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Chapter 1
To be honest, I forgot what it feels like to be normal. The feeling of not being home again is kinda weird.
I’m uncertain of this world, it’s a new dimension for me and my family. I’m nervous to find out the possibilities of me surviving in this place. The people here are weird too, there’s certain rules that don’t make sense here either.
Don’t do this,
But also don’t do that,
But if you don’t do that then you will be in trouble.
In my world, on every Sunday, we have to light a little bird for luck or the Exioz will eat you. I didn’t believe that, in fact I thought it was delirious. Sacrificing little birdies just to save families from a monster that doesn't seem real is silly. Oh, did I mention my name? My parents say it’s always polite to introduce ourselves. I guess you can call me Chloe, I am an innocent little girl who was born in a little town in Russia.
“Chloe!”
My little brother, Noah, appeared next to me. Damn! He always scares me like that. It’s not funny, especially if he does it without my notice.
“What?” I probably looked annoyed, but he’s 13 and he’s used to it. I looked up at the sky, “sorry, the sunset looks nice though.” Noah started stomping on leaves and skipping around like a 6 year old on drugs. I know, that sounds crazy, but there’s no other words to describe a kid who acts like an immature teen. I mean he is 13 after all, “Sis! I think mom wants you” I blinked and relieved a sigh “Of course she does, idiot!” He crossed his arm and kicked a rock. Man, it was hot as hell here. You see, in my world it can get very hot because the sun is super close, I don’t even think it’s a sun. It doesn’t even look like it’s in the right position, it’s like if someone shifted the sun to the side. I started walking to the back gate, it was locked, “MOM!” I started yelling, “DAMN YOU! THE GATE IS LOCKED!”
My mother came rushing in, “Honey! No need to yell! You know we are all struggling here!”
I gave her a look, she finally opened the door after fidgeting with the lock. “I want you to explain why the flowerbed looks like a half burnt piece of toast”. I knew she would find out, you see I am very curious, I don’t know this world yet, and so I don’t know what things are. I think I accidentally picked up a flame thrower and thought it was a flower. I may be blind in the real world, but in this world, I’m sure it was a flower. “I- I don’t know?”
My mom sighed and walked across some crunchy leaves.I went out and locked the gate behind me. It was 9:44pm on a Saturday night . I felt a cold whisk of wind and could hear the whistles of birds, that reminded me of the burning of the birdies.
My vision went blurry for a second, I saw a bare and tall body of a dark figure. I was probably hallucinating again, ever since I got sucked into the void, I hit my head on something hard. It feels like restarting a machine that has been broken for days, but only it makes it worse and not better.
I know I might be confusing you guys with my insane story. But it’s the truth, and the truth can hurt sometimes. I went inside and took off my 10$ sandals, something was off about the smell, usually it doesn't smell like rotten paint.
“Noah! Where did you put my candy?”
I love candy, is there something wrong with that? We celebrated the same Halloween we do in the real world, but it’s slightly different.
We still get candy though, last Halloween Noah and I got loads of candy.
My little brother was clueless and tripped over a cord, he bit his lip in frustration and started growling, but more like a pig eating food than a scary monster,
“I dunno sis, I ate it”, he laughed to himself and went to his room.
Finally, I was alone, I had the rest of the house to myself. My parents were outside working and such. They always do boring things, I mean, take a break!
I went to my bedroom
My room isn’t fancy or anything, it’s just a white box with a small twin-sized bed in it. I guess it has a small painting for decoration, but nothing much.
I lay on my bed and closed my eyes and fell asleep. I didn’t feel good, I felt sick to my stomach. For some reason something is off about this place.
“Chloe”,
I looked up, I didn’t know what that voice was, it was a deep rumbling voice. I don’t think anyone I know has that kind of voice. I was very scared to see what it was. I didn’t look but I answered it.
“What?”
I blinked out a tear, I was scared- like really scared.
“Listen Chloe”, it said.
“I’m listening”,
“Let me out Chloe”,
I rubbed my eyes and sat up, I started to bite my lip.
“I’m not trusting a stranger like you, moron!”
The strange creature growled, “let me out” he said again. This time my heart was pounding.
It was 2:32am.
I took a deep breath.
It was like that strange creature was in my head.
I finally started to fall asleep again
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60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzrgwqYF48O
Chapter 2
I woke up in the morning with the smell of pancakes.
I blinked a few times, my vision was blurry and I felt a little sick still. I got up from my bed. “Hey mom, what’s up”,
My brother Noah came down, he looked like a zombie. “Sleep well?” Noah said, “no, not really”
My mom came in and kissed me on the head, “what was that honey?” I leaned against the leather sofa, “hey? How are you?” My mom flipped some pancakes over, they looked half burnt. Let me tell you, my dad is a much better cook. My mom smiled, “I’m doing well sweetheart- I heard you talking in your sleep last night”
I rubbed my eyes, “oh, I talk in my sleep”
I saw dad come out from the back door
He was holding a bird with black feathers and a tuft of white on its neck. I just realized that it was Sunday. “Papa! Do we have to do this now?” My dad set the bird down in a silver bowl, he then gave us all 1 match, “it’s better to do it in the morning, than in the evening”
We then burned the bird. I tried lighting my match, it sparked and sizzled. I threw my lit up match in quickly afraid I was gonna burn myself. We watched as the bird caught on fire, poor birdie, we just had to sacrifice it for our own safety. My dad took the bowl and put it in the bronze cup right outside the doorway. We watched the flame flicker and dance as it burned the remains of the birdie.
