The handbook was heavier than it looked.
My hands were shaking. Not much, just a faint tremor in my fingers that I couldn't quite control. I told myself it was the cold. The room was freezing, wasn't it? White walls, white floor, white ceiling reflecting that harsh LED light that made everything feel like a hospital morgue.
Except it wasn't cold. My skin was clammy with sweat.
I sat on the floor, staring at the black leather book in my lap. The embossed letters seemed to pulse in the sterile light, like they were breathing.
**ROUND 1: ENIGMA**
**Difficulty: Pawn ♟️**
This wasn't real. It couldn't be real.
I'd been walking home. I'd been *fine*. Someone had grabbed me and then...
and then nothing. A void. Like someone had deleted a chunk of my memory and dumped me here.
My throat felt tight. I swallowed hard, tasting something metallic. Fear, maybe. Or whatever adrenaline tastes like when your brain is screaming that something is very, very wrong.
The room had one door. No handle on my side. I'd already tried it, walked over on legs that didn't quite feel like mine, pushed, pulled, pounded. Nothing. Solid metal that didn't even rattle. My palms still stung from hitting it.
So. The handbook, then.
My fingers were still trembling as I opened it. The leather was oddly warm, like someone else had just been holding it. The thought made my skin crawl.
The pages were thin, almost translucent, but there were more of them than the cover suggested. I flipped through quickly, maybe fifty pages in a book that looked like it should hold twenty. The pages made a whispering sound as they turned, too soft, too many.
Physics didn't work right here. Noted.
I turned back to the first page. My eyes were having trouble focusing. The letters kept swimming, blurring at the edges.
Breathe. Just breathe and read.
* * *
**ROUND 1: ENIGMA**
**Difficulty: Pawn ♟️**
**Objective:** Identify the SAFE pillar and input its number into the console.
**Time Limit:** 10 minutes
**The Setup:**
You will enter a room containing four pillars, labeled 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Each pillar has a hidden status: SAFE, FALSE, TRUTH, or RANDOM.
- **SAFE:** Selecting this pillar clears the game. You survive.
- **FALSE:** Selecting this pillar fails the game. You are eliminated.
- **TRUTH:** Selecting this pillar fails the game. You are eliminated.
- **RANDOM:** Selecting this pillar results in a 50/50 chance of clearing or failing the game.
**The Clues:**
Above each pillar is a screen displaying one statement about the four pillars.
**The Rules :**
- The pillar labeled TRUTH always displays a TRUE statement.
- The pillar labeled FALSE always displays a FALSE statement.
- The pillar labeled SAFE always displays a TRUE statement.
- The pillar labeled RANDOM displays a statement that is randomly TRUE or FALSE.
**How to Clear:**
Use logical deduction to identify which pillar is SAFE.
Input the number (1, 2, 3, or 4) into the console.
You have ONE attempt.
Correct answer: You survive.
Incorrect answer: You are eliminated.
**Time starts when you enter the challenge room.**
* * *
I read it four times. Each time, the words seemed to rearrange themselves slightly, though I knew that was just my panic playing tricks.
My brain was trying to process the logic, but fear kept breaking through like static. Four pillars. Four different statuses. One attempt. Ten minutes.
Get it wrong and I die.
The rules were clear but the implications were complex. Two pillars would always tell the truth (SAFE and TRUTH), one would always lie (FALSE), and one was unpredictable (RANDOM).
I had to deduce which pillar had which status using their statements.
This was a logic puzzle. A deadly logic puzzle.
And I'd always been good at these. Game forums, online competitions, that one regional tournament I'd quit before the finals. My brain was wired for this kind of problem.
But back then, getting it wrong just meant losing points.
Now it meant dying.
My hands were still shaking as I stood up. The handbook went back in my pocket, I'd need to reference those rules. The leather felt too warm against my leg.
I walked to the door. My reflection stared back at me from the polished metal surface, pale, terrified, seventeen years old and so far out of my depth I couldn't see the surface anymore.
I pushed it open.
* * *
The challenge room was exactly as described, but somehow worse.
Small. Maybe four meters by four meters. The walls were that same sterile white, but the lighting was different here, brighter, harsher, casting no shadows. Everything was overexposed, like an old photograph left in the sun.
Four pillars arranged in a square, each about two meters tall, made of smooth white material that looked almost like marble. They seemed to glow faintly in the harsh light. Above each pillar, a small screen displayed text in crisp black letters.
In the center of the room was a console, just a simple pedestal with a keypad. Numbers 1 through 4 arranged in a grid, and a red ENTER button that seemed to pulse slightly, or maybe that was my imagination.
