The House that Swallows Kids

Chapter 21. Game II

He paused, and others sighed with him. Clifford and Claire are now close, their arms practically touching. Jordan was close by also, following Alfred's story.

"On seeing that I didn't move, he jumped in and came to carry me. He looked into my eyes... and told me never to be afraid of anything again. I shuddered and in split seconds... he threw me out of the window. And I was safe."

"I looked back... and I saw him try to come out through the window that I did. And then the huge cabinet above dropped on him."

Now Alfred had begun to give off ocean eyes again. And others started to feel his pain. Jordan's eyes fell to the ground, partially reminiscing. He could also relate, as one would tell that he missed his parents badly.

"He got stuck, and he screamed at me to run away from the house as quickly I could. With pain... and deep sorrow... I stepped away as I watched him... go up... in flames."

"God," Claire muttered under her breath.

Alfred took a series of deep breaths and then wiped his face even more furiously. He hadn't told anyone about this sad story, but he felt his new friends were one to be trusted, and so he felt comfortable sharing it with them.

He sensed he needed to wrap it up, so he went further.

"The firefighters came, alongside my mom, who rushed back from work... but they were all too late."

"After some weeks, Tecumseh had started to feel more like a depressing slideshow than a home, and then my mom suggested we leave. She gathered some money, and we moved down here." He took a brief look around where they were at the moment, and thought that this was not where he imagined he'd find himself. An enchanted underground temple would be the last place on his mind.

"I have always been afraid of losing the people that are close to me... the people that I love. I mean, if I had summoned the courage and reached for my dad's arm on time, he would still be alive. And that is why ever since that day... I vowed never to be afraid of anything. Even death." Alfred ended, and his melancholy face began to change into a reassuring one.

"I'm sorry mate," Clifford consoled as he rubbed his itchy eyes.

"Sorry man," Jordan called out too.

Alfred sighed and gave off a stiff nod. His eyes ran straight to Claire's, and he could see her mouth, "I'm sorry". He nodded and shared a smile with her.

They all looked ahead, and continued their trek, drowning in the pervasive silence. It was like the journey had no end as they kept walking. Their torches flickering here and there, showing off nothingness.

"Oh, thank God. We don't get to wander off again." Jordan exclaimed, as he again sighted their next awaiting quest. He was also glad he got to find this one too, as his footsteps increased.

They stomped their feet on the dusty floors; packing a four-inch layer of dust and now, powdery sand.

An uncomfortable premonition of fear setting in their minds.

The emerald light ahead, which had begun to flood the palace room, glimmered in their eyes.

"Come on, there's the gate." Clifford called on Alfred and Claire.

After they gave up on the seemingly weird ground that they stood on, they walked up to him and Jordan, covering a distance of thirteen feet.

Alfred's eyes occasionally assessed Claire, as she moved. Like he was her protector, he literally looked at where she'd step before she stepped it.

They walked up close to the giant door, like the one they closed earlier, and planted their gaze on it. The huge door, that gleamed emerald, spanned all the way into the nothingness. Darkness up, left and right.

Looking down, only sand. A wide sea of slippery sand.

"So, I guess this isn't a puzzle." Clifford moved closer, like he was their team leader, and ran his hand over the cold metal. He tried hard to fight the unpleasant and heavy sensation that sat at his heart.

Bodily Growls.

"What was that?" Clifford looked back.

"I'm sorry. I didn't eat enough at the orphanage," Jordan squished his face as he held onto his grumbling stomach.

They continued their assessment, taking in the uncomfortable silence. And breathing in the dry and dusty air.

"What is it, then?" Claire asked, feeling slightly left out. She was still obsessed with her skin as she absently grazed off the bits of sand on her dry arm.

"It's a bunch of... letters." Clifford announced, confusion in his tone.

Alfred walked forward, kicking little heaps of dry sand that had built up. With a few steps, he stood beside Clifford, assessing the gate up close.

Jordan then moved a step closer. A questioning look on his face.

Claire looked back at the darkness they had left behind, and followed the emerald light.

"It's, not just letters," Alfred slid his hand on the imprinted alphabets in ancient fonts. "It's... a combination. An anagram."

"Like a password?" Claire asked, her eyes went wide, like she heard there was an increment to a tedious school test.

"Like a password." Alfred confirmed.

Jordan also peered at the gleaming gate, and saw the letters also. He looked around, from the bottom; catching the six inches heap of sand, and to the visible top of the row of letters.

"Huh, is it only me and my weird feet, or is this fuckin' sand growing?" Jordan queried, he could feel his pulse hitting harder.

"It's growing. We're literally standing on our deaths." Alfred confirmed, like he had known earlier. No pity in his unbitten tone.

Everyone then shrugged at the same time, hiding behind their mild sweats. They tried as hard as they could to stay calm, and clear their heads. But the unredeemed, dreary thoughts kept coming back.

A huge sigh let off, after having swallowed hard.

"What's that 1 for?" Jordan pointed over Alfred's head, trying to touch the gate.

"Huh."

They all looked up, one meter above the letter combinations, a giant figure 1 hung there. Their minds roamed about for a logical explanation.

"This ain't level one, right?" Jordan asked.

"Yeah," Alfred angled a look to nowhere.

They all looked back at the letter combination, hoping for hopes to creep in their mind.

T-H-S-U-R-O-G-N-E-Y-E-E-D-L-O-H-E-F-O