Note:

This chapter contains vulgar language, Be prepared!

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Your mouth formed onto one line as soon as you had heard that familiar voice. Your gaze shifted towards a person standing in front of a table at the end of the room. His back was facing you, but you didn't even need to think of who it could be.

Masky.

Your felt your stomach turning because of the nerves, the sweat slowly forming on your forehead and while you were cold moments ago, you felt the heat rushing through your veins. This was it; this was your chance now. The only thing you need to do was to look confident and bribe them.

Your throat felt as if you had swallowed glass and your breathing became heavier with each second. You glared at the masked man, whose back was still facing you. It seemed as if he was studying something, something even more important than you and the code you had brought with you.

"Would you look at this, Brian, the idiots thought they could outsmart us." Your eyes shifted from the masked man towards the hooded man, before you slowly took one step to the side. You were wondering what he was talking about and above all if he noticed you.

Hoodie brushed past you, walking over to the table quickly and stopping right in front of it. You saw him crossing his arms, his hood pointing down as if he too was studying whatever was lying on the table. With a heavy heart you took another step, the little bulb hanging from the ceiling not giving you enough light to make out what they were looking at.

You saw that it was big however.

You heard a horrible sound as Hoodie raised his hand and then dug it down onto the table again. It was a squeezing, disgusting noise and when you took one last step you saw what was on the table. You immediately turned your head as you had caught a glimpse of a white lab coat, stained with blood.

He was digging into his stomach, his organs. You couldn't help but to breathe loudly, swallowing a few times and concentrating on the ceiling in order not to throw up right here. Just don't think about it, it is of no importance right now. You needed to be brave, to look confident. Just keep that in mind.

"Let's research this later." Hoodie eventually spoke and you were now turning your head back towards the two. You had to prevent yourself from peeking, looking whoever was lying on that table and if he or she would be still alive. You guessed not.

"Oh, that's right; the little dog has finally arrived. How's your life with Jeff?" You only glared at the masked man, who was playing with a hammer in his hands. You had no idea why he would always have that hammer with him when you're here, but you guessed it wasn't to fix nails.

"Aw, what's the matter? You're tired? Lying on your back all day is indeed quite exhausting. You must be real sore down there." A small gasp escaped your throat when he had spoken those words. Ouch... That one stung. It hurts really badly. Why did he have to bring that painful memory up? You wanted nothing more than to forget, yet he was testing you. Trying to lure you out of your shell and get some kind of reaction.

But you wouldn't give in. You had a mission and that mission was more important than your own pride. Also how did he know of it? You weren't actually surprised though, why in the world would Jeff keep you otherwise? Or any killers their pet for that matter? Simply for their satisfaction.

You couldn't even look at Masky anymore as you averted your gaze. The hate boiling inside of your body for the masked man grew with every word he spoke. Why couldn't this whole ordeal be over? Why couldn't he just ask you the code and go on with it? Why did he have to stab you in your heart?

"I have the code." You spoke, your own legs trembling underneath your body as your knuckles turned white from the force you had put on them. Your voice was filled with doubt and hesitation, even though you were staring straight at Masky.

"No shit. You thought we'd let you come over here for a cup of tea?" You only glared at the masked man, slowly stepping closer towards a table in the middle of the room to keep your body straight up. It felt as if you were going to faint any second now, but your determination kept you standing.

"Are you sure it's the right one?" You heard Hoodie speak, as he walked closer towards you. Masky was walking over to another table but your attention went back to the hooded man. Was it the right code? You had assumed it was in a flush of determination, but was it indeed correct?

You took a deep breath as you had thought of it. Of course it was correct, it had to be. Why else would her father give her such a weird code? Why else would Lola have never changed it? Regardless if it was wrong or right, it was the only thing you had.

"Yes, I'm almost a 99% positive." You answered, eyes shifting to Masky who came walking towards you with the box. That small vault which had caused you so much trouble. That small vault which was the reason why Lola is dead, why your other friends are probably tortured and why you're with Jeff now.

You hated the box and wanted nothing more than to destroy it, throw it away and leave the thing once and for all... But you were already dragged too deep into this shit. It was the cause but at the same time... It could also be your solution.

For Lola, it's already too late but the rest... They can be freed, going back to their old life. You on the other hand are tied, tied to Jeff and his obsession. It didn't really matter anymore. You were willing to give up your life in order to save your friends and right now, you were about to.

Masky shoved the box over to you while he circled around the table, watching you like a vulture stalking it's nearly dead prey. You stared at the metal vault on the table, feeling extremely nervous about this all. Should you do it? Should you trade the code for the lives of your friend?

Was negotiating with killers such a smart idea?

You took another deep breath before your gaze shifted towards the hooded man.

"I won't open it, until I get what I want." An eerie silence filled the room as you stared at both men, trying to figure out their reaction. They did nothing, only standing there like statues, giving no sign of approval or denial. Suddenly you heard someone bursting out in laughter and you knew immediately who the guy was.

"You heard that, Hoodie? She's trying to negotiate with us, US?!" You heard his chilling, mocking laughter sneer right through your bones. Shivers were sent up your spine but it didn't keep you from hoping. You just had to push a little further.

"I'm not joking! I'll give you the code on one condition!" You spat back at the masked man, who was now holding onto a chair while grabbing his stomach with his other hand. He wasn't only laughing because he thought it was funny, he was mocking you. Again.

