Chanyeol came skidding to a stop in front of the elevators.

Or at least what used to be the elevators.

Instead of smooth black doors that usually stood between the staircases of the first floor, a crumpled black mess now took its place. Smoke seeped through the bent crack of the two sliding doors.

"Kris" Chanyeol whispered, just as Lay and Baekhyun came running up behind him.

"No" they both breathed out, and Chanyeol felt his chest tighten.

Because somewhere in that mess Kris would probably be found.

And unlike the others, Chanyeol really wasn't sure if he was just unconscious either.

Shoving that previous dark thought aside, Chanyeol squared his shoulders and strode over to the crumpled elevator. Slipping his fingers inside the gap, Chanyeol ignored the burn from the hot metal against his skin as he pulled. 

The door barely moved an inch. 

Chanyeol tried to ignore the tears running down his face as he pulled harder, his arms screaming in protest. Another set of hands came into Chanyeol's blurred vision, pulling from the other side, and Chanyeol turned his head to look at Lay, the other boy's mouth set in a tight line.

Together, the two managed to drag the bent doors apart a little further, coughing as the smoke from the elevator hit their faces. 

"Yi Fan" Chanyeol gasped out, pulling relentlessly at the doors.

No response came from inside the pitch black elevator.

Chanyeol got down on his knees, trying to squeeze his way into the elevator, but his shoulders were too broad to fit.

Slender hands tugged gently on Chanyeol's shoulder, and the boy turned to look up at Baekhyun.

"Move" Baekhyun instructed, shooing Chanyeol out of the way.

Once Chanyeol slid over onto the floor, chest rising and falling rapidly, Baekhyun took his place, peering into the elevator on his hands and knees. Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun tried to ignore the heat coming from the crumpled metal in front of him before getting lower and sliding into the darkness. He made the mistake of taking a breath when he was partially inside, his legs still sticking out of the doors.

"Kris?" Baekhyun coughed out, trying to rid himself of the feeling of dread in the bottom of his stomach. He couldn't see anything in the darkness, his eyes widening to try and catch a glimpse of anything. But the compartment wasn't that big, so Baekhyun just flailed his arms around, hoping to connect with something.

What he did not expect, however, was for his hand to land in some warm, sticky liquid. 

Baekhyun bit back the scream in his throat, pushing the horrific images out of his mind as he reached further.

Chanyeol and Lay held their breaths outside the elevator, watching with wide eyes as Baekhyun's slim legs slid further inside until only his calves and shoes stuck out.

Baekhyun's hand finally connected with something soft, and as he felt around he realized it was Kris' arm. Holding a hand near Kris' face, Baekhyun felt a small puff of breath brush against his hand and he nearly let out a sob.

"Kris" Baekhyun cried out in relief, grabbing Kris' other arm and kicking his legs around.

"Pull me out, guys, quick!" Baekhyun shouted over his shoulder, hooking his hands under Kris' arms and hoping they could hear him. He felt large hands wrap around his ankles and then Baekhyun was sliding backward, blinking as the dim lights outside hit his eyes.

"You have to pull the doors further, he won't be able to fit" Baekhyun gasped out, hands disappearing into the elevator still wrapped tightly around Kris' arms.

Chanyeol and Lay jumped up, pulling at the doors with all of their last energy, cries tearing out of their throats at the exertion.
Baekhyun scrambled to his knees, heaving Kris' limp body out of the crumpled mess. As he did so, he saw his hand, stained red, and gulped. Baekhyun felt his heart clench just a little when he pulled Kris completely out of the elevator.

His light colored hair stuck up at various angles, and when Kris groaned and rolled his head to the side, Baekhyun found the source of the redness. The back of Kris' head was covered in it, his hair matted with blood. Chanyeol gritted his teeth and continued checking the injured boy for any other problems, hoping he would find none. Kris' face had a few scrapes on it, black soot smudged across his right cheek and traveling down his neck. As the three boys continued checking for other injuries, Lay noticed a small trickle of blood running down Kris' left wrist. Gingerly pulling back the ripped sleeve of Kris' shirt, their eyes widened as they took in the sight.

Little black shards of glass scattered their way along Kris' arm up to his elbow, small trails of blood seeping from each one until they all connected at the bottom, forming a larger line of blood. There were too many shards embedded in Kris' skin to consider removing, and even if they did, the wounds would just open up further. Fortunately, the rest of Kris seemed mostly unharmed, but his ugly head wound nagged in the back of their minds.

"As has been said, well, seven times now, please leave competitor seven in his place" Luhan's smug voice rang out over the speakers, and Baekhyun and Lay stood up. Chanyeol, however, remained on the floor, kneeling next to Kris' body with a frown twisting his face.

"Chanyeol" Lay started with a warning tone, remembering the incident with Xiumin, but Chanyeol sat still. Before Lay spoke again, Chanyeol looked up.

