TerrorFest 2018 - Zero Escape

- Remy -

Remy exhaled audibly when the glass walls slid down.

They all moved towards the exit door, only to be confronted with another keypad.

"What is this ****?" Remy exclaimed. "Haven't we done enough? I'm tired of this."

She crossed her arms.

"The verdict for what? For us? For the Goatman?" she asked exasperated. "This is far too vague. Are we supposed to change our mind about him? Well he hasn't exactly done much to convince me of his innocence!"

Her eyes looked over the keypad and the passcode. It had six digits.

"Great, so the only answer that fits is "GUILTY"?" she added, still sounding upset. "How is that fair? That's not even an unbiased decision!"

Cyrus Winter

Cyrus pinched the bridge of his nose when he saw the keypad. They'd managed to get through the irksome bust puzzle with much difficulty, and now they had to deal with this, with barely any clues.

Picking up on the conversation, he piped up. "Honestly, all I did was come in as a witness and tell the court what I saw as I saw it. I was only here maybe once or twice and didn't even find out the verdict until much later. I had other work after giving my testimony."

Then he turned his attention back to the keypad. "Six digit code, so could it be 'GUILTY'?"

Guilty...

Yes, that was the only thing that made sense. Alecia stepped forward, fingers shaking as she began to type in the passcode.

"Unbiased?" Pierce scoffed. "Did you really think a psychopath dressed up as a goat who traps people in an escape room was going to give us an unbiased verdict?"

Alecia hesitated, everyone's eyes on the door, then hit the enter key.

The light turned green.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the door opened, and the tunnel yawned black and open before them. One by one, they began to carefully make their way out of the room. Before Alecia could go, however, Pierce caught her by the elbow.

"You're hiding something," he said once the rest of the group had disappeared.

She averted her eyes. "Like what?"

"You know something about that case that we don't," Pierce continued, his grip tightening. "Don't pretend otherwise."

Alecia bit her lip. "He was guilty. I was certain of that. But..."

"But?" Pierce narrowed his eyes.

"The evidence wasn't... full-proof. I was worried the defense might be able to find some way around it. So I... embellished."

Pierce released her, more out of surprise than anything else. "You falsified evidence?"

"Do you know how many criminals in this country get off scot-free on technicalities?" she snapped. "It's sickening. I couldn't let that happen on my watch."

"How noble," he sneered. "And I'm sure it has nothing to do with not wanting to lose a case and tarnish your track record."

Alecia's eyes widened. "I..."

Pierce stared her down, lips pressed into a thin line.

"Are you... going to tell the others?" she asked, dropping her gaze.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "No. I'm done playing jury and the blame-game. Let's just get the hell out of here."

Alecia sighed and nodded, relieved. She looked up at him, admiring him a moment. Despite the dried blood on him and disheveled look of his clothes, there was something striking about him. Maybe it was just what they'd been through, but he seemed somehow more brave and strong than he had walking in at the start of the evening. In a lot of ways, him being there had helped them all.

"You know... you're not quite the person I thought you were," she said softly.

Pierce gave her a searching look, then headed up the tunnel. "Neither are you."

Alecia's stomach clenched as his footsteps disappeared. Then, with heavy legs, she followed after him.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------


When the group reached the door at the end of the tunnel, they tried it and found themselves bathed in real, warm, natural lighting. As they stepped out into the room, they gasped at the sight of the fireplace, the macabre painting of Saturn, and the sofa where they'd all sat what seemed like a lifetime ago.

"It's the room where we started," Alecia gasped. "We made it out."

There was a moment of collective silence as they all stared at the door out to the lobby - and to freedom. Then, as one, they surged to the other end of the room and wrenched the door open.

Only to be faced with a blank metal wall.

"No..." Alecia put her hand against it, searching for any signs of latch or handle or keypad. "No, no, no!"

Pierce swore and stepped back, running a hand over his bald head. Now what? A dead end? What could...

A terrible warbling came from the hidden speakers in the room.

"Thank you for playing Escape Mansion. We hope you've enjoyed your stay. Unfortunately, your allotted time is up."

With a hissing noise, gas began to pour into the room. The group backed away toward the center of the room, looking around for any signs of escape.

"Please make sure to fill out the back of your survey cards. We'd love to get your feedback on how we might improve the experience. We'll be sure to collect them, along with your remains."

The gas started to close in. They closed their mouths and covered their noses, desperately trying to buy time, but there was no sign of escape. Nothing...

They had to breathe eventually. And when they did, the burning set in. One by one, they dropped to the floor, coughing and gasping as the room began to spin.

Then, the impenetrable metal panel began to rise.

Spoiler:

Goatman stared down at them with the face of certain death. He lifted his knife, the blade stained with blood, and chuckled softly.

"The verdict has been set. Now... it's time for sentencing," he said as everything went black.

============================================================

Spoiler:

Rules:

1) You only have one chance to enter the 6-digit passcode. Failure will automatically set off the death trap in the room.
2) Answers and clues can only be communicated IC. Keep it realistic.

Discovered Information:

Room 1:
Clues
1) There are thirteen busts in total - three Goats, and ten people
2) The busts need to be arranged from the trial of the past to the trial in the present.
3) The busts can be passed through compartments to any of the three main areas - the judge's box, the juror's box, and the gallery.
4) Removing and placing busts on the pedestals in these areas will activate pressure-sensitive levers that will remove the glass barriers once all are in their correct places.

