━━ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍!
❪ are you a friend, or a foe? ❫

( warning: major gore scenes in this chapter, specifically descriptions of the immediate impact of breaking bones and a neck being snapped; please be careful. you have been warned )

⋆        𝗔𝗕𝗕𝗬 𝗗𝗜𝗗𝗡'𝗧 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪 what to do. Her eyes welled up with tears as she crawled over towards the lifeless body of Claira. Her hands impacted the ground, ignoring that she was crawling onto her friend's blood, staining her hands and the helm of her dress. The wolves had already run away, leaving a trail of Claira's blood into the forests outside the Manor, where no one could reach. Abby placed her hands over her mouth, choking back her sobs as she shut her eyes tight, wishing to unsee the corpse of Claira. She kept her eyes closed, hoping that it would disappear and that Claira would shake her awake, saying that it was just a nightmare and that she was okay, but when she opened her eyes again, Abby saw the same fate.

"You never deserved this. I'm so sorry," Abby whispered as she whispered, barely audible for the world to hear. She had thought that she could survive the attack, but that was only false hope, as her eyes glanced to the torn━opened stomach, her organs barely left behind by the beasts. Abby's hands tremored as she breathed a shaking inhale, trying to calm herself. Being here in this cursed place taught her to lose hope and faith in so many things, and now all there is left, skin and bone, just walking into false hope and the pits of lies that remained at the bottom of her heart.

She didn't feel human anymore.

As Abby looked at Claira's body one last time, her eyes glanced over to the key, covered in blood, lying beside her torn stomach. Abby looked away as she grabbed it off the dirt, covered in blood, not wanting to touch anything that belonged to Claira. Abby could feel the bile creeping up her throat but quickly swallowed it, breathing heavily. Abby looked into Claira's eyes one last time and bent down to kiss her forehead softly before moving her hand to close her eyes ━ a chance for Claira to no longer see the darkness of the manor. Abby wrapped Claira's bracelet around her wrist so that she could remember a part of her when she got out of there. That was if she got out of there. She stood up, her knees aching from the pain and fear that remained, but she stayed strong as she turned to the manor, holding the key firmly.

She started to walk on the stone path that she knew too well, the bottom of her dress soaked from Claira's blood. As she reached the entrance to the ballroom, she turned around, wishing to see Claira's body one last time. Her breathing stopped as she scanned the ground for the lifeless body, but she was nowhere to be found. She placed a hand on the door, still staring out, hoping to catch a glance of her body again. In truth, she didn't want to open the door, not wanting to experience more death, even her own. She had no choice but to open the door.

She was greeted by warm air but a deadly silence. She was afraid that the others were gone, disappeared into the horrors of the manor, and it was just her alone. But as Abby turned the corner, she could see Sedona standing and shivering, rubbing her arms together as she hugged her chest. Sedona. 

Abby gulped, not knowing what to do. She stopped in her tracks, tears starting to swell again as she breathed quickly. The thought of Claira came into her mind, and what she had said to her before she was devoured. Despite the tears falling down her cheek, Abby kept her chin up and started to take a few steps forward, clenching the keys in her hand.

"Oh my god, guys..." Vanya said as she noticed the girl walking towards her but with no Claira behind her. Everyone looked to where Vanya was and saw Abby as well, gasping as tears formed in their eyes, but none fell. It seemed that their cheeks could no longer let the tears fall as they had cried too much. This place drained their energy and emotions and left nothing for them to survive. All there was left was the dreaded hope that they hung onto. Abby couldn't help but start to cry, feeling so tired. Ivan could sense Abby's vulnerability and walked towards her, immediately pulling her into a hug.

"Where's... Where is Claira?" Despite knowing her fate, Darling said she had been hoping it wasn't real. Jamie placed a hand on Darling's shoulder, slightly flinching as she understood what he had meant and started to cry, covering her mouth to hold back the sobbing.

"She... She gave up her life for me; I didn't━" Abby said as her voice cracked, and she glanced away, avoiding eye contact with the group. Her knees buckled as she gave way and fell to the ground. Sedona bent down with her, grabbing her arms as she hugged her, not wanting to let go.

"Oh my god... She's gone; she's dead. I've killed her," William said as he whispered, muttering as he ran his fingers through his hand, breathing heavily. His breathing started to hitch before Samuel touched his back, helping him stabilise as William began to stumble. William looked at Samuel and gave him a soft look before wrapping his arms around him.

Everyone looked at Abby gloomily, not knowing what evil she had witnessed, and fear lingered on their fingertips as they comforted each other. This was a dreadful night to catch, seeing as they lost a friend to vampires that tore her skin apart in front of them, and now they lost another to hungry beasts. 

