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CODY
11:40 A.M.
SECOND BASEMENT "DOOR THREE" HALLWAY
-X-
"…Cody?"
God… what have I done?
"Cody!"
I… I killed…
"Cody!"
And Gwen… Oh, God…
"CODY!"
I feel something grab my shoulders and shake me, momentarily breaking me from my trance. I shake my head and look up at the person responsible. "…Duncan?"
"What happened?"
…Oh, God…
"CODY!"
"I… I… I'm not sure… Trent… was going… to shoot me, and… I was just… just trying to protect her… and… she ran off… and it's all my fault…" I break down. It's too much for me to take. I fall to my knees, tears flying from my eyes. Why did this have to happen? Why?! Why Trent?! Why Gwen?!
"Cody, calm down!"
"…Gwen…"
"Listen, Cody! It's…" I hear him sigh. "It's my fault, not yours."
…H-huh?
"I was… I was only joking around, you know? Just trying to keep in good spirits. But… Trent took it the wrong way. I'm sorry."
…
…WHAT?!
"You BASTARD!" I grab him by the shirt collar, despite the knowledge that he could toss me aside like a piece of paper. "TRENT IS DEAD, AND GWEN IS SOMEWHERE IN THIS FACILITY, ALONE AND VULNERABLE BECAUSE OF YOU!!"
"I know! I'm sorry!"
"You're SORRY?!" If fire could shoot out of my eyes, it would. "SORRY is NOT going to bring Trent back to life! SORRY is NOT going to save Gwen! And SORRY is NOT going to get us out of this mess!" He just looks back at me in fear… which actually surprises me. Since when was Duncan intimidated? And by me, of all people? He can tear through me like a piece of paper.
"Cody, I didn't mean for this to happen! You know I would never put Gwen in danger like that on purpose!"
…
Wait a minute…
He's not intimidated by me; he's afraid of what's going to happen to Gwen.
I let him go. "Well, we need to go after her."
"Yeah," Duncan agreed. "The puzzles in this place will slow her down, and we'll be able to catch up with her in no time." Then, to my surprise, a smile forms on his face. "And if the puzzles are already completed, that means Courtney went down this way!" Then, he sprints down the hall, much to my surprise. Not seeing any other option, I follow him.
-X-
11:44 A.M.
SECOND BASEMENT "DOOR THREE" HALLWAY
-X-
…No frickin' way…
Two doors. Both unlocked.
"She could've gone either way," Duncan says, pointing out the obvious. "We need to split up."
…
Oh, shit…
"Cody?"
"We can't split up."
"…Why not?"
"I left the fucking magnum back there!"
Duncan face-palms. "You're fucking kidding me, right?"
"Sorry, I just… panicked, and…"
He sighs. "Here. Just take this." He hands me the shotgun, then pulls out his trusty pocketknife. "Those fuckers want to go toe-to-toe with me, fine." He goes through the right door. I hear the sounds of feet clanking on metal steps, disappearing downward. I assume the door on the left goes downward too.
I open the door.
(The door opens slowly, creaking softly.)
Yep. Staircase leading down.
Just how many floors were in this facility?
Cautiously, I take my strides. I can feel the sweat on my forehead. "I-I-It's okay, C-Cody… You'll be fine… Remember, you're looking f-for G-Gwen. You n-need to find Gwen…" But no matter how much I talk to myself, it doesn't seem to work. I'm still scared—very scared. God, if something happened to Gwen… I don't know what I'd do.
I'm at the bottom of the stairway, and I find an archway to my right. I head through it…
"You've got to be fucking kidding me."
As it turns out, both staircases lead to the same fucking place.
Duncan rolls his eyes. "Give me that gun," he says coldly, taking the shotgun away from me. "Like anyone can trust you with a shotgun anyway."
…Ex-squeeze me?
I grab the asshole by the arm. "What was that? I didn't quite hear that over the sound of your laughter as you send Trent down a downward spiral to the point where he wants to kill me."
"Oh-ho-ho-ho!" Duncan laughs at me. He fucking laughs at me! "You're retarded, you know that? Matching wits with me? I wasn't even going there, and yet you have to make a quip like that. Remember who has the shotgun here, Cody. I'd watch that mouth of yours if I were you."
I growl inwardly, shutting my eyes tight. "I knew I shouldn't have dropped that magnum…"
Time stops, if only for a moment. Things seemed to get very, very chill… and definitely not in the good way.
Duncan turns to me, a surprised look on his face. "…You're serious, aren't you?"
"Well, no fucking shit!" I blurt out, surprising even myself. "In case you've forgotten, Gwen is somewhere in this fucking place ALONE, and we NEED to find her before something worse happens!" …Wait, why am I wasting my time here? Fuck it! Gwen needs help, and standing around doing nothing but complain is going to solve jack shit! I walk down the hall, not even caring that I didn't have a weapon.
"Wait!" Oh, NOW he's doing something useful. Great! It's about fucking time. "Hey, man," he says as he catches up to me, "she's my friend too. You know I want to find her just as much as you do."
I say nothing.
