After leaving the courtroom, my friends and I headed for the cafeteria for a big breakfast, as no one had eaten anything all day yet, due of course to everything that happened. Bethany, Harry, Grace, and I walked into the cafeteria and then the kitchen to cook us a big breakfast, even though Grace insisted on cooking everything herself, the rest of us wanted to help her out. We all spend some time cooking a lot of food for ourselves, and then we all brought it out to the cafeteria to eat up. We all sat down at a table with our food to eat up.
"This looks awesome!" exclaimed Harry.
"Indeed" agreed Bethany. "I am just glad we were all able to help Grace out."
"Thanks guys!" thanked Grace. "I would have been just fine doing it all by myself though, I'm used to it."
"Which is why we wanted to help you" I added. "You fed so well the whole time we been here, we can't let you do all the work."
"Let's eat!" exclaimed Harry.
The four of us spent the first few minutes piling down food, as we were all starving. But after that, we then enjoyed several good conversations, it really did help us with keeping our hopes us, something we all really needed to do.
"So guys" Harry began as we continued to pile down food, but also turned out attention to him. "What is our next step?"
"Our next step?" questioned Grace.
Harry nodded. "I mean, I know we're all set on getting out of here, but what can we do now? We looked around this place so many times and have found nothing."
"Calm yourself Harry" cut in Bethany. "Right now, we are just getting our minds back to where we need them at, don't focus on our plan right now, just enjoy the moment."
"Bethany is right" I agreed. "I don't know what our next move is, but we'll do it for sure! But for now, we just need to enjoy this time together."
"Yeah" smiled Harry. "Alright."
"Pathetic."
We all turned to who had said that and saw Zoe walking towards us.
"You people are just as pathetic as ever, I can't believe you all are what is left of the people still standing."
"Hey!" whined Grace. "Can you seriously, just not be cruel for maybe just ten minutes?"
"Zoe" began Bethany. "Surely that last class trial showed you what might happen when you act like this all time."
"You need to chill and relax" added Harry. "It is the five of us against that Bat Wing."
"Zoe" I added. "Can you please join us?"
Zoe just stared at us for a bit, before shrugging and helping herself to some food, she didn't sit with us though.
"I'm glad you're willing to fight along side us" smiled Bethany.
"Don't put words in my mouth" lectured Zoe. "I'm not fighting with any of you."
"Don't lie girl" smiled Grace. "We know you're having a change of heart moment right now."
Zoe just shook her head in annoyance as she finished up her food, while the rest of us talked and ate up the rest of our food. After Zoe was done, she started to leave.
"Wait Zoe!" I called out.
She turned back to face me. "What do you want?"
"What did you mean back at the.."
"Shut up" Zoe cut me off and walked out of the cafeteria.
"Don't worry about it Annie" assured Harry. "We can tell she is really coming around, she wouldn't of stayed near us if she wanted."
"I think Zoe will be a big help in helping us finally get out of here" smiled Bethany.
"You're right" I returned the smile.
We all got up and helped pitched in to do the dishes, which we finished up pretty quickly. The four of us headed out of the cafeteria, where we decided to hang out some more and have some more fun to help us get back to the right place of mind. Therefore, my friends and I spent several hours swimming in the pool, playing in the game room, and just chilling in the lounge. Towards the end of our fun, we all ended up in the courtyard.
"This was fun guys!" exclaimed Grace. "This definitely lifted our spirits!"
"For sure!" agreed Harry.
"I'm glad we all had fun today" I stated. I was just so happy and hopeful.
Bethany just smiled at everyone.
Suddenly the intercoms clicked on. "Attention final five!" shouted Bat Wing. "I have got the biggest surprise for all of you! Come to the basement right fucking now!" The intercoms clicked offed.
"The basement?" asked Grace.
"Just where is that at?" asked Bethany. "I don't think any of us ever found a basement here in this school."
The intercoms clicked back on. "Sorry! The stupid author never mentioned you guys finding a basement way back when you first investigated! Come to the front of the school, by the main entrance!" The intercoms clicked back off.
"I guess we got our answer" commented Harry.
"Yeah" I agreed. "We should go now."
"Why now?" asked Grace. "Why so soon?"
"Bat Wing doesn't care about anything, as long as he gets to see us suffer" growled Bethany.
The four of us slowly left the courtyard and headed for the front of the school. We got there eventually and saw Zoe waiting there with Bat Wing, she looked really impatient.
