Topic: MAZE

[Pulsen]

[Elenore]

The door opens instantly upon your pleading, and Margaret swiftly pulls you inside, huddling you close to her. The door closes behind you.
"I'm so happy to see you, Elenore!" Margaret cries joyfully, holding on to you tightly. "I was so scared! I thought I was going to die..." she adds, between sobs.
She's visibly shaken by whatever ordeal she went through but doesn't seem to be bleeding. There are no traces of blood on her skin or inside the room, only on her shirt.
Her room, and furniture and white pajama set are identical to yours, except for the alarming amount of dry blood on her shirt. It seems consistent with the blood trail you followed.
You notice a small hole in the fabric, just below her left collarbone, and a similar one in the back, on the opposite side. A gunshot wound, you would guess, if not for the spontaneous healing.

After looking her over I hold her tightly for a while. "Miss who shot you? What happened?" I ask trying to keep myself calm amid my own PTSD flashbacks. The only thing that is keeping me in the moment is Margaret and her well-being.

[MartAnimE]

[Elenore]

Margaret shivers uncomfortably at your questions, looking confused, then saddened, then momentarily looking away, as if ashamed.
She holds your hand and walks towards the bed, prompting you to follow. Having you around seems to have calmed her down a bit, at least.
"Can we cuddle in bed for a little while, please?" she asks, affectionately. "I'll tell you everything, I promise. I'm just so cold and tired right now..."

[Pulsen]

[Elenore]

Margaret shivers uncomfortably at your questions, looking confused, then saddened, then momentarily looking away, as if ashamed.
She holds your hand and walks towards the bed, prompting you to follow. Having you around seems to have calmed her down a bit, at least.
"Can we cuddle in bed for a little while, please?" she asks, affectionately. "I'll tell you everything, I promise. I'm just so cold and tired right now..."

I smile. Normally I wouldn't do such a thing, but this is an unusual situation. I want answers so I give in to her demands. Though I have to admit I have dreamed of something like this but without the blood and maze. I follow her to the bed and get in. I proceed to hold her gently and cuddle.

[MartAnimE]

[Elenore]

Margaret settles in bed with you, sighing softly and relaxing. Holding her you can attest she does indeed feel colder than you are, but you soon warm her up in your embrace.
"Thank you, Elenore. I love you so much!", she half-whispers, smiling and closing her eyes. You would think she's about to fall asleep, but she starts talking instead, very softly.
"I don't really understand what's happening. I woke up here in this bed, in this room. I didn't know where I was. I thought I was dreaming, maybe.", she pauses, gathering her thoughts.

"I went looking outside and something was calling me, pulling me... I was afraid but I started following it because it felt very important.", she struggles to convey this to you.
"The closer I got the stronger it felt. Then I saw... Father. I saw my father, pointing his gun at me, just like that time 12 years ago.", she opens her eyes, searching for your gaze.
"How could he be here? He's dead. I shot him!", her voice starts cracking, "But this time he shot me and it felt so real! The loud gunshot, the bullet burning through me, and all that blood..."

She takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "I somehow made it back in this room, I don't remember how. Once I was inside the pain stopped. But I was so afraid, until you showed up."

[Pulsen]

I listen in shock as I try to wrap my mind around what Margaret had just said. "How can he be alive?! It's got to be some trick! Do you want me to follow the blood trail to find out the truth?"

[Kapenguin]

[Mimiru]

You look around your room but don't notice anything unusual. Whoever put you here was thoughtful enough to see that your basic needs are met.
As you approach and examine the door you discover it's touch activated, opening as you touch it with your hand. You're not sure how to close it.
Looking outside you realize your room is adjacent to a corner, with a wall to your right and in front of you, and a hallway extending to your left.
The floor and walls and lighting look identical to the inside of your room. You hear faint crawling and clicking noises outside, but you don't see anything.
After five seconds the door closes again. Just before it closed you thought you saw something approaching your door from the left, but you're not quite sure.

"Buh?!"

I spin around to face whatever it was I saw, but I can't see anything. I then hear more clicking in the opposite direction, and I spin around again to face it, but I can't see anything there either. My stomach sinks and my heart starts pounding like no tomorrow.

"Shit...really wish I had my sword with me right about now..."

I take a deep breath, muster up all the strength and focus that I can, and I turn left out of the room to face whatever is out there.

[kavi]

(finally waking up)

Assuming that I'm dreaming, I remain in my pyjamas, survey the room, and see if I can open the door.

(do I hear anything?)

[MartAnimE]

[Elenore]

Margaret winces at your suggestion. "No, wait! Please don't go! Don't leave me alone, Elenore!" She forgets you can't actually leave this room unless she opens the door for you.
"I know...", she stutters, "I know the way out, I think. I just don't want to get hurt again. I don't want you to get hurt again.", she clings to you, fearfully.
She seems reluctant to leave the relative comfort of this room, let alone the warmth and safety of your embrace, but perhaps you can persuade her.

