Sungyeol twitched, he could feel himself finally coming to – how long was he out? Even he did not know. He blinked groggily, his whole body ached, as he sat up he felt a stabbing pain in his stomach, looking down, he found himself dressed in something that looked similar to white silk pajamas, through the thin fabric, he could see the bandages decorating his torso. His blurred vision focused on a body lying beside his, his groggy mind tried to connect a name to the familiar bruised face.

“Niel?” whispered Sungyeol in complete and utter shock, his winced at the sound of his own voice; it was hoarse and rather raspy – as if it hadn’t been used in days. He rubbed his throat, looking around to see that he was in some sort of cell in a well lit room which held different tables of test tubes and…torture devices.

Sungyeol flinched as the metallic scent of an excessive amount of blood invaded his nostrils, making him feel nauseous. Closing his eyes, he placed a hand over his stomach – feeling bile forcing its way up through his throat he flipped over, finding a bucket lying right beside his bed. Upon finding the said item, he released the contents of his stomach into it. The acid coming from his stomach made his throat burn and tears prick his eyes.

With a shaking hand, he wiped off his lips once he finished throwing up the contents of his stomach and once the ill feeling in his stomach passed. He panted as he looked around again, this time his vision blurred by tears.

As he looked around, he flinched as an agony filled scream penetrated his eardrums, shaking him to his core – he automatically turned away from the walls, peering past the bars to gasp in shock, “Myungsoo!”

He was going to question the younger even more; however that was until he saw the lengthy figure that towered over even him. He stared in shock as the ghostly white skinned male turned to look at him, a creep smile spreading over his lips – showing off his almost too perfect, white teeth.

“Ah, you’re finally up, Lee Sungyeol,” stated the doctor, smirking in the eight teen year old’s direction, “I was worried that you’d never wake up – you were out for about a week…It’s been a week and a half since you all entered this place after all.”

Sungyeol felt butterflies rising up within his stomach, please understand, that these butterflies were not the good ones – they were the nervousness one would feel when standing face to face with a person who could kill you with a simple snap of their fingers.

“W-who are you?” croaked Sungyeol, staring at the male with wide, frightened eyes.

“I am Dr. Esper, the man who brought you all together,” stated the man, stepping ever so closer to the cage Sungyeol was trapped in.

Sungyeol felt his eyes staring past the doctor and towards the two males who were chained to the wall; both were dressed in bandages, however one was unconscious while Myungsoo was very much conscious and in pain – aware of the angry red lines that stuck out against his pale skin.

“Myungsoo…” whispered Sungyeol, surprised that the younger lifted his head – despite how weak he felt and made eye contact with the elder.

“Ah, you obviously recognize your partner through this whole experiment,” stated the man, his smirk growing wider, more noticeable as he spoke with a smug tone, “Since you are up and I want some entertainment, seeing as how not one of you have provided it for me yet – I’ll let you chose which of these males live and which of these males die.”

Sungyeol felt his eyes grow impossibly wider at the man’s words, his heart beating in his chest.

“Which will survive Sungyeol, your partner through this whole thing who was honorable enough to come and attempt to save you or the male who stayed behind to kill the person he had fallen in love with, who had gone insane?” whispered the man, his eyes staring straight into Sungyeol’s soul as the younger panicked silently, his gaze going between the two, as if he was really considering which one to allow the man to kill.

“I-I can’t choose,” whispered Sungyeol, peering at the man in defeat, “I j-just can’t do that.”

“But you have to Sungyeol, because if you don’t choose one, I’ll kill them both,” stated the man, a broad and sadistic smile spreading over his face as he spoke those venomous, threatening words. He lusted for others’ pain, he enjoyed watching others squirm – hearing the pain in their voices, hearing people’s pitiful cries, “What is your choice Sungyeol, which one? Or should I just go ahead and kill them both?”

Sungyeol opened his mouth to speak, however, no words came out – he didn’t know what to say. However, the scientists’ attention was turned away from him as another tremor hit the house, making the wooden boards above their head creak.

