CHAPTER 27
I stood in the wreckage of our once–safe haven, my chest tightening as I scanned the mess. Chairs overturned, papers scattered, broken glass crunching under my boots. My hands trembled, not from fear, but from the overwhelming sense of helplessness washing over me.
Where were they? The Obsidian Knights- my friends–were gone, and I had no idea where to even begin.
My mind raced as I paced the room. I needed a lead, anything to point me in the right direction. That’s when the monitors flickered to life, their bright glow cutting through the dim room. I turned, my breath hitching as the screens revealed footage of Daniel, Sue, Calix, Chlyrus, and Blake. Each of them was bound, struggling
against their restraints in separate, sinister- looking rooms.
“What the hell.” I whispered, my voice
90% 13:20
1/8
ETER 27
17aking.
tore I could process the horror, a voice kage ofced from the speakers. Smooth, ghterigting, familiar.
verturned evening, Daphne,” it purred. glasscnlass
is trends the hell are you?” I snapped, overwing the room for any hidden ing chimeras.
The eshe been watching you for a while,” the gonego continued, ignoring my question. inbegin. ve been quite the nuisance,
antling my operations piece by piece. d pats paw, it’s time for you to play my
thingwathing,
tat. That s
eir heiriched my fists. “Where are my oom.rooms?”
teenscreens
voice chuckled darkly. “Alive, for now. Chix, Chly
Heir fate depends on you. Each of boras bound
is in a room with a very specific
arestraints in
- ns.
na
enge. Succeed, and you’ll save them.
I whisper
13:20
218
CHAPTER 27
The voice trailed off, leaving the implication hanging heavy in the air.
“Let them go, you coward!” I shouted, my voice cracking.
“Oh, Daphne” he said, almost amused. “Always so fiery. Here’s how it works, you’ll come to the location I’m sending to this screen. The first game begins at 10 p.m. sharp. Be late, and they all die.”
The monitors switched to a map, showing a warehouse on the city‘ s outskirts. Then they went dark, leaving me alone in the deafening silence.
I leaned against the table, trying to steady my breathing. My friends were counting on me. There was no time to second–guess myself.
The warehouse loomed ahead, its broken windows and rusted walls looking as menacing as the voice from the monitors. I parked my bike a block away and
approached on foot, my heart pounding.
90% 13:20
3/8
CHAPTER 27
my
Shadows moved in the corners of vision, and suddenly, armed men stepped into view, their weapons trained on me.
I raised my hands. “I‘ m here for the game,” I said, keeping my voice steady.
They didn’t respond, just motioned for me to follow.
They led me into the warehouse, down a winding staircase into a basement. The air grew colder, and the smell of damp concrete made my stomach churn. At the end of the hall was a room with a wall of monitors.
“Welcome,” the voice said as I stepped inside.
I turned, scanning the room. “Show yourself.”
“Not yet,” Mr. M replied. “We’ve only just begun. Let’s start with something simple. Who will you save first?”
The monitors lit up, showing all five of my
90% 13:20
4/8
1:20
CHAPTER 27
teammates again. Daniel sat tied to a chair, his jaw clenched as he struggled against the ropes. Calix was in a room with walls that seemed to be closing in. Chlyrus was dangling above what looked like a pit of spikes. Blake was surrounded by flames. creeping closer to him. And Sue…
My stomach twisted as I focused on Sue’s screen. She was suspended over a pool of mwater, and beneath her, three massive crocodiles circled, their tails cutting through the surface.
leston
Mr. M’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “Tick–tock, Daphne. Who will it be?”
I hesitated, my eyes darting between the screens. How could I choose?
“Sue,” I finally said, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Ah, ladies first,” Mr. M said with a chuckle.
The monitor zoomed in on Sue’s
predicament. She looked terrified but tried to mask it with anger, her sharp glare
- 90% 13:20
5/8
CHAPTER 27
cutting through the screen.
“Daphne!” she shouted, her voice crackling through the speakers. “Don‘ t mess this up!”
I ignored her and focused on Mr. M. “What’s the challenge?”
“Simple,” he said. “A sequence of colors will appear on the screen. Match them in the correct order, and Sue will be released. Get it wrong, and, well… let’s just say the crocodiles are hungry tonight.”
My blood ran cold. “You‘ re insane.”
“Perhaps,” he replied. “But that’s irrelevant. Let’s begin.”
The screen in front of me lit up with five colors: red, blue, green, yellow, orange. They flashed quickly, one after the other, then disappeared.
“Your turn,” Mr. M said.
I repeated the sequence aloud, my hands shaking as I entered it into the console.
90% 13:20
6/8
1:20
89
CHAPTER 27
The screen went dark for a moment, and I held my breath.
The monitor glared at me, taunting me with the sequence. “Red, blue, green…” I repeated under my breath, trying to stay calm. My palms were sweating.
Two colors left. Was it yellow? Or orange?
Mr. M’s voice slithered through the speakers. “Having trouble, Daphne? Time‘ s ticking. One wrong guess, and your friend gets a reunion with those crocodiles.”
I clenched my fists, fighting back panic. “I’ve got this,” I muttered.
“Ten seconds,” he drawled. “Nine… eight…”
I racked my brain, replaying the colors in my mind. Yellow? Orange? My vision blurred.
Five… four… three…”
“Orange!” I yelled, the word bursting out of
- me.
100% 13:20
718
CHAPTER 27
Silence. The monitor flickered. The
crocodiles stirred in the water below Sue.
The pause was excruciating. Did I save her
or just doom her?
