House of Trap

02 | Zodiac Code (Part 1)

Twelve pair of eyes stared at the TV monitor with mixed reactions. The question was rhetorical in nature; the option to not play was non existent. So they remained in their silent deficiency.

"Let's start the first game," the Game Master continued speaking. "One of the dishes on the table does not belong. Can you figure out the one that is wrong?"

With that, the screen faded to blackness and turned off on its own. Instead of starting the game or trying to find its answer, they exchanged terrified glances with each other.

"I don't wanna play anymore." Natasha was the first one to break the silence. She abruptly got on her feet, shifting the chair backwards with a piercing sound. Anyone could notice she was trying to hold her tears and failing hard.

"Where are you going?" Shirley asked the girl worriedly, afraid she'd end up doing something stupid.

"Home!" Natasha stomped her feet out of the dining room and strolled out. The dining room was located next to the grand staircase which connected to the front door entrance.

Silence fell on them once again, but it took Jay no longer than a second to get up and follow his friend.

"Drama queen." Ashlyn rolled her eyes and scoffed a mocking laugh.

Damon slammed the knife on the table, linking his arms behind his head and breathed an annoyed grunt. The girl next to him was already hyperventilating as her fingers frantically smashed the number pad on her phone, and it made him more restless.

"Mom, pick up," Ginny chanted a prayer, placing her phone against her ears. The free spirited look on her face was replaced by an expression full of sorrowful dejection. "I'm sorry I hung up on you. Please pick up the phone."

"They cut off the network connections," Damon repeated again, only this time, he knew it was for a different reason. This was starting to become a very disturbing game. Seeing Ginny break down in tears, he knew she wasn't mentally strong enough to survive it.

"Who is behind all this?" Mark questioned, eyes scanning around the room to find some sort of clue.

Oliver didn't say a word and began moving on his own. He dragged his chair along with him across the carpet based floor, and set it right below the TV.

"What are you doing?" Mark furrowed his eyebrows.

"Checking for any cables or receptors to see where the TV is connected to. Maybe we could trace it and find out the location of the Game Master," Oliver relaid his answer as a small mumble when he got up on the chair and reached out to the back of the TV. "Oh?"

"What? What's wrong?" Harvey was immediately alerted by that small reaction. He turned around from his chair at the very far edge to watch the other one work.

"I should've known." Oliver lightly jumped off the chair and dusted his hands off. "It's wireless. The Game Master probably used some bluetooth connection as the transmitter."

"Meaning he can control it from anywhere," Ashlyn followed his findings, and the guy nodded.

Again, they fell silent and thought of ways to avoid playing the game.

"Maybe we should go along with these games and see what happens," Ethan then proposed an idea, so simple, so stupid, and yet the only solution they had.

***

"Natasha!" Jay didn't know how many times he had called out to her name as he raced her towards the front door. He didn't want her to discover the same horror he had noticed before. She would break down.