Page 39 of The Player

“Because it’s a fucking black light.” I cursed myself for not realising and acting sooner. “It’s used to detect body fluids. Try the walls.”

Bee twisted, shining the torch onto the wall, moving it up and down, peering closely as she scanned every inch.

Then finally, we saw it.

A white letter ‘E’ glowing back at us.

I moved fast, tapping the letter ‘E’ on the screen, and the letters appeared in the puzzle. Six of them in total.

“That’s it, keep going,” I said, encouraging her.

She swept the black light over the wall, up and down. Side to side. And then, she found another one.

“S,” she called out.

I couldn’t see from where I stood, but I trusted her and tapped the ‘S’ on the screen. Four of them appeared.

“Any idea what it says yet?” she asked as she continued hunting, shining the light from floor to ceiling and then moving to the next wall when she couldn’t find anything.

“Not a clue,” I replied as Fraser’s muted screams echoed around us. The groan of the wood expanding and the rope tightening reminding us that we had to work quicker.

“Come on, Bee,” I couldn’t help but shout out. “We need another one.”

“I’m trying,” she shouted back, frantically fanning the light up and down the wall. Then she called out, “I.”

I tapped the letter ‘I’ and it appeared twice in the puzzle.

“Something is something, something, something, something,” I said, frowning at the puzzle.

“That’s really fucking helpful, Will,” she spat.

“It’d be more helpful if you found more letters,” I snapped back, Fraser squealing as the time ticked to show three minutes left.

She moved to the next wall, the light scanning the concrete like a laser. And then, “D!”

I tapped ‘D’ on the screen and three slotted into place in the puzzle.

“Something, is, something, dis, something… For fuck’s sake, I don’t know!” I ran my fingers through my hair, tugging the ends as Fraser’s restraints creaked but his moans subsided. Lucky fucker had probably passed out from the pain.

“Times running out, Bee.” I felt frantic, and I had to stop myself from charging over to her and taking the torch off her to do it myself.

She panted as she scoured the walls, trying to find another letter.

“They’re so small,” she cried, crouching down to run the light along the bottom of the walls. “I’m scared I’ve missed one.”

She moved to the next wall, the light skating faster now over the area, but I didn’t want her desperation to make her sloppy and miss something.

“Slow down. We still have two minutes thirty,” I told her.

Her breaths were ragged, her arm shaking as she moved sideways along the wall, checking every inch.

“B!” she shouted, and I tapped it.

“There’s only one B,” I replied. “That didn’t help me.”

“It’s a letter, isn’t it? I’m doing my fucking best.”

I stared at the screen, trying to work it out. I knew there’d be a golden letter that’d make the saying fly out at me. But we had to find it first.