Carolina yawned and acted like a kitty that almost stretched her arms and legs fully. The bad release from her mouth sounds nauseous—it made her wide awake after the sweet afternoon siesta. It looks like she didn't notice the time—today is the second hour after the sun's zenith.
In the middle of the sun's high noon, her bestie, Hale, is oblivious to time's soft ticking. She was supposed to wake him up this time as they agreed earlier, however, she didn't want to disturb his beauty rest. Instead of watching him being surrendered to the languor of the day, she left the room they shared and then cared to explore the mansion.
The garden breeze, a symphony of rustling leaves, played upon her senses, washing over her with a wave of calm. The soothing experience levels up as she takes a sip of a brewed chamomile tea.
Minutes have passed while her drink is still half full. It took many ticks of the clock before she noticed something on the table's flower vase—a piece of sticky note caught her attention, she immediately grabbed it to peruse its contents.
'To whom is this sticky note? Who wrote this?'
Have a nice day, sweeties; hope you had a nice siesta. We are inviting you to come to my hidden place; I put a sketch at the back of this note—kindly wear your prescribed attire, they can be found in your cabinet with Hale's. Good luck!
The note crackled with intrigue, yanking her head up faster than a whirlwind could snatch a feather. Her eyes dilated, like black holes gobbling up any light that dared enter. A tremor of apprehension snaked through her - the message felt like a secret decree from a shadowy puppeteer, pulling her strings. Hesitation, thick and suffocating, clogged her throat. Even confiding in her best friend, usually a haven of shared secrets, felt fraught with peril. Could she even tell his bestie with this cryptic command?
An old-fashioned alarm clock danced laterally, Hale's right hand automatically reached the clock and then zippered the noisy creature. Yawned and stretched like a pussycat as Carolina did it a while ago. Right after his senses were activated, he pushed the sliding window sideward to inhale some fresh air.
'What is Carolina doing there at the tea table? Why is she too bothered while handing a note? What is wrong with that note?'
He felt mesmerized by an intrigue, then ran on the stairs to approach his bestie. 'I should know what that note is all about.'
"Carolina..." he called her name repeatedly while rushing into the living room.
Carolina was drowning in a sea of secrets when her best friend's ringtone pierced the silence.
'BZZZT! BZZZT!' she blared, jolting her upright like a cat shot from a cannon.
Her heart hammered a frantic tattoo against her ribs. The incriminating note she'd just clutched in her hand suddenly felt like a branding iron, searing her palm. Could she possibly answer the phone? Every instinct screamed 'NO!', but the insistent ringing was a relentless drill sergeant, demanding her attention.
Until Hale suddenly arrived in front of her. She immediately hid the note on her back and then smiled like nothing happened.
"Y-Yes? Why are you... l-l-loking for me?" Her fake smiles and stuttering speech became obvious which made Hale frown and investigative.
Hale's brows met and eyes half opened. He walked heavily to check what was on the back of his bestie. The actions of Carolina's is getting more suspicious as she maintains the note confidential.
'What are you really hiding, Carolina? You are getting ridiculous, suspense is not my cup of tea. Why aren't you let me look at it?'
"Uhm... Don't tell me it's a death threat, isn't it?" Hale accidentally asked. He didn't expect that it would spill from his mouth.
'You are so funny, Hale; don't be so OA! It's not what you think—'
"Why are you speechless?" Another question that pulls her trigger to just spill the tea.
Although she wanted to make the suspense longer, her hands started to tremble and her mouth was getting itchy to tell the truth.
"Fine, I will just break the silence." She deeply sighed and then handed the notes to Hale. "I don't know who wrote that note—it's anonymous."
While she is being too hysterical, Hale focuses on the note. His eyes magnify the penmanship and try to track the context.
'Why does it seem it knows how Carolina and I move? Quite weird... So cre—"
An echoing voice hit their ears. "What took you so long, sweeties? Didn't you understand the note? I can't wait to meet you there in my welcoming empire."
Their eyes met—a dragging look yet more worried. The voiceover is still pushing them to follow the command—and it mesmerized them which turned out to just follow what was written in the note.
