Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Those few months of preparation time went significantly faster than any of them could have really anticipated, progress was steady and noticeable as everyone steadily began to feel more and more capable with the task at hand. Since the day at the meeting and those following weeks, everyone had slotted into some semblance of organisation. And every day felt busier than the last. Each of them knew it would be worth it though, that pursuit of the way out pushed them through each session. For Owen it was nice to have the routine back, getting to show so many of his fellow clearing members the ropes when it came to different weapons. And for Mohwee it was the chance to run different routes than he had been the last few months, testing out if there were any separate paths which led them towards something unknown. They’d both been keeping tabs on each other’s work, checking in on how progress was going for the maze and how everyone was fairing when it came to physical training. Neither were easy hurdles to jump but things had been going relatively well. 

A month or so in they met by the meeting area, Mohwee had a map set up. Loosely put together out of sliced up chunks of wood to mimic the pathways of the maze, it had been something he and Oeca seemed to be working on non stop alongside training smaller groups ready to traverse the maze. They both leant over, staring down at the pathways, some had been painted in red dye while others were in a rough green. The main one was a vibrant yellow tone, uncertain but clear. It was the path they’d followed on that day, the one which led to the tunnel and almost certainly led out into the greater expanse of the maze.
The only issue being beyond that they’d had no indication or idea for what could lay out there. There was no way to prepare for possible traps, other creatures or anything. 

“Based on what we’ve been running, it's a loop.” Mohwee spoke with clear certainty as he pointed along the main route and through a couple of the individual points where it split off. “Me and Oeca found where the maze links up to the side gate near Rasbi’s house and the one where Kyle and Acho came from. We have a rough idea where the other one comes out but it’s crawling with creatures. Not just those big ones either.”
Owen leant over from the opposite side of the table, nodding as he watched over each pathway. They’d had a little hope that maybe there was another way through, another split that could lead them out. It was one small compromise they were trying quietly, that way if the hunt didn’t have to happen it wouldn’t. But today, that small meeting had confirmed for him that if there was another way out, it wasn’t anywhere nearby. Their chance came at the cost of getting the creature confined and killed. 

“Ok well it was worth the try at least. And hey.” He smiled, reaching over to pat Mohwee’s shoulder reassuringly. “At least we’ve got the route marked clear. There’s barely any traps from point A to B. The arrow one in this first corridor was disabled months ago, the jungle in that direction is clear…it’s really just those blades we need to concern ourselves with.”
Mohwee nodded in clear, certain agreement. In all their months of planning, some of the runners had also worked on disabling as many of the traps as possible. At least so when they were training people didn’t get injured. A few of the wire traps were re-routed just without any of the arrows. So it really was just a case of the blades outside the tunnel.
“Every time we’ve been up there, they’re open and not moving. Best guess is they work at night. So…just don’t leave too late in the day and we’re fine.”

Owen chuckled lightly, a smile crossing his face as he looked back up from the map and back over at Mohwee almost incredulously.
“I think we’ll make sure not to head through there during the middle of the night.” He shook his head as he turned back to the map again, his tone shifting back to one somewhat more serious as he pondered over a few thoughts. It wasn’t long before he mentioned those very thoughts to the runner across from him. “You raise a good point though. We really don’t know how far out we’ll need to go once we’re through that tunnel. If it’s more than a day’s journey, which knowing this place is likely. We need to start talking about how we’re going to set up camp out there.” 

Mohwee kept his eyes focused on the map in front of him for a moment, eyes scanning over what corridors they had already gotten to know over their few years in the maze. He ran a hand over his jaw, leaning against the table more as he mulled it over. Through the corner of his eyes, he glanced back up at Owen.
“Mhm. Well we need to avoid those big creatures too. So once we’re through that tunnel we look for gaps in the walls. Up off the floor. You remember when you came into the maze early on, when I got trapped out in the other section.”
It had been so long ago now, during the very first week. When he impulsively said he’d do anything to try and get a friend back and ended up spending a night out in the maze. Unprepared and uncertain but he had made it. He got the gist of what exactly Mohwee was trying to ask him, he needed to recount exactly what he’d done to make it through that night.
“Yeah I managed to get up to those thicker vines, set up camp there for the night. I get what you mean though. We could look for overhangs, thinner corridors where those things can’t get through, keep someone on watch. Switch shifts through the night. That way at the very least we’re prepared if something does go wrong.” 

Mohwee didn’t totally hate the idea. He too had done whatever he had to during those days, when he’d managed to slip into the areas where it roamed free. Where it was a lot harder to hide.
“There’ll definitely be thinner spaces. Those things aren’t everywhere though, we just have to hope we get a little lucky.”
And Owen chuckled again. Looking over fully once more.
“Luck in this place? We can only hope.” As light hearted as he was being, he knew that their luck within the maze had never been the best. This whole thing was going to be leading them directly into uncharted waters, as much as they knew some of what they could be facing, they had no way to know what could happen. They had no idea whether or not the walls would give them anywhere for respite, if it would be kind enough to allow them to rest. Owen found himself wondering if they’d end up having to just rest during short bursts in the day, if things would really be that unkind to them. He had to just had to stick to what he’d said, hold onto the hope he had. There would be places out there where they could rest up, they’d found sections which would work well enough inside the parts of the maze they’d already explored. It was very plausible that it would be the same beyond the tunnel. 

Mohwee chuckled to himself too. “Yeah I know. Wishful thinking. Anyway, we’ve got the route. We’ve got the ideas for if this is a longer trip.” He clicked his fingers, finally looking up fully from the map and pointing at Owen. “How’s the training sessions going?” 

“They’re going better than expected. Everyone’s got at least one weapon they’re getting used to. Graecie, Acho, Magic and Ayngel are working with Krow to practice using the daggers, I think Oeca’s sat in on a few sessions too but you know he’s usually mapping.” He nodded through each person, listing off the specifics. “Guts was showing Bek the ropes with the sword so that’ll be all good soon. Maybe within the next few months even. Apo’s been working with Rasbi, Squidney and Spidey just to run a few refreshers since they’ve had practice already. And then Kyle’s been working with me some days. Which reminds me Ayngel has some more bow practice this afternoon.”
Mohwee nodded, he knew he also had to go and talk to Graecie to update her on the map. They’d all been keeping each other in the loop a lot more in recent months, setting up the whole plan was taking time but it was working out relatively well. He’d been pretty hesitant to say he was part of any greater leadership but there was a system in place and it had been working in their favour. 

“I’ve gotta check in with Graecie anyway but it’s good to hear it’s all good.” 

Owen hummed momentarily, running a hand over the back of his neck.
“Yeah. How about you, maze training going ok?” 

The younger runner gave him a pretty determined thumbs up, it had been going a lot better than he first thought for.
“Yup. Soup’s been using some days as a chance to look for potion ingredients but that works out well for us anyway.” Mohwee shrugged nonchalantly as he spoke, from the earlier sessions where it had been more of a risk there was a definite improvement. “She’s not setting off every trap now so that’s something….but even if it were an issue I think with all of us out there, we’ll have her back. Pretty much everyone else has been in at least once so it’s just refreshing them, Ayngel is still watching out but she’s doing well. And I’ve heard that Graecie’s doing better with the whole water thing. Not totally swimming but getting there.”
Owen smiled softly at that, nodding momentarily. It was good to hear that their respective areas were working out, splitting the sessions meant they could each focus on what really needed doing and it meant every single person was getting the chance to prepare to the best of their abilities. 

“That’s good. We can run some sparring sessions later in the week, to see how people fare. Gives them a chance to train but makes it a bit more fun?” He suggested, much to Mohwee’s interest. It didn’t seem like a bad idea either, though they would definitely be using some of the fake weapons. They’d had a few wooden ones set up anyway for training so they could be put to use. 

“So…” Mohwee hesitated and Owen found himself glancing back at the map once more. There was one route in particular, in a different colour to all of the others besides the apparent way out itself. A purple colour which spiraled through the jungle, past the pond where Magic used to meet Ash before stopping outside the den. “You think we’re almost ready?”
Owen was quiet for a moment, it had been just over a month now. The lava had risen up higher, there had been a day where Graecie and Rasbi had to check up on the bunkers. Just to make sure the pets which were carefully kept in them weren’t at risk, they’d been moved back to the surface but then later that week the lava had taken over. The fruit trio’s bunker, the cheesecake factory, was gone entirely. And Graecie’s carefully put together bunker had also been overflown. They were losing what little assurances they had in their clearing with each passing day and even though they were each progressing with training, it was still risky to jump the gun. 

“I’d say give it a couple more weeks. We had five months tops, that’s dropped to four now. I think it’s best we give everyone a chance to get fully prepared before we go on the hunt. Because once that’s done we’re ready to go. I want to get a few more arrows made before then anyway. I’ll talk to Guts about that later when I check in about the armour. But then. Once those few weeks are up….yeah I think we will be.” 

It wasn’t a perfect answer but Mohwee accepted it, they weren’t going to rush into this. They’d made sure that people knew that when they had said they’d be going to kill the creature in the first place. The plan had to be thought through and that would take time.
“I think closer to the time we can start training as a group. That way we can fully work with each other, see how we can bounce off each other to make certain we get this thing once and for all. And then maybe a few days before we have one more sit down, with everyone who’s going for sure and make sure we’re all ready.”
Mohwee tilted his head once in agreement. 

“Sounds like a plan. Well. I’d say this was a good talk, I’ve gotta go now but you know where I am.” He patted Owen on the back once before heading off to go and look for Graecie. Leaving the other leader to go about his business. 

It would turn out that finding Graecie was nowhere near as difficult as Mohwee thought it would be. Heading up down the stony path led him further through the clearing and over towards the training grounds, just shy of where Guts had set up their forge. He could already see a few figures shifting around the area, wooden training weapons in hand and for a moment he wasn’t entirely sure, but then when he got closer he knew exactly who they were. Graecie was standing to one side holding what looked like a javelin, while Rasbi was across from her holding two short swords. The latter of the two raised one sword and took a swing, Graecie raised the javelin up to block the hit. Twisting the wooden beam round to swing it at the other free sword. Rasbi blocked the attack, swiping down with the other sword to swipe at Graecie’s knee. The sound of wood hitting echoed through the air. Graecie turned the javelin, twisting it over Rasbi’s arm before bringing her other knee up to disarm her of one sword. From what Mohwee was watching, she was getting a lot better at holding her own in each of the brief sparring sessions. Usually she practiced with Acho or Magic but today was different. He leant against one of the climbing walls, letting them work on their own business rather than interrupting right away. Rasbi shifted back, ducking past another swipe. Managing to roll across the ground so that she was posed behind Graecie and with another swipe she caught her behind the knee. The other girl buckled onto one knee but she could see that Rasbi was still behind her. And with one swift motion, she jabbed the javelin past the side of her knee and swiped at Rasbi’s ankles. Just enough that it threw her off guard and sent her backwards towards the ground, the second shortsword dropping to the side. And as she rolled, grabbing it and turning back onto her back in preparation to leap back up at her target, Graecie had shifted back to her feet. So when Rasbi fully turned onto her back again, sword pointing upwards, she was staring down. The end of the javelin pointed towards her forehead. 

“Fair game?” Graecie chuckled and Rasbi found herself smiling after a moment, nodding as she accepted defeat. Graecie offered a hand out to her, which she took. And like that she hauled the other girl back to her feet. It was at that moment that she spotted Mohwee lingering nearby. She leant the javelin against the edge of the training area. Wandering over to see him. 

“Hey! How’d the catch up with Owen go?” She asked cheerfully. Things had been pretty busy on her end but after the meeting, she’d steadily gotten back to being herself. The concern for those wanting to go on the hunt was still present but she was a little more confident in them now and whatever happened, Graecie was determined to remain positive.
“Good. Good. We’ve got the route in mind for sure now, he’s told me how training’s going. I kept him in the loop about how the runners are doing. We’ll get the group together later but sounds like the hunt’s happening in the next few weeks.”
Graecie nodded, it wasn’t totally enthusiastic but she figured if it was going to happen it would be soon. They’d spent a month now preparing, training and working through everything they’d need to learn. They’d all spent hours climbing, running, fighting and figuring out other basic survival skills just on the off chance the plans didn’t work out well enough. 

“Okay.” She ran a thumb over the palm of her opposite hand, the nerves starting to crawl back up again. Because this meant the time was getting closer, soon they’d be getting out of the maze. And stepping back out into a world they could hardly remember, to say things were still uncertain would be an understatement. Nevertheless, she kept a smile on her face. “Well that’s cool, once you’ve all figured out when you’re going I’ll let people know. We can start packing up that way.” 

Mohwee pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning on previously to walk over a little closer, he knew there were a few other things to talk about and people wouldn’t necessarily be too happy about them. But Graecie was the leader of their clearing and she was the person to go to when it came to those issues.
“...You know once we’re heading out to do that someone needs to take the pets to the other clearing?”
Graecie paused, her eyes drifting down to stare at the grass. Where patches had started to lose their vibrant greens as the heat turned them a more dull tan tone. She knew they’d mentioned where the pets would go ever since the lower bunkers got flooded but the conversation had always been brushed aside in favour of more important issues. Deep down though she knew. Mohwee’s hand rested on her shoulder, just a small bit of reassurance. She was quiet for a moment, even if they wanted to bring the animals with them they couldn’t. There was no way of ensuring their safety, especially not within the depths of the maze. After a breath she spoke up again.
“I know…I just didn’t want to think about it until the day, that's all.” She could see him nod lightly out of the corner of her eye. “But we’re sure that’s the best place for them?”
Mohwee shrugged, he couldn’t be totally sure. He just knew that in the entirety of where they had been, clearing two was the only other place in the maze which was like their clearing that had water and grass for each of them and it wouldn’t be burning up within months.
“I know the doors don’t really close and barricades don’t guarantee anything will stay out but it’s the best chance they have. Better than leaving them here..” He didn’t have to finish the words, she knew he was right. It was better than leaving them all to die. Out of all the choices they had, taking them to clearing two was the best one they had. 

“Maybe we could do it later this week? That way Magic and Owen can say bye to Puddy…if we take them while you’re gone…”
Mohwee smiled a little bit. “We can yeah, we’ll need some wood to build a gate there but if you’re ready to say bye to them all.”
Graecie could feel her eyes prickling up, she wasn’t ready but at least that way it wouldn’t be rushed. They could still visit for a little while after the hunt, but once the creature was dead and things got busier there wouldn’t be much of a chance to make sure the animals were set up nicely. And even if she wasn’t totally keen on the idea, she knew it was the right thing for them. She blinked away a few tears, it wasn’t today afterall.
“Yeah…Yeah I think that works the best. Anyway.” She took a deep breath, composing herself once more. “Anything else we need to talk about? The map’s all sorted.”
Mohwee hummed.
“Yup. Like I say, route’s planned out. We’ve got Oeca’s copy just in case people don’t know and want to look before. Besides that I’d say we’re good to go in maybe a month.”
They’d had an estimate of five months to prepare, a rough idea which they’d decided to stick to as best as possible. But as time went on and things got warmer and warmer people had been less and less sure about staying the full duration. There was no plan to risk staying for summer, at the rate they were going they would be out of the maze before the end of spring. 

