[IC] //Deadly Labyrinth//

[Benzaiten]

You wake up on a little clearing. It smells like summer breeze, fresh grass and nature. You breathe in the soothing scent of the air, you enjoy the soft breeze in your hair for a moment, then you open your eyes and take in your surrounding.

The grass is beautifully green, there's a tree; you could reach the lowest boughs if you stretchted, apples hang from them. It looks like in a colorful children's book. The apples look so perfectly round and red.
You feel a pain in your stomach, it growls. You are hungry... so hungry. And thirsty. Your eyes wander around a little and only a few steps away there's a well.

For the first time now, you actually ask yourself how you got here. What happened? Your head feels normal, there's no headache, except.... The last 24 hours are missing from your memory. You try to remember small things, maybe something triggers your mind. What did you eat for breakfast? ... When did you wake up? ... When did you go to bed the other night?

Nothing seems to trigger your memory. So you try some long-time memories.
Your name. Your family. Your history. It's all there. So there's only something wrong with the last 24 hours. That's a good sign, and a bad sign at both. Who brought me here?

In seek for an answer you look further arround. The area is very small and away from it seem to lead four paths into what looks like the beginning of a maze. The walls of the maze are pure nature and dark green. As your eyes concentrate more on the ground, you notice that there are three other people lying on the floor around the tree. Just like you.

I am not the only one. You don't know the others. Your eyes wander up to the blue sky - no ceiling - and you notice a little letter hanging from one of the tree's boughs. It's too high to reach it, you don't even have to try. You know you have to climb to get it.

To begin the game, give away your first post.
Hint: Actions do not have to be involved in every post, if you rather your character didn't react.

[Flightless_Soul]

Harley Whitfield

--------------------------------------------------

Keep...running! Got to keep...running!

My entire body is soaked to the marrow, a cold, chilling rain battering my marred, bruised skin with some unspeakable agony as I push my way through this dense, dark forest forever stretching before me. Black, towering trees creak and moan in the fierce, roaring winds forming icicles on my flesh, lightning flashing and thunder growling everywhere around me. Suddenly a branch catches my ankle. I plummet to the ground, splashing into a foul smelling puddle of muck and mire, hastily and frantically scurrying to my feet.

I...I have to get out of here! I have to keep running! It's not real! It's not real!

Those are the only thoughts racing through my mind, frantically my heart pounding against my chest, threatening to break through my rib cage. I wipe something away from my forehead, sweat...no...that isn't sweat pouring down my face...it...it's BLOOD!!

I keep running, there's something chasing me, something I cannot see beyond the endless veil of darkness engulfing the wicked forest of withering pines and ashes, but I can sense it, I can feel it....the malevolent, malicious force coming forth to devour me.

No go away! Leave me alone! NOOO!!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I jolt awake with a gasp from where I lay, shaking like a leaf, my skin clammy and sticky with intense, fearful perspiration.

"God blimey....what a nightmare..." I sigh with relief, but as my eyes begin to adjust, the blurry, abstract shapes coming into crystal clarity, I discover...perchance this dream...may be far from over.

"Where....where am I?" I've never seen such a place. The soft, sweet smelling breeze gently calms my nerves as it brings a warming sensation to my dampened skin and I find myself...surrounded by such...such beauty. Grasses, so green and so verdant, stretch before me, surrounded by towering walls of leafy hedges. In the midst of the clearing, there are three things that catch my bewildered eyes. The first, a tree of such lush, vibrant colors, it makes me shameful I didn't bring along my watercolors. Its leaves are fully blossomed, casting its dappled shadows as the warm sunlight seeps through its branches, its fruits, pleasing to both the eye and possibly the pallet. If I didn't feel so sick to my stomach, I would probably have picked one just to sample.

Second, a well, not far from where the tree stands, made of old, ancient stones covered in thick coats of moss and lichens. Slowly, I approach the well, just as the breeze picks up and a few leaves from the tree are cast into it creating ripples across the sheen, undisturbed surface of the water. I dip my hand in. It's so cool to the touch and oh so clear that I can see right towards the very deep of it. I dip my other hand in as well, splashing water on my face and giving yet another sigh.

