Ron came out of the restaurant and walked towards his hotel room.
The sun wasn't full out.
Ron saw a few creatures walking nearby. Ron's eyes widened.
I must be hallucinating, Ron thought.
Ron walked inside the hotel and saw the receptionist still standing,
She was standing when went out. And she was also standing when I came to take keys. Ron thought.
and went straight to sleep.
Meanwhile,
After breakfast, Ava and Liora spent the day at the amusement park. They laughed on rides, screamed through roller coasters, and indulged in cotton candy and games. The sun dipped low, painting the sky in orange and purple, and by the time they returned to R's House, both were exhausted.
They collapsed onto the beds in their rooms, exhaustion pulling them into deep sleep almost instantly.
Hours later, in the dead of night, Liora stirred. Something felt… off.
She sat up, listening. Silence. The faint hum of the house's electronics whispered through the walls, but there was an undercurrent of unease she couldn't shake.
Something isn't right with this house, she thought.
She slipped out of her room quietly, bare feet against the cold floor. Her keys jingled faintly in her pocket.
As she walked down the hallway, the keys slipped from her grip and fell.
A soft clatter—but it wasn't marble hitting metal. Something heavier. Something wooden.
Her pulse quickened.
She bent down and picked up the keys. The sound had come from directly beneath the marble tile where she had stepped.
Why did it sound like wood?
Curiosity and fear gnawed at her. She pressed her palms against the tile.
Click.
The tile shifted. Slowly, almost reluctantly, a section of the floor sank, revealing a ladder stretching downward into darkness.
Liora froze.
"A… ladder?" she whispered.
Then, a voice called softly from upstairs.
"Liora?"
She turned sharply. "Ava?"
"What are you doing?" Ava's voice carried a mix of confusion and concern.
"Come… and see for yourself," Liora said, trying to steady her voice.
Ava descended the stairs, and as she stepped onto the hidden floor, the fear hit her like a physical force.
A secret way… beneath the house.
Liora nodded grimly. Without another word, she led the way down the ladder, Ava following close behind.
They entered a long, dimly lit hallway. Three doors lined the corridor: one to the right, one to the left, and one directly ahead.
They exchanged glances. Both felt the same chill of anticipation.
Slowly, hesitantly, they approached the center door.
As soon as they opened it, their breaths caught in their throats.
The lab before them was massive—state-of-the-art, terrifyingly advanced, and alive with a quiet menace. Machines hummed, monitors glowed with data, and the faint metallic scent of chemicals lingered in the air.
At the far right corner, a chair with heavy restraints sat ominously. Beside it, an array of torturing tools glinted in the low light. The floor beneath was streaked with fresh blood.
Ava's stomach twisted. Liora's fingers trembled as she brushed the edge of a table.
They began to explore cautiously.
Ava approached a desk stacked with papers and photographs. She sifted through a bundle and froze. Among the pictures of unknown figures, she recognized a few: Ron, Carter, Rocky, Finian… and others.
Meanwhile, Liora knelt near the blood-stained chair, her finger touching it lightly.
"The blood… it's fresh. Something happened here a few hours ago," Liora murmured.
Ava nodded, holding a document titled simply: "Perfection." She hesitated to open it—her eyes scanned the cover and the first names inside: Ines, Ai…
She carefully placed it back.
Then her gaze drifted to a notice board mounted on the wall. A photograph of a figure dominated the center. Several smaller images surrounded it, pinned with green pins, connected by red threads. Below the central image, a phrase was written in bold letters:
"THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE"
A shiver ran down Ava's spine.
"It's… a plan," she whispered. "No wonder those books on Dark Psychology were here."
Liora left the chair and the bloody instruments behind, moving closer to Ava. Her hands trembled.
"No… it can't be…" Liora muttered.
Ava stepped closer, placing a steadying hand on Liora's arm.
"Calm down, Liora. Breathe," she said.
Liora's eyes never left the board.
"This… this picture…" she whispered, voice cracking.
"Who is it?" Ava asked softly.
"Locki…" Liora said, barely audible.
"Locki? Who's Locki?" Ava pressed.
"My elder brother," Liora replied, her face pale.
Ava's eyes widened in shock.
"Your… brother?" she whispered.
"Yes," Liora said, voice trembling. "He's… he's involved in all of this?"
The two women stood frozen, the hum of machines and the faint metallic scent of the lab pressing down on them. Somewhere in the shadows, secrets were waiting. And this was only the beginning.
Suddenly, a strong wind flow sound came. The instruments started shaking.
"Wind? underground?" Liora said.