9 Differences

Kristen couldn't believe the floor master that stood before them. He was just a little kid, no older than Rachel. She still couldn't believe that a kid like him was the master of this floor. Yet he stood before them, just ready to kill them like Zack had been. Eddie held onto his shovel as he soon looked at Rachel; his eyes softening under his mask.

"Rachel…" He started to say, "... Is there no way I can be good enough?"

Kristen and Faith looked to Rachel, as if they had been expecting her to answer. None were surprised as she had stayed silent.

"Do you three know about him?" Eddie continued, "He has no interest in beauty at all. He was worthless in the past too."

"That's a bit harsh isn't it?" Faith asked.

"We read it in his profile." Rachel had eventually replied.

"Then why choose him?" He asked, "I could kill you too, and your friends!"

Zack looked annoyed, "Get out of the way you little shit!"

"Zack, don't!" Kristen said, putting her hand in front of him, "Look, Eddie right? You don't have to kill anybody okay? I don't want to have to hurt you so--"

"You cannot be fucking serious right now…" She heard Zack say, "...ARE YOU SERIOUSLY DOING THIS RIGHT NOW!?"

"WELL IT'S BETTER THAN HURTING HIM!!" Kristen yelled.

"HE JUST SAID THAT HE WANTS TO KILL THE BRAT AND BY EXTENSION YOU!!"

"IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT HE'S STILL A KID!"

"Are you two seriously arguing now!?" Faith exclaimed.

Rachel soon stepped forward, "This person swore to God that he would kill me. That alone is everything to me."

Eddie tilted his head a little, "What is God anyway?" He said, "It doesn't make sense. I don't believe in--" He stopped himself as he turned to the floor tightening his hold on his shovel, "--God never told me anything like that. That kind of freedom doesn't exist here. We're not allowed to just do as we please. The only thing we've been given is the right to kill those who come onto our floor…" Through the mask they saw the look in his eye, "And… This is my floor."

Faith's expression couldn't help but soften a little, "Eddie…"

"It doesn't have to be that way!" Kristen told him, "Please. There has to be a better way."

Eddie let out a sigh, "That all depends on Rachel's answer." He turned to her, "Will you reconsider?"

Rachel soon stepped forward, Kristen and Faith looking worried on what Rachel would answer. "The one who will kill me… Eddie…" She started to say.

Eddie's eyes brightened a little while Kristen and Faith looked worried.

"... It isn't you."

Relief washed over them, as they sighed. Eddie however had a different reaction.

"You heard her!" Zack said triumphantly, "Suck on that you little shit!"

"Is that really necessary?" Kristen said as she looked unimpressed by this.

"...You guys…" They heard Eddie say, "... Don't get to make that choice…"

"What's that?" Zack said, putting a hand to his ear, "I can't hear you over all this victor--"

"YOU GUYS DON'T GET TO MAKE THAT CHOICE!!"

All of them had been taken back when Eddie's tone changed. Kristen could've sworn that she saw tears fall from his face. He slumped over slightly, holding onto his shovel lazily now. "Rachel…" He began, "... I wanted to make sure you died as clean and beautiful as you are now… But… You can relax now."

He picked up his head, and they saw that his look changed once more.

"It's dark, cool and comfortable on Earth…" He told her, "... Rachel… I'LL TAKE YOU THERE!"

Kristen quickly pulled Rachel and Faith behind her as Eddie jumped towards them. Before she could do anything to block his shovel, Zack quickly stepped in front of them, using his scythe to protect them; he soon pushed him back.

"YOU VIOLENT BRUTE!" Eddie shouted, "WORTHLESS LOSER!"

He charged at him, attacking with full force; Zack had been quick to block and counter. "WHAT YOU'RE DOING AIN'T ANY DIFFERENT!!" Zack shouted. Eddie jumped back again, as he glared at Zack underneath his mask.

"DON'T COMPARE ME TO YOU!" The boy exclaimed, "NO MATTER HOW PHYSICALLY CAPABLE YOU ARE, YOU CAN'T KILL PEOPLE RIGHT BECAUSE YOUR HEAD IS EMPTY, SO YOU THROW YOUR TANTRUM LIKE A CHILD!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S GETTING ALL WORKED UP!" Zack argued, "SEEMS LIKE YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF PENT UP FRUSTRATION FOR A LITTLE KID!"

"SHUT UP IDIOT!"

"YOU SHUT UP BRAT!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S THE BRAT!"

"What is even happening right now?" Kristen and Faith couldn't help but think in unison as they watched the two of them shout more insults.

"The only thing I want is Rachel…" Eddie said, "... Is you! I'll close you and your friends up for eternity beneath a beautiful stone… After I kill you three."

