━━ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐄𝐍!
❪ back to the waters ❫

( warning: specific descriptions of a gun shooting; please be careful. you have been warned )

⋆        𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗠 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗𝗡'𝗧 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘. He was trapped in a never━ending loop of hearing the screams of someone he once loved. Trapped in a strange bubble surrounding him, he was left with no air to breathe and was forced to panic. This struggle surrounding him was like the ocean, the waves crashing onto the shore with a large impact. But these waves weren't regular; they were huge and crashing hard. William was left to drown in his sorrows, and no lifeline could help him. It was as if he was being weighed down by an anchor that dragged him to the depths of the sea, never to resurface again.

William could feel someone pulling him off Samuel's dead body, but he tried to grasp onto the last pieces of his chest, not wanting to let Samuel go. William had so much he wanted to tell him but feared never getting the chance to do so. Now, that fear had come true in the darkness of the Manor, leaving him hopeless.

Ivan tried to grab William by the arm, pulling him onto his feet. Before he could, he spotted the key in Samuel's bloodied hand ━ he had no idea how it had gotten there, but he suspected that it appeared after the spirits had fled the scene. He sighed before he bent down, hiding it from William's view, avoiding the touch of Samuel's blood. He hated the sight and feel of it, even if it was his own.

"William, please, we have to leave now," Ivan said as he helped William up to his feet, even if his bones were heavy. William couldn't answer; his tongue suddenly too big for his throat, but Ivan understood; he always did. Ivan nodded as he helped guide William towards the door, turning his body away from Samuel's body.

The lights started to flicker rapidly, and everyone sprinted for it. Not knowing their next threat, they didn't want to face the dangers. Ivan noticed that the walls seemed to grow smaller when they were running down the hallways, and he felt claustrophobic with each turn. But with every attempt the house made to distract him, he focused on William and getting everyone to safety.

"This way! Come on!" Abby said as she pointed down an unfamiliar hallway. Ivan raised his eyebrow, unsure of how safe this hallway was, seeing as they had not been through this way before. Nonetheless, Abby and Sedona were already heading down the hallway, taking the lead for the group, and Ivan followed, holding William's waist tightly as he stumbled, trying to keep up with everyone's speed. He noticed that Jamie was, too, and it surprised Ivan to see his courage shine through. Think that in the beginning, Jamie was a meek mouse that jumped at any form of sound. But now, he was braving against otherworldly monstrous creatures, even some that Ivan wouldn't dare.

"Here's a clearing, run!"

"Come on! There's someone behind you; run faster!"

"William, you need to work with me; we must work together..."

"This is some bullshit, oh my god!"

"Who the hell is that!"

━━━━━━

⋆        𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗜𝗫 teenagers finally got to a room capable of locking the monsters out, they all went to sit on the chairs spread out in what seemed to be a study room. Some were breathless, others panting to get their breaths back; they all looked at each other, misery in their eyes. Even when Samuel started as a stranger, he made his way into each person's heart; he was still a good friend. Eleanor sighed as she looked at William, who wasn't responding to anyone. She folded her arms tight, holding them close to her chest as she paced back and forth on the spot.

"Hey, Will..." Vanya spoke, trying to communicate with him. The blank stares into nothing were enough for Vanya to understand the situation.

"It's going to be okay, I'm sure of it. Every one of us went through a trauma, and we are all still okay and breathing right now... Samuel is in a better place; that's all that matters now. It's better than this place," Jamie spoke as he kneeled in front of William, placing his hand on William's knee. He could see William's tear━stained cheeks, the bags underneath his eyes from not getting enough sleep in this place and the freckles that dotted around his nose near a faded, small scar. Jamie knew one more push to William's psyche would be the last time William could take anything.

"Are you sure?" William whispered. Jamie bit his lip hard, hearing the pain in his voice, and he inhaled sharply, holding the sobs tightly in his chest. He stood up, placing one hand on William's shoulder, before leaving, knowing William wanted alone.

Eleanor stood far from the group, standing near the window overlooking the garden patio, observing the surface emotions. At first glance, it would be easy to know that no one was having a sense of happiness course through their bodies. The trauma was eating them alive from the inside out, and it was only a matter of time before they were left with no skin on the bone. Every time Eleanor closed her eyes, all she could hear was the screams. It was the first time they witnessed a death when they were usually hidden away from their vulnerable eyes.

