Spring Break

episode 10

Your decision: The four should take their seats and wait for instructions regarding the next level of the game.

The bright orange light flickered for a moment, dark shadows dancing on the walls around them. The warm light did nothing but chill them to the core, icy water still dripping from their clothes.

Emma took a step forward, resting her hands on the back of the metal chair. Her brown eyes swept the room once again, finding nothing but the sealed door and chairs. "Well," Emma sighed, "I guess we should sit. I don't really see any other option."

The three shifted nervously, their eyes fixated on the ominous looking chairs. Running his hands over his dripping face, Wesley nodded. "She's right. What else are we going to do? Stand around and listen to the silence?" he muttered spitefully, walking past Emma before collapsing down into the nearest chair.

It was cold and stiff beneath him, sending chills creeping slowly up his spine before dancing across the base of his neck. Emma followed his example, choosing the seat next to him to settle down in. Her hands gripped the arms of the chair, the nerves beginning pulse faster and faster.

Joanne and Griffin exchanged a foreboding look, wondering if they should follow the two who seemed to be intriguingly in sync in their decisions. With a shrug, Griffin stepped past Joanne, entering the circle of chairs before sitting down next to Emma.

"Well, I guess we're really doing this" Joanne muttered, tucking the wet strands of hair behind her ears. She released a shaky breath, adjusting the pearls that still hung around her neck. The small heels of her sandals clicked against the concrete floor as she walked forwards, taking the last and final seat.

As soon as her hands rested on the arms of the chair, a loud whirling sound filled the room as it came to life. The orange light intensified, the metal restraints on each of the chairs snapping shut.

Wesley's eyes grew wide in panic as he tried to fight the metal restraints the held down his hands and feet. Kicking over and over again, Wesley felt his skin begin to bruise under the harsh, unwavering surface. He was trapped.

He looked around to find the rest of them struggling, slowly coming to the same conclusion. Emma's chest rose and fell with rapid breaths, her alert brown eyes searching her surroundings. "What did we just do?" Wesley whispered, trying to hide the terror that rose in his throat.

"We took our only option. We're gonna be fine, okay? Just try to stay calm" Emma told him, giving an encouraging nod that she then redirected at Joanne and Griffin who wore equally as scared expressions.

Above them came the staticky sound of the intercom system, rapid nausea rising in response to the sound, making Emma want to curl up into a ball and block out the world of disturbed horrors that kept playing out around her. "Welcome to the next stage of the game. This is what I like to call the circle of truth" the man said, a maniacal laugh echoing through the small, square room.

"How does it work?" Griffin asked tiredly, glaring up at the ceiling above him. He didn't want to play, but the metal restraints around his wrists and ankles made it fairly clear that he didn't have a choice.

"Well, dearest Griffin. It works like this" the man hummed cheerfully, as if explaining an icebreaker game to a group of middle schoolers. "One of you three has a secret. You all have to confess your deepest darkest secrets. And each time you don't confess the secret I'm looking for..."

Emma screamed suddenly, the three's gaze whipping towards her. A wire ran from the base of her chair, connecting to some foreign power source. Emma's head was thrown back, her mouth wide open as an agonized wail escaped her.