Raindrops crash onto the window. The wind pulls the curtains inward. Mackenzie, a bronze-brown, thin woman sits at her desk, listening to soft jazz. The apartment complex is quieter than usual, especially the room next to her simple, contemporary efficiency unit. Her eyes are glued to her textbook as she scratches her light-brown afro that’s slicked back with a simple black headband. 

She hears a whisper says her name. Mackenzie immediately looks up at an air vent with an arched eyebrow. 

“Mackenzie”, it said. She slowly approaches it with the flashlight on her phone. Standing on her worktable, her eyes instantly widening as she looks into the vent. A pair of big, glowing green eyes stares back at her. The voice calls her name again even louder with a more eerie tone. “I have been watching you.”, it said. “I am nothing but a lonely spirit, craving to feel once more. My life ended unfairly in this building. My body was stuffed into the vents. It’s now dust. I’m stuck in here, looking for a new body to be mine. Yes, you will do for now. I shall take possession of your body!” The glowing green eyes disappear with the sound of claws scraping it away through the vent. Ice slithers down Mackenzie’s spine as she jumps back, dropping her phone, gasping. She grabs her phone and runs out of her unit.

Without any warning, a warm, white, sticky spume, slams into her face. She lets out a shriek. Chad, a cool toned, beige, tall man, with wide-curly black hair emits a belly laugh while recording Mackenzie on his phone. 

“Ha! That was hilarious! I can’t believe that actually works”. Chad holds his side and gasps for air. He switches his camera lens. “We did it! We pranked our neighbor.”, he said, barely looking at the camera. Damian, a dark olive-brown man with tightly curled brown-black hair walks out of the unit next to Mackenzie’s. He chuckles and walks to Chad. Chad high-fives Damian. He looks back at the lens. “I can’t believe we found a way to get rid of that messy whipped cream combo. It was totally worth it.” Mackenzie wipes the last of the frothy mess from her eyes. She fixates a sharp stare on Chad with a growl. “Anyways. Like, share and comment below for more epic content like this. That’s up!” 

Chad turns off his camera and walks back to his unit with Damian. Suddenly, the back of his shirt pulls him. 

“Eck!” He instantly turns around. With her fist clenching his shirt, Mackenzie shouts at him. 

“You like to play too much! Why in the world would you do that! Then you recorded me, without my permission. You-you’re so done. I’m sick of you doing bull like this! I’m going to report your account, and get you cancelled. You and your channel are going down!” Chad tosses Mackenzie hands away from his shirt. 

“Why are you freaking out? It’s only a prank. Pssh.” He rolls his eyes. “Why do you have to be so uptight and ruin the fun? Just get over it.” 

“The heck—” Mackenzie narrows her eyes— “No! No, I will not get over this. You better not post that video. And stop flashing lights in my air vent!”. Damian walks over to them. 

“What lights? I didn’t use any lights.” 

“That actually sounds like a good idea for a prank,” Chad murmured to himself with his hands on his hips. He sets his sight on Mackenzie. “Anyways, I don’t know what you're talking about. We didn't use lights and the video was live. So … yeah.” Chad chuckles with a smirk. 

“What!” 

“Yeahhh. We only do live now, that's where all the money is.”, Damian explained with excess hand movement. 

“You should be able to delete it, still. You better delete it or else!”, Mackenzie responded with her head aggressively swaying. Chad looks at Damian then back at her with a condescending smile. 

“Sure.” Both Chad and Damian head back to their unit.

Mackenzie storms back into her efficiency, slamming the door shut. 

“I can’t believe this! My first apartment, and I’m stuck living next to these freaking influencer wannabes. They clearly don’t know about the things that’s going on around here. I don’t want to be caught off guard because of their pranks. Crazy people exist. One of these days they’re going to mess with the wrong one.” She goes into the shower. “They’re going to mess with someone, then that person is going to crash out and start some type of massacre. They’re lucky I’m not that crazy. But if they keep pushing me it won’t take long.” She lets out an extended sigh as the steaming warm water cleanses her frustration. “There are lots of crazy events going on in this world right now. At least this area isn’t as bad as it was back then. People were constantly murdered, raped, kidnapped, or just end up missing, like everywhere else nowadays. Even the suspects go missing.” Mackenzie gets out and puts on clean nightwear. She drops her back on her bed. “I guess they have done their crimes. Why would they stick around.” She looks at her ceiling. “If everyone behaved” she looks at the wall she shares with the pranksters, “this world would be safer”. She looks back up at the ceiling. “I wish there is a way to get rid of all the worthless people in this world. I have to worry about those idiots next door. I can’t tell if I’m in danger or not if they keep doing this to me and the other neighbors.” Mackenzie turns on her TV. “Ugh. Everything on the news gives me anxiety. Why can’t there be more positive stuff on the news? I’m pretty sure there are people who are doing good somewhere.”

The next day, Mackenzie finds herself scrolling through social media on her phone, while sitting on her small couch. 

“There’s nothing to do? It’s Saturday, there should be some type of artistic festival. I’ll probably eat out for lunch.” Mackenzie’s eyebrows suddenly draw inwards as her jaw drops. “Those freaking wannabes!”. Mackenzie marches to Chad’s and Damian’s door. She bangs on it with a tightly closed fist. 

“I told you to delete that video! Open up this door!” A groan emits from the other side. 

“W-what? What the— It’ s only twelve P M. Ahhhh. Who is it?” 

“What do you mean who is it! It’s me, Mackenzie! Why did you post that video, I told you not to post that!” 

“Woman, leave me alone. I’m trying to sleep.” Mackenzie’s mouth becomes agape. 

“What! Oh. You have done it now! Just you wait. Just. You. Wait.”. Mackenzie heads back to her unit and grabs her purse, then rushes out of the building after locking her door. She bumps into Damian who is carrying groceries. “I hope you and your little friend like prison food, because I’m sick of y’all”. With a slightly twisted face, Damian watches Mackenzie leave.

A few hours later, Mackenzie returns to Chad’s and Damian’s door with an officer. He thumps their door. There was no answer, however the sound of footsteps slips from the other side. He thumps on their door again. 

“Police open up.” Eventually, the door slowly creeps open. 

“H-hello”, Damian said while staring up at the tall, dark amber-brown, bald officer. 

“Is this Chad and Damian residency?”, the officer asked. Damian snaps his neck to the right and calls for Chad. After a while, he emerges from the bathroom with unbrushed hair and baggy, dingy clothes. Chad yawns as he stretches. 

