[Y/N] - Your Name
[M/N] - Middle Name
[L/N] - Last Name
I
["Talking"]
["SCREAMING"]
["Whispering"]
["Thinking"]
* - Translated directly from Italian.

<<<<<< I >[---]< I >>>>>>

Ashlyn: ["So you're planning a way out?"]

The girl sat cross-legged in her bed. The purely-white room almost drove her insane at that point thanks to its blandness and what little color the place had. However, the walkie talkie strapped to her clothes brought her some comfort, especially with the voice from the other side. She heard the sound of many things, occasional thumps, clicking like that of something being set up, a pen clicking, and then scribbling.

On the other side of the line, Y/N looked through the scope and towards the building that Ashlyn was being held in. He scribbled on a map of the city an escape route, doodling about different lines in different colors, with a few words and directions here and there. By his side was a gun mounted to a tripod, aiming at the ready in case anything tried to surprise him at the window. At the girl's question, he hums.

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["Yeah. The facility is kinda far from the city so that is proving a bit difficult but... It's coming along"] He continued to scribble and doodle away, also tracing a digital map on his cellphone ["There's many different routes, but the majority are... Less than optimal"]

Ashlyn: ["And you're planning to come and scout around the place during the night, yeah?"] At her question, she heard him hum in affirmation once again ["Sounds dangerous. Are you sure about it?"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["My wounds are practically non-existent at this point. I'm doing mostly fine... I initially planned to camp around the facility, but with a forest so thick it would prove difficult to hold my position against the Phantoms"] The girl softly hummed in acknowledgement — At one point not even the walls of the bus graveyard were safe, so his fear checks out ["But if it's just for an hour or two I can definitely hold my ground and see about a plan"]

Ashlyn: ["Again, just be careful about it... It's already a major advantage and relief to know we have someone on the outside"] The girl comments with a bit of a lighter tone, also feeling her muscles a lot more relaxed than they were a few hours back ["Speaking of, you're said you're staying at a hotel nearby, right? Is it any safe?"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["My brother put his men here to watch over me under the guise they are tourists... I don't trust him, not one bit, but he's the only option we have"] Y/N commented with his voice growing a bit more serious at the mention of his kin, something that did not go unnoticed by Ashlyn ["That and it should be fine if we stay out of his way. At the end of the day, he's got Elio in there, so..."]

Ashlyn: ["It still surprised me a lot when I saw him, even through the makeup he was using. But far from me to complain"] She smirks while leaning against the wall, her eyes closing for a moment ["... He's very capable. I can see why you like him"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["Elio is the closest thing I had to a family for the longest time... Until you bunch came along and here we are now"] He comments while letting out a small chuckle, one that Ashlyn replied with one of her own ["He kept me safe during a lot of times. Trained me, too... And also kept me from being taken"] His tone getting a bit darker did not go unnoticed ["Even though he had to... Yeah..."]

Ashlyn: ["I get it... If it's any comfort, I don't see you any differently because of it"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["... It does make me feel a little better. Thanks"] His words still sounded a bit sad as they hung in the air. Nonetheless, he cleared his throat and continued ["Well, everyone else received a walkie-talkie as well alongside a proper channel for then to tune in..."]

Ashlyn: ["Except mine because you wanted to talk?"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["Yeah. I have something I feel like I need to say..."]

Ashlyn: ["I hope it isn't what I'm thinking it is..."]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["It isn't. That is something that we'll talk about when face-to-face, but I should let you know something..."] He drew in a sharp breath, as if mentally steeling himself in order to speak without letting his nerves get in the way ["Don't blame yourself for any of this"]

Ashlyn: ["Where's that coming from...?"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["Up until a while back, both of us weren't so different. Quiet loners who preferred to get through stuff and leave it at that without talking to anyone... That's changed now. We've matured a lot. But I can still think like you do"] Ashlyn gently brought her knees to her chest, hugging them closely while her eyes fell down in a tone of slight melancholy at Y/N's words ["And I know that sometimes you think that you aren't enough. That you aren't being a good leader, but that is just a bunch of stupid thoughts, because it is far from being the truth... If you aren't fit to being a leader, why were you the only one that rose to it?"] Her emerald eyes remained half-lidded and somber, staring at her bed while Y/N continued to talk ["I want you to keep it in mind that none of us would have anyone else as our leader. I especially don't think anyone would've been as fit for the role... Whether here, or anywhere else. If there is someone that I would want to lead me, that someone would always be you"]

Ashlyn: ["... Thank you ..."]

