《Forbidden Palace》


 Chapter 1: New Beginning

    Yorkshelin City/ Yuan Xing City (ÔªÐÇ),


    The Regalis University, a place where only the strongest and the quick-witted person will survive, a place where it pushes yourself and perseverance to the fullest potential, not only testing your reaction in many possible situations and conditions in life, but also seeing how you make decisions in the line of life and death. Only the chosen one will be able to pass the test. The number of students passing this place is small, and the one who got the badge of the Golden Phoenix could be counted by hand, and all of them have become someone unreachable in the high society.


    People who know about this place wish to attend and many want to enroll, but no one knows how to and what the criteria for getting in are. For some reason, the invitation goes to a random person they choose and whether you are willing or not, somehow they will come knocking on your doors and manage to enroll you in with your parent''s permission, as if they have been incited with some magic.


    Kayla¡ª had been feeling that something was wrong when her parents suddenly agreed with the ridiculous offer the man sitting in front of her had given, she just got home from doing some shopping and found a man sitting inside her house, discussing her admission to a university she had never even heard about.


    She is even more confused when her parents are so excited about it, since it doesn¡¯t mean that you will be able to get in after the three-month inspection, and her parents are not the type of person who likes to be involved with uncertainty, so this is very weird to her and she doesn¡¯t understand what is the excitement in all of this.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to ask about my opinion? At least?¡±, she looks at both of her parents and they seem to show a very strange expression, as if they are confused and shocked.


    ¡°What is there to be hesitant about? I heard that only the fancy and reputable family could get in¡±, her father whispered in her ears, and her mother sitting by the side nodded in agreement.


    This makes her become more frightened, because her mother has never liked the idea of her going far away for university, and now she is smiling like an idiot. Kayla silently peeked at the person who was sitting there with that creepy smile on his face, and frowns,


    ¡°You have to know that if I failed, the semester would have already begun, and I would have no choice but to wait for another year to enroll in another university¡±, she whispers back and her father laughs out loud, and pats her back quite harshly,


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so down to earth, I know you could do it!¡±, her father has been the enthusiastic kind of person, he is always the one with the funny ideas but never able to handle them properly, so her mother is the one who have to clean up for him, but probably because of her father personality that the house is always warm.


    ¡°Then, I will be waiting for your arrival Miss Kayla, the car will be picking you up on next month, Friday the 5th, hope you will be ready by then¡±, he politely bowed and walked out of the house, Kayla also got up and peeked outside from the windows, seeing him getting in a car that could be said to be a limited edition car in their block is something that catches the attention of the eyes in one look.


    ¡®The newest model of GX Company¡¯


    Seeing the car drive away, she turned to look at both of her parents that are still looking at the pamphlets, and sat down to now really have a nice talk,


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, why are the both of you suddenly so excited about this place, do you know any rumors I didn¡¯t know about?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what he say, it is the most prestigious school in this country¡±, her father squeaked with his face beaming.


    ¡°And you believe him? Just like that?¡±, she asked bewildered, and it seemed like something finally knocked the head off both of them, her dad mumbled,


    ¡°You are right.. Why do we believe him just like that?¡±, he turned around to look at his wife who seemed to be in deep thought, her face turning a bit pale. He looks at the paper and thinks,


    ¡°Could it be because the picture is so sophisticated?¡±, he pulled out his cell phone and searched for it, it indeed appeared in the search engine,


    ¡°The Regalis University has a history for more than seventy years, with over ten thousand graduates, a school located at the top of the mountain in Velhoben City, making it one of the most spacious universities in the world", the introduction of this university is short, very short, Kayla couldn''t help but think that something is wrong with it. Usually, every University will find a way to boost their benefits for others to see, but this one literally has nothing, but it seems that her parents didn''t see it as something needed to be talked about.


    "Doesn¡¯t sound too bad, just a little far away from home, but I am sure you will like it, you have always loved nature and peace since you were a child, with that spacious space, you won¡¯t even be able to explore it until you graduate¡±, he laughs excitedly but shut his mouth when Kayla and his wife were glaring at him.


    The information about the university is not specific, but there seems to be nothing wrong with it, at least there are no reports about people missing or weird news about this place, it is so clean that it feels very disturbing,


    ¡®Not even a specific information about the majors and curriculum in it, could this even be considered a prestigious school?¡¯


    Kayla, ¡°Dad.. I don¡¯t think this is a good idea, we should think about it more thoroughly¡±, but when she said those words, the both of them seemed stunned and their complexion went pale.


    ¡°What? What did I don¡¯t know about?¡±, her father let out an awkward laugh,


    ¡°Honey, we have imprinted our thumb to the agreement¡±, she was shocked when she saw red ink on his thumb,


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°What is it about?¡±


    ¡°Your approval to attend of course! If you failed you will get a compensation of free scholarship to whatever university you choose¡±, he smiled happily, while Kayla was struck there dumb. She wanted to say something but she couldn''t, because she knew that she needed her parent''s support to pay for the admission and tuition fee, so she didn¡¯t really have a word in it,


    ¡®As long as you are happy¡¯, she sighed, but then she realized something,


    ¡°You.. did read the content right?¡±, Kayla let out a sigh of relief when they both nodded,


    Dad, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it is not a thick-content agreement, just one, the content is pretty simple actually, you just attend there for three months and if you fail you get sent back here and get the compensation for it¡±


    ¡°So then, what should I prepare?¡±, the both of them look at each other, and she suddenly has a bad feeling,


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask him about it? Anything?¡±, the both of them slowly shake their head, and she sighs inwardly,


    ¡®They should be nominated as the first rank in the category of parents who are easily fooled and first in short-sighted parents for having no longer plan in their children''s life!¡¯


    Perhaps because of her parent''s aloof nature that she became someone who worries about anything, she never liked the idea of diving in without a plan, so sometimes they have a very different idea about a vacation, they argue a lot but somehow everything is fine, at least until now,


    ¡®Great! Another month in the library again then¡¯, she sighed heavily, she had just gotten away from high school and planning to attend a university with a much easier admission so that she could enjoy the vacation time without any worry, but it turned out that god has another plan for her because there is suddenly a man who pops out in her house and ruin all of her plans.


    But after lying in her bathroom and thinking for awhile, she decided that she doesn¡¯t want to go to the library anymore because she is honestly sick of it, she will just go to the internet and revise some questions when she has got the mood which is only about an hour a day, while she spent the rest of it laying down and watching movies she left behind.


    ***


    ¡°I have never heard of that university before, must be far away from our town¡±, her best friend, Amy who came over to have a movie night with two other friends, Tom and Ethan.


    ¡°So you are leaving? It seems that the four of us will be separated then¡ª Amy is going to Australia, Tom is in London, me in New York and you.. In a city we have never heard of before¡±, Ethan said and Kayla could only nod in defeat.


    Tom, ¡°Such a mysterious school, doesn¡¯t have any news of it on the internet¡±, he has been scrolling through his phone to see what kind of university it is, but found nothing, ¡°Even the alumni is not listed¡±


    Amy suddenly let out a shriek, ¡°Could it be a scam? What if they bring you to a weird place?!!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they have the guts to do so, at least we have a law now¡±, Kayla suddenly feels a chill run down her whole body, ¡°I will ask my parents to take a photo of it when they come, just in case¡±, so if she did indeed have something wrong, they know who to find.


    They spent the rest of the day watching movies, and the next day they went out to the mall to have fun. In just a blink of an eye, Friday the 5th had come, she just packed some necessary things and a load full of clothes pack in one luggage and a duffle bag, she also placed some important things such as laptops, medicine, and any important things in her backpacks.


    Her parents had started to cry and wailing since three days ago as if they wouldn''t be able to see her again. To be honest, she is feeling nervous too, this is the first time she is going far alone to a place she has never known before, she doesn¡¯t know who she will meet and what things she is going to face. Her worry grew deeper and deeper when she realized she didn¡¯t know anything about the place she was going, making her become more uneasy,


    ¡®Why do I agree so easily about it? Have I lost my mind?!¡¯


    She kept on biting into her nail and cursed in her heart,


    ¡®There must be something wrong with that person, there is no way that mom and dad will make such a rushed decision like this, there must be something more that I didn¡¯t know about¡ª


    Could it be like the movie? They are selling me away right now??¡ª No No No No, if that is what happened then they wouldn¡¯t have cried about it¡¯, then she realized something very terrifying,


    ¡®They are just putting on an act?? It couldn¡¯t be.. right? They are not that kind of person. Or are they? Haishh!! Why do I agree about it in the first place, no matter how I think about it, I didn¡¯t have any advantages of it in the first place!''


    Mom, ¡°Honey, let''s go down and start to prepare, you are about to leave anytime now¡±


    ¡°Alright¡±, she pulled herself up from her chair, looked at the mirror, and tidied herself up. Kayla has Irish blue hair color that reaches the arm with tidy wispy bangs, light clear eyes of purple color, and round lips. Today she was just wearing a simple attire, a blue French blouse paired with blue jeans. She went down and found her parents sitting in the living room, their faces seemed tense, she sat down on one of the sofas and started examining their faces,


    ¡°Here, my card, there are around a hundred thousand dollars limit in it. And here also my other card¡±, he then pulled out another card, a platinum debit card, ¡°There are also around a hundred thousand dollars cash in it, just in case¡±, he smiled tensely,


    ¡°Dad.. you know that I am just going to school right?¡±, he nodded, ¡°For only three months¡±, he nodded again, ¡°I don¡¯t need that money¡±, she stated truthfully.


    ¡°You are going far away on your own for the first time!! This is just in case, I also heard that the people there are all esteemed people, I don¡¯t want you to be bullied by them, you could spend however much you want with this card¡±, their family couldn¡¯t be said to be that wealthy, but her father owns a couple of real estates and investment that is quite successful. Don¡¯t see them as quite silly, but their luck is actually quite good, the investments they made have mostly hit the jackpot, and the houses they own all have become a vacation hot spot, they could earn thousands or hundred-thousand of dollars in a month depending on the demand. But this was the first time her father had ever given her such a huge allowance, so she couldn¡¯t quite understand and accept it with a heavy heart, she suddenly had a feeling that this place was not as simple as she thought it was, or perhaps her parents might already know something she didn¡¯t know about.


    The doorbell rings and the three of them stare at the door, suddenly there is a sense of fear in Kayla''s heart, to think that she is about to leave the house for three months to a place she has never been before, no plan no friends and not even her parents around, she is feeling a little lost. His dad opens the door and the man standing outside is someone wearing a formal attire with a broach of a silver Phoenix, looking quite expensive with the blue diamond in it, but the problem is this person is different from the person who came before, this person looks much more polite and has a very calm and somehow positive and wise aura, just one look and they could know this person is someone who is friendly yet unapproachable.


    That man politely greeted them, ¡°Good morning Madam, Sir, my name is Hugo, I am here to fetch Miss Kayla¡±


    Kayla who was standing behind them took her suitcase and put the backpack on her back, she took a deep breath and let it out heavily, she calmed herself down and looked at her parents, they looked like they were about to cry at any moment, they give a long and deep hug before finally saying their goodbye, but her mom suddenly come and hug her tightly, she suddenly whispers something that made her heart goes cold,


    ¡°You must remember one thing. Never takes anything as a joke, you must focus and take any information you see as much as you can, it is alright if you fail, just don¡¯t get hurt¡±, she looks at her mom with a lot of questions written on her face, but before she could asked anything she has been pushed outside after a small peak on the cheek.


    ¡°Lady, let me carry your bag for you¡±, Hugo reached out to take her things and Kayla nodded in thankful, she looked back at her mom, but she just waved her goodbye, so Kayla could only walk away with a heavy step. The new journey finally begins.


    TO BE CONTINUED¡­

 Chapter 2: The Regalis

    Along the way in the car, Kayla sometimes takes a glance at the person sitting opposite of her cautiously, he just keeps on putting on a smiling face that creeps her out. Kayla had never thought that the car that was picking her up would actually be this luxurious, it has been modified so well that it could even be called extravagant.


    When Kayla first sees the interior she is beyond speechless because this is actually the first time she has seen the car seats that are facing each other, she doesn¡¯t even know where to sit, it is Hugo who kindly points it to her.


    ¡®I don¡¯t even know if sitting like this is much better or him sitting beside me is less awkward, both are not very good¡¯, she sighed inwardly,


    She no longer pays attention to him, but her mother''s words keep on budging inside her head, so she can¡¯t shake off this uneasy feeling in her heart. Kayla started to examine the surroundings inside the car, she started to recall the plate number and kept on reciting it in her heart, in fear she would forget it, she also told her parents to take a picture, but she was not sure if they remember it or not, which is making her more anxious.


    When she took a glance again at the man in front of her, she noticed that even though his demeanor was quite mature, his face was still quite young, probably around his late thirties. With one look, Kayla knew that this person was a perfectionist, she couldn¡¯t even find one tiny place of his clothes that are wrinkled or untidy.


    After taking a closer look, she could see something on his wrist, something like a tattoo, a tattoo of a white bird with a pair of wings crossing, it looked quite aesthetic, but she couldn¡¯t really make out how it looked because it was too far. Kayla notices that she has been glaring at him too much, so she turns around to look outside.


    Kayla noticed that the road they were going was quite familiar to her, this road was heading to the airport. The man suddenly spoke, making Kayla a little startled,


    ¡°Lady Kayla don¡¯t need to be nervous, I understand that you are being vigilant towards me and that is a good thing. You only need to know that I won¡¯t bring any harm to you¡±


    Kayla slowly nodded and gave him a forced smile, seeing that he was being attentive to her, it would be rude if Kayla didn¡¯t respond anything to his kindness,


    ¡°I believe that Lady Kayla has brought your passport with you?¡±


    ¡°I do..  Are we going there by plane? I thought we were going there by car¡±, if they were going to board a plane, then why make the trouble to even pick her up? She could board the plane just fine alone and they could just pick her up when she arrived at the destination, but her question only makes him smile more widely,


    ¡°That will be taking a lot of time and not efficient, it is much better and comfortable for you to take an airplane there with a couple of other applicants that are also heading there right now¡±, hearing that there are other people who are being escorted(taken) like her, she suddenly feels a bit relax and the stress suddenly gone. Kayla is actually a slow person in the matter of making friends, she finds it quite difficult to keep a conversation going, which is why her circle is small but full of positive people, and that is what matters. So hearing the man saying that, Kayla just nodded her head silently.


    ***


    When they were approaching the airport Kayla prepared herself to get off, but she was stunned to find that they were actually heading to a road she had never known about, it directly took them inside the land of the airport, she looked at Hugo and he just smiles at her, Kayla suddenly doesn¡¯t want to ask him anything anymore,


    ¡®It seems that despite the small amount of graduates, they could still earn a lot of money¡ª Tsk, I forgot to ask Mom and Dad if they have asked about the tuition fee, did they even know that the school fee might probably lead them to bankruptcy? And even worse, have to sell their own organs just to let their daughter get into a nice school?¡¯, she sighs internally, ¡®How stupid could they become? Should I ask him now? It is still not too late right?¡¯, Kayla eyed him from the side and decided to give it a go,


    Kayla, ¡°Ehm, Mister Hugo, could I ask you something¡±, he nodded, ¡°How much is the tuition fee for a semester?¡±, Hugo suddenly laughed at her question,


    ¡°Don¡¯t need to worry, Miss Kayla, it is complimentary until you graduate, you don¡¯t even have to worry about your daily necessities either. Well, except if you wish to have other things that the school didn¡¯t provide you with, you are free to buy anything with your own money as long as it did not violate the rule¡±


    Kayla, ¡°A prestigious school with incredible services. Didn¡¯t even take money as tuition?¡±, Kayla clarified it once more and he nodded politely with a smile on his face,


    ¡®Could it be this place is a place for money laundering?¡¯, Kayla looked at him suspiciously and carefully examined his expression, but Kayla couldn¡¯t see anything except that smiling face and it already started to creep her out, so Kayla could only smiled at him and averted her gaze.


    ¡®If it is a place for money laundering, it all kind of makes sense, but why makes such a big scene for it? A scholarship if we fail the test? Then how much money are they making?'', the more Kayla thinks about it, the more she is baffled by the entire situation, there are a lot of questions in her heart that needed an answer, but she doesn¡¯t know who to ask. Could this matter really be that simple? And why are they choosing her out of so many people in the world, did they make a random vote, or did they have to search for their background first?


    The car stopped and Kayla silently took a glance from the window, it seemed that this was a place for the rich to board their own private jet, and this immediately made Kayla''s hair stand on end,


    ¡®Just what kind of school boarded their student in a private jet?! Should I ran away? It is still not too late right?!¡¯, Kayla''s heart thumped loudly and it felt like she was going to faint at any moment.


    Hugo got out of the car and assisted Kayla, she hesitated a moment before finally grabbing his arms and stepping out, she felt like her legs were about to give out at any moment, but in order to not embarrass herself, she had to pull herself together. When she got out, she felt a little relieved when she found that there were other people apart from her.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Kayla sees three people standing there waiting, two boys and a girl. The girl has a shoulders length soft wavy hair tied in accent braids, she wears a black browline glasses, she looks smart but her small figure makes her look fragile, and she seems scared right now, making the impression that she is timid and looking like a nerd, an attractive nerd.


    While the other two boys, one who looked like a typical normal student, while the other looked like a pampered boy with his feet stomping on the ground as if he was annoyed, Kayla silently sighed, she wanted to go and get her belongings, but Hugo said that he will handle it, so she could only walk towards them to join them.


    When Kayla approached them, one of the boys, the pampered one, seemed to have been captivated by Kayla''s graceful appearance, looked excited, and hurriedly extended his hand,


    ¡°Hi! My name is Ruben, you are also dragged here huh?¡±,


    Kayla seemed to be unwilling to grab his hand, but it seemed like she was being rude when another had the initiative to introduce himself first, so she grabbed his hand swiftly and introduced herself before immediately changing her attention to the other girl, extending her hand to her, Kayla could see that person eyes suddenly beaming in happiness,


    ¡°Clara, Clara Davidson. Do.. do you know where they are taking us? Why are we taken to this place?!¡±, she said freaking out, Ruben who hear her whining just scoff,


    Ruben, ¡°Didn''t they self-announce themselves as a prestigious university that no one could even compare to them? Isn''t this what they were supposed to do to match up with their status? What is so weird about it?¡±, he rolls his eyes, he seems to be very confident about his belief, or should we say, he believes that someone as highly like him should get this kind of treatment.


    Kayla doesn''t even pay attention to him and gently shakes her head, ¡°I also didn¡¯t know anything, let''s just see, if they are using an airplane, then there must be a record, they won¡¯t be able to do anything to us¡±,


    Clara hurriedly nodded in agreement and seemed to relax a little, the other man also extended his hand to her,


    ¡°Ferdinand Lambert¡±


    ¡°Kayla Sterendelle¡±, Kayla extended her hand to grab his, and the both of them just nodded awkwardly.


    ¡°Alright, Miss and Mister, it is time to get on the airplane¡±, originally they thought that they would just board a commercial airplane, except that they were boarding in a special way, but when they saw the private jet, they couldn¡¯t believe their eyes, and Clara nearly cried, she clutched Kayla arm tightly,


    ¡°Are they really here just to take us to school? What type of school uses a private jet to take the student to the school?!¡±, she whispers worriedly for Kayla to hear. In order to reassure her, Kayla pats her hand gently, but she herself is also trying to calm her beating heart down, it is not because of the excitement, but an awful feeling that keeps on creeping into her heart.


    Ruben excitedly climbed up to it, he seemed to be proud and pulled out his phone to take a selfie with the jet, he had completely forgotten about his annoyance and anger towards his parents who made such a rushed decision to suddenly enroll him in such a deserted and boring school according to him. But now that he has seen something so cool, he feels that this school isn''t half bad, and for him to be able to enroll, he thought that he was somewhat special. Since how many people would be able to fly on a private jet in their life, it could be an experience that is hard to forget and boost to others.


    ***


    Kayla became quiet after they boarded the jet, she kept on looking at her hometown that become more and more far away from the sights, she sighed internally and took a glance behind her seat where Hugo and the other three people seemed to bring each one of them here. Hugo who noticed his glance looked at her with a smile, Kayla quickly glanced away and looked back at the window, she decided to just sleep while the other enjoyed the services given to them.


    ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, we are about to arrive in ten minutes¡±, hearing those words, Kayla immediately fluttered open her eyes and looked out to the window, she was shocked to see what she was seeing right now, the location of the school was so high that they are actually so close to the cloud, there is a big mountain that surrounds the building, like a place where fairy will exist.


    Each building is separated by a vast beautiful garden, but one that really captures their attention the most is the center part of the land, a building that is so magnificent and majestic, classical French architectures that show the grandiosity and elegance, the beautifully craved detailed and sculpture, the floor to sky windows that looks extravagant, Kayla doesn''t even know how to describe it in words, just by looking at it, she thought that this is not a school, but a castle!


    ¡®Just how huge is this place?¡¯


    ***


    They landed in an empty space and they had to take a car that directly took them in front of the gates of the castle-like building. When they got off, the gates looked gigantic and beautifully craved door plaque with a a name hung up with golden color, ¡°The Regalis¡±


    The moment they walked inside, they could smell the fragrance of the flowers and the grass, the wind coming was quite cool and fresh too. The more they walk closer to the castle, the more they were mesmerized by it, it feels kind of ethereal.


    ¡°It is like a museum in here¡±, Ruben silently stated in awed. It indeed feels like a place with a lot of history.


    They have to step on the big long staircase before they finally arrived at the entrance, the door is so huge that it feels impossible to be opened by one person. The moment they inch closer, the door suddenly opened by itself, making them gasp in awed,


    ¡®Why do I suddenly feel like I have gone back in time?¡¯, Kayla silently thought, the atmosphere here felt like they were in the traditional era, the decoration and atmosphere felt like so, but when she saw tablets and CCTV lying around does she finally sure they are indeed in modern time.


    The first thing that greeted them was a long corridor with chandeliers hanging above along the way, there were a lot of articles, pictures, and tabloids posted around the wall, seems to be the history of the student, staff, and teacher who once came here and become the only trace of evidence that they once were a part of the school.


    They kept on walking inside and they could see a very bright light coming from the end of the long corridor, seems to be a very high and vast hall, and they could see a crystal fountain in the middle of it. Just as they thought that they were about to catch a glimpse of the magnificent hall, Hugo suddenly led them to turn to the right, they were heading to another corridor, but this time it was an open space with an open roof with a small garden in it, Kayla suddenly thought that this is a good place to just sit down and close her eyes, enjoying the sunlight and the gentle wind flowing through your hair.


    They could see the building opposite it, but the window was closed with a curtain, Kayla couldn''t help but think that it was kind of comforting for the people up there who could study and even look at the small garden here.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡±, Ferdinand suddenly asked, they seemed to be too dazzled by the magnificent of the building that they were just blindly following Hugo around,


    Hugo, ¡°This place will only be available for you if you have been accepted as a part of The Regalis. Right now, we are heading towards another building where you will reside for the next three months¡±


    When Kayla heard that she was confused, ¡®Another building? Then why are we here?¡¯


    Hugo led them down the stairs, Hugo had to tap his card for the big door to open, and they were shocked to see a black modern train in it, Hugo tapped his card again and led them inside the train,


    ¡°Walking to the building is possible, but isn''t using the train much easier and efficient?¡±, he explains when Kayla looks at him with an astonishing expression. For Kayla, this seems to be an effective solution, but kind of a waste of resources.


    Kayla silently looked at the train stop written above the door, there were actually four stops they could make, the main building, the residence, the art building, and the academic building. She frowned after seeing it,


    ¡®Four stops, but when on the plane I saw five buildings, the four are located quite close while one is located quite far away behind the lake, could it be that it is an abandoned building?¡¯


    As Kayla thinks of this they finally arrive at the place they will be spending the next three months in, to see if they can change their fate and be accepted to this mysterious school or have to be sent home with broken hearts.


    TO BE CONTINUED¡­

 Chapter 3: A Small Test

    The moment they got out, they could see that this place was much more modernistic compared to the main buildings, this place is a mixture of modern and classical aesthetic design, and the security here is also much tighter compared to the main building. Hugo turns around and looks at them, ¡°I can only escort you until here, this is the only place where you can roam around freely, but remember don¡¯t get to the other side of this building, that is where the undergraduate residents live, you may not go and bother them. When you get accepted, you will be able to see it for yourself¡±, he kindly said and walked away.


    Another man is already standing at the end of the stairs waiting for them, he seems to be wearing the same suit as Hugo, but an improvised version of it. That person taps his card with the addition of fingerprint to the tab, and the big wide door opens to reveal a two-level hall, it seems that they are coming from the left part of the hall, there is a big chandelier hanging from above, lighting up the whole hall. In the middle of it, there is a very beautifully crafted circle marble floor, and in the middle of the room are stairs leading to the second floor. This place looks much like a dance hall in a classical movie, but there is also a hint of modern structure in it, making it look exquisite.


    Clara and the others couldn''t help but drop their jaw to the floor after looking at the scenery in front of them, Kayla also couldn''t help but feel like she was inside a movie, ready to prepare for a banquet. There is something else that also catches their attention, another group of people consisting of around fifty to sixty people standing around the hall. Kayla had never thought that there were so many people here, those people also looked at them curiously, it seemed that while waiting some of them had gotten into groups,


    ¡°Welcome new students, my name is Liam, we are glad to finally be able to meet you here, a warm welcome to all of you. Please stand in line, you will be designated to your own room now, please come out when your name is called. Remember, we will meet again tomorrow morning at exactly seven o¡¯clock on the dot, have fun¡±, that voice is coming from the top of the stairs, a man wearing the same uniform as the person taking them inside, he is smiling at them with a flirtatious smile with his head slightly tipping to the side, he seemed to be feeling quite excited, but somehow Kayla thought that that smile had a lot of meaning in them, Kayla didn''t even realize when that person appeared at the top of the stairs,


    He kept on calling name after name, Kayla looked in the direction they were heading, it seemed to be an elevator, but what made Kayla confused was why they had to take turns since there were three elevators available, but they were only using one in the middle, and they only let five people in one a time.


    ¡®Why does it take a long time for the elevator to arrive?¡¯, it is supposed to be a short wait, but they have been waiting for fifteen minutes but the first group still hasn¡¯t arrived,


    ¡®A group of people has to take around ten to fifteen minutes, even a high-rise building doesn''t take such a long time, or does it?¡¯, Kayla suddenly didn¡¯t feel so sure anymore, ¡®But I didn¡¯t see any high building around here¡¯


    ¡°Aaron Andersen, Stella Lywen, Jonas Schmitz, Steven Russo, Kayla Sterendelle¡±


    When her name got called after who knows how long, her heart suddenly skipped a beat, Clara on her side looked at her anxiously, so Kayla said something to reassure her,


    ¡°Let¡¯s meet again tomorrow?¡±


    Clara nodded hurriedly and Kayla walked towards the elevator with the other four. When Kayla got in, she was together with unknown people, three boys, and one girl, they looked quite impressive and very fashionable in high-end clothes, one of the men wearing a short sleeve blazer combined with a white high-neck t-shirt, and he had a shadow perm hairstyle, looking very stylist, his name is Aaron


    Another man is wearing a simple t-shirt with ripped jeans, he has a short curly quiff hairstyle, looking quite grumpy, his name is Jonas


    The girl is wearing a knee-length flower pattern dress, her wavy hair tied in half ponytail, his name is Stella,


    The last person gives quite an impression to Kayla, he is wearing a sleeveless black shirt that reveals his athletic figure alongside with black baggy jeans, he has a tattoo on his left arm reaching to his chest, a tattoo of a rose flower with its branch and leaf, and there is a Chinese word of ¡®¾²(Jing)¡¯,  meaning calm or quiet that is being engulfed among the branch, leaves and flowers. His overall appearance makes him look unapproachable and dangerous, but Kayla feels like this person is not that dangerous, just unfriendly and quiet.


    Kayla silently looks at that tattoo and thinks, ¡®What word is that? Silent? Calmness?¡¯, she learned a bit about Chinese words in school, but she couldn¡¯t really differentiate them, all of the words looked familiar to her.


    Kayla looked up at him and their eyes met, Kayla immediately averted her gaze and muttered a small sorry, but that person didn¡¯t reply and the both of them just stood there awkwardly. Not long after they got on, the elevator suddenly shook and stopped in place, Kayla who didn¡¯t have any preparation for the sudden impact swayed and almost fell to her knees, that person grabbed her arm to prevent her from losing her footing,


    ¡°Thank you¡±, Kayla mutters and he nods his head and immediately let go,


    Jonas, ¡°What the hell is going on! Tsk! I should have known, such a barren place like this will only be good if you only see it from the outside¡±, he sounded pissed, even Stella clicked her tongue and stomp her feet in anger.


    The elevator lights suddenly went out, Kayla had looked at the display before and she remembered clearly that they were on the fourth floor. Stella lightly screamed while Aaron who seemed to not lose his cool opened his phone flashlight and inspected the area, he pressed the emergency button and it light up,The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Jason, ¡°So.. we just wait?¡±, he asked dumbly, Aaron only gave him a dull glance as if he was saying something stupid, Jason seemed to be offended and turned his head away in displeased. At this moment, Kayla suddenly sensed something behind her and turned around, but she found nothing, Steven who stood near her saw her weird gestures and asked her what was wrong,


    ¡°I thought.. I sense something behind me¡±


    ¡°Could you not say something like that!!¡±, Stella sounded pissed, Kayla didn''t reply to her, that feeling just now feels so realistic that her heart started to thump loudly, the elevator suddenly shakes, and Kayla quickly told them to squat down, they immediately do as they told, it seems that they also have sense something amiss.


    ¡°What the hell is going on! What kind of prank is this?! I will be sure to sue you!¡±, Stella shouted angrily but her voice sounded frightened, Kayla looked at her, ¡®At least she could still think logically¡¯, she took a look at Jason who was already pulling his hair frantically and had started to cursing and saying all sort of things Kayla doesn''t even understand,


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have come to this barren place no matter what my parents said!¡±, Jason wailed, Aaron told him to shut up, the elevator door suddenly opened, revealing a dark place, they couldn''t see anything at all, it was as if it is an endless darkness. When you stared too long in a dark place you will feel like that darkness is consuming you, you could feel that that darkness is slowly approaching you.


