The screens came to life once again. This time accompanied by the same joyous music that was with the nightmare montage that played earlier. Steve was sitting up against the desk. I had told him all about the battle I had with the ghouls. I had told him how I was about to die before Hellequin stepped in. I told him we were screwed.

“If we are going to die in this place then we should at least get a show out of it,” Steve said.

He was right. We had been fighting this place for so long. We hadn’t gotten anywhere. I went from one set of monsters to a different monster. Steve went from watching everyone around him get turned into mindless creatures to having his arm begin to rot away. Every time you ran through a new room in this place you ended up somewhere worse. It was all so pointless. It was time for it to end. The video showed the hallway on the second floor. It showed the fallen bodies of ghouls. All of them torn to shreds. Hellequin’s artistry of pain. It lead to room 27. It lead to where all of this began.

“Fuck it. You want to go see who won the right to our souls?” I asked.

“Sure. I think I got it in me to go for a stroll.”

I helped Steve up. We walked out of the security office and towards the elevator. It dinged without us having to hit anything. It knew exactly where we were going. We stepped in and it ascended.

“Have any idea what dying is like?” Steve asked.

“I imagine it will be a relief. It’s everything leading up to death that scares me. I’ve been promised a pretty slow death. Maybe I caused so many problems to this place I’ve earned that.”

“I think you’ve earned a cold beer. At least one. Maybe two.”

I laughed. Steve had the manner of someone who had truly given up. I hadn’t been with him long but I didn’t blame him. If anything I was questioning why I hadn’t given up long ago. I knew the answer was my father, and in a way, Melissa. I needed to save them. Something in me didn’t want to let them go. Even recently, I felt like maybe I was fighting to save Steve. None of it felt like it was for myself. If I had been alone I feel like I would have let myself wither away, hiding in some room in the corner waiting for the horrors of Crown Hill to come take me away. The elevator stopped. The doors opened. We were about to head down the final stretch towards hell.

The hallway was lined with The Host’s fallen minions. They hadn’t stood a chance. The music from the security screens was blaring now. It was similar to Christmas music. The stuff that tricks everyone into a false sense of happiness. The kind of music that makes you think that everything is going to be okay. Nothing would be okay here. Okay was left behind long ago. We walked to room 27. Inside it was The Host. The walls around him still had the insane writing that was there before. Instead of being illegible scribbles, the words were all clear now. They told the story of The Static. The Static was a place that existed alongside our own. It existed in the ringing sound that you heard in your ears sometimes. It existed in the sounds that houses made when you were home alone. It existed in the woods at night. It was all the places and things that we are unsure of. It was the answer to the questions, did I really see something and did I really hear something? The sheet that covered The Host began to move wildly. Then I heard the all voice. The sheet shot out at me. From beneath it Hellequin came rushing at me. I didn’t have time to react.

He stopped short of me. Around his neck was a collar. Around his wrists were metal cuffs. All of them were attached to chains. The chains tightened and dragged him back towards The Host. It was then that I saw The Static for the first time. It was everything and it was nothing. A world of nothing. I could feel it. The all voice screamed out at me.

“YOU WILL BE MINE! SOONER OR LATER! I AM NO ONES PAWN. I WILL HAVE YOU. I WILL HAVE EVERYONE!”

Hellequin was forced backwards into The Static. His limbs trying to reach for me. He was no match of whatever was in The Static. There was a TV next to The Host. It turned on.

“Welcome Bryce! You Are So Close To Being A Part Of The Greatest Show Ever!”

“What’s the point of all of this? Why not just kill us and get it over with?” I asked.

“It’s Not About Both Of You! It’s Just About You Bryce! Steve Can Go If That Makes This Decision Easier For You!”

The doorway behind us became an exit door. The bright green exit sign above it was a comical touch.

“This is a joke,” Steve said.

The Host responded.

“Bryce Is So Much More Valuable To Us If He Makes The Choice To Come To The Static! Go Steve! Be Free!”

Something in me knew this was real. The Host was letting Steve go so that I would decide to go into The Static. This was the way out we never thought would come. Even if it was just for one of us.

“Go. Get the hell out of here,” I said.

“How do we know where it even goes?”

“Just open it.”

Steve opened the door. The other side of it was the parking lot of Crown Hill. It was like the exit door had replaced the front door.

“What about you?” Steve asked.

“It’s only letting you go so I will go with it. Apparently I have a show to attend.”

“I’ll get help. I’ll bring them back here.”

“GO!” I yelled.

Steve walked out of the exit door and onto the parking lot ground. He was free. He looked back at me. Then ran off to go get help. I knew it wouldn’t do any good. I wouldn’t be here when he got back with whoever he could convince to come. The door closed. Then disappeared altogether. I turned back to The Host and his preferred form of communication.

“What happened to Hellequin? How did you get him in chains?”

“I Didn’t Get Him In Chains! I’m Just The Host. A Messenger! Hellequin Is Just A Jester! And Every Jester Has A Court! And Every Court Has A Lord!”

“Who’s the lord of the court?”

“The Director! The One In Charge Of The Show! Crucible!”

The Host’s sheet arose to reveal The Static again. Inside it was another battle. Another demon for me to face. I invited it this time though because I had saved someone. Steve made it out. That had to count for something. I walked forward into The Static. Everything became just that. Static. Nothingness. I could feel eyes on me in the nothingness though. I could feel the puppeteer behind this place. The Director. Crucible. I walked into his game. I was going to be a part of his show. I had a role to play. I was sure it wouldn’t be a fun one.