Page 10 of Hell's Fear

“Nearly there!” Inglorious said.

“One minute!” Fish yelled.

“Thirty seconds… twenty… ten…”

“Done!” Inglorious exclaimed as the door swung open. We all dashed through, and it slammed shut.

A scream followed us into the room.

“Where’s Marsha!” Fish cried. A TV flicked on, showing the books falling and Marsha being grabbed as we ran through.

“Shit, she was taken as punishment for disobeying the rule on the wall,” Davies exclaimed as the warning words flashed up last.

“We’ll get her back at the end? Right?” Fish inquired, looking worried.

“Yeah. I believe that’s how it works. How long do we have?” Willow asked.

“Two hours and thirty minutes, and this one looks a doozy,” Grey said, gazing down at a table.

The room was completely barren, apart from a pile of tins, an empty shelf, and two tables. Along a wall was a table full of food and drinks while the centre table held jigsaw pieces.

“We have to piece the puzzle together?” Inglorious inquired.

“Yes, and there are words on the back,” I replied. I leaned in to inspect the pen marks in the dim light.

“We aren’t all gonna fit around the table. Why don’t half eat while the rest start, and then we’ll swap?” Davies said.

“Do you think Marsha is getting something to eat?” Fish asked.

“Of course,” Willow soothed. “Marissa wouldn’t starve anyone.”

“No, she tortures us instead!” Davies complained.

I smirked as Smokey, Fish, and Grey all stepped up to help me. Meanwhile, Willow, Davies, and Inglorious grabbed food, a can of drink, and sat on the floor.

“This is different from Phoe’s normal shit,” Davies said to Willow.

“Something here will terrify us. Marissa won’t let us go without a scare or two,” Willow replied.

I guessed Willow wasn’t wrong. Marissa loved scaring friends and family as much as Phoe, and both were far too imaginative.

Marissa had provided a small feast, and we ate quickly before taking our place at the table. They’d completed one-third of the puzzle.

“Wait,” Willow said and carefully lifted a completed section. “Sunny’s correct. There is a message underneath.”

“How do we read it?” I asked from where I was sitting, eating.

“We’re going to flip it.”

“And if it breaks?” Fish inquired.

“That’s an issue. Unless…” Willow broke off, and we watched as she cautiously separated a tiny part of the puzzle and flipped it over.

“Can’t flip bigger than that,” Davies commented as Willow pushed a few pieces back into place. “Wanna keep doing that while we get started?”

Willow nodded. I sat back and relaxed. While I couldn’t say I was having fun, it was keeping me interested. When we’d finished eating, we returned to the table and swapped with the other team to give their eyes a rest. Willow continued flipping over sections that were done.

Finally, we were able to read the message.

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