"Tsk. I'm the one used as bait yet somehow you're the angry one?"
Ava immediately stopped walking and turned toward him.
"I didn't ask you to go seduce other girls."
Matthew looked genuinely innocent. "I was just talking."
"You were smiling."
"So?"
"You don't even spare the effort to pretend being nice to me." Ava poked his chest while pouting dramatically. "You can't even lie and say you want me around. You tell me to get lost every day if u can kill yourself to show me how much you want me gone to could have done it."
Matthew stared at her quietly for a second.
Then suddenly smirked slightly.
"Hm." He leaned down slowly until he was eye level with her. "What's this smell in the air?"
Ava narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Jealousy," Matthew answered sweetly. "Very nasty smell."
Ava looked disgusted immediately.
Matthew squatted fully now, elbows resting lazily on his knees as he looked up at her with that same annoyingly calm smile.
"Look at the bright side, shorty." His voice softened teasingly. "At least I don't pretend around you."
Ava's expression twisted further like she had just tasted poison.
"Wow," she muttered. "That sounded uglier the more I thought about it."
Matthew chuckled quietly before standing back up.
"Right," Ava said sarcastically. "I should feel honored knowing you don't hide the fact you're almost at your limit trying not to strangle me that is a mentality of a asshole."
Matthew looked at her calmly.
Ava crossed her arms "To be honest," she continued, "ever since the first day we met at school, you never even bothered pretending to smile at me."
She tilted her head dramatically. "You looked at me like I was noise."
Matthew stayed silent.
"Wow," Ava clicked her tongue. "So your disgust started that long ago?"
Matthew shrugged lightly.
"Don't remember."
Ava looked offended immediately.
"How do you not remember?"
"Because you talk too much."
"You see?!" Ava pointed at him accusingly. "You're mean!"
"And anyway," Matthew continued smoothly, ignoring her complaint, "my reaction is pretty normal."
"How?"
"You don't understand personal space."
"Because I love your personal space it feels nice get use to it as I won't stop."Ava looked proud instead of ashamed.
Matthew closed his eyes briefly and took a slow breath like someone trying very hard not to commit crimes publicly.
Ava looked delighted watching him suffer.
"And," Matthew continued after calming himself down, "you started with wanting to chase me and date me."
Ava nodded seriously.
"Then suddenly you wanted to be friends."
Another nod from ava for him to go on
"So don't blame me for not knowing what reaction i should give cause first you want to chase me to being friends " Matthew glanced at her lazily seeing she still doesn't understand."What if next time you decide you want to be my sister how should I react?"
Ava's face twisted instantly in horror.
"That's disgusting."
Matthew finally laughed softly at her reaction.
Then he reached out and patted her head casually before walking ahead.
Ava stared at his back for two seconds
Then silently raised her middle finger behind him while following after anyway.
Matthew didn't even turn around.
"I can feel your disrespect from here."
Ava immediately lowered her hand.
"Your imagination is strong."
Philip personally went to register the escape room this time felix suffering made him happy and forgot he was use as a human shield.
"What level did you choose?" Kai asked suspiciously while they entered the elevator leading higher into the building.
Philip smiled peacefully.
"The hardest one."
Felix looked horrified immediately.
The receptionist on the escape-room floor guided them through a dark hallway lined with warning signs, fake blood stains, flickering red lights, and distant screams echoing through hidden speakers.
Even Big V looked impressed.
"Okay this place actually has budget."
The receptionist stopped in front of a giant metal door.
"Your scenario is three stories joined together," she explained dramatically, "is Zombie Apocalypse: The Last City , the terror behind the experiment and lastly Entity."
The giant screen beside the entrance lit up.
MISSION: SURVIVE. FIND THE THREE KEYS. ESCAPE BEFORE TIME RUNS OUT.
WARNING:
The pain simulation system is activated.
Entities may chase participants and lot of gore.
Hidden traps and experiments included .
Physical interaction required.
Could lead to trauma.
Felix slowly looked toward Philip.
"…I hope you pee yourself."
Philip smiled sweetly. "Thank you."
The giant doors opened slowly.
Darkness swallowed them whole.
The moment everyone stepped inside
The door slammed shut behind them.
Three doors appeared
Warning sirens rang loudly.
Then suddenly the ground beneath them shifted after they chose one of the door each.
The floor separated instantly.
"Ava—"
"What the hell?!"
Everyone got split apart before they could react.
Ava with Matthew and Philip
Kai and Derek with Felix
Big V Jay with Rick.
Different paths.
Different missions.
The abandoned city simulation activated fully around them.
Ruined skyscrapers towered overhead under a dark red sky while destroyed cars littered the cracked roads. Smoke rose from distant buildings, emergency alarms echoed faintly somewhere in the city, and blood stains dragged across the pavement like something had been pulled away violently.
Far away Zombie growls echoed through the empty streets.
A giant countdown appeared in the sky above the city.
01:59:59
Their timer had started.
Matthew sighed softly before pulling his oversized brown knit sweater over his head.
The fitted white inner shirt underneath clung against his frame while the cream cargo pants hung loosely against his long legs.
