Opening the door to our next game, we are greeted with white room covered by ice everywhere with a mechanical coffin in the middle of it. It is human-sized with a metal plate on top of it. We do not know who or what is inside that box, but we already feel uneasy about opening that lid.
“What now?” Eve asked me as she stood beside me with her hands folded together. She was clearly nervous about the ominous coffin. It was obvious that she did not want to open the box and see what was inside.
The speaker returned, Finn sounded more excited than ever before, “congratulations, you guys made it and neither of you cheated, although it was rather boring for the three of you to sprint through the glass bridge,” he laughed jovially before continuing.
“See that coffin?” Finn dramatically paused briefly before speaking in a serious tone, “one of you have to enter that box to die! That is super cool, isn’t it guys?!” The boy’s excitement grew louder and more exuberant, “and since there aren’t any rules except for the fact that one of you has to step into the box, there will be no time limit to choose,” he added with a giggle.
Hughie gulped and looked at me with concern on his face, “his kidding right?” he asked me with wide eyes. I shook my head slowly while Eve remained silent as she stared at the coffin.
“I am not joking,” Finn stated seriously again, “now which one of you wants to go first?” he asked as he waited for us to answer, “perhaps that woman over there, Eve right? I find females deliciously lovely and tasty,” Finn giggled, causing her to be disgusted by his comment.
“Well?” Finn demanded again with annoyance, “who is going to be the lucky one to jump in there and be microwaved to death so I can have a fresh meal? If neither of you three have chosen yet, then this will do…” As the speaker cut off, the walls on each side slowly started to close in to us, approaching every second to reach and crush us.
“Hey! Hey! Wait! Stop!” Hughie screamed with desperation and panic, “Adam!” He fearfully turned to me, “think something man! I do not want to die, I need to see my sister again!”
I sigh in disbelief, the sounds and presence of the walls are closing in on us. Glancing around, there is no way as every room we enter is automatically locked, and seemingly; there is no door behind that mechanical coffin.
As much it pains me to do this, I need to sacrifice Hughie for Eve and me to survive. It was never easy to resort to questionable action but unfortunately this circumstance forces me to take desperate measures to get out alive.
To make things easier, I took out my pocket watch at him, swinging it back and forth as he quickly went into a trance state that was caused by my hypnotic spell. His voice became quiet and subdued, “Hughie, enter the coffin and sacrifice for us,” I commanded him calmly, knowing full well how this was going to play out.
Hughie nodded in response then walked towards the coffin. As he reached the coffin’s entrance, I saw Eve looking at me with concern, causing me to put my pocket watch inside my pockets before holding her hand tightly.
“It’s okay, it’s okay….” I said with assurance, trying to comfort her as I watched the wall approach closer and closer until the coffin slammed shut on top of Hughie’s body, forcing the walls around us to stop by the sudden action.
As soon as it happened, I felt the heat rising from the coffin, we could hear screaming coming from within. I held Eve’s hand tightly, watching him being microwaved alive to death. For what appeared like minutes, but in fact was only seconds; I stared at the coffin’s window glass staring at the boiling man.
When the moment I focused on his boiling and burnt face, a flash of memory replaced him with my child appearance, staring straight at me with nothing but its own haunting and agonizing display.
“Your fault! Your fault! YOUR FAULT!” The hollow child version of me continued yelling at me, its dying expression was filled with nothing but pure misery and hatred for me. My mind began to drift away from reality as I tried to escape from what was happening.
“You made him suffer for you… You did that.” A different voice spoke out loud, sounding like a woman’s, which confused me for a minute until I realized it was me speaking to myself. “He sacrificed his life for you…” Another voice joined hers, this time a man. They were both getting louder before they started to laugh hysterically.
“HA HA HA!” The voices laughed wildly, scaring me off. HIS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU! HE WILL NEVER SEE HIS SISTER AGAIN! HA HA HAH! AND IT WAS ALL YOUR FAULT!” They continued laughing loudly and cackling uncontrollably.
Even though I am experiencing these hallucinations, it was too much for me. The reminder of seeing this distorted child version of me were unbearable and torturous for me to look at. My eyes began to feel the scorching burning and blur from my unshed tears when the voices kept laughing madly in my head.