“What seems to be the problem officer?”, he asked, making his way to the door. 

“Alright let’s get to it.” the officer said with a straight face. “Did you record Mackenzie without her consent, yesterday at around eleven twenty last night?” 

“Uhhh. Yes. But only in the hallway. That’s a public area.” 

“Not by this island’s laws. Even though this is a shared hallway, the rule of this island states that this area is qualified as private property, since this is a living space. And recording someone here without their consent, while humiliating them, at their home is an offense. Not to mention you basically assaulted her with a pie pan filled with weird, white substance, while committing acts of disturbing the peace of the other local residents.” Damian leans and whispers to him. 

“Chad, I can’t go to jail. I just can’t”, with a shaken voice. Chad strokes his chin with a scrunched-up nose. 

“Also, you shine light through a vent that leads to her room, right?”, the officer said while looking at his notepad. 

“Yeah, I saw the two green lights in the vent when they were pranking me.” 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. We didn’t shine any light into your room. We only said stuff in the vent to make it seem like there was a ghost in it.” Chad clarified. 

“I know what I saw.”. 

“Well, you saw wrong. We didn't shine any light in your vent.” 

“Okay I see where this is going.” 

“I’m telling you the truth officers—” 

“Okay, okay”, said the officer. He turns to Mackenzie. “Are you sure you don’t want me to file any charges? It will be harder to do it at a later time.” 

“File charges!” Damian said with a hand clenching the doorknob. 

“What do you mean by file charges? Are you pressing charges on us!” Chad said as he eyes fixed on Mackenzie. “We can't deal with charges right now.” 

“Calm down boy”, the officers said with a side glance. Chad sneers at him. 

“I won’t press charges … not this time” she said callously, looking at them. The officer flicks his head.

“Okay then. Is that all ma’am?” 

“Yes officer.” 

“Okay you can leave. I’ll just have a word with these two.” Damian places his hands on his forehead as he subconsciously takes a step back looking up to the side before looking back at the officer. Mackenzie smirks at the two as she enters her unit. With his head held high, Chad’s hand slides down his chin to his neck, as he glares at Mackenzie with a grimace. He then looks back at the officer. Mackenzie goes back into her room and exhales with her back against the door. 

“Those two should get what they deserved. Ah! I forgot to get some lunch. I’ll just eat some noodles. Might as well finish up that assignment while I’m at it.”

  After some time, Mackenzie finishes her studies for the day. She heads to her small kitchenette and makes tea. As she sips from her oversized white mug, she hears the influencers from beyond their wall. 

“... So yeah. We can’t do any more pranks”, Chad’s voice becomes louder for a moment, “since the Karen over there called the police, who basically knocked down our door. All because of a little prank”. 

“Too bad”, Mackenzie pushes out her tongue, “blah.” At normal volume, Chad continues. 

“I-it was a serious warning. We don’t want to go to jail. We can’t make content in jail. Haha” 

“I personally want to have a clean record” 

“Damian, come on. No one wants to hear that. Anyway, our way of life has been threatened. She is a stuck-up B. She thinks she is better than us because she’s in college and has things figured out for herself. News flash, we’re living in the same place. If anything, she is just like us. But with a pole up her butthole.” Mackenzie scoffs as she removes her ear from the wall. In their units the boys carry on. “Meanwhile we are over here trying to uplift people and bring joy to this platform. We’re normal like everyone else. We’re just looking for a way to live life. By making content. Spff! She just wants everyone to be just as miserable as her.” 

“She can’t stop us!” 

“That’s right Damian. We didn’t tell her to shove a pole up her butt. It's not my fault. We are coming back with better content—” Suddenly there is banging on their door. 

Damian goes to open it. “Our food has arrived. Yes!”, Chad said while trailing Damian. Just as he was about to turn off his camera, he did a double take.

“Oh. Oh. Oh! This bi—” Chad flips the camera to him. “Looks who is at the door. It’s the Karen. I guess she’s here to ruin our lives even more.” Chad flips the camera to her. 

“I didn’t ruin anyone’s life. You’re out here making me look bad for no reason. A-And telling lies about me. You were being a nuisance and disturbing people’s peace. All I wanted to do was work, then you guys started to bother me.” Chad rolls his eyes and exaggeratingly exhales. “You’re in the wrong. You humiliate people and make them feel unsafe for your little videos. That’s not right. We live in a dangerous world. We shouldn’t be making people feel like they are in danger, when real danger could be lurking around the corner.” Damian shrugs his shoulders with palms facing up. 

“All we do is bring laughter to our audience who are probably going through a rough time.” Chad interjects with a scornful look towards her. 

“It’s not like you’re in real danger. No one wants to deal with you.” Mackenzie glares at him. “We need to make our content interesting to make money. You're not the only one who has bills to pay. How are we going to pay our bills? Are you going to pay our bills? Are you going to bring groceries to us?”, Chad said with his eyes wide open and a tilted head. 

“Pfft! You could just entertain your audience differently. Or better yet, get a normal job, instead of harassing locals for your audience who probably has never been on the other side of your humiliating pranks.” 

“It has to be humiliating, or else we don’t get paid.”, Damian said.

“That’s right.”

Mackenzie looks up and sighs. Looking back at them, she speaks.

“You know the next time you try to prank me, I’ll report y’all and get you canceled for good. People are tired of these pranks. Can y’all do something different?” Damian eyes pops. He looks at Chad with a grin. 

“You know we can be explorers. Traveling influencers. We could travel to places that have rumors.” Chad slowly un-scrunches his face and looks at him.

  “Yeah. … Yeah! Like the rumors about this place being used as a crime house a time ago.”  Damian’s grin drops a little. “We can find articles about that serial killer who fed his victims to rats here to dispose of the body. And check if it's true that the rats are oversized and our landlord never exterminated them because it was too expensive. We could be the first to ask around.” Damian adds on. 

“Or we can look into the kidnapping that happened. They tracked the suspect here then she disappeared. But all her stuff remained.”, he said with a half smile. Chad gently pinches his chin. “We can check the laundry room downstairs for clues.”, Damian suggested. 

“Or the locked room next to it. Or even the basement!”, Chad said with a smile. Mackenzie rolls her eyes and leaves. In her unit, she lays in bed, listening to jazz with headphones. “If I had more money, I could’ve rented at a different complex. A better place without annoying neighbors.”

A slightly more peaceful week passes. Damian knocks on Mackenzie’s door. She looks through the peephole then opens it. Damian’s sight immediately leaves the ground and fixes on her. After a brief moment of silence Mackenzie speaks. 