On the far wall, a digital timer: **10:00**
It started counting down the moment I stepped inside. The numbers were blood red.
**9:59... 9:58...**
A soft tone accompanied each second. Tick. Tick. Tick.
Move. Read the statements. Start deducing.
My footsteps echoed wrong in the room too flat, too dead. I approached the first pillar, and that's when I heard it.
A scream.
Distant. Muffled by walls or distance. A man's voice, I thought. Cut off abruptly.
I froze, my heart slamming against my ribs.
Someone had just died. Someone else, in another room, had made the wrong choice.
**9:45...**
*Focus. Don't think about it. Read.*
I forced myself to look at Pillar 1's screen.
* * *
**PILLAR 1:** "Pillar 4 is the SAFE pillar."
The text was almost too bright to read comfortably. I squinted and moved to Pillar 2.
**PILLAR 2:** "The TRUTH pillar is an odd-numbered pillar."
Another sound. Not a scream this time. A heavy thud, like something, someone hitting the floor. From above? Below? The walls?
I couldn't tell. The sound seemed to come from everywhere.
**9:30...**
My hands were sweating. I wiped them on my pants and moved to Pillar 3.
**PILLAR 3:** "Pillar 1 is not the FALSE pillar."
Pillar 4.
**PILLAR 4:** "The RANDOM pillar is an even-numbered pillar."
I stood in the center of the room, forcing my breathing to slow down. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. Like I was about to take a test. Except if I failed this test, I wouldn't get to retake it.
**9:15...**
The tick of the timer seemed to get louder with each second.
Okay. Four statements. Four pillars with four different roles.
I needed to figure out which pillar was which.
Let me organize this:
- Pillar 1 says: P4 is SAFE
- Pillar 2 says: TRUTH is odd (1 or 3)
- Pillar 3 says: P1 is NOT FALSE
- Pillar 4 says: RANDOM is even (2 or 4)
**8:45...**
Another scream. Closer this time. A woman's voice, high and terrified, cut off mid-cry.
I flinched. The sound echoed in my head.
*Stop. Focus. You have eight minutes. Think.*
The key rule: TRUTH and SAFE both tell the truth. FALSE lies. RANDOM is unpredictable.
So two pillars are definitely telling the truth. One is definitely lying. One is a coin flip.
Start with assumptions. Test them systematically.
**8:15...**
**Hypothesis 1: Assume Pillar 1 is TRUTH.**
If P1 is TRUTH, then P1's statement is TRUE: "P4 is SAFE."
So P4 would be SAFE.
Now check if this is consistent with the other statements.
P2 says: "TRUTH is odd." If P1 is TRUTH, that's true (P1 is odd). So P2's statement is TRUE.
P3 says: "P1 is NOT FALSE." If P1 is TRUTH, then P1 is definitely not FALSE. So P3's statement is TRUE.
Wait. If P1 is TRUTH and P4 is SAFE, then both P2 and P3 are making TRUE statements. That means P2 and P3 are both either SAFE or TRUTH or lucky RANDOM.
But we only have one TRUTH (P1) and one SAFE (P4). So P2 and P3 must be FALSE and RANDOM.
But both are making TRUE statements. FALSE can't make a true statement.
**Hypothesis 1: REJECTED.**
**7:50...**
Good. Elimination working. Keep going.
My mouth was dry. I licked my lips and tasted salt.
**7:30...**
**Hypothesis 2: Assume Pillar 2 is TRUTH.**
If P2 is TRUTH, then P2's statement is TRUE: "TRUTH is odd."
But P2 is Pillar 2, which is even.
That's an immediate contradiction.
**Hypothesis 2: REJECTED.**
**7:15...**
Okay. Getting somewhere. Process of elimination.
The timer's ticking seemed to sync with my heartbeat. Tick. Thump. Tick. Thump.
**Hypothesis 3: Assume Pillar 3 is TRUTH.**
If P3 is TRUTH, then P3's statement is TRUE: "P1 is NOT FALSE."
So P1 is not FALSE. P1 could be SAFE, RANDOM, or... wait, not TRUTH because P3 is TRUTH.
P1 is either SAFE or RANDOM.
Now check other statements.
P2 says: "TRUTH is odd." If P3 is TRUTH, that's true (P3 is odd). So P2's statement is TRUE.
Since P2's statement is TRUE, P2 is either SAFE or got lucky with RANDOM (can't be TRUTH, P3 is TRUTH).
P1 says: "P4 is SAFE."
P4 says: "RANDOM is even."
**6:45...**
This is getting complex. Let me think about who's lying.
If P3 is TRUTH (tells truth), and P2's statement is also TRUE, then P2 is probably SAFE (also tells truth).
