It didn't take long before they hurried and went upstairs. They went together, along with a reluctant Damon. The four were on constant guard, indirectly shielding each other in case if Ashlyn would ambush them from nowhere. But even after they had retrieved all cards from Oliver and Bree's room, and returned to the locked door again at the west wing, nothing happened. They heard no sounds of suspicious activities.

Where was Ashlyn hiding?

It shouldn't be their main concern at the moment. Ethan laid the seven mission cards in order of the games they had played.

Three things to remember as you enter the aquatic chamber. An allotted time is bestowed, to retrieve your assigned zodiac code. An electrifying surprise will then activate, eliminating those who failed to locate. Refuse to participate and what awaits you is a doomed fate.

One person holds the gun; pull once, twice, or thrice and then you're done. Hand it over to the player on your right; there is no need to be polite. Figure out the appointed number before it's due, if survival is what you pursue. You may find them some place familiar, try looking between the room's pillar.

Six minutes are obtained, to vote off a person you have ordained. Different names will rotate on the screen, becoming your target for this murder scene. You may choose to kill, which exempts you from the hitlist drill. Or you can be safe and heal, by using a special item to appeal.

Five hours are granted to choose a room where each individual shall be planted. A trap is hidden within a certain room, your job is to solve the mystery and stop this doom. A seeker is selected, to save a person in the room expected. Should you fail to succeed, the victim will suffer death without a plead.

Two people are united, to find the matching cards to be sighted. Each contains a deadly method; hurting your partner in a way you suggested. Find a match thrice in order to end this vice.

Four types of punishment are available to you, as you wait in the chamber for one to come through. Another person selects the questions for your sake, answer it well to see another daybreak. A single chance to help another, will add the punishment to your own number. Obtaining a perfect hundred, however, puts an end to this quizzical endeavor.

Seven games you have played, take turns to answer the questions I have made. Remember the games of the past, revisit them without feelings of aghast. You possess the answer since the beginning, but a closer reading could lead to your winning.

"Do you see the clue?" Ethan then asked. He watched the frown appear between Maddie's eyebrows. She was smart. He was sure she could figure it out the same way she had figured out the message behind the Game Master's notebook.

"Look for a pattern," he instructed.

Damon and Jay were also staring along, trying to see it. But not one minute had passed, and Damon showed his extreme dissatisfaction.

"Why don't you just tell us the answer?" He grunted.

"I've got it!" Maddie's blaring volume interrupted his complaints. "All these poems start with a number."

Damon and Jay took a look and realized she was right. The very first sentence of every mission card started off with a number. It couldn't be mere coincidence. Perhaps this was the pattern—the answer they were looking for.

"I am guessing these numbers represent the order we should put the code in," Ethan said, meeting the other's stare with hesitation. "It's worth a shot."

"How would it work?" Jay said. He was curious to solve it, and eager to go out.

"The first mission started off with the number three. What was the letter obtained from the first game?" Ethan said.

"V," Damon found himself reluctantly answering along. He moved to the lock and began to change the letter combination they tried before. The third slot was now filled with the letter V.

"The second mission states one. This is the Russian Roulette game, so the first letter is R," Maddie made the next deduction, seeing Ethan nod. She understood the actual cryptogram.

"Third mission starts with six. So the sixth letter is a G," Jay remarked.

"You guys are too slow." Damon sighed, staring at all the mission cards lined up. Instead of having to hear them explain everything one by one, he'd rather look at the entire thing and solve it. After memorizing the order, he entered the remaining letters on the lock. He froze.

"What's wrong? Did it work?" Maddie asked.

Damon turned to them, and they heard the click of the lock opening. It worked. They managed to solve the puzzle. But Damon did not seem delighted.

"It spells out revenge."

They gasped, having figured out that it was the main premise of the entire reason of them being locked. And yet, knowing this was Ashlyn's true intention actually made it a lot creepier.

"We need to hurry and get out," Ethan told them again, and this time Damon agreed.

