Everything was made out of wood. The doors, windows, floorboards, ceilings. He looks up.
It was all eerily silent, and not even the thud from Javier's boots could be heard.
"I should be wary of these so-called traps-!" Javier paused
He had just stepped on something shallow and the board went in.
"Tell me this isn't a pressure plate!"
Zoom!
The first dart arrives and Javier shifts his head to his left to avoid it. "It's hard to see"
Without delay, dozen more darts came along just as quickly,
And he knew better than to stay there in silent dread.
Javier sprints forward without stopping but dart traps from every point start triggering. More pressure plates, knives and pins, flamethrowers and electricity.
"Do I have to imagine no normal person would be able to survive this?" Javier wipes his sweat. "It's a bit simple though, you just have to be faster than the traps you trigger".
Isn't it getting a little too hot in here?
He halts in front of a door. "Do these lead to other hallways or sub-instance hallway" I really don't want to open it but the hallway is endless
Javier pushes the door open. "I'm really not entering"
He just triggers another trap on the outside,
"In we go!" He dashes into the room
There was this doll sitting on a chair.
"Nope!" He runs back outside,
But he triggers more traps,
Javier opens another door and had he not moved away in time, he would have been burnt to a crisp. An explosion erupted from the room and caused everything to go up in flames. Surprisingly, nothing burnt
"Is this why it's been getting hot?". Javier unbuttons the top part of his shirt. "I shouldn't recklessly open these doors"
The fire had burnt his right hand's knuckles and it was stinging as hell. 'I can't even heal myself'
And there's no pattern to avoiding the traps.
Javier steps on another plate and immediately, a hammer the size of a whole wardrobe comes crashing down but he manages to evade it. 'I can't always dodge things like this, not everyday is sunday'
He looked at this particular entrance and thought, "This just might be the right door… ". Slightly opening the door to avoid any surprise attack but-
Shcck!!
Although he had opened the door just enough to peek inside, the needles from within forced its way outside, pushing the door open and slamming at the wall opposite to it.
Javier was there, sitting on the floor in awe. "I don't have enough lives for this"
I swear, I don't. He had a few needles stuck in his arm which he proceeded to yank right out. "This shit is ruining my coat", a scowl twists his features
" Just how many traps are in this place "
He dusts his clothes and stands up, opening more doors… this time, from behind. Only when the trap had long receded would he go over to take a look
Dinggg!! An alarm blared loudly and a sign board hung down from the ceiling right in front of Javier who had to move back to take a good look at it. He ended up triggering a trap and had to duck a whole lot of saws coming from his sides.
It's even worse when the weapons don't make any noise until they come into contact with something.
Javier tries opening his portal again and it opens! He then dips his hand inside if only he could get a sword, not anything else, but get his sword. "Agh!" His hand gets forced right out
Yeesh, it's my portal.
He looks back up at the board,
{Guest has three more chances to choose the right door. Failure to do so will lead you to be trapped. Forever..}
"Like hell..!" Javier smashed the useless board to pieces, "Why didn't you tell me I had a limited number of chances to begin with"
This is exasperating. Javier sighs, running his hand through his hair. "Three more chances eh". He looks at the remaining doors he hasn't opened…. Hm?
The doors he had opened before had already closed so he couldn't tell which was which. "You have got to be kidding me". Sweat ran down his cheek
I would have been able to point at which door I opened if not for the poor illumination. He sparks a fire in his palm
The fire extinguishes itself.
"Ugh," Javier groans. "Alright, let's calm down. Instance may whine you but no panic"
With careful steps, he strides towards the nearest door. "Three chances" he reminds himself
Just like how specters form and have ''Life'', instances like these shouldn't be any different since they are also born from the human mind.
Like the previous one we encountered where we evidently communicate with 'something' behind the entire realm, It just might be the realm itself that is alive.
Note: He's talking about the previous realm he got in where he had to answer written inscriptions on the wall.
'If that's the case'
"Give me a clue" Javier crosses his arms and looks up at the wooden ceiling
There was total silence…
The next second he sighed, a small board swished right in front of him. On the wooden board were a group of words carved with a sharp weapon.
{There shall be a clue for every door you open}
"Really?". That's much better, he relaxes, stretching his forearms. "Alright, that shouldn't be too hard to deal with.
Javier walks down the corridor trying to pick a door based on random instinct or gut feeling.
But it was as if the corridor was repeating, he frowned. There are a total of twelve doors on each side of the corridor with a small window adjacent to it.
Javier walks to the end of the hallway and right after the last door, there was a seal on the floor. As if signaling the end of it. But there was another hallway immediately after it. "This hallway is in sections". But each feels familiar…
He glanced around, but everything seemed identical.
"Not that I expected any better..". Javier dips his hand into his pocket and brings out a chocolate bar. This is probably Kelvin's doing..
Dropping the bar on the floor, he walks into the next section. Triggered the same traps he had before, but this time managed to evade them a lot easier.
"You have got to be kidding me".
