The Waking Ritual

"Excuse me, her boss?" Cyrus asked, standing up straight. "So you're a producer for this show? A major sponsor?"

"I run things." Mersache replied, before melting into a crimson puddle and rising from it straight in front of them a few seconds later. "From the network to the city itself."

"I'm sorry, the whole city?" Eric screamed. "So this whole death show was your idea?"

"Very much so." Mersache nodded calmly, without a shred of remorse in his voice. "Gets rid of criminals while also providing a good show for the decent folks at home. I feel it's a solution that pleases everyone."

"Are you serious?" Eric screamed. "All I did was make movies exposing the people who work for you! Wendy was related to someone who helped me, and that's what got her arrested!"

"A crime is a crime." Mersache replied calmly. "Don't commit them, and you live your stable life as per usual. Quite a simple idea, no?"

Eric took a step further, and Amber put a shadow infused hand on his shoulder.

"Eric. Don't do anything yet." She commanded quietly. "We don't know what he's capable of."

"No, no." Mersache replied condescendingly. "Get emotional, by all means. It'll benefit you in a few minutes."

"Benefit him how?" Cyrus asked calmly.

"You see, I'm something of a researcher." Mersache answered calmly. "Researching the limits of humans. Amber here has shone a glimpse into that world, and the two of you seem the closest to matching her.

"Due to all of us losing someone, correct?" Cyrus asked calmly.

"What an observation, Cyrus!" Mersache said, clapping his hands together in approval. "Yes, all of you have fresh deaths in your mind, so I feel like combining that with your natural strength makes you both excellent test subjects."

"Understand, Eric?" Cyrus said coldly. "If we get emotional now, we'll be feeding into him."

"Yeah. Yeah, I get it." Eric nodded. "Mind holding me back, anyway?"

Amber silently created a wall of shadow between them and Mersache.

"Now now, I don't feel like there's a need for closing yourself off like that." Mersache replied. "After all, I have one more thing to show you. I want you to ask yourself this question. What do we do with the bodies of the dead contestants? Have you ever wondered that?"

"Not particularly." Amber replied dryly. "But I feel as though you're about to tell us."

"Yes indeed." Mersache nodded. All was silent behind the wall of shadows for a few seconds, until the sound of a low mechanical whirring was heard for another few seconds, ending with a small thudding noise.

"Lower the shadows." Eric asked calmly.

Amber gave a weak nod, lowering the shadows.

The tube in between them and Mersache was big, with an orange tint on the inside. And behind that orange tint was the corpse of Yun-Yeong. The wound from her heart being pierced was still there. Her eyes were closed, and she lay unmoving in the tube.

"Just…what is that?" Cyrus asked. He tried desperately to maintain his composure, but he was shaking at what he was witnessing.

"What the fuck is this?" Eric screamed. Amber wrapped shadows around his arms just in case he tried anything rash.

"This, my dear Eric, is a preservation tank." Mersache began to explain calmly, putting his hand on the container, and Amber tugged the shadows back out of instinct.

"What is does is slowly encase the losing contestants in amber…no obvious relation to her, don't worry. Once they are fully preserved, we sell them off to the elite on level five as some exclusive merchandise."

"And Valentina?" Cyrus asked, his breathing getting heavier with every word.

"Already sold." Mersache replied calmly, putting his hands behind his back. "And Aurora too, if you were wondering. Quite the auction, in fact."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Eric screamed. And after that, it happened. Eric's eyes shone a brilliant blue for a split second, and a brief surge of energy caused the shadows surrounding him to come undone.

"Eric, wait!" Amber yelled.

But Eric was already charging at Mersache, claws of water on each fingernail. Mersache didn't move, allowing him to claw each of the fingernails into his face, laughing manically as he did so.

Everyone stood still for a brief second, until Mersache moved his left hand, allowing what looked like his own claw to form, stabbing it into Eric. Eric was sent flying into the right wall of the room, hitting his head against the hard metal once again. Eric lay unmoving for a brief second, until another surge of energy hit him, and he slowly got back on his feet.

"You are gonna die, Mersache." Eric announced calmly, staring him directly in his joyous eyes.

"Yes, yes! This is the attitude I need! The waking ritual begins now! Now, come at me with all your might, all three of you!"

The smiler directed Andrei, Micah, and Vanessa into a dark room by the warehouse, one at the very end of the range of metallic buildings.

"Goodbye." The smiler said calmly as the door to the buildings opened. Once they started opening, a small beeping noise started to emit from the smiler. The three of them slowly backed away from the building, with the metal doors automatically closing just before the explosion was heard.

"So, what's this?" Micah asked.

In front of them was a series of large metallic boxes. Nothing too out of the ordinary, and they lined up the entirety of the room.

"Did the smiler lead us to the wrong place?" Vanessa asked, a slow air of hope overcoming her nervous shaking. "Can we just wait for the challenge to end?"

Micah put his ear against the metal box, expecting to hear something on the other side. Just as he did, the box collapsed, leaving him falling flat on his face. When Micah looked up, he felt an elongated mechanical hand fly over him, grazing the top of his head. When the arm retracted, Micah looked at the robot it belonged too. Sleek grey metal and a body that looked almost human, except it had one big robotic eye instead of a head. Micah quickly scrambled to his feet, retreating to the box next to it where Andrei and Vanessa were waiting.