[MartAnimE]

[Mimiru]

You step outside and the door closes behind you. Your door is an orange colour. As if summoned by your thoughts, a familiar sword materializes in your hands, the same you always use in "The World".
You don't have time to admire your sword, as a giant centipede quickly lunges at you from the ceiling. You swiftly react by slashing its face, the powerful blow sending it flying into the corner.
You are able to maneuver such a heavy weapon with great strength and dexterity, your character's stats must have carried on from your last save file. It feels like a very realistic video game.
You approach the creature to confirm the kill. It's still alive but its face is gruesomely split open, one of its eyes hanging by a thread, purple blood oozing profusely from the wound.
It screeches agonizingly from its grievous wound and you can't help but feel a little pity. It will probably die soon, but it might be kinder to put it out of its misery.

[MartAnimE]

[Mireille]

You survey the room but don't notice anything unusual. You do a reality check by looking at your hands, but you're still not sure if you're dreaming.
As you approach and examine the door you discover it's touch activated, opening as you touch it with your hand. You're not sure how to close it.
Looking outside you realize your room is adjacent to a corner, with a wall to your right and in front of you, and a hallway extending to your left.
The floor and walls and lighting look identical to the inside of your room. You don't hear anything. After five seconds the door closes again.

[kavi]

(I'll try to drink some water, unless there's something obviously wrong with it, then put on the shoes and head out into the hallway, still wearing the pyjamas)

[MartAnimE]

[Mireille]

The water you drink is cool and has no unusual taste or smell, it's just like regular tap water. You have no adverse effects from drinking it. You feel refreshed.

You walk out the door and, as it closes behind you, you realize something rather unique about it.
Unlike everything inside of your room and, at first glance, outside of it, your door sports a red colour.
A stark contrast to the overwhelming white colour that permeates the entirety of this mysterious building.

The corner on your right is a dead end so you have no choice but to go left. You are immediately met with another corner, you turn left once again.
A third corner pops up in front of you, but this time a long empty corridor reveals itself to your right. This feels a little less claustrophobic.
It appears empty at first glance, but your trained eyes spot something in the distance, too far ahead for you to discern any details.
You hear a faint melody coming from that direction, but you could just as easily have imagined it. You might need to get closer.

[Pulsen]

[Elenore]

Margaret winces at your suggestion. "No, wait! Please don't go! Don't leave me alone, Elenore!" She forgets you can't actually leave this room unless she opens the door for you.
"I know...", she stutters, "I know the way out, I think. I just don't want to get hurt again. I don't want you to get hurt again.", she clings to you, fearfully.
She seems reluctant to leave the relative comfort of this room, let alone the warmth and safety of your embrace, but perhaps you can persuade her.

"Then we'll go together. We can't stay here forever! We need to find a way out. We'll protect each other."

[MartAnimE]

[Elenore]

Margaret takes a deep breath and lets out a resigned sigh. "You're right, we can't stay here. I want to go home.", she manages an awkward smile, before getting up.
She walks towards the sink and washes her face "Brrr... cold!", then changes into a clean shirt, discarding the bloody one unto the floor "That's better."
"If we're together I won't be scared!", she psyches herself up in the mirror, then finally opens the door and leaves the room, prompting you to follow.

Once you're outside you immediately notice that any traces of blood are mysteriously gone from the door and the floor. It might be hard to retrace your steps back to where it started.
Margaret doesn't seem to notice or care much about it. She's surprisingly relaxed now, even though she was freaking out just a moment ago. She instinctively starts walking left.
As you walk together she casually strikes up a conversation. "Do you think we were brought here for a reason, Elenore?", she pauses, pondering on this question herself.
"I can't think of anything...", she tilts her head pensively, "I just hope it's not Friday Monday again." You reach a fork in the maze. She looks to the left without hesitation.
She remains silent, fixated, as if awaiting your input before taking another step. You could continue following her lead or push towards the opposite direction.

[Pulsen]

[Elenore]

Margaret takes a deep breath and lets out a resigned sigh. "You're right, we can't stay here. I want to go home.", she manages an awkward smile, before getting up.
She walks towards the sink and washes her face "Brrr... cold!", then changes into a clean shirt, discarding the bloody one unto the floor "That's better."
"If we're together I won't be scared!", she psyches herself up in the mirror, then finally opens the door and leaves the room, prompting you to follow.

Once you're outside you immediately notice that any traces of blood are mysteriously gone from the door and the floor. It might be hard to retrace your steps back to where it started.
Margaret doesn't seem to notice or care much about it. She's surprisingly relaxed now, even though she was freaking out just a moment ago. She instinctively starts walking left.
As you walk together she casually strikes up a conversation. "Do you think we were brought here for a reason, Elenore?", she pauses, pondering on this question herself.
"I can't think of anything...", she tilts her head pensively, "I just hope it's not Friday Monday again." You reach a fork in the maze. She looks to the left without hesitation.
She remains silent, fixated, as if awaiting your input before taking another step. You could continue following her lead or push towards the opposite direction.

"Let's find the way, Miss."  I say as I follow her. When we leave the room I'm surprised that the trail of blood disappeared. Knowing that she has this "Gift" I believe she could find the way out.
"I couldn't say either way and I don't think that man could do something like this. When we get to the fork I wait for her to continue and follow her lead.