“Wow..” Graecie echoed, truthfully it was a little hard to believe how far they’d come recently. “Ok well one more thing then. Before the hunt, we do one last feast. Like the bonfire, maybe have it on the same day after we say goodbye. That way we cheer people up…keep everyone hopeful. And give this place a send off before we get too busy.”
Mohwee did like the idea, one last hurrah to make a few last memories in the walls before they escaped. He couldn’t remember anything from his life before but he knew everyone had their own ideas for what they wanted to do once they were back to their usual lives. He’d heard talk of people travelling, of people seeing their families. And for that moment he just knew he wanted to make the most of a moment like that, with the people he’d grown to see as his own family. Without worrying about how everything was going to go.
“That’s a good idea. Moral booster or something.” He snickered. Graecie found herself raising an eyebrow, wondering what exactly he was finding funny before he continued. “Owen wants to run a few sparring sessions, maybe we make it one big event? The two best fighters battle it out for a bit of entertainment before we have a big feast. Make it like one big party. Who knows Redd might have some beer lying around still.” 

And while the idea of drinking didn’t really make Graecie feel too certain of things, the rest of the idea didn’t sound too bad. She even found herself laughing at the prospect of them having people battle it out until they won, just for the sake of laughs. No serious tension behind it, no serious consequences. Just a group of outsiders making some memories. 

“Sure. That does sound like fun. I’ll let Apo know to go and bring Redd back for it, that way he’s here ready as well.” 

Mohwee clapped once, pointing in her direction with a smirk. “On it. But besides that…I think we’re pretty much good. I uh- I don’t think there’s anything else to worry about today at least. So I’m gonna go find Apo. Later.” 

And with that he found himself heading off again, this time looking for Apo. 

=====

“Sorry if I’m a little late.” Owen called over as he approached the archery range, he knew he’d agreed to meet Ayngel for some training earlier but then he’d remembered the meeting and so he was getting over a bit after schedule. Nonetheless the angel simply stood waiting, leant up against one of the wooden beams which made up the aisles of the bow range. She hummed, glancing over in his direction with a small yet curt wave.
“No problem. I saw you with Mohwee, figured you were probably busy all things considered. Either way, shall we get started?”
Owen rifled through the storage chest beside the first aisle; it had been used to store some of the supplies ever since they’d set the range back up again. Between replacement targets, bows, quivers, arrows and the odd axe it was stocked to the brim. He retrieved the usual wooden training bow, one of the leaver quivers and a handful of arrows. When he showed Magic how to use the weapon it had only been a quick thing she was interested in testing out, the first time Ayngel gave it a shot she’d been interested in learning it more permanently. So for the past few weeks they’d started small. Little exercises to build up enough strength to pull the drawstring back and keep things precise, to keep her breathing level. He’d explained to her it was essential to be patient with practice, even if they didn’t have a ton of time for it, if she wanted to use the bow precisely then every second counted. That had been most of the month prior, with the main sessions leading up to now focusing on simple exercises with the bow just to see how things were progressing. Once he was sure that things were going in the right direction, that was when he agreed to train alongside her. He carefully slotted the arrows into the quiver before passing it over to her, she slung it over one shoulder before securing it so it sat comfortably without shifting. And then Owen handed over the bow to her. 

Ayngel took it, testing the weight in her hand once again.
“So after today do you think I can get a bow more like yours?” She pressed, an eyebrow raising as she scanned over the opposing archer’s bow. Owen had his bow for quite some time, the main bulk of it had been reinforced with iron. A resource admittedly which was starting to run a little thin now that the mines were slowly being overtaken with lava, but even he had to admit her question was a fair one. He chuckled, hauling his own bow from over his shoulders. Owen began to rifle through the chest again to get a couple more arrows for himself this time.
“How about this…We see how this session goes and if you hit your targets. I’ll talk to Guts this afternoon?”
She had a relatively sly smirk on her face the second he said there was a chance. Ayngel had seemed to appreciate more of the artistic style of the bow than the brute force of the other weapon options the group had been trying to train with. So he knew right away that she was most likely going to be getting that bow but it didn’t hurt to be a bit light hearted about it.
“If?” She gave an amused snort, though it was more a puff of air. Seeming to find the idea of him not believing she’d hit the targets to be quite funny. “I think you mean when .”
Owen shook his head but chuckled. Wandering over to one of the other ranges. They would each have their own respective target that way. The only downside being with the split sections he couldn’t directly see Ayngel or how she was shooting. So he had to hope that just saying the advice would work. 

“We’ll see. Draw your arrow, line the notch at the end up with the drawstring. Turn yourself so you’re sideways.”
He had done this so many times now that it was essentially just muscle memory for him. Owen turned and got himself positioned right, bow in hand and arrow in position as he tilted the bow up so the arrow was pointed in the direction he planned on firing the shot.
“Now remember, keep your breathing steady. Don’t tense up though otherwise you’ll miss entirely. Focus on your target, think where you want to hit before you actually shoot. How’s the wind?”
Ayngel hummed, seeming to think about it for the moment. The usual go to test was to hold a finger up to the sky and feel what direction it was heading in. Over the recent months though the wind hadn’t been too much of an issue, the heat drifted through the clearing and a cooling breeze wasn’t to be found. Either way she lifted her thumb which was holding the main body of the bow up to see if there was much of a breeze.
“Pretty simple. Nothing much if anything at all.”
“Good. Then you don’t need to worry about it throwing your target off. But keep that in mind for next time.” From the other side of the wooden wall she hummed again, no doubt making sure she had a good hold on her bow, making certain that her arrow was lined up right. 

“Now, once you’re ready, draw the arrow back. Line up your shot, keep your breaths steady and when you’re ready..fire.” 

Owen focused on his own arrow for the moment, breathing through his nose as he lined up the arrow with the target ahead of him. And once he was ready to take the shot, he let the arrow fly. Watching as it sunk into the target ahead of him, almost making a bullseye. No less than a minute later Ayngel took her own shot, and the arrow hit the target on her own range. Landing on one of the central rings. Owen could hear her chuckle to herself.
“That makes one.” Ayngel said rather singsongingly as they wandered down to retrieve their arrows, she was determined to prove a point now. Once they were back up range, they shot a good few more arrows until the angel managed to hit a bullseye. They spent quite a while just practicing firing shots like that, until they decided to try a different target. Owen headed over to the trees near the flower fields where he collected two crimson apples, he headed back over and set them up at the end of the target range. Positioned at the top of each of them so they balanced perfectly. As he headed back up to the front of the range he explained the idea.
“Okay so hitting your target went well, so I want to see if you can hit something smaller. Dead on. And if this works out then we can start seeing about practicing with moving targets. There should be some small wooden slabs lying around somewhere.”
Once he was out of the way he pointed down towards the apples. “You know what to do, give it a shot.”
Ayngel nodded once, taking a very slow, calm breath through her nose. Knocking a fresh arrow into place. Aiming the bow up so it lined up nicely, then she drew the string back. Keeping her breathing steady and her movements loose. And then as soon as she’d drawn the bow back, she let the arrow go. There was a moment of whistling as it snapped down the aisle before a crunch echoed from the other side.

And the apple rolled across the ground. Ayngel laughed, grinning ear to ear as she decided to repeat the shot a second time. With it giving the exact same results as before. With both bits of fruit now laying on the ground at the opposite end. After collecting each of the apples and putting them aside, they turned to the moving targets. Owen did say that they wouldn’t do as many of those because it would take time to get used to targets which weren’t completely still or just relatively motionless. Once again he found himself rummaging through the storage around the archery range until he found a few of the small wooden planks, he handed one to Ayngel before retrieving his bow a second time.
“Ok so…” He set up one of the arrows, making sure he was ready to take a shot at a moment's notice. “I’ll show you how I do it and then I’ll throw a couple. When it’s up in the air just try and hit it, that could be when it’s half way up or halfway down. Moving targets are more difficult but with practice you get used to it. Whenever you’re ready.” He nodded at the plank now resting in her hands. And for a moment he just waited, until the wooden plank went flying over his head and further down ahead of him. The second he saw it, he brought the bow up, arrow drawn and waited for no longer than a second so it was lined up and then he fired. The arrow sunk in sending it backwards, hitting the ground with a thud. 

“So now.” He turned to her, slinging the bow back over his shoulder once again. “You can give it a couple goes.” 

Owen retrieved a few more of the planks and repeated the process, giving her time to set up the arrows and then throwing each plank carefully down range. For the first few shots she did miss, the arrow flying over and past. Managing to land in the ground. But on the last try, Ayngel managed to hit the plank just before it hit the ground. She found herself laughing, clapping once as she pointed in its direction.
“I actually did it! Oh my gods.” She chuckled to herself a few more times, almost in disbelief. “So…I’m going to keep practicing but do you think that you might be going to speak to Guts today?”
Owen seemed to think on it for a moment, watching as she stood there an eyebrow raised and her arms steadily crossing as she waited. But eventually he agreed.
“I’ll go see them now. Keep it up, you’re making a pretty good archer so far.”
She seemed pretty happy to hear that, returning back to her usual practice as he headed off to go and check in with Guts. 

The walk over to Guts’ house was a relatively brisk one, he made sure to pass by the forge just to check if they had been over there working on any of the armour or weapons but after seeing they weren’t, he figured the house was the next best place to check. He jogged up the steps, knocking on the door with a cheerful rhythm. It had been quite a while since he’d been around to visit them, the last time he remembered being over here specifically had been way before the first hunt. And admittedly those specific days, when he’d last been around, he tried not to think too much about. They’d been far from easy and way past comfortable. It had been an angry, bitter time for him and ever since then he’d moved past all of the anger towards Apo. But he still couldn’t entirely forget the prison which lay deep below the ground, the prison which he wasn’t entirely sure would even still be standing. He didn’t have much time to think about it though, as Guts opened the door, a wide toothy smile on their face.

“Owen! Hey it’s good to see you, come in.” Guts nodded for him to follow them inside as they wandered back through into the main room of their house. He walked through behind, quietly shutting the door. They seemed to be busy cooking up their lunch for that day, it hadn’t quite hit him that it was that late already but it didn’t surprise him entirely. Owen found himself leaning against one of the opposite counters while they worked, the smell of boiling noodles and fresh scallions drifted through the air and he tried to ignore the slight rumble reminding him that he himself hadn’t had much to eat today. “What brings you by, figured you’d be busy with everything goin’ on?”
Owen nodded, he couldn’t disagree that things had been extremely busy lately. With all the preparations, training sessions and time passing by very quickly, he’d not had as much time to drop by and visit everyone as he had in the previous months. “Yeah it uh, it has been pretty all over the place lately. But I wanted to drop by to talk about Ayngel.”
“Oh?” They quizzed, stirring some more of the noodles around. Before nodding over to the table in the corner of the room. “You can sit down y’know. I’ll get you some noodles….You don’t eat meat right?”
“Oh, no I don’t. Thank you, I appreciate it.” Owen headed over and got himself sat down. Normally he’d probably insist it was fine and sort something out for himself but he did have to admit that he liked Guts’ cooking and it had been too long since he got to spend any time with them so he could kill two birds with one stone now. He ran a hand over his forehead. He decided to wait until they were sat down before bringing up the bow. Before he knew it Guts was heading over with two bowls of steaming noodles. Their own had a fried egg and some chicken nestled alongside it while his own was piled high with various vegetables and topped with scallions. It frankly was probably one of the more comforting things about being here. And getting to just sit down and take a moment, he realised, was probably overdue. For a moment they just sat there, eating in relative quiet. Until Guts finally spoke up.
“So you’re here about Ayngel? I’m guessing this is to do with the archery training?”
He chuckled, nodding once again. A soft smile on his face.
“Yeah. After today I wanted to get her an upgraded bow. I’ve got the base one at home but I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind reinforcing it with some iron when you have a chance?”
Guts gave him a reassuring thumbs up as they finished a mouthful of their meal.
“Oh yeah, no problem. I can have it done by the end of this week actually. So things are going well then?”
Owen sat back in his chair momentarily, just getting himself a little more comfortable.
“It is. And not just with her training either, I spoke to Mohwee this morning too and it’s really looking like the plans are set. We should be heading on the hunt within the next few weeks, he’s letting Graecie know how things are going and he’s also talking about getting the pets moved over to the other clearing before we head out. Which reminds me, do you still have the chickens?”
Guts nodded along quietly, listening to each point. They too seemed a little surprised to realise they were almost ready to get out but as soon as the chickens were mentioned they ended up laughing.
“Yup. Nowhere near as many as when you were down in the bunker last but there’s a couple out with the other animals. For feathers ‘n stuff. Lemme guess you want some arrows too?”
Owen hummed in response. “Yeah, they won’t work for the hunt but they’ll come in handy down the line. I just need a handful of feathers, I don’t mind making those. But I was also thinking, if you could do it. Some sort of grapple might come in handy. We’re wondering about if we’ll need to spend the night out there, and if we do it’s probably best to have before we end up needing to climb.
And it was another thing which Guts didn’t mind adding to the list.
“Can do. You might need to test it out before we actually leave but I’ve had weirder requests before.”
That didn’t surprise Owen one bit, throughout their time in the maze he’d gotten to know most of the people he lived with and each had their own respective interests. Their own ideas and their own preferences when it came to weapons. He was utterly certain that he would never forget the earliest days when Oeca would throw knives up into the air to play a dodging game. Or how many old weapons he’d found scattered around during those very same days. He sighed contentedly, they’d all come so far since then.
“Thanks Guts. Seriously, I owe you.”
They waved him off, shaking their head with a light chuckle. “Nah. It’s fine. I’ll get to work this afternoon, if you don’t mind dropping the bow by?”
And of course he agreed. If things worked out, he might have it ready by the end of the week. For now though, the two sat and ate their respective lunches and Owen made the most of spending some time with an old friend. 