“Some time, no see. Can I help you, Damian? Where is Chad? Is this another prank?”. She places one hand on her hip. Damian starts to rub the back of his hand. 

“Uh, yeah— no. I need you to come with me.” 

“Where?” 

“We found something, and we need your input about the matter.” 

“Really?”. The corner of her nose lifts with purse lips. 

“Y-yes. You’re a college student. You must be smart, right?” With a half smile and fluttering eyelids, she replies. 

“Yes, I guess.” 

“Chad— we— we need you to come … follow me.” Mackenzie looks off to the side with pursed lips. 

“Hmmmm.” 

“Please?” Damian said with a weak smile. Mackenzie looks at him in silence for a minute, almost two. He clutches his hands and notably swallows. 

“Okay. I’ll take a quick look at … whatever it is.”. Damian’s hands clench tighter. Air puffs out of his mouth. With wide eyes glued to the floor, he whispers. 

“Okay. It’s this way.”

Damian and Mackenzie find themselves at the edge of the basement stairs. 

“I always found it weird that this building has a basement. We’re not a basement country you know.”, Mackenzie noted. 

“That’s right. This is why we want you here. You have some type of smartness.”, Chad said as he emerged from the dark staircase. 

“Oh no. This looks like you’re about to cause trouble already.” 

“No, no, no, we found something. We need your help.” 

“Why me Chad? Why me?”, Mackenzie said with her hands on her hip and an icy stare. 

“It has to be you. You’re the only one that can warn people about this. People trust you. You’re smart and trustworthy, so why not you?” Her stare melts a little. 

“This is a prank.” 

“Noooo, no it’s not. We were exploring and we found something in the basement. For some reason this basement door was left unopened. To be honest, this is the first time since we started to live here that I see this door unlocked, and opened. We went in and found something … interesting”. 

“Okay? Why don’t you just tell me. You guys keep saying come look at this but not telling me what this is. What am I going to look at!” 

“Shhhh! What are you doing? You’re going to get us in trouble.” 

“Trouble! What trouble! The last thing I need right now is trouble.” 

“Oh my— Shush!” he said with his index finger aggressively pressed on his lips vertically. “That’s how serious this is. We found something and … we can’t explain it. We can only show you, right?” Chad looks at Damian. Damian clenches his hands. 

“R-right. Th-there is something down th-there.”, he said as his eyes darted back and forth. 

“What is his problem?” 

“Don’t worry about that.” Chad said swaying his hands at Damian. “Listen, we need your opinion and your … intelligence to figure this out. You’re a college student, you can figure it out. Not only that, you called the police on us. If we showed this to the police they won’t believe us. You know, since you called them on us. Now we can’t go to the police.” 

“W-well … y’all caused that. Y’all and your pranks.” 

“Whatever. We can’t report this. You have to come look and report it.” 

“Fine. But only for twenty minutes. After that I’m out of here. In fact, let me put the timer on my phone.” She takes out her phone.

“Wow! Wonderful. Twenty minutes” Chad smiles. “And … yeah. Let’s do this. Ready Damian?” 

“R-ready.”, he replied with a weak smile.

Chad leads both Mackenzie and Damian down the stairs with his headband light on. Halfway down the steps, Mackenzie’s body becomes stiff. 

“Maybe I shouldn’t do this. I don’t want to get in trouble.”, she said, folding her arms close to her body. 

“Why? You don’t think this is important?”, Chad asked with a smirk. 

“No. You didn’t even tell me what it is—” Chad smirk drops. 

“Oh, I get it. You don’t want to waste your precious time on us.” 

“No—” Chad suddenly stops, causing everybody behind to bump into each other. He takes a step down. He snaps around with a sour face. 

“You really think you’re better than us. You think you have life all figured out. Don’t want to have anything to do with us.” 

“What?”, Mackenzie said softly. 

“I hate people like you. You think we’re a waste of space because we haven’t figured it out yet. Frig you, everyone has their own pace. You’re not better than anyone. Look at where you are, we’re the same age and you’re living in the same—” 

“What are you talking about? I never said all those things!” 

“You didn’t have to say it. I’m not stupid!” he said, launching his face at her. 

“I didn’t say you were stupid! I said I don’t want to continue down here, because I don’t know what’s down here. I could be in my bed watching videos, or going out to eat, because it is Saturday.” 

“Tck! Whatever.” Chad turns back around, clenching his fist. Mackenzie takes a step closer to him. 

“I still haven’t figured out what I want to do. I was told that going to college gives me more opportunities. So, I applied for it. My degree is still undecided even though it’s my second year. I don’t think I’m better than everyone.” Mackenzie places her hand on his shoulder. He immediately pulls it away from her touch. 

“I said whatever.”, he grumbles. Damian looks away from the door with his hand on his forehead. 

“H-Hey bro. A-are we still doing this?” Chad slowly relaxes his hands, but his body stays stiff. Mackenzie looks at Damian. “Chad, are you okay down there? W-we can still go back and do this another day”, Damian said. Chad takes a deep breath, and releases. 

“Nah, we can still do this. Let’s go.” Chad continues down. Mackenzie watches Chad for a moment. Her eyes dart to the side, and slowly raise up. She sighs and reluctantly follows him while holding her arms. Damian slowly takes each step as he keeps looking back at the door.

At the bottom of the stairs, the three find themselves in a small, square, musty room with concrete walls with a large makeshift, wooden, storage cabinet. 

“Damian, come help me with this.” Damian looks away from the door for a second, looks at Chad, then back at the door. 

“Yeah, yeah. I’m coming.” He slowly moves away from the base of the stairs and helps Chad remove the heavy items from the shelves. Mackenzie holds herself tighter. Chad looks at her with a smile and eyebrows drawn inwards. 

“Are you ready?”. He then pushes the storage cabinet to the side revealing a tunnel on the wall behind it. Mackenzie inhales deeply through her mouth. 

“I-I don’t know guys. This looks like … this is too much. Why am I even here?” 

“Oh my— look, you have to see what we found so you can report it. If you don’t, this will cause a bigger problem. You’re the only one who can help. So, let’s go and get this over with.” 

“This doesn’t look safe. I mean there is a secret tunnel in the basement. That should be enough to report, right?” 

“What? No. This is nothing. They won’t take, finding a tunnel serious. This is nothing compared to what goes on down there. You have to come with us into the tunnel. Remember, you called the police on us for a prank. We could’ve reported this ourselves, but now we can’t. If we did, they’ll think we’re wasting their resources on us.” Chad looks down and clenches his fists as his smile drops. He turns his back to her. 

