Chapter 55: What's Mine, is Mine...Get It?

Maybe I should do something about the two Alessas to avoid confusion...nah~ you guys can tell the difference, but I'll put it somewhere in the middle of my to do list. Enjoy!

One long recovery later...

"Okay so how's everyone feeling now?" Alex asked.

"Just a few bruises now" Harry began.

"My med-kits, my precious, precious med-kits" Lisa said.

"Feeling better, the world isn't spinning anymore" Alessa said.

"Recovered to the extent of our capabilities" Cybil said.

"Could be better, but I can't complain" James said.

"No ugly scars on my hot body, so I guess I can consider myself lucky" Maria said.

"I'm just glad James is okay" Angela said.

"Ouch~ it still hurts, b-but I handled it better than Alessa!" Laura said.

"You did not, you cried longer than I did!" Alessa argued.

The two tackled one another, and began to wrestle each other to the ground.

"I guess I could add fall down an elevator to the things I survived" Heather said.

"Honestly? I feel twenty years older now, but my trigger finger still works" Douglas said.

"I'm okay, or at least, I've been through worst" Eileen said.

"Can't complain..." Henry dully said.

"I would have felt better of Eileen had allow Henry to rub my breas-I mean shoulders! Didn't anyone teach you that sharing is caring?" Cynthia scolded.

Little Walter looked over his body, and nodded his head, apparently that was the sign for he was fine.

"Just because I've fallen several times before, does not mean I'm use to it. You Elle?" Alex asked.

"My head is groggy, but nothing serious." Elle responded

"Can't help thinking something soften our fall, we were free falling quite a ways down, I have my theories on that" Wheeler said.

"Just like all of you, dizzy, but alive" Mason said.

"I'm good" Eric said.

"Feeling better" Tina said.

"Du~de" Ryan responded

"I think I landed on my butt, it's sore as hell" Jessie noticed.

"I bet you guys are happy I'm still alive huh!...Hello?" George said.

"It's gonna take a lot more than that to take me out" Captain Lake said

"*Meow~*" Kattina was heard meowing.

"A cat! I'm so glad you're okay kitty!" Hanna said.

"I'm glad we're all okay!" Emilie said.

"So many flashing lights~" Sharon said in a dizzy haze.

"That's probably the bunch of flashlights everyone has one sweetie" Rose said.

"My family's fine...or at least not bad" Christopher said.

"The health drinks you guys gave me worked like a charm, I still can't believe I've survived a free falling elevator like that, and not feel so much as a few bruises." Murphy said.

"Yeah they're a miracle in liquid form, but their not perfect, the exception to that would be our Ampoules." Harry said.

"So who's up for going deeper into the dark unstable mine?" Douglas asked.

"I thought going down a mine was going to be fun, but I guess Minecraft lied to me...again" Heather said in disappointment.

"I'm feeling okay to walk, I guess I could look a little further ahead to see if the coast is clear" Murphy said.

"You're a good man Murphy, but I can't have you go at it alone like that, I'm coming too" Alex said.

Murphy nodded in approval, but he didn't take more than a couple of steps forward when a Screamer suddenly popped out from the right hand side.

"Was that thing waiting for us the entire time?" Lisa exclaimed.

Murphy had just enough time to shield himself from a frenzied array of swings, the wood on his Pickaxe chipping every so often. Unable to do much in the cramped conditions, he motioned the rest of the group to move as far back as possible to give him, and Alex room. As the crowd stood back, Alex flanked the Screamer by moving to it's rear, and planted a knife in it's back as Henry commented on the situation with a witty stabbed in the back joke. Murphy stood back as he was unable to land a hit whilst the screaming, wailing monster attempted to strike at Alex who held the knife firmly with his right hand while trying to equip his pistol with his free left hand. Sadly he couldn't get it to work once the Screamer dragged Alex towards a nearby rocky wall. The craggy rock hit his spine, and collided especially hard to the back of his head causing him to lose his grip on the knife as well as lose much of his strength as the world around him suddenly began to spin. As the Screamer turned itself around to club Alex repeatedly Murphy finally saw his moment, and drove his Pickaxe directly in it's spine. Alex in the meantime shook off the moment of dizziness, and finally had a grip on his Chrome Hammer Pistol from inside his pocket. With the Screamer still facing him, but drastically injured he pulled his gun out, aimed almost blindly at it's head, and fired. The shot was almost as loud as the Screamer's howl thanks to the echo of the cave, but the damage was far more significant. The Screamer turned to burning ash, and faded out of existence while it was still standing giving Alex a chance to rub the aching spot on his head as everyone advanced on them.

