Y/n's POV:

The shiver ran down my spine because of the cold and those people were looking at me, with an air of amazement and concern.

《Come here to the fire...you will feel better.》  A boy's voice broke the silence.
I had never heard of it before, but it was really comforting.
I came closer.
There was a half trunk cut in front of me; someone had already sat down, but there was enough space for me too.
I noticed that my hands were dirty with earth and one of my sleeves was torn; I was wearing the same clothes I wore the last time.

I felt a hand touch my shoulder.
《How are you feeling?》  I looked up to see a black girl looking at me with fawn eyes.

《Where am I?》  I just managed to say.

《To hell.》  I turned to that hard voice; another boy, with a muscular and rough appearance, was staring at me with his arms folded.

《Perfect timing David, as always.》  Another girl approached the fire silencing the other with her ice-colored eyes.

《We're in another reality created by a creature known as the Entity. There's no escape from here to return to the real world.》  The girl next to me answered.

《It's a nightmare that never ends.》  Another girl with red braids added, sitting next to yet another boy.

《My name is Claudette.》  She introduced herself suddenly.

《Y/n.》  I was in a wood, with guys I didn't know and, in a nutshell, they were telling me that I would never go home.

《And do you think staying here around a fire will make us feel better? It's madness...I'm not going to waste any more time here.》  I got up, right after.

《There's no other place to go...when you're not chosen.》  The girl with ice-colored eyes replied.

I ignored her and ran into the darkness.
Despite the distance, I still could see the faint light coming from their field. I moved through the trees looking for a path that could get me out of that place.
There was a frightening silence and I had the feeling of being followed. I turned and in front of me there was a motionless black silhouette. I screamed in fright.

《Take it easy! It's me...》  His hands took my back and, to try to calm me, he got closer to me. Under the moonlight, I recognized him; he was the boy who had invited me just before to warm up.

《Forgive me, I didn't mean to scare you.》

《As soon as I saw you run away, I followed you. It's still a forest and, if you don't know it, you will end up getting lost.》  Black tufts showed the soft lines of his brown eyes; they reminded me of the Japanese prints I had seen in high school during an art exhibition.

《Well, now two of us got lost...》  I said to him with a slight sarcasm.

《Don't worry, I'm used to it.
I didn't show up before, my name is Jake.》  He took my hand to lead me out of there and, perhaps, not to run away from him again.

《You have gone far. We will have to go a little way.》  His voice was the only thing that reassured me, in such a difficult moment.

- - -

Claudette's POV:

I had seen Y/n suddenly move away from me, in the direction of the woods.

Luckily, Jake had launched in pursuit; he was the only one capable of bringing her back from there.
I could understand her; when I was brought here by the Entity, I didn't know what my course would be and I didn't stop shaking.
However, this place had given me new friendships: Dwight, Jake and Meg were the first I knew, before everyone else. Every day I hoped that we could go out and finally find the lost serenity, after so long confined here.
As I was still leafing through my thoughts, I heard footsteps approaching.
Laurie, Min, Quentin and Zarina had returned to the camp after the usual, terrifying routine.

《How did it go?》  I asked the four.
I really hoped it was all right. When I wasn't with them, I felt helpless; I couldn't help them in time of need.

《Ugh...》  Min lowered her head and didn't answer. I realized she hadn't made it.

《It's my fault...I should have protected you to the end.》  Laurie said to the little Chinese girl.

《No, Laurie. He had gotten stronger, believe me. There had to be a cursed totem somewhere. Don't worry about it anymore.》  At that moment, I thought I saw a few drops coming down her face, until her blue shirt was wet.

I didn't expect it; it was the first time I saw her cry. When I met her, I knew immediately that she was more courageous than me and I was somehow relieved to have a teammate with so much spirit.

I could barely hold back.
What that creature was doing was horrible. I tried to think of something else, to ease the pain we all felt. It was my strong point.

《You must know that we have a new mate...》  I didn't finish the sentence that someone else preceded me.

《Seriously?! Where is she?》  Min suddenly exclaimed, her eyes still red.

《Yup. She went– uhm, ran away into the forest... even though I had already told her it wasn't possible. She should be with Jake now...》  Some faces looked really baffled and I thought I said something wrong.

《Eeeeeeeeh with Jake eh! Who would have thought! A silent guy like him then... and with a new girl! This time, he screwed you off well eh King!!!》
Ace came right behind David and took him by the arm. In the meantime, Nea, who was sitting next to him, laughed.

《Stop it, you idiot!》  David tried to free himself from Ace's grip and nearly punched him in the face.

We all smiled in the end.

《H-however, there's something that doesn't come back to me... wasn't Zarina the latest arrival? If it weren't so, they would have had to arrive together...but I-I could be wrong. Everything is possible, after all.》
I could only prove him right.
Dwight's doubt was more than justified, but no one noticed.

I heard other steps, but this time from the forest.

- - -

Jake's POV:

It took a few minutes, if not longer, to return to the camp.
Not that I minded staying a little longer; that wood wasn't as frightening as the worlds that the monster remodeled as it pleased. Besides, I wasn't alone like the other times; even though I went there to get her out of there, Y/n didn't turn out to be an annoying presence. On the contrary, she was a girl with whom one could speak, laugh; I hadn't done it for a long time.

