My eyes shot open. I was in a clear, underground pool, about four by six feet. It was contained by glass and bathed in a soft blue light. I kicked upward, breaking above the surface just in time to see the panel close above me, slotting in with the rest of the four panels that made up the ceiling. My first instinct was to force one open. My feet could touch the glass base of the pool, so I had some leverage. But it was useless. There was nothing to grip on the panels, and all I achieved was two sore hands. Nothing budged in the slightest.
I felt a thud against the glass beneath my feet. It drew my attention downward for the firsttime.
It was all I could do to not scream.
Another container of water lay beneath mine—separated by the sheet of glass—and a large, round mouth lined with rows of jagged teeth had latched onto the other side, its rubbery lips sucking against the surface.
The creature was like a warped version of a piranha, only far more terrifying than any I’d ever seen in the jungle. It looked large enough to tear off my leg. A snakelike tongue darted between its spiked teeth, licking at the glass. Its round, dirt-brown body reminded me of a puffer fish as it heaved, then contracted, as though it were increasing its suction.
It was.
A hairline crack appeared on the glass.
Before I could scream, the male voice returned, emanating from somewhere within the small tank.
“You have approximately five minutes before the glass breaks,” it informed me, its tone flat. “Answer four questions correctly, and the ceiling will open.”
“Questions?” I gasped.
The voice didn’t answer, but when I gazed wildly around the small room, looking for anything I’d missed before, I spotted a mini rectangular screen illuminating on the wall opposite me, above the water’s surface.
A message flashed up:“Touch the screen to begin.”
I rushed over and pressed a trembling finger to its smooth surface, my skin tingling at the sound of the creature’s muffled suckling.
More instructions followed:“Answer four questions correctly before the timer runs out. Speak your answers. You may say ‘pass’ for any questions you do not wish to answer.”
A timer then appeared on the top right-hand corner of the screen. Its current reading: 4 minutes 19 seconds.
I’d already lost over half a minute.
The screen went black for a split second, then lit up with the first question:
“I am full of holes but also full of liquid. What am I?”
The question was a riddle.
I frowned hard, trying to think. But the sucking beneath my feet sounded like it was growing louder. The answer wasn’t immediately obvious to me, so I said in a shaking voice: “Pass.”
The screen lit up red, then presented me with the word:
“Sponge.”
I could have smacked my head against the wall. The answer seemed obvious in hindsight.
The next question flashed up:
“I become wet while drying. What am I?"
I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself to forget the monster attempting to break in and eat me, andthink. But again, nothing was coming to me… save for the image of the fish’s greedy, lashing tongue.
“Pass.”
“Towel.”
Dammit. FOCUS!
My eyes shot to the timer—the reading now 3 minutes 31 seconds—and a coldness settled into my core. Ihadto get this next one.
