"Hey!" Someone yells close to me, " I swear to god if she's dead…" the person continues.
"She might be a warning to not mess up." Someone farther away says, " Oh god I don't want to die!" Someone else yells and then starts sobbing by the sound of it.
I try to say something like I'm not dead or why are we here? But all that comes out of my mouth is a groan.
"… Did that come from her?"
"I think it did!"
I feel someone nudging my right foot with theirs, "come on…. Wake up!"
I open my eyes slowly and start blinking rapidly to get used to the bright green glow in the room. I slowly sit up straighter from my slumped position and look around the room. I see question marks everywhere, on the floor, the walls, the ceiling and even on all the people in the room.
There are 9 people around, all in the same position as me. All of us are in chairs, with our hands tied to the armrests of the chairs and our legs tied to the two front legs of the chairs we sit on, I then finally felt the panic settle in me.
I look at each person and see that each person has a number from one to nine, meaning that I had ten. As I look around I notice that each person here I have seen on TV one way or another. I know one thing for sure this whole thing screams the Riddler.
"How long have we been in here?" I ask the woman who has a nine on her shirt.
"From what we have all gathered we have been in here for a good hour or so, us being unconscious for the most part though." She stated and then looked around, " What do you think he is planning?" She asks me.
I look around again to take in every detail of the room, question marks were on everything, there is a small flat screen TV on the wall straight above the head of the man across from me with the number five on his shirt. There is also one single door at the right corner of the room.
I sigh out of relief, " It's not a death trap that's for sure, I have a feeling that all we have to do is answer some riddles." She nods her head and opens her mouth to speak when a loud static sound breaks out of the TV.
"Hey diddle diddle~" A man sings happily while looking around the room to look at each persons face. He looks at me for a few more seconds then the others but continues to look at every one else.
"How are you all doing? Feeling good? Comfortable?" He asks with his signature smirk on his face. No one answers his questions but instead just glare at him while I just take in his appearance, glaring in this situation will get me no where or in this case, out of here.
He is wearing his signature green suit and pants with question marks all over them, a purple tie, his green bowler hat with a purple strip around it on his head that is tipped slightly to the right. But the biggest thing I notice about him is his eyes, they are a dark green color that shows some form of messed up excitement and exhaustion from the look of the dark purple bags under his eyes.
"Great! I'm glad were all on the same page. So let me explain what is going to happen in a way that your simple minds will be able to understand." As he says that everyone's glares intensify but he pays them no mind.
"There are two parts of this… test, I will explain the first part now and the second part later for your idiotic minds won't be able to process all this information at once. During the first test I will ask ten riddles. If a riddle is answered correctly then one by one each of you will survive, if you get it wrong then I will give you a shock of a lifetime. For the first test you all can work together. But let me tell you this to think over when you go to answer someone's riddle, there is one person in the room that helped me bring you all here!" He says with excitement, "Now then, any questions before we start?"
"How do we know who the riddle is for?" I almost groaned at that question from the man with a number two on his shirt.
"Why do you think we have numbers on our shirts? For show? Come on use your brain." I say to the man before the Riddler could answer the stupid question. He glares at me with suspicion, "How do you know that it isn't just for show? He is insane! He probably did do it for show!" He raises his voice at me. I sigh at his stupidity, "He may be "insane" but he is the smartest man in Gotham. He isn't like the joker, everything he says and does has a purpose." Again he just glares at me in return with a little huff meaning that I won that little argument. A sudden chuckle comes from the small TV makes us snap out of our glaring contest and look at the TV.
"Thank you for that little show number two and ten but let's start shall we?
Riddle me this!
Take off my skin but I won't cry, you will! What am I?"
Immediately I knew the answer," An onion!" I shout out to him, causing him to look at me with shock but as quickly as I saw it, it disappeared with a smug look taking over.
"Correct! But don't get too cocky, that was the easiest one. Speaking of one! number one,-" The way he said it to the woman with the number one on her made it sound so dehumanizing"-she just saved your life, no dying for you tonight. Oh what a shame! I was looking forward to seeing how long your little brain would be able to think without malfunctioning. Next riddle!
Riddle me this!
I am the beginning of everything, the end of time and space, the beginning of every end, and the end of every place. What am I? "
I say the words over and over in my head trying to figure out the answer, "Everything, Time, Space, End and Place" I mumble out loud, what do they all have in comme- Wait! That's it! I look over at the man with two on his shirt. He is shaking his head, mumbling incoherent things under his breath, everyone else seems to be thinking for an answer but from the looks of it, not very hard.
