A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

"Oh thank goodness, I found you!" Tara cried out, hugging Nick with a death-like grip. "That thing had been chasing me for too long." She turned her gaze to (f/n) and looked puzzled for a moment. "You ... you're Laura's friend. What are ..."

"We don't have time," Nick and (f/n) said at the same time. The two glanced at each other before they brushed the exact timing aside. Nick made the motion for (f/n) to explain as he helped Tara and himself back to their feet.

"There are no locks on the kitchen door and the door leading to the kitchen from here. The creature is going to be in here soon. Our best bet is to wait until we hear him get closer before we exit back out this door," she advised, pointing with her right thumb to the just locked door.

"I agree. We don't want to open the door only to get stabbed by it," Nick voiced as Tara nodded. Her dark brown eyes hurriedly looked to the connecting door between the kitchen and freezer. She covered her nose as well while she moved closer to the locked door.

"What's the plan after that?" Tara questioned in a whisper, her eyes never changing their point of focus.

"We need to locate the creature's stash. We'll probably find some lock picking gear there as well as more supplies. We need those if we're going to make it out of here alive. Hopefully, we'll run into Laura and Brent on the way. If not, we'll have to leave them behind." His gaze turned to (f/n). "Unless you want to stay behind for Laura."

"We'll leave the gate unlocked for her, but I agree that we can't wait. I don't desire to go without her, but I don't wish to die either. I'm hoping the same as you, though." (F/n) watched the connecting door too and waited for the sound of soft footsteps. That creature probably could've killed them all already, but it was playing its own sick game. The thought made her stomach turn; she didn't want to end up like one of those skeletons.

What seemed like too short of a time, they all heard the creature's footfalls. (F/n) turned and unlocked the freezer door. Speedily, she rammed herself against it as the creaking door alerted the being. They all ran, and footsteps behind them grew faster. In their mad sprint for life, consultation of the map was long forgotten. For all they knew, they could be running in a circle that would lead them face to face with the creature again. After all, the quickened footfalls of the being had grown soft again. None of them glanced backwards, though; they knew better.

Their pace did slow down but by only a little. Nick pulled out the map from his jacket and tried to figure out where they were. He shined his flashlight on multiple points before a frustrated sigh left his mouth. Stopping completely, he traced back his steps to the where the kitchen was. Tara and (f/n) halted some distance away from him but not by too much. They didn't need to get separated.

His pen, from inside his jacket, replaced his flashlight and he drew in a few markings. Putting the writing utensil away, he held his flashlight once more. He glanced to the two females. "We're getting close to the back stairs that led down to this level. I doubt that the creature's stash is on the main level, though. So, we shouldn't head back up yet." Tara made a worried groan and looked like she would sprint off. "We all want to escape this maze Tara, but standing in front of a locked gate won't benefit any of us." Nick started to move again as did the other two.

(F/n) slowed her pace to match Nick's. She looked over the map and pointed to a turn up ahead. "We should take that. It'll lead us to the center of this level. It would be a typical place to keep his stash, but it's the farthest from both staircases leading down here."

"I don't object, but we'll check the rooms on the way there too. All of the creature's items might be in some old closet for all we know." Tara made another groan before she went over to them and checked the map. Her eyes followed the path that they were thinking of, and she remained silent for a short while.

"I hate it, but it's a good guess. Laura has a map too. She might think the same thing." Their pace increased a bit with their decided target. Her eyes looked to (f/n). "Did you see her on your way in?"

"Yes, but the creature intervened. She ran off, and I haven't seen her since. She was covered in blood, though, but I don't think that it was hers. She didn't seem to be in pain, but her fear might've been masking it."

A disgusted expression fell over Tara's countenance. "I would hate to learn what she fell into. I thought that first scene was the worst of it, but I've seen much worse in this place." She pointed to a section on the map. It was a small room. "Whatever happens, don't go in there. If you do, hope that the creature doesn't find and trap you in there."

Curiosity tugging at her strings too much, (f/n) asked, "What was the room?"

"A bathroom." Tara moved her gaze forward again and didn't say anymore, but that left the room to (f/n)'s imagination, and horrid images seemed to dance across her (e/c) eyes. They all took the turn. On the map, it depicted several rooms up ahead along with a passage that went to their left. The room that Tara mentioned was off to their left, but they would've had to take another way to get there.

As they began to enter the rooms, (f/n) also checked to see if the creature could intercept them at any point in their search without them knowing. He did have a way of popping up out of nowhere. The tunnels were his home, and he most likely had a mastery of its paths. Unfortunately, there were several points that led up to where they were. There was the path taking a left up ahead, and there were two other ways that led to the main hallway that they were walking down when not in the rooms.

If the creature installed modifications to any of those ways, he could've reached the area much sooner than them. Were they lucky, the creature wouldn't have seen where they had gone, but that was probably too hopeful to ask for. The creature's eyesight seemed to be too perfect in the darkness. Her eyes peered down to her flashlight. Perhaps, they could blind him for enough time if they all shone their flashlights at him on the highest setting.

Exiting a room that held nothing of utilization, she was the first to enter the next one. She moved her flashlight to illuminate the contents as she stepped in further. Before either Nick or Tara could enter, the door slammed shut behind her and locked. Instantly, she spun on her heel to shine her light on the source of the troubling circumstance, but she already knew what the cause was; she wished for it not to be a reality, though.

Before her light could touch the creature, a hand swept through the air. It knocked against her midsection, and her stomach felt like it might expel from her mouth. Her body collided with the wall as a grunt of pain escaped her before she slid to a dirtied mattress. She heard the doorknob shaking, and her name being called by Nick, but her attention swiftly moved to the creature.

Flashlight across the room, it illuminated his features barely. She didn't dare stare to his eyes again; she focused on his left hand. His nails had grown back to their original ferocity. Steadily, he advanced towards her. No longer could she hear Nick and Tara trying to get in. Most likely, they had left her to die. Her eyes darted back to the flashlight, then to the door. A quiet high-pitched laugh met her ears.

Attention racing back to the creature, she saw him shaking his head. Nearly white hairs danced around his head. She didn't desire to watch him any longer. Before she could make a dash for her flashlight, she found him right in front of her. A scream almost emitted from her lips, but the creature placed his right index finger against them.

Body trembling, she leaned back more into the wall. His hand fell back down to his side while his long nails formed a cage around her neck. If she moved, her head would be lost. Pale blues moved down to her jacket, and his other hand began to search the article of clothing. She wanted to struggle and kick him again, but it was impossible at the moment.

To her dismay, he found the knife on her. A smile spread across his pale lips before a series of giggles left him. His eyes met hers, and she looked away to the best of her ability. She could feel the knife tap against her left cheek. "You want to give me a taste before I kill you? How thoughtful." More chuckles followed the creature's voice that reminded her of one of those clowns that one would see in a horror movie.

Fear would've frozen her had panic not set in. She reached her hands up and gripped his nails, trying to pull them away. The creature appeared amused but didn't say anything as he moved the knife to her left wrist and held it there. This only alarmed (f/n) more. In a last ditch effort, she managed to lean her head forward. Swiftly, she bit down hard on his exposed hand. A screech left him as the knife dropped, and his hand retracted itself. Throwing herself away, she raced to the flashlight. Her shaky fingers flipped the switch to the highest setting. He faced her but was greeted by rays of overwhelming bright light. Another screech was emitted by him, and he brought his arms up to his eyes. With him incapacitated currently, she sped to the door, unlocked it and sprinted down the hallway.