My mom grabbed her jacket and pushed me and Noah to get ours “come on kiddos, we’re gonna go on a hike”
I didn’t want to, I was too scared. I mean, wouldn’t you be scared if you heard a creepy voice at 2am? “Also, Chloe, you need to put the dishes away” I sighed, I headed over to the washbin where all the silver and gold plates were. “Mom, do I have to go on the hike?!” I started putting the dishes away, my mom looked up and down until she finally said “honey, this is a cool place, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!” I put away the last dish and headed to the closet, I got out my black jacket with a zipper down the front. “Okay, I’ll come”
I took a deep breath. Me and mom started walking to the nearest trail, “is Noah coming?”
My mom stopped and looked back to talk to me, “No, him and dad are gonna watch the bird and make sure it doesn’t burn the whole house down”
I sighed once more. “Ok” I wasn’t really happy about this, but I kept walking.
“Look at this beautiful weather! What do you see Chloe?” I rolled my eyes, “boring rocks, that’s what I see, rocks, boulders, and grass”
My mom slowed down, “come on honey, no need to be snarky about it.”
I began to say something back but I heard a noise, I was hoping it was the wind until I saw a black figure, the same one I saw yesterday evening.
It looked like it was getting closer and closer. I started to run “Honey! Please don’t get ahead of me, you know I’ve been having back problems”
I didn’t listen, I kept running even faster, the world around me got quieter but the voice got louder, I didn’t look back because I felt it right behind me. “I'm SORRY! IM SORRY I DIDN'T LET YOU OUT” I ran as fast as I could. My mom stopped, “honey! Watch where you’re-” this was it,
I blacked out, I hurled up in a ball and started whispering “shit, please don’t hurt me” I felt blood on my lips, my head was throbbing and my feet were numb. I couldn’t see anything, I felt like I fell over on something. I sat up and looked around me, I noticed that I fell into a 30 foot long ditch.
I don’t know how I survived that, but I did. I got up slowly, I felt Dizzy, everything around me was black and dark, all I could see were carvings etched in blood. Or I think it was blood.
I heard a light jazzy piano in the background.
I heard that same noise “Chloe?” I looked behind me, I saw that tall figure but up close. It was tall and black, it had two horns that curved up, it had a lot of stitches around its body~ it looked as if someone sewed it together from fabric. I started to tremble “don’t worry Chloe, I’m not mad”
I looked up, the voice was low and rumbly, it was everywhere. In my head, behind me, and in front of me.
The tall black demon took out its bladed claw “hello Chloe, I’m Crimson” I shook his hand. “I should really get going sir, I- I have family waiting”
Crimson smiled with his jagged teeth, “oh don’t worry, your family is right here” I started to sweat, he seemed very polite but suspicious. “Come on child, why don’t I show you around the house”
He held my hand and we began to walk on a black brick path.
“Why are you shaking? There’s nothing to worry about”
I took a deep breath, “don’t you think this place is kinda creepy?”
Crimson closed his eyes and smiled, “oh, you’ll get used to it”. We kept on walking until we got to a red door with a big lock on it
Crimson took out a long and curved key and placed it in the keylock. He grabbed me and threw me in the room, he then locked the door behind me. “Hey!” I started banging on the walls.
“It’s ok, you’ll be useful someday”
Crimson smiled and teleported away
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60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxQIIXdcfS
Chapters 3
I looked all around me, my eyes widened, I saw dead bodies, most of them were young children like me. I saw a lot of blood, some bodies were laid out, and some of them were hanging from the ceiling. I covered my eyes and began to cry, “LET ME OUT YOU FREAK!” I sat down.
I looked around again “poor children, what happened to them?”
I curled up into a ball “I’m gonna get revenge on you, we’re all gonna get revenge on you! Yes, the poor innocent children that died.”
I smiled, “and don’t worry, Crimson, I’ll find a way how” I stood up, I took a look around. I walked over to one of the dead bodies, I shook its body, nothing happened, only blood came out. To be honest, I didn’t really have a plan.
I looked in my jacket pockets, I felt something metallic and smooth, I pulled it out. I didn’t know what it was supposed to do, I just remember that a guy on the streets gave it to me and told me it might be useful in the future.
I opened the metal part, it sparked and a light came up, it was a blueish purple color
The light traveled its way to the dead body
I blinked a few times and rubbed my watery eyes, the dead corpse started to move.
I heard the body mumble and groan. I think it said “Help.”
I didn’t really understand it, it's voice was low and scratchy. I helped the body up, “hey” I said, “hello” the body said as they stood up with their wobbly legs.
“What’s your name?”
The dead body looked at me, it’s face was covered in blood, I looked at its arm- it was covered in blood and it was all scared up.
“M-my name is Neil, thanks for helping me”
I grabbed its shoulder and helped him stand.
“What happened to you?”
