Nightmare Game
Copyright© 2025 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 46
Ethan rose from his chair, eyeing her curiously. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Surprised I’m still kicking?”
“No...”
Serena’s expression flickered through a whirlwind of emotions. She bit her lip, her eyes reddening as tears streamed down her cheeks.
With shaky hands, she rubbed at them, as if terrified this might all be an illusion.
She stumbled forward and threw her arms around him.
“I ... I thought...”
In that moment, Serena channeled her inner actress, delivering a performance worthy of awards, even as her mind spun in confusion.
She couldn’t wrap her head around it. Wasn’t Ethan supposed to die from last night’s order?
Even if fear had made him refuse, he’d end up like Grace, dead in his room. So why was he alive?
What had gone wrong?
Ethan soon cleared up her confusion.
“Last night I went to the winery. Turned out to be pretty straightforward. I finished the task and came back.”
“Oh...”
Serena pulled away, wiping her tears.
“That’s such a relief.”
Ethan nodded, a look of ease crossing his face.
“Yeah, turns out the scariest thing is our own imagination. Now we can relax. Even if we draw that order tonight, we’ll be fine.”
“And about dumping trash at the incinerator, it might not be a death sentence. Maybe Daisy and Grace just broke some taboo. At least Grace made it back alive.”
“So our chances of getting out of here in one piece are looking good.”
Serena patted her chest, visibly relieved.
“Right, thank goodness you’re okay. You have no idea how worried I was yesterday. If it had been just me, I wouldn’t know how to go on.”
Her face showed lingering fear, but inside, she seethed with rage.
Damn it, who wants to leave this place alive with a loser parasite like you?
If you survive, not only do I lose the treasures, but I’m stuck back at the hospital tending to wastes like you.
I’ve had enough of that miserable grind. I’m this close to financial freedom, chasing my dreams.
Why’d you have to make it through and ruin everything?
It’s all this parasite’s fault, a worthless sack spewing waste, blocking my path.
So, you deserve to die.
“Oh, here, take this.”
Ethan handed her a handbook. “Give it a read when you can. I figure by midnight tonight, we’ll have a way out of here.”
Serena tucked it away with a soft nod. “Okay.”
“By the way, Ethan.” Something seemed to occur to her. “This morning I spotted an odd door in the first-floor hallway. Never noticed it before. Think there might be some hidden secret inside?”
“A hidden door?”
Ethan looked puzzled.
Noticing his interest piqued, Serena hurried on. “This castle’s full of tricks. What you see on the surface isn’t always real; deeper mysteries could be lurking.”
“That door wasn’t there before, only showing up on the last day. Maybe it’s tied to our escape somehow.”
Ethan stroked his chin, wavering.
“But it could be a trap too. On the final day, the castle might throw up barriers to keep us here.”
Seeing him hesitate, Serena grew insistent.
“But better safe than sorry. Can you be sure what you’ve found so far is the whole truth? We have no way to verify right now.”
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