The poker faced girl had a lost gaze, only looking at what was in front of her. We had circled around her, admiring her beauty and finesse. I told the boys to let her go; she was one of us, so no need to distrust her. I also brought them all next to me, letting the girl have some air.

MJ: So, what’s your name? (She didn’t move. I smiled and extended my right hand forth). My name’s MinJeong; I’m the current player. It would be nice to have you on our team.

The girl never did the slightest gesture to come in contact with me. She simply stared at me with no expression whatsoever. I retrieved my arm, making my smile turn into confusion. I looked to both sides, exchanging facial gestures with the others due to the awkward situation.

MJ: …Um… are you alright?.... Did the Exotics do you any harm?

Still no response. I hadn’t thought about this before but, maybe some prisoners don’t like to help out. Maybe some of them think it’s useless to try and win the game, and so they don’t waste their time getting into trouble. And I don’t think there’s any rule that can force them into helping the player.

MJ: Guys, I don’t think she’s interested. Let’s just let her be and get on our way. Besides, all the prisoners will get freed once were done, so no need to take them all with us. Still... here!

I undid the knot that held the water canteen around my waist. I extended the container towards the young woman, but she didn’t take it. She just kept staring at me. I got pissed at this uneducated woman and left the canteen next to her feet. I turned around with a furrowed expression.

MJ: Let’s go guys. We can’t keep wasting time; darkness will come soon and we need to take shelter.

A wide-eyed HaeRi gestured if I was going to leave the girl there. Everyone looked at each other surprised at my harsh and sudden decision.

MJ: Yes; she’s staying behind. Apparently she doesn’t want to help out, so nothing else to do with her. She can survive with the water I left her. Now let’s move. We’re still standing on brightened ground; Exotics could attack us again. And we have a storm on our trail; rain will most likely fall.

I turned around and faced the girl one more time. I began to walk, passing by her and leading the group down the remaining part of the bridge. At the end of the bridge there was a short dirt path that lead to the beginning of a forest-like passage, all covered in tree branches and dense vegetation.

I took one last look back, seeing if the unknown woman had disappeared. But she was still standing on the same spot, not even shifting directions. I felt bad leaving her behind, but that’s what she wanted. Still, I had a feeling something was wrong; but what? I turned around and went on, going directly towards our new route. We finally stepped foot on the area, pushing aside branches and big leaves that got in our way. The path was somewhat rocky and narrow, making it hard to maintain balance and go at a faster pace. The trail was guarded from the Sun due to the multiple tall plants that crossed over one another right on top of the road. We slowly went through the forest, making sure not to get hurt or lose a group member along the way. It all seemed quiet and peaceful, until I heard a nearby growl. I stopped walking and stood frozen; the other behind me did the same.  I slowly turned around to face my comrades.

MJ: Did you guys hear that?... Or have my nerves turned against me?

Everyone was in their couple-formations, except Kai who had been walking behind me. HaeRi was nodding with wide eyes; XiuMin had already turned some shades paler. The rest looked confused at my questions. Just then the growl came again; this time stronger. Everybody went into statue-mode; we even forgot to breathe. I tried looking to the sides, to see if something was going to appear, but so much green in the way wasn’t helping. I turned back to the others, and quietly talked.

MJ: You guys don’t think… the Exotics would send animals after us, right?... Besides, what are the odds of them find…ing us…

Finding us? Oh, if it was wild animals we were talking about, I’m sure they would smell my blood miles away. So, before they could actually reach us, we had to do something about it.

MJ: Everyone….stay in pairs… don’t fall behind…don’t let go… and don’t stop running… On my count… 1… 2…3!

I had taken JongIn’s hand, ready to run for our lives. We had just turned around to face the path, but just then a beast jumped from the right side and landed over me, throwing my body to the hard ground. The animal, that seemed to be a big, gray wild wolf, was standing over me, trapping me under its weight. It threw its face forward, trying to bite my own, but JongIn grabbed the beats on time and threw it back. I got on my feet quickly and saw Kai fighting the wolf alone; I knew what we had to do. I took out the daggers, grabbing one in each hand, and propelling myself towards the assassin. I stabbed it with both weapons at the same time, and saw how he howled, slowly losing its strength. The beast tried to come after me, but Kai took advantage of his freedom and took out his weapon as well, attacking the wolf one last time before it fell to the ground on its side; bleeding. I was panting; we all were. I walked towards Kai, trying not to get near the dead animal. I was turning around to look at the rest of the gang, but found something terrifying. A pack of wolfs was running down the path we had just taken, coming rights towards us.

