Sintra and Vante dressed in silence, their wet clothes clinging to their bodies from their previous adventure into death's oceanic domain.
It was a good thing Vante had tied the bags to the elevator rail or the ocean would have surely acquired new outfits.
"I hate caves," Vante finally said, putting on his sneakers.
"I have a question," Sintra ignored his complaint. "Why didn't you tell me that you knew what the next task would be and did you warn Jesse and Felix?"
"That's two questions," Vante countered.
"Vante.." Sintra said, her tone cautionary.
"I was upset with you okay?" He stood, slicking his damp hair back. "And I did warn those two. It's a good thing that resort had everything. The clever ones knew well to prepare."
"I could've died!" Sintra protested.
"But you didn't. I packed for you too didn't I?" He folded his arms.
Sintra was cross. This was beyond petty, even for him. She would've loved to be warned before being thrown into the deep blue but Vante, a man who was clearly great at holding grudges had kept that knowledge til the very last minute.
"Don't be angry," he approached her, placing his hands on her waist as he brought her closer to him. "I would've never let anything happen to you."
Sintra's heart hammered inside her chest as she recollected how moments before they had just been wrapped in each other's embrace— how they trembled under each other's touch.
She was angry but she couldn't stay that way for long, not anymore atleast.
"Welcome and congratulations, geniuses!" The automated woman's voice echoed for the umpteenth time.
"Screw you!" Sintra bellowed at her, upset she wouldn't hear her.
Vante chuckled as he let her go, picking up the emerald stone that had fell from her bosom during their heated moment.
She watched as he examined it, his eyebrows etched together in wonder before tucking it away in his pocket and taking her hand in his.
"Another level brilliantly cleared! I knew you could do it. Now for your instructions: Follow the scent of copper to a cavernous room. Entering should be consequential but once done the real task should appear— one that you must beat in order to retrieve your final pass."
Sintra and Vante's head's turned to each other quickly, their eyes twinkling with hints of excitement at the robotic woman's last two words.
Final Pass.
"The time limit is 2 hours. Outside your elevators are items you may need to accomplish your task. Good luck, Geniuses!"
Leaving their bags behind, Vante and Sintra exited the elevator, immediately enthralled by the walls of the cave.
Though the air was stale and the ground beneath them muddy and damp, the walls and roof above were iridescent, shimmering with colors of blue, pink and white that were illuminated by torchlights positioned a few feet away from each other along the track.
Sintra couldn't see how they hadn't noticed it before but then again, she'd been missing alot of obvious things these days.
Leaning on the wall to the left of the elevator were daggers, their hilts made of bedazzled wood and their blades shinning silver.
Vante retrieved the two jeweled daggers before twirling them simultaneously in both hands, extending one of the hilts for Sintra to take.
As she pulled it from his palm, she realized how cold it was, a stark contrast to the cave that was actually mild in temperature.
"What could we possibly need these for?" Sintra asked, slipping it inside the band of her waist.
"We'll find out soon," he said, tucking his dagger away before he grabbed a torchlight from the walls and offered her his hand.
She smiled at the gesture before taking it and together they braved the depths of the strangely opalescent cave, ignoring the dank air that flowed through the path.
With each step, Sintra used her dagger to mark the walls in order to help them get back. The cave broke off into similar multiple pathways the further inside they went so the last thing Sintra wanted to do was get lost inside.
She wondered what laid ahead in the cavernous room. The instructions had been very cryptic this time which was suspicious since they often specified the details of the task. Why now, was it so vague?
Her mind chased ideas until it became tired, resting on a memory that Sintra had almost forgotten.
"Do you remember when I fainted after we got chased by that giant woman in the rainforest?" Sintra asked Vante.
Frowning at her, she saw him nod, his shadow on the wall mimicking his movement under the torch light.
"I had a.. dream. I was inside my house staring infront of my mirror, my red lipstick in my hand just like it was that morning we got taken," Sintra continued.
