"From Cradle to Grave" was the name of the first portrait Jill saw in the U-shaped art gallery. After seeing three more of those things since entering the mansion, Jill was starting to get edgy. She started to examine the portraits, noticing buttons under them. It seemed that they were all of the same man, only at different ages of his life.
Jill paced down the hall just taking in the quality of the portraits; it was a nice and peaceful break from the rest of the rooms she'd seen in the mansion. The foyer and eastern rooms were dark, with some melancholic art, and the blood spattered on the walls was far from relaxing. But it couldn't last forever. She knew she had to find a way out, and since having discovered that the door to the only exit outside was sealed shut, with four hexagonal indents and a riddle seeming to be the key, she had to find an alternate route.
She left the room, and went back to the hall, noticing a door she hadn't tried. Opening it, she found herself in a small corridor, with finely finished marble walls. In front of her was a single door which led into an extravagant living room furnished with only the best furniture and delicate wallpaper which was starting to gently peel from the wall. It would've been peaceful, had it not been for the emptiness and solitude of the room. It had no doors except the entrance, and inside was as silent as the grave. Even with the furniture, the room seemed empty and secluded from the rest of the house, and world for that matter.
Jill sat for a moment, and examined the walls, noticing that there was a gun rack over the fireplace, and on it, a shotgun. She was ecstatic over the find; her pistol didn't pack much of a kick and she was almost out of ammunition. Gently lifting, she heard a loud sharp click as she lifted, breaking the dead silence of the room. It was either the noise or the rush of power Jill felt when she held the vintage shotgun that startled her. Either way, she didn't pay much mind to it, and headed back out into the corridor with marble walls feeling like she actually had a chance at surviving.
She felt a small click when she closed the door to the room she was in. Curios, she turned the knob again. But the door had been locked. She was feeling anxious now, and walked to the other side of the small room she was in. Locked as well. Jill was trapped in the small square corridor with marble walls. Panicking, she pounded at the door, crying for help. She tried to shoot the lock of the door with her 9mm pistol, but the bullet ricocheted off and grazed her leg. Screaming for help, she felt a rumble getting bigger and bigger. She looked up and squinted, dust had gotten in her eye. She looked again for a second take and saw something unbelievable. The ceiling was slowly meeting the ground. Frantically, she pounded at the door screaming, and tried the door knob.
"Jill, is that you?" said a voice from outside.
Barry's voice seemed like a godsend. All Jill could remember were a shout, a gun shot, and Barry pulling her out from the room. When she came to, and realized what had happened, Barry remarked,
"Huh… Few more seconds and you would've been a Jill sandwich."
Not realizing what a terrible joke that was, she unwittingly laughed.
"Barry, why are you here? I thought you were going to explore the other side of the house." She said as she got up.
"Well… You seem a bit ungrateful for somebody who just saved you from a death trap but you're right. There was just… Something I needed to check on. Listen let's meet up at the main hall if we find anything interesting, okay?" He said nervously, avoiding eye contact all the while.
There was no doubt that Barry had something on his mind. He was acting strange. He wouldn't even look at Jill directly. He also seemed to be sweating more than he should've been. But as odd as he was acting, Jill didn't want to try and analyze his behavior; he was probably as shaken up as she was, and she had just had a near death experience.
Jill was too exhausted and on edge to have to deal with any more of the walking dead, she needed to go somewhere peaceful. She made her way back to the art gallery, and slumped down, looking at the pictures.
She must have dozed off some point, because she awoke with a terrible headache. She mustn't have slept long her watch was only showing a half hour difference from when she last checked, before the death trap.
Groggily, she got up, and again started looking at the portraits. From Cradle to Grave…
Just then, an idea popped into her head. She paced around the room, looking at all of the portraits. None of them were in order. The last one was of a man's funeral, but before it, was a young boy. Piecing this together, she walked slowly around, touching the buttons on the portraits in order. From Newborn Baby to Old Man she pressed the buttons under each portrait. Then, she came to the final one, of a man's funeral. Sighing gently, she went to touch the button, not realizing it was a switch. She fumbled for a moment, and flipped it. She heard a slight grinding movement. Frozen with fear, she stood perfectly still with a single warm tear rolling down her cheek. Jill closed her eyes tight, expecting the worst.
Then, suddenly the grinding noise stopped. After a moment Jill willed herself to open her eyes. The first thing she saw in front of her was a shining hexagonal emblem, about six inches wide and high, sitting in a new opening in the wall. She examined the wall before touching anything. The portrait of the funeral had fallen, and a panel on the wall had receded in, and up. Carefully, Jill reached for the emblem, swiftly removing her hand from the nook in the wall.
Jill examined the emblem closely. It was painted gold, though the paint was chipping away exposing the dull brass underneath. On its front side was an engraving of stars. The emblem wasn't very ornate, surprisingly plain, but oddly the engraving was finely detailed. She put the emblem into her side pack, and paced back to the door to get back to the hallway. Just as she reached for the door, she remembered. When the Sun sets in the West and the Moon rises in the East, Stars will begin to appear in the Sky and Wind will blow towards the Ground. Then the gate of new life will open.
The riddle was written under the four indents next to the sealed exit. Jill scrambled outside, and back to the door that was sealed.
She took the crest of the star and placed it in the upper-most indent. Jill then heard a click from the door next to her. She tried to open the door, but it was still locked. Peering through the crack, Jill could see three solid, thick metal pins holding the door shut. Curios, she removed the emblem, heard a clunk, and looked back in the crack. She saw four pins this time. Jill put the emblem back, realizing she had found a piece to her freedom, and sanity. She only had to find three more.
Jill exited the hall, and calmly made her way back to the foyer, where she intended to inform Barry of her discovery.