~~~
The fierce afternoon sun glared down on Hale and Carolina, turning their skin a prickling scarlet. Their training clothing was uncomfortable because sweat stuck to them. They stood at the top of a very steep slope, breathing heavily, hands on knees. Carolina's amateurish chart, clutched in her palm, sprawled out underneath them like a cruel joke.
"Three…hundreds…meters…more…southwest," Carolina panted, each word a labored gasp. Her voice, once bright with forced enthusiasm for the "adventure," now held a distinct tremor. "Are you sure we're not lost?"
Hale, always practical, took hold of the map. "Are you experiencing a sense of being disoriented? Carolina, we still haven't departed from the haunted premises. Observe this row of trees."
"We went along with that person for the initial hour of the trip!" Carolina was let down.
The difficult journey through their vast estate, orchestrated by their fascinating stepmother Madam Zorraida, was becoming an arduous hike dubbed the "long walk." The map's confusing symbols and mysterious notes seemed like a challenging riddle. Madam Zorraida's theatrical style involved limiting phone usage in response to instructions from a voice emanating from their hidden earpiece.
They continued to advance steadily. The once beautiful scenery had become a boring combination of dry land and withered plants. The original lighthearted talk had quietly disappeared, replaced by the continuous noise of their crunching steps and the consistent buzzing of cicadas. The continual presence of the prohibited water bottles in their rooms caused them to feel a strong desire for a drink. Upon reaching a bend, Hale noticed a shining reflection. A dilapidated, ancient shack balanced precariously on the brink of the horizon. A spark of hope started to grow in her.
"Look, Carolina! Maybe they have water there!"
They sped up, their bodies echoing with shouts of resistance. They discovered the hut was empty, with the doors crooked on their hinges. Inside, dust particles were floating in the sunbeams coming through a cracked window.
They experienced a powerful feeling of disappointment and defeat. Carolina dropped to the ground as the floorboard creaked beneath her, and she shielded her face with her hands.
Tears brimmed in her eyes. "I can't do this anymore, Hale. I'm giving up."
Hale, known for her strength (even though she was starting to lose her own resolve), knelt next to her. We should not quit. I suspect that we are being trained by someone. "Let's stay positive, all right?" she said with a strained smile, "let's simply find some shade and rest briefly. We will find a resolution.
Beneath a lone oak tree, they looked for protection, finding relief from the intense heat thanks to its twisted branches. Exhaustion finally consumed them, draining the last remnants of their energy. As Hale sat in a quiet and tense atmosphere, a thought gradually came to mind.
"Isn't it strange," she mused, "that the map keeps leading us in circles? We haven't seen a single fence or property line. It's almost like…"
A realization dawned on her, chilling her to the bone. "We're not leaving the property, are we? This whole thing… Madam Zorraida is just making us walk around our own backyard!"
Carolina's head snapped up, a flicker of anger sparking in her eyes. "That manipulative old bat! All this… for what‽"
Maybe their assumptions were right, but what they saw wasn't real. Their eyes were programmed and influenced by virtual reality. The reason why they can hear a voice in their ears—it's because of an invisible earpiece planted on their ears.
The biggest revelation, they are watched and easily manipulated as their physical body is injected with a chemical containing microchips.
A static sound almost reaped their eardrums. Their vision turned black until their body passed out.
An hour later...
Hale eventually recovered his vision. He tried to rise while supporting his body through his skinny arms. Unfortunately, his arms just slipped until he dropped back again on the floor.
His bestie, Carolina, had a fast recovery. She saw how Hale struggled to lift his body upward.
"Where are we?" Hale couldn't remember anything.
Carolina saw the gate wide open. "Bestie, look at that gate. Let's get outta here."
Hale yawned and was assisted by her. They walked like dragging snails approaching the gate.
'Oh no—'
The gate automatically closed. They looked at each other and then gazed at the back. A big screen flashes in front of their sight and a distorted, robotic voice just plays with EQ waves.
"Welcome to my empire, Hale and Carolina. Congratulations on your success in long-distance walking! Since you survived the first challenge, let's get this game more interesting..."