Hugo was the first to offer an actual reasonable opinion. "As cruel as it sounds, maybe we should all just put it to a group vote. No one's going to willingly comply to giving their life so that the rest of us can survive, but that doesn't make the orders we were given any less true. This is something that needs to be done."

A few of the others had been nodding long before Hugo even finished; Miles was among those who didn't. "We can't decide who lives and who dies at the drop of a hat like that. We're people, man. Civilized. Not the animals they want us to become. We have to look at things from a civilized perspective."

"Last I checked, voting is civilized."

"About as civilized as we can get considering the circumstances," Rosary added.

     Miles' point was made moot by another set of nods, but he wasn't prepared to let it die so easily. "Whether it's up to vote or not, killing one of our own, no matter how we look at it, is wrong. Back me up here, Noah."

     Noah had seen his fair share of death over the days, both animal and human. He's had to make his fair share of decisions, some of which he hadn't bothered to give a second thought─he couldn't. Not ever. No matter what. He had to keep moving forward, as far and fast as his legs would carry him, never looking back. That's all that mattered.

He heaved a weary sigh. "As much as I loathe the idea...I can't back you up on this one, Miles." And he watched his friend's eyes go wide, their soft blueness flashing simultaneously with so many raw emotions, the core of which Noah processes as betrayal. "Putting it to a majority vote is the safest and most efficient way. But we have to swear to each other here and now," Noah's bitter gaze seasoned. "No matter the outcome, we can't hate each other for it."

Miles felt his body grow warm despite the chillness that stung the air. "You all can't be seriously agreeing with this."

"What's got to be done has to be done. For once, I actually agree with the idiot."

Noah looked over his shoulder to spot Rylan standing above their huddle, his expression a grim one, almost saddened. Almost.

"How would any of you truly feel knowing you were the one people voted against," Miles continued. "What about you, Hugo? This is all your idea. Why don't you be a man and spare us the torture of voting?" Something about his statement caused Noah to hold his breath, awaiting Hugo's response.

Miles' idea actually made a lot of sense in the ears of all the others; fear took a hold of them, each quietly suggesting that maybe Hugo should really be the one to die.

     From the looks of things, he didn't appear all to excited by the shift in opposition. He slowly climbed onto his feet and casually strolled towards Miles. Then, as if a massive stroke of lightning, his fist landed hard in Miles' face.

     The brute struggled to stay on his feet as stumbled into the nearest wall, using it as support. Then he violently surged forth and tackled Hugo, sending him whooshing to the ground with a shaky cough, the air dissipating from his lungs.

     The way in which it all happened left many frozen solid in place for a short few seconds. Noah was quick on his feet and started fruitlessly tugging away at Miles' arm, but the brute didn't stop, the slugfest continuing, punches and elbows and kicks everywhere. One mix even struck him, causing him both a great deal of pain and anger.

     Much to Noah's surprise, Rylan quickly rushed to his aid, the two using every ounce of strength in their bodies to pull Miles off; he continued swinging, as if magically willing his arms to reach.

"This isn't the time for this," Noah shouted into his ear as loud as possible. The giant froze. "If we don't find a way to solve this, all of us are going to die in the morning! All! Do you not understand me?"

"This isn't my fault! It's his!" Miles sprayed spit on Rylan as he shouted back in response. Noah had to admit, the guy kinda did deserve it.

But Rylan wasn't too pleased. "Maybe you want your face beaten instead?"

     Miles remained silent, the anger profound, evident in the way he continued resisting their combined force before finally giving up. Noah felt relieved and disgusted all at the same time. He didn't know what to think of the whole ordeal, what made him angrier; the fact that Hugo acted entirely without reason or Miles, who should've been able to contain his frustration, had actually lost his cool, tossed it aside like a diamond in an ice storm.

Hugo didn't look as if he'd be waking anytime soon, blood seeping through the crook in his nose onto the marble flooring. After they felt that tension die down, Noah and Rylan released Miles from their grasp. The brute seemed to reflect on what he'd done with weary eyes, "Sorry─for causing you two so much trouble, man." He finally said, guilt lacing the tenor of his voice. "When he hit me, I just snapped. I really didn't mean to. It just happened."

"We're not the ones out cold on the floor," Rylan responded, making a gesture towards Hugo. Miles continued to watch on silently. "So, you gonna go get Lilly to see if he's okay or what?"

"Huh," Noah's voice came out more surprised than agitated. He gave the room a quick scan, Lilly nowhere in sight. "I thought she was with you. Said something about needing a favor."