"Eddie!" Kristen once more pleaded, "Please, no one else has to die! You don't have to do this!"

"Seriously Red Eyes!?" Zack shouted, "SERIOUSLY!?"

Eddie looked at the woman, as he sighed, "Sorry Kristen… But there is no other way."

Kristen had been about to say something, but was suddenly taken back when the lights within the room had gone out. She felt her body tremble as she already started to sweat. That was when she let out another scream, startling the three of them; she fell to her knees as her hands went to cover her face.

"Kristen?" Rachel said in a worried voice.

"Shit! Not again!" Zack yelled.

"What's happening?!" Faith said, as she heard Kristen begin to hyperventilate, "What's going on?!"

"When the lights went out earlier she did this too!" Zack told them, "She just started to act weird! That damn little shit…"

Rachel reached out to her, "Kristen? Kristen are you--?"

The very moment Rachel's hand touched her shoulder, she felt it get slapped away, as she let out another shriek. "Ge--Get away!!" She yelled, "Sta--Stay back!"

"See what I mean!?" He said.

"Kristen…" Rachel said as her eyes softened at the way she acted. They soon heard Eddie's voice echoed throughout the room.

"No matter how strong you are…" He said, "... You can't do anything if you can't see."

Zack started to look around, along with Faith; Rachel on the other hand, stayed by Kristen's side, trying her best to calm her down, despite her saying something incoherent to her ears.

"I dig graves in the darkness all the time." Eddie told them, "So I can see just fine in the dark!"

Zack nearly tripped on himself, when he felt something hit him hard; though he managed to steady himself. "Shut up!" He shouted as he swung his scythe, "That didn't hurt a damn bit!"

"How long can you keep the tough guy act?"

"Zack! He's in front!" Faith shouted.

Zack quickly swung his scythe in the direction Faith told him.

"Whoops! Careful there!" Eddie shouted.

He swung around him, causing Eddie to laugh.

"Almost had me!"

Zack groaned in annoyance at this, "You little shit! Where are you!?"

Faith let out a squeak as she felt the tip of his blade go across her face and Rachel jumped; luckily it only got a strain on their hair. "Careful!" Faith told him, "You almost hit us!"

"Can it! I know what I'm doing!" Zack shouted to her.

Rachel turned her attention back to Kristen who had still been hyperventilating; she heard her crying as she did.

"Ple--please… Please don't leave me here…" She whimpered, "Don't leave me here please…"

"Kristen." Rachel said gently, "It's alright. Faith, Zack and I are here. We're not gonna leave."

It didn't appear Kristen had heard her as she continued to cry. Rachel carefully placed her hands on her shoulders, taking care not to startle her. "Kristen please…" She pleaded softly, despite the dead look in her eyes "... We need you."

Zack looked to Kristen and saw how she was as Rachel kept on trying to talk to her. His body ended up shaking a little before a solution came to his head. "Hey you two!" He soon called out. The two girls flinched. "Wait, you mean us?" Faith asked confusingly.

"Who the hell else would I be talking to!?" He said, "Make yourselves useful and turn on the lights! There's gotta be a switch in this room somewhere!"

"It's pitch black in here though!" Faith told him, "We can hardly see anything!"

"That's why I'm telling ya to turn on the damn lights!" He told her.

"But Kristen…" Rachel said, "... We can't just--"

"Stop worrying!" Zack told her, "As annoying as Red Eyes is, I'll make sure nothing happens to her! So shut up and go turn on the fucking lights!"

Rachel's eyes widened slightly before she looked at Kristen, as she was still suffering. As much as she wanted to stay by her side, she had to help her in the only way she knew how. She had to get the lights back on, and hoped that it would help bring the Kristen she knew back.

"Okay." She said before turning on the flashlight while she stood, "Faith, come on."

"Right!" Faith said before she followed behind her. They both ran towards the staircase ahead; for a moment she looked back to Kristen.

"I'll come back. I promise."

"Rachel, wait!" Eddie exclaimed, as he had been about to go after them. Though he was surprised to see that Zack had stood in his way; he kept his guard up.

"Can he see me? That's impossible."

Zack made his move, and surprisingly he nearly felt the tip of his blade as he had been surprised again.

"Impressive… I guess that's what they call instinct."

As Rachel and Faith reached the top, they quickly started to look around with the light they had available. They looked high and low, along the walls and even on the floor, though they couldn't find any trace of the switch.

Faith said, "There has to be a switch in here to turn on the lights! This doesn't make any sense!"

Rachel started to think, "Your right it doesn't make sense…. Eddie couldn't have turned off the lights if the switch was here."

