Twelve pair of eyes stared at the TV monitor with mixed reactions. The question was rhetorical in nature; the option to not play was non existent. So they remained in their silent deficiency.

"Let's start the first game," the Game Master continued speaking. "One of the dishes on the table does not belong. Can you figure out the one that is wrong?"

With that, the screen faded to blackness and turned off on its own. Instead of starting the game or trying to find its answer, they exchanged terrified glances with each other.

"I don't wanna play anymore." Natasha was the first one to break the silence. She abruptly got on her feet, shifting the chair backwards with a piercing sound. Anyone could notice she was trying to hold her tears and failing hard.

"Where are you going?" Shirley asked the girl worriedly, afraid she'd end up doing something stupid.

"Home!" Natasha stomped her feet out of the dining room and strolled out. The dining room was located next to the grand staircase which connected to the front door entrance.

Silence fell on them once again, but it took Jay no longer than a second to get up and follow his friend.

"Drama queen." Ashlyn rolled her eyes and scoffed a mocking laugh.

Damon slammed the knife on the table, linking his arms behind his head and breathed an annoyed grunt. The girl next to him was already hyperventilating as her fingers frantically smashed the number pad on her phone, and it made him more restless.

"Mom, pick up," Ginny chanted a prayer, placing her phone against her ears. The free spirited look on her face was replaced by an expression full of sorrowful dejection. "I'm sorry I hung up on you. Please pick up the phone."

"They cut off the network connections," Damon repeated again, only this time, he knew it was for a different reason. This was starting to become a very disturbing game. Seeing Ginny break down in tears, he knew she wasn't mentally strong enough to survive it.

"Who is behind all this?" Mark questioned, eyes scanning around the room to find some sort of clue.

Oliver didn't say a word and began moving on his own. He dragged his chair along with him across the carpet based floor, and set it right below the TV.

"What are you doing?" Mark furrowed his eyebrows.

"Checking for any cables or receptors to see where the TV is connected to. Maybe we could trace it and find out the location of the Game Master," Oliver relaid his answer as a small mumble when he got up on the chair and reached out to the back of the TV. "Oh?"

"What? What's wrong?" Harvey was immediately alerted by that small reaction. He turned around from his chair at the very far edge to watch the other one work.

"I should've known." Oliver lightly jumped off the chair and dusted his hands off. "It's wireless. The Game Master probably used some bluetooth connection as the transmitter."

"Meaning he can control it from anywhere," Ashlyn followed his findings, and the guy nodded.

Again, they fell silent and thought of ways to avoid playing the game.

"Maybe we should go along with these games and see what happens," Ethan then proposed an idea, so simple, so stupid, and yet the only solution they had.

***

"Natasha!" Jay didn't know how many times he had called out to her name as he raced her towards the front door. He didn't want her to discover the same horror he had noticed before. She would break down.

"Don't go there!" He repeated as the girl was approaching the door. There was no choice but to take drastic measures as he jumped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, using all his might to prevent her from moving.

"Let me go!" Natasha started squirming her body viciously to break free.

"Forget it!" Jay raised his voice, exerting greater force when she put up a stronger fight. Her energy eventually died down and soon he felt her body hiccupping from her loud sobs.

"Why won't you just let me go?" She whimpered, slapping his hands away when he loosened his grip.

"Because we can't," Jay uttered lowly, "We can't get out."

Through her damp and watery eyes, Natasha's gaze fell towards the front door and absorbed the true reality of their horror. The doorknob was gone, sealed off, and replaced by an odd vintage looking baseball in place.

"The windows are all sealed as well." Jay pointed to the metal bar fence rails in front of every window. The glass was tinted in bright yellow, allowing the prisoners to look at the outer world, but preventing passersby from seeing its inside. Not that anyone would ever locate such a deserted mansion in the middle of nowhere anyway.

"So we're completely trapped?" Natasha questioned, and he nodded. Her shock soon turned into a hopeless laughter of disbelief as she fell to her knees on the floor, completely weak and out of mind. "Fantastic."

***

"Crab!" Madison suddenly yelled, breaking the silence. Almost everyone turned to her with shock.

"Madison Williams, that is no way for a lady to talk." Shirley was the most horrified one at the youngest's explicit language.

"No, no, I mean the crab!" Madison explained herself and pointed at the black pepper marinated crab on the table. "That's the answer to the first game. Everything is Italian themed, but black pepper crab is..."

"Oriental," Harvey finished the sentence for her, and the younger girl nodded. He took the closest fork and knife and began dissecting the crab.