The girls' words were short, but Y/N could feel that they were genuine. All he did was smile on the other side of the line, letting the girl sink into her thoughts for a few moments. She kept her eyes closed as she laid there, taking in everything and calmly steeling her nerves for the challenge that would be escaping this place. A long exhale, she stood up and marched towards the door, only to stop when it suddenly opened.

Y/N must've heard the girl's sharp inhale of surprise because he also went quiet. Narrowed eyes staring at the base through the telescope, gun in hand in case there was anything he could do. The door swung open slightly, and for Ashlyn's surprise, the first thing that peeked inside was not a Phantom, but rather, the silencer of a gun. Then, came two boys — A particularly tall one, and one wearing big, round glasses.

Ashlyn was the first one to hug both Ben and Logan, with Y/N chatting them up through the walkie-talkie as well. He explained the situation and the plans he was coming up, as well as his current position in the hotel not too far off from the facility. Logan and Ben switched up their walkie talkie as well, but had Y/N only on Ashlyn's station. They dispatched some Phantoms outside with their weapons, and went on.

Down the corridor they went, firstly to another room that opened up after Logan used the card he cleverly managed to snatch by asking to inspect it as midnight rolled around. Something that, when Ashlyn thought about, made her feel dumb during her attempts of breaking the door down. Once inside, they heard a loud thud coming from Taylor who was inspecting the vent and had hit her head in surprise, and almost fallen.

Though, thankfully, the group managed to snatch her up before she hurt herself, and more pleasantries and explanations were shared. The situation repeated itself with her brother, who they found laying on the bed and staring at the ceiling, deeply in thought before they came inside. Just like before, a hug of reunion and explanations from one side, just one more room remained — One that was making Y/N particularly nervous.

He glared over his shoulder, and there, he saw himself.
Except it wasn't. The smile was too big. The eyes were too dark.

It did nothing but chatter its teeth and stare at him through its wide-open irises and impossibly-wide smirk. Y/N glared at it, but the monster did nothing, so all Y/N did was flip it off before returning his attention forward, but the feeling of being watched remained. He could only assume that Aiden, the only other person having gone through a similar experience — literal death — as him, was also dealing with this.

He was a bit apprehensive since he wasn't there to see what the others could see, and Ashlyn having asked for Aiden, indicating he wasn't anywhere to be seen initially, only made his nervousness increase. However, Aiden's voice ringing up made him let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, especially at his antics of having asked for face paint and now being painted as a clown. Y/N silently wished he was there to see it .

They all gathered on Aiden's room since they were already there, and though appearing fine, he was clearly still injured by the accident they had with the centipede monster back in the school. Everyone sat around each other, distributing the few guns they still had — Ashlyn, with her boot-knife, dismissed getting one. As they all sat around, the girl reached for her walkie-talkie, putting it in the middle of them.

Ashlyn: ["Alright. Y/N, you're up"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["Well, as I said, I'm planning a route out. I've managed to escape being nabbed thanks to Elio, who infiltrated the place and I'm secure in a hotel not so far"] Everyone sat around the walkie-talkie where Y/N talked from, with Aiden sitting up in order to properly pay attention ["And... There's bad news. According to Florentino this place is a government facility, which means it'll be extremely secure. Not only that, but if-"] Y/N cleared his throat and spoke up after a quick exhale ["WHEN you get out, they'll be after us. And I don't mean it in the "wanted posters plastered in lampposts" way. I mean it in the "Our face will be on the news" way"]

In contemplation, everyone remained quiet. Their thoughts running with the possibility of what was just said — Fugitives with their faces plastered on national television for everyone to see. It was a gut-wrenching feeling that left one hell of a sour taste in everyone's mouth thanks to the consideration of what this could mean. Y/N didn't even need to mention that, if they get away once, it'll be near impossible to get away twice.

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["But... There's an upside. According to him, this facility apparently went rogue. Their HQ in New York should, theoretically, help us"] His words brought a slight glimmer of hope to everyone's eyes, but a question still pondered- ["Now, how are we getting to New York? I thought about transport with Florentino or Elio, but at a state border we'd be caught immediately, especially with the warning of our escape... So we'll go by train"]

Tyler: ["Aren't those also checked at every border? How would we even buy tickets?"]