"I'm glad it didn't attack us while we were recovering from that accident. We could have been easy pickings" Elle said.

"Yeah it was a little strange it didn't, but maybe I'm giving them too much credit. They never did show any signs of actual intelligence" Alex said.

"I don't suppose we have to fight everything that moves here" Murphy said.

"If all of us can avoid them safely then it's no problem. Then again that hasn't happened yet" Heather said.

"I see, well I guess that's the price you pay for sticking together, still I think it's an improvement than wandering around all alone" Murphy said.

They tried to continue through the path, but it only took a couple of steps for them to see the path is currently blocked by a mine cart.

"Well ain't that swell, a mine cart in the middle of the path" George complained.

"We just have to push it, there's nothing to complain about" Murphy said.

"...I want to ride it..." Laura muttered.

"What was that?" Maria asked.

"I, I want to ride the cart" Laura declared.

"It's about a yard tops, we're gonna find a train at the end of this" Murphy assured.

"B-but I want to ride the cart!" Laura complained.

"...Are you okay with this?" Murphy asked.

"...Seems pretty stable" Maria figured.

"Not exactly the answer I was looking for" Murphy said.

"Wait! If she gets to ride it, then so do I!" Alessa said

"Another one? Anyone else?" Murphy said.

Hanna wordlessly raised her hand.

"I can't believe I even asked." Murphy said

"Hanna, I didn't know you enjoyed cart rides?" Captain Lake said.

"They way they wanted to ride it, made it look like fun" Hanna admitted.

"Hey yeah! Maybe they see something I don't, can I try it too. Please!" Emilie said.

"It does seem rather enjoyable...but I don't want to trouble you" Alessa said.

Little Walter stared at the cart with genuine interest.

"It does look like it can carry all of you...give us a minute to check it out." Murphy said.

"Are any of us even experienced in this sort of field of work?" Eric asked.

"Yeah what exactly are we looking for in terms of faults?" Jessie asked.

"Right now, the obvious tell tale signs of wear, and tear on the wheels, and rail track" Elle said.

The adults gave the cart, and track a good look over while the children fussed over the exciting ten, or so seconds they'll be enjoying riding the cart. Finally the team concluded that it was safe to ride in, but still a tad dusty. One by one they placed the kids in the cart, each one giggling to themselves save for Little Walter who had a satisfied grin on his face. Then came the climax of their excitement when it was decided that Murphy had to push the cart which he reluctantly did so. Having difficulty at first, he eventually managed a steady pace as the passengers cheered on, having lot's of fun through it all. After a while the tracks ended, and the kids were helped out of the cart, but had fun nonetheless. With that the rest of the group crosses the track the boring walking way, and they continued their trip through the mine. As they passed a breaker box which suddenly began to spit out sparks of electricity when they passed it, a sudden laughter was heard that sounded far away. Only the echo made from the cave was audible.

"I really hope it's you kids still laughing" George suddenly said.

"Idiot! It's the echo of someone else" Alessa corrected.

"It kind of sounds like there's more than one though" Eileen realized.

"Do you think there still children trapped here?" Tina asked.

"If they were I doubt they would be laughing" Henry said.

"Let's just try our best to ignore it" Murphy advised.

"He's right, at least it's not a bunch of howling monkeys" Douglas said.

Many of the team members nodded. The rest were left in the dark.

Before opening the door that would lead the further into the mine, they noticed newspaper article stuck to the front door, begging to be read.

"Gonna put this in my journal" Murphy said to himself

"Anything important about it?" Wheeler asked.

"The title reads, 'Train accident at Devil's Pit causes death of 8 children..." Murphy read.

"I guess we know what that memorial we saw outside was for..." Mason said.

"Eight children were killed in a accident caused by a derail from the tourist train ride...great" Murphy half read.

"So the Mailman was referring to this accident, not the sky tram" Rose said.

"Here's something interesting...'witnesses claimed JP Sater, the train's operator was visibly intoxicated'" Murphy read on.

"JP...the guy we passed a while ago" Cynthia realized.

"Bingo, I thought he was acting pretty weird, at least for someone who acts as a tour guide" Alex said.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, he looked visibly shaken, maybe this is still bugging him" Elle said.

"It goes on quoting some guy from Chicago who says 'the train guy was drunk' unquote" Murphy said.

"Couldn't have said it better myself" George said.

"It sounds as if JP is completely at fault here" Heather said.

"Doesn't leave much room for mystery, but maybe we can confront him about this" Douglas said.

