As the two girls walked down the halls of the high school, Caitlin’s heart sank. The glaring sun shined through the windows of the halls, but the blonde woman felt chills all across her body. The sunshine did nothing to bring comfort to her troubled mind.

When you were in the middle of the abyss, it would take a lot more than a star to save you.

Katie was beside her friend. She wanted to help. She really did. But the immortal psychopath had no idea how to cheer up her friend.

Just as they were about to leave the pit of death, a figure suddenly caught up to them from behind. Katie raised her eyebrows when she saw who it was. Vivian.

Vivian was a girl Caitlin and Katie have crossed paths with during one of Mr. Isaac’s twisted games. In that game, the students had to find a token if they wanted to live. The two ran into Vivian and her boyfriend in the gym, where Vivian’s boyfriend decided it was a good idea to shoot Katie full of shotgun shells.

Katie considered the experience rather positive.

Vivian's boyfriend didn't. His ultimate fate was...tragic.

When that game ended, Vivian came to Katie and stabbed her as a payback for what she did. If it was anyone else, it would’ve been another fight that would last at least a few paragraphs, but Katie, the weirdo that she was, decided she actually quite liked how Vivian did things. They had little interaction after that.

But Vivian wasn’t here to find our favorite masochist. She was here after Caitlin.

“Caitlin, can I talk to you? Somewhere safe?”

“Sure!” Caitlin did her best to act normal and more uplifted than what she truly was. “My house?”

She wasn’t too concerned. Vivian was hardly one of the more aggressive classmates around. Then again, even if she was...whatever horror she could unleash would be nothing compared to what Katie had in her arsenal.

“Sounds fine.”

As the three walked over to Caitlin’s house, Katie suddenly tapped Vivian on the shoulder.

“So...you wanna stab me again?”

“No. Why would I want that?” Vivian shrugged.

“Do I need to give you a reason? Hmmm...got another boyfriend for me to kill?”

Vivian glanced at Katie and not-so-subtly moved to the side, keeping Caitlin between her and Katie Lockwood, probably for the best for her own sanity. She felt like if she spent another minute beside Katie, she would either stab Katie or stab herself. Maybe both.

Finally, in the safety of Caitlin’s bedroom, the three women started talking. Vivian started.

“I have been keeping an eye on you three. Well, you two.” Vivian bit her lips, quickly catching herself from mentioning the boy who gave up on everything just today. ”Everyone is going mad and crazy and desperate, but not you two.”

The brunette subtly glanced at Katie, who was visibly displeased. I'm not crazy? Watch your mouth! Nonetheless, she remained silent and watched as Vivian continued.

“This is why I believe you two are still trying to find a way out of this. I have been trying to do the same thing.” Vivian’s eyes flickered. “I have also been trying to end the games. That means we are on the same side.”

Caitlin nodded. She appreciated what Vivian said. Nonetheless, as she spoke, there was a sense of doubt in her voice.

“Happy to hear that.” She replied quietly. “But I...I don’t know. Mr. Isaac, whatever he is, he’s just too powerful. We can’t beat him, no matter how hard we try. And...I have reasons to believe we are not his first victims, and his former preys...none of them made it out.”

“True. He is all-powerful, at least on the surface.” Vivian nodded slowly. The power of Mr. Isaac was clear, but she was one of the students who refused to let herself be crippled by the fear of the monster. She has always prided herself for being the calm one, and she planned on remaining that way. “However, logically speaking, he can’t be invincible. There’s no way he’s the most powerful being on the planet.”

“Why not?” Katie questioned.

Vivian glanced at her. “If a being as malicious as him is invincible, then society as we know it will have crumbled already. Something is limiting him, confining to doing these sickening games in random schools.”

“And how about his curses? Maybe he has been doing this for decades and we just couldn’t see it. Maybe he’s just really good at hiding it.” Caitlin frowned at the suggestion. That was what happened to the other schools in the district. They have been dying by the thousands for god knew how long and no one outside the curse even knew they existed. For all they knew, these atrocities could be happening across a thousand places as they spoke.

“Precisely. Hiding. Knowing Mr. Isaac, why would he need to hide if he’s unbeatable?” Vivian replied quietly. “He has to be afraid of something. Someone. He doesn’t want to be exposed, and if he doesn’t want something, then that something is exactly what we need to do.”

