Spring Break

Chapter 21: Romantic Gas

As we finally reached the  attic, we forcefully flung open the door and run up the stairs to the attic, our abrupt entrance making everyone within jump in fright. Upon seeing William, Cassidy and myself, their faces transformed from fear to relief. They had mistaken us for the killers.
They all approached us, showering us with questions, asking if we were okay. They even noticed the unconscious child cradled in William's arms.
"So, how did the plan pan out?" Alexander questioned.
"Fail." William responded, his voice laced with disappointment.
A chorus of "Oh" resonated throughout the room, their tones echoing our disappointment and less hope of survival.
"Don't worry guys, we'll come up with something else." William reassured them.
"Is that Reivahs?" Katiana asked, her gaze fixated on the child.
"Yes" William confirmed.
"I've been searching for him since this whole debacle started, and I finally managed to find him." I told her.
William then handed me the child, and I walked over to a quiet corner of the attic, sitting him against the wall. I settled down next to him, keeping him company as I awaited his return to consciousness.
Back with William, Liria suddenly noticed something amiss.
"Uhm..." she began, her voice laced with worry, "where is Aurora...?" She asked.
William exchanged a glance with Cassidy before turning back to Liria, his head shaking slowly in negation.
"Aurora, where's Aurora..?" Liria repeated, her voice cracking with each repetition.
Neither William nor Cassidy offered her the response she desperately sought. "Where's Aurora William!? Where's Aurora!? She was supposed to be with you, you were supposed to protect her!"
Tears welled up in Liria's eyes. While it might not have seemed apparent, Liria and Aurora shared a close bond. They didn't hang out often but they knew each other well. Liria knew that Aurora was too innocent for this cruel world and always stood up for her, helping her cope with her panic attacks.
"You were with her! Where is Aurora!?" She continued to press.
"She's gone." Cassidy announced, her voice barely more than a whisper. A solitary tear trickled down her face.
Liria went silent for a few moments, then spoke again, her voice louder and on the verge of breaking down. "No! Where's Aurora!?"
"She's gone," William echoed Cassidy's words "she's dead."
Overwhelmed by the tragic news, Liria crouched down and succumbed to her tears. Emely and Ninlya rushed to her side, offering consolation.
"She didn't make it" said William. "I'm sorry."
Ninlya then suggested Liria sit down on the wooden boxes that were nearby. As she settled down, William walked up to Emely and asked, "is your leg okay now?" He wore a warm smile.
"Kind of" she answered, "it doesn't hurt as much now" returning his smile.
"Great!" He replied, "I'm glad you're better now"
"Yeah..." she responded. "I'm going to check up on Liria"
"Okay then.." William replied before making his way to the attic bathroom.
The focus then shifts to Liria, Ninlya, and Emely. They were comforting Liria as she wept.
After they had talked to her and allowed her to rest for a few minutes, Liria managed to regain some composure and finally spoke.
"You know, both of you are great people" Liria said with a smile, her gaze shifting between Ninlya and Emely.
Both of them returned her smile and embraced her. "Emely," Liria addressed her, "You deserve a better boyfriend."
"Why?" Emely asked, caught off guard.
"He literally tried to cheat on you with me while we were hiding in a bathroom. He assured me that you wouldn't find out and that you were likely to die anyway." Liria revealed to Emely.
Ninlya listened intently to the unfolding drama.
"And then what?" Emely asked, eager to hear more.
"I told him I wasn't interested so he started hurling insults at me." Liria replied.
"Mmm, okay" said Emely, "When he tries to talk to me, I will slap the fuck out of him"
This elicited a chuckle from Liria and Ninlya, which was soon joined by Emely.
Logan then approached Ninlya and said "hey, uhm...can we talk in private for a moment?" His cheeks were slightly flushed as he spoke.
"Sure" said Ninlya, a smile gracing her lips.
Ninlya rose from her seat and followed Logan. The attic didn't offer much in terms of privacy, so they decided to retreat to the corner I was in.
Believing me to be asleep, they decided to converse there. But I was only pretending to be asleep, eager to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"So...about the kiss you gave me before I left.." Logan began.
Ninlya was taken aback by the sudden mention of the kiss.
She let out a small giggle as she blushed, "yeah, it was just in case you wouldn't come back..." she then looked up, her hazel eyes meeting Logan's blue ones. "But I'm glad you're back."
"Yeah, me too" said Logan, his face breaking into a smile. "I'm glad I could see you again"
They exchanged smiles and then Logan asked, "maybe, if we make it out, we can go watch a movie after this...?"
"Absolutely!" Ninlya agreed, "but definitely not a horror movie! This situation is already too terrifying for me!"
"Yeah" Logan concurred, their nervous laughter filling the air.
Unable to resist, I let out a quiet giggle. Ninlya and Logan looked down at me and Logan exclaimed, "you're awake!?"
"No" I replied with a smirk, my eyes still shut.
Ninlya let out a giggle and she and Logan left the spot. I opened my eyes and watched them walking away together.
Cassidy, who was just a few feet away, asked me, "why are you laughing? That was romantic."
"You call THAT 'romantic'?" I retorted.
William emerged from the bathroom, having overheard our conversation, and chimed in, "Then what's romantic to you?"
I paused to think for a second and then noticed Daniel approaching Emely. As he attempted to engage her in conversation, Emely rose to her feet and slapped him across the face, not once but twice. She then grabbed Liria and walked away to another spot.
Daniel watched them walk away, his hand nursing his reddened face, an angry expression on his face.
"Well, that was romantic." I said sarcastically, letting out a chuckle.
Cassidy simply rolled her eyes and walked away to rest. William let out a chuckle before walking away to check on Andrew, who had an elastic bandage wrapped around his head, covering his mouth.
Once again, I was left alone, sitting against the wall, awaiting Reivahs' awakening.
Suddenly, Freddy approached me and I looked up at him, his tall figure towering over me. "There you are." He said, his tone serious, tinged with anger.
"Hey" I responded with a sarcastic smile.
"Why did you let go of my hand?" He asked, his voice filled with frustration. "I risked my life trying to save you, only for you to run back into danger!?"
"Sorry" I apologized, "I just needed to find..." I turned to look at Reivahs, "him," I said, returning my gaze to Freddy.
