FIVE: Survive or die.

Ophelia.

For a moment everyone stood back, watching as the realism of this game crashed down on us.

The timer had begun ticking and looking over my shoulder at it— I saw it read nine minutes and thirty seconds.

No one was moving yet and the time didn't care to pause along with us.

There was a grave silence, one that mocked and dared us to make a move.

The outstretched plank outside creaked softly and cold air whirled into the room.

“Move boy,” a bald man stepped forward and tugged at the first guy in front whose whole body visibly shook with fright.

The force of the push lunged him forward and once his feet touched the plank, it made a loud creaking sound.

We all recoiled. The pressure in the air doubled over as I flattened a palm against my chest to soothe the erratic thump of my heart.

The guy whimpered as he kept calm on the wood to steady himself and after a wait that seemed to drag on forever, he finally made a move.

“He is moving. We should join.” One of those high school kids muttered to his mates.

With each step the guy took, he got farther away from us and once he disappeared into the thick fog, we could barely even see his shadow.

“I can't see!” He suddenly cried.

An ear-splitting scream followed— from him. Then there was a wet crunch of flesh hitting rough stones and the merry growls of those creatures.

Everyone flinched and I froze on the spot, my countenance crumpling into something horrendous.

“Oh god, no!” one of the old ladies cried out.

He was dead. A scapegoat?

“The earlier you all start moving, the better, mates. Two minutes gone.” That voice vibrated through the air again.

Everyone began scrambling forward. The first two people got onto the plank and began moving stealthily.

Then two more and another two more…

“Get out of the way, girl!” One woman forcefully shoved me aside, causing me to stumble backwards.

“I won't die before the game even starts.” She raised a determined fist and got onto the wood. Now seven people were walking the plank.

But that woman hardly ever made it far as she soon slipped off and fell with a loud cry for help. Blood squelched down there and those creatures feasted yet again, more merry growls filling the air.

“No…” I croaked, tears rolling down my cheek as I balked into myself, looking away. A second chance? This was more dreadful than I thought.

Then a strange voice whispered wistfully into my head, sharp and infuriatingly mocking.

“Move, little mortal. Second chances aren't meant to be comfortable.”

My head swirled sharply to look at my environment as a cold chill vibrated through all of me.

What the hell was that voice?

This whole thing must be so overwhelming that I was now hallucinating. But the voice felt so real and I could still hear it ring distantly in my head.

“Five minutes gone.”

My knuckles whitened against the wall. Five minutes had passed? That quick? Looking ahead, about ten people had now gotten into the fog. Then there was a scream, and then another.

There were eight of us left back.

“Move it, Rick. Or we die…” The pixie lady surged forward and stepped onto the plank with swift agility. Her boots were properly balanced on the wood. Then she looked over her shoulder, face stiff with agitation as she yelled. “Come on Rick! Now!”

The guy got on almost immediately, a small tremor in his legs as he flailed for a bit before finding his balance.

There were six of us now left back and looking over at the ticking time, it read; four minutes and forty-five seconds left.

I made to take a step forward but the high school kids whom I hadn't even realized were still behind me made a dive for it and all four of them began walking the plank as they formed a hand chain.

The last girl behind me stepped forward. I blinked in terror as I watched her gather her hair into a ponytail and hold it in place with a hair band.

“I'm not about to die here a second time,” she said to me. “The earlier you make a move, the better for you”

And she was gone, following swiftly after the kids.

In that hollow dimly lit room— I was the only one left.

Another scream erupted in the air and everyone on the plank froze. Then there was a soft thud accompanied by teeth tearing ferociously.

Another person had fallen to their death. About seven screams now and if I stood here one minute longer, then I'd either be blown up along with this building or become monster food.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Four minutes left.

God help me.

With my heart caught in my throat, I moved forward and finally stepped onto the plank. Only then did I realize I was barefoot and the cold that soaked into my flesh had me wincing sharply.

My toes curled in response but I kept moving. I took my step one at a time and tried hard not to look down.

Rick and his friend gradually got swallowed into the fog, the kids were next, and the last lady before me was now five steps ahead.

“Seven minutes gone.” That voice hovered in the air around us.

The foundation of the building suddenly shook with a low growl and the plank beneath my foot trembled along with it.

I froze for a moment to catch my breath and when I glanced back, the walls were beginning to crack open.

Those creatures down there gathered beneath me in hordes, urging me to lose a footing and fall.

That lady had disappeared into the fog. I was the only one left ten steps behind, standing on a cold plank with my feet rooted to the wood. Owls hooted at a far distance and the clouds grew even gloomier.

Cold sweats had now broken out on my forehead and palms. My dress swirled along with the wind, hair scattering across my face and some sneaking into my mouth.

Nerves rattled through my bones and hiccups hitched up my chest.

“Eight minutes gone.” The voice blared.

Another piercing scream erupted in the air and then a sharp thud, blood spilling wetly down there.

At this rate, I was probably the next to die.