"Why am I not surprised, that you would make me wait?" commented Zoe.
"Stop it Zoe!" cried Grace.
Bethany put a comforting hand on Grace. "Easy Zoe, none of us are ready for anything Bat Wing has in store for us right now."
Zoe just rolled her eyes as she brushed her hair off her shoulders. "Whatever."
Bat Wing looked over at us. "Alright, the gang is all here!"
"What do you want Bat Wing?" an annoyed Harry asked.
"That is a surprise that you will all find out real soon!"
My anxiety started to kick in, I didn't like this. "Don't tell me... You have another motive for us already?"
Bat Wing just laughed at me. "Not yet my dear Annie! This... This just might honestly be better than any motive you have had so far!" Bat Wing continued to laugh.
That only made me feel worse, Bethany noticed and put a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"Enough with this" said Bethany. "Why did you summon us here?"
"And where even is the basement?" asked Harry.
"Are you people stupid?" asked Bat Wing. "It is literally right to the side of the main entrance!" Bat Wing pointed to a door that was right to the side of the main entrance.
"How did we miss that?" asked Grace.
"This author is just an amateur" replied Zoe.
"Yeah, yeah" shrugged Bat Wing. "Enough with the fourth wall breaking! Let's go!"
Bat Wing went to the door that apparently, lead to the basement and opened it. A barely lit entrance was awaiting for us behind that door, Bat Wing stepped on what I assumed were stair and started walking down into the basement. My friends and I looked at each other, as well as Zoe, but we all slowly made our way into the basement. One by one, we followed Bat Wing down to the stairs to see what surprise he had in store for us.
We eventually made our way down the basement floor and Bat Wing lead us to what appeared to be a giant refrigerator with several slots to it. This area was also really cold.
"Hey! Why is it so cold down here?!" asked Grace, who had started to shiver.
"Didn't we already do this piece of shit motive?" asked Harry who was also shivering.
Bat Wing just laughed.
I focused real hard on the slots of the giant refrigerator and noticed that each of them had a next to them that was red, with the exception of some of them that were green. That certainly was odd, until I realized what was going on. Thirteen of slots had green lights only, while the rest were red. And the number of people that had died so far was... thirteen!"
"What is the meaning of this Bat Wing?" growled Bethany.
"Get to it already" demanded Zoe.
"Bodies" I answered.
Everyone turned to look at me.
"Bodies?" asked Grace.
"I see" Zoe realized what was about to happen.
"He's... Bat Wing is gonna show us the dead bodies... of our friends" I had started to tear up.
"What the hell!?" exclaimed Harry.
"No.. No way!" cried Grace.
"What is the meaning of this!?" roared Bethany, who was now full on glaring at Bat Wing.
Bat Wing just laughed some more. "You got it Annie! We're gonna take a trip down memory lane! Each slot has a red light, indicating it is vacant. However, when there is no vacancy, the light is green!" And just how many green lights do you see?"
"Thirteen" answered Zoe.
"You got it! And how many students have died?!"
"Thirteen" growled Bethany.
Bat Wing continued to laugh. "You got it! This is gonna be so much fun! Oh, the despair will be great! Being forced to see all your former friends dead, once again!"
"Says who!?" cried Grace. "I'm not doing this! Let's get out of here guys!"
"Stay right fucking there!" Bat Wing raised his voice. "Anyone who leaves without my permission, will be killed right here and will then join your fallen friends in a slot! Got it!?"
Nobody said anything, just stared at Bat Wing, he then smiled at us as he walked over to the slots with green lights on.
"Time to get started folks! Also, just in case you were wondering, all of these bodies'... privates... are covered up!"
Everyone look disgusted at the fact he even brought it up.
"Okay everyone! First up on our list is Shauna Zachary, the former ultimate chess champion!"
Bat Wing pulled open the first slot and out came Shauna's body. Her body looked a lot better from before, when it was all bloody in the game room. However, her forehead now had scars from when Troy bashed her head on the pool table, as well as that bruise from the eight ball.
"Shauna..." said Grace.
"An unkind fate she ended up meeting" replied Bethany.
Bat Wing laughed as he closed the slot and moved to the next one. "Next up! Troy Kind, the former ultimate signer!"
Bat Wing pulled open the next slot and out came Troy's body. His body was a little more hard to look at, considering he was missing most of his fingers from those blades.
