𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐑 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐄? ; 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆𝗳𝗶𝗰

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫

not again

"There has to be a logical way," Lotus mumbles, his hand covering his mouth.

"Let's take it one door at a time," Neva suggests. "The first one is a fire that'll never burn itself out, right?"

Carmen nods. "And we don't have water or anything else to put it out with. That one's definitely out."

Neva continues, undiscouraged, "The second door is just an ocean. Can't we just swim?"

"We don't know how far it is," Carmen says, shaking their head.

I scrunch my forehead together. "Okay, what about the last door?"

"A bunch of hungry crocodiles?" Tyler asks, raising an eyebrow. "Not a chance."

"That's it!" Lotus exclaims, his eyes lighting up. "The Mad Hatter said they haven't eaten in over two weeks-"

"-and most animals can't survive that long without food!" Carmen finishes excitedly.

"So," I say hesitantly, "even if they're not all dead, they're weak, and then we might stand a chance against them!"

"I'm hearing a lot of 'might's and 'if's," Simon mutters under her breath.

"Can I kick some crocodile butt?" Amari looks overjoyed.

I look around the room. I guess we just open the door.

As though Neva's read my mind, she twists the doorknob of the green door. It opens with a soft click and we all curiously peer inside. I'm unconsciously holding my breath.

The door reveals an empty swamp, with just a few rotting, luckily dead, crocodiles and knee-deep, murky water. The stench is overbearing, and I find myself pinching my nose in disgust, to keep out the smell. Everyone follows suit, except Amari, who's pouting over the fact that they didn't get to "kick some crocodile butt".

I trudge slowly through the marsh, following Neva. I glance back to make sure everyone is with us, and I see the door swing shut and disappear.

Simon almost trips over a hard and bloated crocodile corpse, gagging all the while. I can't tell if it's night or day here, and I desperately want to be home in my own bed.

We clear the trees and ugly water, stepping onto somewhat dry land. The first few steps are soggy, and my feet sink a couple centimeters into the mud, but I pull myself away and onto the grass. Another archway greets my view, the interior shimmering like a portal from my little brother's game of Minecraft. 

I look around, but Neva's already marching up the hill and gracefully jumps through the arch, glancing back at me and gesturing for the rest of us to follow. Amari runs through too, pulling Carmen with her.

Bracing myself, I take a deep breath and step into the swirling mist. Tyler and Simon emerge behind me, Lotus stumbling into me before regaining his balance.

The room we're in now stretches to both sides; it's wide but not long, a very strange hallway. Directly in front of me and Neva is a door with a large brass handle. I can tell even before the Mad Hatter speaks that this is our next obstacle. When will this be over?

The Mad Hatter's voice — which by now I'm very annoyed by — issues out from another set of unseen speakers, saying, "I hope you're good at mazes."

Fuck.

aster.

yay an update !! 
this'll be the only 
one for another 
couple of weeks, 
sorry y'all. hope 
yg enjoyed it :D