Let the Games Begin | Dream Smp

Chapter 28

"Who the fuck is it?" Schlatt yelled in annoyance, standing up and turning to face the door, "I'm busy dealing with—" The words died in his throat when he saw who had come through the door.

Kayla looked over as well and saw a boy standing a step inside the doorway. She could instantly recognize the mop of dark brown hair and purple hoodie as the boy from her dreams. He held a shiny, gray colored object in his hands, pointing it in their direction.

"Schlatt! What do you think you're doing?" The boy exclaimed.

"None of your fucking business, Karl," the horned man hissed in response, "This has nothing to do with you. Put your silly gun down and go back to your office."

Karl's gaze drifted past Schlatt and over to Kayla, and as the two met eyes for a moment, a nervous expression flashed across the boy's face. His eyes darted to the knife in the horned man's hand before he looked up at him again.

"Were you going to kill her?" He questioned in disbelief.

"I will repeat myself one more time, so listen," Schlatt demanded in a low voice, "Go back to your office and worry about your own work. Kayla and I will deal with our shit alone." He took a step towards Karl, but the boy bit his lip and tightened his grip on the gun.

"If you try to kill her then I'll—then I'll kill you!" Karl warned, but Schlatt smirked at the waver in his voice. A booming laugh erupted from his voice as he walked over to stand face to face with the boy.

"Karl, Karl, Karl," the horned man laughed quietly, shaking his head, "We both know you don't have the balls. We'll forget this all happened if you listen to me, alright? Hand it over now." He held out his hand but the brunet didn't move, the end of the gun now pointed directly at Schlatt.

"Don't kill her, then," Karl responded meekly, "Just let her go." His fingers flexed nervously around the handle and Kayla watched the two of them from her spot against the wall, desperately wanting to intervene, but feeling as if her surroundings were just a vision. Just a nightmare.

Wouldn't that have been nice, she thought to herself. To be able to wake up and find that none of this was real.

"Karl, you know I can't do that," Schlatt said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. In surprise, Karl jerked out of his grip and staggered a step back, his breathing fast and heavy.

"Schlatt, please!" Karl pleaded, a sad expression on his face, "Just let Kayla go! None of this is her fault!"

"None of her fault?" the horned man repeated angrily, "None of her fault? For fuck's sake, Karl, all of this is her fault! And this is what she's going to pay for it with!" He held up the knife in front of himself and took a step towards Karl, but the boy squeezed his eyes shut. His finger shifted on the trigger of the gun and suddenly Kayla heard a loud boom as Schlatt jerked awkwardly with a grunt.

Kayla wanted to scream, but it felt like no sound was coming from her mouth. She wanted to do something, but it felt like she was stuck there. Unable to do anything but watch.

The horned man slowly moved one arm to press his hand against the front of his chest, pulling it away again to find it stained with dark red. He looked up at Karl, who stood frozen with wide eyes, and began to chuckle softly, in an eerie sort of way. His laugh grew louder as he took confident strides towards Karl, until the two were only inches apart.

"Clever boy. Still protecting her after all this time," Schlatt gasped, a sly smile on his face. Karl stood in shock, the gray gun dropping from his hands and clattering on the wood floor. The red spot in the center of Schlatt's chest grew darker and larger with each moment.

"I've just one thing left to say," Schlatt said, breathing heavily. He leaned forward, until his mouth was right next to Karl's left ear. Schlatt mouthed something too soft for Kayla to hear, but she watched in fear as Karl's body tensed up. Then, suddenly, Kayla heard the one sound that she knew best and dreaded most.

The sound of metal cutting flesh.

"No!" she screamed, pushing past the invisible barriers that kept her in place and stumbling to her feet. The horned man let out a struggled laugh as the boy looked at himself, his already pale face growing paler. Schlatt's laugh was cut off short, a gargled noise leaving his throat as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He went limp, collapsing backwards into a heap on the floor.

Kayla rushed over to Karl and gasped in shock at the knife in his stomach. The boy coughed loudly, pulling out the knife and throwing it across the room, where it smacked against the wall and turned circles on the floor before coming to a stop. He fell down to his knees, shutting his eyes and gritting his teeth while he held a hand over the wound. Kayla dropped down beside him and shakily placed her hands on his shoulders.

"I should have never trusted that man," Karl whispered tiredly, "I'm so sorry, Kayla. I should have gotten you out while I still could. I should have saved you while I still could. I don't have much time left now...but you have to listen to me." Kayla felt warm tears run down her face as she nodded her head.

"Down the hall and to the right there is a room with a wooden door, and inside that room is a computer," Karl explained quickly, each of his breaths more labored than the one before, "You need to unlock the computer. The password is 'Systems24'."

"Karl, why did you save me?" Kayla choked out, "Who are you to me? Why are you in the memories of my past?"

"Kayla, listen to me. This is important," Karl told her, grabbing her hands, "Once you're in the computer, you need to reboot the system. Once you've done that—" He shakily reached up to her right shoulder and carefully pushed up the sleeve of her torn sweater to reveal a small scar on her upper right arm.

"That's where the microchip is," he whispered, his large brown eyes locked on the spot, "Once the system is rebooted, you take out the microchip. Then your memory will come back and the Games can no longer control you. Do you understand, Kayla? You have to do this—you have to bring all the other contestants' memories back—you have to remember who you are."

"But who are you, Karl?" Kayla asked, "I understand, I understand completely. But, please, I just want to know who you are. I want to know why you saved me." Karl smiled sadly and reached up towards her messy hair. He carefully brushed a small strand from her tear stained face.

"You were my best friend, and I was yours," Karl breathed, "And I would give the world for you." Then his breath hitched in his chest and his eyes fluttered shut, his body leaning forward until it rested limply on Kayla.

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A/n - HOLY FUCK, I hear you say, TWO MORE DEATHS! Your welcome for your weekly dose of angstyness ;)

As a little bonus note: When Schlatt whispers into Karl's ear, he says "If I'm going down, then you're coming with me."

We're entering the final stretch of this story! Hope you guys are enjoying reading it as much I love writing it!
~Echo <3