FIVE: Pray to the gods…only they can save you.

Ophelia.

“Hey, keep it down. Most of us are trying to have a good sleep here”

My teeth gnashed and I immediately wrapped both my hands around my arms to soothe myself from the sudden cold that clogged my chest.

Who in their right mind would sleep peacefully when there were hordes of grotesque creatures roaming down the building?

What in God’s name had I walked into!

My stomach dipped with a bitter bile and I clutched my throat to keep me from puking right there on the floor. Everything happening here was already a complete mess, and I couldn't afford to create another.

The heavens knew how bad I hated horror shows, how insanely paranoid I got at the slightest discomfort and it still chose to use my one weakness against me.

Suddenly a horn blared thickly, the kind you’d hear during one of those fire emergencies. The lights stopped flickering and golden hues filled the room, rattling everyone.

Even the ones who’d supposedly been having a peaceful nap, jerked up with eyebrows twitching and arms blocking their faces to prevent the sharp influx of light.

I could see everyone’s faces now but there were quite a number to even pay attention to them all.

Slowly I rose to my feet and backed up against a wall, my face twisted into something horrendous.

These people were humans like me. Different heights and physics, even older men and women, a few young high school kids in uniforms clinging onto each other with countenance neutral.

Rick, like I'd mastered his name, and the lady with the numerous piercings was now up on their feet as I braced for whatever was about to unfold.

“God, help me” I muttered, tears brimming in my eyes as I turned away with dread washing over me.

“Heavens help those who help themselves young lady” a woman approached, hands slapping my back as she pushed a handkerchief into my fisted palms. “Right now this is hell and only the deities rule. There’s no God here sweetheart, just pray to the gods…only they can save you”

I stared at the old, dried handkerchief fused in my hands and then back at the woman who was now retreating to where she’d come from.

Her words sank deep into my blood. The gods? There were more? Just like the one who had approached me earlier and probably threw me in here.

A small lightheadedness hit and I pressed a finger to my temples, already feeling sick.

Right ahead of us, the walls suddenly shook with a low rumble that had everyone stumbling back in fright, and with a slow grind, it divided into a partition. Then a slow writing gradually formed on the wall,….

‘Channel Six’

The foreign words warped into proper English words and a gasp left my lips as a slow realization dawned.

Murmur and whispers ensued.

“Welcome to Channel Six. Doom awaits ahead”

A low static voice piped out above us. The same voice as the woman from the news earlier.

So it's all been premeditated? The news that wouldn't stop blaring on the TV screen earlier had been a gateway to this nightmarish place. I knew it was all weird when this station lied using the government as a cover-up!

“More information regarding the game would be passed across to you shortly” The voice blared again, smooth and static.

Games? I was taken aback for a bit, my memory juggling and then like a fever dream his words replayed in my head again, more loud and consuming.

“I can give you a second chance, only if you play my games”

So this was it. This was what he meant all along.

More murmurs had erupted now, everyone now on their feet. From the corner of my eyes, I stared at the school kids in uniforms as they formed a circle and did some practiced handshake while muttering ‘Let’s all stick to each other’

How had they ended up here? They looked like teenagers in senior school.

The loud snap of fingers drew my attention to Rick and that lady who were both cracking their knuckles and twisting their necks. Were they about to fight in an MMA championship?

When my eyes locked with the lady, I immediately threw my face away, goosebumps creeping onto my skin.

She looked mean and scary. My body shuddered on impulse.

“First things first players; survive to fully get into the game or die trying”

That voice that made me sick to the stomach now came on again, a subtle vibration waving through the air and right before anyone could make a complaint, the grounds shook with a massive rumble and everyone screeched back.

“What's going on?” I gripped the wall near me, hands wide stretched out, and pinned back against it to keep me steady.

“Are you going to kill us?” a trembling voice screeched from the Lot.

“Yes!” someone else concurred, “You promised us long lives or a chance to bring back our loved ones”

So that was real? It wasn't fake news or a scam? The bodies missing and the ones found unconscious in dark alleys… these were all those people?

Bile rushed to my throat with a sharp surge I couldn't control and this time I fell to my knees, clutched my stomach, and puked mercilessly by the corner.

“Stop being disgusting, young lady” An old man stepped forward, poking me hard with the sharp edge of an umbrella in rage.

“I'm sorry…” My voice was a whimper. The dreadful unease that was fear curled low in my belly and I mellowed.

“Attention mates. News from the higher-ups; Let’s all respect each other and maintain a friendly domain”

The old man hissed sharply, voice loud and defiant. “Friendly domain my ass!”

I groaned wearily from where I crouched, my tongue now burning with the bitterness of my own vomit still lingering.

A huge timer silently jutted out of the wall, the clock reading ten minutes.

“Moving on players; To test your speed and agility, you all are required to cross the bridge that leads to the game arena. Time limit: Ten minutes. Consequences: failure to get to the edge before the time elapses, the bridge retracts and you fall to your death”

Those hordes of blood sucking monsters. I gasped silently.

The voice continued. “The building blows up once the timer goes off. Whatever way you die is a win in our realm. Survive or die trying”

The ground cried beneath our feet now as if begging that we get off it.

“How do we get out?” I heard Rick mutter behind me. “Where is the bridge? Do we break through the glass?”

“You ask a lot of questions you dunce,” the lady said, bored out of her mind.

But how do we actually get out…

The glass’s silicone on the floor-to-ceiling window gradually melted with heat distortion flaming off it.

Once it was gone, a heavy grind followed next and a long wooden plank started jutting out. The plank stretched straight ahead into the fog and it was hard to tell what lay ahead of us.

And then the grind stopped.

Silence fell in the room, The animalistic growl of those creatures down there was now very audible, and tension spasmed in the air.

“Ten minutes! The time is ticking”

Wait. Wait. That was it?