"Has it ever occurred to you, that maybe some things have no mystery about them, and what you see is what you get?" Christopher asked.

"Well where's the fun, or pay in that?" Douglas asked.

Murphy opened the door, the room they entered barely containing them. A loud crash greeted them, but no monsters have approached them so far. A quick look around the room revealed a med kit, and a fairly long wooden stick that no one seemed interested in using. Ryan moved closed to a cage containing several mannequins dressed as miners when one of them suddenly fell from it's standing position. The sound alerted the team, but after a moment of silence they saw no threat to be found.

"Can we expect these dolls to stay as dolls?" Ryan asked.

"I really can't deal with mannequins at this time. There's something about those things, especially in some haunted area that really creep me out" Moon said.

"They would have done something by now if that was the case, but they seem pretty harmless now. That being said, let's keep going" Harry said.

Murphy opened the second door opposite of the one they went through seeing the possible scene of the crime ahead of them. The police tape was an obvious sign, but before an investigation could begin, a scratching noise above them quickly drew their attention. The crew gasped, Murphy swore loudly, but everyone armed themselves regardless. The creature had pale skin, it's face sunken, and deformed with a massive mouth with large clefts in their upper lips. It's upper chest was very muscular while the bottom torso, waist, and pelvis region were very skinny. It's freakishly long arms, and legs had three clawed hands, and feet at the end of them. It scuttled above them rapidly, crawling across the ceiling like a freakishly large spider. Tina, and Eric upon instinct fired their guns rapidly at the ceiling attempting to shoot it, and although they didn't entirely miss they also shot a lot of the ceiling which made caused Alex to react.

"Hold you fire, I said hold your fire damn it! You'll cause a cave in!" Alex exclaimed.

Eric, and Tina did so, but the Weeping Bat above them was still alive, and still a threat. Eventually it settled to stand on the floor, and stomp towards them. Wheeler took it as a Challenge, and shoved his way to the front loading his shotgun, though he planned on clubbing it several times with it first. The Weeping Bat struck first with it's left hand claws, but Wheeler shoved them aside with his shotgun with very little effort, and parried it with a straight punch to the chest. However; the thick muscles on it's chest helped defend against the frivolous, but very brave, and manly punch. The Weeping Bat took a single step back, and jumped back to the ceiling. Alex eyed Eric, and Tina which pretty much told them everything they needed to know..."Don't shoot". Suddenly almost as soon as it was up there, it quickly jumped down. Wheeler had just enough time to jump out the way, narrowly avoiding what could have been a devastating attack, and although the Weeping Bat missed, the cracks under it's feet from falling down gave a clear message that read 'fear me' to everyone. This did not phase Wheeler in the slightest because as it turns out, event though he may not look it. He's the type of police officer that actually did well in his physical examination. As he was rolling out of the way he was already planning to position himself in a crouching position which he did so flawlessly, he even had his shotgun aimed directly at it, and although Alex had warned the team of a possible cave in from the bullets, he figured one more couldn't hurt. He fired before the Weeping Bat had a chance to jump out of his sight, most of the scattered shots from the fired shell hit their mark while the rest were too small, and spread out to make cause any natural disaster. The force of the blow also caused Weeping Bat to be flung backwards, and crashing face up, and in near death which Wheeler was more than happy to put a merciful end. A hard smack on the chest with the butt of his shotgun did the deed, and for visual evidence the target began to disintegrate as all the monsters in the current region do.

"So many new faces" Henry said.

"Yeah, and they always seem to have some sort of hometown advantage on us too" Ryan said.

"Then maybe I should step into these fights!" Alessa proposed.

"Oh you're so cute when you act tough" Heather teased.

"Don't tease me! I'll show no mercy!" Alessa warned.

"What if I told you I'm also you" Heather hinted.

"No, no, no! There is only me, I am me! Me myself, and I! There are no other me-s besides me!" Alessa cried out in a tantrum.

"Come on, give the kid a break, we don't need this" Murphy defended.

"Sorry, sorry- I just thought it was interesting how despite being the same person there are huge differences" Heather said.

"I'm still in the dark about a lot of things apparently, but if it doesn't help me get out of here sooner, then I'd rather just leave it alone" Murphy said.

"I can argue with that, but right now I'm too focused on the crime scene over here" Douglas said.

"While your at it, I'm gonna grab this second pickaxe" Christopher said, doing what he said, and tossing the perfectly good rock away...what a waste.