Trying to ignore the terrible scene playing in front of me, I screamed in agony as I place my knees on the floor, tearfully sobbing while staring down at the ground in complete despair. I cried out loudly, covering my ears with both hands as a desperate attempt to block out the noise.
“Adam! Whats wrong?! Adam?!” Eve went to my side, kneeling down at my level as she comforted me, “Adam..” Her distressed face looks into mine as her eyes shimmer with tears, sympathizing what I am going through.
“I know how you feel.” She whispered while rubbing my back gently, “I am right here with you.”
I hate myself, I hate myself, I hate myself… these are the same thoughts that now run in my head repeatedly. How could I do that? Why did I choose that path? It was all because of me… Because of my selfishness…Because of my greed.
There is no turning back, but what must be done to have Eve and me survive this ordeal was necessary…it was inevitable. But I cannot give up, not now, not here. The thought of giving up is never an option for me, because my legs are still moving forward despite everything that happened. If I stop walking now, then the nightmare will never end for us.
“Bravo!” The boy’s voice came through the speaker, “you two did it! Although, it was cool what you did there, having him enter the coffin! To bad his dead now as I loved hearing my victims scream in agony, there are like music to my ears,” he giggled wickedly.
Standing up and rubbing my teary eyes, I can see the full display of his body when the coffin’s door opened by itself; revealing a husky and burnt corpse of Hughie inside. He was completely unrecognizable except for his hair which was still black and his teeth remained intact. His face was charred and melted off his skull but was somehow still recognizable as a human being.
“Adam, are you okay?” Eve stood up, hugging my arm as she looked at my worn-out face, knowing that I was probably exhausted from all of this mess. “Yeah…” My voice cracked as I looked away from the sight of the corpse.
“Good job guys! You made it!” The boy said happily from the speakers of the room we were trapped in, “our next game will be about the-” I cut him off, finally having the decision to speak with him instead of remaining silent and binding the time.
“Finn, don’t you think it is unfair for us to keep going? Because from the way it is going, these games are getting boring from every moment? We have already played through this three times now and I am tired of this game. There is no fun anymore in this, Finn.”
“This is my games mister!” Finn snapped angrily, “if you want a challenge then stay there until your body dies from hunger and thirst for all I care, but this is my house and I shall decide how much of a challenge is enough!”
I sighed heavily. Taking out a cigar from my pockets and lighting it with a lighter, I took a deep drag into it before blowing smoke out of the side of my mouth, the air stinging my dry lips. “You know what is better alternative, Finn? Talking with us face to face in regard of the games you are making, would it better to listen and work together like true friends would do instead of enemies? We are friends, right Finn?” My words begin to seep into his mind slowly but surely.
“Friends huh… That’s interesting,” Finn spoke quietly as I saw him thinking about it. “What makes you think that we are friends?” He asked curiously.
“It is simple,” I replied with a smirk as I puffed my cigar again, “because I enjoyed playing your games Finn, and knowing your name; I believe you are a smart and well-informed child that would hear us out. Trust me, would it not be better to finally have some real friends working along side with than continuing this whole shtick?” The persuasive statement was convincing to a high degree.
“I guess you are right…” Finn muttered sadly, “alright, I’ll let you guys in then!” His tone flashed with excitement as I suddenly heard the door opening beneath us as we fall to the dark abyss of whatever lies beyond.
We safely landed on a soft surface, although I was confused for seconds; it was quickly replaced with shock that we landed ourselves in a dirty basement with mutilated female corpses lying on the ground. The sight made me want to gag uncontrollably, holding onto Eve tightly to prevent myself from fainting.
“I got you,” she whispered as her hands stroked my back softly, “don’t worry, just take a deep breath Adam.” She held me closely, nodding my head weakly from what we landed ourselves into. The stench was terrible, yet I try to make it not bother me as much. I need to grow accustomed to this sort of gruesome sight and smell.
“I am fine,” I lied to her reassuringly, pushing my forward as I let her go, “let’s go meet that psycho,” hearing my answer, she nodded with a smile as we walked forward, stepping over the dead bodies that were scattered across the floor.
