The feeling of waking swept over me. I turned my head and began to cough. It was like my body realized it had air in our lungs. It hurt to breathe.

My mind shifted gears. Then seized as the rusted thing began to stutter. Each sharp thought gave fuel for a deep headache.

I felt as if I had only gotten one single hour of sleep.

My mouth was dry enough that I expected sand to puff out with each hack. My breathing evened out as I groaned and sat up.

The floor was a poor bed. Hard and cold.

A nice, thick rug laid to my right. Why I didn’t sleep on that? Only my retarded brain would know.

I stood up. The world wobbled and my sneakers squeaked on the dull, and dirty floor.

My mind paused as I instead focused on breathing.

I stared at my simple, gray zip-up sweater. Thick, red string hung from my collar. It was for the hood. Right?

Eugh, my head still hurt.

I brushed myself down. My blue jeans were very easy to clean. On reflex, I searched my pockets.

All I found was six dented bottle caps. They had hints of what was once golden paint. I winced as I tried to recall where they came from.

The only drinks I liked were in glasses. Soda pop, or alcohol.

The caps were light, thin metal. Yet felt heavy. They felt like they were filled with lead. How odd.

I put them back into my pocket and looked around the room.

I was in a small study. Or something.

The walls were full of bookshelves, and books. The spines of various books lined the walls. Hundreds. Thousands of books.

Each pristine, and had the titles inked in gold.

I saw a table of knickknacks and took a few steps forward.

Bronze. Silver. Gold.

They formed a globe. An old-style watch. A foot-long ruler.

The most interesting to me was the watch. It felt cool in my hands. I pressed the top button, and the cover popped open.

A mechanical wonder. Each gear moving in a precise dance to showcase the passing of a single second.

I smiled. This watch spoke to me.

Status. Value. Showmanship.

I bit my lip. I wanted it…

Ugh. My vision went dark and red. I pressed my right palm into my temple.

I placed the watch down and took a step back. I. Didn’t. Want…

I placed the watch back down and took a half-hearted step back.

Rules. There were rules I remembered. Rules were important.

They governed… They governed the world.

Sin was easy. Virtue hard.

I needed to virtue. Right?

Yes… Yes.

The pain faded as I looked around the room. Faded spines stared back at me. Faded letters.

I looked at the desk. Melted wax greeted me.

A half dome. A lump. A congealed line.

I felt my stomach turn as something black and fuzzy bubbled up from the lump that was once a watch.

I turned and left the room. The door clicked shut, and I came face to face with two girls.

Twins. Asian twins.

They frowned as they stared at me. They both took a step back and into martial art stances.

Brown eyes. Black hair. Form-fitting clothing. They looked like models but radiated hostility like fire gave heat.

“Jim?” one of them whispered.

We winced as the word grated across our ears.

“Alex. Eli.” I greeted back.

I knew them. I knew them well.

Alex was crass and outspoken. Eli was polite and quiet.

Both could kick my ass.

They were those talented, beautiful girls you always heard about.

They were athletic, competing in the Olympics. They had done many years of competition. This included Acrobatic Gymnastics, Tai Kwon Do, Aikido, and MMA styled Jeet Kune Do.

They were intelligent, having several degrees. They held several masters and were only months away from finishing their PhDs. The social science of some sort. How they found the time, I would never understand.

They were beautiful, having a global modeling career. That had evolved into roles for leading actresses. A line of clothing, perfume, and jewelry.

In comparison, I was an IT worker. I ensured that your keyboard, mouse, and email worked. They probably had a dozen people like me on standby.

I also owned my own car. An old car, but it was paid off!

“Guh Fak Yusef!” a loud voice screamed as another man opened the door and let it slam against the wall.

The three of us turned our heads. I noted that we were in a large hallway.

A brown man stomped into view. His face twitching with rage.

His colorful slacks, and barefoot form made for an odd sight. The bad attempt at a trimmed mustache did not help.

“Adeeb,” I greeted. The pain came with the name, but far lighter than a moment ago.

Adeeb winced as well and then glared at us. His gaze softened as he looked at the twins.

Their gaze shifted into the opposite. I could feel the fire start up again.

“Fak U!” Adeeb greeted me.

Another man stomped into view.