"Oh" said Freddy, "is that who you've been trying to find all night? Why didn't you just wait for me to help you?" He asked, his voice an odd mix of anger and concern.
"I don't know" I responded. "I'm just used to doing things myself, without help."
"And why is that?" He asked, settling down next to me against the wall.
"Meh," I shrugged. "My parents basically forgot I existed once my sister was born. From then, no one was there to help me with anything so I just did things myself and raised myself. Now, I just do...me, without help."
"Oh. Sorry about that." Freddy said.
"Why are you sorry?" I replied. "You're not my parents."
"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that." Freddy responded, his words causing me to chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Freddy asked, a look of confusion mixed with a faint smile on his face.
"Nothing" I said, smirking.
"You know," Freddy began, "I also had to become independent and take care of my siblings. My mother just goes to parties with different men all the time, so I take care of my siblings, I'm basically their father."
"Is that why you're so protective..?" I asked
"Yeah," he admitted with a laugh. "Plus I have to work to pay for my tutor and buy food for them and myself."
"Mhm, I understand" I said. "My parents sometimes even forget about my sister now that she's older, so I'm kind of raising her myself. But my parents still help...sometimes."
We both fell silent for a few seconds, then Freddy broke the silence. "Uhm," he began nervously, "When we leave this place, do you think we can go somewhere to hang out? Like...the mall..?"
I looked him straight in the eyes, and he returned my gaze. I then looked away. "I can't....accept that." I said.
"Why..?" He asked, sounding worried. "Is there something wrong..?"
"It's just that...I don't really know if we're actually getting out of here" I replied.
"Here we go again." Freddy sighed.
"It's just-" I was cut off by Freddy as he placed his hands on my shoulders.
"We are going to make it out of here," Freddy stated. "Together, the both of us." He said with a smile. "I promise!"
I sighed and looked at him, returning his warm smile. "Okay."
Freddy then removed his hands from my shoulders.
"So...yes?" Freddy asked
"Yeah, sure, we can go" I agreed with a smirk.
"Okay!" Freddy said, "it's going to be so much fun, and I'm gonna pay for everything!"
"Really?" I asked
"Yes!" He confirmed
"Okay then" I said, smiling.
The scene then shifted to where Katiana was, in the bathroom, with the door wide open. She was washing her face, trying to stay awake.
From a distance, Daniel was sitting on a box with Alexander. They were engaged in a conversation, badmouthing women and generalizing them.
Daniel noticed a large cut on his hand. Katiana was near the bathroom where the first aid box was kept, so he yelled at her, asking her to pass him a box of bandages.
Katiana picked up the box and walked over to him, handing him the box of bandages.
As Daniel reached for the box, he slowly caressed her hand. "Good girl" he said to her.
Katiana made a disgusted face at him and walked away.
"See, girls do what we tell them to do" Daniel said. "Women are supposed to serve men."
Daniel and Alexander laughed, but Katiana, who was just a few feet away, overheard their conversation and was annoyed by their comments, but she chose to ignore it.
"Too bad they get mad when we do something 'bad'" Daniel said.
"Yeah," Alexander agreed. "All women are the same."
They chuckled for a bit when, not even 3 seconds later, Katiana retorted, "Then date a fucking man!" and walked away to where Freddy and I were.
Alexander and Daniel were left embarrassed and speechless.
"So, what are we doing now..?" Katiana asked Freddy. "Since you're the 'leader'"
"Uhm..." Freddy started, "I don't know," he said, his gaze shifting between her and me.
She just rolled her eyes and went over to where William and Andrew were. She looked at Andrew, who had an elastic bandage wrapped around his head, covering his mouth, and asked, "and what the heck happened to him?"
"I don't know, I think the killer was playing with them." William replied. "He has holes on his cheeks and the killer ripped out his teeth, but he's feeling better....I guess." Looking at Andrew, then back at Katiana.
"Oh, the 'shows'" said Katiana.
"The shows..?" William asked, confused.
"Before I came to the attic and before I found Liria, I overheard in one of the rooms that the killers were playing a game with some people they found. They called it a show, and the show was called Russian Roulette." Katiana explained.
"Russian Roulette..." William mused. "Games...wow, they really are maniacs."
"Anyway," Katiana changed the subject. "What are we doing now..?"
"What time is it?" William asked.
"Uhm..." Katiana began, looking around. She then spotted a grandfather clock and said, "oh! It's 3:58 AM"
"Well, I guess we must wait till 6 am for the police to arrive since Logan's mom was supposed to call if Logan wasn't home by 4:20 AM" William said.
"Oh, okay then" Katiana acknowledged.
The scene then shifted back to where I was, leaning against the wall with Reivahs and Freddy.
"When is this kid going to wake up!!" I exclaimed in frustration.
Freddy just chuckled in response when, suddenly, we heard the door of the attic crash down.
Fear gripped me, and I rose to my feet as fast as I could, Freddy doing the same.
"Hide the kid!" I whispered to Freddy.
Freddy grabbed him and concealed him in a corner, covering him with his jacket and surrounding him with boxes. He was completely hidden from view.
We turned around and heard heavy footsteps ascending the attic stairs. William, Andrew, Emely, Katiana, Liria, Logan, Ninlya, Cassidy, Alexander, and Daniel gathered around us. We all stood together.
Freddy took hold of me and shielded me behind him, as did William with Emely and Logan with Ninlya.
Finally, they reached the attic. It was the killers. We were all consumed by fear and terror.
"Well, hello." The Main killer greeted, "looks like we found y'all's secret hideout."
The main killer and the mute killer walked towards the gaping hole in the attic floor, peered down and then looked back at us.
"It's time to face the consequences of y'all's failure." The Main killer said, a smirk hidden behind his mask.
Most of us thought we were about to die, but thankfully, that was not the case.
Suddenly, Katiana did something unexpected. The rage she felt over the murder of her best friend, Henry, probably fueled her actions.
She ran towards them, preparing to attack, and as she ran, she let out a powerful scream, "you guys killed my best friend!" The anger was evident on her face.
We were all taken aback by her sudden act of rebellion.
As she reached the killer and was about to attack, he effortlessly grabbed her and threw her through the attic floor.
As she fell, she screamed in terror, and we could hear the sound of her crashing through each floor, breaking the floorboards until she finally hit the ground floor with a loud thud.

