eventually, she opens her eyes and looks around the room for Andy, before realising that I am there. She quickly tries to play it off, taking her glasses off and rubbing them on the end of her shirt, unaware of just how much I saw.

“Lizzie. I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there. How are you today?” Roxy asks me, giggling an obviously fake laugh under her breath.

“Can’t complain, really. Yourself?” I ask her, trying to be as casual as I can, as I enter the kitchen, completely enamoured with the smell.

“On an emotional rollercoaster that I don’t remember getting on. I’ve been in relationships before, even came close to a marriage, but I don’t think I’ve ever been in as deep as this with someone. Especially someone who clearly doesn’t feel the same way. Still, no time to cry over it.” Roxy says, starting to dump the dirty mixing bowl into the sink, as she washes it.

“If it makes you feel any better, for what’s it worth, I think you two would make an adorable couple.” I say to her, turning away from her as I get ready to leave the kitchen.

Suddenly, I feel a pair of wet arms wrap tightly around me from behind, feeling a warm sensation on my back.

“Thank you, Lizzie. I knew you’d understand. And hey, I hope you and Poppy can eventually make it work.” Roxy says, trying her best not to cry, but I can hear her voice breaking.

“About that. As much as I adore Poppy, she’s one of my best friends now, and that’s how I want things to stay, even if she did suddenly look towards women.” I say to her, mostly just confirming it to myself.

“I see. Well, if you want my opinion, I definitely see you with either a pink princess more bubbly than cola, or a gothic belle with a dark brooding past. Either of those seem like they would be your type. Just a guess.” Roxy says, letting go of me and returning to the bowl in the sink.

“We’ll see what happens. Anyway, see you at the party tonight.” I say, walking back into the living room, as her words repeat in my head... even though I know it’s only the hunch of someone else, it’s like she knows what I like more than I do.

Going back to my room, I get my costume out of my wardrobe and place it on the bed. I decided to go with something a little out of comfort zone, and choose to be a confident vampire queen, which admittedly is an excuse and a justification to wear this lovely black leather dress I was debating whether or not to buy. A couple of false fangs and my magic ring, and boom, instant vampire queen. Although, it just occurs to me that the party doesn’t start for another 6 hours. With nothing much more to do today, I decide to take a little power nap so I can stay up later. This is my first party, and I would hate to be the one who goes to sleep half way through the night. As I climb back into bed, it doesn’t take too long for the sleep to catch up with me, and before I know it, my eyes start to grow heavier than bags of sand.

When I open my eyes again, everything looks a lot darker, and I can almost feel the wind in my hair. I must have left the window open or something. I climb out of bed, but I feel something crunch under my foot as I stand on something hard. It was at this moment when I did something I definitely shouldn’t have done, and looked down at my feet. Scattered across the floor, I can see nothing but a pile of bones and puddles of blood for miles. I resist the urge to scream, as there should be more to this, at best... or something ravenous will come running towards me, at worst.

To satiate my morbid curiosity, I walk forward through the bones until I come to some kind of graveyard. Through the mist, I can see something glowing in the distance, followed by some strange music. I walk towards it, only to be pulled back as I feel someone cover my mouth. I get pulled behind a mausoleum and told to shush. I look at the person, though I can’t see their face under a black hood and cloak. The hooded person quickly looks around for anyone coming, before turning towards me. I suddenly feel like I’m in some trouble here, so I prepare my Tarot, just in case.

“Relax. I won’t harm you. I still remember what happened last time I tried to.” The hooded person says, in a strangely familiar female voice.

She puts her hood down and reveals that she is... wait, Claryssa? That girl we fought in the battle for Decain. The one who gave up and ran away. What is she doing here? Better yet, what am I doing here?

“Okay. You probably have a lot of questions, and frankly, so do I. All you need to know that is that something bad is happening here. Something very bad. If anyone can help us, it’s The Colors, right?” Claryssa asks, grabbing my shoulders and lightly shaking me.

