Exposure

Chapter 19

Defeated, Aesop retreated and began sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him. He should've known he couldn't hold off all three of them. He had wasted so much precious time, he felt as if he could feel every second tick by like sand slipping through his fingers. He had to find Joseph, he had to tell him that he loved him and formulate some sort of ridiculous, impossible plan to have them both escape alive.

He found Joseph standing idly a few metres of one of the exits. His sword was thrust into the ground beside him and he was looking up to the swirling clouds in the sky with a small card in his hand. He looked angelic, peering up into the heavens. Aesop's heart throbbed at seeing him as his paced slowed. Joseph turned towards and oncoming figure and smirked softly seeing it was Aesop, his smile filling his eyes. Joseph slowly held out his arms and let Aesop crash into him.
"What?" He mused softly, "Cat got your tongue?"
Aesop felt the tears prick his eyes again as he breathed in Joseph's scent. He felt absolutely hopeless.

"I know," Joseph whispered softly, "I know, my love" he pressed a kiss to the top of Aesop's head and drew soothing circles on his back.

In truth, Aesop thought that he couldn't never understand what he felt and he the same of Joseph. How could the stars be so cruel in ending such a beautiful, unclouded love prematurely. Aesop's heart was being ripped out. He held Joseph's waist and squeezed, hoping that he could simply freeze this moment like Joseph's photographs and live there forever.

The two were able to spill all their feelings into those too short minutes. Aesop thought he would be proclaiming his love for Joseph for many more moons and here he was saying it for the final time. Joseph also showed Aesop the card he was holding, it was from the loathsome Host, explaining why Joseph vaguely remembered being injected with something when he arrived at the manor. Supposedly, they were injected with some sort of chip that would simply cause their bodies to die upon activation. It would be immediate and painless, Joseph confessed he somewhat took comfort in that. Aesop was sickened upon reading it, to reduce such a significant death to something so 'simple'. He thought it was a grotesque and twisted way of dying, as if Joseph were some animal to be put down. Of course, Aesop kept these opinions to himself, but he let his anger brew in him like venom.

"Are you sure you can't win the match?" He asked softly, stubbornly. Aesop wasn't going to let the Host kill Joseph like an insignificant insect. A small light ignited in his eyes as an idea grew, "What if you caught the rest of them?" He asked feverishly, "I could escape through the dungeon and you would still win, we could both escape!" He proclaimed, squeezing Joseph's hands in his own.

Joseph shook his head gently but he looked as if he was considering the plan in his head, turning it over in his mind and scrutinising it. Aesop had found a loophole. They had a possibility of escaping together. Slowly, Joseph reached for his sword and opened his mouth to speak.

The alarms suddenly started blaring, the other survivors had completed the last cipher and were free to unlock the gates. Aesop felt immense dread flow throughout his veins, their time was up. There was no time for Joseph to catch and chair all the survivors now. Aesop saw the group running towards the nearby gate. They were far away enough to be cautious but it didn't stop Servais from hurriedly punching the code into the exit gate. Aesop stared back at them, Eli stood tall and held his gaze, obviously satisfied that they had won.

The alarms rang like summons of death in Aesop's ears. He turned to look at Joseph, his mouth agape in absolute horror. Joseph wore a bitter smile as he looked back upon his love,
"This life was but a frightened nanosecond of the time we have together. In another life, we will be able to spend it together in earnest." He promised, taking Aesop's hands and kissing them gently, he then slid the small stone ring he had made from his finger and pressed it in Aesop's hand. Aesop looked down half in shock at the weight in his hand, the black material a match of the ring on his own finger.
"I love you, now go."
Joseph urged, dropping Aesop's hands and waiting to watch him escape for safety.

Aesop shook his head, he could hear the exit doors scraping open but didn't turn to look. He wasn't going. Even when he heard Kurt and Servais whooping and cheering as they headed through the exit, he didn't turn, he wasn't going.
Tears began to fall in fat droplets down his cheeks and on his shirt. He clung to Joseph, screaming protests he couldn't hear through the ringing noise in his ears.

Aesop felt someone grab his arms from behind and begin to pull. Joseph gently nodded to whoever was pulling and then looked to Aesop with eyes full of sadness and love as he began to be tugged away to the gate,
"No! I'm not going- let go of me- let go of me!" He screamed, his throat aching at the exertion, "Joseph! P-Please Joseph, I need you! Don't leave me! Please!" He begged but Joseph's legs stayed rooted to the spot.

By this time, Eli had managed to manhandle Aesop to the gate despite his violent struggling and blows. Aesop watched through tear blurred eyes as Joseph called,
"I love you, Aesop."
As the metal doors of the exit began to close. Aesop was still screaming as they did, he wished he was stronger to fight off Eli and get back to Joseph. He wished he was smarter to think of a plan sooner and save the both of them. He wished he didn't have to play this appalling game in the first place so he and Joseph would have a chance of a normal life. But he wasn't. He wasn't any of those things and now he would have to live the rest of his life missing half of his soul.

Aesop watched through the slither of space in the exit door as Joseph's smiling face suddenly went slack and he fell to the ground with a sickening crunch. Aesop's felt as if all the oxygen had been stolen from the air around him. He barely registered his own screaming as Eli dragged him away into their victory, their freedom. Aesop continued to beg to let him go back, that Joseph was hurt and needed his help, that he wasn't gone already and they needed to leave together. He wasn't even sure who he was pleading with, Eli, the Host, some merciful god?

The metal doors final sealed shut with a sigh.

Aesop had won his final game.