“They think we’re a waste of their time. They probably would believe us if you haven’t made that call. And you wouldn’t be down here wasting your precious time with us.”, he said, looking at her from the corner of his eyes. Mackenzie looks off to the ground next to her. 

“Do you want people to be safe, or what?” 

“Yeah, I guess.”, she said softly. 

“Then let’s go.”, Chad said. With a shaken voice, Damian shouts. 

“Guys! The door! The door!” Both Mackenzie and Chad turn to him. Suddenly, the door from the top of the stair’s slams shut.

Damian begins to shout. Chad rushes to him and covers Damian’s mouth with his hands from behind. 

“Dude chill. It’s probably the wind, o-or it’s one of those doors that close by itself. We good.” He then whispers. “Remember we’re on a mission. Don’t ruin this.” Damian muffles his scream with his lips. Chad slowly removes his hands moments later. Aloud, he speaks with a smile. “The door is fine. We can always open it later. And if someone is actually up there, this just gives us more reason to stay down here. We just found a secret tunnel. Who knows what they will do to us if we go up there now. We should stay here for a while and gather some evidence. They all look at each other in silence, before Chad breaks it. “Come on now. If we do this, we won’t ever have to come back here.” 

“R-Really?”, Damian stutters. 

“Yeah. Once we get everything, we don’t need to come back here. This is our only chance.”, Chad voiced with his shoulders shrugged and palm facing up, while alternating looking at Mackenzie and Damian. Chad stares into Damian’s eyes. “This is our only chance.” With her hands resting on her cheeks, Mackenzie finally says something.

“This can’t be happening.”, she whispered. Chad looks at her. 

“You’ll be fine. We will all be fine. Let’s take a quick look in the tunnels then get out. Okay.” Mackenzie hands slide down her face, as she exhales. Damian fiddles with his hands while looking on the ground next to him. “Okay. Let’s go!”, Chad said.

The three walk into the rectangular shaped tunnel, led by Chad’s bright L.E.D. light. The wall looks as if cement was splattered onto the soil with varieties of rock cram onto it distastefully. The floors and ceiling were patted gravel and dirt. 

“How long was this tunnel here? Was this new?”, Damian said shakenly. They eventually find themselves in a large round room with a few more walkway-tunnels. Chad begins to speak, dragging his words. 

“Wow! Look! Look at this stuff. What? Why are there large foldable tables and chairs? Come look at this over here.”, Chad said with a wide smile aimed at Mackenzie as he led her deeper into the humid, earthy smelling, tunnel. She slowly follows. 

“Whoa! Look at that.” Mackenzie walks to a shelf drilled into the wall on the other side of the room. “Wow, spices. These look kind of old. Oh wow, old pots and baking tray. I wonder what people do down here.”, Mackenzie said as she inspected the kitchen items stacked neatly in piles. 

Damian suddenly rushes to Chad. “Chad, we got to go.” 

“Hold up, we’re almost done here.” 

“No, we have to go now. I saw footprints that weren’t there before.” 

“Really.” 

“Hmm. Yeah. We can use that.” 

“What?” 

“This will give us more content.” 

“No, Chad, dude, my guy. There is something living down here.” 

“Don’t worry. We’ll soon get this over with.” 

“Uck! Eww, in here stinks.”, Mackenzie said from a different room, lit by her phone’s flashlight. 

The guys follow her. She turns off the light on her phone as Chad’s light overpowers the dark room. 

“Ugh! In here smells like an unclean guinea pig cage.”, said Damian with a scrunched-up nose. Chad smiles a bit wider. 

“Ew, look what’s piled up in that corner.”, Mackinzie said as she pointed at the many dark brown rock-shaped matter, clumped together in a corner of the room. Suddenly, there was a scatter of heavy footsteps. Chad smirk drops as everyone looks around. Chad begins to smile. Damian looks at him. 

“I think there’s something down here with us”, he whispered to Chad as his hands began to tremble. Chad sight fixates on Mackenzie. He then looks at Damian. 

“Uh? What? Are you ready?” Damian takes in a deep breath. He firmly grasps his hands, and his teeth are visibly clenched. Chad lets out a small giggle after moving closer to one of the room’s exits. He turns off his lights and runs away, leaving Mackenzie in a pitch-black room underground. She screams at the top of her lungs, frantically rushing towards the exit with her hand reached out. Out of nowhere there is a thump. Mackenzie steps on something squishy. 

“Is this Chad?”, she growled. She reaches down and pulls it up by what seems to be fabric. 

“Help! Help! It got me. Chad help! Help!”, Damian shouted.

  Chad comes back into the room, laughing with his light on. Mackenzie scrunches her face tightly and throws the back of Damian’s shirt collar on to the ground. 

“Uhff” Damian looks back at her with wide eyes and crawls towards Chad with vibrating hands and knees. He scans the room with rapid breath. Chad eventually helps Damian up. He wraps his arms around Damian’s shoulders. 

“Ahh! You ruined it!” He continues to laugh. “The prank was still good though.” Chad holds his aching side as he laughs. 

“Chad!”. Mackinzie shouted from the bottom of her guts with a flared nose and clenched hands. Chad stops laughing for a moment. 

“Whoa, did you hear that? Her voice got deeper. She’s pissed”. He starts to wheeze.

“I so hate you right now! Why do you do stuff like this? I should’ve pressed charges!” 

“Well, you didn’t. So, yeah.” 

“I’ll never trust you again. I hope one day when you actually need help no one will believe you and you’ll suffer.” Chad looks over at the trembling Damian, with a wide smile. 

“Why did you have to fall down? We could’ve escaped without hearing her yapping, like my mom.” 

“I tripped over something soft, an-and it freaked me out. L-let’s leave, now! You know about my phobia about feeling trapped.” 

“What are you talking about? There’s nothing to trip over in here.” Everyone looks around the empty, large square-ish room in silence. Chad massages the tip of his chin with his thumb and index finger. “Okay, okay, let’s go.” Mackenzie stands alone, grumbling for a moment. She then trails behind Chad’s L.E.D. light as they leave the area.

Suddenly, the corner of Mackenzie’s eyes catches something. She gasps. 

“Did you guys see that!” 

“What!”, Damian whimpered. Everyone looks around the room with a mixture of rectangular and circular entryways. Chad chuckles. 

“Oh, I get it. You’re trying to get back at me. You’re funny.” 

