Genre: Horror, Psychotic

***
"What the hell? Why are we tied up, Daniel", Scott shouted at the top of his voice, struggling to get himself freed from the chains. He sounded excessively frightened.

It was a bright Saturday morning, and all of Daniel's friends were tied up in chains except for Daniel, who was standing and smoking a cigarette. The same cigarette Jack had previously told him not to smoke Seeking Jack in chains and not being able to do anything about him smoking gave him pleasure, making him smoke more.

Ava, on the other hand, was quiet, but you could tell that she was scared. She was very sweaty. She knew Daniel had a mental issue; in fact, all his friends knew he had a mental issue, but only Ava knew the intensity. But at a point, she thought he was getting better because that is what his doctors said, but seeing him now made her doubt all that. He looked so pale and sick. The issue is that he was not this way the previous night. 

"What are you doing, man?" Jack asked calmly, but fear could easily be spotted in his voice.

"I'm here to have fun with you guys" said Daniel, smiling evilly. 

The previous night...

"Turn in more vodka for me, Kyle", Scott said, stretching his glass out for Kylie to turn in some vodka for him.

"Scott, I don't want you getting drunk in my house. Remember last time you got drunk, you peed on the couch", Jack said. Jack and his four friends, Scott, Kylie, Ava, and Daniel, usually hung out at his big mansion when they were all together and less busy. They loved hanging out there because it was a secluded and quiet place, a bit far from the rest of the city. They could do anything they wanted and get away with it, and they found it fun.

Kylie turned on some vodka for Scott. "We only live once, and we are going to do some things tonight, you know", she said, winking at Scott while he smirked. Everyone in the friendship group knew Kylie and Scott had something going, and they were not even trying to hide it, even though they refused to be in a proper relationship.

Once Scott finished the vodka, he said, "I'm bored, guys. Let's play a game.",

"An adult game", Kylie suggested, biting her lips.

Ava was already dancing to music and did not want to stop because she knew Scott's games were always bad. 

"What game?", Daniel asked, lighting a cigarette.

"Dude, you're not supposed to be smoking", Jack said, collecting the cigarette from Daniel and smoking it instead.

"Let's play something scary, like hide and seek. One seeker who would scare the hell out of the hiders."

"No. I don't want the replay of all those scary movies I watch", Kylie complained. "I suggest we play something else, like riddles."

"What kind of boring game is that, bro?"

"I have told you countless times not to call me brother or yell at me!"

Ava took a sip of alcohol and rolled her eyes. "You guys should've just accepted my idea." They argued for a while, shouting at each other, then one thing led to another, and Scott nearly hit Kylie, which made her shout louder. If people did not know them, they would think they hated each other. 

"I think we should all go to bed. I will take you guys out for a boat cruise tomorrow", Jack said.

"At least that's fun", Abra said, going upstairs. Jack's friends respected him, so everyone retired to their rooms to sleep or go on with their personal businesses. Kylie and Scott still ended up in the same room and did their thing, which was quite expected.

Back to the present...

"This has all got to be a joke, right", Scott said. "Let us go! This isn't fun. It's creepy. Daniel ignored him and kept on smoking. Scott kept on cursing at the top of his voice. Jack and Ava looked at Daniel quietly, but fear was evident.

"Can you at least tell us what this is about", Scott said, still trying to struggle with the chains, but they were too tight. 

"What's going on here?" Kylie said, gaining consciousness. She was confused and got terrified when she saw everyone in chains except Daniel.

"Great. Now that Kylie is up, we may begin. I just want to have a little fun with you guys. Deathly fun."

"What fun?", Ava asked as she finally mustered up the courage to ask a question.

Daniel chuckled. "The game Kylie suggested yesterday. Riddle riddle. But with a bit of spice. My treat."

"You are dumb", Scott said, spitting at Daniel's feet, but he was not prepared for Daniel's reaction. Daniel immediately ran into the kitchen, ran back out with a knife, and proceeded to slash Scott's face, barely missing his eyes. Scott screamed in pain, and Daniel smiled. 

"Let's begin the game, shall we? The rules of the game are easy to understand, so I will get to the main point. The name of the game is riddle riddle, which means I will be asking you guys riddles one after the other. One person would be given three questions. If you get all three questions right, you will be allowed to live without a scratch. If you answer two questions right, you would be allowed to leave, but barely."

"What does that even mean? Kylie asked, her voice shaking.

"If you get just one question right, I would have no other choice but to kill you. If you fail all three questions. You would be killed in the worst possible way. You can't choose not to play; that's automatic death. You have just one chance to answer a question, and you have thirty seconds to do so. If it's not your turn to answer the riddles and you speak, there will be consequences. Any questions?" 

"This is sick, man", Jack said, sweating while Ava and Kylie begged Daniel to let them go, but he ignored them all.

"Scott, riddle riddle", Daniel said, smiling wickedly at Scott, who did not know he would be the first to be asked the riddle.

Scott was already feeling weak, was still in pain because of the injury, and had no energy to shout at Daniel anymore. "Riddle."

"What can be swallowed but can also swallow you?"

"What sort of question is that?" 

Daniel angrily used the knife to slash him again, and he shouted in pain. "Answer my question!"

"I don't know. Please, Daniel, just let me go", Scott begged in so much pain.

