The four of them stood in the center of the gloomy green room that was only lit by the lamps that hung over the unconscious people in front of them. Stephan had started whimpering for he knew that this was for him and not for the others to understand, but he realized that he himself did not understand what was happening.

Suddenly the room went dark, and only three lamps came back on, then those three went off and the remaining three lamps flashed on; then the room stood in darkness once again.

Hello Stephan, and welcome to your next test. You see, since you are human many people come and leave your life; it's the circle of how our lives run. You have people who were there for you in the beginning, the first light lit up, people who were there for you when needed, the next two lights lit up, and have people who you question at times. It's all normal, now I leave these six people in your hands. The three unlit lights had finished filling the room up with its narrow brightness.

Stephan let out a big sigh, and only tried to calm himself down. He felt his body starting to shake from such horrifying thoughts of what he had to do.

You see, all six have been brought here from the fact that you've cared or still care about the person. But that's not the meaning of this; there is a certain order in which they are to be saved. If at any time you choose the wrong person within the process that person will have electrocutes running through their bodies eventually killing them and the remaining will die along with them. No mistakes this time Stephan, you have the ability to save all six. This is the way the circle of life runs, and this is where the game begins. You have exactly thirty minuets to complete this task. In front of you there are six keys hanging on a keychain, those will be their freedom. Once you remove those keys from that chain, their lives are in your hands. Don't worry, take your time; you really don't have all day. The intercom's static was all to be heard now as it faded off into the darkness of the room.

"Damn, I'm freaking cold!" Sara exclaimed, breaking the silence. Everyone looked at her and she immediately got quiet again as she mouthed to Stephan, "sorry".

"Stephan, you know all six of these people right?" Hollie said softly.

"Well, yeah. B-but I don't know what order I'm supposed to save them in. I don't get it at all." He replied, looking at the keys hanging in front of him.

"You don't have much time," Jaya started to explain. "The clock never stopped counting down."

She was right, Stephan looked at the clock and it clearly started, 2:25:56. That only made Stephan tense for he now had only 25 minuets to save these people, people who had some place close to his heart.

"Stephan?" Sara called out to him from behind.

"Yes, I know I don't have much time. But how the hell do you decide?" he replied.

He walked up to the six unconscious people and started thinking of how he was supposed to save each person. There had to be something that could help him. He looked up from the six and started naming them off, that helped the three behind him have acknowledgement of who they are. He began from the left:

"Jasmine…Johnny…Abbie…" He paused as he gulped. "Buddy…Heather…and Daniel…" He looked away with tears in his eyes, "Shit…what do I do?"

They stood looking at him, all except Hollie. Her gaze was fixed upon one of the victims, and a rage filled her.

"Because of him, my baby has to suffer. He better save her, or it'll be his life; I'll make sure of it one way or another." Hollie thought to herself, she seemed completely different; and she knew that there's no turning back on her thoughts.

"Sir?" The man asked.

Irritated with his voice, he answered so he wouldn't call him again. "What do you want now?"

"Is there a reason, why these six were chosen?" he asked, with fear behind his voice.

"No, I totally just chose these six people at random hoping that Stephan would just save their lives." He let out an aggravated sigh. "You're supposed to be learning my ways, and it only seems your becoming more dumbfounded as the process continues."

"But jig-"

"Don't call me that name!" He roared. "I told you that before, you need to learn that. Now shut up, watch, and learn; if that is at all possible."

He didn't bother answering back; he knew that it would be a waste.

"Damn…" Luis said.

"What?" Victor responded.

"Well, I don't man it's weird. None of this seems real, like it's a fucking nightmare." Luis said looking at Victor.

"Now you know how I've felt since the beginning." Emily said with her gaze fixed on the screen. "You guys kept thinking I'm a heartless bitch who doesn't give a shit. Yet here I am watching my cousin having to go through this alone."

"Emily-" Brittany began saying, while reaching out for her shoulder.

"Please, don't I'm an emotional wreck right now." She sighed.

