They all stood in front of her, keeping their distance. Zhayne remained beside the kid, who suddenly clutched at Zhayne’s clothes. His grip was tight, and his expression was unreadable.

  Zhayne’s eyes flicked toward the kid, then back to Clara. He stepped closer, each movement deliberate, his shadow falling over her. His gaze was sharp, dark, unyielding as he studied her face.

  “But you don’t seem out of breath,” he said quietly, his voice low and tense. “Were you really running?

  “did you have fun while your wearing that face” he asked.

  She leaned in and whispered.”

  Zhayne didn’t hear it.

  It didn’t matter.

  His body moved back on instinct, one step, then another, measured, cautious, as if distance itself mattered. His eyes never left her face.

  He turned his head toward Leon and spoke quickly, the words spilling out sharp and urgent, not panicked, just fast, like he was racing against time.

  “This day I disappeared was the day I saw Dan. He wasn’t dead—he was awake. And that isn’t Clara, that’s the—”

  “Run.”

  The kid’s voice cut in, strained with fear.

  Zhayne’s vision blurred, edges smearing like wet paint. Shapes and colors melted together. Sounds warped around him. He could barely make out the kid’s form, the shouts, the chaos—everything distorted, distant.

  Then, through the haze, he saw her face. Part of it. Half of her mouth, curling. A smile, wrong in a way that made his stomach drop, something waiting, something cruel.

  The world tilted.

  He fell.

  The impact didn’t register as pain at first—just a crushing emptiness that flattened his thoughts.

  His eyes stayed open.

  Blood streamed from his forehead, sliding over his nose, dripping across his face. An axe had fallen perfectly into the center of his forehead, as if it had been meant to be there.

  Her mouth remained curled.

  (Zhayne)

  I woke up.

  I didn’t jerk.

  I didn’t scream.

  I just opened my eyes.

  The ceiling was there. Too close. Too familiar. My chest rose once, sharply, like I’d forgotten how breathing worked. I lay still, waiting for pain that didn’t come.

  Slowly, carefully, I lifted my hand.

  My fingers slid into my hair.

  No blood.

  My breath shook.

  “that’s crazy—”

  My voice sounded wrong to my own ears, thin and unsure, like it didn’t believe the words either.

  Jayson cut me off.

  I sat up, slower this time. The room felt heavier, thicker, like it was pressing in. My head throbbed—not pain, not exactly, more like a memory refusing to leave.

  Leon cooking.

  Rafael watching me too closely.

  Jayson talking.

  His mouth was moving.

  I blinked and let it settle into the background. It wasn’t new anymore,I had seen this all before, felt it, lived it. The chaos, the noise, the tension… it had become familiar, almost normal.

  I still couldn’t hear a thing.

  The silence rang louder than sound.

  The image came back without warning—half a face, a whisper, a smile that knew too much. My hands clenched in my lap before I realized I was shaking.

  This wasn’t over.

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  Not even close.

  I moved toward the drawers without saying anything. My head still felt wrong, heavy, like something was pressing from the inside. I pulled the drawer open.

  The rope was still there.

  Seeing it made my chest tighten. Not relief, certainty. This was the only option left. I picked it up and pulled at it, testing it with my hands. It was thick. Rough against my palms. Strong enough… maybe.

  I knew it was stupid. I knew it was dangerous. But the door wasn’t an option. He was probably still out there. Waiting. Watching. Enjoying this. Enjoying forcing us into choosing how we’d risk our lives.

  Then I noticed the window.

  It stood out now, like it had been placed there on purpose.

  I smirked, but it didn’t feel real.

  I dragged the desk closer, the wood scraping softly against the floor, every sound feeling too loud. I climbed onto it and leaned out just enough to see down.

  Too far.

  My stomach dropped.

  I started tying the rope to the window frame, pulling the knot tight, checking it again, then again. My fingers worked faster than my thoughts.

  Leon rushed in and moved the food out of the way.