He pulled the door open, preparing himself for whatever surprises may lay behind the door, even if it was Ashlyn greeting them with an axe in her hand.

But to their greatest surprise, the door opened to reveal another room. It was much smaller in size in comparison with the other playrooms they had been in, almost like a small storage closet. Everything was dark, but there was a railed window on the top corner that allowed outside sun to enter—actual sun that was not part of the garden covered by an unbreakable material. The walls were made out of large stone bricks, like in an olden style dungeon. Water droplets dripped down from the wall occasionally, which added to the eeriness of the place.

There was a tall baptismal font in the center of the room with a stoney lid attached to it. Long skinny pipes or straws stuck out from every corner of the circular bowl—twelve of them. There was a small rectangular hole where these pipes penetrated through. And through it, they saw some clear odorless liquid inside.

"There's a door!" Jay yelled as soon as he spotted one. It was nearly invisible because of it's dark color that blended in with the equally dark walls. He was the first one to run to it, pushing against the black latch to open the door. But it did not work. The door was locked.

"I told you. The Game Master never intended us to escape this place," Damon said.

"No, wait!" Maddie yelled. She approached the door and saw something pasted on it that would be easily overlooked in the dark room. She picked it up, hearing tape unstick itself from the wall. It was another mission card.

A group of twelve friends, finally meet tomorrow's ends. To quench your thirst from the bloodbath, enjoy a drink to stop the wrath. Underneath you will obtain a key, that allows you to flee. Strychnine is contained in the water, which could be divided among twelve if there had been no slaughter.

Their body froze and their breathings were punctuated by short fearful gasps. They shared small eye contact with each other, all realizing one common mistake.

They had been playing the game wrong.

Maddie shut her eyes as warm tears threatened to appear. She brushed her hand over her hair to think back of the diary entries. The Game Master talked about friends leaving and division being the cause of men's greatest downfall. Since the very beginning of the game, they had already divided among themselves, causing their very own failure.

"We have been playing the game wrong," she stressed. "We weren't supposed to kill one another."

"What do you mean?" Damon asked.

"Strychnine is a dangerous poison to the human body if a lot is consumed. But when we consume a little, it could actually be beneficial," Maddie explained, having read from a novel. "We'd probably be fine if all twelve of us were here to drink it. Now it's just the four of us. We would consume too much of the poison and experience an overdose."

They realized the truth behind her words and wished they could turn back time. If only they had another chance to play the game, they would've played without sacrificing anyone else's life.

"Don't think of cheating," Ethan suddenly warned, looking at Damon. "We know what the Game Master is capable of, as with Harvey's case. If we don't obey the rules, we're dead."

Damon looked reluctant, folding his arms. He watched as Ethan was the first one to approach the straw, and placed it in his mouth. He was drinking up the poison. Soon Maddie followed. She always mimicked his movements anyway.

There was a sudden loud noise coming from the house. It alerted them all.

"Ashlyn found out where we are," Jay's voice trembled. He quickly closed the door they had left open the entire time, stressing about the fact they couldn't lock it from the inside. They had to hurry and quicken their escape regime. So he immediately bent down to the straw and began consuming the poison.

Damon knew he had no choice. He did not want to end up like Harvey and had to play by these stupid rules. Time was running out. Perhaps, his immune system was strong enough to withstand the strychnine poison anyway, so he joined the other three.

It was truly a pathetic and desperate sight. If only the twelve of them were still alive, they would've been done by now. But they continued consuming the tasteless liquid until their stomach was bloated, until they felt too nauseous to continue on. They had no choice but to keep gulping it down.

When the liquid was pretty much cleared up, they felt completely dizzy. Perhaps it was an effect of the poison, perhaps they exceeded their consumption limit.

Soon Jay felt something blocking the end of his straw. He peeked down through the small rectangular holes to try and spot what it was.

"It's the key!"

The others were alerted and copied his movements, noticing the key through their limited vision.

