The fire crackled, casting flickering shadows across the cabin walls. No one spoke for a moment, each person lost in thought. The weight of uncertainty pressed against them like an invisible force.
Sarah glanced at the two abandoned emblems on the floor, her voice barely above a whisper.
"So… what kind of game are we playing?"
Mira leaned forward, her sharp eyes scanning everyone's faces. "A game where we push each other to the limit. If the seeker is among us, we need to make them slip up."
Rebecca frowned. "And how do we do that?"
Mira smirked. "Interrogation. We take turns asking each other questions. If someone avoids answering, hesitates too much, or acts off, then we press them harder. The goal isn't just to catch a lie—it's to see who can't handle the pressure."
Hakim crossed his arms. "So basically, we're forcing everyone into a psychological battle?"
Mira gave him a knowing look. "You were in the military, weren't you? You should understand the power of mind games."
Hakim's expression remained unreadable, but inside, he acknowledged her strategy. 'When did I went into the military? Maybe she just mistake me with someone else.' Hakim thought.
Psychological warfare—it was more effective than brute force in situations like this. Yao, who had remained silent up until now, shifted in his seat. "If this game causes too much paranoia, we might end up turning on each other instead of the seeker."
"Maybe," Mira admitted. "But right now, doing nothing is worse."
Silence.
Then, Sarah spoke. "Fine. Let's do this."
Mira's smirk widened. "Good. Let's begin." She turned to the person closest to her—Rik.
"Rik, where were you before Sarah and I woke everyone up?"
Rik exhaled, rubbing his temples. "I was in the corner, trying to rest like the rest of you. I didn't move an inch."
Mira tilted her head. "You're sure about that?"
Rik's expression darkened. "Are you implying something?"
"I'm just asking questions," Mira said smoothly. "If you're not the seeker, you shouldn't have anything to worry about."
Rik's jaw clenched, but he said nothing. Mira turned her gaze to Rebecca. "Rebecca, did you hear anything before the disappearances?"
Rebecca hesitated for just a second. "No," she finally said. "I didn't hear anything unusual."
Mira narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure?"
Rebecca's fingers tightened around the edge of her coat. "I said no."
Mira held her gaze for a moment longer, then moved on. "Emily, do you think the seeker is one of us in this room?"
Emily leaned back, crossing her arms. "Honestly? I don't know. But if they are, they're playing the long game."
Mira smirked. "Exactly." A sudden gust of wind rattled the windows, making the fire flicker.
Sarah shifted uncomfortably. "This isn't working. We're just going in circles."
Mira sighed, leaning back. "Maybe. But at least now we know something."
Hakim frowned. "And what's that?"
Mira's eyes gleamed. "The seeker is good at hiding."
For a moment, no one spoke. The fire crackled, its warmth feeble against the icy wind howling outside. Shadows danced along the cabin walls, stretching and twisting like specters.
Then—the lights flickered.
A breath hitched.
A heartbeat quickened.
The fire sputtered once, twice—then, without warning, it was gone.
Darkness swallowed the room whole. Silence pressed down on them, thick and suffocating. The only sound was the storm raging beyond the cabin, a beast clawing at the windows. And then—A shuffle. Someone moved.
Sarah's fingers curled around the edge of her coat. "Who was that?" No one answered. A floorboard groaned. Slow. Careful. Like someone deliberately testing each step. The kind of movement that spoke of intent. Of hunting.
Then—A sharp gasp. A sudden scuffle.
And then—nothing.
The wind shrieked through the cracks in the cabin, but inside, all was still.
The kind of stillness that didn't feel empty—but watched.
Then—click.
A lantern flared back to life, casting a flickering glow over their faces. Shadows stretched long and jagged, revealing wide eyes and tensed bodies. And then—someone noticed.
Rik was gone.
His seat was empty. The place where he had been just moments ago, now vacant. No trace of a struggle. No cry for help. Only a single object remained.
His emblem.
It lay on the wooden floor, cold and untouched.
Hakim bent down, picking it up. The metal was icy against his fingers, but it felt heavier than it should have. Like it carried the weight of something unseen. Rebecca's voice was barely above a whisper.
"That's three now… First Emily and Rizman. Now Rik." Sarah clenched her fists, jaw tight. "Damn it! How? We were all here! How did the seeker take him without any of us noticing?"
Mira's gaze locked onto the emblem in Hakim's hand, unreadable. "This doesn't make sense. If the seeker only needed to take the emblem, why do it like this?"
