The Death's Game

22. Game of Black

Percy's first instinctive impulse was to throw herself to her friend's aid, but her legs refused to obey. Although at first, she felt like giving in to instinct, her reason and intuition won out. She slowly gazed at Ryder, who was more than surprised that she didn't run towards Millie. He even was ready to hold her down, but it wasn't necessarily.

"It isn't Millie," Percy's voice sounded more like a question than a statement.

"No, it isn't."

And even though she couldn't be completely sure, that was the only logical explanation. There was barely a possibility for Millie to be in the basement. The facts were obvious. They were in a place where the worst nightmares and frights were coming to life. Percy was already trapped once in a vision of Millie's death. The voice she was hearing, it sounded like Millie, but it was not her. It couldn't be. It was just her worst fear. A trap, so IT, whatever IT was, could make her stay here forever.

She almost fell for it.

Almost.

"It sounds just like her, but it can't be her, right?"

The first stage of logical reasoning was gone, the more she was hearing Millie's voice, screaming for help, the more doubts she started having.

She really wished to go and check it, but she knew it wasn't a good option.

"No, Millie would never go here alone," Ryder stated. "Moreover, the passage closed after us falling into it. Your friends have no idea that we're in the basement. Even if they wanted to search for us, they wouldn't know where to start."

Ryder's right. It's not Millie.

But the temptation was awfully big. Standing without a movement and hearing something that sounded like Millie dying was almost impossible to endure.

If the things around you are not real, and you believe they don't exist, they cannot exist.

Percy closed her eyes and focused on the fact that Millie's voice, this Millie, was not real. It was her fear, but she wasn't afraid of something that didn't happen, that maybe will never happen, and that surely isn't happening right now. With that realization, there became eerie silence in the corridor.

For a moment Percy was concerned that when she opened her eyes, she would be alone again in the bone-penetrating darkness. Fortunately, Ryder was still there, in the smoky red corridor, gazing right at her with a comforting look on his face. Almost as if he was proud of her for overcoming her fear.

"Phew, it disappeared," Percy sighed, feeling a relief for her ears.

But that short moment of joy quickly passed when they both heard the sound of chains being dragged against the floor, deep down in the corridor, from the place that earlier Millie's screams came from.

Percy intuitively backed away, feeling that whatever was coming in their direction, couldn't be anything good. Ryder didn't share her frights. He straightened up and got ready to face the upcoming danger.

"Ryder, shouldn't we turn away? I'm not sure if confrontation is what we're seeking for."

Whatever IT was, she had no desire to meet IT.

"That's something like the personification of fear. You can't outrun this thing out. And as you said, there wasn't really another way out. We need to go straight forward and face IT."

"Face IT? Are you crazy?"

No. No way. I'm not going to fight some paranormal monster with my bare hands.