The wail of a baby greeted me as I slammed the door shut behind me. The piercing scream resonating in my mind, sparking a migraine. Pulses of pain pounded against my temple. I closed my eyes. The image of a screwdriver grinding against the inside of my skull filled the blackness behind my eyelids.

The heartbeats in my hand and leg droned on. Pressure built underneath my skin, feeling like a volcano on the brink of eruption. Opening my eyes, I stole a glance down at the spider-bite. The skin had turned black, with green pus oozing from the pin-sized hole on top of the wound.

Sucking in a sharp breath, I peered around the room. A dim light illuminated the void. Squinting, I leaned forward. Something moved in the glow of the light. The creature, whatever it may be, was blurred from the throbbing in my skull. From what I could see, it seemed to be small in stature.

Killer babies? Baby demons? What else could this house conjure up to frighten me?

"Alright Blue, you gonna show your ugly face or do I not get to phone a friend anymore?" I shouted into the emptiness.

A thunderous snap, like the flick of a switch, answered me. Light trickled in from the ceiling, falling upon the sides of the room. The dark curtains drawn back to reveal dolls standing on the concrete floor. Ten dolls on each side of the room. The pink and blue dresses they wore had faded, old blood staining the material. Their porcelain skin cracked, pieces strewn about on the ground below them.

One of the dolls legs had broken off, leaving the toy face down on the ground. Another doll had mechanical legs underneath its blue dress. The one that terrified me the most had needles stuck into every square inch of its body like a pin cushion. Red, glowing eyes replaced the standard white seen in the other dolls. Upon its lips lay a threatening smile.

"Trevor," Allison's voice sang.

The figure moving in the center of the room floated forward. A cerulean aura seemed to breathe from her skin.

"What more do you want from me?" I whispered. A bead of sweat rolled from the side of my temple down to my jawline. The room spun faintly, like the beginning of a carousel ride.

"You've been poisoned," she said, circling me. "Nasty little creatures those spiders are."

"How do I fix it?" I huffed. A faint pressure had settled on my throat.

She laughed behind me, snaking an icy finger down my shoulder. "Who said it was fixable?" With her finger remaining frozen to my shirt, she floated in front of me. Sapphire eyes rounding playfully on mine.

"So that's it then? I went through all these hellish trials to die by Little Miss Muffet's worst nightmare? What is the point of all these stupid rooms? Why didn't you just kill me the second I stepped inside?" Anger boiled to the surface.

"What fun would that have been? We love watching a bug squirm before killing it." Her finger traced the stubble on my jawline.

"I will not give you the satisfaction of seeing me die!" I spat.

Her eyebrow raised as she drew back her lips, exposing her teeth underneath. "I love the determined ones. It's fun to watch their strength wither with each room."

"Is seeing me die from a spider bite your idea of good ol' family fun? I figured you would have wanted me to go in a more exciting way. That Leviathan would have been a way better film to watch repeatedly in your sadistic mind," I said. The pressure on my throat tightened, making my breaths ragged.

"I like your spirit, Trevor. Which is why I will let you in on a secret. This house indeed has a finish line. Anything with a beginning must have an end. If you make it through the rest of these rooms, alive mind you, you will have a choice to make. What that choice is, I am not at liberty to discuss. And there is indeed a way to cure your poison, however it is not a simple task. See these dolls." Her hand left my face, motioning towards the dolls on both sides of the room. "One of these dolls holds the cure to your ailment. I'm sure by now you have noticed the syringes each one possesses. Find the one with the cure and you are free to move on to the next room. Choose the wrong syringe and there will be a price to pay."

"That's impossible," I gasped.

Twenty dolls. Nineteen opportunities to be wrong, only one to be right. I didn't stand a chance.

"Ah free will, you humans and your need for choices. Oh well, you have your instructions. Let's see how the mighty Trevor falls."

The mirage of Allison vanished, sending a cold breeze over me.

Like a clock striking midnight, my heart thudded painfully against my ribcage. My palms felt cold and clammy as sweat continued to pour down my face. The tips of my hair clinging to my forehead.

"Alright," I breathed, "let's do this."

I approached the first doll to find the that the syringe sat embedded in the neck where the head should have been. A clear liquid sat in the plastic. With a gulp, I ripped the needle out of the neck. Bright red blood squirted from the hole the needle left behind. The needle itself looked rusted. The tip a dull point.

Taking the plunger, I squirted a small portion of the contents on the floor below me. The liquid instantly bubbled upon contacting, eating through the concrete. I quickly threw the needle down in horror.

"Hydrochloric acid. Shame you didn't try it on yourself," the woman sighed, her voice bouncing wall to wall.

I shuddered, moving to the next doll. I couldn't afford to waste time. One look at my hand told me the poison was spreading fast. 

The next doll seemed normal enough. A few cracks here and there, but normal looking compared to the others. A realistic looking toy knife sat in one hand, while a red tinged syringe sat in the other. Exhaling a deep breath, I slipped the syringe from the tight grip it held.

"He he, somebody made an oopsie," the doll said in a voice that sounded like two. One higher and the other lower.  Without any warning, the doll lifted the hand the knife was in and brought it down on my arm. The blade pierced the skin easily.

I screamed in pain as warm liquid gushed out of the wound. Pulling on the hem of my shirt, I tore the material. I wrapped the cotton around the wound and tied it tight. The injury pulsated as if it had its own heartbeat.

"You're right. This is much more fun to watch," she cackled.

The next doll had an empty syringe sticking out of its heart.

Nope.

The doll in the faded blue dress held the syringe in between its teeth. A clear looking liquid shone through the clear plastic.  Ripping it from the doll's mouth, I quickly backed away, expecting it to turn into Chucky at any second. The doll stayed still as a statue.

Squirting a bit of liquid onto the ground, no adverse reaction took place.

Well that's promising.

With gritted teeth, I pushed the needle into the skin of my arm. The prick of the dull needle stung. Slowly, I pushed the contents of the syringe little by little into my arm.

God, I hope that I don't walk out of here with some incurable demon disease.

"Oh Trevor," the woman trilled. "That was epinephrine."

"So, am I cured?" I asked. That sounded like a fancy medical name.

"Quite the contrary. That drug is used to speed up heart rates. The poison plaguing your bloodstream is now moving twice the speed, giving you less than five minutes to find the cure."

Oh Lord.

I surveyed the dolls, trying to identify anything remarkable about them. I did not have time to carefully search each one of them. I would be dead before I made it through three.

Like the pitter patter of rain, my heart beat deep within my chest. My head felt light as the ground below me came closer. I hit the concrete hard, busting my lip.

No, not like this.

My hands grasped at the concrete, pulling myself up.

There's still time.

I glanced upward, spitting out blood from my bleeding lip. Metal legs stood before me. Eight of them. This had to be the answer. It just had to.

I lifted my numb arm, knocking the syringe out of the doll's hand. It clattered to the floor.

Last chance.

I popped the cap off and stuck the needle straight into my skin. The fluid burned white hot, racing over my body. Like frost, the white crept across my vision until it was all I could see.

I failed.

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