Answer

Spoiler:

Door Code - What's the verdict?

Spoiler:

The sound of lapping water brought everyone back to consciousness. Alecia blinked and looked around the room, though there wasn't much to see in the darkness. As her eyes began to adjust, however, she could see a faint red light reflecting off a pool in the center of the room. From beneath the water, something seemed to be floating...

"Is everyone awake?"

Alecia shuddered at the sound of the voice and moved on instinct. The ropes binding her to the chair bit into her skin and stopped her short, causing her to whimper. Were the others here? She could barely make out figures in other chairs encircling the pool, but they were hard to make out. Bootsteps sounded as Goatman began to circle around them from behind, and Alecia shuddered.

"Now then, it's time for us to sort out this messy business and get on with our lives. Goatman's footsteps paused, and he chuckled. "Well, most of you won't have lives when this messy business is over."

"I'm so sick of hearing your voice," Pierce's voice snapped out from the silence. "Get on with it already."

Goatman stopped behind Alecia, a gloves hand resting on her shoulder. Her already rapid breathing began to grow shallow and frantic.

"You're not giving orders anymore, Mr. Ellison," Goatman growled. "So kindly SHUT THE HELL UP."

There was a sound of someone striking Pierce, who spat and swore. Wait.... if Goatman was behind her, then who...

"You all passed through the courtroom," Goatman went on. "So we're now on the same page. You know what you did... and now, you're going to pay for it. However, I'm not without mercy. I may be willing to pardon the sentence for one of you... if you agree to join me."

"What makes you think one of us would join you?" Pierce growled.

Goatman chuckled as Pierce suddenly let out a faint gasp. A blade pressed against his throat, the blade reflecting the red light from the water.

"One of you already has," Goatman replied.

- Luna -

Guilty?

Had they really come full circle?

Luna pondered the question as Alecia entered the key code. The green light signaled them through, but it was only after she'd walked through the door that the full implication of that code settled over her.

Guilty.

There had been eight busts on the defense's table. Even as they stepped into the first room, her eyes drifted over the others, counting. Alecia, Pierce, Cyrus, Remy, Morgan, and finally, herself. What if the pristine busts weren't to mark the dead? What if they'd absolved themselves in some other way?

She opened her mouth to share that thought when the voice rang out in the room. Of course they wouldn't get out so easily. You can't win a game where someone else is making the rules...

Gritting her teeth as the gas began to flow, Luna glanced around the room. She'd given Kenny her only potential weapon. Clearly, it hadn't made a difference for the poor guy, but that didn't prevent her from thinking she'd like a weapon of her own, even as the darkness closed in on her vision...

------------------------------------------------------------

Luna cracked her eyes as the voices rang in her ears. She was bound in place. A slight flex of her arms told her that she was tied to a chair. Not very creative. She pushed her toes against the ground, and it leaned back slightly before she let it rest back on the floor. Good to know...

"Don't make me laugh." Luna spoke up, her tone cutting. "You're enjoying this too much to rush it. Besides, the only thing I know I did was pass a verdict based on the evidence I was presented. That man was read a list of his crimes before any deliberation, much less sentencing. So, you're doing this whole courtroom thing pretty badly."

"Clearly, you took some personal offense to the outcome of that case, but I've got no idea why. So, if you want us to get the authentic experience, why don't you spell it out for us?"

- Remy -

When they entered the room with the fireplace that now looked oh so inviting, Remy breathed a sigh of relief.

However, it was short lived when they found the final exit door to be blocked by metal.

Panic set in. They were trapped. Again.

Gas began to rise in the room. Remy hugged her arms around her body. She didn’t want to die here. Not after they had made it that far.

Darkness set in when she dropped to the floor.

------------------------

An annoying sound intruded into the blackness of her mind and unwillingly she returned to consciousness. Trying to move, she realized she was bound to her chair.

The panic returned and she wildly pulled on her bonds. They were not moving.

Eventually she gave up and dared to look around the room. There seemed to be water in the middle with something floating in it. Indistinct, she could guess more chairs with people in them were placed around the water.

Soon she recognized the voices of Alecia, Pierce and Luna and to her dismay the Goatman.

“Please,” she said quietly. “Why can’t you just let this go?”

Morgan

Morgan's eyes lit up as he saw the fireplace as he bolted towards the door and swung it open, only to be faced with a metal wall.  His face turning into a extremely frustrated scowl, as he glanced around in all directions as the gas began to fill up around them.

"You lying..... AGH!  There's no way it's been nine hours already!" Morgan yelled in the air as he screamed all the profanities he could think of before being one of the first one passing out from the gas because he refused to keep his mouth shut as he head smacked into the ground.

"I can't.... die...." Morgan muttered before losing consciousness, as his eyes slowly closed.

---------------------

Morgan slowly opened his eyes, as he opened his eyes at the sound of the masterminds.  His head felt like it had been split open, as he tried to reach up to the painful location only to realize his arms were bond in rope.

