"This is just my theory but Kathy tried to drug Landon, right? Its timing was so well calculated that Landon would go out of control and attack you guys when they were supposed to meet you and Damien. And Kathy would simply reap the benefits."

"Bingo. I gave him herbs to stay sober and a sedative in it so he passed out soon after meeting me. He must have felt its effect and still wanted the rewards of killing a candidate. He knew he couldn't handle me in that situation so he went for Kathy, the easier target."

"So you planned it all. Why?"

"Cause girls like Kathy piss me off. She would be a pain in the ass teaming up with Landon anyway," she shrugged and looked at him innocently, "so I got rid of her."

"You are interesting just as Zion said. I should get going then."

"Wait. Who is this Rylee? I mean how and why did she even get in?"

"Don't know the details," he shrugged, "but she is pretty high up the ladder within the gang. We aren't allowed to injure her."

Skylar's viewpoint:

I stared at Dylan's back as he waved me goodbye and walked into the pitch-black darkness. I wondered who this Rylee is. But that's a lie. I know exactly who she is and why she is here. That man rambled on so much about her that I can almost imagine in my head how she looks in real life. Anyway, I needed to find her as soon as possible before any of Zion's men do. I didn't wanna miss my share of fun and drama.

As soon as I started walking again to search for this Rylee, an incoming call appeared on my watch from Damien.

"What is it? Miss me already?"

"Sure, I just can't stop thinking about why you forced me to trust Landon. Fortunately, I'm not dead yet but I think he is setting up a trap for me."

"How so? You guys didn't meet up yet?"

"He claims to lead me through a path that goes in the same direction of Karma and that we should follow him individually. How does he know the interior locations in here so well anyway?"

"He might be extremely good at analyzing geographical locations," I shrugged a bit as I continued walking, "I bet you are getting the rough idea of this interior too. Why would you think that he is setting up a trap?"

"Because I think that he is trying to have me ambush Karma on my own and he would never show up."

"Understandable. But trust me, if that is his plan, he would be hiding nearby and have fun seeing you get beaten to a pulp by Karma."

"Excuse you, but that won't be happening. I found out that he had been leading me down a different path because I found a small treasure chest that wouldn't be there if Landon or Karma passed that area before me. And I found a loaded revolver and 3 QR stickers in it."

"Well, congrats. But I suggest you use the revolver on Karma carefully. And don't worry about Landon. If he does betray you, I promise you will get the pleasure of seeing him devastated in despair and misery."

"What are you planning?"

"A sweet surprise for some certain people," and I hung up on the call immediately. He didn't need to know too much. Then, let's find the little bird who was about to make my night there a whole lot more interesting.

{Damien's viewpoint}

I had been silently following along with all the directions that Landon had been telling me for a while now. I knew that he got QR stickers from Skylar before but he should be running out soon. This meant that he should have be materializing the trap anytime now. I turned over various possibilities about it in my head and finally get a call from Landon again.

"Hey, it's about time to try our luck and get it over with Karma, right? Good for you that I have found a perfectly convenient situation for that."

Of course, it's about time for him to initiate this. Way to go, Landon. Keep meeting my expectations.

"Tell me the plan," I manage to say in a perfectly calm voice, suppressing my sarcasm to the best of my abilities.

"I have been observing Karma for the past few minutes and he seems to be doing a task that includes him beating chess matches on a monitor in a room. You can confirm it with Zion if you don't believe me but I think that he will be occupied in it for a while."

"And you think that it's the perfect chance to ambush him from behind?"

"Yes. The room that he is in now has 3 doors so we can go through different doors at the same time and face him together. Easy, right?"

"Very much. Let me confirm with Zion and then we can follow along," I end the call with a note of reassurance and pleasure in my voice but the reality is far from it. Cooperate and ambush him together my ass. It's too damn obvious that he will just watch the show as I fight Karma. But I still need to confirm it with Zion for proceeding further.

