@Invader Len
Cammilla gave a polite smile and waved back to the new man. "hello," she greeted, voice like a bell "We were just about to go on... you should come with us..." The girl paused, looking around at the other doors, especially the one leading out. When nobody comented on her assertion she took a few tentative steps then practically skipped over. She stood on her toes, only reaching as high as his shoulders before whispering "I think that's the way home". She took a step back to look up at him, an honest smile on her face.

He looked remarkably like her oldest brother, and perhaps that's why she trusted him so quickly. She took his hand, as her mother often had taken hers, and started toward the hot coals and thorned vines. It was such a comfort for her to be so near other people again. "It's probably not so bad," she said, reassuringly.

Andy smiled as the boy acknowledged him with a short nod and a smile, realizing that these people were not lotus eaters, nor were they illusions. If anything, they were like him. Strangers in a strange land. People out of place, and out of time. And definitely not from Oklahoma.

He looked down as the girl now spoke to him, surprised by how light and high pitched her voice was. Huh, so this was what kids sounded like? He wondered if that had been was he had sounded like when he was her age. He hadn't practiced with his voice enough to get a good understanding of what he sounded like, and he wasn't about to do that in front of others. God, that would be embarrassing enough of an introduction. He grew up with people thinking he was somehow not right in the head, he didn't need strangers thinking that as well.

The girl skipped over to him, and he was surprised by how closely she was examining him, his face in particular. She had a bright smile on her face, the kind children wore out of honest innocence. He remembered smiling like that once, though his had been wiped off at an early age. He had never had much experience with young girls, as Parkington's had been a home only for boys, but he had this suspicion that they could be just as cruel. This child, however, she didn't have a mote of malice in her, at least, none that he could see. Taking his hand, she led him down towards one hallway. He didn't even bother looking at the other one, he knew instinctively that was the way to the lotus eaters. Instead, the girl led him down a hallway that was made of hot coals, with barbed vines and thorny vines cropping out all over the place. Andy flinched back. Good god, this couldn't be the next test, could it? First mental torture, then emotional torture, and now physical? Whatever force they were working towards, it sure didn't want nobody weak of heart to get to it. The other fellow had already taken his shoes off and was slowly making his way down the hall.

Not wanting to be left behind, Andy followed suit. He slipped off his boots and socks, stuffing the socks into his pockets before he tied the laces of his boots together, slinging them around his neck. Next, he rolled his pants up to his knees, not wanting them to catch the flame. He looked at the hot coals, feeling a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, before glancing back down at the girl. She was so small and young... How could she possibly get through this field on her own? He looked ahead at the other fellow, before giving a long sigh. Kneeling down, Andy gestured for the girl to climb up onto his back in a piggy-back fashion, his pale blue eyes meeting hers. Like hell he was gonna let a kid go through that kind of torture, if he had anything to say about it. She was short enough that if she tripped, the fire would eat her up and leave nothing but her bones. Besides, years of hard work had made him strong. He knew his way around barbed wire and branding irons, he could probably deal with it better than she could.

Ricardo had made it over halfway through the hallway. The coals were intensely hot and he had to practically pull strands of barbed wire aside to move forward. Despite all this, he felt confident. The end was in sight, and all injuries would heal moments after getting out of the hallway. Hell, every few steps, the cuts from moments before would close up in front of his eyes, only to be replaced by more and deeper cuts of course.

He then heard the sizzling of skin behind him. Looking back, he noticed the new boy carrying the little girl upon his back. The gesture was sweat, but he wondered what the boy would do once he got to the thickest part of the barbed wire up ahead. The wires there were so dense and random, even a tiny acrobat could not make it through unharmed, never the less, two people with one on the other's back.

Bringing his attention back to his own struggles, Ricardo continued pressing forward. Soon he found himself suspended mid air as he literally crawled through the barbed wire. On one hand, he was getting ripped to shreds from all sides. On the other, he no longer had to walk on the coals below. This he was very thankful for considering the floor below was simply fire at this point, cooking his body like a suspended pig. All he needed was an apple in his mouth.