==

Apo knew he had to go and get Redd. He’d known ever since he mentioned it at the meeting a month prior, the issue was that he knew that it would be easier said than done. He’d spent close to a year living with the man, both of them had come to essentially trust each other with their lives and yet he knew convincing him to return to the clearing wasn’t going to be as simple as just telling him to come home. He’d been to check in multiple times while Owen recovered and each time the man had taken the supplies he was offered, spent some time talking to him and then reminded him that he wasn’t returning. That things had been much better out in the depths of the maze than they had been in the walls of the clearing. Each time he’d left feeling defeated. This time though it had to be different, Apo wasn’t sure when he would be entering the maze next but he had a feeling it would be the day they all left. So it was now or never, something which he was hoping desperately would be the first of those two options. When Mohwee had come to find him, the conversation had been simple. A basic run down of how they would be taking the pets to the other clearing, then there would be a feast in the evening. Something to give everyone one last big joyful memory before the group headed on the hunt, before they retrieved the key and before they made it out. And it was clear that if they were going to talk Redd into coming with them, it had to happen then. So that was how he found himself navigating the corridors down and back to the gap in the wall where he’d spent several months. It was quiet, almost eerily so. After all this time, he wasn’t sure if Redd would be willing to listen to him. Even if it came to making it out of the maze. When he turned the last corner leading back to the place he called home he could feel the nerves picking up again, a twisting in his gut attuned to guilt. Part of him would always regret not talking him into coming back with him in the first place, for walking out anyway and going back to the clearing knowing he was out here alone. He sighed quietly, trying to will himself into taking those few more steps. To just do what he came out here to do, to bring his friend home. Apo took another breath and made those few steps. Until he finally hauled himself back up and into the space, shuffling until he found himself back in the makeshift room they’d once called home. And there, sitting across on the side of one of the two beds, was Redd. 

“And just as I thought you’d forgotten about me. Welcome back.” He turned to stare over in Apo’s direction, seemingly surprised he’d even shown up at all. Which Apo did realise was probably due to the fact that it had been quite a while since his last visit. A month of waiting and trying to figure out how he could possibly talk him into coming with them. While for the other man it had just been a month of being on his own again, of waiting for a visit that he’d probably figured wasn’t coming at all.
“Hey. Look I’m sorry it’s been so long, it’s been…” Apo sighed, walking over and dropping down to sit on the bed opposite. Resting his elbows against his knees as he ran his hands down his face. “A lot’s been happening. I didn’t forget about you, really.”
“Uh huh, that’s cool man. I know how that place is. Nice to get away from it all?”
Apo chuckled, though it was more of an uncertain one. Maybe in a sense it was nice to come out into the maze for a bit, at least out here it was a little colder than the sweltering heat which had seemed to envelop the space of the clearing. But beyond that he wasn’t there for some brief escapism.
“Not for the reasons you think Redd. Look I’m actually here to get you to come back.”
Redd was utterly silent for a moment and while Apo couldn’t see his eyes, he could almost feel them staring dead at him. The silence continued, with it being so utterly deafening you could hear a pin drop. And then after what felt like an eternity he laughed, a deep energetic laugh which shook his shoulders.
“No. Ah, this beer stronger or somethin’? Could’ve sworn you said…you were here to get me to go back there.”
Apo was quiet as well, he stared down at his boots momentarily then back up to Redd.
“Because I am. Look Redd, you don’t understand-”
He was almost immediately cut off by the masked man, who shook his head. Adamant that this was not going to happen at all.
“I understand fine. It’s cool if you wanna be there man but I don’t, you knew that when you left. I have everything I need. Back there it’s nothing but trouble and arguments and.. Look, I'm happy here. So thanks for droppin’ by but if that’s all eh, I’d rather you head back.”
He got to his feet and walked over to stand by the thin passage which led back out into the maze, nodding for Apo to go. But he was only met by the other runner getting to his feet and shaking his head.
“I know things were shitty when you were last there but it’s not that bad now. We’ve got things working, leadership’s back to how it should’ve been and everyone is trying their best to work together.”
Redd scoffed incredulously, his clear disbelief mounting with each and every word. None of this sounded like how it had been, none of it sounded possible and Apo could see why that disbelief was there but he knew he wasn’t walking out of here without his friend.
“Sure and I’m not stuck in a maze right now. Seriously. I’m good.” 

The demon didn’t move from where he was, his feet fixed to the ground below him. 

“Redd I know it’s been hard before but seriously. This is the last time I’m coming out here and I want you to come with me.”
Redd once again found himself chuckling again, he pointedly tapped his foot a couple times as though this conversation was starting to annoy him.
“Look man. You wanna go back that’s fine, I never said you needed to come back out here to check in. I’ve been out here for months now. I can manage, you’ve got your place, I have mine. It’s been alright. You can just go.” There was a small waiver in his rough tone as he spoke the last few words, it was clear after everything he wasn’t totally sure about being alone again. He turned to face the floor, his foot still tapping against the stone.
Apo took a breath, preparing to stand his ground.
“I’m being serious. Look. Things are bad but not how you think, the clearing it’s burning up from underground, lava is rising and it’s going to get to the point where we can’t stay..Mohwee’s got the way out. And we’re leaving within the next few months. And I’m not fucking leaving you here.” His tone raised more towards the end but he didn’t stumble over what he wanted to say, Apo knew that he wasn’t leaving, not yet. Not like this and he sure as hell wasn’t giving up on his friend when others hadn’t given up on him even after everything.
Redd was rendered utterly silent once again and for a split second Apo thought that he was going to just laugh in his face once more. 

“....Why not.”
Apo paused, caught off guard as the other man’s quiet and uncharacteristically uncertain voice echoed through the room. For a moment he wasn’t sure if he’d even heard him correctly but as that silence persisted he knew he must’ve.
“I- Because you’re my friend? You were here for me when no one else was, I spent several months here with you and I know I left but I won’t leave you in here while we all go home. I almost lost one friend before and I can’t, I won’t do it. Please just come back.”
Redd stood there, staring down at the bottle in his hand. But he didn’t respond, not for a while. When he finally did it was with a sigh.
“Fine. But only ‘cause you asked.” And with that he tossed the bottle aside and began to pack up his few belongings, slinging his old backpack over his shoulder in one swift movement. “Let’s go before I change my mind.”
Apo smiled, patting him on the shoulder as they both headed out and began to follow the pathway home. 

===

People were happy to see Redd back but progress didn’t slow down. The plans had been set for that week, the pets would be led to the other clearing and the feast would happen later in the day. The rest of the week was full of the usual training routines, of preparation and organisation. Until finally the day came. For the week prior people had been going back and forth to set up as good a gate as physically possible, just enough that it could hold out some monster. There was no guarantee for the bigger creature, the last time they’d tried it managed to break through anyway. The only real hope came from the fact that there wouldn’t be people around for it to look for this time, the clearing would only hold the animals. Nonetheless, the journey there was a solemn one. Krow and Magic led the way, knowing that they would have to take a slightly separate route in order to avoid climbing up any walls, since it wouldn’t be particularly easy to haul the pets up them. As well as any of the other remaining animals that had been residing within their clearing for the past few years. Graecie stuck with Dandelion and Cheesecake the whole time, brushing the cow’s fur as they walked along. Rasbi and Apo clung by Berry’s side as well. Each of the cows moved slowly, their tails swaying lightly, the odd sorrowful moo cut through the quiet. Guts had collected as many of the chickens into crates as physically possible and was lugging them along. And then there was Owen and Puddy. Everything about the day felt weird, these animals that had gotten them through the toughest of times. The days where the fruit trio spent hours baking alongside Berry, where Graecie found comfort beside her cows and where Puddy had been there every day that Owen thought he’d lost the closest thing to a brother he had. The silence was only broken up occasionally by the leaders at the front of the group giving the instructions as to where they were heading. But once the towering doors came into view it was clear it was time. The gate they’d built was unlatched and everyone funneled in, healing through into the desolate remains of the second clearing. There was an open patch across the river away from most of the destroyed houses which had been the agreed place to let them all go, a soft patch of grass close enough to the river that should be comfortable enough for them all. It was deathly quiet as the few leashes were untied, as the coops were placed down and opened. The chickens were first to go, immediately flapping further out and away from the small group of people. The others though, they were significantly harder. 

Graecie held each rope in her hand, staring down at them as the lump rose up the back of her throat. She knew this was coming but that didn’t make the burning feeling in her chest shift any less. She finally took a few very deep breaths through her nose, just enough to make the tears not entirely cloud her vision as she stared up into the deep ebony eyes that stared back at her. She reached a hand up to each of them, one at a time. Running a hand through the thicker patches of fur, listening to the soft lows as she rested her forehead against theirs. She couldn’t hold back the bubbling tears in her eyes as she whispered.
“It’s okay…if we can find a way to get you out of here one day we will but for now.” She sniffled, trying to keep that ever positive smile on her face. “I love you both. You’re free. It’s okay..this is your home now.” 

She didn’t mind wrapping her arms around them as tightly as she could, breathing through her nose as much as possible. Just trying to memorise them as much as possible before they were going to go again. 

Rasbi and Apo were in a similar boat. Berry too was lowing quietly, her soft moo cutting through the air as her two oldest friends petted her. Her tail swayed side to side. And both were smiling.
“Y’know I’m glad I got to see you again.” Apo spoke softly, he hadn’t thought too much about it after he left the clearing but the people weren’t the only things he’d left behind. “Me, Rasbi and Owen…we’ll stick together.”
“Yeah….and there’s no way we’re going to forget you Ber’. But you can stick with your friends too now. Dandelion and Cheesecake and all of the others..” Her voice was also breaking up, as she took a step closer to nestle her face against the cow’s neck. Holding on to the animal as close as she could. They’d always been such sweet creatures, it stung to have to let go. But she’d heard what Graecie said to the others, about how if they could come and get them one day they would. And Rasbi really hoped that would be true, she’d give anything for this not to be the last time they got to see them. Apo reached over and rested a hand on her back, a small but reassuring shred of support. But past her he could see Owen and Magic, fussing over Puddy. 

The day before Magic had tried to convince him that Puddy could potentially be excluded from leaving, that maybe they’d be able to carry him with them since he wasn’t as big as the other animals.  She’d had ideas about using a backpack to keep him nestled against one of their backs throughout the journey but both really knew that wasn’t an option, he wasn’t a huge pig but he was big enough that carrying him wasn’t hugely possible anymore. And Owen knew it wasn’t fair to put him back in danger a second time, not when so many of the others were willing to let their pets go. Most of the way there she’d quietly mess with something in her pocket, avoiding people’s eyes whenever she turned back to give the directions. Now both were there, scratching behind the pigs ears and hugging him as best as possible. 

“I’m going to miss you buddy. Thanks for keeping me company the past year.” Owen chuckled lightly, it hurt. After losing Puddles, he’d not considered this moment much either and he too had tried to ignore it in favour of training once the lava started to rise but now he was staring that goodbye in the face and it was nowhere near as easy as he thought for. Even as he reminded him that it was kinder to say goodbye like this than to lose him. And Magic quietly slipped him one last sneaky carrot, something which Owen wasn’t about to argue with. Not when he then slipped a handful of spinach over to him. But then he also knew he had to go and say goodbye to Berry as well. So he quickly gave the pig another pat and wandered over to Apo and Rasbi. Where the three of them hugged the cow once more.
“And I’ll miss you too, Berry. Thanks for the memories.” 

He did his best to ignore the tears which began to well up in his eyes at that moment, knowing if there was a way they could safely bring them with the group, he would do so with no questions asked. But this was how things had to be. He knew that deep down. And after a while of tearful goodbyes he found his way back over to Magic, watching as everyone else began to filter their way out. Graecie turned to walk away before running back over to give each of her cows one last resounding hug. 

Then it was just him and Magic.
“We’ll catch you guys up…” She called out to the rest of the group, much to Owen and everyone else' s confusion. But the others respected it, heading out through the doors as they made their way home. Owen used the opportunity to give Puddy one more last hug and check in one last time on the others. Petting Dandelion and Cheesecake before turning back to Magic. Together they slowly made their way back to the doors. And on the way she retrieved what it was that she’d been messing with in her pocket. A rough, metal box with a few various buttons. A controller…
“What…? What is that?” He asked once they’d finally stopped just past the clearing doors. Magic kept her gaze low as she ran a thumb over one of the buttons, a clear red colour.
“...It’s a controller. The day when me and Bek showed up… when your clearing doors opened, we found it and it’s how we managed to get in.”
Owen’s face shifted to one of confusion to one of shock, the doors opening hadn’t been an accident. They’d done it, they’d been able to open the doors, he found himself utterly speechless for the moment. But there was more to it, one little reason why she was going to use it.
“It should close the door. That way the creatures can’t get back in. I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, it doesn’t work on everything but….at least this way we can make sure those monsters can’t get to them.”
And while Owen wanted to argue, to ask a million questions about how they’d managed to find something like it. About how that day people had blamed them for their arrival destroying part of their clearing but he knew it was so long ago now that it would just be reopening old wounds. That it would just be something that caused more harm than good, so he just found himself nodding. Everyone had said their goodbyes and as much as people might want to return to visit before they left officially, he wasn’t completely sure that people would find the time to do so. By all means this was a chance to guarantee they would be safe.
“Ok…Ok it’s worth a try.” 

So they stood there, watching the door which hadn’t closed for months and Magic hesitantly pressed the button. And for a moment there was just silence, with seemingly nothing happening until finally the gears began to groan, shifting and twisting as the doors began to move. Stone crumbling from the odd damaged spots where the creature had no doubt attacked, where the doors hadn’t closed for some time. And through the slowly closing gap they stared back at the animals. Listening to the solemn wailings of the cows and the shifting figure as Puddy and the others moved closer to the water. Until the gap was barely present and they got one last glimpse of their four legged friends. And then as soon as they had been there, the doors closed and they were gone. 

Owen could hear Magic’s slight sniffles developing into small sobs as her shoulders began to shake, he’d be lying if he said his own heart wasn’t tearing itself apart at that moment. But either way he turned to her, pulling her into a tight hug as he too let the tears finally flow. He was going to miss them, the clearing wouldn’t be the same without them. But before they decided to leave she took the controller and dropped it to the floor. Glancing up one more time.
“As much as keeping it might come in handy….I think having it is more of a risk than getting rid of it. Opening the doors when we shouldn’t…it just causes more issues.”
And Owen couldn’t help but agree as her shoe raised once before being brought down on the controller. Once, then twice and then ultimately a third time before it seemed to be broken enough that it wouldn’t be a concern again. She swiped a few more tears from her eyes. It was a weight that was off their shoulders now, something to be left in the past. 

Eventually though they began to walk back after the others, it had been long enough that by the time they made it back to the clearing the others had been back a while, beginning to prepare for the feast that evening, and while there was a solemn feeling in that moment, it was going to be an event they all needed. One big morale booster and a way to cheer everyone up. Owen agreed that the controller would be something they wouldn’t talk about. After everything it had come in handy one last time but now it lay broken and left behind near clearing two, that way no one would be able to mess with the doors again. Owen and Magic split off from each other, going to sort out their own respective things before the evening. 

