Kelvin sighs. "Daniel!! You're so dumb!" He exclaims. "People are dying! Dying!"

"Now Kelvin, don't be rude." Lyra smiles at me sympathetically as I recount my 'love story.'

"It's life or death, and all he cares about is a girl!"

"A pretty girl."

"That doesn't matter! This isn't the place for romance."

I nod slowly. "Yeah, I know, but Kelvin, nobody likes me! Ever!"

He raises an eyebrow and gives me what Lyra calls 'the look.' "Daniel, literally everyone likes you except..." He trails off and his eyes light up. "Except Raiden! You're trying to make up for the fact that one person doesn't like you by giving yourself someone that likes you double-ly."

"I wouldn't say–"

"That does make sense." Lyra agrees with a soft yet defined nod. "It has to be hard to find someone that doesn't like you for the first time ever."

"There are actually a lot of people that hate me... or rather more than one..."

"That's not important! It's also not true! Everyone likes you! Everyone here at least. Raiden doesn't hate you. He's just a grumpy, unfriendly turd." Kelvin grabs my arm and leads me to the door. "I'll show you! Let's go make an appointment!"

"An appointment?" I ask.

"My dad taught me that when people aren't friendly it's just 'cause they're not ready! So when they don't want to talk to you, you just have to make an appointment, so they're ready." He explains as if it's the most amazing thing he has ever said.

Lyra laughs and takes her brother's hand off my forearm. "I don't think that'll work. Why don't you just encourage Daniel to ask this girl out? That would probably quiet him down for a while." She winks at me and leads Kelvin back into the room.

Kelvin shakes his head but says "Okay" at the same time. "Go for it, Daniel! She obviously likes you... I think! Honestly, I'm not sure, but you should still do it." 

"I will." I agree with a strong nod. It's obvious that Kelvin just wants me to shut up, but it still feels quite real to the part of me that wants to believe it. "I'll go now. Want me to let you know how it goes?" I ask with a hopeful smile. 

"No! Don't tell me!" He exclaims, covering his mouth quickly afterward. "I mean... I'm sure it'll be fine. Don't worry. You don't even have to tell me because I'm so sure...!"

I shake my head but wave to the siblings. 

"Good luck," Lyra says with a smile. "I'm sure it'll go well." 

"Thank you." I leave the room and head to the group. 

Jasmine immediately notices my return. Her eyebrows are furrowed in thought and her hands trembling. She approaches me quickly, looking me in the eyes with a fearful expression. "Daniel–"

"Shhh. It's okay. It's always okay. See? I made it back safe just like I promised. I even have something I need to tell you. I probably should've told you a while ago. It's still okay though. I can tell you now. At least, I think I can. I should be able to." 

"Daniel, please shut up." Her voice trembles almost as much as her hands. She looks away. "I know it's probably important, and you'll probably never get another opportunity to say it, but something happened, and you need to know about it." She takes a deep breath, and I stay silent. "Asher's gone. I don't know where he went. He disappeared, and I have a really bad feeling about it. Caspian went out looking for him, but that was a while ago. He should be back now. They should be back. They're dead. I know it. They're dead, and we're all going to die. I-I know we will." Tears slide down her freckled cheeks, and I decide against telling her how I feel. 

"They're not dead," I say, pulling the frightened girl into a hug. "Don't worry. We won't die. They won't die. It'll be okay. I promise. I'll take care of you" 

Jasmine carefully pushes away from me. "Don't make promises you can't keep..." 

"I'll keep all my promises. Come on. I'll prove it. Let's go find Asher." I step into the room and notice Maddie on her phone, Saskia reading a book in a language I don't understand and Mercutio drawing on the floor with a stray piece of chalk. "Mercutio?" I call, catching the dark-haired boy's attention. "Can you watch over the group until Jasmine and I get back?" 

"Of course." He nods. Maddie glares at me, but she doesn't object to my choice of leader. 

I take Jasmine's hand and lead her into the hallway outside the group room. We walk for a while, exploring the maze of hallways and seemingly endless rooms. At some point, I realize I really need to pee. The lights flicker off and on the whole way. Time passes in our search, and we arrive at one of three bathrooms. I'm immediately reminded that I have to pee and give Jasmine's hand a light squeeze. 

"Hey, I gotta use the bathroom. Wait here, okay? I don't want to lose you. Just stay right here," I say, dropping her hand. 

"Okay," She replies simply. Her expression screams fear, but her tone has calmed down. She waits beside the door while I go inside. 

I do what I have to do and wash my hands before going to exit the room. When I get to the door, I notice the lock is stuck, which happens a lot to my family. "Jasmine?" I call. "The door is stuck. Can you try opening it from your side?" 

No response. 

"Hey, Jasmine, are you still there?" I ask, trying to hide the mild panic in my voice. "Please help with the door." 

Again, no response. 

