Chapter 33: Trapped in a Mansion I

T H E A

"Welcome to my mansion, and to your soon-to-be death place! I should welcome you formally, but since you are here, how about a thrilling game?"

The monitor got pulled up, revealing ten different doors, all painted with bloody red. We looked at each other for a few seconds, nodding in agreement, we all chose a door and opened it. The moment I stepped into the door, I slipped down and my screams followed. Sliding down the ramp or whatever this is, my butt starts to hurt because of the friction it creates. There is a dim light, but the end is still uncertain.

After a few minutes of sliding, I fell on something fluffy, a bed. Looking around, it was an empty room with one exit. Everything is painted with black and no decorations or even a single piece of furniture. Having no other choice, I stood up from the soft bed and went to the only exit.

Walking down the empty, dim-lighted, corridor, a creepy vibe followed me. I wonder, where are the others? Stopping in front of a forked path, I tried to see through the end, but it was too dark to be seen. I was about to walk towards the middle corridor when I heard the sound of footsteps coming from the left corridor.

Looking at the source, the footsteps grow louder and faster, then a figure emerged from the shadows. It was Kyousuke. "Don't just stand there!" He shouted as I shot him a questioning look, then I noticed the giant ball rolling behind him. I started running with no direction, Kyousuke and the ball is on my tail.

We ran miles, without knowing which direction we are heading to. Turning right, we managed to lose the ball, panting hard as we fell on the floor. "How did you even got that ball on your tail?" I asked, still panting, but not as hard as him. We are both sitting, leaning on each wall of the corridor.

"It was a trap. It got activated just because I stepped on the wrong tile," he explained as he starts to calm down. I can only nod as a reply. After we calmed down, we started walking without knowing where we are.

"Have you seen anyone else?" I asked him, and he only shooked his head. Sighing, we continued walking the almost endless corridor.

"You like Apollo, right?" He asked, making me stop and stare at him. "He likes you too, don't worry. Just study hard for the both of you, I guess."

"And you like Nike, am I right?" It was his turn to stop and stare at me with a blank expression. This is new, knowing how I always see a smile on his face. Slowly, he nodded and gave me a sad smile. Don't worry, Kyousuke, Nike also likes you but still can't let go of her first love. Just a little bit of waiting and everything will pay off. Patting his shoulder, I walked with no specific direction.

After a few minutes of endless walking, we entered a room with five different clocks and three different doors, with a lock on it. Looking at the clocks, there is only a minute hand, and it's stuck in one number. The numbers from right to left are; 43, 30, 44, 42, and 38.

"Do you have any clue about it?" He asked and I only shooked my head. This is the first time I saw codes like this. Clock...numbers....five letters.... what is this?

"Hey, do you have an internet connection or something?" I asked, checking my own phone at the same time. There was no signal at all, not even a single bar. Sighing, I looked at him only to see him shaking his head.

"Why is there a clock? What is its significance? Why is there only a minute hand?" Kyousuke wondered out loud, giving me a clue.

"It is safe to assume that it is the clock cipher, the problem is, I forgot the details of that cipher. Do you have any paper? We can try doing random things," I suggested. He nodded and gave me a piece of paper and ballpen from his pocket.

We both start scribbling random things we could possibly think of as cipher. Running out of ideas, I started drawing a spiral, then a memory flashed in my mind. It was the time Naomi showed me a picture of a spiral-like clock with letters and numbers. Feeling motivated, I wrote everything I remember.

"Hey, Kyousuke! Help me here!" He quickly went to my side and looked at the thing I wrote. It was a circle with the whole alphabet and numbers up to 26. He took it from my hand, as if he recalled something, then finished my work. He added a comma, period, and space on the end to make it exactly 30, then added more numbers up to 60, making two numbers for each letter or symbol.

We started comparing the cipher we made with the clock and formed Naomi's name. If what we got is correct, then this guy is really a creep. The problem right now is what door we will choose. Staring intently at the three doors, I started playing games in my mind just to choose one.

"Let's just choose the middle one," he said then encode the key that we got. The door made a ringing sound as it open. Slowly, I approached Kyousuke's side and looked at the room waiting for us, but to my disappointment, the lights are off and it might only open if we enter.

"Should we enter?" He asked, making me smile bitterly.

"Do we have any other choice?" I asked, making him smile too.

"Guess we are going into the unknown again. Just like the old times," he said and we both walked towards the open passage. The moment we both got in, the lights lit up and the door closed. There is no turning back then.

We found ourselves inside an empty room, just like the ones earlier, but no bed. I noticed that there are small holes in the lower part of the wall. I was about to get a closer look when a laugh erupted from the speakers on the upper corners of the room. It was the same robotic voice we heard before.

"How unlucky! You two fell for a trap! Let's just see if your friends can reach me fast or you'll die there!" As if on cue, water starts rushing out from the small holes as it starts filling the room. Dumbfounded, me and Kyousuke looked at each other, panic can be seen in both of our faces.

I hope they would get to the end and save us. Please, find a way to save us.