    Kayla immediately closes her eyes when she sees the darkness approaching them from the floor, ¡®Kayla.. calm yourself down¡¯, after taking a few breaths, she opens her eyes again. Aaron seems to be the first one to regain his composure, he uses his phone flashlight to light up the path, but his light can only light up a small part of the area, there is still nothing but darkness,


    Kayla reached out to the side of her backpack and grabbed her water bottle, planning to use it as a bat, preparing herself for whatever might come. Steven suddenly extended his hand to her, Kayla looked at his hand and back to his face, understanding what he meant, Kayla gave him her water bottle,


    ¡°Hey, close your flashlight, you are just exposing our location¡±, Steven said to Aaron.


    Aaron silently closed his phone flashlights, and now they were completely in the darkness,  the only light they could see is a small red dot of the emergency button. Kayla didn¡¯t know what Steven was planning, but it seemed that he was doing something, Kayla once again felt something behind her back and turned around to look, there was a chill on her neck, but that place is supposed to be nothing except for the elevator wall, she squints her eyes in order to look at it more carefully, she could feel a movement beside her,


    ¡°You saw something?¡±, Steven asked. Kayla shook her head, realizing that he probably couldn''t see it Kayla replied,


    ¡°No, but.. I just got chills from my neck, as if something just passed by¡±, she whispers. Stella suddenly let out a frightened cry in front of them, Jonas got angry and yelled at her,


    ¡°Why are you being so annoying! What are you screaming for!¡±


    Stella also gets upset by his harsh words, ¡°Open your eyes, you idiot! There is something in front of us!¡±


    Aaron, ¡°What did you just see?¡±


    Stella turned scared, her voice trembling a little, ¡°I don''t know, I think I just saw a shadow pass by¡±


    Kayla once again felt something approaching from behind her, this time, she was sure and kept on staring at that blackness, she decided to reach out her hands to the darkness, but when she couldn''t touch what she was looking for, her whole body immediately went cold and her heart drop,


    ¡®The wall.. has disappeared!¡¯


    Just at this time, a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist, Kayla''s heart skipped a beat, her reflex was much faster than her brain working, so without thinking she grabbed that hand and shouted,


    ¡°I have caught it!¡±, but that thing was fast and strong, it immediately pulled itself away and Kayla couldn''t do anything but let go, if not she would also be dragged along with it. On her side, she could feel a movement and the sound of a *clang* are made, Kayla heart who was still beating hard and dropping cold sweat, mustered up all of her strength and asked with her slightly trembling voice,


    ¡°Did you hit it?¡±


    ¡°No, I think it got away¡±, Steven voiced, Stella already sobbing while Jonas panicked and curled up in the corner, Kayla also sweated, the thing that made her scared was because she felt that the hand that was grabbing her had a long nail. Stella suddenly launched towards Kayla with a loud scream, ¡°My legs! My legs!¡±


    Aaron immediately opened his flashlight and they could see a shadow pass by, Kayla quickly got up and aimed at that thing, throwing what she was holding toward that black thing hard, it seemed to hit that thing before falling to the ground with a *shatter* sound, it seems to be made of glasses, that thing suddenly let out a yelp,


    ¡°Ouch!! What the hell?!¡±


    ¡®Did I just get a jackpot??¡¯, Kayla just aimed with her feelings and threw at it blindly, she didn''t know that it would really hit something! The lights went on and they have to close their eyes to adjust to the light, when they open their eyes, they could see a person standing there, Kayla turn around and the wall has also appeared again, she looked at it with confusion,


    ¡°Can¡¯t we senior play with you a little?! What is with throwing things!!¡±, that person grumbles, he is rubbing his head aggressively, he is wearing a sky blue hoodie and a short, he looks kind of charming, almost the same height as Kayla, except that he is looking quite angry right now.


    ¡°We should be the one to ask! What the hell are you doing right now?!¡±, Jonas roars, they don''t know when he got up, but it seems that he has realized that what he was doing before is kind of embarrassing.


    That person''s face became more uglier, they could seem to see his veins bulging in anger, Kayla come forwards and bow her head slightly,


    ¡°I am sorry.. Senior. I thought you were.. a ghost¡±, she said the last words carefully, but her eyes didn''t tremble at all, it was clear and bright as she looked directly at him, that person looked at Kayla and only gave her a smile.


    ¡°Who are you¡±, Aaron asked frankly, but that person didn''t seem to be interested, he turned around while saying,


    ¡°You will know sooner or later, go to your own floor¡±, the elevator door slowly closed, and the five of them could only look at the closing door blankly, they couldn''t even comprehend what had just happened,


    ¡°The hell?! It is not even funny!¡±, Stella exclaims and huffed. Aaron looks at Kayla and asked,


    ¡°What did you throw just now?


    Kayla open her mouth and close it again, it feels kind of weird to say it, ¡°My.. perfumes?¡±


    He nodded and extended his hand, ¡°Aaron Andersen, nice to meet you¡±, Kayla grab his hand and exchanged their greetings. The moment the elevator stopped again, they were on the eight floor, they got out and were in awed, the setting was like in a five-star hotel, the lights and the soft carpet, even the freshness of the perfume in the air. There are five keys placed on a table with a keychain of their name.


    Jonas and Stella took their keys and scurried to search for their room, Steven also nonchalantly grabbed his keys and started searching, Kayla took her keys and flipped the keychains, she could see a number behind it, 824, there were also the room signs hang on the wall, Stella looks at Aaron,


    ¡°Mine is on the left¡±, he said


    ¡°Mine is on the right¡±, Kayla replied, and they both said their goodbye and go on their own way.


    TO BE CONTINUED¡­

 Chapter 4: Beautiful Scenery

    Kayla kept on walking while scanning the number in each door, at the end of the long corridor there was another road for her to turn right, that is when at the very corner of the floor she finally found her room, on the left side, and the second from the last one. As she stood in front of her door, she looked at the room plaque and sighed, just then, she could hear a very loud bang coming from the direction she was coming before, the sound was very dimmed, but because it was quiet, she could hear clearly that that is the voice of Jason, it seems that he is throwing a tantrum right now.


    Not long after, she could hear the sound of arguing and scolding coming from that direction, even some of the doors she walked past by has open their door and peeked their head out. One of them suddenly murmured something before he slammed the door, but Kayla heard it very clearly,


    ¡®What does he mean by new people? Aren''t we all new? Or does not?!¡¯


    The sound became more clearer and Kayla couldn''t help but get curious and went there to take a look.


    ¡°What the hell is this place?! Doesn¡¯t even have a signal! I wanted to contact my parents!! I am going back home!!! Who is the one in charge?! I wanted to talk to them!!¡±, Jason cursed and kicked the elevator door hard, making a loud bang. Many people have gotten out of the room and Kayla never thought that most of the room here had already been occupied,


    ¡°There comes another mama boy¡±


    ¡°Such a loser¡±


    ¡°What if the guards come again?!¡±


    Kayla is hearing all sorts of emotions, anger, indifference, anxiety, and some laughing words from the people around her, but one of them eventually stands up and kicks Jason to his senses,


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you already read the terms when you came here?! What are you wailing about?¡±, the one speaking is a boy, he is around Aaron high and has a gentle-looking face, but his eyes say everything, his cold and sharp expression makes it seem like he is someone who has been hit by the harsh reality of the world.


    ¡°Who knows that it will be such a boring, dull, stuffy sh*tty place like this!!¡±, Jason scowls.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t even come here for a day, how could you know that this place is dull? Overreacting¡±, one of the guys said and slammed his door shut, many people also got uninterested and went back to their own room, and the floor once again went quiet. Jason seemed to feel embarrassed and angry at the same time, when Jason wanted to throw another tantrum, Kayla couldn¡¯t see it anymore and talked,


    ¡°Jason isn¡¯t it? Just now on the elevator you once said that ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have agreed to come here no matter what¡±. Then that means you have somehow agreed to your parent''s demand, or you are wishing something in return from them. You backing out now, wouldn¡¯t it seems like you are a coward?¡±


    ¡°You..!!¡±, Jason wanted to get angry again, but Kayla''s words somehow stabbed to his chest, so he stomped his feet, went back to his own room, and slammed the door hard. Kayla sighed and the man who scolded Jason before approached Kayla,


    ¡°There are also some people who made a scene yesterday, the staff here have tried to persuade them, some of them have come to a peace with their inner struggle, and some who did not will be taken away by them. If he keeps on doing so, he is also going to be taken by them¡±


    ¡°Taken away?¡±, Kayla asked confused.


    That person just nodded, ¡°I don¡¯t know where they were taken, and I also didn''t know if they have been released or not. Since yesterday we haven''t been allowed to leave this floor, but since then, no one has dared to utter a word again¡ª I thought you might want to know¡±, he said and walked away to his room, Kayla still wanted to ask something but he already closed the door. In the corner of her eyes, she could see Aaron who was standing opposite of the corridor, their eyes silently met,


    ¡°Go back and take a rest first¡±, he said, Kayla nodded and walked back to her room. She doesn''t know why, but she thinks that Aaron is quite scary, she thinks that he has his own kind of thoughts that are hard to read and unreachable, but at the same time he also gives off an aura that he will be able to solve any riddle given to him.


    Kayla stood in front of her room and took out the key from her pocket, she stared at it for a long time before she inserted the keys in and twisted it, Kayla didn¡¯t quite understand why this place was still using keys when there were already advanced technology installed anywhere in the whole world,


    ¡®Do they want to keep the original aesthetic feeling?¡¯


    The moment she opens the door, she is being welcomed by a strong smell of disinfectant and a white bright color interior, the sky has started to get dark and the lights of the room have already been turned on, contrasting with the cozy light from the corridor. The interior is quite simple actually, a bed, a study desk with a computer and a tablet, a nightstand, a small wardrobe, a bathroom, and a balcony. Kayla actually thought that this place would be like a jail, but the room is actually quite nice. Even her luggage had been put properly beside the bed, she checked to see if there was anything missing and let out a sigh of relief, she opened the balcony door to let the odor out and flopped down the bed, she was surprised to find it quite soft and comfortable, even it still have that factory smell attached to the bed,


    ¡®This doesn''t seem to be a used bed, do they change to a new one? That couldn''t be possible right?¡¯


    Kayla turned around to lay on her side, ¡®From what that person said they have been here since yesterday. Taken away? Does that mean if we don''t behave there will be a certain punishment for us?¡¯. The more Kayla thought about it, the more she felt restless, she took her phone out and looked at the time, it was already half past six in the evening, but the sky outside was already dark. She opened her phone and wanted to check her messaging app, but she realized that it didn''t have any signal,


    ¡®So that is why Jason is mad, is there really no wifi here to use? If that is so, how could all these people still remain so calm when they couldn''t even contact the outside world?¡¯, Kayla looked at the table and found desserts like cookies and candy, she looked deeply at the computer and tablet, and she got up and walks towards the desk, Kayla hesitated for a moment before picking it up and the screen light up showing the photo of a school on the screen wallpaper, what catches on her attention is the notification on the messaging app,Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡®What is this? A tablet left from the last student? Or are they giving this for us to use?¡¯


    Kayla looked at the corner right of the screen and it was already connected to the wifi, the more Kayla looked at it, the more she was sure that this was a school property that was given for them to use, since what kind of person would use the school picture as their wallpaper, so out of curiosity, she opens up the messaging app, the interior is familiar yet also feels unfamiliar, it seems to be a software that they made themselves instead of the usual one that Kayla ever use or see, it only has a message from one person that is saved with name, ¡°Mom and Dad¡±


    Kayla''s head stopped working, she couldn¡¯t comprehend what the hell was happening, she opened it and read it, no matter how she read it, the tone was so familiar to her, so she braved herself and called the number, but it couldn''t get connected, only the messaging app was working, so she could only texted them,


    ¡°Kayla! Finally, we are worried to death!! Are you alright? Have you arrived?¡±, another text pop up


    ¡°I.. am alright. No! How could you know how to contact this number?¡±


    ¡°Before you left, they left a package for us, it is a tablet to contact you¡±


    Kayla is in a daze, ¡®So does that mean we could only contact our parents using this device?¡¯


    ¡°It is good that we know you are safe, take a rest and we will get in touch¡±, Kayla texted them again, but they didn''t reply to her anymore, this made Kayla feels a bit confused, but she decided to set it aside first.


    ¡®So it really is for us to use¡¯, Kayla looked at the tablet in her hands and sighed, she then noticed a piece of paper that was put below the tablet just now, she picked it up and read it,


    ¡°Regalis University,


    Dear student, we are very honored to have you hear and warmly welcome you to our school. Please do not leave your living quarters without notice, and all students have to be in their own room before ten o¡¯clock, there will be a further announcement when needed


    Sincerely,


    Head of Administration


    Ronan Woods¡±


    ¡®Ronan Woods.. ¡ªWhat does it even mean to not leave the living quarters? Does it mean this room or this building?¡¯, the rule is actually very easy to understand, they just stated that they couldn¡¯t go outside without their permission. With such a short and carelessly made notice, Kayla couldn''t help but think that they seemed to be unprepared, or it could also mean that the rule they stated could change according to the situation. Kayla didn''t know which it was, it felt kind of uncomfortable, and something kept on bothering her, she didn''t know what it was, it just felt very irritating.


    Kayla walked towards the balcony and looked outside, the view she got was quite nice, she could see the main building if she looked to the left, and when she turned her head to the right, at the farthest land, she could see a lake and cute plump sheep living there, the water is very blue and clear, behind that is an old building, at least for Kayla it looks like so. She could see foliage swarming all around the building, it was too far away and too dark for Kayla to see the details, but at a glance, that building had the vibe of the main building, but painted in wooden color, just like the main building it is also a castle-like building.


    Kayla pulled out her phone, and wanted to take a picture when she saw a bruise on her wrist, she looked at it and couldn''t help thinking about the things happening on the elevator, it doesn''t hurt to touch, just leaving a bruise, probably because Kayla skin is sensitive, so it easily left a mark,


    ¡°A prank? Why does it feel so real then?¡±, Kayla mutters lowly, she looks at her hand with her brows furrowed,


    ¡®Wait! Does that mean, all of us have also experienced the same thing? Should I have asked that person just now?¡¯, she wanted to leave but stopped on her feet after two steps, ¡®Wouldn''t it be rude to suddenly go and knock on someone else door? There might be some opportunity for me to ask him tomorrow¡¯.


    Kayla let out a deep sigh and rubbed her pounding head, a sudden voice coming from outside made her heart skip a beat, she looked towards the direction of the door, it seemed to be a voice coming from a speaker,


    ¡°Dear students, it is time for your dinner to be served, please come out and have a pleasant time enjoying your food¡±


    The voice was from a man, and Kayla thought the playful tone of the voice sounded familiar, like the sound of that person Liam who called their names on the hall before. Kayla took a peek at the peephole before she decided to open the door a little, she could hear footsteps from outside, so Kayla also decided to get out from the room. She carefully followed them out, and now she found that there was actually a room opposite the elevator on the left side, Kayla was a little surprised because she hadn''t noticed that room before,


    ¡®Isn''t that a wall just now?¡¯


    The room is around the size of her own room. At first, Kayla thought that it would just be a simple dinner where they would only be given one set of lunch boxes per person, but it is actually kind of like a buffet, including an appetizer, soup, salad, main dish, and three kinds of dessert. Kayla had never thought that they would treat them this well.


    ¡®This is the reason why he said he has never left the floor since he came here, they already provide what you need here. Since that Liam said that we will gather tomorrow morning, does that mean we are the last batch of people to arrive?¡¯


    Now that she is able to look at the person staying on this floor properly, they all look like someone who won¡¯t start a fight unless it is necessary, they all look fairly refined and smart. She waited a little far away to let the crowd disperse first. Kayla took the plate and grabbed some meat and salad with a few nice-looking desserts and looked at her surroundings, she was quite amazed with the idea of the foldable chair and table that could be hung to the wall, so they just needed to let it down when in used and hang it back up after they are done.


    When she looked around and finally found the one she was searching for, she approached him and greeted him,


    ¡°Hi, do you mind if I sit beside you?¡±


    He shakes his head and Kayla sits down beside him, Kayla carefully takes a glance at him and decides to introduce herself first,


    ¡°My name is Kayla, may I know yours?¡±


    ¡°Henry. You.. wanted to know what happened yesterday?¡±, he asked and Kayla felt a little embarrassed and nodded gently,


    ¡°If you don''t mind¡±


    ¡°Nothing much actually, most people that I met yesterday are just normal student who likes to become their own heroes, have no fear, and think that fist and their loud voices could solve basically anything. But at least some of them still have a brain to stop when they saw things are not good, but some who didn''t have that got taken away, probably for disciplinary or something¡±, Henry said nonchalantly,


    "Don''t you find it weird?", a voice suddenly come from beside her and Kayla was surprised, she hadn''t known since when Aaron had been sitting beside her, listening to their conversation, "If they didn''t agree to come here, they could just tell their parents, what makes them come this far and then make a commotion here?", Aaron continues


    ¡°Probably because they were forced here by their parents? Our parents probably thinks this place is good since they wear and drive such an extravagant items when coming to our home¡±, Henry said calmly


    Aaron, ¡°Oh? So you are saying you are being forced to come here?¡±


    Henry shakes his head, ¡°Aiming for the scholarship, but if I can get into this university, it doesn¡¯t seem half bad. It might be embarrassing to say, but the food and decoration here are something I have never tasted and seen in my life before¡±


    Kayla also nodded in agreement, you sure won''t be able to see this scene anywhere else. Kayla suddenly snapped from her daydream and remembered what she had been meaning to ask ¡°That.. I was wondering, the.. prank from the elevator, do you also get it? What is the reaction of the people around you?¡±


    Henry, ¡°Nothing much, people basically forgot about it, since isn¡¯t it normal for Senior to do pranks and have fun towards their junior?¡±,


    Kayla is stunned, so basically, the whole thing has been ruled out as a ¡°prank¡±, and everybody has literally forgotten about it, she feels a little embarrassed for holding it for so long.


    ¡°What? Do you think something is wrong with it?¡±, Henry asked and Kayla silently shook her head,


    ¡°No, nothing is wrong¡±, Kayla let out a big sigh and Aaron who had seen it smiled from the side, he asked her what was wrong,


    ¡°Now thinking about it, maybe some of their parents are just stupid like mine¡±, the more Kayla thinks about it, the more she feels embarrassed,


    ¡°What happened?¡±, Henry asked curiously


    ¡°They just signed it without looking at it properly, they are being blinded by the sweet words they utters¡±, Kayla sighed and both of them let out a smile. After they had finished eating, they went back to their own room to get some rest and continued the conversation tomorrow. Kayla had a nice long bath and flopped down to the bed, it had been a long day for her, and with the cozy bed, she soon fell asleep soundly, waiting for another day to come.


    TO BE CONTINUED...

 Chapter 5: Commotion In Dining Hall

    In still a sleepy state, Kayla could barely hear a whispering sound, she immediately opened her eyes and sat up, she took the phone and looked at the time, it was six in the morning, she could hear the speaker ringing outside, it seems to be a morning call, they were calling them out,


    ¡°Please prepare yourself and go down to the hall to reunite¡±


    ¡®So what they meant for seven o¡¯clock is exactly seven o¡¯clock on the dot, not seven o¡¯clock waking up¡¯, Kayla let out a sigh of relief, if the speaker hadn¡¯t rung, she might have overslept, she had been feeling tired yesterday and accidentally slept without turning on the alarm, she closed her eyes trying to gather back her soul, but suddenly she could feel her hair went up on the back of her neck, she quickly turned to take a look, but there is nothing there, she scanned the surrounding and found nothing.


    Kayla was already fully awake by now, she got up and walked to the bathroom to have a quick bath, she just wore simple clothes and got out, not forgetting to lock her door back and keep the key in her pocket properly. When she walks along the corridor, it seems that not many people have gotten out of their bed, since it is very quiet and kind of scary when she walks alone.


    Kayla''s heart almost dropped when she suddenly saw a man standing at the elevator, she didn''t expect that someone would have also waken up, but when she saw what she was wearing she came to realize that this person was only a staff,


    ¡°Can you please show me your key¡±


    Kayla hesitated for a moment and took out her keys and showed it to him,


    ¡°Could you please flip it back¡±


    Kayla then realized that this person wanted to note her name, so she showed it to him. He nodded and wrote it down on his tablet, Kayla looked at him in confusion,


    ¡°Would you like to went down first?¡±


    ¡®There are still around forty minutes to go, but I think it won''t be a bad idea to come earlier'', so she nodded to him and he pressed the button, that is when Kayla noticed that the button was not like the button she usually sees, it has only one button, there was no button of up and down, but she shrugs it off thinking nothing much of it.


    While waiting for the elevator to come, someone also came, Kayla could hear the footsteps, it was Steven, he was wearing almost the same thing he had worn yesterday, if it was not for the additional design, Kayla might have thought he was wearing the same thing as yesterday. He silently nodded at Kayla which surprised her very much, he didn''t look like someone who would greet first, so Kayla returned his greeting with a small nod and smile, the both of them stood awkwardly in front of the elevator.


    The ride down was extremely nerve-wracking for Kayla, she had never thought that she would go down together with him, even though he didn''t look like someone who would just hit you without reason, but Kayla couldn''t help but hold her breath when she was with him. They go on their separate ways when they arrive at the hall. The elevator is located at the back of the staircase, so you have to walk out to see the vast and beautiful hall. It was still pretty early and there were not a lot of people in the hall, probably around the same as last night, but all of these faces felt unfamiliar to her,


    Kayla found a corner to hide and observe her surroundings, the hall was indeed big and luxurious, there was a door located on each side of the wall at the very back, from the looks of it, there might be a couple of room before them which Kayla couldn''t see where the entrance was.


    It was six forty-five and the hall began to be surrounded by a lot of people, Kayla also noticed that they had opened up three of the elevators not like yesterday, but the things that made Kayla surprised is because she had never thought that they would bring so many people here,


    ¡®I have counted it before, the number of graduates every year has never exceeded three hundred students, could it mean that just for the selection, they have to send half of us home?¡¯


    Kayla could sense that someone was approaching her, when she lifted her head up to take a look, she could see Aaron was approaching her, Kayla was not sure if it was just her imagination or not, so she dared not to recklessly greet him, to avoid the awkwardness if the person he seeks is not her, but when he already smiled at her and their eyes had met, Kayla couldn''t possibly ignore him anymore, so Kayla give him a simple greeting,


    Aaron, ¡°You are quite early¡±


    Kayla nodded, ¡°I hear the speaker ringing, so instead of staying in the room, I think it will be a good idea to analyze first¡ª You.. have a good eye¡±, actually Kayla had seen Aaron getting off the elevator and directly walk to her way, at first she thought that it might just be a coincidence, but it doesn''t seem to be so.


    ¡°Your hair is quite eye-catching¡±, Aaron''s tone sounded like teasing.


    ¡°Your hair is also.. good¡±, Kayla replied awkwardly, hearing that, Aaron could only chuckle,


    ¡°You don''t have to reply if you don''t want to. ¡ª Unexpectedly, there are a lot of people huh¡±, Aaron said and Kayla nodded. There are different kinds of people standing in here, innocent-looking ones, the hooligans, the high-end clothes, just by one look you can see there are a lot of types of people and backgrounds gathered here. There are still many people who put on a sour face, probably because they still have not truly accepted their fate, Kayla also feels funny herself, how could she unknowingly be pulled in by her parents so easily just like this? They don''t even know what they have sent their daughter to.


    When the clock was precisely at seven o¡¯clock, the clock hanging above the staircase rang, Kayla hadn¡¯t taken a good look at it before, but looking at it now, the clock was also an antique, the door that is located at the end of the room on the right side suddenly slammed open, revealing a lady wearing a very tight violet classical dress with heavy glasses hanging on her nose, her hand is holding a purple fan embroidered with gold design, and the other hand is holding a glass of wine, when she sees not that many people were paying attention to her, her eyes turn sharp and she puts the whistle hanging from her neck to her mouth and blow it hard, it makes a painfully shrieking sound that stab the ears,


    ¡°Follow me¡±, she simply stated and all the people swarmed towards where she was heading. Kayla could see a bright light coming from that room, on the right side there were floor-to-sky windows that let the warm and cozy morning lights shine through the room, and on the left side there were a lot of posters of people wearing chef gowns with their name and achievement they made, but Kayla didn¡¯t recognize even one of them,


    ¡®Probably because I have never been interested in this topic¡¯


    But what makes many people awed is the bottles of alcohol that are organized very well on the cabinet, there are many types of alcohol being displayed, whisky, tequila, wine, brandy, champagne, rum, they have basically everything. For people who like drinking, they might be interested and see this as a treasure, but for Kayla who rarely drinks, she doesn¡¯t seem too interested, but one thing she knows is that, all of this doesn¡¯t looks to be cheap.


    Kayla could hear some before gasping in awed when they walked inside the other room, when Kayla stepped inside the room, she also felt her whole body shiver from the sight, a rectangular shape hall, on the right was a crystal clear glass that led to the back garden, but sadly it is unavailable for them, on the left is where the cooker and the food are displayed, just like last night, it is buffet like style, except now there are a lot of different kind of food, when Kayla sees it, she finds it hard to believe. And at the end of the room, you have got a theater-like screen and speaker, with an analog clock hanging above. Chandeliers hanging above with walls and pillars delicately crafted with a hint of gold foil, even though it is not as grand as the hall, for dining hall to be this luxurious, it is hard to find anywhere,


    ¡°You have got two hours for you to dine. Not taking more than you can eat, not making a mess in the dining room, no talking while eating, and make sure you clean after yourself up when you are done!¡±, her voice is sharp and loud, after saying that she got out of the room, gesturing the student to make way for her to get out and slam the door closed.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Kayla and Aaron look at each other with a perplexed expression, some people who have gotten hungry have already decided to dive in and take their own tray, make a line, and queue, Aaron shrugs his shoulder, and also stands along the line with Kayla following from behind. But not long after, just around two hundred people or so getting their fill, there is a commotion made from the front line,


    ¡°What do you mean there are no more?! How could such a big school didn¡¯t prepare enough food?!!¡±,


    They all scream in complaint, Kayla turns around to look at Aaron whose face has gone dark, Kayla also has a concerned look on her face,


    ¡°There is a limited quota for every serving, how about you wait until we make the next batch, it will be ready in 30 minutes¡±


    ¡®But we didn''t have that problem before last night, from what I see, there are even a lot of leftovers¡¯, Kayla thought that this situation was very strange.


    ¡°What the hell is this! It must be because the one from the front has gotten all of it, such a poor loser¡±, some people mumbled from the back.


    The one who had already gotten their fills gets offended and slams the table hard,


    ¡°What the hell are you saying?!!¡±


    ¡°Isn''t it true, it is because you have never eaten food like this that you are being greedy and taking more than you should have¡±, the other added fire again,


    The one who originally have seated and enjoyed their foot have gotten up one by one,


    ¡°Do you think I am poor like you?!! I could afford to buy all of it if I want to!!¡±


    The verbal fights soon turned into a physical fight, the commotion got bigger, and the one who wanted no dirty ink stained on them had moved away, some girl who got scared had already gone to hide in the corner. There was no sign of the corresponding staff to try to calm the messed down, or at least pry them away, their expression made Kayla shiver, it was as if they had gotten used to it, they acted nonchalantly and standing there as if nothing is happening in front of them.


    ¡°The situation is not good¡±, Aaron stated and Kayla nodded agreeing. Just fighting with their fist was not enough, they have started banging and throwing things. Kayla heart is thumping loudly, there is something in her heart that screams something is definitely wrong, but she doesn''t know what it is.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here first¡±, Aaron said and Kayla nodded, they decided to take a seat at the farthest corner, away from the crowd. The voice gets louder and the atmosphere becomes tense, suddenly one of the girls shouts,


    ¡°Stop!! Are you not embarrassed by yourself, fighting over food!!¡±, she shouted at them, but the commotion had become so big that they couldn¡¯t hear her anymore. Some people got worried, but some also smiled, Kayla could faintly hear one of their words, ¡°So disgusting¡±


    Kayla just looked at the scene with a cold face. That girl bangs the table hard a couple of times using the tray, making a very loud banging sound, this finally makes them look at her.


    ¡°Have you done enough? This is not a place to fight, if you want to fight, go back to your own home! Look at how big you all are and still acting like a child!¡±, she roars at them, but instead of making things better, all of their mad eyes are directed toward her,


    ¡®This is not good!¡¯, Kayla thought


    ¡°What are bitc*es like you doing?!¡±


    ¡°What! I am just stating the truth and you are not happy about it? Aren''t you being unreasonable?¡±, she replied rolling her eyes, those people got infuriated and launched forward, wanting to hit her, Kayla scurried to her side, but before she could do or say anything that girl had already pushed three of them face down on the floor. Kayla stopped on her feet and looked at her with her eyes wide open,


    ¡®That is why she is so bold, she has it in her¡¯, Kayla let out the breath she had been holding and just looked at the mess.


    ¡®They have already fought like this, and they still didn''t want to come out and handle this problem? What kind of school is this?¡¯


    When they saw that this girl was not easy to be bullied, all of them suddenly went quiet,


    ¡°Who else!¡±, she shouted loud and clear, no one dared to say anything anymore, she humph and walked away, leaving the crowd into silent,


    ¡®This girl is something else, her martial arts are also not half bad¡¯


    ¡°That girl.. is something else¡±, Aaron murmured.


    Kayla turned around to look at him and smiled,


    ¡°Why don''t you go and approach her?¡±, Kayla suggested, and Aaron looked at him with a confused face and quickly hid it and put a smile on his face,


    ¡°Why must I do that?¡±


    ¡°Because the reason you started talking to me is because you think I have some value to you¡±, Kayla knows the looks on his eyes when they first get inside the elevator, he seems unbothered and cold, but when Kayla shows him that she could still think logically when they encounter something they didn''t know if, that is when Aaron started to get interested with her. Hearing that, Aaron became stunned and didn¡¯t know what to say,


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that I have made such a bad impression in your heart¡±, he said sadly and embarrassed


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, I think most people do the same¡±, Kayla smiled genuinely, bumped his shoulder with her fist lightly, and walked away.


    Since the mood for breakfast is basically over now, many people have decided to walk out of the room to roam around the building and make friends, Kayla decided to stay in the dining hall, and wait for the food to be done. Aaron carefully approached her again, but now the atmosphere had become awkward and Aaron didn¡¯t dare to get close to her, he just sat opposite her a little seat away, looking at Kayla who was looking at the garden, the warm sunlight gently illuminating every feature of Kayla¡¯s face, her bright eyes radiating a very gentle yet clear eyes, the glow around her makes her have that angelic aura around her, looks like someone unreachable.


