I had been in the elevator the whole time.

The whole fucking time!

A goddamn button press away from freedom, I couldn't do a thing until it was too late.

And now everyone is gone.

Buddy, Charlotte, Salvador, they're all gone.

Stepping out of my makeshift prison, my gaze immediately falls onto the pastries shop across the way.

Step after step I approach the building, I'm moving with such urgency I nearly smash against the glass window.

I spot a single cake in the store.

Looking past it, there's blood on the walls.

My legs feel weak, my eyes burn, and my vision blurs.

The door is unlocked, and the closed sign clatters as I push it open hastily.

I read Charlotte's final blood stained letter.

I weep.

And scream.

And throw it against the wall without thinking.

A moment.

Then another.

And then another.

I pick it back up; place it gently in my pocket,

And I stand up.

I don't check the back room.

I refuse to.

Any doubt I had in my mind would be confirmed then.

I can't do that.

What they've given to me is too precious.

You kept me going, and gave me resolve.

Even if I didn't know you until the end.

I'm sorry for your daughters.

You showed me the world when I couldn't see it.

The promise of your visit prevented me from ending it all.

And then you gave me a way out.

The cake was delicious, the music was wonderful.

I only wish I could have met you when you needed me.

At the end you gave me hope.

Were you real?

Any of you?

It doesn't matter.

Not anymore.

Are there others alive?

Only one way to find out.