Escape the Night: The Ungodly Machine

A/N: Now, this is the true last chapter for this episode. And they have the first artifact with just three more to go.

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Escape the Night. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.


CHAPTER SIX: THE FIRST ARTIFACT

In the living room, the group was waiting to see who was going to be coming back alive with the artifact, and GloZell was hoping that Lele would come back alive, and that wasn't something that Matt wanted to happen since he'd voted for Lele.

'If Lele comes back alive, she'll know that I voted for her,' he thought uneasily. 'And then she'll come after me, especially since I've been so vocal about her needing to go into the challenge in the first place.'

Dawn, who was still sitting next to Joey, was the first to hear something faint that was slowly growing louder. "Joey, I think I hear footsteps."

Joey knew that Dawn had sensitive hearing, so if she was hearing something, then it had to be true, and soon enough, he could hear the footsteps, too. He straightened in his seat. "They're coming."

Arthur was the first to enter the room, his face was unreadable, and Justine entered next with such a dejected expression that it was clear about who was dead, and it was more clear when Lele and Eva entered together, carrying the artifact.

"I survived!" Lele announced with a giggle and a wink. "I know you're all happy about it."

"I knew it!" GloZell declared, slamming her cane into the floor while Matt was hiding his disappointment. "I knew it! I knew it!"

Tim, however, was devastated since that mean that Andrea wasn't coming back. "Andrea's dead?" he asked.

Justine, who'd sat down on the couch across from him, swallowed and nodded. "I seriously tried," she told them. "Like, I honestly did everything. I think I was sabotaged."

"What did you have to do?" Sierra asked.

Eva pulled out the notebook and showed it to them. "We had to overload the ungodly machine."

Dawn stood and took the notebook from her, reading the contents. "'To free the artifact from the bowels of the machine, it must be forced into malfunction'," she read. "'The machine is started by placing the cog key in the center console. The two guests selected by vote must be locked in separate glass chambers. Their partners will have thirty minutes to try and disrupt the machine. If either side causes a malfunction, their respective chamber will open. However, the other chamber will fill with a noxious gas, killing the guest whose partner was not quick enough. If after thirty minutes the machine has not malfunctioned, both guests will be killed by the machine and a monster will emerge'."

"What does that mean?" Oli asked.

"If I'm reading this right," Dawn explained, her forehead furrowed. "Eva and Justine only had thirty minutes to make the machine overload, and if they had failed to do it in the time limit, then both Lele and Andrea would've died, and some kind of monster would've been created. Man, talk about stress."

Tim jumped up and grabbed the notebook, throwing it to the floor. "Yeah right!" he snapped, glaring at the blonde. "She wanted Andrea dead! She killed her!"

"No I didn't!" Justine protested, jumping to her feet. "We had to solve this stupid puzzles and while Eva was able to solve them real quick, I was having a hard time!"

"Liar!" Tim shouted.

"Enough!" Dawn shrieked, making them all jump, and both Tim and Justine backed away, and she glared at the group. "Enough with the accusing! This is exactly what the demon or whatever it is wants. It wants us going after each other instead of focusing on getting the artifacts, sealing away the evil, and getting out of here. Think about it, please."

Joey stood up and went to the brunette, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're right, Dawn," he agreed, keeping his voice even. "Arguing with each other isn't going to help anyone, and I know none of us want anyone else to die, but it'll keep happening until we can get the artifacts."

Although Tim still wanted to go after Justine for killing Andrea, he knew that both Joey and Dawn, who could get scary when she was angry, were right. 'But I'll still make Justine pay, I will.'

Eva held up the artifact she'd been holding. "We got an artifact," she announced and the group took turns holding it, GloZell remarking on how heavy it was. "One out of the four."

Lele took the artifact, carried it over to the mantle above the fireplace, and set it there. "Only three more artifacts to find," she remarked, turning to the group, and they knew that meant that three other people were going to have to die in order to get them.

Oli noticed something was sticking out of the bottom of the mantle on the side. It was small, white, and barely noticeable, but he figured that it had to be a clue or something for the finding of the next artifact. He went to the mantle, getting the attention of the group, and he pulled the paper from its hiding place while Benny and Bart both asked what he was doing.

He turned to the group, unfolding the paper, and he began reading. "'You've been warned. One among you is in league with the evil of the house'."

"Someone's working with the evil?" Matt asked, looking around at the group, who were looking equally confused of how one of them could be working with the evil in the house, the evil that had killed Shane, and had forced three of their numbers to kill Andrea mere minutes ago.

"Guys, who is it?" Sierra whimpered, prompting Benny to put a protective arm around her shoulders.

"It's not me," Lele declared, "because I almost died!"

"It's your house!" GloZell snarled, pointing at Joey and Dawn, who glared at her in return.

Tim adjusted his coat. "So," he said bluntly, glaring at Justine, "who's the rat?"

Was someone in their group really an ally of the evil that was possessing the house? If so, who? And would that person allow them to leave before sunrise?

To be continued…


A/N: Who is working for the evil? Post your guesses in the reviews. R&R everyone!