MJ: RUUUNN!!

We all began our race for survival, jumping over tree stomps and ignoring branches. The pack sounded angry and hungry; their growls and snarls were enough to kill someone out of fear. Just to make things worse, it began to rain. First a few drops, but soon after the sky came pouring down; darkness came as a special gift as well. The dirt began to get slippery and muddy, and it didn’t take much for someone to fall. I heard the screaming and stopped running, turning around to find LanFang on the moving ground, and the pack a meter away. A beast jumped in the air, trying to land on the girl, but XiuMin reacted on time and attacked it with his hammer, sending the animal back. The rest of the animals kept coming towards us; confronting us, ready to bite us at the right moment.

MJ: WE CAN’T OUT RUN THEM! JUST ATTACK!

There were a total of 4 wolfs, staring at us with fierce eyes and showing their sharp teeth. LanFang had slowly gotten on her feet, not trying to startle the animal that now watched her and XiuMin. HaeRi got attacked quickly by one of the animals; luckily she had her weapons out and was defending herself. Lay and Kai were being monitored by what seemed the alpha male. Lay, upon seeing RiRi in danger, went to her rescue. The leader wolf went after him, but just then Kai jumped onto it, beginning a new battle. I was face to face with another one of these beasts; I stood frozen waiting for the animal to make the first move. The animal walked around me, looking for the perfect spot to attack me from; it’s like they could think. I slowly turned in the direction it moved, preventing it from facing my back. Soon, the wolf became tired of the little game and just came running towards me. I crossed both arms over my face, feeling as the animal pushed me to the ground and bite my left arm. I felt an immense pain in my entire member; the bite must have reached my bone. I screamed as hard as possible, calling the attention of my friends. I couldn’t see if someone was coming to my rescue, still, I managed to move my right arm and cut the animal on the side. It let go of my left arm and tried to escape from me, but I didn’t allow it. I quickly my knees and took the beast by its hind legs, throwing it to the ground where I jumped onto it and stabbed it in the back. The beast growled, but slowly let its head fall to the side in defeat. I got up onto my feet, stumbling as a result of the extreme pain. Luckily Kai was near and caught me on time. I kept and grabbing my wounded arm. He took it and lifted my long sleeve up, revealing the horrible mess: the flesh was all torn, sticking out, blood gushing through it, black and blue circling the bruise. I became scared just by looking at it. The others gasped in horror as well. JongIn began to take out some provisions from out of his waist bag.

MJ: No Kai. Let’s just get out of here! More wolfs can appear, and who knows what else! You can cure me later; let’s just keep moving....please…

Kai shook his head in disagreement, but I just began walking down the road. HaeRi came to my side; she took my right hand, keeping me company along the rest of the way. Eventually, he had to come along, strolling at my side.

We had managed to kill the wolves, liberating ourselves from any more chases. The guys had ugly scratches on their faces; wolf claws to be exact. Dirt and blood smears stained their clothing. The rain was still coming down, making our bones shiver at the cold contact. The vegetation swayed with the wind currents. The little light that came in through the branches was dimmer each passing minute. I looked once again at the tear in my arm, and the rain was washing away the surrounding blood. Yet, I wasn’t the only one that hurt. I looked back at the group and found them all mangled and tired; we had to find a resting spot soon. I just pray to the Lord I don’t lose my arm to a canine disease.

We went on for a little longer, until we came to what seemed to be the end of the trail. The guys removed some heavy branches that blocked our way, and behind them stood a grassy trail with perfectly pruned hedges at the sides; tall, green, and royal-like. We could see the sky now; the Sun was about to set. We walked further into the new path, looking at its unusual design. We reached what looked like the end of the path, only that it had two other corridors in opposite directions; one at each side.