Before coming here, I had decided to live far from the city, from my family, from my father.

I was free and independent; the only voice I was listening to was that of nature around me. Despite everything, I was missing something. Sometimes, there was more silence inside me than outside; I couldn't understand why I was in that state, after I finally became what I wanted to be.

Talking to Y/n awakened something in me and I couldn't help smiling. I didn't know why, but I was happy.

I returned to myself when I saw that the people around the fire had increased; they didn't stop staring at us as soon as they noticed us (why was Ace winking at me?).

《You're back. It took you a while...》  Not only Meg, but the rest of them were thinking the same thing.
I was ready to answer, but Y/n was faster.

《It's not easy to find your way in a wood at night. It's my fault that Jake was forced to follow me; I had to do something and I couldn't just sit with my hands in my hands.》  Her determination to want to get out of here was completely understandable, but useless at the same time.
If I had discovered, from the first day, an escape route into the woods, I wouldn't be here yet.

《Maybe it's better that you don't do it anymore...we don't know how the Entity will react, if we force fate in this way.
That wood is just a fiction of this world...you should worry about what's on the other side.》  The words that they came out of Laurie's mouth they were as sharp as a blade.

《What's on the other side? Is there a worse world than this?》  Y/n wasn't stupid and her question was more than fair. She still didn't know about this place.

《Yes...and when you find out, you will understand that there's no escape.》  I decided to intervene; I couldn't let Laurie speak that way again.

- - -

Y/n's POV:

《Now it's enough, Laurie. She has just left her life behind, like all of us, and it's normal for questions to be asked. The situation is already difficult enough and throwing more wood on the fire only makes it worse. We can't lose our temper.》  The guy who brought me back, Jake, answered the blonde firmly, though calmly.

There was a deafening silence; some dropped to the ground with their heads down, while others watched the scene petrified.
Meanwhile, some whistles were approaching from the darkness; a young Japanese girl, together with an old man with a flat cap, joined the already large group.

《We're back! What's going on here?》  Asked the first; her attention fell on me and her almond-shaped eyes widened.

《Fuck, I can't rest assured even here...》  The other began to yell, while lighting a cigarette.

I wasn't understanding anything anymore; why were all these people here? Was what was really happening, or was I still dreaming? Perhaps, I had passed out and fell asleep on some hospital bed.

At that moment, the girl from before came up to me  《I'm not much from here either, but I can't tell you how long. My name is Yui.》  I asked her if she remembered how she got here and told me that she was in Tokyo, during a motorcycle race, when a strange fog appeared that enveloped her; it was the same one I had seen resting on my city...or rather, on me.
Another thought tormented me after the conversation with Laurie about this world.

《So far, I understand that there's no going back in our world, but there's something that doesn't convince me...it seems that everyone is struggling to talk about it; is there more besides this?》
I was dazed, but still determined to find out where I had ended up.
Yui's lips started to move, but never began to speak; on the contrary, I heard a whisper in my ears, as if they were calling me.

Everything else vanished.

- - -

I found myself immersed in darkness again; I couldn't see anything, but I felt the floor under my feet and it looked like wood. I blinked repeatedly. I was in a kind of house, from which I could see a starry sky above me; I went outside to find myself in a forest again. Behind a rock, I noticed something unusual ... what was a generator doing in such a place?

Suddenly someone took my shoulder, and he was Jake. He motioned for me to follow him right to the generator.
《It doesn't work now. We have to repair it to restart the engine; to get out of here, you have to find five. I'll show you how it's done...》He took some cables and made a kind of contact, so that one of the four pistons started to move; I started imitating him and it didn't seem difficult, despite never having put my hands on such a device.

《These generators are connected to two exit gates; there's no alternative if we want to escape.》  He said, without taking his eyes off what he was doing.

《Wait a minute, I don't understand...so is it possible to get out of this world? Why didn't you tell me before? Where are the others now?》  My head started to hurt, from too many questions I had asked him; luckily, Jake wasn't bothered by it, though he didn't stop looking around every time we talked.

《If we want to go back to the field–》  When he said it, I lost my temper.

《I don't care about that stupid field! I'm not going to go back there, except to my home and my family! What's so hard to understand?!》  I couldn't take that situation anymore and, for a moment, I regretted having raised my voice against him.
I got up from the ground and left.

《Y/n! Stop, no!》  Jake's scream was so desperate that I stopped abruptly.
Before I could turn around, I saw a black silhouette approaching; my heart began to beat wildly.
I tried to uncover the face, but found only a hideous mask in its place. I took a few steps back, but lost my balance and fell. That strange individual didn't stop looking at me; he tried to hit me with something that remained implanted on the ground...next to my face, there was a frightening blood-soaked cleaver.

I was unable to get up; I had never experienced so much fear in my whole life. He continued to stare at me, but without trying to hit me.
Without realizing it, he reached out and grabbed me by the shirt.
He put me over his shoulders; I tried to squirm, but it was useless.
He was heading for another half-destroyed house; I clung to the entrance wall to stop his step.

