Zhayne’s eyes lingered on the photo for a moment. Then, in his mind, he asked himself, Where have I seen this place before? A sudden pang struck his head,sharp, disorienting,and then he knew. This was the place from his dream.

  I started, “I have seen this befo—”

  But the banana kid put his hand over my mouth, gesturing with the other.

  “Lower your voice,” the banana kid whispered.

  He handed me a paper and a pen. My eyes sharpened as I started writing and then showed it to him.

  “What’s your name?” I asked.

  The kid’s eyes narrowed at me. I could tell from his expression that he didn’t want to answer. He snatched the paper. He started writing again.

  “We need to get out of here now!”

  “How?” I whispered. I could hear the others above me moving the bars, trying to get out.

  “Nah, it’s not working. My arms hurt,” Jayson said, holding them tightly after pushing himself toward the bars.

  The kid gestured with his eyes for me to try. I nodded. I moved backward and hurried toward the bars, ready to push, but before I even touched them, the side of the cage fell away. It was like a huge door.

  “How?” Jayson said, eyes wide, his head poking between the bars.

  “Maybe it’s skill issues,” Leon said, stretching his shoulders. He stood in front of the door and started pushing the bars aggressively, but nothing happened.

  Jayson got closer to try again, but Leon stopped him by grabbing the back of his shirt.

  “What are you doing?” Leon asked, eyebrows lowered.

  “What?” Jayson replied, confused. Then he realized, if that door opened, he wouldn’t be with us. He would go somewhere better, I guess.

  “Ours didn’t budge either,” Vincent added.

  “ we cant stay here forever. I’m so hungry. I want to get out. What if the spaghetti-head clown comes back?” Jayson said, lying on the cage floor.

  “Looks like you’re losing your mind,” Leon said, sitting beside him.

  He went silent for a second.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “Wait… what did you just say?” he said, leaning forward.

  “I’m hungr—”

  “Not that,”

  “Spaghetti clown.”

  “Yes! What color was the spaghetti—” Leon shook his head, “I mean, his hair.”

  “What? It was obviously yellow?” Jayson said, with a sarcastic smile.

  “Yellow? But it was red,” Leon said, shrinking back to his spot.

  “Red? His hair was white,” Rafael said.

  “It was black,” I said.

  “Maybe you’ve seen different ones,” Vincent added.

  “No, that’s impossible. She said there is only one host in this domain,” Leon mumbled.

  “Domain? What domain?” Jayson rose up from relaxing on the floor.

  “Yes?” Leon came back from his focusing zone, realizing what he just said.

  Leon explained everything to them. Time passed while he carefully laid it all out, the rules, the domains, the hosts.

  “So we have four days left…? What happens if we hit the 7th day?” Rafael asked.

  “I don’t know,” Vincent, Rafael, and Jayson looked at Leon.

  “Look, I really don’t know. I’ve told you everything I know,” Leon gestured.

  “guys, Let’s talk about this later. Let’s figure out a way to get you out,” I said, knowing I’d probably messed up and that now they knew I knew, but I didn’t look at their reaction.

  “Maybe there’s a clue somewhere nearby,” I said, inspecting my surroundings as if the key would show itself.

  I looked back at the cage to find the kid in the banana costume again, looking around.

  After moving forward, I found something: a bunch of brown cartoon boxes sealed with tape. I used my pen to open them, they were full of glue bottles with no labels. I started emptying the box to find something small, like a piece of paper. It seemed important, so I put it in my pocket.

  Then a light came from the box’s surface. I ripped the bottom, and something dragged me inside.

  “Wooh!” I screamed.

  I got sucked out of the box, screaming as everything blurred into spinning colors.

  Then, thud.

  I hit a trampoline, bouncing once before landing flat. The floor shimmered with patches of yellow, red, blue, and green, like someone had spilled the colors of a carnival.

  A soft sound drew my eyes up.

  There was a lady standing across from me. She opened her eyes slowly—green, faintly glowing, almost mechanical. Her dress was a round, balloon-shaped red, and two ribbons tied her hair into twin buns that bounced slightly as she moved.

  She clasped her hands together, voice trembling.

  “No one likes to listen to me…”

  Her face, painted white, shifted strangely. A small black dot appeared beneath one eye, like a teardrop.

  Before I could say anything, she spoke again, her tone softer, almost whisper-like.

  “...How about I tell you a story?”

  She smiled faintly, but her lips quivered as she began.

  “There was a man and a woman sitting on the grass beside the street,” she said, her voice low and steady. “They were recording their little boy playing nearby.”

  Her smile widened slightly, her eyes glimmering.

  “He held a red balloon—round and bright. The sunlight was shining down, scattering over the grass and glinting off everything it touched.”

  Her tone lightened, almost too cheerful.

  “The boy lifted the balloon toward the sky and said, ‘Wow… it’s shining so beautifully!’”

  Then her voice dropped, soft, flat.

  “But the balloon slipped away… and he ran after it.”

  Her grin didn’t fade, but her eyes seemed emptier.

  “And the car… didn't stop.”

  My expression tightened.

  “Which color was the boy’s balloon?”

  She gave me three choices: yellow, red, or purple.

  The question threw me off. My mind stalled.That’s random… it can’t be that simple, I thought. Or maybe I’m overthinking it.

  “Can you tell me the story again?” I asked, scratching my head.

  She nodded, lips curling into a wider, unsettling smile. “Of course~.”

  She told it again, same words, same soft tone.

  When she mentioned the sunlight shining again, something clicked.

  The boy lifted the balloon and said, ‘Wow… it’s shining so beautifully!’ The sun reflected off it, though it wasn’t a color that usually sparkled.He grinned at the red balloon as if it were gold in the sun.

  The answer finally came to me.

  The boy… he’s color-blind.

  My eyes widened slightly.

  “The balloon was... yellow.”

  Her smile stretched wider. “Correct.”

  Then she reached behind her and handed me a robe and a small bag.

  Her eyes flicked toward my pocket.

  I fumbled inside and found a key.

  I exhaled sharply. “Why can’t this game ever give us anything directly…”