The Warden's footsteps echoed like a drumbeat of death—slow, deliberate, crushing.
Each step it took toward them twisted the air, bending it under invisible pressure.
And every person in the group could feel it.
The fear.
Samuel was the first to move, snapping into action like a switch was flipped.
He grabbed Ava, who was still on her knees, her hands trembling over her face.
"Ava—Ava! Look at me."
She didn't respond. She was stuck.
So he knelt down beside her, gritting his teeth.
He shook her shoulders gently, urgently.
"We don't have time, we need to go—NOW!"
As Samuel tried to lift her up, Jace stepped forward.
He said nothing. His posture was calm.
But his hands—they were shaking.
Victor joined him, eerily composed, his smile unchanged.
Jace stared at the Warden, standing between the others and death itself.
And he could feel it—
The fear crawling beneath his skin.
Not just his. Everyone's.
Fear that would only make this thing stronger.
Fear that would do exactly what Elliot's group did—
Get them killed.
He didn't speak, but in his head, his thoughts were racing:
I can't fight this.
Not like this.
We're not ready.
Behind them, the girls had frozen.
Eyes locked on the Warden, every second stretching like an eternity.
It was Seirra who broke the silence first, rushing toward Owen, Samuel, and the still-collapsing Ava.
"WHAT DO WE DO NOW??" she blurted, her voice high and shaking.
The panic in her tone cracked something open in the group.
The other girls followed her instinctively—Riley, Noa, Evelyn—huddling close.
Owen, gripping the strap of his bag tightly, looked up—his throat dry.
He was scared. He couldn't hide it.
He tried to speak but only stuttered "W-We… we c-can't…"
Samuel's voice cut through.
"We need to run. NOW!"
His tone was sharp, commanding.
He pulled Ava to her feet, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, practically dragging her upright.
"Come on. You have to move."
But even as he tried to lead her, his eyes flickered—
To Jace's trembling hands.
To the girls, their expressions pale, their bodies tense.
To Owen, still frozen beside him.
And to Ava, who looked like a ghost herself.
His mind was shutting down.
The pressure. The fear. The memory of Elliot's head.
He tried to focus—tried to stay sharp.
But the Warden was getting closer.
Each step heavier.
Closer.
Louder.
And in that moment, it felt like their choices were running out.
Callen, Lawren, and Wesley stepped forward, closing in beside Jace.
Their movements were tense but determined. Their trust in Jace had become a blind illusion, sculpted from the moment he fought off the Whisperers—
Fought them while trembling, but never falling.
To them, Jace could win this.
But this—this was different.
For the first time, Jace screamed—
His voice sharp, raw, full of fear.
"YOU GUYS, RUN!!"
It stunned the group.
He wasn't calm.
He wasn't composed.
He was scared.
Callen refused to listen.
"No! We'll fight with you!!"
Lawren stepped in, eyes narrowed but voice steady.
"We'll support you however we can."
"Let's beat this thing down and do what Victor said."
They believed it.
They wanted to believe it.
That courage could overcome this monster. That maybe… just maybe… they were enough.
But Jace—his hands clenched, jaw shaking—was trying to save them.
He turned to them again, pleading now.
"You don't understand—YOU NEED TO RUN!"
He glanced back toward the others—
Samuel, trying to stand with Ava, Owen bracing her from the side,
Seirra, Evelyn, and Noa frozen, wide-eyed behind them.
All of them ready to sprint—Samuel was just about to call to Jace—
But it was too late.
THUD. THUD. THUD. THUD.
The Warden—silent no more—RUSHED FORWARD.
It was impossibly fast—
A blur of death hurtling through the corridor.
The chains on his side rattled, and the heads clinked together like bells from hell.
Elliot's head swayed with the motion—
Its hollow sockets staring straight at Ava as if mocking her grief.
Callen turned—
Too slow.
Wesley stepped back—
Too late.
Lawren raised his arms—
Too scared.
And Jace, for all his strength, could only whisper:
"No…"
Jace was fast—he stumbled back just in time, boots skidding against the cracked concrete.
His heart thudded, but instinct took over.
Victor, eerily calm, sidestepped like a shadow—fluid, precise.
His eyes never left the Warden, scanning its movements like a hawk stalking prey.
But not intervening. Not yet.
Wesley, though…
He was young.
He was brave.
But he was blinded by adrenaline.
He charged.
"RAAAHH—!"
A desperate roar escaped his throat as he raised his arm to swing—
A wild, reckless punch.
But the Warden—
He didn't flinch.
Instead, in one inhumanly fast motion, he lifted his axe, the jagged edge of it glinting in the flickering hallway light—
SHNK!!
The blade came DOWN.
Right onto Wesley's left wrist.
The sound was meaty. Wet. Violent.
CRACK—SLICE.
His entire body was ripped sideways from the impact.
The axe cleaved through skin, bone, and tendon with horrifying precision, severing his hand completely, sending it spiraling into the air like a twisted rag doll.
Wesley's scream turned into a gurgled cry as his body crashed onto the concrete, his left side slamming hard, ribs possibly snapping from the impact.
But the Warden didn't stop.
He stepped forward—no pause. No mercy.
