Beyond the Walls

He and I

“Ughhhhhhh!” Stretching his arms wide up while cracking his head, the man in front of the computer yawns.

“Hey. Coffee.” Another man approached him from behind with a paper cup full of hot coffee.

“Thanks.” He said and put down his headset.

“All good?”

“They just went to sleep. I should head out for a moment and smoke this stress out. You think there would be no winner this round? They are on their own.”

“Who knows. Sometimes s**t happens. They were just the unlucky ones.” Looking at the monitor,  two lying figures had been spotted curled up behind the staircase.

“Hey, remember when you think that ‘that’ player has something, that’s why you keep betting on him?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“What is it?”

“You’ve seen him in the ‘Ranking’ video right? That’s why.”

“You mean, when he looks like a different person? No, that was caught only in the later part of the games. You’ve known it since round 1.”

The man nodded and tried to recall since when he found ‘that’ the player seemed odd.

“Right… I think it’s around that time, when I first caught his unusual behavior…”

****

Lucas is staring at the back of a man. This man is currently discussing things with his large group that survived flights of stairs from the building floor. It was not easy to lead this large group from the roof top to here, the third floor.

‘Looks like he is the leader now.’ Lucas thought.

“Hmmm?” The man is pressing him to answer.

‘He asked what magic I used? That’s ridiculous. You think I am stupid?’ Lucas sneered at his inner thoughts.

“We were lucky to discover another way down. It was unexpected but it led us down straight to the 8th floor, from there we used the emergency staircase.” He briefly finished his explanation and immediately looked down.

‘This man is dangerous. He is smart.’ he hid his thoughts away, after seeing a slight frowning on the man’s face during his explanation. 

The man went silent for a moment and gave Lucas a pat.

‘He didn’t buy it right?’ Lucas kept his head down and stole a glance at the man. 

“I found a stairs leading downstairs or should we use the emergency staircase again.” A man came up and informed them.

“Let’s go, we only have 15 minutes left.” The man said as he looked at a timer clock. It was a new watch.

‘He wasn’t wearing that from earlier.’ He remembered talking to this man on the rooftop but he wasn’t wearing any watch.

Lucas looked at the other group from across the room. The man said he already asked Lucas’ companion but he politely declined.

‘Good. He is not stupid afterall.’ Those were his first thoughts.

Lucas came to his previous companion to talk. “Should we go first or we go after them?” The little man asked in a whisper.

“I can’t come with you. They will be suspicious. Remember what I told you, when you hear a scream, wait out a little before passing the emergency exit.” 

“W,what? What about you?” 

“We don’t have much time… Go back now.” 

Lucas stayed still for a few seconds after his companion walked out on him. His sharp eyes returned meekly after turning around.

“I’m guessing he is not coming with us. Let’s go.” The man said as he put his hands on Lucas' shoulder.

Few minutes later,  while they are navigating the second floor.

‘Something is not right’ His eyes turned sharp as he glanced at the closed door elevators.

He instinctively moved closer to the gap of the elevators and as soon as the elevator sounded. His back was moved against the door.

The large crowd panicked.

“f**k” He mumbled.

The next thing he feels conscious is when an undead is crawling to his pants. He stomped it multiple times and freed himself.

He crawled and spirited away. His eyes have a dead look as he passes by humans being eating. It doesn’t bother him even if his pants are soiled with blood or he has to jump above the corpse. His ears are deaf to cries.

Only when his cold expression changes after some people start to baragade the way to the second floor. 

“NO! NO! PLEASE LET ME IN!!! PLEASE!!” He pleads like a professional actor, his cold looks from before were all gone in an instant and replaced by this helpless look.

But those looks didn't take too long to appear again.

Seeing the barricade on the emergency exit is gone and no loud growling sound on the other side, means his earlier companion has succeeded. His theory was right.

He can’t help but smile. His expression turned back to a soft and subdued one.

“Shhh.” He gestured to his new companions before entering the emergency exit.

****

‘Undead? No… It’s too quiet.’ Lucas thought as he stared at the slight movement of faint shadows from gaps below the closed door.

“Let’s search for the key.” He purposely said out loud. Keeping his head down observing the shadow movements. It was hard to notice it if one did not look closely.

