3CHAMBERS {CHAMBER THREE}

[insertnamehere]

So...is this going to end?

Yes. Just waiting for votes.

[insertnamehere]

Turnip Head had bided his time, and he was ready to step up.

Secret societies had always fascinated him. The Illuminati, the Templars, all of those guys. It was a fun hobby, and he got a rush every time he uncovered a "clue" to the organization's true intentions. In the back of his mind, he knew it was all fake, but he didn't care. It was something to do on weekends, as an escape from his tedious desk job. He never truly expected to find anything, that is, until July 4th. Living in Washington D.C. gave him an excuse to go to as many political events as possible. After each rally, speech, or holiday, he would post photos to an online forum, with captions like "CAN YOU SPOT THE REPTILE?" or "ILLUMINATI SYMBOL IN LEFT CORNER". One time, he even sold some of his shots to a newspaper. Naturally, he bought tens of copies for friends, family, and anyone who would listen.

That July 4th, TH had made sure to arrive at the grounds as early as he could. Sure enough, he was as close as a "civilian" could be to the political bigwigs. A gruff secret service agent stood a few feet away, giving him a death stare. The president arrived, and Turnip Head began to take pictures. At the end of the festivities, TH noticed something. In the rush to leave, the Majority Whip had dropped something, a piece of paper or an envelope. After the politicians had been safely escorted out, TH ran to pick up the envelope. A small blue logo was at the top of the package. Next to it were three letters: T C C. Underneath that was an address somewhere in Alaska. Before he could open the parcel, the secret service agent from earlier snatched it out of his grasp. TH ran away before anyone started to ask questions.

It could be nothing, of course. That was always the most likely scenario. But something about that letter intrigued him. He tried to find an organization with the acronym T.C.C., and the same logo as the envelope, but nothing was out there. After one particularly soul-crushing day at the office, he resolved to figure out just what was behind that letter.

After scraping together enough money, Turnip Head managed to drive his way out to the Alaskan address. He arrived at an airplane hanger in the middle of seemingly nowhere. Walking into the small office, TH was first struck by the secretary. She looked like she just walked off the pages of a high fashion magazine, with a wardrobe to boot. No random warehouse in the middle of Alaska has her as a secretary. Nervous, he stood there for about a minute, trying to strike up enough courage to talk to this exquisite specimen of humanity. He also resolved to stop thinking in such creepy terms.

"Uhh, hi."

"Hello, do you have an appointment?"

"Umm, no, I am looking for the T.C.C."

"There's no business with that name at this address."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Well, shit. But, TH had traveled all the way to this fucking warehouse in bum-fuck nowhere, and he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Ok, Miss, I've traveled all this way to this fucking warehouse in bum-fuck nowhere, and I'm not taking no for an answer! Now, I'm not leaving until someone tells me what the hell is going on, okay Miss?"

TH felt very proud of himself for sounding so intimidating.

"Very well, I'll call security to escort you out."

"Okay, if that's how you want to play it, Miss."

TH was impressed at the level of banter he was showing. Sitting down, he observed this odd little office in the middle of oblivion. There was a small lobby in front of the Secretary's desk, if it could be called a "lobby". In reality, it was a couple of chairs and a table. A small door near the desk lead to the hangar outside. Suddenly, a man walked through that door. Was this "security"? It took a few seconds to register, but this was the Secret Service agent who stole the letter from him! Haha, things were coming together! To TH, this felt like a massive jigsaw puzzle. Jigsaw puzzles were the last things Turnip Head thought about before the agent knocked him out.

[insertnamehere]

Turnip Head had one hell of a hangover. He really had to stop going on booze filled rampages with his friends. And by booze filled rampages, he meant drunken LAN parties. The black bag on his head made him realize that this was not in fact his bedroom. Suddenly, the bag was pulled off his head to reveal what looked like some interrogation room at a police station. A mirror was built into the wall on his left, which was almost definitely one-way. Sitting across a table from him was the friendly Secret Service agent from earlier. Wanting to scratch his nose, he noticed that his hands were bound by some kind of rope. An awkward silence permeated the room. Should he talk first? Turnip Head hadn't really been in this kind of situation before, and was not sure how to proceed.

Luckily, the Agent began to talk.

"Congratulations on completing Stage One of testing."

"How many stages are there?"

"Four."

Well, that cleared things up.

"What kind of a test was that?"

"Don't you find it a little odd that a politician would drop a letter in front of hundreds of people, and just forget about it? And that secret services would allow a random civilian to just jump over the railing and read that letter? And also that the letter would have an address printed on the envelope, even though it showed no signs of being mailed? And that the address would lead to an airplane hangar in the middle of, what was it? 'Bum-fuck nowhere.' "

"Uh, well, yes. I do find it odd."

TH really should of shut up by this point.

"But, you are the first person to actually arrive at the address, so once again, congratulations."

"Thanks."

TH felt like a massive tool.

"So, uh, sir, what is this testing for?"