Something about her voice and mannerisms did seem strange to me. When we last met, she was calm and collected, even when she was defeated. When I look at her now, it’s like all of the confidence just melted away. She looked desperate, afraid, and tired.

“Okay. We’re not some league of super-humans... yet. Also, could you at least tell me what is happening right now?” I ask her, trying to keep calm about the whole situation, even if I really want to go back to the bed and hope I get back home when I close my eyes again.

“I don’t know how you ended up here, but lately, I’ve been getting these weird dreams that look no different to this. It’s been getting more and more frequent every night, and now you’re here too? This can’t be a good sign. So, I need you to do something for me. We’re at the graveyard in a town called Heaven’s Depths. I want you to meet me here in reality at midnight. Bring the rest of your friends too.” Claryssa says, before walking away and suddenly disappearing into the fog.

“Wait! I have so many questions about this.” I ask, trying to chase after her, before it starts to feel as if gravity is getting heavier, the closer I get to the fog.

Before I can do anything, I hear a mighty roar behind me, as the air starts to grow heavy and all of the lights that once let me remotely see, all die at the same time, leaving me in complete darkness. After a moment of silence, I hear the sound of bones crunching on the floor, getting louder and louder before it occurs to me that whatever it is, it’s running in this direction. I don’t even get a look at what it is, but my body automatically starts running in the opposite direction, taking me as fast as my legs can take me. It unfortunately isn’t enough as I can still hear it get louder and louder, until... nothing. The sound just vanishes from behind me. I stop in my tracks, feeling the coldest I have ever felt, like my body is just about to freeze over. I already can’t feel my legs anymore, and it doesn’t seem like I’m going anywhere any time soon. Suddenly, I start to hear something in my right ear, breathing deeply to itself. I slowly turn around to see a pair of glowing yellow eyes, staring into my soul.

“A pleasure to finally meet you. At long last, I found you... Amanda.”

That is the last thing I hear before a sudden flash of light comes as quick as a bolt of lightning. With just a blink of my eyes and an involuntary shriek from my mouth, I realise that I am back in my room, snuggled safely in my bed. I rub my head and feel nothing but a thick sheet of sweat, and it looks like there are black mascara tears on my white pillow too. As I just lay in my bed, I just take a moment to really wonder what the hell that was about. Was it nothing more than just a specific bad dream? Or is something really bad about to unleashed in the graveyard? Just when I thought I was done having these bad dreams.

“Woah, woah girl. You almost scared me half to death, actual death even. Is everything okay?” Lyle asks, jumping onto the edge of my bed by my feet.

“I- I-“ I really don’t know how to respond to him, out of confusion and embarrassment.

It doesn’t take long until I hear the sound of feet climbing the stairs and flinging open the door. I look over and see both Andy and Blanche. Andy is dressed as an ancient samurai, complete with what looks like a katana going through his chest. Blanche is dressed as a fairy, wearing a lovely and short pink dress with little wings sticking out of her back. They are both looking at me with worried looks on their faces, catching their breath from the mad dash up here.

“Lizzie? What’s wrong? We heard you scream.” Andy asks, kneeling down to me at my bedside.

“Oh... sorry guys. Just another bad dream, I guess.” I say, feeling kind of embarrassed about it.

“It’s not another Mandy dream, is it? I don’t think I could take it if she was back to her tricks again.” Blanche says, reminding me that she... no, we all barely survived the last time that Mandy went on the attack, even when we knew her weakness.

“No. It’s not Mandy. Although, whatever that thing was, it seemed to think I was her.” I say, wondering what that thing even was, or even if it was a telepathic message like Mandy is able to send... though that would require something as powerful as a Crown to pull off.

“What did it say? I know this sounds crazy, but if what happened with Mandy was anything to go by, they usually spell out that trouble is coming.” Andy says, shocking me with just how quick he is to believe in this... unless he’s just hoping for another battle opportunity.

“Alright. Here’s everything that happened.” I say to them before explaining to them about everything that happened in the dream.

