AllFreeNovel
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We’ve been walking for hours and I’m done. I throw my hands up in the air and fall to my butt.
“I’m not going any farther. This is ridiculous,” I cry out, exhausted. “There’s no end in sight. How long are we going to be traveling in a straight line to nowhere?”
Law takes a seat next to me, pulling off his backpack and retrieving the food we grabbed at the airport.
He hands me a wrapped sandwich and a bag of potato chips. “Might as well eat.”
“That’s another thing. We didn’t pack enough food to last us the rest of the day.”
I lay back amongst the tulips and shove the basic turkey, cheddar, and mayo into my mouth. The bread is a tad stale, but I’m so hungry at this point, I don’t bother complaining.
“Couldn’t Madame Solheim have given us a little more information?”
He grunts. “It’s cute that you even ask that. We’ve been over this... more questions than answers.”
He isn’t kidding. She sent us on a wild goose chase through an infinite field that’s likely to drive us mad.
We eat in silence. I save half of my food just in case, packing it up and stuffing it back into Law’s bag. Then I lie back on my elbows and enjoy the feel of the bright sun sliding over my skin and warming me.
It feels different. It’ directly above us, and yet I’m comfortable. No sweat. No burning. It’s more like a soft caress, enveloping me in a hug.
“Something’s off about this place,” I say.
“We walked through an energy field under the roots of a tree. I think it’s safe to say everything is wrong with this place,” Law responds, taking another bite of his sandwich.
My eyes search the area, landing on a row, twelve feet long, of all red tulips.
“I’ve seen that.”
I jump to my feet and run a hundred yards ahead, continuing to swivel my head all around, taking in the surroundings. That’s when I realize it’s nothing but a carbon copy.
Every hundred yards, the same cluster of trees is in the same location, followed by a row of red tulips. So out of place, when the rest of the field is intermixed with the yellow.
“It’s a labyrinth.”
Law walks up behind me, placing his hand on my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s a trick,” I say, turning toward him. “We would’ve kept walking forever and gotten nowhere.” Hysterical laughter bubbles up from my chest.
Law looks at me like I’ve sprouted a horn. Or more likely, like I’m losing my mind.
“This is one giant maze, likely created to drive a person insane,” I say, taking off toward the trees. “There’s got to be a hidden passageway around here somewhere.”
I run my hands over the tree bark and through the air, feeling for any hard surface that isn’t visible due to an illusion.
After another hour of that, I want to scream when I find nothing to support my theory.
“What are you doing, sunshine?”
“Help me look. There has to be a hidden door... or something that we’re missing.”
I stomp my foot, screeching in frustration. “I know we’re missing something.”
The sun is shaded by a moving cloud, but it’s so fast I look up in time to see wings.
It’s a bird.
“Veda.” The word slips out of my mouth, and my head snaps to the sky. “Veda!” I call out, willing my guardian to hear me.