“God damn it,” hissed the man, “I should’ve paid attention the first time…they’re too close…too close…the shadows…too close. Snap out of it. B-but they are too close…you slipped up this time…”

The two looked at the man in confusion as he suddenly vanished; he seemed very panicked as he did so. Sungyeol and Myungsoo then glanced at each other, mirroring each other’s confusion.

“Myungsoo,” whispered Sungyeol in worry, watching as the younger panted out – his head drooping from the pain that coursed up and down his spine, “Myungsoo, are you alright?”

Myungsoo gasped out, responding rather raspily, “I-I’m fine Sungyeol.”

His pale face stated otherwise though. He was covered in a thin layer of sweat and most of his white shirt was stained red.

“M-Myungsoo, you clearly aren’t well,” whispered Sungyeol, “Tell me the truth, are you alright?”

Myungsoo nodded, “I’ll be fine, I’m more concerned about you. You’re in worse shape than I am – or so you look like you are.”

Sungyeol looked at the younger in confusion before actually accessing the damage done to his body, his wrist was in a cast like material and was throbbing painfully, the rest of his body ached and he had bandages covering most of his torso, shoulders, part of his neck, and there were a couple on his legs.

Myungsoo then continued to speak, “I thought you were dead Sungyeol, which was why I came back…Sungjong and Hoya reacted horribly to the fact that I left you behind and I was getting eaten alive by guilt.”

Sungyeol hummed, before finally processing something the younger had said, “Sungjong found Hoya?”

Myungsoo nodded, “Which was why I came after you, after he was handed off to Hoya – I came to find you. He is in better hands; he’s safer if he is with Hoya.”

Sungyeol nodded, before turning to look around the room, seeing  so much blood throughout the room – both old and newer, “W-We need to find a way out of here…or else we’ll turn up like those monsters we saw roaming the halls, both human and nonhuman.”

Myungsoo nodded, trying to move his wrists, which were pinned against the wall by metal cuffs, but it was to no avail – he was locked against the wall, though he didn’t figure that it would work, he thought it’d be worth a try.

Sungyeol on the other hand, forced himself up out of bed, he groaned in pain, automatically feeling Myungsoo’s eyes on him as he did so.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” questioned Myungsoo.

Sungyeol nodded, smiling at him brightly despite the situation, “I’m feeling peachy.”

Myungsoo couldn’t resist the urge to roll his eyes at the older male.

“Anyway, is there a way you can get out of that cell?” questioned Myungsoo, gasping out again as pain surged through his body as he shifted slightly against the wall.

Sungyeol looked around, throughally checking each bar, finding one that was loose, broken on the one side, “I could probably squeeze through this opening…However, I need someone to hold the bar.”

Just as Sungyeol said that word, a groan reverberated through the room, making them both tense up – however, when they saw that it was just the male beside Myungsoo, they felt relief flow through their veins.

“Ugh…” whispered the male, slowly lifting his head up, flinching as a pain rain up and down his spine, he blinked warily, peering at the two who were unconscious, “Where?”

“We’re in the heart of the building – the place where he makes his monsters,” whispered Sungyeol, peering at the male, “I’m Sungyeol, the male beside you is Myungsoo.”

“Cap,” whispered the male who had just regained his consciousness. His eyes traced around the room before landing on the familiar pale figure lying on a bed, “Stay away from him!”

Sungyeol looked up in shock, “Away from whom? Niel?”

Cap nodded, “Get away from him…he’s not himself anymore, the darkness got ahold of his mind…”

Sungyeol flinched and moved away from Niel as the younger groaned as well, his limbs twitching – showing that he was slowly regaining consciousness. A groan was emitted from between the male’s plush, pink lips.

“Cap…” whispered Niel, his eye lids fluttered until they finally opened.

Sungyeol pressed himself against the bars, ignoring the horrible pain that followed his movement.

“Niel?” whispered Sungyeol, cautiously – peering at his brother’s friend.