Some had their limbs torn off, the eyes ripped out of their sockets, some had their heads severed completely and placed aside like garbage on the wall. Some of them looked to be tortured and beaten before they died horribly.
But the most disturbing detail is the fact that they are nearly all freshly killed as they were merely kidnapped days or weeks ago. Whatever the case, we are going to meet Finn and bring him to the police for the crimes he committed.
“We are here,” I said, stopping just at the front of heavy and big, metallic door; “its us, Finn! We would like to discuss our friendship and such,” I yelled behind his door while knocking loudly on it with my fist. After waiting for a few seconds without any response from inside, the door automatically opened where we saw what was supposed to be Finn himself.
He was sitting on what appears to be a large control desk with futuristic screens and composes in front of him, along with the appearance of an eleven-year-old boy wearing casual clothes while appearing to hold a paper plate and eating what might be cooked human meat.
“Finn?” I asked, making him turn his chair at us, facing our direction and looking surprised for a moment. Then he smiled and laughed aloud.
“Well, it took a bit longer than expected,” he chuckled as he stood, placing the plate down on his chair, wiping his lips with a napkin before lazily dropping it on the floor as he on us again. “I am so happy to have you guys understand my point of view! Most of the adults are always boring or in tune with how I do things here!”
I gritted my teeth, in both disbelief and shocked of what I am merely witnessing. Finn, the murderous and insane lunatic is standing in front of us. A child at that age should not become something like…this, but then again, children are still capable of becoming evil and wicked as much as adults are.
Within an earshot, Eve took a step forward, seemingly ready to kill but I stopped her with a gesture of my arm, “Eve, no. Let me do the talking,” I whispered to her calmly. She nodded in agreement while glaring at Finn with killing intent.
Taking another puff of my cigar, I decided to do what I intended to happen, by breaking his mind with just nothing but my words alone. Yet, it still pains me to do this someone, especially as terrible as he is, human beings are capable of change…but I am no damn saint or superhero, just a guy who follows whatever his heart tells him to.
“You said that your mother was a lovely person, was she not?” The sudden pressure of this question made Finn taken aback from my voice. His eyes widened and mouth slightly parted.
“Huh? What is this supposed to mean? “he replied simply, “your funny mister, why are you bringing-” I interrupted him by walking next to a table with a picture of what appears to be his mother who shares the identical appearance of Finn, “this is your mother…what a beautiful maiden,” I grabbed the handheld frame, causing him to react in uncertain display.
“Hey that is-“
I cut him off while expecting the frame in the grasp of my hand, “Is it true that you killed your mother for selfish reasons? Was it the abuse that made you commit such atrocities? The money that made her leave you or were the internal feelings that had built up inside you have caused you to hurt her more? Or perhaps it was because you wanted to escape reality or find some sort of comfort that drove you to withdraw her life.”
I paused for a moment, taking a quick glance at him, the boy was shivering uncontrollably and sweating profusely. It was evident that he had never felt the darkness closing him, like how his victims felt when their lives slowly drained out from them.
“What a terrible and heavy sin you have,” I turn to him, still holding the frame, “will it depart when the moment you wither and die, that she would welcome you to her loving embrace? How will you face the woman that gave birth to you? The darkness that is currently gripping you now is nothing compared to what is waiting for you after death. Do you think you would ever be able to forgive yourself for doing such an evil act? Tell me Finn, how would she say?” Hearing my correspondence presentation, Finn fell back on the ground as he stared down at the floor, continuously shaking while embracing himself from the dreadful emotions building inside of him.
I squinted my eyes at his trembling form, he can feel that dark abyss closing all around him like walls surrounding him. He knew deep within his soul that there is no escaping it, he can only wait until it consumes him into oblivion.
The words struck a nerve and pierced his heart. I could see the extreme fear and agony in his eyes, Finn was panting heavily under his breath while trying not to scream out loud in desperation. It was hurting not just his soul, but the entire mind and body as well.
My lips curved into an evil grin, “Finn…” he looked up with teary eyes, a pit of despair and madness staring straight at me. I then extend my arm with the frame of his mother towards him as the wind blew quietly around us, “she is here, come and look at her. Your mother has something to say to you.”