"Troy" I sadly said as tears continued to fall down my face.
"He was a good guy" added Harry. "He just... you know."
"He was the first of us to crack under the pressure of this killing game" replied Zoe.
"Stop it Zoe!" cried Grace. "I just hope... we can help his brother after we get out of here."
"Right!" I thought to myself. "Troy was really close to his brother Oliver!"
Bat Wing closed the slot and moved to the next one. "Third up on our list is Dianna Foxworth, the former ultimate volleyball player!"
Bat Wing pulled open the slot and out came Dianna's body, which had many scars, bruises, and bumps from the bleachers collapsing on her.
Bethany balled up her fist and tried to maintain her composure. "Dianna..."
Grace put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry Bethany, I know you too were good friends."
"Indeed... we were."
"Yeah" agreed Harry. "You both had a lot in common, including being role models for female athletes."
Bethany managed to smile, appearing to find comfort in her former friendship with Dianna.
"Boring!" shouted Bat Wing. He closed the slot and moved to the next one. "Barry Wolf, the former ultimate engineer!" He opened up the slot and out came Barry's body.
"Fuck!" Harry fell back in shock and horror.
Barry's body was a very dark color, due to being electrocuted to death.
"Poor Barry" I continued to cry. "He... He was starting to come around to us! He was our friend!"
"Again, simply falling under the pressure of Bat Wing's motives and the killing game in general" replied Zoe.
"They always do!" responded Bat Wing as he closed the slot and moved to the next one. "Coming up at number five, we have Mara Ford, the former ultimate entrepreneur!" He opened the slot and we saw Mara's body.
Her body wasn't in such as bad shape as others, due to her cause of death being strangulation. However, there was a small scar on her forehead, from when Gordon bashed her head on the bookshelf.
"Oh God!" I thought to myself as I realized who was next.
Zoe seemed quite focused on Mara's body. "Mara Ford, what a shame."
"Were... were you guys friends?" asked Grace.
Zoe gave us a small laugh. "Friends? Of course not, don't be stupid. Mara... she was just someone who wasn't as stupid as the rest of you fools and might of even been a bit on my level."
"I guess that is the nicest way you'll put that you had respect for her" Harry replied as he finally got up from the floor.
The tears continued to fall down my face as I realized what was next for me. Bat Wing saw how I was and quickly closed the slot and moved to the next one.
"Oh this is gonna have so much despair! I now present to you... Gordon Jackson! The former ultimate filmmaker!" Bat Wing opened the slot and there it was.
I only caught a brief glimpse of Gordon's body before I fell to the ground in tears, but it was long enough for the sight to forever stay stuck in my mind. Gordon's head had was full of scars, bruises, and bumps from all those stage lights that fell on his head. I sat on the ground sobbing until both Bethany and Grace pulled me up and turned me away from Gordon's body, they then wrapped me in a huge hug.
"I'm so sorry you had to see that Annie" comforted Bethany. "Gordon was real lucky to spend time with you.
"He truly was a great guy." assured Grace. She then turned to Bat Wing. "You're so sick!"
Bat Wing laughed. "I know you are, but what am I?"
"Not mature" replied Harry as he walked over towards me to make sure I was alright.
Bat Wing laughed again and closed the slot. "Six bodies down, seven to go. This is fun!" Bat Wing moved to the next slot. "With the biggest body in the basement, we got Seth Brockman, the former ultimate eater!" Bat Wing opened the slot.
Seth's body was then exposed to us. I managed to stop sobbing so hard and I broke the hug with Grace and Bethany. I then turned to see Seth's body. Nothing scarring and murder/execution reminding about his body, since he was only poisoned. That didn't help overall as his body was still there exposed to us.
"So...So many of our friends" Bethany remarked.
"Since when was anyone friends with that glut?" asked Zoe.
"Could you be anymore insensitive?!" asked Grace. "Seth was still one of us!"
"Not anymore though!" laughed Bat Wing as he closed the slot and moved to the next one. "Give it up for Clay Adamson, the former ultimate trivia master!" Bat Wing opened the slot.
Clay's head had several small scars on it, from when Leah smashed the glass vase on his head, as well as a huge scar across his throat from when she slashed him there.
Harry balled his fists and closed his eyes in anger.
"I'm sorry Harry" I comforted. "I know Clay was a good friend of yours."
"As well as ours'" assured Grace. "He would be glad to see you're still alive Harry."
