by Amy Starr
“It was a goddamn trap!” Poppy growled, trying to kick the door down.
“On the contrary, you are exactly where you are supposed to be my little lab rats.”
A man with a vivacious voice spoke to them from somewhere over their heads. Hudson glanced up and saw a speaker tucked in a corner of the room.
“Welcome to the first of three thrilling challenges, I shall be your host, the great and powerful Mammon. Each one is based on the three parts of the afterlife, as written by Dante. I am planning on opening it to my high rollers eventually, but you shall be my beta testers! This first challenge is based on Purgatorium. I assume neither of you need a translation of that.”
He let out a hearty chuckle before continuing. “This is an escape room of sorts. There is a key hidden in this room somewhere. Find the key and you can escape the room. If you cannot escape, well, you will be forced to give me your bargaining offer. Have fun!”
Hudson darted his eyes around the room. There was nothing on the table, or on the floor. He gazed inside the bowl. The fish continued to swim about the bowl, unaware of the man observing it.
“This is crazy.” Poppy muttered, wiping her face with her handkerchief. “I can’t believe we’re doing this. Of course a demon is going to be tricky with us.”
Hud went up to the painting and lifted it up. There was nothing underneath it.
“Poppy, can you start looking around?”
The psychic sighed and glanced up at the ceiling. “Hey Hud, I think there is something in the light.”
Hud reached up and pushed on the light fitting, turning it around in his hands. It came undone and Hudson brought it down. Inside of the fitting was a scalpel. Carefully, Hudson pulled it out and examined it. It was just a standard medical scalpel.
“What the hell is that for?” He muttered.
The two of them continued to search around the room in every possible place. There was nothing in the fishbowl besides the fish and the sand. There wasn’t anything taped underneath the table or behind the painting. Hudson even tore the painting up with the scalpel, but there was nothing within the canvas.
They both sat on the tiled floor, their heads in their hands. Hudson checked his watch and his eyes widened as he saw the timer move down to 19 and a half hours. “Shit, we’ve been in here for over two hours.”
“Far too long for my liking.” The voice spoke over the speaker again, sounding displeased. “Let’s put a bit of pressure on you.”
Part of the wall opened, showing a digital clock. It blinked onto 30 minutes and began to count down. “If you don’t leave this room by the time the counter gets to zero, I get your bargaining offer.”
The two of them carefully examined the walls and floor, desperately trying to find something. Hudson could see the timer counting down out of the corner of his eye. The more it counted down, the higher his anxiety grew. If he lost the Demotome, he would lose his one chance of finding Harkness and his sister.
The clock showed that they had only ten minutes left. Hud kicked the wall in frustration. “How the hell are we going to get out?”
Poppy took a deep breath and let it out. She approached Hudson and spoke to him in a soft tone. “Keep calm, the more upset you get, the more we’ll overlook things.”
“What else is there to look at Poppy!?” Frustrated, he shoved the chair hard into the table. The fishbowl began to wobble. Poppy raced over and grabbed the bowl before it tipped over.
“Hud, there’s something under here.”
The psychic lifted the bowl over her head and Hud bent low to look. There was a symbol on the bottom of it. An infinity symbol with a double cross attached to it.
“Shit, that was the same symbol they put on that deer in the warehouse.” Poppy hissed.
Poppy brought the bowl down and stared at the fish. Hudson joined her. The more he looked at the fish, the weirder it seemed. It looked a little too golden, as if its scales were made of the actual precious metal. Poppy stuck her finger in the water and the fish swam up it. She let out a small yip and pulled her finger out.
“It bit me.”
Blood trickled down her finger. Hudson stared at the wound and it dawned on him. He took the scalpel and pressed it against his thumb. A bead of red liquid formed against the metal.
“Hud, what are you doing?”
He brought his thumb over the bowl. A few droplets of blood fell into the water and dissolved. The fish began to swim around erratically, bumping into the glass as if it was trying to escape. It started to disintegrate, sending flecks of golden scales drifting down to the sand. Eventually, something small and silver floated down to the bottom of the glass along with the remains of the fish. Hud reached his hand in and pulled out the key.
He whipped his head towards the clock. Three minutes left. He raced over to the second door and pushed the key into the lock and turned. The door unlocked. Poppy put the bowl on the table and, after grabbing the bloody scalpel, ran over to Hud as he swung open the door.
They were met with a set of silver sliding doors. It opened slowly, revealing an elevator to them. They bundled inside and the chrome panels shut behind them. Seconds later, the elevator began to rise. A cheerful voice spoke to them.
“Congratulations! Now, get ready for game two.”
Chapter Seven
Poppy was still reeling from the first test when they entered the darkness. How the hell were they supposed to know that they needed Hudson’s blood to do that?
The elevator they were in had no buttons or level number. It was smooth and shiny, with a small speaker above the entrance. After some time, the doors finally opened.
Something stunk in the air. Poppy knew that smell better than anyone.
“Hudson, there’s a body in here.” She murmured, covering her nose. Her voice echoed as if they were in a warehouse.