That would mean FALSE and RANDOM are among P1 and P4.
A sound echoed through the walls. Multiple screams now. Overlapping. A chorus of terror.
I pressed my palms against my temples. *Shut up. Shut up. Let me think.*
**6:20...**
Six minutes left. Halfway through.
*Breathe.*
If P2 is SAFE and P3 is TRUTH, then P1 and P4 are FALSE and RANDOM.
P1 says "P4 is SAFE." If P1 is FALSE (lies), then P4 is NOT SAFE. That checks out—P4 would be RANDOM.
But wait. P4 says "RANDOM is even." If P4 is RANDOM, and RANDOM is even... that would mean P4 is calling itself even, which it is.
But RANDOM statements can be true or false randomly. So that doesn't help.
Let me flip it.
What if P1 is RANDOM and P4 is FALSE?
**5:50...**
If P4 is FALSE, then P4's statement is FALSE: "RANDOM is even" is a LIE.
So RANDOM is NOT even. RANDOM is odd (P1 or P3).
But P3 is TRUTH. So RANDOM would be P1.
Let me test this configuration:
- P1 = RANDOM
- P2 = SAFE
- P3 = TRUTH
- P4 = FALSE
Check P4's statement: "RANDOM is even." P4 is FALSE (lies). P1 is RANDOM and is odd. So the statement is FALSE. ✓
Check P1's statement: "P4 is SAFE." P1 is RANDOM. P4 is FALSE, not SAFE. So this statement is FALSE. RANDOM can be false. ✓
Check P3's statement: "P1 is NOT FALSE." P3 is TRUTH (tells truth). P1 is RANDOM, not FALSE. TRUE. ✓
Check P2's statement: "TRUTH is odd." P2 is SAFE (tells truth). P3 is TRUTH and is odd. TRUE. ✓
Everything checks out!
**5:15...**
Wait. Five minutes left. Shit.
Let me verify this one more time. I can't afford to be wrong.
**4:50...**
Another scream. Then silence. Then another. The sounds were constant now, like background noise. A soundtrack to hell.
*Ignore it. Focus.*
Configuration:
- Pillar 1 = RANDOM (can say true or false things)
- Pillar 2 = SAFE (always tells truth)
- Pillar 3 = TRUTH (always tells truth)
- Pillar 4 = FALSE (always lies)
P1: "P4 is SAFE" - FALSE statement (P4 is FALSE, not SAFE). RANDOM can lie. ✓
P2: "TRUTH is odd" - TRUE statement (P3 is TRUTH, P3 is odd). SAFE tells truth. ✓
P3: "P1 is NOT FALSE" - TRUE statement (P1 is RANDOM, not FALSE). TRUTH tells truth. ✓
P4: "RANDOM is even" - FALSE statement (P1 is RANDOM, P1 is odd). FALSE lies. ✓
**All four statements are consistent.**
**4:20...**
But what if there's another valid configuration? What if I'm missing something?
Let me test one more alternative to be absolutely sure.
**Alternative: What if Pillar 4 is TRUTH?**
**3:50...**
If P4 is TRUTH, then P4's statement is TRUE: "RANDOM is even."
So RANDOM is P2 or P4. But P4 is TRUTH, so RANDOM is P2.
P2 says: "TRUTH is odd." But P4 is TRUTH and is even. So this statement is FALSE.
If P2 is RANDOM and made a FALSE statement, that's possible.
P1 says: "P4 is SAFE." P4 is TRUTH, not SAFE. So this is FALSE.
P1 is either FALSE or RANDOM.
But RANDOM is P2. So P1 is FALSE.
That makes P3 = SAFE.
P3 says: "P1 is NOT FALSE." But P1 IS FALSE. So P3's statement is FALSE.
But P3 is SAFE, which must tell the truth. Contradiction.
**Alternative: REJECTED.**
**3:20...**
Okay. I'm certain now. **Pillar 2 is SAFE.**
Three minutes and twenty seconds left.
I turned toward the console. My legs felt weak. I had to concentrate to walk the few steps to the center of the room.
The red ENTER button seemed to mock me. One press. One chance.
**3:00...**
My hand hovered over the keypad.
A sound made me freeze. Not a scream this time. A wet, heavy thud. Like meat hitting concrete.
I felt bile rise in my throat.
*Don't think about it. Just press the button.*
**2:40...**
My finger was shaking so badly I could barely aim at the number.
What if I made an error? What if there's a configuration I didn't consider?
*No. You checked. You verified. Pillar 2. SAFE.*
**2:20...**
Two minutes left.
I pressed **2**.
