She burst into the circus, shouting, "Damn you! Where's Jio?"
She heard the demon chuckle. "If you get the key, you might find him."
Games again, she thought.
A spotlight appeared in the middle of the circus. A lion stood there, unfazed, with its mouth open. Madalen backed away for a moment. But seeing that the lion did not move, she hesitantly stepped forward. As she approached, she saw that not only was it motionless, but it looked embalmed. Inside its mouth, on its tongue, was a golden key. She took a closer look. On the head was a round ornate design, like some kind of magical seal. She had seen this design before… on Jio's back.
"You like to play, huh?" Madalen murmured. She was sure that if she took the key, the lion would close its mouth and bite her. She didn't know what to do.
She decided to act quickly. With a sharp movement, she took the key as fast as she could. At that moment, the lion quickly shut its mouth. With a relieved expression, she held the key tightly against her chest, taking a sharp breath.
"Madalen?" she heard a child's voice behind her. She turned her head. What she saw took her breath away.
"Jonathan?"
Her nine-year-old brother was standing before her, flesh and blood. Her eyes watered.
"It can't be…" but before she could take a step closer to him, she felt a breeze beside her. Before she fully realized what it was, she saw the lion charging at her brother.
"Madalen, help!" she heard him sob. She froze in place. The lion devoured her brother before her eyes without mercy. It tore open his sternum, then bit his neck, letting a stream of blood form a pool. Her brother's soul left his body. The lion licked the blood around its mouth with its huge tongue, showing pleasure.
Madalen fell to her knees, bursting into tears.
After a while, she looked up and, to her surprise, her brother had disappeared, and the lion was once again standing motionless in its place with its mouth open, the key on its tongue.
"Damn you!" she screamed.
With great difficulty, she stood up. With slow steps, she approached the lion again. She looked at it sullenly.
She was sure that if she took the key again, the same thing would happen. What should she do? She had to think.
"What are you going to do? Will you take the key? Jio is waiting for you," the demon taunted.
She took the key in her hands again, and then the lion came to life once more. Her brother appeared in the center of the circus, and then the lion pounced. But before it could, Madalen grabbed it by the tail and pulled it away. Annoyed, it bared its teeth at her with a roar.
"I won't let you kill my brother!" she shouted. But the lion was stronger and escaped her grasp, rushing once more at her brother and tearing him apart.
Madalen couldn't take it a second time.
"What should I do?" she screamed.
She got no answer. Not that she expected the demon to answer her.
The lion appeared motionless again.
She walked over again and grabbed the key abruptly. Taking it, she ran to her brother before the lion could move. But when it saw Madalen, it didn't hesitate. It rushed at them, knocking her down. Madalen, with a quick movement, thrust the key into the lion's eye. It grunted in pain and stopped for a moment, scratching its eye with its paw. Then Madalee took the chance to grab her brother in her arms. They ran out of the circus. She held him tightly, looking back to see if the lion was following them. The lion emerged after a while.
She ran to the roller coaster with the twisting tracks and put her brother inside. She pulled the lever and raised it to a high point, believing that the lion would not reach him. But she was wrong. The lion, furious and with very balanced movements, reached the height of the roller coaster. Panic overwhelmed her. Then she noticed that the lion was on the downhill side and was climbing menacingly upwards. She pulled hard on the lever, and the roller coaster plummeted downwards, hitting the lion and throwing it down the tracks.
The lion fell down motionless. Madalen approached it. It looked dead. A small stream of blood flowed from its mouth. The roller coaster had hit it with such force that it was enough to kill it.
She put her brother down and hugged him tightly, crying. He smiled at her. Soon she felt her arms empty; her brother was gone, and so was the lion.
She wiped her tears and began to summon the demon by shouting loudly. She called for a long time, but he didn't seem in the mood to show up. Madalen was furious.
"If you don't show up, then I'll stop playing with you!"
The face of the demon began to form on top of the circus tent. He seemed displeased. Very unhappy.
"Where's Jio?" she asked impatiently.
The demon grimaced. He seemed really irritated.
"If you can save yourself, then maybe I'll tell you," he smiled sardonically and disappeared from the circus tent just as unexpectedly.
She took a deep breath, wanting to get all this weight out of her. She looked around warily but with readiness.
She saw Purple's back and ran to him. He stood motionless in front of the carousel. As she got closer, she saw the others were there too, all staring at the carousel unfazed.
