Black Manor

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Julius opened the door as the hour passed; His eyes looked down upon Keith, who was seemingly unconscious on the floor. He smirked, pulling Keith out of the room. "Sid. You're up next." He looked over at Sazael, his bright blue eyes looking away after a moment. He needed to speak with Serena.

Abigale entered the room, looking over the group and motioning for Julius. "You'll be back in no time.. Jarrett doesn't seem to be in his right mind anyways." Julius nodded, following her out the door. He watched as she locked it. "Serena would like to speak with you.. I hope she lets you out! You've been in there too long!" Julius shook his head, looking over at Abigale. "I need to shower and change clothes first." Abigale nodded, looking to the stairway. "You know where it is."
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Serena listened to the screams of Keith through the floor; She knew this would indeed be harder on him than anyone else. Keith didn't listen to her when she said that he had been in that accident...


Serena.. Do not worry about him now. All that matters is that he and everyone else pay for what has happened. You must keep your vision alive, right? Now make your next task. It's just you and I, now. Hurry! Time is running out!

Serena frowned, shaking her head. "I-I can't.."


Don't you say that! You can...

Remember; I can see you.. I am here. Always. Now pull out that knife; Cut your arm and listen to the pounding of your heart in your ears. Remember who you are and what you must do. Do it!
 
When Keith finally stopped crying and was able to get back up, he felt slightly faded, as if he was disappearing from this world. No, not quite that; it felt like he was merely an actor surrounded by props, without any other actors or an audience to keep him company. In the end, I am an actor, am I not? I acted so innocent, but I can see now that this is how I truly felt. A facade so impenetrable I could even fool myself. The bayonet, the only thing that felt real in this place, came back into his mind. Without a second thought, he raised it to his chest, planning to stab himself until he was finally dead. His arms weren't nearly long enough to shoot himself with it, so this would have to do. An eye for an eye, is it? Well then...goodbye.

Suddenly, however, Keith's hands began to shake. The tip of the bayonet was no longer focused on his chest area, so he tried his best to calm his hands down, but the shaking seemed to only get worse. It was small at first, but as the thought spread through him, it snowballed exponentially. Louder and louder, the thought became all that his senses could understand. Finally, the feeling spread to his arms and he acted upon it, throwing the bayonet down and yelling to anyone that could hear him, "No! No, I can't! I won't! No!"

It was then that he realized something was...unusual. What am I saying? Of course I can, and I will! I must! No, you won't. What? Suicide is the sign of an unhappy individual, isn't it? Yes, but that's not important now. Yes it is. Serena's still alive, and so is your father. You have to stay happy for the two of them, don't you? They wouldn't care now... Oh, they wouldn't? I'm sure your victims would think otherwise. What...? "It's true..."

Keith looked at his sister in shock; how could she still be living? Nevertheless, her face and voice carried the same gentle kindness he had known for his whole life. "When you revealed to us that Serena was scamming you, she was punished, wasn't she?" Keith found himself unable to reply, even more so when his mother also began speaking. "And when you told me that your father was cheating on me, he was never allowed to see us again, though he said he was merely working. Therefore, he got punished too, did he not?" Numbly, Keith nodded, unsure of what else to do. "Now you have done this violent thing and are punishing yourself, which will in turn punish Serena and your father yet again. You made this connection back then, but it seems it has been so long since you needed to remember it." his sister continued. "Remember...what?" Keith asked quietly.

Neither of them answered him, but the answer seemed to come to him. It was the sight of his family's smiling faces that reminded him, and Keith smiled with them; it was that unfamiliar smile he had worn in Serena's office, though it didn't feel nearly as painful this time. "Ah...ahaha...I see. It makes so much sense now...that thing I forgot. If I'm unhappy, it's because I have a secret. When someone asks what my secret is, the person in the secret gets punished. So to protect others from punishment...I have to be happy all the time!" Keith began to laugh as he embraced the smiling bodies, so relieved he was to know that as long as he was happy, he could do no wrong. Unbeknownst to him, his body had been taken back to his cell, and the real him was sleeping peacefully. And so he continued to laugh in his dream for a very long time.
 
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Julius stood in front of Serena's door, his hair wet and his hand poised over the door. He was about to knock when he heard Serena talking to herself. What was it that she was saying? He entered the room, smiling. "My dear Serena. Are you alright?"

Serena held the long bladed knife in her hand, shaking slightly. She seemed to snap out of her thoughts, putting it down on the desk and looking over at Julius. "Hello, dear. I'm so glad to see you." Julius hugged her slightly, looking down at the vial that hung around her neck. "I see you're doing better, 'Rena. You sure everything is okay?" Serena nodded, pulling her long blue hair into a ponytail and tying it with a thick, black ribbon. "Yes, I'm sure. Thank you for asking. I wanted to speak to you about Keith.." Julius leaned in, his blue eyes looking over her beautiful face. "What is it?" Serena sighed, looking down at her papers. "He's dangerous. For the sake of the group you may want to keep an eye on them. I'm pulling you out of the next round. Abigale will deliver the next task and the keys to let everyone else out. You just.. You stay upstairs and work on your paintings for me." Julius nodded, rising. "Thank you." Serena waved him away with a flick of her hand. She handed the papers and keys to Abigale, nodding. "You know what to do."

Julius returned to his room, finding his skeleton sitting in the chair where he left it. He hummed to himself, realizing that everyone in this manor was indeed insane in any way possible. He shrugged, pricking his finger with a needle and continuing to paint in his own blood.

Serena looked back down at the knife in her hand. Could she? Would she? She leveled the knife to her heart, her body shaking slightly. She felt something stop her; Something grabbing her wrist. Not now, Serena. You're much too important. Serena shook her head, a tear falling out of her right eye. "No.. Please. No more." The soft whisper was heard, though it was laughing at her. If we were to stop.. Then I would go away. And I don't want to go away. Serena's body trembled. She closed her eyes, shaking her head as she began to sob. "P-Please.. Just- Just leave me alone! I need you to go away!" Heh... You cannot make me leave, Serena. Never again. She felt the air on her ear. Something pressed itself against her back. She felt cold and alone; Would this ever stop? She instead found that her hand was gliding down to her leg. The knife slid over her pale skin easily; As it glided along her leg, blood was left in it's place. She gasped for a moment before covering the wound up. What had just happened?

Now listen to me.. LISTEN! You WILL do what I say, Serena. I am part of you now..

Serena began to sob louder; She was bonded with it. There was no going back.


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Abigale entered the room that housed the prisoners, looking down at Jarrett. "Jarrett. I need help passing out food for everyone." She walked to Miya, shaking her head slightly. "We'll get you out of here soon, ma'am." She stood, putting a hand on Miya's stomach before raising her voice. "I brought paper and pencils. You all can write a letter and I'll personally deliver it to your families. Now.. This is important. Serena will look over the papers so there is no point in trying to let anyone know where you are. Serena assured me that in the next couple of days you all will be set free if you follow the tasks. Alright? Now we'll eat and then begin writing.."
 
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Her focus on Sazael was gone when Abigale came into the room. Miya was deeply saddened at the fact that she may never get to see her beloved husband ever again. What she regretted was their last interaction being an argument, because she felt controlled by her in-laws and she eventually snapped and even accused him of not being capable of thinking for himself. Now she was coped up in a Mansion, held prisoner by a sadistic woman and her friends. Her Husband was going to be alone...Because if she dies, the baby dies along with her. However, Abigale's words brought her a flicker of hope, but she was still visibly shaken from the experience from within the room of terror, as she called it. She rested her hand on her belly when Abigale placed her hand on it. She couldn't help but look inconspicuously at Abigale's Fingernails. Though she wasn't afraid, sensing the woman's gentle personality, Miya didn't mind at all that Abigale was touching her belly. The baby started kicking at Abigale's touch.
 
Sazael had been staring emotionlessly at the pregnant woman, her attention being directed at Julius briefly as he left before returning to Miya. She wondered where Julius was headed, but decided it wasn't her business to poke her nose in. At Abigale's announcement about writing letter to their families, Sazael twitched slightly. She had some elder sibling still living, yet she wasn't even sure if they would remember her, the youngest and most forgotten child. She bit her lip, thinking that if she died here, they wouldn't care. Even if she survived, there wouldn't be anyone missing or waiting for her. She walked slowly back to her cell, sitting in the corner beside the untouched food from before.
 
Abigale looked down as the baby began to kick her hand from inside Miya's womb. "Oh! That is so adorable!" She looked to Jarrett, grabbing trays from across the room and handing him half. As she came upon Sazael, she frowned, gritting her teeth. "Julius might try to care if you eat or not; But I won't. That is simply wasting food. There are more starving people in this world than you could imagine." She handed the food out; It was hamburgers and potato salad. She looked over at Miya, nodding. "You must eat. If not for yourself than for your child." She sighed, sitting down and wishing that she could eat this type of food. Though her body detested it and didn't need it, she wanted to experience that life again.
 
Abigale cared for her well being it seemed. Miya was left very curious as to why her baby kicked at Abigale's touch. When the tray of food came to her, she didn't exactly have much of an appetite, however, at some point, she was going to have to nourish the baby and herself because of the baby. As long as her placenta doesn't rupture or anything, she should be fine. Afterwards, she sat up and slowly started eating. The Hamburger had proteins and the Potato Salad contained all sorts of nutrients, which was beneficial to the baby. After wiping her mouth, she drank the glass of water to wash all the food down. A couple of minutes later, she went back to laying down on her left side, allowing nutrients and blood to flow better to the placenta and the baby.
 
Sazael couldn't even bring herself to look at Abigale as she scolded her. Though she knew that the woman was right, there was no point in eating if they would just be puked back up later. She hesitantly took the food, looking down at it. Julius had asked her to eat earlier as well, yet she refused, which wasn't something she did often. Just being in this manor was changing her slowly, and she didn't like it. Her hand pressed against the cut on her cheek, which had stopped bleeding at some point, before moving it down to the hamburger. She picked it up, slowly bringing to her mouth and taking a small bite. Sazael set the burger down after another bite, unsure if she could take anymore. Her knees pressed against her chest as she curled into a ball once more
 
Keith woke up to the sound of Abigale's voice, saying something about eating and writing letters. His mind felt fuzzy, as if he had been hanging upside down for six hours. He had been with his family, talking happily with them...and then what? Had he lost consciousness for some reason? He supposed Serena had knocked him out and taken him back at some point. Normally, he would be worried for his family if they had made contact with Serena, but he knew that they would be safe no matter what happened. Death had saved them from feeling future pain, so as horrible as the deed itself had been, Keith now realized his actions were justified. His smile returned. He couldn't wait to face whatever happened next.

Finally, Keith opened his eyes, feeling oddly comforted inside the cell. It was nice to have a barrier between himself and the unhappiness of some of the others. Sazael and Ryan in particular looked like they were in desperate need of comfort, so he waved to the both of them, trying to make them feel better by reminding them they weren't alone. Then he saw the lukewarm portion of food next to him and ate it with gusto, savoring every bite. Had food always tasted this good? His plate emptied, Keith looked over at Abigale with an almost childlike grin. "Hey, Abigale? You can keep my piece of paper. I won't be needing it anymore."
 
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Abigale shrugged, grabbing the piece of paper and pencil from Keith. "Are you sure, Keith? This will probably be your only chance to write your family." She looked over at Miya, sighing before sitting down. "Sid was taken ill and passed away last night. We moved his body so that no one knew about it. So with that said.. Georgio, you're up next. Hurry and eat first. That room will drive you mad."


She stood, pacing around the room as he heels clicked against the concrete. She fiddled with her necklace, her mind returning to Julius again. Why is he the way he is? What makes him want to be so.. different? Will he ever love me? She knew the answer to the question she had asked herself; Julius will never love anyone but his soul mate, and she was dead. Abigale frowned, looking down at Jarrett. "You're very quiet, Jarrett." Jarrett forced a smile, nodding. "Uh.. Yeah.. Just worried about what is awaiting me in there is all."
 
While laying down on her side, Miya grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper so she can write a letter to her husband, to tell her that she loves him and that she is sorry that she may not live to see him again, let alone see him become the Father that she dreams of seeing, because if she dies, the baby dies with her. Because of her hormones, she slowly began shedding tears as she finished her letter.

My Dear, Brian

I'm sorry that our last time together was a fight. I just wanted to let you know that I love you very much and that I am sorry that once I pass, our baby will be coming with me.

Miya

She then started crying.
 
Abigale grabbed the letter, looking over it. Sure, she knew invading Miya's privacy was wrong; But did she care? No. She scowled at the letter, shaking her head. "You're not going to die here. Nor is your baby. Your husband shouldn't be worried about you, right? Here. Let's try the note again." She handed a new piece of paper to Miya, smiling. "There."

Julius sighed, growling as he tried to finish the painting. It just didn't seem right. His mind continued to drift back to Sazael. Besides the hair color she looked a lot like Elise. He frowned, putting his head in his hands. "Elise, my darling.. Please forgive me for I have sinned against your name. You will always be the one that I most truly care for. Believe me, my love."
 
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"It's silly to write a letter to someone you just talked to, isn't it?" Keith said, punctuating his point with a light chuckle. Did she not know? He had figured that everyone in the manor would be aware that he managed to escape for those brief seconds. Perhaps this said something about where Abigale stood in terms of need-to-know basis. Or maybe just about how observant she was. Abigale continued on as if Keith had not replied, stating that Sid had died from sickness. This caught him off guard, and he looked at his forearm; he had barely interacted with Sid, save for the first challenge, but he had seemed like the type of person who would never back down from a challenge. He would have been a useful ally, and Keith gave him a moment of silence.

The unnerving tone in the room that he had felt before was still reflected in the faces and actions of those around him. It hurt to see his friends like this, but the pain was quickly buried and forgotten. They wouldn't want him to be upset now; when others were in pain, they needed someone to remain strong for them. It was simply the right thing to do. Keith nodded to himself quietly before walking over to Jarrett. "Do you want help, Jarrett? You look ill at ease." His smile and tone seemed more normal now that his mind was off of his family, but he didn't notice either of these things.
 
Sazael took a piece of paper and pencil, wondering who she should write to. There was the oldest son, the oldest daughter, and twin brother who were slightly older than her. Out of them all, she had the best relation with the oldest son, Caine. Natalie, the oldest daughter, did care for Sazael once in a while, but it was Caine who did his best to keep her safe. As for the other two, Lucas and Darius, they kept to themselves, only exchanging a few words with her throughout the 16 years she lived with them before moving out. However, those few words were kind and gentle. In the end, she decided to write to Caine and tell him to pass a message to the others.

To my brother Caine,

I'm not sure if you remember me, the youngest out of us all, but if you do, it makes me happy to know that you still have room in your heart for a person like me. I know it's rare for me to even speak to you despite being siblings, but now wouldn't be a bad place to start. I've been well since the last time we talked years ago and I'm glad you are my brother. You took care of me in place of mother and father and if not for that, I'm sure I would have passed on by now. It may be a bit selfish, but can you pass a message on to Natalie, Lucas, and Darius? Just let them know that I am grateful for them and that I'm sorry for being a burden all those years, I'm sorry for isolating myself from you all, and I'm sorry that I'm still unable to stand on my own despite you all caring for me.

Sincerely,
The Youngest

Sazael stared at the letter, which was a bit long, but it still fit on the paper. She read it over and over, just seeing the names of her siblings brought a few warm memories. She hadn't written her name on the letter because they probably only remembered her as the youngest. The words 'I love you' were also not written because she had no experience with it, or atleast was unaware of it dwelling inside her heart.
 
Georgio the Maniac Circus Act, red

Georgio could see the horror on everyone's faces when they came out of that "room". He was unusually quiet through everything, the letters, the pregnant girl, the whole thing was a blur for him. All he could think about was his turn was now. Georgio stood up shaking, his hands were sweaty and his face was drenched. He could barely make it to the door. Once he got their he said a prayer in French and stepped in. Hearing the door lock behind him, Georgio almost passed out right there.

The next thing he knew Georgio could hear circus music, the music was demented and not fun at all. Georgio started to bang on the door ferociously. He knew where he was and he didn't like it one bit. "Serena that bitch!" Georgio couldn't believe that he was back here the place that changed him forever. Georgio could see clowns, bearded ladies, contortionists, and other freaky bastards. He was back at the Del La Freak France Traveling Circus/Freak Show. Georgio looked in a mirror and saw himself dressed as the RingMaster. He tried to rip the clothing off but it wouldn't come off. Something was pushing him into the show's performing tent. He begged to no one in mind to make it stop. He pleaded but nothing worked.

Once Georgio made it or more like was forced into the tent; he could see the performers getting ready to perform. He tried to yell to them to stop, but they didn't even notice him. They got the elephant in place and the clowns and the tightrope walkers got in position. Georgio yelled at the audience to get out the way but nothing worked. As they were performing Georgio knew what was going to happen next, he saw the wooden stakes holding the tightrope up catch flames. He couldn't run fast enough even if he could save the tightrope walkers. He watched in horror as they fell to the ground. The audience in shock screamed and yelled as the elephant stomped on the tightrope walkers heads killing then instantly. The clowns tried to stop the elephant but nothing worked, it just kept jumping around crushing everything in site. Georgio could only stand in horror and shock at what he saw.

