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Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

PROLOGUE: HARD HATS REQUIRED

*****

September 21, 1978…

At a construction site on the outskirts of Everlock, the workers were busy building the basement of a new building, and the Foreman was in his mobile office with Mayor Janet, who was paying him an unexpected visit, with some really bad news.

*****

“You can’t pull the plug now, Janet,” Hank Saito protested, having just been informed that she was shutting the whole operation down, and he had been given the paperwork. “The floor is already done and the walls are going up right now.”

“I’m sorry, Hank,” said Janet, but she didn’t sound sorry in the slightest, in fact, she was sounding almost gleeful that the project was going to be shut down. “But you’re already two months behind schedule and I can’t give you any more extensions.”

“Janet, if you do this,” Hank warned, “then those men out there will lose their jobs, and they won’t be able to support their families.”

“Not my problem.”

*****

That night, Hank was in his office and was trying to figure out how to save the project and not fire his men.

The construction company he ran, he’d inherited from his father, who had inherited it from his grandfather, and it had been responsible for the construction of many buildings in the town. But if they got shut down, then he would lose both his men and his company, and then both he and his family would have to leave Everlock as well as his employees and their families.

‘There has to be a way,’ he thought, unaware of blue/black smoke entering behind him, or that the lights were flickering. ‘There just has to be a way!’

The smoke transformed into the Carnival Master and he placed a gloved hand on the Foreman’s shoulder, startling him, all while starting to weave his dark spell over the man. “I can give you the power to fight back.”

“You – you can?” Hank asked, standing up and turning to face the dark figure.

“Yes,” said the Carnival Master in a soft soothing voice, and he magically summoned a strange-looking steel hammer with unusual markings and a black head strapped to the handle. “Take the hammer, and no one will be able to stop you oryour men.”

Hank stared at the hammer for several seconds as the dark spell took effect, and then he reached out, taking the hammer. The hammer began glowing an eerie blue color, and he cried out as the dark magic began changing him.

The Carnival Master cackled and left while the dark magic spread out over the whole construction site, infecting it.

*****

The next morning, the construction workers arrived to see whether they would still have jobs or not, and they all gathered inside the meeting tent.

The Foreman was waiting for them, wearing a black hoodie and clutching a strange hammer in one gloved hand. “Welcome, boys,” he said, and his face was hidden by the hoodie. “I got some news for you.”

“What kind of news, boss?” one of the workers asked. “Are we fired?”

“No,” the Foreman said reassuringly, lowering the hood to reveal that his skin had darkened, was scaly, and his eyes were now a reptilian yellow. “We’ll never be shut down again!”

He thrust the hammer into the air and the dark magic shot out, engulfing his men, and they screamed in pain as they were also transformed.

*****

In the church that the Carnival Master was using as his home base, he was watching all of this by way of a special portal, and he was pleased.

‘A new lieutenant and a new addition to my army,’ he thought, enjoying the irony that Mayor Janet was making it soeasy for him to corrupt the town, and that she was doing it without realizing it had been because they had once meet long ago before she ran for mayor. ‘One more artifact to use, and then my spell will be complete.’

The Carnival Master had given up a lot to the Cursed God to get to where he was now, and it was all worth it.

‘Eventually, the Society Against Evil will tryto stop me,’ he thought while glancing at four purple stones that were softly glowing on a nearby table, ‘but they will  fail! For I am prepared for when they do show up.’

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER ONE: CONSTRUCTION TIME

*****

It’d been an hour since the cleansing of the Wicker Man artifact, the death of Ro at the hands of three witches, and the six survivors were seated on the couch, coping with the death of their friend.

Matt was taking the lost of Ro the hardest since she had been one of his best friends, and the closest thing to a sister.

‘Ro’s with the others,’ he thought grieving for the lost of Ro while both Joey and Dawn had supporting hands on his shoulders since they knew what he was going through, ‘and they’re all in a better place…I hope.’

