Riddles: Embraced by Retribution (part 5)
Chapter 5: Digital Nightmares
"I think it's best if we split up this time," I suggested my voice barely above a whisper. "We need to search for an accessible computer."
The young boy beside me expressed his concerns, his face filled with worry. "What about the monsters?" he asked, his voice quivering.
"I don't think they like the static noise and heat emitted by the computers," I reassured the young boy, gently patting his shoulder and offering him a weary smile.
"We'll be cautious and stay alert. Just remember to keep a safe distance and stay hidden if you encounter any monsters." I addressed the group, my voice filled with determination. “We can navigate through this, but we need to be smart about it."
"Alright, let's regroup at this entrance in half an hour," Elena's voice resonated through the vast room, her words carrying a sense of determination.
"Who knows how we'll even keep track of time in this place..." the old man muttered with a sigh, his voice barely audible.
Silently, we dispersed, each of us searching for any useful items or information that could aid us in our escape.
After what seemed like a mere ten minutes, a shout echoed through the air, piercing our ears. "Hey! Over here, quickly!" the young boy called out, urgency in his voice.
We all gathered near the source of the shout, finding ourselves in front of an ancient PC that seemed to be as old as the building itself. Its wide monitor displayed a yellowed hue, bearing the marks of time.
A small red light blinked at the bottom of the screen, and a series of buttons lined the base. Eagerly, we began pressing the buttons, but to no avail - the PC remained unresponsive.
The kid's voice filled with curiosity as he asked, "Do any of you know how this old thing works?"
As some of us shook our heads, a sense of familiarity washed over me. I had a hazy memory of this PC, but the knowledge of how it operated eluded me.
"It's definitely ancient. I'm not sure if any of us know how to operate this thing," I replied, examining the dusty keyboard and worn-out buttons.
"How can you not know about this PC?" the old man questioned as he approached the computer.
The old man crouched near the table and discovered the neatly placed CPU base underneath. Two large speakers were attached to the sides, and a rack filled with floppy disks caught his attention.
The computer was already plugged in and powered on. He connected the mouse and keyboard wires to their respective circular connectors and placed them in their respective places.
He proceeded to press the large button on the CPU, initiating a spectacle of dazzling lights and the distinct sound of fans and processors whirring to life.
“There…it’s on.” The old man gave a satisfying nod.
We all clapped slowly, unsure how to respond to this questionable amazing technology.
"Is that robot bastard playing with us? Out of all the advanced tech, this is what works?" Marcus spat out the words, his tone dripping with spite and frustration.
I sighed and glanced at the old PC. "I guess not everything that's advanced is useful," I murmured, my voice tinged with disappointment.
Marcus scoffed and shook his head. "This is ridiculous," he grumbled in response, his frustration palpable in the air.
The screen flickered to life, illuminating our faces with a soft blue hue. A loading symbol materialized on the screen, spinning in a repetitive motion…
The screen transitioned, revealing a peculiar text that read "DreadCore XP." It was accompanied by an eerie sight—a floating black skull with piercing red eyes. The white skull appeared against a backdrop of darkness, resembling a raven-black silhouette.
Its gaze seemed fixed upon us, its tilted position adding an unsettling aura. The crimson glow emanating from its eyes pulsated, lending an uncanny sense of life to the animated skull.
It was both ominous and compelling, drawing the people in while also suggesting a sense of danger and darkness. The design was sleek and modern, with sharp lines and an almost metallic sheen, suggesting both advanced technology and a hint of the macabre.
As the skull parted its skeletal jaws, a haunting melody emanated from the depths of the computer. The screen flickered to life, revealing the main screen of DreadCore, adorned with chilling wallpaper.
The image portrayed a desolate wasteland, shrouded in darkness and imbued with an eerie atmosphere. The barren landscape, devoid of life and teeming with a sense of desolation, sent shivers down our spines. It was a visual representation of the grim world we found ourselves immersed in, serving as a constant reminder of the challenges that lay ahead.
The sky was a deep shade of red, as if the sun has just set on this barren landscape. In the foreground, there are twisted, gnarled trees with sharp branches that seem to reach out like claws.
In the distance, we could just make out the silhouettes of ruined buildings, suggesting that this place was once inhabited by people, but now lies abandoned and forgotten.
"Fucking hell..." the old man muttered, his voice laden with frustration and disbelief, as he observed the eerie scene unfolding before us. The overwhelming silence from the rest of us spoke volumes, as we were all equally stunned by the disturbing display on the screen. The gravity of the situation was sinking in.