There was no beating around the bush, Poppy was afraid. She knew it was stupid that someone who saw through the eyes of dead people would fear something as silly as the dark, but she couldn’t help herself. Hudson reached forward and took his hand in her own. Poppy was hesitant at first, but as the door shut behind them and the whole space went pitch black, she grabbed his hand back tightly. They both began to slowly shuffle through the darkness. The psychic tried to feel for a wall, but she could not find one. They were surrounded by emptiness, and it unnerved her even more.
They kept moving forward with slow steps, clinging to each other. Poppy’s entire body was shaking, and she was trying her hardest to hide it. Hudson must have sensed this, and he leant in close to her.
“It’s okay, I’m scared too.” Hudson murmured to her.
The took a few more cautious steps forward and Poppy could not take it any longer. Memories were clouding her mind and nothing could take her mind off it.
“I lost her in the darkness.” Poppy said, barely speaking above a whisper.
She could not see his face, but she could tell Hudson was looking at her. She took a deep and shaky breath in before she continued.
“One of my first proper clients, an…an older woman. She was terminal, and she wanted me to try and meet her once she passed. We planned it for months.”
Poppy chuckled dryly.
“I was a teenager, and I was so excited. I was recording myself and everything. I wanted to show the world I wasn’t a fraud. I had objects she could interact with to prove she had come back to the physical world. The moment she died, I touched her body and…I went to the Purgatorium with her.”
She sucked in another breath before continuing. “I’d never been there before. I didn’t know it existed until that moment. It was terrifying. The darkness. I could hear her calling to me, but I got scared and escaped. I woke up on the floor with a gash on my face. That was the last time I ever tried to interact with the dead like that. I…I didn’t want to let anyone else down.”
She went quiet. After a moment, she felt Hudson stroke her back gently. “You haven’t let me down.” He said to her. “You
haven’t let Emma-Lee down either. That woman shouldn’t have forced all of that onto you, you were just a kid.”
Poppy opened her mouth to speak but she was interrupted as a small slither of light peeked in front of them. The light grew larger and a gust of wind suddenly blew out to them. Blinking, Poppy’s eyes soon adjusted to the horror that lay before them as Mammon spoke in a voice filled with excitement.
“Lady and gentlemen, welcome to Paradiso!”
They were standing inches away from a giant abyss. Below them, Poppy could make out tiny cars travelling up and down thin roads like ants going to and from a nest. They were at the top of one of the towers of the casino.
She stumbled away in terror, bringing Hudson back with her. They fell back on their knees and Poppy found herself staring into the distance. She could see the other spire at the end of the huge gap. Like the tower they stood on, there was a wide opening that lead to another door at the back. The space between the two spires had a single connection. A cylindrical metal pole, only slightly larger than the width of her foot, linked the large room they were in to the one on the other side. She was already in denial about the task before she even heard Mammon speak.
“Before the two of you is a most thrilling and death-defying challenge. In order to reach the other side, you must traverse Paradise’s bridge. Make it to the other side, and you will move on. If you fail…”
Poppy heard a car horn’s blaring from below and the demon let out a small laugh.
“If you fail, you will end up like your unfortunate friend here.”
Another bright blinked on beside them and the psychic turned her head. She finally realised where the smell was coming from.
Chapter Eight
Hudson wanted to scream but he was too petrified to open his mouth. His body felt as though it was made of solid rock. They had to cross from one tower to another along a metal pole that he could barely fit his feet on. To make matters worse, the sadistic demon had left the results of the last person to do the challenge right next to them. It looked like a pile of roadkill and it made Hud’s stomach twist when he got his head around the fact that it was not an animal.
He peeked at his watch. There was around 18 hours remaining until his body disintegrated and he was sent to the Purgatorium for the rest of eternity. It was plenty of time but how long was it going to take them to attempt cross the tiny pole?
“Hud, I have an idea.”
Poppy gazed at the remains of the unfortunate test subject. There was not much left of them, so Hudson couldn’t even identify how old they were. She took a few hesitant steps forward and crouched before it, covering her mouth with a hand. It took Hud a second to realise what she was about to do, and he couldn’t comprehend why she would want to it.
He watched in shock as, once Poppy touched the mess of broken bones and torn flesh, she fell convulsing to the ground. Hud ran over to her and pulled the psychic on his lap. Her convulsions died down and he found himself gazing at her face. Her eyelids were twitching, and he found himself brushing back her purple fringe with his fingers.
She looked so peaceful now, and it made Hudson wish that none of this was happening. He did not want to be fighting for his life, but he knew he had no choice. He had to defeat this demon, and he had to save his sister.
After a few tense minutes, Poppy awakened with a gasp. She sat up and gazed at Hud with weary eyes.
“I saw him go across the pole. It’s cold and he wouldn’t stop shivering. There’s wind too, so much wind…”
“Poppy, you need to go first.”
Poppy stared at him with wide eyes and he held his hand out.
“Let me explain. If you go first, I’ll stay behind you. If anything happens, I’ll be there to help you.”
The psychic took a moment to think and then nodded her head. Hudson took his jacket off and handed it to Poppy. “Put this on to stay warm.”