"Have you ever heard of MENSA?"

"Yeah."

"They let one in fifty into the group. One in fifty."

"Yeah."

TH had said "Yeah" far too much by now.

"The Three Chambers Collective was created as a much more exclusive organization. We've accepted 2 people over the last decade."

"And you want me?"

TH had very low self-esteem by this point.

"Possibly. You see, instead of using an IQ test, we have a much more complex application process."

"And I just completed Stage One of that process?"

TH felt as if he had put two pieces together out of a 500 piece puzzle.

"Yes, very good. Normally, we wouldn't tell you all this, but we want you for a very special position."

"What kind of position?"

TH had a dirty mind.

"You are going to compete in Stage Two, and we're offering you a special role in that Stage. If you win with that role, you can skip Stage Three, and go directly to the Finals."

"What would I have to do in this 'role'?"

"We cannot disclose that at this time."

TH thought it over for maybe half a second.

"Fine. I'll do it."

"Very well."

Awkward silence.

"So now what?"

"Tell me, have you ever killed before?"

[insertnamehere]

Turnip Head couldn't do it. He looked around at the seven people next to him. He couldn't do it. He couldn't kill all of these people, with families, and children, and- But he had to. The Agent had made it very clear that if he wanted to stay alive, he had to do this. The first thing Turnip Head did in the game was hide in a saferoom. In this isolated area, he began to pace back and forth. His first priority had to be self-preservation. Through the small window in the door, he stared at the gun sitting on the table. If they find out, they'll fucking kill me. Like I was a terrorist or a criminal. He couldn't let that happen. johns2jj was the one who grabbed the gun, and he was threat numero uno. What was he thinking about, sitting in his saferoom? He had to be going over the list of players. What if he thought I was suspicious? What would I do if he knew who I was? He had to be eliminated. This was for sure. But could Turnip Head do that? Kill a man? And for what? Picking up a firearm? No. He wouldn't do that. A small panel in the back of the room opened to reveal a set of night vision goggles, which looked more like something out of Star Trek than the bulky things TH usually associated with goggles, and a large knife. Turnip Head picked up the knife, testing it's weight. He knew that his time was coming. Once the blackout happened, he would have his chance to eliminate John. He had to make a decision. As he agreed mentally that he had to come to a decision, the lights turned off. Turnip Head audibly gulped. A body that was not his own put on the goggles, left the room, and entered John's saferoom. TH was right in front of the poor man, although John had no idea. Closing his eyes, TH stabbed John in the gut. John immediately howled with pain, and fired his gun. The bullet ricocheted off the wall and all over the room, until it finally reached it's resting place inside of John's skull. Well. How fucking symbolic.

TH expected to feel sadness, remorse, or even anger. Instead, he felt something he hadn't felt in a while. Turnip Head felt powerful.

[insertnamehere]

The days passed with a blur. Turnip Head didn't stop to reflect until he was stuck in this fucking glass box with Mongoose.

He had to win. He had to take his spot in an organization that controlled the world. This is what his life has been leading up to.

Turnip Head began to cough.

Mongoose couldn't even comprehend the sacrifices he had made for this game. All the bodies... And what had she done? Just blow up a couple of people, and sit on her ass. No, she didn't prove that she could even handle this competition.

Turnip Head coughed some more.

I traveled all those miles to that fucking hangar. I spent the month's rent getting there! I'm the one who spent his whole life studying alone for this great challenge! I'm the one who had to lie to everyone! I'm the one who had to kill all of those people!

Turnip Head barely noticed all the blood.

I deserve this.

Turnip Head died alone, rambling like a madman, trapped inside a glass cage.

[insertnamehere]

Was it over?

Turnip Head lied next to her, curled up into the fetal position, blood pouring out his mouth.

It's odd, but in that brief second, Mongoose felt something resembling pity for the vile excuse for humanity lying next to her.

It passed quickly.

"It's over right?"

Silence.

"I won?"

Silence.

"Hello?"

Oh my god, this is where I die. Trapped in a glass fucking box with a dead psycho.

The intercom crackled to life, and Mongoose almost fainted with joy.

"Congratulations. You have completed Stage Two of the application process. We will notify when Stage Three begins."

Wait, what?

This isn't over?

Mongoose began to feel very tired.

These motherfuckers cannot do that, just expect me to what? Come back later?

Mongoose could barely keep her eyes open.

I thought that the deal was: Finish this, and you're done with everything! Nobody mentioned another fucking round! How many of these will I have to do? How many of these can I do?

Mongoose fell to the floor, unconscious.

[insertnamehere]

Mongoose awoke in a public park, passed out a bench. A homeless person poked her with a stick.

"You're in my fuckin' spot!"

This quickly woke Mongoose up.

"Sorry sir!"

"Bitch!"

That wasn't very nice.