"Next riddle", Daniel said, "I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?"

"Uhm, a joke!"

"Last riddle. I am always hungry. I must always be fed. The finger I touch will soon turn red. What am I?"

"Uhm, an animal, no, no, uhm, Daniel, please just let me go."

"The answer to the first riddle I gave you is pride, and today your pride will swallow you. The answer to your last question is fire. You answered just one question, right? How do I kill you?", Daniel asked casually. After a while, he pulled Scott by his hair to where an iron was situated, and without warning, he put on the iron and adjusted it to its highest setting, then he started pressing Scott's face. The more he struggled and screamed, the more Daniel pressed his face. 

After some time, Scott stopped moving. Daniel took the iron from his, and on the iron were parts of Scott's skin, blood, and other disgusting stains glued to the iron.

"Jesus Christ", Jack said while Ava and Kylie screamed. 

Daniel left the body still lying in chains and also dropped the iron. "Jack, riddle, riddle."

Jack's throat went completely dry. "Riddle."

"I have keys but no locks, space but no room. You can enter, but you can't go outside. What am I?"

There were a few seconds of silence as Jack tried to think quickly. "Uhm, a keyboard..uhm"

"Time up! Next riddle. I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I am alive with the wind. What am I?" 

"I have heard that somewhere; I think it's an echo", Jack said, sweating profusely.

"Last riddle. I have three feet; I can't stand up without leaning. I have no arms to hold me up. What am I?"

Jack thought about it. He was sure he heard that riddle somewhere before, but he couldn't recall.

"Time up, smart guy. The answer to the last riddle is a yardstick. You got two right, so you would stay alive, but barely. What should I do to you?"

"Please ask another riddle. I would answer it right."

But Daniel ignored him, picked up a knife nearby, and slashed his body five times, avoiding any vital parts of his body to prevent him from dying. Jack collapsed after Daniel was done. 

"Kylie riddle riddle."

Kylie was crying and visibly shaking. "Ri..ri…riddle."

"What has a heart that doesn't beat?" Kylie did not know the answer, so she started to cry and beg. On the other hand, Ava knew the answer, but she was scared of whatever Daniel was going to do if she tried talking. 

"Time up! Next riddle", Daniel said wickedly, ignoring all of Kylie's crying. "I can fly without wings, cry without eyes, and run without legs. What am I?"

"A bird? Oh God, this is all my fault", she said as she continued crying.

"Time up. Last Riddle. What is it that no one wants, but no one wants to lose?"

Kylie kept crying and begging. She still did not know the answer to this question.

"A lawsuit. Please don't kill Kylie", Ava said, begging, but that just got Danoel a lot more angry. He angrily walked over to Ava and slashed her lips with so much force, cutting off part of her lips and bruising her body. 

"The rule was to not speak until it was your turn. You, Kylie, haven't gotten any questions, and I know just how to deal with you."

Kylie kept crying and begging, but Daniel ignored her. He went on his knees, looked into Kylie's eyes, and then started to laugh. A very evil laugh. Without warning, he proceeded to chop her toes off one after the other. Kylie screamed and struggled to get away, but all her struggles and screams were in vain. When Daniel was done chopping off her toes, he went ahead to stab her in the heart twenty times. Ava puked at the bloody sight.

"Riddle riddle."

Ava was sweating so much now. She just wished the ground would swallow her up at this moment.

"I said riddle, riddle", Daniel said, walking closer to her angrily.

"Riddle." 

"How do eight eights add up to a thousand?"

Ava thought about it for a while. She was quite brilliant, so it did not take her long to figure out the answer. "888+88+8+8", she said with so much pain. It was difficult to speak because part of her lips were chopped out.

"Next riddle. How can the number four be half of five?"

Without thinking, she blurted, "Two and a half."

"Last riddle. I am full of holes but strong as steel. What am I?"

"Uhm", Ava said, thinking for a while, "A chain?" 

"For a grand scheme master for all these, your acting skills are top notch, but you aren't smart. The answer to the second question is..."

"I know it's roman number four, IV; the roman numeral of four is half of the word five; that's two letters. You told me that last night. I'm not dumb. I only failed it, so this would be fun", Ava said, smiling and licking her bloody lips.

"So how do I torture you for getting two right? My lady?", Daniel asked.

"Stab me on my right arm", Ava said, and Daniel did exactly as he was told, making Ava hiss in pain.

"I think I will go now. Thank you for making me feel useful for once in my life. I've never felt this way since I was born. Nobody considered me important, but you did. Thank you."

"No thank you. I've always wanted to get rid of Scott and Kylie. They were a great nuisance."

"Why didn't you want me to kill Jack, though?"

"I have a crush on him. I would kill him if he became a nuisance, though."

"But he could've died if he failed two or three questions. 

Ava smiled and said, "Take it that I gambled with his life and he didn't fail me. Give me your phone before you go so I can call 911."

Daniel gave Ava his phone. "I would've preferred hide and seek, though."

"No. I love this game. It's not regular", Ava said, smiling. "Hide and seek would've been too regular for murder."

Daniel smiled too. "Good bye, Ava." He immediately took a gun from his pocket and shot himself in the head.

Author's Note!!
Remember to drop your ideas on what you think happened here!!
And yes, how are you?? I'm asking you that's reading this, don't leave without answering 😫