Damon used his long straw to try and fish the key out of the bowl. But the small silvery key laid idle on the bottom of the dry and empty baptism font. It was only until another straw aided him from the other side that the key flipped to his straw which perfectly entered the key's hole.

"You're welcome," Maddie said, knowing he would never show his gratitude. She made sure Damon could lift the key up without letting it fall. It was the final game of concentration, accuracy, and unity.

After the few seconds of dreaded silence that would determine their future, Damon finally managed to retrieve the key. The silver item passed through the small rectangular hole and landed right in the palm of his hands.

Damon ran to the door, and the rest followed him. He inserted the key into the hole, his movements becoming more rigid and impatient. He turned it over, and to everyone's surprise, heard the click of salvation. He let go of the key and latched the dark door handle, pushing it as the door opened.

Freedom was here.

The scenery was exactly how they remembered it to be. Deserted, lonesome, and tall grass everywhere in the middle of nowhere. The same bus that had taken them was still waiting on the road.

How many days had it been? Nothing seemed to have changed much. It was still very bright outside, probably the afternoon. The brimming sunlight cascaded over their gloomy situation.

Without saying a word, Damon was the first one to pass through the door. As soon as he was outside, the natural breeze of the wind gently touched the side of his skin. He did not deserve to see another break of daylight after having murdered his own friends, but what was done, was done. He couldn't go back.

He looked behind him as Ethan was about to walk out. If they had thought Damon had changed the slightest bit, they were wrong. It was still a game survival show, he believed, and only one winner could emerge.

So he exerted all his force on his leg when he harshly kicked Ethan against his chest, having the guy fall over with a loud grunt of pain. Then he shut the door on them.

Maddie yelled in fright when she quickly tried to catch Ethan. He looked hurt and couldn't move on his own. The mark of Damon's shoe was still on his shirt. "Are you okay?" She asked him worriedly.

"I think I twisted my ankle," Ethan spoke, hissing when he tried to make the slightest movement.

She hissed along at the painful sight and knew it was gonna be hard for Ethan to walk in this condition. "Jay, help me," she requested for backup.

Jay turned his head to them, so quick they could hear a bone snap. He looked conflicted and troubled. His eyebrows furrowed intensely, and his pupils dilated like he had seen a ghost. His chapped lips parted and finally showed his ignorance.

"Whatever," he muttered and quickly ran outside to follow after Damon who was already heading to the bus.

There was a crash to everything she believed in. The ones she had thought were her friends, or the ones she thought would change for the better after the game, turned out for the worse. "I can't believe them," she whimpered, her eyes collecting a pool of tears at the side.

"You should go ahead to the bus. I'll catch up," Ethan then said, placing his hand on top of hers, patting it once with his familiar warmth.

"But—"

"You can ask the bus driver to help carry me. You wouldn't be strong enough on your own." Ethan laughed.

How could he still attempt a joke during such a dreadful situation? But Maddie obeyed, knowing he was right. She squeezed his hand tighter and bend down to plant a quick chaste kiss against his lips. It wasn't romantic or sweet, but she wanted him to know she was going to return to his side.

"Wait here, I'll be right back."

With that, Maddie let go of his hand and pushed the door open. She sprinted outside as quick as she could to head to the bus. But instead, another horrifying sight awaited her. She thought they were done playing the Game Master's games, but she was wrong.

Damon picked up a mid sized rock in his hand and charged against Jay who was unaware of the situation. Without warning, Damon smashed the rock against the back of Jay's skull.

"Ah!" Jay's yelp was one filled with agony and pain. He fell down to the ground almost immediately, and could barely struggle himself free.

But Damon was far from done. He crouched on top of the poor boy's body and used the same stone to continue crushing the skull repeatedly. A pool of red poured out from the boy's wounded head. It smeared the edge of the rock and painted all of Damon's hand.

When he was sure that Jay was completely dead, he silently got off and stood up straight. He took the time to tidy off his shirt, only to realize someone had been watching. He turned around and saw Maddie's large frightened eyes staring at him like he was a monster. So he tightened his firm grip against the rock.

She was next.