Main Story Ch. 3-11 - The Seawaters and The Flames (海水与火焰) | Light and Night 光与夜之恋

Previously in 3-08... (Read it here)

Osborn: I know you're brave, but you are not allowed to leave my side, do you understand?

The surroundings are scarily quiet, where each step taken could be heard very clearly. 

The metal door was left unlocked. Osborn gave it a light push and it opened right away. The thick dust puffed towards us, chocking so much that my throat is itching. It's pitch black in the room, so I quickly switched on the torch on my phone.

Borrowing the light from my phone, we saw the empty reception counter, and the set of sofa and tea table. The decorations are all messily scattered on the ground.

You: This is probably the main lobby for the escape room. There are a few doors, are they the passage to the respective rooms?

Osborn: Mhm, good eyes.

Each door are tightly shut that there are no lights coming out from any of them. We walked past the debris, turning our phones to brighten the surroundings, trying to find a trace of a recent visit. Until we walked to a door, there's a big patch of blood trace entering our sight!

You: !!!!

Goosebumps are all over me now, that I grabbed onto Osborn's arm so hard in order for me to not scream.

Osborn (pained sound): ......

Osborn quietly made a sound in pain, but he didn't push me off. Instead, he turned his palm and held onto mine instead, and gave it a squeeze that isn't too light or too hard.

Osborn: Your hand's so cold, are you scared?

I tried my best to calm myself down. Since the moment I've already decided to come over, I should've made preparations to directly face any danger.

You: I'm not scared.

Osborn nodded as he smiles, his slender fingers lifted up one by one, revealing the sweet in his palm.

Osborn: A reward, let's go.

You: Ok!

We walked into the room behind the doors. This is a completely closed room, except the entrance we've just walked past, there are no other doors or windows.

All four sides of the walls have been painted black, and rows of gaming machines have been arranged neatly in the room, with thick spiderwebs dangling from the beams. The screens of the machines are all dark, but if you listen properly, the insides of the machine is making an almost inaudible sound of the fan running.

Osborn: The game machine is still plugged in? Interesting.

Osborn took out his phone again to confirm the tracker's location, noticing that it's already entered into a greater depth of the building. However, there's no entrance that could be seen here. He raised his eyebrow, and slowly walked along the ide of the wall, with his slender figure lightly grazing along the wall's surface.

I quickly followed behind him, and brighten the wall's surface with the torchlight. He touched carefully along the lights, and suddenly paused his steps, with his fingers stopping at a spot on the wall. I fixated my gaze over, it really does seem like there's an almost insignificant slit...

Osborn curled his finger and lightly knocked on it, as expected, there's an unexpected sound coming from the inside.

Osborn: It's a secret door.

Osborn turned around and started to examine the room, and his gaze brushes over the machines one by one. The only things that are operating normally are only the game machines, they are probably the mechanism to open the secret door.

You: Then... which one would it be?

Just when I was thinking, Osborn took my phone, walking towards the machines, and brightening each and one of the machines' surfaces.

Not soon after, his footsteps stopped before one of the machines. I leaned over to have a closer look, the dust on this machine's surface indeed has a trace left behind!

Osborn turned over to look at me, and a smile came from his lips.

Osborn: Are you good at playing games?

You: I'm good at crane machines, also whack-a-mole too.

Osborn: I'll teach you a new one today.

Before I can respond, Osborn has already sat on the stool in front of the machine, calmly holding onto the joystick. He quickly pressed on the red 'start' button on the center of the surface. The screen immediately lighted up and exuded a blue light, brightening his angular face.

On the game screen, there's a boat sailing in the seas.

Osborn: You little directionally challenged dummy, look properly.

As soon as he ends his sentence, the screen started to flash, and the boat that Osborn's controlling kept moving forward. However, the smooth sailing only started for a short moment, and the route started to have changed. As the sailing speed increases, the route is getting increasingly complicated, and the obstacles have gotten closer and closer together that is hard to get past.

Osborn started to frown, and I can't help myself but to start feeling nervous too. It looks like we're almost reaching the finish point, but we're still a little away from the required score, can we win?