“My my my… It seems we are together once more!” a jolly man greeted with a chortle. His large waist danced as he moved.

“Albert!” I greeted with a wave.

Albert smiled and greeted back. He tipped his fedora and his smoothed out his extra-extra-large sized suit.

The black suit tailored to fit, but there was enough material for the twins, and myself.

I poked at my own belly. I had a gut for sure.

I sized up the girls and wondered if my suit would provide enough for the two of them.

“Nigga! I dare you! I double dare you!” a high pitched voice whined down the hallway.

The sound of glass breaking followed almost immediately.

Rules of the team. Stick together.

I moved first, of course. Only I was dumb enough to follow my own rules.

The hallways seemed to shrink as I broke out at a brisk walk.

Rules of the team. Only run if you have to.

You had a run time. A finite amount of either distance or time. It varied but the rule was strict.

You could run without issues… until you ran out of run time. Then you tripped over nothing and slowed for no reason. Sometimes distances would stretch and it took forever to move around.

It was a death sentence.

The sound of more glass shattering reached my ears and I stopped at large doors.

“I have a lawyer! Bitch!” the voices screamed, but so much closer. The loud cracks of gunfire filled the air.

I took a breath and opened the right one. Albert opened the left one.

“NIGGA NO!”

I winced as the wet sounds of disembowelment hit my ears. I heard it enough times to become desensitized.

It was more awkward when it happened to you. Though the pain was short, and you just felt left feeling odd and numb.

Eli once explained that it was due to the lack of nerves on the internal organs.

I blinked as stared at this sad kid. A boy whose name came from his mother’s favorite celebrity, and her favorite drink.

RuPerrier hung from the man’s right hand. His eyes shifted from his own intestines twisting in the man’s left hand.

His scared eyes moved to us. The white of his eyes, and the red-stained, dark yellow teeth.

He gargled at us before his eyes rolled up. The clatter of hard plastic and skidding metal was almost faint in comparison.

I knew this man long enough to know that his final words were not “Fly, you fools.”.

Poor RuPerrier. A gangster from the projects. Had no ‘fire’ mixtapes, and spent more time hitting on the twins then even swearing.

Which was impressive as he used racial slurs like they were verbs.

The huge man looked like the child of the WWE Undertaker, and Mankind. Huge, muscular body. Freaky leather mask.

I looked over at Albert, and he met my stare. We both took a step back and closed the door.

“Lets hit the kitchen. There might be edible food in there,” I suggested as I turned to my right and began to walk away.

Rules of the team. Eat and rest when you can. When shit hits the fan, having the energy to escape was very important.

“Fak Yu!” Adeeb frowned but followed us. He had to jog to catch up.

I ignored them as I made my way over to where I thought the kitchens would be. They couldn’t be far from the dining room, right?

No one tried to break down the door as we left.

Rules of the team. When someone dies, you could go away. The killer rarely gave proper chase.

The thing would teleport, or appear from the shadows later.

I hoped that this all would come after I had the chance to get some food and take a shit.

My gut was queasy as hell today.

—

The trap worked!

ManTaker growled as he wiped at his body. The two gasoline canisters were now empty.

“FAAAAK YUUUU!” Adeeb cried out as he tried to run forward. The pyromaniac had his lighter lit.

This was it!

And then he tripped.

This was not it!

Somehow, Adeeb’s left leg hit his right one.

Right into ManTaker’s waiting hands.

“SHEEEET!” Adeeb screamed as ManTaker lifted him up.

The giant held Adeeb’s skinny body above his head like a trophy. Right before he slammed the asshole’s back onto a bent knee.

[CRACK]

I winced.

Just like batman.

“Heeerlp…” Adeeb moaned.

“Chokeslam!” Albert yelled out. His hands were cupped around his mouth like a megaphone.

ManTaker then lifted Albert and with one hand around the cripple’s throat. The giant lifted Adeeb up and then threw his victim down.

Adeeb slammed him onto the concrete of the garage. The sound of his wet smack filled the room. Then Adeeb began to give out wet coughs.

“10 out of 10!” Alex cheered.

“11 out of 10!” Eli cheered.

I suspected it was because Adeeb remembered Alex’s name, but rarely Eli’s.

Though it was most likely that one time. Early when we first met. Adeeb raped them when they had passed out exhausted and vulnerable.