Aiden: ["That's simple — We won't. We aren't going in a passenger freight, are we?"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie):: ["No... I found there is a train line not too far off from the facility, we'll just need our breakout to be timed in tandem with a train on route"] In the room, people looked at one another with quizzical gazes ["That... Will be extremely difficult, but definitely doable. And if there's a group that can pull it off it's us — We'll hide in the passing carrier"]

Taylor: ["Is that really doable...? Or safe?"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["It's definitely doable. Not safe, but-... There's a guy on YouTube who does it all the time, we should be fine"] He comments with a nervous chuckle before carrying on ["After that we'll need to lay low. No cellphones, credit or debit, nothing that can track us"]

Everyone fell in silence, letting the words sink in even further. Everything felt unreal. Everything felt overwhelming. Taylor slumped against her brother's arm, and all he could do was rub her shoulder in support, also glancing at the ground through narrowed eyes. Everyone were clearly exhausted, even more-so when Y/N laid the news on them. He, too, remained quiet, letting an exhausted sigh escape his lips.

Ashlyn: ["... They told us that we are infected with some sort of fungus"] The girl spoke up, igniting Y/N's interest on the other side of the line ["I don't want to believe it. But it sounds just as stupid, if not even less, then us being transported to an alternate dimension"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["I call bullshit. Thankfully, you all haven't experienced it, but Aiden and I can tell you first hand that the pain and what happened to us is definitely real"] Aiden groaned, putting up a thumbs-up as he fell back-first into the bed with a pained grunt ["As I said, they definitely know what's up, even if partially... But I don't think we should trust them yet"]

Ashlyn: ["They took me to see the infected. They were all people like us, but their faces were exactly like those of the Phantoms. When I walked into the room, they-..."] The girl remained quiet as she shut her eyes, clutching them as the memories swarmed her mind again. The fear being enough to send a chill crawling down her spine ["They all turned to face me at the same time. It was almost like something in me attracted them"]

Logan: ["It could be the time that we spent in the Phantom World flowing out of you... Kind of like some sort of scent that the Phantoms could relate to"] The boy spoke as he fixed his glasses, also staring down at the ground whilst his mind raced to take in everything ["But for real, living and breathing people to be acting that way..."]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["We can't work off of assumptions, but the closest thing we can accept now is that we are being transformed in some way, and these people at least understand the basics of it"] Y/N continued to speak as he brought the walkie-talkie closer to his mouth as everyone heard the soft thud of him laying on his bed ["Which means that the quicker we make our way over to NY and explain our situation, the better are our chances"]

Tyler: ["That is assuming those people will want to help us, and not use us. Maybe they don't even know of the Phantom World, just that the Phantoms are real in some way"] He comments while stroking Taylor's hair as the girl laid her head on his lap, Tyler raising his eyes in a defiant glare of confidence ["Either way I don't plan on staying, not one bit"]

Aiden: ["... When this whole thing happened you were still in the school, right?"] He spoke up, dragging everyone's eyes to him before they faced the walkie-talkie once again ["How did you manage to escape by yourself? Did you move so your body would reset?"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["That was the plan initially, but we didn't have the time. I just had to make do... Elio dropped off a bag of supplies before midnight rolled around, and I took it with me. Walking around those corridors, all by myself with nothing but a knife, a gun, and a flashlight in my mouth made me feel like a horror game protagonist. Some Resident Evil type shit..."] He comments while chuckling more out of fear rather than amusement, remembering walking around the school, and how every step would make his heart skip a beat from how tense it was ["Once I got the bag on the outside I barricaded myself in and fell asleep. Even when I moved my real body to the hotel, it wasn't far enough to reset my Phantom body position, so I hijacked a car and drove all the way here, running from those monsters..."]

Logan: ["Must have been tough... I'm glad that you got out safely"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["It was nerve-wracking, but I kept you all on my mind at all times"]

They all remained quiet for a few minutes, very gentle smiles on their faces as they all gathered their strengths and basked in the relief of having been reunited once again, even if one of the group's members was quite far away. Still, no one said a thing as they all lazied around for a moment. Ashlyn thought about calling up the group, but she felt that, for everyone else and herself included, a bit of rest was well-earned now.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that Ashlyn stood up and decided that the group should snoop around the place to see if they could find anything interesting. Of course, being who he is, Aiden was the first one to jump out of the bed — Only to immediately flop down against it after. They collectively agreed that he would stay, much to his own dismay, but, as he glanced at the walkie-talkie, he suddenly agreed.

