12 Race Against Time

"Now then… Here we go!" Cathy said.

"Wait!" Kristen said, "What the hell are you going to--!?"

"It's showtime!!" Cathy said, cutting her off.

With a spin, she pressed another button with the heel of her boot; The generators soon came online. It hadn't been long before Zack and Kristen started to scream in agony, as electricity started to course through their body, horrifying Rachel, Faith and Eddie. The two of them struggled in their restraints as the shocks had gotten more and more intense than the last.

Finally the generator had shut itself off, and Zack and Kristen both slumped over.

"Oh?" Cathy said as she sat on a sofa chair, "Did they die?"

Rachel, Eddie and Faith looked at one another before they approached the two of them. "Zack?" Faith said worryingly, "Kristen? Are you guys… Alive?"

"You--You're not dead… Are you?" Eddie stammered.

Neither Zack or Kristen didn't respond; they didn't even see them twitch.

"Say something." Rachel pleaded.

Just as she said this, Kristen awoke with a gasp, startling them as they nearly jumped back. Kristen took deep breaths, as she twitched slightly from the electricity.

"That…" She said, looking at them, "... Was not fun!"

"Good, you're alive." Rachel said after she sighed.

"Yeah…" She said in between breaths, trying her best to smirk, "... Don't know how but I am… What about Zack…?"

"We're not sure." Faith said, "He's not mo--"

"DAMN IT BITCH! THAT HURT LIKE HELL!" Zack suddenly yelled, scaring Faith.

"Speak of the devil." Eddie couldn't help but say.

They heard Cathy clap, "Impressive!" She said, "Anyone else would be dead after that! Guess being a curse and a monster has its perks!"

"Stop… Saying that…" Kristen said.

"Why?" Cathy said, "I think it makes you the perfect criminal!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Zack shouted, "QUIT ACTING SO DAMN HAPPY! LET ME OFF THIS THING SO I CAN KILL YOU!"

"Okay than…" Cathy said as she had now been seen pouring tea, "... If your little friends can solve my puzzle, I'll set you and Krissy free. But… Until they do… I'll keep the electricity flowing through you both."

"No!" Eddie yelled.

"You can't do that!" Faith added.

"If you do that, they'll die." Rachel soon finished.

"Well I can't just not do it!" Cathy told them, "It'll just tell us how monstrous and stubborn of a criminal Zack and Krissy are! Now doesn't that sound fun…? Besides… A sinner has no right to choose. Okay than, let the judgement begin! I hope all of you in the audience will enjoy the sight of this heinous crime writhing in pain!"

They soon took notice that the dolls in the room glowed a white light. "Oh God! This is really happening!" Faith said worryingly, "Guys, if we fail this they'll--"

"I know that." Rachel said to her calmingly, "Just try to stay calm."

"I can't stay calm!" She told her, "How are you calm at a time like--On second thought don't answer that."

"Faith…" Kristen said softly, getting her attention, "... I'll tell you right now… We're not going to die. Besides… I told you… I'd get you out of here… Didn't I…?"

"Even so--"

"Fifi!" Zack soon said, "You heard her! You trusted her up till this point, so what's stopping you now!?"

He soon turned to Rachel, "Ray! You get it don't you!? So make yourselves useful and get us out of here!" Rachel didn't reply verbally, she only nodded. Zack only tightened his grip on the armrest, "And while you're at it… Let me kill that psycho sadist bitch…"

They heard Cathy let out a chuckle, "The loathsome stares of those looking at the criminal… Those stares are what gauge a criminal's worth. The eyes of the onlookers will mete out your punishment. And begin!"

With that she pressed the button with her heel. Zack and Kristen started to scream as the electricity began to flow through them again. The dolls began to move there heads from right to left; The generator shut down again, and the steam had been visible now off their bodies.

"Zack, Kristen?" Rachel said, "Are you alright?"

"We're… Fine…" Kristen groaned.

"Barely…" Zack added, "... Hurry the hell--UP!!"

The two of them started to scream when the generators turned back on again. Faith couldn't help but look away while Eddie looked worried, particularly with Kristen. "God, this is just torture." Faith said.

"I know." Eddie said as he shook.

