Grimm Games

Chapter 4: Red Stain

The agreement was ten pages long. When signing the final line, I wondered if Mother Holle preferred old-fashioned signatures because she was out of touch or if she chose pens intentionally, hoping it would feel like signing in blood.

Retrieving the stack of papers and pen before leading me into an empty office immediately sparked suspicion and anxiety.

The faint sound of a ticking clock in the lonely room caught my attention and simultaneously urged me to count the seconds as I waited. What was I waiting for? I wasn't sure.

Common sense told me nearly an hour had passed since last seeing the sorrowful look in Jade's eyes, but the clock showed otherwise. The hands of the old-fashioned wall timer remained still, but the faint tick tock continued.

My imagination drowned out the ticking and amplified the chants of the protesters outside the building. Although the room was far removed from anyone's earshot, pretending like-minded individuals were only feet away eased my nerves.

While I waited, I pretended Jade somehow managed to get Millie on the phone and convince her to drop out of the competition.

Although the Games were set to air live next week, I've yet to discover a participant who changed their mind. The lure of the jackpot money must get stronger the closer they were to showtime.

The windowless space soon became stuffy and claustrophobic as minutes went by. The lack of airflow was odd.

My eyes scanned the room, taking in the large, flatscreen TV ahead on the drab gray wall across from the large rectangular-shaped desk I sat at. The space reminded me of a traditional classroom instead of an office. And weirdly, the room lacked air conditioning vents which explained the stifling atmosphere.

If I was meant to watch an instructional video, why wasn't it visible on the screen?

Something was off.

The clock ticked but its hands never moved.

Losing patience, I got up and walked to the door. When my hand landed on the handle, my heart sank. The cold steel wouldn't budge, confirming my nagging suspicion—I was locked in.

I knocked on the thick steel. "Hello?" I called out. "Ms. Holle? Is anyone there?"

The lack of response thrust me into panic mode and my heartbeat tripled and throbbed at my fingertips.

Then the lights went out.

Utter darkness enveloped me and flipping the light switch on the wall did nothing.

When the TV screen lit up the darkened space, I pivoted. Instead of the usual black screen I've become accustomed to, a silent animation played out.

A wizard disguises himself as a poor beggar and kidnaps a girl. He takes her to his house where he gives her two tasks, to look after an egg and to not enter the forbidden room. He leaves the house.

The girl enters the room to find a bloody basin filled with human body parts. Frightened, she drops the egg into the basin but quickly retrieves it. She cleans it off but when the wizard comes home, he sees the faint red stain on the egg and knows the girl has been in the forbidden room.

For disobeying him, the wizard chops her up and throws her into the basin. The animation stops and replays from the beginning.

"What's happening?" I asked, needing to express my growing confusion.

Was this a test or some sort of elaborate game?

It didn't make sense that a game would happen now, so soon, when the games weren't meant to start for another week.