Even though we all were about to party tonight, Andy tells us that there has been a change in the plans, and quickly goes to his phone.

Andy: “Change of plan, people. Bring your Color gear. We have a potential threat we have to confirm.

Nuko: “What? I’m already here wolfing it up, and Roxy was just getting changed now.”

Roxy: “Thank you for updating everyone, Nuko. But yeah, I’m a mechanical witch. I’ve been slaving over this costume for a while too.”

Poppy: “I’m a bunny! :D”

Nuko: “Oooh, like one of those good-time girl bunnies? The ones in the magazines?”

Poppy: “More like the fluffy bunnies that go hop-hop.”

Roxy: “Wow, way to out yourself to everybody.”

Lizzie: “They are hot though. If you’re going to be a sleaze, at least you’ve got good taste.”

Nuko: “...So, what’s this big emergency?”

Blanche: “Another one of Lizzie’s specific bad dreams.”

Roxy: “Mandy’s back again, isn’t she?”

Poppy: “NOOOOO D:”

Andy: “I don’t think that’s the case. We’ll explain later. Meet us by the elevator at 11:30 tonight.”

After that, everyone goes offline. No doubt, they are all preparing themselves for yet another battle. I’m hoping that this is all just a false alarm, that nothing is really going on, and we can all get back to enjoying the night. I know that this isn’t the first time this has happened, but this time, I really hope that I am wrong.

At 11:30, the autumn sun is long-since laid to rest for the night, and the full moon sits atop the sky, just daring the werewolves out there to gaze upon it. The air is cold enough to make me miss the summer nights, and I know it’s only going to get colder when winter hits. After everyone meets up in our Colors costumes, we immediately walk towards the elevator, and it doesn’t take long until it sends us back down to the world below. Even though most of us are talkative at the best of times, with everything that is going on, and the uncertainty of the situation, it seems to have everyone’s tongues tied. Everyone is just looking in different directions, all of us likely dreading the moments to come.

“What is everyone looking so scared for? I’m sure this is all just nothing but our fears getting the better of us. I’m sure we will be fine, as long as we all stay on our toes. After all, we all did beat someone who controls death, didn’t we?” Poppy asks, looking around us all with a face of forced optimism, yet I can see her shaking behind her smile.

“Yeah. Yellow’s right. We don’t know what’s going to happen out there. Even if the last victory was a complete fluke, anything compared to that should be a cakewalk. I have no doubt that whatever we see down there, it’s nothing like we’ve been through.” Andy says, completely calm about the situation, almost excited about it.

Though his words were pure and without malice, they didn’t do much to extinguish everyone’s doubt. And yet, we can’t exactly turn our backs on this either, so it’s our duty to take care of threats like this. I just have to hope that I was just dreaming things. After a little moment, the elevator comes to a stop, as the doors slowly slide open to the bright path ahead. The only thing about that, is that we have to walk behind the elevator and walk underneath the city. As the welcoming lights fade as we walk away, the darker the world seems under a great shadow above us. We walk into the town, which is thankfully bright and colourful.

This is actually my first time here, and at first glance, it looks like a lovely little town, with a huge body of water as far as the eye can see on the other side. When we enter, we come to a huge hill going down, and as we look over the balcony, the town seems to continue at the bottom. There may not be a lot to do here, like you can at Heaven’s Eye, but I have noticed a lot of market stalls as we pass by. I’m curious about coming back here when it’s daytime, so I can see what everyone is selling. I can smell the sea and the lingering scent of fish in the air, something you’d expect from any big seaside town. As we quietly make our way down the hill, we notice that we haven’t actually bumped into, or even seen another person here yet. Everyone’s probably inside, enjoying themselves on this festive day, and I can see a fresh pumpkin with their own little faces outside every door. Though, I can’t imagine there would be no kids out here enjoying a little trick or treat. Did something happen here?

“Alright, according to my visor, the graveyard is this way, and-“ Roxy says, before suddenly screaming at the top of her lungs, quickly taking her visor off and collapsing onto the floor.