"What is this place?" I question, soon realizing...I am not alone. For thirdly....there are others here, three other people, lying beneath the shade of the apple tree. Are they asleep...or are they...dead?

"H-hello?" I call out to them, hoping in my heart that one of them at least stirs. This place, as beautiful as it is, there is something so...unnatural about it. And I've no earthly idea how I ended up in such. Perhaps I'm still dreaming. Yes, that's it. I close my eyes, expecting to appear in my room at the ranch in Hereford, expecting to hear mum and dad telling me to wake up for school, but...as my eyes open again...nothing...just the same grasses and tree.

[fourtimesnine]

William Jones

----------------------

I was lost and alone in a void. Though I walked for what seemed like ages, I found nothing except darkness and silence. It was so cold. I wrapped my arms around myself.

"Is anyone there?" I yelled desperately. "Hello? Anybody!"

The silence boomed around me, and I shivered, huddling into myself. Then, like a light shining in the darkness, I heard an answering call.

"Hello?"

I felt an enormous sense of relief. There was another person here, and I wouldn't have to be alone forever in the dark... Except, that wasn't quite right, because I wasn't standing in the darkness, I was laying on a soft, slightly damp surface...

I slowly open my eyes, sleepily looking up at a bright sky. Then I jerk awake. This isn't my bedroom ceiling. This isn't my room. I sit up, panicking slightly, but calm down immediately - there's no way I can remain tense with such beautiful surroundings. I sit on a cushion of soft green grass, daisies springing up from it. The sky is a pure, unblemished blue, so different from the usual gray drizzle of my home. In the distance is a tall tree with a piece of paper caught in its branches, hanging among ripe red apples-

Wait. How did I get here? I search my memories, but find the past 24 hours utterly blank. I go further back. My name is William Jones. I'm a nursing student. Last Tuesday, I had scrambled eggs and coffee for breakfast. Retrograde amnesia, but I'd only lost one day. Why? I mentally list possible causes...blunt head trauma, alcohol or other drugs, emotionally traumatic events... I hadn't woken up with a headache, but I felt my head for the bumps that would indicate blunt trauma just in case. Then I check my arms for needle punctures by which a drug could have been administered. I can't think of a way to check whether I'd been through psychological trauma in the past 24 hours, and I probably wouldn't want to know about it if I had.

It is only then that I remember to search for the source of the voice that had awoken me. I look around and see two other sleeping figures around the tree. There's also a brunette woman standing by a well, looking in my direction.

Is she the one who brought me here? Or was she brought here herself, like me?

Either way, it wouldn't hurt to be friendly. "Hi there!" I call, waving. "Do you know where this is?"

[Flightless_Soul]

Harley Whitfield

--------------------------------------------------

For a moment or so, my eyes flicker away, and my attention is drawn from the slumbering few to the tree once more. It is then that I notice among the vibrant colored apples and thick, sprawling branches...there are pieces of paper strung up by threads of twine, not just any pieces of paper...but...letters, notes of some sort. Yet, the tree is too tall for me to climb, and I'm not that very athletic. Art students don't really need a gym credit to graduate anyways.

How on earth did I even get here? I wonder quietly to myself, pacing back and forth between the well and the tree fiddling with a few stray locks of my hair, messy and unkempt. Think Harley. There had to be something, someone who brought you here. Surely you've seen their face. It is then I close my eyes, beginning an internal scan of all my memories. I remember who I am, Harley Whitfield, a high school student, age seventeen. I live with my family on a small ranch in the countryside of Hereford. Two days ago, I submitted a painting in for my art project. I remember, because it was the first time I worked with acrylic paints. It turned out alright honestly, but....yesterday....it's as though it never existed. The more and more I try to think upon it, the more it continues to elude me, nothing, a blank space within the tapestry of my recollections, a missing thread...the piece to this confounding puzzle set before me. This is too weird...

"Hi there!"