Rachel placed her hands on Faith and Eddie's shoulder, getting their attention, "We need to stay focused. If we want to save them, we have to solve the puzzle."

"Y--You're right." Faith stammered. She took a deep breath, "Of course, you're right. So what do we know so far?"

"For starters…" Eddie said before looking at the wooden dolls, "... In the eyes of the onlookers are meant to be the punishment."

"Man, I don't know what this means!" Faith said as she rubbed her head, "What does she mean by onlookers?"

Rachel looked at the wooden dolls as they moved their heads back and forth, from left to right. "The eyes… Of the onlookers…" She repeated aloud, "What does she mean by that…?"

The three of them thought to themselves as they did their best to ignore their screams from behind. It hadn't been long before they looked at the wooden dolls in the room when they realized the clue.

"The dolls!" The three of them said in unison.

"That's what she means by onlookers!" Faith concluded, "The dolls are the key!"

"Than maybe we can shut down the machine, if we break them apart!" Eddie said as he got his shovel ready.

Rachel nodded, "Yeah, I think that'll work."

The electricity stopped again, though this time Kristen couldn't utter a word, as she had only been gasping for air, while Zack merely groaned.

"Make it quick!" He told them, before looking at Rachel, "You know what will happen if Kris and I di--AAHH!"

Once more the two of them screamed.

"If Kristen dies, she can't return the favor, nor can she keep her promise." Rachel said, "And if you die, you can't do anything. That'll be a problem." She soon picked up Zack's scythe that he dropped earlier and she did her best to hold it.

"Eddie, take the dolls on the right." Rachel said, "I've got the left. Faith, take the middle section."

"Got it!" Eddie said before going to where Rachel told him to go.

"Wait a second!" Faith said, "What am I supposed to break them with?"

"Fa...Ith…"

Faith turned to Kristen and saw she had been struggling to breath. She motioned her head slightly to the holster on her leg.

"My… Knife…" She groaned, "... Take… It…"

Kristen started to scream again when the shocks started again. Kristen slumped over in the chair when the shocks stopped again. Though Faith had been concerned, she quickly acted. She approached her and took the knife from it's holster, and pulled back just as the shocks started again.

Faith looked fearfully and she looked at the knife as her arms shook a little. "Faith!" She soon heard Rachel say, "We need to hurry!"

Faith looked at her before she nodded, "Ri--Right!"

Thus the three of them started to get to work, with Rachel taking the right, Eddie handling the left, and Faith going straight down the middle. Zack found himself nearly passing out when the shocks stopped. He looked over in Kristen's direction and saw that she hadn't been doing so well; her whole body twitched and she had been drooling. Her eyes were wide open and he only heard her gasp.

"Kr...Is…" Zack groaned, "St...ay… With me… Don't you dare… Die on me, oka--AAAHHH!!"

Cathy seemed to enjoy what had been transpiring as she kept her foot on the button. "The criminals cry out in agony…" She started to say for everyone to hear, "... Begging for death out for his own regret. That wailing, suffering display of rage is the beauty of it."

The shocks stopped and Zack saw Kristen was only getting worse, as he saw tears start to stream down her face and more drool dripped down her chin. He didn't know why, but… He was getting pissed.

"I'll kill you." He started to say, "I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you!" They started to scream again as Rachel, Eddie and Faith started to break apart the dolls.

At one point they just seemed to have stopped screaming, as they were only gasping from the shocks now. Rachel, Eddie and Faith were on the last of the dolls. Finally they sliced the head off the last of the dolls and the machines shut down. Zack and Kristen slumped over, as they both remained motionless.

The three of them dropped their weapons as they caught their breath. "Did…" Faith said, "... Did we make it?"

"I'm not sure." Eddie said.

"Kristen? Zack?" Rachel said, turning to them, "If you're alive, than say something."

The spotlight shined on the two of them; neither of them moved, only smoke seemed to have emitted from their bodies. The three of them approached the two, not knowing if they were dead or alive.

"Kristen? Zack?" Rachel said.

