He heard Chanyeol shout out behind him, fast footsteps quickly following, and Baekhyun pushed himself faster. He wasn't really sure where he was headed, but he couldn't let Chanyeol reach him.

He ran as fast as he could, the front office flashing past him, the dark classrooms and painted murals just a blur in his side vision.

Spotting the stairs in front of him, Baekhyun made a quick decision to go that route, hoping to throw Chanyeol off. 

"Baek!" Chanyeol shouted after the other, watching him start up the stairs. He couldn't let them separate again, he just knew it, so he sprinted harder, gaining quickly on Baekhyun. 

Baekhyun was halfway up the stairs when he heard Chanyeol's footsteps right behind him.

He'd just cleared the top of the stairs when Chanyeol tackled him. Sliding across the tile floor, Baekhyun felt himself get flipped over, the air going out of his lungs as his back connected with the ground. Baekhyun pushed against Chanyeol's chest weakly, unable to move his legs from under the taller boy. Struggle was useless against Chanyeol, however, as Baekhyun soon figured out when his hands were pinned firmly to the ground.

"What is going on, Baekhyun?" Chanyeol panted out, staring down at the other. Baekhyun opened his mouth as if to respond to Chanyeol, but suddenly he felt the air go out of his lungs as his vision darkened. 

Chanyeol let go of Baekhyun's wrists with wide eyes, watching as his friend gasped for air. 

Baekhyun clutched at Chanyeol's shirt, eyes going unfocused, and Chanyeol sat up and slid the smaller into his lap, rocking him back and forth.  Chanyeol could only stare at his own long legs hanging over the steps as he cradled Baekhyun against himself.

This was exactly what had happened to Lay, and Chanyeol felt a wave of familiarity wash over him as Baekhyun gasped for air, hands still clutching Chanyeol's shirt. Baekhyun's disheveled hair brushed under Chanyeol's chin as the shorter boy finally let himself press against Chanyeol's chest.

He knew what was going to happen to him anyways.

Baekhyun took one last breath, managing to choke out a word before the darkness fully overtook him.

Chanyeol froze when he heard the quiet "Why" whispered into his shirt.

Just before Baekhyun's eyes fell shut.

"Baek?" Chanyeol whispered against the other's soft hair.

There was no response. 

There was also no message over the intercom telling Chanyeol to leave Baekhyun in his place. 

Chanyeol was alone. 

The realization hit him hard, and Chanyeol gently lowered Baekhyun to the ground before turning and nearly running down the stairs. 

Jumping off of the last three, Chanyeol looked down the hallway with his heart thundering in his chest. 

A figure stood at the end of the hallway, and Chanyeol walked slowly towards it, recognizing Kris' features as he drew nearer. He looked normal, unharmed, although his eyes were darker than usual as shadows played across the angular planes of his face.

"Why?" Kris whispered, and once again Chanyeol felt the confusing waves of guilt crash over him. 

He reached out for Kris, but his hand simply passed through thin air where Kris should have been. 

Chanyeol felt warm tears streaming down his face as he looked down the other side of the hallway, seeing yet another figure standing at the end. This time they walked towards him, and Chanyeol realized it was Chen.

But then it was Suho, then Sehun, and then everyone else in order of when they'd been terminated, until finally Baekhyun was walking silently past Chanyeol, a whispered "Why" floating across his ear.

Chanyeol couldn't stop the tears as they came harder, before he turned and ran, trying to get away from the hallucinations, the guilt, the 'Game'. Bursting into one of the classrooms, Chanyeol shut the door and pressed his back against it, sinking down until he met the floor. 

The sound of his own breathing was the only thing that filled the silence around him, but then Chanyeol spotted some movement to his side.

Turning his head slowly, Chanyeol noticed writing covering the white board and frowned as he tried to read it. There was something familiar yet strange about the writing, and as Chanyeol stared harder he realized it was his own hand writing. 

Then he realized that the words were backwards. 

Chanyeol instinctively pressed his back harder against the closed door when he flipped the message in his mind.

'Help me' 

Those short words covered the entire board, each message written backwards in Chanyeol's own handwriting. 

Almost like he was trying to get out.

Chanyeol flung the door open, running through the hallways with no real destination in mind.

He passed each one of his friends as he sprinted through the hallways, flashing from Chen to Kai to Lay in mere seconds. By this point sobs were wracking Chanyeol's body as he ran, interlaced with the never-ending guilt, confusion, and tears coursing through him. He wound up in the empty cafeteria, skidding to a stop on the center where they'd all been relaxing before everything had started. 

"What is happening?" Chanyeol whispered to himself, holding his head in his hands.

The TVs around him all lit up at the same time, making Chanyeol's head snap up to the stare at the projectors. The entire screen turned black, just as white letters spread across the surface.

'But this was your 'Game' after all, Chanyeol. Wasn't it?' 

The words struck some sort of cord within Chanyeol.

And then the memories came rushing back.

Moving Kris away from the wrecked elevator while Lay and Baekhyun had waited for him around the corner, even wrapping the other's head to stop the bleeding.

No punishment had followed.

Then Chanyeol was seeing himself turning the little knob on his watch while the others weren't looking, starting with seven o'clock and then moving on to four o'clock.

He'd programmed his watch according to age, after all. 

Chanyeol dug his phone out of his pocket, staring at the screen which now lit up. 

It had run out of battery earlier though.

At least that's what Chanyeol thought.

The messages typed out on the screen were identical to the instructions that had been spoken over the intercom, identical to the instructions that everyone had seen scrawled across random walls and windows.

"No, it wasn't me" Chanyeol whispered, dropping his phone to the ground. But the memories didn't stop.

Next came Chanyeol wiring the controls of the school to his phone, from the locks to the lights, all with a blank look in his eyes.

Now the feelings of guilt and confusion finally made sense to Chanyeol, but that didn't stop them from coming.

"I'm so sorry" Chanyeol whispered as the truth sunk in. One by one the TV screens around him flickered out, the only light in the room emitted from Chanyeol's phone, lying on the ground.

But then he was turning the knob on his watch to eight o'clock, closing his eyes as he clicked it in.

It wasn't too long before the darkness came for him, too.

It's not over yet...and I know there are going to be questions so feel free to comment!! Thanks to everyone:) *hugs everywhere*