The puppet was staring at Adam.
Its head was tilted to the side, limp from where he dropped it. He hadn't dealt nearly as much damage this time. In fact, he was the only one who seemed hurt at all.
Those red, disgusting eyes sent shivers down his spine.
If he didn't get far away from this thing, it was going to drive him fucking crazy.
Adam forced himself off the floor and made his way towards the hallway. He refused to let himself give it one last glance, instead electing to slam the door on it.
"Lettin' some steam out?" Scott asked, making Adam jump.
His friend was standing against the wall, next to the door. His foot was propped up against the wall, something he did a lot in high school when he tried to act tough.
"We gotta go," Adam muttered as he tried to brush through.
Scott caught his arm, pulling Adam back towards him. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. He asked curtly, "Got the energy now?"
"Scott."
Adam yanked his arm out of Scott's grasp. He braced himself for a blow, something that Scott had resorted to many times before.
But it didn't come, and instead, Scott sighed. "Really wish you hadn't talked to me like that in there."
"Like what, like you made me–"
"I didn't make you do shit, Adam! You need to get that through your head."
Adam went to open his mouth, but one eyebrow raise from Scott made him slam it shut.
Scott was right, as much as Adam didn't want to admit it. That whole thing was stupid, and Adam knew better. But just like in the bathroom, he let it go too far.
"I'm dealing with a juvenile."
When Lawrence said that to him, it stung. Yeah, it also pissed him off, but it just reminded him of how much he sucked at this stuff.
Adam looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry."
"Hey."
Adam looked back up, and Scott loosened his jaw. He wasn't smiling, but by Scott's standards, it was pretty close. "Whatever, alright? Let's just keep goin'."
He didn't need to say that twice. Adam nodded to him and led them away from the door.
Silence existed between them during the brief walk down the hall. They stopped short and groaned in unison when they saw a marked door directly in front of them. It had the same ominous red writing as the previous ones.
The Most Beautiful Invention On This Planet
Adam's eyes narrowed. He could remember himself saying that same thing in the bathroom.
Next to him, Scott was fidgeting. He seemed to be trying to suppress it, maybe more bothered with his pride than anything else. Adam pretended not to notice. No reason to take that from Scott, too.
He knew what it was like to wake up in some dark room and have no idea what to do.
"I'll go first this time," Adam said with a smirk. "Make up for earlier."
Scott nodded, and Adam gave him a half-smile before opening the door.
A sharp, disgusting smell pelted his nose. He recoiled and coughed, but forced himself to walk in.
The room was very basic. It freaked Adam out.
They seemed to be in a small kitchen. It had the same darkness as the rest of the house from the boarded-up windows and the same weird green tint.
A gate separated the room into two sides. On the opposite side was a stove, its coils damaged and unstable.
And on his half of the gate, a peephole on one wall, and on the other was a toilet.
The toilet.
"That damn toilet."
Its dull white exterior stuck out from the even drearier walls. It was right there, not connected to anything.
The door they entered through slammed shut.
Adam's heart raced and for a moment, he was back in the bathroom. With the same gloomy atmosphere, looming nothingness, and that damn toiletthat followed him around, just like the puppet.
It felt like the walls were closing in on him again. The plainness of this room would consume him just like the bathroom did.
"You're fine, you're fine," Adam muttered to himself.
"Huh?"
Adam looked over at the shaking man next to him. Scott was trying so hard to keep it together, and Adam could see the frustration on his face. Frustration masking anxiety. Fear. Scott needed Adam to be strong right now.
So Adam tried his best to swallow, before letting out a shaky sigh instead. "Nothing, Scott. It's okay."
Adam walked to the toilet, ready to stick his hand into the disgusting bowl again.
But he stopped short.
Cigarettes. Lit cigarettes.
The toilet was full of them.
It was tempting. He hadn't smoked in so long.
He could still remember the last time, the same time where he pretended the cigarette killed him.
Who knew what had happened to these? They could have poison on them. They could be a trap — in more ways than one. Hell, they could be rigged to explode for all Adam knew.
He learned long, long ago to not trust anything these psychos gave them.
Not worth it.
Scott walked behind him and let out a breath of relief.