"Oh is that why you were late for the meeting?" Vante raised an eyebrow, teasing her as usual.
Sintra couldn't help but think that some things never changed.
"Shut up," she smiled. "Anyways, My friend Lee, she lives with me. I remember telling her what had happened in the rainforest and admitting to her that she was right about the games. She said something very strange to me."
"What's that?"
"Sintra, you never left," she repeated Lee's words, her eyebrows furrowing as she recalled the moment.
"When I woke up, the lipstick was still in my hand and not the one I used this morning, the one from the dream."
Sintra watched a scowl form on his face before he asked if she was sure and then out of nowhere he froze, stopping dead in his tracks infront of 3 paths leading into different directions.
His eyes widened as a look of realization overcame his expression and Sintra grabbed his arm, forcing him to face her.
"What? What is it?" She asked eagerly.
"The women in the rainforest. They were huge right? Just like the Amazons. Where is the Amazon rainforest located?" He asked her.
Though she was confused she answered anyway, a bit of uncertainty creeping into her voice as she tried to remember the country.
"Brazil?"
"Right! And in the desert. What did Felix say the deathworm was called?" He quizzed again.
"Mongolian death worm," Sintra remembered, still a little puzzled.
"Right again! And we literally just made it from the Bermuda Triangle, Sintra."
"Oh my God," she said as it finally connected inside her head. "We never left!"
"Exactly! Which means we've been on earth this whole time," Vante confirmed.
As quick as his excited cognizance came it went, a frown marring his beautiful features.
"But the lipstick—" he started to say just before the sound of thundering footsteps coming down the left canal of the cave interrupted him.
On instinct they both withdrew their weapon, the lack of time not permitting them to properly get a whiff of the coppery scent to escape before whoever or whatever could arrive.
The person broke through the tunnel, knocking the torchlight out of Vante's hand as they collided into each other into a human pile on the floor.
"Felix?!" Vante said loudly, a gasping Jesse following shortly after.
"Vante? Sintra? How nice to see you both but we have to go! Right now!" Felix said, quickly standing as he helped Vante up.
"What? Why?" Sintra asked but the sound of buzzing drowned out her question as horror reverberated through her body while she stared down the path they had just came from.
"Oh shit!" Jesse exclaimed, staring at the other two pathways.
"Ah..." Sintra became flustered, inhaling deeply as she tried pick up the metallic scent once again.
"This one!" She pointed to right and the 4 of them, just like old times barreled through the narrow path to escape whatever monster had gave chase to the their friends.
When they were sure they had lost the sound, they caught their breaths, all of them gasping for air just like they had done in the cavern of the desert.
"What was that?" Vante asked.
"Killer wasps the size of an iphone," Felix breathed.
"Jesus Christ!" Sintra gasped, knocking her chest as she straightened. "But you guys, you made it!" She smiled, laughing afterwards as she hugged them both.
Jesse didn't even revolt, the two swinging their arms around her to rejoice at their unbelievable reunion.
"Were you guys thrown into the Bermuda Triangle too?" Vante asked, dapping Felix up respectfully before nodding at Jesse.
"Bermuda Triangle? What in the hell?" Jesse asked. "They put us in the Persian Gulf."
Sintra and Vante threw each other astonished looks before turning back to their friends.
"No offense, but how the hell are you guys alive right now?" Felix asked, staring incredulously at both of them.
Unrehearsed but simultaneous, they uttered one word.
"Luck."
Jesse and Felix shared a trouble glance between each other, their faces etched in horror as they regarded Vante and Sintra like a new monster.
This was confirmation that they were indeed still on earth and that the elevator had been deposited in different bodies of water in different places. She imagined that they too had to search for a vessel to retrieve their pass. Probably even battled monsters. They too had almost died but she couldn't bring herself to ask. It was obvious it had changed them as well.
When they finally regained their breaths, the group continued their journey inside the cave, updating their friends on their brilliant new discovery but the matter of the lipstick still left all off of them baffled.