Poppy took the suit jacket and slipped it on her shoulders. It swam over her body, but it made Hudson feel better knowing she could stay warm. Hud took the Demotome, which was shiny brightly now, and tucked it into the front of his shirt. “It’s okay, the book will keep me warm.”
He prayed that it would not fall out during the journey across the pole.
When they were ready, they stood up and approached the pole. It seemed smaller the longer Hudson looked at it and it made him want to vomit.
“Look to the horizon.” Hud said to Poppy, thinking back to the abseiling trips he and his friends used to take.
Poppy gave a small nod before sitting down next to the edge of the pole. With slow, deliberate movements, she slid on her hands from the hard surface of the tower onto the pole, before wrapping her legs around its small girth. Slowly, she began to inch herself across the smooth silver pole. It reminded Hudson of the pole he used to climb on at the playground he visited in his youth. The difference was that the playground’s pole was not hanging above an entire city.
Hudson watched Poppy and he got into a crouching position when she had moved far enough. His stomach felt as though there was fireworks going off in it. Keeping his eyes firmly on the pole, he grasped it in his hands and pulled himself onto it. Once his body was on it, he wrapped his own legs tightly around the metal apparatus. It was incredibly cold and windy as if they were right in front of a beach thrashing with ocean waves. Once he was in a comfortable position, Hud began to shuffle his body forward. There was only a couple of inches between himself and Poppy, and he planned to keep it that way.
“Poppy, keep looking forward!” He shouted.
His voice was mostly drowned out by the sound of the wind rushing past his ears and the traffic below them. He kept his upper body rigid, refusing to relax in case he was caught off guard, which was the right move to make. A few seconds later, a surge of wind blew past them and he stayed strong.
Poppy, on the other hand, was not prepared for it. Hudson watched in horror as the psychic’s hands slipped from the smooth pole. Letting out a shriek, Poppy fell forwards onto the pole. She wrapped her arms around the pole, leaving her looking like a sloth constricting itself around a branch.
“I can’t do this!” She screamed. “I can’t move!”
To Hudson’s dismay, he could see that she was now facing the ground. Hud scooted close to her, trying his keep his face pointing to the horizon. “It’s okay, it’s okay! Close your eyes, you’ll be alright!”
Poppy gave her head a little shake, a loud sob escaping from her lips. Hudson took a second to think, trying to ignore the wailing wind that was shrieking in his ears.
“I have an idea! Poppy, you need to loosen yourself a little!”
“Are you fucking crazy!?” She bellowed. “I’ll fall!”
“Just a little! I’ll push you forward with my body!”
He got edged himself behind her and thrusted his chest gently against her legs. “See!? Like that!”
“I can’t!”
“Yes you can Poppy, I know you can!”
Poppy let out another sob and nodded her head. Hud could see her relaxing her arms and legs ever so slightly. With gentle movements, Hudson began to nudge Poppy forward. It was an incredibly slow process, but Hud knew they had time. They were almost at Mammon, despite only being a quarter of the way across the pole.
The journey to the centre of the pole was an arduous process. Hud was too anxious to check his watch, but he was certain from how the moon was rising above them that a couple of hours had passed at least. He continued to bump against Poppy, sending her forward a little bit at a time. Finally, they were over the halfway point. Hudson could feel his chest swelling with excitement. They were on the home stretch.
“We’re almost there Poppy! We’re almost-”
Hud felt something wet squirt on his hands. His grip began to loosen suddenly. Fumbling, Hudson fell face first onto the pole. Despite the shock of the sudden fall, his first instinct was to hug the pole tightly with his arms and legs. His heart was thumping in his chest, but he
was secure. A sudden shriek caused him to jerk his head up.
Poppy was no longer clasping the pole with her arms and legs. Instead, she was hanging onto it with her bare hands. She gave Hudson a frightened glance before her hands slipped off the pole completely and she began to fall.
Chapter Nine
Time seemed to slow down for the psychic the moment she lost her grip on the greasy pole. The initial reaction she had felt was shock, which had quickly turned into regret. All she could think was why. Why hadn’t she seen the greased poles in her vision? Had she made a mistake? Why hadn’t she looked carefully enough?
She thought of her Granny and closed her eyes. Without warning, Poppy caught on something and her body suddenly jolted. Glancing up, Poppy could see that Hudson was holding her wrist in an iron grip.
“Grab me!” He screamed at her in a voice she could barely recognise.
Not thinking twice, Poppy swung her body up and grabbed Hudson’s arm tightly in her free hand. Hud winced but kept his grip strong. She was dangling from his arm now, her body frozen with fear.
“Poppy, I’m going to start to swing you and on the count of three-”
Wind was howling in the psychic’s ears. Tearfully, she shook her head, moaning the word ‘no’ over and over.
“Poppy! You need to fucking listen to me! I’m going to swing you, and on the count of three you’re going to grab the pole!”
“I can’t!”
“You made a promise to me Poppy! You have to do it!”
Poppy felt her heart stop in her chest. He was right, and she knew he was. She could not give up now, even if she was scared out of her mind.
“Okay!”
Hud began to swing his arm back and forth. Poppy, clinging tightly, began to sway with him. Hudson started to count, saying a number each time he swung her up close to the pole in front of him.