He silently listened to the goat's conversation, as his face grew more and more into a scowl by the second.  Everything about this man irritated him... What he wouldn't do to break out of these ties so he could strangle him where he stood and watch his eyes go lifeless for all that he's done to him.

"He'll never let it go, he's just some idiot that wanted us to all run around like headless chickens for his amusement before he sent us off to the butcher."  Morgan spatted out with all his fury as he continued to struggled further with the ropes with all his might as he continued to rant now shouting as loud as he could, "Like you'd actually pardon the person who joined you.  You'd just stab them in the back and say 'now you see how I felt', like some spiteful sociopath."

Goatman stepped up to Luna and grabbed her by the hair, painfully yanking her head back.

"Do you think your ignorance will save you? Far from it." He released her and stepped back, shaking his head. "This whole country... this whole world is diseased. People make judgments on whatever they see or hear without truly knowing. They judge as though they have the whole truth, when in reality they know nothing."

He yanked off his goat mask and stared down at Luna with wild eyes.

"You sentenced me to rot in prison, someone you'd never even spoken to, someone you knew nothing about but hearsay and lies." Without the voice modulator in his mask, he somehow sounded even more deranged. "I lost my family, my career, my life. You destroyed me with one word... and then went on with your silly little lives, never sparing me a passing thought."

Alecia's stomach twisted, even as she wriggled desperately to find a way out of her chair. If he really had been innocent, then...

Spoiler:

"But the truth came out," he said, an awful smile twisting his lips. "They found out a malicious hacker group were the ones who actually attacked the company, not me, in retaliation for Pierce Ellison's business practices. My sentence was overturned. And the first thing I knew I'd have to do... was make things right."

He brought up the knife in his hands and leered at them.

"That pasty face and pathetic whine. It really is you... Gilles Bennet." Pierce laughed coldly. "You stupid son of a *****. You thought the best thing to do with your newfound freedom was commit an even worse crime for real. Are you complete halfwit or just insane?"

"Free?" Gilles whirled around, back arched like a wild animal. "You think I'll ever be free? Even with an overturned conviction, they'll still whisper behind my back, still doubt my innocence. I'll never be free."

Alecia hated to admit it, but he was right. Overturning a conviction, or even avoiding a conviction, still left a stain that could never truly come out in the eyes of the public.

“Please,” Remy's voice came through in the silence. “Why can’t you just let this go?”

Gilles tutted and put a hand on her head, almost comforting. "I told you, one of you will go free... if you agree to join me and slaughter the rest."

Alecia gasped, her eyes wide. Surely no one would... but, would they?

She tried to peer at the other figure, whoever Goatman- or Gilles' accomplice was. In the faint reddish light, she could see what appeared to be a lion's mask on their head. If someone else had already agreed to help Gilles... then it wasn't impossible to think one of them might. But after all they'd been together... she just couldn't fathom doing something that ruthless and heartless.

But... hadn't she been the one to...

"He'll never let it go, he's just some idiot that wanted us to all run around like headless chickens for his amusement before he sent us off to the butcher."  Morgan spat out with all his fury, audibly struggling with his bonds. "Like you'd actually pardon the person who joined you.  You'd just stab them in the back and say 'now you see how I felt', like some spiteful sociopath."

"Oh, that's where you're wrong," Gilles said, crouching in front of Morgan. "We must be three! The chimera... goat, lion, and serpent. I boldly declared it to you all in the Banquet Room. Surely you could perceive that... with your powers of clairvoyance!"

He cackled loudly in Morgan's face, spittle hitting the medium's cheek, before standing up.

"Ah, but perhaps you require proof. Very well, Doubting Thomas! I'll give you proof." He turned to his accomplice and smiled. "You might as well take it off now. You've nothing to lose."

The Lion shied back and shook its head. Gilles snorted in disgust and strode over to him. The Lion tried to protest, voice hushed, before Gilles latched onto the mask and yanked it off. It hit the ground, rolling to a stop by Luna's feet.

"There's your proof," Gilles said gleefully, grabbing hold of his accomplice and holding him over the pool so that the red light illuminated his face. "Say hello... Kenny."

- Remy -

Remy cringed away from Gilles’ hand when he put it on her head.

“Well, you can count me out,” she replied, to her own surprise her voice steadier than she felt. “I’m not going to willingly murder anyone.”

Then Gilles revealed who had joined him. Remy gasped. From all the people in this disastrous adventure, Kenny was the last person she expected to betray them.

"But why?"

Cyrus Winter

Cyrus sat in his seat, face utterly blank yet clearly unamused. He did find one thing funny, however. The man claimed them to be making judgements on strangers, yet unlike them, he himself had only reported what he'd seen and heard. He was only a witness, and had never taken any names either. Who, then, was making judgements on strangers here?

He laughed a hollow laugh. He didn't care that he'd been caught up. He didn't mind falling here. He did, however, feel the need to point out such a a logical error. "What of me then, Mr. Bennet? I took no names nor made any judgements. What am I doing here? Did you perchance... make judgements on a stranger?" Entirely unphased by Kenny's apparent betrayal, he looked man dead in the eyes. As a professional, he was very thorough, and was therefore entirely certain he'd been impartial and taken no names or accusations in his testimony.

