Hyeri slumped in her chair as Tao's eyes fluttered shut. Around him, all was silent. A small breeze fluttered through the area, tousling his hair. Surely she was able to do something to help! Hyeri squeezed her eyes shut, cursing herself for sleeping so well last night. The door opened and the officer came back in with a silver platter filled with food. Hyeri glared at her before examining the food. There were 3 breads with some butter. Some noodles that smelled good. 2 chocolate cakes that were supposed to fatten her were also on the platter. The officer watched her examine all the contents with her arms crossed. She finally left as Hyeri held up her fork, pretending to eat so she could get the officer out. Once the officer left, Hyeri took a napkin and wrapped 2 of the three breads and a chocolate cake. She ate a full meal and, with her food in her hands, she drifted off to sleep.

Something was wrong. She couldn't see anything. It was all black. It must be what Tao was seeing. Then, there was a small light. That small piece of consciousness floating in Tao's mind. It was pale white and the shape of a blob. Hyeri placed her food on the ground gently before running to that light that was far far away. She could feel it in her palms, the light, so she took it and pulled it, making it bigger. It was a game of tug-a-war between her and the light. She then realized that it was how she could keep Tao alive. Pulling it with all her will, the light began to flood the area. Tao appeared.

"Hyeri, I'm starving," he rasped. slumping onto the ground by a base of a tree. Hyeri took the foods and gave it to him. She sat down next to him and ran his hands through his unkempt hair. He thanked her before gobbling it down greedily.

"Sleep well. That was a force field. You have to get past it!" Hyeri instructed him, pointing in the general direction of the obstacle.

"I will, don't worry." Tao wiped his mouth with the now empty napkin and put it down. It rustled in the wind and flew away. He chuckled, watching it fly away. Tao engulfed her into a bear hug before Hyeri jolted awake in her seat.

"You've slept well I see," the officer sickly smiled at her before turning on the TV, "He's awake as well." She stood there, proudly watching Tao stand up. Something in her mind snapped when she saw that Tao was much healthier looking. Maybe that sleep had done him good. Well, time to put the end to that, the officer smirked. She left and Hyeri stared at the screen. Tao looked less sickly than yesterday. Tao was staring around him. It was covered in force fields, leaving no way out. Suddenly, crackling could be heard. Only one thing described that sound - fire. 

Tao yelped, seeing the fire just after hearing it. It was far away, surrounding him on each side. The orange and yellow flames danced and soon became red. The fire rapidly grew however, and Tao saw that it was because of the sudden gusts of wind, feeding oxygen to the fire. When he looked at the ground, he saw everything to needed to fuel fire. Sticks, strands of hair, papers and huge logs. Maybe it wasn't the time to panic but he couldn't help it. The fire expanded quickly and drew near. The heat started to choke Tao. Trees were brought down, crashing here and there, causing him to jump up in shock and fear. Tao looked at the sky, clouded and darkening with smoke. There was no way to escape this. Just as he was beginning to lose hope, a sudden rope appeared from the sky. It was just dangling in the air with nothing to hold it. Tao blinked, but the heat of the flames made up his mind. He was going to climb it. The rope was extended just above Tao's head, so he reached for it and wriggled his way up so that his full body was clinging onto it. A wave of fire surged and burned just where Tao was standing. He felt the heat run through his body. Some of the fire cackled just under his foot, barely singeing it. The pain was great however, so great that Tao almost let go of the rope. A small flame caught the rope. Tao used his upper body strength to pull himself up, little by little. He chanted Hyeri's name in his mind as he went higher and higher. As if it was a stalker, the flame followed him, scorching the rope into nothingness. The rope began to burn black. Tao cursed at it and held onto the rope. The fire burned half of his calf, leaving bumps on it. Tao would wither in pain, but he couldn't - not on the rope. His need and craving for water had never been so great.

Then, in a blink of an eye, the fire was gone along with the rope. Tao was falling. His arms began to windmill left and right, just like a cartoon. His legs thrashed in the air just before he landed on his back on the dirt ground with a huge rock under him. Pain nearly blinded him for a moment. He sat up and grimly looked at everything that was burnt. 

"Well, at least the force field's are destroyed," Tao weakly tried to be positive. He gently lifted up his pant leg and saw a huge red gash. His thumb brushed against it and he winced. At this rate, his energy level will have gone down plenty. Even though he had eaten in the dream, his stomach still rumbled. He needed to search for food and water, and fast. 

Just as he was about to turn right, he spotted something hanging off a wall. A camera. Tao crawled and sat right in front of it. His face was close to it, so nationally, everyone could see nothing but his dirt covered face. 

"Hyeri, if when we get back, we will go on a big shopping spree," Tao feebly chuckled before crab walking away. Shopping was Hyeri and his thing they did pretty often. They agreed it was fun and exciting. Those days when they'd go into stores, grab random clothes and dress up for fun. And when they got kicked out, Hyeri's scary glare..

Back in the room, Hyeri refused to cry, weep or sob. She didn't show any emotion on the outside, refusing to give the maze makers any sastifaction. On the inside, she was bitterly weeping, missing Tao so much and having him talk about getting back and shopping...that was just too much.

"You have to cry soon." The bald man paced around Hyeri, not getting why she didn't feel anything. Was she a robot?

"Statistically speaking, most females should've broken down by now," the officer mused. Hyeri stared straight at the screen, where Tao wandered through a long hallway with lots of big shadows creeping here and there. He struggled to get to the next turn due to his leg. Hyeri saw what was on his leg, and was worried to death.

The officer came in just as the bald man started to speak. Coincidence? "They both don't show any emotion. We have to change that," the bald man his beardless chin. Like hell you will, Hyeri fiercely glared at them.

"Well, we should discuss plan later on, when this girl isn't here." The bald man smirked and sauntered out, with the officer right behind him. Hyeri gritted her teeth in hatred. Guess all the maze makers were somewhat stupid. By now, wouldn't they at least be a little suspicious. The clues and tracks she had left uncovered - his sudden healthiness, the door which he chose, walking right past to food - they were truly the definition of fools. Finally, Tao came upon the turn. He chose left; it was a terrible decision.He abruptly stopped as the next course lay in front of him. Above Tao, on rusty, heavy linked chains, were a huge block of glinting metal, completely able to crush the whole small platform he stood on. In front of him were targets (red and white circle bulls-eye thingies) and people dressed in all black, holding loaded guns, bows and sharpened knives. Their faces were covered and so they couldn't be seen, but Tao swear he saw them smirking. No doubt they were going to toss them at the targets. Meanwhile, a large clock to Tao's left ticked. He saw that he had 20 seconds. In 20 seconds, the huge metal block would crush the platform. He had to run, even if there were flying things coming his way. The ticks were loud, rattling Tao's core.

Taking a deep breath, he ran, just as the first gun fired, the sound bouncing all around.