Harry opened up his eyes and smiled at us. "Thanks guys."
"Boring again!" yelled Bat Wing as he closed the slot and moved to the next one. "We are now on Leah Daniels, the former ultimate rider!"
Bat Wing opened up the slot and Leah's body was shown to us. Grace and I let out screams in terror as Leah's body was quite horrifying to look at. Due to being bitten by those horses during her execution, Leah's body was pretty much covered in scars that were once bite marks.
"Leah was strong minded, but was overcome too much with fear and panic" said Bethany sadly.
"She would have been a big help to us, when we finally got out of here." added Harry.
Bat Wing closed the slot and moved on to the next one. "Everyone's favorite former pervert! Maxwell Krueger, the former ultimate fisher!"
Bat Wing opened the slot and we saw Maxwell's body. His was full of many fork styled scars from when Laurel had stabbed him to death with a fork.
"Fucking bastard!" yelled Harry, who looked really mad.
"Easy Harry!" demanded Bethany. "Maxwell's sins didn't go unpunished, wherever he ended up in. But please, don't lose your cool over what he did."
Even though it was hard looking at Maxwell's body, I couldn't feel too bad for him, due to what he did to Laurel.
"Oh no!" I cried to myself as I realized who was next.
Bat Wing closed the slot and moved to the next one. "Only a few more left now! But now we got, Laurel Stern, the former ultimate radio personality!"
Bat Wing opened the slot and everyone, minus Zoe either screamed or gasped in panic.
Laurel's body had no head, due to the sound waves blowing it up during her execution.
"Poor Laurel" I started to cry again.
Grace was crying too. "She didn't deserve anything that happened to her!"
"It is unfortunate what can happen to a person" mentioned Zoe.
Bat Wing closed the slot and moved to the next one. "And now onto our two newest additions! You only just saw him recently, Bradford Evans, the former ultimate track and field star!"
Bat Wing opened the slot and there Bradford was. Since he was just drowned, his body looked somewhat peaceful.
Harry balled up his fist again. "I'm sorry man, I should of accepted who you were."
"Do not be so hard on yourself still, Harry" assured Bethany. "Bradford would be happy to hear how you feel now and how strong you're being."
"He truly... was a great guy, who changed for the better" I cried lightly.
"You saved us Bradford" I thought you myself. "You saved us, alongside Den."
"One more to go folks!" Bat Wing stated as he closed the slot and moved to the final slot with a green light. "He may have been prick for most of the ride, but he went out a hero at his destination! You're hero, Den Fire, the former ultimate pyro!"
Bat Wing opened the slot and there Den's body was. His body was a really dark color, due to being burned to death in his execution.
"It may have been hard to believe, but Den really did die a hero" said Grace.
"He... He is one in my book" I added.
Bat Wing closed the slot and turned to us. "Now wasn't that just so much fun everybody!"
"Very much" replied Zoe, very sarcastically.
Bethany grew angry. "You're nothing but a sick, twisted fiend Bat Wing. When we get out of here, you're gonna pay for everything that you done!"
"And more!" growled Harry.
Bat Wing just laughed. "Okay! Yeah, sure! Well whatever now, you kids are free to go! Can't wait for the next murder!" Bat Wing flew up to the ceiling, leaving the five of us alone.
"We should get out of here now" suggest Grace.
"I definitely agree with you" agreed Harry.
The five of us quickly went back up the stairs and gathered in the main entrance.
"Please stay strong everyone" pleaded Bethany. "That bat was only trying to break us and bring despair to us."
"But it didn't work!" assured Grace. "We're still shooting to get out of here!"
"Hell yeah!" pumped in Harry. "Bat Wing is going down!"
I smiled at my friends. "We can do this."
Zoe shook her head as she brushed her hair off her shoulders. "Idiotic and naive as ever, but..." Zoe took a bit of a long pause. "You guys don't need to worry about anything, I'll be the one to get us all out of here."
Before anyone could respond to Zoe's words, she simply walked off, leaving us all a little surprised.
"Just what does she mean?" asked Grace. "Zoe seems a little more confident in herself than normally."
"I have no idea" responded Harry. "But as long as she is with us, we can't complain."
"Agreed" agreed Bethany. "The five of us will get out of here, fighting as one."
I smiled at my friends with hope in my eyes. "We're going to do this!" I thought to myself. "We're going to get out of here and put an end to this horrible killing game!"