They each looked at each other. Confused and shocked. Ada, however, casually crossed her arms, an almost bored look on her face. Then again, in the time Calli had known her, Ada had never been one to express less than cool emotions.

She knew it would be fruitless, but Calli searched for the speakers the announcer was using. There was nothing but endless blue sky. First trial? How cutthroat will this gameshow be? Calli thought. Are these people my enemies or just competition? Am I to compete against Ada? She considered how each of them had interacted with her so far. Aside from the older man she didn't know, the others had felt almost like kindred spirits in a way. Like maybe their wishes might not be so shallow. Maybe they just want to wish for enough. If such a thing existed in the greedy world they lived in.

"FIRST TO CROSS THE FINISH LINE, WINS," the booming voice announced.

"Finish line?" Jonah asked.

Nothing in the endless field signified the path of a race. Calli expected to find at least some sort of banner they would need to run towards. There was nothing except the field, the forest and them. The contestants didn't move.

"THE WINNER OF THE RACE SHALL NOT ONLY MOVE FORWARD AS LEAD CONTESTANT FOR THE WISH, BUT ALSO BE REWARDED A SPECIAL PRIZE," continued the voice. "THE COUNTDOWN TO START WILL BEGIN SHORTLY."

The bald man ran his tongue along his teeth. A cunning smile cut across his lips as he scratched his chin. Whatever thoughts made his eyes flicker excitedly only unnerved Calli further.

Jonah scoffed, "My arm might be shot, but I can still outrun any one of you. This'll be too easy."

It seems I've already lost the first trial, Calli thought dejectedly. Great.

Lucy only hid herself in Calli's side further.

"We still don't know where we're racing too," offered the young man from the test.

The reverberating boom of a gong sounded. Unlike the disembodied voice, the gong seemed to come from a singular direction. Each contestant turned to the noise. In the distance, a plain wooden door appeared. Above it, a bright neon sign read, "Exit." It looked as if it were drawn in midair.

"More painted doors?" The young man asked.

"THREE," the voice declared.

Jonah got into a race-ready position.

I've already lost, I don't know why I'm even bothering with this, thought Calli.

Each contestant tried their best to copy Jonah's stance.

He rolled his eyes, "Go ahead and try. You can't beat natural born tal –" He gagged on the last word. Choking and sputtering, he dropped to his knees.

Lucy screamed as his flesh began to smoke and ripple. The other contestants stood frozen in shock as they watched in utter horror. Jonah crumpled to the ground, a flurry of wind obscuring him in the tall grass.

"TWO," the voice continued counting.

A tiny bark called out followed by a whimper. Calli leaned toward the spot Jonah had fallen. In his place was now a small dog, not unlike the one she'd seen Lucy petting in the alleyway.

The young woman saw the dog and fell to her knees crying. "No, no, no."

"It's okay," Calli assured. "It's not a demon. I think it's Jonah." As the words came out, she felt the absurdity of it all. "Movie magic. It's just a dog," she corrected.

Lucy peered anxiously at the small dog. Tears still marred her face as she considered the explanation.

"What the fu –" the bald man exclaimed.

"Keep it up," Ada warned, "and censorship will have to do something about you."

The man narrowed his eyes at her.

"ONE," the voice finished its countdown, and the sound of a gunshot rang out.

None of the contestants moved. Too lost in shock at the puppy now occupying the space Jonah had been in just a moment ago.

From the corner of Calli's vision, she saw the older man bolt. As if in protest, the puppy angrily barked and chased after him. The commotion roused the others into action, and they all headed for the distant exit. The bald man had gained quite an advantage, but it was evident his old age was slowing him down. His gait was interrupted with a hard limp every other step. The puppy was doing no better. The tall grass was nearly impossible for it to pass through. It tried its best to squeeze through the tall stalks, bounding up occasionally to clear its path, but was tangled in the grass repeatedly. The puppy tripped and stumbled over itself, rolling head over hindlegs. It struggled to run more than a few feet before tumbling again. The young man from the test quickly overcame them both. Calli looked to Ada who casually ran beside her as if they weren't competing at all. Behind her, Lucy kept a steady pace. They too surpassed the older man and puppy.

"ONE MORE THING," the voice shouted out over the runners. "AS TRUE INCENTIVE TO RACE AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT, WELCOME TO THE GAME A SPECIAL GUEST."

Thunder cracked overhead, deafening the contestants. No, not thunder, Calli realized. Deep within the forest behind them, the roar echoed out. So loud, Calli felt it in her chest. She looked back to see birds fleeing as the forest canopy shuddered and split. A beast nearly as tall as the trees burst through. It wasn't like any animal she had ever seen. If anything, it was what she imagined a hell hound might look like. Its pelt was the darkest black, like a shadow come to life. Steam billowed from its heavy breaths. The beast's massive maw parted with another roar and even from a distance she could see its sharp teeth glistening wet with saliva.

Calli saw Lucy's mouth shape a scream, but it could barely be heard over the beast's threatening roar. The fear had them all stumbling before gaining more speed. Beside her, Ada chuckled.

Movie magic, Calli repeated to herself. Don't let the fear take you.

