by Helen Bell
“Why do none of the elevators work anymore? Why’d you permit her to take the key from the other room and not me?”
He dropped his head forward and pinched the bridge of his nose, squinting his eyes shut, as if he couldn’t bear to hear her anymore.
“Because the challenge is over,” he said. When he opened his eyes, he looked at Roger. “Now you may shoot her.”
Roger drew his gun and fired. With a bullet in her head, she died instantly, collapsing to the floor. All the others were dead too. So much blood, smeared everywhere, spread everywhere, in the water, on the walls, on the ground. The room looked like a scene from a horror movie.
“You sadistic son of a bitch.” I glared at Brad, and I didn’t care about the stupid stick-on electronic patch he’d put on me. Go ahead, press the button, you asshole. God, I despised him.
Unmoved, he asked, “Why’d you take the key from the water tank in the first room? Your freedom depends on your answer.”
“Your instructions were, and I quote, ‘Pick a tank, put your sticker on it, and get the key lying at the bottom of that tank.’ You never said that the key must come from a tank in this room. As you well know, there were fourteen of them lying at the bottom of the tanks in the other room. Taking a key from there doesn’t fall under any of your restrictions,” I said.
“But the key in your hand is gray. Why do you think it will match the black door behind you?”
“I don’t. In fact I’m pretty sure it won’t, but whether or not it matches is not relevant for this challenge. Unlike the first one, your instructions did not stipulate that we must have a black key, or any key for that matter, to unlock this door.”
He slow-clapped. “Well done.” He pulled out the black device from his pocket and put it on my arm to remove the patch from my skin.
“I finished your twisted game. Now tell me, where is Zoey? Where’s Kyla? Did they go through the same thing? Are they …” I swallowed. “Dead?”
He laughed. “Dead? Aren’t you the pessimistic one? Think more positively. I hear it’s good for the soul.” The black door opened, and he motioned to it. “You’re free to go. Goodbye, Sydney.” He turned and walked away.
“Wait! I need to know; where’s my sister? Where’s Zoey?” I called out at his retreating back. I strode toward him, but Roger grabbed my arm, pulled me back, and threw me outside the room.
The door slammed in my face. I pounded on it. “No! Tell me where Zoey is!” I shouted until I got tired, then rested my forehead against the door. I had to contact Gideon, but how? I had no money, no phone, and no watch with a tracker in it. I wondered if Kelly had texted him. What if Brad had done something to her, or taken her too?
I drew my eyebrows together when a warm wind caressed my body. It was winter, but the temperature was high. With a wet dress and no shoes, I should be freezing. I whirled around. What the hell?
Ten feet away from me, a wide river with a high boardwalk led to a vast expanse of nature, where tropical trees created a thick wall of greenery. Where was I? I jerked back to look at the building I’d been thrown from a moment ago, but it was gone. Stunned, I closed my eyes, rubbed my face, then opened them again. Rubber trees, jungle ferns, and wild ginger stood where the building was supposed to be. I reached out, touching air. It couldn’t be an illusion. I was immune to it. Since objects didn’t disappear into thin air, it had to be some kind of magic.
Great, Brad had witches working for him.
I sighed. How was I going to reach Gideon or Kelly in the middle of freaking nowhere?
I moved toward the bridge and stopped at the beginning of it when I spotted a glowing butterfly. It danced and fluttered around me, leaving a long trail of tiny sparkly gold particles. My lips parted as my gaze was glued to the magical glittery light, which looked like translucent fairy dust. While I gawked at it, I felt a sudden shift in the air’s texture.
There was a nuclear flash, and a great-shaking explosion followed it. The clap of thunder startled me and apparently the butterfly as well. It flitted away, disappearing into the jungle, and the trail of glowing particles behind it faded. A few seconds later, red raindrops began to splash my skin. I gazed down at my hands and the ground. Was it raining … blood? Sweet. Baby. Jesus. What was this place?
