Page 13 of Insanium
Chapter Seven
Once the third key is yours, move to the yellow door.
But beware, your time is short.
Every choice, every moment now, could lead you to an early grave.
“Why can’t they use simple wording?” Juno asked with a groan.
“The point ofJudiciumis to test our wit and ability to solve riddles,” Liam answered.
“And stay alive,” Jerome added.
Liam nodded. “That too.”
“The screen’s changing again,” Maya pointed out.
The visual of our seating appeared, and illuminated this time were the chairs of Eryx and Hael. Neither wasted a moment. They were out of their chairs before the timer even appeared, both already heading down the stairs, choosing to leave the key in this room for last. I couldn’t help but shout encouragement.
“You got this, Hael!” His resolute nod back had me filled with pride.
Once the pair exited, the screen sure enough shifted to cinema mode, casting a haunting glow as it followed Eryx and Hael through the dim corridors leading to the concession stand. Their decision to head there stemmed from a prior clue hinting that what they sought was “hidden within sustenance,” pointing them towards the area known for serving food and drinks.
“Let’s split and cover more ground,” Eryx suggested, his voice carrying over the speakers with a crisp determination as they approached the bright concession area.
“I’ll take the cabinets,” Hael replied, already prying them open systematically as he searched for the key.
Boxes of napkins, straws, and what looked like butter were tossed out onto the checkered floor. Eryx searched the coolers and machines, pausing when he got to the slushies to examine them more closely.
“Hidden within sustenance,” he repeated to himself.
Hael looked up from where he was crouched. “You got something?”
“Maybe.” Eryx ran his hands over the top and sides of the machine, somehow finding a way to remove the back part. The moment the top rear piece came off, a whirring sound grew louder. “Damn, spinning blades,” he muttered, recoiling from the hidden danger within.
“That was close,” I mumbled, leaning forward for a better look, my devil plush watching from on my lap.
“We need something strong enough to stop these. They wouldn’t put rotating saws in a slushie machine unless there was something we needed in it.”
“I got it.” Hael suddenly vaulted over the counter, disappearing from the camera’s view.
“Where are you going?” Eryx called after him.
Moments later, he reappeared, wrestling with a clown who was thrashing wildly. “Stopping the blades,” he managed to grunt out as he dragged the clown farther into the frame.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Eryx jumped in to help, which was surprisingly considerate of him. He vaulted over the concession stand counter with a fluidity that was almost cat like.
“That’s one way to handle it,” Aisha noted as she watched the scene unfold with rapt attention.
Maybe I had been too quick to worry about Hael holding his own in this game. The way they coordinated, lifting the clown up to jam it into the machinery, was almost poetic in its brutality. I caught myself biting my lip, a little too caught up in the aesthetics of their teamwork. They were quite the pair, eachstriking in his own right—Hael with his quiet strength, Eryx with his dangerous allure.
I glanced over at Raphael, curious to see his reaction to the spectacle unfolding before us. His eyes were focused, a look of intrigue playing across his features as he watched them maneuver the clown into the slushie machine.
I returned my full attention to the screen just as the clown’s head met with the blades. He hadn’t mastered the art of silent agony as well as his buddy that I’d stabbed in the eye. His cries carried through in HD, surround sound. The machine began to violently jerk, the blades grinding through his mask and skull, a waft of smoke floating into the air. Blood splattered everywhere. It was the same as operating a blender without a lid. The crunch of bone eventually brought the blades to a halt, and they released the body, leaving it to hang like a decorative ornament.
“That was good thinking,” Eryx praised bluntly as he reached into the back of the machine, his hand making a sloshing sound as it sank into the liquid of blood and slush. A few chunky floaties surfaced, causing someone in an upper row to gag. “Found a switch.” He slammed the lever down, and a different component of the slushie machine groaned to life. The compartment containing the red slush began to drain, spilling out large globs of icy goop that sloshed into the catch tray below. As the slush receded, a gleam caught our eyes—a shiny metal key lay nestled among the remnants.
Hael leaned over, snatching the key with a firm grip. “Got it!” His voice rang out triumphantly, his grin wide and infectious.
