House of Trap

03 | Zodiac Code (Part 2)

                  

The sunlight barely shone through the bright yellow tinted glasses when morning arrived. The unwilling participants would've lost all track of time if it weren't for the mental clock integrated in their body and mind and the watch possessed by some. It was hard to tell day and night apart when the atmosphere remained dim and mysterious by the passing hours.

"Morning," Jay mumbled as he entered the dining room. He found several others eating breakfast, which had been prepared without anyone's knowledge. "If we didn't have to play the games and risk our lives, this would've made a pretty good homestay."

"Except that we do have to play the games and risk our lives," Natasha repeated, pulling the empty seat beside her for him.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked, noticing the dark eye bag under her eyes. No matter how tough she may seem, he knew she wasn't mentally strong enough to face the games. It worried him.

"Shirley allowed me to use her bed, but I couldn't sleep," answered the girl who decided to sleep with a female friend to keep her company. "Oh, woe is me! I am too young to die. I haven't even made it to Broadway yet! I haven't even graduated yet."

"Tell me about it." Harvey was busy rearranging the plate in front of him, trying out different poses as one hand held unto his smartphone. "I am nearing my four million followers on Instagram, and they have to survive a whole day without my updates. Woe are they."

The others weren't exactly sure how to respond to his incredible and quite admirable narcissism. It took great skills to be so oblivious to the surrounding danger and be so full of oneself.

"So, does anyone have a good way out to escape?" Ashlyn continued last night's discussion. She finished her third round of toast while everyone else were still working on their first one.

"Once we get to the swimming pool, we shall see what options we have. Or else we can all take a swim and cool our heads off," Mark suggested with a grin. It was probably a normal suggestion, but the way he said things and smiled  had an untrustworthy connotation to it.

"Ha.. Ha... I am not getting in that pool with you unless my life depended on it." Ashlyn gave him a disgusted look.

"Ironic, considering we aren't the ones to judge what happens to our lives anymore," Mark shrugged and took a bite from his toast. No matter how frivolous he acted in front of others, inside he was just as scared and frightened as they were. But there had to be at least one person strong enough so the fear wouldn't overshadow the others.

Ashlyn shook her head, brushing her long locks off her shoulders. She picked up her plate and took it to the kitchen, assuming they had to clean up after themselves. But once inside the semi cramped area, she noted Shirley standing against a cabinet, anxiously biting her nails with a face so pale like she had seen a ghost.

"Are you okay?" The younger one asked worriedly, rushing over to set the dirty plates in the sink.

"Oh Ashlyn, I have to show you something." Shirley's voice trembled, terribly. She grabbed the younger one by the hand and led her to her knees. With arms quivering as if she had been trapped in a block of ice, Shirley opened one of the drawers and took out the steel bottle.

Ashlyn inspected the item, growing more confused when she saw the bunch of numbers and letters scribbled on the paper attached to it. She looked at her friend for an explanation.

"It's strychnine."

The revelation aroused a sudden panic and fear in Ashlyn's system. She may not know its effect scientifically, but she was a linguistic major who had to read numerous literature work as part of her assignment. Strychnine was no stranger in the literary world as it was commonly used to kill fictional characters off. It was a deadly poison.