Chapter 2 The First Descent

• The staircase creaked with every step. Cold metal underfoot, no railing, no walls just a spiral descending into blackness.
• Niko was the last to go down.
• His eyes never left the backs of the others. Eight people. Seven victims. One traitor.
• The voice in the ceiling hadn’t lied. One of them was working with the game. That meant whoever it was knew what was coming. And worse they might decide who lived or died.
• The steps ended in a wide chamber lit by a single overhead light. It flickered, casting long, spidery shadows across the concrete floor. A large timer glowed red on one wall: 30:00.
• A countdown.
• At the center of the room stood a thick glass box. Inside was a key, suspended above a pressure pad.
• Just beneath the glass was a note printed in block letters.
• “To open the next door, the key must be retrieved. But if the weight shifts even once… one of you dies.”
• “What kind of sick ” Ivy started, then clamped a hand over her mouth.
• “There’s always a catch,” Grant muttered. “Every trap has a trigger.”
• Rhea moved closer to the box, eyes wide. “So we need to get the key without shifting the pressure plate?”
• Benji pointed. “It’s connected to that pipe in the ceiling. If we trip it, something up there goes off.”
• Niko crossed his arms. “It’s a weight puzzle. That box is rigged. But it didn’t say you couldn’t add weight.”
• Everyone turned.
• He walked forward, slow and calm, then pointed to the floor tiles scattered around the room. “Use these. Match the weight on the plate. Lift the key at the same time. Keep balance.”
• Diana narrowed her eyes. “How do you know so much about this?”
• “I don’t,” Niko said. “But I know pressure traps. And we’re out of time.”
• The timer read: 26:11.
• They sprang into action. Ivy and Benji started sliding tiles over. Marcus crouched by the glass, analyzing the wires. Thomas and Grant lifted the edges carefully while Rhea took Niko’s side, helping him stack the tiles.
• Rhea looked up at him, breathing hard. “You’re calm.”
• “I have to be,” Niko said.
• “You done this before?”
• He didn’t answer.
• The weight was matched. The glass slid open automatically with a hiss. A metallic arm lowered the key onto the plate but everyone held their breath.
• Nothing moved.
• Benji slowly reached for the key. His hand trembled. Niko said sharply, “Hold it steady. Don’t jerk it.”
• Benji took the key. A tense second passed.
• The plate held.
• They exhaled all at once.
• Then..
• CLANK.
• A pipe in the ceiling burst open, dropping a thick rope noose from above.
• Everyone froze.
• The lights flickered.
• The robotic voice returned.
• “Correct weight achieved. But someone still lied.”
• The timer stopped at 21:00.
• “One of you tried to tamper with the box. Minor penalty: warning issued.”
• “What?!” Ivy spun toward the group. “Who tried to mess with it?!”
• Diana’s gaze sharpened. “Who touched the wires?”
• Everyone turned.
• Marcus.
• He stepped back, hands raised. “Wait I was checking them. Making sure it wasn’t booby trapped.”
• “That is tampering,” Grant snapped.
• Marcus’s jaw tensed, but he didn’t argue.
• The voice didn’t clarify who. Just that someone had done it.
• Niko looked at Marcus. Too calm. Too helpful. But was it too obvious?
• The metal door at the far end of the chamber hissed open. Beyond it, another staircase led down.
• “Proceed to Game Two. Your cooperation is… statistically temporary.”
• They hesitated.
• Then, one by one, they stepped through.
• Niko followed last again.
• His thoughts burned. It was too early to point fingers. But someone was testing the limits. Testing how far they could go without breaking cover.
• He glanced at the others.
• Eight players. One traitor.
• The game had only just begun.