Wood, wood, wood, wood. It’s all fucking wood! If the spiral is something else and I’m wasting all my time walking up stairs, I’m gonna freak out! No way, it can’t be anything other than the stairs. It has to be the stairs!
Vicki slumped down on the steps of the staircase she was inspecting with a heavy sigh. She felt sweaty, gross, tired, and hungry. The candy in her purse had already been eaten hours ago, and she didn’t have anything to quench her thirst either. A gilded spiral was so fucking vauge that she had no idea what she was looking for, and it made her want to rip her hair out in frustration. She had to keep reminding herself that she was lucky to even have this vague hint, even if it didn’t feel like it.
After a short break, Vicki pulled herself together and stood up to continue her search. Before that, though, she fished the compact mirror out of her purse to check if her makeup had smudged. She didn’t give a single fuck about her makeup right now, but it was a habit she had for so long that it became muscle memory. The sight in the mirror was about what she expected. Her hair was soaked in sweat and stuck to her lipgloss, her mascara ran down her cheeks, and her face was bright red from exertion. Vicki was about to close the mirror when she spotted something in the reflection. Gold.
One of the staircases above her had gold railings. Vicki thought her exhaustion made her see things, but the more she stared, the more certain she was. The metal was so tarnished that it almost had the same shade of brown as every other railing, but it was unmistakably gold. She had fucking found it. Vicki’s body took a moment to keep up with her brain, but when it did, she darted as fast as she could. Her exhaustion was forgotten as her mind focused on her destination. She wasn’t fucking dying today.
Vicki gripped the golden railing as she hunched over to catch her breath. She was at her destination, but she wouldn’t allow herself to rest until she had the book in her hands. There was the possibility that this was nothing but a red herring, after all. She hobbled over to the bookshelf behind the staircase with hesitant optimism, hoping her goddess didn’t fuck her over. She could barely concentrate on the titles as she scanned through every book. It felt like taking a test right after a marathon.
Blablabla… nonsense… gibberish… nonsense… ah! No fucking way! No fucking way! For real!?
Victoria’s hand hovered above one of the books. Her heart thumped in her ears as she grabbed her ticket to safety and inspected the cover with shaky hands.
Piper J-3 Cub Aviation Manual Vol. 2
Fuck yeah! She wouldn’t die! Not today, world! Vicki quickly shoved the book into her purse, safely tucking it away next to the first one. Now, all she had to do was remember to hold them when the timer hit zero, and she’d be peachy. After securing her key to survival, all the tension left Vicki’s body at once. She slumped against the bookshelf and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Her goddess was indeed on her side, and the feeling of having a divine being on her side felt great. Even if it was a super scary one. Vicki offered a prayer of gratitude and promised to offer something her goddess would love soon.
[04:27:42]
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Panic was really starting to set in amongst those who hadn’t found their sequels yet. Some fell to their knees to beg their gods for mercy, while others got violent. Those who didn’t have the strength to keep running through the infinite library had started to come to terms with their deaths. Well, that was until a woman’s shout rang throughout the building.
“YOUR GODS WILL HELP YOU! FIND THEIR SYMBOLS! THEY’VE LEFT CLUES! YOUR GOD GETS JUST AS FUCKED AS YOU DO IF YOU LOSE, SO THEY WANT TO HELP YOU! TRUST THEM!”
Word began to spread that a woman with a bright orange spray tan yelled those words at anyone she encountered. People were skeptical at first, as she was technically an opponent in the game, but if she had the time to help others, then she’d probably found her book already. After that, almost everyone switched from looking through mountains of books to looking for their god's symbol instead, leading to a lot more people finding their sequel. The spirits of the contestants rose significantly when someone found their book covered in cobwebs, and someone else found their book surrounded by books about goats.
The yelling woman in question, Vicki, was busy helping a pair of twins who couldn’t be older than 4. In her opinion, telling a child who can’t read yet to find a book was bullshit. She wanted to tell their gods, Nut and Geb, to get their shit together and choose someone older next time. She was so tired she wanted to collapse, but she still ran around as fast as she could while carrying the twins. She wasn’t going to let these kids die just because she was tired, no fucking way!
The library pillars alternated between light and dark wood, but in one spot, two dark wood pillars stood next to each other, breaking the pattern. Behind them, she found the twins’ books. Mary’s Icelandic Travel Log Part 2 and Mary’s Cuban Travel Log Part 2, respectively. Just in time, too, as there was less than a minute left when she shoved the books in the twins’ arms. Vicki scrambled to hold her own books as the timer ticked down to zero.
[00:00:20]
Screams of despair and frantic prayers echoed through the halls as people realized that they were going to die. Vicki shut her eyes as tightly as she could. She didn’t know anyone here, but she didn’t want to watch them die. She instructed the boy-girl twin pair to do the same as the sounds of agony got louder and louder.
[00:00:10]
[00:00:05]
Vicki was quite frankly, terrified as fuck. Thoughts about getting the wrong book or dropping the ones she was holding filled her mind. What if the twins got startled and dropped theirs? She wouldn’t have time to help them again if that happened. She hoped that when the counter reached zero, a camera crew would walk out and tell them it was all a big prank.
[00:00:03]
[00:00:02]
[00:00:01]
When the clock hit zero, the space filled with the sickening crunch of bones and screams of pain. Vicki waited for pain to hit her, for someone to tell her she messed up and was going to be sacrificed. The pain never came, though. The noises faded, and another announcement played to the stunned crowd of contestants.
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE PASSED FLOOR 1!]
[FLOOR 1 TOP PLAYERS]
- CHAC | TEAM MAYA +10 PTS
- XōCHIQUETZAL | TEAM AZTEC +5 PTS
- JORōGUMO | TEAM YōKAI +1 PTS
[SCOREBOARD]
- TEAM MAYA | 10 PTS
- TEAM AZTEC | 5 PTS
- TEAM YōKAI | 1 PTS
[TOP PLAYER REWARD]
HANDICRAFTS (F) → HANDICRAFTS (E)