    When a crying voice suddenly comes closer to them, the both of them turn around to look at who is letting out such a painful cry,


    ¡°Kayla! I finally have found you, this place is too scary!!¡±, she comes and embraces Kayla in a firm hug, Kayla is a little taken aback, but after seeing who it is she gives a few comforting pats for her.


    ¡°Clara¡±, Kayla gently called out to her and Clara let go of her,


    ¡°I have been looking for you since yesterday, but we are not allowed to go anywhere except for our floor¡±, she cries, Kayla finds her word a little disturbing,


    ¡°Now that we talked about it, how did we know that we couldn¡¯t go anywhere except for our floor?¡±, Kayla mumbled


    ¡°There are no emergency stairs and the elevator button couldn¡¯t be pressed!¡±, Clara pouted. Kayla nodded in understanding, since she has never tried so she doesn''t know about it, Clara took a glance at Aaron and nodded awkwardly, she turned around to whisper to Kayla,


    ¡°Your friend?¡±


    Kayla nodded, ¡°His name is Aaron, we got into the same elevator yesterday, and this is Clara we met at the airport¡±


    Aaron extended his hand and Clara nervously took it, after exchanging greetings, the atmosphere became awkward, Kayla who felt it looked at both of them and held her laughter, she didn''t know why, but she found this situation quite funny. The next moment, the staff called them again to serve the food, and this time unlike before, many people hastily ran to make a line, they even fought for it, but some people out of their pride didn''t want to quarrel with them and sit leisurely, waiting for the crowd to disperse. Kayla looked at Aaron and he also looked back at her, so Kayla asked first,


    ¡°Aren''t you hungry? Should we get something simple?¡±, he nodded and seemed relieved, they got up and walked to the lines to queue. Aaron wanted to say something, but he didn''t know what to say, so he decided to close his mouth, but Kayla already noticed his behavior,


    ¡°You still think about it? Don''t worry I also think that you are not half bad, I am not the kind of person who holds a grudge for something simple like that¡±


    Aaron, ¡°I know, it is just that, it is better to clear the misunderstanding while it is still fresh¡±


    They just take a sandwich and a milk for their breakfast and went back to their seat. Now that they have food on their plate, the atmosphere doesn''t feel as tense as before,


    ¡°So which school are you from? I am from Mary High School¡±, Clara asked curiously,


    Kayla, ¡°I am from Switz¡±


    Aaron, ¡°I am from Brenden¡±, when Clara heard that name she gasped out loud, that is a prestigious school, and not many people have got the many to apply there,


    ¡°Wow! You must be very smart, and.. rich¡±, Clara whispers the last words and pouts before saying, ¡°I heard that the library is full of ancient books, have you ever seen it?¡±, she ask excitedly, Aaron shakes his head,


    ¡°Only teacher and professor could get in¡±,


    Clara looks sad just like a lost puppy. Kayla now knows why Aaron seems unbothered by all of this, it turns out that he already gotten used to seeing things like this, perhaps the prestigious school he attends also has something similar to this. They were in the middle of having a conversation to get to know each other when suddenly the staff shouted again,


    ¡°Are there any students that would like an extra meal? You can come and have it if you want to¡±


    When the three of them heard that, their heart suddenly went cold,


    ¡°Didn''t they just say that they didn''t have enough food, why did they suddenly have additional food?¡±, Clara said and looked at Kayla, Kayla shook her head gently indicating that she also didn''t know the reason, perhaps also because of the fact many people have leave the dining room too. Two hours have passed indicating that the time for breakfast has already ended, the speaker rang and told them to gather in the hall.


    Liam, ¡°it seems that you have a great time with your breakfast¡ª Now. I am going to distribute your card, this will be your temporary guest card, you can use this card to access some places from this area, including your room, that is why it is important and you need to take it anywhere you go and remember not to lose it. Once you lose it, we won''t be able to provide you with a new one. Sooo... you need to protect it well as if it is your baby¡±, he ended his speech with a smile on his face.


    ¡°Didn''t you already give us the key?¡±


    Liam, ¡°That is temporary because your card is not ready¡±


    ¡°What if I lose it?¡±


    Liam, ¡°Of course you will get a certain punishment¡±, when people hear the word punishment their faces turn dark and sour,


    ¡°Are you playing with us!! We have never seen such an old-fashioned school!!¡±, the crowd started to get heated up again,


    Liam face turned dark and his voice went cold, even the guards were already on standby, ¡°Since you have come here then you must obey the rules from here, I believe that your parents have already told you why you are here. Why don''t you act well for the past three months and let us give you the appropriate assessment of your behavior and intellect? If you do well, I am sure you won''t feel wronged¡±


    ¡°Our parents don''t even say anything!!¡±, one of them shouted and the crowd went into messed, Kayla sighed, she started to feel her head hurting from all the shouts and cursing. Then a gun voice echoed to the whole room, Kayla also looked at them with eyes widening in shock,


    ¡°Do you want to hear us out or do you want us to play hard?¡±, Liam asked, even though the people standing around him all had gotten out their weapons, but he was still standing there with his smiling face and eyes crescent like a moon. When the crowds didn''t dare to utter another word, his smiles grew wider.


    ¡°That is more like it¡±


    Kayla''s heart is still beating loudly and Clara''s eyes are already wet with tears,


    ¡®They won''t really shoot us will they¡¯


    TO BE CONTINUED...

 Chapter 6: A Discovery

    The situation grows daunting as the crowd grows quiet, and the silence is even more suffocating, even though there might be some students who have rebellious hearts, they are still only kids who haven''t seen the world, they must have been scared to their wits.


    ¡°Now should we also announce the rules you have to follow?¡ª


    It is quite simple actually, the thing that we hate the most are the fights within the family, we wanted a whole big family that could support each other, so the only rule we have is:


    To not hurt, scheme, bully, endanger and kill each other


    There are no rules that state you can''t do anything you want in here, you can act as you like, but remember, everything you do is counted based on points. These points will be one of the conditions for us to consider your acceptance, so I hope you won¡¯t act recklessly¡±


    After just being confronted with such ridiculous things, many people still couldn¡¯t pull themselves back from the shock, but some people who are more witty have already turned vigilant,


    ¡°Then we could just smash all these things into ash and you won¡¯t even ask us to be responsible for it?¡±


    ¡°Then we could just run away¡±


    Kayla looked at them as if what they were saying was very outrageous and ridiculous, ¡®If that is so easy to do, do you think they will be so confident to let us roam around alone. Just coming here is already very hard, how could they escape when the land is surrounded by mountains and forest, even if we managed to get out of the gates, there is no guarantee that we could escape from the forest, and there is no signal here, you will get lost before you could escape¡¯


    Some students become spiteful and keep on blabbering nonsense, some even said that they will burn this place down. Liam suddenly spoke, making all of them quiet down,


    ¡°Yeah..  you can do that if you like¡ª But let me tell you, instigating others to do the same or forcing others to do the same, will also be equally guilty and your point will be deducted, and the more lower your points is the more you are more likely to be punished¡±, when people heard the words ¡°punishment¡±, people usually become scared, because that means they have a consequence of their action, like a law ruling the country, pushing their inner beast inside a cage, so it didn''t go rampage and do whatever they want.


    ¡°You said we could do what we want! What is with the point things!!¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you are asking it because you didn¡¯t know? Even if you get into the society, people who didn¡¯t bring benefits in a company will be fired, so why do you think you could take things for granted?¡±, Liam snickered, ¡°Since you are in school, make sure to learn that and at least become someone you yourself could be relied on¡±, when hearing that, Kayla could know that he is talking about personal growth,


    ¡®So instead of academic skills, they focus more on individual skills. It is quite rare to find a school that still concerns itself with that¡¯


    ¡°Then what is the punishment? You should at least tell us that much¡±


    ¡°It is nothing serious, but personally, I think you won¡¯t like it very much¡±, he gives them that creepy smile again, Kayla doesn¡¯t even find that funny anymore, some people who got irritated by that smile launched forward and ran upstairs towards his direction, but before he could get into Liam, the guards have already caught up to him and slam his head to the floor hard


    ¡°Aiya! Don¡¯t be so rushed, I still haven¡¯t finished my words¡±, he pulled out something from his pocket, two small gold coins,


    ¡°One is embedded with a gold flower, while the other is empty, these coins are scattered around this building, find it and this will be your ticket for your first examination. Any coins that you choose will determine your fate, so.. you have to choose carefully¡ª The time is until the dinner time ends, and by that time you have to choose which coins you want¡±, his face beams with delight, after he is done with what he is saying he walked inside the room located behind the top of the staircase, they couldn¡¯t even have a chance to ask anything,


    ¡°Are you leaving us without any explanation?!!¡±


    ¡°Cihh!! They are just a coward bast**d!!¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°If you don''t let me out, I will smash this place to pieces!!¡±


    Since the guards and the staff all had retreated back leaving only the students, they started to make a ruckus in this place, some scurried to the next room and they could hear glass smashing, it seemed that they had started their plan and that is to smash this place to pieces. Kayla''s heart kept on thumping loudly, Aaron stood up in front of her, like he was trying to protect her,


    ¡°Don''t worry, they have said that they are not allowed to hurt students, so they won''t be so bold to attack us¡±


    Kayla started to calm down from his reassurance and remember about something,


    ¡°How about we go back to our room first?¡±, Kayla suggests and they nod. The three of them walked towards the back of the staircase towards the elevator, but it seemed that it was not just them that had thought about this, since some people had already stood there, they kept on pressing the button, but it wouldn''t light up no matter how hard they press it, that is when they realized that something is not right,


    ¡°It seems that we are trapped here¡±, Aaron whispers to the two of them and Kayla nods agreeing to it.


    ¡°Should we find the coin first or should we hide first?¡±, Kayla asked, the people who had been making a commotion got louder and louder, and the guards were nowhere to be seen, Kayla honestly didn''t want to get caught up with their craziness. Who knows what those crazy guys will do, if they are not careful, they will be the ones getting implicated.


    Aaron thinks for a moment before saying, ¡°They have just lost their mind for a second, I don''t believe they have the guts to kill all of us, but to be safe, let''s get away when they are approaching us¡ª I am more curious about what he means by choosing¡±


    Kayla also has taken notice of that word before and nodded,


    ¡°That means the more we get the coins the more we have the right to choose¡±


    ¡°But these people don''t seem to be interested¡±, Aaron scoffed, ¡°But that will be our benefit, the people who look for it first might have a higher chance to find more of it, so we could choose from either one of that¡±


    Kayla took a glance at him, and by looking at his expression she could know that Aaron was clearly looking down at these people, probably thinking that they were something insignificant and didn''t need to put his attention to them. But sometimes his indifference might cause him trouble to come.


    ¡°Such a huge place, where are we going to find it?¡±, Clara asked dumbfoundedly


    ¡°I seem to see another door from that corridor, probably leading to somewhere, but that place now is¡±, Kayla hesitated to continue her words, because they could still hear the crashing sound from the other room.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s wait here¡±, Aaron said and pointed to the stairs, so they went there and took a seat, some people who saw them also followed them and sat on the stairs, but some who didn''t accept their fate still kept on banging the elevator door, and some searching for an emergency stairs to climb up to their room, but to no avail.


    As they are waiting, they can silently observe the people standing all around the hall, some people have started searching crazily all around the place, even trying to lift off the carpet beneath, and some people already pulled their phones out to play their offline games and some even has their console games taken with them, and some just like Kayla they sit down and observed.


    After one hour had passed, the commotion had quieted down a lot, leaving them with empty hands, the once beautiful and luxurious place had turned into a shipwreck, glass pieces scattered anywhere, they even made a hole in the beautiful walls, it is literally a mess here. The guards didn''t show up even when a man who has accidentally or not, hurt some people in the progress of destruction, or some rude people who try to seduce the women here. It is like they are trying to make them survive on their own, or they are just simply waiting to see how other people will respond towards those who got bullied and taken advantage of, which some of them did become a hero for saving those people.


    The shocking news was that not one of all these people had found the coins, or someone had already found them but decided to keep quiet about it. The three of them hadn¡¯t started their search so they couldn''t say much about anything,


    ¡°It seems that these coins are not easy to be found¡±, Aaron sighed.


    Kayla didn''t say anything and fell into deep thought,


    ¡°Say, they won¡¯t be so heartless and put it on the chandelier right?¡±, they also follow the line of her sight and find the beautifully hung chandeliers up above them,


    ¡®So that is what you have been thinking¡¯, Aaron looks up and squints his eyes to have a better look, but he still couldn''t see anything significant.


    ¡°Even if they do, how do we climb up and grab it¡±, a person suddenly said from beside them, the three of them turned around to look at who it is.


    ¡°Hi¡±, he smiles very cheerfully, when his eyes laid on Kayla his eyes froze,


    ¡°Wait! That.. may I know your name?¡±


    Kayla is taken aback by his sudden question, but she still replies to him,


    ¡°Kayla, and you?¡±


    ¡°Jeremy Reeze¡±, he immediately extended his hand, Kayla out of politeness extended her hand to accept it and smiled awkwardly at him, but it seemed that he did not have any intention to let go until Aaron decided to interfere,


    ¡°I¡¯m Aaron Andersen, nice to meet you¡±


    Jeremy unwillingly let go of her hands and grabbed his hand in exchange, Clara also introduced herself,


    ¡°Great! Could I join you guys?¡±


    Aaron kept silent while Clara took a glance at Kayla, so they were conveying that she was the one who had to make the decisions now,


    ¡°Sure, why not¡±, Kayla said and Jeremy squealed happily, for a moment Kayla thought that she could see two ears on top of his head, he was kind of cute like a little puppy.


    ¡°Hey, how does this school feel like? I have been thinking for a while, isn¡¯t this the kind of place that is more suitable to be a filming set? Could it be that we are in a survival show?¡±


    Aaron scoffed, ¡°Do you think our parents will willingly agree to this?¡±


    ¡°Who knows? They probably think this is going to be an experience for us, or maybe they have already accepted the money¡±, he whispered his last words. No matter how Kayla thought about it, his words were very logical and it made sense to her, compared to being a school this place was more like a movie set, a place where they couldn''t imagine if this place really existed or not. But when she thought about it, many of the people here are wearing high-end clothes, their parents clearly didn''t lack any money, so why would they bet something so dangerous like this just because they wanted the money? So it is very unlikely for their parents to sell off their children in a variety show they didn¡¯t know or heard about.


    Kayla sighed and leaned towards the railing, that is when on the corner of her eyes, she saw something glimmering, she just glanced lightly and turned away, but that feeling was so familiar that she immediately glanced back, the more she looked at it, the more she is sure of it,


    ¡®Isn¡¯t this thing the one they told us to find?¡¯


    TO BE CONTINUED¡­

 Chapter 7: What Should We Choose?

    Kayla wasn''t sure about what she was seeing right now, but the more she looked at it, the more she was sure that this was the gold coin Liam told them to find. The gold coin she is seeing right now is embedded with rose flowers in it. Kayla looked at it with a doubtful expression, she snapped herself out of her daydreams and took a deep breath, she reached out to grab that part, and just with her finger lightly scrapping it, the coins already lifted off and fell into her hands. Kayla quickly hid it under her palm and silently put it in her pocket, she then coughed two times and looked in Aaron''s direction. Aaron seems to see her signal and raises one of his eyebrows in question,


    ¡°I have something I wanted to talk to you, let¡¯s go upstairs¡±, Kayla tried to say it as naturally as possible and got up, the both of them walked up towards the top of the stairs and Kayla told him to sit down. Aaron is still looking at Kayla with curiosity on his face, Kayla suddenly took out her phone from her pocket and opened her camera app, she raised her hand and pretended to do a pose, but her camera was clearly not in selfie mode and was zooming on the railing. Aaron also looked closely and noticed what Kayla had been meaning to tell him, Kayla talked to him with her mouth closed, and slowly muttered her words lowly, making a small movement on her lips as small as possible,


    ¡°Do you see what I am seeing right now?¡±


    Aaron also pretended to smile at the camera and whispered,


    ¡°I do, it is very meticulous of them, should we grab it?¡±


    Kayla let down her phone and looked at him with a nod, the both of them slowly slid down the stairs with Kayla taking the lead, they slowly and casually walked down the stairs while her hand scraped the coin down swiftly, the process was unhurried and doesn''t seem too eye-catching, when she finally arrived back down, she has already grabbed four coins and put it on her pocket. Kayla silently turned to look and Aaron and he just nodded and the both of them sat back down as if nothing had happened.


    Just as she was sitting down, Jeremy immediately asked her a question, which made her heart thump loudly anxious about what he would be asking,


    ¡°You.. are you both a couple?¡±


    Kayla couldn''t help but feel stunned when she heard his question, she couldn''t think that he would ask that out of nowhere,


    ¡®Do we look like a couple?¡¯


    ¡°No, why?¡±, Kayla asked back, but Jeremy hurriedly shook his hand that he didn''t mean anything bad,


    ¡°No, I was just thinking if I could probably still have the chance¡±, he whispers so lowly that Kayla wouldn''t be able to make up the last word he is saying if she didn''t listen to it properly, but she heard those words clearly and couldn''t help but froze. His face had now turned red, but Kayla pretended not to hear that and looked away, her face flat and trying to change the conversation.


    ¡°Should we go to another place now? It seems the commotion has gone since a while ago¡±, Kayla suggested and they all nodded agreeing. They walked to the other room and as expected, the luxurious and beautiful alcohol on the display had been smashed into tiny pieces of glasses, and the filling scattered all around the place, the people here still didn''t have any intention to prevent them, Kayla couldn''t help but feel that it was such a waste,


    ¡®At least if they let you do anything you want, you could at least have a taste of it instead of throwing it away¡¯


    The windows from the right side also have been smashed to pieces, but Kayla could see that there was still another layer that was indestructible, Kayla stood there looking at it for a long time before Aaron snapped her out of it,


    ¡°You alright?¡±


    Kayla nodded in silence and Aaron continued saying,


    ¡°It seems that some people have come earlier than us¡±


    The door Kayla had seen before was now wide open, Kayla couldn''t help but think about what disaster she was about to face inside behind this door, she let out a heavy sigh and walked towards that door, carefully not to step on any big pieces of glass scattered on the floor. On the contrary, it is much better compared to what she imagined, it seems that those people gave up just by crashing one place.


    Just like any other room, this room is also a sophisticated room, but the lighting here is very bright compared to the other rooms, many comfortable giant bean bags are scattered around the room, there are books located in the corner of the room, and beside it is a computer room, many people have been sitting and playing games in it. On the left side is a place for playing things you would love and yearn for, as if releasing the inner kid wishes, any kind of entertainment is available like legos, cards, puzzles, board games, all kinds of things you will find in a department store is here,


    ¡®This is probably why they quieted down, they have found their own paradise¡¯, Kayla scanned around the room and no matter how she saw it, this was a place for entertainment. Aaron headed to one of the computers and turned it on, Kayla asked, ¡°What are you searching for?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you think that he is just going to play games?¡±, Jeremy huffed, it seemed that they had started off in a bad start,


    ¡°Because I am not like you¡±, Aaron replied coldly, not even interested in paying attention to him. Jeremy let out a loud scoff, and Kayla could only chuckle,


    ¡°You could basically search for anything, except for social media and emergency services, it has a special program that blocks away all our contacts towards the outside world¡±, Aaron said and they went silent, after a moment of silence, Kayla let out a small sighed,


    ¡°It already happened, we are already here, and there is no turning back, let¡¯s stop searching for a way to seek help from others and just get through this with the best we can¡±


    ¡°Don''t give up!! I am sure there must be a way¡±, Jeremy said determinedly with his eyes glistening clearly,


    ¡°Are you stupid? Do you think Kayla wouldn''t know that? She means that no one can help us now, we have to fight for ourselves to survive!¡±, Clara scolded him, his face turned into a frown, and asked,The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Why?!¡±


    ¡°I think something is wrong with that contract our parents signed, either they are being fooled or they..¡±, Kayla didn''t continue her words, afraid that she would scare them out of their wits.


    ¡°Such interesting things you are talking about¡±, a woman''s voice suddenly comes from behind them, they turn to take a look and they are stunned by the glistening things she is wearing from top to bottom, her earrings, her headband, her clothes, and shoes, all are covered in shiny little diamonds and rugby, they don''t need to say anything and Kayla was sure that this woman likes jewelry and especially shiny things very much.


    Aaron''s face suddenly turned ugly and his expression went cold, he looked at her fiercely, and that woman arrogantly smiled at him and pushed all of them away,


    ¡°I have never thought that I would be able to see you here¡±, she leaned forward in a flirtatious way, ¡°Why are you together with this type of people? How about you join me with our group, we are much more reliable¡±


    Kayla looked in the direction she was looking and she found a group of six people, four men, and two girl, they were also dressing very lavishly and stood out in the crowds, their face high up and full of arrogance, but for Kayla, they just looked like a spoiled unruly brat, Jeremy immediately feels offended by her words and hisses, ¡°What kind of people?! What the hell do you mean by..¡±, Kayla immediately nudges his side with her elbow, telling him to not continue his words, Jeremy pouted but didn¡¯t say anything anymore, crossed his hands, and walked away angrily.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be the one saying that to you? Just like the usual, always hooking up with unreasonable people¡±, Aaron stated coldly, but that girl didn¡¯t seem offended and only sneered, ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t it better than just hanging out with a bunch of losers whose faces are so unsightly to be seen?¡±


    Kayla didn¡¯t find that word offensive at all because she has never taken people''s words easily, especially about appearance, but it seems like someone else do. Kayla thought that he already left, but Jeremy suddenly came storming, Kayla thought that he was a gentle nature kid, but who knows that he could also snap like this, ¡°Do you think you are that gorgeous! You look like a walking powder with how thick your makeup is¡±,


    That girl''s face also has turned red in anger and looks at him hatefully, ¡°What did you just say!! You prick just..!!¡±


    Aaron got up from his seat before she could finish her words, ¡°You are not welcome here, please go¡±, that girl was at a loss for words, ¡°You think you are very great, aren''t you? Keep on pushing me away and hanging out with such lowly creatures!¡±


    Kayla finally stepped out before Aaron could say anything, ¡°What is the definition of low born then? Because for us, the definition of low born is someone who amidst her high education could still say things an uneducated person would say¡±, Kayla is basically saying that she is brainless and that girls shouting with rage,


    ¡°You..!!¡±


    ¡°Enough¡±, Aaron reprimanded her, ¡°If you are here just to fight, I will see how far you can go¡±, his eyes became cold and she seemed to be taken aback by his words, her eyes redden as if she was about to cry and walked away. Kayla let out a heavy sigh, now she officially had made an enemy with someone she didn¡¯t even know.


    ¡°You are so cool¡±, Clara said with her eyes glistening in awed, and Jeremy also nodded excitedly, Kayla looked at their expression feels dumbfounded, Aaron also smiled, Kayla coughed and changed the topic,


    ¡°You.. know her?¡±


    Aaron, ¡°I know, but can¡¯t be counted as friends, we are in the same school but different classes¡±


    ¡°I bet she is in the worst class¡±, Jeremy huffed, it seemed that he was still feeling quite mad.


    ¡°If she is in the same school as you, that means she also came from an extraordinary family, no wonder she could act so cheeky¡±, Clara pouted, and Jeremy just scoffed,


    ¡°Does having money allow her to act like that?! She is just getting used to being spoiled, without her parent''s money how is she going to survive¡±


    ***


    The lunchtime was here and they decided to go early to queue, there were already a lot of people queuing, because they wanted to get the best food and no one wanted to give it to others. The atmosphere has changed a lot gloomy. Just as expected, on their turns there were only leftovers and many trays had been emptied, Kayla just took a simple salad and walked towards the table to sit.


    ¡°Are they trying to kill us? I''m going to starve to death¡±, Jeremy wailed and acted pitifully


    ¡°Just wait, there are additional meals after all the people got their fills, you could go and take it again later¡±, Kayla tried to comfort him and he nodded excitedly, Clara shows a confused expression and asked,


    ¡°I don''t quite understand, such a big place like this didn''t have enough budget for food? Doesn''t seem quite reasonable¡±


    Kayla also has thought about this problem, but she also couldn''t understand what they were thinking, she has come up with a couple of explanations,


    ¡°I have a very bold idea, I don''t know if it is true though¡±, they look at her eagerly to listen, ¡°I think they are planning to eliminate all the people who got the second batch of food¡±


    When they heard that their face went in shocked,


    ¡°The first batch of food consists of the best ingredients and recipe, while the second one is only an ordinary meal, which means that they are trying to divide us into two groups¡ª One that they think is suitable enough to be accepted and the other is not, but I still couldn''t point out how they select these person, since they could just use force to stay at the top tier if they wanted to¡±


    ¡°The test¡±, Aaron suddenly said, ¡°They are using the test to eliminate us, so if we fail, we will probably also be taken away by them¡±, Clara shivered when she heard that, Kayla also realized something,


    ¡°Then.. Those additional foods..¡±


    ¡°Probably for the people who have got taken away¡±, Aaron finished her words. They went into a complete silence, hearing that, Jeremy didn''t feel that hungry anymore. Since from the beginning, they didn''t know what kind of punishment they meant, where are those people taken away and why they didn''t come back. The more they think about it, the more they fall into despair.


    ¡°So, we really have to choose properly this time¡±, Aaron sighed, finally realizing the seriousness of this matter.


    The lunchtime passed by and they decided to go back to the common room, they just basically searched all around the place and they indeed couldn''t find even a single coin left,


    ¡®Either it is not here or other people have taken it away¡¯, Kayla didn''t believe that they would hide in such a secretive place, there were a lot of people coming and going and they probably had found it and kept silent about it.


    The tea time came by and they decided to skip it, Aaron finally dragged them to the corner of the bookshelf in the common room and nodded at Kayla, the both of them pulled out the coins and let them see what they had found, the both of them gasped in shock,


    ¡°So you have found it, and so many at that¡±, Clara squeaks in delight, but in a lower voice, ¡°Where did you find it?¡±


    Kayla looks at Aaron and he definitely knows what to do, ¡°A secret¡±, he puts his finger on his lips and blink, making Clara blush a little and Jeremy''s face twisted in disgust.


    ¡°Now, we should decide which one we should choose¡±, Aaron said, Kayla picked up five coins, three roses, and two blank coins while Aaron picked up seven, four roses, and three blanks, Kayla was a little shocked to see that he has picked up so many coins in such short amount of time. Aaron looks at Kayla with enthusiasm and expectation, it is clear that he wants her to choose, Kayla becomes hesitant and looks at the coins in her hands,


    ¡°How about.. we choose the rose one?¡±


    Without saying anything they nodded their head and Kayla was baffled, ¡°You are not going to ask for anything? This could determine our fate, you just easily believe me like that?¡±


    Clara looks at her with her innocent eyes, ¡°Why must I doubted you? Even if we indeed choose the wrong one, I am the one who is willing to follow you, so don¡¯t worry about it¡ª I also like the one with the rose, looks much prettier¡±


    Jeremy and Aaron also nodded their head in agreement, Kayla could only silently let out her sigh,


    ¡®Maybe our team is not that bad, we might even overcome it with their spirit like this¡¯


    Since the decision has been made, now it is the time to discuss what they will do about the rest of the coins,


    ¡°Just throw it under the table?¡±, Clara suggest


    ¡°Or put it between these books?¡±, Jeremy recommended, Kayla thinks that those could works, but Aaron shakes his head,


    ¡°How about we keep it until dinner times, if we find out that the rose is a death route then we could immediately exchange it¡±


    ¡°That also works¡±, Kayla agreed and all of them decided to walk out and sit on the bean bag located at the end of the room, they basically had nothing to do now, so Clara got herself a book, and Aaron and Jeremy were playing lego. Kayla only takes the cubes and rustling it around mindlessly. Waiting for the dinner time to come


    TO BE CONTINUED¡­

 Chapter 8: The Game Begins

    While waiting for the dinner time to come, they got bored and Kayla already started to nodded off, when she hears a commotion coming not far from them. Kayla thought that she won¡¯t be able to seen any fight, but someone is arguing about wether who find the coins first. Not wanting to see the commotion, Kayla excused herself to the bathroom, and when she comes back, the commotion has died down, leaving a women silently sobbing away in the corner, just by seeing this, Kayla already know what happened without asking.


    Kayla looks at Aaron and Jeremy who are so focus on the legos and turn to look at Clara, ¡°Say Clara, if I were to talked to her, do you think she will accept it gladly or chased me away?¡±. Clara looks at her with a confused expression, when Kayla pointed out the girl she meant, Clara eyes went wide in shocked and shouted, ¡°No!¡±


    Seeing her strong reaction, Kayla is a little taken aback and looks at her in confusion, Clara stuttered and looks confused for a second, Aaron and Jeremy also has stop what they were doing and looks at them confusedly,


    ¡°No.. I mean, she looks very fierce, I don¡¯t think it is a good idea¡±


    Aaron and Jeremy also looks at the girl they were talking about and Aaron also nodded in agreement, ¡°She indeed looks fierce, but she is quite interesting¡±, hearing that, Kayla couldn¡¯t help but want to tease him, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and talk to her?¡±


    ¡°Why should I?¡±, Aaron immediately refused.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel eager about things you have never encountered before? I think she is also one of them¡±, Kayla sneered at him and Aaron could feel that he got a goosebump, Aaron considered it for a moment and shook his head, ¡°No, I don¡¯t like fierce women¡±,


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go¡±, Kayla said and walked towards the girl who was sitting in front of the computer looking bored while playing some games, now looking at her closely, she looked quite attractive too, her appearance looked tomboyish with her short haircut, but her face says the opposite, especially her eyes, she looks kind of gracious in many ways. Kayla feels a little hesitant to approach her now, but she still brave herself,


    ¡°Excuse me..¡±


    ¡°What?¡±, she asked fiercely, Kayla smiled gently at her, ¡°I am sorry to bother you, I am just wondering, so I came to ask, where did you get those earrings from?¡±


    She now turned interested in Kayla and lifted up her head to look at Kayla and smirk, ¡°Why should I tell you?¡±


    ¡°Because.. ¡°, Kayla rustled her pocket and pulled out something from inside, seeing the things, she laughed out loud and slammed the table furiously, ¡°You dare to steal my things?!!¡±, she roared and some people around them started to look at ¡°fun things¡± that is about to happen. Kayla remains calm, seeing her reaction in the dining room, she has a guess about what type of person she is, but this reaction is a little too much, Kayla unhurriedly said,


    ¡°You have got it wrong, I just picked it up from the floor in the bathroom, and it seems that.. someone has put their eyes on you¡±, Kayla looks at the group of people not far away at them that are looking at them with hatred in their face, it seems that that person also recognize them, the people she once scolded in the dining room.


