[To Be Named] - Chapter 8

[To Be Named] - by Ho-Oh16
A QuizUp fantasy adventure story.

Chapter 8.

Aaaaand there she is!" a familiar voice announced. "Good morning, and welcome to...here."
   "Where...? Wait...this isn't...where is here, exactly? I could sworn I was...at the house..." I said. I was sat against the wall of a room. One that resembled the same room we had entered at the end of the maze. I was praying that it wasn't. "There was someone else there...a new face."
   "You were actually the first of us here. I can't say how long you were here for, but we haven't been here for long." DD explained.
   "I arrived here second. DD showed up, quite literally, a few minutes after. Then-"
   "I turned up.". Anton finished Shadow's sentence. The three of them were either sat down or stood up in the centre of the room.
   "OK, but how? How did we end up here?" I questioned. There ought to have been a logical explanation, but I was unable to find it.
   "None of us know for sure. One second I was fighting the monsters and then I was here." Shadow replied.
   "I was stood at the back of the group. Everyone was looking for Shadow and then, just as he said, I was here." DD added.
   "Mine is a very similar story. Rashaun and Ozy followed me into the house. They were talking - I can't remember what about - and I was about to interrupt them when I found myself faced with this place."
   "Well, I just passed out after having a severe electrical attack originating from my arm. No biggy." I began. "But then...that means Rashaun and Ozy are still out there!"
   "But for how much longer? It won't be long before they're both here with the rest of us, and then what? We'll all be stuck here..." Anton said. I could tell he was agitated, and perplexed like the rest of us.
   There was a sudden loud beep, high in pitch, that caused everyone to cover their ears.
   "Welcome to your next trial. It would appear that two participants haven't yet arrived, but I'm sure they'll be here soon. For now, just wait patiently."
Mr Guy in the Sky, we meet again...
   "How long do you expect us to just sit here and wait? We are sick of being here!" Anton exclaimed, yelling at the voice.
   "For as long as it takes and as long as I want. Perhaps you don't understand who is holding all of the cards here... Perhaps...you need a quick lesson."
   "Lesson?". DD frowned at what had been said.
   "I wonder if that'll mean more fighting... I feel like a killing spree is going to be necessary..."
   "Shadow, save it for when we really need it." Anton commented.
   "Uh...guys..."
   "What do you think's going to happen? I don't like the silence..."
   "It's quite ominous, I agree."
   "This isn't good... A little help would be nice?"
   "Do we all have our weapons still?"
   "Yup. What about you, Chloe?"
   The three of them looked over at me, and I just glared back at them.
    "THE WALLS!" I yelled in frustration.
    "Yeah, they're a lovely shade of blank. What about them?" Anton asked.
    "Oh for goodness...THEY ARE CLOSING IN ON US!" I shouted in explanation. "DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE TO YOU?!"
   I assumed that it did, because before I knew it, Anton was by my side helping me try to stop the wall moving. Shadow and DD were doing to same on the opposite side of the room, but none of us seemed to be doing anything productive.
   "So, how's the lesson going?"
   "IT IS GREAT, THANK YOU FOR ASKING." I called back with sheer sarcasm.
   There was now approximately five metres between the walls and the gap was closing quickly. Shadow was preparing to position his scythe between the walls, but we all knew it wouldn't help for long, if at all.
   "We are so getting crushed..." DD mumbled.
   "Not if I can help it." I remarked. My arm began to ache, and I was now worried about more than dying. If another incident took place, I wouldn't be able to help the others.
   "I wonder how Ozy and Rashaun are getting on." Shadow thought aloud.
   "I would rather be where they are than here, that's for sure." Anton replied.
   Three metres.
   "Have you learnt anything valuable yet?"
   "That you're a maniac who is probably going to kill us one way or another?" Anton suggested. The rest of us sighed at his comment.
   "Besides that."
   Two metres.
   "That we aren't going to die, but you will, and we'll be there to see it?"
   "Shadow, you are making it wo-"
   "Worse...yes...I agree. Anything else?"
   One metre.
   "How about that y-"
   "That we have no say in how the rest of this is going to play out. We aren't the ones in control, and we need to respect that." I called out, bracing myself for a painful demise.
    "...good. I'm glad you understand."
    And with that, the walls slowly moved back to their original positions. I was able to relax my muscles and fell to my knees in exhaustion. My arm was still aching, but I was relieved that we were all alive. For now.
   "Note: never anger someone who can kill you with the click of a button." DD huffed.
   Everyone but Shadow was now sat down. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but then, I never could.
   "I'm thinking about why he did that."
   "Hm?" I responded.
   "You're wondering what I'm thinking, so I'm telling you. I want to know why he felt the need to do that." Shadow stated. "He didn't decide to let us die...he just almost killed us."
   "And? I'd be grateful if I were you. Unless you want to die, of course." Anton said.
   "He can try." Shadow challenged.
   "Don't tempt him. Just forget about it and wait. It's all we can do." I sighed. I was slowly getting more irritable but I blamed the fear of having another electrical surge in my arm.
   "So, who wants to play a game?" DD suggested, trying to calm the atmosphere.
   "Yeah, how about 'who can stay quiet for the longest'? That's a fun one." I muttered. "...sorry. I'm just a bit worried about our current predicament..."
   "It's fine. We're all wor-" DD started to say.
   "No, it's not fine.". I interrupted her, and I felt bad, but there was something more important happening.
   "But-"
   "I said it's not fine..." I mumbled. I was holding my arm, trying to ignore the pain.
   "Wait, you mean...?" Anton asked, having clocked on to what I was saying.
   "Yep." was my blunt reply.
   "Ohhh...OHHH... THAT ISN'T GOOD."
   "No, Dragon, it isn't. But hey, just carry on with whatever it is you're doing. You'll know when it happens.". I sat down properly and rested my head on my other hand.
//Control it.
*Oh, just go away! I thought I got rid of you!*
//Control it.
   "Control what?!" I yelled aloud. Three pairs of eyes stared at me. I told them it was part of the process, and to ignore me.
//Control it.
*Will you please. Just. Tell meeeee?!*
//Control the current. Control the power.
*HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO-*
   "Chloe...are you OK?" DD asked.
   "Yeah, I told you to ignore me... As you were." I said, trying to return to my thoughts.
   "It's just that...your...uh...". She trailed off, allowing Anton to take his turn.
   "How are you doing that?"
   "Doing what?!" I questioned.
   That's when I saw it. It wasn't massively noticeable, but it was something. A small blue spark of electricity was jumping across the palm of my hand.
   "Control the current..." I muttered to myself.
   "Interesting." Shadow remarked.
Well, it's not hurting me, so, does this mean...?
Control.
Oh...well this is going to be fun...
   I stared at my hand for a moment, and then started to think about Rashaun and Ozy, and how they were getting on. I was still worried about them.
   "Ow!". I shook my hand and in an instant my arm felt the electricity as it had done earlier. Fortunately, the pain didn't flow past my shoulder, but once again, my arm was down for the count.
   "Woah, what just happened?" DD asked me.
   "I have absolutely no idea, but you'll have to give me a minute while I endure this...pain!". I stood up after a second surge ensued. "Ow..ow...ow.....ow......."
   "So, what now?" DD asked, hoping that anyone would give her a decent answer.
   "We wait for the others. Like he said, they shouldn't be much longer." Shadow answered.
   "I hope not..." I thought aloud.
*I hope not.*