Chapter 21
Covered with blood, I searched for shelter and hurried to a broad-leafed tree not far away, and waited out the weird storm. Standing on a dry spot, I watched the downpour of red rain splattering the ground. Eventually, it let up and then stopped altogether. The strong scent of fresh blood hung in the air. I breathed through my mouth and trod lightly on the blood-slicked ground, heading back to the bridge. Careful not to slip, I crossed the boardwalk over a pink-tinged river and examined the place. Was I even still on Earth?
Other than the glowing butterfly and blood falling from the sky, the landscape looked like an ordinary tropical jungle teeming with buzzing and climbing insects. I gazed up and found one moon over my head, not two, or three. Stars dotted the black sky, some covered by clouds. The moonlight was bright, casting a soft light. On the other side of the river, I discovered a thatch umbrella. It was positioned at the entrance of the jungle. Two objects were under it.
I approached them with caution. Two duffel bags. I looked right and left, but there was no one around. Who did those bags belong to? Had Brad brought his men here? I unzipped one bag and slipped my hand inside. I dragged a folded sheet of paper and a flashlight out. I turned on the flashlight and unfolded the paper. It was a note. I shined a light on the words.
Hello Sydney,
Congratulations on your win. These bags are for you. Inside you’ll find brand-new clothes in your size. Body measurements of all the girls were taken when you were unconscious by a female employee of mine. In one bag, there are also toiletries, food, and water, and in the other, weapons. Guard the weapons well, especially the gun with the silver bullets, as it’s essential for your survival.
This is where our ways part now. I wish you the best of luck out there. You’ll be needing it. Ice Prison is a tough, cruel place inhabited by dangerous creatures. Not to mention the prisoners, most of whom haven’t had human blood in a very, very long time. Hope you make it more than an hour or two. Again, best of luck to you.
Brad.
I blinked at the paper, and my jaw almost hit the floor. Ice Prison? I was in Ice Prison? Oh. My. God. Why would that psycho bring me out here? Probably just for the fun of it. I unzipped the second bag and sagged with relief. He hadn’t lied. It contained weapons: a machete, a silver dagger, and a handgun. At least I had something I could use to protect myself.
My stomach growled as I rifled through the other bag. There was bottled water and canned food, enough to last me about three weeks, and a sandwich with cheese and bacon. I dug it out. Saliva gathered in my mouth at the smell. I wiped my hands against the wet, dirty dress. Then I bit into the sandwich, chewing savagely. I was famished; I didn’t even care about the taste of blood my hands left on the bread. Once I calmed my hunger, I had the energy to plan my next steps.
At the Memphis warriors’ castle, Alice had told me the portal to Ice Prison was in the Devil’s Triangle, AKA the Bermuda Triangle, so I was in another dimension. Crap. The second thing I knew about Ice Prison was that a powerful being named Herit had built it to lock away supernatural criminals—not humans. This was helpful information, but it wasn’t enough. If I intended to survive—and I did—I had to learn everything I could about this place. Like the kinds of danger it probably held: wildlife, deadly insects, poisonous plants, and inhuman prisoners. And then, search for a miracle way back to my universe.
A gust of breath left me. To let despair take root inside me was tempting. Returning home sounded impossible; however, I refused to give Brad the satisfaction of breaking me. Somehow, I’d find a way back to my universe. I will. Thanks to my father, I wasn’t scared of being in a harsh environment like the jungle—even if it was in another dimension. I had wilderness survival skills training. In
addition, when I’d honed my martial arts skills, practicing with Gideon, I’d learned that I knew how to use almost any weapon because of the black magic on my hand.
A bright blue thunderbolt lit the dark sky, drawing my attention. When the crashing boom arrived milliseconds later, I expected another red shower. Instead, clean water splashed against the umbrella and dripped off its edges. I took out a bottle of shampoo, a bar of soap, and the dagger, then stepped into the rain. I freed my hair from its elastic band and stripped naked. I kept the knife close to me while I scrubbed my body and hair with the shampoo and soap, letting the rain wash the stink and dirt off.
