She didn't listen to Jio's advice not to search deeper into the maze. Maybe Jio had lied to her about there being no way out. After all, she had fallen through a hole that brought her to this place. Maybe there was a similar hole somewhere that could take her back. Jio clearly didn’t want Madalen to leave, so why wouldn't he lie about there being no escape? Perhaps that’s why he kept her from searching the maze, so she wouldn't discover the exit.

   She began to move deeper into the maze quietly, afraid that Jio's dog would notice her. So far, it hadn't—not yet, at least. As she moved forward, she realized she needed to leave marks to find her way back if necessary. But what could she use? She thought for a while and then had an idea. It might not be the best, but she couldn’t think of anything else. She took her keys out of her jeans pocket, sharpened the edge of one key against the wall, and then cut her palm with it. A red line appeared, and small spots of blood began to drip. She marked the wall with her blood on the white tile. At every corner she turned, she marked the wall or floor with her blood, just enough to leave a touch of red.

    As she progressed, the maze grew denser, with massive corridors branching out in all directions. She wasn't worried, though, because she knew how to turn back if needed, although she had no intention of doing so. Suddenly, a strong smell wafted through her nostrils, making her gasp. It smelled like rotting flesh.

    When she turned another corner, the smell disappeared, and she suddenly saw a white rabbit with red eyes looking at her, twitching its whiskers. Madalen was taken aback and approached it, but it didn’t wait for her. It hopped away, running down the corridor and turning left at a fork. She followed it.

    At the fork, she saw the rabbit waiting for her again. It looked at her with its blood-red eyes and continued heading deeper into the corridors. Madalen, in her rush to catch up, didn’t have time to mark the rest of the corners.

Chasing the rabbit reminded her of the fairy tale "Alice in Wonderland." Maybe if she followed it, she would find the hole she was looking for to escape this awful place. After all, just like Alice, she had found herself in the circus through a hole. Her T-shirt, which read "We are all MAD here," made all this even more ironic.

    The rabbit continued to run, occasionally turning its head to see if she was following. As she ran to catch up, the maze gradually grew darker. There were no lights; the walls emitted a light that brightly illuminated the corridor. But little by little, the light began to fade. She felt that she would soon reach total darkness. She paused, wondering if she should continue. Hesitantly, she stood as the rabbit disappeared down the dark corridor. She was about to leave when she heard something... or thought she did. Uncertainly, she turned and looked. She took a step forward in complete silence and finally heard it: a metallic noise…

  The rabbit appeared to be coming toward her. It stopped and stood looking at her.

"How much longer are you going to play with me?" she asked, waiting for it to answer her. By now, nothing would seem strange to her. The rabbit simply shook its whiskers and disappeared back into the darkness. Taking a deep breath, fear overwhelming her, she stepped deeper into the darkness. She rested her hand on the wall as she walked so she could orient herself. In the darkness, she came to a crossroads. Where to go now?          Looking straight ahead, she couldn't see anything; complete darkness prevailed. Right and left were the same. Then she heard the metallic noise again. It was coming from the left side. She followed the corridor with bated breath. She came to a dead end, but something stood out in the wall—a metal door. She could barely see it in the dim light.

     It sounded like someone was tapping it from the inside, but not with their hand; it sounded like something else was making the sound. It was as if metal was touching metal. She hesitantly stepped forward. There were two small windows in the door, one above and one below, like those in maximum security prisons. In a split second, she saw the rabbit enter through the lower window into the door. The little window made a small metallic click as it closed.

Should I open it? Shouldn't I open it?

Suddenly the knocking stopped, as if the one behind the door realized that Madalen was standing in front of it. She reluctantly reached out and slowly opened the upper window.

    Everything inside showed an abysmal darkness.

"I see you!" came a faint male voice through the window. Madalen was startled and jumped back. She looked at the window from a distance.

"Don't be afraid," came the voice again.

Easy for you to say, she thought.

"Who are you?" the man asked politely.

"Madalen… Who are you?"

"Hmm… Apparently, Jio didn't send you."

"No. I was following a rabbit, and it led me to the door." She felt she sounded crazy.

"Ah! Is this cute friend yours?"

"He's not mine; I just followed him."

"It'll probably be Purple's."

The stranger seemed to know the whole group of madmen well.

"Are you a member of the circus too?"

The voice laughed faintly.

"You could say I was."

"You were?"

"Do you want to open the door so we can talk?"

Madalen paled.

"And why don't you open it?"

"I can't," he answered somewhat sadly.

"Why?"

"I'm bound."

Madalen thought about it for a moment.

"If you don't want to, I won't insist, but I would be happy if you would come and hang out with me every now and then," said the voice before Madalen made up her mind.

"Why are you bound?" she finally asked.

"Ask Jio! He tied me up and locked me in here!" His voice betrayed anger.

"And since the door is locked, how do I get in?"

The man laughed.

"It's not exactly locked; I just can't open it… Anyone else can."

"Why did he lock you up?"

"Because I disobeyed his rules."

"Yeah, I know what that's like," she admitted.

"Jio has a ruthless way of keeping people away."

"I can see what you mean…" she agreed. She had no idea why she was talking and agreeing with this stranger.

"I get the feeling you don't like him very much," remarked the man.

"And that's an understatement! After what he did, how could I?"

"What did he do?"

"He kills people for fun! He's a psycho!"

Madalen couldn't find the words to describe him. All possible words ran through her mind: crazy, paranoid, lunatic, but none seemed to fit.

"Looks like I found an ally," he said, clearly excited.

     Madalen hesitantly reached out and slowly opened the door. Inside was a room. It was quite dark, but she could make out the corners and the chains hanging from the ceiling and walls, ending in a half-naked body with long, straight black hair. The stranger's eyes glittered in the darkness. He was squatting down, holding the white rabbit in his lap, stroking it.

"What rule did you break for Jio to lock you in here?" she asked hesitantly.

"He just hates me because I go against everything he does. And he doesn't like that at all."

"If I free you, can you get me out of here?"

"What do you mean?"

His hawkish black eyes locked on hers.

“I came accidentally to this awful place. I just want to go back home."

The stranger's eyes searched her up and down.

"I see." He paused. "Maybe I can help you. However, it will not be easy."

"I don't care how hard it will be. I just want to go home..." she said, glaring at him to show how determined she was.

"Very well, free me, and we will be allies. I will help you. What do you think?"

He stretched out his hands and gave her the rabbit.

"I don't know if I should trust you," she said, taking the rabbit into her arms.

"It is wise to say this in the place where you are. But I assure you I am not like Jio. In fact, we are complete opposites."

"Fine, let's say I free you, what's the plan next?"

"Leave that to me, young lady!"

Madalen thought about it for a moment.

"How can I get you out of here?"

"Bring me Purple's chainsaw. It can cut through anything, even my chains."

"Okay. I'll be back," she said and went to leave.

"I can't wait to see you again, Madalen!" the man said as the door closed behind her.