Ashlyn was the first one to return with a laptop, telling him to go over it and look for anything he could, something he obliged after an annoyed groan. Though as he laid there, tapping and clicking away, more-often-than-not making memes and retelling them to the others as opposed to actually working, he had an idea. For some reason, though, even so far away, Y/N looked over his shoulder, and at his burning ear.

He groaned with his eyes closing and an annoyed grunt as he laid back down on the bed, picking up the walkie-talkie and talking into it real quickly. Everyone replied. Everyone but one person. A click of his tongue later, Y/N weighted his options before switching channels, and remained silent for a few seconds, deciding whether or not it was worth the trouble as he stood up and peeked outside through the place's window.

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["... The fuck you want?"]

Aiden: ["Hey, you came~!"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["This really is not the time for this, Aiden. I told, we'll talk face-to-face"] Y/N sat down on the bed again, having no other option other than staring up at his ceiling ["Especially if you're going to start yapping about what I'm thinking that you will..."]

Aiden: ["Hey, man, I just wanted to talk! See how my second-favorite is doing!"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["Second-... ... ... Alright, I'll bite, blondie. And who is the first?"]

Aiden: ["HAH! You're actually jealous, aren't yyyyyooooouuuuu~?"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["I should've left you for dead back when we stormed the house..."]

Y/N went quiet with his brow twitching at the blonde's antics. Dead. That is a word Y/N said with his full-chest, but he was far from meaning it to anyone in the group, let alone to Aiden — ... Dead. Y/N looked over his shoulder at the figure at the door. The distorted version of himself still grinning at him, breathing heavily and doing nothing but staring. Y/N's eyes focused on the outside window, and the burning-bright moon.

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["You're right. We need to talk about something..."]

Aiden: ["Oh boy. I don't like how serious you're sounding"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["You died, too, didn't you? Back in the school, I mean... When the building collapsed and stuff"] Y/N looked over his shoulder again. Yep, it was still there. Twitching. Smiling at him. Waiting ["Just like I did when I broke my neck? Do you... See it?"]

Aiden went quiet as he drew a sharp breath. His tired, baggy eyes looked around for a moment before laying on the figure. It creeped just outside the slightly-closed door. The only thing he could see was half of its body on the outside, staring directly at him in the eyes. Its smile was way wider than any other Aiden ever pulled off before. He just turned away, and directed his attention back to the laptop screen in his bed.

Aiden: ["Yeah. Yeah, I see it, too"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["... If anyone else did, too, they surely would've talked about it by now. I guess it's targeting us because we "died" here. Maybe these things... They are waiting to take our place?"] Y/N remained looking outside at the red skies, not bothering to look over his shoulder, it was a fool's errand to expect that thing to be gone ["Maybe we should..."]

Aiden: ["If we kill it there is a very real chance that we end up dying. These were created when we died here, right? Maybe this means that they are waiting for us to die so they can remain"] Aiden, too, now focused entirely on the screen of his computer while scrolling down, doing what he could to try and not attract attention to the monster ["I suppose that we can only wait and see at this point... And maybe tell the others, too"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["Definitely tell the others, you mean. I don't want to deal with whatever this thing is all by myself... At least I have you"] His words made Aiden smile, and Y/N calmly laid on the bed, his eyes closing as he let out a sigh ["Don't take it that way, you idiot"]

Aiden: ["Not my fault that I love you, dumbass..."]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["It really is, you idiot..."]

Aiden: ["YOU'RE NOT GONNA SAY IT BACK?!"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["Face. To. Face. Do I gotta drill that in your head?!"]

