Note before you read this:
In this chapter, I write about an issue I find really hard to write about, and that's my anxiety disorder.
Yes, I know you got a touch of what anxiety and panic attacks are like in the last chapter with Anikia struggling with them, but here I touch specifically on how I feel when I suffer from anxiety, and I know you probably don't give a shit and just want to read the fanfic, but please, when you get to that part... pay attention. It's not easy to explain to you guys what goes on in my mind every day. And who knows... maybe this will help you guys understand me better?
“For today’s challenge… you guys will be facing an alternate world, your very own Wonderland.”
Riley grinned, “I love Alice in Wonderland!”
“Only… we have a slight catch. This isn’t Wonderland at all… in fact; it’s your own nightmare,” Stella explained.
“What do you mean by that….?” Todd questioned.
“The simulation only stops when you quit being afraid, if you conquer your fear, your team gets a point. If you don’t conquer your fear within the time limit, your team gets no point. Simple, right?”
“It’s like the fearscape in Divergent!” Yasmin pointed out.
“Let’s start with…. Team Rapunzel,” Stella smirked. “If you guys could just follow me to the maze.”
Nicko looked back at Yasmin, who mouthed “Good luck,” to him.
Team Rapunzel went into the maze, each of them looking around.
“Seems like an ordinary maze to me.” Lila stated.
“Not exactly,” Stella replied. “This maze is made to test your ability to defend yourself against your worst fear. Or for some of you, fears.”
The team entered the maze, the hedges formed behind them, blocking the exit.
“Well… let’s do this…” Luana said nervously.
“Maybe we should all stick together; it’s easier to do this together then alone.” Callie said.
As soon as Callie said that, the maze started shaking. Vines started going mad, hedges formed in the spots of the different contestants, keeping them from each other and pitting them all in different sections of the maze.
“Or not…” Callie muttered.
“Dan!” Alicia called. “Dan!”
Dan ran through the hedges to try and find Alicia, “Alicia! Alicia, where are you!?”
There was no use. Everyone was on their own now, until they found someone else.
Lila walked through the maze alone, she needed to think about her strategy and have no one there to distract her.
She stopped in her tracks when she arrived at a river, a river in which there was no way to cross but to swim.
“Seriously? A river? Is that the best you can do?” She yelled.
She took a step into the river, but stopped almost instantly when she felt something breathing on her leg. She stepped out of the river and looked down, a little closer. Sharks.
Lila tried not to let the sharks scare her; she didn’t want to have her team face elimination again. Especially because of her. And she couldn’t get anyone to help her unless she already lost. No, she was on her own here.
Lila bit her lip and dipped her foot in the water, the sharks swarmed around her, ready to attack.
Lila jumped into the water and swam underneath; she kicked sharks in the face when they came close in an effort to protect herself.
She climbed out of the water and onto land, a hole formed under her feet and she fell through, somehow being sent out of the maze.
Nicko traveled through the maze by himself, hoping to find someone else before he ran into his worst fear, spiders. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed a small, black trail in the maze.
“A trail?”
He walked up to it to go and follow it, but then he looked down and got a closer look… this wasn’t a trail at all, it was a trail made of little spiders. They crawled on his feet and some onto his clothes and skin.
“Hi spiders… nice spiders… you don’t have to hurt me.”
The spiders hissed at Nicko while they climbed by his feet and onto his legs.
Nicko looked around to see what he could find for help, he found a large rock nearby… he just had to maneuver his way over to it, he moved slowly… trying not to provoke the creatures in case they bit. He reached down and picked up the rock, and lifted it over his head, he threw it at the ground, crushing a good 20 spiders underneath it.
“Yes!” He smiled as a hole formed under his feet, sending him back to the start.
Riley ran through the maze, hoping to find someone, she ran around her area a few times before finally finding Phil.
“Riley!” Phil ran to her. “Thank god I found someone! Where is everyone?”
“I think Lila’s already out of the maze… Nicko might be out too.”
Phil turned from her, “Whatever. Let’s go. You better be quick.” He said, rather rudely for him.
“Phil… are you okay?” Riley asked.
“Shut up and move,”
Riley knew exactly what was happening; it was her fear starting to take form. The fear of being hated. She knew it was a simulation; that he wasn’t actually saying these things… but the fear bubbled inside her.
“Phil…” Riley began to back away.
“God! Would you just stop talking? You’re so annoying!”
Riley looked down, she wasn’t used to people not liking her… she didn’t want to lose this challenge, but she couldn’t help but feel upset by it.
“Come on, let’s get out of here. Or are you just going to keep whining?”
