_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Okay. Time to focus again. One last round and this game is finally over. It feels like I've been here for hours, but in reality its only been about 30 minutes. Everything is moving fast; in those past minutes two people died in a horrible way, and who knows how many will follow? It could also be me if I don't get this word.

I pick a vowel again, and once again go for the 'E'.

Nothing appears on the lines. That . I take a deep breath and go for another vowel, another common one; 'A'.

But still nothing on those lines.

I rub my eyes for a second and just think. It has to be another synonym for the word Killer. round 2 and 3 were at least. Everything that comes to mind either has the letter 'A' or 'E' in it. It has to contain a vowel though. 5 seconds remain on this turn and I quickly press 'O'.

Finally something appears.

_ _ _ O _ _ _ _

But this doesn't help me much, because I can't think of a single word. My eyes scan the screen, making combinations in my head.

For the next 5 rounds I didn't get much further and only guessed two more letters.

S _ _ O _ _ M S

Turn 8. Only two turns left. I take a quick look around the room.

I'm not the only one struggling it seems. Chisiya and the guy next to him however look as relaxed as ever. It amazes me how they can stay so calm when your life is on the line. Honestly, I think they figured it out already.

But how?! There are no other words for 'killer' with these letters. I rub my forehead and just think; all those words are connected, so this one must be a connection also. But I still have to find it.

Only ten seconds remain for this turn and I cant think of anything and am too late.

I give myself a mental slap on the back of my head. Come on! I can do this. I am great at escape rooms and solving puzzles. I look around the room once more and see that the rest is also struggling, besides the two men in front of me.

Only 40 seconds remain and I can't figure it out.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes, trying not to get distracted by the soft cries and the people panicking around me.

35 seconds

First was Killer.. second was Slaughterer.. third was Executor. All similar. All meaning the same thing.

25 seconds

What could the final word be? There has to be a connection with the other three.. come on, I can do this!

15 seconds

All these words are synonyms for each other.

Wait! All these words are synonyms!

Synonyms!

10 seconds

I open my eyes and look at my screen. It fits! That's the word!

5 seconds

I type in the remaining letters.

S Y N O _ _ M S

3 seconds

S Y N O N Y _ S

2 seconds

S Y N O N Y M S

With only 1 second left on the timer I finish the word.

3 participants cleared the game. Congratulations.

I throw the noose over my head and fall straight to my knees. My whole body is shaking. I was so close to death. Only a second left.

I don't have time to recover from this because I hear the cries from the rest of the players. Not long after I hear a combination of the two sounds from earlier; necks breaking and people choking. And that's when the tears formed; I just can't believe this. People around me dying, and me who just barely made it. I think my emotions don't know what to feel at the moment.

A tissue is handed out to me, I look up and notice it's the guy who was standing next to Chisiya.

"Here. Take this." He says.

I take it and stand up. I quickly wipe my eyes and take a deep breath.

"I understand." He begins. "I had the same reaction when I first got here. Sorry to say this, but you'll get used to it eventually. Good game. Don't beat yourself up over it. Go back to your friend. I'll see you around. Name's Kyuma." He nods and walks out the building before I can say anything.

I make my way over to Chisiya who's picking up one of the other player's cards.

"the old man never did a Diamonds game. I don't think he knew what it was about.." He sighs and stands up.

"Shall we go?" He puts his hands in his pockets and heads for the exit.

I take yet another deep breath to collect myself and just walk with him, back to the apartment. 4 days are added to my visa. I'm pretty sure I'm going to need a few of those days to recover from this, and also still from the first game I played.

If this was the 4 of Diamonds, I don't want to know what the higher numbers will be.