"The first thing you say is 'Damn it'? You have a seriously bad waking-up habit. You don't just kick non-stop. You swear non-stop, too." Isaac covered Rona's ears like a scandalized parent.

  I didn't respond. My mind was still stuck in that dream. The fog, the voice fading into silence, and that thing that came flying at me.

  Isaac's brows knit together. Why? Because me not speaking was the kind of miracle he’d pray for but never expect to witness.

  "…You don't think she's finally lost it, right? I knew her brain was small to non-existent, but now? Gone. We're in danger." He whispered theatrically.

  Rona hugged Isaac's arm like he was her last defense. "Poor Lil."

  I heard every word, you worms! I turned to glare at them, slow and deliberate. They flinched.

  "Seriously, guys? I was just thinking, and you already assumed I lost my brain?" I narrowed my eyes. "Small till non-existent, huh?"

  Isaac gulped. "I didn't say that."

  "But you did," Rona said helpfully.

  Isaac immediately clamped a hand over her mouth. "Rona doesn't know what she's talking about."

  I raised a brow. Isaac doubled down. "What? I've done nothing wrong. Don't look at me like that."

  I rolled my eyes and sat up straight. "I met Lyndall and Master just now."

  Rona tilted her head, confused. "But you've been here the whole time. Sleeping and nothing else. Like a sloth."

  Isaac leaned in and whispered to her, "She's gone. That's it. Nothing can save her now. Not even medicine."

  Rona's eyes welled with pity. "Oh, Lil…"

  "Stop putting weird thoughts in Rona's head." I smacked Isaac's head.

  "She was already weird to begin with. What's the problem with adding more?" Isaac shot back.

  True. But still... I raised my fist toward Isaac, and the coward immediately dove behind Rona.

  "Coward, shorty."

  "Scatterbrain." He fired back without hesitation.

  We glared at each other like we were about to enter a duel.

  Rona looked between us and sighed.

  Rona's friends are all weirdos. Rona is the only sane one here. Looks like Rona has to resolve this.

  "Rona thinks—"

  "Let's stop fighting. It's tiresome. And I've got something to tell you guys," I said before she could start.

  "Everything is tiresome to you," Isaac smirked.

  Rona blinked. Did Rona manage to solve the issue without doing anything? Rona is so awesome!

  She started dancing like a victory screen had just played in her head.

  Isaac and I turned to watch her.

  "What's wrong with Rona?" Isaac asked.

  I shook my head. "No idea."

  After she calmed down, I told them about my dream. About Master. About the fog.

  When I finished, I asked, "What do you guys think?"

  Isaac leaned back. "Hmm... Do you really think your Master will be able to find anything about Rona's parents? It's kinda absurd if you ask me."

  "It's better than nothing. Oh, and I'm sorry, Rona. I asked my Master about your parents without your consent."

  "Rona is fine. Maybe Rona will be able to find Daddy and Mummy sooner."

  She smiled, eyes bright. She started making strange movements again, happy twitches that looked like a dance of hope.

  My heart twinged suddenly. Prickly.

  I rubbed my chest. "???"

  Isaac tilted his head. "Continuing. The 3rd game. It's a maze, right?"

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Maze. Why does it have to be a maze?

  A memory surged. Memory with Ma.

  That time I was four, Ma, being a competitive Asian mother, decided I was old enough to walk through a ridiculous maze. What's more, my competitors were twelve and above. She pushed me to the entrance.

  Fake leafy walls towered over me, three times my height. I tried every direction. Each turn ended in a dead end. I panicked and cried out loud. Wet my pants.

  I’ve hated mazes ever since.

  "Yup. My nemesis."

  "Anything else besides that?" Isaac asked.

  You want more? Bloody hell... Wait. Master did say something.

  "My Master said something like, if you turned blind, rely on your other senses?" I frowned.

  Isaac went silent.

  "Why would I turn blind?" I asked.

  "Lil has Isaac and Rona!" Rona jumped in.

  I laughed. "Yup. I'm glad I have you all. With Isaac's intelligence and Rona's luck, we'll win first place."

  "Lil has great stamina, too!"

  "And plot armor," Isaac muttered.

  I spat. "I do not have plot armor! If I did, I wouldn't be screaming for my life every two seconds."

  "Rona doesn't know what plot armor is."

  Isaac adjusted his glasses. "Plot armor is when the main character miraculously survives every deadly situation so the story can keep going."

  I grinned. "Look who's jealous."

  "And someone's in denial."

  "Hey. We're not living in a story, so don't go all 'main character' on me." I hissed.

  "What if we are?" Rona asked, head tilted.

  I paused. Then pounded the wall with my fist.

  "If we are, then I'll write my own story. I ain't letting some unknown person decide my fate!"

  "Okay, okay! Calm down, crazy nut job!" Isaac yelped. "And stop hitting the wall, everyone's staring!"

  I stopped, sheepish. "Oops."

  "Gosh, you're embarrassing." Isaac sighed.

  "By the way, when's the 3rd game?"

  "Tomorrow. So let's rest up. I bet the maze isn't gonna be as simple as it sounds." Isaac lay down with a yawn.