Aiden: ["Man, you really are no fun, you know?"] He pouts while leaning against the wall and sitting cross-legged in the bed ["What got you taking love so seriously anyways?"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["... ... Normally I wouldn't talk about this, but I guess at least you deserve to know"] Y/N sighed as he sat properly on the bed, his eyes falling a bit as he looked at the ground ["I never really experienced it. Or really saw it, for that matter... Not between my family, not between me and anyone else — I just avoided people. You know how I was"]

Aiden: ["Huh. Daddy issues much?"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["That's putting it lightly. I wouldn't say that the relationship between my parents was abusive or anything of the sort, but... If anything, my father just saw my mother as a prize of some sort"] Y/N sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Having to clear his throat as to not let his voice break and the tears start to flow ["One day my mother suffered an accident when she was run over. It resulted in some terrible brain damage, and now she can't retain her memory for more than a week. It's rare that she retains it for a day..."] Y/N let out another pained huff, wiping away some of the water dripping from his eyes ["So she never really knew me. This happened when I was young, so I had very little from her"]

Aiden and Y/N both remained quiet. On the former's side, all he could hear was small hiccups and sniffs as Y/N held back everything he had. His eyes became half-lidded and he looked at the wall, silently wondering if he messed up. Aiden bit down on his lower lip, looking around and trying to come up with the words to properly set the situation right. He scolded himself at how much he sucked with people right now.

Aiden: ["I'm... I'm sorry..."]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["Don't be. If you are serious about what you said you felt, you helped me a lot. I needed to get this off my chest, and I'm glad I could do it with someone that trusts me, and that I trust"] Y/N said as he sniffled still, clearing his throat one more time and wiping away the remaining tears from his eyes. He looked up at the ceiling and continued ["Thanks for that. As I said, at least you deserved to know, and I don't want to have more secrets..."]

Aiden: ["Not even that you love meeeeee~?"]

Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["Shut the fuck up before I break up with you"]

Y/N smirked as Aiden laughed loudly at his joke. All he did was stare at the outside through half-lidded, but hopeful eyes, filling in his lungs with air before exhaling slowly and falling back down on the bed, almost ready to fall asleep. That is, until a sharp inhale from Aiden sent him on high-alert, Y/N sat up, and listened. There was nothing, and he was right when he assumed that Aiden had changed channels.

"Our parents are here."

◁━━━━━━━━◈━━━━━━━━▷

Florentino: ["Hmmm... That makes things more complicated indeed"]

The man walked around the room of his penthouse, wearing a basic outfit again whilst calmly twirling a glass of champagne in his hand. He had his cellphone to his ear, staring outside the massive window and at the view of the beach that he faced. His blue eyes scanned the horizon as he found himself deep in thought. A hum here, a step there before he downed all the liquid in a single go, and wiped his mouth clean.

Florentino: ["But I suppose that it isn't unexpected. Of course, if they didn't take you, they sure as hell couldn't take dad, or me"] Arms crossed as he laid down on the expensive sofa of the living room, the man let out a long breath ["Alright, for now we'll continue with the original plan. I'll have Elio deliver them more supplies for them, and you'll scout tonight"]

Y/N (through phone): ["That's the plan. During the night I'll take a walk around the facility after ensuring it is safe to do so from a distance, and try to form a proper path"] Florentino hummed as he stood up and walked to the kitchen, pouring himself another glass ["And maybe even see if I can do something else. Find a way in or something like that"]

Florentino: ["I doubt it, but I guess it is worth a shot. I'll have someone drop off things for you too, then, including some cash for you to use when in the run"] He downed the entire glass one more time, a smirk spreading across his lips as he did it again ["You remember our plan, correct? And you know I'm not talking about your friend's escape"]

Y/N (through phone): ["Yes. We'll lure him in, and then you strike. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten that you're doing this for yourself, and not because you care"] Florentino chuckled with a whistle at Y/N's passive-aggressiveness before he went on to drink another glass ["You're smarter than to be expecting a thanks from me, I know that much"]

Florentino: ["Don't worry, don't worry~... You'll thank me by making me the most powerful men across all of Europe when we take that bastard down"] He swirled around the last bips of the alcohol in the bottle before calmly setting it aside, and looking out the window again ["According to Elio, he overheard people talking about your girl being taken to see one of the "infected" directly — Be sure to ask her about that tonight, will you~?"]

And without waiting for a reply, he shut off the call.

◁━━━━━━━━◈━━━━━━━━▷

Elio: ["Here, let me help you, Ms. Banner"]

The man said as he calmly took the girl's hair and held it back as she puked out her guts. The girl let out a cry of pain and anguish at the feeling, the dark circles around her eyes only having increased further from the nights with no sleep. Though, calmly, Elio slipped into her ears a pair of protectors, the same ones that she used, two that he just-so-happened to convince them to let the girl use thanks to her condition.