A combination of blood, sweat, and tears sizzled as they dripped off the wire and onto the fire below, but he could not stop. His will had become to strong, and the end was now mere feet away.

Instantly, the light vanished, leaving Abby in the dark.

She froze, doubtful, but a moment later a door appeared to her - a different one than the one she'd entered through. She hesitated, looking around uncertainly, but it was the only door that appeared, so she tentatively pulled it open. It led to a poorly lit hallway with long, metal walls. Abby stepped into it. The floor was cold beneath her stocking covered feet. In fact, the whole atmosphere of the place made her feel like she should have brought a jacket. She hugged herself, trying to trap her body heat.

She jumped as the door slammed shut behind her. There was no sign of anyone else, so either the one who closed it had been lurking in the darkness, or it had closed on its own. Neither of those thoughts were comforting.

Abby walked past a few intersections, which connected to more sparse metal hallways. The end of the corridor she was currently in was shrouded in a blackness that never faded no matter how many steps she took. She had a sinking feeling that it had no ending. Shivering, she veering into the new hallway she passed. To her surprise, she was quickly confronted by a window.

What she saw in it made her back away in horror.

It was herself, but as a small child. She was sitting on her grandmother's lap, on that velvety brown couch in front that mahogany coffee table. She would never forget that place. The place she'd learned she was an orphan.

She tore herself away from the window, forcing herself to keep moving. No way could anyone have a picture of that. This was another illusion - a distraction. Perhaps an attempt to make her deny the truth she'd just struggled to accept.

She strode forward decisively, as if she knew what she were doing, never more than glancing at the scenes she passed. Meeting her foster parents, graduating high school, crying herself to sleep, getting arrested - they were all present. And, one by one, she acknowledged them and moved on. There was no point in trying to hide from the past, but you could seek to live for the future.

Eventually, she turned a corner and was confronted by a white door. It was surely the way out. She ran toward it, zooming past scenes of her grandmother's death, of her first kiss. With no hesitation, she pulled the door open entered the next room - and found herself in a room filled with doors.

Doors... and people.

Camilla gave a heartfelt look back to the other door. She didn't want to take advantage of the stranger, but he was offering, and the fires looked scarier further in. "If you're sure sir." she said before clambering up. She looked back to the doors back to the maze and wondered if Abby had already been through here and moved on or if the older girl just hadn't made it yet. She wondered if they aught to wait.

Of course, as though in answer to her inner monologue, Abby came rushing through the door. She seamed almost as astounded to see them as Camilla was to see her. "Abby!" the young girl squeaked, happy to see her friend. "We're heading home, it's this way!" she pointed enthusiastically onward, toward the fiery pit. "and this is...um what was your name sir?"

Andy grunted a little under the weight of the girl as she clambered onto his back, locking his elbows around her knees as he hoisted her up in a piggyback fashion. He could remember climbing onto Simon's back once or twice when they were goof balling, and perhaps even further back onto his mother. But this was the first piggyback ride he had ever given to another person. A strange thought for a stranger situation, he noted. He looked down at the fiery coals, swallowing nervously. He was about to take that first step when the girl on his back suddenly made some noise, turning around to see a girl his age, maybe a year or two younger, enter the room. He craned his neck so he could read the young girl's lips as she spoke, to understand what she was saying better. She asked him what his name was, and he thought long and hard about how he could answer this. Well... It had been a while since his first attempt at speech, maybe he could push out those two syllables that would make out his name?

"Aaaanhiiii."

Nope. Now he just looked like an idiot, making an unintelligible noise in front of two girls he didn't know. He felt a hot flush work its way up on his face as he dug into his jean pocket, pulling out the pencil and pad of paper as best he could. He wrote his name down in big letters, "ANDY", before tearing off the page and handing it to the girl, replacing the pad and pencil in his pocket. It only struck him later that he might have just handed latin letters to someone born before the invention of the latin language, but for now, he wanted to cross the coals and hope the burning pain of his feet would outweigh the burning embarrassment of his face.

