"You really need to get some sleep."

Lauris snapped of her thoughts as the small cube of fruit slipped from her fork.

Maire tilted her head as she stared at the woman, wrinkling her brow. "Your head was about to smash into that boul. I think you should sleep."

Lauris frowned.

Strange.

She had no recollection of closing her eyes. Nevertheless, she nodded.

Marie chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I really appreciate you helping me, but you also need to take care of yourself. I'll put that salad in the fridge so you can eat it later. You can sleep."

Lauris nodded. "Thanks."

She stood up, steadying herself as she stumbled. Walking to the bedroom, the woman pushed open the door and fell on the bed.

With one last glance before unconsciousness claimed her, Lauris thought she saw an eye staring right at her.

...

"Finally!"

"The last candidate arrived!"

"We can now start!"

What were these voices; these echoey, high-pitched voices?

"Quick. Be quiet! It's waking up!"

...

Lauris opened her eyes. She frowned as she heard something shatter in the background.

Wait, shatter?

Panic spiked her system as she sat up. Her mouth fell as the woman saw where she was.

Instead of the pristine white walls, it was smeared with something black and made of wood.

Lauris looked down.

Instead of the fluffy carpet, there was a cracked floor made of dirty concrete. A cold draft made its way through the smashed window, sweeping the dried leaves across the floor.

Lauris shivered as goosebumps trailed up her arms and down the back. She glanced back at the bed, or more accurately, a pile of filthy, white cloth.

Where was she?

The woman carefully stepped out of the room, taking in her surroundings.

Now this was interesting.

Outside the room were towering trees obscured by thick fog. Small, fluorescent flowers sprinkled the ground; their bell heads drooping.

Lauris flinched, as an otherworldly screech filled the air.

Alright, wherever she was, she was not in Kansas.

The woman looked back at the room, or perhaps, the half-collapsed building. She once more turned her gaze to the woods. She clearly cannot stay in there, but she could not explore out there unless she prepared herself - if that was even possible. She looked back at the building.

Lauris could only hope that something in there could help her.

...

Lauris sighed as she surveyed the stuff she gathered. She had a grand total of a hazardous handful of shattered glass, a small slab of concrete, a bent, rusted nail and some leaves.

Not promising.

The woman decided to use the filthy cloth as a cloak. Though the cold seeped through the thin material, at least it shielded her skin from the increasingly rapidly dropping ambient temperature.

Her gaze rested at the bent nail. It was about the length of her pinkie finger - a pretty decent size in her mind. It was also better than the other options.

The glass would cut her.

A small slab of concrete the size of her palm was single-use at best.

She was unsure whether the leaves were remotely edible.

Lauris bit her lip. She reached for another cloth, hoping to fashion a makeshift sling. She could carry that piece of concrete with her. That bent nail would be her primary weapon; if it even could be called one.

The woman sighed.

She would definitely die.

Lauris plucked up her courage and proceeded to step out with a nail in one hand and nothing in the other. She imagined herself as a hardened adventurer before cringing at the thought.

This place was already messing with her mind. She looked like a hobo; the furthest away from a badass explorer.

The woman wrapped the cloth tightly around her arms. It was getting cold, fast. Her breath came in small white puffs of clouds as she began to walk. Her fingers began to numb, and the shivers became more and more violent.

It was impossible; a fool's errand.

Shuffling to turn back, Lauris stopped. She looked around, trees, trees and more trees.

Panic and despair began to settle. The woman dropped the nail, her fingers too numb to grip the object.

"Are you lost, dear traveller?"

"Do you want help, dear traveller?"

Lauris paused as two distinct, unnerving child-like voices pierced through the icy fog. She would usually think twice before accepting accept, but this was far from a normal situation.

"Y-yes. P-please."

The woman shivered as she heard the two voices merge into one.

"Then follow, follow the Fairy Flowers."

With slow steps, Lauris followed the unbroken trail of glowing flowers that appeared from the fog. Her breath became more laboured, and her vision blurred as exhaustion, aided by the cold, settled into her bones. The flowers' flickering glow seemed mocking as if saying something along the lines of, so close, yet so far. The woman gritted her teeth and pushed on.

She could make it; she had no other choice.

Shivering and miserable, Lauris blinked as the air around her began to grow warmer. She picked up her pace and pushed onwards. The flowers became more and more scarce as the fog disappeared and the trees thinned. Suddenly, the woman could see numerous silhouettes of buildings in the distance. No longer cold, she ran.

Lauris gasped.

The buildings were wooden and half-collapsing under their own weight. A plant-covered windmill loomed up ahead, still and silent.

"H-hello?"

Silence.

The woman grasped the slab of concrete as she slowly explored the place. Going against her common sense, she entered a building and frowned. There was nothing. Plants of all kinds took refuge under the roof. The only thing out of place was a small, lacquered wooden box with a fresh meal of steaming soup sitting on top.

Suspicious, very suspicious.

"Are you not going-"

"To drink?"

"Are you not dying-"

"Of hunger?"

"Are you not tortured-"

"By thirst?"

Lauris whirled around.

Nothing.

Grasping the concrete weapon tightly, she called. "Sh-show yourself!"

"Hehehehe."

"What if-"

"We don't want to?"

Lauris gaped. She had no words.

"Ah, you are-"

"No fun."

"No fun-"

"At all!"

"Fine."

"We will-"

"Show ourselves."

Lauris squinted as space before her distorted. She took a step back and watched as two identical twins appeared. Somehow, this did not ease her worries. Perhaps it was the fact that they seemed to be about age six to eight or maybe it was because they blinked and even breathed in sync, but somehow their presence was incredibly off-putting.

The woman watched as one of them spoke before the other took over.

"Welcome to-"

"The Between!"

The Between?

Lauris stared at the twins warily as they fiddled with their white dresses. She flinched as their heads suddenly snapped up.

"It's time!"

"It's time!"

"For you-"

"To go back."

"Don't be-"

"Sad."

"We will see-"

"You soon."

"To play-"

"A twenty-one day-"

"Game."

The twins suddenly smiled. They gave an elaborate bow before prancing off. At that, the surroundings slowly dissolved, and Lauris woke up in her room. She frowned as she noticed her fingers were throbbing in pain. Pulling her hand from the sheets, the woman gasped. She looked down to see the cover of the mattress torn and stained with red before looking back at her raw and painful extremities.

"We will-"

"See you soon-"

"To play-"

"A twenty-one day-"

"Game."

Lauris shivered.

******

What do you guys think about the format of the twins' speech? Is it too confusing?