The three of them started to get worried, as neither didn't respond to Rachel. That was until--

"YOU TOOK TOO LONG!!" Zack suddenly yelled, as he got up from the chair, grabbing a hold of Rachel's shoulders and shaking her slightly, "DO YOU KNOW HOW INTENSE OF A SHOCK THAT WAS!?"

"Zack!" Eddie and Faith exclaimed.

"You're alive." Rachel said calmly.

"Damn right I am." He told them.

He soon looked over to Kristen as she still wasn't moving. "Kris?" Zack said going over to her, the others soon following behind him. He placed his hand on her shoulder, shaking her.

"Kris!" He started to yell, "Kris! Wake up, damn it!"

Kris didn't seem to respond as she slumped over on the arm rest. At this point the group had started to get even more worried.

"N-No…" Faith said as her voice shook, "... She can't be--"

"No way…" Eddie said, "She couldn't have--"

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT FINISHING THAT SENTENCE!" Zack shouted, before he turned back to Kristen, and started to shake her again "HEY! RED EYES! STOP PLAYING DEAD ON US! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! GET THE FUCK UP RIGHT NOW!!"

"What… Did I say… About cursing… You damn… Mummy?"

Most of the group flinched at the sound of Kristen's voice. They saw her eyes had been open slightly. Though they couldn't help but look relieved at this, even Zack. "Kristen!" Rachel, Eddie and Faith exclaimed; Eddie and Faith couldn't help but hug her after she sat herself up in the chair.

"Don't scare us like that!" Eddie said as he had been in tears, "We really thought you died!"

"We were super worried!" Faith said as she sniffled.

"It's like I... Said before…" Kristen groaned as she did her best to return their hugs, "...I'm too… Stubborn to die…"

"You did say something like that." Faith said as she wiped away her tears, once she pushed herself out of the hug. The young woman couldn't help but chuckle, "Looks like… I owe you guys one…" She said, before looking at Rachel, "... And I owe you another…"

Rachel merely nodded her head at this, "... We weren't sure what to do, if the both of you were to die."

They soon heard Cathy clap, as she appeared on the screen once again. "That was amazing!" She said, "I can't believe Zack and Kristen didn't die! It's that tough, and stubborn will to live that makes monsters and curses so fascinating! The moment that you'll die is going to be so--"

SMASH!

Cathy had been abruptly cut off, when Zack smashed the TV with the help of his scythe.

"That damn bitch is really annoying." Zack said, throwing the scythe over his shoulder.

Soon enough they heard her laughing through the PA, which had surprised them. "Out of respect for Rachel, Faith, and Edwards efforts, I'll let you pass. There's more than one punishment. I have as many punishments as you have sins!"

With one more laugh, the spot lights turned off, before the lights to the room came back on. The doors light turned green before it slid open. Zack couldn't help but kick the bars that had been next to the chairs.

"That sadistic bitch!" He said.

"Says the serial killer." Kristen said to him, still trying to get through the pain.

Zack chuckled at this, "After all that, you're still a smart ass. When I see her, I'm gonna kill that bitch. Let's get go--"

Zack and Kristen soon noticed that all the dolls within the room had been missing their heads, only one looked to be cracked. "Mind explaining?" Kristen asked, turning to Eddie, Faith and Rachel.

"The dolls were the mechanism." Rachel replied, "We ended up breaking them."

Kristen and Zack stayed silent at this before he finally let out a sigh. "Terrific." Zack said, "We get lit up like the fourth of July and our weapons end up getting used for the weirdest shit. My life sucks."

"Don't complain." Kristen said.

She went to stand up, only to have herself falling to the floor the moment she tried to walk. "Oh my gosh!" Eddie said rushing over to her, along with Faith and Rachel, "Are you okay?"

"Ye-yeah, I'm fine." Kristen replied, as she went to stand up again only to fail.

"What the hell did I say about lying?" Zack said as he approached, "You're obviously not fine idiot, you can hardly stand up!"

"It must be from the shocks." Faith said, "Your nerves might be confused at the moment."

"So in other words she won't be able to walk!?" Zack said.

"Only for a little bit." She replied as she put Kristen's knife back in the holster.

"Look, I'll be alright." Kristen told him, "You guys just go on ahead, I'll catch up with you."

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked, "The hallways will be dark."

