"Finally!" Croniel stretched his arms as he breathed in the fresh air of the garden.
Lush bushes greeted his sight as they formed a green fence around the perimeter of the garden, with tiny scarlet blooms scattered among the sea of leaves. The pathway below their shoes were made with smooth rocks, and as he walked forward, Adrian and Vincent approached.
Vincent had a grin when he wrapped his arm around him. "How's the scenery~?"
Vincent's palms were rough and full of callouses, his scent feral to the nose. Corniel gulped.
"It's nice…" He raised his wrist to check his digital watch. As if it sensed his gaze, the green flashed to life, displaying the current time.
[01:23:45]
[01:23:46]
[01:23:47]
Croniel groaned and lowered his hand. "Twenty-three minutes! Can you believe it, I've been trapped there for twenty-three minutes!"
Adrian walked closer and fished out his phone to check the time for himself. "Honestly," Adrian took Croniel's gaze. "With how you normally are, I won't doubt if you told me you were stuck there for ten hours."
Croniel stared blankly at his friend. "Man, do you want me to die? Don't jinx it, I've got lots and lots to live!"
Vincent snickered. "He's right, you know?" He raised an eyebrow at Adrian. "Don't jinx it~"
Adrian tightened his lips. He glanced at Vincent for a moment, when Croniel gasped.
"Damn! Look at the giant tree!" Cronielpointedat the Tree of Eden, which claimed sovereignty over the Garden of Eden. Adrian looked over and narrowed his eyes at the crossed-out names on the board.
'So it's true… Elizabeth and Percival are out.' He looked at Vincent. 'No matter how terrible he treats his brother, he wouldn't eliminate his own blood, right?'
He turned toward Vincent, who had just turned to look at the digital board. "Do you know who the Seeker is?"
Vincent glossed over the digital board before he met Adrian's gaze. "How would I know?"
Croniel shrugged and walked away from Vincent, whose slight smile turned flat. Croniel didn't notice, but Adrian took a sharp breath.
"Can either of you climb trees?" Croniel's neck was tilted up, his blue eyes starstruck by the countless, plump red apples on the tree.
Adrian blinked and pictured himself high up in the canopy of the Tree of Eden. His knees nearly buckled.
"Pfft," Vincent sneered at Croniel's words. "What are we, giraffes? Look at that thing, the main trunk is perfectly straight. How can you even climb that?"
Croniel reluctantly tore his gaze from the tree branches and moved his gaze lower. "Well…"
The pale-white trunk of the Tree of Eden wasn't smooth. However, there was no leverage on its surface, and unless it's extraordinarily long, you wouldn't be able to wrap a rope around it.
"There should've been five people eliminated by now," Adrian mentioned and gathered the ears of the other two.
"Since no one was eliminated, then the Seeker must be alone right now," he cupped his chin with a hand. He shrugged. "That, or someone tied him up."
Vincent snickered. "How would you tie the Seeker up? You wouldn't even know who the Seeker is."
"Eh," Adrian walked toward the Tree of Eden and quickly found a bench. He sat down, followed by Croniel.
"Really? You won't even bother to hide?" Vincent raised an eyebrow before he, too, sat down.
Adrian scoffed. "The rules of this 'Hide and Seek' is horrible. You have to touch someone to eliminate them. By that logic, it's more like 'Tag, You're It.'"
Vincent grinned, his eyes glimmering. He moved his hand and pinched Adrian's chin, who stiffened in his seat. Unable to resist, or rather, he didn't dare to, Adrian turned his head to stare into Vincent's pitch black eyes.
"Then, what if I'm the Seeker? I already marked you," he licked his lips.
Adrian managed a trembling chuckle and pushed aside Vincent's hand. "Stop with the jokes."
"Heh," Vincent sneered and leaned back against the bench.
The three of them sat in silence for a while, letting time pass by.
"What's the point of the House of Laughter?" Adrian brought up the question. "It's more like… House of Abuse. House of the Kidnapped."
"House of the Kidnapped," Croniel snickered and parroted his words.
Vincent moved his eyes toward the void ceiling. His lips stretched to a mocking grin. "Abuse? You call this abuse?"
Adrian shuddered at the tone. "Why shouldn't I? We've been captured against our will."
"Oh~ Buddy," Vincent looked to the side, away from the two, his gaze bored. "You have no idea what abuse is truly like."
Then, he stood up, patting Croniel's golden locks. "I'm going to the theatre. You two are boring."
Adrian looked at him, "Why? Isn't it safer here? You can see everywhere."
"Don't be a wimp," Vincent waved his hand as he walked off. "Besides, when did I invite either of you?"
Without a response from the two, his figure shrank in the distance, until he entered one of the entrances within the wooden fences.
Croniel sighed. "Should we follow him?" He looked down at his watch.
[01:28:57]
[01:28:58]
[01:28:59]
"No way!" Adrian shook his head and scowled toward where Vincent went. "Are you kidding me? We are NOT following a lunatic around."
"A… A lunatic? He seemed—"
Adrian stared at his friend in disbelief. "You know very well that he's a lunatic, John… Niel."
"Fineee," Croniel sighed and slumped in his seat. "But geez! Adrian!" He snatched Adrian's hand and squeezed it tight.
"W-what?" The other boy almost yanked his hand back.
Croniel didn't even glance at his friend. "John or Niel. Pick one nickname!"
"..." Adrian took his hand from Croniel's grasp and rubbed his forehead. "You're all over the place," he groaned and slumped into the bench.
Croniel giggled. "You know, I remember that there was a park like this back when we were in elementary school. We used to frequent it! Do you remember, I used to have a really long stick?"
Adrian blinked a few times, lost in his own memories. "Really…? I don't remember."
"Of course you don't," Croniel smirked. "I just made that up."
.
.
.
The hallway that led to the theatre was extremely long. Jeffrey looked at his watch.
[1:28]
'We entered the hallway at 1:23. We've been walking for five minutes, and we still haven't reached the actual theatre,' he scratched his eyebrows.
Their pace wasn't hurried. In fact, they walked slower than an average person. He didn't know if it was out of fear, caution, or simply leisure, but he wouldn't complain.
'As long as we don't let anyone else get near, no one will be eliminated,' he thought and reached behind him.
On his back, his hand groped a paper cover.
He lifted his uniform and fished out the diary tucked in his pants behind him. He tucked it there before he went to confront the two girls.
Even now, neither of them knew about the library.
'It's safer this way…' He squinted and slowed his pace. Carefully, he opened the diary.
{January 26: We're on a field trip. Nothing really happened, which made it a bit boring.}
{January 27: Today, our classroom was tasked to prepare for a surprise exam. What's wrong with them? We haven't even reviewed…}
{January 28: Croniel John didn't go to school today. I'm worried, he's usually never absent. I hope he's okay.}
His heart skipped a beat. "Wait!"
Without caring about the two's response, he bolts back toward the garden. He raised his hand and eyed his watch.
[1:29]
'One minute?! That's barely enough—'
[1:30]
He nearly tripped on his own foot. "Shit!" He gritted his teeth and ran as far as he could.
'I hope the Seeker' hasn't left the tombstone yet. He marked John at 1:28, logically, he should be nearby,' he looked ahead and squinted when the vibrant green of the garden blinded him.
'But… are they in the garden?' His brows knitted. He reached the end of the hallway, when a body suddenly walked into his view.
Head collided into a firm chest, and he stumbled backward. And so did Vincent, who had a frown on his scarred face.
Jeffrey nursed his head and took a few steps back. "Vincent. Were you with John?"