It moved slightly again. 

‘Humans. Are they from the group earlier? Why would they?’ Turning slightly back to the closed doors again and the corners of his mouth twitched.

‘Heh. I see…’ 

“Man, you sure hype about this. Okay let’s go.” Elijah disturbed his thoughts but he welcomed such an energetic reply, it was loud enough to make those humans hear it.

‘Humans…’

****

Lucas snapped out his character and  wasn’t able to control his harsh look on Hiraya after that woman defended the bitten woman who is currently in transition into becoming undead. The dangerous type of undead. Newly turned undead. 

Even if they can manage to subdue the undead, it would be too late, if they make too much noise. Newly turned undead are the type to scream and screech.

Wanting to click his tongue he swallowed it and calmed down after his instincts felt like someone was watching him.

‘She mostly has a day or two, as long as she doesn’t experience shock and dies… oh well, I just have to implement the plan… earlier.’ he thought and as if he blinked away his other personality he went back to being meek and aloof.

****

Trapped between the metal door and an armed ambush group with an incoming horde of undead. Unica stole the key card and when a slight shove coincidentally happened, Lucas purposefully pushed Hiraya out the door and grabbed Unica back.

Maybe she was too shocked and it happened so fast that she didn’t notice that she was pulled back purposely.

*Thud

Penelope was kicked to the other side of the wall. She groaned, whilst Lucas is helping Penelope to sit properly, Lucas put his hand at the back of her head and it’s wet. Looking at it, it’s blood.

‘Ah damn.’

“Give me one more!” Unica grabs his hands but Lucas hardens his arm as he stares long at her eyes with a cold glare. It made her drop down to her butt.

Something unexpected happened, Athena, the teenager with many piercings threw the passes she collected. They are down to three passes but there are still six of them.

Unica scurried away from Lucas and started begging the other men in the group. She pushes her huge chest on her legs.

“Go ahead. I’ll catch up in a  bit.” The teenager said confidently.

‘What is she thinking?’ Lucas thought.

Athena then landed her gaze on him. “Trust me. I’ll live,”

“..?”

Then before she turned away, her eyes wandered on barely breathing Penelope. The black veins traveling in her neck looked like live spider webs and her ears were also bleeding.

They can’t stay longer. It’s only a matter of a minute or so before she dies and comes back.

“We understand. Let’s go. We will see you on the other side.” He said.

Just before the door closes, Lucas spare one last glance down at Penelope then to the crawling Unica.

*Thud

The door closes.

Call it like split personality or Lucid dreaming, but Lucas finds his other self waking up more frequently as if it’s leaking out unconsciously. 

“They helped us with the price, shouldn’t we do the same?” Staring up at people who wanted to join their group in exchange for water and bread.

“... feeling that an adult like you can never understand." When he lost his temper at Hiraya.

The time he heartlessly killed those people in Liam’s group by letting in the undead come to their cell.

His other self heedlessly appears from time to time. When he is in a pinch, it slips out. His other self makes cruel choices and leaves his usual self looking clueless. 

Looking all battered up less the injuries, Lucas is curled on the dark floor looking like he is having difficulty in breathing. 

His other self is just watching him suffer from his own memories.

“Until when are you going to deceive yourself?” The man said looking bored.

“...” Lucas is too focused on the pain on his chest and head.

“How long will you listen to that woman? Stop hiding it behind the door.”

“S,shut up!” Lucas crawled up and angrily looked at his perfect doppelganger.

“Open the door Lucas. Remember, everything.”

“S,Shut up! Shut up!”

*Creak creak

The door seemed so far away yet they could see it opening slowly.

“NO! NO! NO!”

The man stood up and looked down at Lucas pathetically.

“If you think you can be selective on memories you pull out… you are wrong. One day, that door wouldn’t hold it… You can’t run from your nature… You are…”

The man with Lucas’ face slowly turned to smoke like a mirage and Lucas opened his eyes abruptly.

He instinctively searched himself. With heavy breathing and drenched in sweat, Lucas felt his gun.

“Yo… man, everything alright?” Still sleepy on the other side, Elijah asked.

The surrounding was still dark but not much as dark as the place he was. His heart is still beating fast but his mind is calming down.

“Yeah. I’m fine.”