It was an unlucky day, and William looked around, seeing that most of his friends would become victims. He didn't want to be a part of that misery, and he looked at the ground, realising that he was the main reason they were all getting put six feet under. William shut his eyes, biting the inside of his mouth hard before he felt a hand wrapping around his hips. William couldn't help but smile softly, doing the same, still staring at the ground.

William felt himself falling for Samuel more and more, but he was cursed. This place drained, and it drained hard. Seeing how Sedona looked at Abby, he knew the chemistry was in the air, but it was the manor, and it destroyed hope. If William understood boys as much as any other person did, he would realise that each was different and had a strange way of showing affection. William still hadn't figured out Samuel's way of loving, but he wanted to find out soon before something terrible happened to either of them.

"Abby. It's not your fault; you should know this. She gave up so that you could live for her. She was special to us, and so are you. I'm sure you would have done the same for her..." Eleanor said, putting her hand on Abby's shoulder, making her look at Eleanor. At first, she didn't understand anything, but Eleanor made Abby realise what was happening.

"It's only the first━ no... second death, and we only have made..." Jamie said as Ivan nodded and ensured everyone heard Jamie the first time. He quickly signed a few words to Jamie, secret words exchanged, before heading towards the food table with Jamie and Darling to feed the rest.

━━━━━━

⋆        𝗔𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗬 𝗔𝗟𝗟 sat in a circle; they passed the food plates around to each other so that no one would go hungry. The food supply was starting to disappear, so everyone attempted to ration. It wasn't long before someone broke the silence as Darling began to hum a familiar song everyone knew, and they all slowly smiled. They were all just kids trying to survive something bigger than themselves, yet a simple melody brought those hearts together. It was something special that parents didn't teach at home; they all had to learn it themselves. It was a special gift you couldn't just attempt to do.

"Hello, guests."

The sudden change from a warm vibe quickly changed as the cold crept in and green smoke invaded the area where the guests sat. Everyone stood up quickly, turned around and stood in their tight defence circle. William stood in the front of the ring, the sheep leader versus the beast. The battle had begun, and the survivors would fight tooth and nail to do whatever it took to live another night.

"Ah, I see that we are missing two guests..." The Black Sorceress spoke in the same creepy tone from when the guests met her. It brought back so many bad memories, and it wasn't a nice thing, as the last time they had seen her was when they were alive.

"Why are you doing this!" Jamie yelled out, which surprised Ivan as he was usually the meek kind, the one not to stand up against the evil forces of humanity. His words twitched around like a knife, letting the blood drip down the steel, and Jamie wasn't going to back out, seeing as he had had enough of seeing his friends being hurt.

"That is the question... Isn't it, little boy?"

"You leave him alone," Ivan said, protecting him before Jamie.

"It's okay, Ivan. I can do this," Jamie said with a strong voice. William nodded with Darling by his side, smiling and holding Jamie's hand, letting him know she was on her side. Everyone started to back Jamie up, and he nodded at them before frowning at The Black Sorceress. The witch giggled, a high━pitched squeal that hurt a few ears, and William's eyes darted around, seeing that the smoke was starting to thicken around the group. The lights flickered, seeing a warning sign to the guests for what was to come to harm.

"You think... You have the power to threaten me?" The Black Sorceress said with evil in her voice. William gulped, not knowing what she was capable of, but he didn't want anyone else to get hurt as he straightened his back, changing his posture to match hers.

"Wait━" Samuel said as Jamie walked forward slowly, thinking that he could grab the staff she was holding before she yelled and banged the staff on the floor. 

As she slammed the staff on the ground, everyone lost their balance and fell to the ground. Samuel twisted his lousy knee the wrong way as he winced from the pain, but William broke his fall as he landed on him as their faces were close to each other. William's shoulder made a sound that seemed worrying, but he ignored the pain as he focused on Samuel, grabbing his knee to stabilise. Vanya fell on Ivan and Eleanor; it was just a spaghetti mess as arms and legs were tangled. Abby stumbled into Sedona before getting up quickly, ensuring that Sedona wasn't hurt. Darling landed next to Jamie, banging her head a little as she groaned from the impact, while Jamie was dazed for a second.

The Black Sorceress slyly smiled as she looked up, showing dominance before gripping her staff tighter, ensuring it wasn't out of her reach. The cold remained in the ballroom as smoke started to swarm the room. The teenagers slowly got up with aching bones as they stood against the villain ━ seemed strange to say, seeing as villains were usually created from fairy tales they read when they were children, and now it appeared too natural for them.

