The Labyrinth of Fools, it made you question your sense of direction. One moment, you were moving forward, and the next you'd find yourself back from where you started.
That, or you ran as the walls threatened to take your life.
"Tch," Adrian grabbed a loose stone on the floor and tossed it far away. Next to him, Croniel's eyes were locked at the ceiling.
"I don't know how you managed to last this long."
"Hm?" Croniel blinked, but offered no reply.
There was barely any sound between them. Not a gust of air, not a haunted shriek, and not even droplets of water that hit the rocks. There was only their breaths that served as distraction.
They had just survived another wall that closed in on itself and now, they were in front of a fork in the tunnels. Since they could pick one the moment the ground trembles, they chose to rest their sore feet.
Earlier, when his buttocks touched the cold gravel and stone, Croniel groaned as a shiver ran down his spine. He had been walking and running around for more than twenty minutes.
"Hey, do you think we'll ever leave this place?"
Adrian turned toward his friend, who seemed paler than when he met him earlier. "We definitely will. As long as… as long as we don't turn into pancakes," he snickered and closed his eyes for a few seconds.
He dared not close them for too long; a relaxed mind wasn't what he wanted. One second of delay when the walls close and he'd be gone.
"Say, you said—" Adrian opened, when he felt a vibration beneath his butt. Croniel felt it too, and both swiftly got to their feet.
When nothing happened yet, Croniel leaned toward Adrian. "You were saying?"
"You said you landed here with someone… Why did you guys separate?" Adrian watched the torches like a hawk.
After a while, they'd discovered a pattern. Torches that were lit up were safe. However, if the torches on a wall get snuffed, then that wall will close.
Croniel hadn't noticed it, but a few minutes ago, Adrian caught the clues.
"Uh, I think he… he said I was uh…" Croniel scratched the back of his ears. "What was the word again… a liability?"
Adrian frowned. "I only know two guys who'd be that rude," he scoffed. "And I think one of them is nearby."
The other boy tilted his head. "What makes you say that—"
"Look around, the walls haven't moved in such a long time," Adrian stood with a looser stance.
"We felt the ground tremble, yet the walls around us didn't move. That happened earlier to me, when you were nearby," Adrian smirked when Croniel's mouth gaped open.
"Man~ You're a genius! Since when did you get smart?"
Adrian's smirk fell. "Are you calling me dumb?!"
"Hey there, dum-dums," a snicker fell on their ears.
Both boys tore off their funny faces and eyed the distant halls. The tunnel was curved, and they couldn't see the end of it. Their ears, however, carried footsteps into their brains.
Not to mention, the person behind the walls wasn't quiet.
"Adrian and Croniel. As usual, the two of you are together~ Man, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you're couples!" Laughter bounced off of the stone walls as the footsteps got closer.
Adrian scoffed at the mockery. "Like you're any better. If no one knows that you're twins, you and your brother look… rather ambiguous."
"Pfft, don't put me together with that loser~"
They saw a foot walk into their vision. Then, the whole body was revealed. It was a boy slightly taller than both of them, his face scarred in both his jaws. His hair was bleached white, and his eyes were sharp like an eagle's.
His uniform was a tad bit tight on his body, and perhaps that's why the buttons on his collar were all undone. He had his hands inside the pockets of his pants, and when he saw the two of them, the grin on his face stretched wider.
"Aye! You two waited for me, how kind~" He chuckled, ignoring how Adrian stiffened up. Croniel, on the other hand, looked as clueless as ever.
"Honestly dude, you're bros with a pussy," he cocked his chin at Croniel, who frowned.
"Hey! Don't say that about my brother-in-law, Vince! You don't know, but he can pummel your—" Adrian nudged his hard with an elbow, making him wince.
"Damn it Corniel, watch your mouth!" Adrian hissed and eyed their classmate.
'And how the hell did I become your brother-in-law?!' He clicked his tongue at the idea.