Osborn: Let's make a bet. If I win, you'll need to promise me something.

You: ... What?!

A giant wave suddenly appeared on the screen, the boat is now thrown into the skies, waiting for its final leap!

Osborn took the opportunity when the boat leaped to its highest point, and immediately pulled the joystick--

"Beep beep beep!"

The machine has made a continuous beep, a red 'WIN' appeared on the screen!

You: We've succeeded?!

A light clicking sound is drowned in our cheers, it appears that there's a machinery that has been opened. The wall behind the game machine suddenly started to move backwards!

You: There's really a mechanism here!

As the wall moves away, a pitch black entrance appeared before us. Obsorn stood up from the seat, gesturing me to follow him.

This is a long and irregular flight of stairs, moving downwards like a snake, and is seemingly endless.

Osborn held me carefully as we walk carefully forward. Just when I thought everything are going smooth, my feet collided with something bumped up.

You: !

As if I've triggered a switch, the stairs suddenly tilted downwards.

Before I can even yell for help, I closed my eyes in fear, but I can feel that I've been hooped into a tight yet warm embrace, we're falling down at high speeds!

"Thud--!" Followed by a loud sound of collision, Osborn and I have fell onto the ground.

You: It hurts... Osborn, are you alright?

There's no voice that's responding to me, it's a dead silence in the surroundings.

Switching on the torch, I can see Osborn quietly lying under me. His eyes are both shut, with both of his arms still holding on my waist.

You: ...... Osborn? Osborn??

He still had no respond, and is not moving even an inch. I can't help myself but to panic, and lightly shook his shoulder.

You: Osborn what happened to you?

I used my finger to check on his breathing, and leaned to his chest to listen to his heartbeat seriously.

You: It sounds quite normal... Did he hit his head? Osborn, don't scare me, I haven't promised to your bet!

Osborn: I won, whether you're promising me or not is not up to you.

You: ....?

He suddenly sat up while I was stunned, then curling a leg up, and supporting himself casually with an arm, and putting on an unruly smile.

You: .... You scared me to death!

I almost thought something happened to him, but he's pulling a prank on me!

Osborn: Are you angry?

Osborn suddenly leaned closer to me, and I pushed him off a little angrily. Who knows he immediately gasped and put on an injured expression.

Osborn: I've been holding you while falling down, is this how you treat me? Your way of showing gratitude is rather unique, huh.

You: ... I'm sorry, then... are you injured?

I feel a little guilty, and wanting to examine his head, but he avoided it by tilting his head away as he laughs.

Osborn: Alright, I lied. How could anything happen to me?

He patted on my head and stood up from the floor, then reached an arm to pull me up.

You: Did we fall into another room? What do we do? Do we go up again?

Osborn: No need, you're pretty good at picking 'routes'. Look at the tracker, that person is just nearby. Buck up, the game is about to start soon.

I nodded, holding onto my phone's as I walked behind Osborn, looking around alertly. This is a long yet cramped aisle. The tall snow white walls are standing upright, as if they are going to collapse towards us, making one to feel oppressed.

On both sides of the aisle, there are rows of many metal doors that are tightly shut.

You: So many rooms, where would that person be?

We slowly moved forward, carefully looking through every corner that might be easily missed. Osborn seems to have noticed something. He stopped before a door, lowered his body, and touched around the slits around the door lock, and suddenly paused.

You: What's wrong?

A tiny piece of orange paper stuck on his fingertip.

I stared at the piece of paper with full of thoughts, and I kept feeling that the color and the type of paper is something familiar, so I took it from his hand.

In a short moment, a sudden sadness filled my entire chest. Under this sadness hides a tint of warmth that can't be ignored, that it's worshipped in the depths of the soul.

Gradually, the sadness became helplessness and vengeful, I can feel that I'm now in a black abyss, trying my utmost best to grab onto the one and only light, but the light is gradually weakening, until it disappeared. It's almost as if there's a part of something that is dying bit by bit in the body along with this disappearing light...