"Jasmine?" I say, shouting this time. I begin fiddling with the doorknob. it still doesn't open. "Jasmine?!" I hit the door, hoping maybe it'll open, but it doesn't. I push all my weight into the door. "Hello?? Please! Jasmine!" No matter how hard I push, the door won't budge, so I begin banging on it. "Hello???" I decide the banging is useless and switch to a running start. I run into the door twice before it swings open. Interia sams me into the wall opposite the door. 

"Woah. You okay?" 

I turn to face the person on the other side of the door. Brown eyes, dark hair, very tan skin. Not Jasmine. "Ashlynn? Have you seen Jasmine? She was supposed to be here. I told her to wait." 

"Jasmine?" 

"Dark brown hair, somewhat dusty complexion, freckles, purple sweatshirt," I list, hoping to jog Ashlynn's memory. 

"Sorry, no, I haven't seen–" A muffled scream cuts the other girl off. Mid-range male with softer undertones. Asher. 

"Jasmine!" I exclaim, running off in the direction of the scream. Ashlynn follows me. I can see the confusion in her eyes, but that doesn't matter to me. It doesn't take long for the overwhelming scent of blood to fill the air. 

I skid to a stop at the pool of blood leaking from the doorway. Ashlynn gasps, and I can't bring myself to look in the room. She pushes past me and enters the room. I open my eyes and stare in shock. Asher has been destroyed beyond recognition. There's a large, gaping hold in his chest as if something was pushed through him. His head is twisted 180º. It's his blood that leaks from the room, one hand stretched toward the doorway as if in one final desperation to pull free. I study him to stop myself from looking across the room. 

I finally do look at the other side of the room. Jasmine found Asher before she died. The wall behind her has an 'I'm sorry' painted across it in her blood, but she almost looks unharmed. Her eyes are closed, and she lays on her side. A thin trail of blood drips from the corner of her mouth, and tear stains cover her cheeks, but she's smiling. The killer folded her hands beside her head. If not for the blood pooling around her matted hair, I would've guessed she was asleep. 

"Jasmine...?" I utter in disbelief. "You're okay, right...?" I can't get over how content she looks. I can't get over the idea of her being dead. "C-Come on... We have to go back to the group. They need us. They need you. I need you. You were right... I'm sorry. Just please get up. I won't make any stupid promises ever again. You were so right..." For a moment I think I see the edges of her mouth twitch up into a bigger smile, but it's all my imagination. I can hear her voice in my head telling me how foolish I am. Her relaxed expression taunts me. 

"Daniel?" A hand on my shoulder snaps me from my thoughts. I look up at Caspian. He's crying but silently. I can't restrain my full out sobs. "I'm sorry... She-She liked you a lot..." 

"Where were you...?" I ask quietly. "Why weren't you with us?" 

"I was looking for Asher." He explains softly. "I never would've guessed that she would find him first..." 

I think back to her words. She had told me that Caspian was searching for our leader. I guess he's too late, too. "She knew she was going to die..." I whisper. 

"What do you mean?" 

"She said it earlier today. She knew. I should've listened." 

"Daniel, that's how she was. Jasmine was convinced that she had the worst luck. She obsessed over bad things to a point where it was unhealthy. I know you didn't know her very long, but She had to have mentioned something before now..." 

I nod slowly, remembering her fixation with her own death. How had I forgotten? "You're right." I murmur, smiling up at him. "I-It's okay...! It's all okay...! I-I hardly knew her...!" It's true, but the words don't change anything. "You should stay with her... I'll just go say goodbye to Asher." 

Caspian shoots me a sad look but nods. "Okay... take care of yourself..." He kneels beside her body, and I move into the crowd. 

"Daniel, I'm sorry," James mutters quietly as he brushes past me. He leaves the room before I can offer any reply, but he is quickly replaced by the siblings. 

"Are you okay...?" Kelvin asks, noting my smile and my tears. 

"Of course not," Lyra replies with a sharp glare at her brother. "If you ever need to talk, feel free to come and see us. I'm sorry for your loss." 

"Ashlynn was with me when Jasmine died. She's not the killer." I say, ignoring their words. "You can take her off the list." 

"Daniel, you don't have to pretend to be okay, you know. We're there for you." Lyra says.

"I'm okay," I reply, shaking my head. "Thank you both. I'll come and check in later." 

Kelvin looks like he's about to say something, but Lyra ushers him from the room. 

I take a deep breath. "I'm sorry Asher, Jasmine... I never meant to let you down." I whisper. I turn to leave the room, but Mercutio stands in my way. 

"Daniel?" Saskia steps up to join him. "What do we do?" She asks. Both of them are crying, and I realize that I let Asher and Jasmine down, but I could still save the others. 

"We're not safe here. Let's find a new place to stay. I'll keep you safe." My eyes travel to Maddie standing in the doorway. "I'll keep all of us safe."