Chapter 31: "Foes"

The three of us stood in stoned silence. Either we killed the other three or left Climax City empty-handed. Both were difficult choices.
"Tough choice? Let us hear from our dear friends."
The red words hovered over Melly, Telly, and Moby before falling apart on them with a sloshy sound.
"Ohh...my head..." groaned Melly. "Hey, it's you Toby! And you...and you!"
She appeared dazed, unaware of what was going on. "Melly!" I called out. "How did you get here?"
"I...I...dont' know. How did you get here?"
"Hold on," interrupted Moby. "Isn't this...Climax City? What are we doing here?"
Telly gasped in shock. "CLIMAX CITY? We must leave at once!"
And then they turned red. Completely blood red, from head to toe. Their confused and desperate cries clenched my heart like a cold fist.
"Stop it!" I shook my fist at the giant book. "What are you doing to them?"
"Simple enough. I am putting them back half under my control. Now, does this not make our sticky little situation here so much more tantalising?"
"What do you want?" roared U.
"You have not been listening, have you? Kill them, and I shall come before you. Or spare their lives, and I shall kill all of you instead."
"If you think we're going to kill them, you're wrong. Dead wrong."
"Brave words for one I can sense is trembling with all his might. Observe! To make your task easier, I have given one of you a most powerful gift. Open your hands and you shall see it."
With cold sweat running down my spine I parted my fingers. A button with the word "DELETE" printed on it had mysteriously glued itself to my palm.
"DELETE. Point at intended target and click once to delete them temporarily. Click again to delete permanently. May cause dangerous effects to user."
"You...YOU'RE EVIL! You think giving me powers will make me kill my friends more readily?"
"Did not think so. You really have a mind so strong I sometimes find it hard to write. But as for these three..."
Moby, Telly and Melly fell to the ground, screaming once more before reverting back to their original colours. As they got up, I could see a different them in their eyes. Eyes which craved blood at the expense of theirs'.
"There is nothing you can do, really. It is merely a case of how many of you die, and how agonising the process is."