Wait, what? She was just trapped in a hell chamber out of Saw, and now she's in a park? Was any of that real? Mongoose looked for something to confirm that the trials of the last nine days actually happened, but she found nothing. It was much easier to look out onto the grass and just ignore and shut off the part of the brain that housed those memories. The natural beauty was almost enough to make her forget everything, and pass it off as some kind of hallucination.

Almost.

THE END

[Mongoose]

Aww, thanks for believing me, guys.

It was super super fun.

[S~V~S]

As soon as I died after questioning something you said, I knew you were not the baddie. And i knew it was TH when he told Lizzie everyone but you, her & him were dead while I was still alive, I knew it had to be TH, those two realizations came together.

Congrats for surviving Mongoose

[Epignosis]

I want to know why I didn't win. I assassinated Turnip Head. The End.

I decided he was up to no good when he fumbled the Morse code business.

[Turnip Head]

As soon as I died after questioning something you said, I knew you were not the baddie. And i knew it was TH when he told Lizzie everyone but you, her & him were dead while I was still alive, I knew it had to be TH, those two realizations came together.

Congrats for surviving Mongoose

lol, "Everyone's dead" wasn't meant to be literal, just kind of a dramatic statement, I'm not sure why that indicated anything to you :P

I want to know why I didn't win. I assassinated Turnip Head. The End.

I decided he was up to no good when he fumbled the Morse code business.

I'm not sure why that didn't work. Also, I tried to kill you while you were still in the saferoom. I was able to kill jj while he was in a saferoom so I assumed it would work again, but it didn't.

I would have actually tried to solve the second puzzle because it seemed fun, but INH didn't give me any clues when I went into the saferoom, and didn't give me the option to kill anyone or communicate.

I would have played a little differently perhaps if I knew that the second puzzle was going to be suddenly skipped when I only had one kill to go, and we were going to a tribal council. In any case, I had fun, grats Mongoose for winning!

[insertnamehere]

I want to know why I didn't win. I assassinated Turnip Head. The End.

I decided he was up to no good when he fumbled the Morse code business.

He tried to kill you at the same time. It was a stalemate.

[Epignosis]

I want to know why I didn't win. I assassinated Turnip Head. The End.

I decided he was up to no good when he fumbled the Morse code business.

He tried to kill you at the same time. It was a stalemate.

You don't know how guns work, do you?

[S~V~S]

As soon as I died after questioning something you said, I knew you were not the baddie. And i knew it was TH when he told Lizzie everyone but you, her & him were dead while I was still alive, I knew it had to be TH, those two realizations came together.

Congrats for surviving Mongoose

lol, "Everyone's dead" wasn't meant to be literal, just kind of a dramatic statement, I'm not sure why that indicated anything to you :P

I want to know why I didn't win. I assassinated Turnip Head. The End.

I decided he was up to no good when he fumbled the Morse code business.

I'm not sure why that didn't work. Also, I tried to kill you while you were still in the saferoom. I was able to kill jj while he was in a saferoom so I assumed it would work again, but it didn't.

I would have actually tried to solve the second puzzle because it seemed fun, but INH didn't give me any clues when I went into the saferoom, and didn't give me the option to kill anyone or communicate.

I would have played a little differently perhaps if I knew that the second puzzle was going to be suddenly skipped when I only had one kill to go, and we were going to a tribal council. In any case, I had fun, grats Mongoose for winning!

I thought it meant that you had killed me to make Mongoose look guilty. You said everyone was dead becasue you expected me to be, but INH was late with the post. At least i read it that way

But you played a good game I never suspected you until I was basically dead.

[Marmot]

I want to know why I didn't win. I assassinated Turnip Head. The End.

I decided he was up to no good when he fumbled the Morse code business.

He tried to kill you at the same time. It was a stalemate.

You don't know how guns work, do you?

[insertnamehere]

I had to streamline the Second and Third Chamber.

Here's what they were supposed to be:

SECOND CHAMBER:

OK, you may have noticed the numbers on the books. You were supposed to take the first letter of the title for each book, and put them in order according to the number on the front. Then, you were supposed to take the first letter of the protagonist's (or "Hero") name, and put them in order in reference to the numbers written inside the book. This would give you a cipher. The keyword to that cipher would be "Hero".

That would give you a phrase in Latin, which when translated, would give you the password.

Unfortunately, none of you noticed the numbers, which were supposed to be the thing that started the chase. By the time someone bothered to look inside the books, I had given up, and just gave the cipher to them, along with the keyword underneath.

Mongoose commented on it, and then forgot about it.



CHAMBER THREE

This chamber was not supposed to be a vote among the eliminated, but the original plan just wouldn't work with two people. I decided to pit the two against each other in a competition to prove their innocence, rather than watch Mongoose run around in circles for another 24 hours.

I really do love the original plan for this chamber, so I'm not going to give it away. If I ever host another one of these, expect to see it.

[Lizzy]

Congrats Goosey and thanks for a great game, man! Looks like a lot of effort went into it too. I'm really sorry I was not able to participate properly, hence the partying alternative .