Corinne, Abigail and John ventured to the southern part of the town. Before them lay a bustling market, filled with colour and life. Everywhere their eyes fell, vendors presented their wares beneath cheerful awnings of brightly coloured cloth.Rows of tables stood full with produce, meats and ready-to-eat dishes. Not only that, but they were selling a lot of eggs. Plain eggs, decorative egg-shaped knick-knacks, dishes made from eggs. No matter how much of a foodie Corinne was, seeing so many eggs in one place made her lose her appetite.The air was alive with chatter and the tantalizing aroma of spices and freshly cooked food. People of all ages meandered amongst the aisles, examining items and conversing.As Corinne and her fellow travellers strolled around the marketplace, she noticed every stall had a familiar symbol; a vibrant orange rooster with wings outstretched as if it were about to take flight. It reminded her of the weather-worn stone sculpture in the town square.“With how

The five little chicks walked as fast as their legs could carry them towards the ajar door, the only passage of light into the coop; it seemed like the light at the end of the tunnel. “Wait, did you guys hear that?” Claire said as she suddenly stopped in her tracks, spreading her wings wide to stop the others from moving.“What? I didn’t hear anything.” Danny responded absentmindedly as he stroked the egg he carried like a baby.Claire moved a little closer to the door, and the sound came again. A chirp that would have been equivalent to a gasp escaped her beak. “There’s definitely something out there.” Claire added under her breath.“I’m not hearing anything. Let’s just be careful and follow the map to the star and get this over with.” Jason said as he waved his wings in the air.When he was done, he continued his journey toward the door and the other chicks exchanged glances before they trailed behind him; everyone except Claire, she was convinced there was something out there.Cl

The longer the travellers were stuck in the survival game, the more they lost themselves.It started with memories from when they were kids, then their high school times, their college times; those memories were slowly being devoured. Recent memories were foggy but could still be recalled if they concentrated.At least there was a silver lining.Claire took a deep breath. That’s right, all they had to do was get to the goal. Claire walked over to Noby, the chick with round glasses flinched.“It’s alright,” Claire softened her voice, “everything will be alright, okay? Look at your traveller’s profile and try to calm down, try to recall what happened before the game restarted.”Hearing Claire’s gentle voice, Noby sucked in a breath and his recent memories slowly came back to him. Both fear and relief overwhelmed him: fear because he really lost a lot of his memories, relief because he still had his human side.“...I’m okay now,” Noby said, turning to look at Claire, “thanks.”Claire res

Ace and John walked through the streets to the mayor’s office. Unlike the previous night where it seemed like the inn was in a separate dimension of its own and the world outside was in complete darkness, they could walk outside now at the very least, even though the streets were still empty.As they neared the gate of the office, Ace sped up, ready to scale the fences when unexpectedly, the gate yawned open like an ancient mouth. Unnatural shadows swirled in the air as if waiting for them.Both Ace and John exchanged a glance before they moved towards the gate, embracing the mysterious darkness beyond.Ace jolted to a stop, raising his arm in a swift motion to halt John’s progress. “What’s wrong?” John exclaimed, shock written all over his face as his eyes locked onto the flickering red light emitting from Ace’s watch.Tension filled Ace’s features as he stared at the alert from his watch, warning him of the lurking dangers behind the gates.Without uttering a word, Ace gave John a