"I'm sorry; I just don't know what to do." Brittany stated.

"And you think I do?" Emily replied slowly, her head falling down in a sense of defeat.

Stephan stood in front of the six victims, who still sat in unconscious. He stood looking at all six, not having a clue what to do.

"Stephan?" Jaya said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?" He responded softly.

"I know it's hard, I really do…but you don't have that much time." Jaya said sympathetically.

"Y-yeah, she's right Stephan you've gatta hurry up…" Hollie said as the eagerness to save her best friend lied beneath her words.

"I know, I know guys, but you have no idea how hard this is!" Stephan said, tears now forming in his eyes.

"Babe," Sara began saying, "these six people obviously mean something to you, so think-think of why he brought these six people to you."

Stephan stood there glancing at one, then another. Hollie started becoming impatient, all she wanted was to save that one person; she didn't give a fuck about the others.

"He-hey Stephan…" Hollie began, "maybe you should start off with realizing how much these people may mean to others…I mean if you don't save them all, god only knows what would happen." She stared at his back, only she knew what she had really meant by that.

"You know, she's right. Stephan I'm really not trying to add pressure, but there isn't much time. You only have twenty minuets, I know this hard…" Jaya said walking to his side. "But you have to do something now…you're wasting time."

"Babe, you gatta decide. You have to try and see what he meant about a 'certain order'." Sara reminded.

"How the hell are you three so calm? It's my fault you're here, it's my fault they're here." Stephan said, his voice shaking.

"Because we know how you are, if we freaked out…it wouldn't really help them." Sara said, joining Jaya by putting her hand on his open shoulder.

"Yeah Stephan, we're here for you…know that. We just want everyone to get out safety." Hollie said lying to her best ability.

"Maybe…oh god, I don't know. I really, really do not know." He said, fear rising in his body.

"He better figure it out…I swear to god…" Hollie said looking at the three figures in front of her, the six people in front of them, and the one person within those six.

"I-is it me, or is Hollie acting a bit different?" Brittany brought to their attention.

Emily looked at her, "You all right? Because all I can see is three friends supporting him." She said with a harsh tone.

"Well, I'm just saying-"

"She's right, something is off about her." Victor agreed as he interrupted her.

"I don't know man, she just seemed freaked out, that's all." Luis added in.

"Then, why aren't the other two?" Victor asked.

Luis went to reply, when he realized he didn't have a reply. He was taken aback to the question because it caught him off guard and he didn't know how to answer. The other three looked at him, and he stared back with a puzzled look.

"Honestly? I-I don't know." He finally replied.

"I didn't think so." Victor replied with cockiness.

"Are you calling me stupid or something?" Luis yelled.

Victor turned to him and got in his face, showing no fear. "Maybe I am. You don't seem like the brightest fucking crayon in the box."

"You trying to start shit?" Luis said getting closer to his face, where they were so close that personal space didn't even exist.

"What-" Victor began.

Immediately Emily went in and tried stopping them. They both had anger within their eyes, and she could sense it.

"GUYS STOP!" Emily screamed, "He wants this to happen, we've been here for hours; no food, no water, nothing." She backed off hoping they would two. "Now please, stop."

Luis kept his eyes fixed on Victor's then once he took a glance at the two girls; he knew he had to back off. "Emily is right man, this is what he wants. Don't know about you, but I'm not going to give him that satisfaction." He slowly backed off from Victor, giving him his space back. "Sorry man."

Victor's face had softened, "I agree, and I'm sorry as well."

"Now please, can we get back to this?" She gestured to the screen. "I wanna see what happens to him, without having to worry about us killing each other."

The two men joined the women at the screen again; they all went into focus mode, not knowing what was going to happen next.

"Stephan, there is only ten minuets left!" Sara screamed, just looking at the clock.

Over the past ten minuets he had debated on who he felt would be first, his heart sank as the final ten minuets rang inside his head.

"Stephan—Stephan c'mon choose! You don't have much time." Hollie yelled.