"Ernest... Stand next to me, little boy," The Black Sorceress said. The teenagers were confused as no one was named Ernest before Samuel and Ivan saw out of the corner of their eye a strange, ghostly figure walking past the guests. The apparition was transparent as if you squinted your eyes; you could see right through. But as the light hit the little boy, the transparency was gone, and it became flesh.

"What the hell!" Darling said as she saw the little boy. Ernest was dressed like a Victorian boy who worked at the newspaper factory. He had streaks on his face, probably from the coal from his era, and he was holding a red ball tightly in his hands before he started to bounce, the sound echoing throughout the ballroom.

"Ernest... How could you not introduce yourself to the guests?"

"Sorry... My name is Ernest."

"How did you━" Darling said to The Black Sorceress before realising she was gone. She vanished out of sight, alongside the coldness. The smoke began to disappear out the windows, the curtains clattering against the panes, and the ghostly boy remained as a table with tarot cards appeared before him. William scoffed as he noticed this and took several steps forward, trying to see if it was a joke. When the cards remained on the table, and Ernest stood staring at him with cold eyes, William knew right then that this night would never end.

"Gather..." Ernest said, looking at the guests with a grim look.

"No... Not again," Abby said as she walked back, but Sedona held her hand, ensuring she would not be taken this time. Abby looked at Sedona with a look in her eyes and nodded before standing next to her, taking a moment to appreciate the comfort amid the violence.

"You must vote two people into this challenge. You cannot vote for Abby as she has already partaken in a previous challenge," Ernest said, his face blank and grim. Everyone gasped and looked at each other again, knowing someone would die again. Abby sighed; a million thoughts ran through her head, but the essential thought she kept remembering was that she would live through another round and witness a friend die instead of her.

"I will call you up, and you will put one vote in the box. Cheating will not be allowed."

"The Savant."

"The Explorer."

"The Gangster."

"The Governess."

"The Renegade."

"The Astronomer."

"The Doctor."

"And The Mystic."

After everyone went up and voted, Ernest grabbed the box and started to shake it. The guests looked at each other with sad eyes and held each other's hands tightly, not wanting to let go of each other. Some whispered prayers, while others remained silent, waiting for their name to be called.

"Once your name is called, you will await your challenge."

"The Renegade," Ernest said as he held up a card resembling Jamie, the holographic tarot card with the same warm brown eyes. Jamie gasped, raising a hand to cover his mouth. Ivan looked at him with sorrow and quickly sighed a few words.

"You can do this; please survive."

"I'll try," Jamie whispered, choking back the tears as he nodded at the others. William sighed as he watched Jamie slowly step forward, holding his breath deep down his lungs, trying to hold back the

"And The Doctor," Ernest said, holding up Darling's card, and she started to sob; the silence was broken with tears down her cheeks. Jamie gasped as he looked behind him, where Darling was standing. Sedona, Vanya and Eleanor grabbed Darling and hugged her, crying. No matter if they didn't like each other, they were all still human beings being sent to their deaths.

"This can't be," Jamie said as he looked at Ernest, demanding an answer, but Ernest remained silent.

"It's okay, Jamie... It will be," Darling whispered as she stepped forward before looking back at the guests for the last time. Everyone was quiet as they held their breath and tears; they didn't want to let them go as they knew what would happen.

They didn't know one of the two best friends would be alone.

━━━━━━

⋆        "𝗝𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗘. 𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚. 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 challenge is to find my red ball. Whoever doesn't find it will suffer the same faith as I did," Ernest said, holding a red ball in his hand. The two friends nodded grimly, unsure of what their faith would be. Ernest threw the ball in the air, and the lights started to flicker, causing Jamie and Darling to lose sight of it immediately. The ball was gone.

"Your time has started now," Ernest said as he walked off the stage. Everyone looked at each other before they started to yell different directions and commands to get them moving through the challenge. No one was rooting for anyone and only wishing for both to survive. It was a horrible thought to wish for one's death, especially for someone as bright as the sun.

"Go! Before time runs out!" Eleanor yelled. The best friends looked at each other with sorrow, knowing what must be completed, and they looked over at the guests for the last time. They smiled softly and ran off in different directions, waiting for a chance to live.

Jamie didn't know what to do. His mind was panicked, and he looked around near the huge curtains on the dancefloor. He then looked at Ernest and the hourglass that was slowly ticking away. Panic rose in his chest as his eyes started across the room, not knowing where to go, and the thought of hope began to drain from him. He shook his hands repetitively, trying to figure out where the ball could be. Darling hesitantly looked where Jamie was and started to go where he wasn't looking, hoping the red ball was there. She felt her heart beating faster through her ears. Darling didn't want to die, but at the same time, she didn't want Jamie to die. He was her best friend, and she trusted him so much.