Riley felt a different feeling inside her now, anger.
“You know what simulation-Phil!? You’re a jerk! Normal Phil is such a sweetheart, but you’re just a- just a-” She cut herself off. “An asshole!”
Normal Phil grinned at her, “You did it!”
She stood there, a hole forming where she stood. “AHHHH!” She screamed as she fell down and was returned outside of the maze with Lila and Nicko.
Phil watched her go down, and then smiled when she cried “I DID IT!” from outside the maze. He turned around, hoping to find Dan and Alicia, or someone else on his team… but he was stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened when he saw what was in front of him, it wasn’t just a wasp… it was a swarm of wasps.
“Okay…” Phil said softly. “Okay…”
The wasps edged closer to him, and Phil started backing away slowly.
“It doesn’t have to be this way…” Phil said softly. “We could be friends,”
BZZZZZZZZZZZ.
Phil took off his shoe rather quickly and tosses it at the bugs in fear, he cowered back when the wasps flew closer to his face.
“Okay… um… let’s try… uh…” He looked up at the wasps. He ran towards them, trying to run right past them. A hole formed under his feet when he made it to the other side and he was taken out of the maze.
“CALLIE!” Luana hugged her tightly. “Thank god I found someone! I haven’t even encountered my fears yet but I’m TERRIFIED!”
“Why don’t you lead?”
Callie turned to her… “Me…. Lead…?”
“Yeah! You just show me where to go and I’ll follow you.”
Callie’s heart pumped, “But I’m not a leader, I’m a follower!”
“Come on Callie!” Luana replied.
Callie bit her lip nervously; it was a strange fear… but still her fear none the less. She knew she had to face it, she took a deep breath. “Fine, let’s go!”
A hole formed underneath Callie and she was taken out of the maze, Luana watching her.
“Yay… alone again!” Luana said sarcastically. Surely her fear wasn’t far from her now?
Luana felt the ground rise up underneath her; with every step she took the ground got higher and higher off the ground.
“Heights!” Luana said nervously. She just had to calm down, that was it, and then she’d be done. She turned back behind her and almost screamed when she saw her second fear, dentists.
A man came towards her, a drill in hand. “Just open your mouth and let me work on those precious teeth of yours!” He said in a sort of growl.
Luana looked back and forth, between the dentist and the height; she wasn’t sure what to do so she did the easiest thing she could think of.
She sat down on the ground, the floor still getting higher and higher and the dentist coming closer and closer. She figured that if she didn’t run away, she’d be sent out, she took a deep breath and tried to relax and sure enough, she was sent out of the maze.
Dan and Alicia were the only two left, and Dan was still looking around for Alicia. “Alicia!?” He called.
He was lucky, he had been in here for what felt like hours, and still hadn’t encountered his worst fear, that is, until he turned the corner.
“HOLYSHIT.” He yelled when he saw what was before him. Before him was a massive, massive butterfly.
“Okay… um… I was… uh…” Dan wasn’t sure what to say. What do you say to a giant freaking butterfly that’s blocking your path? “If you could just move so that I can find my best friend and this cute girl I met yesterday. I’m sure you can understand, she’s very pretty and you probably have some sort of butterfly-wife… so…”
The butterfly hissed at Dan.
“Okay… okay…” Dan jumped back a little, “Obviously you’re not a conversationalist. Alright… new plan… please don’t eat me when I do this but-”
Dan ran up to the creature and gave it a tight hug, the hole formed underneath him. “Oh thank god…!” He called while he fell down.
Dan was taken out of the maze and looked around, “Alicia isn’t out yet?!” He questioned.
“No,” Callie replied. “She’s still in the maze.”
Stella looked down at her watch, “She’s failed already. Better go get her.”
“You’re not going to get her out!?” Nicko questioned.
“Of course not!” Stella replied. “I don’t want to go against my fears.”
Dan ran into the maze without a second thought, “ALICIA!” He shouted.
He didn’t care whether he’d have to fight butterflies again, or whether or not he’d find a way back out, he just cared about finding Alicia and helping her. After helping him calm himself down after Phil’s incident, it was the least Dan could do.
“ALICIA!” He cried again.
“DAN!” Alicia yelled back
Alicia was hyperventilating; she was trapped in what appeared to be a dark cell made by the hedges, she saw nothing but black and was trying her best not to cry.
“Keep yelling!” Dan shouted. “It’ll make it easier to find you!”
“Okay!” Alicia shouted back. “I’m really scared, Dan.”
“It’s okay, I’ll be there soon! I promise!”