"I'm trying to figure this out Hollie, please…be quiet." Stephan replied with a wave of his hand at her.

Hollie then felt infuriated, she stood there for twenty minuets watching him think, think, and think. She was beyond pissed, and the bomb inside her was seconds from exploding.

"Stephan, only ten minuets, you have to do it…you have to." Jaya said.

"C'mon you can do this!" Sara reassured.

He smiled, "Thanks you guys-"

Hollie had enough of small talk, she had to take action and she went for it. "Fuck this shit I've had enough!" Hollie screamed.

Stephan heard the words from Hollie's mouth, as soon as she said them she broke into a run and snatched the keys from the chain, she headed for the third victim; and the victim she chose was a tall skinny blonde girl, none other than Abbie.

"Hollie, what the fuck are you doing!?" Stephan screamed.

Fiddling with the keys she spoke fast, "I am not going to be sitting here all day waiting for you to choose and watching my best friend die."

"Hollie you can't! It'll screw things up…STOP!" Stephan screamed as she tried to jam the key into Abbie's keyhole on her chains.

But Hollie didn't stop, she was going for it and all three knew something had to be done. Stephan looked at Jaya, and Jaya nodded in silence for that had an understanding of what they had to do.

Hollie stood trying to unlock her best friend, when out of nowhere two arms grabbed her from behind. She shrieked and tried to put up a fight, but soon another set of hands started helping.

"STOP IT! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?" Hollie screamed.

Stephan quickly grabbed the keys off the floor, which Hollie had dropped when she was grabbed, and went for the six unconscious people.

"I'm sorry Hollie, but this is my challenge and not for you." He said as he looked at the clock, 2:05:23.

Hollie looked at Jaya and Sara, "Please, please let me go. I can't let Abbie die; she's my everything, PLEASE!" She cried out.

"Hollie stop it, this isn't about you!" Sara yelled. "Stop being selfish! You can't control what's meant to happen."

Hollie continued trying to get out of Jaya's grip, but failed miserably; Jaya had found some hidden strength from within her and held Hollie back as hard as she could. Sara helped as much as she could as well.

"Stephan…hurry!" Jaya cried out.

"LET ME GO GOD DAMMIT!" Hollie screamed.

"STEPHAN HURRY!" Jaya yelled again,

Stephan thought back, and suddenly he had woken up, he knew what he had to do. He headed towards the first victim and looked at her slender; unconscious body.

"Jasmine…" He said as he inserted the key with the number '1' engraved upon it. He turned the key.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Hollie screamed from behind him.

The key clicked, and the chains unlocked from her fragile wrists. He let her hands fall to her laps and sighed in relief. Then standing up, he looked at Hollie.

"I'm doing what I should have done in the first place…the order is of how much I care from each person: to the closest of the six all the way to the furthest of the six."

Hollie looked pissed, and she let it show. Stephan, however, didn't let that look grab his attention; his focus was on the second person. He walked up to his best friend who seemed so vulnerable like this. He was built well from working out and had the skin color that only made him irresistible in Stephan's eyes. He inserted the key with the engraving '4' and turned the key. The chains unlocked and felt to the ground, Stephan let out a heavy sigh. With a look at the clock, 2:01:45, he instantly went to the next person.

The three girls watched him go in silence and Hollie was the only one in fear. She kept whimpering under her breath.

He went up to Heather and found the key engraved with '5' and inserted the key, he turned the key; but, this time there wasn't a click and the chains didn't unlock. He looked back to the three girls with tears flooding his eyes. He knew his pick was wrong, and he knew saving the other two was not an option. He backed away from the three remaining with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"What are you doing?" Hollie asked calmly. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?" She screamed loudly when she heard no reply.

"I-I thought Heather was the third…but it's not unlocking Hollie…I'm sorry." He said through sobs.

The four looked at the beeping red clock, 4:00:05. The clocked finished its countdown, and so did a power surge. The lamps faded in and out, and we saw the 3 chairs with chains still attached to the victims light up. Sparks flew and the three unconscious people were brought to life.