“And then there were six,” Manny said, breaking the silence and pulling them all from their thoughts. “And two artifacts to go.”

“Yeah, we better start looking for the next artifact,” Curtis remarked. “There isn’t that much time left before sunrise.”

Knowing that he was right, Dawn got up and went to retrieve the Everlock map from the wall. As she carried it back, she side-glanced at Mortimer, who was leaning against one of the walls, playing with his lighter.

‘He never did say where he’d disappeared to for those two hours,’ she thought, and the fact that he’d been keeping his distance from her made her feel uneasy, too.

The brunette set the map on the table and sat next to Joey as their friends gathered to see what was new. “Ok, there’s a new area not far from here.”

On the map, there was a construction area that was clearly near the edge of the town, and there was a note, too.

“‘Construction is hard work’,” Manny read. “‘Can you handle the load or break under the pressure’? Heh, that’s different.”

“It is,” Joey agreed, standing up and his friends did the same. “Let’s go.”

*****

Exiting the arcade, the group followed Mortimer, who was leading the way, and Calliope was bringing up the rear, as usual, to keep watch and make sure that they weren’t ambushed from behind by any minions.

*****

Eventually the construction site came into view and the group paused on the edge, taking in the sight: below them there was construction equipment scattered everywhere, an incomplete building, and not far from where they were standing, which was also near the edge of the construction site was a nearby trailer.

“That was the Foreman’s office,” Mortimer informed the group. “Maybe there’s a clue in there.”

“Worth a shot,” Matt agreed and they went to the trailer, where they went inside while Mortimer and Calliope remained outside to keep watch.

*****

The interior of the trailer was typical of a mobile office, save for a black box on the desk, and they went to it, finding that it was locked.

Nikita found a note and read it. “‘To obtain the Black Hammer, you must look under and solve the symbols’.”

“Look under what?” Manny wondered, looking around the office. “That makes no sense.”

They spread out to search the office, looking under stuff for symbols, and Matt was looking under the desk when he found the symbols on the underside of the desk.

“I found them!” he announced and his friends returned to the desk. “They’re under here.”

“What kind of symbols?” Joey asked, hoping that they wouldn’t be too complicated, but given how the night had been going, they probably would be.

“I got the standard math symbols,” Matt answered, lying on his back so that he could see them better, “and I’m guessing that these other symbols must be numbers, but they look Japanese or Chinese.”

Hearing this, Dawn slid under the desk to see the symbols, and she saw that he was right. “These are Japanese numbers, which means this is a math problem.” ‘Great, math!’ she thought sarcastically.

“Can you translate the numbers?” Nikita asked, knowing that the brunette knew, read, and spoke Japanese as one of many languages she’d learned over the years for her various acting jobs, and that she’d learned Japanese since her father had served on one of the missions in Japan at one time.

“I can,” Dawn confirmed. “The first number is 200, and the final answer is 42.”

“Which means the remaining numbers will need to reach the answer 42,” Matt reported. “I got it, we need the right symbols to reach 42.”

Now that the clue made sense, the detective and the actress went to work on solving the math problem.

“200 times blank equals 2,000,” Dawn said, translating the two number symbols.

“That should be ten,” said Matt, solving the problem in his head.

The brunette nodded and pointed to a symbol. “Try the symbol for 10.”

Matt slid the symbol into position and it clicked into place. “Yes!”

“Ok, 200 times 10 equals 2,000,” Dawn said. “So that means 2,000 divided by blank will equal 25.”

“Let’s try 80.”

“Ok, that symbol there.”

“Got it.”

“Next is 25 plus blank equals 95.”

“Has to be 70.”

“That symbol right there.”

“Perfect.”

“Matt, am I right in thinking that we should subtract 53 from 95 to get 42?” Dawn asked, pointing to the correct symbol.

Matt nodded and slid the symbol for 53 into place with a click. “Exactly, and you say that you’re not that good at math, Donny.”