"Purple?"
He didn't answer her.
"Green?"
Nothing. No one was talking. Something was definitely wrong. They all wore their masks, but they were somehow different—more gruesome, with washed-out colors. She then noticed that they were holding their weapons. She moved away instinctively. Before long, the carousel started spinning on its own, its music playing to a very eerie tempo. She shuddered.
"Red? Blue? Guys? What's happening?" she asked, stressed.
"One… Two… Three…" she heard them all count at the same time.
"Four… Five…"
But their voices didn't sound familiar. They seemed to have a double voice at the same time. Then she realized that the demon's voice was like that too.
"Six… Seven… Eight…"
She hesitantly moved away. Something inside told her to get away and run as far as she could. But her legs were paralyzed by fear.
"Nine… Ten!"
The count was over. Purple turned to her unexpectedly, calmly holding his chainsaw. He pulled the cord and went forward. Then a single word came from his lips:
"Run!"
Madalen didn't wait for him to repeat it. She already knew she had to run, she already knew what would happen, but she was afraid to believe it. The carousel music stopped abruptly… and then the whole troupe started chasing her.
Like rabid wolves, they ran after her. She knew it would not be easy to escape. She had to face them. But with what? She was unarmed. She had to find something to protect herself with. Jio's katana! How stupid she felt for not taking it with her when she should have. She ran to the Box of Madness, trying not to be seen. But the twins saw her. They ran after her as she entered the box.
She entered Jio's room panting, looking anxiously around. She saw the katana. It was fixed in place. She grabbed it as the twins entered the room as well. Red threw one of his knives at her first. Madalen dodged it with a quick reflex. Then Blue threw another one at her. She had already taken the katana out of its sheath and was holding it in a defensive position. When the second knife came charging at her, she managed to parry it with the edge of the sword.
"We're sorry, Madalen," they both said at the same time. "We can't do otherwise."
They were fully aware of what they were doing, but for some reason, they couldn't control it.
"I'm sorry too," said Madalen, and with a speed that even she didn't expect, she ran towards them, swinging her katana left and right. The katana found Red and Blue's chest and side. They grimaced in pain and stared in bewilderment at their bodies, where a red stream of blood was pouring out. Madalen was already out in the hallway. She hadn't managed to kill them—she didn't want to—but she was quick enough to injure them and get out of the room.
She ran back out into the center of the amusement park. Then she saw Yellow in front of her. As soon as he saw her, he lost no time; he ran at her with his ax raised above his head. Madalen didn't run; she waited for him. She held the katana as tightly as she could. Yellow brought the ax down hard on her. She put the blade of the sword over her head, holding it with both hands. She managed to parry his attack. Yellow raised his ax again and aimed for a second strike at her ribs. She jumped back so the ax wouldn't find her. Yellow continued his hard and dangerous slashes at her as she fought back as best she could. But he was stronger, so she quickly tired and fell down, panting. Yellow raised his ax once more, ready to deliver the finishing blow. Then Madalen noticed his face; it was sad…
"Yellow, you don't have to," Madalen said, looking him bravely in the eye.
"I can't resist him, Madalen! Sorry!" he said, and with these words, he brought the ax down sharply. At the same time, a shot was heard. A red spot appeared on Yellow's sternum. The ax fell from his hands, and he collapsed to the ground. Joe appeared behind him, holding a gun.
"She is mine!"
He reached out and took Yellow's ax. He raised it above her head in obvious ecstasy. He threw the ax behind Madalen without warning. The ax hit Blue, who was now coming towards them. The ax was nailed to his head. Blue fell down dead in a split second.
Then the rest seemed to come from all directions.
"I said…" he started shooting them one by one, "she's mine!"
By the time he finished his sentence, they were all down, dead from the bullets. Madalen looked on, terror painted on her face.
"And now, my young lady," he said, pointing the weapon at her, "your end has come!"
At his last words, he had come so close that the gun was touching her forehead. She kicked him hard in the genitals. Joe was hurt, but the gun didn't fall from his hand.
"Bloody hell!" he cursed in pain.
Madalen didn't wait. She jumped up as if jolted by electricity. At the same moment that Joe had the weapon pointed at her again, she, holding her katana tightly in her hands, without hesitation, brought the sword straight to his throat with a sharp movement. With a quick, sharp movement, she cut his throat at the scar. Joe's eyes widened in surprise. He grabbed his neck, staining his hands with blood. He looked at Madalen.