    ¡°Be careful¡±, Kayla sweetly said, put down her card on the table, and walked away. The three of them look at her with bewildered expression, confused by what she is doing.


    ¡°What the hell is that?¡±, Jeremy yelped, Kayla shrugged her shoulder and sat back down,


    ¡°I thought that it would be a good idea to have someone like her as a friend, you would feel safe, but it seems she doesn''t like that thought¡±, Kayla said with her face a little upset.


    ¡°I saw you give her something before you left, what is it?¡±, Aaron asked, Kayla looked at him with attentive looks and smiles, ¡°She dropped something in the bathroom, so I am just picking it up for her¡±, Aaron looked at her with disbelief, but Kayla doesn''t seem to be interested to answer his question again. What is more shocking now is that that woman is walking in their direction with a smug smile on her face and standing in front of Kayla,


    ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s be friends, my name is Diane, I kind of like you too actually¡±


    ¡°No!¡±, Amy suddenly cried out, all of their eyes turned to look at her, and she realized that she had been too loud and hysterical about it, so she calmed herself down and searched for a reason,


    ¡°No.. I mean that, we should be careful at times like this¡±


    That girl''s smile became wide, sit down beside Kayla and hung her arm around Kayla''s shoulder, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, more people are better right?¡±


    Kayla nodded and turned to whisper to Clara, ¡°Even though her personality might seem scary, she is not that bad of a person, don''t be too quick to judge someone¡±, the reason Kayla wanted to befriend her was because she sensed that this person has a strong sense of justice, she is the type of person who will knock you out of the head for doing something that is not you, a very loyal type. Clara could only pout and let the case go, after all, Kayla had already stated her reason.


    ***


    The dinner time came and just like before, everybody was quarreling to be first in line, some people using their status, some using fists and some using their charming abilities. Kayla couldn''t get used to this kind of scene and find it quite ridiculous, but she somehow could understand them, who wants to eat plain food when they have such luxurious food on display. But the way this place is organized it seems unethical. Kayla is not in the mood to fight with them, so she doesn''t mind getting it last, but Jeremy finds it hard to accept that fate and just as the speaker rings to announce that dinner time has come, he already disappeared.


    When they arrived, they were surprised to see Jeremy already sitting sweetly on the table with a stack of food on his tray. Kayla was beyond speechless, how could he be so shameless and grab so much food in one go, Kayla''s jaws almost dropped to the floor, and she even hesitated to walk towards him and sit with him, Clara also let out a dry laugh,If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Haha.. I admire your courage, aren''t you afraid that they will hit you in the face?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with getting more food, it is not like I am doing something illegal and I am not wasting any food. Sit sit sit, let¡¯s enjoy dinner¡±, Jeremy smiled foolishly and they silently slapped their forehead,


    ¡®Why don''t you just scream it out? All people are watching us with menacing eyes right now'', Aaron thought and took a glance at Kayla and Kayla just gave a small shrug and sat down. Kayla could feel a firing gaze on her shoulder, and some people whispering evilly, but that didn''t matter now, since they indeed didn''t do anything against the law, there were also no rules limiting the amount of food one person could have.


    They slowly munch away the food on the tray while waiting for the second batch of food to come, some people probably want to come and make trouble, but Diane and Aaron''s cold gaze has basically chased them away.


    ¡°Have you found the coins?¡±, Kayla asked, and Diane nodded her head and whispered something to Kayla''s ears, Kayla looked at her and then to the groups, since she was one of them now, she thought it might be alright to open the card now, ¡°In your opinion, which coins is bad and which one is a good one?¡±, Kayla asked carefully.


    ¡°Personally, I don¡¯t know. Since, I only managed to find one, it is not like I have a chance to choose¡±, Diane replied nonchalantly, they looked at each other before Kayla decided to speak,


    ¡°If you have the chance to choose?¡±, Kayla asked back, and Diane looked at her expression and smirked, ¡°It seems that you guys are something else¡ª If I got the chance to choose, I probably would choose the rose one. Think about it, if it is something bad, would they want to pay extra money just to make some random roses that would cost much more time and resources¡±


    Kayla had never thought about that, she now gets the impression that this person might be someone who thinks highly of the value of things. Since Diane was sitting beside Kayla, it was much easier for her to give the coins to Diane, Kayla silently pulled out the coins from her pocket and crossed her arms on the table, Diane realized what she was doing and also did the same, they exchanged the coins secretly and very naturally,


    ¡°I have never thought that you would find more than one of these coins¡±


    Kayla just smiled, ¡°Merely luck¡±,


    ¡°It is almost the end of dinner time, how are we going to deal with the rest of the coins?¡±, Aaron asked, but his eyes were glued directly to Kayla since they had agreed to give it to her to keep. Kayla''s eyes fluttered a bit before she said,


    ¡°I.. actually have none now¡±


    Their eyes went wide in shock, they couldn¡¯t believe what they just heard, Jeremy''s mouth nearly fell to the floor,


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°I met a problem when I was accompanying Clara to the bathroom just now¡±, Kayla replied, while waiting for Clara outside the bathroom, she could hear a commotion on the corner of the room, since the bathroom is located at the back of the staircase, much further than the elevators, so it is a little far away from the crowds. She took a peek and saw a group of people trying to gang up with this boy who looked weak and at one glance you could clearly know that he was someone who had great grades and had always been asked for his notes to be copied.


    It seems that he has found the coins and this group of people coincidentally sees him and now, they demand him to give those coins to them, but even though he already gave them the coins they still demand him to find more for them. Kayla frowned in disgust and she decided to do something, she silently put the blank coins into some of the sculptures and paintings, not very noticeable but if you wanted to find it, it would easily be found,


    ¡°Hey! What are you doing here? Are you not embarrassed for bullying another person? Are you blind enough to not see that there are some over there?¡±


    Their eyes are cold with anger and stomp away to take a look at it when they see that her words are right, they take it and run away, Kayla looks at the boy awkwardly and coughs, ¡°Take it, don¡¯t let other people find out about it¡±, Kayla throws it to him and walks away, she decides to wait for Clara a little far away from the restroom area, and that is where she sees a shadow a familiar person, Steven is standing there looking at her with his captivating eyes, Kayla didn¡¯t know what to say to him, but he suddenly extended his hands, Kayla looks at his face and back to his extended hands confusedly. He didn¡¯t say anything, but Kayla was basically speechless, she knew that he must have seen the scene from before, so she pulled out one of the rose coins and handed it to him, he didn''t say anything and walked away, leaving Kayla struck there dumbfounded.


    And that is how all of the coins in her hand had vanished. Kayla carefully looked at them,


    ¡°You all.. won''t be blaming me for that, won¡¯t you?¡°


    Aaron only sighed, ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, it is good that you are not hurt¡±, they all also agreed with him and Kayla let out the breath she had unknowingly held. The dinner time finally ended peacefully and they were told to gather at the hall, they got divided into two groups, the one with the rose coins was told to stay inside the circle of marble tiles, while the rest had to stay out of the marble tiles,


    ¡°Why are we in the same groups as the one who didn''t find the coins?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah! What is wrong with you!!¡±


    The commotion grew bigger but before they could continue, one of them suddenly dropped to the floor, as they watched closely, there was a needle piercing on his neck, and before the rest of them could do anything, one after one was being shot down, the people inside the circle started to panic and ran out of the circle. Kayla stood there frozen, she still didn''t understand what was going on right now, Jeremy wanted to pull them to hide but Diane held him, ¡°Stop, don''t you see that they are just shooting the one outside the circle, we are safe in here¡±


    Kayla finally calmed herself down and examined her surroundings, it is indeed like Diane said, they didn''t do anything toward the people standing inside the circle, some people who noticed this also called the people back inside. Kayla turns to look at Liam who is smiling at them at the top of the stairs, and that is the last thing Kayla sees because the ground suddenly shook and they were pulled in with such great strength downwards, when they came to a stop, they were in a very dark place, Kayla immediately lifted her head to find that they were in a place looking like an underground abandoned building, looking very dark and haunted. The only lights they have above them suddenly went off and they were suddenly swallowed by the darkness. That means the circle they stood before act as an elevator that took them directly to here, and now they have sealed the entrance.


    But even if they didn''t seal it, they wouldn¡¯t be able to climb up, since the distance was around ten to fifteen meters above, Kayla''s heart was still beating heart from that fall, and she felt that her feet were getting weak, and couldn''t get up, it feels that her feet have lost all its strength. Clara has been sitting down on the floor frozen, it seems that her soul has also flown out from her body. The atmosphere is quiet for a moment before they can hear curses and sobbing break out, it seems that they also need some time to assess the situation. Kayla couldn''t see anything right now and it was actually quite terrifying, if someone or something decided to attack, they would be just like meat plating to be eaten. A hand suddenly grabbed her from the side, Kayla was startled before she could smell the smell of the cool minty perfume, it was Diane.


    ¡°Where are the other?¡±, she asked.


    Kayla decided to slowly approach Clara first since she remembered her positions quite clearly, she tapped on the cold floor while the other still grabbing Diane, afraid that they would get lost again, Kayla slowly whispered Clara''s name, hoping that she would not scream when she grabbed her, and thank god she didn''t, she just quickly grasps back to her arms and cried. Kayla now called Aaron and Jeremy, which thank god that they are not far away from them. Their eyes have adjusted to this darkness and they can vaguely see the outline of their place, they seem to be surrounded by a circular building that consists of three floors, or it could be said that they are standing in a circular hall that consists of three floors.


    ¡°Are you all alright?¡±, Aaron asked, Diane replied that they were alright and told Clara to shut her mouth. Kayla could feel something just now when she was trying to find Clara, so she bent down again and tried to take that thing when she finally found it, she took it and tried to have a good at it in this darkness, she was shocked to find that she is holding a card, but she couldn''t even read what the content is,


    ¡®What the hell is wrong with this place!!¡¯


    TO BE CONTINUED¡­

 Chapter 9: Red Forest

    Kayla started to get irritated, she quietly put down the card to check on them, they seemed to have not noticed about this card. People started to scream, yelling, cursing and shouting, it was all over the place, and Kayla winched in annoyance from all the commotion.


    ¡°What is this place!!¡±


    ¡°I wanted to go home!!¡±


    ¡°Let me outtt!!!¡±


    Kayla''s heart has basically crumbled from the fall, and now being faced with this ridiculous situation, she doesn''t even know what to say anymore. She closed her eyes, trying to calm her beating heart down, she tried to wet her drying mouth and open her eyes again, after calming down a lot, she could think much more rationally now, the priority was to find any source of light, and that is when she remembers her phone, she pulled it out and open the flash, some of the people also follow her and open their flash from their phone. Soon the place lights up with light and they finally can barely see the structure of this place, it is like a building that is built inside the mountain, very rough, and looks like had been abandoned for a long time, foliage, mushrooms and mold have grown all around the place, they could feel the humidity and the smell of grass and dirt around them.


    Now that she had a source of light, she could finally take a deeper look at the card she was holding, the card indeed had something written on it, a number of 316 on one side and there were tiny little words on the other side.


    "Congratulations on entering your first test, you are assigned to become a hero, there are 316 keys scattered around the place, find them and exchange them for your own comrades, they will be waiting for you to rescue them. As usual, we hope that you will respect and help each other, the game won''t end until you have all collected the coins. Have a fun time exploring.


    Head of Student Affairs, Liam Fort"


    Kayla couldn''t believe what she just read and wanted to throw it far away out of anger, but she didn''t do it and instead handed it to Aaron. After he was done reading it she gave it to Diane and scanned his surroundings, these cards were scattered around the ground, and there were a lot of them, Aaron and Kayla looked at it with knitted brows, they didn''t know when this card suddenly appear here, they were sure that there were nothing when they stood inside the marble tiles before. People started to pick the card up from the ground and read it, many negative remarks were being made and some who had found hope in this absurd situation immediately glowed up and started planning to find the key, but no one actually wanted to go and took the first step, they are all still standing inside the circle.


    A man suddenly stepped out from the group and walked towards one of the many alleys that surrounded them, everybody watched him walk away in shock, Kayla felt familiar with that figure and just as expected, she knew who that person was, Steven.


    ¡®He is really fearless¡¯


    ¡°Where are you going?¡±, one of the people who stood near him before asked, but Steven didn¡¯t even say anything nor did he turn around to at least let him know that he was listening, he just kept on walking. Seeing that he was undoubtedly being ignored, he didn''t feel happy about it. He seemed hesitant at first, but he decided to rush out to chase him and before he could even touch his shoulder, Steven suddenly turned around grabbed his arms, and slammed him to the ground, everyone gasped in shock and Kayla grimaced, it felt like she could feels the hurt from that fall.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me with those dirty hands¡±, Steven said flatly and walked away, seeing him so strong and cold, some people became scared but some saw this as an opportunity and began to follow him while keeping their distance. Seeing some people already begun to moved, some also decided to go along, and the conditions are not as tense as before, suddenly everyone seems to have accepted their fate fairly well and decided to moved on,


    ¡®Human adaptability is pretty scary¡¯, Kayla thought, but when she could hear some sniffle and curse from behind her, she somehow felt a little relief, ¡®Well.. at least not everyone could accept it yet¡¯


    ¡°What the hell is wrong with that person!!!¡±, he got up and shouted angrily, he looks very pissed and veins were popping out from his head, nobody listen to his outrage and pretended not to see it, so he could only swallow his misery in silence.


    Kayla looked at them and they nodded at her, so she silently replied back, even though they still couldn''t grasp the situation completely, and there were many questions in their heart that couldn''t be answered, they could only follow along because this was the only clue they have, so like it or not they have to give it a try and see what will happen next. Moreover, they need to leave because they need space to discuss things by themself, This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, don¡¯t waste our time here. Every alley must lead to a different place, which one should we choose?¡±, Aaron asked.


    ¡°Do we separate, or do we search for it together?¡±, Kayla asked and Aaron immediately answered, ¡°Better stay together, we don¡¯t know where each alleyway will lead, it will be bad if we get lost¡±


    Kayla nodded in agreement, Jeremy clasped his hands together in excitement, ¡°Alright then, which one should we go?¡±, there were ten alleyways surrounding them, and they needed to choose from one of them,


    ¡°Whose luck is better?¡±, Kayla suddenly asked and Diane couldn''t help but sneer, ¡°Does this thing have anything to do with luck? Let''s just find which path is much better¡±


    ¡°We still didn''t know what situation was in front of us, how could you know which way is better?¡±, Kayla defended herself and Diane became silent, her expression looked as if she had said something she shouldn¡¯t have, ¡°That.. that is right! So.. which one should we choose? I have the worst luck¡±, she quickly changed the conversation, Kayla took a glance at her but didn¡¯t say anything,


    Jeremy, ¡°I think I have, let¡¯s choose that one¡±, he pointed to the one at eleven o¡¯clock very confidently, they didn''t have any objection since they didn''t know this place''s structure, so they all nodded and began their journey.


    Just as they stood in front of the alleyway, they could feel chills coming from inside, Clara shivered in fright and all of them frowned,


    ¡°This building doesn¡¯t seem to be decorated like so, it looks like a natural process, or does the decoration technique now so good?¡±, Kayla pondered.


    Aaron also touched the walls and it felt damp and cold, the mold is thick and many debris and dust were scattered around the whole place, just one touch and you could feel your hand feel dirty from it, Aaron searched his surroundings and found the one he wanted, an unused pipe, he got one for him and one for Jeremy, Kayla also extended her hands wanting for one, Aaron looked at her and wanted to say something, but he decided to swallow it back down and silently give her the one he is holding and take another one for his own.


    After having enough preparation from their heart, they step inside the darkness, their gestures alert, they hold their pipes tightly in their hands and keep on pointing them forward without any means to put them down. After walking for around six to seven steps inside, they heard a scream coming from behind them and they all stood frozen, they could barely see that those people who followed Steven in had all run back to the circle. At this moment they also contemplating whether they should go back or not, Clara is so scared that she hugs Kayla''s arms tightly, Kayla also grasps her arm back and stays silent.


    ¡°What is happening?!¡±, Clara mumbled frightened, Kayla took a deep breath and asked, ¡°Can I ask one thing?¡ª You guys didn¡¯t hear any news of dead people in Velhoben City right?¡±


    They all felt confused by her question, but they still replied and shook their head, Kayla then nodded in relief, ¡°Then we are alright¡±


    That is when they know what she is implying, so Diane couldn''t help but let out a scoff, ¡°What does that have to do with this? Are you implying that because there is no alarming news about this place, we could be safe?¡±, Diane asked perplexed.


    ¡°Because if there are no reports of death, it means that they didn¡¯t have any intention to kill us. What kind of society is it now? For them to kill hundreds of people without any other people noticing or getting suspicious is basically impossible¡±, Aaron added and Diane could only laugh at his remarks,


    ¡°You are still too innocent, do you think buying news is hard for wealthy people?¡±


    Kayla looked at her and doubt started to rise, she had heard that people could indeed buy the news from reporters, Kayla''s face turned pale, there were still many things in these words that she didn''t know about. Aaron who sees that tries to reassure her, ¡°They could buy one or two, but they won¡¯t be able to buy hundreds of people, don''t think too much of it¡±, Aaron turns to look at Diane angrily, ¡°Do you have to break other people mental right now?! The best thing to do now is try to find the way out of the problem!¡±


    Kayla shook her head lightly, telling them not to argue, Diane just shrugged, she also didn''t want to continue arguing because in her heart she knew clearly that these kids were still someone who didn¡¯t understand how the real world worked and how ruthless it is.


    They decided to keep on walking forward, they actually didn''t expect that there would be such a long way ahead of them, after many twists and turns, they finally saw something, a red light coming from one of the corners, it seemed to be coming from a room, they became tense. Aaron decided to walk first, Kayla second, and then Clara, Diane, and Jeremy to protect them from behind.


    Kayla had never really believed in ghosts, but now the situation was making it creepier for her, she couldn¡¯t help but grasp Aaron''s shirt, her face full of worry, so she grabbed Aaron''s shirt more tightly, she planned to pull him towards her if something launches forward from inside that room, but it seems that Aaron misunderstood her attention, he turns to looks at him to reassure her which makes Kayla blink in confusion.


    Aaron who notices her confused expression also knows that he got it wrong, he quickly turns around with his ear red. Aaron first peeks his head inside to take a look and then after he sees that it is safe, he walks forward. When it is turned for Kayla to take a look, she is shocked at the sights in front of her, it is a red forest wrapped by red lights, Kayla jaw almost drops to the floor,


    ¡®Just how did they manage to make this structure? The engineer of this building is so magnificent and the architect is a crazy person¡¯


    ¡°Let''s see what is inside¡±, Aaron suggested and Kayla nodded, the people behind also looked quite amazed when they saw it. This forest is quite huge, surrounded by walls, the terrain also feels like real dirt unlike the one from outside which is concrete,


    ¡°So.. we just need to find the keys hidden in here?¡±, Jeremy asked.


    No one replied to him because all of them were still trying to assess the situation happening in front of them, this all felt like a dream to them, what the hell does all of this mean?


    ¡°Let¡¯s be careful, we don''t know what this place is¡±, Kayla said and they all nodded to her words and began to walk forward, before Kayla got inside, she turned to look at the alleyway they walked passed before and saw a shadow, she has known for some time that someone is following them and it seems that they wanted to get an easy chunk without doing anything. Kayla frowns and silently gets in, she doesn''t plan to deal with them now, but since she already knows, she has to stay alert.


    TO BE CONTINUED¡­

 Chapter 10: First Key Is Found

    They slowly step inside in full alert, afraid that something will pop put of somewhere, since there have been a lot of weird things happening up until now. But the more they see it, the more it looks like a normal forest, the roof is so high up and the dampness and the soil smell on the air makes it feels like a real forest if it is not because of the wall surrounding it,


    ¡°Then.. let''s start searching?¡±, Aaron took a glance at them, and all of them nodded in agreement.


    Because they didn''t know what the keys looked like and what size or shape it was they could only blindly search around for it, Kayla couldn''t help but think, ¡®They couldn''t be so crooked to put the keys inside the tree trunks right? Or using the same color as the things in here? If that is so, how could we even find that? They wouldn¡¯t be so petty to do that right?¡¯, the more Kayla thinks about it, the more she gets worried and looks nervously at her surroundings, if they really do something like that, then how long do they have to search for it? It might take hours and probably days!


    Kayla had been eyeing the entrance for a while now and when she lifted her head to take a look again, she finally saw someone standing there with a smug smile on her face, Claire was there crossing her arms and leaning on the walls, she didn''t come in and stay at the dark. Kayla looks at her with a frown on her face and they look at each other eyes to eyes for a moment before Aaron notices her presence,


    ¡°What are you doing here?!¡±, Aaron hissed, Claire didn¡¯t look angry or offended and just gave him a flirting smile, ¡°Don¡¯t be so angry and mean, why don¡¯t we cooperate?¡±


    Aaron couldn''t help but show disgust and scowl, ¡°You are losing your people and now you wanted to take advantage of us, do you think we are stupid?¡±. Their group which originally had six people, now only had three people including her, it seems that they agreed to be divided into two groups, who knows that things would go awry like this, there are two men standing beside her, quite bulky but not looking very smart, so Claire must thought that it is a good idea to find Aaron and try to persuade him to make teams with her. Such presumptuous and undignified action to see. Their gestures look confident, making Kayla suspicious that they have something up their sleeve, or it could be because they thought that Kayla¡¯s group mostly only consisted of women and only Jeremy and Aaron could fight, and the both of them look more like a good student than a fighter, so they thought that they were an easy prey and decided to give it a go.


    ¡°What have you found? Can¡¯t you share some information with me? You will at least let me know that much right?¡±, she asks confidently with a wide smile on her face, Aaron looks at her with his cold eyes while Jeremy scoffs with contempt,


    ¡°Do you think we are an easy prey? If you want to have it, get it with your own capability, and we will see who will win!¡±, without any other thought, the two people behind Claire indeed launched forward and they immediately fought, Kayla was shocked, she knew that they will have to face them at some time, but she didn¡¯t expect that they have to face them so soon and also with this kind of confrontation. Kayla turns to look at Claire who stands there crossing her arms with a sneer on her face, she looks like she is confident enough that her friends would be able to win the fight.


    Claire seemed to notice Kayla looking at her direction and she looked mockingly at her, Kayla faces turned dark and planning to confront her, but Diane held her back and she is the one to step out, without saying anything Diane suddenly slapped her hard on the face, Kayla''s eyes widen in shocks, she has never thought that Diane would immediately raised her hands to deal with Claire. The boys who are busily fighting also stop on their track when they hear a loud slap and Claire falls on the floor with a loud thud, her face filled with shock and humiliation, she clearly has never been treated like this before. Aaron and Jeremy used this chance to make a deathly attack and hit them back hard enough for both of them to fall to the ground and groan in pain. Claire has gotten her composure back and stood up with rage,


    ¡°You!!..¡±


    ¡°What? Can¡¯t I tell you to go off after your ludicrous remarks, am I the one who goes crazy or you?¡±, Diane coldly stated, Claire''s face turned red in embarrassment and anger, but she knew that she couldn¡¯t win in fights between them, seeing that her two friends who look more like her "lackey" has fallen to the ground and in bruised, she knows that she has completely lost and with a great shame with that.


    ¡°Do you think that you are that great?! We could also find it on our own!!¡±, Claire shouted and told her two ¡°friends¡± to back off.


    Kayla turned to look at Aaron and Jeremy and asked how they were doing, they seemed fine and they didn¡¯t seem to get any serious injuries.


    ¡°Let¡¯s be careful, they might come back, or even worse, they might cooperate with other people to attack us¡±, Aaron said, Diane smirked, ¡°Let¡¯s see how far they could go, I am willing to play with them¡±, Aaron looks at her and smiled, it seems that they have the same line of thought in this aspect.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°How could she be so confident that they could overstep us!¡±, Clara huffed in annoyance, and Diane couldn''t help but tease her, ¡°Probably because they think we are as weak as you¡±, Clara turned to look at her looking speechless, she seems to be offended but didn¡¯t have a word to say about that.


    Kayla became silent and looked empty, she couldn¡¯t understand why they had to be fighting each other so fiercely like this, Diane looked at her expression and immediately understood what she was thinking about, ¡°They are not worried about the rewards or the acceptance, because what they worried the most is the punishment that is waiting for them¡±


    Kayla turned to look at her and Diane continued, ¡°People either will work hard for rewards or are afraid that they will get a punishment if they fail the task, and when the punishment is something they didn''t know of, the instinct of staying safe drives them to do unreasonable things in order to survive, since the word "punishment" always leads to something bad, and people naturally wanted to avoid bad things¡±


    Kayla lowered her head, it seems that everyone here has taken this test very seriously, and she too, has to do so. Kayla let out a small bitter smile and told them to start searching again so they could get out of there quickly. Kayla crouched down and tried to stab the dirt around with the branch of trees she had, this place was huge, so Kayla started to wonder if they would be able to find it, and after those people came, her mood basically shattered, Aaron seems to have noticed that and said worriedly,


    ¡°If we couldn''t find it here, we could try our luck at another place¡±


    Kayla didn''t say anything and just nodded, she kept on rummaging the ground mindlessly, Diane pulled her to the side and told her to sit down and take a rest, she looked at Kayla with a frown on her face,


    ¡°I have never thought that you would be such a soft person¡±


    Kayla looks at her and let out a loud sigh, ¡°I don''t, I.. probably just thought that all of this seems ridiculous. You know.. I know that society is harsh, and that people are really competitive about their goals and accomplishments, but maybe because I grew up in an environment that didn''t really push me to do so, my parents also didn''t really care about my scores, so I just.. find it really strange¡±


    ¡°You are.. being loved so much by your parents¡±, Diane said with a small sad smile, ¡°They didn''t want to put pressure on you, they want you to slowly grow up and find your own passion. Each person leads a different life and so do their goals in life, you just need to look at your goals, you can change but not your heart¡ª Perhaps.. one day, you will find something you like and pursue it as your career. By that time you will know how fierce the competition is on the market, but until then, you have to prepare your heart, at here¡±


    Kayla let out a small chuckle, ¡°That is if we could get in¡±


    ¡°I am sure you would¡±, Diane said confidently, and Kayla laughs at her words, ¡°Thanks a lot.. honestly, I have never thought that I would get into such a mess just after graduating¡±, Kayla said chuckling, Diane also nodded in agreement, ¡°Me too, I was the laziest person in my class, the lectures all seems very boring to me, and now we got to handle a bunch of tests that are very silly, much more sillier than the test in class¡±.


    Kayla laughs at her remarks, Jeremy suddenly shouts that he has found something, Kayla¡¯s face lit up and they get up to see it, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Look, doesn''t it feel like someone has dug something from here?¡±, Jeremy said and it indeed looked like so, the dirt around it was loose, so Aaron and Jeremy decided to dig that place with the branch and they finally got something, a small wooden box, Aaron gently opens it and it reveals a beautifully crafted golden keys, Clara shriek in joys,


    ¡°We found it!¡±


    ¡°Sshht! Do you want everyone to know about it?¡±, Diane hissed, Clara closed her mouth with her hands in reflex and whispered, ¡°Should we search again or go to another place?¡±


    Kayla carefully thought about it, ¡°We don''t know how huge this place is, if it is big, they probably would hide one in each room, but if it is not, there are probably a couple of keys in one room¡±


    ¡°I think it would be unlikely for them to keep multiple keys in one room, wouldn''t that make it so much easier for us to find them?¡±, Diane speculated


    ¡°How about we search around again?¡±, Jeremy suggested and they all nodded, after searching for another hour they were basically exhausted, it was already ten o¡¯clock at night, they were sleepy and there were no supplies, they were very thirsty and hungry.


    ¡°Don''t tell me they are not going to give us any supplies? How are we going to survive!!¡±, Clara cries out, all of them are covered in dirt and sweat, and their hands also feel numb from all the digging. Kayla purses her lips, ¡°We are being too careless, if we keep on exhausting our energy like this, we won''t be able to last long¡±


    ¡°How about we rest first, and we will think about it tomorrow?¡±, Aaron suggested and all of them agreed, they rested below one of the tree, the roots had become their pillow to lay their head on. Kayla couldn¡¯t fall asleep and decided to lay lazily on the trees, looking at the wooden box that was a little larger than her hands, after rummaging through it for a long time, she found something odd, she saw a small carving hidden at the side of the box near its cap, ¡®A number?!¡¯


    Kayla didn''t understand what number it was, then she remembered that she had also seen a number on that card she found on the floor before and asked Aaron if he had kept it, Clara said that she kept it, since she was the last one who sees it, she took it out, but her face immediately turned to look confused,


    ¡°The number has changed¡±


    Kayla took it and gave it a look, it indeed had changed, the number had become lower than the original, ¡°What does this mean?¡±, Clara asked confused and scared.


    ¡°Could it be.. the number of the keys?¡±, Kayla presumed.


    ¡°Possibly¡±, Aaron replied.


    Kayla took a look at the card again and flipped it, the back also had changed, it didn''t contain any more rules but a very strange-looking arrow that lengthened for three rows, and at the very bottom, above the beautiful pattern of the card, there was a barely visible word, ¡°Bottle¡±


    ¡°What does that even mean?¡±, Jeremy said in confusion.


    ¡°Could this.. be a clue?¡±, Clara said doubtfully.


    ¡°If it is a clue, then this words might be the clue of what is inside of the room, and these arrows.. are the guide?¡±, Aaron said.


    ¡°If it is true, then we might have to go back to collect more cards again¡±, Kayla said and they all sighed. Such a long journey for them to go back once again to the starting point.


    TO BE CONTINUED¡­

 Chapter 11: An Accident

    The atmosphere is tense, everybody is quiet and their spirit is low, probably because they are tired and thinking about going back might have demoralized them,


    ¡°How about we follow these arrows first? To see where it will lead us?¡±, Jeremy suggests.


    ¡°But these arrows look tricky and quite complicated, with so many arrows it means that there will be a lot of twists and turns, if we go, could we find the way back to the hall again?¡±, Clara said worriedly. Her worry is valid since it will be much easier to go back to the hall since they can still remember the route, but if they decide to go on, they might not be able to go back to the original place again. So without saying anything they have a tacit understanding that they indeed have to go back first, so they took their heavy foot to step forward and go back to the original positions. Their heart went heavy as they took the steps one after another, but Diane didn¡¯t seem too happy about their energy, Clara also nodded in agreement, ¡°Yeah, what if other people also have already noticed it and we couldn¡¯t get ahold of the cards¡±, she said worriedly.


