Chapter 7: The Third Rest

In silence as they let the elevator take them to where it leads: Ryder sitting down with Drew, their hearts sinking to the very bottomless pit of shock; Evelyn was laying her back against the elevator wall, thinking silently. The sound of the elevator going either up or down was the only thing being heard inside, all of three of them stayed their mouths after they witnessed.

"I… couldn't save her," said Drew sadly, hugging his knees as he buries his head between them.

Ryder looked at Drew's hair, messy and oily; tired from everything. He looked away and lifted his head to look at the light bulb that hanged above in the elevator, staring at it as it sways slightly from the elevator's movement, "… I wish all of this could end quickly," Ryder thought as he slowly lowers his head to face the ground. He also thought of William, who he failed to save too.

Ryder and Drew regret what they didn't do so heavily, even Evelyn; who's expression exposed her. An hour passes and they still sat in deep silence, until the elevator tinged again. They all turned their heads to the elevator door as it opens, revealing the same room before every rest. Ryder stood up after Evelyn stepped off the elevator; about to followed suit; but he stopped as his head peeked out. He slowly turned around to look at Drew still hugging his knees and burying his face. Ryder gazed above him, before poking his head. Drew lifted his head slightly for his eye to see, and what laid in above him was Ryder's hand, urging him to stand up. Drew lifted his head more to look at Ryder, who gave him a smile and a reassuring nod, "Come on, we can rest after we get out of this place." His hand opened as it signals Drew to grab it.

After Ryder spoke, Drew looked back at his hand; deciding what to do. And in the end, he accepted it as he grabs its and stands up, nodding to Ryder before both them stepped of the elevator. Ryder and Drew walked to the exit door, where Evelyn was standing against a wall beside it; waiting for them. After seeing them two walking over, Evelyn stood up firmly as he looked at them, "… The door is opened, we can go through."

"Okay." Ryder nodded as he goes through the door.

Drew followed suit, but was stopped as Evelyn called his name, "Drew… I'm sorry about… Madi," she said apologetically, "I… wish I could've done more."

Drew turned his head to look at her, and when Evelyn was waiting for a glare of anger; she instead was given a smile and a nod, "Thank you… Evelyn; it means a lot."

After Drew and Evelyn exchanged words, they followed Ryder into the third rest location. And they saw him standing just near them, looking at all the contestants walking around and eating on tables as they talked each other. But the room they were in was quieter than the two previous rooms; there were a few contestants crouched down hugging their knees on many places in the room, possibly in shock, "I… guess everyone experienced the same thing as us," said Ryder, looking at a contestant mumbling something as their eyes was bloodshot and wide.

Evelyn and Drew walked beside Ryder, seeing what he seen; that everyone was quieter than usual, and some were deemed broken, "… I wonder how many of us are left," said Drew, looking at the people eating on the tables.

"…A lot of people died… maybe there is little now," said Evelyn, averting her eyes away from the sight, and instead looked at the side to see another door, "There." She called and pointed.

"The rooms must be there, we should change and get some rest while we can," said Evelyn, looking at both Ryder and Drew.

"Yeah… we should," said Drew vaguely.

"Okay," added Ryder, "We should meet back here to eat after we get some rest."

They all nodded at each other before walking towards the door Evelyn pointed, passing a bunch of contestants; but they were not quite as noisy like before. As they were about to go through the metal double door, Ryder stared at the door as it opened, revealing somebody going through from the other side, and in his surprise or perhaps dismay, was Sine; the man who choked him back at the maze, "Oh… it you," said Sine in a deep voice, "I thought you died… makes my headache worse now that you're actually not."

"…Hello Sine," said Ryder, trying not to sound annoyed, "We just want to pass throu—"

"And I see your little lady friend is still with you." Sine turned his eyes on Evelyn, which replied it with an annoyed glare, "My headache is even worse now."

"Look!" exclaimed Ryder, "We just want to rest, now please; step aside Sine."

Sine stepped forward to face Ryder, "Or what?" he said, trying to scare Ryder, "You still haven't paid for interrupting me and William; and if you ask me, it was your fault that he is dead."

"And if you ask me," said Ryder glaring at him, "You ran like a chicken, you didn't even look back to see what happened to William."

