Low battery. Exactly the two words Marlene didn't want to see right now. She'd just managed to get her phone back, after she'd lost it in that awful shack. First her friends disappear one by one, and now this…

Only hours ago, Marlene and her friends—Grace, Stanley, Phil, and Timmy—had traveled to this abandoned mansion, hoping to prove that the rumors of the house being haunted were false.

She found out the hard way that the truth was the opposite of what she believed. Phil's mangled body, hanging from a hole in the floor, was enough evidence to prove that. Granted, it wasn't like he didn't deserve it. Marlene warned him that stealing from someone would get him into trouble, but he didn't listen. None of them listened. And now, she was alone, all because her determination to find the truth had gotten the better of her.

The girl glanced out the window of the shack, silently grateful that the woman with the lantern—Marguerite Baker—had long since left. She could still remember the woman's words as she pointed the gun at Marlene's head. The survivor had heard the gun click just moments after she had given Stanley and Timmy directions to get out of the guest house.

"You won't stop them," Marlene had whispered, letting just one tear slide down her cheek. "They already know how to escape."

The southern accented response had sent chills down the girl's spine. "Yeah, they do," Marguerite had snapped. "Too bad you won't be able to see them try."

Marlene had decided to fight then and there. She had ducked out of the way just as the lantern lady pulled the trigger, barely managing to swipe the older woman's gun. From there, it had just been a matter of fleeing and hiding until the woman left.

She'd been praying ever since then that Stanley and Timmy have had similar luck. The attic was the only way out of the guest house now, after the incident involving Grace and the back door key. Marlene had witnessed Grace's grim demise firsthand. Grace and Timmy had both expressed doubts about exploring. In the end, it was Phil's intimidation that had coerced them into going along. Grace's paranoia had overcome her, just like Marlene and her obsession, and the former had payed the ultimate price for her mistakes. Marguerite found Grace eventually. After all, no one could hide from the Baker matriarch forever.

Slowly, the girl stood up, grabbed the handgun, along with the hatchet Stanley had given to her, and began the long walk back. She had some catching up to do if she wanted to see her friends again.

The guest house, for the most part, looked the same as it did when Marlene first explored. It was still creepy, without a doubt. Closing the door behind her, the girl tiptoed into the hauntingly familiar living room; the same living room she and her friends had holed up in, back when they were all still alive. Same television, same secret passage, same hole in the floor. Phil's body was long gone by now; Marlene's best guess was that the Bakers came and hid the evidence. The only new addition was the old telephone resting on the center table.

Marlene glanced around the room, only stopping when her eyes fell on a portrait. The portrait contained Jack and Marguerite, but the girl knew they weren't the same Bakers in the picture. The ones in the picture looked welcoming, caring, and definitely unwilling to kill her and dump her body somewhere. The teenager also noticed two kids in the photo, though she didn't recognize either one. The girl briefly wondered what could cause such an innocent looking family to suddenly start killing anyone unfortunate enough to stumble on their property.

She was suddenly brought back to reality by the sound of a phone ringing. Marlene whipped her head around, finding the source of the sound. How that old phone was even able to function in the past few years, she'd never know.

The teenager trotted over to the phone, picking it up with shaking hands. "Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?"

Moments later, a cunning voice she knew all too well answered. "Hello, girl. We need to chat," Jack Baker growled.

"Leave me alone, you creep!" Marlene threatened, slamming the phone down on the desk. She took about three or four steps away from the table before her own phone started to vibrate.

She could hardly believe her eyes. Stanley was alive. And he was trying to call her.

"Stanley? Thank God. Where are you?" the girl stammered.

"Sorry…he can't come to the phone right now. Please leave a message after the beep."

Marlene could barely hold back a gasp. The voice was definitely not Stanley's. Or Timmy's, for that matter.

"Honestly, girl, did you think you could avoid me that easily?" Jack deadpanned, chuckling evilly in the background.

The girl tried to maintain her composure, even though she knew Stanley was probably dead. "I'm getting out of here, Jack, you hear me? You won't get away with—wait a minute. How do you have my friend's phone?"