"Hey, Ellie? Looking up to the stars?" Vanya said as she wandered slowly towards Eleanor, standing beside her as Eleanor found herself looking out the window. Eleanor gave a breathless scoff before looking at Vanya with forgotten tears. Before she was about to speak, she could hear Jamie give a soft gasp, and she turned to see what he had found.

"Guys, what the fuck is this?" Jamie said as he stood at the far table near the bookshelves. Vanya walked towards Jamie, with Eleanor following close behind. Ivan gently tapped William, who stood up as he headed towards the bookshelves, arms folded close to his chest. Sedona and Abby were already close to Jamie and were the first to speak.

"Oh my god, it's everyone who has died..."

"But why? What does this mean?" Vanya said, starting to feel concerned for what was to come.

"I don't know, but look at these. All of these cards. They seem to represent how they died, like Claira who━according to Abby━was ripped apart by wolves. See the background of her card? Red eyes and teeth surround Claira," Ivan said as he picked up Claira's card, and as he said it, the holographic card started to change in the light, moving back and forth in Ivan's hand.

William raised his eyebrow, realising that Ivan had said all of these cards, and he stepped forward to see the rest of the table. Rosalie was there, her body looking normal, until Eleanor moved her card to a different angle, where the card revealed a ripped━apart girl. Darling's card had a normal body with a familiar smile, but when you blinked, the bone stuck out of her neck, and her smile became stained with blood. Samuel's card was standard before the light within the card changed, and the spirits behind Samuel appeared with a knife close to his chest. There was blood on each card, and no one was sure whether they were the blood of their fallen friends.

Abby grabbed her hand to stop it from shaking. She felt something around her wrist, and she looked down, only to see that she still had Claira's bracelet, the one that she had given her before her demise. She closed her eyes to calm herself down, wanting to shut off the senses around her, and she could feel everything becoming too bright. Sedona slowly reached for her hand, and Abby accepted it, their fingers lacing each other.

"There's a box; what are we supposed to do, vote? There's none of our cards here, except theirs," Ivan said as he started to shuffle through the cards, gesturing towards the box. Everyone wasn't sure what to do, so they stood around, waiting for instructions. Before Ivan could suggest something, there was a sound of scrapping on the floor behind them, and he turned around. The other side of the room was engulfed in darkness, with any of them unable to see the other side of the wall without some torch assistance.

"What can you see?" William whispered, and Ivan raised a hand to signal not to speak anymore.

"It's not what I can see... It's what I can smell. Do you guys smell that? Salt?" Ivan said as he took two steps towards the middle of the room before William reached out, grabbing his wrist.

"Ivan, stop. There's... There's someone by the door."

Everyone held their breath as they watched the man who stood by the door stare towards them. He was rocking back and forth, limping from one foot to the other. The clothes on him had large tears, and dirt covered the soles of his feet, and the dark colours blended in with the shadows, but the bold, navy blue sophisticated jacket stood out. William noticed that the clothing fitted towards the golden age of piracy, and the man even had a hook sewn into his hand. William didn't think pirates were real, but then again, everything that happened the past couple of hours used to be something that wasn't real and proved William wrong.

"What do you want?" Sedona said as she tried to stare the stranger down, but Abby squeezed her hand, and Sedona backed down. Abby placed a hand on her shoulder, not wanting to lose her, knowing that out of everyone in the room, Sedona made her feel loved in a way she couldn't understand. She can't afford to lose her to this place.

The stranger didn't speak and continued to rock back and forth. Sedona felt a gut feeling at the pits of her stomach, realising that something was wrong, and she looked to the others to see if they were having the same feeling. Just before Sedona could say something, the lights started to dim, flickering as the stranger took a few steps towards the group. They all start to move away from each other, worried that if someone were collated with someone, everyone would get hurt. However, Sedona soon realised it was a bad idea, as she could feel someone roughly grab the back of her arms. She tried to turn around to see who it was but was too weak to do so and noticed that the others were also struggling. Fists began to tighten around each of their arms and were pushed towards the door where the stranger had previously stood.

"Hey━," Ivan tried to speak before he was interrupted by his eyes, which were surrounded by darkness. He tried to reach up to remove the fabric that wrapped around his head; the blindfold smelt of copper, which could have been old blood stains, and Ivan decided to stop struggling, not wanting to have something bad happen to him. He started to panic, realising he couldn't feel his friends around him, and he prayed to something he used to believe in, that he wouldn't be killed by himself.

As did everyone else, Ivan struggled to escape these strangers' grips. They all each tried to get out of tight fists, and then they stopped. They realised they could feel the soft breeze hitting their exposed skin, and they gasped a little, not expecting it as the wind bit at their skin. Some had realised that they were now outside of the manor, somehow. Knowing they weren't inside was strange, as all outside doors were previously locked.

"Where the hell are you taking us!" Abby said as she cried out, hot tears streaming down her cheeks as she could feel the anger heating up on her skin. She was frustrated, not wanting to go through the pain again; the pain of these challenges drained her. Abby was the one to lose the least out of everyone in the group ━ her parents didn't genuinely love her as a child, she made many mistakes that followed her for years, and she witnessed a friend get killed in front of her when it should have been her.

"Quiet... The sirens... Kill..." The stranger holding Eleanor spoke coarsely, and she bit her lip, holding in her cries.

Suddenly, she could hear a splash in the distance, and she froze on the spot before the stranger shoved her onto the ground. Her knees banged against the hard ground, the rocks scratching her skin, as she sobbed out before feeling someone shoved onto the top of her. The mumblings of cries were enough for Eleanor to know who it was, and she tried to turn her body to reach for Jamie before she was dragged into the water, her mouth being covered by a hand that stopped her from struggling. The water is freezing, and Eleanor doesn't know what's happening; all she can see is darkness swallowing her whole.

━━━━━━

⋆        𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗪𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗘𝗧, no one was speaking, and William risked a chance to try to pull his blindfold off. However, he noticed that no one was stopping him from doing so, and he hastily pulled it off and realised that he was kneeling on the ground. He turned around, seeing no one was near him; he was alone. In front of him, he could see a note and slowly reached for it, his heart beating loudly as he tried to see if he could find at least someone he recognised.

"You are the rescuer. You have different chances to take different paths, but each needs to be silent. The water in front of you may not be deep, but the sirens will drag you to the deepest part of the lake and take you as a victim if you make loud noises. Gather everyone, but the sirens will be hungry..."

William closed his eyes, clutching the paper tightly before crumbling it into a paper ball and crushing it into the ground. He wanted to scream out, letting the bridle rage buried within his chest out, but he kept his mouth shut, deciding to follow the rules on the paper note. He glanced towards the lake and realised he could see three cages scattered around the lake in a triangle formation, all separated into different cages. Ivan and Sedona were in one cage, the far cage. Eleanor and Jamie were together in the middle cage, but it was furthest from the rest. Lastly, Vanya and Abby were together, and they were the closest towards William. William wasn't sure if there was a specific order to get his friends, and he rolled up his pants to his knees as he headed into the water.

The cold salt water stung his open scars on his legs, wincing at the sudden contact. He bit his lip, trying to keep quiet as he slowly shuffled towards the closest, which seemed to be Vanya and Abby. William looked down, trying to get a glance at the lake's ground to avoid splashing the water heavily, but his heavy breathing wasn't helping him. When William was near the first large birdcage, he noticed that Vanya and Abby had their ears covered by a blindfold, and he tilted his head to the side, trying to figure out why before stopping in his tracks. There was a soft splash near William behind his back. He paused, slowly turning his head to look over his shoulder, but William couldn't see anything.

William started to pick up the pace instead, seeing as it was only a couple of steps until he reached the birdcage. When he arrived, he looked around before seeing a silver key glint from the waves underneath the cage. He sighed, realising that he would have to get most of his body wet, especially when he reached the further cage, but he bent down, his arms in the water, reaching for the key.

"William..." Abby started to whisper, catching William's gaze. "We were told not to take these blindfolds off; otherwise, we would be killed..." Abby said as she tried to steady her voice. Vanya nodded as she looked around at the other cages, trying to get their attention, but she held onto the iron bars, afraid to move.

"What do the blindfolds mean?" William whispered as he finally reached the key, looping it around his fingers and placing it in the padlock latched onto the cage.

Abby swallowed hard before she barely whispered. "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil." William paused as he turned the key, realising that the other teenagers would be tested in different situations. It seemed that it was based on a theory that each person had a special role within the group ━ Vanya and Abby relied on their hearing as they were the ones to catch the small noises that were a threat to them. William opened the gate before pausing immediately as the cage squeaked loudly and his breathing hitched. Both Abby and Vanya paused, waiting for a sign from William that it was safe before they started to make their way out of the cage. William tried to make their landing quiet, with only a couple of splashes heard, and William looked around the lake, trying to see if there was any movement. However, nothing in the distance caught his eye, so they headed towards the next cage, Jamie and Eleanor.

"Careful, there are rocks over there..." Abby said as she pointed over to the left of the cage, where there were some rocks' points poking out of the water. William nodded and took that information in as he started to walk towards the cage; seeing that Eleanor and Jamie had their eyes covered with the blindfold ━ the pair relied on their sight, especially Jamie, who was already at a disadvantage with deafness in one ear, and used sight to understand the world more. With every step William took, he was cautious about ensuring he wasn't loud. He tapped on the birdcage, which caused Eleanor to jump, clattering the metal bars. William quickly shushed her before Jamie did the same thing.

"It's just me, Will. Okay? Vanya and Abby are here with me; we will help you into the water, okay?" William as he whispered, hoping that Eleanor would get the hint. Eleanor nodded, understanding as she reached and grabbed Jamie's hand, knowing he couldn't hear well when they were whispering. Jamie slightly flinched at the sudden touch but eased when he recognised the warmth of Eleanor's hand ━ she was always warm.

"Come down here; try not to flinch at the water, okay? We want to make as much noise as possible. The water is a little deep, so be careful," Abby whispered to Eleanor as she took Jamie's other hand while Vanya grabbed Eleanor's hand to guide them onto the edge of the cage. At first, Jamie couldn't feel the water's surface and accidentally fell into the water. Jamie froze as Abby squeezed his hand, and he couldn't tell if he was shaking from the coldness of the water or the nerves. He didn't know what was happening and breathed slowly, hoping it was over.

"We need to get over to Ivan and Sedona quickly and quietly," Vanya said as she pointed towards the last cage. Everyone nodded as they strolled towards the cage. The closer they approached the birdcage containing the last duo, the deeper the water got. Finally, William could see their mouths tightly covered with the blindfolds. They were the ones that spoke the most; creating plans or protecting the group with harsh words were now constricted around their mouths. When they arrived at the cage, the water was above their hips. William stopped, thinking that he had noticed something in the water.

Before he could reach the key underneath the birdcage, with his friends not far behind him as they made their way towards William, he felt dragged down towards the depths of the water. William's quick reflexes got him to hold onto the edge of the cage, trying to keep his mouth shut, feeling him inhaling the water down his lungs. However, William could feel his hands slipping off the edge of the cage because his hands became wetter and more complex to grasp onto the bars. William looked down and noticed the hands gripped around his leg, and William kept his mouth shut, even though all he wanted to do was scream. His pale blue eyes met large, black, soulless ones, and gills with toxic points at the end shaped the large teeth around the mouth.

Everything about this siren was a nightmare, and William was close to it ━ he was dying to it.

William felt his hands slipping off the cage, and the group had finally made their way over to William, being still cautious of not being attacked by whatever was getting William. Ivan stood out his hand through the cage to help him, and William grunted as he reached up from the water, pulling with all his strength to grab Ivan's hand. The monster below let go of William's left calf, and the lake's saltwater instantly began to sting through the large gashes, leaving behind scars that may never heal. William's eyes teared up as he grabbed the key and shoved it into the padlock, trying so hard to ignore the overwhelming pain, his hands struggling to keep still from the traumatising moment.

Ivan tried to get William's attention to see if he was okay, not realising that his calf was in pain. Rather than telling the immediate truth, William nodded, and Ivan sighed before he pushed open the gate with Sedona's help, seeing that it was heavy for one person to do so.

"Come on, we need to head to the shore before someone else gets attacked," Vanya said as she spoke usually, and as soon as Ivan and Sedona jumped down, making a large amount of noise, everyone sprinted for their lives through the water. William tried his best to keep up, but it was easier but painful as soon as the water became less deep. Making their way towards the shore to save their lives without realising that it could be something that ends someone's life.

━━━━━━

⋆        𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗦 collapsed on the lake's shoreline, the water dripping from their drenched clothes. Abby turned towards William, seeing that his wound was now visible, and everyone looked at each other, knowing that they needed to get it covered and checked; otherwise, it wouldn't end well. William winced as he fell to his knees out of exhaustion and inhaled air, attempting to recover before he noticed something move out of the corner of his eye. He turned his body, sitting on the sand as he breathed heavily, and Ivan quickly turned around to see that the mysterious stranger standing in the hallway was now standing on the sand. Ivan's eyes didn't fixate on his strange movement but on the old pistol that he was holding. Ivan slowly raised his arms, and others followed as they realised the stranger's presence.

From the ground, William could see the stranger's face much more transparent than he could in the manor. His face was contorted in a way that resembled an uncanny feeling, and William couldn't help but feel that the more he looked at his face, the more the facial features all seemed to blend and twist with each other. William's eyes tilted down to the gun, and his mind instantly returned to where it all began ━ with his father getting shot. William felt strange. He thought it was the feeling of nostalgia, but it wasn't. It was revenge, either. It rose from deep within himself, from the pits of his stomach. He swallowed his cries and glared at the stranger. It was anger.

"Can't leave... Can't leave without bloodshed."

"What does he mean?" Jamie questioned, turning towards Eleanor, hoping that she understood. However, there was fear on her face, yet Jamie understood.

"Sacrifice... Sacrifice for the land," the stranger repeated clearly with a husky whisper and raised the gun, pointing at someone. William noticed who it was pointing at, and he gasped before recovering quickly and getting onto his feet. He knew that something terrible would happen if he weren't to interfere. He stumbled onto his feet with the help of Vanya, who wrapped her hands around his forearm to steady him, and yet, William wasn't quick enough to grab Ivan back as he stood in front of Jamie.

"No, it's not happening," Ivan said quietly, unsure what to say as he stood before Jamie, hands shaking at his sides. He tried to stare at the stranger, not wanting him to take away his dear friend━ a brother to him. He gritted his teeth, trying to appear more challenging, but the stranger wasn't budging.

"Ivan, I don't want you to get killed."

"Jamie, please━"

"No, Ivan. Please... Remember what you said to me earlier? I could stand up to help people. I have to do this and stand up for myself━to help you. I don't have to be the only one..." Jamie said as he choked on his words before he turned Ivan around to face him. He placed both hands on Ivan's shoulders before moving him around so Jamie stood in front. Ivan shuddered from the breeze as the wind started to pick up, and he was still attempting to process Jamie's words. Ivan looked at the ground, watching his chest shudder before he met Jamie's eyes. Jamie was shocked to see that the boy had tears in his eyes, and before Jamie pulled his arms off Ivan's shoulders, he grabbed Jamie and pulled him in a tight hug, his fist tight around his neck.

"You can't leave me, Jamie, please."

"Hey, I'll be with you, bud. I'm always going to be with you," Jamie said as he whispered in his ear. Ivan couldn't reply ━ it would mean they were his last words to Jamie. Jamie cradled the back of Ivan's head before looking to the rest of the group, noticing their tense positions as they watched with tears in their eyes. Jamie's breath shuddered as he looked at each of them; all of them impacted Jamie's life in many ways, and he will never regret that. Ivan sighed softly as he slowly pulled around from Jamie's hug and gave a slight nod before walking backwards towards the group. Jamie looked at everyone once again and presented himself with a small smile.

"Hey, Jamie?" Eleanor said as she stepped forward, wiping her eyes harshly. "Take... Take care of Darling for us, please?"

"Of course. I'll tell her you all said hello... Now go, run!" Jamie said as he pointed towards the stairs, heading back towards the manor. Everyone hesitated at first before they all ran towards the stairs. Each one of them wanted to stop the encounter, but they knew that it had to happen ━ the manor needed a sacrifice. No one wanted to watch Jamie die, either. Jamie was glad they left, knowing the pain would be too much to bear if they had stayed. "Okay... I'm ready."

━━━━━━

⋆        𝗔𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗬 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗗 the top of the hill that overlooked the lake, they stopped to help William upwards. His leg injury proved fatal as he couldn't keep a straight face climbing the hill. Ivan stood at the edge of the hill, glancing through the treelines towards the lake, fists clenched at his sides. He wanted to say so many things, yet there was nothing he could do to prevent the loss of his companion. Before he could scream the pain away, he heard a gunshot, and everyone froze, watching the lake, knowing what had happened. Ivan closed his eyes, his breath becoming hollow before he placed his hands into his pocket, and he flinched, feeling the cold metal. Ivan twirled it around his hand, unsure of the foreign shape, before he took it out and looked down at his shaking hands.

It was a key, with a taped message in Jamie's handwriting, saying Thank you, Friend.

𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐒!
✶ even more emotional damage!! honestly, there is such a huge difference between the original chapter and this version, and it's very revamped, especially with the whole challenge. this was because i wanted to heighten the intensity, and i think that i managed to do that hehe! this brings us to an end of act two <3 onwards to the final stretch :)

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚!