Reborn In a Murderer’s Embrace

"Freeze, don't move. If you trigger anything by accident, I can't save you," I warned Stella, stepping back slowly until my back pressed against the wall.

Stella barely dared to breathe.

"Phoebe..." Stella's voice quivered with fear, her greatest phobia being rats.

I gestured for her to be silent and slowly crouched down.

The pristine floor beneath us was marked with the layout of a maze, its exit at the very center.

The safe passage out was located in the heart of this floor.

Navigating the maze wasn't the hard part; the real challenge lay in its walls, which shifted positions at set intervals.

Moreover, stepping on certain triggers could unleash dangers.

"Countdown begins... 10, 9..."

That eerie voice filled the space once more.

If we hadn't found the correct exit by the time the countdown ended, the maze would rearrange itself.

Once the walls started moving, rats would swarm out from the underground, trapping us alive in this space to meet a grisly end.

Stella was panicking, too frightened to move.

"5, 4, 3..."

Right as the countdown neared its end, I stepped on a specific floor tile in the corner.

In the nick of time, I solved the numerical equation above the maze and determined the right tile to step on.

The room's walls shifted, but at the same time, another wall slid open, unleashing countless rats from the crevices below.

I dashed into the next room, looking back at Stella. "Come on!"

But with the rats now out, she was paralyzed by fear and wouldn't move.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

"Ten seconds before the wall closes, hurry!"

I yelled at Stella.

Terrified, she started jumping around frantically as the rats surged towards her. "Phoebe... save me."

She was so afraid of the rats swarming the floor, she had nowhere to step.

In her panic, she triggered another mechanism, causing the walls to start moving.

It was too late.

"Stella..."

A thought crossed my mind in that instant.

Should I just leave her to her fate?

As the walls slowly closed, I caught Stella's desperate, pleading gaze.

"Damn it..."

With a momentary headache, I dashed back into the room before the walls sealed shut.

My knife pierced through a rat, and grabbed another that had climbed onto Stella's back, hurling it to the ground with lethal force.

Stella screamed and clung to me, crying hysterically.

I began to feel numb, struggling to understand her fear...

But it was clear she was on the verge of a breakdown.

I looked around, realizing our missed chance made escaping all the more difficult... unless someone opened the door from the outside.

But the odds of that happening were even slimmer than clearing out all these rats.

And more rats kept pouring out from the crevices, impossible to kill them all...

"Click!" Just as I was about to give up, the wall ahead slowly opened.

On the other side... was a floor covered in dead wolves...

Was that madman turning the maze into a wildlife battleground?

As the wall opened, I saw Colin, drenched in blood and frenzied from battle.

My body stiffened for a moment.

crushing

its

I straightened up, emotionlessly another rat that had made onto my shoulder, and tried to speak, but no sound came out.

Colin stood amidst the carnage, his

hown soaked in blood

l

recognition, resembling a

in blood.

demon from hell, drs

Since disappearing that night... he must have been on a relentless killing spree.

Seeing me, he finally collapsed to his knees.

The blood couldn't hide the intensity in his eyes.

He gave me a weak smile, his voice hoarse. "Phoebe... I've killed them all..."

All of them.

We could now safely make our way to the exit leading down to the next level.

Suddenly, my throat ached terribly as I took steps toward him.

That boy, once so vibrant, was my Colin...