- Luna -

Luna grit her teeth as her hair was pulled, refusing to make a sound. She wouldn't offer this sick creature the satisfaction. Somewhere in her mind, a part of her had shut down. This was where she was going to die, right? Why did the answer to that question feel liberating instead of terrifying?

Of course, she was surprised to see that Kenny had joined Gilles, but after a few seconds to process it, that surprise quickly became disgust. She'd thought that perhaps the young man might grow a spine, but in the end, he must have caved under the pressure. Still, she'd rather die here than become anything like their "host".

"I've got a proposition for you." Luna said, her voice surprisingly steady. She waited for Gilles to turn in her direction. Not just that, she waited for him to walk back towards her, with that sick smile on his face. As he loomed over her, Luna pushed with her toes and suddenly shifted her weight forward, bringing the chair leg down squarely on Gilles' foot. "You can take your offer and fuck right off."

Morgan

Morgan's face turned further red when spit hit his check, as he pulled against his restraints trying to break free from his tight bindings.  He at least tried to hit the man, but instead the chair began to wobble as it took all his energy to avoid falling over, as he face turned redder in now embarrassment.

"What the hell are you doing here Kenny?!"  Morgan yelled out angrily at the uncomfortable boy, as he began to rattle his chair even more, "Why did you even bother staying behind if you were just going to betray us?  It doesn't make sense!  Surely you understand how full of crap this guy is?"

Morgan let out a loud exhausted sigh as he rose his head in the air in the air staring at the ceiling in front of his eyes.  This whole stupid situation was incredibly exhausting, he wanted to be done, just go back home and sleep for a week.

"Okay, so tell me, if the roles were flipped and I was the defendant and you were in the jury would you of went against everyone and voted innocent?  No, this isn't about justice, this isn't about corrupt worlds at all."  Morgan stated yelling even louder, as he leaned his head closer to Giles, and muttered in a stern voice "You're just a child throwing a tantrum.  So how about next time you get a lawyer that can actually pull their weight like Alecia."

Kenny blanched at the sight of everyone's shocked faces and wriggled away from Gilles' grip.

"I rhought I smelled a rat," Pierce growled, shaking his head.

"But why?" Remy gasped.

"I didn't..." Kenny ducked his head. "I didn't have a choice."

He spared a chance at Luna, but at her expression of disgust, he quickly looked away.

"What the hell are you doing here Kenny?!"  Morgan yelled rattling his chair. "Why did you even bother staying behind if you were just going to betray us?  It doesn't make sense!  Surely you understand how full of crap this guy is?"

Gilles burst into laughter, covering his face with his hand. "Haha! You idiots! How could he possibly betray you? He was never with you."

"What do you mean?" Pierce snarled.

"Think about it." Gilles smiled. "How could an unassuming accountant like me set up a place like this?"

Alecia's eyes widened. No, it couldn't be. "The whole time..."

"That's right. Kenny set up all these wonderful puzzles and traps," Gilles said, smiling. "In fact, they were his idea."

"That's not-!" Kenny interrupted, his voice shaky. "It... it was, but..."

He looked around at the others, nervous tears forming in his eyes.

"He... he showed up at my place, tried to kill me for being on the jury," Kenny explained. "But I convinced him it wasn't the right way to do things. That maybe if he set up something like this, he could make us all see the truth... his truth. If he kept me alive... then I would help him set it up... just like he wanted."

Pierce snorted. "I'm sorry. Is this the part where we're supposed to feel sorry for you? After you set up and dragged us through a death factory?"

"I don't need your pity!" Kenny screamed, for the first time brandishing the knife in his hand. It shook unsteadily in his grip, and after a moment, he turned to look at Luna. "I just... wanted you to understand. I hoped... you guys might make it out."

"Now, now," Gilles said sweetly, even as he gripped Kenny by the back of his hair and pulled his head back to face him. "This isn't the time to be growing soft, my little lion. We still have to find out serpent, the last piece of our trinity... and then the rest must die."

He glanced around at the group, humming thoughtfully as he pointed the butcher knife at each of them in turn.

"What of me then, Mr. Bennet? I took no names nor made any judgment. What am I doing here? Did you perchance... make judgment on a stranger?"

"Your statements were enough to condemn me," Gilles snapped. "It's time to learn that words have consequences, Mr. Winter. All of you... must answer."

"Okay, so tell me, if the roles were flipped and I was the defendant and you were in the jury would you of went against everyone and voted innocent?  No, this isn't about justice, this isn't about corrupt worlds at all,"  Morgan interrupted. "You're just a child throwing a tantrum.  So how about next time you get a lawyer that can actually pull their weight like Alecia."

Gilles froze up. For the first time, his expression changed from maliciously playful to cold and detached. "Oh, is that so?"

In a flash, he plunged his knife into Morgan's shoulder, eyes glazed as he wriggled the knife in Morgan's flesh before pulling it out. "Now, maybe that will teach you to mind your tongue, you sham." He turned around and regarded Alecia a moment, blood trickling from his knife. "Although... that does bring up a good point. I've been wanting to... cross-examine you, Ms. Prosecutor."

As he approached her, Luna got his attention and drew him close with her calm, steady voice. "I've got a proposition for you." she said, then brought her chair leg down squarely on his foot. "You can take your offer and fuck right off."

