Chapter 110 : The Game Part 2

Chapter 110 : The Game Part 2

Cole Bishop paced, his hands pulling at his hair. "What's hunting us? He said a 'fitting predator of our status.' What does that mean? Is it Croc? Is it something else?"

"Does it matter?" Helena snapped. "Whatever it is, it's going to kill us one at a time unless we find those antidotes. And we're sitting here in the first room, wasting time—"

"The Manager said not to stay in one place too long," Miranda interrupted. "He said the predator tracks the chemical. If we stay here, we're making ourselves targets."

Silas was still at the safe, now trying to pry at its seams with his fingernails, desperation making him irrational. "There has to be a way. There has to be—"

"We should search the house," Miranda said, "Find the other antidote doses. Check for weapons, exits, anything useful. Standing here accomplishing nothing is—"

"I'm not leaving this safe!" Silas shouted. "The antidote is RIGHT HERE! We just need to open it! I'll figure it out, I'll—"

"You'll get us all killed," Thomas Kord said coldly. "While you're having your tantrum, that thing is getting closer."

"Then GO!" Silas screamed at them, his face red. "Go search! Run around like rats in a maze! I'm staying here until I get this safe open!"

The others exchanged glances—fear, calculation, the same ruthless survival instinct that had made them billionaires now turning inward, toward self-preservation at any cost.

"He's right about one thing," Victor said quietly. "We're wasting time arguing. Some of us search the house. Someone stays and works on the safe. We maximize our chances."

"I'm not splitting up," Helena said immediately. "That's how people die in horror movies. We stay together."

"This isn't a horror movie," Chen Wei said, though his voice shook. "This is real. This is happening. And we need to move. Now."

Miranda made the decision. "Fine. Silas can stay with the safe. The rest of us search. We stay in groups of two minimum. We find the antidotes, we find some weapons and then we find a way out. Three hours, he said. Three hours until some kind of door opens. We can survive three hours."

"And if the predator finds us first?" Cole asked.

"Then we run," Miranda said simply. "Now move."

They filed toward the door, leaving Silas Tate alone with the safe, his hands still frantically working at the combination dial, trying random numbers, trying anything, his mind racing through every significant number in his life—birthdays, addresses, account numbers, anything that might be the key.

---

The seven remaining billionaires emerged into a corridor.

It was narrow, maybe four feet wide. Fluorescent lights flickered overhead, some working, some dead, creating patches of shadow.

The corridor stretched maybe thirty feet before turning left.

Chen Wei stopped suddenly, crouching down. "Look at this."

The others gathered around. On the floor, partially hidden in shadow, was a baseball bat. But not a normal bat—this one had been modified.

Long nails had been hammered through it, their points protruding from the wood like the spikes of a medieval mace. Rust stained some of the nails. While blood stained others.

"Someone left this here," Victor said. "Deliberately."

Chen Wei picked it up, testing its weight. The bat was heavy, the nails adding significant mass. It should be brutally effective against flesh.

"I don't think that will help very much," Victor said, eyeing the crude weapon. "Not against something like Croc. That thing has scales thick enough to stop bullets."

"Yeah, This thing will just get in the way, adding unnecessary luggage."

"It's better than nothing," Chen Wei replied, gripping the bat tighter. His knuckles were white. "At least I can fight back. The rest of you are unarmed."

They continued down the corridor, moving as a group, jumping at every sound—the buzz of fluorescent lights, the creak of old building settling, the whisper of air through ventilation.

The corridor ended in a staircase leading down. Beside it was a door painted in faded red letters: EXIT.

But the door was boarded over. Wooden planks had been nailed across it, crude but effective, blocking access.

"The exit," Helena breathed. "This should be the way out. The one he said will open in 3 hours. We just need to—"

"Wait," Miranda grabbed her arm. "Think about this. The Manager said the door opens in three hours. This might be it. But why board it up if it's going to open anyway?"

Chen Wei was already moving toward the door, the nail-embedded bat in his hands. He raised it and brought it down against the wooden planks.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Thomas Blackwood called out. "What are you doing man?"

Chen Wei hit the door again, splinters flying. "You hear that? It's wood. It's not a fortress. It's just a fucking house. We can break through!"

"Don't be stupid!" Miranda shouted. "What if the creature is outside? What if breaking through triggers something?"

"What do you think we should do, then huh?" Chen Wei turned, his face flushed with exertion and fear. "Wait here for our deaths? Stand around talking while that thing hunts us?"

"All I'm saying is let's take our time," Miranda said, trying to sound reasonable despite her own terror. "Come up with a game plan. Then we—"

"Well, you lot come up with the game plan, all right?" Chen Wei interrupted. "I'm going to smash open this door and get the hell out of here."

He turned back to the door and resumed his assault. The wooden planks cracked under the repeated impacts. One board broke completely, falling away. Then another. The bat was doing its job, tearing through the barrier—

The last board fell away, revealing what lay behind.

A metal grill. Industrial steel, welded into the doorframe, bars spaced too closely for a human to squeeze through. Beyond it, darkness. No natural light. No indication of what lay outside.

Chen Wei stared at the grill, his breathing heavy. For a moment, he was frozen, the reality crushing down on him—they were truly trapped. The exit was blocked. The antidotes were hidden. The predator was hunting them.

"Fuck!" He swung the bat at the metal grill. It rebounded with a clang that echoed through the corridor. "FUCK!"

"FUCK!FUCK!FUCK!"

He hit it again. And again. Each impact sending vibrations up his arms.

"Chen, stop!" Victor hissed. "You're making noise! If that thing can hear—"

But Chen Wei wasn't listening. He was beyond reason now, beyond normal thinking. Pure animal panic had taken over. He raised the bat for another strike—

And punched the grill with his bare fist instead, the bat dropping from his hands.

His knuckles split on the metal. Blood ran down his hand. He hit it again, and again, screaming wordlessly, rage and terror pouring out in violence against an obstacle that would never yield.

The others watched, frozen, as one of the world's wealthiest men reduced himself to a bleeding, screaming animal beating his fists against an unyielding cage.

Then—

A roar tore through the building. Followed by a scream.

"Upstairs," Victor whispered, eyes widening.

"What is that?!"

"No. No. Its Silas!!"

Two of the group—Thomas and Victor—bolted toward the stairwell before anyone could stop them.

The rest remained rooted, listening.

Above them, something crashed. Something heavy. The thud reverberated down through the ceiling. Another short scream, which then got cut off abruptly.

"Should we… should we go up there?" Helena asked, voice trembling despite trying to hide it.

"No,"

"Hell no. Whatever made that sound—"

Miranda stepped forward, jaw tight. "We can't just stand here. If the safe is upstairs, so are the clues. And if something's happening to Silas—"

"Also remember what Manager told about the creature," Miranda added quietly, "It only kills one at a time."

Rest of the people stared at her.

"That's how the game is designed. One victim per interval."

"You're saying… it's done? For now?"

Miranda nodded. "We should go check it out. We might get some clues."

She exhaled once, steadying herself, and then began moving toward the stairs.

Behind her, Chen Wei slumped against the metal gate with blood dripping from his knuckles.

"You guys go," he muttered, voice thin and shaky. "I… I need some time. Just to clear my head."

No one argued. The rest simply exchanged a silent look—and then followed Miranda up the steps, leaving Chen Wei alone with his trembling hands.

Notes :

1) I ended up watching up a couple of SAW films for inspiration. I have to say, its fucking difficult to watch that shit. Man, who even makes up stuff like this!!

2) The watching part took up some time so I couldnt post yesterday. So 2 chaps today.