Beyond the police tape, they clearly saw the remnants of a crashed train cart which was on it's side, several carts broken off, and upon very close attention they believe they could see dry splotches of blood on the seats, and outside of the carts.

"This must have happened recently...why else would it still be here now?" Jessie said.

"Who knows...maybe it was put here again" Cynthia said.

"That's sick, why would they want to show us this?" Eric asked.

"I think the real question is who where they trying to show this to?" Maria figured.

"JP?" James answered.

"Good boy James! You get an extra special service from me today. Oh what the hell, Cynthia do you want to join?" Maria asked.

"Maybe if you can convince Henry, and we could share?" Cynthia teased.

"Shut up!" Angela, and Eileen said simultaneously.

"There's a wood path over there, let's follow it" Murphy said before any more of a ruckus could occur.

"Yes, let's" Ryan agreed.

They didn't get far though since the only ladder allowing them to advance was barricaded by several wooden planks.

"These things again? Another lazy attempt at keeping us out?" Mason said.

"Isn't this town suppose to lead us to our ultimate realization, not prevent it by putting these things in the way?" Heather asked.

"Again, the town is not alive, this is just one of those things that was left half-finished" Murphy repeated.

"Why would they want to finish though?" George asked.

"To keep others out I suppose, now who's gonna volunteer to clear out the planks?" Murphy asked.

There were no volunteers.

"Fair enough, I have a perfectly good pickaxe, perfect for removing planks nailed to the beams, I'll just do it" Murphy said.

Murphy went to work breaking the hindrance that showed itself to the group, taking only several seconds the job was done.

"I'm not very good at climbing..." Alessa admitted.

"You seemed pretty confident in everything else you done, what's a little something like climbing a ladder?" George said.

"...You're so lucky I don't feel like killing" Alessa muttered.

"Alessa here can do it, I'm sure you can too" Eileen assured.

"...Fine!" Alessa reluctantly said, though still pouting.

Murphy started things off, and the rest of the men in no plot important ordered followed, then the women followed, the process taking several minutes despite being so short of a ladder.

"Looks like it's gonna get pretty dark up ahead" Murphy said.

"Looks like we more than one flashlight to remedy this" Heather said.

"You know what would be a really helpful lighting source for a group? A lantern. It doesn't have to be old, a modern portable lantern would do." Henry said.

"That's true, a lantern could light the area around us while a flashlight could only point light at a certain direction" Harry said.

"Oh well, we can't always get what we want" Murphy said as they started walking towards the darkness.

It was dark, narrow, and quiet...just like an abandoned mine should be. So there was very little fear from the group, though a sudden collapse of several rocks, wood, and equipment halfway did surprise them. Passing a gentle waterfall sliding down the rocks, rather than actually falling, and landing on a small pool they saw what looked like a second elevator.

"Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Let's go find a staircase" Douglas said.

"The path leads here, there were no other places to turn to" Murphy said.

"Do they expect us to go into another elevator as if nothing happened?" Angela said.

"There is no reason to experience that much pain again" Maria said.

"Who's to say it could happen again?" Elle asked.

"George if he doesn't keep his mouth shut" Murphy said.

"It was just coincidence, bad luck, and bad timing" George argued.

"We better not regret this...Travis you know what to do" Alex said.

"I really don't...I just say to do it, and it does. I guess the same could be said about the rest of you?" Travis said

"Someone is gonna have to explain this to me because I think all of you are acting crazy" Alessa said.

Travis chose not to answer, and instead work his magic by stretching space itself inside the miniscule elevator which now looked like a large hall.

"Done, for the most part...why do I feel so bored?" Travis dully said.

"You'd think someone performing such a phenomenal ability would be more impressed with himself" Lisa said.

"Uh-oh...looks like a small portion of the whole power symptom this thing brings...try not to get angry at me for not caring if one of you dies, and I don't shed a tear, or even a mournful response" Travis dully said, the tone of his voice growing more, and more bored of his situation whether he wanted to, or not.

"I don't see that happening anytime soon" Alex said.

Despite the several complaints, and realizations that they had completely forgotten to purchase life insurance they went inside the elevator. James pressed the button with a shaky hand, a gate closed them in, but instead of going down, the ascended up.

"You know, I don't think this elevator was made to support so many people at once...it could explain why it collapsed the first time. You know cause I stretched space to fit all of us instead of one of us as it was suppose to." Travis said.

"So the reason it broke on us was because of the added weight?" Alex said.

"Well it's not coming from us" Maria said motioning towards Cynthia as well.

"What I mean is, we're ascending up a wooden elevator designed for one, or two people. So wouldn't thirty one of us just destroy it eventually ending in the same way?" Travis said.

