"Aris, let's go!"
Aris glanced up, spying Rachel striding towards an igloo-like structure. He hurried after her, resting his palms along the jagged areas--the den had been carved in an igloo-shaped, even the surface was white with jagged lines. He hesistated at the entrance, then crossed over the the threshold.
The flickering flames illuminated the cave, everyone talking over each other. Aris sat down at a wooden bench and Rachel plopped down beside him and handed him a mug. "Here," she said, grinning. "A mug of cider just for you." Aris sniffed into it, wanted to pass, but gulped the see-through liquid. She stared into the flames.
Aris started to question her, but then, a side-door slid open at the other end of the den. Aris's heart nearly leaped out of his chest at the small movement, earning a chuckle from Rachel and the other girls. Harriet strode in, and sat down on a high chair, nodding towards everyone
Everyone nodded respectfully in response. Harriet spoke something, and a girl rose to her feet and passed out plates of biscuits. He looked down at the grimy bread, the, crumbs surrounding the food and accepted the food, though he'd truly wanted to pass.
"All right, then, light up that fire and let our hearts ignite!:" Harriet shouted. Everyone thrust wood into the flames, causing it to rise more, but the entire area thankfully didn't go down in flames. She sat at the stool, eyeing every Icer in amusement. "We have a newcomer, just a few days ago. His name is Aris, please welcome him!"
Some girls booed and scowled; others grinned at him, offering embraces and kisses on cheeks and other welcoming gesteres. Afterwards, Harriet sat down. "Time for my inspirational speech. We've been in the Maze for over three years, never figured out that maze, but we'll continue trying and never quit it! One day, we will....and now that we have a Newbie, he can assist us."
Aris was astonished. Certainly, he thought they'd sentence him to some sort of death, or whatever. He kept on a perfectly poker face and smiled and nodded. Everyone managed to get down to eating. Aris spoke in Rachel's mind at this time while everyone was into their food.
Three years?
Rachel looked up, startled, but nodded. Well, at least that's what they told me. I arrived the day before you did, remember?
Um, yeah. I never thought it was that long. Aris hung his head. Three years, he thought. Haven't they thought of giving in? Of just....dying here?
It was an idiotic thought. If it was him, he would want to flee, and restore his memories. He fingered with his hands and devoured the biscuits. Everyone was rising, brushing off crumbs, and Harriet smirked at him "You have some cleaning to do, boy. Get your bottom striding."
Oh, yeah. Aris obediently rose to his feet and shuffled away. Opening the storage room, he snatched the handle of the bucket and loaded it with supplies. When he finally reached there, he began scrubbing the tiled floor and clearing the crumbs. When he retreated to his room, his mind shut down and he dozed off.
Someone tapped on the door the next morning. Aris had fallen into a deep slumber on his perch on the trunk. He hurriedly reclaimed his spot on the mattress and thrust the pillows around to look like he was in the tousling in the bed the entire night.
He perched on the bed. "Step in," he said gravely.
Sonya stepped into the room and flung herself at him. "You know, you missed out on the entire thing. You were elected and approved as a Skater, because you cleared out the bathrooms, granite tops, and whatnot! Let's go."
"But Harriet said--"
Sonya rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. She saw you sweep that floor clean and approved. Congratulations, Aris, don't miss out your chance." She stepped back, giving him some breathing room. He hurriedly pulled on a jacket and stepped out of the cabin.
For the first time, he managed to get a glimpse of the cabin inside before he closed the door. The bed he was in had a very thin mattress, a pillow, and several blankets. Curiously, while the girls darted towards the kitchen, talking over each other, he inched back into his room and pulled open drawers to discover very simple garments, jackets, coats, long-sleeved shirts, and leggings. I was so right, he thought. Whoever thrust us in here, already knew what sort of climate this was going to be. He closed the drawers and stepped out to greet Sonya.
"So, what are we going to do?" Aris asked eagerly, trailing after his lecturer. Sonya chuckled lightly, guiding him through the corridors of the Spring, approaching the jagged building of stones. Aris wondered if he was the first one to be so eager and that was why it amused her.
Sonya guided him to the jagged white rocks forming the same building he'd seen. The Igloo. His eyes widened slightly, thinking back how all he spent the time with all the girls. He trailed after her, as she stepped into the Igloo. "Okay now--" She flung open a closet door.
The logs remained in place, the high chair Harriet sat on was folded and leaning up against the wall, and there was now a table, surrounded by seven chairs. Sonya smirked, then averted her attention back to the closet, before she stepped back with a smile.
Aris stared out the supplies, mouth agape. There were backpacks occupied in the closet, weapons on each shelf, winter gear, thermo water bottles, and figure skates. Sonya passed a pack into his hands, already having water bottles and passed him a winter gear.
He pulled on a thick, fluffy coat. "This is nuts, " he muttered, zipping up his coat. "They provide you with those supplies? I thought they want you to be entrapped here. It's like they're inviting you into the real world, but never freeing you from the Spring."
Sonya was cramming the supplies into the backpack and handing it to Rachel. "Yeah, well, we requested the supplies. Slip a note straight into the Box, and they decide to whether ship the supplies or not. We've requested several maps, but that was never granted and instead they delivered a ton of A4 sheets. We decided to map the entire Maze ourselves."
Rachel was fumbling through the weaponry and snatched a bow and a sheath of arrows and a small pistol. Aris selected a knife, two sharpened spears, and a sheath of arrows to chuck at, and she commented in his mind how that was a great idea as he lengthened the weapons.
She set a sheet in front of him. "Now look at this. We have to hurry."
Sonya sat down next to him and sketched out seven boxes. "Each one represents one Wall. We call it wall, but it's a space that opens when the Walls themseleve shift. We inspect them, see when those Walls split open, if anything is revealed for us. We go through all Walls, Wall One, shifted last week on Monday."
Monday. Aris felt like some memory, dangling within his reach, reached his brain. He forgot that almost the days had a name, then recalled the calendar in the Cabin 7. He willed it away, then returned his attention back to the Wall One. "So, which one is rearrange themselves today?"
"No idea. I suppose Wall Four, maybe?" Sonya shrugged. "Now let's go fetch some food."
Aris was glad as he followed Sonya few steps behind her, that they were attempting to pass the time. He retrieved a few eggs from the carton and watched as it solidified in the oily pan and transferred the eggs and sausages onto three plates. They quietly wolfed down the food, no one daring to speak.
"Ready?" Sonya said after her last bite of eggs. Aris shoved the last hunk of toast into his mouth. He didn't know what to say, so he just nodded, and grabbed his weapons.
Aris felt fear coursing through him and stared down at the bow and arrow, as Rachel inserted a hand pistol through her belt. No more talking, no more discussing, nor regrets, they were prepared. They were going into the Maze, and there was no say whether they'd be alive afterward.
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