“I can do basic math, but beyond that, I crash and burn,” the brunette replied.

“The box’s unlocked,” Curtis announced.

Sliding out from under the desk, Matt and Dawn got up and joined their friends as Joey opened the box lid, which had a note taped to the inside of the lid, and inside the box was a strange-looking hammer made out of steel, covered with unusual markings, and its’ head was black and was strapped on with a leather strap.

“‘To cleanse the Black Hammer’,” Joey read, “‘three challenges must be won, and the Hammer’s head replaced. However, should the Foreman and his men capture you, then they will choose the challenges, and one will be crushed’. Ok, that doesn’t sound good.”

“And given that this Foreman will most likely show up the second one of us grabs the artifact,” Nikita added, “I rather not be caught in here.”

“Let’s grab the Hammer and get out of here,” Manny agreed, taking the artifact out of the box, and they headed to the door.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER TWO: CAPTURED AND INSTRUCTIONS

*****

Exiting the trailer, the group found Mortimer and Calliope waiting for them, and there was a white mist rolling into the area.

They hadn’t gotten far when there was a shout, and over twenty dark figures burst out of the mist with scaly dark skin, reptilian yellow eyes, and they wore torn up construction outfits.

“It’s the Foreman! Run!”

Screaming, the group scattered to avoid being captured, and a game of cat-and-mouse began once again.

For the most part, the group was able to avoid being captured by the bad guys, and there was a few brief seconds where it looked like they were going to escape.

But it was then that the Foreman managed to grab Dawn by her throat and dragged her toward the edge of the construction site, where he positioned her so that she was directly above a pile of sharp-looking scrap metal.

“Help!” Dawn screamed, grabbing his wrist with her hands, and she could feel her fear of heights kicking in for the third time that night. “Help! He got me! Help!”

“Dawn!” Joey and the others froze when they saw the terrified actress, and they were soon surrounded by the construction workers. “Don’t hurt her!”

The Foreman glared at them. “The Light-bearer will not be harmed,” he snarled, “but only if you all agree to face our challenges. Refuse, and she dies.” And he looked back at the brunette, who was whimpering and trying to keep her feet from slipping over the edge. “Choose!”

“We agree!” Curtis shouted and the others agreed. “Just – just don’t hurt her.”

The Foreman was pleased. “Give the Black Hammer to one of your protectors,” he ordered, and Manny handed the artifact to Mortimer. “Good.”

Dawn grunted as the Foreman yanked her from the edge and shoved her forward so that she went sprawling onto the ground. “Ngh! Ow.”

Joey and Matt helped her up and, before anything could be said or done, the Foreman nodded to six of his men.

These men stepped forward, grabbed the group from behind, and they pressed whites clothes over their noses and mouths. They held on as the group struggled, trying and failing to not breath in the chloroform, and they all eventually breathed in the sweet-smelling chemical, passing out.

*****

Joey was the first to regain consciousness and he discovered that he and his friends had been chained to six x-poles, and that he, Dawn, Nikita, Curtis, and Matt didn’t have their coats and/or jackets, and even the detective’s sunglasses were missing. Also, he had a pounding headache from the chloroform, and that wasn’t helping him in the slightest.

“Stupid chloroform,” the Savant grumbled as his friends also regain consciousness.

“Not again,” Dawn grumbled, annoyed with the chains on her wrists and ankles. “What is it with bad guys using x-poles and chains?”

“I’m really over the whole being captured bit,” Manny stated, hoping that his makeup hadn’t been smeared earlier.

The Foreman and his men appeared, forming a circle around the captives. “Good, you’re awake.”

The group glared at the bad guys, furious with themselves for being captured…again.

“Now that you’re all awake,” the Foreman continued, snapping his fingers, and flood lights came on throughout the construction site, making the group blink in the bright lights, which didn’t do anything for their headaches, revealing that a series of different obstacles, puzzles, and climbing equipment had been set up, “I can explain the challenges you all will face.”

