Chapter 34: Trapped in a Mansion II

N I K E

I ended up walking endlessly, looking for the others. Feeling so tired, I sat down on the floor and leaned on the wall. My legs felt numb as I stretch them. Sighing, my mind wanders to the images of different hot men. How I miss seeing hotties.

Staring at the wall in front of me, I remembered Kyousuke's words. My super crush likes me, and the guy I love, I think, likes my super crush. The shocking part is Kyousuke's confession, it was completely unexpected, well, for me. His words echoed in my mind, "It's a love triangle then, my lady. I might be your second choice now, but I'll make you change that. I will be your one and only choice, Nike."

This is insane. Of all the people, why me? Why must I suffer a love triangle, after the heartbreaks I have been through? Shaking my head, I stood up and dusting off my jumper shorts. Looking at the two ends of the corridor, I don't know which way to go. I was about to walk when I stumbled and accidentally leaned on a wall. The part where I leaned moved, and I saw the ceiling opening, the glimmering of arrow tips greeted me.

Running for my life, I didn't care anymore if I'm going north, west, east, or south, just let me escape, and it's all good. Busy running, I didn't notice Apollo who immediately followed me the moment he saw me. Running for ten minutes straight, I fell down the floor when the arrows disappeared from sight. Panting hard, I closed my eyes and eventually fell asleep.

---

Waking up, I saw the back of a man beside me. Jolting up, the man looked at me and smiled. "You're finally awake, sleepyhead. You took a nice nap for thirty minutes," Apollo said, standing up.

"Since when did you found me?" I helped myself up and dusted my clothes. Combing my hair using my hand, I looked at him, waiting for an answer.

"Since the time you were running. You just passed by me and even ignored me, then you just slept like a child after running like a crazy man. You should act your age and your gender," he sneered at me. Don't make me punch you! Even if you're Thea's crush, I would hurt you, tsk.

"What do we do next?" I asked, changing the subject. Taking out my hair tie, I tied my hair into a ponytail. It was getting in the way earlier, so I should tie it.

"Let's just walk, I guess. It's better than standing here, no progress at all," he said then started walking, I just followed him. He is quite cute, smart, and all, but I can't seem to admire him. Thea and I have a list of crushes, almost all are similar, but he is an exception. I wonder, what did Thea like about this guy? He is just a typical nerd with good looks, you can find him almost anywhere, but Thea still liked him. This is new.

"How long are you going to stand there and stare at me?" He asked, pulling me back to reality. I only looked at him, then walked past him. No matter how much I want to tell him about Thea, I can't.

"Why are you so rude to me? Your treatment was so different from me, unlike Kyousuke. You treat him as if he is the law as if he is your everything. Do you like him?" He asked, making me stop and blush.

"I personally don't know..." I said, loud enough for him to hear. I'm still uncertain about my feelings for them, what do I do?

"Don't make him wait too much, he endured quite a lot for you. Tons of girls liked him, but he turned all of them down. Remember, Nike, it's alright to take your time regarding your decisions, but you don't have all the time in the world. Don't let him wait too much to the point he had enough," Apollo advised, making me smile.

"I didn't know that you're good in relationship advice, considering that you're a nerd who never had one. The only bad thing about you is that you're dense," I replied, a teasing tone on the last words. He then smacked me on the head, then walked past me.

"Come on shortie, we need to find the others," he said then I followed him again.

The walk felt endless, but we reached a room and we noticed the computer in front of the three doors. There are also five digital clocks on top of the doors. It seems like the clocks are broken since it is stuck in the shown numbers only.

"A code," he said, making me look at him with a questioning look. I'm clueless about things like this, how will I even be able to help?

I only watched him examine the computers and digital clocks. The digital clocks displayed the time; 3:06, 2:01, 1:09, 3:07, and 1:08. The only thing that I can think of was, "what is the connection between the numbers and the laptop? Is it possible that the numbers are actually a ratio or something?" I unconsciously said that out loud.

Apollo looked at me as if I said something important. "You actually revealed a clue, that's rare," he said, putting his right hand on his chin, clearly mocking me. Not being able to stop myself, I smacked him in the head, and he even rubbed it to ease the pain.

Ignoring me, he starts deciphering the code. "Which door will we open?" He asked. I only shrugged and he decided to open the one on the right side. After putting the answer, Naomi, the door flung open, revealing a dark corridor.

"How did you deciphered it?" I asked eagerly, amusement in my voice.

"The ratio is for the position of letters in the keyboard. The first number pertains to the row, while the other one is the number from left to right. For example, 3:6 is N. In the keyboard, N is in 6th place from left to right, on the third row. That's all," he explained, and I only nodded even though my mind is still processing.

Entering the corridor, we only found a dead end, and the door closed before we even escape. "We are trapped," I stated, fear in my voice. Suddenly, the walls start moving towards us. Panicking, I tried to find something to touch that could possibly stop it. I also tried screaming, but nothing happened. Apollo calmly stood there, deep in thought.

"Why are you so calm?! We are going to die here!" I was furious, is he not worried that we might die? I'm too young to die! Hundreds of opportunities are waiting for me!

"Panicking won't help us. Just save your breath, and wait calmly for the others. I'm sure they will save us," he said, his words were comforting but I'm still panicking.

I won't be able to calm myself in a situation like this! I don't want to die yet!