Chapter 10

Hiroshi looked at the television. The names the man was saying through the microphone were unknown to him. He knew Kazuya and he were safe but he was still worried.

Please, not this name.

"Rin Koriyama."

The name stabbed Hiroshi like a knife. It was the exact name he didn't want to hear. He always thought nobody he knew would ever get named; he thought it happened only to others. There had been Kazuya and now her. He didn't want to lose her but there was nothing he could do. He wasn't allowed to go in the mansion anymore. Why her? She didn't do anything wrong! He opened the door and ran to the building he once went in. He saw the men guiding her toward the house.

"Rin!" He shouted, tears slowly falling down his eyes.

He tried to reach her by pushing away the guards but they were way stronger. They violently pushed him on the ground. He tried to stand up but pain from his hands stopped him. There was blood on them, a lot of blood.

Hiroshi opened his eyes. The room he was in was barely lightened by a small flame on a candle. The teen put a hand on his head. He wasn't even done with this place but he was already having nightmares about next year! He tried to sit up but a sharp pain in his head kept him down. That pain after the blow to the head was nothing compared to that… But the pain he had now was nothing compared to that moment with the snakes! The gray-haired couldn't help but think about those snakes. It didn't make sense at all. There was only one and after a single blink, there were thousands. They also disappeared right after Kazuya hugged him, right before he blacked out.

Hiroshi pushed himself up. It was too late when his head complained, he was already seated. His vision wasn't really clear yet so he closed his eyes for a couple of seconds to give himself a bit of time to wake up. He then looked around the room and found his brother sleeping in a corner. Somebody else had his hand on the child's forehead, probably taking his temperature or something like that...

Wait, what!?

He immediately forgot about his head and violently pushed the other teen against the wall who grunted when his back met the hard wall.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Asked the gray-haired with a rather intimidating voice.

The blonde just stared at him, apparently really startled by Hiroshi's assault. He didn't look like he was acting, he really looked surprised. The gray-haired loosened his grip and recognized that silent boy in the train, Takeshi.

"I-I just wanted to help!" Stuttered Takeshi. "We heard you scream and then we found you in-"

"We? Who are you with?"

The door to the room opened, letting a black-haired teen enter.

"Him." Said the blonde, pointing at the newcomer.

"Woh." Let out the black-haired, named Naoki. "I think I came in at the wrong moment."

Naoki then approached the two other boys.

"Calm down, we're not here to hurt you. We heard you scream, took pity of your brother's weepy face and brought you here, that's all."

Hiroshi released Takeshi and sat on the floor, sighing.

"How are you feeling?" Asked the black-haired. "You looked a bit like a corpse when we found you."

"My head is killing me but other than that, I'm fine." Hiroshi then turned toward his brother. "How is he doing?"

"He has a big fever but he's okay."

The gray-haired stared at his brother for a moment. The child was curled in a ball and shivering in his sleep.

"Why were you screaming? The beast wasn't anywhere." Asked Naoki.

Hiroshi didn't really know what to answer. Snakes? Nothing at all? Pain from bites?

"I don't know." Finally answered Hiroshi.

"You mean, you forgot?" Said Takeshi.

The gray-haired shook his head.

"I'm just not sure at all."

"Everything can be seen here." Pointed out Naoki.

"Snakes?"

"Uh… maybe not snakes…"

The blonde shrugged.

"Maybe you were hallucinating or something." He suggested.

This would explain why the snakes appeared and disappeared so quickly but it was still weird to say it was a hallucination. It felt so real.

"Ryota is dead." Suddenly said the black-haired to Takeshi.

"Really!?"

"Yeah, I saw his corpse with my own eyes! I think he was stabbed in the chest."

Hiroshi took out the plate shard.

"He was stabbed by this." He added.

When the two other boys saw the shard with some blood still on it, they backed away, their eyes widening.

"Did you…?" Started Naoki.

"No, I found it on him. He knocked me out and he was dead when I woke up."

"Maybe he did it?" Suggested Takeshi while pointing at Kazuya.

"Kazuya? He wouldn't hurt a fly!" Scoffed the gray-haired.

"Then who else would've killed him?"

Hiroshi looked at his brother. Naoki and Takeshi were in that room during the whole time and he doubted that Kaori and Takero would've eliminated their own partner. This would leave only the silver-haired…

"You know there's only three of us who can escape, right?" Said Hiroshi, changing the subject.

They nodded and both looked away, like if they were a bit ashamed of something.

"Actually…" Started Naoki. "We expected one of you to die while we were staying here."

"Yeah…" Finished Takeshi. "You were out for a day, we thought you were about to pass away."

Hiroshi preferred not to say anything. A hand met his. He turned to see his brother with both of his eyes opened. The child pushed himself up and snuggled on the teen who wrapped an arm around the shivering boy. Kazuya looked at the two other boys with a tired gaze for a moment.

"Thank you…" He said quietly before closing his eyes, falling asleep again.

Takeshi couldn't help but make a small smile.

"He makes me think of my sister."

"How old is she?" Curiously asked Naoki.

"She was eight."

"Was?"

The blonde nodded.

"She was chosen last time."

"Oh."

Takeshi sighed.

"I kind of admire you for that." He said, looking at Hiroshi.

"For what?" Asked Hiroshi.