The kid came closer to the screen and asked, "Is there internet though?" his voice cutting through the tense atmosphere and providing a momentary distraction from the seriousness of the situation. I couldn't tell if it was his innocence or simply a lack of awareness of the tension of our situation.
Now, a new dilemma presented itself, casting a heavy veil of silence over us.
"What a useless shit! We stumble upon a computer and it's utterly worthless!" Dylan vented his frustration by punching the air, while the rest of us let out weary sighs of disappointment.
"Ahem... It's not entirely useless," the old man interjected with a hint of confidence in his voice.
"What do you mean?" Elena responded, clearly taken aback by his statement.
“How do you think we used to play with programming back in the day? Scoot over.” The old man shooed away the kid to the side and cracked his old fingers.
Filled with curiosity, I voiced the question that lingered in my mind. "Is there truly a way?"
“Yes just a long way but there is one.” The old man quickly opened the calculator app and set the mode to programming mode. It showed various options of HEX, DEC, OCT, and BIN.
He clicked on BIN and asked, “Which one of you is good at memorizing numbers?”
The kid lifted his hand and the old man nodded, “What’s your name little kid?”
“Ethan Wales…” he answered softly.
“Okay Ethan, now remember the numbers I tell you, the rest of you…tell me the codes.” He glanced back at everyone once and focused on the task again.
‘Who is this guy?’ I pondered, a sense of curiosity creeping into my thoughts.
While he typed in the first number on Dylan’s neck, Maya spoke up in a hurry, “Let me go first!”
“No, we should try the order that guy told us,” he looked at me and continued, “If it doesn’t work, we will try other ideas.”
She nodded reluctantly, “Fine…”
Typing in the 8byte code “01110010” it said “114” in DEC
.
“Next…” The old man was focused on typing in the numbers and the others were deciding who go next.
“What are we doing though?” Dylan asked now his interest piqued.
The old man didn’t want to get interrupted but quickly said in a rough grumpy voice, “Turning numbers into text, what else.”
“Sheesh…okay…”
No one asked another question because they had no ideas or suggestions to give.
In the sequence, what we are missing are two sets of codes. One belonged to the person who refused to disclose their numbers due to the sensitive location of their body, and the other belonged to the man who was devoured by the hallway monster. We needed the codes from the abdomen and buttocks.
“01100101” became “101” and so on, they had a combination of:
1-114 Neck, Dylan
2- ??? Arm, the person that died
3-115 Back, old man
4-116 Abdomen, Elena
5- ??? Buttocks, Marcus
6- 111 Thigh, Me
7-111 Leg, Ethan
8-109 Foot, Maya
“What? It’s just another stupid list of numbers!” Marcus who was anxiously waiting spoke up.
“Shut up…” he was shut up twice in a row, this time by the old man.
“Now next we open any Word document file, go to the symbols and match the character code from ASCII (decimal). So it makes…”
However, the old Word document app took so long to load that it made us all weary and anxious. “Finally!”
114 = r
???
115 = s
116 = t
???
111 = o
109 = m
“R…st…oom….” Ethan said, realizing quickly.
The missing words could be guessed... It said ‘restroom.’ It was the correct order, and it wasn’t a hard one to guess even with the disorder or the letters.
“Are you sure this is correct?” Elena asked with suspicion in her voice.
“Do you wanna try miss?” The old man raised a brow and glared at her.
“…no I’m good.”
“Then stop complaining.”
She clearly wasn’t complaining but I guess everyone was on edge and wanted to be done quickly with this mess. What a dragged-on riddle this guy gave us. It was thanks to that old man we could even guess the letters.
The tingling and numbers soon faded away indicating we correctly guessed the riddle. But we didn’t solve it.
“Is this trying to make us go to a fricking restroom? Which one though…the girl’s or the boy’s? Is there even a restroom here…” Dylan was seemingly talking to himself.
“Of course there is, it’s a school…” Ethan stated the obvious.
"We can't force our way out. In an escape room, there's no easy escape route, and no windows to break. How the hell are we going to get out of this place?" Marcus ran his fingers through his hair in a mix of frustration and agony.
“It’s almost like a locked room murder mystery…only there is no murder…yet.” Dylan voiced his thoughts aloud, breaking the silence.
Maya yelled at the both of them, “Why would you say something like that? As if that monster isn't already killing us???”
"Eyes open, everyone! We haven't searched every nook and cranny of this room thoroughly. Let's split up and cover more ground!" Elena commanded assertively.
And so the search began.
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