Chapter 8: Impossible Decision

They were mentally exhausted, and shaking, despite escaping the danger. They all wished to speak, voice their feelings, but they didn't as they couldn't find enough strength to do it.

Oliver was the only exception. „We are going to die here," he muttered, looking at others. First at Jordan, because he had the sword, then at Evan and Sam, because they were the brains who managed to overcome the two trials. It was crystal clear to him that he needed to be close to those three if he wished to stay alive.

„I-is everybody alright?" Mia squealed.

She was standing next to the jock but slowly began to move closer to the two brainiacs.

„Yeah," Sam muttered. He was still panting heavily because of the fight with the door.

Understanding now what they were against, he knew there was no time to be wasted. The drums could shake the air again at any moment, announcing the terrible monster. „We need to move," he said louder, looking at the walls for clues to where the third trial room was located.

He didn't spot any, which prompted him to move forward. The rest began slowly following his lead, still dealing with the aftermath of barely escaping with their lives. The fear made them walk faster, as well as look over their shoulders while they moved. They did it despite the knowledge that they could hear the drums long before they could spot the creature in the labyrinth of winding corridors.

It took them a moment to find the arrows, which directed them toward their destination.

„We are exhausted," Kenji spoke. „I don't know about you, but I didn't sleep at all since we came here, and barely ate anything. If this continues-"

„That's why I kept telling you we need to move! The longer we are here, the worse our situation becomes, but you people insist on being useless. You don't help with the trials, and you don't even listen to logic," Evan hissed. His eyes darted to Mia.

Alerted by the teenager's words, Sam paused to check on the situation, just in time to see the girl's face morphing into something darker. The cuteness was murdered by a vicious glare combined with twisted lips, but it vanished, as quickly as it appeared.

'Is she pretending? Was she acting all this time?' he immediately thought.

„Let's stop arguing. Together we have much bigger chances of getting out of here alive," Oliver observed, arming himself with a diplomatic tone. He even smiled, trying to be more convincing.

Evan snorted.

'They all are scared. The acts are about to drop. I need to be careful,' Sam deemed. 'Especially of him,' he briefly looked at Jordan, who was still holding the sword.

He resumed his walk, guiding the group for a long while in grim silence. Others simply had no strength to talk, plus the frustration and fear made a good fertilizer for conflicts to sprout and bloom, something they all knew needed to be avoided. After all, they were already against a monster whom they had no chance with, so adding problems to the pile was a terrible idea.

Long moments passed, stretching to the infinity. Sam's feet and legs began slowly hurting, but he didn't stop. Evan was right to urge the rest to move. The longer they stayed in this place, the worse their situation would become. They had no time to waste on rest.

The fact that they couldn't find the trial room only made the situation look worse. People just needed a little break. Break they couldn't afford. Sam even started cursing in his mind, worrying that maybe something was going on with the arrows. After all, clearing the first trial brought them a reward, but also a punishment. They got food, but they also got a monster who was hunting them. The second trial gave them something they didn't even understand, so there was some logic in another punishment appearing as well.

'No. The announcement didn't warn us about anything,' he kept repeating in his mind, trying to fight the negative emotions. He was saved from the self-inflicted depression just a moment later when he spotted the black door, barely visible at the end of the winding path.

A short burst of chuckle escaped his lips, bringing new energy to his steps. Others were alarmed by the sound, which prompted them to look ahead, for the source of a sudden change in his mood. They too spotted the entrance to the third trial room, which reinvigorated them.

Soon, they all were pushing the heavy door to get inside. It was easier than before, to the point one person could do it, although with several seconds of substantial effort. Upon entering, Sam noticed that this chamber was slightly different. Not only there was no clue in front of the room itself, but there was also none inside. The space was not that big, ending with another door on the other side. In the middle was a small hole, maybe two meters wide. Except that nothing, absolute emptiness.

The light, similarly to other trial rooms, was pouring down from above, somehow penetrating through the ceiling, but it was weak, providing dim illumination. Thanks to this illumination he was able to spot the hole in the center, which he began approaching.

A loud, dull thud from behind made him freeze on the spot. With a gasp he looked over his shoulder, only to notice others doing the same. The entrance was closed.

Jordan rushed to the black door and began pushing. Kenji quickly joined him, with Oliver coming to help just a moment later. Normally the wings were hard to open, but now they wouldn't even budge, no matter how hard the three pushed.

„It won't open," the salaryman informed after a moment of struggle, turning to look at Evan and Sam.

The two teenagers exchanged looks.

„I bet it's part of the trial," Sam deemed, although he had nothing to use as a base for his logic. He didn't even try, instead turned on his heel, to approach the hole.

Inside, at the very bottom, was a single leaver. The walls were rough, leaving some space to try and climb them, and the distance wasn't even that big. One could probably jump down below without risking breaking anything, not that he wanted to try.

„There is a leaver," he announced, looking at the rest, rushing toward him.

„Leaver?" Evan asked, his gaze darting to the door on the other side of the chamber. „I bet it opens the exit."

As soon as he said those words, with a loud gasp of mechanism, the two of the four walls creating the room, moved, only to freeze again.

„Fuck," Sam whispered, as he figured out the idea about this trial.

They were in a death trap, with a simple solution to escape. Somebody had to go down into the hole, pull the lever, and hope others wouldn't leave them to die. But in their current situation would anybody trust the others?

