Kestrel glared at Gabriel, pushing a strand of pink hair out of her eyes. The open maw of The Dungeon waited on us entering. The dank smell of underground infected the air.

"You're such a psycho, Gabriel. I hate these games because I'm sane," Kestrel said.

Gabriel laughed, her cape like a river of blood down her back.

"I'm just here for the ride, Kes. And the prize," Gabriel replied, winking. She shot a nasty smile at me. "Isn't that right, Nameless?"

I glared at her, confused. The bird let out a strangled caw above us. He would be waiting.

"What prize?" I finally asked. Gabriel just snickered and shook her head. I sighed, wishing the game was already over. But I could feel the nerves tickling my stomach, threatening to become a mass of panic.

The Other still watched me, eerily still. I shivered.

"I don't like the sound of this at all," Kestrel said, her eyes on the sign. "Most of the games seem easy at first, but this....I mean, it's called The Dungeon."

"We're not going to figure anything out by just standing here," Sorrow said sharply. His head was tilted sideways as he studied the entrance, a predatory movement.

I felt the soft brush of warm air at my side and turned. Then I flinched. The Other stood very close to me, his hand inches from my bare arm.

"Are you going first?" I asked softly. My heart was beating wildly, my senses attuned to his every movement. I wasn't sure why.

That black mask containing dark eyes lasered in on me.

"Are you?" He said and I nearly let out a yell. His voice was low and faint, as if from far away. And yet...I felt as if I'd heard it before.

"He speaks," Gabriel muttered.

"I didn't know you could talk," I said. He just inclined his head sardonically and waited. "Fine, I'll go first."

Kestrel was hesitating near the entrance, her face very pale. The others were just behind her, unwilling to take that first step. So much for loving the games, I thought, looking at Gabriel. She seemed to have lost some of her bravado. I could almost sense the Other's smile behind his mask as I breathed in the underground and stepped forwards.

"Be careful," Kestrel muttered, but I would rather be alone. With friends like Benny and Sorrow, who needed enemies?

The steps dropped down into the darkness, as if they led to hell. The moment my foot touched the top step, a faint blood red right illuminated the rest.

"Here I go," I whispered, and I entered the maw.

The scent of underground changed as I descended, the tang of salt and something else filling my nose. The walls were wet and I grimaced as I brushed my hand against one. I could hear the others following me. They were silent as the grave.

The steps were sunken, as if many people had walked upon them. They were steep and seemed to go on forever. Maybe I really was going to hell. But hell didn't feel like this, something whispered in my mind. I blinked, stopping for a moment. I wasn't sure how I knew that, but I did. This wasn't hell. Hell was devoid of everything. Hell was a void.

I forced myself to keep going before someone walked into me. As I descended, noises started to interrupt the silence. Moans of pain and wicked laughter. I flinched as the first one cut through the air.

"What the hell..." Kestrel muttered behind me.

Then came the sound of something slicing into wood. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

My breathing became laboured and I didn't want to keep going. I didn't want to go into The Dungeon. It sounded like an axe slicing into wood. Or something else.

Just when I couldn't bear it anymore, the steps stopped. A door was lying open in front of them which led to a medieval esque room, filled with grinning dummies holding fake weapons. I could see the sheen of plastic on the blades. A screaming stuffed man in chains was frozen with his mouth gaping open, waiting on a dummy to slice him open. I swallowed, feeling sick.

Something knocked into me from behind and I gasped.

"Are you going to go in?" A timid voice asked. Kestrel.

"I don't want to, but yes," I replied and gingerly stepped inside the room which was lit with small yellow lights. I watched the dummies intently, waiting for one of them to move. They stayed frozen, although those grins were sinister.

The others filed in behind me, crowding around the man in chains.

"This is like a crappy museum," Gabriel muttered, poking at one of the dummies. I tensed.

"Stop doing that," Kestrel hissed, her hands shaking.

The Other glanced down at the chains holding the man, but he didn't touch them.

"Is the game to see who can stand around the longest?" Gabriel complained loudly and I wished that she would shut up. Or preferably be decapitated by the plastic axe.

"Will you stop?" Kestrel hissed again. "You're going to piss it off!" 

"It?" Gabriel snorted. "You mean our divine overlords in this purgat-"

"Shut up," Sorrow said, his eyes darting to me and the Other. I narrowed my eyes.

What did they know?

Before I could ask, a plank of wood nailed to the wall lit up with fiery words. It was as if they had been etched in living embers. It said:

Welcome to The Dungeon! In order to win the game, you must simply find the way out. But be careful! Don't let the dungeon master find you...he's a fan of decapitation!

After a minute the words began to fade, until the plank of wood was blank. The heavy silence was broken by the slamming of the door behind us.

"Shit," Kestrel whispered. "Shit, shit, shit."

Two doors opened just behind the sword wielding dummy. Behind one was stairs leading upwards. Behind the other was a dark corridor lit only by feeble lights in the ceiling.

"There's no time limit," Sorrow muttered quickly, his breathing laboured.

"We better split up," Gabriel said, her mouth a hard line. "Don't want our heads chopped off."

Kestrel seemed close to hyperventilating as Gabriel and Sorrow both went towards the stairs behind the door to the left. They both turned back to look at us.

"Better get moving," Sorrow said, then turned and began to climb the steep stairs. Gabriel simply grinned and followed him.

"I-I can't..." Kestrel whimpered, rooted to the spot. The Other paused for a moment, as if he wanted to help her.

He watched her shake, her lip beginning to tremble. How had she coped during the other games? I could feel my own terror hiding behind a wall in my mind. I couldn't succumb to it.

But he turned away from her and went through the door with the long dark corridor. So he wasn't following Sorrow and Gabriel.

Kestrel still didn't move. I had to go. The Dungeon Master would be here soon, I was sure of it. I had no intention of meeting his blade. The dummies grinned at us still, and their eyes seem to widen with glee as Kestrel continued to panic. I eyed the two doors. I should leave her. I should definitely leave her.

But something twisted inside of me. I was nothing and no one. But, still, how could I leave her? Even if she was like Benny.

"Kestrel, we need to go. Come on," I said softly, pulling on her arm. She glanced up at me, her eyes shining.

"I-I...." She replied, stuttering.

"Let's go. I'm right here with you," I said and she finally nodded. I pulled her again and she moved forwards.

I looked at the two doorways and made a quick decision.

Gabriel and Sorrow were naturally untrustworthy. If we were stuck with them, they would probably throw us to the Dungeon Master. The Other was a mystery.
And I would take a mystery over an enemy.

I chose the doorway that led to the long dim corridor and dragged Kestrel along with me. As we walked away, I was sure I heard a very faint thwacking coming from far away.