Rabbit Hole

The Author

After everything, it all came down to this.
Everybody else was injured, helping the injured, or dead.
It was just three of us left.
Me.
Liv.
and Lewis.
Let the end begin.

Amanda's POV

My route to the office wasn't exactly a labyrinth. It was just one very long corridor leading towards another metal door. Locked. There were three types: padlocked, code, and rope.

Easiest one first: rope. I take out the knife and slice it off. Nothing. No trap or alarm. Should have checked before I did that, really, but it doesn't matter now.

Then, the code. What would someone use for a number code? What would Lewis use? Then it hits me: his daughter. He may have been lying about his intentions, but I can tell he still cared enough about her. So he'd use her birthday.

The 23rd of October.

I input '2310' into the padlock. Nothing.

So then I try the second plan. Birth year. But when would that be?

So, if we're the 13th iteration, and we're the third one this year, that's about 3 a year. Although Cole did say that they could fit one in near the end, but that's probably a bluff, there's no way you could run another in under a month. So 3 a year. 13/3 is- no that's gonna be so annoying- 12/3 is 4. So Kathrynn's rotation was late 2017. She was 14 at the time, so 2017-14 is 2003.

I inupt '2003'. Still nothing. Fuck.

Wait.

I input '2017'.

It finally opens. Thank god.

Finally, the padlock. I just use the blunt edge of the knife to smash it off.

So, here we go.

Liv's POV

It doesn't take long to get from the storage room to the office door, which is blocked by three locks. Rope, padlock, and code.

Nope. Fuck this.

I run back to the storage room and search for something to break the locks. It looks bad at first, a croquet bat won't do much to a door, Andrew's head definitely won't, a hammer could work, the I turn back to the axe I left in the room. Yep, that'll do it.

On the way out, I see the costumes again.

No. Not worth it.

However...

No. They want me to do it.

I mean I could, I got time...

He wanted me to become the Queen of Hearts.

Yeah, I guess so.

But what if I don't go for the Queen of Hearts?

Amanda's POV

Launching open the door, I finally see the office. Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades line the white walls in a pattern. In the centre of the room sits a desk with a computer. Multiple monitors display the feeds of different rooms. The walls have six pictures on them, one of each of the main workers. However, four of them are crossed out. Cole (who me and Liv killed four days ago), Carol (who Blake and Harriet killed earlier), Wilfred (who Harriet evicerated), and Clyde. Guess Elliott finally got his revenge. Good for him. However, Andrew's photo isn't crossed out. He could have killed Liv. Looking to the centre of the room again, I see a chair, and who else could it be sitting there?

"Welcome back, Amanda."
"It's been a few days."
"Well, a lot's happened in that time, hasn't it? You escaped. You broke my system. Your team killed half my staff. So, I'd say it's been a while."
"We want answers."
"And I'd be prepared to give you them."
"First off, how did you know everyone died?"
"CCTV cameras, obviously. We have multiple monitors, one of them set up right here at my desk. So I watched every single action you did right here from my desk."
"And you didn't think to help your employees fight us?"
"I'll be honest, Amanda. I'm more brains than muscle, that's their jobs. And if they didn't beat you, they did a bad job."
"You really don't care about them?"
"Not really. Carol never really did much to help us, sometimes she helped with therapy and found us some targets at some points, but that's it. Clyde was a great worker, but he didn't know where to hold back with the torture and violence. We all agreed a line, and he repeatedly crossed it. Wilfred's just too egotistical. He thinks it was 'me and him', but it was only really me. He just helped build some of the machinery. I invented and discovered everything. He was a glorified builder I never kicked out. And Cole, I was gonna put him under with you guys."
"Why?"
"He was getting too hesitant with you guys. You may think he hated you the whole time, but no. Especially with you, Amanda. In a way, I'm kinda lucky you chose Liv. If you'd have chosen Cole, or worse, he joined you, then you'd have an insider on your side. Also, as I learned, if you work with enough people with the views I have you find multiple reasons people have them. I'm not a hateful person, Amanda, I'm just doing what someone needs to do. Most of them were hateful, though. Andrew especially, he was almost dangerously strong in his views. But Cole, as I found out, wasn't holding his believing they were right."
"So, what does that mean?"
"It means I needed to stop 'Chloe' from being a problem."
"You mean they were-"
"Like you. Yes. But they never admitted it. They didn't do a good job at hiding it near the end, though. 12th iteration, they requested to play a girl that time. Came up with a name and everything. I let them, because let's be honest, it was way more convincing. In fact, I was gonna put them in as a girl that time, but Blake had to mess up my plans didn't they? So they had to go. Before they turned on us. Thanks for sorting that problem for us, by the way."
"So, what about Andrew?"
"Oh, Andrew. Where do I begin? He's a great manipulator, I'll give him that, but he's got a serious attitude problem. He's gone against me multiple times, all of them ending badly for him and sometimes for all of us. And don't get me started on his need for control. In fact, he actually tried to rework the brainwashing machine to make someone a slave to him. Scariest part is he knew how, and he succeded. Which means now I have to deal with the fact that the machine can do that."
"You really hate him, huh?"
"We share one thing, then. With Liv, he's been his worst. Speaking of her, she should be coming through that door at any minute, right?"