"That would explain the loud groans we're hearing, but I thought it was because of how old this thing is" Harry said.

"I'd still like to think that if you don't mind" James said.

Suddenly the elevator screeched loudly, everyone braced themselves as the elevator roughly stopped, and George already began screaming like a girl. After a moment the elevator continued to move upward, but a much slower, and even forced rate.

"You alright cupcake?" Murphy mockingly asked George.

"S-shut up! I was scared!" George responded.

"*Giggle* good one...f-for a grown ape" Alessa said

"I'll just take that as a compliment if that's the best you can do" Murphy said.

"I hope the little elevator can take it." Eileen said.

"I just hope it's the last one we have to take" Tina said.

"No worries, according to the map we're almost at the train ride JP mentioned" Murphy said.

"Do you think it'll room thirty people...and one cat?" Wheeler asked.

"Let's do the math then" Jessie said.

"It would take 15 carts to carry all of us if Kattina lays on someone's shoulder, and if the rides sits two per cart." Eric said.

"They don't make rides that long, a more logical theory would be seats fitting three people, but even then it will still take ten to fit all of us, and that's still too long." Henry said.

"I heard of carts that can fit four people, and it will take about eight...still a little long though" Eric said.

"Maybe his power can assist us in some way?" Douglas said.

"Not gonna say it doesn't work on mobile objects. I mean just look at us now, but I never tried it on a coaster before" Travis said.

"Well duh you just got them now" Cynthia said.

"Well good old science will find us a way, hasn't disappointed us so far" James said.

"It hasn't been with us at all!" Douglas argued.

"Longest elevator ride huh?" Henry muttered.

"It could go a little faster" Murphy said.

"So I guess this is one of those bonding moments for us then right? Radical." Ryan said.

"Weak! This is totally bogus!" George argued.

"I'm gonna try really, really hard to ignore the fact that you said bogus" Murphy said.

"What about Ryan saying radical?" George argued.

"That one still has it's merits...not a lot...some, so it's acceptable" Murphy said.

"Did any of you see a bunch of coal on the way over here? Wasn't this place suppose to be mining the stuff?" Cynthia asked.

"Well it was under use for a while, of course most of the coal would be gone, and besides it was dark. For all we know the coal was all around us" Eileen answered as if speaking to a child.

"Well sorry I was too busy admiring Henry from a far without your permission" Cynthia teased.

"(I'm not gonna let her get to me)" Eileen thought to herself.

"Yeah pretty much distracting myself by undressing him with my eyes" Cynthia added.

"(She's just trying to upset me, the best thing to do is to ignore)" Eileen said.

"And wouldn't you know it? Henry knew all along too, and he let me" Cynthia declared.

Eileen wordlessly turned to Henry.

"...What?...Yeah I figured about as much, never really cared since it wasn't doing any harm. I know this from experience seeing as how I've been doing the same to you during the trip" Henry answered.

"(And all of a sudden I feel so much better)" Eileen thought to herself as relief filled her soul.

"I don't think that's something you should be saying out loud" Heather said.

"I don't see why not? Freedom of speech is still upheld even here, even if it's by us. Besides that happy grin, and flushed cheeks tells me that's all she needed to hear." Henry dully said.

George took note of this.

"You know Cynthia, I've been undressing you with my eyes too" George admitted.

He was given a swift slap with the riding crop directly on his chest. Needless to say, it stung like hell.

"Best elevator ride" Murphy declared.

"I think you broke the skin!" George complained.

"Chicks dig cool scars, I was doing you a favor" Cynthia responded.

"R-really?" George said.

"Yeah, just look at our new pal Murphy over here. That scar on his cheeks makes him stand out in a crowd as a handsome, quiet, tough, yet gentle man" Cynthia complimented.

"This wasn't a choice you know" Murphy responded.

"Does that mean that you'll open to us on how you got that scar?" George asked.

"You don't need to know, quit asking" Murphy said.

"Ever look into a burning campfire, and wonder about the mysteries of life" Ryan suddenly asked.

"...Actually yes, I have" Heather admitted.

"I did too at one point" Alex admitted.

"It's actually more common than you think. I have my own theories about that" Wheeler said.

The elevator suddenly stopped with a loud groan. Wood was heard chipping, and snapping. As everyone braced themselves for the worst, the elevator continued to ascend back to it's slower pace.

"Hey you didn't scream like a girl this time George. Progress!" Henry declared.

"Couldn't have said it better myself Henry" Murphy said.

