One Killer Maze

Epilogue: Bloody Painter

The knock was normal, that's all that could be said about this knock. There were three knocks, all that seemed the same, and then the knocker opened the door. A male with black hair and deep, blue eyes. His skin was quite pale, but he looked fairly normal despite that. Upon spotting the unfamiliar face, Y/N recoiled away, to the farthest corner on the bed. The fuzzy, plaid blanket that was wrapped neatly around her body before now laid in a heap around her ankles. The male, who was about to step into the room, assessed the situation and paused in his attempt.

He slowly held up his hands, then slowly reached inside his hoodie (which seemed somewhat unnatural on him) and took out what seemed to be something small that fit between his thumb and index finger. He then moved it so that the color of the object faced forward, to Y/N. She narrowed her eyes, leaning forward to see what it was, but then leaned back with wide eyes. The object was a small, yellow pin with a smile on it.

"Helen.." Her answer was a breathy sigh of relief and her muscles finally relaxed. Her legs slid downwards, which, before, were up to her chest as a defensive stance. The male placed the yellow pin back within the hoodie's pockets and took a step within the room. He averted his eyes, looking a bit distressed himself.

"I thought...taking my mask off would cause a better reaction than having it on." He stated, shuffling nervously as he leaned against the wall, "I guess I was wrong.."

Y/N stared at him and smiled nervously. She shook her head, "well, I was just a bit nervous. I didn't know where I was and...this is my first time seeing you without it."

She turned her head to look around the room. It was small, her bed was tucked to the far corner of the room and there was a dresser against the middle of the wall across from her. There was a window with white fabric blinds covering the panes; cold light came through easily. She then turned her attention back to Helen, who still stood awkwardly, not knowing what to say or do.

"Um, could I ask a question?" It had been nagging at her the moment she had woken up. The male lifted his head and nodded slowly. She smiled at him.

"Where are we?" Her tone was a mixture of concern and worry. Concern that they were not in a good place and needed to leave. Worry because she did not recognize this place, even with her slowly returning memories, she knew nothing of this place. Helen cleared his throat.

"Somewhere safe...it's an apartment complex that...we use for emergencies in a secure location," he turned his head away, "I had Offenderman bring us here because we don't have much of a choice right now."

"We?" She repeated. He kept saying that.

"Well...you don't have much of a choice right now," he then turned his head, "I'll be right back."

Helen left the room, leaving Y/N by herself only for a few seconds before he returned, the mask now on his face. Y/N realized that it was probably an attachment of some sort. She could understand.

"After we left the facility, word had gotten out that you had killed someone outside of the maze." He explained, the small pause in his voice now gone from when he was without the mask, "the public isn't choosing a side, but there are people searching for you. Some with worse intentions."

"What...kind of intentions?" She didn't want to know, but the curiosity that there were people out there actually going on a witch-hunt for her made her slightly amused. The masked killer waved his hand in the air, trying to think.

"Hardcore fans of the show your father produced." Ah, yes. The fans that didn't exactly care what happened to the people on screen even after evidence of what was truly happening had gotten out. Though, with this information, Y/N laughed. It was dry and lifeless, but it was a laugh. Helen stared at her, his head cocked slightly to the side.

"I'm sorry, but," she grinned, brows furrowed together as her mind collected this information, "I can't believe after all this time...people would still support it."

"Yea, well," there was a bitter tone to his voice, "some people think killing a murderer will solve everything in the world," he crossed his arms, walking to the front of her bed to peek out of the window. There was the faint sound of a car driving by nearby, but it faded away in the distance. Now, when she listened close enough, there was the soft pitter-patter of rain outside. This gave her some sense of contentment. At least some things didn't change.

"Are you okay?" Helen suddenly spoke up. The dull holes in the mask that represented his eyes stared into her soul. She searched the mask for a moment, but let her head hang. Her brows were still furrowed and her head began to throb. Why was everything so loud? Why did everything have to be so difficult? The bed dipped to her right, but she didn't lift her head, "you don't have to tell me what's going on, but at least look at me."

His voice had suddenly gotten so much softer than it usually was. The spite and venom that had laced his tone just a few moments ago were now gone, replaced with sincerity and care. Y/N sighed quietly and lifted her head, her E/C eyes misty, but she refused to let any tears fall. Not in front of him. Not in front of anyone.

"Don't just grin and bear it. You're safe here," he placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking it softly, "you're not in there anymore, so you don't have to put on an act."

"But what's the point when everyone is gone?" She blurted, "everyone I cared for in there is...gone."

Helen fell silent. For a moment, it seemed that he wanted to say something, but bit the words back much to his disappointment. Maybe he could tell her some other time, "you need to care about yourself, Y/N. Life isn't going to stop and wait for you."

She glanced down at her lap once more, but Helen quickly pulled her forward, against his chest, which was humming with warmth.

"You're enough, Y/N. Please don't say those things." He wrapped both his arms around her so she couldn't pull away and refuse his help. Y/N squeezed her eyes shut and moved her body forward so it was in a more comfortable position, closer to him, and wrapped her own arms around his back, her face burrowed in his shoulder.

"It'll be over soon, Y/N, I promise."

~

Route completed.

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