"Oh yeah, that," the head of the Baker family beamed, as if he'd suddenly realized he was holding Stanley's phone. "I'm afraid your boyfriend isn't going to be asking you out anytime soon."

"I'm warning you, if you so much as lay a hand on any more of my friends, I will kill you." Marlene threatened.

The cruel laugh on the other end caused Marlene's blood to run cold. "Good luck with that, sweetheart. Besides, if I remember correctly, you're the only one left. Your little friend gave me a run for my money, thanks to you. But I outsmarted him. And then I dragged him to the basement, and I showed him what harm I could do with some random crap from my garage. So, given how 'good' he did, tell me, what chance do you have?"

Marlene tried to respond, but by then, Jack had already hung up, leaving her standing there, confused and tormented. Stanley didn't make it out. That was one more friend gone. One more friend dead and buried. And if Jack's determination was anything to go by, the girl would say that the head Baker had killed Timmy as well.

Wait a minute. Jack mentioned something about a basement. Marlene certainly hoped it wasn't the one in the guest house. She'd seen the key out of this shack down in that basement. Stanley and Timmy were both sent down there to find the key, but given how Jack now had Stanley's cell phone, Marlene was sure they hadn't succeeded.

She knew she was hoping against hope, but there was only one way to know for sure. She had to know if Stanley and Timmy were still alive, if Jack's rumors were true. Against her better judgement, and her conscience telling her otherwise, she made her way down to the basement.

The basement's haunting atmosphere went along nicely with the rest of the guest house. The ceiling vents were torn in several places, and scratches ran along the length of the door. But none of that caught the girl's attention.

The only thing that caught her interest was the body slumped against the wall. Blood was smeared where the person had slid down the wall. His skin, pale as it was, offered a clear view of his veins. The arteries looked pitch black from the surface, as if there was ink flowing through them instead of blood.

Marlene slowly knelt down to get a better look.

That was a mistake.

GRRRROWWWWWLLLL!

Marlene instinctively drew her hand back, recoiling as the monster began to snarl at her. The survivor wanted to run, to kill the creature, to do something, but she couldn't. Because this was no ordinary monster.

She could still see Stanley's pale face in the light, his blackened eyes conveying a silent plea for someone to save him. If she listened hard enough, she could assume the monster wearing Stanley's face was screaming two words: "Help me!"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, before taking out her handgun. Her hands shook as she aimed the gun at Stanley's head. In the back of her mind, she could recall every scary movie they saw together, every kiss goodbye, every time they saw each other in school. It all flashed before Marlene's eyes as she pulled the trigger.

BANG!

One bullet to the head was all it took. Pained tears streamed down the girl's face as she stared at the now lifeless corpse of what was once her friend.

She felt like a criminal for looting her boyfriend's pockets. All the girl found was some spare bullets and an old lighter. With the dark deed finished, Marlene didn't hesitate to flee the basement. There was no time to give Stanley a proper burial. No time to say some final words. The last thing she wanted was to fall prey to whatever had killed Stanley and replaced him with…that creature.

Sprinting up to the basement entryway, Marlene was busy trying to catch her breath when she heard her phone go off. It was Stanley's number.

"Explain yourself," she demanded.

"So eager…" Jack reprimanded. "I take it you now know about the poor soul downstairs. Sorry, sweetheart. If it makes you feel better, everyone goes through a breakup at least once." His cruel, sadistic voice was replaced with one that displayed empathy, but to Marlene, she knew it was the exact opposite. "How do you think I met Marguerite, huh?" the killer continued.

"Screw you," Marlene quivered. "I know the way out of here. You've lost."

"So you don't want to visit with little old me? I'm sure your other friend's life will be worth it."

"You said I was the last one. Nice try, Jack, but I'm through with your insane antics."

"Oh, sweet, sweet…Marlene, isn't it? I don't think you've taken stock of your surroundings real well. Tell you what? I'll give you two options. Option one: you can get out of here, and really be the last one alive. More fun for me. Or, option two: you can come on down the mansion, meet me face to face, and I'll show you that I ain't lying."

He seemed to sharpen a blade in the background before continuing. "But you better hurry. Or the choice could be made for you."