The scent of copper had intensified down a pathway as they arrived infront of a door emanating a potent odor, the quartet sighing in relief.
"So, how do we open it?" Jesse questioned, looking between the 3 of them. "That robot bitch was speaking in riddles this time."
She now wore a blue t-shirt and graphic jeans, her hair falling into tangled brunette tresses from being air dried inside the cave.
"Look!" Sintra said, pointing at the rusted metal door.
A large steel skull gleamed ominously on its forefront, red jewels for eyes adorning it as its open mouth revealed a blank screen that displayed swirling black and white smoke.
This was further confirmation that something was definitely wrong with their sense of perception as there should have been no way they had not seen such an evil looking ornament. It was at least as large as a flatscreen and the metal shone gaily under the torch lights of the cave.
"How did we miss this?" Vante frowned, regarding the skull like a cursed object.
"Guys, I have a bad feeling about this door," Felix said.
"No shit, Einstein!" Jesse exclaimed. "There's a giant skull on the front."
"No," Felix said. "You remember how I said my mom was a paleontologist? Well, sometimes the places where the fossils were located were.. guarded."
"Guarded? What do you mean?" Vante asked.
"Not this ghost bullshit again," Jesse rolled her eyes.
"It's not bullshit! I'm getting a really creepy vibe from inside that door. Let me just sprinkle a little bit just incase," Felix said.
"A little bit of what?" Sintra frowned at him.
"Oh man, here he goes," Jesse said, throwing her hands in the air.
Felix ignored her, pulling a bag of white powder from his backpack and ripping it open with his mouth before sprinkling it in a straight line along the door's frame.
"Really? Of all the things you decide to bring on our underground excursion you bring salt?" Jesse chastised.
"Look it's moving!" Sintra pointed towards the skull's mouth, grabbing the attention of the group.
They watched as the black and white smoke swirled inside the mouth, twisting around each other to form visible words.
"Take a wish we offer, all we need is hair. But gain something hideous for it all to be fair," Sintra read and just like that the words disappeared, forming two new sentences.
"1. The door opens and welcomes death
2. The door remains and crushes your life"
On the last sentence, the cave shook with such force that they all had to brace against the walls to steady themselves, sprinkles of dust, dirt and stone falling from the ceilings before the shaking settled.
"What the hell was that?" Jesse asked.
"Let's just hurry up and get out of here. Do all of us need to give some of our hair?" Sintra asked.
The smoke inside the skull's mouth swirled again, the word 'yes' appearing and vanishing as quickly as it came.
Sintra shuddered at the thought of it listening to them and she wondered what else could hear them inside this cave.
They all pulled a few strands of hair from their heads, shoving them under the door, Felix being the last as his hair cut proved difficult to withdraw.
They waited for a moment but nothing happened and Sintra frowned at the eeriness that followed their anticipation.
It was Jesse that hunched over first, an agonizing shriek echoing throughout the cave before she fell to the ground.
Sintra tried to help her but she too had soon fallen to the ground, violent spasms taking over her body as pain lit her on fire.
She could hear the groans of Felix and Vante as well but she was unsure, anguished shouts sounding from her mouth as her skin peppered terribly. Sintra couldn't explain it but it felt as if glass had been emerging from the depths of her pores, cutting the surface of her skin before nestling on her dermis.
Her face, her arms, her legs, everywhere felt like the inside of a furnace as blood seeped through the fabrics of her pantsuit.
She raised a hand to her face, her expression twisting in horror as she watched patches of scales form on her arms, shimmering beautifully as they took over what was once skin.
When the pain had finally subsided, Sintra rose to her feet, horror and disgust nestling its way into her body as she regarded her arms that still dripped blood over her new patches of colorful silver and gold scales in between her dark skin.
She traced a hand over them, the surface exceedingly hard and glossy but dazzling and then she touched a hand to her face to confirm if it had also appeared along her cheeks and neck.