But, at that moment, there was still a shiver running down his body. He let out a small chuckle in his head, silently wondering when was the last time that he felt genuine fear, an emotion he thought had been driven far from his body by everything he experienced. The scar burning half of his body being a long-lasting proof of what he had gone through, and how much he had sharpened his mind to never feel afraid.

But, as he sat Ashlyn on her bed and cleaned off her mouth and her body before doing the same at her bathroom, there was something undeniable — He was afraid. Elio calmly wondered if taking an accidental peek through the doors of where they had taken the girl was a mistake. Deep down he knew that it wasn't, because now he at least learned something about this. However, on the other hand, that damn sight...

He wouldn't soon forget it.

Elio: ["Here, Ms. Banner... The camera has no audio, so we can chat freely. At that moment, when you killed the infected, the cameras for the room of the others malfunctioned. And this right here is a room of the room where Master Y/N is currently stationed"] He showed the girl a tablet with the image, one of every single person staring off into the distance, at the same direction — The one that Ashlyn herself was ["When I went in to check with the others, they all, somehow, knew exactly what had happened, down to the details. Master Y/N contacted Master Florentino, concerned with your well-being"] He calmly sat it aside as he pulled off a few band-aids, inspecting the girl's cuts and bruises ["And when Mr. Alex went on to check with the others, Mr. Clark ended up assaulting him"] At his words, Ashlyn's eyes widened slightly as he calmly bandaged her up ["And I'm sure that I don't need to tell you which of the siblings did, do I?"]

Ashlyn: ["No... No you don't"]

Elio gave a soft smile as he finished placing the last band-aid on the girl's cheek. He'd gently sit back down and watch her careful and half-lidded eyes before noticing her disheveled hair. He rummaged through the bag he always carried in with him, finding himself a hair brush that he'd start using to gently comb Ashlyn's hair, much to the girl's pleasure, but also apparent surprise. She'd let out a sigh as he did so, nodding.

Ashlyn: ["Thank you..."]

Elio: ["No need. I'd already take care of you if you were only a very special person for Master Y/N, but... I've also grown fond of you kids"] He said while gently smiling, still brushing Ashlyn's hair ["You're all a nice bunch. I hope you manage to find your way out of this terrible situation after this"]

Ashlyn: ["If I got a say in it, we'll be out of this place soon..."]

The girl crossed her arms on top of her knees while keeping her feet on top of the bed, and her cheek on top of said crossed arm. "Special for Y/N"... Now that's a thought that made her cheeks flush red, if ever so slightly. She huffed while closing her emerald eyes and letting Elio do his work, basking on the peace she had found while running everything she had gone through in her head to make sense of the situation.

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Y/N (through walkie-talkie): ["Y'all are going to end up killing her that way..."]

His comment did not diminish the tight hug that the majority of the group had on Ashlyn, holding the girl down against the wall. It was almost like she had been jumped, but except for being beaten, she was being shown love. Though Y/N said that, he really wished he was there to check up on her properly. He could still feel the fear, the sudden snap of his head as it turned towards the direction of where Ashlyn was.

Whatever that thing was, it made his hands shake and his leg bounce at this very moment. Though hearing the ginger girl complain and grunt from the group hug did bring a soft relaxation to his shoulders and washed away some tension from his muscles. Ashlyn tapped away until she found some space to breathe properly, looking down at everyone hugging her still, before she grunted and adjusted herself to sit up.

Ashlyn: ["Guys, seriously, let me up!"]

Tyler: ["So this man, "Maverick", the one that Florentino knows... He wants to help us?"]

Ashlyn: ["Don't ignore me! ... And no, I doubt it. By the way that Ben described him, he was the man standing next to the woman who put us on this mess"] The girl's eyes narrowed as Aiden hugged her from behind, and Taylor from the front, the latter laid her head on Ashlyn's lap ["It was as if he was her boss. He doesn't want to help us, he wants to use us"]

Ben (though cell phone TTS): ["It doesn't matter. If we join him and destroy this place, we'll have our freedom back, and then we can deal with him after that"]

Tyler: ["But he never mentioned our freedom though, did he? Just that his group wanted to take this facility down"] He comments while sitting across from Ben. Arms crossed and glancing at the ground ["Maybe because, as Y/N suspected, this place went rogue?"]

