{ Elliot }

Going through the remainder of the horror house was entertaining. To Elliot, at least. Sylvia seemed to jump when so much as a speck of dust landed on her nose. She never left Edd's side and clung to his arm for most of their time there. They encountered Springtrap only once, and he scurried away into an air vent. Sylvia sighed in relief when he dissapeared.

After poking fun at numerous parts of the attraction and making it to the end, Elliot tried to pull the door open. It was locked, and didn't budge. "Alrighty," Belle said, crossing her arms. "Time to go back now." The red Exit sign above the door glowed a faint red, blinking and threatening to go out any minute.

The gang turned to go, still looking around the room for anything they might have missed their first time through. The empty mascot heads smiled at them as they walked.

"Hey, wait..." Skylar started, turning in a full circle. "Has anyone seen that purple-haired kid? What was his name... er... Percy?"

Nobody responded, but instead looked around. He wasn't anywhere to be seen. Vanished without a trace.

"Uh... where'd he go?" Edd asked, craning his neck to look down the dark hallway from which they had come.

"He obviously got left behind or just completely left," Belle chimed in. "No point in sitting here waiting for him if he really did leave. We might as well start heading back."

There was a quiet murmuer of agreement and the nodding of heads, and the five children started shuffling back down the hall.

Sylvia suddenly screamed louder than she had so far, falling back and hitting the floor with a thud. Edd yelled in surprise and picked her up under the bend of her knees. She was hyperventhilating and her eyes were wide with fear. Tears glistened on her cheeks, the Exit sign making them look red. Her entire body was shaking, and she kept sputtering about seeing another robot.

"There-there-there was a boy!" Sylvia yelled, her voice high-pitched with fear. "H-he was a robot boy, with a h-hat and he jumped at my face and s-screamed." Tears were flowing down her cheeks at this point, and she wrapped her arms around Edd's neck. "Take me home! Please! Get me out of here as soon as possible!"

Edd nodded. "Don't you worry Silv, we're gonna get you out right now." He turned to the others, who all wore the same concerned expression as they had two times previously in the horror house. "Come on, guys. Let's get moving."

Sylvia was carried by Edd as they made their way back through the building as quickly as possible. Elliot's heart was racing in her chest. This was exciting for her. She was concerned for her friend, but she was still having a really good time. She sure couldn't wait to go back to South Carolina and tell her friends about her crazy adventures.

They passed the security office. The front door was closed. Elliot didn't think much of it - It had probably just fallen shut or got blown by the wind. Or perhaps Percy closed it on his way out. She decided to open the door for the others, mainly so Sylvia could get out and back to her parents as soon as possible.

The door clanged, but just like the back one, did not open.

"Huh?" Elliot mumbled to herself, using her shoulder to jam the bar on the door. The lock clanged again but it didn't budge. "Crap." The others made sounds of impatience as Elliot hesitated to open the door.

"What's taking so long?" Belle asked, giving the door a shove. Still nothing. Confusion crossed her face. "What the hell?!" She demanded, kicking the door with her foot. "Why isn't the door opening?"

"Maybe they forgot, and locked it?" Skylar asked in a halfhearted mumble.

"Oh yeah Skylar, our parents just freaking left us. No big deal, it's not like we're their kids or anything!" Belle retorted with stinging sarcasm, her face scrunched up in anger.

"Gee, don't have to be a jackass about it!" Skylar shot back. "At least I'm trying to help. Kicking the stupid door won't solve any of our problems!"

"Neither will stupid suggestions that make no sense!" Belle hissed, clenching her teeth.

"Just shut the hell up and let me think!" Skylar yelled, walking away from the group and rubbing her temples in concentration. She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a frustrated sigh. "Damn it, damn it, damn it," she repeated over and over to herself.

Belle rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, sulking and giving the door a hard stare. If she had lazer vision, the door would probably have gotten seared in half at this point.

Sylvia let out a low moan of sadness. "I just want to leave," she mumbled with a small sob. Edd shushed her softly and adjusted his grip so he could hold onto her better. Before long Sylvia would probably have another hallucinaton. Elliot wanted to get out before that happened.

Skylar let out a yell of anger. This was ridiculous. Why would they just lock the door, and then not let the kids out when they heard them banging?

"We have to think reasonably about this," Skylar said, walking back up to the group. "Obviously if the door fell closed, it wouldn't be locked. They wouldn't lock it if we were in here."

"And Percy is gone," Sylvia added. Her voice was muffled from Edd's chest.

Skylar snapped her fingers and then smacked herself in the forehead. "That sketchy Percy kid! He must have locked us in here. But wouldn't they see him come out and wonder why we weren't with him...?"

Belle, who had been staring at the door the entire time, finally turned. Her face had a dark expression and her black eyes swirled with thought.

"That means he's still in the building..." she said.