"Finally…" he spat out blood, "you… will give… the end…" he smiled strangely.
His body fell lifeless. Madalen's face and clothes were covered in blood, but she didn't care. She didn't care at all. She looked at the corpses around her; they were beginning to melt. A piece was left in Joe's place. It was the last piece of the black heart!
She took all the pieces in her hands, and they suddenly came together into a slimy, beating human heart. Each stroke made her shudder. She put the black heart in the case and started searching desperately for Jio.
She was calling his name, but there was no answer. Instead, she could hear the demon's satanic laughter.
"Search, search! You won't find him!" he said playfully.
"Piece of crap! You fooled me again!" She quickly remembered that this was the work of demons. He wouldn't let her easily find Jio, nor let them get out of here.
She thought feverishly of all the possible places he could be.
Joe's cell! The only place he could be locked up was there. In the depths of his mind. The darkest part of the circus.
But she was sure the demon would not let her find him easily. She entered the maze of the Box of Madness. Everything around her was different. The floor was red as blood. The walls were faded and rotting in shades of brown and red. The chess pieces that clothed them were barely visible against the rotten, faded walls. She moved forward with courage, though she couldn't orient herself. Nevertheless, she continued.
"Search, search, you won't find him!" the demon was heard again. But Madalen didn't give up. She turned a corner and saw a dead end. In front of her was a black wall with snakes on the floor. Many snakes… Green's snakes. They wouldn't let her pass. Surely this wall hid some secret. Resent it, she stopped short, glaring at them.
"Do you think that will stop me?" she spoke loudly. The snakes hissed softly, sticking out their forked tongues menacingly. Then they all came together like a tangle and formed a long, massive rattlesnake. Lifting its head, it reached Madalen's height. Their gazes clashed.
"I'm not afraid of you!" Madalen said, holding the sword in front of her sternum, ready to attack. But the rattlesnake continued to look at her without making any movement, rattling its tail. For a moment, Madalen felt as if she were hypnotized. She quickly shook her head back and forth, closing her eyes to make the sensation go away. Then the rattlesnake took a chance and attacked her with its tail, knocking her over and throwing her against the nearby wall. The katana fell from her hands. The massive snake, with a sharp movement, opened its mouth, ready to bite her, but Madalen rolled to the side, and its bite found the wall. In one swift movement, Madalen grabbed her sword and drove it into its scaly skin. The snake hissed loudly in pain and turned its head, charging again. Then she thrust the sword into its open mouth, piercing its head with the edge. The snake was still for a while. Madalen left the sword embedded and removed her hand. The snake's body fell down. She had managed to kill it. Panting, she approached the black wall.
She touched it, looking for some entrance, but there was nothing.
"Damn it!" she cursed.
She sat against the wall, whispering, "Jio, help me find you."
A strange noise was heard. She looked at the wall. Some red letters had formed above, written in blood. This was indicated by their dark red hue.
"What is it that Jio is afraid of?" she read, touching the red letters. It was a riddle she had to solve.
The riddle certainly spoke of a deep fear. A fear that was not easy to reveal.
"He's afraid…" At that moment, she thought about all of Jio's past. How they betrayed him, how they abandoned him... The fear that he will be forever alone in this world and will not be saved... Then she also thought about herself. What was she afraid of? Maybe she had something in common with Jio after all.
"Jio is afraid of himself!" she cried. Then the wall broke with a loud crack. Plaster and bricks began to fall slowly. The wall was crumbling. A door appeared behind it. It was the same door to Joe's cell, only this time it was locked.
"No!" she heard the demon scream at length. Madalen ignored him. She opened the door with the key. The room was dark, with only one part illuminated by an indeterminate light. In the middle of the room was Jio. She ran to him. He seemed passed out. She rested his head on her legs.
"Jio!" she shouted. "Jio, wake up! I made it! I found you! We can go!"
Jio opened his eyes. He saw Madalen's tear-stained face above him. He didn't say anything, just raised his hand and caressed her cheek. She smiled, and he smiled back.
"No! It's not that easy! You will never leave here!" screamed the demon. "You and Jio belong to me!"
"We're going out, whether you like it or not!" screamed Madalen.