"Right!?" She said, "From what we've seen so far, he couldn't have run here and back unless--"

Their eyes both widened before they looked at one another. "Faith…" Rachel said, "Are you…?"

"Yeah." Faith said, "I think we both thought of the same thing."

They soon heard the sound of Eddie's laughter, causing the two of them to flinch. Rachel quickly turned off the flashlight and they ran behind a tombstone that had been nearby. They heard footsteps coming towards them, as they, or rather Faith, had been holding onto each other, as the sounds came closer and closer to them. They had both been startled when they heard his laughs just over their shoulder; despite their being darkness, they turned and saw no one had been behind them, leaving the two perplexed.

"Wait what…?" Faith said confused, "I thought I…"

Rachel noticed that in front of the tombstone there looked to be a flower bed that rested within a coffin. She moved from the hiding spot to get a closer look. "Rachel, where are you goin?!" Faith whispered, "Come back!"

She leaned over to see the kind of flowers that laid before her. Though all the flowers were ones she recognized, only one stood out. It laid in the center of the coffin, and though it had been dark, she had been perplexed when she saw the color.

"A black rose…?" Rachel wondered aloud as she reached towards it.

"I made it just for you!"

Rachel suddenly felt pain in her stomach as Eddie; she fell to her knees. "Rachel!" Faith cried out as she ran towards her.

"Rachel…" Eddie soon said, "... I'll close you up in that coffin for all eternity. And I'll make your grave even more magnificent than the one he destroyed. So…" He lifted the shovel over his head ready to swing it at her.

"... Let me kill you."

"Eddie please!" Faith said, "Stop this!"

After she gave Faith a reassuring squeeze, the two were taken back when Rachel suddenly fell forward into the flower bed. Faith had been frozen while Eddie's eyes sparkled underneath his mask.

"You're so beautiful Rachel!" Eddie said, "Now our love can be mutual! I'll make you eternal."

He lifted the shovel over his head again, though before he could do anything Rachel took the flashlight she had been holding and flashed it in his eyes blinding him. Faith quickly charged at Eddie causing him to hit the tombstone behind him, causing him to let go of the shovel and fall into the flower bed in front of him the minute that Rachel moved. As he passed out Rachel saw that a black remote had been beside him.

"That must be it!" Rachel said as she took the switch from his side.

She soon pushed a button and the lights in the room soon turned on. "We were right!" Faith said as her eyes brightened, "He was carrying it the whole time!"

"Yeah…" Rachel said softly, "Thank goodness for that."

"Hey!" They soon heard Zack shout, "Get back down here!"

Rachel and Faith looked to one another, and quickly ran back down the stairs and towards where Zack had been. He had now been by Kristen's side, having his hand on her shoulder. "Kristen!" Rachel exclaimed as she ran to her.

"The lights are on, so why isn't she calming down?" Faith said worryingly.

"The fuck if I know!" Zack told her, "She did this before too! I'm not sure how to snap her out of it!"

They heard Kristen cry her eyes out as she fell to her side on the floor. Rachel soon stepped forward as she kneeled to her side; she placed both of her hands on her shoulders.

"Do--Don't leave me…" Kristen said, "I can't take it anymore… Please… Please…"

"It's okay Kristen." Rachel said, putting her arms around her neck, "You're okay. You're just having a bad dream. You have to wake up now… Alright?"

The child kept on massaging her back, as she breathed softly doing what she could to get Kristen to calm down. For a brief moment silence filled the room; only the sound of Kristen's sobs were heard. Though from what Faith and Zack could see on the sidelines it didn't seem like it had been working.

"Damn it! She's still not coming to!" Zack said impatiently, "Maybe we gotta hit her or something!"

"No, that'll only make it worse." Faith told him, "Maybe she just needs some more reassurance."

"The fuck does that me--"

Zack had been taken back when he saw Faith kneel down and put her arms around the young woman. She started to brush her hair gently as she started to whistle a soft little tune. Zack had been surprised at this as the girls tried to get her to calm down. He saw that she still had been struggling to breath, despite their efforts.

Zack let out a growl as he spit to the side, "Damn it…"

He put his scythe down, and approached them. At first he was hesitant, but he had eventually put his arms around the three of them, leaving Rachel and Faith shocked. Though it didn't leave them shocked for long as they continued to give the young woman comfort.

None of them could know exactly what had been going on through her head.

***

The world around her became more and more clear by the day. Though the clouds still had been covering the night sky. She didn't know how long she had been lying on the old mattress though she could feel herself start to move her fingers. It wasn't much, but it had been progress. Her savior would come again bearing food and water.