"What was that?" Vanessa asked, looking deathly pale and as if she was trying to stop herself from fainting.

"Some kind of robot." Micah explained quickly. "I don't know what'll happen if the arm grabs us, and I really want it to stay that way."

The sound of another metal block collapsing was heard after Micah finished talking, and Vanessa jumped, causing a small parasite to escape from her body.

"So, we just have to stay behind the boxes?" Andrei asked.

"Pretty much." Micah agreed.

Before he could go anywhere else, Vanessa grabbed him from behind, pinning his hands behind his back.

"W-what are you doing?" Micah yelled frantically.

"If the blocks fall in front of me, all I have to do is put you in front. Then I survive."

"Vanessa, are you doing? Andrei, get her off me!"

"Don't try it!" Vanessa yelled, tears in her eyes which were dead focused on Andrei. "If you try the parasites will be tunnelling into your skin before you know where your eyeballs went."

"Andrei, she's lying!" Micah yelled, but Vanessa tugged back on him, causing his glasses to fall off.

"Remember when I said I'd kill you?" Vanessa whispered emotionlessly. "I meant it. So, you better hope that the blocks don't fall, or you're out."

Silvia looked at the apartment building the smiler brought them to. It was a standard apartment building made of grey metal about ten floors tall, that looked completely innocent from the outside. Her watch buzzed as she went next to it.

'Second floor, first door past the stairs. Make sure you go into it.'

"Hey Silvia, what are you looking at?" Odebode asked.

"Wait, this is the challenge site?" Silvia asked innocently.

"Think so." Odebode replied.

"Iiittt isssss. Gooood luuucck." The smiler said innocently as the doors opened, and the beeping began. The three of them went into the building, and the doors closed just before the explosion hit their shoes.

"So, what's in here?" Odebode asked. "Are we meant to look for something?"

"I think we…actually, I have no clue." Silvia replied quickly.

"Well, if there's nothing here then we probably have to look for something." Wendy added.

And then a small symphony of raspy breaths was heard in the hallway. Odebode turned to his left, and a series of smilers were all in the hallways. One of them stumbled forward, and took a step back, before leaping at Odebode. He quickly summoned his sword and cut the smiler in half, creating an explosion which he barely managed to block by holding his blade to his face. But there were still roughly a dozen smilers in the hallway.

"What the fuck is happening?" Silvia yelled.

"We survive the smilers?" Wendy yelled back.

"Look, I don't know what the best plan is, but I think we need to get to the top floor." Odebode said calmly, swinging his sword at another smiler. "Then we can barricade it after taking out all the smilers.

"Sounds good." Silvia nodded. She still had the explosive in her hat and was wondering just how she could put it on Wendy.

"Okay. Wendy, I'll need you to send a shockwave to all the smilers, and then I'll cut through the rest. Silvia, you can keep watch."

"Sure thing." Silvia replied quickly.

Wendy ran her hands through her hair, letting out a shockwave to the smilers. All of them stood in place like awful statues, which let Odebode cut through them. Silvia got a set of vines ready to shield any explosions from the smilers, and the hallway was cleared.

"Next floor, let's go!"

The three of them climbed the stairs to the next floor, where another few dozen smilers were waiting, alongside the smell of rotting flesh.

"Just how many of these things are there?" Odebode yelled.

"Season's wrapping up, they're probably getting rid of all of them!" Silvia replied. Anyway, let's go!"

Odebode and Wendy pulled off the same technique, which cleared the hallways of any smilers, until the door opened, and they poured back in.

"Shit!" Odebode grunted.

Silvia took a step back towards a door nearby. But she briefly brushed past a smiler, which caused a set of beeping noises to emit from her watch. Wendy heard this and released a shock to Silvia which caused the smiler to stumble backwards into another one. And the beeping began. After five seconds, both of the smilers exploded, taking out a few more. Of course, another group of smilers went out.

"Look, I don't think this is gonna end." Silvia said, opening the door. "But I think we can hide in here until they all blow themselves up."

The three of them went into the room, with another explosion being heard just as the door was closed.

"So, we can wait here until the explosions die down, right?" Odebode asked.

"Think so. Right, Wendy?" Silvia asked.

But Wendy didn't reply.

It was a normal apartment. A small table with a small TV, some counters. A fridge. And a single lone person standing in the corner, not noticing anyone yet.

"Who's she?" Odebode asked.

"Probably some kind of smiler. Just stay away from it and we'll probably be good." Silvia whispered back. "Wendy, stay behind."

"But it's…but it's…Wendy fell to her knees, slamming her fists against the floor.

"Wendy? Is something up?" Odebode asked calmly.

"Je-J-Jea-J-J-Je-Je…" Wendy struggled to get the words out through her tears. Jolts of electricity came out as her head shook violently.

"What are you trying to say, Wendy?" Silvia asked. Shit. This was probably the thing the staff wanted her in here for.

"J-J-J…Jeanne! Why are you here?!"