I saw Neil fluff his wavy blackish-brown hair
“I don’t remember much, but I know I’ve been here for a few years, perhaps 10 years or so”
I took a deep breath and looked Niel straight in the eyes “did you say 10 years!?”
Niel raised an eyebrow in confusion “I believe so?”
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I looked around to make sure no monsters were around
“Hey Niel?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you remember anything that the demon told you before you uh, died?”
He sat down on a rock, he rubbed his head a few times and picked up a leaf and began chewing on it. He began searching through his mind until he finally found something
“I do remember one thing, I told him ‘where am I?’ He said something like ‘your in my home’ I didn’t remember anything other than that
But I remember a few words before I died
‘you’ll be useful someday’ and that was it, he sliced my arm off he started to cut-”
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3093I7ngiJ
“-OK, OK that’s enough”
I looked up at the empty ceiling, there were dead children hanging from it.
“Crimson said the same thing to me, what is he anyway? A demon, monster, human?!”
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjC85XFipoN
Niel straightened his clothes out
“Who’s Crimson?”
I blinked and looked out into the distance and then refocused my view to Niel
“Crimson? The demon that killed you”
I was surprised that Niel didn’t know who that was.
“Hey can you maybe use that weird magic device to help the others”
I looked down at the cold but hard metal tool, I rubbed the smooth surface and looked back at Niel
“Yeah, but there’s only enough energy for 10 more people”
Niel looked at me and smiled, “ok! Just choose carefully. Take a look around the room, and inspect every human. You see that girl right there? Her name is Charlotte Lauren’s, she is 13 and she was well known for her art of beauty.”
I looked around, and that girl reminded me of someone I met at school in the real world. I kind of miss her now that I think of it.
Me and Niel took a deep breath, but we stopped in mid-breath to listen to any demonic growls.
Chapter 4
I took the little tool out and opened the lid
I closed my eyes and thought of everyone I needed.
Charlotte Lauren’s, who was known for her beauty and art
Nora Floyd, a young girl who has dreamed of going on wild adventures, yet she’s scared of like everything
Carter Thomas, the boy who keeps on chasing his dreams, no matter if he needs to make sacrifices
Emily McConnie the young girl whose only wish is to see her sick parents alive
Maria Ashley, the girl who is lonely yet she still keeps a smile on her face
Payton Liam, the girl who has made many mistakes, yet she still stays strong
And Maxene Zachary, the boy whose family is poor.
Jacob Ryan
And Avery Ryan, two faithful siblings
And Lily Noah.
And then there’s Niel Simmons, he told me he was abused by his parents, he sometimes sneaks out of his apartment and plays in the forest, until the void came and took him
He was alone, he didn’t go into the void with his family, like me. It was depressing for him, I felt empathetic.
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bfCINQpXN
We looked at each other and greeted each other, I then started to think
“Does anyone know who that ‘Crimson’
is?”
Nora looked up, “no, but I think we should get outta here!”
She looked scared, she started trembling and fidgeting
“I don’t think we can”
I looked next to me, Niel looked serious
“What do you mean?”
I heard Niel whispering to himself “it’s too hard, how can we climb 30 feet out of this dark and edgy underground trap?”
Lily looked up “I think we could if we tried, remember this place isn’t like normal Earth, it’s a photocopy of it. But there’s a slight twist, if Chloe can reap souls with that metal thing, then we can find something that can help us escape”
I looked at the metal thing, I saw some carvings in it that said “L-922, 102”
It seemed like some code for something, but I ignored it. “Oh yeah!” I said,
“Crimson has trapped a lot of souls here, you can’t tell me there isn’t someone who doesn’t have some magical thing.”
I looked around the place
“Chloe-”
I looked behind me, I saw Niel. Before a blink of an eye, he was gone
“Niel?”
“Wait, NIEL??!”
I was freaking out, I heard demonic growls that turned into laughing.
I looked around me, Nora was hiding behind Avery.
“Come on Nora, if your always gonna be scared like this, then don’t join us”
We heard the locks rattle and creak.
“Oh no”
“Chloe-”
I heard his voice, again.
“Chloe, why would you betray me”
I bit my lip
“Oh Chloe, don’t you know that there is no way out, your friends can’t help you, none of them can. I’ll just slaughter them one by one!!”
I couldn’t see him, he was hidden in the dark. I saw Maria pull out a dull knife that was stained with blood, “DAMN YOU! WHY DON'T YOU LEAVE ME AND MY FRIENDS ALONE”
“Maria”
“YOU TRAPPED US DOWN HERE FOR YEARS, NOW WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US??!!”
I heard Crimson giggling “Oh Maria, all I simply want is your soul, nothing more”
I held Maria back, “It’s ok Maria, just let me do the talking”
Maria glared at Crimson.
“Crimson” I said as I blew a leaf off my shoulder. How despicable. On the contrary I let him speak, “Chloe dear~” I bit my lip, “You have deceived the lives of others, I don’t want to hear a ‘Chloe dear’ ever again, thus you will be honest with us. That also means no fooling around” I looked at Crimson’s envious smile.