"You son of a—." Sine lifted his arm as he clenches his fist, ready to hit Ryder on the face; but before he could swing, somebody grabbed his elbow, making him stopped and look to see who it was that blocked him, "Who in the h—"

"There is no need for that here Sine," a man said, prevent Sine's fist from swinging.

As Sine looked at his angered face, he unclenched his fist and let down his arm, "This is none of you business, Trevor," said Sine angrily as he stared at the eyes of the man named Trevor.

Trevor was a tall man, faint white hair and black eyes that was behind a pair of glasses. He looked back at Sine, "We have suffered enough as it is; these people just came from hell, they need some rest." He gave Sine a piercing glare.

Sine's eyes twitched in annoyance, with his hands almost clenching; but he did not want to cause a scene with Trevor, "Fine! Have It you way!" He stormed away from them.

"Damn you..." he mumbled angrily before disappearing into the crowd.

After seeing Sine walk away, Ryder and Evelyn turned their eyes to Trevor, with Drew being the last to look for he was still confused about what just happened, "I'm sorry that he bothered you," said Trevor apologetically, "He is a loose cannon that needs to be checked on, but only sometimes I can be there when he does blow up."

"My name is Trevor — Trevor Jelyn." He extends his hand towards Ryder.

Ryder looks at his hand, hesitantly shaking it, "… Ryder — Ryder Zean." He then moves his hand to point at Evelyn and Drew, "This is Drew, and Evelyn."

They nodded at Trevor, not speaking a word, "Nice to meet all of you," said Trevor with a welcoming smile, "Well, I won't disturb you any longer; you three deserves some rest after that horrific game."

After Trevor waved goodbye to the three of them, he walks away to disappear into the crowd of people eating. The three of them finally walked through the door, trying to find empty rooms for them to rest in. And when they found a few unoccupied rooms, Ryder turned to Evelyn and Drew, "Okay, this is it," he said, facing them both, "We will meet back at the main room after we're done; I'll see you two later."

"Rest well Ryder, I'll see you soon," said Drew, waving them goodbye as he walks away.

"… Try to be careful Ryder, I still don't trust these people here…" said Evelyn vaguely, walking away as well.

Ryder waved them goodbye before walking towards a hallway where an empty room was situated. Ryder went to its metal door, turning the doorknob before going through. The room was still the same as any other, even back at the previous games: concrete floors and walls; some corners dripped water; and there were a bunch of pipes attached on the ceiling. But it didn't bother Ryder, instead walked over to the mattress that laid on the cold concrete ground and made his body fall onto it; trying to relax his body and calm his mind before sleeping, "… Dear God, just this one time; no more nightmares," he prayed before drifting to sleep.

And in his unnoticed surprise, not only was he not given nightmares, but instead dreams of him with his family. A happy memory replaced the darkness that often lingered in his mind when he slumbered. A memory of him sitting on a couch in their living room, with his sister drawing pictures of animals and houses; he looks to the side where the kitchen was located, and he saw his mother boiling a pot of rice and cooking his favorite soup. A smile donned his face — a smile he longed for so many years, hoping to change it when he finally finishes the game and go home to his family. But his smile only lasted for a minute, someone came down the stair of their house, stopping at the door as they called out, "Brother!" A familiar voice in Ryder's ears — he immediately turned his head to look.

"I'll be out for a while; Don't wait for me!" His brother said, walking out of the door and waved Ryder goodbye with a warm smile.

But to Ryder, it was anything but good; his eyes turned wide as he forces his body to move towards his brother before it was too late, "NOOOOO!"

And what he feared came to pass, he saw his brother leaving their house and into the outside world; where he stared with his attentive eyes, the very thing he was afraid to see… again. He tried his best to force his body move, but he couldn't. His eyes stuck as his brother was about to cross the street. A distant sound came into his ear — the sound a truck — and it only made him try harder to move, but still, he couldn't. Lingering of the view of his brother, and there he wanted his eyes plucked out. The sight was slow, like the dream wanted him to savor every regret and despair its could to Ryder as he stared — he wanted to scream.

"CRASH!"

And in that moment, the dream wasn't good after all; it was still a nightmare. He lowered his head to shed a tear as the living room around him melted into blood. The face of his sister melted into her own drawings, and his mother melted into the pot that she used to cook. When everything fully melted, it faded slowly into the familiar darkness that Ryder loath more than anything, or maybe the second thing that he loath. Without even noticing, he was now sitting on the dark floor; for the couch he sat on melted also. His head was staring at his knees, with his hands laying down on them and facing him. He cried silently as his tears flooded his cheeks and into the shirt he wore. After an unknown time, somebody walked up in front of him; he didn't need to look up to know who it was. He saw its feet and legs, covered in bandages.