Alicia smiled a little; it was nice knowing that Dan would get her out of something like this.
Dan showed up soon enough, and plowed through Alicia’s hedge trap and pulled her out. She landed on his body and smiled a little, somewhat nervously.
“Thank you… Dan…”
“No problem,” Dan replied. He tried to hide his discomfort at the fact that Alicia's body was flopped onto his.
Alicia got off Dan’s body after noticing his discomfort. “Thanks again… it’s very sweet that you came to get me.”
Dan stood up and looked at her, “It’s the least I could do after what you did for me last night…”
Alicia smiled and started to walk away, Dan following close behind. They were incredible in each other’s eyes, but both so shy and couldn’t admit their feelings…
Team Rapunzel cheered when the two walked out of the maze, and Callie and Luana gave Alicia a little hug, she still looked shaken up.
“Team Rapunzel had one person fail to complete the maze; let’s see how Team Merida will do!” Stella called.
Team Merida flooded into the maze and immediately were separated from one another.
Travis wandered around, hoping to find Eliza and talk to her. He liked spending time with her, with or without a challenge in the way; and so far this was a little boring in his eyes. He looked around the maze, “Fears… fears…? He taunted. “Where are you?”
At that moment his foot stepped in a black goop on the ground.
“T-t-tar?!” He stammered a little. He tried to pull his foot out, but it was good and stuck in there.
“You know what tar?” He paused. “BRING IT!”
He stepped his other foot in and started sinking to the bottom of the pit, he tried not to let the fact that he was seeping into it worry him, he just needed to stay brave.
“YES!!” Travis cried as he fell down the hole that formed under his feet.
Todd walked towards a different direction when he heard some whispering, he was hoping it was another member of his team. He took a step and in an instant a hedge grew in front of him, and then behind him. He was trapped, unable to get himself out. “Of all things!? Why my claustrophobia?” He began to panic a little, he just had to relax… simple enough, right?
Todd sat down on the leafy-floor; he took a deep breath and started humming the My Little Pony theme tune to himself. He found it strangely relaxing.
Within a minute of humming a hole formed under Todd and he fell through, sending him out of the maze and with Travis.
Kiki stumbled around, she was really worried about this task, worried about what they would say when she encountered her fear and how she would react. She stopped walking when she saw the spiders in front of her, just watching her as if she was food.
The spiders began crawling towards her; she backed up, “Don’t come any closer…”
Although Kiki was usually a very happy person, her bipolar disorder and schizophrenia often led people to believe otherwise. And today was one of those days… especially now, where all she felt was fear.
“Please stop…” She said softly.
The spiders crawled even closer, some of them nearing her shoes.
“You know what you have to do, Kiki…” A voice hissed.
Another voice chimed into her thoughts too, “Just do it, you might not be able to stop… but it’ll be worth it…”
“I’m not going to hurt a spider, no matter how much I don’t like them. What if I hurt someone else…?”
“JUST DO IT ALREADY.”
“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” Kiki cried as loud as she could possibly scream, there’s no way she could do this, not without breaking down. She curled in a ball, the voices in her head hissing things into her ears. “STOP IT!” She screamed.
From another part of the maze, Anikia heard Kiki scream. “Kiki!?” She called. But she had her own problems to deal with.
Within a single step Anikia found herself in an illusion world, her head began to pound and she felt shaky, almost unable to stand up.
“No, no, no… this can’t happen… no… please… no…” Anikia said softly. Her simulation had her surrounded by all the other contestants. Her fear was the fear of breaking down in front of them. She wasn’t used to having panic attacks in front of other people.
“I am brave. I can beat this. Like Yasmin said; Breathe. It’s just chemicals.”
Anikia began breathing in and out slowly, taking nice, deep breaths each time. It seemed that with each breath, her head seemed to feel lighter.
The hole formed underneath Anikia’s feet and she fell through, shouting “I DID IT” all the way down.
Miranda walked around, was it just her, or was the maze starting to darken?
Impossible. She was psyching herself out.
She continued walking, trying not to notice the darkening of the maze.
“Haha! Try and scare me maze!” She taunted, and within seconds of her saying it… the maze turned pitch black. “Or not…” She said quietly, a little scared. She didn’t like darkness, especially when she was alone. She took deep breaths, “Okay… okay…” She said to herself. Where was Pierce when she actually wanted him around?
She looked around, not sure if people were close or not. She stood there “I’m not scared…” She tried to remind herself, eventually, she wasn’t.
The hole appeared under Miranda and she fell through, being sent out of the maze
Perri had been walking around the maze for what felt like ages, trying to find someone, when she did, she called to them; “Eliza!”