When I was clean, I ducked back under the umbrella. The warm wind touched my bare wet skin as I pulled all the clothes and a pair of shoes out of the bag: a leather belt with holsters, underwear, bras, a black shirt, a black ribbed tank top, hiking boots, and cream knit socks. I put them on and wore the belt with the holster ends strapped to each thigh. Then I emptied the weapon bag, shoved the dagger and gun into the holsters, and calculated my next moves. First things first. I had to find a somewhat safe place to camp for the night, preferably on a high hill overlooking potential treats. Then I’d set booby traps around it, so I wouldn’t be ambushed while I slept.
When the rain stopped, I started into the jungle, leaving the second bag, which I’d emptied, behind. The combined scent of wet soil, decaying leaves, and damp moss reached my nose as I cut a path into the foliage using the machete. Although it was not raining anymore, drops of water continued to fall from the leaves and branches of the canopy, trickling to the uneven forest floor. Twigs and ferns crunched under my boots as I kept going.
A symphony of sounds surrounded me. There were screeching monkeys, croaking frogs, millions of buzzing insects, flowing water and, from time to time, crashing branches falling through the tropical trees. Just when I thought everything looked like a regular jungle, a giant creature with the appearance of a wide snake with three heads slithered over the buttress roots of a nearby tree.
I came to a halt and slowly backed up. A twig snapped under my feet. I screwed up my face when the creature spotted me. Three of its heads hissed at me, showing sharp fangs.
“Hey, there.” I took another step back. “All the, uh, hissing and fangs thing is not by any chance your way of giving a friendly welcome greeting, right?” I asked it, as if the creature could understand me, or maybe in this dimension, monsters taken right out of a nightmare could. The head in the middle opened its jaws and ejected a yellow substance that smelled like a rotten egg. Having fast reflexes, I dodged the smelly substance in time.
“No? Okay, just checking.”
The fuming liquid, which had missed my feet by a few inches, ate away at leaves and branches. I looked up to the creature. It was slithering in my direction, and it was fast. Outrunning it over a gnarled jungle floor of roots and moss would be a tad tricky, so I dropped the bag on the ground and raised the machete. At that exact moment, its vast body froze. All three heads held terror in their eyes.
At first, puzzlement filled me, but then relief replaced it. My spine straightened as I bragged, “Yeah, that’s right. You better be scared.” I sliced the air with the blade. Instead of fleeing in screams from my mighty machete, the three of them ignored me and looked up at the sky through the canopy. My gaze went up too.
One by one, the stars disappeared. When the moon vanished as well and the sky started to brighten, the jungle went silent. Even the insects held their breath. A wail like an air-raid siren erupted, painfully loud. The creature in front of me slithered away. Well that couldn’t be good. I grabbed the bag and hoisted it onto my shoulder. As my gaze flicked around, searching for a place to hide from whatever was coming, a hand landed on my upper arm. Gripping the machete tighter, I jerked away as I turned, ready to attack whoever—or whatever—it was, then gasped with shock.
Kelly?
Chapter 22
“Whoa, whoa, careful.” She backed away from my weapon. Barefoot, she was still wearing the lavender dress from the party. Her hair was messed up. “Sydney, we gotta hurry! We don’t have time. Follow me.”
I snapped out of my shock and ran behind her. I couldn’t see anything except leaves slapping my face, vines, and gray mist rising from the uneven floor. Branches hit me in the ribs, and I almost tripped a few times, the weight of the bag on my shoulder only adding to the difficulties.
As we ran, the siren stopped, and the night just … ended. One moment it was dark, the next, rays of sunlight broke through the canopy of the forest. Kelly screamed in pain. Having BFB in my system, the sun hurt me as well, but we both kept moving. To where? I had no idea. A jolt of terror streaked through me when screeches began echoing in the jungle, sounding eerie and ghoulish. I ran faster.
Kelly finally halted and motioned me to climb a rope ladder leading to a tree house twenty feet above our heads. I quickly scampered up the ladder and crawled inside a single rectangular room made of wood. Its roof was slanted, and there was no furniture of any kind or windows. Being a vampire with super speed, Kelly was inside too in seconds, closing the door behind her. Everything went black.
The sound of my panting filled the small space before I spoke. “Kelly, what—”
“Shh, don’t talk. Don’t move,” she said in a low voice. Though, her warning came through loud and clear.
