The doll spoke in her usual calm, eerie voice:
"The fourth round will begin... in five seconds."
I didn't waste a second. I quickly sat down, just as I'd learned to do — ready for the paralyzing stillness and suffocating darkness that were about to descend once again.
As the countdown ended, a deadly silence settled over the room. The doll said nothing. No sound. No movement. Just that same weight returning to press down on my body… on my aching back… and on my joints that screamed in silence with each passing second.
I spent nearly thirty minutes like this.
It felt as if time itself had turned into some thick liquid — dripping slowly onto my head, melting me bit by bit.
But I held on… unwillingly.
Then, as always, came the sound I'd grown to despise:
"Trnn... trnn..."
Followed by the words that now felt like a never-ending nightmare:
"Who is the fourth person... the one the insect fell upon?"
My heart shrank for a moment, even though I was certain I hadn't felt anything this time.
A few seconds of silence passed — just enough for my mind to be flooded with countless possibilities.
It wasn't me — I was sure of it. I hadn't felt a thing. No crawling, no sting, nothing disgusting brushing my skin.
So the possibilities were limited…
Either Cairo… or the doll.
But could it be…?
Suddenly, the answer came from her — in a cheerful tone, like she was revealing a surprise at a children's party:
"Well... I am the one the insect fell on."
My eyebrows rose in shock I couldn't contain.
Did the doll say… she was the victim?
An opportunity — a golden one, rare and unrepeatable.
For the second time, the doll was the one tasked with making us laugh.
This time, we wouldn't mess it up.
This time, no one would laugh.
We had to stay strong.
Her voice returned again, light and playful — like someone preparing for a little show:
"So... it looks like I have to make one of you laugh."
Then she continued:
"Why could not the ant get through the door?"
She paused for effect, then said with eager enthusiasm:
"Because... she was wearing heels!"
…
Silence.
Was that it?
I suppressed a sarcastic smile creeping onto my lips.
The joke wasn't funny at all. More like something a little kid would say — a child who didn't yet understand how punchlines worked.
Good…
If she kept this up, we'd get through the round just fine.
I was on the verge of fully relaxing — when her voice snuck into my thoughts again, cutting through as always:
"Hmm... I guess that joke was not funny... so how about this one?"
She paused again, as if building up dramatic tension — then said:
"Why are not Player One and Player Two laughing?"
Then, with a malicious tone:
"Because they are afraid... and if they do not laugh, they will be punished."
…
I froze.
What kind of cheap trick was this?
Did she think that tone would scare us again?
Did she believe we'd fall for the same trap twice?
What fool would laugh after knowing her "threat" in the second round turned out to be a so-called joke?
I smiled inwardly with confidence.
Not this time.
But…
Something happened — something I hadn't expected.
In the middle of the silence… in the peak of concentration… within the darkness and stillness and watchful waiting…
A sound rose from the other side.
A sound that should not have been heard.
A laugh.
A real, clear, broken-up laugh… completely unexpected.
"Hoh... hohohohohoh.."
I felt the air in my lungs freeze.
It was Cairo's voice.
Cairo… laughed.
…
Cairo's laugh.
That sound, cutting through the darkness like a slap to my face, could only mean one thing: defeat.
I froze in place — not from fear, but disbelief.
He laughed?!
Cairo… laughed?!
Words echoed in my head like the aftermath of an explosion:
That idiot… that fool…
I clenched my teeth tightly, thinking:
How could he do that?!
How could he laugh at a time like this?!
It was a golden chance — rare, unrepeatable!
We weren't even asked to do anything — just silence, stillness, nothing.
And the doll had told a joke that was about as funny as a soggy towel.
We could've won… we were so close to advancing, to securing the round.
But…
He laughed.
Why?!
Was it out of fear?
Did he lose control?
Or — worst of all — did he actually find the joke… funny?
What kind of madness is this?
This was our chance to win. We knew any slip would change the course of the round…
And just as I was about to drown in a sea of internal curses, the doll interrupted — her usual tone returning, that infuriating mix of fake innocence and poisonous play:
"Wonderful!"
She said it with fake excitement, then added:
"You laughed! That means I get a second point, which means... we are tied!"
I felt a lump rise in my throat, as she shamelessly continued:
"So... the fifth and final round will decide the winner!"
Then, in a childish, eager voice, she said:
"I am really excited to see what happens!"
And as always, she followed with:
"So... in five seconds, the fifth and final round will begin."
She began the countdown…
"One…"
(Ugh…)
I gasped inside my head, as if every passing second shredded my nerves.
"Two…"
(Why? Why did he have to laugh?!)
"Three…"
(That idiot, that #*&%…)
I felt heat building in my head. My face flushed red with anger. My fists clenched so hard it hurt.
"Four…"
(If only he hadn't laughed… If he had held himself together! We would've won! We could've ended this torment now!)
Every cell in my body screamed.
Cairo, Cairo, Cairo…
But then—
"Five…"
(Wait…)
My thoughts stopped cold.
Wait… why?
Why was I blaming him?
Why was I dumping all this guilt on him?
Why was I cursing him in my mind as if he had betrayed me on purpose?
Was he the one who made the rules?
Was he the one who brought the insect?
Was he the one who created this sick game?
No…
It wasn't his fault.
It was the doll.
She's the one mocking us.
She's the one playing with our minds — pulling the strings of tension inside us like children with their toys.
She's the one dragging us toward the edge of this abyss.
Suddenly, I realized how foolish I had been.
The game had made me forget who the real enemy was.
It had made me turn my rage toward Cairo, instead of keeping my eyes fixed on the one truly to blame — this ridiculous, lying, manipulative doll.
I took a deep breath, feeling a heavy weight drop onto my heart.
I'm such an idiot.
I whispered it in my mind.
I didn't just lose the round — I had betrayed myself.
I let fleeting emotions control me…
I blamed my friend — my only companion in this madness — for something beyond his control.
Cairo wasn't a fool.
He was just… human.
Just like me.
And the doll… was still silent.
The final round was about to begin.
And what an ending it would be…