==

It was a few hours before the sun finally dipped beneath the walls of the clearing, leaving the sky a deep blue. Stars dotted throughout the expanse and in the centre of their home a brilliant bonfire burnt true. The blazing light shone throughout the area and littered around it each of the group sat. A few had agreed that the whole sparring idea could be a little bit of fun, so off to the side in the training area a small circle had been set up out of some of the older logs from the last event. Redd had taken some convincing but as Mohwee predicted, he’d had some of his drinks stash left behind. A secret which turned into something more open as drinks were passed around and the festivities began. Graecie found herself sitting with Magic, the two comfortably just watching the flames at first until the first short spar began. The rules set out were simple enough, the goal being that each of the fighters would just try to get the other out of the circle. Once you were out you would forfeit to another person. There were no prizes, no need for competitiveness, just some relatively harmless fun to round out the day. 

Owen and Mohwee had agreed to go first, figuring it was a little funny to play up the old rivalry for the sake of the spectacle. That and it had been Mohwee’s idea to turn the sparring session into something more entertainment worthy. The two stood on either side, no weapons or armour needed and waited. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for coming. Tonight we have some of the best sparring you’ll see over in this glade.” Bek had seized the opportunity to do her own thing, appointing herself the announcer for the event. A job which hadn’t entirely been needed but was something she was more than happy to do. “First up we have Mohwee versus Owen.”
There was the odd whooping from around the area, the odd person raising their glass to the sky as she continued.
“The rules are simple. No weapons or armour, first person out of the circle loses. Are we ready?” There was a huge grin on her face, an almost joyful glint in her eyes as the cheering picked up a second time, no doubt signaling that everyone was in fact ready. “Well. Round one….Go!”
And with that Mohwee charged Owen. 

The younger runner immediately made a lunge towards Owen. Something he was able to side step pretty quickly, the ground kicking up as Mohwee skidded to the side. Owen chuckled, tilting his head once. Come on, bring it on.  

And of course he did, charging at the other runner a second time. The energy around the area picked up as the amused chatter drifted around with each movement. This time however, Owen made no move to block the runner’s attack, instead locking one foot back so that he was forcing him away the second he ran into him. His goal was simple, just to push him out of the ring. Something which was countered as Mohwee took a sudden swipe to the side, sending Owen down to the floor. Just shy of where the circle’s edge lay carved into the grass. His eyes narrowed, while Mohwee seemed to bounce on his feet behind him. Waiting for Owen to get back to his feet. Rasbi and Apo were cheering for him somewhere, shouting for him to get back up. While Squidney and Oeca were more shouting for Mohwee. He glanced over his shoulder and upon seeing he was close enough, Owen swiped his feet out from under him. Causing him to fall backwards for just long enough for him to stagger to his feet again. Preparing for another attack. And once Mohwee had stabilised himself again, just shy of being out, he charged. Grabbing Owen’s arm and spinning him to one side. He did dig a foot down. The momentum being just enough that he could crouch onto one knee and lightly toss Mohwee over his shoulder. Causing there to be one big cheer from the sidelines as the drama only mounted more. Of course Mohwee didn’t  stay down for long, kicking up at Owen while he was still down. The boot managed to hit him hard enough in the chest to send him backwards closer to the side. Both scrambled to their feet with Owen taking just a moment longer to get up. And of course they just ran at each other, Mohwee shoving one way and Owen trying to shove to the other side. Just managing to push Mohwee towards the line in the dirt, he could hear the group’s rising intrigue. How they were practically on the edge of their seats waiting to see if he’d pull it off. And then just as he was so certain he was going to beat him…Mohwee shifted to the side, just enough that one arm was able to reach up and behind to catch his back. And with one swift step to the side and a light shove, Owen fell. Landing on the dirt…just past the line.
And the cheering picked up, he could hear people calling out for Mohwee. The name repeated over and over as the first winner of the night walked over and offered him a hand.
“Fair game?”
Owen took it with a laugh and the smallest shake of his head. Hauling himself back to his feet he clapped him on the shoulder. “Fair game.” And with that he headed to sit back down alongside the Rasbi and Apo. Naturally Oeca decided to see how he’d fare next, immediately hopping to his feet and jogging right into the ring. Cracking his knuckles as he waited for the go ahead.

“Round two…Mohwee versus Oeca! And…GO!” 

Oeca decided the best course of action was to run straight at Mohwee, wrapping his arms as best he could around his friend’s waist. Trying to push him backwards with his shoulder and as much of his body weight as possible. His own feet seemingly dragged over the same spot over and over as Mohwee took a step forward. Shoving Oeca backwards in one swift move. And as soon as the round had started it was over. With him landing just outside of the ring. He got up, dusted himself off, flipped Mohwee off and went to sit back down. Though people laughed through it and he ended up with a smile on his face. The small sparring games continued for a little while until eventually people decided to filter back to fully just sitting around the bonfire. The embers curling up and drifting through the dark night sky. Various meals were passed around, with everyone taking comfort in the familiar food and drink. And for that short period of time, it felt like a real community again. 

Midway through the meal Graecie took her drink, a mug full of steaming hot coffee from a canteen she’d ensured to bring along as an alternative to the beer a fair few others had decided to indulge in and she got to her feet. Clinking the side of the mug for a moment to get everyone’s attention.
“Hey everyone. I know this isn’t the first time we’ve done this but I wanted to say thanks for coming again.” Around her people nodded, each lightly raising their cups and bottles momentarily, giving way for her to continue. 

“It’s been two years since we first arrived here and while things have been rocky and we’ve had our issues…I’m glad we’ve made a real community here. Every single one of you has made it to this point and I know we’re leaving soon but I’m really glad I’ve gotten to meet you all. We might be a bunch of outsiders, strangers who started out in completely different places. From separate lives and entirely different worlds…But we’re here now and it feels like I’ve known you all a lifetime. So in a weird way, thanks to this place for the memories. And thank you, all of you for being the closest thing to family I can remember.”
There were some resounding cheers, whoops again from people as they raised their glasses up to the sky. And people took swigs of their drinks, ate and cheered, songs were sung as time went on and they made the most of the time they were spending as one big unified group. The smiles on people’s faces at that moment were wide and true. And as the night continued on it became more and more clear this really would be a night to remember. A night rooted in pure bliss. 

Chapter Text

As much as people wanted every day to be as nice as that night had been, preparations picked back up again the morning after. It was the last week before the hunt and Mohwee was adamant that they needed to make sure they had all the essential last minute preparations done before they headed out at the end of the week. Because once they headed out and the doors closed behind them, that would be it. There had been some promises made that if things began to look out of their control they would turn back, that there was always another opportunity after that day to try another hunt. But Owen knew Mohwee and while he could accept that, the other runner had spent the better part of a year preparing for this very thing. Once he headed out on the mission, he was not coming back until it was done. They needed the key and he was determined it would be happening that very same night. He knew the risks, knew that there was more than a good chance for things to go completely wrong but he was certain that they had waited long enough to get out of the maze. Mohwee knew that the longer they waited, the worse of a position they would find themselves in. He refused to allow it to get to the point where the lava was right at their feet before they made a move. That week they all started training together, small tests to make sure that Bek was prepared to use the sword at a moment's notice. Quicker runs through the maze to make sure they were ready to retreat from the den if needs be. Then halfway through the week Mohwee made a call, they were going to go and scout the area out. 

The day had barely begun when Owen was awoken by the oh so familiar rapping of knuckles against his door, there was a light coolness to the air which told him the sun was yet to come up entirely. And as he got up, quickly securing his prosthetic and wandering over he could hear the hushed voices of a few of his fellow clearing members. He could hear Bek mumbling something to Magic about how she’d been pretty comfortable before Mohwee practically broke the door down, Squidney’s light chuckle as she reminded her at least she’d had a door. Owen thought that was rather ironic as he opened his own door, finding himself in the exact same position as the group before him. Who all had morning shadows under each of their eyes, clearly tired. He could hear the grinding of heavy stone from nearby, as the huge rock doors began to crank open.
“What can I do for you Mohwee?” He grumbled, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes as the runner in front of him smiled. A small energized grin which had Owen seriously wondering if he’d even slept at all.
“We’re gonna go and scout the den out again. Get ready, we’ll be at the door in five.”
Owen stood there, blinking at him with heavy confusion still plastered to his face. After all, this wasn’t the first time they had been over to check the den out. Albeit the last time was a while ago. They had almost all gotten at least one look around the corner of the maze most of them dreaded finding. Mohwee realised he probably owed him more of an explanation than just insisting he needed to get ready.
“Look. Bek’s not been up there and I’d feel way more trusting if she got a look before that thing’s out and before we go to actually try and kill it. Also means we can figure out if there’s anywhere to quietly get set up beforehand. This’ll help us to make a plan.”
And while he really wanted to, Owen couldn’t argue it probably was a solid idea. They needed a plan and letting the woman who’d be carrying the sword which might stand a chance of killing the creature get a good look at the place first hand, it would be very worthwhile. That and if there were any vantage points, it couldn’t hurt to make note of them fully in advance. 

“Ok. I’ll grab my gear and meet you by the doors.” 

Mohwee gave him a quick nod and began to head off, the others following along with him. 

And within no time he was back over by the familiar gateway into the maze, his pack of supplies slung over one shoulder, a javelin in one hand and the usual scratched up armour secured on. It was early enough that they’d get a decent chunk of time to get over to the den, look around everything one more time and note down any places where they could get set up during the night. They already knew killing this thing wasn’t going to be easy, it was a blatant harsh reality which was tied to it. That these things managed to destroy clearings, kill people easily and even if the sword did work, they all knew that night would define the rest of their escape. Any advantages they could figure out now could potentially shift the balance of the job entirely. So with a few last breaths, the group ran in. With Mohwee leading the way and the others not far behind. Bek kept up with everyone, though she did resign herself to being at the back of the group. Ever since she had told everyone about the sword she’d been carrying a sense of unease deep in her gut, up to now she had made a series of terrible decisions. She’d hurt the people around her and got many of them killed. And now this sword was her responsibility, something she was fully prepared to accept. What made her uneasy was the idea that after everything she could be wrong again, that maybe it was all a lie. A fleeting guess scribbled on a paper she’d found out in the maze. And if it were wrong then they’d be running into certain doom. Magic dropped back, glancing over at her as they ran through the first few corridors. Passing into the clearing where the levers resided. 

“Hey….You okay? You look tense.” She whispered, trying to keep the conversation relatively low as they followed along. Magic still wasn’t sure that her and Bek would ever be as close as they once were, they’d gotten to a point where she’d been willing to give her a chance and so far she didn’t believe it had been wasted. But she’d be lying if she said she didn’t care and she would be lying if she didn’t say that seeing her being so reserved after being adamant she’d go on the hunt with them made her worried. Bek hummed quietly, nodding once. Though she didn’t quite look up to meet Magic’s eyes.
“I’m fine..Just worried y’know. This was the reason people let me stay after everything I did, gave me a second chance when I really didn’t deserve it. After everything I’m just scared this…could go wrong. That maybe I got it wrong and the sword won’t help at all. It’s the only reason people were okay with me sticking around…I just don’t want that to go to waste. Or to fail after trying to make things right.”
Magic was quiet once more, watching as the others began to jog through the opening to the jungle a few paces ahead of them. She let the words spin through her head, silently musing over what exactly to say.
“I get that… But you know it’s not your fault if it doesn’t work. And it’s not the only reason you got a chance…It helped but people are willing to give everyone another shot. We’re all worried something could happen but we have to try. You want to help. So don’t worry about what could go wrong, let’s just try and give it a go.”
Bek chuckled softly, a small but apparent smile spreading across her lips. She supposed that she had a point. 

“Thanks Magic..”
And Magic simply nodded before turning back to watch through the jungle. “No problem, we should catch up with the others though. Don’t want to get left behind.”

Catching up with the rest of the group wasn’t too hard of a task to complete, Magic knew she’d been through this route on more than one occasion to meet Ash so she simply followed the same path until the others came into view up ahead. Around the usual arrow trap which seemed to lie in wait, it had been one of the worst ones when they first came through. Vines stretched up the wall, offering the only real way to avoid being turned into the equivalent of a pin cushion. The tripwire lay against the ground, almost daring them to take a step. Though each of them knew the second they did it would be a mess, the small pinholes littered either side of the walls. One step would be enough to injure and two could potentially kill. Though no one was willing to really test it out. While most of the arrow traps had been disarmed in recent months, the one in front of them had been left behind. Since it was the only direction to the creatures den people hadn’t been too keen on getting rid of it. Even if arrows seemed to only bounce off of it, it was something there to keep distance between them and it. However minute that was. That was where they had decided to momentarily wait for the Magic and Bek to catch up. One by one they found themselves heading over, carefully scaling the vines until they were past the trap entirely.
“So, from here on we stick together. It’s still early so there shouldn’t be any of those things about but it’s still best not to wander off around here. Once we head past the lake…pond area we’re almost there.” Owen turned to Bek, giving her one simple curt nod as the group pushed forward. Pacing through the various corridors ahead of them. The jungle stretched for a fair few more turns, the trees towering over themselves until they found themselves beside the large pond area almost all of them were familiar with. And while Magic did seem to hesitate they continued forward. Deciding they could take a breather there on the way back. Each of them shuffled onwards, cutting through into the usual stone corridors. But once they did, Bek's eyes started to scan every space around them, deep gouges and gashes lay torn through the stone walls. One particular pillar looked as though it were lucky it was still standing. The creature no doubt having been through here on more than one occasion. Owen paused somewhere up ahead, craning his head up to the sky as though he were trying to find something though she could see just based off of the look of pure confusion on his face whatever it was wasn’t there anymore. When she tilted her head upwards, all she was met with was more of the vibrant blue sky, which was starting to get brighter now that the sun was higher in the sky. They didn’t stop for long though, as with one last turn they were met with a corridor, the corridor. 

