Silence Falls

The minute Bam freed the cell door and identified Cris tied up to a chair with his head hung low, his long brown hair shrouding his face, he fearfully charged over to retrieve him. Not knowing if he was alive or dead, Bam's hands went for the rope's knot and began to unfasten it as swiftly as he could, deriving in Cris's quick awakening from his slumber due to being tugged on. Gandering between his long strands, he mumbled his roommate's name upon his recognition. “Bam? Is it really you?”

“Yeah, it's me, Cris.” Bam's ice blue eyes joined with warm blue ones. Cris was alive, though it appeared like he was need of a glass of water. Bam sighed with relief as the rope wriggled to the floor. “Are you feeling alright? Did they hurt you too badly? Can you stand up?”

“I'll be fine, j-just help me onto my feet.” Cris coughed as he was assisted out of the chair he'd been strapped to for days, and then out into the hallway. Bert and the others shot towards them as soon as they observed Bam shepherding Cris down the hall to reunite with them. Breaking into a commotion of merriment for his return, Bert and Otep embraced Cris into a loving bear hug, their eyes battling back their tears of fears for the worst. Bam couldn't prevent beaming in mutual reprieve too, internally overjoyed to have his new friend Cris back intact and alive again. But then an ominous silhouette came forward that swiftly sent Bam back into fight mode all over again.

“Guys, we don't have time for this. We gotta get going before the-” Connor was immediately cut off by Bam who surged back and arranged himself into a fighting posture to defend himself against him.

“WHOA, HOLD THE PHONE HERE! ARE YOU TWO FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!" Bam exploded in fury and turmoil, making the others bolt with startling panic from his vehement resonance. His finger aimed directly to Connor who had been standing behind them the whole time with his arms crossed over his fit chest. “YOU LET HIM OUT LIKE THIS!?”

“DUDE, SHUT THE FUCK UP!?” Otep yelled back, slapping his arm with her hand for startling her with his unnecessary shouting. “What the hell is wrong with you? Lower your voice!”

“What the hell is wrong with me?! What the hell is wrong with you! You're not gonna put a fucking muzzle on that freak!? Are you guys seriously that stupid!?” Bam quarrelled, deploring their ignorant choice to disregard safeguarding themselves from Connor who was known to slaughter people for his recreation. They discharged him from his restraints without taking any precautions whatsoever. “He's a motherfucking cannibal! Do you NOT know what a fucking cannibal is?!”

Otep rolled her eyes at Bam's paranoia of being ingested for dinner by Connor, and snarled under her breath to herself. "Great, here we go again." Did he really think they'd deplete their time liberating their friend if there was even a slight likelihood he'd turn on them and bite a portion off their face? Clearly so.

Bert raised his palms up to pacify the peeved young man before Connor chose to step into the discussion next. “Bam, I need you to calm down for me, okay? To answer your question, yes, we know what the fuck a cannibal is. We're not stupid. But I'm going to need you to trust me on this one, okay? Connor won't hurt you unless you make yourself a threat to us.”

“Dude, he's a FUCKING cannibal!” Bam went on to rehash, not getting how they were so okay with keeping company with such a grotesque person. “Everything is a fucking threat to them, because everything is dinner to them! We're no different!”

“Do you guys mind shutting that asshole's mouth up sooner rather than later?” Connor addressed to them from where he was snooping and concurrently ransacking the bodies of the two dead guards for resources they could use while Cris seated himself down onto the floor to regain his stability. “Or I'm gonna have to rip it off myself.”