"I'll manage." She replied, "Just don't worry about--WHOA!"

The group had been taken by surprise when Zack took Kristen's arm; in one fail swoop, she found herself over Zack's shoulder like she had been a sack of potatoes. Kristen found her face heated up with embarrassment.

"Wha--Wha--" She stammered, "What are you doing--"

"Suck it up!" Zack said cutting her off, "Let's just get a move on already!"

"You don't have to carry me!" She told him, "I can walk--"

SLAP!

Kristen had been taken back when she felt Zack hit her; though she only turned more red when she realized where EXACTLY he had hit her.

"Stop making me repeat myself Kris!" Zack said to her, "Quit being stubborn already!"

He noticed that Kristen had been silent as she was trying to think about what she was going to say.

"What?" Zack soon asked, "What's with the look?"

"You just-- Hit me in the--!" Kristen started to say as she couldn't help but glare, "--In front of kids! HAVE YOU NO SHAME?!"

"Hey, it got you to shut up, didn't it?" Zack said with a shrug as he started to walk down the hall.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT AT ALL YOU JERK!!" Kristen shouted as she thrashed a little.

Rachel, Eddie, and Faith stood there awkwardly as they couldn't help but look awkwardly, as they were trying to figure out why Kristen had been upset.

"I don't get it." Faith said, "All he did was slap her butt."

"Yeah… What was there to be upset about?" Eddie wondered.

"Must be an adult thing." Rachel concluded before they started to follow Zack after Eddie picked up his shovel. They had gone down the hall, as they didn't find any other rooms. Only one seemed to be available to them; a door with a skull and bones behind it. Zack went to open though Kristen noticed the insignia on the door.

"Wait!" She said as she tugged on the back of his hoodie, "I don't think we should go in there!"

"Yeah, that looks dangerous." Rachel added.

"We're not gonna get anywhere by wussing out!" Zack said to them.

"Look, they're just saying we should be a little more careful." Faith said.

"It's faster than us just standing there and screwing around!" Zack said, "Now let's go!"

Thus they went inside with Kristen still over his shoulder. The minute Eddie stepped inside the door suddenly closed shut, as they heard the sound of a click; they saw the light above the knob had turned red. Eddie soon went to try and open the door, but had no such luck.

"We're locked in." Eddie told them.

"That shouldn't be surprising anymore." Zack said, before sniffing the aroma in the air, "Damn, it reeks in here."

"Uh…" Kristen said awkwardly, "... Can you put me down now?"

"You gonna fall on your ass again?"

"No."

"Are you lying again?"

"If I tell you no, will you put me down?"

"That depends on your answer."

".... I'm not lying. I swear I'm not."

Zack only gave a stare before he not so gently put her down. Kristen managed to stagger slightly before she managed to steady herself. "Geez, what is his deal?!" She couldn't help but think.

Thus the five of them began to look around; In the room they found a large safe, a corpse, a scale and the walls looked to be covered in blood, and scratches. There also seemed to be a couple of openings with bars closed around them, and large speakers and several television. Zack and Eddie looked into the safe as it had been nearly opened. Though when they opened the safe, all they found was a piece of wire.

"Really?" Eddie said as he nearly dropped his shovel, "She has this giant safe and this was all that was inside?"

"Talk about a complete waste of space." Zack said, tossing the wire to the side.

Kristen looked to the table noticing the scale, while Faith and Rachel examined the body on the floor. Looking closely at it, they could see that the ankle had been severed, leaving a clean cut.

"This poor soul…" Faith said solemnly, "... I wonder who it could have been…"

"Who knows…" Rachel said, "... But why is it in here?"

Kristen soon noticed what exactly had been next to the scale.

"Masks?"

She picked one of them up, only to see that the lens had been cracked slightly and they looked all worn out. She soon noticed something quite odd as she pondered a thought.

"This doesn't make sense. If they're five of us here… Why are there only four?"

The group jumped as they heard a loud sound. They looked over and saw that Zack had tried to break the blurred glass, only to fail.

"SO HARD!!" He shouted.

"WHY DID YOU THINK THAT WOULD WORK!?" Eddie exclaimed.