True it was only bread, though it had been filling.

Her savior would feed her the same way over and over since she couldn't move her mouth no matter how hard she tried.

As said, recovery was slow going.

She felt her savoirs lips on hers again, as she had been forced to gulp whatever had been their mouth . She had just finished swallowing the bread that was in her savior's hand, as they pulled away; wiping away the saliva that had been on their chin, before doing the same for her. She tried to sit up, like she did many times before only to be gently pushed back down on the mattress.

"Sleep." The person said, there voice still sounding distorted.

She felt a thin blanket, pulled over her body, and soon saw them get up.

This kind of thing went on for awhile. Very often so, her savoir would come into the room, give her food, and leave so that she could sleep. Though this time around, she didn't want the person to go. While she did have the blanket, it had still been very cold on most nights. There had been another reason why she wanted them to stay, and that reason had been simple.

She didn't want to be left alone.

With the little energy she had in her body, she reached out to them, letting out a groan as she did. They stopped and looked at her.

"Do…" She started to utter, "Don't… Le… Ave… St… Ay… Ple… Ase…"

Her savoir looked to her stunned by this request, but had quickly taken notice of her shivering. Eventually her savoir moved again, and she had thought her pleas had been in vain. It had taken her a moment to realize that the person had just beside her.

They made room for themselves, moving her gently. They crawled underneath the blanket and pulled her closer to them.

"Sleep." They repeated softly, as they closed their eyes.

She seemed to have made a small smile and gone to sleep knowing that she wasn't alone.

***

Her vision seemed blurry again, as her breathing begins to regulate. . The color seemed to have come back to her. After blinking a couple of times she saw what had surrounded her; or more likely who had surrounded her. She was surprised to see that Rachel, Faith, and even Zack were surrounding her. She just looked at them surprised just as they broke out of the embrace.

"Kristen?" Rachel said, her voice sounding a little worried.

Kristen noticed the looks that they had been giving her.

"What?" She soon asked as she found her voice shaking a little, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Thank goodness!" Faith said as she sighed with relief, "You're back to normal!"

"It's about damn time!" Zack said to her as he went to pick up his scythe, he mumbled to himself, "Can't believe I wasted my fucking time, doing this shit again."

"We were really worried about you, after you collapsed." Rachel told her, "How are you feeling?"

"I WASN'T WORRIED ABOUT YOUR SORRY ASS YA DAMN BITCH!!" Zack yelled, though Kristen could've sworn he sounded embarrassed.

Once again, Kristen looked to Zack, shocked to hear this newfound information, but shook off the feeling. "I'm… I'm alright. I'm okay…"

"Are you sure?" Faith asked, "Do you need to rest?"

"No, there's no need." Kristen replied, as she stood, "Sorry for making you all worried."

Zack clicked his tongue and he started to make his way up the stairs, "If you're done with your breakdown, than let's get the hell out of here!"

The three of them looked to Zack giving him an awkward look; they looked back to Kristen who gave what looked to be a disappointed look. They were both surprised to see this kind of reaction from her.

"Yeah… I'm touched by your concern." Kristen said with sarcasm, before she followed Zack up the stairs, "Come on you two."

"Huh… I thought they would take that differently." Faith said honestly.

The two of them eventually followed behind them. Just as they were about to search for the exit, they heard a groan coming from the bed of flowers. They saw that Eddie had regained consciousness.

"This shitty brat is still alive?" Zack said.

"Ra… Chel…" He groaned as he started to sit himself up, "... I even made a coffin for you… I'm the only one who understands you… Tell me Rachel… Why…?"

Kristen saw the sadness in his eyes, as she couldn't help but feel sympathetic. She couldn't help but ponder a thought.

"Eddie, I--" Rachel started to say.

"Sorry you brat--" Zack started to say, as he had his scythe ready, "--BUT THE LADY SHOT YOU DOWN!!"

He swung his scythe, hitting his head causing the three of them to jump; his mask fell off, revealing his orange hair, green eyes and freckles. He fell back into the bed of flowers crying out in agony. With a smile, and a screech of laughter he went to take the final swing with his blade to finish him off.

CLANG!

All of them had been taken back when a blade had blocked his attack; they realized that it had been Kristen. "WHAT THE FUCK!?" Zack exclaimed as he pulled his blade back, "WHY DID YOU STOP ME!?"

"... You might be okay with taking a life…" Kristen told him as she put the knife back in it's holster, "... But it's like I told you, I don't kill."

"DID YOU NOT REALIZE WHAT HE JUST TRIED TO DO!?" Zack shouted, "I THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE SMART!"

