Black boots thunder down the hallway in a symphony of perfect order.

Step-step, step-step.

White tiles under their feet shine, a permanent chemical smell lingers in the building, evidence of the evils no one can prove. Six doors, locked securely, keeping in the twelve new competitors of the games.

Two masks approach each door, standing on either side of the door as a third mask waits in front of each room. On the dot of the hour, all six doors are thrown open with sickening thuds. Twelve heads swivel to the doors they had been forced through over an hour ago only to be pulled from their new sanctuaries into the hallway.

Laverna exits her room first, following a mask into the hallway until they direct her to stop at a specific tile. Hye-jin is brought behind her, a mask practically dragging her to the spot behind Laverna. Hye-jin nearly growls as she shakes off their clingy hands.

Jasper and Colt are taken from their room in the same way, the same as all the others. The teens are ordered into two lines; seven girls and five boys. There's a silent fear to follow, to obey; the same fear that led each of the twelve to go with the masks as peacefully as they did when they were first selected. The masks work in a creepily synchronized order, never a fault in a single step.

This, this is their first glance at one another – the people that they will either survive, or die, with.

As though in a trance, all of the masks step off together and the twelve teens find themselves following suit. They sneak glances at one another, hearts hammering in their chests. Most don't remember the names they had seen before they were taken and the ones that do can't connect the names with faces. They are all lost in the herd, finding themselves becoming the colors that they wear.

They've all grown up watching the Puzzler, and now as they get closer to the start, they suddenly realize that they have no idea how they get into the Puzzler.

The masks around them lead them through dozens of hallways before ushering the lines through a pair of double doors into a circular room that's been darkened except for the spotlights pointed around the room and the anchors' desk in the center. A digital timer flashes on the anchors' desk, counting down for the "show" to begin.

The teens look around, frozen in place as the double doors behind them seem to seal closed with a heavy thud. Darkness surrounds them as they take in the sights of the room. Black walls, darkened tiles, shadows flitting around as seconds tic by.

A mask approaches the two lines, speaking into a hand-held radio before directing their attention onto the teens. This one is different, unlike the white uniforms of the masks around them, this one is clothed in all white except for the orange vest-like pattern sewn down the sides of the mask. And, it obviously controls the rest.

"Circle them up! T-minus thirteen minutes until starting time!"

Rising from the floor, twelve circular platforms rise up, flashing white for a moment before changing to match the color of their uniforms.

The closest platform is dark red, and Hye-jin watches from the corner of her eye as a mask grabs the boy in the matching-colored uniform and puts him up on the pedestal. As Colt steps on, a spotlight turns on directly above him, seeming to entrap him in the light. The platform under him flashes white again before turning green and the timer on the anchors' desk appears under his feet.

Yellow and pink are next, each going on either side of the kid in red. Their platforms copy the same pattern as the first, flashing white one more time before turning green and the timer appears under their feet as a spotlight from above shines down on them.

White goes next to yellow, lavender next to pink; then grey next to white, and purple next to lavender. After grey goes black, dark green, and light green; while light green meets a light blue, dark blue, and then back to purple.

The twelve kids stand on their platforms, separated and silent as they all watch the timers go by ever so slowly. Beckett's never been so conflicted in his thoughts, wondering if wishing for time to speed up means the same as asking to die faster now.

At three minutes til starting, four anchors walk out to the desk in the center of the teens' pedestals.

And suddenly time moves too fast. A camera slowly descends from the ceiling.

A filtered voice echoes in the room just as the last few seconds slip away from the timers and their platforms turn back to white. The spotlights aimed at the twelve of them dim, leaving only their frames distinguishable to those watching the Perplexor Program.

"Lights, camera, action – smile!"

"Hello folks, my name's Alfonso."

"And I'm Diane. It's time to get excited everyone!"

"I'm Leroy, your official puzzle expert!"

"And I'm Min-ho! And welcome to the opening ceremony for the forty-eighth Puzzler!"

Margaux feels her stomach twist as she examines the too happy anchors. The first is a tall, white man who looks like most sports announcers. The second is an African woman who has a stack of folders in front of her with tabs in the same colors as their uniforms. The third is a short Latino with glasses that almost hide the weariness in his eyes. And the last is an Asian man with a similar look to the first man.

They all seem to play parts in this show, like they are part of a cast rather than the handful of people whose sole purpose, whose sole paycheck, for the next twelve days is to keep everyone updated on who's dead or alive.

She only feels sicker at the thought.

Diane is the first to speak again, "we have already had a pretty thorough rundown on our competitors this year as well as a good review over how last year went."

"Most of our polls on this group," Min-ho adds, "are beginning to lead in a more positive direction in comparison to past years."

"But, of course, it would be rude to discuss the individual polls for each of our young people with them so anxious to get started!"

James feels a chill trickle down his back alongside his cold sweat as Alfonso laughs.

How had he forgotten so much about the Puzzler? How everyone would be watching, commenting, guessing – betting, on them, children. How could he forget that by the hour they would announce to everyone, inside and outside the Puzzler, who is alive and who isn't?

The spotlights on the twelve brighten. Families at home gasp as they find their own in the circle, as they rush to remember their child, cousin, sibling now. Everyone knows that this is the last time to see them whole, or alive at all. Friends and friends of family mutter in front of their screens, silent prayers fall from sullen lips.

This moment. This moment makes the beginning of the Puzzler so much more real for some reason.

Adella finds herself racking her brain for how the Puzzler started the year before. Or more importantly, how each of the twelve got into the Puzzler. She wipes her palms against her sides, dread clawing its way up her throat.

"One thing that we are going to do as we make our way closer to the start of the Puzzler itself, is reintroduce the rules specific to our contestants. Leroy," Alfonso motions toward the evident nerd amongst the four.

"Yes, yes, of course." The small man pulls out a piece of paper amongst the stack in front of him and clears his throat. The way that he speaks seems directed more to the twelve teenagers surrounding him and less to the audiences at home.

"Rule one: once the Puzzler begins each contestant has exactly twelve days, or two hundred-eighty-eight hours, to complete their path through the Puzzler.

Rule two: each contestant may complete the Puzzler as an independent competitor or as a part of a group effort.

Rule three: whatever happens inside of the Puzzler is to be left in the Puzzler when the timer runs out. There will be no consequences nor rewards for any of your actions."

"And with that folks, the time has come."

"Let the games begin!"

All Ronnie remembers after that,

is falling and the darkness that followed.

surprise loves <33

the puzzler has begun🫢

although this one is a baby chapter, it felt so good to finally finish this chapter and get back into writing for this fic!! this chapter generally sets up the rest of this act alongside last chapter — but there's so many little things that were necessary to include.

this is honestly, not a huge mastermind chapter, but everything after this chapter is a mega-mastermind chapter for this act and even beyond!! this chapter point-blank answers a lot of your concerns, questions, and guesses, several of which I felt needed to be addressed all on their own.

I don't want to talk to much, so talk to me!! I love you all so much, I hope that you enjoyed, and I hope that you're all ready for the insanity that's coming next <33

please give me some good encouragements, cause i am ready to just dive into this book again and not stop💕💕

[ 06.26.23 ]
forgive me 🫶🏼💕
[ 1,372 words ]