Aris had no chance to refuse. Fear coursed through him as they trudged towards the Doors. The Doors split open, allowing them a path. A bat-like creature, trudging towards them, then vanishing down a corner, told him exactly why he'd need weapons.
"So is that why we need weapons?" he inquired Rachel. Rachel smiled.
You'll figure it out, she responded. Before he could form an answer in his mind, she continued on, How can we communicate like this? The Icers would think we're nuts. What's going on, Aris? Something inserted in our minds or something? She sounded so genuinely curious, he wished to inform her, but knew he couldn't sever the promise with his other telepathy partner.
I've no idea, Rachel. He wanted to inform her what Teresa, his other telepathy friend told him, but she said if he did, there would be severe consequences. Wall Five was beginning to swap sides with Wall Three now, shifting as they groaned, and he lifted a brow.
They began jotting down notes. Aris scrawled with his trembling hand, before he heard a machinery click approaching. Rachel snapped her head up. A pod was beginning to split open, revealing the bulbous creature with its moans. Without thinking, he thrust a knife into the creature's body.
Sonya was staring at it and chucked her arrow from her sheath towards it. It moaned softly and finally retreated to some sort of circular item. They continued trudging towards the end of the Maze. A Shade moaned softly, vanishing into the distance, presumably to a pod.
***
Aris, Rachel, and Sonya sat on a tiny bench attached to the Maze's Walls, shielded by a few branches hanging on the Walls. Sonya fished out a sandwich she'd packed and took a cautious bite. "This is what we do. Today, it is Wall Seven that is shifting." Aris nodded, cramming the last bite of sandwich into his mouth.
"You done?" he asked, gulping down his thermo of water. Sonya nodded and began scrawling notes on her sheet. "Are we at the end of the corridor?"
"Yeah, we'll return home now," Sonya said confidently. "At least, Seven opened today, which never occurred, anyway. Let's go." She slung her pack over her shoulders and Aris trailed after her, but before he could make a movement towards it, someone was kissing him.
He froze, as someone's hand traveled down his face. The mouth was something of warmth, and he began to savor the taste. The person pulled him into an embrace, and Aris felt his entire body tingle. The person moaned in his mouth, before the lips withdraw
***
Oh, no. Aris felt in a state of panic. He'd kissed someone. Who was it, he did not know. "Hurry up!" Rachel shouted, breaking his train of thought. She looked at him, a flicker of--lust?--in her eyes. He swallowed the saliva that formed in his throat. "We have to return to the Spring now."
"Are the Doors closing?"
"They are shutting down in seven minutes, hurry up!" Sonya called out, voice panicked.
Adruptly, she cried out, and Aris saw her kicking wildly at the Shade's prickly arm. He leaped onto it, fired an arrow, which allowed time for the Shade to release its grip and free Sonya. She offered a timid smile, as Aris squatted down next to her. "I suppose we should go now, huh?"
When they reached the Spring, Aris felt fatigue settling in. "I'm going to retire to bed," he said, yawning over his voice. He set off towards the round of cabins, and reached his bed. When he finally settled into his blankets, he adruptly wished he could recall all the memories that were fading, other than Teresa.
Teresa? he said. Can you hear me out?
Yes, she responded enthusiastically. What is it?
No, just testing the telepathy, he said. I'm a Skater now; I'm exploring the Maze, here the Walls shift every day. We'll discover an exit, I'm certain. His eyes flickered to the ceiling, the single lightbulb that hung limply from a chain. We can do this, eventually.
You think so?
Positive. He decided to connect with Rachel now. I wish we wouldn't be entrapped here. I'm going to discover an exit, I promise you. We'll return to a home....where we are under someone's care.
He swore to his life he would flee this area. He wished he would remember his previous life--parents who loved him, longed for him, maybe even a sibling or two who wanted him. He was glad of Rachel's presence, though. Even now, he felt Rachel beside him.
***
Aris woke up, feeling hollow. Had he eaten? No, he must have drifted off the second he had retreated to the Spring. He crept out of the Cabin and strolled across the snow to the kitchen, two girls keeping an eye on it and they allowed him in. His brows furrowed.
"Why would you keep an eye on the room?" he questioned, passing the girls.
"You want too many sticky responses," one of the girls murmured. Aris shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you're a Skater now, so I suppose I'll offer some respect in return. We guard it because we don't want Shades stepping into it in the dead of night."
"Do they ever?" Aris felt a chill seep through his veins.
"A few times, it did, but some unheard voice calls them away, and they're gone," the girl replied. A girl was shoving some food into the fridge, others were chopping food. He loaded his bowl with cereal and wolfed it down, lingering on the flakes, before Rachel approached him and guided him away.
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