Johnny, an average height boy with the looks of an innocent child, was the first to open his eyes. His eyes were bloodshot and red. His skin began to rip with deep scars as his voice was screeching with pain. Tears flooded his eyes as his skin was being torn from all electroshock his body was receiving. After merely five seconds his body laid motionless and his skin left a nauseating odor.

Abbie was the second to endorse such pain. He pale skin turned red as she opened her mouth and eyes in pain, she screamed at the top of her lungs as her skin was being peeling and ripping right in front of her. She couldn't move and couldn't understand what was happening, but before she could understand the four saw her eyes fill with blood. The once white eyes now hung in a pool of deep red, as her body scared with burn marks and smoke erupting from her skin and mouth.

Hollie felt to the floor as Jaya released her, for Jaya herself felt nauseated.

The last two, Heather and Daniel, finished off together. Heather, a girl with a face you could not ever forget, rose from the chair screeching in pain. Daniel, a man whose elegance was too hard to not notice, joined in as their flesh was being devoured by the sparks that ran through their body. The power surge had gone greater and all lights went out. All you could see was the sparks flying and the body movements of the two violently shaking victims. All you could hear was the sparks surging through and the screaming of the last two people. All you could smell was the burnt flesh.

After the long 20 seconds of hearing, smelling, and some-what seeing torture the lights flickered back on. All that was left of the last two was their burnt flesh like the others. Now all were covered in blood and blood kept dripping from their bodies.

Then stood the four horrified people: Stephan, Sara, Jaya, and Hollie. Stephan's eyes were bugged out, mouth covered, and cheeks stained from tears. Sara was bending over hyperventilating, trying not to vomit, and trying not to inhale any smells. Jaya stood now facing away, eyes covered, and sobbing softly. Hollie was hysterical she was sobbing so loud, her eyes we flooding with tears that hit her face, and she was covering her mouth in disgust.

"OH MY GOD!" A voice screamed out, it was powerful and male. There awoke Buddy who was horrified of his surroundings, when he saw the four individuals standing in front of him he nearly shit his pants. "S-Stephan? Is that you?" He called out.

Stephan's attention was brought to Buddy, a charming man who stole his heart from 'hello'. "Oh my god Buddy…" He sniffled.

Another scream was heard to the left of Buddy, and sure enough Jasmine had woken up.

"Oh my fucking god!" She screamed. She too was horrified of what she saw in front of her, but she turned to her right and met a familiar face. "Stephan? What the hell is going on here?"

The two individuals got up, scared yet appeared to be happy that they were alive. They stood in the area of where dead bodies laid in their own puddles; after the both stood there for a second they hurried away.

"Stephan, answer me…what's going on?" Jasmine repeated.

"I-I didn't ask for this Jasmine…I had the chance to save all six." He replied through tears.

"Oh…wow. OH WOW I was one of those?" Buddy exclaimed. "Holy fuck, thank you—thank you for choosing to save me!" He said with a fake smile.

"It wasn't a matter of choosing you Buddy," He paused. "It was a matter of choosing who was the most important to me, going down to the least."

Before anyone could reply a door behind the two survivors had opened up, showing a hall that expanded onwards into an unknown place. It was dark and eerie, pipes with steam blowing out, flickering lights, and rusted walls.

"Alright, I don't know about you guys. But I really don't want to be here!" Stephan said quickly.

"Agreed" All said in union.

Stephan looked at the two who had been saved, "I'll explain things as we go along okay?" They replied with a nod.

They started heading out one by one. Stephan was the first to lead, then Sara, then Jasmine, then Buddy, then Jaya. But Hollie stayed put for a second. She didn't know what she felt right now. She headed forward, and before she left the room something caught her eye. She took the moment and seized it.

"HOLY SHIT!" Luis screamed.

"Oh my god!" Emily added.

"That was so disgusting!" Brittany said while gagging.

"Shit is messed up!" Victor concluded.

