Nightmare Game
Copyright© 2025 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 60
A while later, the group gathered on the first floor.
It was their second day in Weaver’s Hollow, and yesterday the village head had tasked them with cutting down the Darkgold Tree and bringing back its trunk.
Now they needed to plan their next steps.
“Before we move, let me share my thoughts,” Bennett began, taking the lead.
“I’ll cut to the chase: I suspect this festival is a trap designed against us from the start.”
His words startled everyone, their eyes snapping to him.
Ethan, intrigued, found a seat and leaned in to hear more.
Bennett tugged his baseball cap lower, his voice carrying a serious edge. “We’ve been here a day, and you’ve probably noticed how deeply the villagers’ devotion to Arachnis runs, like it’s in their blood.”
“They hold this festival every year, fine, but why do they need outsiders to help? Chopping a tree isn’t something they couldn’t handle themselves. That’s point one.”
“Point two: you all felt Arachnis’s hostility toward us at the bonfire last night, didn’t you?”
Everyone nodded, still shaken by the memory.
That grotesque spider shadow had been a terrifying presence, as if they’d locked eyes with an unspeakable deity, a fear that burrowed into their souls and crushed any urge to resist.
Seeing their reactions, Bennett nodded. “Doesn’t that seem off? We’re here to celebrate their festival, so why does it feel like Arachnis holds a grudge against us?”
A soft-spoken girl with glasses, Hazel White, timidly raised her hand. “Are you saying the real reason Weaver’s Hollow needs outsiders isn’t for help but to use us as living sacrifices to Arachnis?”
Hazel, a fan of eerie tales, had read about ancient villages offering humans to dark gods, and Bennett’s words instantly brought their situation to mind.
“Holy crap, is that for real?” Oliver shot to his feet, visibly rattled.
“I think it’s likely,” said Wesley Crane, a slightly heavyset man rubbing his stomach, his face grim.
The scene in Maya’s room had already turned his stomach, and this chilling theory only made it worse.
“So what do we do?” Tessa clenched her fists, her face pale. “Arachnis killed Maya last night; it’s clearly no saint. It’s got to be an evil god.”
Zoe and Irene stayed silent but nodded in agreement.
“Exactly,” Jack scoffed, then perked up with a sudden idea. “What if they’re making us do these tasks to set us up for harm?”
“If we follow their orders, we’re playing into their hands. But if we deliberately ignore them and sabotage the festival, that could be the real way to clear this?”
His suggestion lit a spark of excitement in the group.
If Jack was right, they could just sit tight, avoid touching the room spiders, and coast to the mission’s end.
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