One glance at the faces of the people surrounding him told him the answer. It was a strong no.

„T-the strongest, most physically able should go, no?" Oliver asked. „S-somebody who can climb back up."

Although he didn't drop the name, they all knew of whom he was speaking. They all looked at Jordan.

„I'm not going there," the jock announced shortly. „I'm the only one with the sword. If I go you would be defenseless."

„You can just leave the sword," Evan pointed out.

The argument was ignored by the playboy, who already voiced his mind.

'And here we go,' Sam thought. At the same moment, the loud dull thud, announced once again that the walls were slowly closing on them.

„We should drop the dead weight," Jordan pointed out, pushed by the looming danger. „Somebody useless, who is not doing much for the group." His eyes shifted to Mia.

Once again, her face twisted with anger, but this time she hid it behind her hands. She began sobbing, but Sam saw through the act right away. She only pretended.

„You want to send a kid to death?" Kenji protested, oblivious to her true nature.

„So it's fine for me to go down there, but not for her? What is she good for anyway? Did she solve the puzzles? Is she defending the group? No, she didn't. She is useless, only hindering us. Because of her, we might die here!" Jordan snapped. His facade of composure and confidence was gone

„You have no shame! You call yourself a man?" Kenji accused.

„By your words, you are just as useless, as she. You might have the sword, but you haven't defended anybody yet," Evan pointed out, a smirk dancing on his lips.

'Why is he taunting him?' Sam asked himself, trying to stay away from the conflict since it involved a guy with a sword, who could stab someone.

„Shut up!" Jordan growled. „Maybe it should be you who goes down there? I have the sword, I can make you," he briefly smiled, but the attempt to look confident, and in control, was fruitless. His whole demeanor was pointing out clearly how starled he was. His hands were shaking.

„Just be a man, and do it!" Oliver suddenly found the courage to stand up.

'He saw others piling up on Jordan and decided to join the crowd. Spineless. Only a moment ago he would just as easily join him to send Mia down there,' Sam observed. He also moved, taking a step away from the hole and the rest. With the growing tension, the possibility of somebody getting pushed down there was growing, just as the chance of getting sliced or stabbed by the jock, who clearly was about to completely lose his temper.

With a dull thud, the walls moved again, only adding fuel to the conflict. Now they were quite close.

„I'm not going there!" Jordan shouted. „If somebody is going, it should be you," he pointed the blade at the politician. „You are just as useless as the kid."

„I'm doing my part!" Oliver protested.

„Yeah? And what exactly is this part you are doing? Being useless? You didn't do anything yet. You didn't solve any of the trials, nor did you even help with the platforms and those devices on the walls! You are dead weight!" Jordan yelled, his voice bouncing off the walls.

„Guys, I think we should take a breath-" Kenji started, but he was unable to finish.

„Hmpf! You know nothing about what I did for the group! Who are you to speak? All you do is pretend to be useful! You talk a lot, but that's it! Model?!" Oliver snorted. „You are a nobody! Now be a man and go into that hole!"

That was too much for Jordan. He growled, and swung the sword, cutting the air with a loud whosh, forcing the politician to take a step back.

Sam retreated even further when he saw the conflict turning physical, but he also spotted Mia. She was no longer pretending to cry, instead carefully observing the escalation of the argument through her fingers.

„We should have never allowed you to take this sword!" Oliver yelled, moving a few surprisingly quick steps back. „Put it away! You are a danger to the rest!" His eyes darted to Kenji, then to Evan. „Are you gonna let him do this?! This man is insane! Help me!"

„Go into the hole, or I'll push you myself!" Jordan demanded, stopping to swing the weapon around, only to point it menacingly at the politician.

At that moment the walls moved again, making them all go quiet. Sam was unsure if his ears weren't deceiving him, but he could hear the drums again.

„I will never climb back up! You are going to send me to death! Do something!" His eyes darted once more to Kenji and Evan. „Why aren't you speaking? Are you going to let him do this?" The tone of his voice softened.

The teenager simply shrugged. It was clear he didn't care who of the two was going down. The salaryman was an entirely different case. He seemed shaken by the argument and the violence, but unable to pick a side.

Oliver, without a doubt, was trying to influence others to send somebody, anybody, into the hole, only to save his ass. Jordan was practically the same, with the small twist that he used violence to achieve the goal.

While the argument between the two captured the attention of the rest, Sam separated himself from the conflict, which allowed him to spot Mia, slowly moving, without being noticed by anybody. She was going behind Oliver, with enough distance to take a run-up.

She rushed forward, before the politician could say anything more, and pushed him with all the weight of her small body. The much bigger man stumbled a few steps forward, reaching the edge of the hole.

„U-aa aaa!" a noise escaped his lips, as he caught his balance on the edge, pivoting around. Just in time to spot the girl taking another run-up. She charged, about to push the man once more, but this time he saw her. He moved to the side, grabbing her, and pulling to make her fall in.

Unfortunately for him, Kenji moved to stop the girl, when he saw what she was trying to achieve. This put him close enough to just in time grab her hand, and prevent her from falling.

„AAAAA!" she squealed. „Please! Save me!"

„Stop it!" The salaryman shouted.

They all went silent. But it was not his voice that silenced them. It was the drums, finally reaching their ears and paralyzing them.