And with his other hand—his monstrous, gloved fist—
WHAM.
A punch to the side of Wesley's face.
CRUNCH.
His jaw—shattered. Twisted. Broken clean from the left side.
Teeth scattered across the floor like bloody glass.
Wesley's body flew backward from the force— slammed into the corridor wall, then slumped down, limp.
Barely conscious.
Bleeding from everywhere.
Lawren staggered back, his eyes wide with horror.
His breath hitched—his whole body trembling.
He ran to Jace, standing close now, needing the anchor.
Callen, however, couldn't just stand there.
"Wesley!!" he cried, stumbling forward, racing toward the bloodied body.
But the Warden turned his head slowly toward Callen—those pale, eyes, though covered. He could still feel the Warden looking at him; With no humanity.
The prison had claimed another soul.
And it was just beginning.
Wesley lay there.
Unconscious.
His neck twisted grotesquely to the left, tongue limp outside his mouth.
Eyes rolled back, lids half-shut.
The stump of his wrist gushed blood, leaving a trail beneath him— his severed hand lying feet away, pale fingers twitching ever so slightly in the dust.
Callen sprinted toward him.
Desperation in every step.
"Wes—!"
But he didn't get to finish.
The Warden moved like a nightmare—
A sudden jerk forward, his massive hand lunging for Callen's throat.
Swoosh!
Callen ducked—just barely.
He twisted, shoving the Warden's arm aside with everything he had, but it was like pushing a stone wall.
The Warden didn't budge.
Instead—
CRACK!!
A brutal kick slammed into Callen's shin, a loud snap echoed through the corridor.
He crumpled face-first to the floor, a grunt of pain leaving him as he tried to crawl.
The Warden lifted his axe again.
His intent clear.
Merciless.
But then—
"HHRAAAAH!!"
Jace came flying in from the side—
Full sprint. Full force.
He slammed into the Warden's side, shoulder-first, body throwing every ounce of weight he had into the blow.
It worked—
The Warden staggered, unbalanced for just a second.
Just enough.
Jace grabbed Callen by the collar, yanked him up like a rag doll.
And just as the Warden's axe came down—
THOOM!!!
The blade sliced the air, hitting the ground inches from where Jace had stood.
But Jace had already rolled to the right, Callen tucked beneath him.
Both of them tumbling across the floor, away from death by seconds.
From behind—
The others watched.
Samuel's eyes widened, mouth hanging open in sheer disbelief.
Sierra and Riley gasped.
Noa held Evelyn's hand tight, frozen.
Owen shook, biting down on his fear.
Ava stared, unable to blink, the image of Elliot's head still burned in her mind.
And then—
"JACE!! RUN!!!"
Samuel screamed, voice cracking with urgency.
Jace panted, lifting his eyes as he knelt with Callen.
And then—
He stood.
The fear still coursed through him—
But behind it, a decision.
He turned his head slightly, voice cold and fierce:
"YOU GUYS ESCAPE..."
"I'LL BUY YOU TIME!"
That sentence.
It shocked Samuel still.
A chill traveled down his spine.
It felt like the same thing which happened to Elliot might happen to Jace now
Anyone who tried fighting the Warden, Their head will become a keychain for the Warden.
Now it was Jace.
Standing in the same place.
Facing the same death.
Saying the same words.
And no one knew—
If he'd survive them.
But the Warden—he wasn't dumb.
Not a mindless beast.
He heard Jace scream about "running", and he knew—knew exactly who to go for.
Instead of swinging at Jace again, he turned—abrupt, calculated—and bolted toward Ava.
The ground cracked beneath his feet, the sheer force of his lunge shaking the corridor walls.
Each step sent shockwaves down the floor, metal creaking, dust raining from the ceiling.
Ava froze.
Her breath stopped— eyes wide, but her body locked up, helpless.
She could feel it.
That towering mass of fear barreling toward her.
Her vision blurred— the only thing she felt was the rush of air getting closer... and closer...
SLAM—!!
But Samuel pulled her back.
Just in time.
His arms wrapped around her as he yanked her to his chest, the Warden's axe scraping the ground where she had just been.
It missed by inches.
But the Warden didn't stop.
He twisted, his massive arm swinging the axe around, this time at Samuel's head.
SWOOSH—CLANG!!
Samuel ducked, the blade grazing his cheek— a harsh slice tore across his chin, blood immediately streaming down.
"Gh—!"
He staggered, holding Ava close, trying to regain balance.
Panic exploded.
Sierra, Riley, Noa, and Evelyn screamed.
Terror took over.
They scattered, running in different directions—screaming, sobbing, trying to make sense of anything.
Owen rushed over.
Grabbing Samuel's arm with one hand, pulling Ava upright with the other.
"Hold on! Get up! We have to go!!"
But Samuel, still dazed, almost pushed Owen away, his instincts muddled from the shock and blood loss.
Then—
WHAM!
Jace slammed into the Warden again, his shoulder crunching against the armored beast's side, forcing the Warden to stumble.
Another moment bought.
And through clenched teeth, rage burning in his eyes—
"RUN, GUYS!!"
"GO!!"He roared, louder than before.
There was no more time to freeze.
No more time to hesitate.
It was run or die.