Madalen helped Jio lean against her. He looked very tired, as if all the energy was missing from his body. She was sure he felt exhausted because his pieces were missing. The demon had not given them back to him, as she thought.
They began to trudge towards the exit of the maze. Jio knew where the exit was. After all, the labyrinth was a part of his mind.
They reached the rooms.
"We have to get out of here!"
"Madalen, it's not that simple," Jio said, struggling.
"What do you mean?"
"There is one more thing you must do."
"What?" she asked, confused. What else was she supposed to do? She had managed to pass all the tests and find Jio. What else was left?
"The heart…"
"The heart?" she asked and took the black heart out of the case.
"Mad, listen to me. You must put the heart inside me and kill me."
As if she didn't hear him well, she made a strange grimace and suddenly shouted, "What?" She blinked, not understanding. "No! What you say is impossible!"
Jio took her hands tenderly and smiled at her. "I know you can do it."
He took a knife from his pocket and handed it to her.
"No! I cannot!" she realized her hands were shaking. "I will butcher the heart. It is the demon's, not yours!" And with these words, she raised the knife with force and went to drive it into the black heart.
She plunged the knife into the heart and pulled it out again. When she saw the cut she had made, she smiled awkwardly.
"See? It succeeded."
She looked at Jio excitedly, but Jio's face did not look happy.
"Look again," he told her. Madalen stared in bewilderment at the heart, which slowly healed until finally the cut was gone. Madalen's face turned pale.
"You're wrong. This heart isn't just the demon's; it's mine too," he looked at her, distressed. "There is no other way."
Jio gently took her hand that held the black heart and, as Madalen couldn't realize what he was saying, he pushed the heart into his chest. He felt a sharp pain and cried out.
"Jio! What did you do? No!"
Jio pushed Madalen away from him. He looked at her intensely. His gaze suddenly changed. His eyes, once blue like the sea, had turned yellow like the sun.
"Now… Do it…" he said with difficulty. His voice wasn't just Jio's. It sounded as if two voices were speaking; it sounded eerie, as if from the depths of hell, full of demonic beings. Madalen realized that the demon and Jio had become one and were fighting inside his body for control.
She held the knife with trembling hands, unable to do what Jio had asked of her. Jio then grabbed Madalen by the throat and pinned her against the wall, choking her. The knife fell from her hands.
"Jio…" she choked out. "I know you're in there… You can fight him."
She was holding Jio's hands, trying to free herself. But his hands were like pincers; he had gripped her for good.
"Jack!" she cried. Then Jio stepped back and let go of her abruptly. He looked like he was in pain. He grabbed his head with both hands and screamed. She looked at him, heartbroken. She approached him.
"Don't!" he shouted at her. "Don't come near me! I can't fight him anymore."
"Yes you can!" She came closer to him. Jio's eyes suddenly turned from yellow to blue again. Jio had managed to surface. He grabbed the knife and handed it to her.
"Do it! It's the only way! If you don't kill me, he will kill you!"
Madalen's eyes watered.
"I can't kill you!"
Tears, hot and glistening like tiny crystals, began to roll down her cheeks.
"You must! It's the only way to get out of here!" He stroked her cheek. "Don't worry," he smiled faintly at her.
He leaned close to her, gently grabbing her neck and pulling her to him. Madalen could feel his breath, warm and slightly panting. His lips met hers tenderly. She closed her eyes and let go. With tears in her eyes, she raised her hand with the knife and stabbed him hard in the heart. Jio made a muffled sound but didn't move. He just left her lips just as tenderly. Madalen let out a sob. Tears were now falling uncontrollably from her eyes.
"T… th… thank you." Jio let himself fall into her arms and closed his eyes. Sobbing, Madalen held him as her tears fell on his bloodied chest.
A loud noise was heard. The ground began to shake. Cracks opened everywhere. Pieces of the ceiling and walls began to fall. She dragged Jio out of the Box of Madness with difficulty, carrying him to the center of the amusement park. Everything around her was falling apart. The world was collapsing. The ground was breaking and swallowing everything on it. Madalen looked around in horror. The last thing she saw disintegrating and being swallowed up by the void beneath her was the circus. A torn, withered flesh with traces of blood.
She felt the earth beneath her feet crack. She fell into the deep chasm with Jio. The last piece of land, with the debris, fell with them.
Was that it? Was it all over? After all, was the only way to get out of here was death?