Mariola stood by the buffet tables—one hand holding a platter of food and the other stuffing torn pieces of chicken, buttery kernels of corn, steaming buns of pork, and more that quickly disappeared into the abyss of her stomach. Oil smeared her lips, but she didn't care. She was supposed to be the center of attention for the night, but that didn't matter. Food was all that mattered in life. Mariola took a moment to drag air into her lungs before continuing to attack her food when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

A muffled sound escaped the oddly formed chunk in her mouth, and Tomy flinched at the sight of the girl's open mouth and half-digested food.

"Mariola, why are you hiding here?" He said, averting his gaze to the rainbow banners strung between the trees and fluttered against the breeze.

Swallowing, Mariola followed his gaze and realized how much time and effort Loma must've put into the florid table cloths, the white fairy lights, the chockfull bowls of food, food, and food. Her stomach echoed her thought when she replied, "I'm hungry."

"Y-yes...I saw that." The man shuddered and hoped that with her time here, she would learn to have proper table manners. "You should go meet your new family. You disappeared when you were introduced."

Mariola blushed. She couldn't help herself. After Loma had dragged out the leaves and the grit in her hair and handed her a purple laced dress, Mariola was pulled down to a stage that magically surrounded Loma's treehouse. A huge horde of people had squeezed into the small dirt road between the row of tree houses and cheered at Mariola. She remembered Loma calling her name out then—

Mariola's cheeks grew redder. She had ran out of the stage and to the buffet tables, where she stuffed food into her face until now.

"It's alright, kid," Tomy chuckled. "Now, put the food down and come with me."

She couldn't. Food was precious.

"Come on, kid. Don't worry; there'll be plenty of leftovers for you though I doubt that you could continue eating after that." His eyes fell on the erupting mountain on her plate.

Mariola raised her eyebrows. Oh, don't challenge me, her eyes said; but her lips replied, "Alright fine."

Reluctantly leaving her plate on the table, as if saying goodbye to a loved one, Mariola left and tried not to turn back around as Tomy led her to the surging crowd by the front of the stage.

Her eyes were so focused on food that Mariola didn't notice the bobbing, translucent objects atop everyone's heads—hearts, hands holding, food, security locks, and more.

What do all these objects mean? She mumbled to herself, lifting her eyes up to her own.

"You still haven't figured it out?" Tomy asked.

"Figure what out? Oh, did I say that out loud?" She clasped her hands over her mouth.

"Figure out why we have objects on our head," he replied, pointing at the silhouette of hands holding over his head. "And yes, you did say that out loud."

"What does yours mean?"

Tomy sighed.

"Is-is that a personal question? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean—"

"No, no, its not personal. There is hardly anything personal here anyways," he scoffed pathetically. "Eden wanted everyone to know what everyone's level and obstacle was, so he decided to use these symbols. The almighty leader must've been too lazy to design proper symbols that he used these...emojis? That was what they were called before the Day of the Grey came, and now... Anyways. You can see that he wasn't very creative. I mean, seriously? Hands holding?"

Mariola smiled and tried not to shudder as she thought about Eden. "So, what does yours mean?"

He sighed again and replied, "It means I want to have a companion, a wife, to..." He gestured at the top of his head. "Yup, you guessed it. To hold hands and be together."

"But isn't..." She let her voice trail off.

"Loma? It's alright you can ask. Loma and I... Yes, we are together but not exactly. We've been...fighting recently, as you saw before." He let out a shaky breath. "The usual symbol for relationships is like that," he said, directing Mariola's eyes to a stout woman with symbol of a woman and a man with a heart in between them.

"What about that one?" She gestured to a similar symbol on a skinny man.

They continued walking closer to the horde of people, and Tomy raised his eyebrows at her. "Look closer."

"Oh." The man turned around to hug the other man beside him, who had the same symbol of a man and a man in love. "Oh." She cleared her throat and continued, "You still haven't explained yours."

"Mine is different because I already have a partner." He blushed but continued, "But I want to keep holding onto her, to mend our relationship."

"Ah. I see." Mariola tried not to think about the time when she had to face that obstacle. "Oh! Their symbols just changed!" A tiny white flash of light erupted above the two oblivious goo-goo-eyed men. "Hey, nothing changed."

"Look closer."

Mariola did. "It just changed to kissy faces."

"Yes...and what do you think kissing will eventually lead to?"

Mariola blushed. She was certainly not going to think about when she had to face that obstacle. "Okay, and what does that sign mean?" She quickly pointed at another direction, at a symbol of a lock floating above a tall woman with striking dark blue hair. Tomy kept walking forward.

"Tomy? What does the lock mean?"

The two of them finally reached the horde of people; and Tomy said, "Why don't you ask her?" He gently pushed the small of Mariola's back. "Hey, Dina! Come over here a second."