The boy in front said nothing at their antics.
Vincent Niño. He was the biological twin brother of Percival Espada. They were orphans and were adopted separately. One thing led to the other and somehow, they reunited in high school and became classmates.
Of the ten of them, he was the only delinquent. He was part of a notorious gang and on multiple occasions, the school wished to expel him. Every time they tried, someone ended up in the hospital.
The worst part? No one could prove that the person behind it all was Vincent.
"Sup?" Vincent raised an eyebrow at Adrian.
Adrian gulped. 'Rumor has it, he knew how to shoot guns and that he killed someone before. No one could prove it, though.'
"Do you know how to get out of here?" He asked the scarred boy, who simply shrugged.
"You bet I do~ I'm not like the rest of you. I'm smart," he grinned and walked ahead of them. Adrian could only stare at his back.
To his side, Croniel followed behind Vincent.
"I'm not telling you how, but there's a secret to this place," Vincent started. "I was looking for people and oh, my, god! There was no one around!"
Adrian furrowed his brows and followed behind the two. Vincent glanced behind him, a smirk hidden behind his lips. "Like two little sheep," he mumbled under his breath.
"Are you the—" Adrian coughed. "Are you innocent?"
"Why, of course!" Chuckles drummed out of Vincent's throat. He mumbled, his words inaudible to the other two. "What the hell did you expect me to say…?"
"Great!" Croniel smiled and jogged toward Vincent, despite his sore thighs and aching feet.
Adrian clenched his fists, but followed nonetheless. 'I have a bad feeling about this,' he stared at the back of Vincent's skull.
His heart pounded at his ribcage and his fingers were chilled. The moment Vincent joined them, cold hands gripped his spirit.
If not for Croniel, he would've ran at the first instance of Vincent's presence.
'Damn it, John,' Adrian gritted his teeth and stuck close to the blonde. 'You're going to eliminate us both!'
"You know, three people have been eliminated," Adrian flinched at Vincent's sudden words.
Croniel turned his head. "Who?"
"Look at it yourself, I'm not your nanny," he sneered when Croniel's smile turned upside down. "Dude, are you a princess?"
"Ha!" Croniel crossed his arms and stood his ground. Vincent didn't even bother to stop.
"I'm not a girl, why the heck would I be a princess?" Croniel winced when Adrian pinched his shoulder.
"Keep moving," Adrian whispered.
"You're a princess 'cause you act like one," Vincent waved him off. "And, you needed a real man to save your sorry ass," he smirked and stared at the fork in front of them.
"What now?" Croniel stopped behind him, while Adrian stood a bit in front of his friend.
"We're here. We're at the exit," Vincent pointed at the right tunnel. "Come."
He walked into the tunnel and vanished into thin air. For a moment, neither of them could say a word.
Adrian was the first to recover. "John… Niel," he looked at his friend. "Be careful around Vincent. He's not a safe guy."
Croniel smiled and patted Adrian in the back. "You worry too much, princess~"
Adrian's eyes twitched. "I—"
"I know what I'm doing," Croniel patted his puffed out chest. "After all, I am Croniel, master of all the hit-games out there! I've played countless—"
"Alright, alright," Adrian waved his hand with a sigh. "Just… try not to talk to him too much."
"Fineee," Croniel's shoulders slouched. He faced Adrian, who was about to walk out of the Labyrinth of Fools.
After all, they've been here for long enough. Especially him.
"By the way, who's John?"
Adrian closed his eyes helplessly. "No wonder you never respond when someone calls you John," he glanced to his left and saw Croniel's raised eyebrow.
"Did you seriously forget one part of your name? Don't tell me you also forgot your surname."
Croniel's lips stretched, his white teeth visible through his grin. "I was just kidding! Come on, you don't know how to take a joke~"
"You…" Adrian found himself tongue-tied.
'So when the teachers call you John and you didn't answer, that was a joke too?'