Owen found himself at the back of the group now, staring at the wall ahead. Where vines scaled the wall and tangled around the floor, where one rather large bush secluded the way into the den. He tried to ignore the way his heart began to pound, how out of instinct he held the handle of his javelin just a little tighter. How his knuckles shifted to a pale white from that movement alone. There had been a time where he never thought he’d be able to make it to this point but he had, now they had to make it through another hunt. And for all his confidence when he insisted he was going, he hadn’t accounted for the fact that actually being here was reminding himself of the hell he’d dealt with. He knew that time would have rendered any signs of him being here into nothing, but that didn’t stop his eyes from scanning the floor where blood had dripped from his leg a year prior. He took a breath, shaking his head once or twice to focus again before heading after the others and into the den. It was exactly how they left it. Cobwebs clung to the space and the copper pipeworks continued across the ceiling, the whole area felt uneasy. One by one they clambered over the bush and headed further in. Owen could see the wall which split up ahead, where it formed a corner that would show the entirety of the den. Last time they’d headed right into the cave itself but this time they wouldn’t be doing that, they’d seen enough skulls to last a lifetime. That didn’t erase the way that the old, dark bloodstains were still baked into the ground, that there was still a drifting stench of death lingering from up ahead.
“This place is….jeez.” Was all Bek could manage as they slowly descended into the space. Owen and Mohwee immediately got to work assessing the area, trying to figure out where each of them could get set up when the time came. Previously they hid around one side of the wall and waited for it to get closer before daring to fire a shot but this time they couldn’t do that, having too many of them in one area made it difficult to actually escape in the first place. So while they wouldn’t be splitting up per say, they wouldn’t be standing beside each other the whole time.
“How sturdy are those pipes again?” Owen asked, nodding at one of the copper pipeworks which lined up relatively well with the cave while being far enough away that whoever waited there would be out of reach. Mohwee headed over, reaching up and hauling himself up onto it with a quick movement. He bounced on his heels a couple of times and while there was the slight metallic groaning each time he moved, it stayed in place.
“Seems sturdy enough. Think someone could stay up here?”
Owen nodded, waving over to Magic who headed over to where the both of them were.
“Ok so I think we’ll have you set up there with your gun. Keeps you back out of risk but also gives you a chance to cover us as well.”
She hummed, glancing between the cave further behind her and the particular cross beam like pipe which she’d be able to position herself on. It was close enough to the wall that she could essentially just crouch up there and be ready at a moment’s notice. From there they continued to look around. Beside that wall there appeared to be a dead end of sorts, it jutted into the wall with just enough space for someone to take a few steps but it led nowhere. Squidney found herself besides Bek, glancing over at it. “Not a good spot here, nothing but a dead end.” They turned back towards the cave, where a few more stone platforms sat. One was significantly shorter than the other but both were connected through a series of vine networks reaching up out of view. The stone had its own slashes, deep cuts which left the odd pebble littered around it. No one wanted to question how they’d got there, not that they didn’t have a good enough idea.
“Yeah we’ll avoid that then. If things go bad we get out, don’t try and use that as a hiding spot…it’d probably end badly.” Owen commented, pointing over at the two platforms. “The first one is shorter so however is there, stay out of sight at first but it’ll be a good spot to get a jump on it. Same for the higher one.” 

Squidney chimed in, craning her neck up to the somewhat higher platform of the two. From a glance it was clear it leant over the entire entrance of the cave. Which meant whenever something were to come out, you’d get a very good view of it.
“I have an idea but Bek might not like it.”
Bek, who had seemingly taken a few steps over to a wall opposite, which provided a smidge of cover alongside a broken pipe which was leaking water onto the ground, turned to face Squidney. Uncertainty plastered on her expression as she spoke.

 “Shoot. What’cha thinking?”
Squidney pointed up to the higher of the two platforms, shifting her finger so that if they were following, they’d all see how it leant over the opening of the cave.
“...When it comes out, we have you up there with the sword. When it’s far enough out, jump down…carefully of course. And then so long as you’re quick, you can cut the tail off before it really has the chance to notice you’re there.” 

The heavy silence which seemed to follow was rather telling, it was definitely an idea, whether it was one that would work was an entirely separate thing. The idea was risky and could be pretty dangerous, the jump alone could be a problem. But through that silence, no other suggestions were made. If they were going to do this, it could be the kind of crazy logic which could work. Or at the very least, buy them a few extra seconds to get a few slashes on the thing before it spotted them. 

“..It could work. I mean it’s worth a shot, we know most of our weapons don’t have the power to damage it so hitting it hard and fast might give us a chance.” Bek shrugged, she had to admit that the idea worried her. She’d be the one making that judgement call, when it was far enough out, if she could make the jump and hoping that sheer momentum would work in her favour. But she also knew that from what she’d been told, the last hunt went badly and if this was a chance to do something for everyone, then it was worth a try. 

Owen chimed in, nodding slowly as though thinking over a few things.
“I’ve got Guts making a few grapple hooks, if we have a few people around with them, then we might be able to hook them onto the tail and hold it back. Just for long enough for you to get the tail off and kill it.”
He glanced up at each of the individual ledges, the higher one and the one they were talking about having Bek get set up on would hold a good few of them.
“Another person can be up there with you Bek. We should get some ropes in place, whoever is waiting up there can pull you up then if needs be.”
Everyone seemed to agree that would be the best course of action, having each of them in various places would give them room to fight it without putting them all in direct line of the thing. Hopefully, at a minimum the plan gave them all space to work and if they did work together well, then things might just work out. Mohwee took one last look around, his eyes seeming distant as though he was weighing up their options before he nodded towards the way they came in.
“Let’s head back, we can stop at the lake on the way but we should plan this back in the clearing.”

They find themself heading through the corridors once again, only to stop at the lake for a while. The sun has fully come up now, the vibrant light streaming over the top of the walls signalling to them all that it’s getting closer to midday. The few of them have scattered themselves around the area, Magic sits at the table closest to the west wall with Bek and Owen. Kyle is also just wandering around, occasionally hopping into the water. But then Mohwee and Squidney find themselves sitting off to one side, their boots taken off as they dip their feet into the cooling lake. They can hear the light chatter drifting across from them, the odd laugh or joke Kyle makes once he circles around to the table. It’s relatively peaceful, much cooler than the scorching heat of the clearing and the two sit in silence for a while. Out of the corner of his eye though, Mohwee can see Squidney watching him. Her expression unreadable as she looks over his face. He turns to her after a second, raising an eyebrow but not saying anything. 

“Sorry. You just seem like you’re in your own head…you ok?” She asks once he turns to face her, she leans back a little, kicking softly at the water. The surface ripples. Mohwee nods.
“Yeah. Just thinking, we’ve got a plan. This could be over soon.”
Squidney nods, she turns back to look at the scenery around them. If they didn’t know that the creature’s den was right around the corner then it’d probably be a nice place to come and visit more often. Nevertheless it is nice, the sun shines down and she finds herself smiling softly at the way the light reflects over the water.
“It could be…which means we’re getting out of here soon. So…is that what’s on your mind?”
Mohwee sits there motionless for a moment, he turns back to look at the water too. Watching as the odd ripple splits the surface but eventually he does shrug.
“I guess. I’m ready to get outta here.” 

Squidney nods along again, turning to face him once again. She knows that so many conversations loop back to what people want to do once they escape, she’s heard Ayngel talking about going home to her siblings. She’s heard other plans but she knows even though he always is planning to get out, Mohwee has never once mentioned what he’s going to do once he is out of the maze.
“Me too. Y’know we’ve not talked about it much. Where are you going after all this?”
She can see the way his eyes drift down further, staring at the edge of the lake now where their feet seem to cause the odd ripples. How he slightly kicks at the water, not enough to splash it but enough for another ripple to shift over the surface. And she sees how he shrugs again.
“I don’t know. Never really thought that far ahead. I don’t remember anything about where I was before here so I’ll probably just stick with you all.”
Squidney reached over, resting a hand on his shoulder. That soft smile never leaves her face as he turns to look back over at her, the tension leaving his shoulders as she shifts the goggles off her head. Holding them in her other hand. 

“Y’know I don’t remember much either. Just that these belonged to my dad and even though I can’t remember…I feel like I ended up here to meet people. To meet all of you.” She chuckled softly, the light exhale passing through her nose. “We can stick together. You know we’ve got your back Mohwee.”
He found himself smiling as well, nodding once again. He knew the whole reason they’d been pursuing this whole thing was to make it out, to get back to whatever normal lives they’d been leading before. But he didn’t need that, he just needed to stay with the people he’d gotten used to seeing as a family. Even if he’d never admit that.
“..Thanks Squid, I uh.” He chuckled quietly. “That means a lot.”
“Of course…anytime.”

They made it back to the clearing a little after noon. And almost immediately they found themselves around the meeting table once more, preparing some semblance of a plan. It did seem like now they had a refresher of how things were set up around the area of the den, that part wouldn’t be too difficult. Mowee looked around at each of them before starting.
“Ok I know we started talking about ideas out there, let’s figure out one solid plan. This is a life changing mission here, we can’t afford to make mistakes.”

There was a unanimous shifting as the group nodded in agreement. They’d promised everyone else in the clearing this would be done with as minimal risk as physically possible and while it was going to be risky in general, they couldn’t afford to go in with anything less than a confirmed plan.
“We’ve seen that there’s a few vantage points.” Owen continued, most of his job as one of the maze leaders had been leading up to this very moment. So he knew it was vital for this job to go smoothly. “Two of us should be up on the top one overlooking the cave opening, one of those two is Bek. When it walks out far enough she goes down with the sword and gets to cutting the claw..tail thing away. We’ll have someone else up there to pull her up if things go wrong. There’s the vantage point to the side, someone should be there with a grappling hook and a rope. That can be hooked to the tail to pull it back so it shouldn’t be able to move as much.”
He took a breath, recounting the other points which they’d scouted out during their brief visit.
“Then there’s the wall with the water. It’ll only provide cover for one person but it’s also on the ground. Less space for making a quick getaway. There’s the pipeworks where Magic can be stationed with the gun, that way if the thing evades us…” He looked over in her direction, expression stone serious. “You shoot. No hesitation, that gun is strong even if it doesn’t kill it..there’s a good chance it’ll stun it long enough to buy time. Either just for you to get out of there and for us to climb out of sight or for us all to get around it and out. Ideally that’s a last resort though.”
Magic gave a quiet nod, she hated knowing that the weapon was capable of killing them at a minimum. Of thinking that the last time one had been used it was to hurt her friend. But now it was a chance. One they’d possibly end up using. 

“We’ll probably need to draw it out.” Mohwee said rather plainly, turning to face Kyle who up to now had just been nodding along. There was a small glimmer of confusion in his eyes, one which was quickly replaced with a more mischievous glimmer once he realised what his job would be. “We’ll give you a shield. You just make a bit of noise every minute or so. Magic’ll see it coming so she’ll signal for when you stop. You hide behind the first wall in, the one we were at the first time we hunted this thing.”
Kyle laughed to himself, a small sly grin crossing his lips as he gave them all a confident, bordering on cocky thumbs up. “Basically just annoy it, gotcha.” Mohwee nodded again. 

Owen found himself getting back to the next point. 

“Ok. Set up wise we know Bek’s going to be up on the higher vantage point waiting to drop in with the sword. I’ll go up with her with one of the hooks, worst case scenario, she’ll be attached to a rope up top. If it goes wrong, I can pull you up out of the way until we get another chance.” Owen relayed the directions out, this was something they should probably figure out in advance. “Squidney I’ll give you another one of the hooks, you can stay to the side. The second platform vantage point, you’ll be closer to the exit that way. Mohwee can be next to the water. It’ll keep you out of sight, you can also have one of the grapple hooks. That’ll be three of us keeping that thing back as best we can.” Each respectively gave him a few nods. “Magic and Kyle you’re furthest out. Distraction and gun duty, if things get dicey just cover your own backs and get back to the clearing.” 

As far as plans go, it was risky, maybe a little extreme. But as far as plans to kill a giant monster made of an amalgamation of flesh and metal could go, it probably wasn’t the worst.” 

Nevertheless there was one more, painfully obvious point to be made.

“We all know this is going to be risky. As much as we can reassure everyone we have it covered, we know this thing has killed before. If you think that you need to get out, then do so. We’ll head in before the doors close, to make damn sure we’re set up before it gets dark. This is your chance, if you’re not sure about this to say so. If you don’t want to go on this trip, there’s no turning back once we head in.”
The silence was thick once the words were spoken. The risks were clear, if things went wrong, no assurances to the other clearing members could stop them potentially being injured or worse in the process. They were facing off against the deadliest creature they knew of, something which had destroyed clearings and killed a handful of them already. Being nervous was understandable but the hunt was going to end one of two ways, successful or not. And Mohwee, for all his own reassurances, wasn’t the type of guy to leave a job half finished. When they went in there, he wouldn’t leave until it was over. Which meant they had to be on the same terms, they had to agree to it together. Or bow out now. And while Bek seemed to be a little nervous, the pressure made itself more and more apparent as time went on. No one said a word about leaving, about bailing on the plan. 

“This is our chance.” Magic said softly. “To make up for everyone we’ve lost, to get the key and to get the hell out of here.”
Bek took a breath through her nose and after a second, she nodded as well. That same eager confidence was present in her expression that she’d had early on, except this time it felt significantly more trustworthy. 

“We knew the risks when we agreed at the meeting. It’s not an easy job but…after everything I did. I know I can’t speak for everyone, but I know I want to make the right choice. I’m still in.”
Squidney glanced over at Mohwee, bowing her head in a single nod as well.
“I’m ready to kill this thing once and for all.”
Kyle gave yet another thumbs up.

Mohwee and Owen silently glanced between each other, before back at the group.
“So we’re all ready then?” The usual nods followed, respectively they knew that this spark of hope wouldn’t last forever, if they were going to make the most of this opportunity, to leave no room for second guesses it had to be now. Mohwee’s expression remained serious, a thin line crossed his lips as he found himself glancing around at the group.
“Ok. Then everyone get some rest…because tomorrow, we’re going to kill this thing. Once and for all.”