"Hmph," he grunted, slowly looking up to the same damaged figure looking down on him, but his despair took hold instead of his fear of it.

"What…" he said weakly as he cried, "…do you want from me?"

He stared at its bloodshot eyes, refusing to back down, but not because of bravery. The figure stared back, looking his tears and his tired eyes; it slowly lowered its head to speak to Ryder, "What I want…" said the figure in a deep voice, "… Is to fade; for I am here… because of what you feel."

"…Then show me how…" said Ryder weakly.

"… I cannot — for you are the key… and the lock; it is you who must decide to be open or shut…"

A door suddenly appears beside them, making Ryder turn his head and look, but not the figure; who stayed his eyes on Ryder, "You will always dream like this while you are in; and you will continue until the very end," said the figure, lifting his head back to stand firmly. He then walks towards the door while Ryder's eyes followed him, and before he walked through the door, he turns around towards Ryder.

"…Be careful," said the figure somehow softly, "It is not I who kills you; not in this world, and not in the place that you have stumbled upon."

After speaking to Ryder, the figure turns around and walks through the door, leaving the entire world behind him into light. And for once, he happily accepted it as he closed his eyes while the light devoured him and world. And he woke up. The sound of someone knocking on his room door immediately alerted him to get up from the bed, he looked at his hands and stayed thinking in his mind for a minute before the knocks forced him to stand up. He tried to look though the window of the door to see who it was, but it was too blurry to see through. And so, he grabbed the doorknob, slowly turning as he pulls the door opened slightly just to see who was knocking. At first, he saw no one at the door, except for a few contestants walking around. But before he was about to close the door, "Mr. Ryder!" a soft voice talked below him.

Ryder looked below and quickly opened the door, "Channe! You're okay," he gasped as Channe gave Ryder's legs a quick hug, "What are you doing here?" asked Ryder with a subtle smile.

"Miss Evelyn asked me to find you, she said you were in one of the rooms in this hallway; I guess I picked the right one, hehe," said Channe with a smile as he tugs Ryder's arm, "She asked me to tell you that she and Mr. Drew are at the main room eating."

"Okay, thank you for telling me, Channe," said Ryder happily, "I'll come with you after I finish changing my clothes."

"Okay!" said Channe excitingly as Ryder closes the door gently before taking off his shirt and hanging it on the pipes. After taking off the hanger with a clean jacket from the ceiling, he quickly slides it over his head and onto his body; fixing his hair afterwards. As he walked out of his room, Channe was waiting for him beside the door, sitting down with his legs crossed as he played with his bunny plush. And when he heard the sound of the door closing, Channe turned his head to see Ryder and stood up quickly, "Ready to go Mr. Ryder?" asked Channe smiling.

"Ready." Ryder stepped beside Channe as he holds his hand, "Let's go."

They both walked away from the door of Ryder's room and then out of the hallway, passing a bunch of contestants as they do so; and just like as they heard before, everyone was quieter than usual; with the lack of constant bickering. They walked through the same double door as before; As they took a step forward into the room, the place was calmer than before; many contestants were sitting on the ground, in groups as they gathered around a fire. And in one of those groups, someone waved at them to come, "Hey! Over here!" shouted someone from a near distance.

Ryder search the room to see who called him, turning his eye from right to left, and that was where he saw someone familiar that waved him.

"Come on!" It was Drew, waving for him to come towards their group.

Without a second thought, Ryder and Channe began to walk towards them; and as they arrived at their circle, another contestant waved at him with a wide smile, "Hello Ryder! It's nice to see you up and well!" It was Linsey, relaxing on the ground as she ate a can of food. And there was one other contestant that was with him, a man with faint red long hair wearing a white dirty shirt; eating a can of food just like Linsey, and a somehow clean guitar sat beside him.

"Sit here!" said Linsey, moving aside to make room for Ryder and Channe to sit.

As Ryder and Channe sat on the dry ground, Drew quickly gave him a half full can, "Sorry that it's opened; it was one of my leftovers when I realized I was already full." Drew scratched the back of his neck.