Gilles howled with pain, then backhanded Luna hard enough to send her chair crashing to the floor.

"Do you think this is a game?" he shrieked. "Let me show you what happened to the last group who turned me down!"

He pulled out a remote, and for one moment, Alecia's heart leaped into her throat and she prepared for a death trap. But as his finger touched the button, all that happened was the room suddenly flooded with light, going from dark and dingy to sterile white.

Then she screamed.

The pool in the center of the circle of chairs... was filled with blood. Bodies floated within it, some fresh, some bloated and decomposed. Even as she stared, mind numbed with horror, one of the corpses bobbed and rolled to face her.

Join.

"The rest of your fellow jurors," Gilles said, gesturing to the pool with glee. "The esteemed Judge Radkins, of course. Oh, did he ever cry. You should have heard him beg."

Alecia gagged and shut her eyes. Pierce swore, for the first time sounding as though his shell had cracked.

"Now then, I was planning to let our new initiate take care of all of you," Gilles said. "But if there's no volunteers, I'll just need to start cleaning up the loose ends."

Alecia opened up her eyes at the sound of his footsteps. Now that the room was fully illuminated, she could see all the others clearly. A few had bags on their heads, and as Gilles stepped up to one, he removed the bag.

Yu zi! He was alive! Oh... but just barely. His skin had the grayish pallor of one near death. Alecia could see he'd been slowly bleeding out for some time.

"Barely worth killing. Time will do the rest at this point," Gilles muttered, then grabbed Yu zi's head and turned him to face Morgan. "Say hi to your little charlatan friend, for however long you're both alive."

He turned to the next figure and removed their hood. There was Jacke, looking beyond exhausted and terrified as Gilles inspected his blood-stained knife.

"You lasted longer than anyone could have expected," Gilles mused. "But it's time for you to go now."

He raised the knife, and raised it high above Jacke's head.

Oh god. Oh god. He was going to slaughter them, one by one. Alecia began to shake violently, nails digging into her chair. They were all going to die. And it was her fault.

Remy's voice came back to her, scathing and terrible. "Always manipulating things in your favor and presenting yourself from the best side possible. Typical lawyer behavior. Let us be at each others throats while you keep your hands clean."

"Wait!" she shrieked as Gilles knife plunged. "It's my fault!"

Gilles paused, then turned to face her.

"It's my fault," Alecia repeated her voice shaking. "It's my fault you went to prison. I manipulated the evidence. I rigged the trial. None of them knew. None of them had anything to do with it. It's my fault. Please... just let them go."

She hung her head in terror, shaking all over as Gilles stared at her, his neck going taut with cold fury.

"You..." he whispered. "You....!"

He let out a furious bellow at the top of his lungs, which echoed all around them. After a moment, panting and shaking, he took a deep, shuddering breath to calm himself.

"It's too late for that," he sneered. "Die you must. Die you shall... and I'll have you go last. So you can see all that you've caused!"

He turned back to Jacke and brought the knife to his throat, humming softly.

Pierce turned to Kenny, throwing aside all pride. "Kenny, you rat bastard son of a *****. You're the only one who can stop this," he hissed. "Man up, take responsibility, and do something."

Kenny bit his lip and shook his head. "I... I can't..."

A) Kenny can still be saved.

B) Kenny is beyond hope.

Cyrus Winter - A: Kenny can still be saved

Gilles barked back at his query much like a rabid animal with a rage boner. Deranged, then. Cyrus observed the rest of the proceedings with little interest. He could smell the familiar stench of blood and death, so the lights were nary a surprise for him either. Kenny being a little rat didn't really phase him either. Always seemed out of place.

What did surprise him, however, was Alecia's little confession. It would certainly explain how the trial ended so quickly even though the real culprits were someone else entirely.

But of course, Gilles reaction was predictable as could be. The mentality of "already gone too far, can't stop now!" Stood strong in him. "Kenny." He called the boy, peering deep into his eyes. "This is your moment. You can still take control of your life back. Only you can fix this. Make your stand." He said, then he closed his eyes and awaited his fate. He had no regrets, and he'd done no wrong, so he had nothing to fear, whatever the result.

- Remy -
[A: Kenny can still be saved.]

Remy was looking at Kenny with a sad expression on her face.

She wanted to understand, but she felt his decisions were still wrong. She didn’t even want to think about what she would’ve done, had Gilles showed up at her door.

Gilles seemed to get more and more angry. Her eyes followed him, wincing as he hit Luna.

Suddenly the lights turned on and now they could all see what actually filled the pool.

Remy looked at it. And then closed her eyes. Praying that it was just an illusion. When she opened the them again, everything was still there.

She screamed in terror. Never having been confronted with anything remotely so gross and horrible, it was just too much.

“I can’t…,” she sobbed. “Make it stop. Please. Someone make it stop!” Tears streaked her face, slowly dripping on her pants. She hung her head, her entire body shaking. Her mind wrapped up in panic, so much she was unable to follow Gilles and his actions any longer.

Jacke - The Death Room

Jacke struggled with the chair for a while after the Goatman had left, but despite his efforts, he made no progress in freeing himself. Eventually, his struggles ceased, having exhausted himself. His eyes grew heavy, closing...