Eliza spun around to see Perri coming towards her, “Perri! I was worried I was the only one left!”
“Nope, there’s still me and few others I think.”
“Let’s get out of here!”
“Yes! Ugh, I’m starving!” Perri commented. She covered her mouth almost immediately after, she didn’t want to say that out loud!
“Starving? Didn’t you eat before the challenge…?”
“Uh… well…” Perri stuttered. “Not exactly…”
“You’re…” Eliza gave Perri a worried look, “Anorexic?”
Perri’s fear had become alive, someone had found out. She’d be judged in an instant.
“Not exactly; I’m near anorexia though. It’s okay, you can judge me.”
“I’m not going to judge you.” Eliza replied
Perri smiled a little, “Really?”
“Yeah,”
A hole formed under Perri’s feet, she fell down and landed outside the maze with the other contestants.
Eliza sighed, she was alone again. Vulnerable to her fears.
She sat down and pulled out a small little book out of her pocket and started reading, she turned her head a little and nearly screamed when she saw what was there.
There, on the wall was a small creature in the shape of a bug. A parasite.
“Uh… hi little bug…” Eliza cooed.
The bug didn’t do anything but creep towards her.
“You know, I’d rather not contract any diseases, so if you could just go away…” Eliza said nervously.
She looked down at her book and up at the bug, who was close to her face now. She stood and up and lifted the book with her hands, smacking the bug as hard as she could. The hole formed underneath her feet and she stuck her tongue out to the squashed bug before she fell.
Pierce turned and looked around the corner to see Miranda. “Hey babe, how’s it going?”
“I don’t like you Pierce,”
Pierce stopped, “Wait. What?”
“I hate you. You’re annoying. And ugly. And such a loser.”
“Miranda… I…”
He knew it was a simulation, but it freaked him out to think about the fact that for all he knew, real Miranda could be thinking these things too.
“Just go away. I don’t ever want to look at your face again.”
“Stop…”
“You can’t sing, and your guitar playing is irritating as hell,”
“Please… stop…” Pierce tried to hide the sadness in his face, but he couldn’t.
“ I HATE YOU.” She snapped.
Pierce bit his lip, he ran towards the simulated Miranda and kissed her straight on the lips, “But I love you…” He replied. He froze a little after saying it, he knew he liked Miranda, but he never said anything like that before.
The hole formed around his feet and he was taken to the maze, outside.
“Time’s up!” Stella said.
“Yasmin… and Kiki…” Eliza said to herself. “Where are they!?” She yelled to her team.
“Probably still in there,” Stella commented.
“I’ll go look for them,” Pierce suggested.
Nicko looked over at the other team, and back at his team who were all talking, he knew it would be a bad move for him and Yasmin’s secret showmance, but he did it anyways, he ran into the maze.
“Nicko, what are you doing!?” Lila shouted at him.
Nicko ignored her and ran around, hoping to find Yasmin.
Pierce turned a corner. “Kiki! Yasmin!?”
“P-p-pierce?” Kiki stammered back.
Pierce followed her voice and ran to her.
He grabbed Kiki’s arm and pulled her up, “Come on Kiki!”
Kiki nodded, wiping some tears from her eyes as Pierce pulled her out.
Yasmin sat in a little ball, she didn’t even want to look up and see the horror that stood in front of her, she couldn’t bear to look at it, a clown, one of her worst fears, holding a needle, one of her others.
Her head starting pounding. She could hardly breathe anymore; her heart was beating faster than it ever had. She felt like she was going to die. Her brain pounded and she felt like everything was going to end. Like she was going to die right there. There was no escape. She knew she was psyching herself out but she couldn’t help but think it. It was like she was on a Cliffside, not knowing when she was going dive. The thought of all the people that could be watching her right now, judging how much of a coward she is… the thought scared her even more. Tears pooled down her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, she couldn’t do this… her team would lose and it would be all her fault.
“YASMIN!” Nicko shouted.
Yasmin could hardly speak… “Nicko…”
“Yasmin!” Nicko yelled. He ran to her voice, and held her tightly. “Yasmin… oh my god… Yasmin…”
Yasmin didn’t speak, she just wept.
The teams were all out of the maze in due time, and Stella grinned. “Fun show, huh…? People breaking down… everyone were getting terrified.”
“Asshole,” Pierce muttered under his breath, causing Miranda to chuckle a little.
“But in the end, Team Rapunzel is out winner and Team Merida will be joining me tonight for elimination! See you then!” Stella said.