Kristen didn't even retort as she turned to Eddie who was just as surprised as Zack was. "Why?" The boy asked, "Why did you save me?"

"Because I can't stand the thought of a kid getting hurt." She replied as she helped him out of the coffin.

"But I thought you would be angry, that I--" Eddie started to say as his mind had been processing her actions. Kristen shushed him gently, "What you did was wrong, I'll admit." She told him, "But that doesn't mean I'm going to change how I think."

At this Eddie had stayed silent as he looked to the floor, still trying to reason with himself that what was happening wasn't real. Until she said something that caught them completely by surprise.

"Come with us Eddie." Kristen told him gently.

They looked at her shocked.

"You don't have to stay here." She continued, "If you come with us you can be free."

Eddie's expression changed to a look of sadness, "But you know what I've done." He said, "There's no place for me even if I do get outside."

"Maybe but…" Kristen said, before holding her hand out to him, "... You'll never know unless you try."

"... You'd really forgive me that easily?"

"It's the way I am. It's better than dying in here now isn't it?"

Eddie looked to his own hand before he looked at Kristen as she had been giving him a warm smile on her face. Eventually he found himself smiling back, as tears began to form; He removed his glove, letting it fall to the floor, and put his hand on top of her own.

"O--Okay." Eddie choked, "I'll come with you."

Kristen gave him a pat on the head as she ruffled his hair, "Atta boy."

Faith couldn't help but sigh in relief while Rachel looked at her with awe. Zack on the other hand, didn't know what to think of this. He didn't know if he should be amazed or hate her, or just be pissed by her actions. It was confusing to him, and honestly… He couldn't help but find this familiar. He placed his hand over his chest, as he could've sworn his heart twisted a little.

He soon cleared his throat, getting their attention, "So, how exactly were you controlling the lights earlier?"

Eddie wiped away his tears as he replied, "I was using a remote to turn the lights on and off."

"Seriously?" Zack said surprised, before looking at Faith and Rachel, "Did you two managed to figure that out?"

"Yeah." Rachel replied as she held the remote in her hand, "The timing of the lights were too perfect."

"It wouldn't have made sense for him to just keep running back to a certain spot in the room." Faith added.

"That's great in all, but…" Kristen started to say before she looked at Eddie, "I don't suppose that one of those buttons could show us a way out of here?"

"As a matter of fact…" Eddie said before he held his hand to Rachel, "... May I?"

Rachel gave a nod, as she gave the remote back to Eddie. He pressed a button on the remote and they heard the sound of a click. They saw the waterfall had stopped flowing, revealing the way to another elevator.

"Well would you look at that…" Zack said, throwing his scythe over his shoulder, "... It was there the whole time?"

"As a master of this floor, I had to make sure it was hard to find." Eddie told them.

"Hiding in plain sight." Kristen said, impressed, "Not bad."

Zack soon cracked a smile, before he started to go to where the elevator had been.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get going." He said.

Faith was quick to follow behind, though as Kristen was about to follow their lead, she noticed that Rachel and Eddie hadn't been following.

"Hey, something the mat--?"

She didn't have a chance to finish her sentence when she noticed what had been in the air. It had been a batch of butterflies, all in different colors flying around, some of them perched on top of the fresh batch of flowers that had been before them. Rachel had been hypnotized by this as she could almost swear it took her breath away, while Eddie had a sad expression on his face.

"How pretty." Rachel commented, though her expression remained unchanged.

"Yeah… It really is." Kristen couldn't help but add.

He held his hand out, and a couple of them landed on his fingers.

"I guess this is goodbye than…" He told them softly, as one landed on his head, "I'll miss you."

Of course, this moment didn't last long.

"HEY! KRIS!" They heard Zack shout, "STOP MESSING AROUND AND TELL RAY TO MOVE IT ALREADY!"

"IS THERE EVER A TIME WHERE YOU'RE NOT GOING TOO--" Kristen started to shout, before she stopped herself, "I'm sorry, what did you call me?"

"And--" Rachel started to say, "Did you just call me--"

"WHAT DID YOU TWO JUST GO DEAF!?" Zack yelled, "I SAID LET'S GO ALREADY!"

Rachel couldn't help but give a small smile, "Alright." She soon took Eddie's hand, "Let's go, okay?"

Eddie gave Rachel a smile before he nodded, allowing her to lead the way. Kristen had a stunned look on her face, only to be snapped out of it when Rachel took her hand.

"Shall we?" She said,

Kristen gave a nod before she said, "Yeah, let's go."

With that, they made their way to the elevator, as Kristen had another thought in her head.

"I guess he was worried about me after all."