Escape the night

The Ungodly Machine

The walk from the living room to the basement feels like a walk to the guillotine, so Lele figures she might as well pass the time with pep talks. You've got this, she tells herself. You're gonna make it. You've got Eva freakin' Gutowski on your side. Unless iJustine suddenly develops Einstein-level intelligence, you'll be fine.

But five seconds after she enters the basement, all of her hard-earned confidence evaporates faster than an ice cube in Hawaii.

"Are you serious?"

The ungodly machine-now she understands why the hell they call it that-is a giant, demonic contraption that takes up half of the dimly-lit basement. There are two large glass chambers, each large enough for a person to fit inside, as well as a rusty-looking engine about the size of a small elephant. Not far from those are two control panels, each with at least twenty-two wires sticking out from under them. Lightbulbs, containers, and weird tool-like things are scattered around the room, and there are enough screws, levers, and buttons to equip every mad scientist in the tri-state area.

"This is like Saw!" Lele shouts, her voice bouncing around the cavernous room.

Next to her, Eva's previously-determined expression has morphed into genuine concern. "Until Dawn..."

Lele feels sick. She's seen this stuff in movies-creepy basements, torture chambers, innocent people trapped in some sicko's twisted game. Nobody ever comes out alive.

She regrets coming here tonight.

"Ladies." Arthur faces the girls, his back to the machine, his arms extended. "Welcome to the ungodly machine."

Lights flash. Andrea flinches, but somehow manages to keep a straight face. Calm. Stay calm. It's gonna be okay. Don't think about monsters, don't think about dying, don't...

"Why do you even have this down here?" Lele, unlike Andrea, is not even trying to hide her emotions; fear, anger, confusion, and a dash of hatred dance across her face. She'd probably spit in the face of Death itself if she had the chance.

Arthur ignores Lele's outburst. "Please, read the directions."

Lele makes a grab for the open notebook in the corner, but Eva gets there first.

To free the artifact from the bowels of the machine, it must be forced into malfunction. The machine is started by placing the cog key in the center console.

The two guests selected by vote must be locked in separate glass chambers. Their partners will have thirty minutes to try and disrupt the machine. If either side causes a malfunction, their respective chamber will open. However, the other chamber will fill with a noxious gas, killing the guest whose partner was not quick enough.

If after thirty minutes the machine has not malfunctioned, both guests will be killed by the machine and a monster will emerge.

No. Andrea struggles not to scream. She knew it, she knew it, she knew there was some sort of creature skulking about this God-forsaken house. And now, if Eva and Justine fail to complete whatever awful puzzle lies before them, Andrea's nightmares really will become reality.

And yeah, if that happens, she won't be around to see it, because she and Lele will both be dead by then. But what about Justine? Or Eva? Or the six people waiting upstairs?

The last thing she wants is for her friends to be eaten alive by an ungodly monster.

Well. It's happened. Lele's locked in a freakin' glass chamber, watching Eva and Justine fiddle around with their manuals, hoping against hope that this crazy Saw scenario won't go all Jigsaw on her ass.