Everyone I thought I knew left me. I thought I knew them, I thought I could trust them. I jumped as I knocked something over in the dark tunnel I was traveling in and paused for a second. I saw a light come from behind me and I began running faster.

They were after me. Strange how I only heard one pair of footfalls, almost in time with mine but no, I couldn't trust anyone. The one person I knew I could trust had been was still back there. It ripped me apart on the inside to leave the one person I knew I could trust behind, but he had sacrificed himself so I could make my escape. I had to try no matter how hard it was, that's what he would've wanted.

Even though the footsteps behind me kept the same pace, I felt myself slowing out of exhaustion. I felt a hand clamp onto my shoulder and I stifled a scream.

An arm went fully around me and I was pulled back against someone's chest, and a hand clapped over my mouth in case I tried to make any noise. I struggled helplessly.

"It's okay. Shh. It's me."

Once my attacker was sure I wouldn't make any sound he took his hand away from my mouth and loosened his grip on my neck.

"T-Tyler? Tyler!" I turned around and hugged him tightly, trying to hold back my tears. " I thought-"

"I-I escaped." He answered, not offering and further explanation. His voice sounded weak and shaky. I knew something was wrong, I could tell, and he was hiding it from me. "It's okay now, but we need to keep moving." He seemed on edge and in a hurry to keep moving, for which, I didn't blame him in the least.

Without waiting for a reply he started to walk along the tunnel and I followed, pushing aside my tiredness. He was right, we had to keep moving if we didn't want to be found. We wouldn't be ahead for very long. We continued down the dark tunnel, nothing but our shadows against the wall and the quiet sound of our footsteps.

"How did you get away?" I asked after a while.

"I-" He hesitated. "I just did. That's not something important right now."

As we continued down the long tunnel I noticed how fidgety he was. How on edge he was, and it put me on edge too.

Soon we emerged into the daylight.

"Are we saf-" I was cut off as I turned around in perfect sync with Tyler, and I stared in shock when I saw the red-cloaks.

"I'm so sorry," Tyler whispered, backing away from the red-cloaked group in front of us. "I'm so, so sorry."

We were surrounded with our backs to a solid wall, a dead end. Tyler pushed me behind him protectively. "Get behind me." He muttered.

He was holding his bat like a weapon, ready to attempt at fighting against the red-cloaks. "Tyler no you can't-"

"I want you to remember something for me, okay?" He said, shifting the bat and holding my face, forcing me to make eye contact with him.

"Okay."

"Remember that no matter what, you'll never be alone, understand me? I'll always go with you, even if you don't see me. If, no, when you escape, find Josh and the others, they'll keep you 'll take care of you and you'll never have to go back to that place again. Find them, you hear me? That's your main priority."

I was trying to look away at this point. I didn't want to believe this. I couldn't. "Look at me! Did you hear what I said?"

"Y-yes. Find Josh. F-find Josh and t-the others." I said, holding back tears. I had to be strong, I just had to be. I couldn't make this any harder than it already was.

He buried his face in my hair for a brief second and inhaled as i nuzzled my face into the crook of his neck, and then he was gone. He turned around to face the ones in the red cloaks with his bat, readying it. He rushed towards them. "Run!" He screamed, sprinting to the cloak at the front.

All of a sudden everything disappeared is smoke and I fell back. And it was silent. The bishops were gone. But so was Tyler. The bat was on the ground and so was a map.

Once again holding back tears, I picked up the map off the ground, brushing it off. I stood up slowly, empty. I looked down at the map and started slowly walking East.

*Timeskip*

In the distance I instantly recognized those comfortingly familiar green coats with yellow tape. I recognized a familiar figure leading the group. As I got closer to meeting them I dropped everything and rushed towards Josh, hugging him and sobbing into his neck.

Josh dropped everything and slowly wrapped his arms around me. "What-"

"H-h-he's g-gone." I sobbed. I felt Josh hug me even tighter if that was even possible.

"Who?" He asked protectively.

"T-tyler."

"Oh."

"Oh? Is that a-all you have to say? H-he was your best friend!"

"Look, you know he's not real, right?" I ripped myself away from his embrace almost instantly.

"Josh, fuck off! You, you know he's real! Do you not remember a-anything we all did together?"

Pain flashed in those mocha eyes for just a split second.

"I remember." Josh said quietly.

But more loudly, if a whisper can even be loud, "He's not real." Pain filled his voice and he pulled me back into a hug, his face in my raven black hair and my face in his shoulder as I sobbed.

And then, quieter than a whisper, "I'll go with you."