Javier finds the same chocolate bar on the floor right where he had left it. Although it's bizarre, it's actually a good thing. "At least this means the hallway is not infinite" he strokes his chin.
"This means there are a total of twenty-four rooms here with twelve on each side. That makes it easier to deal with". Three chances..
In the middle of the corridor, Javier stood with his hands in his pockets. "Can I get one more chance?"
The reply came immediately with a falling board spelling, {No}
"Figured"
Bam!
A massive desk came tumbling towards Javier who had just missed it by a hair's breadth. He looks up at the ceiling, "Where are they even coming from!?"
Whoosh! Crash!
Saws and hammer came successively and attacked with precision. "I'm sorry, I won't ask such questions again". Javier said blankly
Tap..
The floor gave way, and beyond it was plain nothingness. Javier looked down in fear, and in the last second, backflipped, but just as he was about to land, a large boxing glove closed in on him from the opposite side, slamming him into a door which opened without stress and welcomed him in.
"Ugh". Javier wipes the blood dripping from the side of his mouth. I took a great impact from that glove. 'Isn't that a prank you find in cartoons'. He stands up with effort and looks around the room.
{The artisan's workshop}. Boldly written at the entryway
"Whee." He whistles and holds his stomach, walking further in. "Now, how do I get that clue-"
At the corner of the room was a crossbow aimed directly at the door, in the middle was a line of darts aimed at every point in the room, a few silly utensils that move now and then, scattered tools and unfinished projects that littered the work table.
"How do these traps trigger?".
Javier was cautious not to touch anything. "It's suffocating". Carefully, he struts around the room and avoids any contact. That was until he came across a chest, the red one was undoubtedly filled with mechanic tools from what he could tell, while the other was a treasure chest where one would think of gold coins and expensive items.
"Which of them would hold a clue?". What if the wrong one leads to a trap. Since it's an artisan's workshop, I'm guessing the clue would be in his tools, but I can't help but think it's the other chest. I mean, golden chests are always filled with rewards. My reward could be the clue.
"Let's have something else open it". Javier scans the room for a lock cracking tool. Thankfully, the boxes were in a secluded corner of the room and they didn't seem to be disappearing anytime soon.
A plier? Javier picks up the tool and suddenly thought, what a good torture instrument. Although the weapon started to shake violently upon being held. "What?"
The tool managed to break free from Javier's grasp and attack him. "Oh, don't touch the weapons". Don't touch the tools
But, how do I then open the chest? He leaves the rampaging plier for a while as he ponders on what to do. Javier had no problem dodging its attacks, but as he finds out the tool was getting too close to the machine holding the darts, "Nope" he catches and holds it firmly on its next attack.
I'm checking out the boxes whether anyone likes it or not. Although the wild plier was hard to control, Javier didn't lose his grip this time. He crouches and goes for the red chest first.
But wait, isn't red a bad color in movies? Don't go near red!
But it's where the tools are!! The tools are clues
Who gave you such ideas..
He shook the unnecessary thoughts out of his head. Here goes nothing,
"Now that I think about it, I'm yet to see a single person". If I find the exit, do I go back to the real world?
Clack!
Having broken the lock, he took deep breaths before slowly opening it..
Zoom! The tools in the box rushed at him with high speed and by a fraction of an inch, he managed to evade a few, as for the majority that went for his face, in a split second, he froze his face in ice which immediately receded, thankfully, only after the tools dropped.
Although he couldn't say much about the screwdriver that got stuck in his stomach.
Is this karma for all the times I've tortured people with a screwdriver? Was it a screwdriver he had tortured them with?. He asked himself
"Heh". Javier cackled, pulling the screwdriver out in delight, "Karma is fun"
At least now I know I should have gone for the golden box. He smacks his forehead
With the buzzing plier in hand, Javier cracked open the second lock. And immediately he did that, the room started to warp in the most unordinary way possible.
Does this mean I've chosen the actual exit on my first try? It shouldn't be that easy..
He holds his ground and rushes to open the box. As soon as he did, the force behind the warp pulled him outside the room.
"Woah! Hehe". Javier balances himself on his two feet as he is thrown back into the hallway. "Did that mean my time inside the room was up?, or you do that immediately I find the reward?". A wide grin spread across his face
Javier brings out a small brown flat finely cut and designed wood which he had snatched from within the box. "Les, I got the clue"
On the board, written in black, were the clues to the next door.
"This… makes no sense!" Eyes fixated on the board, Javier couldn't make heads or tails of whether the words written on it had any meaning, so he took a deep breath and began to think casually.
"Hmm".
{Opp tu xact door. 6 doors fwrd, hdn lck b'nith wndo. Clck, nxt door}
The only noticeable word there is Door..
"At least I can agree on the fact that it definitely doesn't want me to escape". But it isn't that bad actually, "The words are just shortened forms. The wrong way in fact"
"Opp, assume it means opposite, learnt that from math". Javier walks towards the opposite door to the one he had just come out from. "Tu, maybe to? Xact, exact? Door".