Yao's voice was quiet but firm. "They're playing with us." Emily exhaled sharply, running a hand through her hair. "We need to act fast before the rest of us disappear."
Mira's lips curled—not in amusement, but something sharper. Calculating. "Yeah… but first, there's something we need to talk about."
Hakim's eyes flicked to her. "What?" She tilted her head slightly, scanning the room. The dim lantern light cast eerie shadows across their faces, but nothing could mask the tension.
"The seeker was here," she said, voice low. "Right next to us." A beat of silence. Then she continued. "One of us is lying." The temperature seemed to drop further. The lantern's flame flickered. The night wasn't over yet. And the game was just beginning.
Mira's words hung in the air like a knife suspended by a thread.
Hakim's grip tightened around Rik's emblem. His eyes darted across the room, scanning each face, each flicker of movement. No one spoke. No one dared to.
Then, Sarah broke the silence.
"If that's true," she said slowly, voice edged with caution, "then what do we do?"
"We find out who's lying." Mira's gaze was sharp, unwavering. "If the seeker is among us, we can't afford to sit back and wait for them to pick us off one by one."
Rebecca crossed her arms, her expression wary. "And how exactly do you propose we do that?"
Mira tilted her head slightly, a glint in her eyes. "We play a game."
The room tensed.
Emily let out a quiet, disbelieving laugh. "You want to play a game? While the seeker is literally hunting us?"
"It's not just a game," Mira corrected. "It's a test."
Hakim exhaled, his breath visible in the cold. "Go on."
Mira leaned forward, the dim lantern light casting shadows over her face. "We take turns revealing where we were before the lights went out. Every detail. The smallest inconsistency could expose the seeker."
Yao frowned. "That's assuming the seeker slipped up."
"They will," Mira said simply. "Because if they don't, we'll make them."
For a moment, no one objected. Then, reluctantly, they all nodded.
The game had begun.
Sarah went first.
"I was sitting by the fire, across from Rik. When the fire went out, I didn't move—I swear. I only turned my head when I heard something shuffle."
Emily nodded. "I heard that too. A floorboard creaked."
Yao crossed his arms. "It could've been any of us."
Rebecca sighed. "I was near the window. When the fire died, I looked outside for a second to see if anything was moving in the storm."
Mira smirked. "And?"
"Nothing. Just snow."
Hakim watched them all carefully, his fingers still curled around Rik's emblem. He spoke next.
"I was near the table," he said. "I didn't move either—I was focused on listening. But…" He hesitated, then looked at Sarah. "I think the shuffle came from behind you."
Sarah blinked, her expression guarded. "Behind me? But that would mean…"
Her voice trailed off.
Everyone turned to Mira.
Mira raised a brow, unfazed. "I was sitting next to Rik."
A chill swept through the room—not from the cold, but from the realization.
Mira was the last person next to Rik before he vanished.
Hakim narrowed his eyes. "Mira…"
Mira smirked. "What? You think I'm the seeker?"
Emily's fists clenched. "You were right next to him."
"I was." Mira's voice was calm, collected. "But that doesn't mean I took him."
Sarah inhaled sharply. "Then who did?"
The lantern flickered again. The fire from the hearth barely glowed. The storm outside howled, pressing against the cabin walls.
And then—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A slow, deliberate knock against the door.
The room froze.
No one moved. No one breathed.
Then—
Darkness swallowed the room.
The fire had died. The lantern was out. The only sound was the wind howling through the now-open door, sending a freezing gust through the cabin.
Then—footsteps.
Slow. Deliberate. Moving across the wooden floor.
Hakim's pulse pounded in his ears. He couldn't see anything—just vague shapes in the dark. But he felt something. A presence. Someone was in the room.
"Found you."
The whisper had come from somewhere near the door.
Sarah gasped. "Who—who was that?"
No answer.
Hakim's grip on Rik's emblem tightened. He forced himself to stay calm, listening for any movement. Someone had to relight the lantern. But who would dare move first?
Then—another sound.
Not footsteps. Not breathing.
A clink.
Metal hitting wood.
Then—silence.
Hakim's fingers fumbled through his pocket, searching for the lighter he had picked up earlier. His hands were shaking from both the cold and tension, but he finally managed to spark a small flame.
The moment the fire flickered to life—his stomach dropped.
Another emblem lay in the center of the room.
And just like that, they knew.
Someone else was gone.
Sarah rushed forward, picking it up with trembling fingers. Her face paled as she turned it over.
Rebecca.