The group exchanged uneasy looks, especially when they saw the glass case on the other side of the site, and both Mortimer and Calliope were next to it, waiting for them.

“There are three challenges,” the Foreman explained, “you will go through the first challenge in teams of two, and I will decide on the teams. The four that make it through, they will do the second challenge, and the two that finish first, they will go onto the final challenge.”

“Wait, so there won’t be a vote?” Joey asked, feeling uneasy since this would be the second time that night.

The Foreman nodded. “Exactly, and whoever fails the final challenge, they will be crushed,” he added, pointing to a crane that was hoisting a large net filled with construction debris. “The winner and the rest will be spared.”

‘This is bad,’ Nikita thought, ‘we’re all at risk here.’

“For the first challenge,” the Foreman informed the group. “You will crawl through the army crawl, climb up the wall, cross a balance beam, and zip-line down to the other side. Once there, you must drink an entire bottle of beer, and whoever finishes first will go to the next challenge while the loser will be locked in the cage until the final challenge.” And he pointed to a cage that was on the back of a pickup truck.

Dawn wasn’t thrilled to hear that they would be drinking alcohol. “Does it really have to be beer?” she asked and the Foreman nodded, causing her to sigh in frustration. “Great, just great.”

This wasn’t good, not good at all.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER THREE: FIRST CHALLENGE

*****

The Foreman took out a pair of green dice. “Now to see who goes first.” He rolled the dice and it came up with two and six. “The Light-bearer and the detective will go first.”

Two construction workers freed Dawn and Matt, escorting them to the starting line, and they looked at each other.

“Good luck, Matpat.”

“Good luck, Donny.”

“Go!” the Foreman shouted.

Dawn and Matt immediately dropped to their stomachs and began crawling under the barbwire netting used to train soldiers, staying as close to the ground as possible. Reaching the other side at the same time, they got up and ran to the slanted wall, climbing it.

*****

Reaching the top slightly ahead of Matt, Dawn got up and started across the balance beam with her arms out, focusing on the other side.

She was halfway across when the detective reached the balance beam, and she could hear him muttering about physics, but she tuned him out.

*****

Reaching the platform without falling, Dawn ran forward, grabbed the handles, and pushed off with a shout. “Geronimo!” She flew down the zip-line, and almost face-planted when she landed.

Regaining her balance, the brunette ran to the tables with two beer bottles, grabbed one, and bracing herself, started to drink as the detective reached the zip-line.

The second that the brown liquid hit the back of her throat, Dawn started coughing as it burned going down, and she was gagging on the taste. “Oh Lordy!” she moaned, bending over as she gagged. “How – how can anyone drink this?! It’s disgusting!” She was certain that the beer was just as disgusting as the soup that she, Joey, and Tyler had had to sample last year, plus the demon blood, too.

Grimacing, Dawn tried to take another drink of the beer just as Matt arrived, nearly falling over after letting go of the zip-line, and she ended up coughing and gagging again while he ran to the second bottle and began draining it without even taking a breath. “Ooh, there’s no way I can drink this. No way at all.”

No sooner had the brunette said this, the detective finished off the beer and banged the bottle back onto the table. “Done!” he declared and looked at his friend, concerned. “Donny, you ok?”

“I will be after I throw up for the third time tonight,” Dawn replied as two of the construction workers came forward. “You did good, Matt, you did good,” she added as she was escorted toward the waiting cage by one construction worker while the other construction worker escorted the detective to a set of steps that lead up to the next challenge.

*****

After seeing the results of the first team, the Foreman turned back to the remaining YouTubers, and held up the dice. “Well, that was interesting and a bit disappointing on the part of the Light-bearer,” he remarked, ignoring the dark looks that Joey was shooting at him. “Anyway, this next dice roll with decide on the final two team ups, and there are three slots left, so good luck to you all.” And he rolled the dice, getting a one and a five. “The Savant and the Troublemaker.”