We threw him to the killer the moment we all realized, but he still kept appearing.

Then the girls kept killing him on sight. Those martial art skills were no joke. Eli knew biology well and could prolong suffering like you wouldn't believe.

I took a moment. When had they stopped killing the asshole?

“People’s Elbow!” I followed up. Question for later. Adeeb was still alive. When in Rome and all that.

ManTaker grunted. Patted his elbow. And then keeled over. Like a semi-truck hitting a watermelon, so too did Adeeb’s head explode.

Luckily it was away from us.

I moved first. Making my way up to his rising form. ManTaker was doing a pushup to get up.

I jumped onto his back, forcing him back down.

The giant shifted, and I slid off and into Eli’s waiting hands. She steadied me and I muttered my thanks.

Albert was next. His heavy jog could be felt through the floor. His own giant fell onto the man.

Superhuman strength or not. ManTaker sank.

Albert lifted his tanto. It was a wobbly, rusted Japanese short sword. Though resilient as it hadn’t broken on him yet. I never knew where he kept that thing stored.

Albert aimed at the giant's thick neck and struck! ManTaker howled in pain.

Like a butter knife striking leather, it left marks, but no real damage. ManTaker didn't even grunt at any other of our attacks. Why this one?

“Is that a paper-cut?” I asked as I made my way over to the front. Albert was trying to stab into the neck, but hitting the flesh didn't rate pain for the monster.

ManTaker growled at me as I examined the head. His bloodshot, and blue eyes raked at me. I ignored him.

From my experiences, this killer was an empowered type. The one who gained strength from an object.

In this case, it was probably his mask. I reached forward and fiddled with the clasp on the back.

ManTaker went wild.

Albert screamed as his world shook. Alex and Eli help him stabilize. Stabilize while they also began to kick at vulnerable places. They aimed for organs as they struck.

If ManTaker got up, he would kill us all.

Albert, with help from the twins, steadied enough to keep sawing at the man’s neck. Blood was actually starting to leak down.

The mask budged. The clasp was halfway undone.

My hands trembled as the final piece. The prong. Was all that stood in my way.

I took in measured breaths and eased it open. ManTaker howled and the room seemed to shake.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Lift belt. Pull out up and free from the prong. Hold down prong.

Pull the belt free from the frame. Pull off the mask.

ManTaker’s howls turned to anguish. He was able to get up, shifting Albert to the side, while Alex and Eli darted away.

ManTaker screamed as he turned around.

Oh. My. God.

It was Sloth from the Goonies. The odd, misshapen babyface.

We giggled, and ManTaker flinched. His frame seemed smaller now. Weaker. He was somehow shorter then Albert who was the tallest of us.

I shifted to get ready to move. My foot tapped something.

I looked down and saw Adeeb’s zippo lighter.

We all carried a relic. A symbol of sorts.

I had bottle caps.

I couldn’t give them away, nor could they get taken. Unless we died.

I sparked the flint, and a flame flared to life.

In the well-lit garage, it still caught all our attention. I squatted.

Then touched the flame to the puddle of gasoline. The liquid ignited.

It trailed across the garage, forcing my friends to jump towards the door.

Rules of the team. In the case of situational changes, run to the door.

ManTaker stared as the fire raced towards him. He looked down at the puddle where the trap had spread gasoline everywhere.

It touched his foot, and it was over.

The giant roared as he got engulfed in fire. He tried to put himself out. He flailed his arms. He dropped and rolled. Back into the large pool of gasoline.

We walked up the steps and closed the door.

—

The front doors were a relief to see. Unlike our first eight attempts, the knobs opened like a well-oiled machine.

The fading daylight greeted us, but I kept my attention on our surroundings.

Rules of the team. You were only safe when awake.

“Do you think we made it?” Eli whispered to her sister. Alex did not speak, she hugged her sister closer.

Albert let out a few groans. He was in rough shape. He had some burns, and his suit pants ruined. We had gotten very good at putting out fires and often left water near our traps for these situations.

Nothing critical, but definitely going to be sore the next day.

I felt something. I looked back. There he was. Smoldering mask. Giant frame.

ManTaker was running past the front doors.

His body was black. Burned and bloodied. He had no eyes, but I knew he could still see.

