"A" felt awkward around the two crying girls. Zoey was rather silent about it, while Lindsey was rather loud. He wanted to help them, but he didn't know how. Comfort wasn't exactly his specialty. But still, he couldn't just leave them alone.

Zoey desperately wished she would've gotten poisoned instead of Brian. She deserved it after what she did to Dallas. If the antidote choice had been between her and Lindsey, there wouldn't have been a choice. She would have given it to her without a second thought. That way a strong friendship didn't have to be ruined. She hated seeing her friend like this. She figured Lindsey might have been sad if she died, but she wouldn't have seemed so.....broken.

Zoey's thoughts were interrupted by a chiming sound.

"A" went paler. He made frantic gestures towards the grandfather clock ahead of them. It was a tall, wooden clock with a thick glass door that had a dark pendulum inside of it. It had a gold face with an extra number. The smallest hand was pointing to the thirteenth hour.

"Break the clock!" his voice was rising to a panic. "The note said to break it when it's at the thirteenth hour! You have to break it! Please trust me, you need to!"

"How?" Zoey asked. She attempted to kick the door, but it did no good.

"A" didn't have a response. He couldn't give away important information, plus he didn't know the answer even if he was allowed to tell.

Lindsey felt something gripped in her hand: her sword. She had been so distracted she almost forgot it was even there. She slashed at the door, which shattered instantly. "A" looked relieved, but she swung at the clock again. Both "A" and Zoey felt it was a good idea to back up.

Lindsey continued to take her emotional grief out on the clock. "I hate-this-stupid-game!" she yelled between slashes. "It's not fair. And all these rules, I hate them! I hate them so much!" She broke into more crying at the end of her outburst. She stepped away from the clock, revealing that it was now cut up into several pieces.

"A" didn't think it needed to be broken that much, but he was just thankful that they didn't just ignore it like his group did.

He led both girls down the hallway until they reached the gorge. Just before it's entrance was their fifth and final note. Zoey read it aloud this time.

To Whom it May Concern,

Finding this means you've made it to the underground passage. There is only one way across the chasm you see in front of you. Only "A" can get you through the secret passage. Of course, he can only get you through if you find it. If you no longer trust me, then you could always try to use the cart to carry you; that is, if you want to tempt fate. This house is not yet out of tricks. There is one final challenge awaiting you across the gorge. The whispers of the underground depths will try and mislead you; do not listen to their lies. The voices speak only of deception. The minute you've made your way back above ground, you will find yourselves in a garden. There will be but one path guiding you. Follow it and finish the game. End it now. Darkness has fallen.

-M

They looked over the edge. There was no way to tell how deep it was. The entire chasm was pitch black. Above them was a cart that was loosely attached to a thin cord. It looked like it would fall off if it had to support even the slightest bit of weight.

Tempting fate did not seem like a good idea.

How are we supposed to get across, Zoey wondered. "A" was only allowed to lead the way if they found it first.

Suddenly, a faint, muffled laughter filled the room. "A" looked like he was about to faint. He gripped Lindsey's shoulder for support. Since she was still unstable, his actions scared her and she accidently dropped the sword down the chasm. The sound of metal hitting the ground could be heard almost instantly.

Lindsey groaned, but Zoey had different ideas.

"Did you hear that?" she asked.

"Yes," Lindsey replied, upset. "I know, I messed up,"

"No," Zoey corrected. "The sword hit the ground in a matter of seconds. There has to be a ledge or something that's not very deep." She began to climb down the edge of the gorge.

"What are you doing?" Lindsey asked worriedly.

The ledge was only six feet down, so with Zoey's height, it was only a ten inch drop from her.

"Yeah, there's a ledge," she responded. "Guys come down." She felt around. There was a sharp drop off at the edge, but there was room for all three of them to stand on the ledge.

The other two followed her. Zoey picked up the sword and handed it back to Lindsey. She then tried to go to the wall to mentally measure how wide the ledge was. She kept moving to the right, but she could no longer feel the wall at one point. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could start to make out shapes. The hole in the wall was a tunnel.

This must be the underground passage from the note, she realized. Even if it looked like it led in the opposite direction, she knew it had to be it. She looked at "A" hopefully. "You know the way."

He looked extremely nervous, but he went in first anyway. The girls followed him through the underground maze. They had to stay close or they would lose him in the darkness.

The girls could hear raspy, unclear voices in a variety of different pitches. Although they were so muffled the girls couldn't make out what they were saying, they still made them feel uneasy. "A", however, shuddered in terror every time they spoke.

Lindsey wiped her eyes again. "Can you understand them?"

He nodded fearfully before leading them down another turn.

"What are they saying?" she pressed farther.

"Awful things...horrible things," he stammered slightly. "You don't want to know."

The voices always mocked him. It took all of his willpower not to faint.

After a few more malicious taunts, the three of them could make out a small beam of light ahead of them. It shone down on a rigid wooden ladder that led up to the ceiling. "A" breathed nervously. He knew what he had to do. He gestured for the girls to follow him. He climbed up the unsteady ladder and opened the trap-door that the light was shining through, revealing a beautiful garden that he had seen before.