The room instantly plunged into an eerie silence, a stifling quietness that hung in the air heavily, suffocating all other sounds. The shock of the moment had rooted us all to the spot, our minds struggling to process the gravity of the situation. Then, suddenly, I found myself blurting out, "Holy shit!?" The words seemed to echo in the silent room, bouncing off the walls and amplifying the surreal nature of the moment.

Emely, who stood next to me, was equally taken aback. Her usually cheerful face was now a mask of confusion and fear, her eyes wide with shock. After a moment, she stammered out, "What the heck was that!?" Her voice was clear as a bell.

Both of us then turned to look at each other, our expressions mirroring the shock and disbelief we both felt. In that moment, our eyes locked, and we shared an unspoken understanding. We then slowly turned back to face the killers, our minds racing, trying to comprehend the terrifying reality of what was unfolding before us.
The main killer then looked at us and said, "That's what happens when you try to be a hero, when clearly, you're the opposite."
The killers then resumed their ascent up the stairs, and we slowly retreated.
We were puzzled as to why they hadn't attacked us yet.
Suddenly, they threw a gas bomb at us. The gas was a dark pink color. We tried to cover our faces, but it was futile. One by one, we collapsed to the ground, succumbing to unconsciousness.
The two killers weren't affected by the gas, thanks to their masks. I collapsed to the floor, before I went unconscious, I looked at them as they stood there. They looked terrifying as they watched us slowly passing out from the gas.