The Host's Judgement

10. The Gravity of the Past

The sound of the acrylic breaking was like a rifle shot in the silence of the lobby.

The plank with Hugo’s name exploded into dozens of transparent shards under the impact of his hundred kilos. For a fraction of a second, the ex-security guard hung suspended in the air, arms stretched upward in a desperate reflex to grab the side ropes of the bridge.

He didn’t reach them. His hands slipped on the rough hemp, tearing away strands of rope and skin.

Hugo’s scream was a guttural roar that tore through the elevator shaft as his body plummeted into the void. Four floors. It took only two seconds of free fall, but they felt like an eternity.

The impact against the concrete floor of the sub-basement was a wet, heavy, and final thud. THUD.

The sound of bones, ribs, and skull shattering all at once echoed up the shaft, rising to us like a macabre echo. Daniela let out a shrill scream, covering her eyes and falling to her knees on the lobby carpet. Down below, Hugo’s body lay in an anatomically impossible position, limbs twisted backward, while a dark, thick pool of blood rapidly expanded beneath his shattered head.

Marcus, perched on the first plank of the bridge, looked down between his legs and let out a harsh laugh that bordered on insanity.

“One less dead weight on the payroll,” Marcus mocked, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. He looked at the group at the edge of the abyss. “Who’s next? Come on! Time is running out.”

The digital panel above the crystal chandelier updated with an electronic beep.

[ REMAINING: 14 ]

Below the number, the name of the next player flashed in white letters: Kurt Hayes.

The blood drained from my cheeks. I felt Gabriel’s hand release my jacket; the boy stared at me with wide, terrified eyes afraid for me and for himself. I looked at the bridge. My acrylic plank with the name HAYES was located right after the empty space left by Hugo’s destroyed plank. To reach it, I would need to build momentum and jump nearly two meters over the abyss.

“Hayes,” Elena’s voice sounded beside me, low and calculating. She stepped forward, tapping her knuckles on the small black metal box with the golden key symbol she had won in the previous round. “The Host said I should bring my privilege. I know what’s inside.”

I glanced at her sideways, without fully taking my eyes off the abyss.

“What is it?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

“It’s an immunity pass. I can swap places with anyone in the crossing order, or I can force someone to test a plank before me,” Elena gave a cold smile, her gaze fixed on the bridge. “But I can make a deal with you. I’ll use my privilege to skip my turn and yours. We’ll force Marcus to test the next planks for us. If he refuses, we push him.”

“Don’t listen to that bitch, Hayes!” Marcus shouted from the bridge, gripping the ropes tightly. “She already betrayed you once in the oxygen tank! If you trust her again, you’re dumber than the characters in your shitty books!”

Marcus was right. Elena was a snake waiting for the exact moment to strike. If I accepted the deal, she would find a loophole in the rules to throw me into the pit and save herself.

“Keep your privilege, Doctor,” I said, adjusting the straps of my backpack on my back. “I’ll make my own way.”

I walked to the edge of the marble. The wind rising from the sub-basement carried the smell of dust and the iron scent of Hugo’s fresh blood. I looked at the plank with my name. The acrylic looked perfect under the spotlights, but Samuel had also thought the nightclub’s structure was safe ten years ago. Appearance was the first thing the Host used to deceive us.

“Hayes, no… please,” Gabriel whispered behind me, tears streaming down his soot-stained face from the night before. “If you fall, I’ll be alone.”

I didn’t answer. If I told him I was the monster who had used his sister’s body as a step to escape the fire, he would push me himself. My survival was a lie sustained by silence.

I took three steps back on the polished marble of the lobby to build momentum. My muscles were tense, adrenaline burning through my veins like liquid fire. I focused my eyes on the transparent plank bearing my name.

I ran. One, two, three steps.

At the last inch of the marble edge, I planted my right foot with all my strength and launched myself into the air, crossing the void above Hugo’s sprawled body. For a brief second, gravity seemed to disappear. I was flying over hell.

My feet hit the acrylic plank with the name HAYES.

The impact echoed through the hall. The acrylic groaned under my weight, bending slightly downward. I held my breath, closing my eyes, waiting for the dry crack that would send me to my death.

The plank held.

I opened my eyes, grabbing the side ropes with both hands, heart racing in my throat. I had made it. I looked back, seeing Gabriel’s relieved face and Elena’s veiled expression of frustration.

But the relief was short-lived. A mechanical noise coming from inside the lobby walls began to resonate. Above us, the main game timer changed color, flashing electric blue, and the Host’s modified voice filled the void:

“The first phase of the crossing is complete. But the Line of Life is not static. For the next players, the planks will begin moving every thirty seconds. Let the next sinner take the step.”

I looked at the plank just ahead of mine. The name engraved on it was DIANA. And the plank began to slide slowly sideways, moving away from the bridge.