“You really want to know my true desires? You know dreams really do come true. My only dream is to rule a kingdom of my own, I used to be a king- you knew that right? ALL I WANT IS POWER! HAH, THERE Y'ALL AGAIN!! POOR INNOCENT CHILDREN THINKING YOU CAN OVERPOWER ME!”
I stood tall, Nora was hiding behind Avery, and Niel was missing.
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ikWLIwg9v
Chapter 5
“Where is Niel?” Carter said, I straightened my hair, I saw Crimson disappear. He then rifted across the rocky plains and made his way to Carter. Crimson smiled, not a sweet polite smile but a mischievous evil smile. “He’s dead, he's dead as a doornail” I looked into his eyes, “THAT'S NOT TRUE!”
I could hear him, I could hear Niel mumble something when I studied Crimson. I took my metal device, and prayed. I pressed my lips against the carvings and opened the lid. I shined the light towards Crimson, I could see the soul of Niel proceeding to me.
I quickly closed my eyes and shut the lid. I saw Crimson bend down in agony, he stood in a slouched position and stared at me. I was scared,
I didn’t know what was going to happen. I saw him crying blood, his lips were curved and his legs were shaking. Nora blinked a couple times and glanced behind Avery. Crimson screamed, his loud siren deafened us. We plugged our ears as Crimson disappeared into the darkness.
I looked at my metal device, I opened it and Niel made his way next to me, “Thanks” I nodded in confirmation.
I saw a hat, a little top hat for a 10 year old child. I picked it up. It was old and decayed, there was a little flower on the side of it. I believe it was a daisy. I put it on and adjusted it on my head, it was a tight fit but it stayed on my head.
“Now what?” Emily said. She gave me a worried look. “I dunno” I looked at Niel, he was fluffing his curly hair again. “We're going to get outta here, find Crimson, and get information.” I scratched my neck, there was blood from the skin I broke. “That's gonna be hard, but I’m glad you're ambitious” I said as I felt the fabric hat on my head.
“I'm not ambitious. We have to do this anyway or this world will fall apart and we're all going to die, so we don’t have a choice anyway.” Emily looked at everyone, “does anyone know how to rock climb?” Nora stood out, “Yes, I have many times”
Emily smiled, “well do you have the endurance of climbing 50 feet?” I swallowed some spit, “Emily, you’re telling me we’re going to climb 50 feet?!” Emily blinked and rubbed the scar on her arm, “yes, that's exactly what I mean”
I felt the side of my bruised arm, I looked up and admired the beautiful sky.
I breathed in the smoky air. Devastation. It has hit me hard.
I heard some rocks crumble, I scanned the atmosphere and saw Niel climbing, he was already 10 feet up. “WAIT!” I said, I ran across the rocky tiers tripping on my own shoelaces. I put on some leather gloves I found in my coat pocket, I started climbing, stone by stone, rock by rock. I looked behind me, the others were beginning to climb as well.
Niel was already far ahead of me, he seemed focused and didn’t hesitate to climb. My legs and hands were scarred from stroking the jagged rocks. I could hear the others struggle to climb, I was sweating and my legs were achy.
But I kept moving forward.
After a while we reached the top. I wasn’t prepared for this. The world looked dead. The trees were bent over and everything was hushed. “What happened?” Carter said as he adjusted his glasses, I could see Niel wipe a tear and crack his knuckles. He turned around and smiled. “Finally some fresh air!” he said as he stretched his arms. I smiled and started walking.
The grass beneath me was dry and crisped up as I walked over it. I looked behind me and saw everyone struggle to reach the top.
I was surprised that we were all still alive after climbing 50 feet. But what was even more surprising is the fact we fell 50 feet and yet we’re still breathing.
“So what’s the first step?” Nora said as she modified her bear hat. Everyone was dead silent.
How rigid but staggering, a merciless demon that wants to rule the world. It’s like one of those villains in almost all disney movies. The villain wants to be the king or the most powerful. It turns out that in every movie, the good guys always win. I was sure we were gonna win as well.
“Find clues, find anything that resembles the truth behind this demon, or creature” I said, I looked ahead of me. I could see a house, a tiny but broken house in the middle of nowhere. I began walking towards it. After a while everyone got there. I felt the cold and silver doorknob and began turning it.
It was locked. I looked behind me, I saw Maxene push everyone out of the way, He is quite short, he possesses short wavy hair and wears a cloth mask that covers his face. He laughed to himself,
“I have been living on the streets for my whole life, and yet I still know how to hack a door” I saw him fidget with his scarf and look in his coat pocket, he got out a silver rod, he then went up to the door and started to play with the door hinges.
We eventually opened the door and stepped in. It was dark and scary but we managed to make it through. Niel gave us some flashlights and we parted.
It was dark and quiet until I could hear the high pitched whistles and fizzy sounds from a microphone.
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Chapter 6
“LADIES AND GENTS BOYS AND GIRLS! BRING YOUR EYES ON THE STAGE” 60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMd9HYrVYSb
I looked behind me, there was a mysterious person standing on a little platform holding a mic, their voice was innocent sounding, it echoed across the room. It was angelic and pure, but it had a hint of mystery and suspicion. “Who are you?” Niel muttered. The person had a black and white mask with demon horns. “Perhaps you can call me Janon Mari-Rosaylyn” I looked up “what now?” The person stared at me with their hypnotic eyes. “Janon” I looked around, “does anyone know who this is?” Nora was hiding behind me, she jumped out and examined the girl. “J-Janon is it? Now tell us, what is this place?”