-------------------

The sound of voices roused Jacke from his exhaustion. He opened his eyes but was met with blackness. Based on what he could feel, it appeared that his head was covered by some kind of bag. As the voices raised, he realised they sounded familiar... Could it be? It was the others! But why weren't they freeing him?

That question was answered by the voice of the Goatman. A chill went down Jacke's spine. Oh no... they had been captured. As the conversation progressed, Jacke's eyes widened behind the bag. The goatman... he was doing this all for revenge?!

A clunk signalled lights turning on, errant rays shining through the fabric of the bag, but not enough for Jacke to see anything. A piercing scream made him wince, before the sound of movement next made him turn his head slightly towards it. A hand grasped the bag on his head and removed it sharply.

It took a moment for Jacke's eyes to adjust to the sudden light. When they did, it took him an instant to take in the scene in front of him. Most of the others were arrayed in front of him, Yu Zi was next to him, also bound to a chair, but he wasn't looking great... the blood on his clothes and the grey tinge to his skin indicating he would die soon.

Before he could react, his attention as grabbed by the voice of the Goatman, coming from a deranged-looking man, brandishing the same blade as the Goatman.

"You lasted longer than anyone could have expected. But it's time for you to go now."

As the knife plunged towards him, Jacke flinched away, closing his eyes and letting out a wordless cry.

"Wait! It's my fault!"

With the lack of pain from the knife entering him, Jacke slowly opened his eyes, seeing the man looking at Alecia. As Alecia began her confession, Jacke's eyes widened. Wasn't she a lawyer? Falsifying evidence? That was...

He didn't have much to to dwell on it, as the man returned his attention to Jacke, bringing the knife up to his throat. Jacke's eyes darted around, looking for a way out. They settled on Kenny, wielding a similar knife. He might have helped him set the whole thing up... but maybe we wasn't too far gone?

Unable to speak, with the knife at his throat, Jacke stared at Kenny, silently pleading him to stop the knife-wielding man before he killed them all.

A: Kenny can still be saved

Yù zǐ shuǐjīng
- Boarding Flight 666 -
A) Kenny can still be saved.

The ear-piercing scream jolted Yù zǐ out from his stupor. The guy felt his head split open, but he soon felt the energy once again start draining away. He was adjusting his vision to take notice of his surrounding when the jute bag was lifted off and the bright light hit him. It took a few seconds of being manhandled by the human captor for Yù zǐ to realize that the whole party was reunited at last.

Alecia's high-pitched shrieks kept the man from passing over. Yù zǐ blinked his eyes to stay awake and as soon as he could muster up enough energy, the man on his death chair bit his lips hard. His sharp canines easily punctured the dry and cracked lips and causing them to slightly bleed. But that was enough to keep the guy's heart pumping with adrenaline.


"Hey! Hey!! Dipshit!" Yù zǐ shouted. "It's my fault too. I sped up the trial with my involvement. Maybe things could have gone differently if you had received more time. So if you want to direct your rage, do it all on me. Everyone else was just doing their job with the information given to them. I had nothing and yet helped to seal your faith."


Yù zǐ turned his neck towards Kenny.  "And you, kid! I knew it. I had a feeling about you. There is no hope for you left. Take that knife and gut yourself!" Yù zǐ's throat was starting to parch up but if this was his final moments, then he would go out with an all out last hurrah. "Because the only way you are going get out here alive with the cops on your side is if you eviscerate this beast in the name of survival and redeem your soul!"


This was it, the final pumping of his heart. The raging beat before the stroke of death. Yù zǐ sent all his might to his legs and pushed himself up. Like a raging bull, the madman rushed towards his captor and dived straight at him in hopes of pinning him to the ground.

Morgan

"You! Agh!"  Morgan yelled, as he watched his coat become slightly stained from the blood leaking out of his shoulder.  Morgan's eyes grew incredibly wide, as he tried to move his hand to put pressure on his wound but only managed to move his body back and forth.

Was he really going to die here?  What was more important to him upholding his standing with soon to be dead people or surviving to another day?  Even if the man is mad... no one will survive if this continues... hell he might even kill people who are barely related to try and get a third!

"Don't be an idiot Kenny!  What do you hope to do by yourself? You'll hesitate and just wind up dead. You need to survive so I can hire you remember?"  Morgan stated in a hushed tone and light nod. he slowly turned to the goatman as he took a deep breath.  Morgan simply turned his head at the sight of Yu Zi, he couldn't bear to look his friend in the eyes for what he was about to do....

"No Yu Zi, it's Alecia's fault we are in this mess in the end isn't it!  You didn't break a law."  Morgan yelled glare daggers at the lawyer, as he turned to the goat man with fury in his eyes, "Screw it, I'll help you, at least I never got anyone killed trying to further my career!"

At that comment Morgan felt a strange pain in his chest, as he felt his face flush red.  He wasn't sure if it was from the anger or the guilt at this point, but he would have to bear with it for now.

A.  Kenny can still be saved

B) Kenny is beyond hope.

- Luna -

If you want something done right, do it yourself.

Luna's mother had always been a perfectionist. It was one of the many reasons why her parents hadn't been able to work things out, but those words had always been imprinted on her mind. A parting gift from the woman that gave birth to her.