Hakim swore under his breath. Two gone. Rik and Rebecca. Taken in complete silence.
Emily pressed a hand over her mouth. "This… this isn't possible. The seeker is toying with us."
Mira exhaled, slow and steady, but her knuckles were white as she clenched her fists. "And they're good at it."
Yao stepped toward the door and glanced outside. "There's no one out there."
Emily wrapped her arms around herself, shaking her head. "No… they're in here."
The realization sent another wave of dread through the group.
Sarah's voice came out barely above a whisper. "One of us…?"
No one dared to say it outright.
But they all knew.
Mira was the first to move. She grabbed the lantern and quickly relit it, bathing the cabin in a dim, flickering glow. Shadows stretched across the walls, making everyone seem taller, more distorted.
Hakim scanned the room, his pulse hammering. No one spoke. No one moved. Their breaths came shallow, eyes darting—suspicious, fearful.
The room felt different now.
"Two are already gone. And we're next." Emily said.
"We can't just sit here," Hakim said, trying to keep his voice steady. "If we don't act, more will disappear before sunrise."
Emily let out a short, bitter laugh. "And do what, exactly? We don't even know who we're up against!"
Mira exhaled sharply. "Yes, we do."
Her voice cut through the tension, turning every gaze toward her.
She lifted Rik's emblem between two fingers, turning it over in the dim light. "The seeker took Rik and Rizman… but they left the emblems behind. Why?"
Yao frowned. "If they took them, wouldn't it be over for them?"
Mira's grip tightened. "Exactly. So why leave them?"
A heavy pause.
Sarah swallowed hard. "...They didn't take them because they want us to think something else."
Rebecca's eyes widened, realization dawning. "They're making us paranoid."
Hakim clenched his jaw. "They're making us doubt each other."
The words lingered in the air, sinking into their minds like poison.
Emily took a step back. "So what are we saying? That one of us is the seeker?"
The tension in the room was suffocating.
No one spoke. No one moved.
The only sound was the wind clawing at the cabin walls, howling like a distant predator waiting for the right moment to strike.
Sarah's fists clenched. "I said—I'm not the seeker."
Mira's eyes didn't waver. "Then prove it."
Sarah scoffed. "How?! What do you want me to do? Take an oath? Swear on my life? That's exactly what the seeker wants—to turn us against each other!"
Yao ran a hand down his face. "This is pointless. If we keep going like this, we'll do their job for them."
"Then what do you suggest?" Hakim asked.
Yao hesitated.
Mira cut in, voice sharp. "We figure it out before another one of us disappears."
Emily exhaled, frustration seeping into her words. "And how do we do that? We have nothing—no clues, no leads. Just fear. And right now, that's our biggest enemy."
Mira stared at the four emblems lying cold on the wooden floor. Rizman. Rik. Rebecca. Eliza. Gone.
Sarah shook her head. "We're trapped. If we stay awake, the seeker waits. If we sleep, we're as good as dead."
Hakim's expression darkened. "Then we don't sleep."
Emily gave a humorless laugh. "And what? Just sit here staring at each other all night? I have a good idea. How about we just surrender ourself. There is nothing to worry if we're all in the same team as seeker."
No one can response to what Emily said.
"Actually I feel same. I have nothing to lose if I just surrender myself. It's not about the game. It's about the bond. If we follow this game for more, I don't think I can think properly anymore. The mastermind want to make us break apart." Hakim said.
"True, we have nothing to lose." Emily said.
Mira's voice cut through the thick air, sharp with urgency. "You guys cannot give up right now. We still have time. We can survive this and finish the trial together."
But Emily just sighed, shaking her head. "Together? We're already falling apart."
Hakim clenched his fists. "You think I want to give up? That I'm okay with this? I'm just saying the truth—if we let fear take over, we're already lost."
Sarah's gaze darted between them, her hands tightening into fists. "So what? You just want to surrender? Hand over your emblems and let the seeker win? Then what was the point of everything up until now?"
Emily exhaled, her expression unreadable. "And what's the point of fighting if we just end up turning on each other?"
Silence.
Yao finally spoke, his voice low. "The mastermind isn't just trying to eliminate us. They're making us doubt everything. If we give up now, we've already lost."
Emily scoffed. "We have lost."
Click.
The fire flickered.
The sound of the storm outside grew louder, rattling the walls.
Mira's grip on her knife tightened. "No. Not yet."
Then—
Thump.
A deep sound echoed from the door.
Hakim's breath caught.
Sarah swallowed hard. "Not again."