"That's what I'm talking about! This is my favorite room!" Scott exclaimed while reaching into the toilet.
Adam swatted Scott's hand away and looked at him with wide eyes.
Scott scoffed. "The fuck, dude?"
Adam shook his head fiercely, getting dizzy from the motion.
"Dude, c'mon! I haven't smoked in so long!" Scott yelled.
"You're gonna put something you found in this room in your mouth?"
Adam's mouth hung open as his own words sunk in. He looked away.
Lawrence.
That's exactly what Lawrence…
He sighed and walked away, side-eyeing Scott as he approached the center of the room. "Don't even think about it," he scolded.
Scott threw up his hands and scoffed. "What-ever."
Adam looked at the ground and frowned.
It was wet. The liquid ran throughout the room and around the table.
Adam squatted down to study it. The repulsing odor became more overwhelming. He had an idea of what this was, but…
He had to check.
He dipped a finger in the trail and held it to his nose.
His eyes widened.
Gasoline.
There was gas all over this room.
Adam sprang up. The motion made his ears ring. He raced over to the gate and gripped the bars, leaning in so he could get a better view.
There was a lighter on top of the exposed coils.
"Shit."
If they got too hot, lighters combusted. He and Scott used to see how big of an explosion they could make with them. He would steal his dad's lighters, despite the talking-to he'd get later in the day for it. Their fires got huge.
With gas in the mix…
"Jesus, Scott, they're gonna try to set us on fire!"
"What?"
Scott walked over, and Adam gestured towards the table. Scott spun around, looking for something, Adam wasn't sure what.
Scott spotted a tape recorder near one of the walls and pointed at it. "Th-there! We need that!"
"Hang on, hang on." Adam grabbed Scott's arm. "We are working with fire here. We really need to be careful and—"
"Fuck that!" Scott snapped, ripping his arm from Adam's grip.
"Scott!"
But before Adam could find a new hold on his friend, Scott raced over to the recorder and ripped it off the wall. He pressed play, and the sinister voice started all over again.
Idiot.
"Hello, Adam. Scott. If you have been led here, that means you are both still alive. Congratulations!"
Adam rolled his eyes.
"Thanks, lunatic."
"Scott, as a form of recreation, you have ruined the lives of those around you, setting fire to their once normal, successful lives."
Scott started to pace. "How do you know that? How the fuck do you know that?"
"And Adam, you have simply sat and watched, too weak to do a thing about it. Too... apathetic."
"Adam, how does he know who you are?" Scott screamed.
Shut up, I can't hear.
"Today, are you going to learn your lesson, or will you let him burn you too?"
Adam silently sighed.
Get to the point.
"What do you want?" Scott spat.
"The room in front of you contains Adam's lighter. It is surrounded by the gasoline that is present throughout the entire room. If that lighter ignites… Well, I think you know what will happen next."
Scott still would not shut up, even now that the voice was telling them the rules. "Let me out!"
"Shh!"
And then Scott snapped at him. At his one friend in all of this. "Leave me alone!"
"In sixty seconds, the heat coils underneath the lighter will turn on, setting the lighter on fire. Turning the device off is easy, but you're going to need a key to get to it."
"How the fuck do I get a key?"
"Scott, please be quiet!"
"Shut up, Adam!"
"The key can be found in that toilet, but I warn you, it'll burn you too."
Adam looked at the toilet. The cigarettes.
He knew exactly where this was going.
"Scott, you have always been the leader, forcing Adam to aid you in your hobbies. But I implore you to let him take control."
Scott stopped pacing and looked at Adam. "What does that mean? Why you?"
Adam scoffed. "How am I supposed to know?"
"On the side of the room opposite the toilet is a peephole. What you need is in there. But only Adam can decipher it."
Scott rushed up to Adam and slammed him against the wall.
The impact blasted all the air out of Adam's lungs. He wheezed as Scott spat in his face. "What are you hiding from me? What does that mean?"
"Scott, are you willing to let him take control? Are you willing to sit back and let him find the way, or will you get yourselves burned?"
Adam took in a deep breath and managed to choke out, "S-Scott? What are you—"
"Live or die. Make your choice."