    Kayla couldn¡¯t refute that and also got worried herself, she looked at Aaron and he seemed to also agree, so they couldn¡¯t help but fasten their steps, only Jeremy was bothered by it,


    ¡°What is with the hurry? I am very hungry¡±, Jeremy wailed, Kayla looked at him and could only smile, the way he was pouting was really cute for her. The moment they arrived, there was already no one there, the empty place made the mood become eerie and haunted, they could sense the air going cold and the wind surging around, lightly blowing their hair around.


    ¡°Looks like everyone has decided to look for the keys¡±, Aaron said. The cards are still scattered everywhere on the ground, when Kayla picks one of the card from the floor and looks at it, the contains of the cards are indeed different, the numbers are the same, but the instructions on the back are completely different, each one of them have a different instruction on the back of the card.


    ¡°Let''s take as many as we can, No! Let''s pick all of them¡±, Jeremy is getting excited, but Kayla doesn''t seem to agree with him, ¡°All of them? Are you implying that we should search for all of them?¡±, Kayla asked shocked. Jeremy seems to realize his own mistake and find his word pretty ridiculous, so he replies with a pout, ¡°We.. we could distribute it to other people when we saw them?¡±


    Diane nodded her head in agreement, ¡°If these people didn''t notice this clue then we have to go back here to collect it, better to take it with us now and distribute it along the way. If this hallway is connected, then we might be lucky enough to find them and give it to them¡±. It is not that Kayla didn''t want to take the card with her, but having something more than what other people have is always not a good thing, especially in this dire situation, she just didn''t wish to put an unnecessary burden to herself. Yet she couldn¡¯t deny that these cards were absolutely important if they wanted to find all the keys and get out of here, and they couldn''t possibly do it by themself, they needed help from others.


    ¡°Now that I think about it, if the starting point is here, wouldn''t it be useless if we took these cards?¡±, Jeremy stated and all of them went silent, Kayla silently took a look at the card she was holding and frown,


    ¡°I remember that the first arrow is not left, it is right, and now it has one additional row¡±, Kayla said and all of them circled up to take a look, Aaron also nodded, ¡°Indeed, it has changed¡ª that means this place is not the starting point, we could go anywhere we want and then find the shortest paths to find the next key¡±


    Kayla looks at the card with amazement in her eyes, she had never thought that it would be this advanced, a small and thin card like this is a tablet? Kayla wouldn''t have thought that something like this would exist, it is like she is being trapped inside a sci-fi movie.


    ¡°Then what are you all waiting for? Let¡¯s hurry and pick them all up¡±, Diane excitedly exclaims, Kayla looks at her with a bitter smile, on her face, there are hundreds of these cards lying around, even if the card will be a good clue and make it easier for them to find the next key, they still need to search and choose from hundreds of cards as their next clue, that is a lot of possibilities to choose, and considering that they still didn''t know what is waiting ahead of them, it will be very risky. What Kayla wishes right now is just to find the other as soon as possible and distribute all of these cards, so when she sees Diane''s excitement, she can''t understand the excitement in it.


    After picking it up and counting it, there were a total of two hundred and forty-five cards in their hand, with the original number of three hundred and sixteen, assuming that every number has its own clue, then they are missing seventy-one cards. Even the number written on the cards has gotten lower, that means people already started to found the keys.


    ¡°Let¡¯s decide who will be the one to take these cards¡±, Aaron stated and Clara tilted her head in confusion, ¡°Why don''t we divide it?¡±, she asked,


    ¡°It will be bad if we come into a different opinion, better to let one person manage these cards and we will hear whatever that person said, no matter if we encounter the undesirable or a favorable place, we won''t blame them¡±, Aaron reasoned. That is actually a very good approach, putting all the their trust into one person, a very stupid yet brilliant idea, because that way they don''t have to quarrel about whose judgments and decisions are better, but this person has to be able to think quick-witted and observant, they have to act for the sake of the group, not for one personal gain, and furthermore, someone they could really trust.


    So they went into a complete silence for a few minutes, before Kayla decided to break the ice, ¡°How about.. you become that person?¡±, Kayla carefully said and looked at him deeply, Aaron had never thought that he would be the one to get the ball, so he is a little taken aback, all of their gazes has fallen upon him, wanting to know what his decisions are. But Diana seems to have another thought,


    ¡°I think rather than him, you are much more suitable for this job¡±, Diane suddenly pointed to Kayla, she was shocked to be suddenly pointed out, and looks at her questioningly, Clara also nodded her head excitedly, ¡°I also agreed¡±


    Aaron also silently nodded his head, ¡°Yeah, I think you are much more suitable for this job, we believe in you¡±, he said with a very serious tone and nodded undoubtedly, Jeremy also expressed his approval. Kayla stood there bewildered, she couldn¡¯t understand why she suddenly become the center of attention when they were just talking about choosing Aaron as their leader.


    Kayla immediately rejected that idea, ¡°No. That is not possible, I don¡¯t think I am suitable to make any decision¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°If you asked me, you are the best candidate, Aaron looks like he didn¡¯t care about anything else except himself, Clara always be the first one to panic and this guy has the worst luck¡±, Diane reprimanded her, but Kayla still couldn¡¯t except her words,


    ¡°How about yourself then?¡±, Kayla asked back, Diane''s lips curled up in a smile, ¡°Do you truly believe that my temper could lead you all to safety?¡±, Kayla become silent and Diane continued, ¡°That is why someone as kind and considerate as you are much more suitable. Furthermore, you could quickly calm yourself down and think of a way out, I think nobody is more suitable for this except you¡±


    Kayla suddenly looks at her, her words are very reasonable, but Kayla still can¡¯t find herself to accept this heavy responsibility herself. Seeing their hopeful eyes directed at her, she could only let out a heavy sigh and nodded, ¡°I will try my best, but don¡¯t get your hopes too high up, I won¡¯t be responsible for it¡±


    They all silently cheer and give all the cards for Kayla to take care of it, Kayla couldn¡¯t help but squint her eyes, ¡®Why do I feel like I am being cheated right now?¡¯


    Kayla carefully took a look at the card while sitting down on the floor, but since it was too many, her small hands couldn''t possibly be able to handle all of it, so she divided it into three stacks and scanned it one by one, the more she saw it the more she could feel her head burning, ¡®Should I just lay it all on the floor, that will be much easier right?¡¯


    They suddenly heard footsteps coming from one of the alleyways, Aaron was the first one to notice which direction it was coming from and told Kayla to put away all the card, Diane also quickly helped her and shoved it into her pocket. Kayla finally realized why Aaron was so nervous, because the moment she heard the voice, Kayla also couldn''t help but feel her heart dropping.


    Claire comes out from the dark alleyway they come out before and still with that smug smile on her face, but anger is clearly written in her eyes. ¡°So here is where you are running off to¡±, she spitefully said. Kayla could feel that those words were directed at her, she is a little confused, ¡®How did I offend her again?¡¯


    When the person behind Claire steps in front of her, they finally know why they suddenly came back here of their own volition, it turns out that they have found something interesting on their way, a black dangerous item, a gun.


    ¡°Now, should we have an attentive and thorough talk?¡±, Claire clasped her hands together in enthusiasm, her arrogance was beyond repair, their face turned sour, and look at her with a disgusted expression, but Claire just smiled at their reaction.


    ¡°What is with the sour face? Isn''t it much better to have more buddies in this situation? If you could just kindly cooperate, would we even have to do something like this?¡ª That is why I already told you to choose your friend wisely isn''t it, Aaron?¡±, she pouted her lips and smiled seductively, ¡°If you come back to me now, I will gladly accept you back¡±


    Aaron scowled, ¡°If you wanted to do it the harsh way, then we will gladly cooperate, I will see how you will get away with it!¡±, Kayla was stunned by his words, they had a gun in their hand, if things go wrong they would get badly injured and even death, so she could only look at Aaron struck dumb and cold sweat has started dropping from her forehead.


    Diane also stepped up and looks at them without any hint of fear, Claire who saw their gestures greeted her teeth and told her man to shoot, Kayla''s heart skipped a beat and Jeremy launched on her and pinned her to the ground, trying to cover her and Clara, the sound of a gun being fired was clear and loud, Kayla couldn''t help but closed her eyes tightly, but the next thing she heard is not Aaron or Diane screaming in pain, it is the opposite, she hears Claire shouting loudly with a terrified expression.


    Kayla also looked up to see that the one lying down on the floor was her friend, she couldn''t access what was happening and looked at the scene in front of her with bafflement. Kayla slowly got up and stood beside Diane, ¡°What just happened?¡±, Kayla asked, Diane''s brows also furrowed and her eyes were fixated on the people in front of her,


    ¡°The gun.. backfires on him¡±, she unhurriedly explained, that person actually didn''t really want to kill them, he just put an aim at their feet just to scare them, but because of that, the gun was pointed directly at his face. Instead of firing like usual, the gun shoots backward and immediately k*lls him on the spot.


    No one dares to say anything, the atmosphere becomes very heavy and tense, Claire and her other friends already fall down on the floor from the shock. Aaron also held his breath and slowly walked up to them, he didn''t really believe what he was seeing right now, he slowly took one step after another, Kayla also brave herself and took a step forward, when the whiff of blood smell reached her nose, that is when she froze on her spot. From the place she stood, she could see the blood flowing out from that person''s body, it didn''t feel like a fake setting, so she couldn''t help but take a couple of steps backward, her eyes red and it was hard for her to breathe.


    When she bumps into something, she turns to find Diane standing behind her, she taps her shoulder, ¡°Don¡¯t panic! Aaron, what is the status?¡±, Diane asked


    Aaron turned to look at them and decided to retreat, ¡°This is your idea, right? You are the one who has to take responsibility and clean up your mess¡±, he said coldly and walked away, Claire finally snapped out of it and scream, ¡°You couldn''t leave me alone!! Come back!!¡±, she cries out, but Aaron already pushed all of them towards one of the alleyway and quickly disappear into the night.


    They keep on walking and fasten up their steps without having any intention of stopping, their phone battery had almost run out and they had to save it for now, so when Clara couldn''t run anymore, she asked them to stop and take a rest first, they have been walking and running without any direction, they didn''t even know where they are right now.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find a safe place for now, we need the rest¡±, Aaron stated, they all agreed and decided to choose a room that was considered safe, they went into a room, inside was a storage room used to store wine, the temperature is a little cold, but this is the only place they could find right now, they all gathered at the farthest corner of the room, the temperature there is not that cold and it is hard to be found, so they could know if someone else has entered, yet the other party couldn''t see them.


    They still couldn''t pull themself up from the shock they just encountered, all of them sit on the ground with a thud, nobody could believe what they were seeing,


    ¡°Shouldn''t this be just a normal test? Why does somebody die? A person died!!¡±, Clara sobbed and howled loudly, Diane had to cover her mouth with her hands, telling her to lower her voice. Kayla also sense a terrible fear in her heart, she started to wonder if she would be able to go home after all of this, tears couldn''t help but swell in her eyes, she suddenly remember what her mother has told her before leaving,


    ¡®You must remember one thing. Never takes anything as a joke, you must focus and take any information you see as much as you can, it is alright if you fail, just don¡¯t get hurt¡¯


    Her heart suddenly went cold, ¡®Could it be that Mom knows something about this place?¡¯


    ¡°Say, your friend isn''t the type of person to make jokes right? Are they pranking us right now?!¡±, Jeremy suddenly asked, Aaron shook his head, ¡°She could do something like that, but the whole thing is too real to be called fake, even if she wanted to do it, she didn''t have any resources to do so¡±, seeing Kayla lost in thought, Aaron got worried and asked her what she is thinking,


    ¡°The people that got taken away before.. Could their fate also..¡±, Kayla didn''t dare to continue her words,


    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much, the more you think about it, the more you can''t think straight, we need to pull ourselves together and pass this test first, everything else could be discussed later¡±, Diane cut in and reassured her.


    ¡°How could we be calm about it, someone just died!! I wanted it to stop!¡±, Clara cries, Kayla puts her arms around her shoulder and pats her, slowly whispering, ¡°She is right, we can¡¯t solve the problem if we get caught up by emotions now, we needs to stay calm and think of a way to get out of here¡±, there are a lot of question stuck into her mind, but she couldn''t think of that right now, because the more she thought about it, the more her head hurts.


    Even though they didn''t want to fall asleep at this time, they had to rest to restore their energy, it was already so late and their body couldn''t lie, they were tired and their whole body were sore, so they decided to take turns in guarding, since Kayla couldn''t fall asleep, she decides to guard first with Aaron, hoping that nothing will come out again.


    TO BE CONTINUED¡­

 Chapter 12: Meeting Steven

    The both of them sit down in the darkness, they can barely see anything except for some light coming from the corridor, they stay silent for quite a long time before Kayla decides to speak,


    ¡°I.. have never thought that things would become like this¡±, she paused for a long moment before continuing, ¡°Do you think we could do it? Getting out of here¡±


    ¡°I have seriously thought about it, the reason why that person is dead is not because of an accident, it is because he has broken the rules¡ª Do you still remember what Liam said before, not to injure each other? That means if you try to kill another person, that person will be the one to get the retribution, so the things that happened to him, it is all their own fault¡±, he said, but he suddenly became unsure, ¡°Well.. that is assuming that they didn''t want our death, that is the only logical explanation¡±


    Kayla suddenly realized something and couldn''t help but let out a small chuckle, ¡°Now I finally could see how small we are in this world. I have heard of wealthy people using other people''s lives for entertainment, they like to see how other people struggle to keep on living. I have never really thought about it up until now, who knows that there are really indeed people out there who use human life as a plaything, and even I, myself, personally experience it¡ª And right this moment, they are probably watching us from somewhere, watching our every moved, thinking how funny and ridiculous we are¡±


    Aaron didn''t know what to say either, this was also the first time he was being played like this by someone. ¡°Let¡¯s hope for the best, I don''t think we will be so easily killed, since we got the brain, isn''t it?¡±, he was trying to ease the tension, and Kayla knew about it, so she let out a small chuckle, ¡°Yeah, I don''t believe they would dare to kill all of us, our parents wouldn''t just stay still, at the very least I hope that they will give me justice if I really died¡±


    ¡°You won''t, all of us won''t lose our lives here¡±, Aaron said seriously, Kayla nodded her head. ¡®They didn''t say that they would give us any punishment if we failed to find the keys, but since they told us to find it, there must be some use for it¡ª When we find all of the keys, we will finally be able to get out, just hopes that other people would be willing to cooperate¡¯


    Kayla didn''t know when she had fallen asleep, because the moment she opened her eyes, it was already six in the morning, her phone battery was already very low and was about to give out anytime soon. She looks around and found that the one guarding now is Diane, she is playing with her necklace, a black gothic cross necklace dangling from her neck, Kayla has never noticed it before, but looking at it now, it looks kind of scary, but when Diane wear it, it looks very suitable for her.


    ¡°Have you felt better?¡±, Diane suddenly asked, Kayla didn''t quite understand what she was asking about since she was not feeling unwell, she was just feeling a bit sleepy and it got better after some sleep, so Diane continued to explain her words, ¡°You are much softer than I think, that is what I mean¡±


    Kayla sneer, ¡°Shouldn''t you be saying that to Clara? She has been crying since we got trapped in here¡±


    Diane also smiles at her words, ¡°She is indeed crying like a baby, but she is an empty-headed person, I think she will soon forget about it after being given some sugar-coated dessert¡±.


    Kayla didn''t know whether she should laugh or cry, because from her understanding, every person will slowly forget their distressing experience with the passage of time. After they have encountered the good things in life, they will slowly recuperate, nobody wants to keep on putting their head inside the dark water. So it is very normal for Clara and even herself to start to forget about these things once they can safely get out of there.


    ¡°We have been trapped here without any chance to flip the situation, yet you still have the time to worry about someone else, I really respect you¡±, Diane is talking about the words Kayla said last night, it is not that she is really worried about them, since she doesn''t really know who they were, but she just thought that if she could figure out what happened to them, maybe she will be able to know what to do.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to know what happened to them, since if we didn''t succeed, maybe their fate is our fate tomorrow¡±, Kayla reasoned, Diane snorted, ¡°It would be much more comfortable if they just immediately killed us. The worse? Being trafficked and played with, wouldn''t that be more painful¡±


    Kayla is rendered speechless, she had never thought that she would be able to say something harsh like that, Diane let out a snort when she sees her expression, ¡°I already told you, this world is very dark, don''t put your hopes too much on this world¡±


    Kayla''s brows furrowed and looked at Diane suspiciously, ¡°You.. seem to be used to this kind of situation relatively well¡±, she said and Diane twitched.


    Kayla, ¡°Do you.. Encounter this situation very often?¡±


    Diane was nervous at first, her breath stifled, but when she heard the later words, she finally let out the breath she had been holding, the more Kayla saw her gestures, the more she felt that Diane was hiding something, and that made her feel uncomfortable, yet she didn''t have the guts to directly asked her, since it could be something personal and difficult to say to other.


    The both of them didn''t talk anymore, and the atmosphere between the both of them also became awkward, after sitting for another hour, they were all awakened by a sound coming from above them, a tray was being lowered from above, Aaron and Jeremy quickly step forward while holding the pipes in their hand, ready to fight with whatever is moving toward them. When the tray is low enough for them to see what the content is, they are surprised to see that it is food, five sandwich and five bottles of mineral water.


    ¡°Hah! They indeed are surveilling us¡±, Aaron spitefully said, Jeremy quickly took all of the food and the tray slowly went back up again as if it knew that they had taken the things in it. The meals could be considered edible, but for people like Aaron and Jeremy who are built larger and already exhausted themself in the fight, how could it be enough for them.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°Well, at least they are treating us like a human¡±, Diane sarcastically said, Jeremy looked sadly at the sandwich he was holding, his pout grew bigger and he seemed like he was going to cry at any moment. Kayla who sees it silently gives him half of her sandwich, Jeremy''s eyes glow in excitement, but he turns to look at her worriedly, ¡°If I take it, how about you? You would be hungry¡±


    ¡°If I am hungry, I still have water to quell the hunger, you don''t need to worry¡±, Kayla reassured him, Jeremy seems hesitant, but he still took it, Diane smiled looking at them, ¡°Since you have taken her food, you need to take care of her properly, or I will call you someone ungrateful¡±


    Jeremy scoffed, ¡°That is without saying!¡±, the atmosphere suddenly has become lighter with their jokes. After they are done eating, there is still one thing they need to solve, and that is lighting, Kayla''s phone had run out of battery before they started eating, the only phone that has battery now are Aaron and Clara, but the both of them also almost run out of the battery. So in order to save some battery, they have to sit down in the darkness,


    ¡°What should we do? Once the phone is death, we will be completely blind!¡±


    ¡°Could this wine be used to make flame?¡±, Jeremy asked, which ended up getting a slap on the head from Diane, ¡°Are you stupid? Even though it is a type of alcohol, wine is not flammable¡±


    Jermey only pouts, ¡°I was just saying¡±


    ¡°Sitting here for a long time is not a solution, should we go elsewhere?¡±, Aaron suggested, but Kayla immediately show her disapproval, ¡°How about we search for the key in here first then go?¡±


    They all agreed and started to splitting in groups, Aaron and Clara in one group, Kayla, Diane, and Jeremy forming another group, they spread around the room in the hope to quickly finding the keys as soon as possible, but because of the darkness, they couldn''t see anything clearly and have to drain their eyes, resulting their eyes and head hurting and in discomfort.


    ¡°This really is not the solution, how about we search for a light first?¡±, Jeremy sulked, he keeps on rubbing his eyes out of discomfort, Kayla also started to regret her decisions, but if they went somewhere else and couldn''t find any source of lights, then by that time they will be completely swallowed by darkness since Aaron and Clara phone won''t hold out until then. It is better to start searching at somewhere they have already examined before compared to somewhere unfamiliar. At the very least, if they are lucky, they could still find a key, and after that, they could discuss carefully where they wanted to go.


    A loud scream of excitement could be heard on Clara''s side, it seemed that they had found the keys. Kayla, Diane, and Jeremy carefully slide to their side, the key is located inside the bottle of wine, this bottle is much bigger compared to the other, and that is probably why it also catches the most attention.


    ¡°Great job Clara¡±, Jeremy smiled like an idiot, he finally didn''t have to search for it anymore. Aaron smashes the bottle to the floor, making the glasses break into pieces, revealing the box inside, he opens it and finds the key inside. Somehow the mood has lightened up a bit after finding this key, at least they still have some hope. Aaron gave the boxes to Kayla to keep, and the moment she touched them, she could feel that something was wrong, ¡°The pattern is different¡±,


    They all look at her confused, ¡°The box pattern is different from the previous one¡±, Kayla explained, Aaron took the box back and fondled it around, he was kind of amazed that Kayla could know it with just one touch. Kayla took out the box she had been keeping before and Aaron turned on his phone flashlights to see that the pattern was indeed different, Jeremy also felt astonished, ¡°How did you know it?¡±


    ¡°I am the one who has been holding onto it, so I know¡±, Kayla said. The color of the box is the same, but the pattern above is slightly different, now carefully looking at it, it is indeed a number, but there are something aside from that, it is an arrow, this made Kayla even more confused, ¡®Shouldn¡¯t it be the end after we found the key, what is with these arrows again?¡¯


    Kayla looks up at them with worried eyes, Aaron also has seen the things she has noticed and also frowns, ¡°Should we try to follow these arrows?¡±


    ¡°What? Follow what arrows?¡±, Clara asked surprised, Diane turned to look at her, looking at her as if she was stupid, Clara saw that and turned her head away from her, pretending not to see anything. Diane only snorted, and turned to Kayla, ¡°We could try to follow it, it could lead to something, much better than not knowing anything¡±


    Kayla also nodded her head in agreement, and that is how they headed off to follow the guidance they just found. Being in the dark has never been pleasant, they had to fondle around and stay close to the walls as they walked. ¡®How huge is exactly this place, don¡¯t tell me that the whole mountain is built for this. Or could this be an abandoned underground place used for hiding in war times and they renovated it to become like this?¡¯


    Their walk was slow because they are being careful, but the process would only be seen if you kept on walking forward. Soon they finally arrived at the final turn of the corner, but there was nothing except an empty alleyway, leaving them in a dazed, ¡°What is this? There is nothing here¡±, Jeremy scowled.


    ¡°Since it told us to come here, then there must be something in here¡±, Diane said, indicating that they should start searching for it. So they began searching their surroundings, every corner and cranny, but still found nothing. Kayla started to doubt herself and stood there in a dazed, ¡®What could it possibly mean? Or could it be that it means nothing and we just overthinking it?¡ª Think Kayla! What could a box holding a key be possibly trying to tell us¡¯


    A footstep suddenly came from the farthest corner in front of them, and all of them became silent and froze on the spot, Clara immediately searched for Kayla and hid behind her, ¡°Who.. who is that, they won¡¯t come to find us right?¡±, Clara cries out, her whole body trembling. Kayla shook her head slightly, she was also unsure about who would be popping out, and her heart was also thumping loudly. They all didn''t talk about it, but all of them were still traumatic by the incident last night. Well, except for Diane who is looking fiercely at where the sound was coming from.


    ¡°Don''t be nervous, I could be another group of people. Wouldn''t it be great? We could probably have a nice talk?¡±, Jeremy whispered, nobody wanted to pay attention to him right now, all of their eyes were fixed to that source of footsteps. When the shadow approaches and finally reveals the person himself, they are all stunned, it is only one person and he is holding a candle in his hand.


    The candle slightly flickering and lit up some part of his face, highlighting all of his features, especially his glowing green-yellowish eyes and sharp nose, Kayla immediately recognized who he was,


    ¡°Steven?¡±


    They were just running blindly to one of the alleys because they panicked, did they accidentally run into the same route as Steven, or did the subconscious mind do it, since they all had seen which path he had gone before?


    ¡°What are you all searching for?¡±, Steven asked lazily, all of them were frozen to their feet, nobody wanted to say anything, they were contemplating whether to disclose it to him or not, Kayla hesitated a moment but decided to tell him the truth, ¡°We have found the keys and there are some.. things that we found on the box, so we came to take a look¡±


    Steven looks at her with his cold gaze, without saying anything he searches for a certain place, as if he knows that there is something there, ¡°Here, you can insert the keys here¡±, he suddenly said, his hands still touching the walls, under the dim light, Kayla could see that there is indeed a keyhole there, she slowly approached him and take a good look at it,


    ¡°What would happen if we inserted the key?¡±, Kayla asked carefully.


    Steven looks at him as if he is a little surprised as if he didn''t expect Kayla would ask him such a thing, which makes Kayla a little confused by his reaction, ¡°You exchanged it with a coin, after that, you find a place where you could exchange it for supplies¡±


    All of them fell into silence, they had never thought that there was something like this, ¡®Are they trying to play with us?!¡¯


    TO BE CONTINUED¡­

 Chapter 13: Coins

    They have never thought that they could exchange supplies with this key, while they were all dumbfounded, Aaron was the one who could talk first, ¡°I assumed that is how you get your candle¡±


    ¡°No, I got this from somewhere else¡±, Steven simply said, not really paying attention to Aaron''s unfriendly gaze, it seemed that the both of them started off with a bad start.


    Kayla finally realized the thing that was bothering her heart, ¡°But aren''t we supposed to collect these keys to save the others? If we used this key.. what would happen to them?¡±, all of them became silent, only Steven looked unbothered with it, ¡°I suggest that you be careful when you used it, if you exchange them carelessly, be prepared for your problematic road ahead¡±


    Kayla fell into deep thought, ¡®What does he mean by ¡°problematic road ahead¡±¡¯, seeing her confused face, Steven immediately knew that she didn''t know anything, ¡°You didn¡¯t know? You must have seen the number carved on the box. That is the number of each of us, each number represents one person¡±


    If they were dumbfounded before, now they are completely stupefied, such important information, and not one of them knows about it, if they hadn''t met with Steven, they would probably still be kept in the dark. Kayla has been suspicious about this number, that this number must represent something, but she has never thought that it was something like this. Kayla looked at him questioningly, she really wanted to ask how he got this information, but she didn''t dare to, but without her saying anything, Steven already answered her question,


    ¡°You should have checked the computer instead of playing with these people¡±, he said coldly.


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡°these people¡±!!!¡±, Clara got offended and scolded him.


    ¡°Isn''t it true? I thought that you were quite smart from the things you had done before, but I see I am mistaken¡±, Steven didn''t pay any attention to Clara, but still focused his gaze on Kayla, she didn''t feel offended by his words, she just feels a little taken aback by his mockery. When she first came here, she was constantly cautious and very sensitive about her surroundings, but now that she has found someone who could share her burden, she has relaxed a lot, and she is not going to deny that.


    ¡°I hope you strengthen up, or you will end up dead¡±, Steven said and walked away, ignoring all of them, Aaron, Clara and Jeremy''s faces has turned very ugly, and only Diane looked at him with an interesting look. ¡®This man.. is quite interesting¡¯


    ¡°Have you seen other people''s aside from us then?¡±, Kayla asked, if he wanted to leave, she at least had to ask a few other questions first. Steven shakes his head and keeps on walking forward. Kayla is a little lost, she doesn''t know what to ask anymore.


    ¡°I assumed that you wanted to go back to collect the card?¡±, Diane suddenly said, Steven finally stopped on his track and turned to look at her, he looked amazed, as if saying that they were not as stupid as he expected to be. ¡°Are you saying that you are in possession of it? Don''t tell me that you take it all with you?¡±


    This person''s intuition is very accurate, which makes Kayla feel a little creep out. Diane pulled out one of the cards inside her pocket that she had been helping Kayla carrying.


    ¡°We will give it to you, but you need to say everything that you know¡±, Diane said with a smug smile on her face.


    Steven clenched his fist, his eyes darkening as he looked at Diane, it looked like another fight would break out soon, Kayla immediately stepped out and said, ¡°We will give it to you, she just means that it will be good if you could tell us anything you know since there are a lot of keys to search for, we could work together to quickly get out of here¡±


    Diane turns to look at her with a discontent expression, as if Kayla is ruining her fun, Kayla notices her fiery gaze, and whispers closely to her ears, ¡°Even if you, me, Aaron, and Jeremy work together to fight him, there is a possibility that we won''t be able to defeat him¡±


    ¡°How would you know if you haven''t even tried?¡±, Diane said loudly while looking directly into Steven''s eyes mockingly. Kayla looked at her as of this girl didn''t have any sense of fear at all.


    ¡°Look, you took Clara and ran, we will be the one to handle him¡±, Diane confidently said, Kayla is utterly speechless, ¡°What are you planning?¡±


    ¡°If he didn''t want to cooperate, then we have to beat it out of him. Go¡±, Diane kept on pushing her away, Kayla could feel her silently shoving something towards her pocket. Diane blink towards her and Kayla knew what she meant, so she took Clara''s hands and immediately flew. Clara who didn''t understand anything could only dumbly be dragged by Kayla, only when they were far enough did she dare to stop.


    ¡°Why.. why are we running away?¡±, Clara is still gasping, trying to catch her breath, Kayla also takes a couple of deep breaths to calm her beating heart. ¡°They are trying to negotiate with him, if something goes wrong, at least the card will still be in our hands. Furthermore, we can''t really help anything¡±, Kayla said and Clara nodded in understanding.


    ¡°Does your phone still have a battery?¡±, Kayla asked and she nodded, giving her phone to her, it only had two percent of battery, so Kayla hurried to lighten up her path, it seemed that they had passed a couple of room along the way, so Kayla could only find one from in front of them, the room in front of them is a room of bird cage, many empty cages are being hanged and scattered all around the room. Kayla thought that this room was not that bad and decided to hide inside, waiting for them to come and find them, they just kept on walking ahead, so it might not be that hard to find them.