Janon tapped her microphone, “HAHAH! YOU LITTLE IDIOTIC HUMANS IT'S MY FANTASTICAL, DETRIMENTAL, TWISTED FANTASY, FUNHOUSE FOR YOU FOLKS! WELCOME!!”
I looked at Janon “Who is Crimson?” I said, I saw Janon adjust her mask, “Now that's a blood-thirsty question!” I bit my lip in frustration “WHO THE DAMN, IS THIS CRIMSON DUDE” Janon jumped down from her stage, she put her hand in my hair “Oh please, his name is Theodore-Aeron, Crimson is just a nickname” I rubbed my eyes, “OK OK! What have you put us in” Janon rolled her eyes, “Oh jeez, you're the one who walked into this chamber!” That was true, but something lured us into this trap. God! We just got out a 30 feet hole that those poor kids were living in for years! And now we step inside another trap?! “HAHA! WELCOME MY DEAR FRIENDS TO JANONS, FUNHOUSE FESTIVAL! LEMME EXPLAIN THE RULES!! HAHAHA!!!”
I was angry, like super angry. What does Janon want from us?! “Ok then! Tell us the rules” 60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9X4bXQQq4Y
Janon looked at us, “The rules are very simple, in this world you will go on many adventures, the only limit is: THERE IS NO LIMIT!! HAHAHAH! TAKE CHANCES MY DEARS, EXPLORE THIS CORRUPTED UNIVERSE!” Carter blinked out a tear, “and?” Janon crouched down and giggled “You will have choices, hard choices that will lead to right ones or poor ones. You will have to trust each other and make sacrifices.
If you win than you can cast us out of this world and this dimension will be set free”
I scratched my head, “how do you win?” Janon smiled, or I think she did, I mean I can’t see her expressions behind her mask. “You win if your the last one standing- but, get this, the others have to be a sacrifice for that one person, it doesn't matter how you sacrifice yourself for that one person, all you have to do is trust each other”
Niels' eyes widened “This isn’t fair! You're basically telling us only one person can win! And in order to win, the others have to make sacrifices!” Janon tilted her head, “Yup! It may be confusing but you will get it” Niel started crying. “DAMN YOU! WALKING INTO THIS IS SUICIDE ITSELF”
The house started to spin and Janon started to do a weird dance, she clapped and we disappeared.
We appeared in a dark room, there was black ink scattered everywhere.
We walked around, there was a door that opened. We all went through it. There was a hole that led down, it spiraled down like a hypnotizing circle. According to the sign, it was 1,000 feet down, even deeper than the hole that Crimson made. As we stepped through the door we struggled to keep are balance, we were shaking, in fear that we might fall60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp27KerHKIE
Nora bent down and started to cry. “Do we jump?” I looked around the space, “Wait, there's a sign” I looked closely, “it says: Only one person can jump down to see what is down there, if everyone jumps you will die for sure, but If the one person jumps down and survives then everyone is free to go. If not then you're stuck in the first level forever. At least until you find another way”
I looked around. “Who’s jumping?” Everyone touched their noses besides me. “Not it!” everyone said.
“Come on guys! I’m the one who saved you, now you're telling me to jump a 1,000 feet hole that most likely won't be able to survive”
Niel blinked, “Chloe, you heard the rules. It's either you jump or you're here forever, there's no turning back. It's about sacrifices to help the others move on. It's about trust.”
I breathed in, “Please guys, and what if I die? Your gonna be here forever then” Niel pushed me forward “you’ll never know until you do it”
I closed my eyes and jumped down.
“Omg! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!” I opened my eyes, I looked up and saw the others’ figures standing tall. I closed my eyes again and held my breath. I landed on a soft cushion. “Phew” I looked up. In front of me, I saw a green button and pushed it. I’m guessing it was used to tell others you're safe to go. I looked up and saw everyone jump down.
“Thanks Chloe, you were very brave” Niel said as he stretched his arms out. I nodded, “Yeah whatever.”
We walked and there was a door, actually two doors, we looked at eachother, 6 of them walked into one door and the other 6 walked into the other door. Apparently we all ended up in the same place, I don’t even know why there were two doors in the first place, I guess they used it to confuse us. I stepped forward and my foot landed on a piece of paper, I picked it up and unfolded the wrinkles as best as I could. “What is the truth of darkness, does it kill you? In the hopes you contradict the philosophies of life? Or is it a manipulation to make you wonder where all the light is. Silence is louder than you think, and darkness is bigger than you know.” I looked around and everything went black. “WHERE ARE YOU GUYS” It was dark as hell. I couldn’t see a thing! “God, these people.” I looked around me. I felt a cold breath of air tickle my neck, “I think I’m panicking.” I knew it was Nora. “We all are!” Carter was scratching at the wall. It was dead silent for a few minutes until we heard the sirens of a loud scream. “Everybody stay calm. It’s probably one of us pulling some weird prank” Payton said. I stared at the ceiling, “Prank? You think this is a joke! Look, I don’t know about you but this game is about risks and choices, not about jokes.”