Rylan furrowed a brow, Noah's trademark glance now glued onto his face, "Sure Miles' elbow didn't hit you a little too hard back there, champ? I highly doubt someone like her would want a favor from me of all people."

"I actually couldn't agree more," Noah nodded, earning him a temporary scowl.

He and Rylan seemed to be on the same page, frighteningly so; the two of them rushed down the hall, Noah taking the lead.

"Where'd you see her last," Rylan asked over the sound of them sprinting.

"Some place called the cafeteria."

"And you thought it was a wise idea to just leave her there? Now? With everything that's going on?"

Noah wanted to stop and give him a glare─Rylan really did irritate him far beyond imagining─but time was of too much importance. He settled for a sigh instead. "She's the one who left me. Went out searching for a prick named...Rylan, I think."

"Right," He rolled his eyes. "You're definitely not winning any awards with that comeback."

"Just shut up and help me find her."

The chatter between the two ended with that; they reached the cafeteria, but just as Noah secretly suspected, Lilly hadn't returned there.

"Anymore bright ideas," Rylan's voice picked up once again.

Noah shrugged, "Was hoping you'd finally have one for a change, but it looks like thought didn't make the journey." Then it hit him.

     He pulled out his phone and brought up the map, increased it until he could see the outlining of the hospital's interior. As per usual, he could only see classes as a whole represented by a single dot, which coincided perfectly with his default settings.

     After tinkering with a list of unknown options for a several minutes, Noah somehow got it to display red dots according to the individual. Lilly's resided on the seventh floor, along with one other, quite possibly the person who chose to kill her.

"We don't have much time."

"Yeah," Rylan agreed without hesitation.

     The two of them used the stairway to reach the seventh floor in what felt like seconds; Noah took heed to toss Rylan one of his knives, to which the guy caught without blinking an eye, their footsteps silent as they each took one side of the door. Noah held up three fingers─Rylan nodded. He dropped the first finger. They heard sounds from within the room, muffled grunts and moans. An object was knocked down from within upon Noah dropping his second, one of the voices inside growing agitated. There was a slap then a whimper, almost as if whoever inside was being beaten, treated like an animal of sorts. It made Noah's stomach twist.

     Rylan swiftly kicked the door down upon the third, Noah behind him as he charged forward, only to be instantly struck across the head by something metal. He watched with wide eyes as Rylan collapsed, watched as the object within the figure's hand curved into a returned angle, felt it whoosh past him with a strength that made him teeth grit.

Noah didn't hesitate; his eyes narrowed, his body weaving through the frantic swings as he plunged the knife deep within his victim's stomach, felt their body go limp after twisting the blade, collapsing onto the marbled floor with a wet slap.

"Man," He heard Rylan's groggy complaints after he reached for the curtains. "Feels like someone ran me over with a train. Twice."

     Noah pulled them open, allowed the light to sting his eyes until they adjusted onto the sights that rested before him, something far too messed up for words. There was Lilly, unconscious and unclothed, bruises covering her sweaty skin, something gooey her upper thighs─beside her, now lifeless in a dry pool of their own blood, was boy─Bear─drying tears streaming from his wide, horrified eyes. His mouth agape.

     Noah felt vomit threatening to turn his stomach raw, felt his insides be lit ablaze. He placed a hand over his mouth, the color drained from his face. Rylan was much the same in that regard, he eying the shredded pieces of clothing that barely clung to the unconscious Lilly. There was no doubt in his mind about what had happened, and yet, it was still a tough pill to swallow.

     Everyone had been well informed of the situation a few hours later, many allowing sleep to slowly give way once night finally hit. Both Lilly and Hugo showed zero indications of waking any time soon; Noah showed zero indication of resting. Come well past midnight, his eyes still hung open, processing the events of what transpired hours ago. How he mercilessly killed one of his own, gutted him like a fish. The very guy he convinced to not off himself just the day before. Who he wanted to live and die fighting until the very end.

     He still recalled the weak smile Bear gave him upon hearing those words; 'Don't die until you're dead.' The matter-of-fact way he said them, all but daring the boy to think otherwise.

It had been his own fault─he sexually assaulted Lilly, was going to kill her, but what sparked the sudden wave of irrational behavior? There had to have been something.

"You should get some sleep," Miles' voice caught him entirely by surprise, made him wonder just how long the gentle giant had been up. "It's gonna be a long day tomorrow. No doubt."

Noah felt traces of Miles' deep voice grow shaky, heard it in the way he spoke in quick, frequent bursts. Something had been bothering him as well. "What about you? Bad dream?"