In this chapter, I write about an issue I find really hard to write about, and that's my anxiety disorder.
Yes, I know you got a touch of what anxiety and panic attacks are like in the last chapter with Anikia struggling with them, but here I touch specifically on how I feel when I suffer from anxiety, and I know you probably don't give a shit and just want to read the fanfic, but please, when you get to that part... pay attention. It's not easy to explain to you guys what goes on in my mind every day. And who knows... maybe this will help you guys understand me better?
“For today’s challenge… you guys will be facing an alternate world, your very own Wonderland.”
Riley grinned, “I love Alice in Wonderland!”
“Only… we have a slight catch. This isn’t Wonderland at all… in fact; it’s your own nightmare,” Stella explained.
“What do you mean by that….?” Todd questioned.
“The simulation only stops when you quit being afraid, if you conquer your fear, your team gets a point. If you don’t conquer your fear within the time limit, your team gets no point. Simple, right?”
“It’s like the fearscape in Divergent!” Yasmin pointed out.
“Let’s start with…. Team Rapunzel,” Stella smirked. “If you guys could just follow me to the maze.”
Nicko looked back at Yasmin, who mouthed “Good luck,” to him.
Team Rapunzel went into the maze, each of them looking around.
“Seems like an ordinary maze to me.” Lila stated.
“Not exactly,” Stella replied. “This maze is made to test your ability to defend yourself against your worst fear. Or for some of you, fears.”
The team entered the maze, the hedges formed behind them, blocking the exit.
“Well… let’s do this…” Luana said nervously.
“Maybe we should all stick together; it’s easier to do this together then alone.” Callie said.
As soon as Callie said that, the maze started shaking. Vines started going mad, hedges formed in the spots of the different contestants, keeping them from each other and pitting them all in different sections of the maze.
“Or not…” Callie muttered.
“Dan!” Alicia called. “Dan!”
Dan ran through the hedges to try and find Alicia, “Alicia! Alicia, where are you!?”
There was no use. Everyone was on their own now, until they found someone else.
Lila walked through the maze alone, she needed to think about her strategy and have no one there to distract her.
She stopped in her tracks when she arrived at a river, a river in which there was no way to cross but to swim.
“Seriously? A river? Is that the best you can do?” She yelled.
She took a step into the river, but stopped almost instantly when she felt something breathing on her leg. She stepped out of the river and looked down, a little closer. Sharks.
Lila tried not to let the sharks scare her; she didn’t want to have her team face elimination again. Especially because of her. And she couldn’t get anyone to help her unless she already lost. No, she was on her own here.
Lila bit her lip and dipped her foot in the water, the sharks swarmed around her, ready to attack.
Lila jumped into the water and swam underneath; she kicked sharks in the face when they came close in an effort to protect herself.
She climbed out of the water and onto land, a hole formed under her feet and she fell through, somehow being sent out of the maze.
Nicko traveled through the maze by himself, hoping to find someone else before he ran into his worst fear, spiders. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed a small, black trail in the maze.
“A trail?”
He walked up to it to go and follow it, but then he looked down and got a closer look… this wasn’t a trail at all, it was a trail made of little spiders. They crawled on his feet and some onto his clothes and skin.
“Hi spiders… nice spiders… you don’t have to hurt me.”
The spiders hissed at Nicko while they climbed by his feet and onto his legs.
Nicko looked around to see what he could find for help, he found a large rock nearby… he just had to maneuver his way over to it, he moved slowly… trying not to provoke the creatures in case they bit. He reached down and picked up the rock, and lifted it over his head, he threw it at the ground, crushing a good 20 spiders underneath it.
“Yes!” He smiled as a hole formed under his feet, sending him back to the start.
Riley ran through the maze, hoping to find someone, she ran around her area a few times before finally finding Phil.
“Riley!” Phil ran to her. “Thank god I found someone! Where is everyone?”
“I think Lila’s already out of the maze… Nicko might be out too.”
Phil turned from her, “Whatever. Let’s go. You better be quick.” He said, rather rudely for him.
“Phil… are you okay?” Riley asked.
“Shut up and move,”
Riley knew exactly what was happening; it was her fear starting to take form. The fear of being hated. She knew it was a simulation; that he wasn’t actually saying these things… but the fear bubbled inside her.
“Phil…” Riley began to back away.
“God! Would you just stop talking? You’re so annoying!”
Riley looked down, she wasn’t used to people not liking her… she didn’t want to lose this challenge, but she couldn’t help but feel upset by it.
“Come on, let’s get out of here. Or are you just going to keep whining?”