Before Jamie could turn around, he heard Darling gasp and knew that Darling had seen the red ball. Jamie turned around quickly, and he also spotted the red ball. It was at the top of the stairs near the railing, and both ran up. Darling was slightly ahead of him, but Jamie was faster regarding longer legs. Darling struggled to keep up with his speed, stretching to grab the barristers to push her ahead. Darling reached the top of the stairs before she heard Jamie tripping over. She couldn't stop as she knew it was going to be cheating. She gulped at the red ball before looking at Jamie and choked back the tears streaming down her eyes. She started to move forward towards the red ball and grabbed it.

"Game over," Ernest said as he appeared from the hallways. Darling started to cry and covered her mouth from crying out. She turned around to see Jamie limping up the final stairs and looked at her gloomily, falling onto his knees out of drained energy. Darling tried to take a couple of steps towards Jamie to help him up, but Ernest's glares stopped her, and her heart became burdened.

"Do what you must," Jamie said, stuttering at the end as he didn't want to believe what would happen.

"Jamie... I'm so sorry..." Darling said as she turned to Ernest and gave him the red ball. Ernest smiled before he walked toward Jamie, grabbed his hand, and led him to the broken railing, the poles sticking out with sharpened edges. They had been broken from when the beasts attacked the guests, feeding on poor Rosalie, but they hadn't realised it would be for another demise.

"You must fall."

"Fall? This high..." Jamie said as he looked down at the ground. He could see the group crying and holding their breath. Jamie stopped at Ivan, who had tears in his eyes, and he slowly nodded, knowing that he had to do it. Jamie had always feared heights but didn't think it would create a nightmare━fuel death.

"Okay... And you give Darling the key?" Jamie whispered as he looked over to Ernest.

"Yes," Ernest said as he walked towards Darling, giving her the key in her cold hands. Darling cried as she grabbed Jamie into an embrace. She didn't want to let him go ━ her best friend's death would be on her hands.

"It's okay. I can do this," Jamie stuttered.

"I can't..."

"Believe that you can, for me, please," Jamie said as he let go of the embrace and slowly walked back towards the broken railing. He didn't want to see Darling's face, knowing that if he had seen her eyes one last time, he would never walk to the edge. As Jamie reached the end, he looked down for one last look before he felt himself being pulled towards the walls, and he felt something cold in his hands.

He looked down to see what it was.

A key.

He turned quickly to see Darling walking back towards the railing with a slight smile. She nodded before opening her arms and letting gravity do the job. Jamie's heart started to beat so loud, overwhelming his ears, because he hadn't known what was happening before he realised it. He screamed as he scrambled to his feet to catch her hands over the edge.

"No!" Jamie yelled as she fell, and life became slow━motion, as if the world had stopped turning, and Jamie was moving too fast. He gasped before running down the stairs to see the fallen body. He couldn't see the guests as they were speechless, but he saw a few running towards Darling's body.

He bent down, tears falling down his cheeks as he looked at Darling. Her collarbone had stuck out, piercing through the skin. A glint of white bone appeared through the flesh, and Darling started to choke on the blood as she struggled to breathe. Her head was bent at an unusual angle, and blood was slowly drooling out of her mouth. Jamie looked at her cold, grim eyes before he heard a whisper coming out. He gasped before bending down to listen to what Darling would say.

"Hey... Don't cry," Darling whispered before she inhaled one final breath that ended Darling Brown. Jamie started to sob as he placed his head on Daring's chest, begging endlessly to whisper to bring her back. He let his body lay next to her and let the world disappear around him as he gazed at his best friend's eyes, watching the light fade away from her warm eyes. He ran his fingers through her hair and stopped, hearing the bone cracking more as he screamed, howling in the wind one last time. He clenched the key in his bloodied hands, banging his other fist into the ground, frustrated with himself.

Today was the day he lost a part of himself.

𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐒!
✶ hello! so if you have seen my miscellaneous book recently, you will have heard that i am planning to make sure that this book is finished this year to get started on the sequel! it will also be an application book, just as this one was, and i am very excited to get the work done for you guys! so that's why i am hoping to get more updates more frequently, and i cannot wait for you guys to see what i have planned :) for now, i hope you enjoyed this chapter! it sucks so much to see the separation of best friends in this book, but this chapter made me cry the first time, and it made me cry the second time around edits </3

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚!