First sign that we were right about the room being a trap:

The door slammed shut the second we entered, turning the room pitch black.

"Well, this does not look good." Cameron muttered.

"Dude, nothing looks good. Nothing looks anything. I can't see!" Shane said from somewhere to my left.

"No duh, Sherlock." I said. "It's pitch black in here." 

"Have I mentioned I never liked this plan?" Quinn's small voice spoke, but it sounded louder in the darkness. 

"What other choice did we have?" Tyler asked. "I'm not leaving Macey behind." 

"Alright, alright, we get it, Brother Boy." Alyssa said. "We're here to find Macey, so let's just do that and get out of here." 

"Agreed." Jenna said. "Let's do it." 

Almost as if on cue-actually, probably on cue, a scream broke out.

My blood ran cold. 

"HELP ME, PLEASE! TYLER!"

It was louder than I'd ever heard before, but I knew that voice.

"MACEY!" Tyler yelled back, and I heard his footsteps get farther and farther away. 

"Tyler, wait! What if it's a trap?" Cameron yelled after him, but I don't think he heard. 

"Notch damn you, Tyler." I muttered, pulling my extra stone sword out. My enchanted one was gone, but I still had this one on me, which I thought was both strange and a little worrying. Why did my enchanted weapons disappear, but not this one?

I shook my head. There was no time to worry about that now. What mattered now was that Tyler was probably headed straight for a trap, and we needed to get him before he got himself killed. 

Suddenly, dim lights flickered on, turning the pitch black into a hazy gray, and I could see around me. 

We were in a small room, with six doorways leading down a hallway. 

"Another maze? You have got to be kidding me." Shane said. 

"Which one did Tyler go down?" Quinn asked. 

"There's no time to guess and go as a group." I said. "Tyler's probably heading straight for a trap, and there's exactly six doors. One of us will find him if we split up." 

"Isn't that what Darklox wants, though?" Alyssa asked. "I mean, there's six doors for a reason." 

"We need to get Tyler before he gets himself killed." I said. "Who knows, maybe if we keep Tyler from whatever's at the end of the hallway he went down, we might be able to keep him and ourselves from dying." 

"That's a very low probability." Cameron said. 

"You heard the girl, Cam. No time for statistics." Shane said. 

Cameron turned, looking mildly impressed. "You knew that was statistics?" 

"I'm not a total moron! Let's go!" 

Shane ran through the first door, and yelled back, "If I die, see you guys on the other side!"

"That's not funny, Shane!" Quinn yelled. 

"Seriously, everyone pick a hallway. If you find Tyler, just yell. Maybe we'll be able to hear you." I said, and ran down the second hallway. 

***

I didn't know how long I had ran for, but there was no sign of Tyler. My legs had started to ache, but I didn't dare stop. 

This is still one of the rooms, I reminded myself. Stuff could show up. Like a Bad Dad. Or Mom. Or a Tyler I don't want to find-

My thoughts were cut off by a scream.

"TYLER, WHERE ARE YOU? PLEASE HELP ME!" 

I gritted my teeth. It couldn't be Macey, but it sounded just like her...

No. It wasn't her. It had to be some sort of trap. 

I kept running, and kept my eyes on my feet to try and focus. 

Focus, Skylar, I told myself. Focus on that spot of dirt on your boot. Not fears. You can do this. 

I got so lost in my own head, I didn't even notice when I tripped-

Over Tyler. 

He was sitting on the floor of the hall with his back to the wall. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing heavily though his mouth. 

"Tyler?" I asked. 

He jolted, opening his eyes and staring at me. "Skylar?" 

"What are you doing sitting down?" I asked. 

He pushed himself up off of the ground, and stood up shakily. "My legs kind of gave out. I'm not used to running for that long." 

"Wow." 

"I know. But it doesn't matter. We have to go get Macey, she's in trouble, I heard her screaming-"

"We all did, Tyler. I came down here to get you."

"What?" He asked. 

"I think it's a trap. I don't think that's Macey screaming. I think Darklox is trying to trick you." 

"What if it is Macey? What if she's in real danger and she dies and it's my fault for not going after her?" He exclaimed. 

"Tyler-" 

"No, Skylar, I'm not going back." 

I felt myself getting angry. "Do you know what you're even saying? You're risking running right into the hands of the guy we're trying to save our parents from!"

"I can't take the chance that it isn't Macey!"

"This is what Darklox wants you to think!"

"How do you know? How do you know that going after Macey is what we can do to save her, and he wants you to think it's a trap so he can kill her nice and simple?" 

"Tyler, putting yourself in danger isn't going to help Macey!" 

"Leaving her there isn't going to help her either!" 

We were interrupted by the same piercing cry for help. 

Tyler looked down the hall, then back to me. 

"Don't you dare, Dahlberg-" 

He ran for it. 

"Tyler!" I yelled after him. "Wait, you can't-" 

"I'm sorry, I have to!" He yelled back, and soon he was out of sight. 

I gritted my teeth, and ran after him. If he didn't have a choice, then neither did I. 

I ran down the hall, my heartbeat pounding in my ears, and I saw a door that was open slightly. 

Not ten seconds after, I heard Tyler yell. 

"Skylar! It's her! It's Macey! I found her! Come on!" 

I felt the dread in my chest lift a little. Maybe we would be able to pull this off. 

I ran through the door, and the second I did, I was thrown against an opposite wall and held there by some sort of invisible force. 

I struggled against it. "Hey! Let me go!" 

I looked around the room as I struggled, trying to see what was around me. 

Macey was there- but she was slumped against the wall, unconscious. 

Tyler was held against the opposite wall, but something was off. It looked like he was trying to scream, but no sound came out of his mouth. 

Suddenly, a figure materialized, and the door slammed shut.

The figure turned around, and I could tell it was a Shadow. 

It grinned at me, and spoke in a perfect imitation of Tyler's voice. 

"Thanks for coming to help."