Sitting on the floor, I zipped my mouth shut and went motionless. The demonic howls in the jungle made my blood run cold, and a knot of fear grew in my guts. Not knowing what was roaming free out there rendered the situation even scarier, yet I tried not to panic as I sat in the dark. What felt like a few hours passed, and the sinister howls outside stopped.
“They’re gone,” Kelly finally said in a normal volume.
I let out a deep sigh and stretched my arms and legs while she opened the door. Soft moonlight—not sunlight—filtered inside the room.
Surprised, I stood and peered outside. “It’s night again. How is that possible?”
“We’re in another dimension; things work a bit differently here. Don’t freak out, but we’re in Ice Prison, a prison for the supernatural beings,” she answered.
“I know, but it’s a jungle. Why is it called Ice Prison?”
“’Cause when supernatural beings die here, they turn to ice. Each race has its own section in Ice Prison. The vampire area is called the Jungle. Kill or be killed,” she explained. “Here it’s night most of the time. The sun comes out once or twice a week for three or four hours. That’s when the gargoyles leave their caves to hunt—anything that comes their way.”
My eyebrows soared. “Gargoyles?”
“Yeah. They can fly, they’re ugly as hell, and their saliva prevents their victims from turning into ice after they kill them. My father used to tell me many stories about them. A Gargoyle was once a vampire prisoner.” She looked outside the door. “The Jungle’s air messes with the vampires’ DNA. Our fast-healing ability protects us from it, but not forever.
“If we breathe oxygen here for more than ten years straight, the damage becomes too much for our body to handle, and we gradually mutate into an animal. We could turn into a frog, a butterfly, an alligator, or even an animal that doesn’t exist on Earth. It all depends on the vampire’s strength, age, and DNA. Those who were strong, like Ancients, will transform into gargoyles. Once a vampire fully mutates, there’s no coming back to Earth. The mutation is a slow process that takes years. After about ten years of breathing the Jungle’s air, a vampire will start to lose his or her memories while the body slowly changes. In the end, you’ll have no memory of who you once were, and you’ll become an animal.”
Thousands of questions piled up in my mind, and they came out in a flurry. “All the animals in the Jungle were once vampires? Why do the gargoyles get out only when the sun’s up? Who set off the alarm? What about the green trees? Don’t they need sunlight to grow? You know, photosynthesis and all that … and what about humans? What happens to us here?”
; “All the animals you’ve encountered and will encounter in the Jungle were once vampires. The gargoyles differ from the others in that their eyes and legs don’t work in the dark. The sunlight helps them see, and it fuels their bodies with energy. About twice a week, they eat, and when the night returns, they go back into their caves to sleep until the next time the sunlight wakes them up.” She raised a hand. “Hold on a second.”
She vanished and reappeared in front of me two seconds later with something in her hand.
“The smell of your blood is driving me nuts. I’m starving. I gotta feed before I sink my teeth into you.”
I stared down at my body. From the run earlier, I had a few new open cuts on my arms and legs. Thank God she had bags of blood with her. Had Brad given them to her? “How’d you end up here? Was it Brad?”
She gulped blood and sat down on the floor. “Yeah, that jerk took me too. After you lost consciousness, he searched you for trackers and weapons. He found your silver dagger and tortured me until I couldn’t take it anymore. I’m so sorry, I had to tell him about the tracker in the watch … He was hurting me and was so mad I hadn’t kept my mouth shut.
“As a punishment, he ordered a witch to open a portal to Ice Prison. He forced me into the Jungle, and because I brought you to the party alone as he’d asked, he gave me ten bags of blood.” She took a long sip before continuing. “Then I spotted you from afar. The three-headed snake was about to eat you. I rushed in your direction, and the siren blared. I don’t get it, though. Why would he throw you in here?”
“I have no clue. Only God knows what’s going on in his crazy head,” I said, and my gaze swept over her. She seemed to be in bad shape, mainly emotionally. “I’m sorry I dragged you into all this, Kelly.” Because of me, she was in Ice Prison. I felt terrible.