"Crab is the only one that doesn't belong, see?" Madison repeated, proud she had solved the first question. Knowing the others were too busy examining the dish, she caught Ethan being the only one who secretly stole a glance at her. She flashed him a smile, but he awkwardly looked away. It made her chuckle.

"There, in its shell. Take it. Hurry up. Come on!" Oliver probably would've been the most annoying cheerleader to go down in history. Either way, it did not quicken Harvey's delicate pace in trying to break the shells open as gentle as he could.

Bree couldn't take it anymore and used her bare fist to smash the crab's shell open. It immediately broke apart into uneven pieces, and everyone's mouth fell open. They were secretly hoping they'd get on her good side.

"There's something inside!" Oliver repeated out loud like blasting stereo speakers. He stretched his arm to take out a small paper in the size of a postcard. It was filled with the marinated sauce, but the fancy lamination of card preserved it.

"What's going on?" Jay's voice appeared as he and Natasha reappeared just in time.

"I guess it's a mission card." Oliver observed while flipping the heavyweight paper back and forth. The front was rich in luxurious black ink, but empty in nature. The back side was a fade out light brown color filled with black lettering in an old English cursive handwriting that read a peculiar riddle.

Three things to remember as you enter the aquatic chamber. An allotted time is bestowed, to retrieve your assigned zodiac code. An electrifying surprise will then activate, eliminating those who failed to locate. Refuse to participate and what awaits you is a doomed fate.

"Poetry?" Ashlyn immediately analyzed the writing. As someone studying linguistic and literature, she wondered whether anything was out of the ordinary. "No, the Game Master is merely rhyming the last words, but this isn't poetry per say."

"Is this our first mission?" Harvey questioned and took the card from Oliver's hand. "What is an aquatic chamber?"

"Do you think there is a big fishtank hidden somewhere in this house?" Ginny asked innocently, using her entire body to draw an invisible rectangle.

Damon scoffed a little at her thought, immediately understanding why her mother was so worried about her. She could be a bit ditzy sometimes.

"Like a sink?" Natasha guessed.

"That wouldn't be a chamber," Ashlyn remarked flatly.

"Maybe he was just trying to be fancy."

"I am the linguistic major here, and I know he was describing something more grandeur than a sink," Ashlyn raised her voice a little. Oh how she despised Natasha Heath. They used to be on neutral terms before. But now, being in the same room was suffocating; dying in the game was probably more appealing.

"Bathtub?" Ginny tried again.

"Still not a chamber," Ashlyn was losing her patience.

In the middle of the silence, Ethan finally got the answer. "Swimming pool."

The others lifted their head to him in nearly a synchronized timing. That sternness and confidence in his tone made him so certain of his answer.

"I know the house is big, but there is no swimming pool." Mark laughed at the ridiculous answer.

"Yes, there is," Ethan said sternly. "I saw one while I was passing the hallway on the third floor. There is a swimming pool at the garden."

"Garden?" Ashlyn frowned in clear disbelief.

"We can't even get out of the house. How will we ever get to the garden?" Jay asked with concern.

"Wouldn't we all be able to escape if there was indeed access to the garden?" Even Bree added in skeptically.

Madison noted Ethan's immediate silence as the others attacked him. "It's worth a try. The Game Master wouldn't place a swimming pool as simple decoration. I trust Ethan. He probably observed this mansion better than any of us did," she defended him.

The two exchanged a glance, and this time Ethan let a smile escape, mouthing a small thank you to her that went unnoticed by others.

"Okay, if that is indeed the answer to the first question, what do these mean? Zodiac code?" Harvey pointed at the mission card.

"I have no idea either." Madison retreated from the discussion.

"Could it be referring to the Zodiac Killer?" Mark proposed a terrifying idea, and a chorus of gasps followed afterwards.

"No, the Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who murdered people for pleasure. He believed those dead victims would become his slaves in the afterlife," Damon corrected him. "I don't think the Game Master intends to kill us."

"Yes!" Madison agreed instantly. "The Game Master seems to purely enjoy designing these games and riddles. The downside is that we could..."

"Kill or get killed," Damon finished where she left off. He looked rather indifferent even as others flinched at the harsh reality they hadn't fully grasped on. But he was different. Criminology was his field of expertise, and though it was annoying, the situation did not frighten him a single bit.

"If winning the game is the only way to survive, then I will," he continued, folding his arm. There was some coldness radiating from his distant eyes, signaling the others he was willing to play this twisted game.