Taylor: ["We're all upset about this, but we can't blindly trust this guy..."]

Logan: ["We can't rush into it... But do we have any other choice?"] Arms crossed and a pensive glint in his eyes, he looked at the ground with a grunt ["Alex offered to do whatever he can to help us escape, but escaping and taking this place down is two different things"] He continued, anxiously tapping his foot on the ground with a huff ["It's as Y/N told us, this is the government we're talking about. We'd need to change countries and even then we might as well be tracked. And how are we going to free our parents too?"]

Aiden: ["I agree with Logan and Ben... We join this group, burn this place down, and if Maverick turns on us, then we deal with him"] Arms wrapped around Ashlyn, he gently laid his head against her hair, closing his eyes ["I'd rather go up against some vigilante group than facing the entire government"]

Ashlyn: ["So what exactly is he wanting us to join him for?"]

Ben (though cell phone TTS): ["He thinks that we can potentially open "rifts" between our two dimensions. That if we can figure out how to control it, then we can mess with their system like what happened earlier with Ashlyn"] Everyone remained silent and listened on, their gazes varying around the room, but not meeting each other's ["But it wasn't just Ashlyn, all the cameras in our room blacked out except for Ashlyn's since she was in that other room. The only reason why our lights didn't stay off was because there was a backup generator for them, but it takes a bit for the camera system to reboot. That's how he put it"]

Tyler: ["So basically, he's saying that if we hold hands and believe in the power of friendship, we can open a "rift" large enough to completely screw their system?"] The boy sighed, dropping his face into his hands and groaning ["This is giving me a headache..."]

Taylor: ["I just want to go home..."]

Ashlyn looked around the room as the girl's arms around her waist tightened in a hug. She saw the state of everyone's weary eyes, the bags around the irises, the darkened corners of their bodies showing nothing short of fatigue from everything that had been going down. At least before they had a safe place, somewhere to rest, and a plan, as simple as it was — Now the only thing they had was one another.

She softly ran her hand through Taylor's hair, looking down at the walkie-talkie placed in the center of the room where Y/N had been speaking from. Even so far away from them, she could hear how exhausted his tone was, and how tired he appeared to be. Laying her head back against Aiden who had his head on her shoulder, the two stared at one another. Red met green as their irises clashed, both with the same exhaustion.

He smiled softly, and so did Ashlyn. Thinking back on her words, the girl mentally scolded herself for thinking that they "only" had each other. She glanced around the room one more time and took a deep breath to calm herself. One another was everything they had up until recently, so they would make do, and she was sure of it. God knows that everyone in this group was too stubborn to just lay and accept death.

Ashlyn: ["Let's take a break for tonight..."]

◁━━━━━━━━◈━━━━━━━━▷

Y/N: ["He's cheating again, isn't he?"]

Tyler: ["He is!"]

Everyone sat around the table, aside from Y/N, of course. The monopoly board was present on top of it as the majority of the group played the game, with Y/N having to awkwardly do so from far away, and entrusting it to Ashlyn — He knew damn well that Aiden, as lovable as he was, couldn't be trusted — but they made do. Not too far off, sat Taylor messing around with some worded dice and a few lines of strings.

Ashlyn: ["You landed on my property. Pay up 1200"]

Aiden: ["Why is everyone ganging up on me?!"]

Y/N: ["That's what you get for cheating, blondie"]

Using some of the dice from another game set, Taylor continued to make a few bracelets with three simple letters. By her side, hugging a pillow to her chest and sitting cross-legged, Ashlyn watched whilst also keeping her attention in the game. The ginger only observed as the dice rolled and Aiden had to pay up Y/N for landing in his square, until curiosity got the better of her, and she had to go on and ask-

Ashlyn: ["SBG?"]