"I'll get some more for you Mr. Ryder!" said Channe excitingly.

"No, it's oka—"

"I'll come with you Channe, I need to find Evelyn anyway," said Drew interrupting Ryder as he stood up and walked over to Channe, "We'll be right back!" he said with a smile before walking away with Channe in hand.

Ryder looked at them as they walked away, confused about Drew's behavior. But he quickly shrugged it off as he grabs a spoon laying on the ground, wiping it with his jacket before using it on the can.

Linsey gazed at Ryder as he munched slowly, lowering her head to look at his eyes, "I… heard about Madi," she said sadly, her eyes almost tearing up, "I'm sorry that you had to experience that…"

Ryder drifted his eyes onto the food inside the can, trying to come up with a reply; but for a minute It laid silence, until he spoke, "… I'm sorry too."

"Well," said Linsey, "At least you're taking it better than that girl Evelyn; she didn't even whisper one word to me."

"Hehe, that's just how she is; even before what happened to Madi." He continued to eat the food inside the can, now almost entirely empty.

"Oh! And this is a friend of mine!" said Linsey, pointing at the man with long red hair just sitting on the opposite side of Ryder.

"Sup!" The man said cheerfully as he continued to eat like Ryder, "Name's John Kiri, it's always nice to meet one of Linsey's friends!

"…Hello," said Ryder with a weak smile, "My name's Ryder."

"And also, I'm sorry about what happened to Madi too, I met her back at the first rest; she was a good woman," John said, nodding apologetically to Ryder which also replied with the same nod.

After finishing the can, Ryder's eyes turned towards the guitar beside John, "Is… that yours?" he asked.

"Oh this?" said John, grabbing the guitar to show to Ryder, "Nope, hehe! I found it in a room of the third game; I thought it looked cool so I borrowed it!"

"That's called stealing John," added Linsey with a judging look.

Ryder chuckled quietly, looking at Linsey and John arguing about a guitar, "Well, it doesn't matter anyway, I got it! Now if only I knew how to play a guitar…" said John, looking down at the cords.

"What about you Ryder?" asked Linsey, turning her head to look at him.

"Oh, Me?" said Ryder surprised, "I haven't played a guitar in a long time, I might have already forgotten how to."

"Oh nonsense!" exclaimed John, "Skills like that can't be forgotten that easily, come play for us!" John quickly extended the guitar."

"… I don't know," said Ryder unsure, looking at John and then to Linsey.

"Come on Ryder, I'm sure the things you've learned comes back when you start to play!" said Linsey excitingly as she turns her body to face Ryder.

Without much choice, Ryder reluctantly grabbed the guitar; with its tail being held by his left hand and the other end with its right. He looked down at the cords, trying to remember a song that he learned to play with the guitar. After he found one in his head, he hovers his hand above the cords, closing his eyes as he takes a breath. But as he was about to take a stroke of his hand through the cords to play note from the song.

"Attention all Contestants!" The speakers suddenly turned on, their voice echoing through every room of the third rest; alerting everyone to listen.

"All of you must proceed to the staging area for the exchange of words by our beloved host for the next game, may luck shine upon you all!" Then the speakers turned down.

The other contestants began to stand up and walked towards the left side of the room, leading to another hallway, "Damn, I was hoping for a nice long break, but oh well." John stood up before Linsey and Ryder.

"I guess you'll have to wait until next time," said Ryder grinning, giving the guitar back to the John.

"Lucky you hehe," said Linsey as she smiles.

"Now, I have to go find Drew and the others," said Ryder, dusting off the dust from his butt, "What about you two?"

"We'll wait here, we still have a few friends to wait for before we go to the staging room," said Linsey.

"Okay, I will see you two later." Ryder walked away from them, about to the follow the other contestants.

"And Ryder," John called, making Ryder turned his head back, "Good luck in the game!"

Ryder donned a full smile, "You too; I'll see you soon, Linsey, John." And he continued to walk away.

Ryder followed the contestants as they go through the large double door into a hallway, where its end showed the staging room. Still the same large room as before, with a giant flat screen TV above the stage; with the quieter setting of contestants. Ryder looked above the heads, searching for Drew, Channe, and Evelyn. Then someone tugged his jacket sleeve, calling him to turn around to see who it was. When he turned, he quickly spoke, "Drew, did you find Evelyn?"

"Unfortunately, no," said Drew in disappointment, "I can't find her anywhere."