Whether they were willing or not, they had all become participants by force. Some were just better at embracing the truth and adjusted to it quicker than the other.

"So what is this Zodiac code?" Natasha tried to question again.

"There are exactly twelve of us. If we are assigned a zodiac each, could it be our birthday?" Mark questioned, thinking of several probabilities of their birthdays overlapping.

Ginny immediately shot her hand in the air like she was answering a question in class. "My birthday is on June 12th, which makes me a Gemini."

"I'm a Gemini too!" Madison squealed in sudden excitement at their similarity.

"Me three," Ashlyn added coolly, refusing to join the two girls who childishly made a circle and jumped around.

"This is so cool! And you know Gemini is the sign of twins? We're like... Triplets! Like, I would see my reflection twice in the mirror, but with different people. Like sisters from another mother and father, you know?" Ginny kept rambling on which no one honestly understood. But for the girl's sake, they kept a sweet smile nonetheless.

"Wait!" Oliver suddenly exclaimed, his eyes widening at the sudden lightbulb moment. "That's it!"

"What?" Harvey questioned curiously.

"Mirrors! The walls of my room is made out of mirrors." Oliver commented. "Sign of Gemini!"

The sudden enlightenment allowed others to remember those bizarre decoration put up in each individual room. Everything suddenly started to make sense when a zodiac sign was assigned to it.

"I must be Leo." Bree remembered the dead lion carpet greeting her so horrifyingly.

"What does a tumbled water vase represent?" Natasha questioned out loud.

"Aquarius?" Bree guessed.

"So the bow and arrow in my room isn't because we're gonna play with it?" Ginny pouted, feeling some of her excitement wash away.

"It's probably Sagittarius," Bree told her.

"Obviously," Damon scoffed, and he could see the struggle as Bree held herself back from throwing a punch at him.

"Can't we continue this tomorrow? Let's all go back to our room, look for the sign, and get some rest." Harvey placed the card back to the table and stretched his arm lazily. "Besides, I need my beauty sleep to look good for the cameras."

"I don't think delaying the game would do us any good," Shirley said, concerned what could possibly happen to any of them. Before she had a chance to hold the guy back, Ashlyn was clinging to her arm.

"We just had dinner and haven't fully settled in this place. I think continuing the game tomorrow would be better," she told the elder.

"We'll play the games tomorrow then," Ethan chimed in, reluctance visible in his tone. The idea of treating their life as a game itself was sickening.

Shirley was left speechless when the others moved and left her on her own. Maybe she was paranoid, but the idea of 'settling in' seemed so unreal when they could get killed anytime.

Who was to say the Game Master would play by the rules? What if he cheated and killed the players just to create more sensation?

They couldn't escape, but maybe they could at least try to survive for as long as possible.

***

That night was a restless night and almost everyone suffered from a sudden insomnia. The thoughts that this could potentially be their last night alive was a frightening thought.

They had all gone to their room and took note of their assigned zodiac. Jay realized his room wasn't as empty as he thought it was with the presence of a modernised weigh scale in the corner. Madison's entire wall was decorated with fishnets, which she found quite delightful. Damon had a fake ram's head on display on the wall whereas Mark had a similar looking animal closely resembling a goat. Ethan found a plastic crab on his night desk. And Harvey was met with a bull's head every time he laid in bed.

Some chose to wring around in bed in the hope sleep would miraculously befall them. Others opted to explore different parts of the mansion and kept themselves busy until their eyelids would give the wake away.

The door creaked open and Madison looked up from behind her book. She had cozily seated herself against a fort of pillows she created in the library. A dim reading lamp was centered to her book and provided enough luminosity required to read. The sudden interruption alerted her, but soon an elated smile graced her lips.

"Sorry, I didn't know someone was in here," Ethan said awkwardly. He was about to leave when one word from the girl prevented him.

"Stay."

It was more of a plea rather than an invitation. Her cheerful smile was broken into a pained line as Madison tapped on the empty space besides her on the floor.

Ethan closed the door behind him and quietly walked over to the girl who semi laid on the floor. She was wearing silky white colored pyjamas with easy to miss lighter polka dots on them. Her long hair was tied in a messy ponytail that tangled all over the pillow and covered parts of her face. Her foot was wrapped in matching beige pantoffel she had brought from home, he assumed. Even in her natural state, he couldn't help but to think she looked like a heavenly angel.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" Madison bluntly questioned him.

"No, I haven't," Ethan denied, lowering himself on the space next to her.