“Expose him?” Katie suddenly scoffed. “Easily said than done. I massacred an entire family a few days ago and nothing happened to me because of whatever he did! The police didn't even try to look for me...oh fucking shit!”

The girl suddenly snapped and cursed at the top of her lung, and for the right reason.

“You did what?” Beside her, Caitlin snapped around at Katie, trying her best to contain her shock.

“Ok...in my defense, it was a black arms dealer...him and his bodyguards.” Katie coughed and pointed back at Vivian. “Let’s move back to the topic please…”

Thankfully for the masochist, Caitlin was easily distracted. All she did was throw Katie a glare that said “we will discuss this later” before turning back to Vivian.

“What are you proposing?”

“I have scheduled a meeting this afternoon with the producer of a television station. RCTV.” Vivian said. “I want to tell him, face-to-face, everything that happened in our school. And then, I want him to put it on the evening news and broadcast it to all of its viewers across the nation. Let’s see how Mr. Isaac can cover that up.”

“Wait...and how exactly do you know he will believe your story?” Katie asked curiously.

“I don’t.” Vivan replied before tapping her jacket pocket and pulling out a handgun. Her meaning was clear. After what she has seen in the sickening games, her morale fiber was as well as nonexistent. Going to jail was better than being tortured to death in an orgy of fear and despair.

Katie let out a proud smile. “I’m impressed. Honestly, if I’m not going after Caitlin, I’ll be after you. No offense, sweetie.” She turned and smiled at Caitlin.

Caitlin bit her lips and tapped her forehead. “None taken, Katie. So, Vivian. You think that’s going to force Mr. Isaac to stop the games?”

“I think that’ll at least disrupt his plans. That may be the best we can hope for.”

“So why did you come to us?”

Vivian let out a small sigh.

“Whether I like to admit it or not, it seems like Mr. Isaac is somehow able to keep an eye on all of us. Chances are, this trip to the TV station won’t be as peaceful as I have hoped. There will be obstacles, and I was hoping that you two can help. Especially...especially you, Katie.”

Vivian glanced at the fellow brunette. She didn't need to be too smart to see Katie wasn’t just a normal girl. In fact, she might be as mysterious as Mr. Isaac, if not more. At best, she was a psychopath with extremely good melee skills. At worst, she was some sort of monster herself. Ordinary human beings couldn't be shot with shotgun shells and proceed to walk around as if nothing happened.

If she could have Katie on her side, the chances of her plan working were amplified. Her aid brought more sense of safety to Vivian than any firearm.

Sensing Vivian’s inquiry, Katie turned and gestured at Caitlin.

“I work for my girlfriend. If she goes, I go.” She made an adorable smile. She was always longing for a fight, but this was a perfect opportunity to show Caitlin her love! Also...knowing Caitlin...

“We’re in.” Caitlin nodded. A fierce look of determination was in her eyes. If this was a way out, then no matter how risky it would be, she had to take it. “When do we move?”

“In half an hour.”

A full hour later, the three took Vivian’s car into the northern part of New York City. It was a rather packed district, with pedestrians and cars going all around. As the girls parked the car and got off, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of disbelief.

The world was revolving all around them, but it was as if they were left behind. While people worried about salaries or health insurances or political elections, they were busy trying to stay alive through Mr. Isaac’s sickening (or entertaining, depending on who you ask) games.

It was unfair, in a sense.

Parking the car in a parking lot, the three girls made their way into an office building on the side. Caitlin had a backpack on her. Even as they moved, they could see four letters on the side of the building. RCTV.

Katie led the way, pushing past the revolving glass door. Vivian and Caitlin followed her tightly, their hands reached into their jacket pockets. This ensured they could draw their handguns as soon as possible. Their eyes glanced at the first floor of the office in high alert.

Katie walked up to the front desk. She let out an innocent smile. “Hello there.”

“Hi. How can I help you?”

“We have scheduled a meeting with…oh, oops.” Katie silently slapped herself in the forehead before turning to Vivian. “A little help here?” It just occurred to her that she knew next to nothing about these meetings. Then why was she walking head on to the front desk? Katie implores you to shut up and stop using your brain...

