House of Trap

12 | The Discovery

"Jay!"

The guy was met by the sight of Natasha hiding pathetically under the kitchen counter, trying her best to find shelter within the dark shadow. Her cheeks were tinted red and her eyes dull with the endless amount of tears she had cried. She removed herself from her safe haven, running up to embrace her arms around him. She was shaking, trembling, completely petrified.

"You came for me," she muttered nearly incoherently, mumbling others things as she broke out in tears.

"Of course I would," Jay replied weakly. His voice was exhausted, and he truly was, wondering whether he had made the right choice. His eyes stared at the countdown timer on the TV screen in the dining room that was visible from the kitchen. Exactly five seconds remained, so Jay hurried to bring Natasha out of the kitchen first.

The moment their feet stepped into the dining room, the counter hit a bloody zero, and a loud explosion was heard throughout the entire mansion. The ground was quivering along, and he had to hold unto Natasha with one hand, sustaining them both against the door frame as the damage was dealt. It took several seconds for the floors to stabilize, and Jay quickly peered into the kitchen. There was no damage, everything was in its perfect condition.

Fear sunk in him, for he knew, he had sought after the wrong decision.

Doors were unlocked one by one by an unknown unforeseen force. Everyone felt the eerie shaking of the ground beneath their feet like the Earth had shifted from its core point. Then it was followed by a loud boom, a sound so frightening they could not even comprehend it in the back of their mind. Everyone knew where it stemmed from. And as soon as the doors opened, they all headed to the same destination.

Ethan walked along the corridors that encased the basement, being the furthest one to reach the restroom on the second floor. His eyes widened in a mixture of fear and anger when, from the right side of the grand staircase, he watched Jay appearing with his arm supporting Natasha around her shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, nearly shouting.

Jay was silenced, not knowing of a good way to justify his action. To anyone with logical reasoning, he may appear as the bad guy. But to him who genuinely wanted to protect a friend, he was the hero.

"He saved me," Natasha answered on his behalf.

"You're not the one who needed to be saved!" There was an uncontrollable tremble in Ethan's voice. The stare in his gaze was frightening and desperate, which he yanked away from the pair as he scurried upstairs with startling speed. He nearly tripped over his own feet, but quickly regained his pace.

When he arrived at the second floor, he watched the others hovering together in front of the restroom door. There was a deep sadness encompassed on their eyes. He was at a momentary loss, his pupils distant when he took feeble steps to join their huddle. The restroom door was wide open, and the closer he approached, the more horror his sight absorbed.

Mark's body was lying on the floor with his shoulders and upper body leaning against the wall. He looked limp and boneless, positioned in such a way that defied the human anatomy. His head was arched back, twisted horribly from his neck and stretched to an angle not pleasant to the eye. Sharp white pieces of broken porcelain shards were punctured into different parts of his body. The depth of shards delved into his flesh slithered his skin, ripping it open, raw and bare. It penetrated so deep it kept the blood in place; the pressure prevented too much from flowing out.

The most notable pieces were the ones gashed on his face. A particular long and hazardous piece was lunged into his wide open eye. It ruptured his eyeball, like a foreign item that did not belong. One could still read the fear and anticipation of death in his dilated pupils. There was a frozen track of tears painting the side of his cheeks, stabbed by smaller pieces of porcelain fragments. His lips were parched with blood, wide open from his final pleas for Jay to arrive. But those cries were cut short when a broken piece impaled his throat, right above his Adam's apple. It was painful to keep chanting those silent prayers when his friend had long abandoned him. Another pierce to his heart was what finally eased him from his miserable agony.