"This is taking too long! Someone fix this!" Alessa complained.

"Yeah I'll just give it a good kick somewhere, and that ought to do the trick" Douglas replied.

"This thing is already running on it's last legs, if this elevator crashes after you kick we're gonna end up climbing the whole way!" Elle argued.

"Come on little elevator. We think you can, we think you can!" James chanted.

"It's an inanimate object James, it can't see, or hear you" Eric said.

"Are you saying that it can't, because I'm pretty sure our lives are dependent on this elevator working" James stated.

"Look! Light! I-I think we're actually almost there now!" Tina excitedly declared.

Sure enough the elevator though still extremely slow, was now reaching it's height limit, and the group could begin making out the signs of a faded light coming from the sun being overshadowed by soft clouds.

"Hey look there's someone's legs at the far end" James reported.

"I hope to god those legs are attached to a living body" Heather said.

"We'll just have to wait, and see then...reaching the thighs" Angela said.

"Anyone familiar yet?" Travis dully asked.

"Working on it" Mason said.

"Taking a closer look, I think he's on the other side of the opposite side of the safety, guard rail" Tina said.

"So he's on the dangerous side of the guard rail?" Captain Lake said.

"Oh boy, I think I know where this is going" George said.

"Come on you stupid thing" Murphy muttered.

"If he wants to take the easy way out then just let him" Alessa said.

"B-but it's a permanent solution to a temporary problem" Alessa argued.

"We can't tell him what he can, or can't do, we're always being encouraged to do stuff by adults. So by that logic we should encourage him to jump" Alessa said.

"That's not the right kind of encouragement! We should encourage him to live" Alessa added.

"Murphy, tell him! Tell him to go jump!" Alessa ordered.

"Mr. Murphy you must reason with him. Tell him there's more to life than what he's going through" Alessa implored

"Wait I'm gonna try to convince him?" Murphy asked.

"Well there's no way I'm gonna do it. I won't be able to live with myself if I accidentally talked someone into committing suicide. No pressure Murphy" George said.

"Well isn't that something a coward would say, fine I'll talk some sense to...wait a minute...That's JP" Murphy realized as the elevator was finally close to it's destination.

"Great we figured out his identity before the elevator ride finished...a great accomplishment if it weren't so slow." Maria said.

"Well at least now all we have to wait for is the gate to open-" Murphy said just as the gate opened suddenly.

"Everybody scramble" Douglas instructed.

They did so, so loudly in fact that it snapped JP out of his suicidal thoughts for a moment to glance at the numerous bodies coming out of a tiny elevator like a bunch of clowns in a clown car.

"Sater!" Murphy called out.

"Oh, it's just you...and about thirty more behind you." JP said not surprised in the least.

"What are you doing JP?" Murphy reluctantly asked, seeing as how he was mentally pushed by his new friends to get closer to him.

"Aw, you know. Enjoying the view. You know they say, if they were to put the Empire State Building in here, it wouldn't even reach halfway to the top of this place." JP said.

"Going to kill himself, and his last words are more pamphlet facts?" George whispered.

"Once a tour guide always a tour guide" Alessa whispered.

"So if that's true, and it takes about seven, or so seconds for something reach the bottom from all the way in the top. Then does that mean you'll free fall twice as long here?" George whispered.

"I don't know! Why don't you ask him" Alessa whispered harshly.

"*Ahem*" Murphy coughed out loud

Alessa, and George were quiet.

"Seems like a dangerous place to be sightseeing." Murphy finally said.

"You know, none of those things they said about me is true. The papers, and stuff? People around town? My lawyers, they said it was just...circumstantial evidence, and whatnot. That's what I kept tellin' 'em." JP ranted.

"Yeah, we read all about it" Murphy said.

"Murphy was the first to say you were guilty" George announced.

"You son of a-" Murphy muttered

"Those Newspapers are god damn liars!" JP quickly said.

"Relax man. We're just talking here." Murphy said. He quickly gave George a murderous glare, and returned his attention back to JP.

"What happened...that was an accident" JP said.

"If it weren't you would be seeing the same things we saw" Heather muttered.

"Who's to say he hasn't?" Maria whispered.

"I didn't mean to hurt nobody! I didn't murder nobody." JP said a little louder as if he heard both girls gossiping.

"*Not helping*" Murphy mouthed at them.

"Murder's a mortal sin. You go to hell for murder, ain't that right Murphy?" JP went on

"You don't sa-" George began

"I thought you were gonna let me do all the talking" Murphy reminded.

"-Surely your momma taught about what's right, and what's wrong?" JP continued.