MJ: What is this?…. It feels like… we’re in a maze…

Just then darkness came, and only the moonlight shone upon us. I gave the idea a thought; if this was indeed a maze, it would take us some time to decipher the right route. And now in the darkness, everything always gets more difficult.

MJ: What are we going to do now?.... AH!

A strong surge of pain went through my entire arm, making me take a hold of it. It left me at the verge of tears, breathing heavily and whining. I slowly felt as my arm began to fall asleep; numbness was starting at my fingers. I got scared, but I didn’t say anything; it would only cause an unnecessary worry. Plus JongIn would get all defensive and scold-ish. Right now, we had 2 options: split up or move as a group. And number one wasn’t the best thing to do with so many injuries and enemies that could be roaming about.

MJ: Okay guys. Let’s just pick a way and start moving. Let’s make a chain, just to make sure we don’t lose someone. This maze might have something in store for us; and it isn’t necessarily good thing.

We all held each other’s hands; I was in between HaeRi and Kai, who once again lead the way. I told him to choose whatever way he wanted; there wasn’t any other criterion to choose from. He went to the right, going slowly at first, just in case something weird took place. We went on until we came to a left turn. We turned in what felt like an “U” and then continued on to the right. A couple of meters up front, we had to take a right turn. Since it was dark, we couldn’t see very well; which is why Kai tripped and fell to the grassed ground. I was able to balance myself and stay on foot. I kneeled next to Kai to help him, but something else caught my attention… A chain… a familiar-like chain was poking out from the bottom of the maze’s wall. I left Lay helping Kai, and got closer to the chain. I grabbed it and pulled on it. The hedge in front of me shook, as if the chain was attached to something else. The others saw it as well. HaeRi grabbed me by the shoulders and brought me some feet back. After some seconds went by, and it didn’t seem to move again, I told XiuMin to check it out. He looked at me with surprise and fear as well. He asked why him, and I told him because he was the oldest! He sighted and slowly made his way towards the hedge. He inserted his hands in between the small plants that made up the wall. Cautiously, he pushed them forward. Suddenly he screamed, and pulled back his arms. He looked at me and pointed towards the wall.

MJ: WHAT!!! WHAT IS IT?!?!

Kai shoved the man to one side and spread apart the hard bushed, looking in, and letting out a gasp. But still, he went deeper into the wall and took a hold of something. He was trying to pull it out, but with much difficulty. We were all staring in fright and curiosity. Some seconds after, Kai took out of the hedge the unexpected. We all screamed in unison due to the shock the new discovery made in all of us. JongIn had pulled a corpse; a mutilated, bleeding corpse. He laid it on the ground looking upwards. I slowly walked towards it; kneeling next to it to scrutinized the poor dead man. He had his eyes closed; his dry mouth was open. The man had his shirt drenched; blood. Whatever it was, it attacked him on the torso. His face also had small cuts across his high cheekbones and long nose. I felt bad for whoever he was; losing his life just before we could meet. Maybe he would have been a great addition to our group… he would have been saved after we won the game… Everyone felt the gloominess roaming in the air. Kai touched me by a shoulder; I looked at him to find a sorry expression. He extended an arm forth for me to take so we could go back; we had reached a dead end as well. I took one last glance at the man, this time noticing his peculiar ears. They were somewhat big, and the upper pant bent a little to the outsides; they looked cute.

MJ: I guess having big ears doesn’t give you longevity after all…

I extended my right arm to touch one of his attractive ears. They were soft, besides the coldness that came from them. All of a sudden, a soft whimper came from the man. I got surprised. I placed two fingers on the man’s upper neck, feeling a slow heartbeat.

MJ: HE’S ALIVE!! HE’S STILL ALIVE!! WE HAVE TO HELP HIM!

Everyone was tacked aback by the news. Kai and Lay quickly kneeled next to the man, opening up his short-sleeve button shirt to view the injury. It looked recent; it was still bleeding a little, and the area had only started to turn dark. I positioned myself behind the man’s head, taking it and laying it on my lap. The two men went on to heal him, while I took XiuMin’s canteen and dampened the unknown man’s face; dripping some in his mouth as well. I took a hold of his long, cooper hair, bringing it all back, revealing his full face; a beautiful profile to be exact. Suddenly, his eyes opened up in one swift movement…