Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace

Juliet collapsed onto the ground, her face as white as a sheet. She had no energy to explain.

"I already said that the elevator wasn’t safe..."

"It must be her. She’s the most suspicious among us," Violette snarled. She raised a foot as if she was going to kick Juliet. Juliet dived into Damien’s arms in fear, to which Damien looked at me out of reflex.

I didn’t bother to respond. I got up and touched the wall.

"Violette, stop trying to stir the pot. You just think that I killed Sophia Milford! Why don’t you reflect on yourself?"

"You and Zion are suspicious too. You were dead, but now you’re alive!" Juliet refuted angrily, clinging to Damien’s arm as she spoke. "Damien, don’t believe in what she said. It isn’t me."

Juliet seemed to be having an emotional breakdown. She was crying desperately.

I looked at her and said, "You can cry louder. That way, we’ll die even sooner."

Juliet glared at me as if she wished for me to die.

But right now, she simply seemed like a joke to me.

"If the culprit is among us, then it’s good news," I said calmly, consoling everyone.

"At the very least, they wouldn’t be seeking death. That also means... the mastermind won’t let us fall to death in the elevator."

I knew Juliet wouldn’t have taken part in planning the killing game. It was because she didn’t have what it took.

My words successfully pacified the group. Quinn quietened down and hugged Violette.

The elevator went down slowly. It stopped on the seventh floor, which was in pitch-black darkness. There was no light. "Well, none of that was in vain. We skipped quite a few floors, going from the 13th floor to the seventh floor," said Eason. He was trying to lighten the mood, but he dared not be the first to step out.

Joel glanced at Eason, who was clinging to his arm.

Joel said, "You really live up to your name."

Eason paused, then glared at Dexter.

"You told the kid that?"

To Eason, Joel was but a high school kid.

Dexter habitually ignored Eason.

Joel scoffed, then began to drag Eason out to the seventh floor. He asked, "How scared are you... of Simeon?"

Eason and Simeon had a long history together.

When Eason heard Simeon’s name, he felt a chill down his spine.

"You know quite a lot, kid. Now, shut up."

I pulled Dexter out of the elevator.

Damien wanted to exit the elevator too, back as she sat on the floor and cried.

"Damien, let’s not go. Don’t go... I’m scared."

She was finally feeling fearful.

Quinn was scared too. She trembled as she hugged Violette.

Teary-eyed, Quinn nodded and followed behind Violette, exiting the elevator.

Zion got Eason’s help to carry Taylor out while also being wary of their surroundings.

Suddenly, the elevator moved.

I shouted at Damien, "Get out!"

Damien wanted to exit the elevator, but Juliet couldn’t stand up and held him back!

"Damien!"

The elevator began to drop. In the process, Damien pushed Juliet outside.

He fell downward with the elevator, all alone.

I crouched by the edge of the elevator shaft and watched the elevator fall.

We were on the seventh floor.

Even if we considered the blank floors and the basement floors... Damien would die.

"You’re a bad omen!" Violette snarled. She wanted to beat Juliet up, but Zion stopped her.

My breath quickened as I stared at the dark pit below. My body began to tremble.

Damien... didn’t deserve to die.

I turned around and slapped Juliet and glared at her.

"You deserve to die..."

Stunned, Juliet stared blankly at the elevator that dropped downward.

She collapsed onto the floor.

"Damien..."

Since Damien was gone, nobody was around to protect Juliet.

Juliet was very selfish, but she had actual feelings for Damien. She was dependent on Damien and was afraid of losing him.

That was why she became jealous and fearful of Sophia. She tried everything she could to ruin Sophia.

But she had just lost Damien.

At the moment, it was like she lost her meaning in life.

"You killed him!" Violette shouted. "He deserved to die, but you deserved it more!"

Zion’s expression was grim too. He looked down, then said, "We should go downstairs soon."

The entirety of the seventh floor was unfurnished. It was pitch-black, and there was no electricity. There were no windows, so it was unclear if it was day or night.

The air was humid. I looked at Dexter and said, "There are no manual controls on this floor, which means we can go downstairs if we locate the emergency exit. There shouldn’t be any traps." Without electricity and light, it was difficult to find the emergency exit.

"Keep your hands on the wall. I’ll lead. You guys can follow me," Dexter whispered.

Dexter left a mark on the wall and then began to move forward.

It must’ve been an abandoned office building development. In case they were discovered, the mastermind left the lower floors untouched and built the killing ground on the upper floors. The floor was very bare. It smelled like concrete, and there was nothing special about it.

After walking around the floor, we ended up at the same starting place without finding the exit.

"Where’s the emergency exit?" Violette asked.

I tugged on Dexter to stop him.

"Dexter..."

Dexter held my hand to calm me down.

"Don’t be scared. You can all stay here, and I’ll look for it. If I find it, I’ll knock on the floor to alert you. You can follow the sound."

I grabbed the corner of his shirt, my breath quickening.

I had to admit that I was worried about him.

What if... there was someone else with us on the same floor? The mastermind wouldn’t let us leave easily.

If anything went wrong...

"Don’t be scared," Dexter whispered.

I clung to him.

"Why... must it always be you to take the risks? This time, I’ll do it."

Dexter hugged me and said softly, "I told you... your life matters more than mine."

Dexter let me go and disappeared into the darkness.

The rest of us leaned against the wall and waited patiently.

In the empty room, the sound of

Dexter steps slowly faded

"Officer Landon, will we make it out alive..." Quinn sobbed.

Zion consoled, "Yes, we can make it out alive."

Eason was afraid of the dark, so he hugged Joel tightly.

"Hey man, let me hug you. I’m scared..."

"Get lost." Joel sneered.

"No way... It’s so dark. What if somebody stabs me?" Eason said, shuddering as he clung to Joel.

"Wait, I’m scared. Let’s do a head count. It feels like there’s somebody behind me..."

Eason was the last person, and Joel

was standing in front of him. In front of Joel was the makeshift stretcher,

which Taylor had been lying on.

Ahead of him were Zion, Quinn,

Violette, and me.

"Sophia... Are you scared?" Violette asked softly.

"No."

I was calm as darkness was not scary to me. My senses toward the environment seemed to be numb.

"Sofia, you start the counting," Eason shouted from a distance.

I turned around to tap on Violette’s shoulder and then said, "One."

Since everyone was afraid and bored, I decided to play along. "Two," Violette shouted.

"Three..." Quinn said with a shaky voice.

from the sound of it, it she was sitting down on the floor.

"Four," Zion shouted.

"Hello?" Eason said to Joel, trying to tell him to stop messing around.

Joel paused before saying, "There’s also Juliet....."

Just then, Juliet’s voice came near Joel’s feet and called out, "Five..."

Ever since she lost Damien, Juliet had lost her direction, but she still had a strong will to live.

She had no choice but to hold on to whatever she had right now to escape.

"Six," Joel said calmly.

"Seven..." Eason stuttered, hugging Joel.