The other guys just nod, and we all go back inside. It's still a little early, but we figure, what the heck, let's go and see if we can get started on the fourth floor. We round up our carts and head towards the elevator.

  While we are getting on the elevator. “Hey Mark, will he let us start early?”

  Mark doesn't really say anything.

  I glance at Wade, and he glances back at me. We both turn to stare at Mark. "I don't know. I've never tried to go to the fourth floor this early.”

  “Leif, let me do the talking. Don't start any shit.”

  I give him a nod. Like I would poke the bear again after yesterday. The elevator doors open up, and we see him. Wade and I shuffle in and stop.

  Mark the brave walks up to his desk. That's when Mark notices a wrapper with a half-eaten sandwich sitting there. He looks back at me and then back to Rex.

  “Yes, Mr. Gerard,” is heard ever so softly.

  I can tell Mark is struggling to talk a little. He wandered into a bear's den that was eating. You never get between a bear and its food.

  “Yeah,” says Mark. "We were just wondering if we could go ahead and get started a little early since there is a bad storm going on outside.”

  We hear a grunting sound coming from the beast.

  “No, I don't think so. You can take your asses back downstairs and wait. I think some scientists are still at work.” He says with a smile.

  Okay, that's weird.

  “Please come back in twenty minutes when your time is set to be here.”

  We all turn and shuffle to the elevator.

  “What the hell.” I say

  “I don't know, and I don't like it. From the day I started working here in this institute, he has always had a stick up his ass.” Mark says while he's squinting. Almost like hes trying to solve a puzzle that cannot be solved. “Well, let's just chill in the cafeteria until it's time.” He decides.

  We wander down to the seats we were occupying before and sit around in almost silence. We are all imagining different things if I had to guess. Before I know it, twenty minutes are up.

  “Okay, guys, it should be good.” Mark says

  We all get up and go get our supplies again and head back to the elevator.

  We get off on the fourth floor, and he is already standing and waiting with a smile on his face.

  “Good evening, gentlemen. Can I please see your badges?”

  We all pause at the same time. Okay, this is getting too weird.

  We all cough up our credentials, and he checks them as if nothing were wrong. There's nothing he says. But I'm drenched in sweat. I'm fairly certain that Mark and Wade are not doing much better. We don't actually leave our spots.

  “Please start, gentlemen.” Rex says with a smile.

  We start undoing everything and mopping. We get done with our hallways without any incidents.

  We head to our first room down the next corridor. We walk into the whiteboard-equipped area. The smell is the first thing that strikes us. Six distinct mounds of excrement are spread out around the room as we gaze around. They could not possibly have come from a human.

  Rex passes us and surveys the area. It appears that the scientist contracted a severe case of diarrhea today, gentlemen. Better jump to it, then.

  We're just in disbelief. What animal is it from, and how in the world did he get animal feces in here? Given the size of the mounds, it might be an elephant or giraffe. One of the worst things I have ever done is what happened during the next hour. The experience was exhausting and terrifying. I'm fairly certain that this encounter will give me nightmares. Everything has been packed into trash bags. We couldn't place it anywhere else. Rex had to watch us go and return while we went to acquire a large trash cart to dispose of everything. We've finally finished, and I can tell that we're all fatigued.

  Way behind schedule, we make our way to the second room with the black water tanks. This room also has a smell, but it's a distinct one. It smells strongly of acid. At that point, a yellow puddle that extends from one half of the room to the other is visible.

  (Freaking bastard.)

  Rex looks at us with a smile. “Well gentlemen, this is just not your night.”

  “Looks like we had a pretty strong leak in here, gentlemen.”

  “I will be sure to tell the scientists.”

  The bastard had peed all over the place. We all three glance at one another. Wade simply shakes his head and grabs a mop.

  Mark mutters “bastard” to me under his breath.

  Rex turns to Mark. “Now Mr. Gerard, there's no cause for profanity.”

  “Also, please remember talking is not permitted on this floor, gentlemen.”

  We can see that the jerk is grinning at us. I want to do something so badly, but I know I can't. Holy nutards. In a second, the guy could kick my ass, and if I ever did anything, he would probably get me back way worse. I detest this. The lack of power is awful.

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  We clean the mess up in silence, knowing he has us beat. It doesn't take anywhere near enough time as the first room, but it still puts us even more behind our schedule.

  After completing that area, we proceed to the opposite hallway. We need to clean the restroom, and Wade peeks in. He opens the door for us to see, and I can hear him gulping. The sink and one of the walls are covered in excrement.

  I start gagging a little. Wade and Mark start coughing from the smell.

  How on earth was he able to complete all of this in twenty minutes? Or did he plan all of this from the beginning in response to my blunder from the previous evening? Since I believe I am more to blame than the other guys, I offer to clean everything up. That's it. At last, he has gone too far. Retaliation is in his future. Even if he can kick my ass, I don't care. Even if he gets back at me worse than this, I still don't care. He's going down. I will figure out a way to get back at this jerk.

  He will rue the day he messed with Leif Blackstone. I do a maniacal evil laugh in my head.

  Mark gives me supplies while I clean up the mess. To avoid smelling the stink, I'm breathing through my mouth, but it's still causing me to gag.

  I’m already coming up with scenarios of how I'm going to get this bastard back. Venomous snakes left somewhere near him or firecrackers shoved up his rump. I will think of something good. (I will mess his life up hahahahahaa).

  After finishing up, we walk to the button room. Wondering what this insane man has planned next. We open the door and there's nothing. He's not done anything to this room. We look at each other.