    While waiting anxiously, Kayla just hoped that they wouldn''t fight and have a nice conversation, since it wouldn¡¯t do any good for them to be each other needle, ¡®Now thinking about it, it is quite funny for us to run, just what could he do to us¡¯, she sighs internally. But not long after that, he could hear Jeremy screaming, ¡°Kayla!! No matter where you are, run as fast as you can!!!¡±, his voice loud and clear, Kayla could feel her ears ringing and Clara trembling from his shouts.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°What is going.. ¡±, before Clara could finish her words, Kayla already closed her mouth with her hands, she could feel that someone was approaching, but before she could say anything, a light suddenly lit up her face, it was Steven, he just stood there, didn''t say anything and just looks at her, Kayla could feel her body got goosebumps from the look of his face, without saying anything he immediately hoists Kayla up to his shoulder and sprint with her. Kayla is so shocked that she stiffened and was unable to think anything for a moment before she heard Aaron and Jeremy screaming from behind them.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing!!¡±, Jeremy screamed angrily and kept on chasing, that is when Kayla snapped out of it, ¡°What are you doing? Put me down!¡±, she struggled, but his gripping was very strong, so she could barely push him at all. Steven suddenly turns into a sharp corner without any difficulties while holding a grown-up women like her, Kayla''s heart almost jumps out from her chest and all she can do is grip onto him tightly, the voice of Aaron and Jeremy become distant, indicating that they have indeed gone far away from them.


    Aaron who was hastily chasing from behind turned to the corner and opened his flashlight but found nothing, he could only let out a loud curse. Diane couldn''t help but let out a bitter laugh, ¡°I have never seen such a crazy man before¡±


    ***


    Kayla was still taken aback by what just happened, she didn''t say anything even after Steven put her down, her legs became weak and she stumbled a few steps back, Steven just stood there with his calm unbothered face. Kayla looked at him and sighed, ¡°If you wanted the card, I could give it to you, why bother also taking me with you?¡±, Kayla couldn''t quite understand what this man is thinking about, ¡®Is it very hard to just make a deal? What big secret do you have to not be willing to trade your information with some cards?¡¯


    ¡°Have you ever heard that you will become a seawater if blend into seawater, and become a poop inside a mass of poop? You need a change of environment¡±, Steven flatly said, after running for so long, it didn''t look like he was tired at all. But the things that annoyed Kayla the most was his words, she couldn''t believe what she had heard that her jaw almost dropped to the floor, ¡°Sorry, but am I close to you? Why do you keep on worrying about my business?¡±


    Steven seemed to be taken aback by her words, his cold eyes finally giving some reaction, but quickly tuned normal, ¡°You are not bad, it is a shame to be demoted¡±, he awkwardly said, his gaze averted. The first impression this person gave to Kayla is that he is a dangerous man who can''t be provoked and the second one is that he doesn''t really like to be meddling into other people business and the third is talking.


    But looking at it now, this person didn''t seem to be that scary, but he really didn''t like to talk much, even his words had shortened a lot, but at least Kayla knew what he meant, she didn''t know what happened to her, but she has been feeling uneasy and troubled by all of this experience, so she has been missing a lot of important information, and he wanted to remind her that this place is not a place for her to play.


    If it were other people who heard it, they probably would have been offended by his words, but since Kayla knew what his intention was, she just felt.. thankful for him. She could still hear them screaming, but it was very dim, she could barely hear it if she didn''t focus, ¡®How could we be so far away from them in such a short period of time?¡¯


    ¡°You must have searched this place thoroughly¡±, Kayla concluded, since only by knowing this terrain well could he do something like this, Steven didn''t reply to her, but by looking at his eyes, Kayla knew that she had guessed it right. She scanned him up and down but couldn''t find the box containing the key, ¡®Since he has roamed around this place like his own home, he must have found a lot of keys, did he throw away the box and only collect the key?¡¯


    Steven must have seen her questioning look, because he suddenly patted his chest, meaning that he had kept the keys safe, ¡°By not taking the box with you, have you remembered all the numbers carved on the box?¡±, Kayla asked, Steven looked at her with an aloof expression, Kayla couldn''t help but think that she has yet said something wrong. Steven pulled out something from his inner pocket, instead of keys, it was gold coins. Kayla looked at it shocked, Steven gestured that she could have a closer look at it, so she carefully took it from his hands, the front of the coin was a carving of a number and the back was the carving of the palace.


    ¡°So.. you exchanged it for a coin first and then you used these coins to exchange for things?¡±, Kayla concluded and Steven nodded slightly, she suddenly felt kind of funny, ¡®Why bother making it so complicated like this? Wouldn''t it be better to immediately exchange it with supplies?''


    ¡°You actually remember every single number and the person it represents?¡±, Kayla asked amazed.


    ¡°No¡±, he said flatly, Kayla frowned, since he had said something to choose wisely, then it means that he must have his eyes on a couple of people who he thinks is annoying. Kayla gives him back his coins and couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Have you had any plans? Since according to the card before, the only way out from here is to find all the keys, and it is impossible for us to find it on our own, have you found anyone else?¡±


    Steven looks at her as if what she is saying is very ridiculous, ¡°So what? Do you think they will work together with you? Don''t be naive¡±, he looked at her coldly, Kayla could feel herself shudder from his gaze, he was basically pinning Kayla to the wall, Kayla couldn''t help but hold her breath, she looked at his eyes straight, ¡°I am not naive, there are three hundred and sixteen keys needed to be found, are you saying that you could find it all by yourself?¡ª We should at least have some hope¡±, Kayla sighed and walked away, but Steven didn''t let her go. He held her wrist tightly, Kayla lifted her eyebrow in question, and he slowly muttered, ¡°I will go with you¡±


    Steven has always thought that Kayla''s lines of thought are very silly, in such a dire situation like this, most people will only protect themselves. Instead of working together, they will use you up until you dry and then throw you away. Yet he couldn''t seem to have the heart to let her bear that kind of consequence, ¡®I am really looking forward to what you will do¡¯


    Kayla looks at him suspiciously, ¡®Didn''t he just said that I am stupid? What is with the change of mind?¡¯


    Kayla coughed awkwardly and nodded her head, ¡°Let¡¯s go back and find them, they are going to be worried¡±, the sound had completely disappeared, so either they had stopped searching(which is not possible) or they had been gone too far away from them. Kayla didn''t panic and turned to look at him, ¡°I.. assumed you still remember the way back?¡±


    Steven didn''t seem to be interested about it, he just sat down on the cold floor, resting one of his arms on his knees, ¡°Just wait here until we hear them¡±


    Kayla didn¡¯t know if she was supposed to laugh or cry, she didn''t know if he is doing it on purpose or because he wanted to hear their exact position so they didn''t have to search around endlessly. But either way since she didn''t know the route, she could only cooperate with him and sit down beside him and wait. The silence is kind of ominous, and since they are both sitting in the dark, she can''t help but feel a little scared, so Kayla decides to start a conversation with him again, ¡°Since you said you could exchange the coins with supplies, have you done it?¡±


    ¡°No, I think it is too soon for that¡±, he replies.


    Kayla silently nodded her head, since they still didn''t know what would happen to the people that are being taken away if they recklessly used the coin, it would be wise to just keep it first. Kayla decides to rest her eyes and lay more relaxed on the wall, thinking, ¡®How long will it take for them to find us?¡¯


    TO BE CONTINUED¡­

 Chapter 14: The Sound Of The Bell

    The both of them have been waiting for quite a long time in silence, Kayla has started to think that something must have happened to them, thirty minutes have passed and Kayla finally loses her patience, ¡°Are you sure we didn''t have to go and find them?¡±


    ¡°No use¡±, he said simply, Kayla didn''t understand what he meant at first, but then she realized that they would only get lost trying to find them because they probably had moved around someplace they didn''t know, so it would be best to just stay here and wait for them, so Kayla didn''t have any choice and could only sigh heavily.


    She couldn''t help but stare at him with an annoyed expression and sighed heavily, after she had calmed down a bit, she then suggested something, ¡°Instead of sitting here doing nothing, how about we search for the next key?¡±, since all of the card is in her hands, it will be a waste to just sitting and doing nothing like this, she could get this chance to sorted the card since Steven has a source of lights.


    Steven didn''t say anything and for a moment Kayla thought that he had gone, because it was so dark that she couldn''t really see his silhouette, so Kayla extended her hand trying to reach towards him, her heart almost jumped out from her chest when suddenly a hand much bigger than her grabbing her arms tightly. ¡°I suggest that you throw all the cards away¡±, he said while letting go of Kayla''s hands.


    ¡°It has never been good to let others know that you know much more compared to them¡±, his tone was calm, Kayla could only sigh, ¡°I also feel the same, but they said to take it first and then threw it away later since we don''t know if we could find that original place again¡±, now thinking about it, she feels that she is very dumb indeed. Even if they pick up all of the cards, how could they search for all of these keys and how could they guarantee that they could find other people to share it with? And even if they did share it with other people, would they be thankful for it or would they turn to bite them instead? Who in the world would do such a stupid thing?


    Kayla couldn''t help but laugh at herself, she won''t say that she is a saint that wishes everyone to be safe and try to help others as much as she can, because she is not that stupid and innocent, she knows that in this world, there are many people who will hurt others for their own interest, there is one things that people said is right, To know one heart, you have to see it when you are at the bottom of the abyss. Because at that time you will know who will be the one standing by your side. Everybody has their own thought and priorities, you can''t force someone to walk the same path as you. But in here where you could lose your life so easily like that, Kayla hope that everybody will show some sympathy and work well together to get out of this mess.


    Steven didn''t say anything and the atmosphere became awkward for a moment, Kayla didn''t expect that Steven would open his mouth to talk first, ¡°I.. have found an interesting room deep inside this alley¡ª Instead of a room, it could be said to be a hidden paradise. The place is very bright and surrounded by water, and there is a white octagon gazebo placed directly in the middle of the room, there is only one path that directly leads you to the gazebo¡±


    Kayla still couldn''t understand what he was talking about, all of this already felt bizarre enough for her, so when she heard that, she didn''t feel the excitement any longer. But the next words he said, is what truly astonished her, ¡°I already take a close look at it. There is a certain word written with golden paint on the floor, ¡®Exchanged three for freedom¡¯¡±


    Kayla could feel her hair stood on all ends, ¡°You mean.. they wanted us to change three people''s lives for our freedom?¡±, this is bad, really bad. If people knew that place, there would certainly be a huge fight happening, people would start to snatch the keys from each other and if things went bad they could even.. Kayla didn''t dare to think about it, after seeing someone die with her own eyes, she knew that something much worse would happen. Don''t see that they were providing meals for them, all were just basic necessities, anyone could go mad if they stayed there for too long. Kayla could feel her whole body getting cold, and she suddenly felt scared and didn''t know what to do.


    Steven seemed to sense her anxiety and said, ¡°That is why I told you to throw the card first, it is best that we pretend not to know anything. But even so, we couldn''t keep this secret forever, there might be some people who already know about this and are in search of it. I am telling you this because I wanted you to choose, do you want to get out of here first before it everyone knows, or do you want to wait and see the situation first¡ª But seeing how you reacted, I suggest that you get out of here and protect yourself first¡±, his tone is calm and cold, Kayla heart is still thumping loudly,


    ¡°I.. ¡°, her words get stuck on her throat. It would be a lie if she said that she didn''t want to get out of there, but to think that she has to sacrifice three people''s lives for her freedom seems too much for her. They still didn''t know what would happen to those people and themselves in all of this, one thing she is sure of is that she really hates the system here, ¡®What kind of crazy people use real people for their games?! They really have nothing better to do anymore!!¡¯, Kayla was so angry that her eyes went red in anger and sadness in her heart, her hand tightened in a fist, and she hugged her legs closely to her, she suddenly really wanted to go home and talk all about it to her mom and dad. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Steven let out a small sigh, ¡°You don''t need to think too much, we are basically strangers to each other, you don''t need to feel sorry for them¡±, Kayla didn''t say anything, her tears silently dropped from her eyes,


    ¡°How about you? Since you already know the way out, why are you still sitting here?¡±


    ¡°I can''t find the key¡±, Steven said simply, Kayla didn''t reply to his words, she silently pulled out some of the cards from her pocket and silently offered it to him. Steven didn''t take it, so Kayla thought that he didn''t feel her hand approaching, so Kayla open her mouth to say something, but Steven already said it first, ¡°I wanted to see how you choose, so I stayed¡±


    Kayla is looking at him with disbelief in her eyes, ¡®Is it really fun to see me making a fool out of myself?¡¯


    Steven clearly knows that she is glaring at him, but he doesn''t say anything. They could faintly hear the sound of footsteps coming toward them, Steven immediately got up followed by Kayla, and he quickly stood in front of her on alert. They could hear the sound of talking(more like arguing) not far from them, Kayla clearly recognized this sound, ¡°Aaron? Diane? Is that you?¡±, she asked carefully.


    There was a silence in the air for a moment, but she could instantly hear Clara squeak in happiness, ¡°Oh my god! I thought we would never find her! Kayla!! Where are you?!¡±


    After checking the other party to be the one they had been waiting for, Steven pulled out a lighter and lit up his candle. As soon as Aaron saw him, he ran up to him, Kayla had predicted it before and immediately blocked his way, ¡°Wait! Lets all have a nice talk, he didn''t do anything to me, don''t worry¡±


    Aaron wanted to say more, but since the person getting involved herself didn''t say anything, he also couldn''t say anything and only glared at him. Clara finds this chance to throw herself at Kayla, ¡°I must tell you something, we just met with a terrifying group of people¡±


    ¡°You have met with other people?¡±, Kayla asked interested, but instead of feeling happy, Kayla could see that their expression was not promising, so this must be a poor meeting. Diane couldn''t hide her hatred anymore and scoffed, ¡°Not just that, they are also the stupidest and ridiculous type of person that I hate the most¡±


    Kayla blinked questioningly at them, and Diane started to explain what had happened to them, ¡°We met with two girls on the way to find you, they said that they had made a group with other containing more than twenty people working together, so we decided to go and take a look. Just as we entered, someone who looked like the leader of the group came forward pretending to be friendly, asking us if we had found something useful and telling us to share it as a form of kindness¡±, she said the last words sarcastically and continued, ¡°Of course, we didn''t plan to say anything, but because we looked like someone who is too smart to know nothing, they didn''t really want to let us go, so we fight a bit¡±


    Kayla was shocked by her words, Diane said that when they wanted to leave, they keep on pressuring them to stay, saying something like,


    ¡°We have someone who takes ahold of a card and it says that as long as we find all the keys, we could get out of here. But later on, we noticed that it had changed, and that is when we found the first key. That is when we decided to go back and search for the card, but a shame, we didn''t know the way back. Do you perhaps know the way back to the original place?¡±, he asked


    Aaron and Diane looks at each other, somehow they have a tacit understanding that this person seems suspicious, so they immediately reject him, ¡°No, we didn''t¡±


    But that person just smiles, ¡°But you must have known about the card right? Do you have any clues or any card left? We could search for it together, why don''t you guys stay, a lot more people are much more better right?¡±, that is when Diane realized that he must have seen Clara''s nervous expression, she stepped forward and hide Clara behind her and Aaron politely rejected him, ¡°No thanks, we are doing fine on our own¡±


    Because they rejected them so boldly, it makes it look like they have something to hide and that makes them become more interested in them, that is when Diane finally snapped, ¡°Well, it will be easier if all of us used our heads, but if it was only one person, I doubted it will work¡±, she sarcastically said. That person''s face twitched a little but still maintained his calmness and smile, Diane didn''t want to play with them any longer and pulled Clara out with her, ¡°If you want to keep on dealing with them you do it, I will go first¡±


    That is when some of them block her way, Diane looks at them with anger in her eyes, and that person suddenly laughs, ¡°Seeing you wanted to leave so badly. Does it mean that you are afraid that we will snatch away what you have? We didn''t have any bad intention, we just simply wanted to get out of here, so if you know anything, just anything, we would appreciate it¡±


    Diane took a glance at Aaron and the both of them nodded, Diane immediately punched the person blocking her way hard until he fell to the floor, she shouted to Clara to run as fast as she could as she, Aaron, and Jeremy followed behind closely, that is how they escape from them. Kayla was rendered speechless by the things they had just gone through, when she was about to say something, Diane started blabbering again, ¡°They just keep on gathering idiotic people together and try to see where it could lead them, so foolish!¡±


    Kayla could only give them a small awkward smile, she couldn''t help but find something strange from their story,


    ¡°But the keys we find in both of the rooms are quite easy, what do they mean by only finding one?¡±


    ¡°Could it be that they are lying to us?¡±, Jeremy said.


    Steven who has been quiet suddenly speaks, ¡°You are quite lucky, I have been to many of the rooms, and some of the rooms indeed have nothing in them¡±, Kayla looks at him with surprise, ¡®Are we really that lucky?¡ª Then this place must be really huge, considering that each room is not small in size either¡¯


    When they were still lost in thought, they suddenly heard the sound of a bell ring once, it was very clear and sounded very noble and calming, they all looked at each other in dazed, ¡®What the hell is that again??¡¯, Kayla sighed heavily and feels her head twitching in distress.


    TO BE CONTINUED ..

 Chapter 15: Sandbox Room

    Kayla suddenly has a very bad feeling growing in her heart, the feeling is so strong that she shudders from it, she feels that something big is about to happen. Nobody dared to say a word after that sound, they could only look at each other with questions and concerns. But after waiting for a few minutes, nothing really happened, so they silently let out the breath they had been holding.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, better not to stay at one place for a long time¡±, Steven stated and Kayla nodded in agreement. Aaron looked like he wanted to say something, he didn¡¯t seem to like the idea of going together with Steven, Kayla saw that and reassured him, telling him that everything was going to be alright. Even though Aaron wanted to refute it, he couldn¡¯t, because what Steven said was right, it is better to not stay in one place for too long.


    They decided to find a safe place first to discuss what they would do with the cards. Kayla noticed that it had become much harder to find the entrance of the room the more they walked deep inside. They have been walking for half an hour and they just walked passed by three rooms so far. Kayla silently took a glance at the candle Steven was holding, they had been waking for quite some time, and yet the candle didn¡¯t seem to be burning that much,


    ¡°Do you still have another candle?¡±, she asked carefully. Steven suddenly pulled out a candle out of nowhere and almost shoved it in her face, she silently let out a sigh of relief, ¡®It is good that he has a spare¡¯.


    Steven stopped and turned around to look at her, and that is when Kayla realized that he was still offering her the candle. Kayla politely refused, ¡°I was just asking in case this one burned out, just one person holding the light is enough¡±, Steven didn''t say anything and kept on going, Clara who saw it couldn''t help but comment, ¡°Is he a mute? He has a mouth but didn''t know how to speak!¡±


    ¡°Better than the one who didn''t know when to use it¡±, Steven responded. Clara didn''t quite understand what he was talking about, but it felt like he was cursing at her. She clicked her tongue in annoyance and wanted to scold him again when Kayla silently shook her head with her pleading eyes, telling her not to continue, so Clara could only pouted.


    ¡°I have been wondering, are all of these alleys connected to each other?¡±, Diane questioned, Kayla also has been wondering about that, because there was no way that they could meet up with Steven so coincidentally when they were running blindly, how could they be so lucky to meet him.


    ¡°Possible, the structure here is very complicated, I couldn¡¯t find the way I first came¡±, he replied coldly.


    Kayla silently nodded, she also had a hard time remembering the way since they were also running frantically, so it was not strange, but the thing that bothered her the most was, ¡®How deep has this person explored? Don''t tell me that he didn''t need the rest?''


    Kayla fell into deep thinking when suddenly Steven stopped walking, ¡°Let¡¯s throw the card here¡±, Kayla took a peek and found it quite interesting, it was a room full of sand and there was an excavator located in the middle of it. The room is like a sandbox you would play in when you were a child, but this one is on a bigger scale, Jeremy''s eyes glistened in excitement, and he quickly hopped in and played with the sand.


    ¡®That is why we have been strolling around, he is trying to find a good place to get rid of the cards¡¯, Kayla thought and also walked inside, the room felt safe enough, so she could finally feel a little relaxed. They decided to sit in a circle and have a serious discussion,


    ¡°How about like this, we take three cards for each of us and get rid of the rest of them¡±, Kayla suggested, Clara and Jeremy immediately nodded their heads, but Aaron and Diane looked at her with question,


    ¡°Why three?¡±, Diane asked, Kayla slowly turned to look at Steven, his face was still the same indifference, so Kayla believed that it was alright to tell them what Steven had told her. When they heard that, their face also turned concerned, but somehow hope had grown in their heart that they could finally get out of here.


    ¡°You mean really get out? Really out from here?¡±, Clara asked anxiously, Kayla nodded, but truly, she herself was not sure either, ¡°Then we really could get out!!¡±, Clara squeaked happily, it seemed that she had gotten enough of this place. Kayla became silent, and she decided to talk about the things she had been thinking,


    ¡°I have my worries, I have been thinking, if they used up all the coins then what would happen to the rest of us¡±


    They all become silent, all of them seem to be in deep thinking except for Steven who is still looking aloof and unbothered. Aaron tried hard to remember the things he had been encountering and he could only say, ¡°I think we have been missing a couple of details along the way. If I remember it correctly, the card says to find the keys and exchange them with your comrades, but at the end of the line, it says the games won''t end until you have collected all the coins¡ª So it could be as you said, we need to hit a certain amount of coins to be able to get out of here¡±


    ¡°So you are saying that they gave us another way out to try to break us apart?¡±, Clara finally realized what they were talking about and didn''t feel that thrilled anymore.


    ¡°But wouldn''t it be alright as long as we find all the keys?¡±, Jeremy added.


    ¡°But saving has turned into sacrificing, there must be some sort of cost we need to pay¡±, Kayla replied. Diane looks at her and immediately knows what she is thinking about,


    ¡°Think about it Kayla, don''t you find it pretty strange? They said they would evaluate us for three months, this is just the first week, there is no way that they will immediately eliminate all of us¡ª Just like he said, the temptation they gave us was to exchange the coins for our own freedom, but if all of us chose that option, then we all wouldn''t be able to get out of here safely presuming like what you said. Then the purpose of this test is to see whether we could reunite so we could get out together, I don''t believe they could instantly kill*d them just for that reason¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°The blood looks real¡±, Aaron sarcastically speak on the side.


    ¡°Them trying to harm us is also real! If that accident didn''t happen, the one who would be dying now would be Kayla!!¡±, she snapped, she was saying that both of the matters were not the same, that the man died from his own doing, and it had nothing to do with this test.


    Steven who has been silent for a long time suddenly spoke, ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the initial conversation¡±, he said flatly. Kayla took a glance at him and he seemed to be worried, so Kayla quickly divided the cards to all of them, telling them to choose the one they liked or they thought would be an easy obstacle to pass. As they were sorting, Clara and Jeremy couldn''t help but keep on commenting,


    ¡°We have been taking it with us with great difficulties, why should we throw it away¡±, she pouted. Diane looks like she wants to slap her on the head, but she is busy looking at the card, so she can only scold her, ¡°You stupid? They have been suspicious of us, you wanted to die?¡±


    Clara couldn''t accept it and refuted, ¡°It is not like we will meet with them again! And if it is like this, better not to take it all in the first place!!¡±


    Diane finally snapped and looked at her with fire in her eyes, making Clara tremble in fear, ¡°Didn¡¯t we agree that we would help to distribute the card?! Who knows that the people this year are so annoyingly foolish and self-oriented!!¡±


    Kayla who sat between the two of them could only close her ears as they kept on yelling beside her ears, the source of the light was only one and they had put it in the middle, so they had to squeeze close to each other to be able to look clearly at the card, when they keep on going, Kayla finally have enough and raised both of her hand to their face, telling them to stop, ¡°Guys, stop! That is enough. Don''t keep on arguing about the things that have passed. Let''s focus on what we have at hand.. please?¡±


    That is when they finally stopped, Kayla could finally let out a sigh of relief and continued to look at her cards before she noticed something, ¡°Wait. What do you mean by ¡°people this year?¡±¡±, she turned to look at Diane. She seems to be a little startled but quickly maintains her expression, ¡°I was just saying that these people are much worse than the people I see in my school¡±


    Kayla give a simple ¡°Oh¡± and focused back on her cards before Jeremy groaned, ¡°What is there to choose really?! Couldn''t we just blindly choose?¡±, he kept on rubbing his eyes, it seemed that his eyes had started to hurt. Before Kayla could say any reassuring words, Diane once again answered him first with an annoyed tone, ¡°If the clues say crocodile, do you really want to jump in the pool?¡±, Diane roars. Kayla could only let out an awkward laugh and told him to be patient with it, since the words were indeed small and with such a dim light, it would be much harder to read it.


    ¡°This card is empty¡±, Aaron suddenly said, he placed it near the light to let them see clearly, it indeed had nothing written in it, it had become a blank card, even the number had disappeared. Diane also finds something similar, ¡°This card also has become empty¡±,


    ¡°That could only mean one thing, the key has been found, so the information on the cards has been useless¡±, Aaron concluded.


    ¡°So.. do we take the cards with us, or do we leave them here?¡±, Jeremy looks at the card with a confused expression.


    ¡°I think since the keys have been found the cards would be useless, wouldn''t they?¡±, Clara slowly mutters, they don¡¯t say anything, but they silently agree with it. Kayla continued to examining the card and she noticed something odd, ¡°This card.. has a golden glow in it¡±, Kayla took it out to let them see, ¡®We didn''t notice this before, could it be because we are in a hurry? Or is it because it is too dark to see¡¯. The card looks exactly the same as the others, but the pattern beside it has a golden glitter glow in it, at the bottom of the card, the words inscribed there were ¡°Deer¡±


    They looked at each other, ¡°Should we choose this? But the back is so complicated¡±, Clara whines. It indeed is, the arrows have nearly covered all the back of the cards, meaning that this room is located very deep inside.


    ¡°Usually the best one is the hardest one, how about we choose that?¡±, Jeremy seems excited, he seems to have forgotten that this place could make your life much easier than you think. Kayla originally disagreed about this, but her curiosity got the best of her, ¡°How about we take it just for spare? If we have the time we could go, and if not, let''s just ignore it¡±, they all silently agree with it and continue their search.


    ¡°Hey, I also got it!¡±, Jeremy said happily. After they carefully sorted it, they found ten cards that had the golden glitter glow in them, and all of them had a very complicated arrow at the back of them.


    ¡°What should we do now?¡±, Jeremy looks confused, Kayla also didn''t expect that there could be ten cards like this, so she also felt helpless. Diane suddenly laugh, feeling funny, ¡°What is there to be stressed about? Just take it all with us, I have a good feeling that it would be great¡±


    Kayla looked at her with a silly face, ¡®How could you be so confident about that¡¯, she let out a low sigh, ¡®Doesn¡¯t matter, let''s just hurry and get it done with¡¯, she was actually pretty tired and all she wanted was to get it all done with, find a safe place, and have some rest. So they decided to take twenty cards with them, ten with golden glitter glow and ten without it. Steven who finish first, got up and got on to the excavator, fiddling with the machine.


    ¡°You sure you can? Should I go up?¡±, Aaron asked when the machine was still not moving, but the next moment, the bucket moved and they moved further away, afraid of being hit. Steven didn''t say anything, but it seemed that he had already gotten the hang of it, he kept on digging on the sand and still couldn''t find the base, Kayla couldn''t help but look at it shockingly, ¡®How deep was the floor?¡¯


    After digging for around two to three meters, Kayla threw all the unused cards in and Steven buried them with the sand again, making it as if nothing had ever happened before, which quite amazed Kayla, ¡®This is his first time controlling it right? He is doing quite a good job¡¯. After he was finished, he got off and patted the dust off from his hands.


    They decided to take a rest here first before departing, they plan to set off after they eat something first, since lunchtime is near,  they are planning to wait there. Kayla was beginning to doze off when she suddenly she heard a very loud yet dimmed "clang" sound, which immediately made her wide awake. All of them become alert, but after waiting for a moment, nothing happens.


    Their heart immediately jumped when they heard something from above them, but after squeezing their eyes to focus on what it is they let out a sigh of relief,


    ¡°It seems that the lunch is here¡±, Diane said, ¡°Why do I feel like I am being fed like a dog?¡±, she said coldly and annoyed.


    ¡°At least they give us decent food¡±, Clara commented. Kayla looked at the lunchbox that had meat in it and a bottle of water, they indeed gave them a proper meal, but who would be able to handle this place for long, ¡®Just hopes that nothing bad will happen¡¯.


    TO BE CONTINUED¡­

 Chapter 16: Quicksand

    As usual, Kayla couldn¡¯t really eat a lot when she was under a lot of stress, so she gave some of it to Jeremy, who smiled stupidly like a child. Diane who didn''t like what she saw, couldn''t help but snort,


    ¡°Even if you find it hard to swallow the food, you have to do it too, or else you are going to collapse in this state¡±, she said, Clara also nodded in agreement, ¡°You have to eat a lot. Here, I will give you one of my meat¡±.


    Kayla could only smile at their kind words, it is not like she doesn''t want to eat, but if she eats too much, she is afraid that she can''t fight when she has to, it is like you didn''t like to eat a lot of food before the marathon or competition, because it will make you lose focus. That is how Kayla is feeling, she feels the need to be on constant alert, so she can''t eat too full, ¡°It is alright, I usually didn¡¯t eat a lot too¡±, she reassured them.


    They quickly finished their meals and decided to take some rest before preparing to set off, Jeremy who finished his meals first went around to play with the excavator out of curiosity and perhaps because of his playful mind, ¡°Say, do you think there will be another key hidden in here? Should we find it?¡±, he asked. When they were sorting out the card, they also planned to search for clues about this place, but they couldn''t find it, it must have been taken away by other people.


    ¡°Jeremy, don¡¯t play anymore, we will set off in a few minutes, you should get proper rest too¡±, Clara scolded him, Jeremy quickly shrugged it off, ¡°I am alright. If there was a sea here, then it would have been even better. We could even take a simple bath¡±, he pouted.


    ¡°You want to take a bath in seawater? Only an idiot like you would do so¡±, Diane snorted.


    Jeremy huffed in annoyance, when he wanted to talk back to her, the sudden sound of a bell rang once again, "Ring", it only rang once, just like before, it was loud and clear, but this sound was a little different compared to the one before, it is much raspy and sounded like a cheaper bell. Everyone''s attention got caught by the bell and they fell into deep thought, it was not until they heard Jeremy''s scream that were awakened from their daze. Jeremy has climbed down from the excavator, but the sand he is standing on has started to swallow him down alongside the excavator.


    ¡®Quicksand?!!¡¯


    They immediately rushed to him, Steven blocked Kayla from going any closer to him. Kayla looks at Jeremy who keeps on being engulfed by the sand, it has reached his knees. Kayla immediately inspected her surroundings, trying to find anything that could be thrown for him to catch, but only sand could be seen at sight.


