The night was warm.
Salt in the air. The hush of the ocean beyond the wall. It should have comforted her, but nothing felt right. Not with stone underfoot and silence pressing in. Not after the day they’d had.
Ten girls in pairs stood in the courtyard. Bloc 27, so they said. Strangers, mostly. Still carrying the tang of submersible salt and sweat.
Ahead: the maze.
“So we do… what, exactly?” someone muttered. “I’m tired. I want to sleep.”
The support worker shrugged. “Pretty sure the smartest girls in the world”—a pause, knife-thin—“can work it out.” Then she turned and walked off. No signs. No instructions. Just the gate, yawning like a dare.
A tall girl—Jelena?—looked around. “Are we supposed to go in?”
The gate creaked in the breeze.
Someone swore under her breath.
A chime. A panel lit on the far wall. One line of text:
One of each pair must wear the blindfold. Timer starts immediately upon gate opening.
Sophie Cazeneuve made a sound like a laugh. It wasn’t.
“Of course they’re timing us.”
Next to her, Maya Chen blinked. “That can’t be all. There should be…”
“Rules? Instructions? A sense of proportion? Darling, this is Phoenix. We’re meant to work it out.”
“Looks like they’re fond of theatre,” Cecilia Martín said.
Maya said nothing. Just reached into the canvas pack they’d all been issued. At the top: a blindfold. Black. Smooth. Unmarked.
Sophie whistled. “Well. Kinky. Do we get to keep them?”
Maya didn’t laugh.
Eve shook her head. “This is mad.”
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Her roommate turned to her. Lila Monroe. Composed, quiet, as if she were ready for a society event. Still a little dazed from the heat. “I could wear it, if you want.”
Eve’s tongue clicked. “I don’t want anything to do with this.”
Lila waited. “But someone has to.”
Eve’s stomach clenched. Not because she disagreed. It made sense. She could see it in her posture, the way she moved. Monroe was soft. She’d never run from anything worse than an awkward conversation. Eve had. She had instincts. Reflexes. She should lead.
But something about it sat wrong. She wasn’t meant to hold anyone’s safety in her hands. Never had to. Eve always played solo.
Lila bent, tied the blindfold around her own eyes. The motion was careful. Almost practised.
Eve looked away.
Across the courtyard, another pair had already decided. Cecilia held her partner’s hand tightly. Jelena stood still, blindfold in place, her jaw set.
The gate clicked.
The maze opened. Seconds ticked up on the panel.
The air inside was colder.
Stone walls rose on either side, tall enough to swallow sound. The path curved. No markings. No lights.
Sophie led. Maya followed.
Behind them, Eve took Lila’s wrist.
“Careful,” she said. “Just… stay close.”
Lila nodded and obeyed immediately, leaning against Eve.
Eve exhaled. She didn’t mind falling, she didn’t mind getting hurt, but this—
Her grip tightened on Lila’s wrist. Instinctive.
Lila didn’t pull away.
That made it worse.
This was someone else trusting her.
Eve wasn’t sure she deserved it.
They walked.
The sound of feet on stone. The occasional breath. Somewhere, a gull screamed.
Maya broke the silence first. “How do you know where you’re going?”
“I don’t. I just pretend I do. That’s how leadership works.”
“Is it?”
Another corner. Another dead end.
Sophie paused. “Alright, maybe don’t quote me on that.”
Eve slowed, looked around.
She wasn’t sure.
“Which way here?” Lila asked.
Eve hesitated.
“Left.”
Lila followed. No doubt. No question.
Eve’s stomach twisted. Better get it right.
The ground grew uneven. Moss-slicked. The breeze had vanished.
Her grip tightened. “Step up,” she warned. “I think there’s—”
Lila tripped.
Not dramatic. Just a small fall. Palms on stone. A scrape. A hiss of pain.
Eve caught her too late.
They froze. Lila’s body trembled.
Eve crouched and checked her hands. “You okay?”
“Yes. It’s fine.”
It wasn’t. But she said it like a fact.
Eve hesitated. Then picked her up.
Carried her.
Lila didn’t speak again.
Even now, bruised, bleeding, she trusted her.
That made it worse. Eve had not earned that.
The maze wound on.
One pair got stuck. The blindfolded girl sat down, refused to move.
But Eve walked. Sophie argued. Maya followed.
And when they finally emerged into light, blinking and bruised, no one clapped. No one explained.
All they got was a girl in a pale blazer with a clipboard. She nodded once. “Bloc 27 rooms are that way.”
Sophie glanced around. “We made it, then.”
“Did we?” Maya asked.
Eve breathed. Lila stood beside her.
“Shit, I’m sorry, Monroe,” Eve said. “I—”
Lila smiled. Still trusting. Still bleeding.
“You carried me, Carter. We’re through. It’s fine.”
But it wasn’t.
Trust your roommate. That was hard.
Her roommate already trusted her.
That was harder.
Eve had to live up to that.
