Wyatt woke up that morning and stretched, checking the clock on the wall.

It was six o'clock in the morning. The announcements wouldn't go on until an hour later.

He mentally cursed himself for getting up early. He tried to fall back asleep, but the haunting image of Kiara's execution kept him awake.

Wyatt sighed in exasperation as he slipped out of bed and changed, his eye suddenly catching the slip of paper on his desk that he had left there.

Wyatt remembered Erik's voice.

"Open this...when I go. I don't have much time anymore."

He opened the paper and read it to himself, noting Erik's fast handwriting.

Dear Wyatt,

By now, I am dead. I don't know what happened. I'm sorry for trying to murder you.

Do you remember the laptop that we found in the library? Unfortunately, I couldn't send a distress signal, so I improvised a bit on a programming I found in the computer.

That's all I'm gonna say. You have to found out for yourself. The computer is located at the place where there are no security cameras, in a compartment. B3.

Why did I give it to you? I trust you the most. As the Ultimate Luck, you seem the least harmful and the least deceiving. I hope my hunch is right.

With that, I leave the last remnant of myself to help you all get out of here. I hope it will defeat despair. Use that later for a future reference.

Best of luck,

Erik S. Killman.

Wyatt slowly put the note down and bit his bottom lip. He reread the note once more.

"A place with no security cameras..." he mused to himself. There seemed to be no place like that. Even the storage rooms had a camera into the wall. Wyatt closed his eyes and thought, sitting down on his bed.

He realized that the stalls in the bathroom didn't have a security camera.

Wyatt stood up and ran to the boys' bathroom, shoving the door open as he looked at the next clue. B3. Wyatt frowned. He walked along the stalls, entering the last one as he looked to the tiled walls. B was two. Wyatt counted two squares over. Three meant three down. Wyatt reached the meeting point, a tile that was slightly to the left in the middle of the wall.

He hesitantly out his hand on it and pushed.

The tile fell away, leaving a code entry keypad. Wyatt groaned. He wasn't good at this stuff. Wyatt tried to enter B3 on the keypad.

The keypad flashed red and the tile refused to open.

Wyatt checked the note once again. The last line of the letter caught his eye.

He typed in the password.

HOPE.

The keypad flashed green and the tile moved away, revealing the laptop.

Wyatt took it out carefully before sitting down against the wall, ready to open it. The intercom suddenly came on.

"Good morning, my guests! It is seven o'clock! Get up quickly! Now's not the time to sleep in!"

Wyatt decided to head down to the dining room. He tucked the laptop into his jacket before walking down the hall.

Wyatt pushed the mahogany doors open, noting the few people there already.

"Oh, look. It's Clark." Griffin said, leaning back on the chair with his feet propped on the table next to the French toast.

Wyatt made a mental note to never eat the food around Griffin again.

"How many more are we missing?" Wyatt asked.

"Just two more," Star said, leaving forward. "Sophie and Damien."

Wyatt sat down. "I found something from Erik. I need everyone here to show it."

They all stood up and crowded around Wyatt.

"What is it?"

Almost on cue, Vega and Sophie arrived.

"Huh? What's this? We talking about Dagger again?" Vega asked, jumping on the dining table as he faced Wyatt.

"I found something that Erik left behind." Wyatt said.

"What is it?"

"I don't know either; I haven't checked it out yet."

Star bent over the computer, carefully looking over it. "Let's take a look."

They opened the computer. Immediately, the screen flashed rainbow colors and the theme song for Star Wars blared through the speakers.

Once the flashiness disappeared, they were left with a blank white screen.

"What kind of a sick joke is this, Wyatt?" Cassie asked, frowning slightly.

"I didn't do it!" Wyatt protested.

"Um...hello? Anyone there?" the computer spoke.

Wyatt jumped back as a little boy appeared shyly out of the corner of the screen. He squinted.

"It's Erik's ghost!" Griffin yelled.

Wyatt studied the figure. It looked oddly like Erik...just the cuter, eight- inch cartoon version of him. His clothes were not colored, but his eyes— a shocking purple color— and everything else was.

