Aerie's Fallen Immortal

Chapter 36

Aerie had a sign of relief. It was great- it was luck, but she did not care.

"Lucky." Lovelock said. "But you would have to keep it up."

So the door she had chosen- the one right in front of her- was the first door. The door for 0. It would only go in clockwise direction or anti clockwise direction- that did narrow down a lot of the possibilities. But she cannot stop there- two chances down out of six. She had twenty minutes before a plan would unfold. On top of winning the game, she had to have an escape plan by then.

The cards with a special meaning. An iconic one that most people would use- other than the first one. Card 0. Something else. Aerie searched for the meaning of cards inside her head, trying her best to remember what the meaning of tarot cards were. She had barely played one game with them a few years ago. And searching inside her mind wasn't easy.

What's the thing about tarot cards? One card would be closed at random by some sort of connection. And it would tell something about you. May it be your job, family or love life. You pick the card. The card pick you.

It was much easier to draw a card at random then picking it with logic- they were all the same and meant nothing, after all. And now that she had an antidote in her hand, Aerie felt a lot more relieved, and at ease. It would be easier, and the load on her shoulders were a bit lighter.

Five minutes passed. It was blind guessing when she turned the IV card in the door where it should be if doors were arranged in anti-clockwise. The announcement rang once again, and the door did not open. Just like the first time.

Aerie sighed even though she was not extremely stressed. At least she figured out that it was arranged in a clockwise direction instead. She blind guessed again- it was much easier. And much less thinking was required. The door opened, obliviously. To her surprise, and the antidote was inside.

She didn't know if she should be happy or sad when she got the tiny box into her hands. It felt too easy to be true- there were no struggling, n fighting and no motivational speeches before she finally got it onto her hand. She smiled, for barely one second, before her mind was drowned inside the negative thoughts. The worries.

There were the chance that the antidote does not heal as expected. There were the chance that it was as what Lovelock mentioned- there were no cure in the first place.

But that should not be what she was worrying. That would be later- when the game's ended and they had the upper hand.

The fifth try. Aerie was now so smooth in the game that the game host frowned and sat to one side, which Aerie secretly appreciated the fact that she did not interfere in a nasty way, say, change the door numbers or change what's hiding behind it.

The door opened. There were nothing unexpected about it. But as the white walls reflected into her eyes, the smile on her face instantly faded. Cade was not there. The room held nothing but an empty table.

Which meant that she must go for the sixth try- the last try where Cade would still be inside his safe period. It would be the try that she made it right. She was electrified- eyes wide and hands started to sweat inside her sub-consciousness. It had to be right but which door should it be? She looked at her possibilities.

It seemed that it would be better to guess on the ones she knew- at least she knew that they would definitely open. She gulped when she stood in front of a door. The door where there were no open door on its left and right, the one that seemed to stand out because it was at the corner, seemingly digested by the dark at the corner of the room.

Aerie waited for the door to open. She couldn't help but immediately stare into the room. Aerie expected people. She expected success.

But there there was, nothing. The excitement turning into disappointment. The curiously turning into guilt.