SWNOVELS Chapter Oct. 30: Gear
A camera begin’s its recording with a dull beep and a girl pops into the frame. She wore simple, adventure suited clothes and smiled at the camera, waving.
« Hi everyone! I’m Cecilia. In case it’s your first time watching, I like to explore mysterious and creepy places, which I document up on here! » She spoke cheerfully, a huge contrast to the place she now showed by flipping the camera. It was the middle of some woods, the thick clouds visible between the widely spaced trees, the entire atmosphere very gloomy.
« As you all can see, today is just perfect weather for exploring by ‘Cecilia standards’, so I couldn’t miss the opportunity to share with you all this weird door one of my viewers recommended to me! » The camera focused on an ugly cement square protruding from the ground, seeming awfully out of place amongst the leaves and barks.
The angle of the camera rolled and shuffled as noises were heard, most likely the girl pinning the camera onto herself to free up her hands. Her forearms came into view, showing that the camera was now possibly hanging around her neck.
« Right then! Let’s go! » She cheerfully exclaimed, hands giving two excited thumbs up before she walked towards the door.
When she turned the rusty handle, the door refused to budge at first. But after a few comments from the girl and a few more hard tugs with all her strength, it finally opened, revealing a flight of stairs going downwards.
« Well that’s quite creepy. » The girl said casually and grabbed a flashlight from somewhere outside the view of the camera. « Anyways! I’ve got my flashlight so let’s head on down! » A round spot of light shone into the darkness, revealing nearly endless stairs. « That’s quite the long way down haha— »
The video suddenly turned to a chaotic static, image and sound completely battered and jumbled up. Once the static cleared and the footage went back to normal, it now showed a grim underground path akin to a sewer with a man-made underground river beside the ledge on which the girl walked.
« Geez, it’s so stuffy in here. And also kinda smelly. » An arm waved around in front of the camera as though to dissipate a smell in the air. « Don’t tell me I was told to explore a sewer, that’s just boring and nasty. »
The girl sighed and kept on walking, the camera following the directions in which her body turned, the flashlight drawing lines along the dark and damp surfaces. Some pipes lined the walls and the ‘hallway’ stretched on, although there was a visible end to it. The entire tunnel was shaped like an upside down half-moon, the river running down the middle between two ‘platforms’. She walked on the right side of the water.
« Oh, I think I see something, » the girl spoke, pointing the flashlight at the edge of the tunnel. The camera shifted and was lifted to a higher level, then the lenses zoomed in. With the magnified picture, a rusted metal door was visible on the last wall. After a few words from the girl, the camera bobbed quickly as she ran to the door and managed to push it open after much effort.
Suddenly, a room was revealed. It was much bigger than the platform she was just on, the space opening up on the right, about the size of a small gymnasium. The ceiling was the same height as the tunnel, just about 3 meters above the girls height as she held the camera to give viewers a better view of the room. Strange and rusted cogs and wheels were everywhere all over the walls, one stacked above another in a disorderly manner. With a short exclamation, the girl found a stuck-up shape at the end of the room and headed for it.
It was a square pillar, a little over a meter tall with a big red button on it. In an unstable handwriting was written in white:
« ’Press to play~.’ Huh. Seems… interesting. » The girl considered the choice for a few seconds. « Since I’m already here, might as well! » And she pressed it down firmly.
The moment the button sunk down, a loud metallic ‘clunk’ was heard from behind her and the camera whipped around to find the entrance sealed. The entire room was then bathed in a threatening red light and all the gears on the wall began to turn simultaneously. « What— »
A piercing voice coming from hidden speakers suddenly spoke, making the girl hunch over in surprise. « Welcome, welcome, welcome! To my Games Room! » The voice was high pitched and quivered occasionally, sounding like that of a mad-man. « You are currently inside Room One. If you wish to live, clear the room’s puzzle within the time limit and the next room shall open. If you don’t, well… you’ll die! » A maniacal laughter pierced into the camera’s audio as the girl swore in disbelief, clawing at the door she had entered from, that didn’t even have a handle from this side.
« This room’s puzzle is: Find the 5 fake gears amongst the 3762 on the walls! Good luck and have fun! You have 10 minutes! » The voice came again, before disappearing.
And the video cuts off.