The whole hour was of Georgio seeing his circus go up in flames and people dieing and destruction. He could see the clowns becoming demented and stabbing the contortionists, he could see the strong man ripping a bearded lady in half and scalping her beard off as a prize. Georgio was horrified he couldn't believe that he was seeing this again. He had blocked it out of his mind forever; so he thought.

After the hour had passed Georgio was back at the mirror and all he saw was him but it wasn't him. He saw a grinning sinister version of himself holding a lighted torch and holding the head of one of the clowns, with a sick sad grizzly grin on it's dead face. Georgio banged on the door freaking out. "Let me out now! Let me the fuck out!" Georgio started to curse in french he could care less about what was going on, he just needed to get out now.
 
Abigale paced around the room, hearing a knock on the door that led to the rest of the manor. She opened the door, surprised to see Julius. "What are you doing here? Serena told you to go upstairs." Julius nodded, looking over at Sazael with interest. "If we are to get out, we all may need to talk about this now.. What to expect and what to do in case something happens. Serena.. Something is terribly wrong with her." Abigale raised a hand to her chest, her eyes widening. "What do you mean, Julius?"

Jarrett shook his head at Keith's question, looking away. "I have no family and I have nothing to give except poor advice and excuses." He smiled, nodding. "Thank you, though. I just need to get prepared for whatever is in there."

Abigale unlocked the door for Georgio, throwing him out of the room. "If you say one more cuss word around me I will cut out your tongue. Understood?"
 
Sazael looked over the letter once more before looking to Abigale, who appeared to pacing around the room. After a moment of just watching her, she saw that Julius had returned and looked at her. She wasn't aware of it, but she had become more relaxed and relieved at the sight of him. A silent sigh of relief escaped her as she watched him, the letter in her gentle grip. She folded the letter in halves, concealing the contents loosely. Her hand sweeped a few strands of hair away from her eyed and face, which cleared her vision only slightly.
 
Miya felt relieved as soon as Abigal told her that everything would be okay. Though knowing Selena, she had her doubts. She rewrote her letter. However, this time, she was letting her husband know that she loved him and apologized for their last interaction. She wrote it all in Japanese. Miya then closed the letter by telling him that she was going to be okay before folding it neatly and putting it on a nearby nightstand. She continued to lay on her side to keep the baby nourished and so blood and nutrients can flow to her placenta better then it normally would. Miya slowly started caressing her belly, staring at it, while waiting for the next announcement, for her letter to be collected, or even make conversation with Abigal, the only Resident in the house that seemed to be nice to her.
 
Abigale sat down next to Miya, her eyes narrowed. "There's so many crazy things that you wouldn't believe even if I told you.. So many dark things in this world." She looked over the letter again, smiling. She had intensively studied other languages as a hobby. "Much better. I wonder how worried your husband is right now.. Surely he'll be looking for you, no?" She grinned, placing a hand on Miya's stomach. The pregnant woman didn't really speak much, but Abigale knew this was purely out of fear. Pregnant women worried more than others. It was a natural thing.
 
When Abigale sat down, Miya didn't really fret. She was just tired and wanted to go home and see her husband, perhaps some extended family and close friends...Especially after what she's going through. She listened to the lady speak, but didn't really respond. But when asked about her husband looking for her, she simply nodded. If she knew Brian well enough, if she wasn't home for an extended period of time, he'd either file a missing person report or go out looking for her himself. Usually, he went out looking for her. He's probably ten times more worried then usual considering that she's pregnant and he had to worry about their little one as well. When Abigale placed a hand on her stomach, like before, she didn't mind. The woman was probably excited by the fact that there is a life inside Miya. "Anata ga shitai baai wa , anata wa akachan o kiku koto ga dekimasu."

She ended up speaking in her native tongue, seeing that Abigale read her letter with ease. The baby then started kicking Abigale's hand the second her hand was on the Mother's stomach.

Translation:
"Anata ga shitai baai wa , anata wa akachan o kiku koto ga dekimasu." - "If you want to, you can listen to the baby."
 
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