Game Master Read online

  His laughter made my blood run cold; the fact that my rant hadn’t unsettled him showed how dangerous he actually was.

  “What the hell is going on?” Caelan asked.

  “Ah, Mr Fen. Shall we begin?” the GM addressed Caelan. I remembered his earlier statement, telling me I would need Caelan’s help for upcoming games, and intuitively I knew just what was coming.

  “The fuck?” Caelan growled when the image of my family disappeared, and another picture filled the screen. It was nearly a duplicate scene. Four people, I knew instinctively to be Caelan’s family, sat as mine had. Their hands were bound to their respective chairs, and the fear on their faces was a mirror image to the fright that had been exhibited in the eyes of everyone I held dear.

  “Nessa will fill you in. In the meantime,” the GM said casually, “you’ll find a bag in the main foyer of the hospital. It contains all you will need for your first night as gaming partners. There is also a charging device for the tablet. I suggest you use it because tomorrow morning we will commence Game Two. Oh, and before you get any ideas to alert anyone, remember I am always watching you, and your families’ lives are at my disposal.”

  Caelan shook beside me, and he slowly sat back in the chair. I couldn’t offer him any words of support. I couldn’t tell him that his family would be okay because I couldn’t give him false hope.

  “Like you,” I said to him, “I have no idea what the hell is going on, or why we’re here and this sick bastard is playing with us. But I do know we have no choice but to do as he instructs.”

  “This is crazy, Dr Griffiths.”

  “Please, call me Nessa,” I told him as I knelt before him. “Now, let me check you over. I need to make sure there are no internal injuries.”

  He stared at me as if I was surreal but allowed me to examine him. Like me, he didn’t really have a choice over anything anymore, and although I was concerned about his health, I was also a little selfish. If I really did need his help to finish this sick game, then I couldn’t afford for him to die on me either.

  Did that make me as depraved as the Game Master? Aren’t we all selfish when the lives of our loved ones are at risk? If I had to conform to corruption, then I would. There was no way I would allow anyone, not even this vile bastard, to hurt my loved ones.

  Day 1

  16:36

  “So, you’re a copper?”

  Caelan nodded and took another bite of the bland cheese sandwich the Game Master had so ‘kindly’ provided.

  “Surely that can’t be a coincidence,” I mused.

  About to take a drink of water, he paused with the bottle halfway to his mouth and regarded me with narrow eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, come on, Caelan. A doctor and a police officer. Two professionals in the public sector. I don’t know about you, but I’m a damn good surgeon too.”

  “Detective inspector,” he revealed, clicking his tongue when he grasped what I was trying to convey. “Maybe you’re right.”

  We’d decided to settle in one of the staff rooms in the hospital's accident and emergency department. The small room contained not only beds, but staff toilets, and I felt safer using them with Caelan being nearby. No way was I venturing around a dark and abandoned hospital in need of a loo break. The bag the GM had left us contained, as he had specified, a portable charging device for the iPad, along with basic food and drink provisions, blankets, and heavy-duty self-powered torches. When the electricity had powered down a little over half an hour ago, we were grateful for the light he provided. It was infuriating to feel gratitude towards the man that controlled us like puppets, his manipulation continuing even after he had left us in maddening silence and perpetual torment. He was persecuting not only myself and Caelan, but our families. Yet, here we were, silently thanking him for his gift of rubbery cheese sandwiches and light!

  Caelan had been checking the tablet frequently in the hope that he could make sure his family were still breathing, but the screen had remained black for over three and a half hours.

  “You know what!” Caelan exclaimed, throwing his blanket away from him and shooting upright. “This is crazy. I need to report this in and get some back-up!”

  I gawped at him, my eyes as round as my mouth. “Are you crazy?”

  “He has our family and friends tied to fucking chairs! We’re here,” he swung his arms around angrily, “waiting for his sick game to continue. And you call me crazy!”

  “Because right now you’re being a bloody fool. Have you any idea where our families are? Do you? Because I don’t! You’re not a fucking hero, Caelan. This isn’t a silly Hollywood blockbuster!”

  “No, it isn’t!” he argued back. “So why should we act out his revolting script?”

  “Because your mother will die!” I shouted at him, begging him to listen and see just how stupid his gung-ho attitude was. “I have absolutely no doubt he will kill every single one of your family if you dare to go against his rules.”

  “His rules?” he scoffed. “He’s a sick motherfucker who is insignificant in life. He has no control over his own life, so he has to …”

  “Oh, he has control,” I cut him off. “I have absolutely no doubt of that. He holds all the cards, and we have no other choice than to wait and see what he decides to deal. Please. Please,” I pleaded, my voice breaking with emotion. “He has my family too. I don’t want them to die, Caelan. Please.”

  I wasn’t sure if it was my broken sobs that vanquished his rashness, but he blew out a long breath and walked over to me.

  “I know. I know you’re right, but I just feel so helpless. I’m a copper for Christ’s sake. This is just…”

  “Crazy,” I finished for him. “Oh, it’s definitely crazy. But the Game Master is far from insane.”