“I'm working on it!” Bam responded briskly, never looking away from Bam's face as he reduced his tone again to address him. “Look Bam, I know how scary it sounds to befriend a guy like him, trust me, I've been in your shoes before. In fact, I've been in plenty of situations where Connor had the ideal opportunity to make a meal out of me if he wanted to. But he never did, Bam.” Bert wavered for a minute to try to fight the restlessness he was building towards Bam uncomfortable feeling being around Connor. If Bam straight out declined to have the killer accompany them any further, then sadly he'll be left alone to figure out his own escape, because they weren't about to abandon anyone. “Sure, if he had eaten us he would have gotten sent down here as a result of it, but still he'd be detained with a full meal in his stomach which is worth it to cannibals, I imagine. My point is, you gotta trust him just as much as you trust us, and like he will have to trust you in this too. Cris had to instruct me on this upon our first meeting just like you'll need to be. Seriously, Bam, do you really think we'll let him eat you up for dinner after all we've been through together? I can promise you on my life that nothing like that is going to happen to you if it'll convince you. Now, can we please go back upstairs and get the girls now, they're waiting for us?”

Seeing no other option, Bam scowled at Bert as he admitted defeat by flinging his clenched fists up in the air. “Fucking fine then! Let's get the fuck outta here!”

As the group unitedly turned to go back through the ventilation systems they came in with Connor behind them, blue green eyes snapped open from deep below them, summoning forth to one of their members like a beacon in the empty abyss of night.

Otep suddenly ceased dead in her tracks, a barren and far-off expression draining her face of awareness and soul. Cris was the first to acknowledge her stiffened body at the same time he felt such an odd shift in the air that pressed him to monitor his surroundings. He frowned at her vacant eyes devoid of any warmth of life. “Otep? We should probably get going too, you know, we don't wanna be left behind.” Reaching out a hand to her wrist, he tried to mildly tug her forward only to get no results. She strangely wouldn't budge, not even an inch. It was almost like she was a motionless statue. Mystified at how his strength couldn't even move her just a little, he called out to the others. “Guys...I think something is wrong with Otep!”

Everyone ended what they were doing and clambered back out of the vent to huddle around Otep who was creepily frozen in place. Connor pondered her over, uncomfortable by how still she was. “Hey Otep, you good?”

Obtaining no feedback from her, Bert felt unease stiffen his spine. Her eyes not blinking didn't help lessen the terror clouding his focus. Distributing both hannds on each of her arms, he leaned forward try and get her eyes to fixate solely on him. “Sweetie, I need you to look at me right now. Can you hear me? C'mon Otep, tell me whats going on with you!” The others stood by him, sharing the same look of confusion. 'What was wrong with Otep' was the only mystery on their minds. Not even a minute after they ended that collective wonder, Otep eyes finally fluttered a few times before her face shifted to take them all in. Almost like a robot, she was powered back on. Exhaling with relief, Bert gave her a unstable smile. “Jesus, Otep, you scared me! Are you feeling alright?”

“Hermanni.” Otep breathed delicately, her eyes engaged on Bert. “Hermmani is still down there.”

“Oh my god, she's right!” Cris's eyes extended in reminiscence. “Guys, we have to go free him too!”

“Wait, free who?” Connor interrogated, his green eyes exploring their faces for an answer.

“This boy we met incarcerated down below the church. We have to go save him, he needs our help too!” Cris issued rather fiercely as he and Otep departed from the group to make their way to the forsaken church. Bert meant to interject, but ruled against it, and concluded instead to hurry up and catch up to them with Bam and Connor close behind. Cris and Otep both released the chapel door, ignoring the loud commotion it spewed just like before. But unlike before, it wasn't dark anymore. Candles had been lit recently and set on irregular flat surfaces of the chapel.

“Dude, I thought you guys said they ditched this place a long time ago.” Bam hissed as he tiptoed inside with the others, inspecting their new luminous surroundings. “Who put all these candles in here?”

“I guess along with the new upgrades to the facility they decided to restore this place too.” Bert speculated with a shrug, his eyes investigating for clues of such indication other than the mysterious candles lighting their way.

“I didn't even know they had a church on this floor.” Connor whispered in reverence, taking in the dusty cobwebbed religious artifacts on exhibit. As Otep stepped up to the cross that he didn't know was actually a well camouflaged elevator, he instinctively accompanied her. “I've been down here the longest, how did I not know they had a church here?”