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Ziad said: "We won't be able to reach an understanding now, but our situation is difficult."
Suddenly, the dog's barking turned into a howl, as if it were wounded. Marwa examined it and found that its eye was injured and it would never see again. Marwa became furious, snatched the rifle from Malah's hand, aimed, and fired the first shot, hitting the soldier. Malah looked at the counter carefully and discovered that it had counted the shot the dog had received. Ziad sneered: "The counter couldn't tell the difference between the dogs and you, hahaha."
Malah said: "When we are alone, I'll show you what distinguishes me from the dogs."
Everyone noticed Marwa's sniper skills, reminiscent of the protagonist from The Last of Us—short black hair, a hoodie, jeans, and sneakers. She aimed and shot the soldier, tears forming in her eyes as memories flooded back.
We see little Marwa, who could not live in balance with her father, a sniper in the war and the country's top marksman, often absent from her life. The only memory she could hold of him was the times he taught her shooting and aiming, a result of her head trauma in a car accident with her mother. This saddened her, as she wished she could remember times with her father beyond sniper training.
Marwa hit the soldier with ten bullets without getting injured herself, driven by the overwhelming emotions and awakened memories. She paused for a moment, looking at the soldier with hatred until he exploded, revealing coloring sheets behind him.
The rest of the group got up, and Ziad dragged Marwa out of the room that reminded her of her father, causing her to tear up whenever she remembered something. Malah collected several rifles and weapons and caught up with the others.
Everyone slept except for Hussam and Adam. Hussam said: "I'll go look for Malah!"
At the same time, a message from Malah came through the radio: "I found Ziad, and Marwa is with him."
Hussam was delighted by the news and headed out toward Malah and Ziad. Adam followed him, and they moved to catch up.
In the absence of these two, Salma woke up, rubbing her eyes to identify the person entering the classroom. It was a tall, hideous teacher. As soon as she sat down, the teacher asked several cultural questions. Salma answered some but failed on the last one. Fear overtook her thoughts, making them chaotic, and in an instant, she tore the teacher's head off and left as the bell rang.
On the way, Malah, Ziad, and Marwa encountered Maryam, whom Malah knew was dead. He realized this was just a copy pretending to be kind and lost. Malah didn't react but waited for the right moment to kill her. Suddenly, a huge stuffed bear appeared in front of the group and said to Maryam: "Hug me!"
Maryam screamed: "No!!"
Suddenly, the bear lunged at her with immense speed, hugging her so tightly it seemed like it would crush her. Her monstrous nature revealed itself as tentacles burst out and pierced the bear. Malah took a knife and stabbed her in the head, then smashed her skull with a baseball bat. The bear let go and stood beside Malah, asking him the same thing—to hug him. Malah complied. The bear left, returned, and repeated the same request until Malah shouted to the group: "Open my bag! You'll find pictures of monsters and their weak points. Look for them, maybe you'll find it!"
Marwa did so and found a picture of the monster. She said: "Its weakness is fire!!"
Ziad said: "I know where we can find a fire weapon—in the room with the firefighter emblem. But Mohsen warned me that a creature is inside."
Malah said: "Hurry and save me quickly."
Marwa said to her dog: "If you remember the door, lead us there quickly, Hades!!!"
The dog ran, followed by Marwa and Ziad. On the way, they encountered Adam and Hussam, who asked Ziad: "What's happening!?"
Ziad replied: "Malah is with a random entity, and we need a fire weapon to defeat it!!"
The group reached the designated room and opened the door. A sprinkler turned on, drenching them and making it hard to run. A firefighter appeared holding the fire weapon they needed and a fire extinguisher. He ran around the room, leaving burn marks on the walls.
Adam whispered to Hussam: "Distract him; I'll get the fire extinguisher and do what I must!"
Hussam threw his flashlight at the firefighter, diverting him. Adam grabbed the extinguisher, slipped past his legs, and extinguished the fire with his feet, falling in front of Hussam and dropping the fire weapon, which Hussam threw to Ziad. The firefighter pierced Hussam's stomach with a burning shovel, setting himself and Hussam on fire like hellfire.
Ziad couldn't believe what happened to his friend and cried, remembering his burning face. Silence fell. Suddenly, Adam saw everyone left in the classroom approaching and asked: "Hey! Why did you leave the classroom!?"
Omnia said: "Salma was killed, and the classroom is no longer a safe place."
Suddenly, the place began shaking as if an earthquake struck. Marwa said: "The place will collapse. The Playroom will end soon, so you must leave now!!!"
Adam said: "We must begin the cleansing plan today, friends. Either we leave or die. We won't return to the classroom. Escaping requires facing any random entities in our path without fear."