“No, I’m serious, I saw something run into the next room.” She twists her face, “Why would I waste my time trying to make you laugh.” Chad sneers at her. 

“If you saw something describe it. Prove it.” 

“I didn’t see it properly.”, she said softly. 

“See you’re trying to get back at us with your lie.” Damian nudges Chad with his shoulders. 

“We did the prank, let’s go.”, he whispers. Chad looks at him with a smirk. 

“While we’re down here, let’s explore.” 

“No. Let’s go.”, Damian said looking into his eyes, with a visible clenched jaw. A grimace appears on Chad’s face. Mackenzie turns to them. 

“Hurry up, get me out of here. I have things to do.” Chad looks at her with side eyes. After a moment of silence, Chad sniffs, with a scornful look. 

“Follow me.” Chad leads the way into a large circular tunnel with uneven dirt walls. 

“Didn’t we come from there?”, Mackenzie said pointing at the dark room on the other side with a rectangular entrance and stoned walls. Chad scrunches his face. 

“What? How would you know where to go? This is your first time here.” Mackenzie rolls her eyes. 

“I’m pretty sure we came from over there.” 

“If you want to go over there then go, don’t expect me to come look for you when you get lost. If you want to leave this place then follow me.”, Chad said with a smirk hidden behind their backs. Mackenzie lets out a big sigh.

After a few minutes, Damian breaks the silence. 

“We-we have been walking for a while now”, he stammered. Mackenzie eyebrows draw inwards. 

“It didn’t take this long to get there. Why is it taking so long to go back?” Out of nowhere, there is an echoed squeak. They look around, then continue on. As they walk down the tunnels filled with steamy stench, every once in a while, there is a squeak or footsteps running away. Damian holds himself, shuttering with his head hanging below shoulder level. He scrutinizes every little thing with a rapid heartbeat. Mackenzie fiddles with her fingers as goosebumps form all over her body. Just then, Chad spots huge, green eyes. He begins to stutter. 

“L-let’s go back and get out of here.” Mackenzie immediately scrunches her face. 

“I thought that’s what we were doing.” She continues to row him as he slowly backs away, staring at the eyes from in the dark circular tunnel, ahead in silence. Mackenzie grabs his shoulders. 

“Hey! I’m talking to you. What are you looking at?” She turns her head to it. 

“What is that?”, Damian shouted. 

“Shhh!”, Chad voiced. As soon as Mackenzie’s eyes meet the green ones, her timer goes off. Damian screams and runs into another tunnel. The creature snarls. Without a second thought, Mackenzie begins to run with widened eyes and agape mouth behind Damian. Chad trails them as the corner of his ajar mouth hangs low and eyebrows pulled together and raised.

Damian, who’s in front, turns into random rectangular and circular tunnels, avoiding the eyes. The footsteps begin to follow them. Eventually he stops in a round room surrounded with only circular tunnels and uneven walls, floors, and ceiling.

Breathless, the three stand in the musty room, panting. Chad starts to speak with a strained voice and twitching fingers. 

“Okay I don’t know what those things are, or why there are actually things down here. I just wanted to stay later for more content. We need to get out of here.” Mackenzie’s face becomes twisted. 

“What! I thought you were leading us out. You better carry me back upstairs, now!” 

“We can’t.” 

“Why not?” Chad’s lips fold into his dry mouth. “Get me out of here or else I’m calling the cops.” She checks her phone. Mackenzie gasps. “There’s no signal.”, she whimpered as her throat became tight. Chad instantly checks his phone and whispers to himself. 

“There’s no signal? Does that mean we’re not live?” Damian shakenly holds himself with deep breaths. 

“Don’t know, but the camera is on.” Chad looks at him. 

“So even if it’s not live, we could post it later. Cool!”, Chad said, barely smiling. With a stiff jaw and a scowl, Mackenzie shouts at them. 

“You were recording this whole time. I knew this was a prank. And I can’t believe you care more about your stupid video right now. We are going to die!” Chad grabs onto his head with his nose raised and one eye twitching. Damian immediately grabs a hold of his head. Suffocating on his thoughts he continues to gasp for air. 

“Hey, we are not going to die.”, Chad said, smirking weakly with his palm facing forward and at chest level. 

“Really.”, Mackenzie said with a broken voice, holding her arms against her weak stomach. “Even if we escaped from … whatever those things are, we could die from starvation because we can’t find a way out. Not to mention that these tunnels looked used by people. There might be crazy people living down here that might kill us.”

“That’s enough!”, Chad shouted while pinching his forehead. He takes a deep breath, then looks at Damian. He is holding his tight chest bent over and sweating. Damian heaves as his whole chest expands with every breath. “Ok, ok, ok, chill. Let's keep going forward. These tunnels gotta end up somewhere. People made them.” Chad said as he made his way to Damian. Chad taps his shoulder and shakes it a bit with a strained smile. He looks at him, then smiles for a second.

The three continue to walk for a few minutes. Eventually they end up in a small circular room with a small hole in the wall. 

“Way to go Chad. There’s nowhere to go. We are probably more lost than before. This is a dead end. I should just punch you right now.” Chad scoffs with the corner of his nose raised. 

“There’s a little tunnel we can crawl through.” Mackenzie twisted her face. 

“I don’t want to go into any more tunnels. We don't even know where this goes.”. With a shaken voice, Damian speaks. 

“No more small spaces. I can’t take it.”. He holds his head. Chad looks at him. 

“You’re right, Damian. I’m kind of getting bad vibes from there.” Chad pinches his chin. Suddenly, they hear an army of footsteps approaching. He points his finger guns towards the sound. “But I’m not sticking around for them. I'm going in.” Mackenzie watches him crawl in. Biting her lips, she looks back and forward between the tunnel and the approaching footsteps from the dark room behind. Chad’s voice emits from the tunnel. “Come on Damian.” 

“I hate small spaces! Chad, I can’t.” The footsteps close in. Mackenzie finally scuttles into the tunnel. 

“Damian, I’m not leaving without you. You’ll be fine, I’m right here.” The light from Chad’s headlight climbs up several large, pink paws. Damian gasps then scatters into the tunnel. One of the creatures grabs a hold on his shoe, scratching his foot through the fabric with its sharp claws. Damian screams, desperately kicking the paw with his free foot as the creature snares and growls. Eventually the creature lets go. Moments later it forces its rodent-like head into the tunnel. The three scream. Chad turns around and lights the way forwards through the tapering tunnels as they crawl frantically.