Riley felt a different feeling inside her now, anger.
“You know what simulation-Phil!? You’re a jerk! Normal Phil is such a sweetheart, but you’re just a- just a-” She cut herself off. “An asshole!”
Normal Phil grinned at her, “You did it!”
She stood there, a hole forming where she stood. “AHHHH!” She screamed as she fell down and was returned outside of the maze with Lila and Nicko.
Phil watched her go down, and then smiled when she cried “I DID IT!” from outside the maze. He turned around, hoping to find Dan and Alicia, or someone else on his team… but he was stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened when he saw what was in front of him, it wasn’t just a wasp… it was a swarm of wasps.
“Okay…” Phil said softly. “Okay…”
The wasps edged closer to him, and Phil started backing away slowly.
“It doesn’t have to be this way…” Phil said softly. “We could be friends,”
BZZZZZZZZZZZ.
Phil took off his shoe rather quickly and tosses it at the bugs in fear, he cowered back when the wasps flew closer to his face.
“Okay… um… let’s try… uh…” He looked up at the wasps. He ran towards them, trying to run right past them. A hole formed under his feet when he made it to the other side and he was taken out of the maze.
“CALLIE!” Luana hugged her tightly. “Thank god I found someone! I haven’t even encountered my fears yet but I’m TERRIFIED!”
“Why don’t you lead?”
Callie turned to her… “Me…. Lead…?”
“Yeah! You just show me where to go and I’ll follow you.”
Callie’s heart pumped, “But I’m not a leader, I’m a follower!”
“Come on Callie!” Luana replied.
Callie bit her lip nervously; it was a strange fear… but still her fear none the less. She knew she had to face it, she took a deep breath. “Fine, let’s go!”
A hole formed underneath Callie and she was taken out of the maze, Luana watching her.
“Yay… alone again!” Luana said sarcastically. Surely her fear wasn’t far from her now?
Luana felt the ground rise up underneath her; with every step she took the ground got higher and higher off the ground.
“Heights!” Luana said nervously. She just had to calm down, that was it, and then she’d be done. She turned back behind her and almost screamed when she saw her second fear, dentists.
A man came towards her, a drill in hand. “Just open your mouth and let me work on those precious teeth of yours!” He said in a sort of growl.
Luana looked back and forth, between the dentist and the height; she wasn’t sure what to do so she did the easiest thing she could think of.
She sat down on the ground, the floor still getting higher and higher and the dentist coming closer and closer. She figured that if she didn’t run away, she’d be sent out, she took a deep breath and tried to relax and sure enough, she was sent out of the maze.
Dan and Alicia were the only two left, and Dan was still looking around for Alicia. “Alicia!?” He called.
He was lucky, he had been in here for what felt like hours, and still hadn’t encountered his worst fear, that is, until he turned the corner.
“HOLYSHIT.” He yelled when he saw what was before him. Before him was a massive, massive butterfly.
“Okay… um… I was… uh…” Dan wasn’t sure what to say. What do you say to a giant freaking butterfly that’s blocking your path? “If you could just move so that I can find my best friend and this cute girl I met yesterday. I’m sure you can understand, she’s very pretty and you probably have some sort of butterfly-wife… so…”
The butterfly hissed at Dan.
“Okay… okay…” Dan jumped back a little, “Obviously you’re not a conversationalist. Alright… new plan… please don’t eat me when I do this but-”
Dan ran up to the creature and gave it a tight hug, the hole formed underneath him. “Oh thank god…!” He called while he fell down.
Dan was taken out of the maze and looked around, “Alicia isn’t out yet?!” He questioned.
“No,” Callie replied. “She’s still in the maze.”
Stella looked down at her watch, “She’s failed already. Better go get her.”
“You’re not going to get her out!?” Nicko questioned.
“Of course not!” Stella replied. “I don’t want to go against my fears.”
Dan ran into the maze without a second thought, “ALICIA!” He shouted.
He didn’t care whether he’d have to fight butterflies again, or whether or not he’d find a way back out, he just cared about finding Alicia and helping her. After helping him calm himself down after Phil’s incident, it was the least Dan could do.
“ALICIA!” He cried again.
“DAN!” Alicia yelled back
Alicia was hyperventilating; she was trapped in what appeared to be a dark cell made by the hedges, she saw nothing but black and was trying her best not to cry.
“Keep yelling!” Dan shouted. “It’ll make it easier to find you!”
“Okay!” Alicia shouted back. “I’m really scared, Dan.”
“It’s okay, I’ll be there soon! I promise!”