The dog approached Kawthar, who recoiled and kicked him in his injured eye. He only wanted to be friendly, but she kicked him to defend herself. Kawthar screamed in pain. Adam said: "Diseases here reach their final stage. Kawthar is gone; don't try to save her."
Marwa said: "Thanks for accompanying me, Adam. There's no place for me here anyway. I'll leave to save my friend. Goodbye."
Omnia said: "She left as if she did nothing. Aren't you going to speak to her, Adam!?"
Adam: "No. Hurry, Malah is in trouble! Ziad, take us to him."
Omnia was stunned by Adam's words. They reached Malah, who was hugging the bear continuously. Adam said: "Only a little left for him to sleep with it."
Malah said: "You guys! I've been hugging this bear for an hour!"
Ziad grabbed the fire weapon and burned the bear until it turned to ashes, carried away by the wind.
As the group moved to find an exit, Manal dropped her phone. When she picked it up, everyone had disappeared. She saw that the world around her had vanished, leaving her standing atop a long pole reaching high into the sky. She remained frozen for hours until the pole disappeared, and she fell to her death the moment she touched the ground.
The group checked her condition—she had no prior illness or injuries. Amin ran his hand over her face, and Adam looked at her with despair. They all exchanged sad, helpless glances. Their eyes had dried from crying. Their personalities had changed; their hearts had hardened. Death had become ordinary to them due to its repetition. Perhaps they had gained strength but lost part of their humanity. Facing monsters had made them partially monstrous.
After the team left, a short, random entity appeared, dressed like a painter, carrying brushes. Its face was painted in multiple colors, with a mustache touching the ground. A drawing showed Manal atop the pole, revealing its ability to manifest fears on canvas, trapping a person in their own fear illusion.
The group, now like statues, fainted after inhaling green air, finding themselves in front of screens with a frog devouring part of their heads. A man appeared without round glasses, wearing a starry wizard hat, and said: "Surviving the Playrooms is impossible. But I can save you, letting you live your dreams and achieve your goals in eternal life. Now, my beautiful effect begins."
On an island with gentle winds, Adam, Amin, Omnia, and Malak inhaled the air first. The island was peaceful, with silent surroundings, still ocean waves, and seagulls' cries. Amin read and flipped book pages facing the sea, Omnia danced in her villa room, and Adam approached to sit beside Amin on the white sand. He said: "This book you are reading, I gave it to you. I wrote it."
Amin: "But the book is empty. Its words are dead."
Adam examined the book and asked: "How do you read blank pages?"
Amin: "We read the words with our hearts. Haven't you realized that? Not by speaking them aloud."
Adam: "Whatever you want or dream of doesn't come to you instantly. Sometimes it never comes. You dream."
Amin, with hollow eyes: "I know that."
Amin then pulled Adam to Omnia, holding her hands and saying: "Resist!!! You're dreaminggg!!!"
Malak slapped Omnia: "Human dreams never end, but human reality ends. You must accept the truth, not reject it."
Suddenly, Adam, Omnia, Malak, and Amin, sharing the same dream, woke up and left their rooms, which were adjacent, with their pictures on the walls. They went to Malah, who was dreaming of being the greatest boxer in history. They removed the frog from his head, and he grumbled: "If only you had waited, I could've beaten John Cena."
Adam kicked him: "John Cena in boxing? You're dreaming!!!!"
They went to Ziad, who dreamed of being the strongest person in the world, removed the frog, and beat him thoroughly to confirm he wasn't the strongest.
Next, they went to Yahya, noticing his picture was bleeding. They opened his room to find a giant frog seemingly swallowing him, watching on TV that Yahya had become the greatest player in history. He said: "I don't want to live in a world that hurts me and shatters my dreams. I'll let the waves take me." (He covered the TV with his hand.)
The companions left, searching for an escape as the place neared collapse. Adam said: "Notice that your tears didn't fall?" (smiling) "We've become harsher. The fear we face makes the worst possibilities seem simple. Many challenges await. We are now ready to live in our real world."
Ziad: "I don't think I can cry with tears again. I cry inside, bleeding internally."
Malah: "Friends, the corridor is blocked. Here's a door labeled 'Exit.' Perhaps we've reached the end!!"
Everyone rejoiced: "Hyaaaaaay! Marrrchaa!!!"
They passed through the door and found themselves in front of a house and farm, surrounded by darkness except for the house and farm. The door they entered through had become a painting on the wall.
Malah sat on the ground: "This is the last stage in the Playrooms, oooof…."
The group heard a scream and saw an old woman hitting Naama, Marwa's favorite friend, causing her to faint and be locked in a room. After a few minutes, they heard Naama crying again.
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