"Hey, Number two?" I call to him. His head shoots up and stares at me with annoyance.
"What?!" He barks at me.
"What's your name?" I ask, standing my ground.
"Wha?... My name is Matt! Why do you care?" He almost growls at me, probably thinking I'm going to mock him.
"My name is Chelsea, I just saved your sorry ass. The answer is the letter E!" I say looking Matt in the eyes. As soon those words come out of my mouth everyone else starts to shout out their names.
From what I could get from the yells, number one is Ashley, three is Micheal, four is Brad, five is Anna, six is Jacob, seven is Omar, eight is Emily and nine is Annette. Five woman and five men, I hadn't even noticed until now. I look up at the Riddler finally taking my eyes of Matt to see him looking shocked again, but i have a feeling it wasn't because I got the riddle right but that I saved the guy. After what seems like forever, the Riddler gets over his shock and starts smirking at me.
"My, my, what a surprise! Saving the man who was nothing but rude to you, I've seen so many people leave those types of people to die! But you save him. What a surprising turn of events and were only on the second riddle! With that being said let's continue on.
Riddle me this!
Sometimes I am loved, Usually by the young. Other times I am dreaded, Mostly by the old ones. I am hard to remember, Also hard to forget. And yet if you do, You'll make someone upset. I occur every day Everyone has to face me. Even if you don't want it To happen; embrace me. What am I?" He asks this one with a slight smirk, probably thinking that I won't get the answer for this one.
Again I almost immediately know the answer, "Birthday!" I shout at him, he slightly growls a bit but quickly stops himself and replacing it with a smug face. Everything in me wants to slap that look off his arrogant face.
"Correct once again!
A boy and his father are involved in a traffic accident, and the father dies. The boy is rushed to hospital, suffering from injuries. The Head Surgeon is called to operate, but on seeing the boy, immediately declares: "I cannot operate. This boy is my son." How is this possible?"
"It's his mother!" I shout.
"Correct!
Look at me. I can bring a smile to your face, a tear to your eye, or even a thought to your mind. But, I can't be seen. What am I?"
"Memories!" He slightly frowns, did I get it wrong? But I'm almost certain that it's memories! I've seen this riddle before in my riddle book! The answer said memories! I look at number five to see her sobbing, she tenses up slightly getting ready for the fatal blow that will end her life. I look back at the Riddler on the TV screen.
The Riddler shakes his head slightly and takes a deep a breath," Correct!-" His smug look goes back on his face as he says correct.
"What gets longer when pulled, fits between breasts, slides neatly into a hole, has choked people when used improperly, and works best when jerked"
I stifle a laugh at how dirty it sounds, when really the answer isn't at all what you think it is. I look up and see the Riddler looking at me amused, he meets my stare and I still try to hold in my laugh. He starts to chuckle at my reaction making me almost burst out laughing.
"A penis?! You dirty freak!" The man named Jacob yells at the Riddler, breaking our little moment that went between us. The Riddler Growls a bit at the man.
"Is that your final answer?"
"NO! The answer is a seat belt!" I shout quickly before Jacob could open his stupid mouth again. The Riddler glares at me slightly for giving him the correct answer, well that moment between was long gone now i sigh out loud.
"Correct!
Riddle me this!
The man who makes it doesn't use it; the man who buys it doesn't need it; the man who uses it doesn't know it. What is it?"
I slightly grimace at the dark turn we just made, "A coffin." I say to him, he smirks slightly at everyone.
"Correct! And we might just need it for number eight! For she is the reason you imbeciles are here! But forget about that!-" He waves his hand in a dismissing manner, "- Let's continue shall we?!
Riddle me this!
What can you catch but cannot throw?"
Looking at the ground in anger knowing that he did that on purpose, he gave us a simple riddle that everyone but her would know the answer to the riddle. I slowly look around and see that everyone knew the answer except for Emily just from expressions alone, I kind of understand why she brought all of them here, I mean if they were all to die then she would get a higher position in the TV business but why me? I was just some woman who worked at the Gotham hospital. I have never seen her before in person, yet alone talk to her! So what could I have done to make her pick me?
"Emily?! Is that true?" The woman named Anna yells at her with tears in her eyes.
"NO!... well... I... Uh... yes..." Emily mumbles the last part looking down in shame, "But you have to understand! He threatened my life and my families lives if I didn't pick nine people from the files he gave me! I'm so sorry!" She finishes sobbing, I feel guilt tug at my heart for even thinking about letting her die.