"Yes, you have." Madison sat upright now to match his eye level and playfully poked his arm, very much resembling elementary schoolers arguing—or flirting. She mischievously leaned closer to his face, to which he shyly turned away from. "See? You can't even look at me."

Ethan remained quiet. That he couldn't deny.

She pursed her lips now, waiting for a reaction he wasn't providing. So she soon scooted back to her pillow and retrieved the book in her lap. "Are you still thinking about that day?"

He turned to her, but she never met his eyes. "Could you honestly forget about it?" He asked in a quiet whisper.

"No one could." Madison paused her reading and cocked her head to him. "We may not be able to forget, but we can choose to move on."

"Some people move on too fast. The others probably don't even feel sorry," Ethan muttered under his breath sinisterly.

"Hey." Madison moved away from her pillow and quickly placed her hands against his to calm his building rage. She saw him flinch and turn to her, their eyes meeting again after a timely barrier. "Everyone has their own way of dealing with problems. You can't expect everyone to react the same way you do."

Ethan remained silent, looking at their hands together when she decided to retract it back. The warmth left him.

"You know, despite our tragic fate of having to play this game, I am actually a little glad we got chosen." Madison resumed reading her book; eyes on the words, but the mind lost in their memories.

"Why?" He was honestly afraid to know her answer, simply because he knew the cheerful Madison who treasured friendship so deeply could outweigh this negativity with one formidable optimism.

"Because for once, we are all together again," she smiled. "All of us."

***

"Hey!"

Shirley nearly bumped her head against the cupboard on top when she heard the greeting. She quickly turned around and saw Mark leaning against the wall of the kitchen entrance.

"What are you doing?" He questioned, noticing her fingers rubbing the top of her head in pain. A notepad and pencil was scattered on the floor next to her.

"It's not important." Shirley quickly returned to the sight in front of her, which was a far more interesting subject than the guy was.

"Are you cheating to win the game?" Mark approached her and leaned his arms against the wooden kitchen island occupying the center of the kitchen. He looked down and towered over her petite frame.

"Of course not! I would never!" Shirley replied, completely offended.

Mark grinned, knowing she wouldn't. Shirley Gibson was one of the top students at their campus and got her rank through a lifelong dedication to studying, studying, and more studying. She would never cheat even if her life was at stake.

"Enlighten me," he said charmingly, eyes still fixed on the girl who pursed her lips, deciding whether or not he was trustworthy.

Finally she gave in and tucked some long strands behind her ear. "I'm counting all the food supply we have in storage. The Game Master mentioned the food supply might run out eventually, so I'd like to know how much time we have."

Mark raised his eyebrows and squatted down on his knee. He picked up the notepad beside her and studied it. "Did you write down our supplies?"

"Every single one of them."

He diverted his eyes back to the notepad, seeing the list had taken nearly two pages. Honestly, there weren't a lot of items available. Some of them were instant food like cup noodles or ready to heat mac 'n cheese. There were rice grains, several dairy products, and more sources of protein. But overall, not very much.

"With the twelve of us here, assuming we'll eat three times a day, the supplies will last for at least two weeks. If we go on a strict diet, we could make three weeks," Mark analyzed after quickly calculating the numbers in his head. He wasn't a math genius for nothing.

"But since we have Ashlyn around, it will probably only last for a week," he then added, referring to the other girl's incredible appetite.

Shirley chuckled, and he took pride in his ability to make a girl laugh despite the wretched situation they were in.

"You should get some rest. We have no idea what is gonna happen tomorrow," she told him and began putting the food supply back to where it came from.

"Sure you don't need a man to accompany you?" Mark asked with a grin.

"I can manage, thanks." She smiled in reply and shooed him away.

When the kitchen belonged to her alone, she proceeded to return the items back one by one. She opened multiple drawers and cabinets she could get her hands on in the kitchen, eventually stumbling upon a drawer she hadn't noticed before. She thought it was stuck in place, but an accidental attempt pulled the whole thing open.

Inside, a steel bottle was placed in a sleeping stance. It was suspiciously placed in isolation, as if it was a dangerous object in need of quarantine. Carefully, the tip of her fingers lifted the medium sized bottle up and felt its light weight. She twirled it around to read the handwritten label in front.

C21H22N2O2

If anyone else were to discover it, they may not have been able to decipher the formula. But being a pharmaceutical science student, chemistry was a part of her life. It took her no time to uncover the substance contained in the bottle.

"Strychnine," her voice whispered. A small gasp escaped her frozen lips when she realized the true content inside the bottle.

One of the most dangerous and life-threatening poison known to man.