Freed of the chains, Joey and Nikita were escorted to the starting line, and they exchanged a look right before the Foreman shouted, “Go!”

They both immediately got down on their stomachs and began crawling under the netting, which kept snagging Nikita’s wig, slowing her down a bit, and so Joey was the first one through. He was halfway up the wall when the Troublemaker finally made it out of the netting, and when she was halfway up the wall, the Savant was already on the platform and crossing the balance beam.

*****

Dawn was watching the progress of her friends from the cage, and when Joey suddenly lost his balance halfway across the beam, she clutched the bars of the cage as he toppled off, only to catch the beam to keep himself from falling to the ground.

“Joey! Oh lordy! Get up! Get up!” she shouted, not wanting to know what would happen if he had hit the ground.

*****

‘Of all the times to slip!’Joey thought, struggling to pull himself back onto the balance beam while Nikita was making her way across the other balance beam, and he managed to get back on, just as she reached the other side. Instead of trying to stand up again, given how badly he was shaking, he scooted across, and got back onto his feet just as the Troublemaker pushed off, zooming down the zip-line.

The Savant hurried to the zip-line, grabbed the handles, and pushed off, heading for the landing, where Nikita was already drinking the bottle of beer, and he stumbled a bit when he landed. Hurrying to the table, he grabbed the remaining beer bottle, just as the Troublemaker finished hers off and slammed the bottle on the table.

“Done!” Nikita declared and looked at Joey, who was just sighing and shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Joey, I really am.”

“No, you did good, Nikita,” Joey stated as the construction worker stepped forward and gripped his arm. “You did good.” He then protested when the reptilian man yanked him away. “Hey! No need to man-handle me! I’m going! I’m going!”

Nikita still felt a bit guilty as the second construction worker took her by the arm and escorted her over to where Matt was waiting by the steps, but she had won the first challenge, and there were still two challenges left before one of them had to die.

*****

The second that Joey was shoved into the cage and the door was locked, Dawn immediately hugged him tightly.

“Oh, my gosh,” she gasped. “I really thought you were going to fall.”

“Same here,” the Savant agreed, “same here.” And he kept her close as they both turned to watch since it was now time for Manny and Curtis to take part in the first challenge. They didn’t know what would happen if only one of the boys made it through, but it was possible that if only one of them made it, then the two of them might have to go through the challenge again in order for there to be four for the second challenge.

*****

Manny and Curtis were freed of the chains and escorted to the starting line for the challenge. Having realized that there were two slots left to fill, they were both determined to finish the challenge at the same time in order to make sure that Dawn and Joey weren’t forced into the next challenge instead.

“Go!”

They both dropped onto their stomachs and crawled under the barbwire netting, reach the other side at the same time, and they both climbed up the slanted wall. Reaching the top at the same time, they crossed the balance beam, where Manny did wobble for a moment, but they both managed to get across at the same time.

Reaching the zip-lines, they both zoomed down, with Manny reaching the ground first, but he hesitated just long enough for Curtis to join him, and they both ran to the tables. Grabbing the beer bottles, they both downed the contents, finishing at the same time, and set the bottles on the table. “Done!”

“We have the four for the next challenge,” the Foreman announced as the two boys were escorted to Matt and Nikita, and then they were marched up the steps to the next level. A construction worker climbed into the truck, and he drove it up the incline so that the brunette and the Savant could see the next challenge, and see who would win and who would end up in the cage with them.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER FOUR: SECOND CHALLENGE

*****

The Foreman joined the four YouTubers on the platform and gave them their next set of instructions for the second challenge.

“This time, you four will be going through the challenge at the same time,” he explained. “And the two that win, they will go into the final challenge to determine the final victor. There are four puzzles that you must solve: the first is to flip over cards until you find four matching photos. The second is to put together a 3-D puzzle. The third is to stack cups into the shape of a tower without knocking them over. And the fourth is the disc challenge, which I know two of you are familiar with.”