《Gh!》  He tugged violently and I lost my grip, my hands now scratched and pained.
He had gone downstairs and we ended up in a basement; in the center, four pointed hooks dangled.
The smell was sickening; he threw me on the ground and stared at me. I didn't know what to do, let alone what he wanted me to do. Under the hooks, there were several pieces of iron and I thought of picking one to hit it on the first occasion.
I heard a noise above me and the strange individual turned his head towards the exit.

《Now!》  With a quick snap, I took a piece from the ground and drove it into the psychopath's leg.
The blood had begun to come out of the wound I had inflicted on him, but there wasn't moaning on his part; his ugly mask looked back at me, completely ignoring what I had just done; he had already implanted some of those on his back and, perhaps, that was why he felt no pain.
This time, his hand squeezed my neck and lifted me up into the air; he was still holding the cleaver with the other, and I wasn't expecting anything else to hit me this time.

Why was all this happening?

Luckily, he didn't hit me with his weapon, but my shoulder was hit by a rusty hook that was behind me. The pain was hallucinating; on the one hand, the shirt and jeans were bathed in my own blood. A heavy weight weighed on my left shoulder, while the tip of the hook touched my cheek. I no longer had the strength and voice to scream and call for help.
My gaze was fixed on the puddle just below me.
I was left there, completely alone.

- - -

Jake's POV:

I was hiding behind the window when I heard Y/n's screams coming from the basement; the Trapper had hung her down there. I was going to free her as soon as he was gone.
He had placed a bear trap in front of the two entrances, but it wasn't a problem for me to defuse them.

Without thinking twice, I ran to the stairs; she was there, silent.
《Hold on Y/n, I'm here.》I took her gently under the arms to let her down.

《No...ah!》  She said with difficulty as the hook slowly came out of her flesh.

《I know it hurts, but you have to hold on a little.》  I replied; I was hoping the killer wouldn't come back just then.
I managed to unhook her and carried her out, hiding in the forest.
The crows didn't betray us and I was able to medicate Y/n as far as I could.

There were only two generators left to complete; I didn't know where the others were.
At that moment, I heard the noise of a powered generator; only one was missing.
《Listen to me Y/n, the killer is still around. Do you see that generator over there? You have to finish it.》I walked away, but I was stopped by the jacket.

《W-where are you going? I can't do it alone...》  Her voice was very low because of the wound and surely from the shock.

《Someone has to distract him...I'll take care of it, so I'll buy time for you.》

- - -

Y/n's POV:

Jake abandoned me. I had to do as he told me if we wanted to save ourselves; I ran, as far as I could, towards the engine and started working.
I was agitated, sweating cold and the threads slipped from my hands; suddenly someone else approached. A brown guy with glasses had bowed to me.

《Q-quiet, I'm here to help you with this...I'm Dwight. Dwight Fairfield.》
I remembered him sitting next to my and Claudette's trunk.
He was agitated too, but together the repair was much faster.

Most of the pistons were about to turn when a scream made my heart freeze.
Once finished, Dwight suggested that I follow him to head for the door, but I couldn't ignore the shouted from before; Jake was left behind, because of me, and I had to do something.

《W-wait! You can't go alone to save him!》  Said the bespectacled boy.

《Let's go together!》  I yelled at him; in the meantime, the fourth arrived and she was the red girl with the braids.

《Jake was hooked right next to the cursed totem...it could be risky to get close...we have to let it go.》  She said, while still panting for the race.

《What?! We can't let him get killed!》
How could she abandon a companion?

In the distance, the one who was called killer was coming this way; I was pulled by the two into the exit, where he couldn't reach us.

I had no words; with tears, the vision was blurred and I didn't understand why those boys were indifferent to what had happened.
Another fog fell on us and we found ourselves at the starting point, in front of the fire.

Everyone was there. Strangely, I no longer felt pain in my shoulder and noticed that she was completely healed; even the clothes came back clean and intact. I looked around and saw Jake; I went up to him.

《H-how did you get out?!》

《I went out as you did, only that I was sacrificed by the killer to satisfy the Entity; as you can see, I'm not dead...it's practically impossible in this world.》

《How is all this possible?》  Jake looked at me with a worried and resigned expression.

《It's because of the Entity, if we're imprisoned here; what you went through is all true and will repeat itself again and again...surviving is the only less painful alternative.》

《Why did you do that? I mean, why did you let yourself get caught if you know it's painful? You wouldn't have been caught, if you hadn't decided to bait.》  I knew it was because of me, but I hoped his answer might be different from my expectations.

《I was unable to protect you, I let him take you and I chose to risk it, then. At that moment, I didn't think of anything but keeping you away from danger and–》  Suddenly, Jake stopped in his speech; he had noticed my reaction, of course.
He put his hand together to wipe my face, giving me one of his sweet smiles.
I could only thank him for what he had done for me.

From that day, the day of my disappearance, I decided that I would become stronger; I felt a new energy flow inside me.

After all, I wasn't alone; as I would have needed them, they would have needed me too and whatever monster I would have to face, I wouldn't have let myself be consumed so easily.