Vivian sighed and walked up, taking Katie’s place. She exchanged a few words with the front desk, and before long, the three girls were directed to the elevators.

As the elevator doors closed, Katie let out a disappointed sigh.

“Well, that turned out better than expected.”

As soon as she said those words, Vivian and Caitlin snapped at her. Vivian was more polite, but Caitlin found herself face-palming.

“You know those horror movies, Katie?”

“Yeah?”

“This is literally what every character says before everything goes completely wrong and bodies start dropping…”

“Ohhh…” Katie bit her lips. “Well, good thing we’re not in a horror movie! And that’s such an old cliche! If there is a god that is weaving our fate, then he will know better than to do something like this…”

And then the elevator shook violently before coming to a stop altogether. The lights went dim. Thankfully, they didn't completely die.

The two girls turned to Katie. What did you say?

“Ok, ok. I’ll shut up. Promises.” Katie turned away embarrassingly before immediately breaking her promises. “So...should we press the buttons again?”

Vivian, with her right hand still in her pocket, moved forward and pressed the button of the floor they were going to. 12th floor. The button blinked a few times before, with a sudden shake, the elevator returned to motion. The three girls took a breath of relief...until they looked up at the floor display.

It was 666.

The office building only had 20 floors. Vivian researched this before when she scheduled the meeting.

“666…” Vivían turned pale. “that’s the symbol of…”

“Oooh...I know! It's the symbol of a threesome!”

Caitlin coughed violently at Katie’s words. She was so taken by surprise that it took her a while to recover. If it wasn’t for the seriousness and deadliness of the situation, she would be laughing out loud right now. But now was not the time for jokes. Before the three could say anything else, the elevator door opened to the side.

Vivian’s face turned pale. She didn't need to be too wise to realize something was completely off. Why? The floor outside...it was empty. It did look like an office building, and it did hold lines of cubicles, each with chairs and tables, but all of those looked abandoned. One look at the place told her someone hasn’t been here in a long, long time.

This was definitely not a floor in the office building. Unless RCTV decided to let an entire floor sit there for years, something has gone terribly wrong. Knowing their purpose here, it was probably the latter.

Vivian was about to step out of the elevator when Katie cut in in front of her. This made Vivian take a slight breath of relief. It was good to know that as weird as Katie was, she was still a reliable fighter when trouble came. At least she could be trusted to do the fighting and keep them safe…

“Where’s your gun?” She suddenly asked, staring at Katie’s empty hands.

Katie froze. She tapped her pocket. “Wait...I remember putting it into my bag, oh shit...anyways.” She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her Knife before proceeding out of the elevator.

For some reason, Vivian started regretting coming here in the first place.

Katie didn't know how her actions made Vivian feel. Even if she did, she would only answer that with a smirk. Didn't Vivian see how calm Caitlin was? Show her some trust!

With her Knife in hand, Katie stepped into the halls. All around her were countless cubicles. In fact, just the sight of these identical, tiny spaces made Katie shudder. She couldn’t imagine what she would do if she had to work in such an environment for decades. She would rather shoot herself in the head than hold a boring 9 to 5 job.

Behind her, Caitlin and Vivian slowly stepped out of the elevator as well with their handguns drawn and ready. They weren't as good at fighting as their friend, but this didn't stop them from putting in the effort.

Katie took a few steps forward, leading the way, but there were neither terrifying monsters nor deadly traps as far as her eyes could see. There was just silence. A terrifying, haunting silence.

And then, there were footsteps.

Katie turned to the side, where a slanted figure slowly made its way out of a dark corner of the room. The figure’s head was lowered, concealing its face. There was a ponytail behind its back, so...a lady?

“Careful, Katie.” Caitlin called out from behind. “She may be Mr. Isaac's...oh god, why do I even try?”

The change in her tone originated from a simple thing. Seeing the mysterious and likely hostile figure, the first thing Katie did was walk up to it with a wide smile on her cheeks.

“Hey, what’s up, friend?”

The slant figure’s head remained lowered, and Katie reached out to the figure with next to no caution. Before her hand could make contact, the figure looked up at her, and Katie saw...nothing.

In where the figure’s face was supposed to be, there was nothing more than a smooth piece of skin. No eyes. No nose. No mouth. No nothing.