"That chess match monitor he is working on? It's designed for candidates to be involved in it for at least 20 minutes. But I can't guarantee anything about Karma. Be careful," I sensed doubt and worry in his tone but it could be just my imagination.

"And what's Landon's current location?"

"Right outside the northwest door of the room, Karma is in."

"Got it."

I instinctively sigh, thinking that it will be too stressful of a long night. Following Landon's location coordinates, I walk to the room where Karma is in. I muse in amusement analyzing the room from outside. It's so big that even if I had to run from one end to the other, it would take at least a minute. There's a large round marble textured table in the middle, with some ornate decorative chairs surrounding it, and a large chandelier hanging from above lighting up the interior. The ceiling is so high that are a few chambers in the walls above, decorated so anyone on the other side can get a good view inside.

I notice Karma in a corner, his back facing me, working on a chess match on a digital monitor. I wonder if he is just too careless or confident by taking all of this so leisurely. I stealthily move forward, silencing my footsteps and every breath. Maybe I'm being too paranoid because I don't think he would be able to hear small sounds from this distance between us, but I shouldn't take any chances with him.

One shot is all I get at him while I still have the element of surprise. If I can just shoot him on the first try, it's my win. I calm my posture and correct my stance, pointing the gun straight at his head. I clench my gut, let out a shallow breath, and finally pull the trigger.

Shit. He dodged. Right at the last damn moment. I don't even know how but this is bad. Before he can turn around to face me completely, I fire another bullet at him but he dodges it like he could read me like an open book.

"Save your bullets, Damien," he says in a loud, cold tone, "I think I warned you properly last time. You are more stupid than you look, aren't you?"

"But definitely not more stupid than Skylar who told me to trust Landon. He joined hands with you, right? That's why you were able to dodge my shot so easily."

"It was easy to dodge because I was hearing your footsteps and movements since you entered this room anyway. As for Landon, he said he didn't want to make an enemy out of me," he shrugs nonchalantly, his calm gaze fixed on me.

"But you know," he ruffles his hair, his expression a bit annoyed, "you are starting to annoy me so I'll just get rid of you first."

He starts walking toward me, his every movement calm and composed that just consistently keeps creeping me out. I have 4 bullets left and I would be damned if he gets ahold of my gun. I shoot at him consecutively 2 times in different places, the sequence in such a way that any normal person shouldn't be able to dodge. But he dodges them with his godly speed and agile movements. This is so not going to go well for me.

Skylar's viewpoint:

I pace through the numerous endless hallways and rooms, looking for this Rylee. But this entire place is so huge and it has so many hidden compartments, I'm not even shocked anymore. I run down a spiral staircase hoping that she would just magically show up in front of me because honestly, this is too damn tiring. Just then I see a nimble figure walking in front of me in that hallway. For a moment I think that maybe I'm seeing an illusion or it's a prop for this god-forsaken exam.

I run to her and turn her body around to face me. Blonde hair, and icy blue eyes, glowing beautiful skin that would easily make her look younger than her real age. She reminds me of a familiar face and I'm dying with curiosity to know if she really is whom I think she is.

"Are you Rylee?" I manage to ask between my heavy panting breaths from running around.

"Yes. Did Zion send you? I'm not going anywhere until I see Karma," she replies firmly and I notice her right hand clenching on a gun tightly, probably getting ready to threaten me.

"Of course not," I let out a breath of relief, "Come with me. I'll take you to see him."

Zion's viewpoint:

I slam my clenched fist on the metal table looking at Skylar's movement on the CCTV. She isn't even answering my calls and she is escorting Rylee to where Karma is.

"Ugh, that bitch!" I groan in anger and frustration, wiping off a bead of sweat on my forehead.

"Now, now, she is making the night more eventful," Norah smiles, her eyes gleaming with joy and amusement seeing Skylar's actions.

"I want all the teams inside the mansion to head to Skylar. Shoot her if she resists but don't hurt Rylee. Stop them at any cost!"