The lights turned on.
I looked up and saw blood scattered everywhere. Everyone screamed. “Ew” I said, “not cool, man.”
I saw one of them. Charlotte, hanging from the ceiling by the leg with blood all over her. “EWWW OKAY THIS IS TOO MUCH! TMI DUDE, TMI” I looked behind me and saw Janon freaking out. “Wait, didn’t you set this up?” Janon rolled her eyes again, “UGH, That question demises me, no I didn’t.
I was FORCED to tell you this stuff.”
Niel fixed his hair, “Then why are you freaking out?” Janon took out a pocket knife and cut the rope, “EW, TRAPS. Be more careful kiddos.” I bit my lip in confusion, “Wait, so you're helping us now?” Janon put the knife back in her pocket and glared at me, “Nope! You’re all alone people!” she snapped and disappeared. We all laughed, “WHAT WAS THAT FOR?” Niel said.
This was it. One person down, and we didn’t even make it to level 3.
I walked over to the dead body, “God no,is she dead?” I kicked her body. “WAIT, wasn’t she dead before?” Niel scratched his head “She got killed by the demon. Yes.” I looked at Niel, “You mean Crimson?” Niel looked at everybody, “WHO THE HELL IS CRIMSON?!” 60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEk2YVi8hf
“HE’S THE DEMON. GOD! NIEL WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!” Nora was crying. Man, what a life we have.
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Chapter 7
I went over to Charlotte and placed her in my lap. I began investigating. I looked at her leg. “It’s probably a trap, she tripped a wire.” I took off the gloves I’ve been wearing since we left Crimson’s lair. My palms were sweaty and my fingers were shaking.
I looked behind me. Nora fainted. I knew she was terrified. “Crimson probably set it up. That's what a demon like him would do.
“OMG YOU PEOPLE. STOP CALLING THEODORE A DEMON!” I looked around and saw Janon laying on a very high surface. “Janon? I thought you left” Janon laughed, she laughed so hard she almost died. “Oh my god.YOU IDIOTS! I would never leave,
I would rather watch you suffer while your little friend dies.” I took my top hat off and breathed in. “go” I said, “go away Janon” She smiled and jumped down. “Alrighty then, good luck”
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It was 2:32 on a Tuesday morning.
Stop
Wait
And listen.
Actually, I don’t really know what time it is. I mean, WHERE'S THE CLOCK IN HERE? Sorry, I talk out loud sometimes.
I looked up and placed my hand in my pocket. I felt the cold metal of the device brush against my fingers. When I looked at it, I saw the same combination of letters and numbers: L-922, 102. I opened the lid and Charlotte's soul traveled it's way to the device. I blinked out a tear and quickly shut the cap.
“Let's go, we shouldn’t waste the time we have.” I looked at everyone, they were standing still like statues, with the reflection of sorrow and despair seeping through them. I felt like this was all my fault, they looked up to me and I let them down. It was a moment of pure misery and muffled sounds. They spoke to one another and laughed. I bit my lip.
“I get it now. You guys are talking about how Chloe is the worst friend because she let a friend die.” Niel tilted his head, the wretched darkness of this moment trapped Niel in the state of sadness so much he clenched his fists. “THAT'S RIGHT! I thought you knew better, but it turns out we were smarter than you. THIS IS NONSENSE CHLOE”
I rubbed my eyes and stared at Niel with a firm smile.
“Actually I’m in pre-algebra 1” Niel scratched his head, “What's that?” I closed my eyes in frustration, “Dude. Do you not know anything?!” Niel looked down. “I didn’t get much of an education. My parents didn’t want to ‘Waste their money’ on some stupid school. Instead they sent me to my grandparents house. All they ever taught me was to read and write. So no, I don’t Chloe” I stared at Niel. “I’m sorry, you know when I was-”
“ALRIGHT ENOUGH CRINGE!” Maxene said. I smiled, “Cringe? Sir, if the meaning of cringe to you is spending the moment with your friends, then what kind of person are you?”
Maxene laughed. “I never had friends” I rubbed his soft hair. “Well, we're friends!” I grabbed his hands and stared at him and smiled. “Okay enough flirting, we have business to take care of.” Maria said as she smiled at the awkwardness. “Plus, aren’t you guys like 11?” I scratched the back of my head, “I- I’m 15.” Maxene fidgeted with his hands. “I’m 17” I looked at him in confusion, in fact we all did. “YOUR 17?! YOU'RE SO SHORT!” Maxene glared at me, “Yeah, I mean I’m technically poor so I don’t get good food.”
