The trio woke up in a strange place that resembled a recording studio, but thick yellow fog obscured everything, making it hard to see.
"Ugh, where are we?" Zoey asked, feeling a bit disoriented.
"I don't know," Nikki replied, scanning the area. "It looks like a recording studio, but I've never seen one this large."
"But what's with all this fog?" Chloe asked. "I can barely see anything in front of me. Heck, I can barely see you two, so getting lost would be easy."
"So, what should we do?" Zoey inquired.
"Well, the only thing we can do is look around for an exit," Nikki suggested. "I really don't want to stay here any longer; this place gives me the creeps."
"Speaking of exits, I don't think there are any," Zoey said. "The only entrance was when we fell in, remember?"
"Zoey, please don't tell me you're saying we're STUCK here?!" Chloe panicked. "We need to get to that meet-and-greet to see some of our favourite authors by next week!"
"Chloe, calm down for a moment. Maybe, just maybe, we can call someone to get us out of here," Nikki said.
But as she reached for her phone, she noticed there was no signal.
"So, what's up?" Chloe asked impatiently.
"T-there's no signal," Nikki said in a panic.
"You've got to be KIDDING ME!!" Chloe shouted. "How are we supposed to get out of here now?!"
"Well, if there's an entrance, there has to be an exit—hopefully," Zoey said, uncertainty in her voice. "We just need to look around to be sure."
"Let's stick together," Nikki suggested. "With this thick fog, it's easy to get lost."
"Alright then," Chloe and Zoey responded in unison.
--
A few minutes later, the girls came across an open door marked with a strange black and red spiral.
"Do you think it's safe to go in?" Chloe asked anxiously.
"I don't know, but honestly, I hope it's a way out of here. I'm starting to feel kind of tired," Zoey replied.
"Now that you mention it, I'm feeling tired too," Nikki said. "And if we black out in here, we won't be in a good position, so let's just go."
The girls entered the building, only to find themselves in what appeared to be a bedroom. The walls were covered with posters of Victoria Steel promoting the Holiday on Ice Show, but the faces were all cut out, and red and yellow paint was splattered randomly throughout the room. In the middle of the room, there was a chair with a rope hanging above it, tied like a noose.
"What in the...?!" Zoey exclaimed in shock. "What's going on here?!"
"Not to mention there's no exit," Nikki added, equally stunned by the scene.
"The faces in the posters are all cut out," Chloe chimed in. "Someone must really hate this person. And it looks like the poster promoting the Holiday on Ice was from just a few months ago."
"So does that mean the person who did this is the reason she's dead?" Zoey asked.
"Honestly, I don't want to know; I'm scared enough as it is," Chloe replied.
Nikki then looked at the chair. "Not only that but the chair and the rope," she shuddered. "That's just bad news, no matter how you look at it."
"C-come on, guys, l-let's just go back to where we came from and look somewhere else," Zoey said, fear creeping into her voice.
"Yeah, I'm really starting to feel tired now. If we stay here any longer, I might collapse," Chloe said.
--
"Phew... We finally made it back," Chloe said, relieved, and then she looked further into the fog. "Wait... What's that...?"
Nikki and Zoey turned around to see what she was talking about. "There really is something over there."
They saw a figure enveloped in fog. However, as the figure emerged, it turned out to be a teddy bear mascot.
"Wh-What in the world is this?" Nikki asked, confused. "In fact, who are you?!"
"Th-That's what I want to know," the mysterious bear replied. "Who are you guys?"
"*Gasp*... It talked!" Chloe exclaimed. "W-what are you?!"
"D-don't yell at me like that," the bear stammered, cowering in fear.
"Sorry," Chloe apologized, "but what is this place?"
"This place is what it is," the bear replied. "It's where I live."
"You... Live here?" Zoey asked.
"If I were you guys, I'd hurry back to the other side," the bear warned. "Someone threw someone else in here, and it's a big headache."
"Huh?" Nikki questioned. "What do you mean 'throwing someone in'? What are you talking about?"
"I dunno who's doing it! I just want them to think before they do things like that!" the bear said. "Anyways, you should get out of here."
"But how?" Zoey interjected. "There is literally no way out of here."
"Simple! I'll get you out of here," the bear replied.
"Wait, you can do that?!" Chloe exclaimed in surprise. "Oh, thank goodness! We don't have to spend another minute here!"
The bear tapped his foot, and three TVs which were stacked magically appeared.
"Whoa!" the three girls exclaimed in surprise.
"Where did these TVs come from?" Nikki asked.
They appear in front of the TV screen to examine it further.
"Okay, now go! Get out of here!" the bear urged. "I'm a busy bear!"
Before anyone could respond, the bear pushed the three girls into the TV so they could return to the real world.