"Visions of my past," His voice darkened even further; he forced his eyes to stay shut, kept his back turned, not wanting to face Noah─not wanting him to see his tears. "I don't want to die, Noah." He finally choked the thought out. "When there was even the smallest chance that I might've, that I could have very well been someone the others voted against...I snapped. Lost my cool. It was so unlike me."

Noah felt a smirk tug away at his lips. "You'll have plenty of time to dwell on things like that when you're dead. Until then, all you have to do is stay alive." A web of silence grew between the two. "'As long as I'm around, you won't have to do anything alone', right? We're gonna get through this, man. Together."

     Noah needed to hear himself say that even more than Miles did, to feel that spark of inexplicable confidence again. To be reminded that he wasn't alone. The more he thought about it, the surer of things he became. Right up until he'd gradually paved the way for sleep to take over. And it did. He felt that dark void consume him. Felt his body experience a relaxation he was weirdly growing accustomed to. Then, as quickly as it came, sleep vanished forever, tossed aside by the furious rantings of a madwoman.

Everyone had climbed quickly onto their feet.

     It was far later into the morning than they expected, the blizzard now a thing of the past, the warmth of their makeshift campsites keeping them warm.

Clustered around one was Lilly and Rylan, her hands shaking the boy frantically. "You have to do it! You have to sleep with me!"

Noah smirked, clearly still under the influence of some dream. A few guys even whistled in the background, cheered the two on.

Rylan forcibly shoved the girl away from him; he felt himself growing disgusted by such a thought. "What the heck," He muttered, eyes narrow. "Noah mentioned you wanted a favor, but this is a new low."

"Please! You have too!"

The words finally registered in Noah's mind. He jolted awake, quickly climbed onto his feet. Miles' stood tall beside him as they made their way over to the sight.

"Did you ask the same thing of Bear," Rylan's question caught Noah by surprise. He began to eye Lilly wearily─he knew what kind of person she really was, saw her true colors just yesterday. That good-girl front was nothing more than an act. "Bear probably died because of our misunderstanding! We thought he forced himself on you!"

"He did─" She shouted, realizing it was much louder than she intended. "He did. But this isn't about him. This is about us." For a second, she locked gazes with Noah, any small signs of the person she was before completely gone. She wasn't the false kind girl of the aggressive angry one. In that moment─she was utterly desperate. "We don't have much time! If you're half the man you say you are then you'll do it!"

     Her hand reached for Rylan's, began to drag him off into the distance. He seemed compliant, eyed Noah as if asking for his permission, to which, strangely enough, Noah nodded. He couldn't exactly explain why, but something definitely was eating away at Lilly. Maybe she really wasn't in her right mind, the events from yesterday too much to make sense of. Maybe something was the cause for her desperation. Whatever the case, she was more than capable of making her own decisions. Especially since females are known to have sudden...urges. Noah shook his head at the thought.

A smack abruptly pierced the air, made Noah and a few others wince from the impact.

Lilly and Rylan's escapade had been stopped; an angry Rosary stood firm before the two, Rylan's cheek stained red.

"What the heck do you think you're doing," Her voice pierced the air even louder than the smack had. "You can't just go sleeping with other girls! I won't allow it!"

Rylan's expression turned sour. "I don't need you or anyone else's permission to do whatever the heck I want, whenever the heck I want."

"And you really think I'd accept that for an answer? After I let you have me?!"

     From the corner of his eye, Noah saw Miles almost cough up a lung. Some pretty intense stuff was unfolding out before them, after all. But...something seemed odd about the way his body jolted, almost as if he was quite literally coughing up a lung.

     A few others began to move in such a way as well, Poet amongst the bunch, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as her body began to convulse. She collapsed, alongside six others; Noah caught Miles in his arms before the big guy could fully hit the ground, watching as his friend's eyes widened with horror, his hand gripping Noah's arms tightly.

"Noah," He choked out. "Please...I don't want─" Shrieks of agony simultaneously pierced the air, cutting Miles' statement short upon following their lead.

     His arms began to swell, his pupils white, foam escaping the corners of his mouth as his body violently convulsed. With time, the entirety of his body had swelled considerably. Then, like a balloon, it all popped; the blood-soaked Noah, who remained frozen solid in place, was unable to do or say anything as his mind slowly registered the events that transpired, replaying it several of times in his head again, losing pieces of himself each time.

     Something had crashed before him. Or had been tossed. It was a phone, the screen of which crackled to life upon landing in Miles' pool of blood. It fizzled out before long, but Noah knew he'd never forget the screen's contents.

     You have until morning to sleep 
                         with Rylan.
      Failure to do so with result in
             the death of four others.