"W-what are you doing?" She yelped as Tomy pushed her into the surging crowd. She swiveled around to pierce her eyes at him, but he already disappeared. Or maybe it was because Mariola was so short that she couldn't see past the heads and the objects on the heads to find him.

Both hand curled into fists against her satin dress, she awkwardly stared at the sodden ground then looked up to meet the gaze of Dina.

"Hello, girlie! I am so happy to finally meet you. Oh, it has been so long since a newcomer has come! How are your obstacles going? Ah, I see you're still trying to find a home, eh?"

Mariola smiled awkwardly and didn't know what to reply; but she didn't have to because Dina continued, "Oh, how I remember when I first got stuck here. There was a whole lot of us streaming this place, and we rioted over the buffet table! But most of them went to Level 1 already, but I just can't seem to pass the security obstacle! Isn't that right, Missy?"

"Uh, yes, I suppose so...?" Mariola replied, trying not to be jostled around the stuffed crowd around her.

"Not you, girlie! I was talking to Missy!" Dina laughed out, cocking her head to the side as she waited for Missy to reply.

"Now, don't you be fighting with me, Missy. What did you say? I'm scaring the poor girl? I am?" Dina lowered her glassy eyes to Mariola's. "Am I scaring you, girlie?"

Mariola didn't know what to do but nod.

Dina cackled. "I'm just talking to the voice in my head! You have one, too."

I do? The thought made Mariola squirm and try to set up mental fortresses around her mind when—

That won't work, Mariola. I'm always here.

"Eeeahhh!" Mariola shrieked. "Get out of my head! Get out!"

I'm not here to hurt you! The lilting voice said. I'm here to help you. I'm Via. Remember?

Mariola felt a warm arm encircled her. "Hey, hey, child. It's okay." Mariola looked up to see Loma, worry dancing in her irises.

"How?" She asked slowly, her head in her hands.

"How what, child?" Loma asked, putting a comforting hand on Mariola's head, the house symbol glitching.

"How do you stay here imprisoned in this...hellhole! How do all of you stand this? The voice in my head, the random glowing emojis on my head, the watchful eyes of Eden everywhere!" She lifted her head up to find hollowed and pitying faces around her. "How can you all bear this?"

"We can't," Loma spat out, casting a hateful look towards Tomy, "but we do because we want to survive."

"But what's the point of surviving?" Mariola asked.

"Everything, kid." Tomy replied, squatting down beside the quavering girl. "When I get out of here, well, I'm going to go travel the world."

"When I get out of here," a high squeaking voice from Dina said, "I'm going to start a nail salon!"

Nods and Yeah's of agreement rang.

"I'm going to end world hunger!"

"I'm going to become a teacher."

"I want to start a five-star restaurant!"

"I'm going to kill Eden!"

More nods and shouts of Yeah's echoed across Level 1, and Mariola couldn't help but raise her voice and join along.

"What about you, Mariola?" Loma asked.

"I-I...I want to get my memories back from Eden."

"Yeah!"

"We're all behind you!"

"You go, girl! You can do it!"

Mariola grinned, the happy atmosphere washing away her fears and tears. She saw the hopeful, fearless faces of her new family. She saw the determination in their eyes and felt their encouragement in their shouts and smiles at her. Maybe staying here for a while wouldn't be too bad. Maybe she had been too mean to everyone. Maybe this could be her home.

Flash.

Her symbol glowed in an ethereal light. She heard gasps and hands clapping around her, but Mariola could only hear the voice inside her head.

Congratulations! Via said inside Mariola's thoughts. You surpassed your first obstacle and found a place where you belong. More new obstacles await!

When the light faded and when Mariola looked up at her brow, she saw a symbol of a jug and a cup. "What?"

Her new family laughed.

"The symbol is for water," Loma said, chuckling in snorts. "You're thirsty!"

"Seriously?" Mariola kept staring at the new odd obstacle. "That's the obstacle?"

Loma shrugged, her shoulders shaking with laughter. Everyone else grinned along and paved a path for her to the water cooler.

"I don't understand this," she sighed impatiently out, shaking her head. But the laugher was contagious, and Mariola soon found herself smiling as she walked through the crowd.

Reaching a hand for a cup that eerily looked like the cup on her head, Mariola only then realized the slick itch in her throat. She licked her lips when she saw the crystal water flowing into her cup from the jug—

The cup smashed onto the ground, water turning into mud, as Mariola was yanked away.

"Let go!" Mariola screamed at the figure holding her wrist and dragging her between the trees and to the dense forest. "Help!"

Ress gripped the girl's wrist tighter and kept on running.

"Let me go!" Mariola shouted again, struggling to brake her feet; she tripped, hauling Ress down with her.

"We got to get out of here!" Ress yelped, bouncing back to his feet and glaring at Mariola. He grabbed her arms.

Legs crossed, Mariola didn't budge. She took a second to tear her eyes from the kidnapper to the horde of people catching up to them. She smiled in relief, and Ress quickly took advantage of her defense going down and scooped her up to his arms.