"WHAT, IT WAS BETTER THAN DOING NOTHING!?" Zack yelled back.

The speakers came online as they heard the music start up again. Once more Cathy appeared on the screens within the room provided.

"Hi~" Cathy said, "Greetings Zack! Hello Krissy! Did you miss me?"

"Like the plague." Zack and Kristen said in unison before they both looked at each other.

"Allow me to explain how this room works." Cathy said as she showed them a chalkboard that had been the blueprint of the room, "Listen well if you don't want to die."

"She is really giving me the creeps." Faith said as she shivered a little.

"Yeah, no kidding." Kristen said.

Finally, Cathy started to tell them about the room, "I got a little extravagant when I set up this room! It's completely air tight, so no air can get outside. And the glass window is reinforced, so even if you hit it, it won't break. And I'm going to fill up the room with something wonderful! If you breathe it in long enough, it'll grant you a peaceful death… It's poisonous gas."

The group let out a gasp, as Zack's eyebrow twitched.

"Of course, I'm not saying there's no way out of the room. Plus I'm showing mercy by providing a gas mask!" Cathy soon added, "Best to get out fast! Okay?"

"Ah… So that's what that's for." Kristen thought to herself looking at the gas masks, before she looked towards the rest of the group, "If that's the case…"

"Oh right, before I forget…" Cathy started to say, "... It'll be boring if you last long too long without dying, so I've set a time limit. And… When time is up, I'll give you a gift of a poisonous gas so powerful that the mask won't work! Now than… Have a delightful time."

Thus they heard the buzzer sound off as the TV soon showed a sand timer. They heard the air start to his, showing the gas had started to set in. "That doesn't give us a lot of time." Faith said, looking at the sand timer, "From the looks of it, I'd say we only have five minutes to figure out a way out of this room."

"So… What now?" Eddie asked.

"She said it as if there's no way out." Rachel said before she looked to see that, there had been a card reader of some kind, "It's just like the one on B7. If we can find the card, we can get that door open."

Kristen took the three masks sitting on the table before handing it to them. "Put these on." Kristen told them, "You guys will pass out a lot quicker than us." The three of them nodded before they put the masks on, making sure the straps had been tightened.

She looked to the mask on the table along with Zack, realizing now there had only been one. "Well this one is no brainer." Zack said, picking up the mask and shoving it into her face, "Put the gas mask on."

"No, you have to wear it." Kristen said, pushing the mask off of her face.

"What?" Zack said, "You need this more than I do."

"Don't talk like that. If you die here it's gonna be a problem for us. Not to mention it'll get in the way when I'm searching this room."

"Yeah? And what's gonna happen if you kick the bucket?"

"... I… I don't know…"

"You don't know!? Than let me spell it out for you!"

He put the mask on top of her head, taking her back a bit, "If you die here, than not only am I losing a chance on getting out of here--" Zack pointed over to the three of them as they finished putting on the masks, "--They'll end up dying if you're not here to help me protect them! Think about that!"

Kristen's eyes softened when she realized he had made a point about it. After a moment before she looked back at the timer as she thought of a solution.

"Alright than… How about this?" Kristen said, "You take the mask for a bit, and I take it when it gets hard to breathe. Sound like a plan?"

Zack clicked his tongue, before he went to put the mask on, "If it does happen, you had better tell me."

"I will." Kristen said to him.

"Alright, what do we do next?" Faith asked.

"If I were Cathy, I would have left a hint, that would be difficult to find, yet not impossible for me to miss." Kristen said as she thought aloud, "Question is, where exactly would I hide it?"

The group started to look around the room, until Rachel noticed the body again. "Could it be there?" Rachel said aloud before she ran over to it. "I think Rachel might've thought of something!" Eddie said to them.

"It looks like there's writing here." Rachel said as she tried to move the corpse, "I need help."

"Hang on, I've got you Rachel." Eddie said before he went to move it, though he didn't have such luck at this, "It won't budge!"

"We just gotta move the stiff?" Zack asked them.

"If we wanna know what that hint is, than yes." Faith replied.

Zack motioned Rachel and Zack to move out of the way, to which they did. With but a kick, Zack caused the body to turn over with ease; there the writing had been clear. "Go on, read it." Zack told Kristen.

