But something in me stirs, deeper than fear.
A pull.
They don’t move toward me. They don’t have to. It’s like theyknowI’ll come to them eventually, and maybe I will.
Ishouldrun.
Ishouldscream.
Ishouldplay the part I came here to play.
But what if I don’t want to?
CHAPTER 2
LILA
They don’t move.
The three of them, black mask, white mask, burlap sack, they just stand there, spaced out around me like pieces on a game board. Silent. Still. Watching.
I take a slow step back, careful not to snap a twig or crunch gravel. The fog stirs around my ankles like it’s trying to follow. My eyes dart from mask to mask, waiting for one of them to lunge, to scream, todo something.
That would make this easier. Normal, even. Predictable.
But they don’t.
Ilook for an exit, but the maze doesn’t work that way. It winds, loops, and twists with no logic. The path behind me is swallowed by shadow. The lights above flicker low and uneven, like they’re dying one by one. The air’s colder now.
Too cold.
I turn left. Start walking. Slowly, trying to keep steady.
I don’t run… Not yet.
Corn rustles on either side of me. The walls are high, too high to see over, and tight enough that brushing against them makes my arms itch.
I hear a laugh somewhere behind me, sharp and sudden. A girl’s voice.
Then silence.
My breath is louder than it should be. I try to calm it, try to act unfazed, like I’m still just playing along.
But the air tastes wrong.
It’s damp. Metallic. Like rust and dirt.
Something brushes the back of my hair.
I spin around. Nothing.
No one.
I press a hand to my chest. My heart is a hammer now, fast and hard, but not from panic. From… something else. A kind of electric awareness, crawling down my spine.
They’re still back there. I know it without looking.
And sure enough, when I glance over my shoulder, I see the white mask, just barely visible through the gaps in the corn.