Her scream echoes across the town, as we all turn around and run to her aid, as Andy holds her head off the ground. She is breathing heavily, like she just saw something truly terrible.

“Blue! What happened? What did you see?” Nuko asks, in the most worried tone I have ever heard come from him.

“Th- there’s definitely something in there. Multiple things. Those sounds. They weren’t normal. If we are going there, we should be prepared.” Roxy says, picking herself back up from the floor, looking a little embarrassed, but still terrified, as the colours have all drained from what we can see of her body and face.

We all prepare ourselves for the worst, as we all think strong and brave thoughts, letting Roxy showing us the way forward.

“Are you sure about this, Blue? You’re free to turn back if you don’t feel up to this.” I say to her, feeling concerned about her reaction to whatever it was in there.

“Yeah, I totally wouldn’t blame you. In fact, I’ll join you.” Blanche says, laughing nervously to herself.

“I’m sure. Thank you. If I just let you all go in while I just stood and watched, and you got hurt because of that, I could never forgive myself.” Roxy says, sighing to herself, as if she is telling this to herself as well.

“Alright, but is it too late for me to turn back?” Blanche asks, shaking from top to toe at the back of the group.

After a moment, we come towards a huge steel gate with two angel statues either side on tall pedestals. Andy steps forward and pushes the gate, which starts to open with a loud creak. Already, the air feels heavy and I can see the familiar fog settling in over in the horizon. With no time for second guessing and hesitations, we walk inside the graveyard, as the wind blows the gate closed behind us... I guess there really is no turning back now. Though I’m just glad there are no bones and blood on the ground this time.

As we walk further and further into the smog, the heavier it sits upon my chest. My heart is beating like crazy, though I can imagine everyone else’s is beating just as fast right now. As we continue to walk, we can hear weird chanting, getting louder and louder with every step, only challenged by the sound of the wind in the trees and the sound of our feet in the fallen leaves. Passing by aisle upon aisle of buried remains, we walk... until Andy stops.

“Red? What’s wrong?” Blanche whispers to him, preparing her weapons and looking around frantically.

“There’s someone over there. Hiding behind that mausoleum. What should we do?” Andy says, pointing towards a hooded figure in front of us.

“I say we get the sneak attack on them before it grows wise and comes for us.” Nuko says, preparing one of his special makeshift bombs.

Hmm... that hooded figure. Could that be her? She did tell me to meet her here.

“Wait guys, I think she’s a friend. In the dream, she was there with me. We just have to find a way to make sure it’s her before we go rushing over.” I say to the others, pushing Nuko’s bomb away from him, before he could light it.

Poppy quickly grabs a twig from the ground and throws it at her, hitting her in the back of the leg. My heart falls to my stomach as we all turn towards Poppy, who looks proud of herself.

“There you go. We got her attention.” Poppy says, putting her hands on her hips and standing tall with pride.

“Yellow. We didn’t know if it was her or not. You can’t just-“ Roxy says to her, in the quietest shouting voice I’ve ever had.

The hooded figure turns towards us, and just stares. After a moment, the person starts to walk towards us slowly. I walk forward, as everyone else steps back behind me. The person removes the hood, and to my relief, it is Claryssa, here to meet me as promised.

“Ahh Liz. You finally came. Come with me. We can’t let that ritual end. Just don’t make any sudden loud noises.” Claryssa says, beckoning us to follow her as she walks away.

We all start to follow closely behind her, as I feel a tug at my coat. I look behind me and see Roxy.

“So, who is this girl? A friend of yours?” Roxy asks me, looking at Claryssa with confusion.

“Kind of. She works for my sister. Brooklyn, Bonnie and I fought and defeated her once. I don’t actually know what brought her here yet.” I say to her, only just realising that she should be back in Decain with my sister right now.

“I see. So, she’s not someone to be trusted?” Roxy asks, looking towards me, no longer looking straight ahead.