Alicia smiled a little; it was nice knowing that Dan would get her out of something like this.
Dan showed up soon enough, and plowed through Alicia’s hedge trap and pulled her out. She landed on his body and smiled a little, somewhat nervously.
“Thank you… Dan…”
“No problem,” Dan replied. He tried to hide his discomfort at the fact that Alicia's body was flopped onto his.
Alicia got off Dan’s body after noticing his discomfort. “Thanks again… it’s very sweet that you came to get me.”
Dan stood up and looked at her, “It’s the least I could do after what you did for me last night…”
Alicia smiled and started to walk away, Dan following close behind. They were incredible in each other’s eyes, but both so shy and couldn’t admit their feelings…
Team Rapunzel cheered when the two walked out of the maze, and Callie and Luana gave Alicia a little hug, she still looked shaken up.
“Team Rapunzel had one person fail to complete the maze; let’s see how Team Merida will do!” Stella called.
Team Merida flooded into the maze and immediately were separated from one another.
Travis wandered around, hoping to find Eliza and talk to her. He liked spending time with her, with or without a challenge in the way; and so far this was a little boring in his eyes. He looked around the maze, “Fears… fears…? He taunted. “Where are you?”
At that moment his foot stepped in a black goop on the ground.
“T-t-tar?!” He stammered a little. He tried to pull his foot out, but it was good and stuck in there.
“You know what tar?” He paused. “BRING IT!”
He stepped his other foot in and started sinking to the bottom of the pit, he tried not to let the fact that he was seeping into it worry him, he just needed to stay brave.
“YES!!” Travis cried as he fell down the hole that formed under his feet.
Todd walked towards a different direction when he heard some whispering, he was hoping it was another member of his team. He took a step and in an instant a hedge grew in front of him, and then behind him. He was trapped, unable to get himself out. “Of all things!? Why my claustrophobia?” He began to panic a little, he just had to relax… simple enough, right?
Todd sat down on the leafy-floor; he took a deep breath and started humming the My Little Pony theme tune to himself. He found it strangely relaxing.
Within a minute of humming a hole formed under Todd and he fell through, sending him out of the maze and with Travis.
Kiki stumbled around, she was really worried about this task, worried about what they would say when she encountered her fear and how she would react. She stopped walking when she saw the spiders in front of her, just watching her as if she was food.
The spiders began crawling towards her; she backed up, “Don’t come any closer…”
Although Kiki was usually a very happy person, her bipolar disorder and schizophrenia often led people to believe otherwise. And today was one of those days… especially now, where all she felt was fear.
“Please stop…” She said softly.
The spiders crawled even closer, some of them nearing her shoes.
“You know what you have to do, Kiki…” A voice hissed.
Another voice chimed into her thoughts too, “Just do it, you might not be able to stop… but it’ll be worth it…”
“I’m not going to hurt a spider, no matter how much I don’t like them. What if I hurt someone else…?”
“JUST DO IT ALREADY.”
“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” Kiki cried as loud as she could possibly scream, there’s no way she could do this, not without breaking down. She curled in a ball, the voices in her head hissing things into her ears. “STOP IT!” She screamed.
From another part of the maze, Anikia heard Kiki scream. “Kiki!?” She called. But she had her own problems to deal with.
Within a single step Anikia found herself in an illusion world, her head began to pound and she felt shaky, almost unable to stand up.
“No, no, no… this can’t happen… no… please… no…” Anikia said softly. Her simulation had her surrounded by all the other contestants. Her fear was the fear of breaking down in front of them. She wasn’t used to having panic attacks in front of other people.
“I am brave. I can beat this. Like Yasmin said; Breathe. It’s just chemicals.”
Anikia began breathing in and out slowly, taking nice, deep breaths each time. It seemed that with each breath, her head seemed to feel lighter.
The hole formed underneath Anikia’s feet and she fell through, shouting “I DID IT” all the way down.
Miranda walked around, was it just her, or was the maze starting to darken?
Impossible. She was psyching herself out.
She continued walking, trying not to notice the darkening of the maze.
“Haha! Try and scare me maze!” She taunted, and within seconds of her saying it… the maze turned pitch black. “Or not…” She said quietly, a little scared. She didn’t like darkness, especially when she was alone. She took deep breaths, “Okay… okay…” She said to herself. Where was Pierce when she actually wanted him around?
She looked around, not sure if people were close or not. She stood there “I’m not scared…” She tried to remind herself, eventually, she wasn’t.
The hole appeared under Miranda and she fell through, being sent out of the maze
Perri had been walking around the maze for what felt like ages, trying to find someone, when she did, she called to them; “Eliza!”