Kristen nodded and looked at the writing on the floor.

"The man with the unsightly foot." She started to read, "Foolish murderer who stomped out life with your right foot… If the awareness of your sin causes you to suffer, you only need to get rid of your right foot. When the punishment matches the crime, it may even invite a light to shine in Hell."

"What does that even mean?" Faith couldn't help but think aloud, "That hint doesn't make any sense."

"To get rid of the right foot…" Eddie said, "... Does that mean we have to actually get rid of it?"

"I don't think so." Rachel said before she looked at what the room provided, "If she really left something for us to find, I don't think she would make it that easy for us. For that matter, there's that phrase, ``the punishment matches the crime."

Kristen looked over to the table, eyeing the scale in particular. "Maybe that scale has something to do with--" At this she started to cough which the group immediately took notice of. Though all of them were surprised when Zack suddenly took off his mask and practically shoved it in her face.

"Didn't I tell you to warn me, when it got too hard to breathe?" Zack said to her, keeping his hand on the mask so it didn't fall off, "What now?"

"The foot…" She said catching her breath, "... I think we have to put it on the scale."

"Hey!" He said to the rest, "You heard her!"

"Got it." Rachel said. She picked up the foot off of the floor, and placed it on the scale. As she did this, Zack made sure that the straps on the mask had been tight so it wouldn't fall off of Kristen's face easily.

"Okay, what now?" Eddie asked.

"We just got to match the weight of the crime now." Rachel added as she looked around the room, along with Eddie and Faith. "There!" Faith soon said as she had spotted something. She picked up what looked to be a small bag filled with something made of metal, "This might work!"

With that she placed it on the scale; it shook for a minute but eventually it had stopped when they said they both had been equally balanced. They waited for something to happen, though it had been too quiet for them; only the sound of the gas leaking into the room had been heard.

"Nothing's happening." Eddie pointed out.

"Did Cathy just play with us?" Faith asked.

"No..." Kristen said as she started to look around, "I don't think so. There has to be something that changed…"

She tried to survey all that surrounded her, though it had been hard to tell where anything was through the mask. Giving an annoyed groan, she threw the mask off and onto the floor, surprising the group as she ran forward. She started to search, checking high and low for anything that had been different.

"Come on, come on, there has to be something!" Kristen said, "Something! Something…"

Her vision started to get fuzzy, and she started to cough again. She fell to her knees as she tried her best to breathe. "Kristen!" The three kids yelled. Eddie ran over to her with the mask in hand, "You have to put it back on, or you'll die!"

"I'll be…" Kristen said as she tried her best to stay awake, "... Okay… I have to… Find a way… Out of here…"

"Kristen please." Rachel said, "You have to put it on."

"Not yet…" She said, "... I need a… Minute… Gotta… Keep… Looking..."

She soon felt everything go fuzzy and everything had been muffled in her ears. "Everything's feeling fuzzy… I can hardly breathe… But if I… Die… What will… Happen to them…?"

Just like that she lost her footing which caused the three of them to gasp out of shock; though before she could hit the floor, Zack caught her by the neck of her shirt.

"Yo." Zack said, "It's a bit early for you to die, don't you think?"

"Za...ck…" Kristen groaned before he pulled her up onto her knees. He took the mask from Eddie and put it over her head. "Pull yourself together Red Eyes." Zack said, "We're going to get out of here alive. You've got a promise to keep, don't you?"

Kristen's expression changed for a moment as she looked at the three kids before her. She saw through the masks they all had worried looks on their faces. She gave out a sigh before she turned to Zack and gave him a nod. With a smile he slid the mask back onto her face and helped her to stand up.

"The mechanism…" Kristen said as she started to catch her breath again, "... It should be solved… Look for anything different in the room…"

"Okay." Rachel said with a nod.

Rachel, Eddie and Faith started to look around the room. So far, they couldn't find anything out of the ordinary in the room, as everything looked the same, that is until Faith tripped. Eddie had been quick to catch her before she could hit the floor.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I think I tripped on something." Faith replied she looked behind her and saw what looked to be a square like object on the floor, "Wait a second…" Faith said as she went to examine it, fixing her mask a little, "... I don't remember seeing this when we first came in here."