The cartoon boy stepped out of the the corner. Wyatt leaned forward awkwardly. "Uh, hi."

The boy smiled immediately. "Hello, My Lord!"

"Was Erik into dominance?" Vega wondered, earning a glare from Cassie.

"My Lord?" Wyatt asked, confused.

The boy nodded. "Yes! You are Lord Wyatt, correct? Lord Erik told me all about you!"

"Woah, woah, there, cutie, slow down, step on the break, and put the car in reverse," Griffin said. "Who are you?"

"Oh, I forgot! I'm sorry, Lord Griffin! I am AlterAssassin, an AI made by Lord Erik on this computer! He programmed me to hack into files and help you guys out!"

"So that's why he used this laptop!" Vega said, snapping his fingers. "I thought he was looking up porn!"

"Vega, stop," Crimson groaned.

AlterAssassin smiled and did a small twirl on the screen. "Is there anything you wanted me to do, Lord Wyatt?"

Wyatt swallowed the lump in his throat. "Do you know...what happened to Erik?"

AlterAssassin shook his head. His smile faltered. "No, Lord. I just remember him telling me that he would be gone soon, and my job was to help you guys out of here."

"I see," Star said, glancing around. "AlterAssassin, could you hack into Dagger's computer system and find out why we're here?"

"Yes, Lord Star!"

"Lord?" Chase asked. "She's a girl!"

"I know! That's why I call her Lord!"

"So there are defects in the program," Thane mused.

"Meanwhile, we are going to hide you back where we found you. Is that OK, AlterAssassin?" Star continued.

"Yes, Lord Star!"

"I don't know about you guys," Griffin said, "but I'm loving this little thing. I feel so powerful!"

"Glad to make you happy, Lord Griffin!"

Star turned to Wyatt. "Will you put him where you found him after breakfast, Wyatt?"

Wyatt nodded. "Yes."

Wyatt sat down and picked up his fork, avoiding the food near Griffin as he loaded his plate with bacon. Bacon made him happy. He reached over for orange juice, simultaneously answering AlterAssassin's questions.

"What's that?"

"Bacon."

"Is it good? Is it edible?"

"Yes."

"Can I taste?"

"I'm not sure what that might do to your programming."

"How about that? What's that?"

"Orange juice."

"Can you eat it?"

"You drink it."

"Can I try?"

"If you want to die with the computer," Wyatt said in annoyance.

AlterAssassin was quiet after that. Wyatt finished his breakfast and left, closing the laptop and saying goodbye to AlterAssassin.

He headed down the hall, pushing the door open to the bathroom and tucking the computer under his jacket. Wyatt entered the stall, finding the compartment and entering the code, gently putting AlterAssassin away. He exited the bathroom, deciding to wash his hands.

Someone whispered lowly in his ear. "Hey baby."

Wyatt lurched backwards into the stalls, crashing onto the toilet. "Holy shit!"

"Hahahaha! That was amazing!"

Wyatt slowly got up, scowling. "What the hell are you doing here? And don't do that in my ear again!"

Dagger smiled, his eyes glittering. "Just checking. You seem a little...suspicious." He walked over to Wyatt and slung his arm around his shoulders.

"Keeping something away from the group?" Dagger whispered.

Wyatt froze. "No."

"I can tell when you're lying."

"Reverse psychology doesn't work."

"This isn't reverse psychology. You are hiding stuff from us. I'm starting to get a little...suspicious. I'm watching you, Wyatt. You interest me the most."

"What are you trying to say?"

Dagger's fingertips traced Wyatt's scar on his face. "Just watch your back the next time around."

Wyatt tried not to shudder at the way Dagger said those last words and quickly left.

He exited the bathroom in a heart-beating panic, going into his room. As Wyatt sat on the edge of his bed, thinking about Dagger's words, he felt a dreaded, almost liquid-like feeling sweep throughout his body.

And, for the first time since he got to the mansion, Wyatt felt true despair.