"YOU BITCH! I have a family Emily! How dare you make us do this! No one say the answer! No one!" Matt yells out in complete rage, shaking a bit in his chair.
"How barbaric... 5 more seconds." The Riddler says smirking.
Should I say it? Should I save the life of the woman who could possibly be the reason I die today? Should I stoop as low as Riddlers level and let her die?
"4" He says smirk growing.
I look around and see everyone but Emily looking at the ground in guilt, not wanting to look at the woman who they are silently killing.
"3" He says singing slightly.
Emily looks at me in the eyes begging me silently to say the answer that she hasn't figured out. Guilt swells up inside me begging me as well to just yell the answer.
"2- A cold!" I shout interrupting him and making everyone else jump at my sudden outburst. Emily starts sobbing loudly yelling thank you and I'm so sorry to me and everyone else. Matt gives me a glare that if it could, would probably put me six feet under. The Riddler looks at me in complete shock and amazement, I look at him in the eyes and smile smugly.
"C-correct," He clears his throat, "I mean Correct! I guess you get to live another day number 8, lucky you.
Riddle me this!
You will always find me in the past. I can be created in the present, But the future can never taint me. What am I?"
I laugh a bit at how simple this riddle is and to just get the Riddler mad, "History." I smirk at the Riddler, making him glare at me ever so slightly.
"Correct! It seems your the last one... Chelsea-" I shudder in both fear and delight as he said my name... Wait? Delight? No! I would never be happy to have a man as wicked as him say my name, I shuddered in disgust not delight!
"But will you get it right?
Riddle me this!
In a far away land, it was known that if you drank poison, the only way to save yourself is to drink a stronger poison, which neutralizes the weaker poison. The king that ruled the land wanted to make sure that he possessed the strongest poison in the kingdom, in order to ensure his survival, in any situation. So the king called the kingdom's pharmacist and the kingdom's treasurer, he gave each a week to make the strongest poison. Then, each would drink the other one's poison, then his own, and the one that will survive, will be the one that had the stronger poison.
The pharmacist went straight to work, but the treasurer knew he had no chance, for the pharmacist was much more experienced in this field, so instead, he made up a plan to survive and make sure the pharmacist dies. On the last day the pharmacist suddenly realized that the treasurer would know he had no chance, so he must have a plan. After a little thought, the pharmacist realized what the treasurer's plan must be, and he concocted a counter plan, to make sure he survives and the treasurer dies. When the time came, the king summoned both of them. They drank the poisons as planned, and the treasurer died, the pharmacist survived, and the king didn't get what he wanted.
What exactly happened there?"
I gasp at how long the riddle is but say the riddle in my head over and over again as the Riddler just sits there staring at me smugly. We sit there for what seems like hours when in reality it was only a few minutes when the answer finally comes to me. I smile at the Riddler, without a smirk or a smug look, a real genuine smile, forgetting the position I am in and all the other people around and feel the littlest bit of joy that I knew the answer to the riddle.
"The treasurers plan was to drink a weak poison before going going to the king while bringing water as his poison to ensure that when the pharmacist brought his strong poison he would live and the pharmacist would die. The pharmacist knowing the treasurers plan decided that he too would bring water as his poison, him not needing to drink poison beforehand went to the king. So when they both drank each others water then drank their own water, making the treasurer die because he didn't drink a stronger poison, making the pharmacist live for not drinking any poison at all and making the king not get what he wanted, which was the strongest poison." I finish taking a deep breath in relief and lie my head back on the chair ready to hear the Riddler say if I was right or wrong. I close my eyes and wait.
After a little bit of not hearing anything I open my eye sand bring my head up to see everyone, including the Riddler looking completely gobsmacked. Making my smile sheepishly at everyone, "What? I like riddles." I say shrugging my shoulders making everyone snap out of their stares. We all look at the TV with the Riddler on it to see him smiling a large genuine smile at me.
"That is correct! It seems that there is a someone is all of Gotham who could possibly match my own intellect in some way, which is quite surprising seeing as how idiotic the people of Gotham are. Seeing as each riddle was answered it is time to start the second part of this test!" He smiles wide in such a dark, insane way that it would make the Joker run for his money.
This isn't going to be good.
Hey Random people reading this chapter! I just want to say really quickly that well I don't anything in the book but my OC's. I also want to say thank you for reading this! If you want more please add it to your favorites or leave a comment or even follow me or crazy idea do all three? No? okay! Anyway, I hope you have a great day or night!