    ¡°Lay down! Try to lay down!¡±, Aaron shouted, Jeremy become more panicked and started to move around, which cause him to got sucked down much faster. Steven immediately frowned and said,


    ¡°Keep on moving and you will disappear within a second¡±, his tone was so cold that it gave you a shiver, Jeremy also couldn''t help but stay frozen.


    ¡°Try to reach out to the excavator¡±, Steven said, Jeremy turned to reach for the excavator and managed to grab a part of it.


    ¡°Now. Slowly climb up, very slowly, try to relax your body¡±, Steven directed him, Jeremy seemed to be trembling, but he was doing his best to stay calm. Aaron wanted to jump up to the excavator to help Jeremy, but Steven prevented him, ¡°If you added more weight, I am afraid it will sunken faster¡±, Aaron clicked his tongue in frustration, not knowing what to do except to wait Jeremy to climb out on his own. But it seems the direction is working, because slowly but surely, Jeremy''s legs has started to get out little by little, perhaps because the excavator has tilted and the weight has focus on one side, it has begun to sunken much quicker, Kayla got anxious and keep on praying, ¡®Please.. get out quickly¡¯


    The moment Jeremy''s legs were out of the sand, Aaron quickly told him to jump to him, which he did and the both of them fell to the ground, and by that time, only a small part of the machine could be seen. They all quickly rushed to his side, ¡°Are you alright?¡±, Kayla asked worriedly, it seemed he is a bit shocked, but there was no visible wound, so that was a relief.


    ¡°I.. did I almost just die?¡±, Jeremy said trembling, his eyes tearing up like a lost puppy, ¡°I.. I just survived right?!¡±, he asked to make sure, Kayla nodded at him and smiled, ¡°Good job¡±, but Jeremy suddenly weep loudly, ¡°I still haven''t turned twenty, I still haven''t tasted all the delicacy in the world!¡±, he burst into tears. Seeing him like this, Kayla didn''t know whether she should laugh or cry, she just looked at her stupidly, ¡®Well.. that is expected from him¡¯


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    ¡°Let''s go, better not stay here for long¡±, Steven said and left without even waiting for them to respond, Clara didn''t like his attitude at all, ¡°Who does he think he is?!! Jeremy is still in shock!!¡±, she turned to looks at Jeremy who is still weeping. Kayla could feel her head hurting from all the commotion, ¡°He is right, let''s get out of here, could you get up Jeremy?¡±, he was still crying but the next moment he immediately calmed down and nodded, Kayla couldn''t help but shakes her head after seeing his mood, ¡®I seriously didn''t know what to do with you¡¯, she sighed internally.


    ***


    In a large room that looks like a big hall, located secretively inside the palace, the room was filled with high equipment devices and computers that were placed neatly and efficiently for the one who wished to use them. A series of glass-like monitors hanging tall and a big table controller below that has a lot of buttons and mechanisms in it. All of this magnificent and majestic things were only controlled by one person who sits at a comfortable and luxurious chair that looks custom-made for him. His pupils were a clear grey color yet his gaze looked bored and dull, he had an admirable face, especially combined with his purple hair color, making him look very attractive, but his gaze made it as if he was someone hard to approach.


    ¡°You know it is against the rules for you to come out first right, Henry?¡±, he said to the people walking towards him from behind. He took off the glasses he was wearing with cool gestures and ruffled his hair. He is the person Kayla met outside of the bathroom, after taking off his glasses and taking off his strange hairstyle that didn''t fit him, he immediately becomes someone completely different, even though his crystal clear silver hair and dark brown eyes contrast with each other, but for some reason, it only makes make him look conquering, especially when he glares at you, completely matches him, there are no aura that tell others that he is weak or delicate.


    ¡°I have done my job, so there is no reason for me to stay, the rest is up to them. But I must say, you have done a good job with the card Louis, it is very elegant and thin¡±, Henry said while grabbing another chair for him to sit on.


    ¡°You are the second person I know who dares to do whatever you like¡±, Louis said sarcastically, Henry laughed at his words, ¡°You are wrong, only people who have power and money that can changed the rules¡±, he said proudly, he took the tablet from the desk and shuffling the content, ¡°Kayla.. Kayla.. Here, Kayla Sterendelle, where is she right now?¡±, he gave the tablet back to him, Louis took a glance at the screen and looked at him,


    ¡°You want her?¡±


    Henry give a very meaningful smile, ¡°They said to put the bet in, but they didn''t say that we can''t choose one of them to be ours¡±


    ¡°How about for him?¡±, Louis asked.


    ¡°He is the one who is not interested in this, he is supposed to evaluate the exam, but I came here for his sake!¡±, he took the tablet back and searched for something, ¡°Here, I will recommend this person to him. Didn''t he like someone cute? This person likes to act cute and pitiful, which must be quite suitable for a cold person like him¡±, Henry thought about it again and couldn''t help but laugh, ¡°She looks ordinary, yes a little cute, but her smiles are hiding a lot of meaning, I always got goosebumps whenever I saw her. Must be fun to see how he will deal with her¡±


    Louis didn''t even pretend to hear what he is saying, ¡°There, she is there¡±, he pointed to one of the screens, Henry looked at it and smiled, ¡®I hope I am not choosing the wrong person¡¯


    ***


    They set off to the first destination that are not too far away from their location(at least that is what they thought),


    ¡°We have been walking for half an hour just for one turn? Then how long will be able to arrive?¡±, Clara whined, it seemed that her physical fitness was not that well, but considering how they have been going around since yesterday, it is pretty understandable. Even Kayla has started to not feel too well. Out of the three of the girls, it seems only Diane who has a much stronger physic, she doesn''t seem to be that tired.


    ¡°I have been wondering, is it this place that is so big, or is it because we have lost the sense of time and place that we thought that this place was big¡±, Kayla wondered, Aaron also have been feeling the same, since being so long in an enclosed space without light can sometimes make you feel delusional.


    ¡°You are not crazy, it is indeed massive¡±, Steven said, Kayla turned to look at him and he seemed to be counting something, ¡®Ah! Could he be counting his footsteps? That is a good idea, it could at least cleanse your mind¡¯, but Kayla didn''t have the mood to count, she could entrusted that to him. She is more focused on external voices aside from them, so she could at least be prepared when someone decides to attack.


    After walking for two hours, they finally arrived at their destination, ¡°I think nobody has ever walked so deep as us¡±, Jeremy wiped the sweat from his forehead. The clue written in the card for this room is ¡°Fabric¡±, and as expected, the moment they peek inside the room, it is filled with all kind of cloth in different materials, cotton, wool, silk, leather, you named it.


    ¡°This cloth looks very exquisite¡±, Diane complimented, Kayla also touched one of the cloths and it was indeed very smooth, the colors are also very bright and lovely. They all decided to take a rest first before searching for the keys, Jeremy immediately lay down and started snoring, Clara also did the same thing, putting the clothes on the ground and cuddling in it.


    ¡°Take a rest, we will guard first¡±, Aaron said, Kayla nodded and turned to look at Diane who had helped her to lay the clothes down as cover, she said her thanks and lay down, Kayla initially thought that she won''t be able to sleep, but tiredness took over her and she fall asleep not long after.


    TO BE CONTINUED..

 Chapter 17: Collecting Coins

    Kayla suddenly woke up from her dream, she didn''t know if it was because she had gotten enough rest or because her consciousness was telling her to get up, all she knows that she had a very disturbing feeling creeping into her heart. Because it was dark, she couldn¡¯t really see what was happening around her, which made her feel more alert. When she wanted to call out to Aaron and Steven, a hand suddenly came from behind her and covered her mouth, her heart almost jumped out of her chest and she tried to struggle when she heard a very familiar voice,


    ¡°Sshh, there are people near us¡±, it is Aaron, he gently moved his hands away, Kayla turned to his direction, and since her eyes had adjusted a little, she could see an outline of a person in front of her and nodded.


    Just like before, they decided to find a better spot that is located deep inside the room, at the very corner of the room to take a rest. Yet in the darkness, Kayla could hear small faint whispers coming from quite a distance from them, from the tone, it sounded like people arguing about something. The three of them decided to sneak out to hear what they were arguing about. They decided to hide beside the entrance door, not wanting to get out of the room and confront those people, the sound they heard was more like an echo, so that meant those people were quite far away from them.


    ¡°Hurry! We need to find the key and get out of here, I don¡¯t want to stay here any longer¡±


    ¡°Have you seen how that group of people have started to hit other people? They are so screwed up man¡±


    ¡°I am very curious about that person who has successfully gotten out first. He is seriously sick! Who would be proudly announcing to everyone how to get out like that?¡±


    ¡°But at least we now know how to get out of this hell place!!¡±


    The sound is coming from three different people, hearing their conversation, Kayla couldn''t help but stand there stunned on the spot, ¡®So people indeed have known about that room, and they said that people have gotten out?¡¯, she then suddenly remembered about the sound of the bell, she turns around to look at Aaron, she couldn''t see his face but it seems that they are making the same horrified expression. Assuming that the bell is indeed to tell them that someone has successfully passed the examination, then somehow it kind of makes sense to them to hear that bell sound.


    The three of them decided to go back to where the other were sleeping and sit down to have a conversation. Steven lit up one of his candles and put it in the middle, they could have just used one of the clothes to burn it and make it as a source of light, but they were worried that the smoke and fire would get too big, so they decided to stick with just the candle.


    ¡°I have done a quick math, the keys won¡¯t be enough for us all to get out of here, and we still didn''t know if there is indeed any requirement to collect a certain amount of keys in exchange for all of us getting out of here. We need a plan¡±, Kayla said worriedly, her eyebrows knitted together and face full of concern.


    ¡°What plan? Plan to tell them to stay together and hear you out?¡±, Steven suddenly said with a cold tone, his eyes sharp and staring icily at Kayla. Kayla became quiet and looked at him with her big clear eyes, it was as if someone got her tongue and she couldn''t seem to find a reason to refute him. She is not a ludicrous person, she knows clearly that in such a dangerous situation and surging instinct for survival, providing another unknown route that they themselves are not even sure about when they have clearly seen the light is almost impossible, who will want to hear her words, it will only backfire and everyone will see her as someone who is trying to get in the way, and worse, they will even eliminate her.


    A bell suddenly rang again, this time it was also that kind of raspy and old sound, their face turned ugly, seems like many people have started to gain the rhythm, which means a lot of people were brutally searching for the key right now.


    ¡°We have got the upper hand now, we have the cards, we know where the key is located. Protecting yourself is much more important¡±, Steven stated firmly.


    ¡°He is right¡±, Diane suddenly said, it seems that she had woken up for quite a while but decided to stay silent and hear what they were about to say. ¡°It is no use to say anything now that they believe they have found a way out¡±, Kayla still looked worried, but she somehow has also agreed that it was useless now. Diane tap her shoulder in reassurance,


    ¡°You don''t need to try to convince them, if they are smart, they won''t do anything so recklessly like this. You don''t need to care for someone who doesn''t have the will to be saved, just make sure you stay alive and that is enough. Not many people will wish for you to be alive and live well either¡±, she says with a mockery smile in her face, it seems that she has seen so many things that she has lost touch of the kindness of the world. It is kind of weird and surprising for Kayla though, since they are about the same age, yet she has such a stern and fierce heart.


    ¡°I understand, I was just.. not sure we should let them jump into the abyss like this, not all of them seek for death, there might be some people who were just at a loss¡±, Kayla reasoned, her face looking stressed and bothered.


    ¡°We could just leave a clue before we get out, no fuss¡±, Diane said easily and without worries, Kayla let out a small sigh, she knew that she couldn''t change their belief, and she clearly knew that they wanted her to choose the best option not just for herself, but for all of them. They are not forbidding and scolding her for wanting to save others, they are just telling her to put herself first before others.


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    ¡°Let''s not waste any time any longer, we will search for the key while you two boys take a rest first¡±, Diane announced and pulled Kayla together with her. The both of them walked away and began searching for the keys, the place was quite big and there was much cloth placed around the whole room, some in the wardrobe, some hanging around in the wall and even lining up in the line of rope and some even placed very high up in the sky. They decided to search section by section so they wouldn''t miss any corners. Diane suddenly pulled her into a corner,


    ¡°I suggest that you don''t mention anything about helping the other anymore¡±, she whispers, Kayla looks at her with question.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you see his expression when you mention it? It is like he wanted to skin you alive¡±, Diane said seriously, Kayla looked at her with disbelief, ¡°You are exaggerating it¡±


    Diane clicked her tongue in annoyance, ¡°Do you think I won''t be able to see it? Don''t ever get in his way, I think he won''t even hesitate to eliminate you right away¡±


    Kayla is baffled and couldn''t help but think that her words are a little too much, ¡°If he wanted to kill one of us, he wouldn''t have to join us in the first place¡±


    ¡°Why don''t you think that it is because he wanted to get the card from us¡±, Diane refuted.


    Kayla turned to look at her, somehow Kayla was confused about her deep distrust towards other people, as if.. she had gotten betrayed a lot, so much that she had a certain trauma in engaging with other people. Kayla could somehow understand her worries, yet she was also doubtful about her worries, since Steven hadn''t shown them any sign that he wanted to betray them.


    ¡°Don''t think too much, we have held two keys with us right now, if he wanted to use us and get out of here alone, he would have done so, or he could do it when he got ahold of the card¡±


    Diane looks unsatisfied with her answer, ¡°Up to you¡±, she answers coldly, it seems that she is really angry or she doesn''t want to care about her anymore. Kayla suddenly felt a little bad and scratched her cheeks with her index finger in regret, ¡°I will listen to your warning to heart, you don''t need to worry¡±


    Diane didn''t reply, and she knows that this time she had done it bad, so she only tapped her shoulder lightly and went on her way to find the key, she thought that it would be a good idea to give her some time to calm down. After searching for the key here and there, Kayla couldn''t seem to find the key, so the both of them came to a tacit understanding and looked up at the same time.


    ¡°They.. won''t put it above us right?¡±, Kayla asked with uncertainty.


    ¡°Given how nasty their tricks were, I won¡¯t be surprised¡±, she replied. Kayla suddenly felt helpless, and let out a big sighed. Diane who hears it suddenly laugh at her, ¡°Why? Feeling tired already?¡±, she asked playfully, Kayla didn''t answer her immediately and pondered for quite a moment, seeing her unusual behavior, Diane added, ¡°What? You are really feeling unwell?¡±, her tone a little startled. Kayla immediately shakes her head, ¡°No, I just wondering if the key really was up there¡±


    Diane feels a little skeptical, ¡°You are not feeling offended by my words are you?¡±, she seems a little upset, or more like disappointed when she said that.


    ¡°No¡±, Kayla laughed, ¡°I know you are saying it for my own good, I should be the one worrying that you will feel upset about it¡±, she said. The both of them look at each other eyes for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.


    ¡°Alright, you wait for me here¡±, Diane said. Kayla originally thought that she was going to call for the boys, so she nodded her head, but who knows that she suddenly shoved the candle she was holding to Kayla and immediately leaped up and grabbed one of the cloths hanging above, Kayla couldn''t help but gasp in shock, she is literally hanging in the air. Diane keeps on climbing and moving from one part of the room to the other, she makes it feels like it is very easy to do so, Kayla''s jaws almost drop to the floor when she sees it. For someone to hang on to merely a cloth, how many years of training are needed for the core strength to be able to do so?


    But it seems that it is not in vain for Diane to go up to take a look since it seems that she found something around the area in the middle of the room. Kayla quickly ran in her direction, to see if there was anything that she could help with.


    ¡°Here, catch it¡±, Diane said while aiming towards Kayla who was standing below her, carefully not to hit her. Kayla successfully catches it and it is indeed a box, Diane also swiftly climbs down and jumps down when she sees that it is in her range of height.


    Kayla dumbly stares at Diane who is standing beside her, clasping her hand to clean the dust off her hand. When she notices Kayla''s gaze directed at her, Diane''s lips curled up into a smile, ¡°What? Is it that shocking?¡±


    Kayla blinked out of it and smiled, ¡°No, I just thought that you were really cool¡±


    Diane proudly smiled at her compliment, ¡°I will teach you when we get out of here¡±, Kayla''s face immediately went pale, ¡°No, I don''t think I would be able to do it¡±


    Diane let out an interested laugh, ¡°How could you know when you haven''t even tried, I know that you..¡±, before she could even finish her words, another sound of a bell ringing again, this time it was also the same raspy, old sound. The more Kayla heard it, the more she felt creeped out about it, ¡®Is it my imagination? Why do I feel like the first bell sounded much clearer and soothing¡¯


    ¡°Have you found it?¡±, a sound suddenly come from behind them, the both of them were startled by the sound, when they turned around, they found Aaron and Steven, Clara and Jeremy also standing behind them, looks like they were awake. Kayla lifted up the box she was holding for them to see, and Aaron nodded his head.


    ¡°Let''s eat dinner first and then get out of here, the frequency of the bell ringing has gotten faster¡±, Aaron said with a worried tone. They all nodded their head in agreement, Kayla had never thought that they had slept until dinner time had passed, so they immediately ate it and set off to another place, but before that, Steven suggested they exchange the key with the coin first so that they didn''t have to take such a big and noticeable box like that, to which they immediately agreed.


    ¡°Here, it is this corridor¡±, Kayla said, they have been following the arrows that were crafted from the box and it is pointing to another empty corridor,


    ¡°It is a tiny small keyhole, let''s find it¡±, he pulled out a candle for each of them to keep, this made Kayla look at him baffled, ¡°How many candles are you carrying?¡±


    Without saying anything, Steven opens up his outer sleeveless jacket for her to see, it is full of pockets that are bulging, Kayla stands there stupidly, ¡®He is indeed something¡¯


    They began searching for it all over the place, Steven suddenly called out for them, he has found the key hole. Kayla has to kneel down to see the hole clearly, it is a very simple keyhole that is around the height of their knees,


    ¡°You inserted it and twisted it¡±, Steven instructed.


    Kayla take the key out of the box and do as she was told, not long after, the key was swallowed and a small crispy *clank* sound could be heard at the very bottom of the wall, below the keyhole, a coin had fallen out from there, ¡®This process.. is like a vending machine?¡¯, Kayla taken the key out of it and it is indeed the golden coins that Steven had showed her before, also with a different number crafted at the back of the coin.


    ¡°You could exchange the rest here¡±, Steven said, Kayla was a little surprised, she thought that they could only exchange one coins in one place, but it turned out that they could exchange multiple coins in one place, Kayla unknowingly let out a sigh of relief, ¡®That makes it much more easier¡¯


    After they were done, they decided to continue their journey to find another room, to find a safe place and really take a good night''s rest to be able to continue their journey tomorrow.


    TO BE CONTINUED¡­

 Chapter 18: Falling Into The Pit

    The nearest room is exactly not the one they were heading to right now, but the hint of that room is quite disturbing for them ¡°Balance¡±, that is the word written on the back of the card, reading these words, Diane couldn''t help but cursed,


    ¡°Who the fu**ed chose these cards?!¡±


    ¡°I do¡±, Jeremy admits, ¡°I am very good at balance, so I choose it¡±, he said innocently, as if he didn''t do anything wrong with his choice. Diane was so furious that you could see the veins popping out from her forehead, she suddenly came up to him and grabbed his collar, Kayla quickly tried to separate them, but Diane''s strength was so great that she couldn''t do anything,


    ¡°Do you only think about yourself?! How about the rest of us??!¡±


    Kayla immediately interfered, ¡°Enough! We can''t fight just because of this. Diane! Calm down¡±, she looked directly into her eyes earnestly with a pleading look. Diane finally let go of her grips, Kayla silently let out the breath she had been holding her breath, she then turned to look at Jeremy, he didn''t seem to get infuriated or offended, which was a relief. Kayla tap him on his shoulder, trying to comfort him, he turned to look at her with his puppy eyes that were going red,


    ¡°I am sorry, I have never thought about that¡±


    ¡°You are very short-sighted and self-conceited!!¡±, Diane added, Kayla turned to look at her helplessly, and Diane turned away from her stare. Kayla turned to look at Aaron and the others, their face also turned tense, just Steven who still looked unbothered and cool.


    ¡°Diane, he might not be thinking like that. Have you ever thought that it is because this is his expertise, so he chose it to help us to get the key more easily?¡±, Kayla carefully approached Diane who still looked angry. Kayla thought that perhaps it was because of the atmosphere that made her become more sensitive, Clara also looked quite unhappy now, ¡°I already told you that she is wild¡±


    Diane turned to look at her viciously, Kayla clicked her tongue in distress, telling Clara not to add fuel to the fire again, Clara became silent and pouted,


    ¡°This is not the time for this. Please..¡±, Kayla grasp her hand in her own, looking lovingly with her big clear eyes. Diane turned away from her, but Kayla kept on persuading her with her pitiful look and Diane sighed, ¡°Alright¡±


    Kayla''s lips curled up into a smile when she heard that, ¡°Alright, then we are done here alright? Jeremy also doesn''t feel offended by Diane, so this thing ended here¡±, Kayla emphasizes and the both of them nodded. After the small fight that occurs ends, they decide to proceed to the room they chose with the hint ¡°Paper¡± written in it.


    The moment they arrived, they were shocked to see what they saw, the whole room was filled with paper, and there were a lot of crafts that were made from paper of many sizes, from the smallest one like a star to the biggest one like the size of a wardrobe, ¡®How much resources they have got to spend to make something like this?¡¯


    Chandelier-like paper hanging high on above with many stars floating around with the help of a rope, very beautiful and magnificent. There are also many statues made of paper placed around the ground, and the wall was full of pictures made of paper. Kayla couldn''t really believe what she was seeing, she has heard the paper museum filled with many marvelous art made of paper, but this was entirely on a whole different level!


    The moment they stepped inside the room, Kayla became pale, the floor she just stepped on was making a weird crunchy sound, she kneeled down to inspect it and was very surprised to learn that it was made of paper. Everybody also kneeled down to check it,


    ¡°This must be a wallpaper, they really do go all out¡±, Diane said, she seemed to be in a better mood now.


    There is actually something that is bothering Kayla, but she decided to set it aside, she doesn''t even know what it is, just that weird, uncomfortable feeling, ¡®I must have been hallucinating, I keep on having this weird feeling ever since I come here¡¯, they say that you will begin to feel odd and feel like there are people staring at you when you are stressed or being trapped in a close space, so Kayla thought that she must have been scared and stressed, that is why she kept on not feeling well. ¡®Yeah.. that must be it¡¯


    ¡°But.. the statue seems a little bit scary¡±, Clara whined, there were indeed a lot of miniatures and statues scattered around the room, starting from animals, buildings, humans, and robots. It indeed could make someone feel a little uncomfortable, especially that it was made with colored paper that match the original color, which makes it as if it is alive.


    ¡°I don''t think we need to worry much, they are made of paper, it is not like it could wake up and attack us¡±, Aaron said to reassure them, but Clara got even more scared by that. Kayla also didn''t know why, but her heart was also thumping loudly. They didn''t say it, but they actually get kind of uneasy seeing so many figures made of paper, it feels like they are watching them.


    Jeremy let out an awkward laugh, ¡°Yeah, we just need a safe place to rest, I think this place is not that bad¡±


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    They are actually too tired to go to another place, they have been going around without getting any proper rest for two days, so they need to get a good rest tonight to be able to think clearly with a fresh mind. Just like before, they all decided to hide in the deepest part of the room, every room in this place was so big, it was almost the size of a hall and even bigger, it felt safe yet scary at the same time.


    Kayla and Jeremy who had gotten some rest earlier decided to take turns to guard while letting the other rest. Steven seems to be unwilling and Kayla scolded him for that,


    ¡°You are also a human, not a machine, how could withstand the exhaustion? You need to get enough rest so that you can confront whatever it is that we are going to face¡±


    Steven didn''t say anything, but it seemed that he had taken her words to heart because he immediately lay down on the floor. Kayla and Jeremy sit there spacing out, they didn''t know what to say to each other and they are also trying to save their energy. Kayla kept on stroking the floor that is made out of paper, it was kind of refreshing for her, you know when you open up a new book, there is a very unique smell coming out from it, some people might think that it is full of chemical smell, but for someone who likes books, they will find it to be a paradise.


    Out of curiosity, Kayla tries to scrap the paper using her fingernails, she found out that it was a very thin texture of real paper and there was another paper beneath it. Since she was doing it in the darkness, she wasn''t really sure about it and had to bow her head down to get a very close look at the floor, ¡®There seems to be another layer¡¯, when she broke through the second layer again and touch the third layer, her face when paled, ¡®What is this? Is the floor we step on right now made out of paper? How could this be possible?¡¯, Kayla suddenly felt her hair stand up on all ends, there was a strange creepiness she felt creep up in her heart, ¡°Can''t be possible right? This whole place is made out of paper, does that even mean that the floor is also made out of paper?¡±, she whispers to herself.


    Kayla didn''t quite believe it, she lit up the candle to look at it closely, it indeed is made of layer of paper, ¡®It is not like I think it about right? It must be because they are afraid that the paper will be crumbled apart if it is just one layer¡¯. Even after trying to calm herself down, there are still some uneasy feelings stuck in her heart, so she pulled out the coin from her pocket, put it on the floor vertically, and slowly let it go, the coin suddenly moved towards Aaron and the others that were sleeping, it seems that the floor tilted a little because they were all laying quite close with each other. Then another sound of the bell rang, the same crispy sound they heard before.


    ¡®This is the fourth time the bell has rang¡¯


    Suddenly out of nowhere, Kayla could hear a rustling sound in the darkness, it was very soft and you wouldn''t be able to hear it if it was not this quiet,


    ¡°Jeremy.. Jeremy!!¡±, she slowly called out to him, who seemed to have nodded off and startled awake, ¡°What? What happens?¡±


    ¡°Did you hear that? It is as if.. someone is.. turning a page¡±, Kayla said, Jeremy didn''t quite understand what she was talking about, so he also focused on trying to hear the sound Kayla was talking about. The sound is very subtle, so they have to be very quiet. When another sound is made, the both of them clearly hear it, and it is from someplace below them,


    Jeremy quickly woke all of them up, Aaron, Diane and Steven immediately went into a defensive position, while Clara was still rubbing her eyes in drowsiness,


    ¡°What happened?¡±, Clara asked sleepily.


    ¡°There is something wrong with this floor¡±, Jeremy said, Clara''s eyes immediately went wide, and the rest of them tried to inspect what was going on. Steven picked up the coin that was nearby him and looked at Kayla, Kayla wanted to say something, but didn''t know how to utter it, cause it might seem really ridiculous. Steven silently give the coin back to Kayla and asked what happened, ¡°The floor is tilted, and it is toward our side, I have.. poked at the floor, and it seems to be made from a stack of paper¡±


    They all fell silent, and Jeremy''s jaw almost dropped to the floor, ¡°No kidding, why would they do something like that? It is such a waste of paper and bad for the environment¡±, he frowned.


    ¡°You could still think about that right now?!!¡±, Clara scolded him.


    ¡°Let''s hurry and search for the keys and get out of here¡±, Aaron said. Kayla looks at him with doubt in her eyes, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to check it yourself? I might be wrong¡±, Kayla said worriedly.


    ¡°It is better to be careful, no matter if what you said is right or wrong, since the doubt has arisen, we have to be careful no matter what¡±, Aaron stated, Steven also nodded in agreement. So without any delaying, they immediately got rid of the thought of resting and began searching for the keys. Kayla felt a little bad that she have woken them up from the rest they needed when she herself am not sure that what she speculates is right or wrong. Steven gives her a look and says, ¡°Let¡¯s go¡±


    They scatter around the room, trying to quickly find any weird place that could possibly hide a box, they search it up and down, behind the painting, the statue, and any place that is possible to be searched. Kayla found a very strange black square located at the southeast of the room, just when she was about to get closer, the ground she stepped on suddenly sank in and she immediately fell inside it. The hole was more than four meters deep, Kayla let out a small surprised squeak and vanished in it. Thankfully that it is not a deathly trap, and she falls down feet first before hitting her butt, the candle she is holding burned her hand a little, Kayla quickly put the candle out, scared that it will burn the paper around her.


    Clara who was standing much near her saw the whole thing and screamed panickly, ¡°Kayla!!¡±. Everybody''s attention is immediately directed at her, Clara immediately runs towards that hole and that is when everybody knows what is going on.


    ¡°Kayla!!¡±, Aaron and Diane shout from above, Kayla looks up and tries to control her fast breathing, ¡°I am alright¡±, she says and slowly gets up, Steven without saying anything jumps inside and stands beside her, the hole is not that big, so with Steven in it they are basically squeezed together. Kayla has never thought that he would jump inside to save her, which is quite touching considering his cold personality.


    He suddenly bent down and told her to step on his shoulder, Kayla hesitated for a moment, but it was also rude to have him keep on kneeling there, so she slowly step on him, trying not to step on too hard, ¡°Hold on tightly¡±, Steven said and slowly stood up, Kayla is a little scared and embarrassed, no matter what, she is an adult now, so she must be pretty heavy, but he could still easily lifted her up. Aaron has been waiting up above to catch her hand, but it is also quite difficult to reach him. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw something, ¡°Wait! There is a gap here¡±, she said while looking to her right, she noticed it because she could feel slightly that there was wind coming from there.


    ¡°What should we do?¡±, Kayla asked them puzzled, they also became mute from her question.


    TO BE CONTINUED...

 Chapter 19: Injured

    They were in a state of a daze right now because Kayla suddenly fell into a pit like this, they were not in a state where they could clearly make a decision, Diane who is usually very sharp and harsh also didn''t dare to say anything. To be honest, they didn''t really want her to take the risk, but it is all really up to her decisions. Steven who is holding Kayla from below said, ¡°If you have the courage, you could try to go inside if you want¡±


    Kayla silently looked downward but couldn''t see his expression at all, she took a deep breath and let it out, ¡®It is already like this, let''s just make a bet¡¯. The hole is a little bit lower, so she has to crouch down to be able to climb inside it.


    ¡°Be careful¡±, Aaron said worriedly from above. Kayla didn¡¯t reply to him, but she obviously heard that and reply it on her heart. After putting one of her knees inside, she could feel that the ground was also made out of paper and pretty solid, so she wouldn''t have to worry that the ground would suddenly disappear like before. Steven also takes a careful step towards her leaning direction to help her get closer while still holding onto her legs tightly.


    The size of the hole is not big, it is only big enough for a grown-up man to fit inside, so there is still plenty of space for a small figure like Kayla. Because it was dark, she couldn''t really see anything, and could only fondle her way in. Being in a dark enclosed space is really terrifying, she just got inside, but it seems like she has already gone inside for quite a long time. Before she could think of anything, Steven suddenly shouted from outside,


    ¡°Kayla! Get out of there!!¡±


    Just when she turned her head wanting to take a look, there was a railing closing the entrance. Kayla wanted to turn around, but the space was too small for her to do that.