Even now, with the taste of blood in her mouth from biting her lip and the dull ache in her shoulder from hitting the ground, Luna couldn't banish the words. So Kenny was the only one that could help them? Fat chance. She'd given him that opportunity once already, and hadn't that turned out wonderfully?

As Gilles flitted around the room, she kept her eyes trained on him, something made far easier by the turning on of the lights. When he turned his back to her, Luna threw her weight to the side, sliding the chair enough to plant her foot in the back of the deranged man's knee.

"I wasn't finished with you yet!" She hissed, lashing out at him with another kick as his weight carried him to the ground.

Kenny trembled as he looked into Cyrus' eyes, hearing his words echo through his head.

"This is your moment. You can still take control of your life back. Only you can fix this. Make your stand."

He watched Cyrus close his eyes in peaceful resignation, making Kenny's stomach knot itself. Then, when Remy screamed, he spasmed violently, like her scream tore its way through his every nerve. He clapped his hands to his ears, digging his fingers into his scalp.

But it didn't stop him from seeing. He saw Jacke's eyes meet his in his last moment of desperate pleading. He opened his dry lips to speak.

Then Yu zi made his rush for Gilles. Or tried, rather. Bound to a chair and minutes from death's door, movement wasn't feasible at this point. After a few clumsy steps, he toppled and fell beside the pool, staring into the bloody water.

Gilles paused at Jacke's throat and turned to face Yu zi. "I was going to let you bleed out in peace, but if you're so determined to go first... then so be it."

He walked toward Yu zi, then halted as Morgan burst out in... a volunteer?

"You...?" Gilles murmured, surveying him. "Hmm... but deception is your bread-and-butter. How can I be sure?"

He glanced at Yu zi and smirked.

"You can start by getting rid of this one. He's far more of a bother than he has any right to be."

He had every intention of moving to unbind Morgan, but Luna acted first. Throwing her weight to the side, she slid the chair enough to plant her foot in the back of his knee.

"I wasn't finished with you yet!" She hissed, lashing out at him with another kick as his weight carried him to the ground.

Gilles let out an animal-like scream of rage as he whirled on Luna and lashed out with his knife, slashing her across the shin.

"You little b*tch! I'll bleed you like a pig!"

He clawed across the ground to Luna, and stabbed toward her heart.

"Nooooooo!"

Kenny clamped onto Gilles arm and deflected the stab aside. The two sprawled across the ground, Kenny stabbing blindly at Gilles' back. Gilles howled in pain and rage and threw Kenny off. Then, with a bellow, he brought his knife down.

Kenny could only gasp as the knife sunk into chest up to the handle. Coughing blood, he stared with wide-eyes at Luna as Gilles bared his teeth and pulled the knife free.

"You've ruined everything. Everything!" Gilles screeched. He turned back toward Luna, murder in his eyes, and stalked toward her.

Pierce tensed, then sprang forward. He was no more agile than Yu zi, but his positioning was better. He rammed his chair fully into Gilles as he passed, and they both tumbled aside. The pool loomed before them, and Pierce braced himself as the bloody surface rushed up to meet him.

So, this is how he'd die. Drowning after all...

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"Pierce!" Alecia screamed as he disappeared beneath the red surface, still tied to his chair. "Oh god."

There was pained cough, and a spray of blood from Kenny's body, and Alecia jolted in surprise as what she thought to be Kenny's corpse suddenly moved. With agonizing gasps, he grasped the knife he'd dropped with weak, shaking fingers and slid his body across the floor to where Luna's chair was.

"S-sorr..." he murmured, slipping the knife into her fingers.

With that, he fell back across the ground, eyes vacant and unblinking.

With the knife in hand, the first glimmer of hope in the darkness arose. Luna could cut free her bonds, but then what? Every passing moment, Pierce sunk closer to death... and with every passing moment, the Goatman could emerge and cut off any hope of escape or rescuing the others.

A) Save Pierce.

B) Free the others.

C) Escape.

B) Free the others.

- Luna -

Luna could only watch in horror as the scene unfolded before her. Her own death, she could have dealt with. At least then, it would be over. This reality was far worse.

Her fingers gripped the bloody knife in her hand, and with tears beginning to drip down her cheeks, she sawed at the rope binding her arm. As the ties came loose, and the chair rolled from beneath her, she winced at the pain shooting through her shoulder. There had obviously been some damage when she landed on it, but Luna hadn't realized how bad it was at the time.

Gritting her teeth, she sat up, pulling her knees beneath her. Planting the fist of her good hand on the ground, she pushed herself to her feet and staggered to Cyrus' chair. Unlike the awkward angle of her own ties, cutting through his was a simple matter. With the sharp knife, it was little different than painting a stroke on a canvas.

As the man rose from his chair, she extended the knife towards him. "If you can cut Pierce loose, it will be two versus one. I'll work on getting the others free."

Sniffing, she raised her good arm to wipe the tears from her eyes and moved to the next closest chair, Morgan's. Her fingers weren't nearly as effective as the knife, especially since she was having trouble raising one arm above waist high, but after a few seconds of fumbling with the rope, she was able to loosen the ropes enough that Morgan could free one hand and do the rest himself.