  Rona patted her belly. "Ya. Maybe there will be monsters for us to feast on."

  Feast? Monster? Please not raw.

  I gulped nervously. "Is food all you think about?"

  "Yup!"

  Growl...

  A guttural, echoing sound vibrated through the room.

  "A monster is here?" Isaac snapped upright, eyes darting.

  Panic spread like wildfire. The children around us started screaming.

  "Monster!!"

  I rushed toward them, hands up. "False alarm! There's no monster. It's okay!"

  They hesitated, then stopped screaming, though their bodies still trembled with fear.

  "No monster? Are you sure? I definitely heard a monster sound," Isaac said, scanning the shadows.

  "I'm absolutely sure." I pointed at Rona's stomach and Isaac immediately understood.

  "Rona's tummy went goo goo~," she confirmed, beaming.

  "...That was not a 'goo goo' sound. That was the growl of a predator." I stated firmly.

  Isaac grumbled. "Didn't you just eat?"

  "Rona doesn't know. All Rona knows is that Rona's hungry."

  Isaac leaned in and whispered to me. "I hope we live long enough to see tomorrow."

  "She won't eat us. We're her friends. And humans don't eat flesh." I whispered back.

  "You forgot, she ate worms."

  We both turned.

  Rona was watching us.

  Drooling.

  "...Oui," I muttered. "You might be right. She might eat us. What do we do?"

  "Knock her out. Knock her out." No hesitation in Isaac's voice.

  "Who? Me?" I was baffled.

  "You soloed a bear. You can do this. I believe in you." Isaac, pushing me towards Rona.

  "You only believe in me when it benefits you."

  "I know. Now go." Isaac gave one hard shove, and I nearly flew. I turned back and glared at him. You will regret this.

  I approached Rona carefully. "Rona… Erm… Hello?"

  "Knock her out already," Isaac hissed behind me.

  "Oh shush! If you're in such a rush, you do it!"

  Rona blinked at us, unimpressed. "Rona thinks you all are weirdos."

  Isaac stepped up. "Weirdos? Us? We were saving ourselves from your raging hunger!"

  "Rona doesn't understand."

  "You were trying to eat us!"

  Rona shook her head. "Rona won't eat friends." Right after those words, she stared at Isaac's finger and licked her drooling mouth.

  Isaac jumped back. "Your words are nice, but your drooling face says otherwise!"

  "...Oh." She wiped her mouth. "Done."

  "Oui?! As in our lives are done?!"

  "It's okay. If Rona hibernates, Rona won't feel hungry."

  "...What are you, a polar bear?" Isaac said, clearly not convinced.

  "Rona's going to sleep now. Goodnight!" She dropped like a rock and immediately began snoring.

  Isaac side-eyed her. "You think we'll be safe even if she's asleep?"

  "One way to find out is if we're still alive tomorrow..." I spoke. Already tiptoeing to the other side of the tunnel.

  The next day.

  "Yawn~" I stretched and winced. Every muscle in my body screamed. "Oui! I had a great sleep, minus the body aches. But hey, at least I slept."

  I looked beside me.

  "Hmm? Where are those two chipmunks?"

  I looked up and saw them sleeping on the far end of the space.

  Why are they sleeping so far from me? I stood, walked over, and squatted beside them.

  I poked Isaac's cheek. "Wake up, shorty. If you don't, you'll stay as short as you are now."

  He furrowed his brows and rolled away. "Go away, shark."

  "Shark?!"

  I smacked him.

  "What?!" He bolted upright, scooted away, eyes darting for an exit. "Uh oh."

  "What do you mean by 'uh oh'? And why were you two sleeping so far?"

  "You were biting us in your sleep. That's why!" He held out his arm. There were two big bite marks.

  I let out a little laugh only to be met with his glare. I held my laugh and said, "Oui... I didn't know I did that."

  "And I was worried about Rona. I should've been worried about you."

  "...Sorry." I poked Rona's cheek. "Wakey wakey."

  She opened her mouth and bit my finger.

  "Ouch!" I grabbed my injured finger.

  "Revenge," Rona said with a smirk.

  I pulled her into a hug. "Still hungry, Rona?"

  "Nope!"

  She slept her hunger away, huh? I wonder if I could do that.

  [DING!]

  A large translucent blue screen popped up with a smiling emoji.

  [Well, well, well. It seems my little bunnies have woken up all by themselves. I'm such a proud father. Sniff. Sniff.]

  The other children gasped, some already having a meltdown. I don't blame them. His face could summon a grim reaper.

  "Mr. James!" Rona chirped.

  Isaac muttered, "Father? Father wouldn't kill their own children..."

  Mr. James's newly embroidered eyebrow twitched, but he remained as composed as ever.

  [Now that my little bunnies are all prepared. Shall we proceed to the 3rd game?]

  He totally heard that but chose to ignore. Looks like Isaac will be his next target. I shall pray for you, dear Shorty.

  Without hearing our answer, the screen vanished. A glowing blue pillar shot up from below.

  Before we could react, our bodies began to dissolve into particles of light.