“Quick, say something or it’ll be too late!”       “I’m trying to think over here! It’s not easy trying to guess a freaking passcode! You think you can do better if the hint is a riddle?!”         “Just be quiet and use that ‘intelligent’ brain of yours to solve it, Felix! You were the only one to pass the test with the highest marks, which, if I can recall, is a one out of ten thousand chance.”
“That doesn’t mean I can get us out of this chess board dump!” Felix motioned to the dusty glass around them. There was destroyed marble that belonged to humongous letters and numbers farther out. Although the place was a giant game board, it had a barrier around it.  Ten.             “Whatever!” Carol screeched, complete fright glued on her pale face.     “‘There is a certain crime that if attempted, is punishable, but if committed, is not punishable,’” Felix repeated from the glowing screen, ignoring her.      Nine.             Working the gears in his head, Felix tried to solve the riddle.      Eight.            “Are you kidding me?! Come on!”        “Yeah, well it would be easier if someone over here would stop pressuring me!”  Seven.            “Just-“            “Carol, you know I’m trying right? So just give me some freaking time!”   Six.             “You think you have time?! Only six more seconds ’till you, me, and everyone else here will be eradicated! We can’t afford for more ‘time,’ Felix!”      Five.             “Oh my god. Is it just me or did the timer go faster?” Carol asked, her voice filled with worry. “I swear if it is and you can’t get the stupid answer right now, I’m gonna commit suicide.”            Four.             “Wait, wait! Carol, that’s it!” Felix yelled.       Three.             “Whatever it is, say it to the bomb!”         Two.            Felix quickly faced the bomb’s shiny gray exterior and yelled.      One.             “Suicide!” he screamed.          A wrinkled face suddenly came into view on the bomb’s screen where the countdown was. It belonged to a man whose hair was so white, it almost looked silver.      “Hello, Felix,” the man said, staring into Felix’s bewildered emerald eyes.  “And a good day to you as well, Ms. Carol.” He then looked at Carol and nodded.     Despite the life-threatening nightmare the two teenagers were in, the mysterious man acted very calm. It was definitely not a great day for them but they didn’t question the man’s stupidity because it was obviously a recording.          “Depending on whether you are watching this right now or not, you guys are either dead or alive. I am absolutely sure that Felix was able to solve the riddle and disable the bomb, though, so congratulations, Felix!” The man then laughed but it went on for too long. There was something wrong with the hysterical laughter and Felix immediately felt suspicious.  “However, you did say something about suicide. Or was it perhaps Carol who said that? Either way, I don’t think your ‘friends’ would like if that happened but you know, they’re probably dead by now, so . . .” He stared at them again, giving them pitiful looks that seemed as if he was sorry. They knew he wasn’t, though, for there was a small glint of crazy sadism in his eyes.             “Anyway, I am here to offer you a deal, Felix. For the sake of the rest of humanity and the lives lost in this wondrous ‘game,’ I would like you to offer your life. Your friends will be able to recover if you sacrifice yourself, of course, but right now, I need your soul gone and your body with me. My elderly, haggard one needs to be replaced and yours seem to be the ideal choice. Take some time to think but I don’t believe it’ll be too much of a difficult choice considering you are such a smart, young boy.        “I’ll give you time to think. It’ll only be a few seconds though. The timer will be counting it down again. It’ll be starting now . . .”        Five.             Felix and Carol looked at each other. Felix, his brown hair partially burnt and his emerald eyes losing their glow, looked down at the wasteland they were kneeling in. He was surrounded by shattered black and white tiles.           Four.            “Carol, I . . .” he trailed off. His voice was filled with so much anguish that Carol flinched.             She looked at him with tearful eyes and in a broken voice replied, “Yeah. I know.” She sprang to embrace him.          Three.            “I’m going to miss you, you blockhead, even though you almost got this whole place blown up if it weren’t for me.” She looked up at Felix and tried to smile but it didn’t really work and she turned out looking like a tear-covered mess.       “Yeah, me too. But at least don’t give me stupid pity. I’m going to die like a hero! Not in a pathetic way like in the bathroom or something. Hah!” Felix’s laugh was also fake but Carol laughed along, wiping away her tears with her dirt-covered hands.      Two.             “Bye, Felix. Mom and Dad are proud of you, even though they’re already gone. Remember that.”           “Yeah, I know . . .”           Felix didn’t seem to pay attention because he was staring at the vile man and the bomb.   One. . .            “I’m ready.”            “So is it a deal?”            “Like there’s any other option,” Felix mumbled coldly.      “Okay then. Please step in front of the screen and I’ll send Carol and everyone else away from this horrible place. They will forget your existence so no guilty feelings are left behind. They will be healed and this entire thing will be like a simple dream. A very fun-filled dream about games.” The man emphasized the last word with a Joker smile plastered to his dishrag face.             Felix stood in front of the bomb and his body began to glow.       “Yeah, but I’m not checkmated just yet,” Felix whispered to himself before his soul began to ascend and diminish.