Marlene seemed confused at first, before realization hit her like a brick wall. Stanley wasn't the only survivor trying to escape. Timmy had tried to get out as well, and Jack had caught him.

She wanted to help her friend, but then she thought against it. For all she knew, Jack could just be hiding Timmy's dead body down there, as a means of luring her in and finishing the job. Hell, even if Timmy was alive, Jack could just be using him to get to Marlene. But what if it wasn't a trick? Jack wasn't lying about Stanley's fate. And Timmy had never really agreed to come along to explore the house in the first place. Timmy had a fragile heart, and if Marlene did nothing, Jack would certainly break it.

The girl could feel tears sliding down her cheeks, as she put the phone to her ear. "Okay, I'll do it. I-I'll meet you down there," she whispered, feeling like a convicted criminal as she spoke. "Just let him go."

"Oh…fair enough," was the Baker husband's reply, as if he regretted offering Marlene the choice to begin with. "Your friend is down in the basement. The mansion basement, not that junk pile of a cellar you were crawling around in. I'll leave the front door unlocked. Oh, and be sure to come alone."

"And where would this basement be, exactly?" the survivor questioned.

"You know this place almost as well as I do, girl. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

This time, Marlene ended the call, before moving on. She had a friend to rescue.

Due to the layout of the entire property, it took a while longer for Marlene to locate the basement Jack spoke of. Of all the places in the mansion, this one looked the least inviting. Just staring at the rusted, metal doors sent shivers down the girl's spine.

Slowly and quietly, she tiptoed her way down the stairs and pushed the door open, mentally cursing for the loud creak it made.

The basement looked and felt much like a stereotypical dungeon. The floor and walls were mostly iron and steel. Blood splattered over the walls like paint. Body bags hung suspended upside-down, stained with blood from previous victims. A trail of red ran along the floor, presumably Timmy's.

Marlene was just about to start looking for Timmy, or even Jack, for that matter, when she heard footsteps behind her. Pulling out her handgun, the survivor whipped around to face her adversary.

"Woah! Watch where you point that," the hooded man scolded, startled by Marlene's sudden outburst.

"Who are you?" Marlene asked, surprised at the newcomer.

"Uh…you stumbled onto my family's farm, girl. You tell me," the mysterious person replied, a manic grin forming on his face.

The girl instinctively pointed her pistol at the man's heart. He was with them. The Bakers. "What's your role in all of this? Which of the two murderers sent you?"

"Neither of them," he spat. "I'm on my own side. Not that the old man needs to know that. I just wanted someone to talk to. Is that too much to ask?"

"Sure, because the son of a demented family of killers is a really good choice for an associate," Marlene snapped sarcastically.

The hooded man raised an eyebrow, opening his mouth to reply, but he didn't need to.

"Watch out!" he yelled, as a loud bang rang out from behind them.

Marlene could barely feel the sting of the bullet passing through her shoulder. But that didn't silence her painful yelp as she collapsed to the floor, clutching her wound.

"What the hell?" he roared to the voice as he kneeled down beside her. "You all right?"

"I'll live," the girl painfully muttered, her hand stained red with blood.

The man started helping Marlene to her feet when he heard his phone go off. "Hello, Baker residence—"

"Is there a problem, Lucas?" Jack growled, clearly ticked off at the surprise guest. "Because I specifically asked the girl to come here alone. Consider this your only warning: break the rules again, and this whole shenanigan ain't gonna end well for good old Timothy here."

Marlene, having heard the cruel threat, stared back at the older boy, her no-nonsense look backing up the head Baker's statement. "Wait upstairs."

Lucas didn't hesitate to follow the girl's orders. "You don't know what you're getting involved in, girl," he muttered as he trotted up the stairs, slamming the door shut behind him.

Marlene wouldn't admit this, but she silently wished the boy had stayed. Now she was on her own, and Jack would certainly show no mercy to her, not after she had evaded him for so long. Her shoulder wound definitely wouldn't help her much, either.

The girl looked around, hoping for any sign that Timmy or Jack were even in the basement, but there was only silence. Dead silence. Just as it had been when the five of them had broken into the guest house in the first place. Marlene refused to let her tears fall again as she realized how great of a mistake they had made. It had cost all of them much more than they imagined.

