Marks

Lina then said, "We have no choice but to split up."

And Briny said, "That's right."

Raja then said, "I'm going with Briny."

And Lina said, "No. You're going with Gen."

"Why? What's wrong with me going with Briny?"

"You can't go with her because she won't be able to control you, and then you'll want to show off and will end up stepping where you shouldn't again."

"Why don't I go with you then?"

"Do you want to come with me?"

"It depends. Do you want me to go with you?"

Lina then thought for a while and said, "Yes."

And Raja said, "Good. I want to go with you too. Let's go."

"Nope, you are going with Gen."

"But didn't you say you wanted to go with me?"

"I lied. Now let's go already."

Lina then went with Briny to the right path, and Gen went with Raja to the left.

They then went straight ahead for a while, and Raja then said, "Gen, we have to deal with Lina."

Gen looked confused at Raja quickly and then turned forward and said, "What do you mean by that?"

"She's always bossing us around like she's our boss."

"When you say us, you mean you, right?"

"Well, it does happen more to me, but she also controls you sometimes. Like the time you wanted to drink at Oasis, and she wouldn't let you."

"Well, I don't blame her. I get a little out of control when I drink."

"And doesn't she get out of control too? Have you forgotten how she got that day?"

"Well, that's true, but that's because she didn't know that drink was so alcoholic. Lina doesn't usually lose control."

"And since when is that an excuse, Gen? She never would have gotten drunk if she hadn't had that whole bottle of wine without us."

"Well, on that point, you're right."

"Right? What do you say we give her a scare?"

"A scare? What kind of a scare?"

"I don't know, but it has to be something that will make her take it easy on us."

"You mean take it easy on you, right?"

"Yes, but you don't have to explain it every time."

"Hm ..."

"What do you think?"

"Okay. Let's give Lina a scare."

"Good. I'll start thinking of something now."

"Just to be clear. You know that this could make her even bossier on you, oops, on us."

"I know, but it's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Ok."

They then continued forward, and after a while, they came to a point where Gen said, "Looks like this is where we part, Raja."

And Raja said, "Hm? Why?"

"There's more than one way again."

Raja then looked at the hole Gen had made in the ground and said, "Oh, that's right."

Gen then asked, "Do you want to go forward or to the right?"

Raja then thought for a few seconds and said, "I'm going right."

Gen then said, "Well, I can see why, but tell me anyway."

And Raja said, "Well, if I go right, maybe I'll run into the girls."

"That's what I thought. I'll take the front way then. Good luck."

"Thanks.", and then they both went their separate ways.

Some time then passed, and Gen continued on his way.

He then said, "Gee, doesn't this path ever end?", and then he took a few more steps to a point where he stopped, and as he looked at the sand, he realized that it was no longer moving.

He then thought, 'Damn, I must be on the wrong path. Looks like I'll have to go back to the part where I got separated from Raja and hope that his path is the right one, or at least that he is coming back.'

Gen was about to go back to where he came from when suddenly his vision changed, and he could see all the people on the beach again.

He then thought, 'What happened? Why did I leave the labyrinth area? Did the four of us get too far apart?'

He then started to look around to see if he could see Raja, Lina, or Briny, and after not seeing them around, he thought, 'Where are they? Is it just me out of there?'

He then continued to look around for a while but found no one.

He then thought, 'Maybe I'd better walk around a bit.', and just as he was about to start walking, he saw Raja appear at his side.

He then said, "Raja, you are here."

And Raja said, "Ah! You scared me, Gen! You appeared out of nowhere!"

"It wasn't my fault. You were the one who suddenly appeared. Did you find your way out?"

"No, I had just hit a dead end. I was about to come back to meet you, and then I appeared here."

"The same thing happened to me."

Right after Gen finished saying that, Briny appeared next to them, and right after her, Lina appeared as well.

Lina then said, "What's going on? Why did I leave?"

And Briny said, "I found the end. That must be why you left."

Gen then said, "But Raja and I got here before you, Briny."

And Briny said, "That's strange. I'm sure I found the end."

Gen then said, "And what did that end look like?"

Briny then explained what it looked like, and Gen said, "That was the same place that Raja and I got to."

Lina then said, "I got to it too."

Briny then said, "Weird. There was only supposed to be one ending."

And Raja said, "It looks like there are several ways out."

And Briny said, "I doubt it, but there is a way to know if that's true."

Gen then said, "How?"

And Briny said, "Simple. When you get past the first stage, you get a mark on your arm that looks like a compass tip."

Raja then said, "And what would that look like?"

And Briny said, "Look at your arms. I made the uniform transparent in the part where the mark appears."

Everyone then looked at their arms, and then they saw that on the side of their arms was a part made of transparent fabric.

Briny then said, "Whoever has a mark on that part of their arm is the one who found the way out. Do any of you have the mark?"

Gen then stretched out his right arm and said, "I have the mark."

And Raja stretched out his arm and said, "I do, too."

Lina then stretched out hers and said, "I have a mark too."

And Briny stretched hers out and said, "I have a mark too. So that means that we all found a way out."

Gen then said, "What are these marks for?"

And Briny said, "They help us in the next part of the event. They are direction indicators."

Gen then said, "Direction indicators?"

"Yes. Put your arms next to mine."

Everyone then put their arms next to each other, and Briny said, "The marks indicate a different direction based on their color."

Raja then asked, "Does each color have a different direction?"

And Briny said, "Yes. After years of attending the event, I was able to identify what each color means. Lina's mark is black, so it indicates north. Raja's mark is blue, so it indicates east. Gen's mark is white. It indicates west. And mine is red, and it indicates south."

Gen then said, "And what are these directions for?"

And Briny said, "You'll understand better when we get to the next part of the event."

Raja then said, "Let's go then."

And Briny said, "Are you sure? The second part of the event is longer than the first part. Usually, we rest between one part and the other, but since we passed the first part very quickly, we can try to go without rest.

Gen then said, "Well, we can go for all I care. I'm still satisfied with the food from just now, and I'm not feeling tired."

And Raja said, "I'm fine too."

Lina then said, "I say we keep going."

And Briny said, "Okay. It seems that everyone agrees. So, let's go to the next part. Follow me."

Briny then started to walk towards the sea, and as she arrived in front of it, the marks on the arms of the four began to glow.

Briny then said, "Aim your marks into the sea.", and then everyone did as she asked. A small boat that looked very steady then rose from the sea.

Raja then asked, "Is that the boat we're going to cross the sea in?"

Briny then stood still with her gaze fixed on the boat, and Raja said, "Briny? Is everything okay?"

She woke up and said, "Excuse me. Yes, this is the boat we're going to use to participate in the second part of the event."

Gen then said, "It looks like a good boat to me."

And Briny said, "Yes. It's too good."