Hi, guys,
Some motivation kicked back in. So, I'll update a really short chapter for you all. Just so you know, I haven't been updating in three weeks.
To let you all know, I'm really bad a writing, not to mention I AM NOT a patient writer. So, here's what's going to happen. I think leaving this book unfinished feels wrong. Very wrong. Instead, I'm going to shorten the length and number of all chapters. It will be short, quick, and easy to read. I just wanna jump onto another book, which I've edited left and right, but haven't yet published. Thanks for taking interest in mybook.
Rachel ignited a lantern, illuminating his face. He sat up, and she settled down next to him and into the blankets. "Rachel," he whispered, grasping her cheeks and darting his tonguely carefully across her lips. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have swap spit with--her like--
"Aris, hush," Rachel said softly. "What matters is that we need to discover a code. Examine those letters." She exhaled a breath. "Do you recall anyything?" She thrust her fingers out, intertwining her hands. He peered down at them. "So, do you?" she pressed on.
"No," Aris murmured. "Unfortunately, I don't." He grasped her cheeks and captured her lips gently, tasted of misery and lips. He could barely apprehend what was going on. "But think about the letters--the Walls are repetitive, and there's numbers and letters all over it. So, we have to decode it."
He felt her hands wrap securely around his waist. He snatched a spare blanket and draped it around them. Cuddling together, his hands grasped her cheeks again and captured her lips. Exguinishing the flame from the lantern with his lips, he drifted off in the bed.
"Aris!“ someone called in the distance.
Then the footsteps retreated.
He glanced up to see Sonya gaping at them. He felt shame and opened his mouth to apologize, but then, Rachel flung herself at Sonya and rained punches upon her face. She shoved her against the wall, causing Sonya's foot to catch on a steely threshold and land on the ground."Quit it, you two!"
Aris roared as the girls wrestled with each other. Sonya looked furious, tackling her to the ground, and he finally leaped onto her, restraining her wrists "What the hell are you thinking?" he hissed into her ear. Sonya snapped her head up, raining a few punches on his face as well.
"It's all your fault! I was batting eyes with you, and you betrayed me."
"Oh, yeah? That's your conclusion? I have the right to love anyone." But he'd said that was partly because of his remorse. Red amber eyes, pursed lips, Sonya let out an inaudible sniffle, before setting off, wracking Aris with nothing, but utter, complete remorse inside of him.
***
Aris caught a few fish and retreated to the kitchen. Roasted over the fire, they were better than any. He then scurried off to the kitchen, with a loaded basket. "Oh, thank you," a girl said, accepting the container of fish. She gingerly loaded each plate with fish, and he closed the door with a gentle click.
"Aris!" Sonya sped over to him. "We might've discovered an exit."
"What?" Optisum flared up in him. "True?"
"True." Sonya nodded firmly. "Let's go. I've packed the bagged lunches already, we have to figure it out. There's like, a chain latch at the end of the Maze. We've explored most of the Maze, and I had just gone in there last night--"
"Last night?" Aris said incredulously. "When the Walls were shutting down for the night?"
"Well, near that time. I fled from the Maze before those Walls slammed on me. But it was enough to see a very new opening to be revealed," Sonya said in a thrilling voice. Her face, however, fell like a deflated balloon when she spied Rachel strolling towards them, her lips transforming into a sneer. "Hey," she said icily
Rachel, please don't battle with her again, Aris begged. We have to flee from this safety of prison first.
Okay, she responded casually. But once we're out of here, she'll pay for all the kisses, she's planted on you.
Aris almost let out a sarcastic laugh but clamped his mouth shut. Sonya lifted a brow and set off. She handed out three backpacks with food, and Aris chewed on a granola bar while scurrying off towards the entrance of the Maze and finally stepped into the depths of it.
***
They bolted through the transforming Maze. He continued to write in notes whenever a Wall decided to switch with another one; two of them were rearranging themselves at the same time. He noticed that Sonya had halted when that occurred and looked over his shoulder.
"What?"
"Two Walls aren't supposed to rearrange themselves at the same time. One at a time," Sonya responded. Aris felt shiver of enthusiasm course though him. He drew in a breath. "Maybe...." There was a glint of optimism in her eyes and voice. "Maybe there is an exit." The Walls quit rearranging themselves again.
They bolted through the zigzagging corridors, avoiding to collide into Walls. Aris scrawled down notes, as the Wall Five swapped with Two. Eventually Sonya announced, "Break time," and plopped down on the ground. Aris reached for the hastily prepared sandwich and devoured it.
Rachel spoke to him in his mind. Two Walls arranged themselves at them same time--what do you think?
Sounds nuts, he responded. But....let's keep that in mind, we'll have an exit, eventually. He offered a tender grin, giving the girl a wink, as they continued bolting towards the Spring. Aris simply informed Harriet that there was nothing new by today, and decided to stride over to Rachel.
"Rachel," he whispered. He leaned in, capturing her lips gently. She draped her arms around his waist and they settled into a hammock. "What are we supposed to do?" he questioned her, stepping up to her. She closed her eyes and stared up at him, drawing closer to him.
"I have no idea. Let's go to the Map Igloo, must figure out that code of ours," she said in a determined voice. "So the terms, maze and spring, and other terms like snowfall has been continuing over and over and over again. There has to be something we are all missing out."
"Deer?" Aris murmured. He had noticed there was several animals in the Spring, sauntering across powdery snow, sniffing here and there, waiting to have a hunk of raw meat thrust at them. Rachel nodded, eliminating her skates and hanging them in a closet. "You slaughter them?""
"Yeah. We use their meat," Rachel explained. "Feed ourselves."
These people are....savages! Aris bit back a laugh that threatened to choke out of his mouth. As if on cue, a girl jabbed a knife into a deer and dragged the carcass back towars the kitchen. "Hell, I am so famished. I better not retch when I feast on the food, " Rachel announced, guiding him towards the kitchen.
When they arrived, they were served with chicken and dumplings. Aris gobbled it down hungrily, almost disappointed when his bowl was vacant. He wolfed down a thick slice of bread and stepped out of the kitchenette. He strode towards his cabin and settled in.
Rachel stepped in shortly, her breath flowing over his face and stretched out on a cot. She thrust a handful of papers at him. "I....suppose there's something, about this Maze. I mean--there's strange things occurring right now....like the entire world is about to end--"
"What?" Aris questioned, astonished. Weren't they supposed to be safe and secure in the Spring? He stepped out of the room tentatively, feeling his insides contract, as everything had gone very violent and wrong, and, surprisingly, terrifyingly, impossibly, the Walls were kept open.
Two minutes passed. Then three, four, five. Then sixty minutes. Aris felt his entire body throb with exhaustion as he remained on the spot. Finally, he concluded, the Walls would not be closing, securing them all in. The truth of the Spring had finally dawned on him. They'd never be safe and secure here.
ns 18.68.41.148da2