Chapter Text

As much as he could say he wanted it to, sleep did not come easy to Owen that night. He knew it was important to get as much rest as physically possible before tomorrow but that understanding didn’t shake the unease and uncertainty from his very bones. He lay on his bed, staring up at the wooden grooves of his ceiling. Counting the individual dips as he had so many times before. This whole job had been coming for a long time, he knew deep down that if he hadn't been stung it most likely would’ve occurred the following week. As far as avoiding it had gone, they’d spent the better part of a year training and preparing their weapons. Sharing knowledge and setting up a rough plan. The next morning they would be meeting to finalise the details, Squidney would remind them of the main things she knew about the creature so they had the best odds and they had the sword which could supposedly kill the thing. They were as ready as they were going to be and now they had made the decision that tomorrow afternoon, before the sun would set. They would be venturing out to complete that very task. Owen knew he could’ve bowed out if he wanted to but the reality was he didn’t want to, this was just an unfortunate case of last minute nerves. He’d made promises and broken them before but something about promising they would turn back if things went awry no longer sat right in his gut. He knew at least for Mohwee, turning back wasn’t an option. He knew that all of them were aware that there were high stakes to this, if they failed and didn’t get out of the range of the beast then they could be stung or killed. His whole job as leader was to ensure that these jobs went right, to ensure that he kept as many of the people around him safe and now he was going to be marching in alongside the others to try and kill the creature, something which up to now none of them could say they’d done. And all of those thoughts seemed to swirl around his mind like some sort of sick, mocking symphony. Reminding him that all of them could very well be marching to their deaths. But he also knew they owed it to every single person in the clearing to try, that the key out of this place was right in front of them and as far as opportunities went, they probably would never get another one quite like this. Where every single one of them was ready to make that risk, for the good of the clearing. For their freedom. Nevertheless, he remained still, staring up at the ceiling as he took slow quiet breaths. He lay there silently hoping for one of two things, either for sleep to drag him under or for the morning to come so he could get to work. There wasn’t much to be done by that point, after the meeting he had been to see Guts to collect the grapples they would need as well as enough rope to secure them and Bek once they headed out but at least if the sun was up, it would seem like he’d gotten some sleep. That didn’t seem like it was going to happen though, the nerves weren’t easing off any time soon. And it didn’t take long for him to realise he wasn’t the only one when he heard the shuffling of footsteps outside, someone heading over to the campfire area. Owen swung his legs over the side of his bed, quietly reaching to secure his prosthetic on, ready to head out and see who was outside. Maybe he was using this as an excuse to avoid sleep himself but it was nice to know he probably wasn’t the only one who wasn’t finding it easy to drift off. He got up quietly, careful not to wake up Apo who was seemingly still snoring on the other side of the room. Owen found himself glancing at the middle of the sandy pit in his house, noting the missing pink figure which usually accompanied him. It was still strange, a weird feeling knowing that Puddy was still safe just out of reach. Nevertheless he headed to the door, opening it and slipping out without a word. He made sure to close it behind him silently, ensuring that he wouldn’t be followed as he too walked over to the fireplace. He could see now the warm orange glow as though someone was there, the flames twisting over the odd log which had been tossed in and a rough figure sitting to one side of it. Even though the clearing was still practically boiling, the heat never quite fading in the nights anymore, they had a blanket loosely draped over their shoulders. Owen walked until he was standing right beside them, glancing down.
“Squidney?” He whispered, seeing that she wasn’t paying him too much mind. Instead her eyes were fixed on the flames in front of her, distant and unfocused. For a second he thought maybe she was sleepwalking but then she nodded. Owen sat down on the bench beside her, leaning back so the wooden slats brushed against his back. “Can’t sleep?” He asked.
“Not really.” She whispered back, the moon was still high. Past the midway point at least, with it beginning to dip down towards the lower part of the wall. Not quite morning but slowly getting there. “You?”
Owen shook his head, the flames weren’t something he was totally sure how to feel about. They’d been something of an uncomfortability within his memories but then there were times they were soothing. He appreciated that in the dead of night, as they sat there quietly, it felt like this was one of those times. Where it calmed the hefty anxiety in his bones. 

“No I can’t either. I know we’re all ready for tomorrow, it's just..”
“Nerves.” Squidney found herself chuckling to herself quietly as she shook her head. Truth be told she wanted this plan to work, because it’d reassure her that these things could be killed, that they stood a chance. “I know everyone’s nervous, Bek’s definitely worried too. I just think maybe it’s because we’ve seen it up close, you got stung, I got trapped out there with it for so long. Going back’s the right thing but it’s also a lot. I used to get nightmares of it when I first made it back here. After so long, I’m ready for this thing to be gone…and even if there’s others like it, if this works…” 

“We finally get some peace of mind.” He responded, when they’d gone on the last hunt the odds were stacked against them and it had only confirmed his worries that the weapons they had weren’t enough to even dent the thing. He wasn’t totally sold on trusting Bek’s new found weapon but it was the biggest chance they’d been offered up to now so it was something he intended to hold onto in its entirety. “We can sleep knowing that they don’t stand between us and getting home.” 

Squidney smiled softly at that, she leant backwards too so that she could tilt her head up to look at the speckled stars in the sky. Each one glimmering away in the night. 

“We’ve come a long way since those early days haven’t we.” She said it more as a passing thought than that of a question but Owen found himself nodding in the quiet. 

“We really have. All of us, old friends and new.”
She chuckled to herself, glancing back down as she wrapped the blanket around her shoulders a little closer.
“I’ll never forget the first day you and Rasbi showed up, when you were staying down in the bottom part of my treehouse.”
Owen laughed quietly to himself, nodding at the memory. Something which had passed so long ago but was a fundamental part of his time during those early days after all she’d been one of the first people to offer him kindness within the maze.
“Yeah, before it turned into a kitchen that is.”
She lightly reached over to shove at his shoulder, but also ended up laughing to herself more.
“I already said sorry about that….but hey. I’ve got your back tomorrow, we’ve all got each other’s backs. It’s weird to think how far things have come since those days but we’ll make it work. However it works out.” Squidney blinked slowly, as though her eyelids were growing heavy once more and she shook herself awake. Humming once. “It’s getting late, I should probably get some sleep before tomorrow. I don’t have any grapes but….goodnight!”
Squidney hauled herself to her feet, giving him one last wave before heading off in the direction of her treehouse. Leaving Owen to chuckle to himself about the old memories. He ended up heading back into his house not long later and this time, when he lay his head down to finally get some sleep he was able to let the slumber pull him under. 

======

The group met again around noon, setting up around the meeting table one last time to share whatever last minute information they would need and to ensure that they had the last of the supplies they would need before heading out within the next few hours. Squidney made sure to relay the knowledge she’d mentioned during the first hunt once more, that they should try and be as quiet as possible, despite the odd bit of noise Kyle would make to draw it out of the cave. That they needed to keep low if they didn’t want to be spotted. It was a few simple things but it was essential they were as prepared as possible. Owen headed over a little after the others, carrying what appeared to be a hefty sack over one shoulder. The second he placed it on the table, there was an evident metal ringing and clanking which followed. He untied the pack and left it open in the centre of the table, nodding towards it.
“In there is enough armour for everyone. I know we want the element of surprise by dropping Bek in quietly but this will ensure the rest of us don’t get immediately caught up. It won’t save your life but it’ll give you a better chance than if you didn’t have it.”
The group began to rifle through the bag of freshly made armour and Owen knew that he’d thank Guts again later for getting it all set up, it was iron but it was the best they had and as he’d said, it was better than having nothing at all. Bek shifted on the balls of her feet, eyeing the bag in silence until Owen reached in and pulled out a separate metal plate. Straps were attached to the shoulders so it could be worn easily and while it wasn’t as thorough as the other armour pieces it looked more tailored to be worn under the shirt rather than over it.
“It’s not like the rest of the armour, but it should give you some protection while keeping you quiet. It’s the best I can do. There’s some shoulder and knee armour too just like everyone else but that way it won’t clash together. Meet us back here once you’re ready.”
Bek gave them all a nod and headed off to go and get herself ready, while the others remained quiet for a moment. There was a level of unspoken unease which drifted around the table. Owen took another breath.
“I want to trust this will work but if the sword doesn’t do it then we have to prioritise just killing it and getting the key later. Magic has her gun. I believe Bek when she says she trusts her knowledge but we have to also be prepared for things not to go our way.” He reached into the bottom of the bag, handing out the grapple hooks and various ropes. Reserving the few he had left ready for Bek specifically. And in the bottom, wrapped in a few sheets of paper was a single stick of dynamite. Retrieved from one of the chests months prior out in the maze, one single chance. “This won’t kill it but it’ll stun it for long enough to buy us an escape. If it goes wrong, get out any way you can. Whether that is the way we came or up on the platforms. There is flesh to that thing, beneath all the metal….the dynamite could expose some flesh. This is a backup plan at best. I trust you all and I don’t want you to think that we don’t stand a chance, I want you to know that no matter what…we will make sure this works out. One way or another.”
Someone would have to throw the dynamite or risk getting up close enough to lodge it at an exposed point for his idea to work but given the grim expressions on everyone’s faces, Owen was pretty sure they already knew that. They weren’t mentioning the backup to Bek, he knew she was already nervous and the last thing they needed was to make her believe the one thing she was hoping to work wouldn’t. But everything about this was unpredictable.
He looked to the sky, the sun was up somewhere but the sky was obscured by a series of grey clouds. Not dark enough to rain, but enough for a low wind to pass over the clearing. For there to be a rising sense of dread with every single thought. He secured the bag and rested it over his shoulder. Bek returned a few moments later, the sword resting against one shoulder, the straps of the armour resting on her shoulders. She gave him one last nod as he looked around at the group. And then he turned to Mohwee, seeing that same fiery ambition glimmering in his eyes. If he was worried, that expression wasn’t present. It was fixed and pointed and ready.
“We’re going in there to kill it. We work as a team, we get this done and when it’s done. We get the fuck out of this maze.”
And before they knew it, the group was heading to the doors. 

They could already see everyone waiting for them as they approached, the doors would close by the time they made it to the den. By the time they made it back they would either be successful or they would have failed, either way the rest of the outsiders weren’t willing to take any chances. Their footsteps were heavy against the grass, weapons drawn and stern looks plastered to their faces. If this could be done it proved they could make it out, that they too would stand a chance. Not just the few who were going out on the mission. Ayngel and Spidey immediately headed over to Mohwee and Squidney, pulling them into one big hug, Oeca stood beside them. Patting their shoulders lightly and if Owen wasn’t mistaken he could see the flash of worry in his expression. Mowhwee had that persisting determined look on his face as he nodded.
“Come home…” Spidey’s voice quivered slightly as she let Squidney’s hand drift away, And Ayngel nodded once at Mohwee. A small but respectful thing, telling him that even though she didn’t believe once, she trusted him. They’d avenge their clearing, they’d kill this thing. Squidney gave them both a hopeful yet equally tearful smile. 

Magic ran over to Kyle and Acho, pulling them into another hug. Her gun now proudly strapped to her back, she buried her head in their shoulders, breathing heavily for the moment. But after a brief moment she too stepped back. 

“You can do this, all of you.” Graecie whispered, letting her go to the doors. Kyle had headed over to them as well, wrapping his arms around Acho and clapping a strong hand to his back. His focus was on Graecie as he nodded, yet another silent promise. He would bring her home. By that point almost all of them were at the gate. 

Soup was waiting too and though she stood strong, the slight redness under her eyes were obvious. She waited until Bek wandered close enough before pulling her into a tight hug, clenching her eyes closed as though she didn’t want to let go quite yet and while it went unheard to everyone else she whispered something to her, slipping one single potion bottle her way. No doubt something which would help her in her job, possibly strength, maybe healing. And as Bek was about to pull away, the potion brewer planted one light kiss on her cheek. Tearfully hugging her one more time before stepping back.
“I know you want to do the whole hero thing but I’ll be really pissed if you don’t come back.” 

Owen was the last to walk through and out of everyone, he held the biggest promise. That he would protect the others no matter the cost, the dynamite in the bottom of the bag was a testament to that. He was going to protect them. He too found himself hugging Rasbi and Apo, holding onto them as closely as possible. Like it was the very first time, though it could be the last. And he refused to say goodbye, but he promised he would see them later.
Soup walked over and patted his shoulder. As did Guts. And as he broke free from the hug he approached Graecie, taking her hand and shaking it firmly.
“I swear I will do everything I can to make sure they all make it home safely. Keep everyone here safe okay.”
He met her eyes, a silent bargain being made. And both knew it, if this went wrong and he didn’t come back from this. She’d look out for the group, he trusted her and even if that judgement had wavered once or twice before. He knew in his heart that he would always trust her leadership, her judgement. He knew that Graecie was someone he could believe in to make sure that they made it out.
“I will. Good luck to all of you.” She smiled, even if it was laced with pure concern and with that he too turned away. Heading to the doors. He turned back one last time, meeting the eyes of each and every single one of them.
“We’re going to kill this thing as when we do, we’ll be back.”
And as soon as they had been by those very doors, they were running into the maze. 

The goodbyes burnt like acid on the tongues of each of them, from the moment they had started planning this they knew there was a greater risk at hand than just the possibility that they would leave without killing the creature. Each had known the minute they stood up around that table, signing up for the final hunt that if they didn’t back down, if they came along there was a chance that they didn’t come back. None had necessarily been prepared for death to claim them quite yet but a few of them had come close, a few of them were prepared to take that risk either for the first or last time to make sure that everyone back in the clearing got a chance to do the same. That didn’t mean that saying goodbye, getting those final hugs didn’t feel like a knife twisting in their gut. It just meant they knew, maybe it could be worth that risk. But it also meant the entire journey to the den was done in pressing silence, they hopped over the parkour after the first turn. Bek stopped to help Magic haul her way over and Owen could see the way they slowed down at the back of the group again. 

Those two jogged a little slower once more.
“I..I’ve said it already but I wanted to say I’m sorry one more time.” Bek hummed, continuing to jog behind the others but not anywhere near as far as she had before. If they heard her then it didn’t entirely matter anymore, this speech wasn’t for the masses of any crowd or the applause either. It wasn’t for their ears, it was only for Magic’s. “After everything, I hurt you in more ways than could be rightfully forgiven. You gave me a second chance even after all of it. And you don’t deserve any of what I did, the lying, the holding that crossbow at you, tying you up and leaving you behind..” She took a breath. “I’m really sorry. And thank you, for putting that trust in me again.”
Magic seemed to be a little reserved, she wasn’t sure if she would ever fully forgive Bek for everything that’d happened. She wasn’t sure if she had it in her to form the same friendship they had before but in that moment she did find herself nodding, she could at least accept the apology.
“I don’t forgive it all. But you’re proving yourself and that means more than you think…it’s going to be okay. We get through this and you keep proving it and then maybe one day I will.” She smiled, meeting Bek’s eyes. Who nodded in response, she knew that was more than she was owed and she hadn’t expected any more than that, she just wanted to make sure those words didn’t go unspoken.

Up ahead Kyle and Owen ran along side by side. He’d not said anything at the meeting and truth be told he knew it was very last minute to say anything, but Owen kept his voice low as he spoke. Not turning to face Kyle as he let the words fall from his mouth.
“Kyle.”
“Yo.” Kyle laughed, the usual almost overly hopeful grin plastered to his face. The total opposite to Owen’s more refrained and serious expression. He took a heavy breath through his nose, what he was about to ask was cruel and if things went the way he was about to suggest, Magic would quite possibly hate him for it. But after nearly two years of knowing her, of getting to a point where he saw her like a sister, he knew he had to make one thing utterly clear. He was letting her on this mission but not at a price, the risk of her life could not be greater than the reward and maybe it was a little biased but he wasn’t afraid to admit that he was going to stick his neck out for her. Kyle could sense the serious shift, his own smile fading into a thin line.
“If this goes wrong….” He spoke quietly.
“Which it…won’t?” Kyle’s voice trailed off, confusion tinting every word. The whole point of this wasn’t to prepare for something that wouldn’t happen though, it was to prepare for something which very much could. Owen’s eyes drifted to the side, to where Kyle was already holding his shield. Both something for noise and for protection. He wasn’t going to be right in the thick of it and neither was she…
“If it does.” He responded pointedly, knowing once it was said it couldn’t be unspoken. “You’re closest to Magic and the main, possibly only direct way out of the den.” He could just about see the way Kyle’s eyes widened as he slowly pieced the thoughts together, she’d never leave them there willingly and Owen wasn’t going to leave that choice up to fate. She could hate him, she very well would be within her right to do so. “...if this goes wrong you grab her and you go. You drag her out of there if you have to. If there is any sign we’re going to lose, that we won’t make it out…you make damn sure she makes it back here. Am I clear?” He swallowed the lump in his throat, he wouldn’t tell any other person in the group. He hadn’t told Magic herself, this was a deal. And Kyle respected it, one firm nod was a clear response.
“I swear. I’ll get her back.”
And with that, the last remaining weight which was holding Owen back from this entire thing was eased off of his shoulders. Whatever happened, whatever promises he either would or wouldn’t uphold. Magic was going to be okay and he was pretty sure he could live with that. 

