"Look, we've got 23 minutes left, so I need more players to split our work and find the midpoint of this maze..." Zade stated, his voice clear. "There are fifty paths here," he added, gesturing towards the maze. "We can't make it on time alone... but if we support each other, we'll get there," he explained his proposal with an accepting smile.
The game is getting more interesting than I expected! Marina wondered with A knowing smile that plays on her heart-shaped lips as her gaze shifts towards her group. "Are you requesting or ordering?" she asked, clearly teasing him sarcastically.
"Nope! I am requesting" Zade nodded in agreement, and his eyes were full of hope for them.
"But why do we have to agree to your request?" Marina questioned, her tone cold and deep as she moved closer to Zade. "What if you guys find the way before my girls do?" She walked a slow circle around him, like a moon orbiting the Earth. She stopped in front of him, watching his pupils directly. "How can I trust you?" she arched her brows, a silent, pointed challenge.
"Yeah.... she's right.... How can we trust you?" Other girls repeated the same accusation.
Zade stood his ground, his eyes locked on Marina's brown gaze. "What if you discover the correct path in the last five minutes, you're gonna run and help the other girls, aren't?" he raised his brows like a threat. " You could easily cheat. Do you have any guarantees?" he asked sharply, breaking her easy confidence.
Marina jerked back, a sharp gasp escaping her as her eyes landed on the nearby olive-toned girl."What?"
The olive-toned girl kept silent, watching Marina innocently, but her mind raced back to the past. "Thank God... Lil, we both ended up together..." Marina gasped in relief, watching Lily as her arms wrapped around her tightly.
"Where are we?" Lily inquired as her gaze shifted towards the other players lying on the ground.
"I don't know.... but I am sure this isn't a dream." Marina shook her head quickly, her voice confident. "You know what, I had a dream last night exactly like this, towering trees around us, players and ... so on. But it looks exactly like what I dreamed...." she explained.
Lily remained frozen, arching her brows in disbelief and confusion about her explanation.
Marina rubbed their chin and processed and recalled her dream. Suddenly realizing the moment, her eyes widened, and she held Lily's hand in ecstasy. "Yeah... I remember... It looks exactly like this... We are trapped here.. A voice announced to us to find the way to the midpoint... At last everything went fire... like a sun ball. Everything's gonna burn....."She exaggerates everything about her dream to her.
Lily glances at everything, every detail Marina mentioned. Tall walls, a maze with a path, and dry towering trees. Then her gaze shifted to the players, who were waking up from the anesthesia one by one. Everything proves the dream is a sign of belief. She let out a deep breath as she nodded in belief. "But how can we get out of here?" she inquired.
"I am not sure.... but if my dream is true... The path must be at the center... or the right-side path..." she pointed her finger to the twenty to last way.
"What if we can't meet on time?" A hesitant pause before asking another question.
"Lil.... I have no idea... I woke up suddenly and ended up here.... But I have an idea to escape here," Marina assured, her voice firm but her words slurring in shock of her dream and her eyes darting around for an answer.
"What?" Lliy inquired.
Marina let out a deep breath before telling the plan and calming herself by exhaling and inhaling. Then, she stated, "We need more players as much as we can add.... Mainly, we target dumb ones!! Which means girls are always dumb ones...." Her gaze landed on the other girls, who were unconscious and sleeping in the mud.
"Why do we need them?" Lily asked with a casual, doubtful shrug.
A cruel smirk appeared on her lips, and her eyes were not innocent, just pure evil. "Because... we need survival trump cards. If we can't find the path, our trump cards can. They are just backup... I am sure the path must be in the center." A slow, deliberate approach that feels predatory, making her pure psycho in her tone and her actions.
"She must be more dangerous than we thought..."Lily realized after hearing the plan as she forced a smile, not showing her inner fear over Marina.
"You, okay?" A voice and a hand on Lily's shoulder brought her back to reality, and she stepped back in remembering and chilled over Marina's words.
"Yeah, I felt tired..." Lily managed to sound casual as she glanced at Zade but quickly shifted her gaze to the side to avoid his eyes and moved outside for some fresh air..
Zade noticed Lily's sudden paleness and trembling legs and hands, and the eye signal between Marina and Lily. She must be hiding something, he wondered what the reason would be, as he maintained his easy-going smile.
Nearby, Marina noticed Zade's doubtful gaze landed on Lily's tense body. Fuck!!!!!! Why does she get sudden anxiety? She can't even act normal... Shit!! Trusting her was the biggest regret..... I am fucking sure if she destroys my plan... No matter what, I am going to kill her without any mercy... she thought as her jaw clenched in fury over Lily's sudden change, but a fake smile remained on her lips. "I agree with your request," she answered, her tone completely cold.
"Everyone must reach this entry path within 3 minutes.... You guys run or do whatever you want, but... You must take less than 4 minutes, otherwise... we can't reach the midpoint....." Zade proposed his plan and glanced at everyone, noticing the excited and understanding expression.. "Is that clear?" he asked, to confirm again.
"Yup!" the girl gamers chortled.
I want the center maze.... Marina thought about her plan and interrupted, "We already checked fifteen paths... so I am gonna start with sixteen one?"
"It's a good idea..." Zade encouraged.
Everyone stood in line, and anticipation buzzed in the air. They stood in leg-against-leg posture on their allocated path. Began and were ready to run. The group of players was running like in a marathon, as quickly as they could. Heavy sweating flowed down from their body, and their heart were racing against their ribs, and their breath was hitched, struggling for their lives.
Remaining outside players notice their unity and strategy; they exchange glances and nod with agreement to accept the same method. They also joined them, and everyone was searching for the correct maze.
Anna noticed the timer, which displayed "7:00. "Shit! We left 5 minutes....." she murmured as she exited a path to the starting point, and kneeling half-bent, her hands placed on her waist. Her gaze shifted between the empty ground, her lungs fully dried of out of oxygen, and her breathing increasing. She waited for other players.
Then Everyone exited the corresponding path, some collapsing to their knees, others leaning against the dry walls. "No path... No path...." the crowd answered, their tone a mix of disappointment and exhaustion washed over them.
Zade inhales and exhales heavily, swallowing hard to wet the dryness in his throat. His gaze swept across the group from front to back. His brows furrowed, noticing two people were missing. Realizing that Marina and Lily are not coming to the starting point. He understood they betrayed them. "Where Marina?" he asked.
Everyone searched front and back to confirm their doubt. And their eyes shifted to the timer. "3:21"
Shit! Those bitches backstabbed us! I am gonna kill them if I survive," Enzo vowed, his scream echoing through the entire maze.
"They're gonna pay for what they did....." another player muttered, fear of the unknown consequences clear in their voice.