He took his first step out onto the hot coals, and almost lost his balance from pain right then and there. He wobbled and hissed out through his teeth, but somehow managed to keep both himself and the girl from spilling into the coals. God almighty, did they burn! He could taste the smell of burning meat, and came to the nauseous realization that it was the smell of his own feet. He took a second step, then a third, his feet being pushed into the coals harder due to the extra weight on his back. It was hot and hard to breathe, the very air felt like a slow-cook oven, and he began to sweat like his body was attempting to put out the coals. Still, he pressed forwards. He had to get to the other end, if the fellow from before could do it, then so could he.

He didn't think it could get worse until the first strand of barbed wire. At first, he tried to gingerly step over them and duck under, not eager to face the wrath of their sharp caltrops. But eventually, the barbed wire became much too thick to maneuver without injury, and soon became impossible to pass. Andy knew the girl on his back would be taking the brunt to the barbed wires from above, but he couldn't maneuver as deftly as the fellow before with his extra cargo. And he absolutely could not set her down on the hot floor. And so, after a moment's deliberation, he made his decision. He locked the girls ankles around his waist, and motioned for her to lower her head. Then, with both fists, he grabbed handfulls of barbed wire, and began to shove, bend and twist them out of his way. He stomped down on the ones below, sending embers up from the coal. It was slow going, and only did further to shred his hands, legs, arms, feet. And the stray barb still came at him, catching his clothes, his cheek, leaving a long bloody cut to prove "Hey! I was here!"

But eventually, he stomped down the wire to the point that it was now a razor filled carpet over the embers, and he was glad to no longer cook. He never became accustomed to the pain, and each stab, cut, slash, poke, they all hurt as much as the first. But his cuts would heal, he trusted that. It was probably the only way he had been able to press on through the pain. He continued forwards, bending, twisting, and stomping the wire under he dare not look at his hands, knowing they were a pulverized mess. By the time he finally reached the end of the hallway, he was on the border of collapsing. In fact, he did, falling to his knees on the cool marble, trembling and wheezing. He squeezed his eyes shut, curling into a ball as he waited for his wounds to heal. If he had to look at them, he might just lose whatever he had for lunch. But at least the girl was alright. He cracked an eye open, giving her a shaky smile. She hadn't escaped the barbed wire unharmed. In fact, being on top, she probably took the worst of it, unknowingly protecting his head and back. A mutually beneficial arrangement, he thought. He had saved her from the coals, and she stopped him from being completely skinned by razors. He closed his eye, pressing his head against the ground. He resolved to never eat barbecue again.

The floor and wall of the hallway felt cold as ice as Ricardo sat leaning back. He breathed heavily as he watched his wounds slowly close right before his eyes. By this point, he had almost forgotten that there were two people right behind him. It wasn't until he heard the sizzling of someone else's sweat and blood that was he reminded. The young blonde headed boy was emerging from the thick of the barbed wire, with the little girl still firmly on his back. Ricardo couldn't help but feel a little ashamed for not doing the same thing for her, but to be honest, he thought she would have wanted to turn back long before the hallway became too gruesome.

Still, Ricardo felt compelled to help, even if it was just in the slightest. He scrambled to the edge of the barbed wire and began helping the boy pull the barbed wire apart. He would still be torn to shreds on the bottom side, but at least the girl could be spared of the last few grueling feet. When the two were finally out, the boy collapsed on the floor. Ricardo was well aware of what he was feeling at the moment: relief and accomplishment.

Ricardo let the two recover for a moment, both physically and mentally before trying to talk to them. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of anything too worth while to say, but none the less, he tried. "Rest easy you two. You're safe now." What a cheesy thing to say, but he hoped that his words were at least slightly comforting.

Camilla took the piece of paper smiling. She knew it was writing, and she knew it was how to spell the man's name, but she couldn't read it. "Ahny" She lulled, tracing the letters with her fingers. She looked over her shoulder to Abby and held the paper up, showing it to her friend as well. To Camilla it seemed like a strange gift, but it was no where near as weird as the other things she'd seen. Before 'Ahny' stepped onto the coals she hooked her arms back around his neck, the paper clutched tightly in her hand.