  “What's wrong, gentleman? Get to work.”

  To get our task done, we hustle around. My rage hasn't subsided yet.While cleaning the rest of the room, I’m considering how I can get Rex back. No one is going to report his ass. The old-fashioned eye for an eye is what we're doing. After finishing, we make our way to the statue chamber.

  When we enter, everything appears to be normal. After the first few rooms, he must have decided to stop. A radiance emanates from one of the statues. The one with a bird clutching the tiny pearl. The first two people to see and approach the statue are Mark and me. When Rex eventually notices, he follows us. The giant birds pearl is sparkling in a mirage of different colors. It almost has a rainbow-like appearance. I can hear someone racing behind me. Rex sprints over to a wall, opens a box there, and presses a red button. A few distinct events occur simultaneously. The chamber turns to a horror house with statues all about us as the lights go off and dim lights come on. Every few seconds, an alarm begins to ring; it is not too loud, but it is loud enough to alert us to the presence of an issue. Like a warning sign, a brilliant yellow light begins to flash on both sides of the room.

  Rex pulls his gun out and points it at the ground.

  “Nobody move, and we will get through this without incident.”

  We just kind of just stare at each other. Fear has taken hold where anger once existed.

  A scream rips out over the silence, and I turn towards Mark. My mind can't grasp what I'm witnessing. Mark has a long sword coming out of his stomach. He is lifted off the ground and flung against the wall with a painful crunch.

  Terror grips my heart. This can't be real.

  A man stands in full black armor, with a red cloak that reaches the back of his ankles. He has a red (V) emblem on his chest plate. We can't see his face since he's wearing a helmet with large metal horns that curl backwards like rams, and he's substantially taller than me. I cannot even see his skin or eyes. There is just blackness where his eyes should be. Even then, I can tell he's looking directly at me. Whatever dread I felt when Rex stared at me last night is a distant memory. My entire body freezes, and no oxygen reaches my brain or lungs. I am going to die, and there is nothing I can do about it.

  Move your body!

  Move your hand!

  Move your legs!

  Nothing is responding.

  Am I going to die here?

  Is this all there was?

  I’m not going to get to hang out with Mark and Wade anymore.

  I won’t see my brother or his family.

  There will be no resolution with my parents or sister, regardless of whether I even wanted to.

  So many thoughts fill my head.

  I actually see my life flashing before my eyes.

  Then there are gunshots. When I look over, Rex is pointing his weapon at the armored figure, firing one shot after another.

  The walking tank reacts as if he's been smacked with a rubber band. It simply bounces off and ricochets in a different direction. Now that he isn't gazing at me, I can finally breathe. We alI need to get out of here!

  I have to escape!

  This guy is going to kill me!

  Grunting noise is coming from the corner.

  Mark, I forgot about Mark.

  “Helpppp!” I can hear him very softly.

  How will I tell his wife and kids? I need to get Mark out of here. There is already a pool of blood surrounding his body.

  I look over at Rex after watching the dark knight; he has run out of bullets but is still firing, as though he's still shocked that this person is still alive. Then, as my eyes take a millisecond blink, the man materializes in front of him, and he beheads him with his nearly person-sized sword. The Knight teleported twenty feet as I blinked. I'm not fully processing the scenario right now.

  Rex did not just get his head chopped off!

  My brain is going into overload. I need to grab Mark and Wade and get the hell out of here.

  My legs are still stuck to the ground like glue. I'm still not able to move them. Horseshit!

  There are loud popping noises all over the room. The room feels as though a lightning storm has descended into the room. The statue of the bird appears to be electrified. It's becoming brighter. The statue starts to change color. The bird's feathers turn from marble stone to a bright blue. Although it doesn't move or anything, it seems quite realistic. The long tail of the bird catches fire. Not a red, but a small blue flame replaces the tail of the bird. The underside of the bird, along with its beak, turns a sunfire yellow. The entire room is illuminated by the various colors of the pearl it is holding. Lightning's purple static begins small and grows larger. A portal appears. The portal closes as a little blonde girl wearing strange, science fiction-style clothing drops out three feet away from me.

  "Oh, the next guardian has been selected," said in the darkest, lowest voice I've ever heard. At last, the dark knight speaks.

  “It's a shame she will be killed before knowing anything.”

  “AGGGGGHHHHH!” Wade yells before charging the dark knight.

  The dark Knight easily grabs Wade with one hand and lifts him. He is choking him. He then easily stabs his sword into the ground with one hand, driving it halfway down while still gripping Wade with the other. He takes a tiny black dagger from behind somewhere. He stabs Wade in the side and lets him fall to the floor.

  Wade lands on his knees and coughs up some blood, attempting to pull air into his lungs. His eyes looks right into mine.

  “RUN”

  “RUN, Leif.”

  I look over at Mark.

  I look at the headless body of Rex.

  I look at the small unconscious girl.

  Then I finally look at Wade.

  A rage I have never felt before comes over me.

  It seeps into my body and soul.

  I'm going to massacre this guy.

  A confidence I have never had comes over me.

  I will not be defeated.

  The weight holding me down just vanishes.

  I'm light as a feather as I move.

  I charge the dark knight.

  The only thing I have for a weapon is my fists.

  I harden them as much as I can.

  I pull back and take a big swing.

  Yet it was not to be.

  The knight kicks me in the middle of my stomach, and I go flying.

  The only thing that I hear is a whisper.

  “This world will burn.”

  I go flying back into the statue with the orb.

  When my back touches the orb, I vanish from this world.