Hero's head pounded like a hangover times 5, she wobbled to her feet and stared at the hallway. She was really skeptical. This is bullshit, there is no way in hell this can be real. She thought. But, as she looked around at the others she realized she had never seen them before in her life. She had no idea what she was doing before she woke here, how she got here, or evening meet anyone that could have possibly drugged her and brought her to a place that sounds straight out of a Saw movie.

The situation was outright unbelievable, surreal as the most vivid of dreams, or more appropriately, nightmares. It was like being told the secrets of the universe but instead of a fluttering sense of wonder and knowledge, a cruel dread fell upon her like a ton of brick and remained with an intangible weight.

Mel's breathes were steady and slow as she processed vague instruction, black bordering the edges of a clouded vision. It was only when a voice arose she was broken out of this frightening state, only to be plunged into another.

"This is a joke...right?"

It was the voice of another woman, frigid and deeply cynical, bordering on hysterics. "Because if it is, haha, you got me! You fucking got me!"

From the corner of her eye, she could detect frantic movement and just a sliver of an expression, one reminiscent of a cornered animal and pressed into a stern severity.

"Seriously though, this ain't funny! I'm about to piss myself here! You want that? Would it be good enough of a prank then!?"

Silence! If you all do not leave this room in the next 10 seconds this will happen to you all.... The voice spat. All of a sudden, a man in the corner started violently coughing up blood. His arms flared out and he fell to the ground. He grasped at his neck before falling into a puddle of his own blood. Your turn.

Hero watched in shock. Seeing such a gruesome death was...unsettling, to say the least. A women barfed all over herself and the floor around her. Some people fled to the hallway. Hero wasn't sure what to think or do. Secretly she was hoping she would gasp awake in her small, tattered mattress. To see the moonlight cast a pale white line across her paint-splattered wooden floor. But, somewhere she knew that wouldn't happen. This was too real to be a dream. She followed everyone.

Mel didn't stick around long enough for the other woman's reaction. Upon hearing the thundering order of a merciless God, she immediately succumbed to the first instinct.

She could feel her insides churn, the strangled sounds of grisly death still fresh in mind. She wanted to cry, to scream, anything, but fear wouldn't allow it. It instead pushed her out into the hallway where some of the other faceless, nameless sheep had gone. A flood of artificial light had momentarily blinded her but she still somehow knew where to go, where to run.

Somewhere, in a dark room the Gamemaster smiled and leaned back in their chair. Blue light shown on their face, glowing off their smile. They slammed a skinny finger down on a key on their keyboard. Down the hall smoking-hot tar oozed out of the walls. Bubbling and boiling. 2 small ropes fell down from the ceiling and hung over it. It was simple, but if you touched the tar your skin would burn almost completely off...

Hero was soon out in the hallway, the beginning of the maze. The path was wide, enough for everyone to fit. There was only 13 or so people. Hero couldn't help her heart beat that was pumping so hard she though others could hear it. This was like a nightmare she'd have, but she couldn't wake up. It was so horrid she could barely mentally handle it.

Someone in the crowd began to sob. Another cried out, loud and shrill, demanding the reason why this was brought upon them all.

This can't be happening.

Death still rang in her ear, discordant with a horrible chime. She squeezed her eyes shut, holding back her own tears of hopelessness. The world had suddenly turned upside down and there was not a single thing that made sense. Someone had just died in front of her and for no good reason other than to herd them out. He died and she could still smell the blood, feeling it snake into her nostrils and float all the way up to the top of her head.

This just can't be happening.

The tar oozed and sizzled. Someone was bound to notice and it wasn't long before it had everyone's attention. Several uneasy glances were exchanged, some filled with tears, others simply with dread. Who would dare be the first to swing across?