For what felt like an eternity, the hellscape continued for three long hours, although it honestly felt much longer. The group huddled together, freezing and swaying with the tremors in the ground. Tommy held firm, making sure everybody stayed together. Our breath created mist as we exhaled, and our body warmth provided some relief. It was three hours of pure torture and annoyance.
"Guys, do you think it's ending?" Maxwell asked.
"Everybody stay together, don't leave," Tommy instructed.
"It's fine, Tom. The tremors haven't happened for 30 minutes. Protect everyone and make sure they're safe," I reassured him.
"Copy that."
I slowly let go of my grasp on Ellie, who had fainted during the chaos, and handed her to Maddie. I crawled and reached under the edge of the table, standing up cautiously, remaining alert to any tremors. I found a safe spot where neither glass nor metal objects would harm me if the earthquakes struck again.
As I scanned the cabin, I witnessed the couch flipped over, walls damaged, and the plant in the corner smashed. The plates that Ellie and I had stacked were broken and shattered on the ground. The windows were also shattered. But what startled and shocked me the most wasn't the damage to the cabin. It was what I saw outside the window—an awe-inspiring starry sky, with galaxies and astral images stretching as far as the eye could see. It was as if the cabin is floating in vacuum of space.
"Guys!" I called out.
"What's happening? Is it safe?" someone asked.
"Guys, it's really bad. I mean, we're fucked" I said.
The rest of the group crawled under the blanket while Maddie carried Ellie on her shoulder. I gestured for them to stay put and signalled them to move back and stay quiet. However, their curiosity got the better of them, and they started to peek.
"What in the heavens..."
The group was in awe, seeing stars and galaxies and a nighttime sky before them, not above them. It was as if the cabin had been propelled into space, taking us along for the ride.
Thomas walked toward the broken window, ignoring my warning about the potential danger.
"Thomas, wait! It could be dangerous," I called out, but he ignored me and looked down from the window.
"What do you see?" Khaza asked, intrigued.
"It looks like the cabin is flying in space, and from the looks of it, the air inside the cabin is still present for now," Thomas explained.
I sighed in relief, realizing that Tommy was okay. However, the question remained: how much air was left inside the cabin? If the air supply was limited, we could be in danger of suffocating by now.
"Um, why the hell is that still there and hasn't moved, guys?" Maddie questioned.
"What could be more shocking than space?"
But indeed, it was just as shocking. While we levitated upwards and the place shook like an earthquake, the game of Dungeons and Danger Remained intact. The pieces of the collection hasn't even moved an inch, somehow stuck to the table like glue.
I noticed the group backing up, their unease growing as things become weirder and stranger. It was all a mystery, and I was terrified. I could sense that the rest of the group felt the same way.
Suddenly, weird and seemingly ancient symbols appeared on the round table, creating a glowing array. The hero cards from the game began to levitate and move to a certain section across the table. One card at a time shot towards different parts of the table, dividing it into six sections.
"Maddie, what's happening?" I asked, bewildered.
"You think I bloody damn know," she replied, then had a realization. "Actually, it's starting a game. Organizing a game now, what?"
"A ghost? A phantom? Some higher life form, maybe," Tommy speculated, just as confused.
"There are four cards for each player. We have a 'master of the realm' who determines the setting and outcome for each player's decisions. But at the beginning, the players have a chance to draw a hero class and customise their character's race and gender, although not their innate skills. Max, do you remember playing this with Uncle Hudson?" Maddie explained.
It seemed that she had experience with the game, but whether it was a benevolent being or a ghost moving these playing cards, I wasn't willing to take any chances. Right now, my main concern was Ellie, who was unconscious. If I was correct, we were either in space or a different dimension. A ghost wanting to play cards was the least of my worries.
Then letters appeared on the table. Khaza cautiously approached the table, though a tough appearance, I could tell that he was scared shitless.
[If you want to return to the mortal plane, to the realm of man and sin, then you must complete the campaign. That's what it says,] he read.
"Yeah, I can read sherlock " I responded sarcastically.
"Enough, you two! Whatever the end goal is, we can't back down or stay here forever in space. If this is our only chance of leaving and going back home to our family and friends, I'm willing to play black jack with the devil. Now, are you in or out?" Maddie, who had been crying just hours ago, was now taking the lead.
I wasn't jealous; I felt like this was somehow my fault, although I couldn't explain why. I hated having people rely on me when I was just as scared.
But I understood the pressure and what it felt like. If Maddie wanted to take the lead, then so be it. However, if the pressure became too much, I would have to step up or someone else would have to.
For more than fifteen minutes, we stared at the game setup. Some of us looked out the window, checking if there was any possible chance of salvation besides playing against a ghost.
We were stressed, needing time to breathe, yet we didn't really know how much time we had left, or how much air. I looked back outside at the purple and blue gas giants, casting their phantomless presence across the galaxy. There was no sight of any planet, or our home. The question of dying here was so frightening and haunting that it seemed like the possibility of that would soon come to fruition
"Maddie, I don't know what's happening, but if we need to play this game to return, then I'm willing to risk it. I'm in. I don't remember all the rules since the last time I played was years ago, so I need you to remind me," Maxwell said, looking to Maddie for guidance.
Maddie nodded. "I'm in too," Khaza surprisingly said.
"Tommy and James, are you both participating in this supernatural game?" Maddie asked. I didn't want to, as I had a feeling that something was massively wrong with the entire situation.
But I questioned myself: was this my chance to finally escape from that hellhole my house and my family? I pulled down my sleeve, revealing the one small scar on my wrist. reminder of how pathetic and scared I used to be.
I had thought that I didn't value life, but when the time came to prove my resolve in that bathroom, I knew deep down that my difficult childhood wasn't my whole life. I couldn't truly live if I allowed bad moments to overshadow the rest of my days. I refused to let one lousy moment ruin the entirety of my day. I wanted to live, to explore. I didn't want to be a coward and take the easy way out by dying in the vacuum of space. That wasn't my ideal deathbed.
"Fuck it, I'm in," I declared, determined.
"I'm in too," Tommy echoed my sentiment.
"I'm in as well," Ellie said, surprising everyone.It seemed like she had been conscious for a while now.
"Take a breath, Ellie," Maddie said.
"I want to-- I sigh* Thank you, guys. I'll make sure we win this game and get back home, back to our family, okay? If not, you can blame me. I'll take full responsibility."Maddie said her body trembling, but she moved her hand and performed a sign of the cross.