“I’m hoping she is. At the first sign of danger, we should all run. I mean, she does seem nice enough for now.” I say to her, looking forward at Claryssa, who stops and hides behind one of the tombstones.

We all hide behind the row of tombstones, as the chanting is incredibly loud, accompanied by a strangely soothing and somber symphony, playing on a portable radio. We look forward and see a group of people in brown hoods, surrounding a grave, as a disembodied heart is hanging from one of the dead trees just above it.

“Erwache, Träumer, zerstöre die Kronen, die diese Welt diktieren, und bringe die neue Ordnung zustande.” One of the hooded figures says, before pulling a dagger from his pocket, as he walks towards the heart.

We all give a look to each other, before springing to action. We knock out most of them without so much as a struggle between us. However, the leader doesn’t seem to be stopping in his path.

“Hey. Who the hell are you? And what are you planning?” I ask him, but get no reply.

As he brings the dagger closes, Poppy and I fire an arrow and bullet, aimed directly at his arm, but to our surprise, even at point blank, they just go through him, hitting the tree behind him, like he is just a hologram or something. After that, he turns towards us, pulling down his hood. To our shock and horror, his face is just bones, no skin, no muscle, just a skull with a little skin hanging off. As we run towards him, trying to stop him, he quickly drives the dagger into the heart, which causes a puddle of blood to trickle down into the grave.

“His will is done. He who rests will rise once more.” The skeleton man says in a creepy deep voice.

After a moment, his bones start to crumble into dust, falling slowly to the floor. The others follow shortly after, leaving only their cloaks behind. Beneath us, we start to hear something shake and creak. The once beautiful symphony that played is just stuck repeating the one last note in a chaotic and unsettling way.

“What do we do now?” Poppy asks, looking around to the rest of us.

Suddenly, we hear the loud sound of wood snapping under our feet, as the dirt starts to split in the grave, as two spindly and long shadow arms come out.

“Run!” I shout to everyone, before we all start to run back the way we came in.

Before we disappear back into the fog, I look back and catch a glimpse of something huge crawling out of the grave. Not wanting to get caught by whatever it is, I continue running with the others. That is until Andy starts walking towards it, brandishing his sword in his hand.

“You guys get going. I’ll hold it at bay long enough for you to escape.” Andy says, gesturing for everyone to continue running.

“What? No. We have to go. Now!” Blanche says, pulling him back by his armour in a panicked voice. “Please. Don’t do this. You can’t take that thing by yourself.”

“He won’t have to. If I can find a weakness to him, we can defeat him. You guys go, and find a way out. We’ll catch you up later.” Roxy says, walking next to Andy.

“Please. Please come back safe.” Blanche says, trying not to cry as she turns around.

We all start running, letting those two take care of what they feel is right. It’s the strongest person and the smartest person of the team, working together. I hope they can hold on until we can secure ourselves the location of the exit. Claryssa pulls me by the arm, running with me as fast as she can.

“Come on, we have to go.” Claryssa says, sounding as panicked as us right now.

As we run, everything goes quiet. Until, the worst sound I could ever hear fills the air. The sound of a woman screaming and crying in pain, followed by a man’s voice sharing in the agony. Oh no. I can’t leave them here to die.

“Claryssa. I’m sorry, I can’t do this. I have to go back for them.” I say, starting to run back for them, but feeling my arm get caught in something.

“You can’t go back now. I won’t let you die here.” Claryssa says from behind me, as she grabs my arm and pulls me back with her.

“Wait. No! Let me go! Let me go, damn it. My friends. They need me. Can’t you hear them? They’re dying. No! NOOOO!” I shout in hysterics, trying to swat Claryssa off me, but I’m unable to before I am pulled through the exit.

I try with all my strength to get her off me, but she wouldn’t budge, as she just looks at me with an unfazed look on her face.

“Liz, I’m sorry. You leave me no choice. Nighty night.” Claryssa says, before I receive a blow to the head that makes... me... feel...