Skye's heart was pounding as she stood before the elevator. The doors were open, waiting. She couldn't tell if it was her nerves or the building itself that made the air feel so thick.
She glanced at her smart ring. The message had been clear.
"Time is ticking. You have thirty minutes."
Thirty minutes. Her mind raced. What kind of twisted game was this? And why did she feel like she was being watched? As if the building itself was somehow alive, observing her every move.
Her fingers trembled as she stepped into the elevator. The ding was louder than usual, echoing through the empty corridor. The elevator was small, dark, and cold — colder than it had ever felt.
Seventh floor. Skye pressed the button with a sense of dread. As the elevator began to ascend, the lights flickered above her, casting strange shadows on the walls.
You're not alone, she thought, her skin crawling. But that was stupid. She was alone. There was nobody here.
Or so she hoped.
The elevator stopped with a jolt. The doors opened to reveal a dimly lit hallway. The same hallway she had walked through a hundred times before. But now, something felt off. It was too quiet. Too still.
She stepped out, clutching the key tightly in her hand. The floor was old, covered with a thin layer of dust. The faint smell of mildew hung in the air, mixing with the musty scent of old wood. It felt like time had stood still on this floor.
But there was no turning back now. She had no choice but to move forward.
As she made her way down the corridor, her phone buzzed again.
"Find the door."
The message was short, direct. And it chilled her to the bone.
She scanned the hall. There were no signs, no numbers on the doors. The apartments here looked… abandoned. As if they hadn't been lived in for years. The wood on the doors was faded and chipped, and the walls were covered in peeling paint.
Then, she saw it. A door at the end of the hallway. It wasn't anything special, just a plain wooden door, but there was something about it that caught her attention. Something that made her feet move faster.
The door was cracked open.
Skye stopped dead in her tracks. She hadn't opened it. The door was… waiting.
Her heart thudded in her chest as she approached. The air seemed to grow colder with every step, each footfall echoing too loudly in the silence. She could feel the weight of the moment pressing down on her.
Is this the right door? she wondered, looking down at the key in her hand. It seemed to glow faintly, as though it were responding to her proximity to the door.
She reached for the doorknob. It was cold to the touch, the kind of cold that felt unnatural. She turned it slowly, the creak of the door making her shiver.
Inside, it was dark. But there was something else — a sound. A soft, almost inaudible rustling, like paper moving in the wind.
Skye stepped inside, the door creaking closed behind her.
The room was small. There was no furniture. No windows. Only a single light hanging from the ceiling, its dull bulb casting long, flickering shadows across the room. But what stood out to her the most was the table in the center of the room.
On the table was an envelope. The paper was yellowed, old, as if it had been there for decades.
Skye hesitated. She didn't want to touch it. But she had no choice. The game wasn't over. It wouldn't let her leave.
She approached the table and carefully opened the envelope. Inside was a single sheet of paper. The handwriting was elegant, flowing, and perfectly neat. It read:
"The second task is simple. Find the hidden object. It is closer than you think."
Skye felt her pulse quicken. The words were chilling, almost taunting.
She scanned the room, looking for anything that could be the "hidden object." But the room was bare. No decorations. No belongings. Just the table. The chair. And the walls, which seemed to close in around her the longer she stayed.
There's got to be something here, Skye thought. Her eyes darted around the room, searching for any clue. Anything that would make sense.
She walked around the table, inspecting every corner. The walls were blank, the floor solid. There was nothing.
Then, she looked up. The ceiling was low, with a single, flickering lightbulb hanging down. She stared at it for a moment, confused.
And then — it hit her.
The lightbulb.
She grabbed the chair and stood on it, her hands trembling as she reached up and unscrewed the bulb. It came loose easily, and when it did, she immediately noticed something strange. The metal socket inside the bulb was… hollow. She twisted the bulb, inspecting it carefully.
And then, she felt it.
A small, metal object was hidden inside.
Skye pulled it out carefully. It was a key — a smaller version of the one she had found earlier, but this one was different. It was shiny, new, and had a number etched into its surface.
7.
Skye's heart skipped a beat. The seventh floor. The key… It's a part of the game.
Her smart ring buzzed again, louder than before. The message blinked across the screen:
"The second task is complete. Return to the elevator. The game is far from over."