I jump at the voice, jettisoned from my bewilderment as a brief but audible yelp bursts from my lungs, quickly my hands reaching to cover my mouth while my cheeks redden scarlet. My God...it's one of them. I turn to face him slowly, a boy, perhaps a bit older than me, in a gray hoodie and wearing glasses.

"Do you know where this is?"

"Ah...n-no I don't." Nervously I answer him, carefully my hands retreating to my sides and ruffling the hem of my dark red and black flannel. "I was hoping you would know. Who are you?"

It is then behind him I discover an opening of some kind, a path leading out of the clearing into who knows where, a path much like the mysterious and lovely clearing, being that all sides are flanked by the towering hedges. I wonder...is this some sort of garden? Well obviously, but there's a word that keeps repeating in the back of my mind. I've seen this before...

...Labyrinth...

[fourtimesnine]

William Jones

----------------------

@Flightless_Soul

The brunette makes a little sound and claps her hands over her mouth. Oops.

"Ah...n-no I don't. I was hoping you would know. Who are you?" She replied, stammering a little. It seems that she'd been brought here like me.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," I apologize sheepishly. "My name is William Jones, but you can just call me Will. It's, um, nice to meet you." I briefly wonder if I sounded like a dork, then quickly decided that it didn't matter much in the current situation.

I look around at our surroundings again. The other two people still seem to be asleep, and I don't want to stray too far from this garden until they wake up. However, I can investigate those mysterious papers in the branches. They're too high up to reach from the ground, and I'm not much of a climber, but maybe we could get to them if we work together.

Addressing the girl in the flannel, I ask, "Do you want to find out what those papers in the tree are? I bet that you could reach them if you got onto my shoulders."

I'm fairly tall - 5'11" - and our combined heights would probably be sufficient. Of course, I didn't want to make her uncomfortable...

"No pressure, of course," I add hastily. "You don't have to. I'm just curious about them, that's all."

[duskshine749]

Jason emerged from the labyrinth through the same entrance he had entered it from. He had woken up first, and as much as he thought it may be a bad idea he entered anyways. Alone. Into the mysterious and probably deadly maze. Yeah, not his best moment. But he hadn't ventured far, he just wanted to see what it was like in there, and it was as you'd expect; confusing. He noticed the others and was glad some of them had woken up. "Hey, you're awake, that's awesome." He picked up his walking pace and half jogged over to them, "this place is crazy, right? What's going on?" He seemed a lot less worried than he should be, but that was mostly because he woke up first and had his panic phase alone while the others were still out cold.

[BilboTheGreat]

My Hider

Josh Gardiner

---

Josh turned over as he started to awake from his slumber. He let out a groan, shaking his head and reaching out as if he was trying to turn his alarm off. When all his hands managed to touch was the soft grass however, his eyes slowly opened up. He looked around for a moment, still too tired to really be registering all of it. This wasn't his bed. He was still in a dream, right? Of course he was. He was still in a dream. Slowly he sat up and let out another silent moan as he put his hands behind him onto the grass, holding himself up. Looking around, he started realising that this wasn't a dream, this was real. The grass felt all too real. The look of the place, it looked all too real. Either this was real life, or his dreamland had just got some major upgrades. He looked around a little more and saw three people, two boys and a girl, standing up near where he was. Looking around a little more he saw another person laying on the floor of the place, whatever it was.

He started trying to remember how he had got here before he spoke to any of the strangers. The more and more he thought, the more he realised that that last twenty four hours were a complete blur. He tried to remember small things, when he had woken up, if he had seen anyone important, even school. None of it was there. This freaked him out a whole bunch. The last thing he remembered was two days ago, going to a highschool party. He remembered getting there, hanging out, dancing, doing stupid shit and getting very drunk. After that it was all gone. Mabye he had been the first to pass out. Maybe his friends were just pulling a cruel joke, carry him to the middle of a field and leaving him until he woke up. Only, he hadn't woke up. He must of drunk enough to pass out and not wake up for a whole day. Yeah. That was it.