Matt and Manny recognized the disc challenge from the one that they had done in order to get the amulet of youth from the witches, and it had been a bit of a struggle for Manny, but he had managed to solve it.

“Go!”

The four ran to the four tables that had five lines of cards facing down, and they began flipping them over, trying to find the four matching photos in order to move onto the next puzzle while Dawn and Joey cheered them on from the nearby cage.

Matt managed to find four matching pairs fairly quickly and he ran to start the second puzzle, finding that he would need to both stack the pieces on top of each other, and then insert the other pieces into the proper places. ‘I can do this,’ he thought, grabbing the pieces and began assembling the puzzle. ‘I cando this, and I am not dying again!’

*****

Finding the four pairs, Nikita ran to the second puzzle and began working on it, using a photo on the table for comparison, and it wasn’t long before she and Matt were joined by Manny and Curtis.

All four worked on the puzzles, and the detective finished first, followed by Curtis, and they both ran to work on the third puzzle while Nikita and Manny were struggling to get the pieces to fit.

*****

Both Matt and Curtis were halfway through stacking the plastic cups into a pair of towers when Nikita and Manny finally reached them. They all were working quickly, and the Mechanic did groan in frustration when half of his tower toppled and he had to start over.

Finishing first, the detective ran to do the disc challenge, quickly followed by Nikita, and then by Manny and Curtis.

*****

Just like the last time he did the disc challenge, Matt finished first and hurried to the steps that would lead up to the third and final challenge, and he turned to watch as his three friends worked on the disc challenge.

Although having done it before, Manny was struggling with it, and so was Nikita since she normally didn’t do this kind of puzzles. Curtis was doing a good job with the challenge, and in the end, he managed to finish.

“We have our two finalists,” the Foreman announced and both the Record Producer and the Troublemaker both stopped, sighing in defeat. “Take them to the cage and drive them all up for the final challenge.”

Two construction workers escorted Manny and Nikita to the cage, where they joined Dawn and Joey, while two other construction workers escorted Matt and Curtis up the steps to the third and final challenge, and they all knew that this particular challenge would be the final death challenge.

“You both did a good job with the puzzles,” Dawn told Manny and Nikita as the pickup truck started moving up the incline once again.

“Yeah, you both did,” Joey agreed.

Nikita and Manny both weakly smiled at their friends, but it was clear that they were worried about what the final challenge was going to be, and who was going to win it. They all knew that Matt didn’t want to die again, and they also knew that Curtis wasn’t likely to go down without a fight, but at the same time, they knew that he would do what he needed to do in order for the mission to be successful, too.

*****

When they all had reached the location of the final challenge, they saw that it was a tall climbing wall, very similar to the one seen in Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, only this one wasn’t spinning. Matt felt his stomach drop, followed by his heart. He was suppose to climb that?!

‘Great,’ the detective thought uneasily, ‘I’m going to die…again, and there won’t be any way to bring me back this time.’

Curtis stared at the climbing wall, but instead of feeling scared, he was feeling calm. He knew that could only be one winner at the end of the challenge, and whoever won would be able to get the part needed to cleanse the artifact while the person who lost would die in order for the cleansing to work.

‘I don’t know if Dawn and Joey have made the connection between Matt and the prophecy,’ he thought, glancing over as the pickup truck arrived with the cage containing his friends, ‘but I have figured it out. The survivors of each incident, including whoever survives this one, are all connected to the prophecy, and they all will be needed for the final battle against the Cursed God. I wish I could tell them, but there isn’t time.’

The Foreman spoke, pulling both boys from their thoughts. “Release the four from the cage,” he ordered and when this was done, he turned to Matt and Curtis. “As you can see, the final challenge will require climbing to the top while trying to knock each other off by either pushing or pulling on the poles sticking out the sides.” He then smirked. “However, you both have a unique option before you. If you both desire, you each can choose one of your friends to take your place in the challenge instead.”