The thin silver chain near his collarbone caught faint light from the ruined city around them.
Without warning, he tossed the sweater toward Ava to wear as they would be doing a lot of running so she covered up.
Ava caught it easily before wearing it immediately.
The oversized sweater reached almost to her thighs.
She looked delighted instantly.
"Hm," Ava smiled while tugging the sleeves over her hands. "Baby cares for me so much. My poor heart."
Matthew ignored her completely and started walking forward into the empty city streets.
"This is a full simulation," he said calmly. "So everything's virtual, but it'll feel real. Including pain."
Ava looked around carefully now.
The city was massive.
Too massive for a normal escape room.
Their footsteps echoed softly across the empty road while abandoned vehicles blinked weakly from dying batteries.
"Our task is probably related to the zombies," Matthew continued while pointing toward a distant white building towering above the others far away. "That building is likely the lab where the zombies virus was created ."
" How so sure I mean it could be any other lab "philip said
"Probably because that is the only lab philip keep up " Matthew said
Ava look around with interest and fun as is she is in a tour.
"The key is probably the antidote," she guessed while following beside him. "To cure the zombie world."
Matthew nodded slightly.
"With two hours, the mission won't be simple."
"The longer the timer," Philip replied thoughtfully, "the harder the stages."
Matthew noticed something
"Probably zone levels," he guessed calmly. "Like checkpoint systems in games each check points each difficulth ." Matthew said pointing at the building with different colours
Different buildings glowed faintly with colors.
Red.
Blue.
Green.
Yellow.
Only the giant lab in the distance remained white.
Meanwhile every other normal building stayed black.
Ava nodded slowly.
"And the white lab is probably the final level."
"Which means," Matthew continued, "every zone likely has different tasks."
"Our first task…" Ava looked around the abandoned streets carefully. "Probably gathering supplies and weapons first."
The second she finished speaking
The ground suddenly trembled violently beneath them.
Ava instantly grabbed Matthew's arm to steady herself while cracks spread across the road nearby.
Then slowly
Part of the street collapsed inward revealing a dark underground tunnel leading below the city.
The entrance sign flickered weakly.
SUBWAY STATION.
Matthew looked down into the darkness.
"Seems like you guessed right."
A distant zombie scream echoed from below.
"Low-level zombies first," Matthew said calmly before starting toward the tunnel entrance.
Ava grinned excitedly beside him.
"Finally," she said while cracking her knuckles lightly. "This is getting fun."
Philip remaining stunned just two minutes they had solved everything Damm .
Meanwhile,
Rick, Jay, and Big V found themselves separated ,Rick found himself inside what looked like an old apartment complex.
The lights above flickered weakly while the narrow hallway smelled damp and rotten. Family portraits hung crookedly on the stained walls, some of the faces scratched out violently.
"Fuck, where am I?" Rick muttered as he pushed himself off the dusty floor.
The room he woke up in looked abandoned for years.
A broken TV sat in the corner playing static.
The curtains moved slightly despite the windows being closed.
Rick looked around only to realize he was alone.
"Tsk."
He immediately started opening drawers and cupboards instead of panicking.
Inside one of the kitchen cabinets, he found a folded yellowed letter stained with something dark brown.
Rick pulled it out before leaving the apartment room entirely.
The hallway outside stretched endlessly.
One by one he checked the other apartments in the building.
Empty.
Broken furniture.
Rotting food.
Weird claw marks on walls.
Still no sign of Jay or Big V.
Rick finally exited the apartment building only to nearly collide with Big V outside.
"Damn." Big V steadied himself. "Where's Jay?"
Rick paused briefly.
"Don't know." He waved the letter impatiently. "I checked the whole building. Didn't see anyone."
Big V noticed the paper in his hand.
"What's that?"
Rick ignored him completely and immediately started running toward another building nearby.
Outside was almost pitch black.
Only five buildings in the entire district still had lights on.
The rest of the city remained drowned in darkness.
"Rick!" Big V cursed before chasing after him. "Slow down!"
Rick reached the entrance of another building but Big V quickly grabbed his shoulder before he could enter.
"Calm down bro." Big V frowned. "Think for a second."
Rick looked annoyed already.
" What you want"
"You remember the name of this stupid simulator right?" V asked
Rick clicked his tongue.
"Three stories in one." He counted lazily on his fingers. "Zombie Apocalypse: The Last City. The Terror Behind the Experiment. And The Entity."
Big V nodded.
"Well there's clearly no zombies here."
Rick went quiet.
"So basically," Big V continued, "we didn't get the zombie storyline."
The wind outside suddenly howled through the empty streets.
"That means," Big V lowered his voice slightly, "we're either in The Entity… or The Terror Behind the Experiment."
Rick finally stopped struggling to run ahead.
"And I'm pretty sure," Big V continued while glancing around the creepy district carefully, "this is The Terror Behind the Experiment."
"The trap storyline," Rick muttered.
"Exactly."
Rick stared at the glowing buildings thoughtfully now.
"The stories are connected…" he murmured slowly.
Big V nodded.
"The staff said that earlier."
Rick's expression shifted slightly as his brain connected things together.
