[To Be Named] - Chapter 9

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

Chapter 9.

   "NO!"
   Shadow, Anton, DD and I turned towards the new arrival.
   "I guess Ozy will be here in a minute, then." Anton remarked.
   "Idiot! I told him not to look and what does he do?!"
   "Hey, is everything OK? What happened?" I asked Rashaun. I assumed Ozy had looked away, but I felt like there was a bit more to it than that.
   "It's fine!" he stated. "Like Anton said, he should be here in a minute..."
   I wasn't sure if he was angry, upset or disappointed. Or all three. Whichever it was, I figured that within a few minutes, things would be settled. We just had to wait for Ozy.
    "So, when do you reckon he'll show up?" DD asked the group. "After all, if he's on his own surely he would be here by now..."
   "Not strictly speaking. They could let him run around for a while, mess with him, wait until he breaks... Or-"
   "Don't be ridiculous!" I scowled. Shadow would've carried on, but I decided not to let him. I looked at DD and reassured her. "He'll be here before you know it, Dragon. Don't worry yourself."
   "On the contrary, you should be worried."
   *OK, you need a name. Something short and completely incorrect just to annoy you, like...Greg. Yeah...I can work with that.*
   "Oh yeah? And why is that, Greg?"
   "Who the heck is Greg?" Anton asked.
   I pointed at the sky and shrugged my shoulders. "It's easier to say. Besides, 'Mr Guy in the Sky' didn't feel suitably irritating."
   "My name is not Greg, but that is irrelevant for now. I have some news that I think you all need to hear, so listen closely. I'll only say it once."
   Everyone was now paying attention. We were all stood relatively close together, in the centre of the room. We all assumed that it was nothing good - it never was.
   "In your own time..." Rashaun muttered.
   "It is news regarding your friend. The one who isn't with you.". Greg trailed off, like he wanted to prolong the suspense and thus, our suffering.
   "Yeah? Go on..." Anton insisted. He was now worried for Ozy. He thought up all sorts of rational possibilities that could've caused Ozy to still be up there. It didn't help him a lot.
   "He is dead."
   "Right, ok then." Anton replied. "That's a really funny story. Now, if you would kindly send him here, that would be much appreciated."
   "You don't believe me?"
   "Of course not!" chuckled Anton.
   "Then that must makes you foolish." Greg said. His voice became more patronising and loud as he continued. "He died only a couple of minutes ago. He was shot within seconds of being left alone. He fell to the floor and he stayed down."
   "No...there's no way... You're lying!" Anton yelled. "It's not possible!"
   "Would you like some rock-solid evidence? Would that appease you?!" Greg said, raising his voice even more.
   "Anton, wai-"
   "YES!" he exclaimed. "If he really is dead, I want to see it...I have to be sure!"
   "Very well."
   The lights in the room dimmed, and a square lit up on the wall to our left. We all looked at it. It was displaying what looked like paused CCTV footage. We recognised it as being the main entrance hall from the mansion.
   "That's me." Rashaun said, pointing to a figure sat down opposite the staircase.
   "So, that's Ozy?" I asked, pointing to the figure stood up.
   "Yeah..."
   "Are you sure you want to see this?" Greg asked. I doubt it was an act of sympathy.
   "Just play it." Anton demanded.
   And so, the footage played.
   We could see Rashaun and Ozy were talking. There was no audio to the video, so we didn't know what was being said. Our group was stood in an arc. I stood at one end and I could see everyone's faces. They were feeling a mix of concern, nervousness, worry and despair.
   "I told him to keep looking forward." Rashaun said, staring at the video. "But he didn't listen."
   I continued to look at the two figures at the bottom of the stairs, when I saw one of them turn around.
   "Ozy..." Anton sighed. I think he'd already seen enough, but the video carried on playing.
   The video went static for what must have been a couple of milliseconds, before presenting us with the hall again. This time, however, there was only one figure at the bottom of the stairs. Rashaun took a deep breath, but didn't divert his gaze from the screen.
   "That was only a couple of minutes ago...how did he-"
   "Just watch."
   Doing as I was told, I focused on the video. Now a new figure was more visible. It had reached the bottom of the stairs and was looking directly at Ozy. They conversed for no more than thirty seconds. That's when I saw it. We all saw it.
   "Is that a gun?" DD asked, already knowing the answer.
   "Yeah. It is." Shadow replied.
   The second figure raised the gun to Ozy's chest. As the trigger was pulled and Ozy fell to the floor, I felt an ache in my chest. Their safety - the one thing that mattered to me the most - had been compromised. I felt like I'd let everyone down. I'd let Ozy down. And that hurt the most.
   The video paused as the killer aimed the gun at the camera.
   "I can't...it's...he's gone..."Anton was practically in pieces. He was struggling to take in what he'd just seen.
   "Someone is going to pay for that. Nobody messes with my family and gets off lightly." Shadow warned. I could tell he was angry, and I hoped that he would get his revenge - that we all would.
   I gave DD a bear hug, and refused to let go. I let our tears flow, and we had our moment.
   "That was only from a few minutes ago..." Rashaun reminded us. "That gunman...I can't help but feel that we know him..."
   "If we do, that'll make his death more agonising." I remarked. "We need to get out of this room and start our plan of attack."
   "Attack? Can't we just take a moment to-"
   "Enough time has been wasted! I don't want to wait around for another death in the family. I'm not ready for that. And I'm not prepared to let them do that!". I was about to grab my bow from my back, when I realised that it was no longer there.
   "What? What's the matter?"
   "My bow... I don't have it. And if I don't have it, I need to find it quickly. That bow is my life." I stated, now looking for any means of escape.
   "Thats a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think?" Anton implied.
   "No, it isn't. That bow is important in ways you don't understand. I just need it back and in one piece." I said. I was scanning the walls, hoping to find a door, a button...anything.
   "Over here." Shadow said, loud enough so that we could just hear. He grabbed his scythe and slashed at the thin wall in front of him. Effortlessly, the blade sliced through it and revealed a long corridor with a single door at the other end.
   "Who wants to go first?" I asked the group. Only Shadow seemed willing to come along. Anton was clearly in shock, as was DD. Rashaun just stared at the video. At the man who had shot Ozy.
   "Perhaps just you two should go. We can...we can stay here..." Anton suggested gloomily.
   "...fine. If you want to sit here and do nothing, so be it. But I want to see someone pay for what happened." I explained.
   "You go. I'll stay with them." Rashaun volunteered. I didn't want to group to split, not like this. But I had to respect that everyone deals with situations differently.
   "If you're sure.". I looked at him and he nodded.
   "Come on, let's go." Shadow said, starting to walk down the corridor. "We'll be back soon."
   I checked that I still had my dagger, and followed.
   As soon as I had walked into the long corridor, the wall behind me closed itself and we were shut off from the others.
   "No, wait!". I hit the wall, but now it was as solid as concrete. "We shouldn't have separated...I've messed up again..."
   "No, you haven't. We will find another way back to them. For now, we have to keep pressing forwards." Shadow insisted. "For Ozy."
   "...For Ozy." I replied in agreement. I turned away from the wall and we carried on towards the distant door.

