House of Trap

25 | Last Judgment

Maddie was terrified beyond belief, never expecting herself to be trapped in this murderous situation. It wasn't Ashlyn. The Game Master had been Damon all along, and she had foolishly discussed her plans and observations with this psychopath.

There was only one pathway leading to the bus that was blocked by Damon. The other way out was to return to the house, but she'd rather not lead Damon towards an injured Ethan. They'd both be powerless against him. Yet, her feet nimbly stepped backwards. Every single step she distanced herself with, he'd close in with his leisure walk.

"There can only be one winner," Damon spoke. His tone was much more diabolical and twisted than he had ever presented himself as. He juggled the bloody rock in his hand.

Maddie failed to see the small pebble behind her and lost her balance. She fell backwards in the most disgraceful way. The black notebook fell from her bag.

"That won't be you, Madison Williams." Damon was towering over the poor lamb lying helplessly on the floor. She was trapped within his shadow, and he enjoyed the fear on her face. His hand readjusted his position around the rock, measuring how to create the most convenient kill.

The girl was holding in her breath, holding in her tears, and holding on to her dear life. She shut her eyes and blocked her face using her arms. It was her final attempt of defense, though she knew it would be useless.

But seconds passed by, and she heard the stone fall against the ground instead. It was followed by some weird noise made by Damon, like he was choking on something.

Maddie lowered her arms and dared herself to watch the sight unfold. The guy was constricting his own neck and snatching for some breath. He looked at her with eyes that nearly popped out of its socket. His veins were intensely pressed against his skin. The gagging sounds he made was disturbing in the sense she wanted to throw up just by listening to it.

"H... Help..."

He stretched a hand toward her, but Maddie was so frightened she retracted her entire body into a ball instead. She watched in confusion when Damon began hyperventilating, kneeling down on the floor against his own will. He slowly began to lose all strength within him and fell down against the floor. His body was trembling like a possessed person as white foam spewed out from his parched lips.

Then he stopped moving.

After several seconds, his face had a pale blueish color. The veins were pressed against his skin as a faded decaying color. His eyes were still wide open, and showed nothing but horror and panic in his pupils. His chapped lips were purple, which she failed to notice in the dark room.

It must be the effect of the strychnine poison that accumulated in his system. She had no idea how much time she had left before she would experience the same fate.

Her consciousness slowly regained, but Maddie was too fearful to move ahead on her own. She had to retrieve Ethan who was lucky enough not to witness this brutality. So she picked up the black notebook and opened the door to the house of trap once more.

But the room was empty.

"Ethan?" The girl questioned, hearing her voice echo back in the resonance of the empty room. Her fear was replaced by worries. She had to find Ethan.

She probably wasn't thinking when she opened the door wider, allowing herself to enter back into the wretched house. Her feet dragged her through the familiar pavements she had walked on, passing the baptism font, and going through the door to once again enter the corridors at the west wing. The maroon colored carpet and the eerie paintings greeted her back. She let her finger linger against the vintage wallpaper decorating the wall, its rough texture pressing against the soft skin of her finger. Maddie felt her heart ramming against her chest as she followed the path back.