Episode 18
1258 Words
The production team, never ones to do things halfway, immediately set the difficulty level to "intense fear."
"Today's escape room theme is 'Ancient Mansion Adventure,'" the staff member explained. "You two will play paranormal investigators who break into a mysterious mansion at night to uncover the secrets behind its haunting."
"Please take these items. We're about to enter the room."
They were each handed a flashlight and two paper talismans marked with strange symbols. Then blindfolds were placed over their eyes as they were guided into the escape room.
Inside, the temperature dropped noticeably. A cold breeze swept through the space, accompanied by an eerie soundtrack of unidentifiable growls and whispers.
"You may remove your blindfolds now," announced a staff member through the overhead speaker, the voice crackling with static.
Sophia pulled off her blindfold and found herself in near darkness. Through a faint green glow, she could make out that they were standing in an abandoned bathroom. Blood-stained tiles covered the walls, and thick black liquid oozed from the toilet bowl. Everything about the place felt wrong.
"You are paranormal investigators hired to examine this ancient mansion," the crackling voice continued. "Since the main entrance has been locked for years, you've climbed through a window into this bathroom. Now, find the key to open the bathroom door and enter the mansion proper."
The comments section exploded:
[I'm getting chills in broad daylight!]
[Sending good vibes for protection!!!]
[They both look so calm though...]
[Ethan is legendary for maintaining an 80 BPM heart rate while bungee jumping, and Sophia looks like someone with nerves of steel. I bet neither of them scares easily.]
"Let's find the key—" Sophia turned her head and came face-to-face with a ghastly white visage.
"HOLY s**t!" she screamed, unleashing a string of expletives.
The owner of the pale face—Ethan, who had been holding his flashlight under his chin—was so startled by Sophia's shriek that he dropped the flashlight.
Splash!
Their only light source plunged into the toilet bowl, disappearing into the dark water.
Sophia: "..."
Ethan: "..."
The silence was deafening.
[Wait, what just happened?]
[I thought we were watching pros in a beginners' game, but these are actually amateurs in a pro-level challenge??]
[Are you serious right now?]
[They were acting all confident before, and now look at them!]
"So you're actually scared?" Sophia asked through gritted teeth.
Ethan nodded with complete sincerity. "Terrified. You too?"
"I'm scared to death!" Sophia declared in the toughest voice possible while admitting complete cowardice.
[Why didn't you just choose the MILD fear option then?!]
[Two of the most chicken-hearted people chose the scariest map. Brilliant, just brilliant.]
Meanwhile, in the monitoring room, the assistant director and staff were thrilled. This was exactly the kind of entertainment value they'd hoped for!
"Let's just find the key first!" Sophia declared, stomping over to the sink. Just as she was about to search around it, a ghostly face suddenly appeared in the mirror.
"Hssss—"
Sophia gasped, her eyes rolling back as she began to faint backward.
Ethan caught her. His long, elegant fingers steadied her waist as her head rested against his firm, slightly muscular chest. The warmth of his body brought life back to her rigid form.
Nothing like a good set of pecs for support.
"Arigato, Fei-Yang-Yang san. I'm better now," she murmured.
He seemed to lower his head, his warm breath falling on her neck and shoulder. "You're welcome, Mei-Yang-Yang san."
The tingling sensation on her neck sent a shiver through her body, and she quickly jumped away from him.
Perhaps it was her imagination, but in the darkness, his face seemed to carry a hint of amusement.
"We need to get the flashlight back first. It's too dark to see anything," Sophia said, rolling up her sleeves as she approached the toilet.
[Sophia, what are you doing?!]
[Wait, she's not going to...]
Before anyone could react, Sophia plunged her arm straight into the toilet bowl.
She moved so quickly that even Ethan couldn't stop her.
[Female celebrity fishes in toilet with bare hands!!!]
[Sophia, you're my hero!]
"I've got it! Wait, there's something else in here," Sophia said, face completely serious as she rummaged around. A moment later, she triumphantly pulled out another object. "It's the key!"
[No way!]
[I thought sticking her hand in the toilet was extreme, but finding the actual key in there? That's next level!]
[Now we get to watch two scaredy-cats brave a terrifying escape room]
Leaving the bathroom, they entered a seemingly endless corridor.
Suddenly, the still air was broken by the sound of footsteps—tap, tap, tap.
As the footsteps drew closer, they became faster.
"There's something up ahead," Sophia said, pointing the flashlight forward.
The beam revealed a white-clothed female ghost rushing toward them.
"AAAHHH! s**t, s**t, s**t!"
Sophia dove behind Ethan for protection, accidentally feeling his abs in her panic.
In the chaos, one of the talismans fell from Ethan's pocket.
The ghost stopped immediately, as if frightened, then turned and ran away.
Sophia's face lit up. "So these talismans repel ghosts! That makes things easier!"
In the next room, when a hanging ghost dropped from the ceiling, Sophia confidently pulled out her own talisman.
Then the ghost snatched her away.
The staff's voice came over the loudspeaker: "Congratulations on discovering the secret of the talismans—one repels ghosts, the other attracts them."
Sophia: "Fantastic."
[HAHAHAHAHA I can't breathe!]
[Poor Sophia! First the toilet, now she gets grabbed by a ghost!]
[I'm dying of laughter, this woman is the goddess of comedy gold]
With Sophia captured, Ethan was left to continue the mission alone.
As he searched the room with his flashlight, a closet suddenly burst open. A red-clothed female ghost howled as she rushed toward him.
He pulled out his ghost-repelling talisman, but the ghost ignored it completely, producing a rope and tying him firmly to a chair.
[Bondage play? This escape room is getting kinky!]
[Wait, why can't I hear anything anymore?]
The microphone that had been clipped to Ethan's collar had fallen to the ground.
The red ghost took a step forward, intentionally or not, kicking the microphone far away.
"Are you scared, handsome?" Pale fingers lifted the man's chin, accompanied by an evil laugh that couldn't have been more terrifying.
Ethan lowered his head, hair covering his eyes, his lips moist and red—the perfect image of a young man being bullied.
"...Yes."
"If you're scared, answer a few questions for me. If you can't answer, I'll eat you up!"
"I'll tell you whatever you want to know," he replied, still looking down, his body trembling with fear.
"Good. First question: why did you come on this show?"
"For love."
"LIAR!"
The red ghost violently cracked a whip against the floor, her voice piercing. "If you don't tell the truth, I'll devour you right now!"
Under extreme fear, people have no secrets. When the brain is consumed by terror, any secret will spill forth.
"Tell me! Tell me now—"
The ghost drew closer, her voice becoming increasingly shrill and haunting.
Suddenly, Ethan raised his head to meet her eyes, beautiful almond-shaped eyes flashing with intrigue.
The red ghost froze.
In the next moment, he grabbed her wrist. With a swift move, she found herself spinning into his embrace.
His warm hands locked around her waist as his hot breath tickled her ear. "It is the truth."
"Miss Sophia, I came here specifically to fall in love with you."
- Writer