The rest of the journey to the den was done in near silence, par for the odd clang of metal as they ran through the corridors. Passing through the jungle, out through the lake and then looping through the damaged and worn stone segments until they were met with the final corner which made the den. The sky was already beginning to shift to a deeper blue as the afternoon passed through to evening and one by one they piled through into the small clearing area. Kyle drew his dagger from his side, his shield already prepped and ready as he approached the side wall. Getting himself in position, his part of the plan involved staying out of sight, making noise and holding onto a fresh promise if everything fell apart. He glanced between all of them.
“We’ve got this. Good luck.”
Magic gave Owen one very quick hug and a nod as she headed over to the pipeworks, she would be staying very still at the furthest part of the corridor. The last time they’d been on one of the hunts they’d found staying low and moving slowly managed to keep them out of its sights, they just had to hope this would also be one of those times. With some quick movements she shimmied up the pipes and unclipped the gun from her back, placing a rough bolt into the chamber she drew the gun ready. He tried to ignore how her hands trembled a little, knowing that she was worried for them more than the plan itself. He gave her a nod in return as the remaining four of them headed down further into the corridor, they had to move fast. If something further into the cave opened up for the creature to get out, they wouldn’t want to be stood there when it did finally show its face. Mohwee took his hook from his backpack, making certain the rope was secured fully. He took a heavy breath, the confident demeanour faltering for just long enough for them to see the worry hidden underneath but he met each of their eyes, even Beks as he spoke.
“Thank you, all of you for coming with me. For believing in this plan. For believing in me. Let’s get this done, yeah?”
Squidney chuckled lightly to herself, removing her grappling hook from her pack.
“Let’s get this done.”
Owen reached over to pat Mohwee on the shoulder, after all of this time. He’d grown to trust the other runner far more than he ever thought he could, he knew if that version of himself could see up to now he wouldn’t believe it, that he’d be willing to go out on a life altering mission with the guy. And yet there he stood, head held high and prepared for whatever came their way and while Owen knew he too was nervous, he couldn’t find it in his heart to regret coming with him. He would follow him anywhere, they’d started out as practically enemies and now they were more like brothers.
“Let’s kill this thing.”
And with that Mohwee secured his spot against the wall, using the water to cover his tracks. He was hidden out of view. So that he’d only really be there when the creature was fully out and they were holding the tail back. The remaining three clambered up onto the first platform, then scaled up to the second. Where Squidney would be positioned, she gave Owen a quiet hug and Bek a nod. Before laying down as flat as possible to avoid being spotted from where she was now ready. Leaving just Bek and Owen to do the final climb. The two steadily scaled the various vines and hefty leaf branches upwards. Not saying a word until they finally were able to reach over to the tallest platform of the three. Owen shifted his own equipment off his shoulder, placing the final grappling hook on the ground beside him and then retrieving one separate hook and a rope, as promised. A circular one which after a few moments of rough humouring with the end of his sword was secured into the ground. He tied one end of the rope to the hook and then stood back up, securing the other half around Bek under her arms. So that she could be safely pulled out of the way in the event it came down to it.
“When you see it hop down, the tension won’t lower you all the way to the ground unless I let go. So you’ll be able to get onto its back. Squidney and Mohwee will haul the tail backwards, if we have this right….you can then cut through it. Once that’s done either get it through the head or pull on the rope so I know to pull you up. Magic will then shoot it.”
The first time he’d met Bek he hadn’t been sure about her, then he had hated her for everything she’d done and after all of it she’d saved him, tried to make some semblance of a change. Through it all he could at least respect what she was willing to risk. She nodded quietly, shifting the bottle from her pocket. She took a shuddered breath.
“It’s strength. One for the last moment, just to give me a bit of a boost when I do jump down to…deal with it. When I see it moving, I’ll drink it. It should give us more of a chance.”
Owen didn’t have much to say to that, he’d known from early on that Soup cared for Bek. Quite possibly more than she would ever want to admit to any of them and that potion was a gift which could very well turn the tides of the entire job. So he just gave her a nod and then the group was ready. Waiting as the sun slowly began to set over the maze, until that little group was left alone in the darkness. 

They couldn’t say how long it had been when they heard the shifting of stone, as though the walls around them were shifting once more. Switching up and changing, but as each of them lay in wait they knew that couldn’t be the case, not a single wall had moved par what they couldn’t directly see. Owen turned to Bek slowly, pressing a single index finger to his lips. Accompanying the sound of stone shifting was the evident low snarling of one of the creatures. The low clunks and scrapes as each metallic claw stepped forward. Owen didn’t move far, just a small shuffle forward so that he could see over the ledge. In the dark it wasn’t easy to make out, but the odd lava patch further down illuminated the area relatively well. And he was in time to see the wrinkled head of the creature poke itself from the cave, he shuffled back. Nodding for Bek to drink the potion, it was now or never. She removed the cork, swirling it around the glass container and with one tilt of her head, Bek chugged the potion. She grimaced, clenching her eyes shut with a shake of her head as she slowly unsheathed the sword. Her heart raced, though he didn’t doubt the fact that she wasn’t the only one feeling that way. The first sound he heard was that which could only be described as a blade hitting stone, one low drone from the opposite end of the corridor. A head poked its way around the corner. Kyle was keeping his end of the arrangement. The creature continued with another step. Owen could see the first of the two metallic legs, wires crawling up through the flesh and down into each individual pincer. Bek held the hilt of the sword, her grip so tight her knuckles turned white. Another clang from the corridor. The creature moved further, another low snarl emitting through the air as it snaked out from the cave. He could see Squidney preparing herself, the rope locked into her hands. The hook was prepared. And with one more clang of Kyle’s dagger the creature emerged fully. Six metallic legs. One huge, scorpion like body, reinforced with metal plates. And a tail. The large pincer at the end shifted and turned and Owen dreaded the very possibility that there could be a camera at the end of it. Watching for any signs of movement. While signals hadn't been discussed, everyone knew once it was far enough out everything would happen in quick succession. 

Squidney gave Mohwee a nod as the creature began to crawl in line with their spots. She turned her head up to the ledge where Owen and Bek were waiting and then with one swift nod, everything happened at once. 

The goggled girl spun the hook, throwing it so it sank into one side of the creature. Mohwee threw his to account for the other. As an ear splitting screech echoed through the section. If it didn’t know they were here before, it did now. Owen twirled his hook, the last piece and threw it down. The claw sunk over one of the plates of metal on the tail. None were enough to kill, or even harm it. They were enough to buy them a few seconds. And Bek stepped off the ledge, diving down towards the tail. She swung the sword down with one fail swoop. Sparks flew as it broke through a chunk of metal. But then the creature was shrieking, a low monstrous sound. Bek’s eyes widened. It hadn’t been enough to cut it clean off. The tail swung, breaking the rope which Owen had been using almost instantly. It threw Mohwee and Squidney from their platforms and onto the ground. The brunt force alone knocking the air from their lungs. And the second the tail was free, it swung towards Bek with obvious murderous intent. She had just a second to swipe with the sword, sending one of the metal pincers flying. But only moments before she was knocked into the depths of the cave. The creature reared up on hind legs, roaring loudly. Owen, who had been tossed forwards as the rope snapped, managed to just stop himself from falling over the edge. But now there was no way to pull any of them up. 

Bek coughed, wincing from where the blunt end of the tail had managed to hit her in the side. Staggering to her feet just in time to avoid the thing turning to lunge straight at her. Squidney and Mohwee had to haul themselves up, wincing from the sudden impact. It was pure chaos, the plant they’d spent so long meticulously trying to prepare themselves for was falling apart. Magic watched, her eyes widening as she lined up the first shot. She’d brought plenty of bolts in the event things did go wrong. She just had hoped it wouldn’t quite so quickly. She kept the gun raised, focusing on how she’d come to make a difference and fired. The arrow whistled through the air, sinking deep into the fleshy portion of the creature’s head. Once again it reared up, turning around and making a mad dash towards where she was positioned. Bek, who had managed to avoid being hit by it, took a swing for one of the creature’s legs. The same sparks flinging throughout the surroundings. One of the wires had visibly been spliced and the metal was damaged but that clearly wasn’t stopping it.

Owen, who had kept himself high up for the moment, knocked an arrow into position. It wouldn’t damage the thing either but he knew from experience it would piss it off at the least, if he and Magic timed their shots right it might be able to disorient it before he had to resort to the dynamite. He tried not to pay it much mind though as he let the arrow fly. It bounced off of the metal as predicted but it turned away from Bek, tilting its head upwards. And he got a very good look at where the flesh twisted together to form a mouth but no eyes. They’d kept quiet but with the panic this thing had been able to figure out where they were, it couldn’t see them though. As it began to scale up towards them he grabbed the pack and dived for the vines he’d climbed previously, sliding down to where he could roll across the floor. Tossing the bag to Kyle. Who caught it and ducked out of sight again, if they couldn’t get the whole situation under control, he’d figure out how to get it close enough. Squidney and Mohwee had managed to recover as best as they could, each running to retrieve one of the remaining grapple hooks. Which they threw up again to hook around one leg on each side. Owen ran back over to help on Squidney’s side, while Bek ran over to help with Mohwee. Each dragging on the ropes, teeth gritted as it continued to screech. The two front pincers clawed away as it tried to get further up the wall. The tail swayed wildly.
We’re going to need that dynamite after all. Was all Owen could really bring himself to think as the thing fell backwards, the loud thud of it hitting the ground echoing through the area. If this thing’s call attracted others, he could only dread what would happen. The creature recovered quickly though, snarling as it lunged towards them. Forcing them to split across both sides of the corridor. Bek used the opportunity to get behind it, slashing at the tail from the underside. Leaving another deep routed gash in the underside. Leaving another deep routed gash in the grey, almost moist flesh. Black blood oozed out alongside more of the usual metal sparks, another ungodly roar bounced over the walls as the tail reared around. Pincers shifting to reveal the pointed end of the stinger, dripping with vibrant green liquid. Bek narrowly managed to avoid it. Though the brunt side managed to knock Owen, Squidney and Mohwee flying. The three of them rolled across the cold stone until they found themselves practically at Kyle and Magic’s feet. The three of them groaned quietly, Kyle rushed over to pull Squidney up while the other two helped each other. Mohwee who’d been hit first spat a fresh glob of blood onto the stone at his feet, no doubt from where he’d probably managed to bite down on his tongue. Squidney rested a hand on her forehead where some specks of crimson were starting to trickle along her own tan skin, trying to ignore the ache in her ribs and Owen could feel a pain blossoming through his gut, his hands and forearms littered with scratches from the fall. Though he supposed he was lucky that the claw hadn’t caught him or that the stinger didn’t manage to catch him a second time. Bek managed to dodge past one more attack, running in the direction of where the rest of the group was now injured. Their breaths were heavy and laboured and their options were getting fewer as more time continued. The odd spark continued ahead of them but it probably wasn’t enough to destroy it. They could fall back now but as Mohwee looked over each of their faces he knew that wasn’t going to happen, determination seemed to override whatever fear had previously been coursing through their veins. They were doing this. Magic glanced between them. Another agitated snarl pierced the air as the creature tried to shake off whatever damage had been done. Magic blinked, quietly hopping down from her position as she quickly jogged over to grab at Bek’s arm. They could get to one side. And they could use the gun to keep its attention drawn for enough time for them to light the dynamite, then they could use that to disorient it for long enough to hopefully just break off the tail. Without its main weapon, they might stand a chance.

And like that everything picked up once again. Bek led the way, dragging Magic with her. Prepared to slash if needs be. Owen tried to reach for Magic, eyes widening in horror once he realised she was no longer just on the outskirts of the fight…that she was right in the centre of it all. And whatever he had promised himself would be done, couldn’t be guaranteed. Mohwee gripped his shoulder tightly, mouthing that Bek would have her back and while it didn’t totally reassure him, it was enough for him to try and get his head back in the game. He glanced between the four of them as the creature began to  Kyle nodded for the other three to get out of the way. They ran to the opposing side, with the pack holding the dynamite going with them. The three of them stopped just shy of the dead end they had been trying to avoid. And then those very same clangs picked up again. The creature charged towards the wall Kyle had been hiding behind. Magic fired another bolt, which tore through the air and spliced between two of the metallic plates on its back. Another horrendous roar tore from its slimy throat. Owen held the dynamite in his hand, Mohwee kept his dagger ready now. Sparking it once, twice, a third time until the sparks flew and the end of the stick of explosive dynamite lit up. And for all his fear leading up to that moment, Owen took a deep breath. It burnt through his ribs like its own fire. He could hear the creature stalking closer, he could feel the other three outsiders’ eyes fixed on his hand. Where the end of the dynamite burnt closer and closer to the end. Until he heard that same obnoxious yet equally horrifying screech once more, as he knew the creature’s jaw would be wide open. And like that he stepped out from behind the wall. He saw Mohwee and Squidney’s arms moving to pull him back but he only reared an arm back. And threw the sparkling chunk of dynamite up towards its jaw. There wasn’t much time to step back as the explosion went off, sending him flying for the third time that night. The others thankfully had covered their ears but he winced, blurriness crossing his vision for that brief moment as his ears rang. This was the opportunity they’d needed to either escape or kill the creature for good and that choice was about to be made. Somewhere he’d heard his voice get shouted, though through the muffled haze it wasn’t entirely clear who had shouted it. Just that it was followed with a significantly more shrill screech, the thing wasn’t dead yet. A pair of hands grabbed the front of his shirt in the gaps in his armour. Pulling him to his feet just as a second pair ran past him, through the smoke and past the creature. And he could hear the name be shouted this time.

“SQUIDNEY?!” 