  He ran his hands through his thick black hair and dropped back onto the threadbare chair to one corner of the room. Stubble covered his chin, and in the dim light of the torches, he looked pale and gaunt.

  “You should drink more.”

  He snorted, snatching up his bottle of water. “What I’d do for some alcohol right now.”

  “Me too, but we need to keep our wits about us.”

  “Nah,” he shook his head. “We won’t hear anything more from him tonight.”

  “What makes you so sure?” I asked as I settled on one of the beds and pulled the blanket up over my shoulders. There was a chill in the air, and I shivered when goosebumps raced across my skin.

  “Because he said he’d be in touch in the morning and I have a feeling that although he’s sick in the head, he’s as honest as they come.”

  “Sometimes honesty can be as deplorable as deceit.”

  “Don’t I know it,” he muttered before turning to me. “So, at least your brother is safe. Who else does he have?”

  My mouth dried when I thought of my family. “My mum, step-dad, and my sister. You?”

  Anger lit his eyes, turning the steel grey almost granite coloured. “My mother and best mate. My ex-wife, and my sister-in-law.”

  “Your sister-in-law?” I wasn’t sure why I thought that strange, but Caelan didn’t question my surprise.

  “We’re good friends.”

  Sadness seeped into his gaze and to hide it from me, he turned his face away and changed the subject. “How old is your sister?”

  “She’s twelve.”

  He winced and bit his lip. “Damn.”

  I nodded. There wasn’t anything to say. My baby sister would never feel safe again. Not only was he tormenting her now, but if, and it was a big if, I managed to save her when it was time for her game, this would haunt her for the rest of her life. Her once carefree and untroubled life was lost forever. She was just a child, but he had taken her innocence and he’d slaughtered it. As he had with Sam.

  And it was that very reason that had me vowing when this was all over I would take this bastard’s life without a second thought. He thought I was meek and mild, but he was unaware of my past, and of the th
ings I had done or the person I had once been. Then again, maybe he did know exactly who I was, and my past was the reason he had chosen me. To mock me, or for revenge, either was possible.

  He may have rolled the first dice and made the first move, but I would be damned if I let him step onto the end square before me. I didn’t care if he had a head start, I would end him well before he crossed the finish line.

  Day 2

  07:30

  Caelan groaned loudly when the fluorescent strip light on the ceiling burst into life and flooded the room with light.

  I shot upright, fear and alarm at what I knew was to come kick-starting my brain and waking me instantly.

  “Good morning, gamers,” the GM’s voice spoke from the tablet which Caelan had laid in his lap the previous night before we’d both fallen into a fitful sleep. I hadn’t been plagued with nightmares like Caelan had, his frequent cries out alarming me on more than one occasion. However, I’d had a far from a restful sleep, and my eyes felt gritty and sore.

  Startled by the Game Master’s voice, Caelan lurched upright and quickly scrambled to catch the iPad when it fell to the floor. His gasp made me aware of the image being displayed, and I hurried over to his side, desperate to give him the support he needed. He didn’t flinch when I slid my hand into his and held onto him tightly when I noticed the timer positioned over a woman’s head.

  “Mum,” he whispered. I wasn’t sure if he was telling me who she was or just calling her name. Either way, I frowned when I saw the amount of time we had to complete the next task.

  1:00

  “An hour!”

  “I love puzzles, don’t you?” the GM said, the tone of his voice mocking and full of amusement. I wanted to put my hand through the screen and yank the bastard into the room with us. Give me five minutes with this motherfucker, and I’d show him just how much Denny had taught me.

  “Although today’s game is a quickie, it’s worth double points. Just like Dr Griffiths’ first game.”

  I peered harder at the screen. Only one timer was lit, and I didn’t get his referral of double points. My first task had saved both Caelan and Sam, so who else had the GM involved in Caelan’s opening game?

  “Are we ready?”

  Whether we were or weren’t, he didn’t wait for our confirmation. The image of Caelan’s mother disappeared and text scrolled across the screen.

  ‘Make haste and don’t be slow,

  down into the basement you must both go.

  But take heed, you’ll need your boots

  if you’re to wade beneath hospital roots.’

  Caelan sprang into action before I’d even finished reading. Snatching up the torches, something that would never have occurred to me to do, he grabbed hold of my hand and hauled me from the room.

  “The elevators will be out, there won’t be enough power from a generator to operate them,” Caelan stated, directing me towards the stairwell.

  I jumped out of the way when we burst through the heavy metal door and disturbed a slumbering rat. I wasn’t frightened of them, but it still startled me, and I squealed.

  “You okay?” Caelan asked.

  Quickly nodding, I urged him to keep going.

  There were roughly around seven flights that we descended. I didn’t count, I was having all on keeping up with Mr Fitness 2018. Jesus, I was tempted to encourage him to join Team GB in the next Olympics.

  I was puffing and panting like an eighty-year-old when we finally reached the bottom. Nevertheless, Caelan didn’t let up. He dropped my hand and switched on a torch, beckoning me after him when he took off running down a long dim corridor.

  “Well done on the hindsight to bring the torches,” I wheezed.