There was a click as the timer began, and Adam and Scott looked over in unison.
60, 59, 58…
Scott let go and walked over to the peephole. Adam rushed in front of him.
Scott grabbed his wrist and pulled him back, bringing their faces just inches from each other. "What do you think you're doing?"
"The tape said I need to read the clue!"
Scott shook his head frantically. "No. No, I will read it, and you will start looking for the key."
Scott threw Adam towards the toilet. Adam lost his balance and caught himself on the wall.
He turned back. "Scott!"
Scott grumbled something under his breath.
Then he wheeled around and grabbed Adam by the collar of his shirt. "You are pissing me off! I am going to help you find the key. Just let me look at the damn clue first!"
Adam scoffed. "You know full well that you just want to be the one to solve this. Even though it is made for me! You're gonna get us killed!"
Scott clenched his jaw as he stared at Adam.
Then he curled his hand into a fist.
Adam didn't see it before it slammed him in the face. For a moment, the lights went out, and he collapsed onto the toilet.
Cigarette smoke and heat flooded his eyes.
He screamed.
He yanked his face back, tears already streaming down his face. Smoke and soot mixed with salt and stung the cuts on his face. He turned and saw Scott's silhouette walking away.
"Oh," Adam said with a scoff, "fuck no, you didn't jus—"
"Just check the toilet and I'll look at the clue," Scott said coldly.
39…
Scott could have fucking blinded him.
When we get out of this—
Adam shook his head. He needed to focus.
He looked at the toilet. He hovered his left hand over the bowl, squeezing his eyes as tight as he could.
"Do it, Adam!" Scott yelled.
More worried about my side of shit than the fucking clue you were so obsessed wi—
Adam buried his hand down in it and screamed, fishing through the cigarettes.
Hundreds of miniature fires grazed his hand as he uselessly shuffled through all of them. He could barely feel the tips of his fingers.
He forced himself to open his eyes long enough to look at the clock.
28…
Adam screamed again. From his hand. From the stinging in his eyes. From the ache on the side of his face that Scott just caused.
Where is it?
"Any luck?" Scott asked as he kept looking through the peephole.
"Shut up!"
Adam pulled his hand out of the toilet. He cried out and hugged it to his chest, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.
It didn't make sense. It wouldn't be in there. Why would they need a clue for that one?
18…
They wasted so much time.
"It's not fucking in there!" Adam hoarsely shouted.
He stood up, heart pounding and head spinning, and made his way over to Scott. His left hand was pressed to his chest, and his right was balled up at his side.
"Adam, what the hell are you doing? Get back—"
Adam shoved Scott out of the way with his good hand.
12…
"The fuck?" Scott snapped.
Adam grumbled incoherently to himself as he looked through the peephole.
You Really Wish You Had Checked In There First
9…
"Fuck!"
"I really wish I had checked in there first."
Adam sprinted over to the toilet. He shoved the top off.
6…
And right there. Right there, staring at him in the face, was the key in the clear water.
Adam reached down and yanked it out. He raced to the gate.
3…
He unlocked it with his right hand and ran to the stove.
He could see the flames ignite, but he found the switch.
He turned it off.
1…
Right on time.
His shoulders dropped as his heart kept wildly pounding against his ribs.
He could have—
The door behind him whipped open.
Adam hugged his hand to his chest again. He doubled over and threw himself out the door, stumbling as far away as his mangled body would let him.
He dropped to his knees, wincing as the jolt touched his hand to his body. Tears seeped into the burns.
His hand was trembling uncontrollably. It felt like it was still on fire.
It shouldn't have been. And they should've gotten out in plenty of time.
If Scott had just…
I almost died.
And just like that, he realized that he had been wrong. There would be more grieving, heartbroken guests at his funeral than just his mom, the cat, and even Lawrence and Scott.
His friends in the band, the wait staff at his favorite restaurant, the people at the vet clinic he used to volunteer at.
They would all miss him.
When he saw that flame, imagined himself going up in smoke, he was more terrified than he had ever been in his entire life. Of letting those people go, of missing out on the life he could have, the good life.
Adam curled into himself, a tight ball on the ground.
He needed to get out of there. No matter what it took.