Just a few hours ago, Mariola might've admired the bulges on his shoulders; but now she only cursed them as she was trapped.

"Why? Why are you doing this? What do you want with me?" She cried out, thumping her small fists against his large chest.

"I'm keeping you safe!" He snarled back, quickening his pace.

"From what?" She glanced at her family, slowly becoming a blurred mass.

An explosion interrupted her.

Ress held his captive tighter. "From that."

"No! What about everyone?"

Although Mariola kept bouncing in Ress' arms, she kept her gaze straight at the group of people about a mile away. Some were on their knees, shaking from the impact. Some were running back and right into the plumes of smoke, crying for friends, family, their home. Mariola could almost see Loma sprinting through the tall grass, her flowery dress whipping in the wind. Mariola almost laughed at the sight and reminded herself to ask Loma later, if there was a later.

Mariola was contemplating whether to bite off Ress' ear when the arms around her plopped her to the ground. She didn't waste any time to lunge back at him.

"You're evil! I can't believe I thought you were cute!" She punched his chest, hurting herself more; but she didn't care. "Tell me what's going on. What was that explosion?"

Ress lowered his chin and smirked at the pathetic girl. "You think I'm cute?"

She let the blush in her cheeks spread to have more anger. "What's going on?"

A loud blearing alarm answered her, and Mariola resisted the urge to block her ears and curl into a worm. Instead, she bunched the collar of Ress' shirt into her fist and pulled him down to her eye level, making sure that her brown eyes showed her anger and impatience.

Ress only laughed out loud but didn't try to fight the girl even though he could push her down with a flick of his finger. He shouted over the noise into her ear, "Eden told me to protect you. He told me that a rampage of Survivors had invaded the island and to make sure you were out of the way when his Bots attacked Level 1."

"Attack Level 1? Why?"

He glanced behind him. Mariola's eyes hesitantly followed his, and she instantly wished she didn't.

Destruction.

It was everywhere. Mounds of dirt surrounded the area where bombs had impacted. Several figures were strewn on the ground, and several others were weeping and mourning over them. More were trying to fight against these tall, floating men. The men were dressed in smart light-blue suits and peered over everyone. Mariola noticed the striking blue hair of Dina quivering in front of a man before the man swiped a hand; Dina collapsed.

"No! Who are they?" Tears welled in her eyes.

"Bots," Ress said. "Eden's machine assassins that determine who is fit for Eden's Pyramid and who is...not." He smeared a tear off her cheek and left his hand to linger there. "Don't worry. You are special; they won't dare lay a hand on you. Well, unless, they're taking you to Level 2."

"What?" Mariola's feet suddenly dangled into the air as strong, spidery fingers lifted her up. "What's going on? Put me down! Ahhh!"

"See you soon!" Ress cheered, waving his hand to her as if she was going off to a holiday.

Mariola shut her eyes. "Heights. I hate heights." Mariola's ears hummed from whirring sounds and screams. She lifted an eye open.

Gone. Her first and only home. Her first and only family.

Mariola felt limp as she was carried away by the Bot to Level 2, where she would face more obstacles, more trouble, more loss. But Mariola would never forget this, never forget what Eden did to these innocent people.

"I'm going to get to you," Mariola silently swore through her breath, "and I'm going to make you pay."

Her tears dripped down to the green land below her like rain, and her words drifted across the rumbling wind as the Bot flew through a large burning hole out of Level 1.

She didn't know what awaited her in Level 2 or where she would wind up next in her journey to find the road home; but she only knew that the next road she would take would lead straight to Eden.

The End...or is it?

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'*ﾟ▽ﾟ*'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*
Symbols
Shelter: 🏡 ☔️
Warmth: 🔥
Sleep: 🛌
Security/Law/Stability: 🔐 🔓 🔒
Relationships: 💑 👩‍❤️‍👩 👨‍❤️‍👨 🙏 ❤️
Baby: 👶
Family: 👪 👨‍👩‍👧 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 👩‍👩‍👦 👩‍👩‍👧 👩‍👩‍👧‍👦 👩‍👩‍👦‍👦 👩‍👩‍👧‍👧 👨‍👨‍👦 👨‍👨‍👧 👨‍👨‍👧‍👦 👨‍👨‍👦‍👦 👨‍👨‍👧‍👧
Friends: 👭 👬 👫
Sex: 💏 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩 👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨
Food: 🍽
Water: 🍶

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'*ﾟ▽ﾟ*'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*
Well...I never thought this day would come!

This chapter (basically the whole book!) is dedicated to PinkSky1105 , Vintagewine007 , and Shelby_Painter  as well as bydefinition and _jae6_ for sticking with me and this book till this very end from the very beginning! 💖

Goal in life: Finish a book ✔️

As usual, give any comments and don't forget to vote!

I don't know what to say; this is so overwhelming! Just, thank you everyone for all the support. I would never have been able to push myself to finish this story without you all!