The old man was able to press on at a reasonable speed despite his limp, but the puppy was falling dangerously behind. Lucy glanced at the struggling pup as it tried and failed to keep up. Tears and sweat beaded her face as her feet faltered. She hesitated another moment before turning back to scoop the puppy into her arms. It didn't take her long to catch back up alongside Calli and Ada as they all ran toward the finish line.

The ground beneath them rumbled with the echoing footfalls of the beast growing closer and closer. The bald man tripped, falling hard. His face twisted in horror at the quickly approaching beast. Calli instinctively ran to him, offering her hand to help him up, but the bald man swiped a hidden blade at her.

"Get away from me," he hissed. "I'm going to win this thing, and you can't stop me," he lashed at her with his blade.

"Sir, I'm just trying to help you!" She screamed.

Ada swiftly grabbed her arm, pulling her toward the exit. "Let the man be his own death."

"He needs our help," Calli argued.

"No," Ada said firmly. "He doesn't want your help. Besides, he has all the help he asked for and now he must pay the price."

"What?"

Ada pulled her further along. "The exit," she nodded to the door ahead.

The young man from the test reached it first. To Calli's surprise, instead of running through the door and leaving everyone else in his dust, he held it open, offering a hand to those behind him.

"Come on," he encouraged. "Just a little further."

Lucy reached it next, running through with puppy Jonah in her arms.

Calli looked behind her. The bald man had managed to get to his feet. He continued to limp after them, knife in hand. His face twisted with a maddening hunger as he choked out a harsh laugh. A smile so wide it looked painful stretched across his face. Calli shuddered, remembering where she had seen the man before. He was the same man that beat desperately against the door after Lucy in the alleyway.

The demon, Calli shook the thought away.

Crossing over the door's threshold with Ada, Calli couldn't look away as the beast closed the space between them. The bald man spun, raising the knife up high and plunging it forward as the beast launched itself over him.

Ada slammed the door shut.

"He's still out there," Calli shrieked.

Lucy and the young man caught their breath, glancing from Ada to Calli. The puppy whimpered anxiously at Lucy's feet.

"It's too late for him," replied Ada, holding her back against the door.

Calli gulped a large breath of air to fill her burning lungs. "Too late? I thought you said this was all just movie magic," Calli quoted with flexed fingers. "Are you saying that beast was real, and that man is dead?"

Ada laughed haughtily, "If only. No, I'm saying he's no longer in the running for the wish, darling."

Calli narrowed her eyes at the woman. Her breath still rapid with exhaustion. Although the bald man had invoked a feeling of wrongness in the alleyway, she was still unsure of leaving him to his fate.

"Come now, darling. You should be happy. One less competitor for the wish," she added with a nudge from her elbow.

"Are they going to try to kill us off at every trial," Lucy worried, tears filling her eyes again.

"They're not gonna kill us off," the young man interjected. "It's a television gameshow. They just wanna make things real for us so our reactions are real. Ya know, for ratings," he offered.

"I don't want to get pulled off the show like that," Lucy whispered into her sleeves. "That was terrifying."

Calli placed a comforting hand on the young woman's shoulder. "You were very brave, going back to save that puppy."

Lucy blushed. "Well, I mean, I know it's just a puppy, but I also thought, what if it's really Jonah," she stammered. "I didn't want him, the puppy I mean, to get hurt."

Calli nodded.

"CONGRATULATIONS," the voice interrupted, causing all but Ada to jump. "ON CLEARING THE FIRST TRIAL."

Calli searched the new hallway they found themselves in but still found no speakers.

"IN FIRST PLACE, OUR WINNER THIS ROUND IS DEVON SMITH."

They each looked at the young man from the test. He ducked his head bashfully, although it did nothing to shrink his large frame.

"FOR WINNING THE FIRST ROUND, DEVON WILL RECEIVE A SPECIAL PRIZE. IT AWAITS AT THE TOP."

The top? With all the commotion, Calli hadn't noticed the hallway they were now in was barely more than the bottom of a stairwell.

Lucy went to the landing and peered up, "We have to climb all those stairs?"

Calli followed her gaze. The stairs went on so long she was unsure how many landings were between them and the top. More movie magic? Like all the other seemingly endless staged rooms so far?

"What do you think we'll find up there?" Devon asked, joining them in their incredulous gawking.

"Your prize," Ada answered from behind them.

The young man eyed her suspiciously as she casually rested against the door to the field and the horrors they'd left behind.

"Do you think they'll send another one of those things after us, so we climb faster?" Lucy shrank further into her sweater. "I don't think I'd be able to handle that."

"No," Calli assured, "I think we're safe now. Just a tedious task is all." She smiled.

"Well let's shove off then," Ada charged. "No point waiting around here."

Calli let Ada pass her on the way up the stairs. The woman didn't have a single hair out of place. She still wore her fitted suit and heels from this morning. No sign they'd just ran for their lives through a field at top speed.

Devon caught her eye, raising an eyebrow in question as he nodded in Ada's direction.

She shook her head in response and Devon shrugged, following Ada up.

"It's okay, I'll help you," Lucy whispered to the puppy as it jumped around her ankles. She scooped it into her arms, giving Calli a shy smile as she passed her to ascend the stairs.

Calli placed a cautious foot down on the first step. Is Ada hiding something? The woman disappeared around the next landing. I guess there's only one way to find out, Calli thought, following the group upward to their next destination.