The thorns, Camilla soon discovered, where mad of metal. As they grew thicker, they grew hotter as well, searing as they clawed across her back. Still she knew she had gotten the better deal between 'Ahny' and herself. The chard rocks and fire below would burn much more than their heated metal counter parts. As the barred vines grew thicker, Camilla did her best to help. Gingerly she pushed them aside, when there where only a few that couldn't be avoided. Then with more force as her hands became chard with rust, burnt skin, and blood, and she had nothing to lose.

By the time 'Ahny' had conveyed that she aught to duck her hands were bloodied up to the elbow, and her face bearing a sidelong scratch, at least half an inch deep. The way ahead didn't look good but the end was in sight. "You can make it," she whispered, shutting her eyes, and burying her face against 'Ahny's' shoulder. In the dark world of her mind she could imagine that it was a hot summer day instead of a death hall. And that she was adventuring with her brother like she'd always wanted to. Barbs scraped across her back like tigers claws but in the end she made her escape.

Cool air hit like a wall as the thorns ended. She blinked her eyes open in time to topple off 'Ahny's' back before he hit the floor. Cool white marble greeted her, a welcome sight that looked just like home, but of course it wasn't. It was just a step to the means to an end.

Grey had frozen for a moment in the room with their names. It was reaassuring to see that the other three had gone through as well. He pulled himself out of his stupor and made his way through his own door as well. It was dark and before the door shut behind him, he resolved himself to facing whatever fear he should face with his normal strength and bravado. What he didn't expect to find when the door shut and everything was dark, was a light at the end of a tunnel. He followed the path toward the light, toward a new life.

When he emerged he noticed that it was a cave from which he was emerging, but when he looked back the cave was significantly more shallow than what he had just walked. As he looked out among the light he saw a farm, and there was a woman tending to chores at a house near the farm. She was absolutely gorgeous to Grey. Somehow he felt he knew her too. She noticed him standing at the entrance and began to wave to him. He waved back and began to approach her. As he approached her he wondered how he knew her. Then it hit him. She was his love! His love? Of course she was his love. It felt so natural. He had a crush on her ever since he was a pre-teen. This was her father's farm that he had been working on for the past several years. As he got closer to her he greeted her with a 'Hello lovely' before moving on to tend to the farm. He would have liked to kiss her, but she was old fashioned and saving that for her wedding of which Grey was determined to become the man.

As the day was drawing nigh another man began to approach the farm. He seemed to know this one as well. The man's face became more clear as he got closer. It was his best friend! He had known him since he was little. They did everything together and knew everything about each other. Both his love and his friend went out that night to eat together and enjoy each others company. This went on for many years between the three of them. Grey eventually married the woman and they had several children together. Grey spent countless hours with his friend working, hunting and occasionally playing as well. Their lives seemed great until they became old.

Grey's lover and friend had both grown old and feeble in the long years. Somehow Grey had not. He watched as both of them died before him to the effects of time. There was nothing he could to stop it either. He took the pain of loss and tried to move on. He still had his children and even a few grandchildren as well. He loved them as much as anything too, but surely they grew old without him as well. His family continued to grow larger in number and continued to age and pass without him. The numbers of lost loved ones was growing rapidly.

He soon got tired of his farming lifestyle and moved towards the ocean. Sailing had become more popular and seemed like a call he was meant for. He met another woman and married her as well in hopes to forget his lost ones. He made many friends with his crewmates and became as close with them as his original friend. He started a family again and couldn't look more forward to getting home to meeting them after his ocean treks. Sure enough again they grew old without him. Some of his friends and family were even dying in accidents and wars. After many years of love and loss he moved on again trying to move on.

He joined the navy during a war. Again he became friends with those around him. He was just a friendly guy and his ability to love was endless. That's what the women around him began to say too. He met many women at the ports he stopped at and loved them all ferventy as well. The war took a brutal turn though. His ship was attacked and sunk just outside of a port which he watched burn to the ground as well. He was captured as a prisoner of war and mercilessly tortured for years as well. Eventually his side won the war and he was freed, but the numbers of his losses were crippling and there was nothing he could do about it. He tried to keep strong and move on, but it didn't even feel like strength anymore to move on. He was just letting his loved ones die.