Your gaze shifted towards the hooded man, who only stood there. Not moving a limb or saying anything, just waiting until his partner was done with is laughing fit.

"This is just too funny. You think you can do that?! You honestly are that stupid?" You bit your lip while trying to contain your anger. Maybe it wasn't such a smart idea; they were ruthless, cold blooded killers after all. What did you expect? But no, you can't crawl back now; it'll make you seem like even more of a coward.

"I want my friends to be freed. Every one of them." You spoke, holding your head up high and trying to sound confident. Masky, however, only laughed harder at this, shaking his head over and over again until his black eyes turned towards you.

"We can't do that, idiot. Who do you think we are?" He was playing with the hammer in his hands, his attention still focused on you. You knew he was still grinning at you underneath that mask and this made you even angrier.

"Why the hell not? You have no use for them after I crack this code!" You retorted back, trying to convince the both of agreeing with your offer. It indeed was true; they had nothing to lose when your friends would be gone. They already had everything they wanted... Unless the blueprint's not in the box.

"Oh we do! I like to hear people scream of pain, you know." This was it, you couldn't hold back anymore. Your dream, your only way to freedom, the only thing you were fighting for... Was being shattered into a thousand pieces right in front of your eyes.

You felt the tears stinging in your eyes but you couldn't cry. It were tears of desperation, tears of anger, and tears of exhaustion. You were going to free your friends; you were going to give it your all. What do you have to lose, really? Your life? Fine! If that's what they want then let them take it!

You couldn't really care anymore. If this doesn't work then you'd rather have it all to end. You'd rather be killed by Masky in one flash than to live life with knowing your friends are tortured and death, whilst doing disgusting stuff with Jeff.

"Now, I have more work to do. Give us the code." You heard Masky's tone change immediately, the impatience nearly flowing off of his body. But you couldn't obey. You hated him so much and even though you were still extremely scared of both of them, you just couldn't let go.

You finally had the upper hand; you just couldn't let it go to waste without fighting back. Desperate times calls for desperate measures and you were so extremely desperate that you weren't acting at all like yourself. This house and the people within it had changed you.

You were willing to make your life a hell in order to give your friends life. You were willing to die for them.

"No." Your voice was trembling, but it wasn't because you were scared. You felt the adrenaline rush through your veins as you got a boost of courage. You saw Masky moving a little closer, his mask stopping a few inches in front of your face before you heard him growling, completely out of breath and patience:

"What did you just say?" Instead of turning your head away like you wanted to do, you looked straight at him, gazing into the black holes which were supposed to be his eyes with determination and rebelliousness. You could almost see a faint hint of brown in the black sockets.

"I won't give you the code." You hissed at him, your face coming even closer. It was then that everything went in slow-motion. You saw Masky standing straight with inhuman speed, before the hammer in his hand had crashed down onto the table with incredible force.

This would be extremely scary but useless if it wasn't for the fact that your hand was lying underneath the hammer. The incredible pain had spread itself through your body almost immediately. You heard the sound of bones snapping and breaking and before you could even react and pull your dull fingers away, you felt something hard colliding with your cheek.

It felt as if a car had hit your side and the whole room began to spin in front of your eyes. You crashed down onto the cold, harsh ground, the air completely sucked out of your lungs as you felt a foot colliding with your side. You rolled over like a ragdoll, feeling completely numb whilst trying to process whatever was happening.

And then it went silent.

Now was the time to feel the incredibly pain in your whole hand, your face and your side. You felt something drip down your forehead and you knew it wasn't sweat. Your mouth tasted like you had swallowed metal and as your eyes could finally focus, you saw Masky standing right above you, his hammer raised and ready to collide with your brain. You had gathered yourself almost immediately, and without even thinking about it, you yelled:

"If you kill me then the code dies with me!" The adrenaline was still fueling your body, still controlling your every movement and bold actions. It was as if you knew exactly what to say. You saw death in the hammer and your life flashing by, and you finally understood what those people on TV. meant when they had a near death experience.

Masky only stood there, his chest going up and down quickly. He was really planning on ending your life right there.

"You see me giving a shit?!" You saw something flashing in his 'eyes', in the black holes which covered his real orbs. It was something you had seen before, something you truly did recognize, absolutely hated and still frightened you. You had seen it in Jeff's eyes, in BEN's eyes, in Laughing Jack's eyes. Every single killer you met had it...

Pure insanity.

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I wasn't planning on ending the chapter here, but while writing it, the chapter became waaayyy too long so I decided to update in two times. This one is literally on the edge of the deadline. Please don't throw a tantrum for it.

Anyway as I had said before, in the next few chapters the whole story will feel like a roller-coaster. I will also put another decision chapter in a few updates! It's been quite a long time since I've done one. Don't worry, I still love to write those decisions, but there wasn't really a good opportunity in the story any more. I secretly have all the decision already thought out, just need to add them ;)

Also I'm not online much anymore, mostly because I'm really busy with my job and college. I have to plan a whole research about a certain topic and it takes my attention away from Quotev. Writing is still something I love to do, but this is why I'm not online much and disable my chat. It also explains why I reply later than I usually do.

The next update will be again in 4 to 9 days.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, do not hesitate to leave critique, a comment, a turtle, a heart and even feedback! I'll try to reply as soon as I've got time.