They all stared at the Foreman in shock at this plot twist. Matt and Curtis could choose among their friends to take their places in the final death challenge?!

The detective and the mechanic exchanged uneasy looks. Would either of them be selfish enough to risk their friends instead of their own necks?

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER FIVE: FINAL CHALLENGE

*****

Matt and Curtis stared at the Foreman, surprised and shaken by the choice before them: they could either choose two of their friends to do the final challenge instead of them, or they could do the challenge with one of them winning and one of them dying. Out of all the twists that they’d experienced that night, this was a major big one.

They looked at Dawn, Joey, Manny, and Nikita, who were all looking equally surprised and worried by this twist of fate, and then they turned away to quietly converse among themselves, trying to decide of what to do.

“How are we suppose to choose?” Matt whispered, feeling uneasy since he knew that if Joey or Dawn died in the challenge, they all would be screwed, and he knew that neither Manny nor Nikita would want to go into another challenge, especially not Manny having just barely done his third challenge earlier with the witches.

“I don’t know,” Curtis admitted, having been wrong-footed by this, too. He was prepared to die to help the mission, but to choose someone to take his place and possible die his death, he wasn’t sure if he could do that. ‘Some members of the Society Against Evil would probably do that,’ he thought, ‘but I can’t do that. Can I?’ No, he wasn’t going to throw anyone under the bus, he knew what he had to do, and it was time to do it.

Whispering to Matt his choice, who nodded in agreement, they both turned to face the bad guys and their friends. “We’re staying in the challenge.”

The Foreman nodded, clearly disappointed by the choice that the detective and the mechanic had made, and turned to the relieved quartet. “Go up those stairs to join your protectors.”

The quartet quickly ran up the nearby stairs to join Mortimer and Calliope, relieved to see that they had Joey and Dawn’s coats, Nikita’s jacket, and the jackets belonging to Curtis and Matt. Pulling on their respective coats and jacket, they turned to watch the events below, and to see which of their friends were going to make it out alive.

*****

Two construction workers fitted Matt and Curtis with climbing harnesses, which ropes were also attached to, and they listened as the Foreman gave them their instructions.

“You both must climb the wall as quickly as possible, for you will only  have thirty minutes, and if neither of you win before the time is up, then I will have two of your friends do the wall instead. Remember, whoever fails to win, that person will be crushed quite literally.”

The detective and the mechanic both nodded, their expressions grim as they faced the wall while two construction workers held onto the ropes that were now attached to their harnesses. Knowing that there was a time limit on this challenge, it made the stress that they were now under even higher then before.

“Good luck, Matt.”

“Good luck, Curtis.”

“Go!” the Foreman shouted, starting the timer.

Both Matt and Curtis started climbing up the wall, occasionally shoving at the poles to try and knock the other down as they made their way up, and there was one moment, when the detective was knocked away from the wall by getting hit in the stomach by one of the poles that the mechanic had shoved at hard.

Matt, however, grabbed the rope and swung his legs, enabling him to return to the wall, and he resumed climbing, for he wasn’t going to die again if he could get away with it.

‘Not again, I am not dying again!’ he thought, quickly catching up with Curtis and shoved two of the poles through the other side, sending the mechanic spinning off the wall and into the air.

*****

Above them on the platform with the glass case, the group watched with uneasiness since this was proving to be the toughest challenge so far, and they didn’t know for sure of which friend was going to make it to the top before the time was up.

Even though they would rather have both Matt and Curtis make it safely to the top, they knew that only one would be able to win, and the other was going to die painfully under a pile of junk.

*****

There was ten minutes left on the timer and both Matt and Curtis were getting close to the top of the wall, despite the number of times that they’d had used the poles on each other, and both of them were sweating by this point since it was taking a lot out of them.