Only, why were these other people here. He didn't know them, and he presumed that they wouldn't just be coincidentally in the middle of nowhere, just like him. He stood up slowly, yawning as he looked over at the other three. He just about heard the other guy talking about a tree, and some paper in it. He looked over at the tree, scanning over it for a few seconds before he found the paper they were talking about. He bit his lip gently as he looked back at the other people afterwards and spoke softly. "Hi, Hello... Sorry if I'm interrupting you guys but, do you know where we are?". He spoke a little quietly, you could tell he was nervous just by his voice and you could also tell where he was from, his accent was southern English.

[Flightless_Soul]

@fourtimesnine@duskshine749@BilboTheGreat

Harley Whitfield

--------------------------------------------------

Confused...

That is how I feel at the moment. None of this makes any sense.

I wake up from a God awful nightmare, only to find myself surrounded by people I have never met nor seen once in my entire life, and I am in some bizarre place I have no recollections of whatsoever. The only thing I can discern is...it is some sort of hedge maze, a labyrinth of green walls, walls that I feel...someone or something is lurking behind.

I turn to the boy just as he is apologizing for jarring me. Really it's nothing. I'm a jumpy person anyways. His voice, the tone is very sweet and full of concern. I can tell he is a nice person, but still...I have my apprehensions. Mum always said, even the devil hides behind pretty smiles.

"N-no, it's okay. No need to apologize." As calm as I can I reply to him. "I'm...Harley, Harley Whitfield."

Will, his name is, he also seems quite shy, but then again, my people skills are next to nothing. He asks me if I want to climb on his shoulders and investigate the tree further. Indeed, I too am curious as to what the letters say, and Will is quite taller than me, practically a Hobbit compared to him at just 5'2''. "Um...maybe. I don't really have much balance, and...I'm a little afraid of heights. I mean...we can try." Still, I want to find out what they say, if they have some sort of clue, anything to reveal where we are, who brought us here, the questions I desperately want answered.

I was just about to consider climbing Will's shoulders, but then....

"Hi, Hello... Sorry if I'm interrupting you guys but, do you know where we are?"

"Hey, you're awake, that's awesome. This place is crazy, right? What's going on?"

My attention shifts from Will to the two, yet only one I recognize from earlier, one of the few who were still asleep. Now only one remained slumbering in the grass...but...who the bloody hell was this other bloke?

"Oh um...hi. Sheepishly I wave in reply. "We're all asking that same question. I'm Harley and...this is Will."

[Benzaiten]

All those awake: You are thirsty. Very thirsty. But do you dare to drink from the well? This thirst is killing you. You've never been this thirsty before. Man.

The sun stands high at the sky shining directly above one of the entrances to the labyrinth (entrance blue). It's not hot, it's nicely warm on the skin.

[fourtimesnine]

William Jones

----------------------

Another man bursts out of the entrance nearest to me, surprising me. I had hopes that he would have some explanation - hopes that are immediately dashed when he asks what's going on. At least he seems glad that we're awake.

At almost the same time, the third person stands up, yawning sleepily, and quietly asks where he is. Harley replies by introducing us.

"Hey," I smile at them, "Good to have some more people join us. The more the merrier, right? Could you please tell us your names?"

Then I attempt to summarize our current situation and bring them up to speed.

"Harley woke up first, I think. Then I woke up, and neither of us knew what was happening, so we were thinking of somehow getting to that letter on the tree for clues. That's really all that happened before you two came."

Suddenly, I realize that I am incredibly thirsty. When was the last time I drank water? Of course, I can't remember - I always try to stay hydrated, but anything could've happened yesterday. Spotting the well, I walk over to it. The sun reflects off the water, causing me to wonder what happens if we're still here by nightfall. Do we have any light sources? Feeling slightly foolish for not doing so earlier, I check my pockets. I usually keep at least my phone, wallet, and a portable charger on me at all times, but who knows what could've happened before I got here.

[Benzaiten]

William Jones: I check my pockets. I usually keep at least my phone, wallet, and a portable charger on me at all times, but who knows what could've happened before I got here.