    ¡°What is going on?! Are you alright?¡±, Kayla asked worriedly, her heart thumping loudly and she could feel all her hair stand on all ends.


    ¡°Nothing! What is on your side?¡±, Steven shouted back, but she could feel Steven jump up and hold the railing, he was basically behind her now. Kayla definitely felt like something was wrong and something must have happened, she could subtly hear Clara and Jeremy''s worried voices from above.


    ¡°I am alright, I will keep on going, you get out first¡±, Kayla said, but she could heard Clara''s panicked voice sounding from above, ¡°He can''t! There are also railings blocking the entrance, and there are spikes coming out from the bottom!!¡±, she shouted. Kayla became pale and anxious, she wanted to back off, but now she was stuck inside. In her heart, she knew that she didn''t have a choice but to keep on crawling forward, hoping that she could quickly find a solution to solve the problem, ¡®Since the mechanism is being triggered by me getting in, then there must be a trigger to turn it off right? Everything should go back to normal after I find the trigger right?¡¯


    Kayla didn''t have the time to think so much anymore and quickly crawled forward blindly. She kept on hastily searching the whole surroundings while crawling forward, not forgetting the paper wall above her head too, but she couldn''t really find anything or see anything. Clara''s panicked cry becomes louder and suddenly becomes silent, Kayla knows that Diane must have shut her mouth up.


    ¡°Kayla!! Are you alright? Why isn''t she answering?!!¡±, Clara asked panickly. Diane become irritated by her loud voice and shouted back, ¡°She just got in! Can''t you give her time to move?¡±, Diane scolded her.


    Kayla was couldn''t really focus on what they were arguing, she just felt like she didn''t have that much time to waste any longer. That is when her hand finally caught something, it is a rectangular cage located in the middle of the space, Kayla''s eyes had become used to the dark that she could see the subtle shadow of the things in front of her. She could barely see the box inside of it. Kayla stroke the cage around and found an opening, it was a small rectangular size located in the middle of the cage. Kayla''s heart was beating loudly, she doesn''t know why but her intuition said that something would happen the moment she put her hand inside.


    ¡®Can''t bother to think too much!¡¯, Kayla gritted her teeth, took a deep breath and let it out, feeling ready, she immediately put her hand inside. What she feared most had come true, the opening suddenly entrapped her hand from above and bottom with spikes, immediately holding her hand in place. The force was not very big, so the wounds were not deep, but they still hurt very much, but Kayla almost screamed from it.


    She bit her lips from the pain and kept on pushing her hand forward, the spikes kept on biting her hand, and the moment Kayla moved forward she could feel her meat being sliced, but she couldn''t really care any longer since they had an emergency, she didn''t even know what would happen to Steven if she is late even for a moment, so losing some meat is not that big of a deal for her.


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    When her hand finally was able to reach the box and lift it up, that is when the spike retreated and she could finally pull her hand out. Her hand was trembling in pain, and she bled quite a lot, but the thing that made her relieved was that she seemed to be able to hear the happy shriek of Clara, it meant it really was the trigger to turn off the mechanism.


    ¡°Kayla! You alright?¡±, Steven shouted from outside.


    Kayla trying to hold on to her tears and trembling voice, ¡°I.. I am alright¡±. Kayla slowly crawled backward, ignoring the pain in her hand, ¡®It is good that I used my left hand, I didn¡¯t have to worry about doing stuff or writing¡¯, she silently said in her heart. When someone suddenly grabs her ankle, she feels like her heart is about to jump out from her chest, her heart beating fast and she thinks that she is about to faint,


    ¡°It is me¡±, Steven''s voice rang from behind, Kayla let out the breath she had unconsciously held, ¡°Are you alright?¡±, Kayla asked. Steven only replied with a simple ¡°En¡±, and that is when he smelled the strong smell of iron in the air, he immediately knew that she was injured, ¡°You are injured?¡±, Steven asked, Kayla didn''t know why, but she thought that his tone seemed mad.


    ¡°I am alright, just a few bruises?¡±, Kayla said with hesitation, since she couldn''t really see it at all. It looks like Steven has been hanging there waiting for Kayla, so after seeing that she is out, Steven jumps back down so Kayla can crawl out and let her feet down to be catch by him. Kayla was a little surprised this time that Steven could hold her up highly with his two hands raised up high above. This time, Aaron could finally grab her hand. But when Aaron felt the wetness coming from her hand, he frowned, so he didn''t dare to exert force towards her left hand and immediately grabbed her arm to pull her out quite easily, ¡®What is wrong with these two people? They are very strong¡¯


    Under the light, they could finally see what is going on, ¡°Your hand!!¡±, Clara gasped, ¡°What happened with your hand?!!¡±


    Steven also had successfully come out after jumping towards the entrance Kayla got in before and using that place as the momentum to leap up and pull himself out of the hole. Kayla who looks at his movement feels dazed for a moment, ¡®Is he a monkey or something? Why is everyone here so good at jumping?¡¯


    Diane immediately poured water on Kayla''s wound and wrapped her hand tightly with her handkerchief, trying to slow down the blood flow,


    ¡°Why don''t you wrap her hand with it instead of tying up her wrist¡±, Jeremy asked


    ¡°You stupid? We didn''t have any clean bandages with us, it will only make her got infected with the bacteria¡±, Clara scolded him


    ¡°Then what should we do now?!¡±, Jeremy started to panic.


    ¡°Let''s find the place he is talking about and exchange the coin with some supplies¡±, Diane suggested, Kayla looked at her with disagreement, and just as she was about to say something, Diane already cut her off, ¡°You can''t hold on with that hand of yours, it is going to get infected. Do you want to lose a hand?¡±


    Kayla become silent, she was a bit unwilling to let it go since they had painstakingly got three coins and five including Steven, Kayla was a little hesitant to use it away, in her heart she also wanted to get out of there quickly. Furthermore, it seems that the level of difficulty of each room got higher and higher, so she is very worried about that.


    ¡°You don''t need to worry, it is not as deep as you thought, the bleeding will stop after a while¡±


    They all look at her with skeptical looks, clearly not believing in her words, ¡°We can ignore anything else, but your wound is quite deep, what would you do if you weren''t able to use it again¡±, Aaron said


    Kayla laughed at his words, ¡°It is not that serious¡±


    ¡°You have to know how serious it is, I am not playing with you¡±, Aaron reprimanded her, Kayla became silent. Steven without saying anything has already sorted out his things, everybody also scurried to grab their things and immediately departed. They have not seen the room Steven said before, but from what Steven told them, this room was located randomly all around the place, without any pattern or clue. One thing for sure is that this room are always located inside of another room, so they have to search for every room that will possibly lead them to this room.


    After searching for around half an hour, they finally found that room, Kayla''s face had gotten pale, probably feeling a little dizzy because she lost a lot of blood. The room they were getting in was a room full of glasses, black glasses, any kind of design and shape, some dangling around and some put on nearly on the cabinet, the setup looked like an extravagant glasses shop, with many weird alignments and models all around the place.


    ¡°Here¡±, Steven said. What stood in front of them was indeed a door, a door that looked very scary and evil, it was carved with beautifully made antique design but with a serpent opening its eyes looking at them fiercely. Clara suddenly became reluctant, ¡°I.. don''t think this is a good idea. The door looks evil¡±, she shrugged.


    ¡°Who cares! Saving lives is more important¡±, Diane said and opened the door. At first, Kayla thought that it would be like the convenient store, you grab what you want and pay for it, but it turned out to be a big theatre screen hanging on the wall, there are a whole lot bunch of lists that you could choose from the screen, and in front of it, there was a podium like thing where you could put your coin inside. Kayla couldn¡¯t quite believe what she had seen in front of her, ¡®Isn''t this a bit too grand?¡¯


    Kayla could suddenly feel the back of her hair getting goosebumps and immediately turned around, but Diane was much faster than her and already pulled her away, resulting in her tumbling forward and falling into Steven arms. Kayla could feel her face getting hotter, she said her sorry, and got away from him. It turns out that her intuition is right, there was someone standing behind her and it seems that that person is planning to grab her before.


    Under the luminance of the light, they could see that it was a girl, smiling proudly while crossing her arms.


    TO BE CONTINUED¡­

 Chapter 20: Be Careful

    ¡°Yo! We finally meet someone¡±, that girl smiled happily. Kayla didn''t know why, even though the smile looked very kind and sweet, she could feel that it hid a lot of meaning, and it was the kind that was very eerie and psychopathic.


    ¡°Candy girl¡±, Jeremy silently muttered with amazement. They all look at him as if he is crazy for saying that out loud. But he is not half wrong, she is indeed wearing a lot of candy-like accessories on her hair and she has a lollipop in her mouth. That girl didn''t seem to feel offended at all. On the contrary, she only smiled brighter, but when her gaze turned to Diane, her expression immediately became annoyed and her smiles slowly disappeared.


    She suddenly blows a whistle and there are people getting out of their hidden places. They were shocked to see that there are around ten to twelve people that has been hiding in the dark. Their expression become dark and look at the person who keeps on coming out one by one. Kayla couldn''t help but think, ¡®This little girl managed to get so many people around her? She is not that simple¡¯


    ¡°By looking at it, it seems that you are the leader of this group¡±, she looks at Kayla interestingly, since everyone was basically standing in front of her to guard her, it didn''t seem weird for her to think that way.


    They didn''t answer and only looked at her warily, so she continued, ¡°Don''t look at me like that, it is not like I will eat you all up¡±, she smiled again. This time, that smile is directly directed at Kayla.


    ¡°What do you want?¡±, Aaron growled.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it very obvious what I want?, she smirked, ¡°We have been waiting here for quite a long time. It has become quite boring that I almost fall asleep. Now all the people outside have been crazily searching for the keys. So I thought that.. if there are people who would open the door with the mind of planning to get something. Wouldn''t that mean that they have enough coins to exchange it with something? I guess I was right¡±, she said while still giving them her wide smile.


    ¡®It is indeed a smart move, but how would they know if someone will come in here? What makes them so sure that people will come in here?¡¯, Kayla thoughts were cut off by Diane voice,


    ¡°Does opening the door mean that we have to exchange something? What do you say before? You said that we could exchange something with the key? Then that must mean that you have once exchanged it before with something. Shouldn''t we be the ones asking you for the coins?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t need to bite my words, and turn it to me. Furthermore, if we wanted to snatch it by force, do you think that you would be able to fight us who have so many people with us?¡ª And it seems that your friend is injured¡±, Kayla''s injuries were wrapped with a clothes from below to prevent the blood from dripping everywhere and accidentally revealed their location. But it seems that she could see the bloodied cloth right away. Kayla without speaking, silently hid her hand away from their sight.


    ¡°It looks quite serious. How about this, you gave me what I want and we will leave immediately¡±, she said


    ¡°We don''t have anything to give to you¡±, Aaron lowly growled.


    ¡°Are you implying that keeping the coin is much more important than saving her?¡±, she said with a provoked tone, ¡°I would be very hurt if I were you¡±, she pretended to be sad and disheartened. The five of them look at her with disgusted faces, only Kayla looks at her with a confused face, ¡®This person.. is quite annoying. But there is no malicious intent in her words or tone¡¯


    ¡°Don''t try to manipulate us, your trick won''t work¡±, Diane hissed.


    ¡°Is that so? Then we have to resort to violence then¡±, she said. As soon as she said that, the people behind her started to step forward with a nasty smile. Steven, Aaron and Jeremy also readied themselves to attack, the atmosphere became very heavy and everyone kept on trying to dominate each other.


    ¡°Wait!!¡±, Kayla step up, ¡°Don¡¯t need to resolve to any violence. We only have two coins with us¡±, Kayla pulled out the coins from her pocket and showed her, ¡°We will give you one¡±


    Aaron, Jeremy, Clara and Diane all turned to look at her with confused and discontent faces, Steven only turned to her and looked at her blankly.


    ¡°But in exchange, you need to give us the information you obtain and know¡±, Kayla added.


    ¡°Why must I do so?¡±, she asked baffled by Kayla''s offer.


    ¡°Even though you have a lot of people around you. I also know clearly about my friend''s ability since I have seen their combat skills, it is not below your people. I am sure that they will be able to defeat your people, no matter how many they are. Why make things harder if we could discuss it peacefully?¡±, Kayla smiled kindly at her. She appeared calm, but her heart already felt like she was ready to faint. Seeing the other person still looking at her with a smile on her face, Kayla''s heart started to get cold, ¡®Does she not like the offer? If we really fight, the only people who could deal with them are Steven, Aaron and Jeremy, me and Diane could only at least handle one or two¡¯


    ¡°Ha! Hahaha.. Do you think I am stupid? Are you going to fool me just for a mere one coin?¡±, her eyes turned cold, unlike before, now it has a hint of anger in it.


    ¡°If it is about how many coins we get. Shouldn''t it be you who have gotten ahold of the coins more? You have a lot of people with you, and it will be much easier for you to find it if you search it separately. I supposed.. you have it more than us¡±, Kayla still stand firm on her words. She looks straightly at Kayla and suddenly smiles widely,


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    ¡°Why do I think like.. you are the one trying to rob me now?¡±, she giggles.


    Kayla give him a meaningful smile, as if saying, ¡®If you want, we could give it a try¡¯


    Her smile grows even bigger and turns into a big laughter, they become stunt and look at her as if she is crazy. She wipes away the tears that come from her laughter and looks at Kayla interestedly, ¡°You.. are very interesting. I like you very much¡±


    Diane immediately stepped forward and hid Kayla behind her, the other girl''s teasing smile became bigger, ¡°My name is Sura, what is yours?¡±


    Kayla poked her head out from Diane''s shoulder and looked at her, it seemed that she was quite sincere about it, so Kayla also introduced herself, ¡°Kayla.. Kayla Sterendelle¡±


    ¡°I will remember you¡±, Sura said, she turned around and hopped into a table and sat down, crossing her legs, ¡°I will accept your offer. One coin, in exchange for information¡±, she extended her hands to her, meaning that she had to take the payment first before she would talk. Kayla decided to walk forward towards her, but Diane blocked her, took the coin from her hands, and threw it to Sura, which Sura caught swiftly.


    She looked closely at the coins feeling satisfied, so she finally talked, ¡°There is a crazy person outside. I was also quite surprised to know that merely just one person, could turn the whole place upside down. I heard that this guy suddenly appeared out of nowhere, going around telling people that he had found a room that could immediately take you out of here.


    Of course, some people didn''t believe it, but I heard that some people directly saw him jump inside a hole, then the screen on the wall stated the number of the person who successfully went out turned into one, and added with the bell ringing¡±, Kayla and the other become dazed, it seems that their assumption is right. And the conversation they heard before was also true, there was indeed someone who had successfully gotten out of here. But they have never thought that there would be a person who would risk himself being beaten up by other just to tell them the way out, ¡®And the method he used is kind of alarming. There are a lot of crazy people in this world that we don''t know about¡¯, Kayla silently thought.


    ¡°That is why it is in uproar now, everyone is trying to search for the person who has taken the card, since that is the only way to find the key. Well.. except for people who couldn''t waste any more time and search blindly in every room, wishing for their luck.  And some.. even resolved to snatch the other''s painstaking sweat¡±, she smiles brightly at them again, it is as if she is not a part of the person who is trying to snatched from others.


    Kayla is confused, ¡®Don¡¯t you also need to find it? Why are you looking very satisfied with this whole situation¡¯


    ¡°Alright, I don''t have that much time to waste. You have to see it for yourself to know how crazy this person is. Bye-bye¡±, she smiled lovingly and waved them goodbye, all the men behind her also follows her quietly without any question, which made Kayla confused, ¡®Are all these men being bewitched by her cuteness? Why didn''t they say anything? They are like a dolls¡¯


    ¡°Ah! Be careful. Don¡¯t get too involved with the others. Even though most of them are quite smart, but their personality is pretty nasty. Don¡¯t get into any unnecessary fight¡±, after saying that, she smiles with a blink before finally walking away.


    They look at each other, quite bewildered by the whole situation, ¡°Is she mental or something?¡±, Jeremy asks with a whisper, kind of afraid that she is still not far away and will hear what he is saying. Diane rustles her hair in frustration, ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter what she is thinking about¡±, she suddenly grabbed Kayla''s arms and pulled her in, ¡°Treating your wound is much more important now¡±


    ¡°How do you use this?¡±, Jeremy asked, he is also feeling quite amazed with the big screen, and when he tried to touch it, it indeed moved, ¡°Woahhh!! It is even touchscreen!!¡±, he scream excitedly.


    ¡°Is it that shocking?! Why are you acting like a country bumpkin?!!¡±, Clara scolded him while rubbing her ears, she felt like her ears is about to burst from his scream. Jeremy only smiled innocently at her.


    ¡°That is enough¡±, Aaron said and chose the tab that had a medicine icon, it flipped and showed you the price, it is a price of a coin. Aaron took the coin from Kayla and inserted it in the hole they provided. Not long after that, the screen that showed the medicine tab suddenly popped out to reveal a compartment and there was a box of medicine inside it. Kayla was also looking quite amazed by it, ¡®This screen is like a drawer. So after you paid for what you want, you could open and take what is inside of it, this is a good idea. I wonder who is the one who designed this place. Whoever it is, they must be a crazy yet smart person at the same time¡¯. Now thinking about the person that suddenly died in front of her, she couldn''t help but shudder from it. Up until now, she couldn''t quite believe that someone had died in front of her, it was so fast and unexpected, it was like.. it was all just a dream. Did they really kill a person, or it is all an illusion they made for them to see?


    ¡°What? Are you feeling cold?¡±, Diane asked when she saw her pale and slightly trembling body. She quickly pulled her to the side and make her sit on the floor, ¡°Hurry. Or she is really going to faint from the loss of blood¡±


    Everyone scurried to her side. Diane pulled out a bottle of alcohol and planned to pour it directly into Kayla''s hand when Clara stopped her with a shout, ¡°Eh eh!! Are you mad?! She is going to be in a lot of pain!! Can''t you be a little more gentle? Furthermore, you shouldn''t use alcohol!!¡±


    Diane seems struck dumb by it and shoves the bottle to her, ¡°You the one to do it¡±. Clara huffed and grab the bottle and put it back into the box, she grabbed a bottle of saline and poured it on a cotton, slowly cleaning away all the blood and dust on her hand. The blood has long ago stopped pouring out, after inspecting it much closer, it was good that the wound wasn''t deep enough to see the bone. So Clara quickly put on the medicine and wrapped it up with a bandage,


    ¡°You.. are quite skilled at this¡±, Kayla said thankfully, the way she wrapped her hand was like a real doctor, very neat and comfortable around her hand. Clara smiled proudly, ¡°I have learned about it from books. There, it is done¡±, Kayla gave her her thanks, and they started to discuss what their next steps were.


    ¡°Since it has been confirmed that people indeed have come out from here and the bell is the proof of it. The road ahead is going to be atrocious¡±, Aaron sighed, nobody said anything, but they silently agreed with him. After going around here and there for the whole night, it is already three in the morning. They were very tired and decided to take a rest, Kayla who was injured was the one to fall fast asleep, didn''t know if it was because she lost quite a lot of blood or because the pressure had gone.


    ¡°I didn''t look at it closely before, but Kayla is indeed very beautiful, even when she is asleep, her beauty doesn''t fade¡±, Clara said while looking straight at Kayla''s face with a candle, admiring her face with a wide smile on her face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother her, you will wake her up¡±, Diane reprimanded her, Clara pouted and got away from Kayla. Since she had basically gotten enough sleep, she and Diane were in turn guarding the place. They were planning to move to another place before, but Steven was sure that they won''t come back, he didn''t state his reason but somehow they believed in him and decided to stay in the deepest place in this room. Trying to get a good sleep until morning comes.


    TO BE CONTINUED¡­

 Chapter 21: A Ghost?

    Kayla didn''t know since when she fell asleep, the moment she woke up, she could feel that she indeed had gotten a lot better. But just like last time, she seems to be awakened by something. Because the moment she is fully awake, she is in the air, Kayla is a little startled, but it turns out that she has been piggybacked by Aaron, and they seem to be running away from something. Kayla''s heart skip a beat and she instantly felt panic rise inside of her, ¡°What.. what happened?¡±, she asked confused.


    Aaron noticed that she is already awake, but he didn¡¯t stop and kept on running, ¡°There was something wrong with that room, Clara saw something from inside the glasses¡±


    Kayla couldn¡¯t really understand what he is talking about, ¡®What does it mean by Clara seeing something from the glasses?¡¯


    ¡°Not just that! It seems to be following us too!!!¡±, Jeremy said with a frightened tone on the side and quickly fastened his pace, in no time, they couldn''t really see him anymore. Kayla immediately turn around to look at what they were talking about, but because it was so dark, she couldn¡¯t really see what was behind her, ¡°Let me down, I can run on my own¡±


    Aaron didn¡¯t reply at first, but Kayla insisted, ¡°I¡¯m alright, it will be faster if I run on my own¡±


    Aaron finally let her down and they started running again while holding her hand, Kayla turned around to try to find that dark figure they were talking about, but still couldn''t find anything, ¡°Wait! How are you so sure that something was chasing us? Where is Steven?¡±


    They stopped on their track and turned around to look, in front of them was just darkness and they couldn¡¯t really see anything, Steven was also nowhere to be seen, didn¡¯t know where he had gone. Kayla turn to look at them and they also looked kind of dazed, ¡®What really happened?¡¯


    Kayla took the candle from their hands, took a deep breath and let it out, she slowly and boldly stepped forward, gazing at their surrounding, before she could see anything, Aaron had already pulled her away and Clara was shouting that it was still there. Kayla frown deeply while watching their pale and frightened face, she didn¡¯t see anything except for darkness, how could they be able to see something that she couldn¡¯t see?


    Kayla kept on turning her head around while running to see what it was that they were talking about, but no matter what, she couldn¡¯t see anything and told them to stop, ¡°Wait!!¡±


    ¡°I will explain it to you later!¡±, Aaron shouted, but Kayla didn¡¯t want to run this time and stopped on her feet, she was honestly quite tired and trying to slow down her fast-beating heart.


    ¡°Wait! You said that something was following us, but we couldn¡¯t hear any footsteps at all, are you all sure?¡±, Kayla asked while trying to catch her breath. That is when their face becomes paler, ¡°Because it is a ghost¡±, Clara whispers and pulls her to run again, Kayla is rendered speechless, ¡®A ghost? Here?! Really?!!¡¯, she didn¡¯t say anything but her whole hair was standing on all ends. She couldn¡¯t quite believe it and turned around to look at it again, but still nothing. At this time, she could subtly hear someone''s voice from behind them, and upon hearing clearly it was a very familiar voice, so Kayla stopped again, the voice became closer and they finally recognized it, it was Steven''s voice, telling them to stop running.


    This time, Kayla didn''t plan to run anymore, Clara kept on pulling her but Kayla didn''t want to go, so Clara who was very scared of it, hides behind her back, screaming that something was coming,


    ¡°Ahhh!!! It is nearing! It is nearing!!¡±, Clara curled up into one with Kayla, Aaron and Diane''s faces also becoming tense. But no matter how she tried to see it, she couldn¡¯t see anything, ¡®What should I get away with? There is literally nothing!!¡¯, Kayla cursed


    ¡°It is just an illusion¡±, Steven shouted from afar. Kayla turn to look at them, and all of them also looked quite confused, ¡°But it is really there!! He is swinging his swords. Hurry and run!!¡±, Clara kept on pulling Kayla who stood still, because she couldn¡¯t see anything, she didn¡¯t feel afraid of it. Aaron and Diane also didn¡¯t start running anymore. Instead, they just stood there, facing the invisible figure in front of them alarmingly, this made Kayla even more confused. She could sense the both of them flinch, trying to get away from something or trying to withstand something, then after a moment, they opened their eyes doubtfully, and their faces looked surprised and confused,


    ¡°It is gone¡±, Aaron said dumbfounded


    Diane also nodded, Clara also peeked out from behind Kayla and couldn¡¯t see the so-called ghost anymore, ¡°It really is! What the hell is that!! It is so scary¡±


    Kayla turned to them and asked them what was going on, ¡°We also didn¡¯t know, we saw a figure of a soldier, an ancient Japanese soldier wielding a big sword in his hands and was chasing us. We thought it was real, so we run¡±, Diane simply stated.


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    Kayla was even more perplexed, ¡°A soldier? In this place? Could it be one of the staff?¡±


    ¡°Who knows? Now I feel really stupid, since we couldn''t attack it, why can''t we think that it will also not be able to attack us?¡±, Diane''s face turned sour and darker. At this time, Steven has already managed to reunite with them, he looks steady and looks like nothing happened at all.


    Then Kayla realized something missing, ¡°Jeremy.. where is Jeremy?¡±


    They all looked at each other and Clara slapped her forehead, ¡°Oh. My. God. He run first.. so he must be quite far in front of us¡±


    They all become silent and look at each other awkwardly, ¡°Great. Where could we find him?¡±, Diane scowled. But they didn¡¯t need to worry for long, because they could hear people running towards them from in front of them, ¡°Jeremy?¡±. His face is all red and he seems to be out of breath from all the running, ¡°My Gosh. I thought that I was about to lose you all!! I.. I stumbled and see that all of you had disappeared, so I decided to make a final attack, but that person just disappeared! So I run back. Thank god I know the road¡±, he said while catching his breath.


    ¡°You are all scaring me, what the hell is going on?¡±, Kayla asked, didn''t she just fall asleep? Why does everything feel so strange and unknown to her? After they explained it to her, that is when she finally understood. Everyone is basically asleep at that time, and even Diane has started to nod off because of the quietness, that is when Clara suddenly calls her awake with panic in her eyes, ¡°Diane! Diane!!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±, she startled awake and became alerted.


    ¡°I.. I think there is something wrong with these glasses¡±, Clara said trembling.


    Diane looked at her as if something was wrong with her, and clicked her tongue in annoyance, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I.. I saw a shadow in it¡±, Clara already looks like she wants to cry, Steven who has gotten awake from their conversation looks at them quietly, because it is dark, his large figure looks like someone towering them from behind, and when he talks, the both of them got startled and Clara scream. That loud and deafening scream has basically woke all of them up except for Kayla. Diane out of reflex wanted to hit that shadow, but was stopped by Steven, who was holding her hands in order to avoid any places getting hit.


    ¡°You are scaring the sh*t out of me!!¡±, Clara scolded him and keep on patting her chest, it feels like his heart just jumped out from there.


    ¡°What? What has happened?¡±, Aaron turns on the candle with the match Steven put beside the candle and immediately lights up their surrounding.


    ¡°Clara said that she saw something moving on the glasses¡±, Diane said while rolling her eyes, clearly she thought that Clara was just spouting nonsense, which Clara replied her with a pout, ¡°I really saw it! It is huge and fast!¡±


    ¡°Glasses?¡±, Aaron repeated to make sure. Clara suddenly said with uncertainty, ¡°I.. also didn''t know, I was just looking at the glasses and suddenly something moved inside of it. Steven immediately became cautioned, if what she said was true, then it meant that there was someone hiding in the room with them, Aaron also noticed what he was thinking and also became alerted. Right now they didn''t have anything to protect them except for their fist, since the wooden bat they used to protect themselves had disappeared to nowhere.


    But after squatting there for a while and not seeing any other movement, Steven decided to stand up and took the initiative to search the whole surrounding, followed along by Aaron and Jeremy. After they circled around the room, they couldn''t really find anyone, so Aaron became doubtful,


    ¡°Are you sure you see a shadow from the glasses? Are you seeing it wrong? It could be light reflected on it, or you nodded off?¡±


    Clara shakes her head, ¡°I am sure about it!¡±


    Aaron sighed and asked her which glasses she saw the shadow, at least they could know where that person had hidden before, it could be just a shadow of someone passing by outside the room, that is what Aaron thought. The glasses Clara pointed is a black glasses, he becomes more doubtful when he sees that it would be hard to see the reflection in them without any source of light. But then Aaron saw something too, it was very fast, but it was indeed a shadow of a person, a very big built one. Aaron frowned and looked closely again to make sure, but he couldn''t see it anymore, he turned to look at them and when they saw his face, they also got curious and at the same time looked at the glasses Clara was talking about. They didn''t see anything at first, but then they indeed saw something passing by, Diane took a step back out of surprise and looked behind her.


    ¡°What is that?!!¡±, Diane asked surprised. What surprised her the most was that she found something more terrifying standing at the corner of the room, she unconsciously gulped down her saliva, her throat became dry, and tapped their shoulder in a rush.


    They all turned around to look at where she was looking, they all froze to their spot when they saw that figure. It is another thing that someone is standing there, but that person is wearing a very strong-looking armor with a very long sword hanging on his waist, Diane''s heart become cold, and looks at that thing with disbelief, ¡°I am not the only one who sees it right? You all see it too right?¡±


    Jeremy nodded stupidly, ¡°I see it too. What is that? Is that a statue? Is it there before?¡±


    That is what they were confused about, because they didn''t seem to see that thing standing there before. They were even more surprised to see that thing moved, ¡°My gosh!! It is alive!!¡±, Jeremy gasped and quickly searched for his surroundings, to search for something that could protect himself with. But there was nothing except for the display rack of the glasses, so he took that and knocked over all the glasses on it.


    Aaron quickly reached forward to Kayla and hoisted her up on his back, so that if something went wrong, they could immediately run away. That man kept on getting closer and closer to them, seeing it much closer, they felt their breath hitch up because that person was quite tall, taller than usual man. Jeremy immediately throw the display rack towards him, telling him to back away. That is when their blood gets cold, the display rack immediately flies past that man and hits the floor with a loud clang. Jeremy lips trembled and looks at them, ¡°Runnn!!!! It is a ghost!!!!¡±, he shouted.


    Without any of them could assess the situation, they have already started running. That is the end of the story, Kayla who has been hearing deeply feels like what they were saying was just a dream, she didn''t know what to say to them and only nods her head, ¡°You all have worked hard¡±, she simply said.


    They all just shake their head in helplessness, kind of ashamed of their action. Kayla seeing the weird aura tries to reduce the tension, ¡°It is alright. As long as we are all alright, that is fine. Let''s go somewhere else, it is not good to stay in this open place¡±, they seem hesitant, especially Clara, but she just nodded her head and pouted.


    TO BE CONTINUED¡­