After some time, Chad stops and turns his head a bit in the shoulder width tunnel. 

“Mack, is Damian still with us?” After a brief silence she responds. 

“Yeah— hey my name isn’t Mack—” 

“I know. It’s Mackenzie.”, he said, rolling his eyes. 

“I didn’t think you would know my name.” 

“Don’t flatter yourself. Damian, just happen to tell me. How far is he? We have to hurry up get him out of here.” Mackenzie looks back. 

“Yeah, he’s way behind.” 

“Go back.” 

“What! Why?” 

“I said go back, before I fart in your face.” Mackenzie twists her face. 

“Ack!” 

“Go back, Damian needs help!” 

“Okay, okay.” Mackenzie and Chad crawl backwards. 

“Move your head.” 

“Move my head where? There is no space.” Chad sighs. He bends his head down, looking between his arms and legs. 

“Hey Damian. Did you see the creature?” Damian who’s clutching the ground and dripping in sweat answers breathlessly. 

“I saw only its paw. I-it scratched me!” 

“Cool.” Mackenzie scoffs. 

“Come on Damian, we’re almost out of here.”, Chad said. Mackenzie arches her eyebrow. 

“How do you know th—” 

“Shut up Mack.” 

“Don’t talk to me like that!” 

“Oh my God! You’re so annoying.” Damian finally gets a hold of himself. 

“Are you ready Damian?”, Chad said, looking at him.

“Yeah, we need to hurry.” They move forward.

Not long after, Damian’s breath intensifies. 

“It’s getting very hot in here. It’s getting hard to breathe.” His voice cracks, “I think we’re running out of oxygen.” Chad responds. 

“Funny, there’s plenty of oxygen over here.” Chad begins to crawl faster. Everyone follows. Damian groans.

“I can feel it. It’s going to happen.” 

“What did you say Damian?” 

“Something bad is going to happen.” Damian’s head starts to throb. His voice becomes shrill. “Something bad is going to happen. I can feel it. I just know it.” 

“Hey, calm down. We’re almost out.” Mackenzie looks away from Damian with wide eyes.

“Really?”, she asked. Chad scowls. 

“I don’t know, stop talking.”, he said with excess head movement. “Damian is spazzing, and I don’t want him to crash out.”, Chad said softly as he stopped for a second. In his regular voice he adds on. “O-or make things worse. It’s— j-just shut up.” A half smile appears on Mackenzie’s face for a brief moment. 

“The ceiling is going to collapse! That’s what’s going to happen.”, Damian said, trembling. 

“What!”, Mackenzie turns to him a bit, “Where?” 

“Stop encouraging his paranoia.” Chad whispered to her. 

“Chad, I can feel it. We’re going to die. I think the creatures might be in here with us too, I just know it.” Mackenzie starts to whimper and shake. 

“Damian, we are going to be fine.” 

“I can hear footsteps!” 

“Shhh! Stop it, you’re just paranoid okay. Just stop. Don’t make too much noise.”, Chad said with a scowl. 

“I’m serious. I can hear it, and smell something.” Both Damian and Mackenzie stop. 

“I can hear it too.”, Mackenzie said. 

“What are y’all talking about?”. Chad stops and listens. Damian looks next to him. 

It sounds like it’s coming from the sides.” Chad drags hand on the wall. A long piece of wood falls over, revealing a long exit to the next room. Damian begins to push. 

“Watch your hands if you know what’s good for you!” 

“Get out of the way, I need to get out!”, Damian shouted. Mackenzie turns her head to the side. 

“We don’t know if it’s safe.” 

“I don’t care! Get out, or I’ll push you out myself.” Chad and Mackenzie hurriedly crawl out of the tunnel. Damian lunges himself out and gasps for air. Mackenzie dusts herself and starts to wander around.

The three find themselves in a large room with even dirt walls and floors, sloping up. The room is filled with different width pillars of unshoveled compacted dirt. Mackenzie goes ahead, leaving Chad to help Damian up. 

“Hey, I found a campsite.”, Mackenzie said. The two guys slowly makes their way up to her. They find a boiling pot hung above a flat can emitting a small flame, and a small wooden stool nearby. They walk around, inspecting it and the surrounding area. Just then the landlord comes out from behind a pillar. 

“What y’all doing here?” Mackenzie gasps and runs to him. 

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to trespass. Th-they tricked me into coming down here. I wanted to leave, but they wouldn’t help me get out”, her voice begins to shake, “please don’t kick me out.” Chad raises the corner of his nose. 

“Tck! Snitch.” Damian pushes Chad, running towards the landlord. Chad looks at Damian with shock. 

“Please help me, I don’t want to stay here. I don’t know where the exit is, and there are things after us.” Mackenzie turns from him and faces the middle aged landlord. 

“Yeah, Mr. Gulben there’s something down there. We need someone to relocate them.” Mr. Gulben shakes his head. 

“If you cause any harm to them, you’ll be hunted down by a group of certain people. Leave them alone, they ain’t bothering anyone.” Chad steps into the conversation with a smile. 

“So the rumors are true.” Mr. Gulben instantly looks away from them. Damian steps back. “You are keeping man eating rats down here?” Chad gets closer. “Are they a part of an organization of serial killers? Were they their pets?” Mackenzie looks at Chad. 

“What? No, those are a different set of people.” Mackenzie raises her eyebrow. “These are people who … who really love animals.” Mackenzie looks at him from the corner of her eyes with a quick smirk before looking away from everyone. 

“Anyways, what are y’all doing down here?”, Mr. Gulben asked. Mackenzie points to Chad and Damian. Before she can say anything, Chad walks up to her with his chest puffed up, then faces the landlord. 

“We’re only down here because Mackenzie almost caused us our only source of income and we had to do things differently.” Mackenzie eyebrows slant downwards. 

“Just get a regular job like everyone else.” Both Chad and Damian shouted no. 

“If I get a dead end job, I won’t be able to travel.”, Damian said. “Yeah— what? I just wanted to have fun.” Chad and Damian look at each other. Mackenzie rolls her eyes. Mr. Gulben cuts in. 

“I don’t really want to get caught up in y’all drama.” Mackenzie looks at him. 

“What is this place?” 

“I will explain if you all sit and join me for late lunch.

