After the shock of the snake prince wore off, EY bursted into tears. "I can't do anything right," she sobbed.

Miguel put his arm around her. "It's okay," he told her. "We all made it out of there. You'll be fine."

EY wiped her eyes with her hand and hugged him.

Lindsey, who was still looking for a way out, found the stairs that led back up to the main floor. At the foot of the staircase, there were two silver flashlights with a note attached to them.

Consider these your first clues. You should have brought them in the first place.

-M

She flipped the switch on one of the flashlights, turning it on. The light was dim, but visible.

"Zoey," she called. "Take this," she said, handing the other one to her.

"So are we going up the stairs?" Zoey asked.

"But what if it's a trap," EY panicked

"Or maybe it's part of a clue. Whoever -or whatever- it is that's sending us these notes might not be allowed to tell us certain things, but by placing it at the bottom of the stairs, it could be showing us to go up," Zoey suggested.

"Sure," Dallas agreed...sort of. "Or we go up because that's the only exit out of this room." He rolled his eyes at how much she was over-thinking this.

Either way, the group continued their journey upward. The staircase led them to a part of the house they hadn't seen yet. It was one of the long hallways. Painted pictures of unhappy people filled the walls.

"It feels like we're in one of those movies, where the pictures keep staring at you wherever you go," Dallas said, a little uneasy.

Zoey nervously shined her flashlight at one of the portraits. "Don't be stupid," she dismissed the idea, rather unconvincingly though. "That can't happen." She kept the light on it for a moment longer, just to be sure.

There were no doors along the hallway. There was only a V-shaped path at the end. In between the split hallways was a small table with another note on it. Lindsey grabbed it and spoke the message out loud again.

To Whom it May Concern,

Finding this means you've made it past the Snake Prince. Tread lightly and look where you're headed. This is all a game: There are rules to this horror house. Eight of you came in, six of you lived past the guards and gate. Only Five will continue from here. The sixth person will meet the other five somewhere else. Five of you must forge ahead. Only one of you will survive. All else are marked for death. Prepare yourselves, for there is an imposter among you. Maybe the imposter is reading this right not...or maybe only one of you is real. Listen here now, the quicker you spot the fake, the longer you hold off your fate. Figure it out. The darkness is calling. Deception is waiting...

-M

Zoey peered over her shoulder, although she had to stand on her toes to read anything. "What do they mean by imposter?" she asked.

Lindsey furrowed her eyebrows as she re-read the note. "I don't know." She paused for a moment. "I just don't think any of us would turn on eachother."

"Maybe they got possessed," Brian offered. He agreed with Lindsey that his friends wouldn't betray each other, at least not out of their own free will, but what if they didn't have it anymore.....

"Yeah, yeah, there's an evil spirit dude," Dallas said quickly. "But what about the split hallway?" he reminded them. "What about that problem? Who's going alone?"

Everyone went quiet. Nobody wanted to offer anyone else, and speaking up might be an act of volunteering.

"No one," Lindsey said, determined.

The rest of the group eyed her cautiously.

"Why should we have to play by their rules?" She explained using one of her strongest personal beliefs. "None of us want to go alone, right?"

The others murmured their agreement.

"Exactly," she said. "If we wanna go as a group, we will. It's not like they can stop us."

The house took her statement as a challenge. A challenge that it could easily meet. A gust of wind forced EY out of the right hallway and a wall slammed in front of her, completely blocking the entrance.

"God Damnit," Lindsey cussed from the other side.

"Guys?" EY's worried voice grew more shrill by the second.

"EY, can you hear me?" Lindsey called.

"Kind of," she squeaked back.

"Listen," Zoey told her. She felt awful, she could already hear her friend crying again. "The note said we would all meet up somewhere else."

"Kid, kid, kid. Don't worry," Brian assured her, "Just go down the other hallway. We'll see you soon, I promise."

EY looked down the left path. It was much narrower and the only light came from small candles attached to the wall. Normally she didn't mind darkness, but she hated everything about this place. "Okay," she agreed anxiously.

She stepped inside it. Figures, that she would be the one who got sent to go alone. She, the youngest. She, the nervous wreck without a flashlight. Why did the house pick her? It couldn't have been random, she thought.

Her eyes darted around the room with every sound she heard.

Her breathing was rapid. "I'm fine," she lied to herself. "I mean, I know I'm not the imposter and... so that means the imposter's not here....Oh No that means the imposter's in the other group. No, no, stop thinking like that.... They'll be fine...they outnumber it.. we're all gonna be fine..."

Talks to herself, a voice observed. She's an odd one.

EY gasped and turned around, only to find nothing there.

You are right, about your imposter point. He's not here, another one said.

But that doesn't mean you're in no danger here, a third reminded her.

"W-who are you?" EY trembled.

You don't need to know who we are, the second voice told her, but we know all about you.

Her eyes widened in terror. She quickened her pace as she got more and more nervous, desperately trying to get rid of the voices.

You're terrified, the first one explained.

You feel useless, the third added.

You don't contribute anything to your group.

You're not brave--

--or smart--

--or strong--

--or a leader--

--or independent.

Really all you've done is brought them here, the second one finished. I'm surprised they even wanted to keep you.

EY started crying again, knowing they were right. They chorus a wicked laughter that filled the hall. She covered her ears as she ran ahead, in an attempt to block out the voices.

Foolish child! The first one yelled. You cannot escape us, we are part of this house.

In an instant, all of the candles went out and lit up again one second later. When the lights returned, there was a cabinet beside EY. There was no lock on it and it shook violently.

"What's in there?" she asked fearfully.

Why don't you have a look? The third one suggested.

It might help you--

--it might hurt you--

--maybe neither--

--possibly both.

EY kept glancing back at the cabinet. She knew she really shouldn't check it, but she had to know what was in there.

"Tell me," she begged.

We could, the first one taunted.

But where's the fun in that, the second finished.

Maybe we should--

--but, then again--

--it's a--

--never mind--

--You don't need to know.

The echoes of the voices rang throughout her head. They wouldn't stop taunting her. She had to know what was in that cabinet.

She unclamped it and swung the top open. Inside was a knife like none she had ever seen, There was a black handle with a sharpened blade on each side.

She jumped backwards at the sight of it. She couldn't trust herself anywhere near weapons. She ran down the hallway, leaving the cabinet wide open as the voices continued to laugh.