Taylor: ["School Bus Graveyard! It's where we hung out the most... So it felt right adding it. Like a group name or something"] She looked at the finished bracelet with a grin on her face as the memories flooded her mind from the easier times where everything felt simple and easy ["It became a safe place. A home for all of us, I guess... I miss it"]

Ben (through phone TTS): ["And we'll make it back"]

Logan: ["... Well, I mean, we've always been in a bad situation since Savannah anyways. What made it bearable wasn't really where we were, but more that we had company during it"] He voiced the same thoughts that Ashlyn had been having for a while now, getting a hum of accordance from Y/N ["... But I can't deny that I also miss that place a lot now"]

Y/N: ["Everything was new, and the most dangerous thing we had done was going back to Ashlyn's home in order to get the jeep. And I got myself concussed because SOMEONE was being reckless"] At his words, Aiden chuckled nervously while glancing away from the walkie-talkie. He could feel Y/N's eyes digging into his back ["But it was still a lot of fun before everything came to this — To think this is the first friend group I've ever had..."]

Aiden: ["No problems, though! We just gotta make this place fun 'till we can make it back!"]

Tyler: ["... Right. And how are we gonna do that, genius?"]

Aiden: ["I dunno yet. Y/N is the one making plans. Y/N?"]

Y/N: ["Maybe the real School Bus Graveyard was the friends we made along the way"]

Ashlyn: ["How about we each add a color to those, and we can re-make them when we wake up, too?"] Ashlyn said as she pointed to the bracelets that Taylor was making, gently taking one in her hands ["Here, I'll do one to give Y/N when we meet again"]

Everyone passed around the bracelets while customizing them each with their favorite colors, same with Y/N who talked through the walkie-talkie about what he wanted. Back in his hotel room, he sat by himself in the bed, staring off into nowhere in particular before he turned to face that creature smiling at him. This time around, however, having people so far away yet so close, made him a lot less afraid of it.

Y/N remained laying back, making eye contact with the monster for a few more moments before he directed his attention to the window, and crossed his arms there after opening it. He stared off into the distance where the facility was, hearing the chatter of people on the other end of the line, thankful that he wasn't captured, but also missing having his best — and only — friends being so close to himself.

The loneliness washing over him wasn't anything new. In fact, it was what he felt like always, but now that he had someone, a purpose, and a reason to keep pushing, it felt a lot more gut-wrenching. Although, just-as-powerful was the stubbornness of getting those idiots back and being able to scold them about having been captured. And, hell, thinking about the ginger and the blonde did kinda make his cheeks flush slightly.

"Good thing that Aiden isn't here or else he'd be laughing at my face", he thought to himself with a small chuckle, only listening to the chatter rummage behind him as the walkie-talkie laid on the bed. He smiled at listening to everyone, back to his usual self of being quiet, but now no longer with a scowl or a face of annoyance, but rather, a genuine smile. He'd probably be laughed at from how cheesy he was being right now.

Alas, Y/N was being cheesy, cliche and sappy. But above everything and everyone else, he was happy. So very happy. The fact he had such great friends? The fact they spent so much time together, even amidst all this shit? Hell, it just slightly made up for the fact that they were thrown into what is essentially an apocalypse. And out of it, Y/N might've found himself having a bit of a crush. Spoiler alert; he, in fact, did.

"Save me a spot", he saved as Aiden suggested they all formed a cuddle pile on the bed. Y/N now truly felt annoyed that he wasn't there to participate, but he promised himself to take part in the next one after everything resolved himself. It had been a while since he felt so hopeful, but he knew that all of this came from change. He has changed. Everyone had, at this point — And he was happy to embrace said things.

As he fell back in the bed, by himself aside from the small chatter on the walkie-talkie, he kept it on, and close to him. Even if just grunts, murmurs and the soft breathing of the group, it made him feel at ease. It brought a grin to his face. It took him a while to fall asleep, but just laying there, eyes closed, and ignoring the monster at his door, it was more than enough. "They will get out and find a way home", he promised himself.

And after that, everything would be resolved...

<<<<<< I >[---]< I >>>>>>

[Published in - 03/27/2025]
[Word Count - 7.300]

Eyyy, what I did say? Less than a month!

Sorry about the delay, though. I could've gotten this out much sooner but, again, I'm working on a few projects behind the scenes, I hope y'all understand if this book takes a little longer than usual to update, but I sure as hell ain't abandoning this anytime soon! Regardless, as per usual, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and that you're all ready for the future — Cause I promise that I have some heat shit planned.

On a second note, I have recently started watching Yellowjackets and like-

Natalie has NO RIGHT to be this beautiful bro.