   "How much longer do you think we can keep this up for?" Ozy asked Rashaun.
   "Not for long at all." he replied. "Being tired doesn't help."
   A short silence followed. Ozy rubbed one of his eyes but made sure to keep the other one wide open. It didn't take a genius to work out that even a split-second spent looking away from each other would lead to a disappearance.
   "Where do you suppose the others are?". Ozy's question broke the silence, but something that followed soon after shattered it entirely.
   A loud bang - like a gunshot - came from upstairs. Rashaun and Ozy continued to look at each other, despite an urge to to find out where the noise had come from.
   Ozy's back was to the staircase, so he was unable to see what was upstairs. Rashaun, on the other hand, could see over Ozy's shoulder, and what he saw startled him.
   "Ozy, keep looking at me. No matter what, just don't turn around."
   "Why? What's th-"
   "You don't need to worry about that." Rashaun assured him.
   Another gunshot made Ozy jump and he almost turned as a natural reflex. Deciding that it wouldn't be a good idea, he stared at the wall next to Rashaun.
   "Rashaun...what's there?" he asked. He was becoming more worried and anxious with each passing second.
   "I told you, you don't need to worry about that. Just focus on this." he said, tapping the wall next to his head.
   A third gunshot caused Ozy to take a deep breath. He was telling himself not to look, but was worried that his instincts would overpower his logical thinking.
   "Ozy...don't do it." Rashaun warned.
   "I am trying...it is extremely difficult..."
   "And I understand that, but remember: if you stop looking, I vanish, and don't particularly want to."
   Ozy could now see three bullet holes in the wall in front of him. They were roughly as high as his shoulders, perhaps a bit lower.
   "I think they're trying to shoot me..." he whispered. "I need to know who it is, Rashaun. I'm sorry."
   "Ozy, wait! Don't look!" Rashaun cried.
   Unfortunately, Ozy did just that. He took a deep breath and turned around to face the gunman, leaving Rashaun out of sight and now, out of mind.
   "Who-"
   "Looks like it's just you and me." the gunman replied.
   "Who are you?" Ozy demanded. He stared at the figure in the eyes. They were roughly the same height, but the figure was someone that Ozy didn't recognise. He felt like he should have, but he just couldn't remember.
   "You'll find out in due time. You all will."
   "That doesn't answer my question." stated Ozy, keeping firm eye contact.
   "...I think you made a mistake turning around. You should've listened to your friend. Oh well. This next part would've played out exactly the same way."
   "What do you mean?"
   "Goodbye." said the figure. He aimed the gun Ozy's chest and mercilessly pulled the trigger.