Grace's parents had been planning a divorce long before she joined Marlene. Grace was too eager to go along, hoping the exploring would take her mind off of things. Now that she was gone, how would her parents be able to take their minds off of the image of their daughter lying dead in a shack, while Marlene stood and did nothing?

Phil had planned the whole thing from the start, not just as a means of scaring his friends, but as an act of defiance, to prove his worth to those who bullied him back when he was younger. Phil, in his own way, had hoped for a sense of belonging. He had risked a great deal just to fit in, building himself up by shooting others down. The risk, sadly, wasn't worth the reward.

Marlene had known her boyfriend, Stanley, from the beginning. Stanley was a loner. No job, no family, and no home. His normally cheerful personality had burned away, along with everything else in that house fire. His risk taking had cost him everything. It had cost him his home and family. It had cost him his growing relationship with Marlene. It had cost him his humanity, due to whatever had attacked him in the cellar. He'd once told Marlene that no one would miss him, yet in her heart, she knew that wasn't true. She still missed him. She still wanted to bury him properly.

Unlike Stanley, Timmy wasn't normally one to take risks. Yet he had been forced to take several of them during his attempted escape from the Baker mansion. Similar to Stanley, Timmy's mother had perished in a car collision. Timmy reluctantly decided to come along for the ride, to prove that he was more than the scared teen Phil accused him of being. And now, trapped in some basement with a deranged man hell bent on torturing him, Timmy was probably more afraid now than he'd ever been. Terrified, injured, and probably begging for death.

Marlene felt heartbroken for them all. Yet she felt just as heartbroken for herself. Her own parents, her little brother, they were all probably worried sick, wondering if something happened to their precious family member. And if Marlene failed, something would happen to her, something horrible. And her family wouldn't be able to move on from it. She had to stay alive, for her sake, and for the sake of everyone she loved.

"I'm here!" the final girl shouted into the emptiness. "Let him go! I played by your rules, now let him go!"

There was silence. And then, she could hear it.

The cough was muffled by the steel door, but it was there. She was certain of it. Pressing her ear to the metal, Marlene was surprised when she found it locked, unlike the other doors. Sliding back the flap, she was shocked to find him slumped on the ground.

Timmy. Her only friend left alive.

"Timmy?" Marlene called, uncertain if he could hear her. "Timmy, is that you?"

The echo of Jack's voice caused the girl's skin to crawl. "Congratulations on your little victory, sweetheart…"

Marlene glanced around, her hatchet gripped tightly in her hand, her eyes determined to find Jack in the eternal darkness. And yet, all she could hear was his menacing laughter, mocking her. "You hear that, boy? Your pathetic friend has come to die for you!"

Silence.

The final girl heard nothing. No footsteps, no painful moans from Timmy, no cunning laughter.

Nothing.

She turned around, and weapons clashed as she came face to face with him.

Jack Baker.

The elder broke the block, kicking Marlene in a way that she fell off the balcony to the cold, steel floor below. The girl swiftly responded, rolling out of the way. In one move, the man was right behind the girl, his knife ready to kill. Marlene kept up with Jack's constant attacks, hoping, praying for an opening. Stomping on her opponent's knee, she swiped her hatchet at his shoulder, catching him off balance.

Jack looked into the girl's eyes…just as a bullet pierced his skull. Most people shot in the head would instantly crumple to the ground, dead.

The girl realized too late that Jack was not most people.

The man—no, the monster—plucked the bullet from his forehead, flicking it away as if it were a speck of dirt. "Was that supposed to hurt me, girl?" he deadpanned threateningly.

"What the hell are you?" Marlene whispered.

He rushed the survivor again, barely giving her enough time to react before he roughly threw her to the floor. Marlene swept her foot out, causing the elder to trip. She barely gave Jack time to roll out of way as her axe slammed into the steel floor. Jack responded by kicking the survivor in the head, sending her sprawling, the hatchet clambering out of reach.

Then she noticed the key lying on the floor.

The man snatched his knife, towering over the girl. "Aw, don't worry. I'll tell Timmy you died quickly," he seethed, raising his weapon to strike her down.