Brittany sniffled, her eyes were tired, and her body looked weak. She spent time leaning on Emily's shoulder now, trying not to collapse on the floor.

"You okay Brit?" Emily asked her while rubbing her head; she at the same time was trying not to vomit from what she just saw.

"No, it's getting worse…" Brittany answered.

"I know, I know." Emily said softly.

Brittany didn't finish her statement; all she did was looked at her bandaged hand that stung and throbbed.

"So all this is a game?" Buddy asked curiously.

"Yeah, doesn't seem like one I know, but it's true." Stephan continued. "It started out with me and the others. Then it led us to you guys." Stephan showed a sight of hopelessness. "Well, only two of you guys that is."

"Boo, you can't let that get to you." Jasmine started to explain. "Yeah, I'll admit that this shit is creepy as hell, but that doesn't mean you should remorse on this. If this whole game started out because of you, then you have to stay strong and finish it. You're our only hope of staying alive." She gave him a hug; a hug that was light enough to not hurt him in a time of vulnerability, and a hug that meant more to him than she might know.

"I'm still shocked; this shit doesn't seem like something I could see myself in." Buddy said.

"Well let's head on, but remember we have to stay close. I've saved you guys and I'm not letting him get you guys now."

John's laughter was devilish, and he wasn't hiding a pitch of it. "This is all working out too well."

"So, did you know that was going to happen?" The man asked.

"Actually, I had my beliefs that he could have saved all six. I also have my beliefs that he couldn't save any of them. So right now I'm in a natural area."

"I see…" The man said while observing the screen.

They gathered in a tight group, when suddenly Stephan realized Hollie wasn't with the group. He looked back at the room and saw her looking back; he went from being somewhat okay all the way to depressed again.

"Hold up guys, wait here real quick okay?" Stephan said as he headed back to the room.

Hollie stood away from Stephan and was quiet as a mouse.

"Hollie, I'm sorry…you know she meant a lot to me." Stephan began, Hollie didn't answer so he went on. "I didn't ask for this Hollie you know that…if I could go back and do it over I would make it so that I could save all six."

"It's fine Stephan" Hollie finally spoke.

Stephan smiled and felt somewhat relieved; he went to turn around when Hollie began to speak again.

"Stephan, why did you go for Heather first? I mean before Abbie?" Hollie asked.

"I was confused, and I thought Heather meant more to me." Stephan replied.

"I see…okay lets go." Hollie said.

Stephan turned his back on Hollie, and Hollie turned to see Stephan's back facing her. A smile curved from the tip of her lips.

Suddenly Stephan felt a sharp pain on his back, so painful and sharp that he fell down to the floor almost knocking him out. He heard the gasps come from the group and when he had gathered enough strength he looked back and saw Hollie with a metal pipe in her hands.

"So, Abbie wasn't that important to you huh?" She was no longer the Hollie he knew. Her eyes were dark and her face was filled with anger.

"Hollie what the hell?" Stephan asked, almost shouting.

"Well, since you killed her so easily I'm just gonna pay you back." She smiled devilishly. "And trust me baby, you've never seen this side of me. I'm gonna make your life a living hell."

"Hollie, why are you doing this?" Jaya asked.

"Why? WHY? Because my best friend is dead because of him, and now I'm just returning the favor." She focused on Jaya for a split second and returned her focus on Stephan.

"Hollie stop it, you're scaring me. If this is a joke it isn't funny anymore." Stephan said, as the pain tensed up in his back.

Instead of giving an answer she lifted the pipe up and went to slam it into Stephan's head. As quickly as he could he rolled over and struggled to get up. He stood up and glared at Hollie.

"Stop it Hollie." Stephan said as calm as he could.

"Stop it? Stop it? Now why would I stop it?" She laughed hysterically inching closer to him. "My best friend is dead." Her face turned dead serious. "So why the hell should I stop?" She swung the pipe at Stephan, Stephan reacted by ducking. "You fucking bitch, I should have never become your friend!" She swung again, this time missing Stephan by an inch. A smile crept on her lips and her eyes went wide, she crept closer. "You're going to die if it's the last thing I do!"