“Sungyeol?” whispered Niel, his eyes landing on Sungyeol – they were void of emotion, as if the male wasn’t even there.

“Niel, are you alright?” whispered Sungyeol.

“They’re coming…we need to get out of here…they’re coming the shadows…the true monster of this house…it’s coming…it’s angry…the doctor hasn’t given it enough souls,” whispered Niel, not making any sense to Sungyeol who continued to watch him with caution. Myungsoo and Cap were both tense as they watched the younger male talk to Sungyeol, they all could sense that something was off with Niel – he still wasn’t there, wasn’t in the right mind, but at the same time, he was.

The thought that flashed through Cap’s mind was that the younger wasn’t crazed like he had previously been, “He’s not attacking…”

Cap searched through his mind, thinking back to the journal entries that Changjo and Ricky had shown him when they were hidden out in the room for days, “D-did the crazy scientist give him something?”

Myungsoo nodded, “Some sort of potion…”

“A potion?” whispered Cap, his heart stopped, “Th-the sanity potion.”

“What?”

“There is this potion that apparently keeps you sane and if you’re insane, brings you back to sanity,” whispered Cap, “It was written in a journal entry someone in my group found.”

“You think that’s what he’s given him?”

Cap nodded towards Myungsoo, “Positive, he had been attacking himself – me – because of how nightmares were plaguing him even in the day time, when he was awake, now…now he’s just sitting there calmly, sure he’s not fully there, but he’s not vicious like he used to be.”

Myungsoo stared at Niel in shock.

“Yeolie-hyung, we need to get out of here…out here…shadows…demons…they’re coming…they’re coming,” whispered Niel, grasping ahold of the collar of Sungyeol’s shirt.

“If you want to get out, hold this bar for me…” whispered Sungyeol, soothing the younger who seemed to fall into a panicked trance, successfully snapping the younger out of it.

The male obliged to Sungyeol’s request and held the metal bar so that Sungyeol could slip out of the cage.

As Sungyeol stepped out, they were all shocked by yet a tremor in the earth, this time it was stronger than before – they all turned their attention towards Niel, who had suddenly started to whimper, falling to the ground, curling up into a ball, “It’s coming…only way to kill…fire….we need fire…burn this…they’re coming…it’s coming.”

Sungyeol felt a faint speck of panic coursing through his body at the younger’s actions and words.

“Get…” whispered Niel, “Out…shadows…get away…escape…now…we need to go now…”

“Sungyeol, find that key!” growled Myungsoo, he could feel the dark atmosphere spreading, growing heavier around them.

“The shadow will chase us…Dr. Esper…will chase us…burn…fire…they’re coming.”

Sungyeol closed his eyes, feeling the panic growing within him as he hurriedly searched through the torture chamber to find the key. Upon locating it, he freed Myungsoo and Cap, who both collapsed to the ground at, first, rubbing their sore, bruised wrists.  They all then moved to the cell in which Niel was being kept, helping the male out of the said thing. Cap hugged the babbling Niel while Sungyeol and Myungsoo discovered a new problem at hand; there wasn’t an exit out of the room.

“There has to be some sort of secret exit,” whispered Sungyeol, panic rising even higher the longer they stayed in the room with Niel, who was in hysterics now about how close the ‘shadow’ was.

“Once the shadow…here…nowhere…no hope…”

Suddenly, they heard the banging on the wall; they all jumped and turned towards a small opening they had discovered.

 “Sungyeol!” cried an all too familiar voice.

“Sungjong,” replied Sungyeol in complete and utter relief.

They're all alive still, however, there is something else reciding in the house of horrors, something that even the owner of the house is terrified of - what is it? What's going to happen next? 

Thank you to all my lovely readers, my 155 subbies, 12 upvoters, and all of you who commented on the other two chapters I posted in the past 24 hours. Anyway, I've decided to make it a triple update.

Enjoy, because we are really close to the end of this portion of the story, let's just say - more terrors await them both inside and outside of the mansion. 

Also, was this chapter too rushed, too confusing? Let me know and I'll ease your confusion. ^^