  “ Hey Zhayne what's wrong”

  I didn’t look at him.

  I was tired of explaining. Tired of convincing. Tired of being trapped.

  “The day I disappeared, I saw a bunch of monsters that were attacking me, and I ran till I reached here, and I’m hearing the sound of there footsteps again, so we need to leave.”

  My fingers brushed the edge of the window. The height pressed against me like a weight I could feel in my chest.

  Leon grabbed my arm, steadying me.

  “Wait, wait.”

  He stood in front of me, blocking the window. His eyes searched mine, sharp and serious.

  “Is there no other way?”

  I shook my head slowly.

  The silence stretched. Every second felt heavy, brittle. My heart drummed in my ears.

  I turned back to the window. Outside, the building rose like a white wall, lined with endless windows stacked on top of each other. The height made my legs feel unreal, like they didn’t fully belong to me.

  The middle windows. That was the plan.

  Leon grabbed my arm again.

  “Wait, I will go first. You stay here with them.”

  I hesitated. My chest tightened, stomach twisting. Then I nodded.

  Jayson stepped forward, as if he wanted to stop him. But I lifted my hand. Leon met my eyes for a brief second, then grabbed the rope and climbed out.

  The rope tightened slowly, the fibers creaking under weight.

  Ten seconds passed.

  Each second stretched longer than the last.

  Then a sound. Something falling.

  It echoed from below, sharp and hollow.

  My chest slammed against my ribs.

  We froze.

  I leaned out, trying to see, breath caught in my throat.

  Leon was still there.

  “My watch fell!”

  I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

  “All right, be careful!”

  My hand cupped my mouth, my voice forced louder than I wanted.

  Leon shifted, moving along the rope toward the window without even waiting for me to signal him, as if he already knew exactly what to do. He planted both feet against the wall, gripping the rope tight. For a long, tense moment, he just hung there, muscles straining, chest rising and falling slowly.

  Then he jumped back.

  Glass shattered.

  He climbed inside and raised his hands in a clear gesture. Safe.

  I turned to the others.

  “Who is next?”

  “I will go,” Vincent said.

  I stopped him, pulling the rope back inside. My hands moved quickly but carefully, wrapping it around his waist, knotting it tight, then tighter. I tugged at it hard, testing every strand. The rope was long enough,too long, really but better that than too short.

  Behind us, Jayson was struggling, trying to shove the fish into Rafael’s bag, but Rafael blocked him, the bag strapped tight to his back, scowling and clearly annoyed.

  I told him to hold tight. I told the others to help.

  They nodded, faces tense, bodies stiff.

  “Do you really think I can’t do it?”

  He smirked.

  I didn’t answer. I guided him to the window. He climbed out carefully, gripping the rope. We lowered him slowly, every inch deliberate, arms burning, shoulders straining, faces flushed from the effort.

  Leon caught him below and gestured again.

  I looked around.

  Rafael stepped forward.

  He already had leather gloves on. His backpack was strapped tight to his back, as if he already knew he wouldn’t come back.

  He went down without my help. The rope wiggled under the weight of his things, and I tightened my grip instantly. Jayson joined, holding it steady with me.

  Leon and Vincent pulled Rafael in.

  Leon paused, catching his breath.

  Then he gestured again.

  I looked at Jayson and tilted my head toward the window.

  “Come on.”

  He backed away. Sweat covered his face. His hands shook as they clutched each other.

  “You… You go first.”

  “No, you go. I will hold the rope for you.”

  “No… I said no, just go.”

  He shut his eyes, as if that could make the height disappear.

  I waited.

  He didn’t move.

  “I will come after you, I promise.”

  A cold weight settled in my chest.

  “Okay.”

  I climbed out.

  I climbed out. My legs wobbled slightly as I found my footing, but I forced myself steady. The rope wobbled under my weight.

  Leon helped me as I entered from the window, guiding my steps and steadying me until I landed safely on my feet.