Eliza spun around to see Perri coming towards her, “Perri! I was worried I was the only one left!”
“Nope, there’s still me and few others I think.”
“Let’s get out of here!”
“Yes! Ugh, I’m starving!” Perri commented. She covered her mouth almost immediately after, she didn’t want to say that out loud!
“Starving? Didn’t you eat before the challenge…?”
“Uh… well…” Perri stuttered. “Not exactly…”
“You’re…” Eliza gave Perri a worried look, “Anorexic?”
Perri’s fear had become alive, someone had found out. She’d be judged in an instant.
“Not exactly; I’m near anorexia though. It’s okay, you can judge me.”
“I’m not going to judge you.” Eliza replied
Perri smiled a little, “Really?”
“Yeah,”
A hole formed under Perri’s feet, she fell down and landed outside the maze with the other contestants.
Eliza sighed, she was alone again. Vulnerable to her fears.
She sat down and pulled out a small little book out of her pocket and started reading, she turned her head a little and nearly screamed when she saw what was there.
There, on the wall was a small creature in the shape of a bug. A parasite.
“Uh… hi little bug…” Eliza cooed.
The bug didn’t do anything but creep towards her.
“You know, I’d rather not contract any diseases, so if you could just go away…” Eliza said nervously.
She looked down at her book and up at the bug, who was close to her face now. She stood and up and lifted the book with her hands, smacking the bug as hard as she could. The hole formed underneath her feet and she stuck her tongue out to the squashed bug before she fell.
Pierce turned and looked around the corner to see Miranda. “Hey babe, how’s it going?”
“I don’t like you Pierce,”
Pierce stopped, “Wait. What?”
“I hate you. You’re annoying. And ugly. And such a loser.”
“Miranda… I…”
He knew it was a simulation, but it freaked him out to think about the fact that for all he knew, real Miranda could be thinking these things too.
“Just go away. I don’t ever want to look at your face again.”
“Stop…”
“You can’t sing, and your guitar playing is irritating as hell,”
“Please… stop…” Pierce tried to hide the sadness in his face, but he couldn’t.
“ I HATE YOU.” She snapped.
Pierce bit his lip, he ran towards the simulated Miranda and kissed her straight on the lips, “But I love you…” He replied. He froze a little after saying it, he knew he liked Miranda, but he never said anything like that before.
The hole formed around his feet and he was taken to the maze, outside.
“Time’s up!” Stella said.
“Yasmin… and Kiki…” Eliza said to herself. “Where are they!?” She yelled to her team.
“Probably still in there,” Stella commented.
“I’ll go look for them,” Pierce suggested.
Nicko looked over at the other team, and back at his team who were all talking, he knew it would be a bad move for him and Yasmin’s secret showmance, but he did it anyways, he ran into the maze.
“Nicko, what are you doing!?” Lila shouted at him.
Nicko ignored her and ran around, hoping to find Yasmin.
Pierce turned a corner. “Kiki! Yasmin!?”
“P-p-pierce?” Kiki stammered back.
Pierce followed her voice and ran to her.
He grabbed Kiki’s arm and pulled her up, “Come on Kiki!”
Kiki nodded, wiping some tears from her eyes as Pierce pulled her out.
Yasmin sat in a little ball, she didn’t even want to look up and see the horror that stood in front of her, she couldn’t bear to look at it, a clown, one of her worst fears, holding a needle, one of her others.
Her head starting pounding. She could hardly breathe anymore; her heart was beating faster than it ever had. She felt like she was going to die. Her brain pounded and she felt like everything was going to end. Like she was going to die right there. There was no escape. She knew she was psyching herself out but she couldn’t help but think it. It was like she was on a Cliffside, not knowing when she was going dive. The thought of all the people that could be watching her right now, judging how much of a coward she is… the thought scared her even more. Tears pooled down her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, she couldn’t do this… her team would lose and it would be all her fault.
“YASMIN!” Nicko shouted.
Yasmin could hardly speak… “Nicko…”
“Yasmin!” Nicko yelled. He ran to her voice, and held her tightly. “Yasmin… oh my god… Yasmin…”
Yasmin didn’t speak, she just wept.
The teams were all out of the maze in due time, and Stella grinned. “Fun show, huh…? People breaking down… everyone were getting terrified.”
“Asshole,” Pierce muttered under his breath, causing Miranda to chuckle a little.
“But in the end, Team Rapunzel is out winner and Team Merida will be joining me tonight for elimination! See you then!” Stella said.