He couldn't stop loving though. His life continued on endessly following the same pattern. He tried to find new joys, but the rate at which they perished was exhausting. Death after death, going on an on, he wanted to stop it somehow, but there was nothing. No bravery, no strength could stop any of it. People died every moment of plagues, starvation, war, murder, greed and endless other obscenities. Why couldn't he stop any of it. It didn't even feel like he could try to stop any of it, everything was so hopeless, and every death hurt as much as the loss of his original two loves. He just came to love people in and of themselves.

Then the worst struck. After a millenia, monsters began to appear in the world causing all measures of destruction and chaos. Beasts similar to Cthulhu, Bahamat and the four horsemen brought about a great apocolypse in the world. Grey watched as the people of the world were tortured, molested and mutilated. With the world burning around him, he began to call out the names of all the people and loved ones that were dying. His heart was a palpitating mess.

Eventually he saw a face that was different. It stood behind a lone standing glass door, surrounded by the fiery red world as well. The face on the other side looked more solemn and possibly careless. Grey opened his mouth to call his name as well.

"Ricardo!" He sobbed. "Ricardo?" His sobbing slowed and he puzzled. "Ricardo!" He shouted again a little more cheerfully. "RICARDO!!" Camilla and Abby appeared behind Ricardo as well. "THOSE GIRLS!!" Grey was remembering everything real again. "This isn't real, I'm not real! Well I'm probably real, but all I have to do is get out of here. Adam you prick, get out here and tell me what to do!!" His heart had begun to calm again, and as he stepped through the glass door, the world changed to that of a white hallway. Ricardo and the girls had disappeared along with everything else. As he looked back he saw a fiery red world disappear behind a thick metal door. Grey didn't try to re-open it, but he was sure it wouldn't anyways. The memories of what was true rushed back to him. He thought he was fearless, but that sort of helplessness brought about fears he didn't fully understand. When he thought back, it felt like nothing more than a strange dream. The feeling seemed to linger a bit withing him, but he did well to pass it off. His sense of time felt a bit distorted. Like reality had only passed a few hours, while a dream sent him through countless lifetimes. Nonetheless he remembered that he needed to get through these hardships to reach the truth about this strange world.

"Is this for real?"

Abby stared wide eyed as the others - including a cute blond boy she hadn't seen before - crossed through a pit of fire. It was all she could do to wave silently at Cam as she watched the crossing. Though the blond was carrying Cam on his back, the girl was being subjected to the series of barbed wires blocking the path. Abby stepped backward. No way could she do that!

"A-are you sure there isn't another way around?" she called, creeping up to the edge of the pit. She moved to take a step forward, her stockinged toes dangling just about the coals, but the heat was overwhelming; she rapidly pulled back, rubbing her arms nervously. "I don't think I can do this..." Of course, here, all her wounds would heal. Once she reached the other side, she would be in perfect condition, all cuts closed and burns faded away. But it would hurt. A lot.

She looked around, biting her lip hard. There was a door leading off in another direction; if she wanted to, she could just leave. But she would be alone if she did that! Sure, there were other people around... but they were too nice, almost artificial, like NPCs in a video game. They didn't feel real!

Abby took a deep breath and leapt forward. Pain seared through the soles of her feet as she landed; she cursed, her momentum propelling her into the barbs. She brushed them aside frantically, watching as the gashes in her hands healed. The temptation to retreat washed over her, but she set her jaw stubbornly and pushed onward, writhing in agony. Whoever was behind all this was going to pay!

Grey noticed that the white halls had windows in them, or at least cut outs like windows. They were quite clear if anything was there blocking crossing over through the window. He approached the first one in the hall and saw a third person perspective of a memory of a woman with which he had slept. He grinned a little thinking back to then and was relieved to think it was a real memory. He continued on and found several more hallways. All lined with windows. He stopped and looked at most of the windows if only for a moment. He quickly realized that these were his real memories. He was happy to be able to more easily distinguish between his real life and that crazy nightmare.