  I looked around. What I saw seemed like a classroom, a classroom I had never seen before. Sunlight spilled in through big windows, filling the space. A teacher’s desk, wooden desks neatly arranged. It felt unreal, like a dream I could reach out and touch.

  I shook my head, trying to force the thoughts away. Jayson wasn’t here.

  “Jayson hasn’t gone down yet,” I said.

  “Why did you leave him up there?” Rafael glanced at me, annoyance clear on his face. I couldn’t argue with him… though I knew he hadn’t exactly stayed behind either.

  Then I heard someone coming down. At first, I thought it was Jayson, expecting him to appear, but as the figure drew closer, I realized it was the banana kid.

  He was about to let go of the rope, but I grabbed his hand.

  He was heavy. Struggling. Holding the costume in his hands, gripping it like he couldn’t let go. His face was full of fear.

  “Just… let go of that,” I said, but he didn’t reply.

  “Come on, just let it go, will you?” I said, trying to pull him closer with my words, my fingers brushing against the weight of the costume

  Leon grabbed a rock and threw it.

  The costume was knocked from the kid’s hands.

  The kid stared at it as it fell.

  “No—”

  The costume hit the ground below. The animals reached it almost instantly, tearing into it.

  I grabbed the kid and raised him upward. We pulled him closer until he was finally on the ground.

  “What did you do that for?” the kid shouted, out of breath.

  He got up immediately and shoved a desk forward, trying to slam it into Leon.

  Leon froze, shocked. “Shouldn’t you be grateful? Me and Zhayne just saved your life!”

  The kid sneered at him and reached for a chair, trying to grab it, but I stopped him. I stepped between them and looked into his eyes.

  “This isn’t the time or the place for this.”

  Then I heard it again, the sound of animals coming from far away.

  I looked down, then back up fast. “Jayson!” I shouted.

  Jayson was already on the rope, just having climbed out through the window. The moment he looked down and saw movement below, he froze, then scrambled back up, breath coming fast and uneven.

  “What are you doing?” Rafael shouted.

  “I… I can’t,” Jayson said, panic tearing through his voice. He backed away and dropped to the floor, eyes fixed on the door as it shook violently. The wood bent inward.

  “Guys,” he whispered, voice barely holding together. “They’re breaking in.”

  The door cracked open.

  Something forced its way through.

  Animals pushed their way inside, wearing bright circus clothes and hats, clashing colors, loud patterns, reds and yellows and blues that shouldn’t have looked cheerful here. The fabric hung loose and torn, the hats crooked and ill-fitting, swaying as they moved.

  A tiger lunged forward and roared straight at Jayson’s face.

  Warm blood sprayed across his skin.

  Jayson screamed.

  Jayson grabbed the rope with shaking hands and started wrapping it around himself, movements rushed and uneven. His fingers slipped once, then again, but he forced the knot tighter.

  Without looking down, Jayson threw himself off the edge, his eyes squeezed shut.

  I rushed to the window and looked out. The rope snapped taut as his weight caught. Jayson was screaming the whole time, raw and desperate, the sound tearing through the air.

  We all grabbed the rope and pulled with everything we had, arms straining, shoulders burning, each tug working together as the animals below began to climb. The kid stepped forward and stood there, watching.

  Jayson reached the window, his hands stretching up‐

  The knot around Jayson’s waist came undone.

  The rope slipped, and Rafael’s voice cut through the chaos. “Jayson!”

  As soon as he heard it, Jayson’s hands shot out, gripping the rope tightly. He opened his eyes just for a second to hold it, then shut them again, hanging there, body trembling against the strain.

  Above him, the rope tied to the window groaned and began to fray, strands snapping under the weight. Pieces of it started falling away.

  Leon lunged forward just in time, catching Jayson by the hood of his hoodie and pulling him inside. Jayson’s arms shook violently as he clung to the rope, chest heaving, still holding on with everything he had.

  Below, the remnants of the rope tumbled as the animals swarmed, shredding what was left to nothing.

  ALOT.