  “This has to be the basement,” he uttered when we reached the very last door. “There doesn’t appear to be any more levels to go down.”

  The large room was filled with the loud hum of generators, even though they were in an adjoining room and not in the basement itself. We both quickly scanned the room.

  0:38

  “Here!” I exclaimed when I saw a note stuck to another door.

  I swear my heart stopped with dread when Caelan read the next riddle.

  ‘Sacrificial doctors must go first,

  as Detective Inspectors just may be cursed.

  Open the door, Nessa, and step inside,

  but take a breath, because there’s nowhere to hide.’

  “Oh, fuck!”

  Day 2

  07:56

  Caelan looked at me with so much hope I wanted to stab him in the eye.

  “You don’t have to do this,” he offered when he caught my glare.

  “Yes, I do.”

  Fear and trepidation had my teeth chattering. It was just one door. Except, it wasn’t the door what worried me, it was what was on the other side that petrified me.

  “If it’s God damn snakes,” I spat out. “I’m going to hurt you!”

  He gave me a sympathetic smile but grabbed hold of my hand. “We can do this. Together.”

  What the hell was he on about? ‘Together’. It wasn’t him who had to step beyond the door.

  Blowing out a long breath, I sucked another one in and opened the door.

  “Shit!” I squealed when, as I took a single step into the room, a loud whoosh behind me made me spin around.

  Where the gap should be to step back into the other room, a sheet of metal had emerged out of nowhere.

  I was trapped.

  Frowning, I turned back to the room when confusion settled heavy in my brain. I didn’t understand. There was absolutely nothing here. What was I expected to do?

  I tilted my head, listening keenly when I heard a noise. It sounded like running water.

  “Fuck!”

  Panic had me pressing my back against the barrier of steel when water started to pour from four openings at the top of each wall. Within minutes it was up to my shins. My heart began to race as I surveyed the area, looking for a clue of what I was supposed to do.

  Giving up when I found nothing, I spun around and banged on the sheet of metal. “Caelan. Get me the hell out of here!”

  I wasn’t sure he would be able to hear me, but when he called back, I was unconvinced if it was of any comfort or not.

  “There’s a riddle and a keypad on my side. What do you have?”

  “Water. Lots and lots of fucking water!”

  “Shit,” he muttered quietly. “I think I have to solve the puzzle to open the door.”

  “No shit, Sherlock,” I mumbled to myself. “And he’s supposed to be the one skilled in solving puzzles!”

  “What?” he asked.

  “What is the riddle?” I screamed. My bones vibrated with the chill of the water that was quickly rising up my body. “Hurry, Caelan!”

  ‘Be quick, Mr Fen, and solve the sum,

  this is no time to be playing dumb.

  There really are no seconds to waste,

  before you know, it’ll be up to her waist.

  Eight days of riddles and strife,

  that you must conquer to save each life.

  So, how many minutes will you spend,

  until we all reach the very end?’

  “I’m crap at maths!” I shouted, panicking as the water level crept up my chest. “Hurry!”

  “Twenty-four hours in a day,” Caelan muttered. I wasn’t sure if he was informing me of the obvious or talking to himself. “So that’s… eight times twenty-four. Eight multiplied by twenty is a hundred and sixty, plus four eights… damn it…”

  I looked around the top of the room for anything to grab hold of when the water reached my chin, but the Game Master had made sure he formulated this game to be as difficult as possible, and I found absolutely nothing.

  “Caelan!” I warned, banging on the metal as I tipped my head back to gulp for air.

  I couldn’t hear Caelan’s voice anymore, the only sound was the whoosh of water in my ears.

  Taking a final gulp and fi
lling my lungs as much as possible, I willed myself to calm down when the water rose over my head.

  What the hell was taking him so long? It was just a sum for Christ’s sake! I was going to die, there was no doubt about it. I found it ironic I was in a hospital. Yet, there was no one here that could save my life like the many I had over the years.

  As my body began to shut down, visions of my Denny filled my mind. His smile was broad, his beautiful eyes shining brightly. He lifted his arm and stretched his hand out to me. “Hey, baby.”

  As I opened my mouth to say his name my lungs overflowed with water and started to slowly drown me.

  But I didn’t care. I had my husband back. My Denny had come for me, as he always had. He had never failed to save my life, and as his fingers closed around my hand, once again, he didn’t let me down.

  Day 2

  08:17

  “That’s it, get it out!” Caelan encouraged as I heaved the water from my lungs, spewing it over his knees as he sat beside me.

  I wasn’t sure what the hell had happened. One second, I was in the arms of my husband, and the next I was laid on my side expelling what had tried so hard to drown me.

  “Did we do it on time?”

  He smiled and nodded. “Yeah.”

  I nodded in return and moved into a sitting position. “You seriously need some maths tutoring.”

  He blew out a breath and helped me to my feet. “Have you any idea how hard it is trying to calculate a sum under that pressure? I got it wrong twice and panicked. I thought I’d messed it all up, but strangely he allowed me multiple attempts.”

  Here we were again, feeling gratitude towards our tormentor. This was undeniably fucked up.