“Curtis,” Matt said, panting as he paused to look at his friend that was opposite of his location. “I have nothing against you, and I consider you a good friend, but I am not dying again!”

“I don’t expect you to die again either, Matt,” Curtis replied, already having an idea of what the detective was going to do in order to give himself a chance to win, and he was prepared for it to happen. “One of us isn’t going to make it, and I rather you win.”

Both sad and grateful that the mechanic understood, Matt grabbed the pole, which just happen to be under Curtis’ feet, and yanked it, so that his friend ended up yelping as he toppled through the air, only the harness and the rope keeping him from plunging to the ground. He then climbed the rest of the way up, and reached the platform by pulling himself over the railing.

Manny and Joey both ran forward and helped free the detective of the harness and the rope before they were joined by Dawn, Nikita, Mortimer, and Calliope, and they all looked down at Curtis, who was holding onto the rope and looking up at them with a sad smile on his face. “Curtis…”

“It’s fine,” Curtis told them as the construction worker began lowering him back to the ground. “I’ll be seeing our friends soon, and you all will finish the mission to stop the Carnival Master once and for all.” He didn’t fight when, after reaching the ground, two construction workers removed the harness and marched him toward the crane with its’ deadly load.

He knew that his time was over.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER SIX: THE DEATH OF A FRIEND

*****

Hearing a clicking sound, the group turned to see the case glow gold and pop open, revealing the white hammer head waiting inside.

They hurried over to the case, where Matt grabbed the hammer head while Joey and Manny removed the strap on the hammer, taking the black head off, and the detective shoved the new head on, hoping to get it into place before their friend got pancaked.

Unfortunately, right before they could finish strapping it on, they heard the crane power up, and to their horror, they could only watch as the net of debris dropped out of the sky and onto Curtis with a sickening crunch!

Covering their mouths with their hands, both Nikita and Dawn turned away, feeling sick while the boys finished strapping the white hammer head onto the hammer, making the artifact glow with an eerie blue color as it was cleansed, and both the Foreman and his crew cried out as they were vaporized into black smoke that quickly disappeared.

The Light stirred inside the brunette, making her gasp as she lit up brightly for several seconds before fading to a soft glow, and she was feeling solight-headed this time, that she ended up fainting and Manny just barely managed to catch her before she hit the hard wooden floor of the platform.

“Let’s get out of here,” Joey said and, with Matt’s help, hoisted their unconscious friend onto Manny’s back, and they hurried down the stairs, passed the debris pile that their late friend was now trapped under, and out of the construction site.

*****

By the time the group reached the arcade, Dawn had regained consciousness, wasn’t glowing anymore, and she was trying to convince the Record Producer to let her down, but he wasn’t going to until they were safely back inside the building.

“Seriously, Manny,” Dawn protested. “I can walk just fine.”

“Not going to happen, honey.”

The brunette groaned and grumbled that she didn’t need anymore friends acting like overprotective siblings, and the group snickered despite the grim situation.

*****

Once they were inside the arcade, Dawn was able to leave Manny’s back, and they all entered the lounge, where Matt placed the hammer in a display case with the other eight artifacts, and he faced his friends. “One to go, and then we’re done.”

They all nodded, knowing that when they finally found the last artifact and it’d been cleansed, meaning that one more of their number would die, then they would be able to use the cleansed artifacts, plus the Light, to finally put an end to both the Carnival Master and the night.

They all watched as Calliope set Curtis’ jacket on a chair next Esther’s, and then she added one of his cards to the ticket box that held the cards of their fallen friends.

Soon, they would be able to go back home…hopefully.

To Be Continued…

*****

I have so many, so many regrets.

So many lies, so many broken ties.

I wish for my old life.

Wish I could fix my strike.

Cause no one truly escapes the night.

Oh, won't you help me escape the night.

Oh baby help me escape the night.

Escape the night.