Cyrus Winter

With his ropes cut, Cyrus accepted the knife, then lifted his chair up above his head and smashed it, grabbing a leg and sliding it into his belt before diving in to rescue pierce. The splintered wood should provide the others with tools to help cut their ropes, while he planned to use the point as a weapon in case Gilles tried to hinder his rescue attempt.

It wasn't hard to find pierce in the water thanks to the lighting, and Cyrua glided through the water with practiced finesse. He landed on Pierce's chair knife-first, stabbing at it as he did to cut the ropes with help from the momentum. While keeping an eye out for Gilles, he then roughly grabbed Pierce and tugged him by the shoulder to get the ropes off, grabbed him from behind to try and pull him to the surface.

- Remy -

Suddenly the commotion began anew as Yu Zi tried to launch himself at the Goatman despite being tied to his chair. It was enough distraction to spark a series of events.

Remy stared in horror at he scene unfolding before her eyes.

Pierce, bound to the chair, as he fell in the pool of blood together with the Goatman.

Kenny, unmoving and bleeding on the ground.

Her mind refused to accept that he had just died.

“This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening,” she murmured under her breath, still shaking.

Morgan

Morgan quickly pulled himself out of the rope binds, full of the adrenaline that was now rushing throw his head with millions of questions running through his mind. But.... There's one thing he wanted to say that rose above all the other thoughts....

"YOU IDIOT"  Morgan yelled at Luna, as he grabbed his head with his his arms clutching his head, as his eyes looked frazzled staring the corpse of Kenny.

He had this under control!  He was going to be a hero and then they would all regret treating him that way even if it betrayed them at first.  But now, Kenny was dead one of the most useful people here all because Luna and Yu Zi decided they wanted to attack the Goat while... THEY WERE STILL TIED UP!

Morgan quickly glanced between the three people still tied up, Remy, Alecia, and Yu Zi.  They were all seemed to be in a difficult situation.  He had only enough time to save one, and while his mind rushed to Yu Zi a phrase popped into his head that blocked the thought out...

He owed Alecia a favor....

Morgan quickly bolted towards the two woman as he grabbed the back of their chairs and quickly and frantically dragged them away from the pool of water.  His face completely flushed red now out of embarrassment, anger, and guilt all at once.

"SHUT UP!"  Morgan yelled in Remy's face, as he slapped her and began undoing Alecia's ropes first.  She didn't seem as in denial, and since she would be the goat's main target freeing her would give him some leverage.

"Keep yourself safe, you're his target.  As long as you're safe, we have an edge."  Morgan quickly spouted, as he quickly went over to Remy and began freeing her next.

Luna was free! Alecia felt relief swell up as the other woman managed to extricate herself from her chair, then free Cyrus, who plunged without hesitation into the bloody waters of the pool.

Next was Morgan, who was understandably in a state of heightened aggression and anger. He made a surprising move toward her, dragging her chair back before working to loosen her bonds. His strike against Remy was uncalled for, and Alecia felt herself tense up, but she decided to let it go. This wasn't the time for arguments and lectures. They had bigger things to worry about.

Morgan seemed to think she was more of a target than the rest, and Goatman would come for her first. Maybe so, but at this point, he was just as likely to kill any of them. Her eyes drifted toward the water, toward where Pierce had vanished, but... what could she do for him now?

She forced herself to look around. There had to be a way to get them out of here. Leaving Luna and Morgan to free Remy and Jacke, she ran off toward the control panels. Before the Goatman surfaced, she needed to find the exit.

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The surface of the pool sank farther and farther away, and Pierce felt his lungs began to tighten and burn as his natural instincts fought to keep him alive as long as possible.

"What about you, big shot? Given who you are, I know a bit, but what really gets your bald, millionaire self out of bed in the morning?"

"Habit." He shook his head and glanced up at the black void of the ceiling above. "Not much of a motivation." For life... or escaping this place. "I guess there's some instincts you just can't fight."

Even now... Instinct, habit, that's what kept him going. Even if he didn't have a reason, he knew one thing.

I don't want to die.

His body desperately fought for air, and he stamped down on the urge to open his lungs, to let the water in.

Pierce looked back at her, then drew his checkbook out. After scribbling down for a few moments, he tore off a check and handed it to her.

"That should be enough to cover your student loans and your shoebox apartment for the next decade. We make it out of here alive, and I'll sign it."

He did. He did have a reason, damn it. The others were still alive up there. He had to make it back up there, to help them, to give that bastard Gilles his just desserts, and to sign that damn check. And like hell was he going to die before he'd had a chance to do that.

He opened his eyes just as a figure swam in front of him. He tensed up - Gilles! - but then realized who it was. Cyrus? How'd he get down here?

Nevermind that. Cyrus was cutting him loose, and though his body was losing what energy it had left, he managed to propel himself to the surface with Cyrus' help.

A gasp exploded from his lungs as they broke the surface. He sucked in air like it was his last breath on earth - and it very well might be if they didn't move fast. Pierce and Cyrus clambered for the side, but just as Pierce started to pull himself up, Gilles exploded from out of the water. He pounced on Pierce's back, dragging him back into the pool. They struggled against the wall, Pierce grabbing at Gilles' arm to keep the knife hovering just above him from plunging into his neck.

"Just... die already!" Gilles screamed.