Food. Oh crap, I forgot we were humans and we needed food.I mean, the only thing edible here is the root berries that are planted on the walls, but I doubt they're ripe enough. “Hey guys? Are you hungry?” I said, “ah, shit. I don’t have food.” I looked up, I closed my eyes, “dammit, where's Janon when we need her.” I said as I stared at the tall ceiling. We all walked out. Starving. I looked around the next room, there were 3 columns of spikes and vines, I looked up and saw Janon crouching down and playing with a pocket knife. 60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYD9QreEaDH
She looked over and tapped her microphone. “LADIES AND GENTS! WELCOME TO LEVEL 3” Niel gave that one look, the look that tells us somethings gonna happen. “YOU WILL RACE UP THE TOP USING THE VINES, WHO EVER REACHES ME FIRST WINS THE GAME. Please stick to the usual rules and the whole ‘Sacrifices’ crap. It's a game of cat and mouse, you're the cat and I’m the mouse, you have the option to kick your other enemies out or keep climbing” I looked up, it was super high. I put on my leather gloves and closed my eyes and took a deep breath, I started climbing. “Hehe! WE HAVE A STARTER!!” Janon said as she fixed her mask. I didn’t want to climb to win, I was climbing because I wanted to see what she was hiding behind her mask. My hands were sweating with blood, the spikes scratched my palms and my whole body was shaking. I still climbed though.
I looked down, I was 5 feet up. Not even that high. I saw Niel behind me, then Carter. We were in the top 3, we all knew we were after the same thing
I saw Janon laying over the edge and smiling behind that mask. I kept climbing and climbing. “WHAT IS THIS JAN! I’M SICK AND TIRED OF THESE GAMES! WE ALL ARE!! WE ARE DYING WITHOUT FOOD AND WATER! WE ARE SICK OF BEING YOUR PUPPETS!!” It was silent, I was still climbing though. “Please, I never said you had to do this”
I rolled my eyes, my mind kept still, I could only hear the sirens and echoes of Janons annoying laughter. I kept climbing, and then I noticed something.
I have been climbing for hours and I’m not getting anywhere. Just like how I am ambitious to figure out what this place is, and yet in return I get nothing but these stupid games. I looked under me. “Maria? Why are you stopping?!” I saw Maria shaking, she looked up at me “I can’t climb anymore! I have a feeling it’s a trap.” I looked up, I then looked down. It was too late to drop. I studied Maria closely, “Whatever you do, DO NOT LET GO” Maria started crying, “I’m sorry, there isn’t enough weight to hold us all. THE VINES GONNA BREAK!”
I saw the thorny rope crack, Maria was holding as hard as she could. “This is for you all, thanks for helping me!” I blinked, a breath of air went through me. She let go. “Idiot. I TOLD YOU NOT TO LET GO!”
I saw Maria fall, she kept falling, I saw blood on the wall, it was disgusting and weird. “JAN! WHAT SHOULD WE DO?!” Janon blinked, “So you want my mask?” I nodded, “Yes!” Janon stood up, I saw her tilt her head and adjust her mask “come and get it!” She started running and her dark figure disappeared in the midst of darkness. “FRICK YOU!” I climbed faster, my hands were bleeding with scratches and blisters. I was strong though, I knew I was strong, my mother tells me this all the time and yet she never lies. I mean, what mother lies to their child?
I finally made it to the top, I saw the others climb up except for one. Maria. The lonely girl. The girl who knew she wasn’t alone for once got taken away from her and resulted in inadequate casualties. Poor her.
I stopped to catch my breath. I was mad. Like, super pissed-off mad.
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Chapter 8:
I stopped to catch my breath, I stumbled towards the edge of the rocky surface. I saw Maria, lying so still. I tried my best to ignore the disturbing thoughts in my head. The thoughts of blood. Unwanted souls. Dead Corpses and broken skulls. This world is dead. A dead world with a lively personality does not match. “HAHA! POOR MARIA! YOUR LITTLE FRIEND! I mean I could help, but I’m not on your side. So, that's a problem. SUCKS TO SUCK!” I wanted to slap Janon so bad. So, I did. Although, it did result in a consequence. She didn’t fight me back, but she told me to chill in one of those mad teacher voices.
I decided to punch her again. This was fun, my plan was to knock her out and steal that stupid mask of hers. Again, she told me to stop. I didn’t see that as a threat, I kept throwing punches. I mean, was she trying to manipulate me into stopping? No. Because whatever she's doing, it's not working. I punched her as hard as I could.
“I never said I didn’t warn you” She said, she grabbed my arm and threw me across the territory. It was as painful as all the punches I threw at Janon. “My game. My rules. Thou shall not make physical contact with the puppeteer.”
I laughed, “Now you're just making up rules?!” Janon glared at me, “Sure.”
I stared at her mask. “Don’t you ever get hot with that mask on?” Janon gave me the death stare, “Beat it kiddo, I’m not gonna give my mask up!” I rolled my eyes, “Well, I’m not going to give up my ambition for getting that stupid looking mask”
“Moron”
I looked to my right, I saw Crimson standing there. “THEODORE!! OMG WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!” I saw Janon staring deep into the demon's eyes.
“Dear Janon, how do you not disappoint me?” Janon smiled, or I think she did, “Sir, I promised to be loyal to thee” I sat down and scraped the dirt off my shoes. “Please. Crimson.” I muttered. “You cruel piece of shit” Crimson stared at me, “excuse me?” He looked mad, “I HATE YOU CHLOE! I HATE YOU!!” He said as he growled with vexation. “You hate me? Why don’t you let me and my friends out of this game and you won’t have to see my face ever again.” Crimson laughed, “It doesn’t work that way”
I smirked, “Fine! Then hand over Janons mask”
Crimson looked at Janon, his eyes were lit with passion when he looked at her, He then investigated her mask. I saw Janon, standing tall and proud. Her shadow stabbed through my energy. “No. Dear chloe? What has troubled you, your cruel ambition. It has striked my senses” I bit my lip, “UGH I HATE WHEN YOU SAY THAT” Crimson tilted his head, he kneeled down, and looked at me straight in the eyes, “What do you mean?”