"…Okay, maybe not. I mean, I really do want to find her, but you're fucking dedicated, man. I mean, shit! You're unarmed, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"And yet knowing what could be here, or rather NOT knowing, you still trekked forward. Like a real trooper. I know guys in juvie that aren't even close to being that tough."
…Wow, really?
…
I can't get sidetracked. Keep moving, Cody!
-X-
11:52 A.M.
CAFETERIA
-X-
We stumble upon an old cafeteria further down the hall. We hadn't spoken since Duncan said I was "tough", but I decide to break the silence.
"Oh, thank God! I'm getting hungry."
Duncan chuckles. "Now's not the time to think about food, Cody."
"No, seriously!" I felt a rumble in my stomach. "Oooooooouuuuuuugh…"
"Okay, seriously, not funny, Cody."
"Oooooooouuuuuuugh…" Now I'm just teasing with him.
"Cody, seriously, not cool."
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…
What the…?
"Dammit, Cody!"
"Th-that last one… wasn't me."
At that, Duncan's eyes widen. "…What?"
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…
Duncan readies his shotgun. It's not too close, but we can't be too sure.
"I think it came from in there." He points to a door, which, considering the wide window beside it, I'm assuming is the kitchen.
Uuuuuuuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…
Oh, yeah… definitely coming from in there.
Alright, Cody… you can do this… Remember, you're tough.
…
"…Duncan, you're the one with the shotgun, you go in first."
"…Alright…"
He opens the door…
…and gasps.
Two zombies appear in the doorway in front of us.
The first I can't recognize… probably an intern.
But the second…
…
I back up slowly, Duncan following suit.
Of course, I don't blame him for being terrified.
The second zombie held a sleek, gray, metal briefcase in its right hand. Its pale skin greatly emphasized the freckles on its nose.
But the most horrifying thing is…
…we know her.
Or, should I say, we knew her.
Duncan shudders as he barely makes out an audible "C…C…C…Court…"
"Courtney…" I finish for him, still terrified.
We continue to back up, but the two zombies before us continue to come closer.
We will run out of room soon.
Duncan, shoot! Please!
Duncan!
DUNCAN!
"I… I… can't…"
"Here, give me the gun," I say, trying to wrestle the shotgun away from him, but he's got a firm grip on it, and I fail. Defeated, I look up at the zombies before us.
Oh, God… We are so dead…
…
…
…
BANG!
…Huh?
BANG!
Now opening my once clenched-shut eyes, I gasp as I see the two zombies sprawled out on the floor, massive gunshot wounds in their heads.
And somehow, as if a symbol of her greed, Courtney is still gripping the briefcase tight.
I look over at Duncan, who looks just as shocked as, if not more than, I am. Wait… if he didn't shoot them…
I look around the room, and gasp when my eyes fall on…
"Chef Hatchet?!"
"Aye," he greets, holding the shotgun like a soldier would during his march, and he salutes us. "Looks like this mission is over. My condolences, Juvie. She was brave—annoying as hell, but brave.
"It's not over yet," I say. "Things… happened, and Gwen ran off. We have to find her!"
"Okay, calm down, small fry." Chef readies his shotgun again. "We'll find her. Don't worry. She's one of the toughest I've ever seen. It's a shame she's into all that artsy fartsy stuff. She'd make a good soldier."
"Yeah… Well, Duncan, are you ready to—"
"JUVIE, NO!"
What?!
BANG!
…
Oh, God…
Please tell me what I think just happened didn't…
Slowly, my eyes drift downward… to a lifeless body next to me, shotgun nearby. Blood pooled from his head, from his massive, fatal, self-inflicted wound.
Duncan… No…
I hear Chef sigh, and I look up to see him shaking his head. "This is why I don't love, Scrawny. It's a weakness. Juvie didn't shoot Whiny because he loved her. And now that Whiny's gone, Juvie couldn't live with himself."
It's my turn to shake my head. "You're wrong, Chef. Infatuation is a weakness. Love is a strength." I look down at the bodies surrounding me. "Unfortunately, it's hard to tell the difference between the two."
"…Perhaps you're right. But let me ask you this: what would you do if Goth girl were dead?"
…
…
…
"Stew on that for a little while, Scrawny. Now come on, we gotta go if we're going to find that girl. The war is not over! Hustle! Hustle!"
Chef's last few statements pumping me up, I grab Duncan's shotgun and follow him out of the cafeteria.
Gwen… I'm coming for you…
I will protect you…
I promise…
Please switch to Disk Two.
-X-
Okay, to answer a few questions:
First of all, the switching disks thing… like the "YOU ARE DEAD" and typewriter gimmicks, it's just a clever chapter transition, and it's basically saying that… oh… around this point is probably the halfway point of the fic. I'm not entirely sure at this point though.
Second, a question you should probably be asking yourself… where's Chris? Why isn't he with Chef? Is he dead? Will we find out? Who knows? …Well, I do, but I'm not telling.
But no, I bet that question never crossed your minds, because you were probably too busy thinking "WHY THE FUCK DID YOU KILL OFF COURTNEY AND DUNCAN?!?!?!!? YOU ASSHOLE!!!!!!!!!"
Well, if this bothered you, then write your own damn story and have them live. That's all I gotta say.
Anyway, thanks for reading!