"What kind of crazy talk is this?" cried Marty. "You're sick in the head!" He motioned to the others, "C'mon guys, let's ditch the loon." He strode over to the door and turned the handle but it was locked. He tried to force it open but it wouldn't budge.
"Don't think you can escape Marty." Alyson's voice was cold and her eyes liquid black pools of evil. "All the doors are bolted and the windows barred. There is no escape." She looked in turn at each of them and her face contorted into something almost inhuman. "Marie's death was no accident. She didn't fall off that balcony. She was pushed. One of you murdered her and now you will pay...with interest." Silence fell over the room as all six of them looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Th, tha, that's ridiculous!" stuttered Jillian. "We all saw her fall. She was alone up there. You know that Alyson." Some of the others nodded vehemently in agreement whilst others continued to stay silent, as if in shock.
Alyson threw her head back and suddenly started to cackle. She stopped almost as suddenly and glared at Jillian who withered under her gaze. "No Jillian. She wasn't alone. The murderer is in this room and one way or another we're going to find out who."
She produced a tray of six glasses containing what looked like thick, red gloop or...could it be blood? "Each of you will drink one of these" she continued. "This is do or die." Her lip curled slightly. "If you refuse to drink, I'll kill you anyway. At least if you play along there's a chance five of you may still come out of this alive." She watched over each one as they drank in turn. The gagging reflexes took over but they all managed to swallow the vile liquid. Within minutes of drinking the concoction everything went hazy and they all slumped to the floor.
They awoke in pitch black, completely disorientated. Their limbs ached and their heads felt groggy. From nowhere light filled the room and as their eyes adjusted they saw that they were in a huge cage. Alyson was standing outside. She watched as they took in their surroundings, enjoying their reactions as the realisation and horror of the situation appeared on their faces. She finally spoke. "You've been given a hallucinogenic drug" she said matter of factly. "In this room are six locked doors. Behind each door is your worst nightmare. You must fight your greatest fear in order to survive. For five of you, your nightmare will be merely a figment of your imaginations, brought on by the drug you've been given. If you can remember this then you will have no problem in defeating your opponent. However, for one of you, there's a special treat." She paused for effect. Her long, black hair hung over her face like a demonic shroud. "Behind one of the doors is the spirit of Marie. Only the murderer will see Marie and she won't be a figment of your imagination. The murderer will have to defeat Marie for real if they want to survive. Otherwise, Marie will kill you, cut out your heart and take over your body."
She opened the cage and led them over to a table containing a large egg timer and six varieties of weapons. She watched as they took a weapon each then directed them to stand in front of a door. The doors were numbered one to six. Alyson handed them each a key to their door.
"Right!" she said, "you have one hour from the moment that I turn over the egg timer." She let out a shrill cackle of delight.
"Let the game begin."