"Those kids had parents that might disagree with you. The paper mention negligence-" Murphy boldly proclaimed.

"Now who's the one that's not helping-" George said.

"It was an accident!" JP shouted.

"You were completely hammered! There were witnesses!" Murphy declared.

"Yes that's it, let the dark side strengthen your words, and drive your foe over the edge" Alessa said happy that Murphy may have listened to her advise.

"Mr. Murphy~ you're better than this...help him" Alessa encouraged.

"Well how about you Murphy? Someone know all your dirty little secrets?" JP said.

"He's stubborn, but we'll get him to talk in your memory" George said.

"He's not dead yet" Eric corrected.

"If the audience could keep their mouths shut in this critical moment, I can tell you that I never hurt anyone that didn't deserve. And I sure as hell never hurt any kids. I wouldn't be able to live with myself." Murphy declared.

"But a grown man going through heavy depression, no problem" George said.

He was given another glare by Murphy.

"Heh...you call this living? Can you imagine what that's like Murphy...Living living all your life inside someone else's lie?" JP asked.

The words struck like a rusted dagger at many of Murphy's comrades, so much so that their faces twitched from the sudden mental pain they just went through hearing his words. Murphy paid them no heed.

"Can you?" JP asked again.

It took everything their power to stop themselves from answering that question, but for Murphy it just went through him like a passing breeze. Whether he was in denial, or utterly unaware of his own predicament was anyone's guess.

"Heh...listen to us talk, as if anyone out there gives a damn, when we're the one who decide if we can live with what we've done." JP concluded.

Murphy waited for JP to say more, but once he realized that was all he had to say, he knew he had to say something. He was already losing him, Murphy thought in his head that it might already be too late, but there is always that faint glimmer of hope. He turned around to the group, surprised to see some of the women drying fresh tears, but focused mainly on the two Alessa's who were now staring at him. Almost as if sending him signals to either do the right thing, or push JP further into despair.

"*Sigh* I think I understand" Murphy at last said to them.

"What was that?" JP said

"Don't jump, if you do, you're only letting those people who accused you win, and proving them right as well. You need to do the cliché thing everyone who made a mistake does, and redeem yourself." Murphy said.

"That won't un-kill those kids" JP said.

"No, but you can't let the past end your future, it's suppose to be the other way around. You're miserable right now, but only because you let yourself be miserable. You just need to work a little more harder than usual to cheer yourself up, a little more free time, an extra hour doing your favorite hobby, tastier meals, an extra mug of beer. I think it's too early to quit now" Murphy assured.

"...Thanks for that...never thought about it like that, guess it would be nice to think about all that when I jump" JP sadly said.

"What do you mean? Just wait a second!" Murphy said.

Be seeing you arou-" JP began

"Wai~t!" Alessa suddenly shouted.

Alessa walked towards Murphy, and JP as if she owned the place, which could be technically correct. She at first felt a little hurt that Murphy chose to ignore her advise, but got over it fairly quickly. Instead she decided to be the responsible one, and support Murphy's decision in her own way, it is the least she could do.

"You still have a residence in this place do you not?" Alessa asked in a very high class sounding voice.

"I-I do, but that has nothin-" JP stammered.

"But nothing, you're still living off of me, you're employer. Alessa Gillespie!" Alessa declared.

No one saw this one coming...

"Gillespie...yeah I know about your family, owned this place way back then until the late Gillespie went on that drinking binge, and ruinded himse-" JP was about to inform.

"What you just said was nothing more that folklore, and that's it! We still own this place! Therefore we still own the little Devil's Pit tourist attraction you people have created! Therefore we own you, and as your employer's, employer I must remind you of your place. You sign a contract which bound you to not only the owners of the tourist attraction, but also the owners of the owners of the tourist attraction, the Gillespie family!" Alessa declared.

"...She's right...she practically said my contract word for word" JP said.

"Wha~t!" George shouted.

"Good it seems you are still capable of understanding your place. Now do as I say, and climb over the guard rail, and come with us" Alessa said.

"Guess I have no choice, seeing as how I'm still employed here...in a way" JP said

"They haven't fired you!" George exclaimed.

"Good, oh, and Murphy" Alessa said.

"Y-yes" Murphy said still shocked from the recent turn of events.

"You're welcome, I understand that your heart was in the right place, and I suppose...it's not that bad to be like that...but this was a one time thing!" Alessa said losing her high, and mighty tone.

"Thanks kid, I mean uh...thanks Alessa" Murphy said.

