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“It might not be about the senses exactly, but they’re definitely part of it,” Max countered.
“Okay, then we need to figure out how that’s going to help get these doors open.”
“I’m going to check the car again.” Mel declared.
“I’ll help,” Dion quickly volunteered, following on her heels with Hayven in tow.
“Wanna check the wall?” Cooper looked to me and asked, his arrogance suddenly non-existent.
“Yeah, let’s do that.” I didn’t like him at all, but I wouldn’t let my personal feelings get in the way of figuring this out.
Grace walked with us to where the panel had lifted and stood to the side.
Cooper went up to the worktable and slightly leaned forward to inspect the gap that had formed between the wall and tool bench.
“Is there anything specific I should be looking for?”
“Whatever doesn’t look right, I guess.”
“Can you get my mask down?” Elizabeth asked as she approached with Max. “Maybe that will change something.”
“Worth a try.” I reached up and snagged each one that had been left hanging, passing Elizabeth hers.
To our mutual frustration, nothing happened. Nothing was happening and a glance at the clock showed we had less than eight minutes left to change that. My competitive nature refused to accept losing.
“This is maddening,” Grace huffed. “I feel like the answer is right in front of our faces.”
“It could be. That might be the point of the riddle. Can I see that?” Max held his hand out for his off-white mask.
Unsure what he meant, I passed it to him. He slipped it on before stepping around us and joining Cooper in examining the rectangular hole that had been formed as a result of the wall opening up.
“Sixteen in total,” he murmured to himself, running his palms around the frame. “Look, there’s a groove here.”
Grace and I both moved to get a closer look at what he was referring to, watching Max trace over a barely noticeable u-shaped curve in the bottom portion of the wood.
“I think there might be something down in there.” He reached through the opening, his shoulder pressing up against the wall as he worked his hand down into the gap.
“You guys find anything?” Mel called from across the barn.
“Not yet.” I looked over my shoulder to find they were quite literally tearing the car apart. The driver’s side door panel was hanging on by a single screw.
“Woah!” Cooper shouted.
My head swiveled around just as the portion of the wall that had lifted up, came crashing back down, right on top of where Max’s wrist ended. He released a short disbelieving laugh as the color drained from his face.
Before anyone could ask if he was okay or make a move to help free him, his mouth opened with a guttural scream of pain. I flinched and stepped away from him, taking Grace with me.
“What happened?” Jessica ran towards us with a worried cry.
The clock blanked to zero, and the panel lifted again, revealing a butcher-like blade embedded in the wood. Had that been in there the entire time?
Max went spiraling backward. I blinked at the sight of him cradling the stump that his hand should have been attached to.
“Oh, fuck,” Cooper quavered, turning away with dry heaves wracking his body.
I looked from Max to the opening in the wall where a part of his severed hand could still be seen. There was so much blood. It covered the tool bench and the floor, spilling out of him in a dangerously incessant flow.
Elizabeth lost her shit. She ran screaming incoherently towards a set of doors shouting to let us out.
“What the fuck?” Mel mouthed as she approached, her eyes locked on Max.
Dion raced over and dropped to his knees beside his friend. “Why would you put your hand in there and you didn’t even know what it was?” He pulled off his T-shirt and began to make a tourniquet, staining the life-beater beneath with his friend’s blood.
“Cheers to you! You’ve all passed the first test. Get ready now, the real fun is about to begin.”
At the sound of her voice, panic began to grip the rest of the people inside the barn. I did my best to block out the negative energy they were emanating and focus on everything around me. Her voice definitely wasn’t coming from the tape recorder now. My eyes darted around in search of a speaker or camera.
“Let us out, you crazy fucking bitch!” Jessica yelled.
She giggled at the insult and sighed. “I’m so excited you’re ready to play. Show us you have what it takes to survive in the place where sinners play.”
The sound of the metal bar finally sliding back echoed throughout the barn, but it wasn’t the doors I walked through that unlocked.
The pair Elizabeth was banging on opened, causing her to pitch forward and fall right into the person waiting on the other side as they swung outward. Her gasp was drowned out by Jessica’s terrified scream as someone donning a bloodied fox mask knocked Elizabeth backward.
