Stay Close

Chapter 4: Stay Close

Darkness didn’t swallow him.

That was the first thing Ethan noticed.

The second—

He wasn’t alone.

The moment he stepped through the door, the air shifted. The corridor behind him vanished, replaced by a narrow, dimly lit passage stretching forward. The walls were too close, the ceiling too low—like the space itself was trying to crush him.

Ethan turned quickly.

The door was gone.

Of course it was.

“…Great,” he muttered.

A soft sound echoed ahead.

Footsteps.

Slow. Measured.

Ethan’s pulse quickened.

“Riven?”

No answer.

He moved forward anyway, cautious, every step deliberate. The silence here felt different—not like Riven’s controlled emptiness, but something heavier. Watching. Waiting.

Then—

“Careful.”

The voice came from right beside him.

Ethan flinched, turning sharply.

Riven stood there, close enough that Ethan hadn’t even heard him approach.

“How do you keep doing that?” Ethan snapped, breath uneven.

Riven ignored the question.

“Don’t move,” he said quietly.

Ethan froze.

“…Why?”

Riven’s gaze dropped—to the floor.

Ethan followed it.

At first, he saw nothing.

Then—

A faint line.

Barely visible.

Stretching across the ground right in front of his foot.

“…A wire?” Ethan whispered.

Riven nodded once.

“Trigger.”

Ethan swallowed hard.

“And if I stepped on it…?”

Riven’s eyes flickered up to meet his.

“You wouldn’t be asking that.”

Ethan took a slow step back, heart pounding.

“Okay,” he breathed. “Okay… so this is a trap.”

“Not just one,” Riven said.

He gestured slightly.

Ethan looked closer.

And then he saw them.

More wires.

Thin. Nearly invisible. Crisscrossing the passage ahead like a web.

His stomach twisted.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Riven stepped forward—carefully—slipping between the wires with precise, effortless movements.

Ethan stared.

“…You’ve done this before.”

It wasn’t a question.

Riven didn’t confirm it.

Didn’t deny it either.

He simply glanced back.

“Stay close,” he said.

Ethan hesitated.

Every instinct screamed at him not to trust this man.

Especially not me.

Riven’s words echoed in his mind.

And yet—

Ethan stepped forward.

Because trusting him felt dangerous…

But being alone felt worse.

He followed carefully, mimicking Riven’s movements. One wrong step, one wrong angle, and—

His foot slipped.

Ethan’s breath caught.

The wire brushed against his ankle.

Click.

The sound was soft.

But deafening.

Ethan froze.

“…Riven.”

Riven turned instantly.

For the first time—

There was urgency in his expression.

“Don’t move,” he said sharply.

“I’m trying not to—!”

A low hum filled the air.

The walls began to shift.

Panels sliding open.

Ethan’s eyes widened.

“Is that—”

Blades.

Thin. Sharp. Sliding out from the walls at different angles.

Moving.

Fast.

“Move,” Riven ordered.

“I can’t—!”

The wire was still against Ethan’s leg.

One wrong motion and—

Riven swore under his breath.

Then—

He moved.

Fast.

Closing the distance between them in an instant.

His hand grabbed Ethan’s waist, pulling him forward—hard.

Ethan stumbled into him, the sudden contact knocking the air from his lungs.

“Riven—!”

“Quiet.”

The blades shot past them.

Close.

Too close.

Ethan felt the wind of it against his skin.

One wrong second—

He would’ve been cut apart.

Riven didn’t let go.

His grip stayed firm, holding Ethan against him as he moved—guiding him through the shifting trap with impossible precision.

Left.

Down.

Turn.

Ethan didn’t think.

Didn’t question.

He just followed.

Trusted.

Because right now—

Riven was the only thing keeping him alive.

The blades slowed.

Stopped.

The hum faded.

Silence returned.

Ethan’s breath came in sharp, uneven bursts.

“…We’re alive,” he whispered.

Riven didn’t respond.

Ethan realized why a second later.

They were still—

Very close.

Too close.

Riven’s hand was still at his waist.

Ethan’s hands were pressed against his chest.

He could feel it—

Riven’s heartbeat.

Slow.

Steady.

Unbothered.

Unlike his own.

Ethan pulled back quickly, heat rising to his face.

“I—I could’ve handled that,” he muttered.

Riven raised an eyebrow.

“Clearly.”

Ethan glared at him.

“…Okay, maybe not.”

A flicker of amusement crossed Riven’s expression.

Gone just as quickly.

“Focus,” he said. “We’re not done yet.”

Ethan exhaled, forcing himself to calm down.

Right.

Game.

Death.

Focus.

They moved forward again, the passage finally opening into a wider room.

Ethan stepped inside—

And stopped.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The room was empty.

Except for one thing.

A mirror.

Tall. Cracked. Standing in the center.

Ethan frowned.

“That’s it?”

Riven didn’t answer.

He was watching the mirror.

Carefully.

Like it was more dangerous than the traps.

Ethan stepped closer.

“…It’s just a mirror.”

Then—

His reflection moved.

Ethan froze.

“…No.”

He hadn’t moved.

But the reflection—

Smiled.

Slowly.

Wrong.

Ethan stumbled back.

“What the hell is that?!”

Riven’s voice was low.

Sharp.

“Don’t look at it.”

Too late.

The reflection tilted its head.

Still smiling.

Then—

It stepped forward.

Out of the mirror.

Ethan’s breath hitched.

“…That’s not me.”

The thing looked exactly like him.

Same face.

Same eyes.

Same fear.

But twisted.

Darker.

Its smile widened.

“Of course I am,” it said softly.

Ethan’s blood ran cold.

Riven stepped in front of him instantly.

Blocking it.

Protecting him.

“Stay behind me,” Riven said.

Ethan’s voice shook.

“…What is that?”

Riven didn’t take his eyes off it.

“You.”

A pause.

Then—

“The part that won’t survive this game.”

Ethan swallowed hard.

And for the first time—

He understood.

This place wasn’t just trying to kill him.

It was trying to break him.

From the inside out.

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