The button clicked. The number glowed on the small display above the keypad.
My finger moved to the ENTER button. It felt warm under my fingertip, almost alive.
This was it.
**2:00...**
*Right or wrong, you have to commit. Hesitating won't change anything.*
I pressed ENTER.
The button sank with a solid click that seemed too loud in the room.
The console beeped. Once. Twice.
Then silence.
The timer froze: **1:57**
Three seconds of absolute nothing. The tick of the timer stopped. The distant screams stopped. Even my heartbeat seemed to pause.
I couldn't breathe.
Then
All four pillar screens went dark simultaneously.
A grinding sound. Mechanical. Heavy.
A section of the far wall split vertically down the middle and began to slide apart.
Green light spilled through the widening gap. Not the harsh white of this room. Softer. Warmer.
Safe.
I stared, my brain refusing to process what I was seeing.
The door was open.
I'd survived.
My knees buckled. I caught myself on the console, my hands slipping on the smooth surface. My whole body was shaking now, hands, arms, legs, everything.
A sound escaped my throat. Not quite a laugh, not quite a sob. Something in between.
*Holy shit. Holy shit, I did it.*
The pillars stood silent behind me. The frozen timer displayed my remaining time: 1:57. Less than two minutes to spare.
I forced myself to move. One step. My legs barely cooperated. Another step.
The green light drew me forward like a beacon.
I stumbled through the doorway.
* * *
The next room hit me like a physical thing.
White walls. White floor. But the lighting was different softer, less oppressive. And the air was different. Not recycled and sterile. It smelled faintly of something clean, like mint or antiseptic, but not unpleasant.
A small table in the center. Water bottle. Protein bar in plain packaging.
I lunged for the water.
My hands were shaking so badly I almost dropped it. The cap took three tries to unscrew. When I finally got it off, I chugged half the bottle in desperate gulps.
Water had never tasted so good. Cold, clean, real. I could feel it all the way down, could feel my body accepting it gratefully.
I drank the rest slower, forcing myself to breathe between swallows.
My legs gave out. I sank to the floor, my back against the wall, and just sat there, staring at nothing.
The protein bar lay on the table. I should eat it. I should stand up. I should do something.
But I couldn't move. My body felt like it weighed a thousand kilograms.
The screen on the wall flickered to life.
White text on black background:
**ROUND 1: COMPLETE**
**SURVIVORS: 151 / 201**
**ELIMINATED: 50**
The numbers didn't register at first. Then they did.
Fifty.
Fifty people.
Gone.
Eliminated.
Dead.
Twenty-five percent casualty rate in one round.
Those screams I'd heard. Those thuds. Those wet, heavy sounds.
That had been real. People dying. Right now. While I was solving my puzzle. While I was deducing and calculating and testing hypotheses.
Fifty people had gotten it wrong.
Or hadn't gotten it at all.
Or had panicked and guessed.
Or had run out of time.
The water bottle slipped from my fingers, hitting the floor with a hollow sound. Water spread across the white tiles in a dark pool.
I pressed my hands against my face. My palms were clammy, cold.
"Jesus Christ," I whispered. My voice sounded strange. Hoarse. Broken.
This was real.
This was actually, genuinely, horrifyingly real.
Fifty people were dead. Fifty strangers I'd never met. Fifty people who'd been walking home or going to work or living their normal lives yesterday.
And this was only Round 1. Pawn difficulty. The easiest level.
I grabbed the protein bar with shaking hands and tore into the packaging. Chocolate flavor. Dry and chalky but I forced myself to chew, to swallow. My body needed fuel. Even if I couldn't taste it. Even if every bite felt like ash.
The screen changed:
**INTERIM PERIOD: 2 HOURS**
**PROCEED TO COMMON AREA WHEN READY**
A door on the opposite wall slid open with a soft hiss. White corridor beyond, stretching into shadow.
I stared at it.
One hundred and fifty-one survivors out there. People who'd figured out their puzzles. People who'd gotten lucky. People who might be killers hiding among civilians.
Different roles. Hidden agendas. The handbook had mentioned civilians and killers and something about a clown.
And me. Seventeen years old. Still shaking. Still tasting fear at the back of my throat.
I stood up slowly. My legs protested, muscles stiff from tension. My knees ached. My head pounded.
Mental exhaustion was real. My brain felt wrung out, squeezed dry.
But I was alive.
I looked back at the table. The spilled water. The empty wrapper.
Then at the corridor. Dark and endless.
I stepped forward.
The door slid shut behind me with a final, definitive sound.
No going back.
Only forward.
Into whatever fresh hell waited in that common area.
Round 1 was over.
But the real nightmare? That was just beginning.