You Will Die At Daylight.

You Will Die At Daylight.

The message was clear. Did I believe it? Not really. The promise of a sweet $1m was all the incentive I needed to prove the urban legend wrong and get my inheritance.

It’s just one night. Just one night, Stephen, one night. That’s what they said. As I sat on a singular leather chair in an otherwise empty room, I didn’t think much of the “tip” until I was sat there, unable to move from the chair. If I did, I’d lose any chance of the inheritance.

The room had a clinical, sanitary feel. White walls with what looked like a small fire alarm next to the only door in and out. The white walls and black floors were unnerving. Although not easily rattled in life, the décor was just wrong. Other than that, it was lonely.

21:00

One hour down, eight to go. I thought it might be a little harder than this. Not quite as easy as I imagined, but not terrible. More boring than anything.

22:00

Wait. What’s that? I’m sure I heard a noise. Like a storm blowing. I thought the room was soundproofed. Or assumed it would be. I wish the wind would stop, but the inheritance makes it worth it. The sting bites my face, my hands, my ankles.

23:00

As the wind dies down, I breathe a sigh of relief. Fear is growing, but I won’t show it. As I work to warm up, the floor opens around the chair. I hear rising water — or something thicker, like sludge. Crap — it’s rising to my feet. I hope it slows, but with the inheritance at stake, I don’t think I’ll escape unscathed.

The cold, sludgy water bites into my skin, callousing my toes and chilling my heart. Then everything is black.

00:00

The black lasts too long, paired with the stench of sludge and a strange metallic taste. Silence. The wind and sludge stop, but the creeping death stays — or something worse.

Something is wrapped around my wrists. A weight crushes my bones. As the lights return, I see it: a massive boulder chained to me. I can’t move it. Circulation fades from my legs.

01:00

I thought this would be fun. Now I’m not just scared — I’m angry and ready to fight.

Wait. I’m not alone. A man stands in the corner. He looks oddly familiar — is it me? No, that doesn’t make sense.

“Help me! Why are you just standing there?”

“Help me! Why are you just sitting there?”

So distracted with this intruder, I don’t see the swampy water rising again. I can’t block his punches. All I keep thinking is the inheritance.

02:00

Darkness again. My lip and cheeks burst, blood filling my eyes. Bastards. Is the money worth it? I’m not sure I have a choice anymore.

“Help?” dies in my throat as I’m thrown backwards, the chair vanishing. I’m trapped in a tight wooden box. Heat builds beneath me — furnace heat. Flames surround me, crisping my skin. The stench of burning flesh fills my nose.

03:00

The flames die down. My flesh is whole again. A breath — then water licks at me. It grows hotter, boiling around me. I beg for it to stop — quietly.

A whip cracks. A sinister laugh. Another sting across my skin.

04:00

What’s that smell? The stench and stickiness of shit is quickly washed away as my head is shoved into a bucket of water, again and again.

Hands twist my head backwards, pain screaming through my neck and spine. A taze, a stumble, more pain. Blood drips from my wounds before I’m buried in black pitch that sears my flesh. Hooves kick me, pitchforks stab my chest. A heavy cloak drags at my shoulders.

05:00

It all fades for a beat — until clawed feet crawl over me, biting deep. Through my battered mouth, something slips — a slimy, forked tongue.

No sooner am I cursing my existence than I’m seeing the lights come on. Everything seems normal. No bruises. No burns. No filth. No swamp. No doppelgänger. Just peace.

Water seeps from my skin, coating me in a mercurial layer.

"Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate."

The last words I ever speak are not my own. The water solidifies around me, freezing me in place. My mind races, my body functions — but I can’t move or speak.

Dark, shadowy figures surround me.

“Another successful soul caught,” is all I hear before the numbness takes over.

*

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