She swung one last time, as hard as she could. But this time Stephan took his last stance and grabbed for the pipe, he was successful. He grabbed a hold of it as Hollie roared with anger. She tried pushing him back and knocking him down to get one last shot. But Stephan had the advantage for he shoved the pipe right into her chest making her scream with pain.

Before Stephan had realized what he had done it was too late. The part of which he shoved into Hollie was sharp like a dagger, and he pierced it through her chest and heart. Stephan gasped in fear as Hollie looked down in pain. She went to grip the pipe but fell weakly to the ground. Her eyes fluttered until they were at rest, and her eyes permanently stayed looking up at Stephan.

"H-Hollie?" Stephan asked, trembling with the realization of what he had just done. He leaned down to her and started stroking her hair. "Hollie, please answer me!" He shouted, but she had not answered.

"Oh my god!" Sara yelped as she looked down trying to avoid the painful scene.

"HOLLIE!" Stephan screamed and began sobbing; he looked up to the group and saw the many expressions of pain and remorse. "Oh my god, I'm so sick of this. I'm loosing more than gaining. I didn't mean to." He covered his face with his hands and sobbed loudly.

"Stephan, we need to go—we still have a chance to survive." Buddy had said while helping Stephan up. "This shit is scary and horrible I admit that, but we cannot let that stop us from what we really want. To live another day, c'mon Stephan lets get out of here."

Stephan allowed Buddy to help and struggled to walk, so Buddy helped him along the way. The group had followed in silence and Stephan looked back one last time before he knew that he would probably never see her again.

"Oh god, this is getting out of hand" The man said.

"It was merely an accident, one of the many to come." John said with a smirk.

"You, you did this!" The man exclaimed.

"Of course I did." He smile widened. "And in time you'll understand why."

The man stared at John, and for the first time he felt fear from within.

"Oh my god man, this is getting too creepy now." Luis said.

"I can't believe that really happened, and now she's dead." Emily said softly.

"Well where are they headed next—"

As soon as that question was asked by Victor, the screens went black; leaving the four in almost complete darkness, except for the scattered lights within the room.

"What the hell happened?" Brittany said.

"We've seen all we can see on these screens" Emily replied. "This also means, that I have no clue what will happen next."

"This is beginning to become too much…" Brittany whimpered.

"Are you alright?" Buddy asked.

"Haha, funny you should ask that—no!" He replied.

"Well you still have your sarcasm, gatta love that shit." He let out a weak laugh.

"So where are we headed?" Jasmine asked, not far behind.

"Well this hall seems to be only one way, so we'll follow it till we find something." Stephan informed.

"And if it's our death waiting for us?" Sara said almost monotone.

"We've got to be prepared for anything." Jaya said, "And that also means the possibility of another one of us dying."

The group went silent and continued walking, that thought had crossed everyone's mind. The point was that Jaya was the only who made it sound real by saying it out loud. Things we're getting bad and it only seemed to be getting worse.

"What's going to happen now?" Luis asked.

"I don't know!" Emily replied, panting. She was scared and she didn't give a crap if it showed.

"Emily, are you alright?" Victor asked.

After walking for what seemed like a long hour, it had only been a short time before they started hearing voices. They all stopped and listened closely, and they all heard it.

"Is it real?" Jasmine asked.

"It better be. That's all I'm saying." Jaya replied.

"Its gatta be real, we're all hearing it." Sara added.

"Then let's find out." Buddy and Stephan said in union.

They continued walked a bit further until they had reached a door, it was a door that looked like it slid open, and beyond that they heard a conversation. Stephan looked back at the group who all looked as eager as he did. So he worked up the strength to open it. Once the door was opened everyone was in shock. But only two remain appalled after the gasps that surrounded them.

"Emily?" Stephan asked softly.

"Stephan…" Emily replied, holding back tears.

John sat their almost bursting with laughter, "And now the games truly begin."