My legs pumped harder as I heard breathing, laborious and rasping like an old man’s.
Thatcouldn’tbe my imagination.
I flew down the next right turn, forgetting to check for the blood scent until I was already ten feet down the new passageway. It smelled weaker here.
Crap.
I considered turning around, but the footsteps were still behind me. And then I heard a low, guttural sound, halfway between a growl and a groan.
Whatever was following me had two feet but didn’t sound human.
It gave me a sudden flashback to a story I’d read once, involving a Greek Prince, a labyrinth, and a giant, horned beast, but I shoved it aside.
It wasn’t helping.
Whatever followed me, its unsettling noises cemented my resolve to keep running. I couldn’t be sure it was real, but after being locked in a tank with that sea monster, I didn’t feel like finding out.
I ran faster, hooking a left turn down anotherpassageway, where the coppery scent grew even weaker. I cursed under my breath, knowing I needed to turn around and find my way back to the trail.
I had to get whatever was following me off my back.
Its heavy footsteps still thudded behind me, its laborious breathing bordering on wheezing, and I poured on the speed, dashing down another opening to my right, then my left, and then another right, then left and right again… until its footsteps grew fainter, and I was pretty sure I had lost it. At least, for now.
I hoped I hadn’t lost myself, too.
I slowed, needing to somehow pick up the blood scent again. I couldn’t retrace my steps without risking bumping into that thing again—and besides, I doubted I’d be able to remember the route after all the twists and turns I’d taken. Which meant one of the turns in this part of the maze had to lead me back on track. Otherwise, I could be screwed.
I pounded through six more twists and turns, still struggling to pick up the scent, until finally, I stumbled onto it again when I emerged in a short passageway that spanned less than six feet. Another opening stood at the end of it and I hurried through.
Emerging on the other side, I realized I was finally close enough to accurately pinpoint the direction of the adults’ screams. I needed to turn left.
I also became aware of an abrupt spike in temperature.
At first, I put that down to my own body heat, after all the running I’d done, but as I ventured deeper into the maze, picking my way closer and closer to the screaming, I knew it wasn’t just me.
My forehead broke out in a heavy sweat as increasingly hot air pressed in against me from all sides. After two more minutes of running, it became so close to unbearable that I almost considered turning back. But the cries were closerthan ever now and the metallic scent had never been stronger.
I pressed onward, even as my mouth dried out, and I blinked rapidly to prevent my eyes from doing the same.
The closer I sensed I was getting, the faster I wanted to go, but the heat made it impossible. I felt my legs lagging, my breath wavering, and it was all I could do to maintain my pace.
I ploughed on, until a few minutes later, I stumbled into a passageway with a tall doorway at the end of it.
This doorway was different than any I’d come across before. It contained an actual door, which was closed and surrounded by a bright orange aura.
Fire crackled on the other side, I could feel its intense heat seeping through the cracks.
But why on earth would they have lit a fire? And why could I detect no smoke?
I stopped three feet in front of the door, watching the firelight licking the cracks. The screams undeniably came from behind it.
What was I supposed to do? Open it? What if the handle burned my skin?
The sound of footsteps returned behind me. The rasping breathing returned along with it, echoing once more in my ears. I jerked my hand toward the door’s handle, closing my eyes and bracing myself for pain.
The handle did not burn me. It was completely cool. I wrapped my whole right hand around it, twisted the knob and shoved my weight against the door. It swung open seconds before the footsteps reached me and I barreled through to the other side. I slammed the door shut behind me and jammed the knob back down into its closed position.
I slid to the floor, panting.
