The door did not slam shut as expected, instead drifting to a soft click. It was a whisper of sound, swallowed almost instantly by the darkness of the room ahead.
Remi’s veins throbbed. Even though he couldn’t see anything, his body recognizing the shape of the space even though his eyes couldn’t. A constricted path of death lay before him. Within seconds he was glowing violet. The faint neon light spilled just far enough ahead to sketch a narrow corridor out of the dark.
His heart hammered faster. The walls on each side of him were close, only about an arms width apart, but even in the dim splash of purple, he could see they drew closer still.
Remi took a hesitant step forward, feeling the air thicken around him.
I can’t breathe, he thought. He forced himself to take yet another step.
The walls were closer now. Close enough for him to see the glass.
Shining spikes protruded from the fleshy walls—so close.
He knew this feeling. Chest tight. Just like drowning.
Purple light flared. The walls leaned in again.
His feet locked in place.
The walls were moving even closer.
A prick of glass.
Then, pain lanced his flesh.
The walls constrict.
Glass sinks deeper.
Remi’s ribs crack.
Death is so slow.
Perpetual pain.
An eternity.
[RESET]
Attempt: 2
Remi respawned in the staging chamber. His heart beat against a chest that once again had room. Amihan was at his side immediately. Her expression was softer than he had seen since this had begun.
Her words came as a whisper, softly brushing his ear.
“Remember what I told you Guro. Breathe! You must breathe now, and in there. Trauma lives outside of breath, so you fight it not by holding yours. Let yours move, and the space, and the fear will move with you.”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
He focused. Steadying his breath to match hers. He let the air flow through his body, and as he did, he steadied.
“I really hate my trauma.”
“Don’t we all,” said Nel.
Amihan continued her thought. “But we can’t be bested by it, trauma is what was, not what is. We can let it define you, or you can define it.”
Remi nodded.
“Ok,” Nel chimed in. “Now that you’re good, can I say the room is easy. Just don’t stop moving my dude.”
His laughter came out more as a wheeze. “Easier said than done.”
“Let’s find out, why don’t we,” said Amihan. She pointed at the door. “Forward. Always forward.”
Remi did not react, what would be the point. She was right. As always. So frustrating! He walked to the main door of the gauntlet, steadied himself for just a second before he tried again.
He timed his way through the first room, and once again found himself in the darkness of room two.
This time he did not hesitate. Forward and breathe.
He timed his breath, to match his pulse.
He timed his feet to match his breath.
The walls once again shifted.
The corridor narrowed.
His breath tightened.
But it didn’t stop.
Remi breathed.
Air came in.
Step, step.
And out.
Forward.
A sudden widening.
The lights flooded back.
Remi stumbled into the safe zone. His HUD flashed.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
[ROOM 2 — CLEARED]
NEXT: ROOM 3 — CONSTRICTION HALL
He didn’t speak at first. Then, “Goddamn right it is!” He stepped into the open space, breathing hard and laughing simultaneously. “Yes!” His voice cracked with the sudden relief that surged through him.
Before he could even finish enjoying his victory, as he’d barely thrown his fists in the air, there was a sharp crack overhead. A dry snapping sound from above as a jagged block sheared loose from the ceiling and plummeted directly towards his head.
Remi looked up. There was just enough time to register it—but not enough time to move.
“Fuck me!”
CRUNCH—THUD!
[RESET]
Attempt: 3
As Remi stepped through the portal he could see Nel shaking her head in feigned disappointment.
“I’m embarrassed for you,” she said. The tsk-tsk was intended for comedic purposes, and while generally he was all for some solid comic relief, having just been killed like Wile E. Coyote made him a bit grumpy about the whole thing.
His face must have shown his annoyance, because Nel decided not to let up. It was his own fault really, usually she was a one quip max sort of girl, but apparently today was open season on Remi Page.
She looked up, intentionally holding his gaze as she delivered the next line in perfect dead-pan. “So, how does it feel to get Piggy’d, my dude?”
He exhaled slowly. “You done?”
“Nope, got a few more, because that ending rocked.”
“Please stop,” he said.
“Aren’t I cracking you up…oh wait!”
Finally, his stubbornness broke, like his skull, and he let out a chuckle.
“Fine, you win,” he said, lifting both hands in surrender. “I finally hit rock bottom.” It was her turn to groan. “What, you wanted something bolder?”
“Oh, god!”
“I’m just starting to get crackalakin here.”
“Now, I’m regretting my life choices,” she tossed up her hands in imitation of his.
“Truce,” she said.
“Truce. What can you tell me about this next room?”
She returned her focus to her laptop, as she typed she muttered, “there isn’t much here. Apparently, the HUD message was being delayed. There is a note about it being for dramatic and comic effect. Cute. Give me a sec, I think I can rework the—” her voice dissolved into key clicks. Remi had noticed she had this habit of forgetting to keep talking once her brain started sprinting.
He waited. And waited. And waited some more. He looked at Amihan, who shrugged.
Finally after what felt like an eternity, which is impressive given they were in a time bubble, she finally remembered that there was going on than just code.
“Okay,” she said, with a final key tap, "Got it.” The system finally pushed the room designation through.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
ROOM 3 — MORDROC’S GAUNTLET
Proceed at your own peril.
Player discretion advised (Seriously).
“Mordroc? Who the hell is Mordroc?”
Remi felt a bit cold. “Don’t worry about it, it is something from before your time. But I have a feeling I am in for a metric-crap tonne of dying.”
“Cool, I guess, good luck then my dude.”
Remi looked at Amihan again, and once again she shrugged. “Forward,” she said pointing back at the door.
“Fine.”
He made it through the first room quickly, but the second one was just as terrible the third time around. This was going to be a nightmare. He entered Mordroc’s lair, and easily sidestepped the falling rock. He was not however able to avoid the horizontal rotating spire that seemed to sweep out of nowhere. It spun at him from his left side, the one closest to where he stepped to avoid the damn rock. It happened so fast, he didn’t even have time to feel the rock spikes as they punched clean through his ribs and—
[RESET]
Attempt: 4
“Wow,” was the first thing Remi heard as he respawned. “You made it two steps.”
It was going to hurt worse than a career’s worth of PD days all rolled into one. Remi decided not to engage with Nel. He didn’t even give Amihan time for her signature ‘forward,” instead he walked through the first door. All the time mentally repeating, left to avoid bolder, quick right and spin away from spikes.
He successfully avoided the first two hazards, and even managed to go another fifteen steps. He barley survived a blade that sprang from the wall, and slid under a rotating wooden arm jutting from a spire located in the room’s center. He was getting savvy, actually reading the patterns, and even sidestepped the obvious spike that shot up from the so-called safe zone just after the log had passed over his head.
He had even dared to think he was starting to get a handle on this when that same arm, which he’d dodged a moment earlier, suddenly accelerated and slammed directly into his chest. The impact sent him flying backwards onto the spike pad he’d avoided two seconds ago.
SCHLUNK!
He saw the spike as it punched through him. A single, polished tooth of iron that seemed to wink at his hubris in the light. He’d just had enough time for one final resigned thought:
[RESET]