Your attempt stays uneventful. All you find is a big nothing.

[duskshine749]

"I'm Jason, and I actually woke up first," he told them, "I know I should have waited, but my curiosity got the best of me." He gave them a sheepish smile, "the path I took didn't look very interesting, I was gonna try the south next." He was very parched, luckily there was a well nearby. He grabbed the bucket that was with it and got some water for himself and his presumably thirsty company. "Water, anyone? You won't be able to do much if you pass out from heat stroke."

[Flightless_Soul]

@duskshine749 @fourtimesnine

Harley Whitfield

--------------------------------------------------

At first, I thought I was the one who awoke before, but it seems this other, Jason his name, was wide awake already, and that he had searched a mere portion of this strange world encompassing us, this....labyrinth.

I remain quiet, encompassed in my own thoughts as the three boys banter amongst themselves. It soon catches me, a slight tinge of dryness in the back of my throat, creeping its way towards the tip of my tongue. Gosh...how long has it been? Surely I can't have gone that long without anything to drink, but my body tells me otherwise.

The sun hangs overhead, not overbearingly brutal as the cruel summer, but as a gentle warmth that kisses my skin, easing somewhat the tension within my heart. Still, I wish I had something to quell this supposed thirst of mine.

"Ah...thank you, Jason." I say to the boy with a wry smile as he brings over a pail of water from the well. When I had first laid eyes on it, it was clear, crystal even, so it had to be fresh obviously, not to mention so cool and crisp.

I cup my hands, dipping them into the coolness of the pail, but as I bring my hands forth to take a drink, I stop. There's a sudden apprehension that hits me, not about the water, but as I see something change in Will's demeanor as he riles through his pockets for something.

"Will, is something the matter?"

I wonder if where we are, if time flows as normal. Then, soon it would be dark, and here we were, out and about with no torch, no lantern, no source of light at all, only at the mercy of the moon.

"It won't stay daylight forever. I think I still have my pen light. Wait, let me check." My pen light, yes, small but at least it would give us some light. I only use it for reading in the dark, though my father insisted I keep it on me at all times. For what reason, I don't know. So without anything further, I check my left pocket, where I always keep it, though...I have to ask.

"So Jason...what did you see?

I'm still a bit nervous about traversing further.

[Benzaiten]

Haley Whitfield: I check my left pocket, where I always keep it

All of your pockets are empty. The pen light is gone.

For everyone: You don't carry anything with you.

[fourtimesnine]

@Flightless_Soul @duskshine749

William Jones

----------------------

What have I got in my pocket? Apparently, nothing. I sigh; it's going to be a pain in the neck to replace my phone and all the cards in my wallet, assuming that they were stolen. We're also going to be effectively blind once the sun sets.

"Will, is something the matter?" asks Harley.

"Yeah," I reply. "It seems that my phone, wallet, and spare charger are gone. Hopefully I just forgot them at home or something, but I'd guess that they were taken by whoever brought us here."

I notice that she's looking through her pockets too. "Is all your stuff gone too?"

Momentarily distracted by that train of thought, I return my attention to my parched throat as I notice that Jason has generously brought Harley a bucket of water.

Following her example, I scoop up some water from the pail. "Thank you," I say gratefully. Ah, that's much better.

I look towards the southern path, the one that the sun is hanging above. I can't see anything about it that's different from the others, so I suppose it's as good of a place to explore as any, and Jason does know this place a little better than I do.

"If you're going to check out the southern path, can I come with you?" I ask Jason. It's dangerous to go alone! "I'd prefer to check out the tree first, but I'm fine with whatever you guys want to do."

[BilboTheGreat]

Josh had zoned out of the conversation they were having for a brief few moments. The girl had told him that they didn't know where they were either. How could they not know, how could he not now? Was it all the same for them, as it was for him? He put his head in his hands for a moment, closing his eyes. <I> Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck! </I> He shouted inside his head, over and over. What would anyone want with him? Had he done something incredibly stupid at that party, pissed off the wrong people? He gently pushed the hands from his face up to his hair, brushing it backwards. His mother would be worried sick. And his sister, and father. God. He knew he shouldn't of been drinking as much as he was, but it was all for fun. Right?

