Lip's phone vibrated in her bag, muffled but loud in the midst of the situation.

    "What is this place? How'd you get here?" Lip countered, hoping to leave with something of value. Despite being in a bedroom with girls in t-shirts and shorts for sleeping in, she was still self-conscious in her school uniform from the morning. Apart from the taller girl in the doorway and the one sleeping in the far corner, two more girls were sitting upright. The one in the farther back was the one Lip had followed - she wore a proper beige night-gown, soft and flowing at the sleeves and near her feet where it ended. She had straight, black hair coming down past her shoulders, and appeared quite shorter than Lip. Closer sat another girl with black hair, though she appeared taller, older. She wore a night-gown as well, not as delicate or elegant. Most prominent was her face, leaving an ambiguous impression in Lip's mind - her eyes showed off facets of both anger and desperation. This girl spoke first.

    "It's not like we have anywhere to run to: this is all we know." Pushing herself backwards towards the head of her bed, she straightened her covers, "This is our, what, Eden?"

    "Well, what do you do all day?"

    The girl in the doorway had come out, wearing a red shirt and black sweats. She walked over to her own bed and collapsed into it, "School, mostly. What we'd like to do, however, is whatever you're doing, out and about. Is that what you're here for, to get us? If you're anything like us, you know that living the same day 'over and over' isn't just being frustrated, it's what you're going through too, right?" She let out a laugh. "Actually… do you know someone named Heejin?"

    This surprised Lip. Though they seemed to know that these things have been happening, even if only a little bit, they seemed set on doing nothing about it.

    "If you know Heejin, or at least of her," Lip replied, "then what are you doing here? What's stopping you from getting out? We have a place for you and everything, we can look out for each other."

    "But exactly why," she cut back in, "is the real issue here, isn't it? Are you here for us, or are you here for someone else? We all know how this works, so don't do anything unless you mean it. All Heejin does is show you what you want, only to take off the blindfold and swear that it all has to happen the correct way. I'm tired of it, the whole leadership complex."

    The girl closest to Lip patted her blanket, an open spot between her and the foot of her bed - she motioned for Lip to sit down. "Come on, if she came all this way, we should just go for it. You and I don't want to be here, and I'm sure the other girls don't either." As Lip sat down, a bit relieved, the other girl in the night gown finally spoke up.

    "It's not that we can't, we've just… been able to live safely here. We don't have to worry about many things as long as we do what we're supposed to." Lip began to worry about them - the whole situation seemed enough to trap them here forever. She doubted these girls were who Heejin went on about giving hell to.

    "Sorry, what was your name?" She asked. Again, Lip's phone vibrated.

    "Kim Lip."

    This caught their attention. "Just like that one girl said, right?" she asked. "Wait, sorry, you should… probably know who we are too, right? I'm Go Won," motioning to herself with her hands on her chest, "this is Olivia Hye," the girl next to her smiled, "and Yves." The tallest member of their group lifted her hand before letting it fall on her thigh. "The one in the back is Chuu, but she's had a long day."

    "Sorry, what girl?"

    "She stays with us sometimes, but she always ends up running away…"

    Yves spoke up, "If she knows your name, you probably know her - it's Jinsoul. Pretty tall, likes to draw."

    Lip grew confident, more energetic after watching everything fall together into place like this. "Yes, that's… that's great, we can all leave and protect you all. Have you ever… actually left, or know how to?"

    Go Won left her bed to lay down next to Chuu, shaking her gently - she turned to face Yves. "Only Yves has left before, so you'd have to ask her."

    Yves just broke out in a smile. "Y'all just haven't done it yet. Once you figure out exactly what happens each day, you can just walk out. All you do is wait for the right time." She looked up at Lip. "I suppose today isn't a day like any other, though, so we'll see what happens."

    "Do you know where Jinsoul is?"

~ ~ ~

    The girls walked down the hall in a single file line, now wearing more presentable clothing. Chuu remained at the back, taking bites from one of Lip's sandwiches. They made their way down the hall, Yves leading the way - although late at night, she didn't carry herself with extreme caution, as Lip did arriving here. Farther down the hallways they went, until they reached a spiral staircase. They went up, dull hits against stone echoing up and down the tower. Once at the next floor, an archway opened up into a large room, possibly a ballroom or dining area. Towering windows covered the outside walls, wooden chairs crowding the entire perimeter. Paintings of religious and mythological scenes were hung up on the walls - more hand-painted borders and decorations filled up the rest. Save for an archway directly ahead and a door in the left wall, the entirety of the walls was doused in either paint or carved work.

    Yves motioned for Lip to follow her, and went over to the left wall's door. Knocking twice, they waited - a dull thud and footsteps followed, then the handle clicked open and they stepped back. Now clad in a similar white night-gown, Jinsoul stood in front of the door, her eyes half shut. Realizing who stood in front, she audibly gasped before pulling Lip into an embrace.

    "Wait, how? Why, what's going on?" She whispered as she let go of Lip.