"D-don't get the wrong idea, or anything, I'm just trying something new...it still feels a little weird" Alessa admitted.

"Everything went better than I expected" Alessa said sounding relieved.

"I still can't believe you didn't jump" Murphy admitted.

"I'm a tourist guide employee first, and a person second." JP admitted.

"You're that devoted to your work?" George asked.

"I like it, we could use more people like him in the world...besides the getting drunk during work hours part" Alex said.

"Well welcome to the team then JP, we'll introduce ourselves later, but right now I want us to just get the hell out of here" Harry said.

"How did that wheelchair get here?" Murphy suddenly asked.

"I don't know Murphy, saw it long before I got here" JP said.

"Wait a second, I'm just realizing something...how did you get here before us?" Douglas asked.

"? I just took the regular route through here" JP answered.

"But we saw the route here, and it was destroyed, we had to take a detour through the mine" Mason said.

"I just jumped, skipped, and hopped through the way...I was suicidal, and I had nothing to lose at the time so it didn't concern me nothing. The rest of the way was pretty straight forward compared to the path you guys went through. Bet you had to work the old wooden generator we call a waterwheel" JP answered.

"So did you, or did you not go through the same elevator we did?" Murphy asked.

"I didn't. You could see the path over there next to that wheel we need to turn to open that there wooden slide gate thing. Jumped, skipped, and hopped through it all, you should have seen me, it was quite a sight" JP answered

"I'll just take your word for it" Murphy said

"Well then that settles that nagging question once, and for all, let's get going" Alex said.

"I'll volunteer ahead of time, and turn the wheel" Wheeler said.

"Alessa, what he, and I said about your ancestor was true-" Captain Lake whispered.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Alessa whispered harshly.

Wheeler turned, the wheel clockwise several times. The door stopped moving at halfway despite several more turns.

"So you cleared that gap?" Ryan asked.

"It just takes a bit of timing is all" JP said.

"The electricity?" George asked.

"Boots from a storage where we dress up the mannequins" JP answered.

"You have an answer for everything don't you?" George said.

"I'm a tourist guide after all" JP said.

"Why does Murphy have that scar?" George asked.

"Will you ever shut up about that?" Murphy asked annoyed.

"You know the alternative we do is make something up that's believable. To protect the reputation of any future tourist guides you may encounter we don't do that very often" JP said.

"Glad to see you guys are dependable" Cynthia said.

"Any crooked tourist guides?" Wheeler asked.

"Why do you even care?" George had to ask.

"We don't usually have that kind of trouble in our field of work, someone spreading falsified information can be easily traced, and dealt with. Those who get caught are disgraced, and never taken seriously again, it is similar to how scientists treat other scientists." JP answered.

"If we're done messing around we can see that the doors have been opened, and we should really get going." Alex said.

"Right, right of course, we should move on already" Murphy said.

"I'm not gonna regret this am I?" JP asked.

"Your job is not to regret what you've done, but to follow the orders given to you know" Alessa said spoken like a true mistress.

"Yes ma'am" JP said.

"This is fairly awkward..." Eileen whispered.

"Not exactly, these types appear more often than you think, hidden in the shadows where the light cannot see them." Cynthia said.

"I get the feeling I'm under a huge misunderstanding..." JP said

"Let us imagine JP" Maria said

End of Chapter

Bonus scene that didn't make the cut!

Murphy took one look at Alessa's evil glance, and knew exactly what to say.

"You know JP, you're the biggest failure I have ever met in my entire life. You are a self denying prick who's a slave to something that's not even alive! You are lower than the lowest thing in creation, you're failures are second to none, you robbed the lives of children more worthy of you, your filth can be smelt from the vacuum of space. Even jumping off that ledge will bring disgust for your insides will stain the floor around spreading ludicrously, and shame. You seem to be the type who cries himself to sleep even before the accident, and no woman has, or would ever lay in bed with you. If you were ever called a miracle baby by your mother it is only because you survived her abortion!" Murphy ranted.

There was very long silence from everyone, and Alessa hopping up, and down with glee admiring the brutal insults Murphy has given.

"...Be seeing you around...douche" JP said before jumping down.

Everyone gasped except for Murphy.

"Rest in Peace JP, you will not be missed..." Murphy said.

End of Bonus scene that didn't make the cut

Sorry for the late entry, I just had a difficult time choosing which scenes to stick with. Also I'll be done with Downpour levels at least for the time being as soon as everyone gets out of the mine. Going through a list of places I still need to send them to, we got a long way to go still. Thanks for the reviews, support, and most importantly your patience.