He was panicking. A little too much. He opened his mouth to speak to somebody, and when he started to speak again he realised how dry his throat actually was. He didn't say anything, but nodded in thanks to the boy at the well and dipped his head down, scooped up some water with his hands and drunk it. That was much better.

He turned to the other boy who spoke afterwards, and nodded as he spoke. "I'd quite like to check out the tree first too, if that's alright?" He asked. "I want to know what's written on that note". He said.

[duskshine749]

"Ya, I wanted to see what was in the note when I woke up," he said to them, "but I'm not much of a climber so I figured I'd need some help. And now that you're awake we can do that." He walked over to the tree and looked up at it, "so, I can give someone a boost if they'd like. You probably wouldn't want to life me." As much as he may not look like it Jason weighed nearly 300 pounds, being 6'2 helped, most people thought he looked around 200 pounds.

[Flightless_Soul]

@fourtimesnine @BilboTheGreat @duskshine749

Harley Whitfield

--------------------------------------------------

"Is all your stuff gone too?" I overhear Will asking as to no avail I ruffle through every pocket on me, my jeans, my shirt, everywhere. It..I-it's gone! But...no! I just had it with me two days ago! Where is it? That pen light meant alot to me, and I can't believe I lost it already!

"Y-yeah." I answer, the obvious fluster evident upon my face. "My pen light. I know I didn't misplace it or anything. I always kept up with it."

In fact, there is literally nothing in my pockets, no spare change, no phone, nothing...but thin air... I'm starting to feel more and more concerned about this place and....whatever or whomever...brought us here. I don't know why, but...I just feel like we are all in some sort of danger here. We need to leave, yet, the others are voting for climbing the tree to grab the letter.

I was up for it, at the start at least, but now, I just want to get out of here.

The sun, its shimmering light looms over the southern passage, as though it is a beacon trying to point us the way home...or perhaps...the snare to a deadly trap. Either way, we won't know unless we traverse it.

I turn to the three and take a deep breath, shuffling my feet a little on the grass. "Look, you guys, I'm all for finding out what's on the letter too, but...I think we should get out of here as soon as possible. I...I just don't like this place, or how it makes me feel. We could be in some serious danger right now, and we don't even know about it. I mean...doesn't this place give anyone the creeps?"

I then look towards the southern path. "That might be our only way out, who knows. Maybe we should explore it a little first...o-or better yet, what if Will and I check the path and you other two climb the tree?"

Honestly, I don't like the thought of splitting up, not here, but at least we should be able to cover more ground, hopefully...

Still...there's just something about this place that bothers me...

[fourtimesnine]

@Flightless_Soul

William Jones

---------------------

I consider the options. We could cover more ground if we split up, and two people (three, if the other person woke up) should be enough to climb a tree. Jason's little excursion had already helped us rule out the western path, so even if Harley and I don't find anything, we would still be helping a little. I am very curious about the note, but I can always ask the others what it said when we get back.

"Sure, Harley, that sounds good. Let's go explore the southern path." I then look to the other two. "Do you think you two can manage on your own?"

Briefly, I feel a vague apprehension about splitting the party, but I quickly dismiss it. This isn't a horror movie, this is real life, strange as it had been lately.

@duskshine749 @BilboTheGreat

[BilboTheGreat]

Josh bit down on his lip gently and looked at the other two who wanted to leave and go down the southern path. Will and, Harley, was it? He let out a quiet sigh. "I'm not sure..." He said quietly. "Wouldn't it be better if you stayed, just to find out what it says? It might be important. You might need to know what it says before you go off". He said to them. Sure, he could manage on his own, and he was very sure that this other man could handle himself, all six foot two of him. He looked down on the floor and saw the other person, still asleep, wondering why they hadn't woke up yet.

He then looked over to the bigger guy and nodded, "Well if you can, could you boost me up, and I'll grab the note?" He asked.