Triggers a trap which drops a hammer right above his head. Evades it, goes back to the door
"Then six doors fwrd, forward". He walks down to the sixth door from the one he was standing at. "Hdn…" nothing comes to mind… "Lck". If you pronounce that casually, it sounds like luck or lock...
There's a lock?. "B'nith.. beneath". It's good they still used a widely known language or it would have been impossible to guess.
Triggers knife traps..,
"Beneath wndo, wndoh, wendo windo- window! There's a lock beneath the window. Clck, click nxt, next door. Phew". Javier sighs in relief
He looks closely at the window and finds a slightly protruding part of it. There was a small silver lock beneath the window which he pulled on and with a click, the wall caved in, and behind the door was another door.
"Second chance. The third should take me directly to the exit".
Don't need this, do we? He keeps the board in his pocket.
"Alright." Javier opens the hidden door and
Boom!
He got blown away by an explosion and was slammed against the opposite wall
"Damn. HQ did a great job in training our reflexes cough-!". He coughs up blood
I forgot to open the door with caution. He steadily props himself up the wall. Also, didn't I open this before?
The door begins to close. "Oh no" he hurriedly strides inside with his hand over his stomach
The interior, he must say, was quite… unexpected?
What's with this sweet smell?
It was warm, and the room was filled with the thick but soothing scent of wood. A very cozy bed by the side. A glowing lantern by the table with books beside it.
"Books? Really?" He picks one and opens it. "Yeah, of course"
It was blank, the entire pages.
He sighs and drops the book, looking around.
"Hehe, I could even catch up on sleep" Javier happily skipped over and the next second, the ground gave way…
"It's like the universe is against me!"
He couldn't escape it this time. The ground had opened a few inches, but continues to spread out. Javier was caught between the gap, barely holding on as the floor continued to widen.
"I didn't learn gymnastics damnit!" He launches his upper body forward, then backwards, and flips.
The safe spot was anywhere else in the room, except where he was just standing
"Jeez". Javier avoided that death trap by the skin of his teeth. He wonders the room in search of a clue
Where exactly is that woman's husband, and possibly anyone else who's entered the alleyway.
"Hmm". Why does this room smell sweet
And it's not so spacious. Is it because of the bed? Or…
It looks like an ordinary household room. If this was my room, where would I hide something? "The bed is off limits"
Javier turns back and checks the drawer. "Oh!" In his search, he opens the second drawer, dips his hand in and picks up a board, immediately checking its contents.
{Oof. Bummer}
They're mocking me…
"It's like the smell is coming from the lantern… or not." Atop the desk by the bedside was a single beautifully carved lantern.
Should I light it? He thinks to himself, I mean there's literally a matchbox next to it.
"There are also two desks. One by the door way, and the other by the bed."
He was currently on the desk by the bedside, so he walked back to the desk by the door.
The trap hole was already back to normal. Javier checks the three drawers to find nothing.
"The books". He flips through all pages of the eight books to find nothing. "This is hopeless"
Javier cuts a piece of paper from the book and struts to the table just before the bed.
"So there are three lanterns, one on each desk, and one on the table". Only one of them is lit which is the one on the table. He places the small paper above the lantern but his hopes of seeing a hidden clue was immediately crushed.
"Ugh". Although, there's something off about the lantern, Javier thought. By its side was a protruding cover which he pulled out without hesitation, revealing a hidden piece of small paper which conveyed a very detailed message.
{By the bedside…
Illuminate the lantern's gentle glow,
A clue's revealed, but death's in tow,
Oh unwelcome stranger who sparks it's flame,
You invite annihilation, an eternal claim}
Javier: "..."
I wouldn't want to do this since the last sentence clearly spell death but. We're turning on the lantern right?
Javier crouches and lights the match box, turning on the lantern's illumination.
"Woah!" His hands almost caught on fire.
It's that sweet smell again, "Where is it coming from?" He clicks his tongue
"Do I put the clue from the first lantern over it?". He searches for any odd parts of the lantern but there were none.
Javier places the small paper over the lantern's glass, and sure enough, patterns written with invisible ink begin to appear, only after the ink from the already read clue starts to disappear. "Please tell me this is not what I think it is"
After making sure there were no more messages within the paper, he stood up, the clue clutched within his grasp. It's starting to get unbearable…
"It has the scent of garlic". As he pondered, he realized, "The stench hit me the moment I stepped inside. My hands reeks of it, and strangely, so do the books "
I suppose my palms only started to smell after I touched the books.
Javier had a sense of foreboding welling up inside of him.
Turning back slowly, his gaze fell upon the once in place books now hovering in the air. He felt his heart get lodged in his throat
What was the name of that unpurified gas that smells like garlic?. He starts to make a run for it
The books launched at not him, but the lanterns.
"The pages in the books are infused with ethyne!!"
Javier had reached the door right before the books touched the lanterns. But to his utter dismay, he finds the door locked.
Smiling wryly, he turns his head in trepidation. "What kind of second rate horror movie trope is this"