Marlene could barely hear Jack's grunt of pain over the gunshot.

The girl whipped her head around, shocked to find nothing but smoke rising from the shadows.

Marlene, silently sending a thanks whoever had saved her, grabbed her handgun and the key, and sprinted over to the makeshift cell, unlocking the door.

That was when Marlene noticed the small pile of propane tanks, riddled with bullet holes, gathered near where Jack was standing. The idea came to her in a flash, the idea to put an end to the monster keeled over in front of her, to the horrors and the suffering she had been subjected to. So she took it.

"Jack!" she snapped, pulling out Stanley's lighter.

The head of the family whipped around, immediately realizing that something had gone wrong with his plan.

"You wouldn't dare!" he cackled. "Even if you light those tanks, I'll still be around! I want us to be a family! I'm offering you a gift, and you're not accepting it?"

The girl flicked the lighter, watching the flame dance. "Accept this gift, you son of a gun!"

Marlene threw the lighter. The world around her burst into flames.

As the explosion knocked her backwards, and the fires consumed the monster, she swore she could have heard him speak, one last time.

"I! Will! End! You!" Jack screamed.

Blood. There was blood all around. The scent of it hung in the air. Various tools lay scattered on the only table in the makeshift cell. Some of them were simple. Others were more complex. A spiked whip, a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire…it was horrifying.

But what broke her heart the most was the figure slumped in the corner of the storage room. Had that monster messed up Timmy's face even further, Marlene wouldn't have recognized him as her friend. But it was still him, nonetheless. Mere words could not describe the pain the young man had endured. Cuts, bruises, a broken leg, a shattered bone sticking out of his arm. His torn shirt exposed an ugly wound on his torso, presumably from the more complex devices.

Marlene simply stood there and let her tears fall freely at the horror of it all.

"What the hell happened to you?" she wondered.

The girl was just about to stand up when she felt a hand weakly grip her own. She turned, slightly smiling at the sight of Timmy, his eyes halfway open.

"I guess you were right," Marlene whispered to her friend. "Situations like this don't end well." Timmy, paranoid as he was, had pointed out in the first place that something bad was bound to happen to them if they went into the mansion. He didn't even know the half of it.

Knowing she wouldn't have long before the other Bakers came snooping, Marlene half dragged, half carried her wounded friend out of the makeshift cell, and together, they took their first steps out of the basement.

Marlene and Timmy limped toward the staircase, making it to the front door. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked, making the escape from the mansion much easier, compared to how hard the fight with Jack was. It took longer for the girl to reach Phil's parked car, and Timmy's dead weight didn't help much, but she managed. The short drive away from the rotting mansion was silent, and Marlene felt that after everything she and Timmy had experienced, silence was what they needed.

But there was still one thing she couldn't get out of her head. What about Jack's son? Was he even insane like his parents were? And if he was, how did he keep it under control? Marlene remembered the boy telling her that he was on his own side. Had he been the one to help her defeat Jack to begin with? Would she end up encountering the Bakers again?

She figured only time would tell.

"Hey, Timmy," Marlene piped up, glancing at her friend slumped in the back seat. "It's good to have you back."

The girl could've sworn she saw a faint smile written on her friend's chapped lips.

The basement was calm. Quiet. Small flames still flickered from when the propane tanks had ignited.

The man continued to sharpen the blade, revenge clearly on his mind. He'd give them time to recover. Better to make that girl paranoid. Better to leave her fearful of the man she had been unable to kill.

He barred his teeth upon staring at the picture of her. The one that got away. Stabbing the knife straight into the face on the image, he grinned. The blade was finally sharp enough.

"Told you I'd still be around…" he mumbled.

In the foreboding basement of the mansion, Jack Baker laughed.

I thought a lot about this since I last posted it. I guess I decided to post a second part just for the heck of it. Plus, someone suggested I help develop the characters a bit more. So, hopefully, this little ending accomplished that.

Thoughts? Comments? Anything I can improve on with the characters, OC or otherwise (*cough*Lucas*cough*)

Reviews would be appreciated. Thanks for the support and have a nice day. :)