    "It's time: she's getting us all out."

    Lip turned away to smile - even though Yves had dominated their escape strategy so far, the words still swelled up her pride.

    "Alright, alright, hold on…"

    A few minutes passed before Jinsoul was dressed, wearing a jean jacket, shorts, and her own backpack. Lip looked around, growing more and more wary of their movements as time went on. She doubted that they had been quiet enough for not one person to hear something. Hye caught on, motioning for Yves to lead the way again.

~ ~ ~

    Again, they organized into their line, in and out of corridors and rooms. Soon enough, they had reached the hallway, now from the opposite side. The staircase from before was ahead to their left. The group found a bathroom to camp out in, while Yves waited at the door.

    Hearing something, Yves then motioned for the rest to stay - she left down the hallway, at a slow pace. From behind the corner, we heard a man's voice, possibly surprised at seeing Yves up late. Behind Lip, Chuu had sat down. Her eyes drooped and Hye was trying to talk to her. Lip went over and offered to carry her.

    "What, no, you shouldn't have to," Hye began.

    "No, it's fine, I have a younger brother. It's not far, is it?"

    "It shouldn't be. I mean, we've never had to go out, but Yves usually isn't gone long, so it couldn't be too long."

    Lip took off her bag, and faced her back towards Chuu, grabbing onto her hands. After pulling them over her shoulders, she grabbed her thighs and lifted her up. Apart from being obviously heavier than her bag, her weight didn't seem to be a problem. Go Won slung the bag over her shoulders, then groaned as if it weighed her down. Hye raised her hand as if to slap, only for Go Won to raise her hands in defense and start laughing quietly. Down the hall, his voice became a murmur, then footsteps followed. As they grew softer, Yves clicked open the door, causing Lip to flinch.

    "It's okay - I've been telling him about once every two weeks to turn down the temperature, so he's gotten used to me being up late every once in a while. He's usually the only person you'd have to get past to leave. There's... only one more obstacle we have to get past. Like I've said before, we're made to stay here - they're fine with you getting in, not getting out. The door downstairs takes two keys, one in a room downstairs and the other out there, far to the right," she pointed behind her. "While we get the one downstairs, Hye, can you get the other one and meet us at the front door? It's hidden under one of the potted plants."

    Hye nodded. "Got it."

    Yves blocked the door when Hye got up. "Be quick - we don't want you exposed outside for too long, right? You're basically at eye level with anyone sleeping on the second floor."

    "Sure, sure. Your door downstairs will be underneath me?"

    "Yeah." Yves gave her a hug, then motioned for Lip and the others to come.

    They found the staircase and went down, a small parade of thumps sounding out into the air. Making a right, Yves led them backwards through Lip's path towards the front door. As it came into sight, Yves cursed to herself and pulled a key out of her pocket. Someone squeezed Lip's arm, and Lip noticed that Chuu had woken up considerably - she gestured to be let down, able now to walk alongside them. Yves ran up to the door and clicked it open. As it creaked open, she looked back at them, "Don't stop for anything."

    They exited in their line one by one, like ants from under a door. Only after stepping onto rich soil did Lip realize how hot it must have been inside - the breeze picked up and Go Won giggled with excitement. The hedge garden came into view, the stone fountain a muddy gray in the shade of the trees. The pebbles were impossible to ignore, an ugly crunching and scratching against their ears.

    Behind them, a horrid screech resonated throughout the air.

    "Keep moving, keep moving," Yves ordered, looking back at them. As they ran down the path cutting through the trees, Lip turned to look as well.

    Olivia Hye was on the balcony, slamming her hands against the railing. She ran to the door and shook it, only for it to rattle against her. Lip turned back to the path to avoid tripping, but the sight singed itself into her memory. Soon, the path opened into a different field, and flickering lights in the ground caught their attention. As they approached, multiple circular mirrors had been placed on the ground face up, scattered and in no obvious arrangement.

    "Alright, Lip… don't take it personally, okay?" Lip heard Yves say behind her. "I'm not against you." Suddenly, two arms grabbed onto Lips and held them together in a lock.

    "Woah, get off me! What-" Lip yelled out.

    Out of the corner of her eye, Yves had gotten a hold of Jinsoul, both of them dragged to a specific mirror.

    "But like Heejin said," Yves continued, gritting her teeth in a struggle to keep Lip still, "it all has to happen the right way. Does she have it?"

    Go Won held her bag by the top strap, "No, just food."
    "Alright, forget it. Let's go."

    With that, Lip's heel was kicked and her body fell into the mirror. Just before disappearing under the surface completely, which appeared to be foliage, the back of her head scratched against the edge, sending a searing pain into her head. She shot through the leaves and her gravity shifted, causing her to fall with her back scraping against the ground. Her bag followed, hitting her head and slouching against it at an angle. Lip leaned over, wincing from the impact when Jinsoul fell through after her, colliding with the same gritty collision.

Sunlight shone down upon them.