"It's in the title." He looked toward the dark city. "The Terror Behind the Experiment…"
Big V stayed silent letting him think.
"Maybe the experiment caused the zombie apocalypse," Rick finished slowly.
Then he suddenly paused.
"…Which means The Entity is probably the beginning."
Big V blinked.
"The reason everything started," Rick continued while gripping the letter tighter. " we need to find out and who is person behind the experiments."
A cold wind swept through the empty road again.
Big V suddenly frowned.
"Does that mean Jay's somewhere getting experimented on or something?"
Rick immediately glared at him.
"Shut up."
Then he quickly pulled his phone out.
Big V stared.
"Wait." He pointed dramatically. "You brought your phone inside?"
Rick looked offended.
"Duh."
Without hesitation, he called Jay.
Elsewhere—
Jay was standing inside a massive building that looked like a wedding hall.
Or at least
Something pretending to be one.
White flowers covered the room, but most were dead and stained dark red. Long banquet tables stretched across the hall filled with unmoving guests.
Every guest sat perfectly still.
Too still.
Their faces looked pale and stiff like puppets wearing human skin.
At the front of the hall—
A wedding ceremony was taking place.
The bride stood motionless beside the groom while a priest read vows slowly in a distorted voice.
The bride's face remained hidden beneath a black veil.
The atmosphere felt less like a marriage…
And more like a funeral.
Jay had already figured out the rules of this section
Blend in.
Act like an NPC.
Don't attract attention.
Find clues.
Escape the building.
He had already gathered almost everything he needed and had quietly reached the third floor unnoticed.
Then suddenly
His phone rang.
The sound echoed through the deathly silent hall.
Jay closed his eyes briefly.
"…Rick."
Every NPC in the room slowly turned toward him at the exact same time.
Necks twisting unnaturally.
Smiles stretching too wide.
The priest stopped speaking.
The bride slowly lifted her head.
If Jay didn't already know this was a simulator.
He probably would've genuinely thought he was about to die.
Jay started running as answered the phone calmly anyway.
Then gave a lazy smile hearing Rick voice that sound worried.
The entire hall exploded into chaos instantly.
Chairs crashed backward.
The guests screamed inhumanly as they rushed after him.
Their movements looked wrong—
Bodies twitching violently like broken puppets possessed by demons.
The bride dragged her wedding dress across the floor unnaturally fast while chasing him or should I say a man the groom being the bride and the other groom was a patcged up toy if he had not seen the photo he would thought the couple gay.
Meanwhile Rick's voice shouted through the phone
"JAY WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
Busy right now Rick Jay said as the screen suddenly flashed in front of Jay while he was running.
PUZZLE REQUIRED BEFORE EXIT ACCESS GRANTED
"Tsk."
The hallway behind him shook violently as the wedding guests crawled and sprinted after him unnaturally fast.
Jay's eyes quickly scanned around the third floor.
The creatures behind him screamed louder.
Without slowing down, Jay kicked open the nearby window.
Glass shattered everywhere.
Cold wind rushed violently into the cursed building.
Jay quickly tied the red thread around the broken metal frame beside the window and jumped down without hesitation the string he saw in one of the room when he went to the same as the one controlling the them .
The second the red string tightened—
The NPCs froze.
As if blocked by an invisible barrier.
Their distorted faces slammed against the window one after another while shrieking like demons trapped behind glass.
Jay finally answered the phone calmly while dusting broken glass off his sleeve.
"you miss me already."
" You are lucky you are my safe heaven or I will kick you ass "Rick said
Meanwhile—
Although there were only five glowing buildings in the district, each building stood extremely far apart from one another across the dark city.
Rick and Big V followed Jay's tracker quickly through the empty streets.
They arrived just in time to see Jay jumping from the third-floor window.
"Damn!"
Rick immediately ran toward him.
"You alright?" he asked while checking Jay quickly for injuries.
Jay brushed his clothes lazily.
"I'm fine."
Big V, however, looked more concerned about something else entirely.
"Okay before anything else," he said while pointing between them suspiciously, "why the fuck do you have a tracker on Jay's phone?"
Rick and Jay both stared at him silently.
Like he was stupid.
Jay answered first.
"I installed it myself long long ago."
Big V blinked.
"…Why?"
Jay looked completely calm.
"You know Rick doesn't stay in one place." He adjusted his sleeve casually. "And he somehow always knows how to disappear and lose track of where he is."
Rick looked proud instead of ashamed.
"So," Jay continued, "if he gets lost, I can just find his location and drag him home."
Big V slowly nodded.
"…Right." then he remembered the important part. "So what happened?"
Jay leaned lightly against the wall beside them.
"I got placed inside a wedding hall." He looked mildly disgusted remembering it. "The whole building was filled with NPCs."
"Alive?"
"Dead."
Big V paused.
"…Oh."
"They moved like puppets being controlled repeatedly," Jay continued. "And the bride…"
He looked at Rick.
"…Was the groom."
Rick's eyes immediately narrowed.
"Was the groom's name Peterson?"
Jay looked surprised.
"Yeah." He pointed at him. "How do you know?"