Downstairs, the tension hadn't lessened. Jake stood up, his face flushed with frustration and anger.
"Someone better tell me who the hell did this!" he yelled, his voice filled with rage.
Natalie stepped forward, her hands raised. "Okay, guys, if anyone here is behind this, just come clean. There's no point in dragging this out."
Chloe shook her head, frustration clear on her face. "Why would any of us do this? What's the point?"
Noah, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up, his voice calm but stern. "Jake, you know us. We wouldn't do something like this. If none of us did it, then who's behind this?"
Jake sighed heavily, rubbing his temples in frustration. "I don't know what to believe anymore. If none of us did this, then someone's seriously screwing with us."
Chloe shrugged, crossing her arms tightly. "We don't know, Jake. That's what makes this whole thing so creepy."
Feeling fed up, Jake grabbed another card from the pile and read it aloud with disbelief. "Hurt your knees with a rod," he read, scoffing. "What kind of twisted game is this?"
Everyone stared at him, stunned. Noah rolled his eyes, clearly over the ridiculousness of the situation.
"Hurt your knees? Who comes up with this crap?"
Natalie shook her head, her voice exasperated. "I didn't write that."
Ethan added quickly, "Neither did I."
Chloe echoed the same. "I didn't either."
Frustrated and unable to deal with it anymore, Jake muttered under his breath. "Whatever, I'm going upstairs," he said angrily, storming off.
But just as he reached the top, he misstepped. Before he could react, he slipped, and suddenly he was tumbling backward, falling down the stairs...
His body twisted awkwardly as he rolled down, each thud of his body hitting the stairs more painful than the last.
AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
His scream echoed through the house, sending chills down everyone's spine.
Everyone in the living room jumped to their feet and rushed toward the stairs. Upstairs, Ava and Lily heard the scream and bolted down, their hearts pounding in fear.
When they all gathered at the bottom of the stairs, what they saw froze them in place. Jake was lying on the floor, blood spilling from his legs.
His knees were a mangled mess, and his face was twisted in agony as he screamed and writhed in pain.
"Ah, my leg! It's killing me!" Jake wailed, his voice thick with fear.
Natalie, Noah, Chloe, and Ava rushed to his side, trying to help, but the sight of Jake's bloody, broken knees left Lily and Ethan in shock, unable to move or speak.
"What the hell just happened?" Noah's voice was a mix of fear and anger.
Chloe knelt beside Jake, her face pale as she tried to assess the damage. "Jake, does it hurt badly?"
Jake's screams were all the answers she needed. Noah and Ethan rushed over to help, each taking one of Jake's arms, trying to support him.
Ethan's face was pale with panic. "Jake, can you stand? We need to get you off the floor!"
Jake winced, shaking his head violently. "No, I can't. It's too much. It hurts so bad!" he sobbed.
Noah glanced at Ethan. "Leave him, I'll carry him to the couch," he said, making a quick decision.
With surprising strength, Noah scooped Jake up in a bridal style and carefully carried him to the living room couch, laying him down as gently as possible. Jake's face was still contorted with pain, his legs shaking uncontrollably.
Lily rushed over, tears streaming down her face. "Jake, what happened to you? How did you get hurt?"
Jake groaned, clutching his legs. "I fell... I slipped... It was an accident," he cried, clearly in unbearable pain.
Chloe leaned closer, examining his knees. Her eyes widened in horror. "They're broken... We need to get him to a hospital right away, or the pain's just going to get worse."
Noah nodded. "I'll carry him to the car. Let's go!"
Ava dashed to open the door, but when she pulled the handle, nothing happened. Her face turned pale. "What? Why isn't it opening?"
Lily, panic rising in her chest, rushed to the door as well and tried pulling it herself. "It's locked! How? We didn't lock it!"
Ethan, his face filled with frustration, yelled, "Does anyone have the keys?"
"We don't have any!" Lily shouted back, the desperation clear in her voice.
Natalie stepped up, pushing them aside. "Let me try." She grabbed the knob and yanked hard. With a loud snap, the doorknob broke off in her hand. The group froze in shock.
"What the hell did you just do?" Noah snapped, his voice filled with anger.
Natalie held up the broken knob, her voice trembling. "I didn't do anything! It just broke off!"
Noah growled in frustration, storming toward the door. "Move! Let me break this damn thing!" He kicked the door with all his strength, but it didn't even budge. He kicked again, and again, but nothing worked.
Meanwhile, Ava ran toward the back door, hoping for a way out, but it, too, was locked. She banged on it, her voice filled with frustration. "What the hell is going on? Why are all the doors locked?"
Lily pointed at the window, her voice shaking. "The window! Try the window!"
She rushed to the nearest one and tried to pry it open, but it was stuck. Anger boiled up inside her, and in a fit of rage, she screamed, "WHO LOCKED ALL THE DOORS AND WINDOWS?"
Ava, not wasting any time, grabbed a nearby chair and hurled it at the window. It hit the glass with a loud bang but didn't even crack.
Ethan stared at the window in disbelief. "What the hell? Why isn't the glass breaking?"
They spent the next few minutes trying everything—doors, windows—but nothing worked. They were trapped.
Noah, exhausted from trying to force the door open, slumped to the floor, breathing heavily.
"My leg… it's getting worse," Jake moaned, his face ashen with pain.
Lily's panic was now full-blown. "We can't stay in here! I'm not letting Jake die because of this!"