He was finding though that navigating the hallways was getting rather frustrating. Every hall was lined with windows and halls lined with more windows and halls. Somethimes the halls just ended with a window. It was rather intresting seeing all of his memories, even some he had since forgotten, but he still needed to meet up with the others. He was getting more frustrated trying to navigate what was becoming more apparently a maze. Finally he reached the end of it. He felt like he had re-experienced his whole life trying to find it. The white door at the end of the hallway was a great relief. Memories were great, but Grey wasn't one to be held back by them. He stepped through the door to find yet another room, with doors on three of the sides and two archways on the last wall. He stepped through just as he saw the bigger girl begin through the tunnel marked 'The Truth'.

248 seconds.

That was how long Andy lay, his eyes closed as he waited for his wounds to heal. He could feel flesh begin to creep back over the exposed bones, what a strange feeling it was! To know his bones themselves were as capable as delicate touch as his fingertips was something Andy had never wanted to learn, and he wished he could un-know it. He felt a violent shiver make its way to his stomach, and he held back the urge to retch.
By the time that 248th second was over, he reluctantly opened his eyes, holding a shaky hand up to his face. The skin had healed over without even a hint of scarring. No cuts, gashes, or sores remained. His hand was still coated with a thick, filmy layer of partially congealed blood, and he wiped them off on his pants in disgust.

Regaining his strength, he forced himself to sit up, leaning against the wall. He flexed his newly healed hands, before slinging his boots off from his shoulders and taking his socks out of his pockets. He put them both on, lacing up his boots and vowing to never take them off again. Never would he ever willingly subject himself to that kind of torture for the rest of his life. But... He looked up at the little girl, reaching out and patting her head with approval. She hadn't even cried like he thought she might. Simon, were he here, probably would have called her a rock-tuff muffin. Just like the kind they ate at the orphanages. Muffins that wouldn't break even when you flung them at the asphalt.

He glanced over at the other young man, the one who had reached the end first and helped him over. He smiled, digging his pen and pad out of his pocket, starting to write down an introduction. He was interrupted, however, by the sounds of coals scattering. Looking down that hall, he saw the girl from before, the one that the young girl had called Abby, he believed? She was making her way through the hot coals and wire, and Andy stood up, putting away his pen and paper to grasp the barbed wire curtain and help yank it out of the way, to make it easier for her to escape when she neared them.
He was getting used to the way the caltrops stabbed and slashed his hands, it still hurt, but now he knew what to expect. Glancing warily at the door they were now likely supposed to go through, Andy only hoped that the torture, mental, physical, and emotional, had ended.

@Invader Len@Airalin@rechonq

Ricardo watched as the blonde boy jumped into action to help the other girl. In all honesty, he had forgotten she was back there, having just went through the mind numbing torture himself. He hesitated for a moment, glancing between the doorway that was presumably the exit and the boy struggling with the barbed wires. I would be so easy to walk away, Ricardo thought to himself. He didn't know any of these people, but it would probably help to make friends in the long run.

Raising up from his sitting position, he made a straight line toward the wires. Side by side, he helped the boy open the wires wider and further into the hallway. They cut into his skin just as they did before, but at this point the pain was dull. His pain tolerance must have been pushed passed it's limit, leaving him emotionless to physical harm.

As he stood there, waiting on the girl, he wondered. What happened to Grey fellow? The guy seemed to be a strong willed person. Perhaps he already made it through before anyone else.

Forum Glitch caused an accidental double post. Please ignore this post.

Grey began to look over the two archways. As he stepped toward them it became obvious to what they led. The easy stairwell led back to that cozy world where nothing really happened. It was a nice place and very refreshing, but not the type of life Grey wanted to live. Vacations there would be nice again, but he wasn't sure if that would happen. Nonetheless he looked back down the hallway that led to 'The Truth'.

