Mansion in the Forest

We Want To Live

There was an eerie silence inside the small house, the floor creaking as Lexi's shoes leaving trace on the wooden floor while pacing back and forth in front of the two guys who has pet name given by Iris, one is baldy and the other one is woundy since he has wound in his leg when Lexi shot him, and they tightly tied in chairs and back against each others.

"I don't know why we become government enemies." Lexi said frustratedly. She finally stopped pacing and sat down on the floor, looking up to the two men.

"I told you, it's because they are preventing the words about this place and the monsters."

"All of us? I mean, if it's only me, Trevor and Jazen, then I would understand their reason from sending us here, but how about the others?" Lexi asked, her hand pointed at her friends.

"Actually." Iris started, she walked behind the counter and pour water to the glass and handed it to Siena, who's starting to have panic attacks. "We know about this mansion." She added and looked at Lexi. "We were one of those unknown survivors."

"Wait, what?" Lexi's eyebrows knitted down in the middle. "Escape orphans?"

"Yes." Iris replied, she's staring at Siena as if she's reminiscing their past. "You might not know it, but we were there when you arrived, we were there when the monsters attacked the mansion, we were there and we escaped using the back door at the basement."

"Really? How come I couldn't recognize—."

"Wait, are you guys are those who I think you are?" Trevor asked, amusement on his face.

"Who?" Lexi asked, getting more confused.

"I'm that nerd who alway gets bullied." Iris shrugged her shoulders.

"And I'm that fat kid." Siena sighed.

"No f*****g way." Lexi gasped, her eyes widened. "How did—." She paused, looked at the two then started laughing. "Oh my God!"

"I guess, people never change." Iris scoffed.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm not bullying you okay? I was just surprised." Lexi defends herself while shaking her head. "I just couldn't imagine how huge the changes in you and Fatty."

"Lexi!" Siena hissed at her.

"I mean, Siena. Sorry. I was so used to calling you like that—."

"You're such a bully." Jazen cuts off Lexi and slaps her shoulder. "Stop it."

"Fine, fine. Again, I'm sorry." Lexi huffed a breath after she was done laughing.

"How could you still laugh at this situation?" Woundy asked, his face still in pain because of his wound.

"We're done crying." Denver replied to the guy.

"You're done crying." Jisu corrected him because he's literally the only one who cried a lot after Lei's death. She's not being unremorseful, it's just that, she needed to correct Denver.

"Whatever, but I'm still done." Denver rolled her eyes.

"Where's Blake?" Trevor asked when he noticed the guy hadn't come out from downstairs since he decided to stay earlier.

"Blake, the one who worked for the army?" Baldy asked.

"Yeah, you know him?" Lexi asked back.

"Of course, we have all of your files in that drawer." He replied and used his mouth to point the drawer at the corner.

Jazen walked towards it and pulled it open, she took the first folder she saw. "He's right." She said while flipping the pages. "They have our information."

"Wait let me see." Lexi stood up from the floor and took the folder from Jazen then he started scanning every page and information of each teenager. "It says that Chantelle once encountered a monster when she was 9." Lexi reads the information then flipped through the next page. "Lei." She paused and looked up to Denver with confused eyes then looked back at the paper. "It says that Lei is one of the bloggers who documented the mansion in the middle of the forest."

"He is, but the video was taken down and says that they are violating government property." Denver said. He could remember his brother was with some Hunters roaming around this forest and they found the mansion. They made a video about it and it gained millions of views within just two days but was immediately taken down after.

The same video that Lexi found on the internet that's why she got some lead.

"How about Blake?" Trevor asked, having a doubt at the guy's agenda inside the mansion.

"It says that Blake worked for the army, whose specialty is explosives. That's all." Lexi read out loud and they all exchanged glances because there was no information about how he got involved with the mansion or the monsters.

"Isn't it written there how those monsters killed my father while they were planting explosives around the mansion?" All of them looked at the guy who just came out from the dark room, his body was covered with blood but no indication of wounds around his body.

"What happened to you?" Denver asked while retreating from him and taking cover behind the counter top.

"This isn't my blood, relax." Blake chuckled while wiping the blood out of his hands. "I just have to search for this from Francis's body." He showed them the dog tags. It was his father's dog tag when he's working at the army. Francis took it from him and that's why they had an argument and Blake stabbed him with his blade, but Francis ran off and asked help from the other teenagers, that's when he got accused of trying to kill his best friend. Half truth, by the way.

"So that's why he's included here, but how about Jisu and Denver?" Iris asked.

"Me? I have nothing to do about all of this mess—."

"He has an internet friend, who's parents are working at the government." Lexi reads aloud what's written in the paper about Denver's information to interrupt him.

"And so? I don't even believe him and thinks he's a weirdo!"

"But it turns out that you search about the monsters and you're associated with Lei." Jazen said, she's also reading some of the information in the folder.

"Wait, I thought your parents died in a car accident?" Lexi asked, looking up to Jisu.

"They did."

"It's not what is written here."

"What does it say?" Jisu asked curiously.

"Your parents are associated with a guy named Malvern, who has captured one monster and your parents wanted to buy that monster from him but got killed before it happen." Lexi continued reading then she flipped the page to the next one and there's pictures of Jisu's parents who has an X drawing on their faces.

"The X means they are finished." Woundy guy explained even if they don't have to ask the question because it's already obvious the first time Lexi and Jazen saw the X mark in Lei's face.

"Francis' information wasn't here, then why is he here?"

"He's there, but not under Francis' name because his real name is Thomas Hugh."

"Oh I see." Lexi said when he saw Francis' picture at the last page.

"Why didn't you read about yours, Jazen and Trevor's information?" Denver asked, as if he has no idea the connection of the three to the monsters or the mansion.

"Dumbass, Lexi and Trevor are literally the known survivors of the attack while Jazen's sister worked for the government." Siena smacked his head lightly.

"Right, sorry I forgot." Denver laughed awkwardly while rubbing the back of her head where he got hit.

"See? They know all of you so even if you get out of here, they won't stop till you guys are all dead." Baldy said.

"Then we have no choice but to stay here for the rest of our life." Denver threw his hands in the air and let it fall on his side as he leaned back, dispirited.

"Or we could ask Sakura for help since she's working with the government. We can use Herlie so she could help us with no other choice." Trevor suggested.

Lexi looked at him, as if she wanted to protest about his suggestion but then she remembered, Herlie is not her sister so it's the best option they have if they still want to live like normal teenagers and not hide from the government.

"Or we could ask another country to help us and let us reveal the truth about the monsters." Denver suggested too but they all shook their heads, finding it ridiculous.

Of course, no leader wants their constituents to be afraid so they will definitely work with the leaders of their country to hide the truth. And worst, they will kill all the teenagers once they tell them about the monster and their government will thank the other country for doing it.

"So we are down to my suggestion." Trevor said.

"Yes, we have no choice. So we have to find Herlie and go to Sakura." Lexi said as she closed the folder and put it back to where it belonged. "First, we have to kill these guys."

"W-what?! Why? We have told you everything!"

"Because you heard our plans and we're not going to put ourselves in risk if we let you go." Lexi replied. She looked at the window and smiled creepily when she saw the sun was about to rise, then she looked back at the two guys. "So long boys, thanks for all the information."

"No please! We're not going to—." Baldy didn't have the chance to finish his words when Iris snapped his head and he died instantly.

"You guys are worse than those monst—!" Woundy died as well when Blake stabbed him on his chest with his dagger.

"Yes, we are worse than those monsters, but the thing is, we want to live." Lexi told them even if they weren't gonna hear it.

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