I had this urge to stab Crimson in the heart, I could feel his tenderness and agony. “Don't. Say. Dear Chloe!”
“Why is that?”
I clenched my fists, “it's weird and stupid.” Janon crouched down and started laughing, “GOD! WHAT A BIG DEAL CHLOE!”
Niel stood tall, he matched Janons aggressiveness. “Don’t talk to her like that!”
“Idiot” Janon sat down, she sighed and muttered to herself, she looked scared. Did Niel hurt her feelings or something? “damn this world!” She said, “You want food?” I nodded, I looked at everyone, I could tell they were weak and hungry because of their body language.
Janon looked in her bag and pulled out a package of nuts, “There's enough to feed you idiots. This is the only time I’m helping you, next time hunt for your own food!” She tossed it out to us, she was so calm. If I was her, I would be stressing out, I would be screaming and yelling. I was devastated. Janon was traumatized.
I stared at the ground. My vision went blurry, I wasn’t hungry anymore, the only thing I’m hungry for is a way to get out of here. I knelt down. I picked up a twig and chewed on it for a while, then I realized something. I realized what she was afraid of. Yes, Janon.
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It says it right on her mask.
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I don’t know much about artistic tuition but I know that black represents mourning and white represents purity and holiness. Janon isn’t evil. She’s just suffering, she is a shadow of innocence engraved by misconduct. Her mask tells me that she has a good side, she’s just too scared to show it.
If I can convince her to be on our side, I can figure out how to leave this place.
I looked around, I saw Niel struggling to get up, everyone looked tired. “Now what?” He said as he fixed his neck tie and fluffed his hair. His knees were shaking. I could tell he was suffering. “You know what, this is stupid. I’m leaving” He said as he stumbled over some rocks.
I looked at him. He didn’t even bother to say goodbye or even look back. He didn’t care about us. He just kicked us aside and gave up. No. That is just plain rude. “NIEL! YOU COME BACK HERE” I ran towards him. I looked up, and it started raining. Ah shit. “NIEL! WHAT KIND OF PERSON ARE YOU?” I stopped to catch my breath. He ignored me, “THE TYPE OF IDIOT TO JUST GIVE UP?” This was the most random thing to happen. Especially in the middle of a game. A game with risks and sacrifices.
After a while, he came back. It was dead silent. We all managed to walk through a red door. The door stood tall in front of us. Symbolizing the vicious murder. We went through it.
So far, there were 10 people in the game, with Maria and Charlotte dead, we are sure gonna lose. 60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGojmhUQjJ6
The next room was dark, I felt sick to my stomach. I looked up, I saw Niel scratch the walls with a twig. “It's metal” 60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmgS6PdKvKo
I looked at him, “So?” I said, “hey, is that smoke?” Niel nodded, “Indeed it is.” I could see the sparks of fire, The darkness still prevailed but the heat grew. “Is this seriously a Kage?” I stared at Carter, “Cage?” I kicked the coal underneath me, “No Chloe, a Kage. With a K. It's a metal box to put anything that needs to be burned. For example, we are the ones being burned, and don’t ask me why it’s spelled with a K, cause I don’t know” I kneeled down and grabbed one of the rocks, I through it at the wall, it ricocheted off of the cold metal structure, that trapped us in here. The fire spread. “ALRIGHTY, LETS JUST PROMISE NO ONE WILL MAKE ANY SACRAFICES TODAY”
Everyone looked at me. “Does anyone have water?” I stared at everyone, “No Chloe, I’m sorry” I began fretting, I started crying, I never usually cry like this. I felt embaressed. It felt like I was burning in hell. It was warm, it smelled like smoke. Flashes of sparks and dancing fire distracted my vision. “YUP, WERE DEFINITLY GONNA BURN TO DEATH”
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We were in trouble. Yes, trouble, real life trouble.
This is stupid. I should be in my room playing cards with my little bro and watching tv instead of participating in some weird game show. I rolled up the sleeves of my black jacket. It was getting smokier and hotter. We were doomed.
I reached in my pocket and felt the metal device. I pulled it out, I then had an idea “Hey? Does anyone know if fire has energy?” I looked around, everyone was confused. The flames crackled and sparked, distracting us from hearing each other. Lily threw her coat onto the fire to help put it out, it didn’t work. The fire kept going, and going. “Fire does have energy! Thus your plan will work. If I’m thinking what your thinking, then we can escape.” I opened the lid, a purple light sparked for a few seconds, then flickered. I was nervous, the light faded. “COME ON!” I tapped the device and tried opening it. It wouldn’t open. The fire was growing, a spark lit my skirt on fire. “Damn, I need more time”
It was the year 1993 on a Tuesday, 10 lonely children suffer as they all are compelled to join each other in a never ending dance, a dance of corpses and souls.
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