Page 46 of Wicked Games

“Who cares about the fucking door?” Tate said, looking around the room with wide eyes. “What the hell is this shit supposed to be?”

The space was adorned with shiny streamers and colorful balloons. A table stood in the middle, covered with a princess-themed tablecloth, and a tiered cake with pink icing and flickering striped candles sat in the center. Toys and board games were scattered on the floor around the crimson velveteen chairs that haphazardly surrounded the table. It gave the impression of an abandoned children’s birthday party, silent and empty despite the joyful decorations and lit candles.

“This is creepy as hell,” Kiara muttered.

“There’s a birthday card over here,” April said, looking down at the table. “Should we open it?”

“Might as well.” Maverick peered around. “I don’t see instructions anywhere, and the Game Master hasn’t made any announcements.”

April opened the card and held it up to show everyone the words printed inside. CUT THE CAKE.

“I’ll do the honors, I guess,” Maverick muttered. He blew out the candles and reached for the large silver knife that sat on the platter beside the cake. When he brought it down on the top tier of the cake, he let out an irritated grunt. “It won’t go all the way through,” he said. “There’s something inside.”

Zach stepped forward to help, yanking off the candles and peeling off thick pink layers of icing. “Uhh… this is weird,” he said. “There’s a box with a key inside.”

He finished cleaning off the icing with a colorful napkin, and we all crowded around to inspect the transparent box. It had alock on one side and appeared to be made of regular glass, but when Maverick picked it up and smashed it on the table, it didn’t crack.

“It must be laminated glass,” Rhys said, leaning in to get a closer look. “Made to be unbreakable.”

Maverick squinted at the silver lock on the right side. “Looks like a combination lock,” he said. “Like our lockers at school.”

Rhys frowned. “So that’s how we get in to grab the key, I guess. But how do we get the code?”

“No idea. And what’s the key for?” April asked, looking around the room.

“The door, maybe? I’m not sure.”

“Guys?” Tate piped up from under the table. “I found something.”

He emerged with a triumphant expression on his face and a black laptop computer in his hands. “It was inside a compartment under the table,” he said, setting the laptop down. “We must need it for something.”

A speaker crackled at the front of the room. “Congratulations, players. You’ve found all the playing pieces for Truth or Die,” said the robotic voice in its usual monotone. “It’s like Truth or Dare with a fun little twist.”

“Really? Truth or Die?” Kiara said, wrinkling her nose. “How cheap.”

April snorted. “No shit.”

“The game will begin as soon as the rules have been explained,” the robotic voice droned on.

“Here we fucking go,” Hudson muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. “Wonder what bullshit we’re getting this time?”

“The key in the box will unlock the door. You can only open the box if you have the twelve-digit code, which you’ll find on the laptop by responding to a series of questions. Each question must be answered correctly in order to receive thecorresponding number. In this case, the correct answer is always the truth, so keep that in mind as you play.”

“So all we have to do is unlock the door?” Rhys asked, tipping his head. “That’s it?”

“Shh,” Jasmine said, elbowing him in the ribs. “I don’t think it’s over.”

The voice from the speaker continued. “When the game begins, the room will slowly fill with odorless, colorless gas dispensed from vents in the ceiling. The gas is fast-acting and extremely toxic to the nervous system, and the door has been sealed, making the room airtight. If you do not unlock the door and escape in thirty minutes, every single one of you will succumb to the gas and die.”

“All of us?” Kiara said in a strangled voice, eyes bulging. “We canalldie here?”

“Not the Game Master,” Jasmine replied, casting a dark look over the group. “I bet he or she has some sort of escape maneuver hidden up their sleeve.”

“Or maybe Brooke was right, and none of us are the Game Master,” Maverick said.

“Sure,” Jasmine muttered, suspicion-filled eyes coming to rest on me.

Once more, the speaker crackled to life. “Open the laptop to begin the game. Failure to comply will activate auto-mode in five minutes, releasing all the gas into the room at once,” it said. “Have fun playing! And remember… if you lie, you die.”

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