"For volunteering. You did what I didn't. When my sister was chosen, I hesitated so they took her away. I sort of hoped I would see her again if I came here so I did everything to be chosen. I always felt guilty for her death."

Hiroshi smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not your fault. Nobody wants to be here; you're not the only one who hesitated. It's only because I pictured the scenario a couple of times in my head that I was able to react faster."

The blonde made a small smile. Maybe the gray-haired wasn't the best at comforting others but it looked like it had been enough for the other teen.

Kazuya made a shivering sigh. The gray-haired looked at his brother for a second.

"How long has it been since he's sick?" He asked.

Naoki shrugged.

"I don't know. He stayed next to you all the time. Takeshi and I were trying to find where the next door would be one after the other and then after a couple of exchanges, he was like that."

"Oh, yeah," Remembered the blonde. "We think we found the place where the door will appear. I think there's one person left to die."

The door made a loud bang and swung open. Takero and Kaori entered the room, looking pretty mad.

"I FUCKING KNOW IT'S ONE OF YOU!" Takero shouted, waking up Kazuya right away.

Hiroshi knew that they were talking about Ryota. He also knew that if he didn't say anything, Takeshi and Naoki would be in trouble too even if they did nothing wrong. He took out the plate shard and showed it to the red-haired.

"I did it." He said, staring at Takero right in the eyes.

"You…" He repeated, trembling in anger. "I should've killed you in the library with your stupid brother!"

The words came out of Hiroshi's mouth without any warning.

"Then kill me now." He let out, raising the plate shard.

Takero's angry face turned into a smile and he took the metal stick Kaori was hiding behind her back.

"Go on, make the first blow, big brother." He teased.

The gray-haired immediately regretted his words. He did not want a fight.

"Since you're too scared to hit me, I'll show you how." Said Takero.

He raised the stick to strike but something kept it up. Everyone backed away from Takero who looked up. The beast was there, right behind him, holding the other end of the stick. The red-haired couldn't hold a scream before he let go of the stick and ran out of the room, soon followed by the others. Kazuya climbed on his older brother's back and Hiroshi ran out with everyone else. Takero and Kaori ran in the room down the stairs and shut the door. Hiroshi darted in the larger corridor, ran to the right and got in the room. He brought his brother to the closet, opened the double doors and forced him in before closing the doors. If he stayed here, the beast would probably look in the closet but if he distracted it, it would maybe forget about it. The teen got out of the room and walked back in the main hall. It was remarkably quiet now.

"Is it… gone?" He heard Naoki ask.

The gray-haired turned toward the smaller hallway where he saw the two other teens standing.

"I have no idea." Answered Hiroshi.

"Where's your brother?" Asked Takeshi, looking a bit worried.

"He's fine, he's hiding."

"I think we should-" Takeshi's words were cut by Kaori's scream.

The door to the room next to the staircase swung open, revealing the two frightened teens running out. The beast walked out too and quickly melted, transforming into dozens of bugs that were much faster. Takero and Kaori ran in the smaller corridor while the others ran in the stairs. Hiroshi quickly climbed up the stairs with the other two and ran in the second hallway leading to the other staircase.

Naoki's foot stepped on the only weak spot of the hallway and the wood broke under his foot. He yelped and grunted when he fell on his stomach. The bugs immediately rushed on the black-haired who screamed in pain. It only said to the remaining insects that he was vulnerable. They all jumped on him and bit him, making him scream louder. Tears escaped from his eyes because of the pain and he reached out his hand to grab something, anything that could shake those things off or help him crawl toward the others. He could hear their voices but the pain wouldn't allow him to understand what Takeshi and Hiroshi were saying. He closed his eyes tight and stopped fighting. He could feel those things walk on his flesh; he doubted he had any skin on his back. He felt a sharp pain on his neck and then, nothing.

Hiroshi and Takeshi were forced to continue without the black-haired when the insects started to get off Naoki's now limp body. They climbed up the stairs and ran straight for the door in the corner of the hall. The gray-haired brought Takeshi to a pretty big hole in the floor. Hiroshi jumped in first and the blonde came next. They darted out of the fireplace room—where they landed— and stopped for a split second to see that the only thing left where Naoki lay earlier was a puddle of blood. The boys headed down the stairs and headed down the large hallway. They turned right and entered the room. Hiroshi opened the closet and helped Kazuya to get out.

"Where was that room you thought the door would appear?" Asked the gray-haired to Takeshi.

"Follow me."

The blonde took the lead and got back in the main hall, clearly thinking about something else. He got in the smaller corridor and opened the first door on their path. Hiroshi recognized the room where he would've died if Kazuya didn't hit the monster with that wooden plank. Takeshi headed down the stairs and jumped off the rest, where it was destroyed. The gray-haired jumped down too and helped his brother join them. Indeed, there was a door on the wall and it wasn't there when the child and he fell here.

"There." Let out the blonde teen.

Hiroshi sighed and put his hand on the knob. He felt a shiver pass in his whole body, like if he was being warned of his own death. He bit the inside of his cheek to push the weird feeling away and turned the knob.

That's it; that was the last phase before they would be given a chance to get out of here. They just might go home!

I thought it would be a good idea to let Naoki and Takeshi help a little. :p

Please leave a review and see you next chapter!