"Could you guys give me a minute, please? I promise I won't do anything stupid" Chanyeol said with a pleading tone, his dark brown eyes glistening in the dim light.

Baekhyun gently grabbed Lay's arm and pulled him around the corner, slumping against the wall and beckoning for Lay to do the same. Lay sighed and slid down the wall next to Baekhyun's smaller form, leaning his head against his shoulder. He felt achy all over, knowing in the back of his mind that it wasn't all from lack of sleep or running around the school. Not to mention the uneasy feeling in his stomach that came after Luhan had taken off after Kyungsoo. But there was nothing he could do now, Luhan could be anywhere in their large school. So Lay simply closed his eyes, feeling the soft press of Baekhyun's head against his, and waited. 

"What are we gonna do now, Baek?" Lay spoke softly, his eyes still shut.

Baekhyun sighed next to him, his small form partially slumped against Lay as well. 

"I don't know, Hyung, we don't even know where Luhan and Kyungsoo are," Baekhyun responded quietly, not wanting to open his eyes.

Lay felt another wave of worry wash over him at the reminder. 

"Does someone have to win? And then they can get out maybe?" Lay pursued, trying to think of some sort of escape. 

"Maybe, but I know none of us are going to turn on each other" Baekhyun replied, and Lay tensed at the thought.

'I hope you're right, Baek' he thought before relaxing against Baekhyun again.

Chanyeol rounded the corner where the two sat, towering over them as they glanced up. Fresh tear tracks streaked the taller boy's face, a haunted look present in his even darker eyes. But before Lay or Baekhyun could speak, Chanyeol cut them off.

"Let's go, we can find somewhere to lie down. I don't know about you guys, but I feel sort of exhausted" Chanyeol said, a smile that didn't even near his eyes ghosting over his face. He took off down the dark hallway, long legs carrying him fast, while Lay and Baekhyun scrambled to their feet and followed.
 

Kyungsoo came to in pitch blackness on his hands and knees, heart thundering in his chest and the flash of Xiumin's grin lurking in his mind. He could feel tears dripping off his face as he panted on the cold ground, still feeling like he was falling. 

Once he'd calmed down a bit, his guilt from Xiumin as present as ever, Kyungsoo stood. Wobbling a bit, he reached a hand out in the darkness to steady himself, making contact with some sort of shelf. Kyungsoo really couldn't remember how he'd wound up in wherever he was, he wasn't really sure if it was even real. Feeling his way along the shelf, Kyungsoo tripped over some sort of bucket and almost fell, letting out a small curse. Reaching another arm out, Kyungsoo's hand made contact with cold, solid, wall. He gulped, because whatever room this was, it didn't seem very big at all if he could touch both sides of it with his wingspan. The major problem this led to, however, was the quickening of Kyungsoo's pulse as his mind began to race.

Kyungsoo had been slightly claustrophobic ever since he was little, but due to the current events of the night, his 'slight' claustrophobia just turned into severe claustrophobia. 

Kyungsoo breathed out slowly, eyes widening even more in an attempt to glimpse anything. Reaching behind him, Kyungsoo's fear was quickly confirmed; the third wall was barely a foot from his back. 

At least Kyungsoo knew the one direction the door could be in; directly in front of him. Stumbling forward blindly, Kyungsoo felt the cold metal of a door under his fingers and he breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Ok handle, handle, come on" Kyungsoo muttered to himself, running his hands all over the door in search of a handle.

However, by the time Kyungsoo had reached the bottom of the door without finding a handle, he knew something was wrong.

Kyungsoo's breathing started coming faster as he sunk to his knees, hands still up on the door. 

"Ok, it's ok. There's got to be another exit somewhere" Kyungsoo whispered to himself, head hanging between tense shoulders.

He stood up and turned, feeling around blindly.

And promptly ran into the opposite wall.

Kyungsoo's eyes widened even further as his stomach dropped.

Because that wall had definitely been further away just a couple minutes ago. 

Kyungsoo could hear his own heavy pants fill the silent air around him as a drop of sweat trickled down the back of his neck. He flailed his arms out to his sides, heart skipping a beat when he realized that he couldn't even fully extend them without his hands pressing against the walls.

"No, nonononono" Kyungsoo whispered feverishly to himself, feeling his chest tighten. He reached a hand up tentatively, hoping he wouldn't feel anything.

And yet his hand came into contact with the cold stone ceiling, not a foot away from his head.

Kyungsoo recoiled as if he'd been burnt, spinning around in a circle and feeling cold walls on all sides of him, even closer than before. Squeezing his eyes shut, Kyungsoo wished he could just pass out, but no such relief came.

He wrapped his arms around himself, sinking down to his knees as hard heaves wracked his small body.

Kyungsoo couldn't help the scream that ripped from his throat when the cold ceiling brushed against the top of his head.

Yaaay for double updates!! Enjoyyyy;);) Oh, and if anyone's confused at. all. please comment and I'll try to explain anything!!

~LateNightBubbleTea