Suddenly, Channe jumped between them, "We searched everywhere!" exclaimed Channe exhausted, "We even went inside the other rooms, and still no sign of her Mr. Ryder!"

Ryder touched his chin, wondering where Evelyn is, but the giant screen began to turn on; turning their attention to it, "We will worry about Evelyn later; even if she is not with us in the next game, she will be fine," said Ryder trying to sound reassuring as he looks up towards the screen.

Drew looked at Ryder with his eyebrows arched down, unsure about what he said, "… I hope you're right." He turns his head towards the screen as well as Channe — well, he tried at least.

"I… can't see," said Channe in his embarrassment.

Ryder lowered his head to look at Channe jumping to try to see a glimpse of the screen. Pitying Channe, he crouched down low enough for him to reach his neck, "Hop on." Nodding for Channe to get on.

Seeing Ryder's back facing towards, Channe looked at Ryder as he gives him a signal to hop on; and so he did, hesitantly, but he easily climbed on top of Ryder; resting on his shoulders as he laid his hands and his plushie on his hair, "Listen now," said Ryder looking up at Channe.

"Yes sir! Mr. Ryder," said Channe, giving him a subtle salute.

The screen finally turned on, revealing the static mouth of the supposed host again. Speaking in a loud coarse voice, "Hello again my fellow contestants, this is a joyous time for all of you; for you have only three games remaining to complete — or should I say 'survive'"

Many whispered, and many stayed silent after the host said that exact word. But there were people who silently was relieved — including Ryder and Drew — after it said there were only three games before they finally escape and spend the prize money. The host continued to speak, "Sadly, out of all 326, only 209 survived the last game; which is quite a sum, and may it urge you to do much better in this next one,"

"That's... a lot," said Ryder shocked.

"…And Madi is one them," said Drew sadly before glaring at the host's screen.

After a series of whispers and chat, the host continued to speak again, "Now, for the next game," explained the host, "For this next game, you do need to run or hide, in fact, all you have to do is sit down and tell the truth; although not by words."

"All of you have the potential of winning, it all depends on what you have to do to survive… even if it makes you stubborn, and with that; I bid you all good luck." After the screen turns off, the walls on the side suddenly turned into opened gates, with the number 20 on the side of each gate — the limit. The contestants began to swarm into the gates, waiting for the next gate to open as one reaches the limit of contestants to enter; and then they get on, and the line continues.

"Okay, we need to go before the gates close, or before we get teamed up with the wrong people," said Ryder, crouching down for Channe to jump off of him.

"I'm already on it… There." Drew pointed at a gate where the line was small compared to the others, "Let's stand In line there."

The three walked to the gate, with Drew taking the lead. They stood in line behind the contestants in front of them, which were about to go through the gate. Ryder looked behind him, only to see more contestants waiting in line; and when Drew looked back and counted all of them — themselves included — all of them were counted 20. After the contestants in front of them entered the gate, it closed down; and it stayed for two minutes before opening, but the contestants were nowhere to be found — and they were not shocked anymore, not even surprised. They stepped through the gate, including the contestants with them; they stood in the middle as they turn around to face the entrance.

"… I hope this doesn't go as worse as before…" said Drew looking down.

"…I know; we just have t—"

"Channe!" a woman called out amongst the other contestants.

The three of them searched for where the voice was, and as they looked, the woman emerged from the crowd that was with them, "Channe! Where have you been?!" It was Larah, worrying about Channe; and glaring at Ryder after she came out.

"Oh… it's that woman again," said Drew looking confused.

"I'm fine Miss Larah! I was just with Mr. Ryder and Mr. Drew," said Channe holding Ryder's hand.

Larah looked at Ryder in the eye, exchanging deep glares, "Have I told you not before to not get even a hair close to him!" exclaimed Larah.

"It's not his fault that Mr. William is gone, Miss Larah!" argued Channe as he squeaked, "Mr. Ryder is a good man if you get to know him."

Larah gave Ryder an angrier glare, "Somehow… I doubt that," said Larah, mocking Ryder.

Ryder stared in silence, as did Drew, who had no clue of what was going on. A moment passes and Ryder finally spoke.

"… Whatever grudge you have against me Larah, we need to work together…" The gate finally closes as it takes them to the next.

"For if we don't…" And they finally arrived.

"… We'll all die."