When he looked at me, my body froze. I felt my chest tighten. I couldn't breathe.

It was cold, and yet everything was slimy and wet.

It was only reflex that allowed me to take a stance.

I didn’t have any training in the martial arts. I didn’t have a muscular frame. I was also tired, and desperate.

Albert who was braver then I was. Albert who was now tired and limping. I needed to help.

I screamed and took one step forward.

Then I got knocked to the side as Albert ran past me. His tanto wobbling comically in the air.

The two smashed into each other, and I watched as that shitty sword sword. That stupid piece of shiny metal actually pierced into ManTaker’s throat.

Though it was only the tip.

I could hear Albert’s chuckle despite the situation.

The giant choked. But his rage was still hot. The massive hands clenched around Albert’s neck.

I was at his side as fast as I could get up and run. The hand was like marble, and I couldn’t make it budge.

“Let go of that and help me!” I screamed into my friend’s face. This was kind of important to his survival.

Albert didn’t do that. Albert had no intention of moving away. Of letting go of his relic.

He leaned in. He leaned forward.

The sword slow to slide in. It was rusty and grimy as it went in. It fought us to move deeper. The end came out a deep red.

I stopped pulling and started to push. Albert would have tipped his hat if he could.

Centimeter by centimeter. It went through until the hilt touched the man’s chin.

ManTaker wobbled. The sword in his throat. The injuries across his body. It was too much.

The man teetered. Then fell. Only then was I able to pry off the hands.

Albert gasped. Smiled at me. Dabbed. Then died.

“You motherfucker…” I whispered with a smile.

“Did we win?” Alex asked as I got up from my squat. I looked at the two girls.

Dirty. Tired.

They smiled at me. I smiled back.

“Yeah. We won,” I answered as I stared at the eyeless face of ManTaker. His face gazed up into the orange sky.

The sun was setting.

The distant sounds of sirens. Sounds that made my chest clench instead of relaxing.

I looked up to say something to the girls. Only they were gone.

I looked back down, to see rows of trees. A sparse forest of yellow and brown leaves.

I was on a back road somewhere. Except I knew exactly where this was.

God.

No.

Please!

Please.

No.

No.

No.

.

Tears streaked down my face as I watched.

Turning away never helped. Or covering any of my senses.

The world paused if I did so.

I watched as an SUV came down. I could hear their voices. Clear as day.

A family.

Father. Mother. Son. Daughter. Daughter.

They were singing a children’s song. Let it go.

They were laughing as they were syncing up and then desyncing.

Gods.

No.

I stood on the road. I needed to warn them.

Another car. Speeding.

A shitty, old SUV. A man, and his fiancee.

A drunk man, and his fuming wife-to-be.

The father tried to swerve.

It would have worked. If only the drunk had not turned his wheel in the wrong direction.

Because he panicked. Gas instead of breaks. Left instead of right.

The crash.

I walked down to them. To me.

There I was. Gasping for breath. The head-on collision into the trees. A branch had pierced into me.

I had gotten impaled. A single stick of wood and I was now dying. One of my lungs collapsed, and I was bleeding out.

Cheryl died on impact. Her head snapped in a bad direction.

The family had rolled over twice and into a very inconvenient wall of trees and a huge boulder.

It didn’t help that I had T-boned them. Crushed between a literal rock and a hard place.

I stared at them all. “I am so sorry,” I whispered. They had all died on impact. Small mercy as they didn't have to go slow.

My final memories were of the oncoming night. As my breath grew shallow as my other lung began to fill with blood.

I was going to run out of that precious air before I bled out. It was cold.

So I made my way over to my passenger side. The door had somehow been ripped open.

I was able to snap Cheryl’s face so that she could face forward.

This didn’t happen then, but I could affect some tiny things now.

I sat down, and held her cold hand.

I heard sirens as I closed my eyes, and pressed her cold hand against my cheek.

Cheryl.

I love you so much.

The feeling of waking swept over me.

I turned my and began to cough. It was like my body realized it had air in our lungs.

My mind shifted gears. Then seized as the rusted thing began to stutter. Each sharp thought gave fuel for a deep headache.

I felt as if I had only gotten one hour of sleep.

My mouth was dry enough that I expected sand to puff out with each hack.

My breathing evened out as I groaned and sat up.