_ _ _ _ E _

The room is completely silent. Everyone is focused on their own game.

Luckily I got the first letter right, but there are still a lot of options. What else would be a common letter? I think for a second and press the letter ‘R’.

_ _ _ _ E R

Right again! Thank God. I’m trying to think of words that fit the theme of this place, but nothing comes to mind at the moment. So I just guess another letter. ‘T’.

A red cross appears on the screen, and the head of the little stickman. Okay, nothing to be worried about yet.

The next two rounds I got another letter correct, the ‘L’

_ _ L L E R

And with that I’m pretty sure of the word: Killer. So my next letter is ‘I’, and it appears on the screen. Next round I finish my word and just take a deep breath.

K I L L E R

I look up and notice some were also done, including Chisiya, which doesn’t surprise me. Next to him was a guy who also finished the first round. He has black hair that’s just touching his shoulders. He looks serious and is scanning the room.

By the last turn everyone figures out the word, so we move on to round two.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Okay, 11  letters this time. That could make it a bit more difficult, but I stick to my strategy and pick a vowel to begin with. And hopefully by the end of the round I either find a pattern or just get the word right. I look at my screen and pick ‘E’ again.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ E _ E _

Thank you intuition! 2 out of 11, great start. The game continues and by the end of round 8 I have the following letters:

S L A _ _ _ _ E R E R

Only two more rounds and I’m not entirely sure about the word. I try to name everything that ends in ‘erer’, but nothing sounds right. The minute to guess is almost over and I just press the first letter that comes to mind. ‘T’

To my surprise it appears on the screen.

S L A _ _ _ T E R E R

At this point I am making up words.. slapunterer, slaunkterer.

Wait a minute. A word pops into my head and I quickly type in the remaining letters. And with 5 seconds left I clear this round.

S L A U G H T E R E R

I look up when I hear an announcement.

9 participants cleared the round. One of you did not guess the word.

I look around and see a girl struggling and crying. She’s trying to get the noose off her neck, but to no avail; the floor under her collapses and she falls down. I throw my hand over my mouth in shock and wince at the sound of her scream and the sound of her neck breaking. I don’t think I’ll get that sound out of my head any time soon, together with the sound of the gun fire from the first game.

Round 3 will now begin.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I have no time to recover from the scene that just happened and stare at my screen for the first 30 seconds.

8 letters this time. Okay, let me think for a moment; first word was Killer, second was Slaughterer, both meaning the same thing. Could this one be something similar like assassin? I press the letter ‘A’ and look at my screen.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Nothing, so not assassin. Not the greatest start this time. What could it be? I think it’s going to be another synonym for Killer. Time was running out and I decided to pick the letter ‘T’ again since it saved me the last time.

It once again showed up on the screen.

_ _ _ _ _ T _ _

Think. Everything comes to mind; butcher, hitman, murderer, but they’re not even the same amount of letters or have the ‘T’ in the right place.

My eyes move around the screen, thinking of several words. I was so lost in my thoughts that I miss the third turn. But that didn’t matter at all because I figure it out; Executor.

But just to be sure I type in ‘X’ on my fourth turn and what do you know, it appears on screen.  I use my fifth turn to fill in the remaining letters.

E X E C U T O R

Correct. I was right; all the words are synonyms for the word Killer. That should make the last round easier. But you never know what’s going to happen according to Chisiya. I notice he has also finished this round. We look at each other and I could tell he figured it out as well. The guy next to him finishes in the next round and again started to scan the room. His look was still as serious as ever. I also notice that the man on the other side of Chisiya was having some trouble; he looks panicked and was even trembling a bit.

I take a deep breath, preparing for the worst.

8 participants cleared the round. One of you did not guess the word.

The old man next to Chisiya couldn’t figure out the word. And just like the first girl, I see him struggling to remove the noose around his neck. When the floor collapsed beneath him I expected to hear his neck breaking as well, but that nasty sound didn’t come. Instead I hear him choking to death; his neck didn’t break. I don’t know what sound is worse to hear to be honest. But for now I cover my ears and just wait for it to be over. The man next to Chisiya notices what I’m doing and continues to look at me. After a little bit I notice him staring and he just gives me a slight nod. I take my hands from my ears; it’s quiet again.

I give the man a small nod and mouth the words ‘thank you’.

It’s time for the last round.