He noticed the older girl was making her way through the tunnel, very painstakingly. He saw passed her and down the hall to see three others at the end. It appeared someone else had joined them as well. Another friend wouldn't be bad in this strange place. It still appeared he was the oldest and biggest of everyone though. He really was going to need to get everyone's name. He didn't even ask for the girl's names before entering this place. It was nice to see they all made it through though. It seemed he was the only one holding them up.

He made his way to the edge of the hall and began to feel the heat emanating from the floor. 'Well it's certainly hot' he thought to himself. He reached out to touch a barb on the wire and cut himself at the touch. 'They're definitely sharp as well' he thought again. If everyone else had made it there was no way he wasn't going to go as well. He stepped in and felt the floor begin to rapidly heat up his foot. Fortunately calluses had formed on his hands and feet from hard work and poor footwear in his time. Maneuvering the barbed wires though was a much more difficult for his large size. No matter how he moved it felt like every barb managed to grab and hold him. He soon just gave up and covered his face and began to burl through the barbs. The floor was rapidly heating up as well. Even his feet were beginning to blister and burn.

He soon caught up to the girl though. It seemed she wasn't trying to just sprint through the wires like he was. He almost ran her over as well if he hadn't seen her subtle outline through his arms. "Oh well hi again. This doesn't seem like a good place to talk, so would you like some help getting through here? I think I'll be taking all these barbs anyways I might as well clear the way too." Grey began to steadily make his way around the girl.

Abby's eyes widened as the men who had finished traversing the lava willingly grabbed some of the barbed wire to pull it out of her way. Moments later, a burly man appeared next to her and offered to clear the way. She nodded frantically, gritting her teeth against the pain. Tears were tugging at the corners of her eyes. She wasn't the sort to normally accept chivalry, but today, she would make an exception. She'd already been through enough.

She followed the large man, who kept most of the sharp edges from scraping her. Her arms suffered only a few gashes, which faded as she she progressed. She assumed it was the same healing power that kept the soles from being burned off her feet. Her stockings had been reduced to burning bands around her thighs. Quickly, to minimize the pain, she pulled off the rags and dropped them into the fire. Blisters formed on her hands from her contact with the heat.

Once she had reached the other side, she stumbled onto the ground, wiping at her eyes. The lot of them must have thought she was pathetic. "Thank you," she muttered, not wanting to also appear ungrateful. Though it hurt to admit, she was not fit to pass these trials, not on her own. If she had suffered the wounds some of the others had, she would have surely broken down in the middle of the lava.

Once her body had healed up, she rose, surprised that moving didn't hurt. Blood was splattered all over her now bare feet, and more of it formed vein-like lines along her arms. She sighed, eyeing the next door mistrustfully. The sinking feeling in her stomach told her that, whatever was next, it was sure to be even worse.

Camilla thought perhaps she could help move the wire, she didn't feel like she'd done a whole lot of anything so far. But Ahny and the other guy had already set themselves on each side of the barbed hole, pulling the metal aside so the remaining two could get through. She'd only be in the way. Instead she offered encouragement, reassuring everyone else that all would be well very soon, and that the pain only lasted a little while before it would heal itself. This didn't seem to be all that helpful either but it was out of the way and all she could do.

The man who came through before Abby was a surprise. Camilla had thought that Abby had gone in first and was a little startled, but no matter Abby came out just behind him and alleviated her fears. "Abby, you made it! I knew you would!" The younger girl gasped with a smile. She had to stop herself from hugging the older girl before her wounds had healed. As soon as Abby seemed okay she through her arms around her, glad that she was really alright and not just an allusion.

"I think we're all here now," she stated rather matter-or-fact-ly. "I bet if we all work together we'll all be home before we even know it!" She looked around once again, counting how many people there were before gasping again. "I don't know any of you're names," She giggled "well except Abby and Ahny. I'm Camilla, it's really nice to meet all of you, again."

Andy looked up as he heard an unfamiliar voice, spotting another man, older than him, coming down the hallway. He pulled the barbed tendrils further back, allowing someone of his size to come through. He grit his teeth as the caltrops dug into his hands again, but bit his tongue. It hurt, but it was nothing compared to the fire.

