Hug the right, but always go left.
The same familiar click of the lock sounds behind me, reminding me I’m not the only person playing this game. If I don’t hurry, I could lose, and after everything I’ve already been through, I’d really appreciate the payout at the end for surviving. Clinging to Jagger’s words of caution, I push forward and take a left while fighting my fight or flight response as if my life depends on it.
“Come on. You can do this,” I whisper to myself.
Fingers trembling, I press the button next to the door with the red light. The scraping of metal grates on me like before. It also confirms my earlier assumption of its purpose. As I step inside the room, the door locks behind me, and my body jerks in surprise. It must be spring-loaded. Which means there’s no going back. Not anymore. I peek over my shoulder, second-guessing my decision to trust Jagger’s words of wisdom. If he steered me wrong, I’m seriously going to lose it. Scratch that. I’m already losing it.Keep going.The room is pitch black. For now. The red light hasn’t come on again yet, and boy, am I missingthat light. I blink quickly in hopes of speeding up the time it takes for my eyes to adjust to the contrasting lights.
On.
Chain link splits the already small, rectangular room in two. It runs parallel to the wall on my right, acting as a runway toward my exit, but the gap of space is barely big enough for me to squeeze between. It’s not like I have a choice, though. Not if I want to make it to the opposite side of the room.
Off.
I reach for the chain link, grabbing the cold metal.
On.
On the opposite side of the chain link fence are six men. Or maybe they’re mannequins. Honestly, the red, pulsing light messes with my vision, and it’s hard to tell whether or not they’re real.
Off.
Maybe this is all about claustrophobia? And if I can just squeeze along the wall and chain link, I can make it to the other side?
On.
They’re each so frozen. But their faces. Shit, they’re faces are painted in creepy clown makeup. As the red light flashes off, the same cackle I heard earlier echoes through the room, and my body jolts.
Off.
It could be a recording. Maybe. Honestly, I’m not sure. I glance over my shoulder, but the door is still locked behind me, leaving me nowhere to go but forward.
On.
Scanning the six clowns along the opposite wall, I take a step forward until the light cuts out again. When it turns on, the clowns have moved. Each is one step closer to the chain link fence, and subsequently, me.
My breath catches, and I blink quickly again, hoping it’ll help my eyesight work properly because there’s no way.
On, off.
On, off.
On–They moved again–off. On. They’re closer. I can see it.Off. I’m not crazy. Am I crazy? I’m. Not. Crazy.
Pressing my back to the wall, I face the chain link completely, keeping my movements slow and controlled as I shuffle through the skinny gap leading to the opposite door while refusing to give the creepy clowns my back. Not for one freaking second.
On, off.
On, off.
On, off.
They’re definitely getting closer. It’s not a problem for the clowns I’ve already passed, but for the last three? The ones closest to my destination? This is going to be a huge problem if I can’t make it to the opposite side of the room before they reach the fence and can reach through it or even worse, use their weight to pin me against the wall.
Do they have one minute, too? Just like the creepy guy from the first room?
A shot of terror races down my spine as another cackle ricochets off the walls. The closest clown lifts his hand, smearing his makeup on the side of his face until the white, crimson, and black streak together. Then, he reaches toward me.
On, off.
