One Killing Maze

Chapter 24

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Those words rang in Liu's head as he traveled along with Y/n, Toby, Bloody Painter, Jerry, and Armen. Was this something Masky would do? Allow a group of six to go investigate the door in the deceased CEO's private office? Well, to be fair, Masky didn't specifically mention to Liu what he should and shouldn't; they were also unsupervised...or, well, they were supervised, but nobody knew who was in charge.

Y/n was visibly on edge. Her head turned from left to right at each door they passed, afraid that someone would jump out at them... There was a certain chill in the air that she couldn't shake off, as if they were being watched...but, still, she was with her friends. Even if she wasn't able to herself, they'd keep her safe.

Right?

Her grip on the bat tightened.

These halls though, each turn was familiar. She knew where they were heading, but even with the unfamiliarity of the scenery, the walls and floors deteriorated, and she could still see and remember how they looked before.

Down the hall, she could spot the wide doors, the doors that led her to the final confrontation with her father. Y/n's eyes stared onward, through the doors and into the dark room, expecting someone, just like her father, to be waiting behind those same doors.

Though, Bloody Painter walked through the wide entrance without hindrance, his steps light against the floor. She watched as Ticci Toby did the same, but the broken bits and pieces under his boots crackled from the weight. Armen followed after, but Liu stayed out of the room with Jerry and Y/n.

"You okay?" Jerry looked over at Y/n with cautious eyes. She glanced at him, noticing the way he gripped hard on his weapon, a knife that Doctor Smiley had handed to him before they separated. He was just as nervous as she was. The female did her best to smile.

"Yea," she whispered, "yea.. I'll be fine."

She, in return, gave a small smile, trying her best to seem confident and prepared for what was to come, but the fact was that Y/n didn't know if she was ready to face whatever or whoever was beyond this door. Even walking through the cold threshold, her thoughts did not change.

The room was dark, the only light they had came from the doorway they entered through, which was barely enough considering the moon was just coming out. Papers, whether forgotten or left here, scattered the floor, blending in with the once sleek floor, now grey upon aging all this time. There were a few undistinguishable items tossed near the corners of the room, and she could only assume it was broken furniture or random trash left behind by curious visitors.

Jerry entered after her, stepping over a piece of fallen stone, and stood by her side. Liu remained outside in the hall, basically acting like a lookout for the group if they were to be taken by surprise.

Bloody Painter made a motion over to where he was standing and then placed a finger on his mask's lips. The group nodded in understanding. He then ghosted his hands along the wall, pieces of old grime crumbling from his bare touch, then, he paused. The dark-haired male hooked his fingers underneath something carved into the wall and pulled, hard.

There was a sharp groan from the wall, but the hidden door gave way under the surprisingly sharp pull from the painter. He tugged once more, allowing more space to appear between the opening, big enough for one person at a time.

"Whoever is down there definitely heard that," Jerry mumbled quietly, but even in the silence, everyone could hear his words. Bloody Painter's head had already been staring in his general direction so Y/n could only assume that there was a glare being shot from behind his mask.