Once the two were finally through, he stepped back, allowing them both room to heal on the cool marble. He offered them both a silent smile of sympathy. They all knew what each other had been through, but they had all made it through. They now all shared that bond of surviving this torture, the pain they had come through. From the room of blind and deafness, to the maze of memories, and now the hallway of hell. For a fleeting moment, Andy thought this would make one hell of a comic book.

The little girl flung her arms around the older one, hugging her tightly, before introducing herself as Camilla. She pronounced his name as "Anhy", and he flushed red in color, remembering his mistake in speech. He fished his notepad out of his pocket, quickly finishing his introduction, before turning it around and showing it to the others.

"Hello. My name is Andy Jones. Please forgive my silence, as I have not learned to speak. I am- or was- a deaf-mute from Oklahoma. I don't know what year it is, but last I checked, it was 1980. It's nice to meet you all."

After holding his sign up long enough for them all to read it, he looked towards the ominous looming door on their end of the hall. He felt a primal surge of dread all up in his being, worried that whatever was through this door might be worse than the horrors they had all just faced. But there was no way back now. He couldn't return through the barbed hallways even if he wanted to. He wasn't strong enough to do it a second time. So he swallowed his fear, turning the pad around and flipping the page, writing again.

"So... I guess the only way to go now is through there."

Grey continued to push on. The heat was too great to stop. He noticed out the corner of his eye the girl nod to his offer. It looked like she was on the verge of tears too. Heat this intense and wires these cruel were enough to drive him to tears. He was used to hardship and pain, but some people weren't and some people shouldn't be subject to it. He got angry at whoever was making them go through this. He saw the others on the end helping some, but he knew they went through it too. This was ridiculous. He kept barreling through the wires with a determined anger in his eyes. The barbs tearing through his flesh did little to stop. Adrenaline was pumping through him and nothing was going to stop him at this point. The heat was burning his feet with every step, but his steps didn't get lighter. The nightmare room and the this hallway were more than any of them needed to deal with.

He emerged from the final barbs that the others helped hold out of the way and continued on to a nearby wall. The adrenaline that built up from the pain itself and realising that someone was putting them through this had reached remarkable limits with him. With an angry roar, he reared back and slammed the wall with the palm of his hand. He left it there and began to breathe more calmly. The cuts and burns that should've scarred terribly began to wither away to nothing within minutes. He faintly heard the girl that followed him give a thank you. It was a little odd, but as he calmed himself his eyes began to water. A lot of emotion was running through him and controlling all of it wasn't easy. He turned back to your and gave a quiet, "Your welcome", himself.

He stood up straighter again and noticed that there was another person he hadn't met yet. Actually he didn't even know the girls names yet really. He only knew Ricardo. Fortunately Camilla gave an introduction for herself and opened the topic of finding everyones names. The new boy quickly began writing in his book. He must have been Ahny, then this girl must have been Abby. He wondered if it was short for Abigail, but depending on her introduction he would find out. Grey began to read the writting once Andy was finished. It was a little odd, but all of there speech was a little weird to him. "Well, it's nice to meet you Andy. I guess you understand us by reading our lips. I met another deaf before. Although his was because his ears got cut off. Nasty business, sorry. It's nice to meet you as well Camilla. I'm glad to see you made it. My name's Greyken Rest, but Grey will be just fine."

Congratulations! At the end of "The Casino Trials" quest, you should have found the last doorway. By exiting this doorway you will officially have completed the quest. Every post following will resume being worth one experience point. Enjoy this new area at your own risk!

Description:

Through the doorway lies a long dark tunnel that descends further downward into the mountain. After many twists and turns, you will start to see light coming from the end of the tunnel. Standing at the edge of the tunnel, your character will be perched high above a vast clearing with an expansive city below. One is able to walk straight down this side of the cave, but be careful; the slope is steep.

(Read the new section of the original OOC post entitled, "Chapter 2", for more information on the wild cave city below.)