“First thing first, let me tell you a little story about myself.” Mr. Gulben sits on the stool with head hung low and his hands clasped together. The three sit opposite him, behind the boiling pot, on the ground. “When I was eighteen, twenty, I was molested and then eventually raped.” Mackenzie gasps. Chad and Damian look at him with widened eyes. “The first few years of being an adult started off like that. My dignity was lost. I was lost. I felt dirty and less than a man. But I guess that’s what he wanted. It happened time after time with the same guy. Sometimes he brings his friend. I couldn’t escape from him. It didn’t take long for me to be less than a man, to becoming a bag of meat that pleasures him. I couldn’t bear it. I was so bothered that I wasn’t able to work efficiently, which then caused me to be fired. I was broke and broken, similar to you guys.” 

“Hey!”, the three harmonized. 

“The only way to survive was to be the thing I was. A thing that gets raped. I would hope they would find me so I can pick their pockets. Which was a skill I developed. Sometimes they allowed me to spend the night. At this point, I dare not look into a mirror. But one day I was forced to. What I saw, made my blood boil. I don’t know if it was the additional rage from the session, or irritation from hunger. I killed him and that woman he always brings. She was worse than him. I was a mess and hungry, so I ended up cooking them since there was no food in the house and I was too weak to go anywhere. I don’t know if it was the universe but, the neighbor at the time was home. The neighbor heard the screams and the cries for help. Neighbor came by and asked what happened. It was obvious what happened. I didn’t bother to hide it. The neighbor came in and closed the door, then recommended what spices to use on the body. That day, I was shown a world that I didn’t know existed. That day I became a cannibal like them. There are so many of us out here living normal lives, perhaps better lives. Ever since I ate my abusers, I became confident and started craving human blood.

“Eventually, I bought this place for all of us to live together. We built this underground festive hall. We would capture serial killers and repeating offenders before the police can track them down. We were doing society a favor. Getting rid of bad delicious blood for good. I still remember the last time they all ate together. Someone caught the women that was kidnapping children and raping them. Who would’ve thought that a woman could do that to kids. I don’t remember why I didn’t eat with everyone else, perhaps I was full. The week after that, I learned why humans don’t eat other humans. It’s not because humans have a strong emotional attachment to the dead. Not because they can’t bear to see an other butchered into steaks. No. The reason being is because of the diseases humans carry. The diseases are easily transmittable since we were the same species. Turns out that their selected meat may have been a prostitute. Ain’t no way a normal woman would carry so much STD and other infections. Everyone had at least three of the seven diseases she had. Everyone died out slowly until one left. I have been alone for years, surrounded by people who don’t understand me.” He looks at the three with a smile. “That could all change. It has been hard obtaining clean human flesh without the gang. Maybe you can help me. We could start up the cannibal gang again. You can lure them here to this place.” The three look at each other with wide eyes and lips folded in. “For some reason, it seems like the bad guys are purposely staying away from here. All I ask you to do is, to prove you’ll be loyal to me by eating this hotdog made from human meat.” He slowly lifts the pot lid with a rag from his pocket. “Penis meat.” 

“What!”, Chad shouted as he stood up. The three look into the pot. Six light pink wieners floating and swelling in it. “I ain’t eating another guy’s junk. And I’m not joining. If anything, let her do it.” Mackenzie looks at him and stands. 

“Excuse me! I ain’t eating that.” 

“Well you should. You’re a female.” 

“I don’t care—” 

“That’s enough!”, Mr. Gulben shouted, standing with a shotgun in his hand. 

“Where did he pull that out of?”, Damian whispered as he got up. 

“Only I can help you get out of these twisted tunnels. Together, we can clean this world for good by devouring evil before it devours us. If you won’t eat it, I am afraid I will have to get rid of you.”. Tears seep out of Damian’s eyes. “Why are you crying?”, Mr. Gulben asked with an arched brow. 

“I’m crying? I didn’t know.”, Damian said. “Can we at least eat meat from a different part of the human?” 

“What do you mean? This is a delicacy. Like beef pizzle.”, Mr. Gulben said with a smile. 

“I mean it is tough for guys like us. W-we aren’t at that level of cannibalism.”, Chad said slowly backing away. 

Mackenzie balls up her fist. 

“This is wrong. Y’all shouldn’t be killing people. And eating them just makes things worse.” Mr. Gulben looks at her with a tilted head and narrow eyes.

“Would you prefer murderers and rapists to run rampant in our area?” Mackenzie looks off to the side. 

“No. But there are other ways to stop them.” 

“Like what? Sending them off to jail so they can come back out later on, and seek revenge. This way gets rid of them for good.” 

“I noticed that a lot of wicked people do horrible things, because they are broken, or hurting on the inside.” She looks at Chad for a moment. “If there’s a way to fix them, they’ll be happy, and the world will be a bit better.” 

“Do you know how many times I have been sexually abused? And by females too. No one would believe me. I got humiliated by those who claimed that they were going to help. And when they do get my abusers, they’re somehow released and would come after me again. There’s no fixing them. Never again will I go through that! I will kill and eat my fears to keep me safe.” Mackenzie frowns, looking at the ground. After a moment, she points at him. 

“You’re insane. You need mental help!” 

“No. I need human flesh. Listen here, either join me, or become food for the rats.” 

“Why are there even giant rats?”, Chad asked with a shaken voice. Mr. Gulben looks at him casually. 

“It’s because of the tenants. Y’all are nasty. Y’all leave more food for them to grow bigger than I can get clean.” Mackenzie walks towards the pot. 

“That’s not right.” 

“Hey. I’m working with what I got.” 

“Not that. The cannibalism. That’s not right.” Mr. Gulben scowls. 

“What is right, is subjective.” Mackenzie growls. She kicks the pot. Boiling hot water splashes onto Mr. Gulben’s dirty sneakers. 

“Let’s make a run for it.”, Mackenzie said. 

Chad, Damian and Mackenzie, all run in different directions. They all run through different tunnels and turns, alone. In the distance, they all can hear Mr. Gulben laughing. Running with his phone’s flashlight on, Damian cries. 

“We will never find a way out.”. In a different area, Chad stops and holds on to his head in a large room filled with pillars and tunnel entrances with his headlight still on. He wanders around the area in silence for several long minutes, breathing intensely. 