A groan from Vante pulled her from her stupor as she rushed to his side, kneeling over his body with widened eyes at his new appearance.
Scales as green as grass had bombarded his handsome face and slits had replaced his pupils, green and yellow like a serpent's. He tried to say her name but it came out as a hiss, a forked tongue extending from his mouth after.
She helped him up, fear creeping in both their eyes as they regarded each other, afraid to speak.
Felix hadn't fallen, his body hunched over infront of them as they took in his arms that were now filled with brown fur.
"F-Felix?" Sintra called at him and though his response was human, his voice was woeful as he finally stood to reveal his shameful and furry face.
The fur escaped through his yellow t-shirt, tearing through his blue jeans and leaving only his mouth and eyes uncovered.
Jesse was last to rise, mumbling about a headache before jumping at the sight of them.
"What in the world happened to you guys? Jesus you 3 look like you escaped the zoo!" She said, running a hand across Felix's fur.
"Is that really you, Granger?" She asked incredulously. "Funny enough, you look like Hermione from that one Harry Potter movie."
Sintra's mouth hung agape as she watched Jesse scan her hands and legs before heaving a sigh of relief, resting her hands on her hips indignantly.
"How come I didn't change?"
"Ugh, Jesse..." Sintra started to say, her tone cautious.
"Huh?" She frowned. "What? Why are you all looking at me as if I grew horns?"
"Becaussssse you did!" Vante hissed and Sintra had to suppress a whimper at the sound of his hushed voice.
Jesse's expression turned dark, her face jumping from relief to dread as she reached above her head, touching the hard winding goat horns that now grew from her scalp.
Sintra was more surprised at Jesse's scream than her horns, covering her ears as the loud shriek echoed throughout the cave, rattling the walls like a tremor and only stopping when Felix placed a furry hand over her mouth.
Again, how could Jesse not notice? Those things looked heavy.
"Let go of me!" She spat, swatting Felix's hand away. "I swear when I get out this place I am going to kill those game masters so help me God!"
"Yeah let's get out of here first," Sintra agreed, turning towards the door again.
With all that had happened, it still hadn't open and Sintra tried hand not to swing a kick at it to speed up the process.
"We choose option 1," she told the door, listening as a series of bolts could be heard being unlatched before it swung inwards, revealing the inside of dimly lit cavern.
The rotten tang of copper filled the pathway quickly and Sintra swallowed loudly as she realized what the scent they were following was.
"It was blood all along," she said in horror, staring inside the putrid room.
The door began to shut, prompting Sintra and her group to hurry inside just before it slammed shut.
"What the hell happened here?" Felix said as they stared at the floor in horror, litters of bone and carcasses marring the muddy earth as the potent smell of rotten decay attacked their nostrils.
Their hands flew to cover their noses as they walked past the dead bodies, Sintra repeating a mantra about not thinking about it too deeply to prevent herself from wretching.
It was a circular room, the walls glittering with the same prismatic glow as outside while the torch lights hung all around them.
Sintra caught the view of an alter in the centre of the room and together they headed towards it, observing the circular plate resting on its surface.
It had gems of various colors glowing inside nooks located around its circumference and each one looked similar to the stone Sintra had plucked from the chest in the Bermuda Triangle.
The reflection of randomly placed rubies, amethysts, opals, diamonds, peridots and topazes as well other jewels Sintra couldn't name reflected in their eyes as they ogled at them, noticing a few empty spots in between some rows.
"Now what?" Jesse asked, hesitantly touching her horns again.
"The emerald," Vante said, his forked tongue rushing out after as he retrieved it from his pocket to place it in a missing slot.
Sintra would never get use to seeing him like this and she imagined he must have felt the same way about her.
"Oh, we have one too. It's a sapphire though," Felix said, taking the stone from his pocket and placing it into a slot as well.
"Once again, now what?" Jesse asked.
"Now you kill each other," someone said from the corner of the room and Sintra's vision immediately turned red.