Nightmare Game
Copyright© 2025 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 33
Mrs. Bennett didn’t venture deeper right away. Instead, she headed straight to the wall with the chain and yanked it down single-handedly.
Who knew her slender frame could unleash such raw power? Even Ethan, honed by years of dream-world training, doubted he could match it.
He kept watching her feet through the gap below, trying to predict her path and prepare accordingly.
With her immense strength, plus the chain’s length and durability, she held a massive advantage in reach and force.
A two- or three-second delay in escaping would seal his fate.
Why go barefoot, though? She usually wore shoes.
Ethan wondered if the random thought was just a way to ease his nerves.
Soon enough, he understood the reason.
From his limited view, he watched Mrs. Bennett’s legs swell like balloons after grabbing the chain. Shoes would have burst apart by now.
Her skin lost its daytime smoothness and vibrancy. Pale as ever, it had once held an alluring quality, but now it sagged and bulked up, ravaged by time and some malevolent force.
Each step shook the floor.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Every impact synced with Ethan’s heartbeat, creating an eerie resonance.
She dragged the massive chain, its swings producing dull, grating clanks.
Her eyes scanned every corner, sniffing the air like a predator tracking scent.
“I know you’re in here.”
Her voice chilled to the core, terrifying, as if addressing the hidden intruder or muttering to herself.
“Where are you?”
“Where are you?”
She repeated the words over and over, advancing toward Ethan’s hiding spot under the platform.
The snake pendant burned against his chest, signaling imminent danger. If she found him, he’d end up like those corpses, strung up on a hook.
Years of wolf-guided hunting instincts urged calm in crisis. He mentally rehearsed escape scenarios, calculating odds of dodging her chain.
Rolling out: one second. Standing and sprinting: at least two more. Three seconds total, plenty for her to whip the chain and snap his spine.
Even gaining extra time, her hulking form would block his path.
What now?
Ethan’s face grew ashen; every simulation ended in death.
Before long, her thick legs loomed right before him, assaulting his senses with a putrid stench.
Rotting flesh, blood, and other foul odors blended into an unbearable haze.
He also glimpsed the blood-reddened chain, radiating a heavy, ominous gloom. It reminded him suddenly of legendary soul-reaping chains.
Without a plan, his blood would soon coat it too.
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