“I don’t hear them. Did they find a way out? Did they leave me behind with the cannibal and the mutated rats?” He stops and looks around the dim area that’s cluttered with pillars and entryways. He begins to hear growling, then faint echoes of laughter. He starts to hyperventilate. Just then, Mackenzie finds her way into the same room from behind. She spots him. “Is this it for me?”, Chad said with a broken voice. Mackenzie hides behind a pillar. Chad’s legs and stomach become weak. “I can’t take this any more!” He trembles onto his knees as his throat and chest tightens. “She was right. I’m worthless. I’m a loser that makes videos. I’m going to die by the hands of a molested freak or giant rats, and no one is going to care. She’s right. You win mom. I’m just an annoying, lonely loser.” Tears and mucus drip from his hanging head. “No one wants to be around a useless nobody. She was right to not waste time with me.” The sound of footsteps running towards him enters the room. Mackenzie tiptoes out of the area. Chad closes his eyes, as the footsteps get nearer. Something grabs onto his shoulders. 

“Where were you?” Chad opens his eyes and looks up. “We need to get out of here.”, Damian said, nearly breathless. 

“You came back for … th-there’s no way out of this underground trap.” Damian takes a deep breath. 

“I don’t want to think about that right now. They’re coming.” Damian points behind him. Chad slowly looks back. The sound of heavy thumps and growling slowly accentuates. In the distance he sees a pack of dog sized rats creeping towards them. Mr. Gulben laughter echoes throughout the tunnel systems. Damian pulls Chad off the floor. “Come on!” Chad wipes his face in his shirt as they run away.

After a while, they find Mackenzie. 

“Where were you?”, she asked. Chad looks at her with a sneer. “Where were you?” Mackenzie rolls her eyes. 

“The exit has to be nearby. The air seems fresher here.” Damian takes a deep breath and exhales with a smile. 

“It does!” Damian immediately wanders away. 

“Where are you going—” 

“Come join me now and live in peace.”, Mr. Gulben said, interrupting Mackenzie. “The wieners are a bit dirty, but it’s no biggie.” 

“We ain’t eating that”, Chad shouted from his chest. 

“Oh. Well, you have to eventually. You don’t want to starve. Ha, you will never find a way out.” 

“Hey, I found a way out over here.”, Damian shouted from a distance. Mackenzie and Chad run to the exit. 

“Shi—” Damian slams the wooden door that’s in the dirt wall shut. They all climb up a short set of stairs. Damian and Chad high-five with laughter. 

“Ugh, come on. We’re not out yet. Mackenzie said walking between them. “Where are we?”, she asked. 

“Hey, I know this place.” Chad and Mackenzie face Damian. “We’re in the shed.”

“Shed?”, the two harmonized. They look at all the gardening materials all over the wooden hut. 

“I didn’t know we had a shed.”, Mackenzie said. 

“Yeah, it’s on the side of the building, next to the abandoned lot. See.” Damian opens the double wooden door. Right outside is a small police squad. 

“How did they know we were here?”, Chad asked. Damian gasps. 

“The camera! We’re live. We probably got a signal eventually and someone called the police.” 

“Hey, you three, get out of there. We have some questions for y’all.” 

  After the police asked what happened, the three constantly talked over and corrected each other as they tried to explain. The few police look at them with an arched eyebrow or narrowed eyes. Suddenly, one of the officers recognized the young men. 

“Hey, aren’t you two the ones that pranked the young lady over there.”, he said pointing at Mackenzie. Chad and Damian fold their lips together. Mr. Gulben finally comes out of the shed, breathless, and with a wiener on a fork. 

“Oh! My back. I can’t do any more of this running.”, he said with closed eyes, bracing his low back with his hands. He open his eyes. His jaw drops. He turns to the three. “Hey what’s going on here? I thought we were only doing a video.”, he said with a slight and quick smirk. 

“Video?”, asked one of the police. 

“Yeah, I was pretending to be a cannibal for the video.”. Chad marches up to Mr. Gulben.

  “No officers, he’s lying.” He grabs the fork from Mr. Gulben. “Test this hotdog, it’s penis meat. He tried to force us to eat it.” 

“It was for the video. Look, he has a hidden camera.” Mr. Gulben points at Chad’s headband light. The police look at each other for a moment before one of them takes the fork. 

“This is a turkey hotdog.” 

“What?”, Damian said with an ajar mouth. 

“I could easily tell. I feed this to my kids all the time. But I’ll check with the forensic. That will cost you cash.” Chad looks at Damian. 

“I didn’t know turkey hotdog existed.” 

The police eventually leave after gathering their information. Mr. Gulben smirks at Chad, Damian, and Mackenzie. 

“I guess you all are friends now after all this drama.” 

“What?”, the threes said with twisted faces. 

“Come on, do you really think I’m a cannibal?”. Mr. Gulben laughs. “I don’t want to hear any more fights from you three.” Mackenzie rolls her eyes and walks away. 

“No way you were pranking us.”, Chad said, pointing at Mr. Gulben. 

“Yeah you’re a molested cannibal freak.”, Damian added with narrow eyes. Mr. Gulben’s smile drops for a second. He looks at them with a strained grin. 

“What evidence do y’all have to back that up?” The two stutter. “You guys are welcome to join me, or be labeled as delinquents. The choice is up to you.” Mr. Gulben winks at them then slowly walks away laughing. 

Chad and Damian look at each other. 

“Do you think he’s telling the truth— Hey, where is Mackenzie?”, Damian asked. 

“Tck. Who cares? Let’s check our channel and see how many views we got.”, Chad said with a smile. Damian looks away from him. 

“O-oh okay … but after today’s events.” He looks at Chad. “I didn’t like it. I suggest we do something else or, or … I’m leaving.” He holds his chin up. “I’m leaving the channel.” 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.”, Chad said with wide eyes and an ajar mouth. 

“I can’t take this anymore. I need direction. I always wanted to travel and you’re not taking me there. All we did was get in trouble and almost died. We are basically black mailed by our landlord … unless all of this was actually a prank by him. This is too complicated”. Chad eyebrows tilts upwards. 

“I need someone to record and edit the videos.” 

“I am willing to, only if I’m comfortable doing it. I’m drawing my boundaries Chad. Respect it, or ... I-I I’m leaving. Which I don’t want, but if I must.” Chad sighs and rubs his face. 

“Okay. This sounds like something Mackenzie would talk about,”. He rolls his eyes. He wraps his arm around Damian’s neck. “Okay, let’s get lunch and discuss our new direction.”, Chad said with a smile. Damian smiles back.

Back in the underground tunnel, Mackenzie stands alone in a large room, lit by her phone’s flashlight. 

“I think I know what to do with my life. A behavioral therapist. I can make the world safer by fixing the broken. One person at a time.” The giant rats approach her with their eyes bulging. “Hey! Y’all seem fine. We will protect you.” She takes out a black, red, and blue shirt pin. She stares at it. “So I guess our word is spreading. Good.”