“Hal,” I said aloud, switching the call to the microphone. “You have a call from a friend.”

That stopped him, and I placed the phone on the floor.

“Hello Hal,” Maria’s voice echoed through the empty chamber.

“You bitch!” Hal snapped. “Where is my brother?”

“Right here with me. He has a few of his fingers broken. Alex’s girlfriend didn’t like your brother getting wiggly around her.”

That was the happiest news I’ve heard ever since I visited this goddamn island.

“So what’s it Maria? Surrender in peace or else you’ll kill my brother? Are we going for old-fashioned threats?”

“Oh no, we could be better. You bring Alex and Alyssa to me, and I release your brother. Then we both leave in peace. How about that?”

“Or what if I just call the monster right there and rip off Alex’s girlfriend from her spine-”

“If you do that your brother will be dead. And despite the two of you being twins you know if one of you dies, the other one loses control over the creature. Checkmate Hal.”

“No, not checkmate yet.”

He fired his shotgun, and I almost jumped to the side. But the shot wasn’t aimed at me. It was on my phone. The little device was now scattered into pieces.

“Fuck you, Alex!” I heard Hal’s voice, now fading away. “This isn’t over yet.”

I heard a slight creak from the door, and then it rammed shut.

Alyssa and I looked at each other.

“Shit,” she cursed. “He’s going for them.”

I looked at my phone. The glass was in pieces, and there was some juice leaking from the battery. It was no use, I couldn’t use it.

“We need a way to contact them,” I looked at my sister. “Take a call to Maria. Hal might already have already sent the beast.”

“And then Maria would be smart enough to kill Mel,” Alyssa grabbed my hand. “Maria was right Alex. It is checkmate, but we are the winners. Hal wouldn’t want his brother to die.”

“Then why the fuck did he run away?”

Out of nowhere, there was an earth-defining roar. A roar I’d heard before, the same roar of the creature that chased me and Maria across an entire forest. And what’s worse - we heard it right in front of the building.

“Or…the bastard could have sent the beast right at us,” Alyssa said.

“And Maria still doesn’t know what the fuck is going on,” I filled in. “And Hal must be going there.”

I caught the shadow of the creature through the windows, and for some reason, this one seemed more dangerous than the rest.

“You need to hide,” Alyssa grabbed my hand and pushed me back. “The beast can’t harm me. It is here to get you.”

“We are inside a building. It can’t come inside-”

There was a giant slam on the brick wall, and I saw the first crack spread across the dusty old walls.

“Okay, maybe it can…”

“Shit,” Alyssa tapped her phone. “I don’t have enough kills to call Maria. We need to wait till they call us. Fuck! We just need to kill Hal or Mel and the beast will stop-”

Another slam, and this time a chunk of the wall fell down, falling and scattering into dust. I saw a blood-red, gnarled fist, and after a short withdrawal, the creature’s twisted face appeared through the hole, its eyes glowing red. I swear to god it was grinning.

“Get to the top floor Alex!” Alyssa pushed me. “I’ll distract it.”

“Fuck that! I’m not going to leave you in here.”

“I can protect myself,” she snapped, her eyes blazing. “I need to save you.”

“Going to the second floor isn’t going to help. We’ll need to move through the back door and make a run for it toward Maria.”

“We can’t outrun a giant fucking beast Alex!” Alyssa grabbed me by the shoulder. “Please-”

Inside the chaos, I heard a familiar ringtone.

Wait, my phone is gone…

Then my eyes moved to Alyssa’s one, which was flashing.

I grabbed her phone and almost fainted when I saw the caller was Tara. Wait, that means…

I pressed the answer. “Tara?”

“It’s me,” Maria snapped. “Why is the beast attacking you?”

“Oh, so you know?” I asked sarcastically. “What are doing? Just kill that bastard Mel.”

There was a ruffle, and Tara grabbed the phone. “Alex, Mel is dead. I shot him. I’m taking this call because I got a point after shooting him.”

There was another slam, and this time the entire chunk of the wall came down. The creature’s grin widened. All it needed was just one more hit, and then we’ll all be dead.

“Fuck!” I started scrambling back, grabbing Alyssa with me.

“What is it?” Alyssa asked.

“Mel is dead. But why is the beast still attacking us?”

Alyssa looked more shocked than me.

“Alex,” it was Maria’s voice again. “Make a run for it. There’s a jeep, and there’s only twenty minutes more for sunrise. We can drive around the island if we have to.”

“B-but-”

Before Alyssa could speak another word I grabbed her and ran for the other side.

“Alex!”

“Not now!”

“No, I don’t think this is the creature of Hal and Mel.”

“Then? Is that your one?”

“No! Why would I summon…argh! Remember what Marco said about his?”

“Yes, the creature got injured-” I almost stopped. But what if it wasn’t? “Isn’t Marco your friend?”

“He was. For three weeks. And this is a fucking game. Mel is dead, and Hal is useless without him. Hana’s beast is dead, and so is Maria’s. I cannot summon mine when you are near me. So the guy must have thought it as an easy victory.”

“Some nice friends you have,” I grumbled.

“Maria!” Alyssa yelled. “Are you listening?”

There was a crackle on the phone. “Loud and clear. But I don’t think running out is a good idea. Tara told me Marco was a sniper. If Alex comes out of there all he needs is one shot to finish him off.”

“I don’t see any better ideas Maria!” I snapped.

“There is,” her voice was calm. “Alex, did you know the bathroom on top of the building has a shower?”

I stopped, and Alyssa stopped with me.

“Oh, you-”

“Be a good boy and go there. Let’s give the beast a surprise."