   "No, not again!"
   "Well that's just brilliant. Now how will they get back here?" DD sighed. "We're meant to stick together..."
   "It'll be fine...don't worry. They're strong..." Anton responded. He stood next to Rashaun. "They'll be fine."
   "Stop saying things like that! We all thought that they didn't want us dead, but look at what happened to Ozy!".
   "He does have a fair point..." DD added.
   And it was true - Rashaun's point was spot on. Whenever someone had said 'we are going to die', I'd told them that if they wanted us dead, we'd be dead. Naturally, I had no idea if this was actually true, but I'd been trying to keep the peace. I guess I'd been proven wrong.
   "In addition, one of them only has a dagger for protection, the other a single weapon, and we have no form of communication! For all we know, there could be all sorts of things out there, and we aren't there to help them!"
   "OK! You've made your point! I'll just sit here quietly and mourn on my own." Anton replied sullenly. He sat in a corner and closed his eyes.
   There's no way he is dead. There's no way. This is all just part of a bigger picture, and we are yet to see the masterpiece. He's alive. I know it.
   After a good few minutes of quiet contemplation, Greg returned.
   "Welcome to the beginning of your next trial."
   Anton didn't budge, and Rashaun and DD waited for an elaboration.
   "Go on." said Rashaun insistently.
   "As I'm sure you are aware, there are two groups of you now. Three of you here, in Room X, and two others elsewhere. Unfortunately, for them things are more complicated than they are for you. This trial focuses on pure communication and trust. At this moment in time, Shadow and Chloe will be entering another room like this one. Soon enough, they'll be in a new environment."
   "What do you mean by 'new environment'?". Rashaun wanted as much information as possible. No more surprises. Not when lives were at risk.
   "You'll find out in a bit. Now, notice the long table in the corner of the room. There are three monitors, yes? Two will show you what either Chloe or Shadow is seeing in real-time. The other will display something else. That, I'm afraid, is something you'll have to work out on your own. There is also a single microphone which connects directly to an earpiece that both of them will have. That is how you will communicate."
   "So, we can see what's happening and directly communicate with them during this entire test?". Rashaun continued to press for information.
   "In simple terms, yes. They can hear what you say and in turn, you can see what they can."
   "Can we hear them?" DD questioned.
   "No. The connection is direct, but only works one way. It provides a nice balance." was the reply.
   "OK...so what will they be doing, exactly?"
   "Again, that's something you will find out shortly. Everything will become clear once the trial gets underway."
   "What's the point in all of this?" Dragon asked, making the subject change. "There are easier ways to kill people."
   "I'm sure there are, but I like to be more creative and artistic in my thinking."
   "Is that was this is to you? One big art project?!" Anton snapped. "My brother is dead because of you. That isn't art. That's murder. Cold-blooded, criminal, chaotic murder."
   "The trial starts in fifteen minutes. I hope you're ready." Greg announced, ignoring everything Anton had just voiced.
   "And he's gone again." Rashaun sighed.
   "We can't let them win. We have to pass this trial with flying colours. I'm not willing to see anyone else die. Not again." Anton said. He took a seat at the table and stared at the screens. They came to life and presented a single, terrifying, vital countdown.
   *Fifteen minutes... How many times can you watch someone die over and over again, in fifteen minutes?*