"Where did it come from?" Eddie wondered.

"The only place it could've come from was…" Rachel started to say before she looked overhead, "... There!"

The whole group looked up and saw what looked to be an open space in the ceiling. "An air duct…" Kristen said, "... That must be where the key card is…"

"How are we supposed to get up there?" Faith wondered aloud, "None of us are tall enough to--"

"Hey!" Zack soon said, getting Rachel, Eddie and Faith's attention, "Out of all of you here, which of you is the smallest?"

Everyone had been taken back by this question. Though it hadn't been long before Rachel answered, "I guess it would be me, but what does that have to--"

Zack practically threw down his scythe and picked Rachel up off the floor with ease.

"GET GOING!!" Zack yelled as he threw her towards the air duct, taking everyone by surprise; their jaws practically dropped at this. Even Rachel had been surprised despite the fact she landed in the air duct safely.

"ZACK!" Kristen shouted smacking him on the head, "YOU COULD'VE GIVEN HER A CONCUSSION!" Immediately she felt woozy, "Oh God, I shouldn't have yelled…"

"And what you have us do, form a human pyramid!?" Zack said, as he steadied her again when he saw she was about to fall.

They soon jumped when they heard something break in the vent. Kristen gasped as she realized it could only be one thing, as did Faith and Eddie. Zack on the other hand--

"QUIT SPACING OUT IN THERE!" He yelled, "SEE IF THERE'S ANYTHING USEFUL!"

"Okay." They heard Rachel say.

Movement could be heard within the vents, as the group had waited anxiously. Eventually they heard her crawl back over and she had come into view. It was than they realized what had been missing. "Where's your mask?!" Kristen exclaimed.

"It broke." Rachel replied calmly, "Don't worry I'll be alright."

"Are you sure?" Eddie asked worryingly.

Rachel only nodded her head in reply, as the three of them couldn't help but give a look of worry. Faith shook her head a little, "We can worry about it later, did you find anything?"

Rachel nodded again and showed them that she had been holding a card that had been in the colors of purple and white. Kristen held out her arms to her, and Rachel jumped down. Though she caught the small girl, she fell to the ground when she lost her balance.

"Sorry." Rachel said as she got off of her.

"Don't worry about it." Kristen told her, "You're not that heavy." She soon took the card from Rachel and went to stand. "Let's get out of this room…" She said with a tired voice; she only fell on her knees when she felt dizzy again, despite the mask on her making Zack click his tongue.

"The gas must be really affecting you." Zack said before taking the card from her, "You stay here I got it."

"Wait I--"

"Save it." He told her to cut her off, "You've done more than enough." He turned to three of them, "Keep an eye on her for me, alright?"

The three of them gave a nod, before Zack made his way over to the door, to use the keycard on the door. Though when he tried to put it into the machine--

"Damn it!" Zack cursed, "Why won't it go in!?"

"What in the world are you doing!?" Eddie exclaimed, "Just get the door open already!"

"What the fuck do you think I'm doing!?" He shouted as he kept on trying.

Faith's eyes widened underneath the mask at the way Zack was handling the card. "Wait, don't force the card--!"

SNAP!

At that point everyone froze at the sound. While Eddie, Faith and Zack had a look of distress, Kristen and Rachel looked confused as they weren't sure what had just happened.

"What?" Kristen asked, "What's the matter?"

"Is everything okay?" Rachel soon asked.

Zack took a sharp inhale as he showed them all what EXACTLY happened, "I kind of… Broke the card." Kristen let out a gasp at this while Rachel's eyes widened when they saw the state of the card; it had been bent, nearly in half.

"That was… Our only way out of here…" Faith said as it started to sink in while she fell to her knees.

"YOU IDIOT!!" Eddie shouted as he started to hit him, "HOW COULD RUIN OUR CHANCES OF GETTING OUT OF THIS GODFORSAKEN ROOM!"

"QUIT HITTING ME SHITTY BRAT!" Zack yelled, "IT'S NOT LIKE I DID IT ON PURPOSE!"

