The three made it through the door just as it closed behind them. Another door rested on the other side. Inside the room, the group noticed tiles on the floor; each of them held a single pattern engraved on top of a concrete surface.
The holes in the walls gave them an unsettling feeling that something would come shooting out if someone wasn't careful enough.
“Oh, boy, this doesn’t look good...” Antonio said. Beads of sweat rolled down his face.
“I think by the looks of this, we need to step on individual tiles to move across to the next room,” Tommy said. He scratched his chin and squinted his eyes to see the tiles better.
“Huh, you’re not being reckless and jumping in head first this time?” Maggie questioned, impressed by his newfound sensibility.
“Cut me some slack, will you? Besides, I’ve seen it in a movie before.”
“Sure, but which ones should we step on?”
“How should I know?” Amy replied from the intercom. “I’ve never been to that place before so.”
“Hey, wait, don’t those patterns on the floor look familiar to you guys?” Tommy asked as he pointed at the tiles.
“You’re right, I feel like I have seen them before,” Antonio replied. “Do you still have the camera?”
“Sure, do.” Tommy looked through the photos in the camera and noticed the images from the wall. The others leaned over beside him and saw the pictures he took as well. “I knew it; they’re the same ones from the wall on the way here!”
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
“So we copy those patterns and step on the tiles in that order? Is that right, Tommy?”
“Precisely, Antonio.”
And so, Tommy, Maggie, and Antonio went one at a time to step on each tile in the required sequence. They watched the surrounding walls before trying to find the next one that matched the picture in the camera, as they tried to steady their heart and nerves.
Tommy went first, since he had the camera and photographs in hand; he wouldn’t have to worry about memorizing and stepping. That way, when Maggie and Antonio went right behind him, he could tell them which tile to step on next before proceeding to the next one.
However, he reached a gap between where the last tile was and where he stood at the moment, finding himself in a dilemma.
Maggie and Tommy looked around for another tile similar to that one nearby that they might step on instead, but there wasn’t one within reach. The two leaped across instead. They both made it over successfully, but Antonio stood motionless. He knew he wasn’t a good jumper, so he might not make it across.
As Tommy yelled out words of encouragement, Antonio gulped and tried to do a running start, and leaped over. Unfortunately, he lost his balance, tripped, and fell onto the tiles. The holes in the walls turned from black to bright red as the holes opened up from the sides, and fire arrows darted out across the room.
Tommy ran back across the tiles and pushed his friend out of their way. As they laid down on the cold floor, keeping their heads down. They looked behind them and saw the tiles falling apart beneath them.
The opening revealed a crevice with spikes lining the bottom. They now realized that the arrows were the least of their worries. Antonio and Tommy rushed over the remaining tiles as fast as they could, all while avoiding arrows and falling tiles until the two made it over to safety.
As soon as all three got safely across, the door in front of them opened up. They hurried in, hoping to rest for a while before moving forward.
“God, that was a close one.” Maggie sighed heavily.
“Yeah, I’ll say...” Tommy added, panting, and feeling out of breath.
“I’m so sorry about that,” Antonio said, as he hung his head in shame.
“It’s ok, don’t worry about it,” Tommy reassured him.
Behind the group were more stairs, which led to another floor.
“Let’s go,” Maggie told them.