https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkpA34HzZMY

Chapter 33: The Labyrinth of Morpheus

|Narrator's Perspective|

             "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to The Cirque. We have various activities set up all throughout the park so please do go out and try new things. In addition, please make sure that no children or belongings are left unattended as we hope to avoid any mishaps. Anyways, enjoy yourselves at The Cirque!"

            The announcer stopped talking and I finally took a look around the Carnival that now occupied the park by V.I.Pz Café. There was a bonfire being held on the far left corner that raised a puff of smoke resembling a rainy cloud and beside that, there were little tables of games under small tents that looked like they could be blown away with one breath. On the other side of the park, I spotted a red sign that had a thick, black font reading: The Labyrinth of Morpheus. At the very back, I could see a haunted house glowing different shades of red that would reflect on the nearby trees casting dark shadows in every direction and creating an eerie mood. Although this place seemed like a typical carnival, what caught Jiyong off guard was the fact that no one else was here. No one. Not even a little child running around to each tent or ride. In fact, there were no people running the stands.         

            Full of curiousity, Jiyong walked around as he glanced at the hot dog stands, candy stands, and games failing to find any sign of people. He could feel the hairs on his neck stand upright as he approached the labyrinth and stopped walking. He felt himself being drawn towards the entrance of the maze, a large wooden door, but he didn’t know why. Suddenly, he heard a scream break through the silence of the still night, a very familiar one at that—it was Dara. On instinct, Jiyong went for the entrance hastily, running through the large tendrils of bushes that would either give him a path or a dead end. He let out a growl of frustration as he tried to put his hands through the bushes to create a whole of some sort and climb through. When he pushed a green vine to the side, he thought it was working but the leaves started clustering back together covering the whole Jiyong had just formed, almost covering his arm as well Jiyong pulled out.

            Again, Jiyong could hear Dara screaming, her voice echoing throughout the park. He had no idea what was happening. Jiyong felt beads of sweat roll off of his face as he ran as fast as his body would let him, but this maze felt as if it was manipulating itself to look different each time. Jiyong was sure that when he first saw it, it looked like a small kid's maze. Now, the maze was at least 10 ft tall so that he couldn’t even glance over the top to get a hint as to where Dara may be. That’s when he heard another scream, but this time it was different because another scream was mixed in with Dara's . . . it was evidently CL's voice. Jiyong paled.

            He ran straight ahead towards their voices turning left and right without a second thought. When he presumed he had run into another dead end, he looked up to see Dara chained on to a wall. She was wearing the dress she had just bought that day that he had made her wear for the surprise. Her hair was plastered all over her face in sweat and tears. Her cheeks were flushed red but the rest of her was as pale as the white marble stone behind her.  His heart constricted when he saw tears rolling down her cheeks. They were in a large circular room now, no longer in the maze. There were old metal statues placed around the room that glinted as the moon hit them. Jiyong didn’t know what happened and how he ended up in this room, but he didn’t care as long as he found Dara.