"FOR THE LAST TIME, I'M NOT A SHITTY BRAT! MY NAME IS EDDIE!"

"CALM THE FUCK DOWN SHITTY BRAT!!"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!!"

They were soon drawn to Cathy laughing again, "This is so funny that I can't stop laughing!" She bawled with laughter again.

"You damn bitch…" Zack said before he pushed Eddie off of him, "... WE'VE COME THIS FAR! IT MIGHT AS WELL OPEN! SO OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!"

"Now I can't do that!" Cathy said with a smile, "Criminals have to obey the rules. Isn't that right Zack, Krissy~?"

Kristen just gritted her teeth, while Zack let out a growl. The sand in the timer finally ran out and the music started to play. "And now time is up!" Cathy said, "Alright the wait is over! It's the moment you've all been waiting for! It's time for my special poison gas!"

They all jumped at the sound of applause.

"And now… You're all going to die~!"

With a laugh and a push of a button, green gas began to fill up the room. "Oh God!" Faith said as she started to panic, "Oh God, what do we do now!?"

"Faith, try not to panic." Kristen told her.

"How can I not right now!?" Faith shouted as she now threw off the mask, "This gas will kill us in a matter of minutes! The masks are worthless now!"

"There has to be something we can do to get out of here!" Eddie told them.

"That damn fucking bitch!" Zack yelled.

"Zack…" Rachel soon said, causing him to turn to her, "...The promise we made, can't be kept if we don't get out of here, right?"

"Huh!?" He shouted, "Why are you bringing this up now!?"

She soon looked at Kristen, "... And your favor… You can't return it if we die right now?"

"Rachel?" She said.

"Please just answer me." The child told them.

"Do we really have to answer right now!?" Zack said, "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're in a life and death situation!"

Kristen soon told her as she gently took her shoulders, "Listen to me Rachel. You, Faith and Eddie's safety is all that matters to me. But I can't do much right now. If you thought of anything that might help, than we have to know."

Rachel's expression changed slightly before she said, "I did think of something but…" She soon looked at the group, "... To be honest, I'm not sure if it'll even work. In fact… I'm not sure we'll even survive it." The group seemed to have tensed up a little, "Should I still try it?" Rachel asked them.

Faith soon answered after a gulp, "If it means a chance of getting us out of here, than I'd say go for it!"

"If anyone's got it, it's you Rachel!" Eddie said, "Even if we don't survive it, it'll beat dying in here!"

"I don't care what is…" Zack said with a smile, "... Just do it!"

Kristen gave her a smile as well, "Whatever is you're gonna do, I know it'll work."

Rachel only nodded before she turned to Faith, "Do you happen to have spare batteries?"

Faith at first didn't register her question, before she said, "Oh I do!" She took off her bag as she got out two batteries from a small pocket in her bag; she handed them off to Rachel. "Alright…" Rachel said, "... I just need a wire."

Eddie soon realized where they could find a wire, as he picked up the piece that Zack had tossed earlier. "Here Rachel!" He said handing it to her.

"Wait a second…!" Kristen said before coughing, "... You're not planning on making a bomb are you?!"

"It's our best chance." Rachel replied as she wrapped the wire around the two batteries after getting a piece of cloth from her bag, "If the gas around us is flammable, than it'll catch fire and create an explosion."

"Whoa hang on now!" Zack said as he started to sound nervous, "I'm not fancy about blowing up you know!?"

"Ye--yeah!" Faith said fearfully, "Even if it does work, we'll have no way of protecting ourselves!"

"I got it!" Rachel said before setting the batteries just in front of the door. "You set it up that fast!?" Faith exclaimed.

"Crap what do we do now!?" Eddie exclaimed.

Kristen's eyes soon widened, "Eddie! Didn't you say that there was a safe?!"

"Safe?" Eddie at first didn't know what she was talking about, until it hit him like a train, "Oh yeah the safe! We can take cover in there!"

"Go!" Kristen told them, "Go now!"

Just like that, Rachel and Faith stood up with Eddie leading them towards the safe. Kristen stood up as she had been about to follow them but the minute she stood up, her vision turned blurry and she found herself falling to the ground.

The last thing she heard was Zack calling out her name, just as the wire ignited.