She’d heard it. But she also knew if they didn’t do this now then they wouldn’t be able to at all, on the ground, tossed aside as one of the remaining grapple hooks. Which she took in her hands as soon as she was close enough. They’d come all this way to get rid of it and they couldn’t leave that job half finished. Squidney swirled it around over her head a couple of times to build up momentum before swinging it down into the flesh of the creature’s tail and pulling it backwards, digging her heels into the ground. Owen, Mohwee and Kyle watched from one side. Blood caked the side of Owen’s face now, Kyle had some dust and light cuts from where the dynamite had blasted rubble in their direction but none of those injuries stopped them watching what was happening. Bek glanced over at Magic before rushing forward again, slashing at the tail with as much strength as she could possibly muster. And this time more chunks of metal began to fly, the stench of rot began to twist through the air, merging with the scent of sulfur and coppery blood. But she kept swinging, even when she heard the creature’s loud screeches as it shifted again. There was a bigger gap now, the dark blood oozing down from the tail to form a puddle on the ground. Squidney yelped as there was one more sudden yank, where the creature managed to rip its tail back far enough that the rope was thrown from her hands. She had hardly any time to react as her and Bek were swung off their feet. The remaining pincers swinging down prepared to meet them both. Bek hit the wall closest to her, her head colliding with the stone surface as she slid down indignantly. And Squidney was thrown further upwards, closer to the mouth of the cave, a horrifying scream being torn from her lungs as she was tossed through the air before rolling over the ground. Magic stood at that same spot, her heart racing as the creature steadily turned on her. Another low snarl rumbling up from its throat, slimy ooze dripping out from its pointed teeth.
She took a step back, her hands trembling as she realised the focus was entirely on her now. Owen took a step forward, his own heart pounding in his ears. His eyes darting between the still forms of the others, he could see a flicker of movement from them as they slowly came too but he wasn’t sure if it would be quick enough. And the one solid card they’d been holding was already gone, the acrid smell of smoke and sulphur reminding him of that very fact. He wasn’t prepared to watch Magic die, not even as she clenched her eyes closed and took a breath. But that didn’t happen. As the creature reared back, two things happened in quick succession. Though it felt like it happened in slow motion. 

Her eyes opened again, a certain fire pooling in her expression as her gun raised upwards. Her finger already shifting over the trigger. 

And the second happened no less than a second later as Bek grabbed the sword from off the ground, scrabbled to her feet and with one ear piercing scream swung the weapon down at the end of the tail. The bolt fired, the sword crashed down with a shrill splice of metal. A visceral squelch cut through the air as the bolt tore through the creature’s head and the remaining metal connections were cut. The tail and then the body of the creature hitting the ground at the same time. Sending Magic backwards too. And then everything seemed to still.

Owen didn’t really stop to check if it was dead, he just knew it wasn’t moving anymore. Bek stood to one side heaving in heavy breaths, dark blood and potentially oil splattered up the side of her cheek. Her chest rising and falling rapidly as her hands still clung to the sword, she walked further up after a second, stabbing it through the head of the thing as well. Much to the disgusted look of Mohwee and Kyle. She shrugged, glancing between them.
“....Better safe than sorry.” Squidney steadily began to get herself back to her feet. Using the wall to support herself as she did. 

And Owen ran past her, immediately finding himself checking if Magic was actually okay. He’d seen the bolt go off but he hadn’t seen if she’d managed to not get caught by its jaws. Though once he got there her eyes were closed and he found himself shaking a hand reaching to check the pulse at the side of her neck, even if he dreaded the thought…he had to know…. But it was as he was doing that, her eyes opened back up again. She was visibly wincing.
“Please….get this thing off me….it’s really gross.”
He laughed, tears welling up in his eyes as he took her hands and dragged her out from underneath the monster’s remains. As she got to her feet, still shaking he pulled her into a tight embrace. He wasn’t going to hide the way his arms shook, or the way he could feel the tears dripping down and mingling with the blood on his face. Or how the hug did make his ribs ache, he just knew she was alive. They were okay. After a moment she chuckled too, tapping his shoulder. Owen stepped back.
“Never do that again, please.” He chuckled, watching as she tearfully nodded. There were scratches on her face and the odd speck of blood from smaller injuries and her eyes were tired but beyond that she was okay. He turned back to where Mowhee and Kyle were now working on pulling the claw apart, removing the stinger. The metal slid free from the other section with a crunch and the odd pop, some more sparks flew as the wires connecting it to the tail were cut but then they were holding it in their hands.
“We did it.” Mohwee stood there, glancing between all of them. All their tired, bruised and busted faces. “We actually fucking did it. And sure it didn’t go to plan exactly.”
“And the sword’s a little damaged.” Bek tilted the blue metal blade, where a few chunks of the material had visibly chipped off. Leaving cracks over the surface. Though there was a tired smile on her face too. Squidney stood beside her, a small smile on her face as she ran a hand over her side.
“And we could all do with a nap.” Kyle joked, much to the amusement of everyone else.
“We actually did it. We killed one of these damn things.”

And for a moment they really were just happy. They had won, they proved it was possible to kill one of them and they’d lived to tell the tail. The group gathered their bearings, gathering the rough supplies which hadn’t been too poorly damaged to return with them and prepared to head towards the way out. The sun was beginning to peek over the walls and even though it didn’t feel like it had been that long, it clearly had been long enough. So they began to walk, until one voice spoke up. Wearily and tired, the words sounding almost slurred. As a metal chestplate seemed to clatter to the floor.
“I….I just think I need a second to catch my breath.” 

They turned back, confusion riddled on their faces, which was quickly replaced with a look of pure horror and dread. Nothing could remove what they’d seen. 

As Squidney ran a hand over the fabric of her t-shirt, where a mottled patch of dark almost crimson red began to pool through the torn up fabric. Where a single slash had been cut from shoulder to hip. She took her hand away, eyes stopping on where her hand was utterly drenched in dark, thick blood. And no sooner had she said those words did her legs give out from under her, sending her backwards onto the ground. Where her back managed to find one of the platform walls to slide down against. Mohwee was by her side in a second, a hand reaching to cup her jaw. Where her face was visibly clammy and paling by the second. Her eyes brimmed with tears as the rest of the remaining group ran over to stand there. Horror and shock morphing over each of their faces. She hated how scared that made her feel in that moment, how her chest seized and the copper flavour bubbled up against her tongue. She took a breath, shuddering at how it made her ribs rattle and how it wheezed from her lungs. It’d happened at the last second, when she and Bek must’ve been knocked out. Seconds before they killed it for good. Seconds before it would have been over anyway. It was cruel, unjust. But all she could think about was how scared Mohwee looked, how yesterday she’d been promising they’d make it out together.
“I’m sorry…” She whispered, tiredly reaching up a hand to reach for his face too. She wanted to see Spidey and Ayngel too, she wanted a lot of things at that moment but she could settle for Mohwee being there for her. She gasped as the words passed through, the pain curling up even when she wished it wouldn’t. 

“Stop it.” Mohwee spoke harshly, shaking his head once to avoid the tears bubbling up even further. “Don’t start talking like you’re doing this, you’re not…you’re not fucking dying.” 

He turned to look at the others desperately, eyes darting between them all in a heavy panic.
“Do we have any potions, any bandages…anything?!”
They didn’t. It was the one thing they had hoped could be fixed in the morning, the problem they insisted they would walk away from before having to worry about. And Mohwee realised quickly they didn’t have a solution. He sat her forward, ignoring how a sob passed her lips as he tried to shuffle her jacket off of her shoulders. Pressing the bloodied fabric across the wound.
“Mohwee…” She winced again. Only for him to shake his head more.
“No. You are going to be fine. We need to go now, NOW!” He was shouting but she just kept the hand pressed against his cheek. He could feel the warm blood on his face and it made him more and more nauseous, a horrific dread pooling within his gut that he couldn’t erase. He looked back into her eyes, the vibrant brown which had reflected the sunlight the day before in such a beautiful splendor now losing that same light. And it had been all his idea, she was out here because of him she….He lowered his head against her shoulder, a single low sob shaking his entire body. Mohwee was good at hiding how he usually would break but this was a crack he couldn’t hide. Her eyes lifted up to the sky above her, where the sunrise painted such a pretty picture. “It’s okay.” She found herself whispering, the words barely making it out.

“Stay with me.” He begged, but the words fell upon deaf ears. When he lifted his head to look at her again she was already gone. And all he could do was scream as the hope inside him was torn into a million shreds.

========

The clearing heard a lot that night. The roars and screeches of the creature echoed through the walls, it was hard for people to fall asleep in the end but they all knew that next morning the group would return. And when the sun came up that morning the remainder of those who had stayed crowded around the doors, waiting until they slowly ground open. And for a moment no one arrived, until Owen and Kyle turned the first corner. The stinger loosely clasped in the older of the two’s hands as he approached. For a moment there were cheers, but Rasbi could see the look on their faces. The way his eyes were a burnt up red as he walked through the doors. Meeting the eyes of each one of them but avoiding a few in particular as he shook his head. Kyle brushed past to find Acho and Owen immediately passed Graecie, whispering some form of apology. As he made it to Rasbi he pulled her into a hug, Apo patted his shoulder. Confusion followed suit as Bek and Magic rounded the corner, those same few precious reunions no longer felt so trusting. 

But it was when Ayngel ran down from her house, stopping beside Spidey did they realise how two people weren’t there. The angel scanned the crowd, her voice laced with that same uncertainty and confusion.
“Where’s Mohwee and Squidney, they’re supposed to be back now. Owen…Kyle?”
Magic just sobbed into Graecie’s shoulder, while Bek found herself just quietly wrapping her arms around Soup. Spidey took a step backwards to the doors, ready to go and find them within a moment's notice. But Owen could already see them turn that corner. 

Mohwee walked slowly as though he was merely being puppeted and Squidney’s body was laid in his arms. Her head still resting against the crook of her shoulder, her eyes slipped closed to make it look like she was merely sleeping, even when the blood coating her clothes painted a different story. 

“No.” Spidey whispered, her voice breaking as she began to shake her head. Darting around to look between the others who had been on the hunt only to meet their equally shattered, devastated expressions. “No! No…this…this isn’t….NO!” She trembled, her jaw widening as she could see Mohwee getting closer, she ran. Reaching a hand out to brush the other girl’s face. Sobbing once she felt the cold touch. She stared up at Mohwee, then down again. Spidey’s whole body shook as she sank to her knees, cupping her head in her hands as she too broke.
Ayngel stood a few steps away, her own tears silently running down her face. There was a crushing lump sitting in her throat. She too shook her head, Krow took a few steps towards her but she took a few more backwards. Holding her hands up as she cried.
“I- I need to go. This….I can’t do this.” And she ran back up the path in the direction of Squidney’s treehouse. 

And the group who had been so prepared to welcome the group back with open arms was faced with the horrendous reality that things were never going to be the same and Mohwee couldn’t shake the knowledge that her blood was on his hands.

Chapter Text

The basement is lit up with warm, amber lanterns. Craft materials have been scattered over the floor, piles of fabric are carefully left to one side, there’s blocks of stained wood to another. Various scraps of paper, wool and thread are also strewn around. Both girls sit in the centre of the chaos, one stitches up the side of a small project while the other carefully carves thick curls of wood off one of the stained blocks. The light is just enough so that they can see what they’re doing, dim enough to keep everything feeling cosy. Spidey keeps chipping away at the wood, occasionally glancing up to smile at her friend and see how far her own project is coming along. Squidney seems to be utterly focused on sewing up the plush leg of one of her sussy plushies, there’s a determined, serious glint in her eye as she carefully manoeuvres the yellow thread through the fabric. They’d both been trying to avoid the rain, one of the duller days in the clearing which meant that the maze doors were closed off in their entirety and wouldn’t open up again until the miserable weather cleared. Squidney had been planning to head out on one of the training runs with Mohwee to do some last minute running before the hunt would take place later that week but when that fell through they’d had to find other things to do and indoor training with Mohwee and Owen didn’t sound as appealing as going to spend time with Spidey. She’d kept her jacket over her head that morning, running down the path from her treehouse until she’d stopped outside Spidey’s door. Knocking rapidly. Only once she was let in did she lower the jacket down again, though by that point the blue fabric had turned a few shades darker and was soaked through from the rain. She’d invited her to come down to her workshop and they could make sussies together, maybe if Ayngel was feeling up to it she could drop by too. No less than a half hour later they’d been sitting in the workshop basement under the treehouse, working on their respective projects. And now it’d been a few hours and the rain didn’t sound like it was subsiding any time soon. After a few more tight knit stitches, Squidney tied the end off and held the plushie's leg up in the light, tilting her head to the side as she scanned over it before picking up the other leg and doing the same. They looked to be about the same size though she wasn’t totally certain if they’d been stuffed completely right, as though one side was almost wonkier in comparison. 

“Spideyyyy.” She’d chirped, glancing past the plush legs while still holding them up to the light. Spidey had paused with her carving, one eyebrow raised until she saw the pieces Squidney was holding up. “D’you think these look the same, I think I might’ve overstuffed one side.”
Spidey shuffled a little closer, raising a hand up to carefully brush over each of the sussy’s legs. She did have to admit that closer up the left one did seem to be a little smaller in comparison to the other but it wasn’t a huge difference. She found herself shrugging as she sat back again.
“Not hugely. Might be a little difference but it’s not that bad.”
Squidney chuckled to herself nodding once or twice as she sat them back down on the ground beside the main body, she reached over to drag the pile of coloured fabric scraps closer, humming once or twice as she flipped through them.
“Yeah…” She drew the word out for a moment, still rifling through the colours. “Worst case is it’ll lean to one side and then it can lean on your sussy.”  She nodded towards the wooden figure that the other girl was still carefully carving. It was beginning to take form now, the bulk of the body and the goggles had been carved into fruition and she was working down to make the legs as well.
“Soooo..” Squidney drew the next word out again, narrowing her eyes as she laid out a few varying colourful fabric scraps over the floor in front of her. “Question is what little head accessory do I give it. Leaf sprout…plush sticky note…Hmm what about a crown.”
Spidey seemed to pause again, tilting her head to the side as she mused over the options. There were plenty to go with and even out of the ones her friend had suggested to her, there were even more possibilities they could go with. Honestly the ideas when it came to making tiny hats they could attach with a small stitch or two were nearly endless. They were in the throes of a busy spring, somewhere between the early portion of the season or midway through it. She figured out of all the choices one was pretty fitting.
“What about the sprout but attach a little cherry blossom flower as well?”
Squidney’s eyes seemed to virtually light up at the idea, the orange light from the lanterns glowing in the brown iris of her eyes. To say that she liked that idea was probably an understatement, she flipped through the fabric scraps once again, retrieving two shades of pink. One dark and one daringly pastel pink. Then she found the green to make the step itself and carefully slotted the other colours back onto the pile.
“Now that is a very, very nice idea.” 

Spidey found herself chuckling slightly as she returned back to her own work, forming each shape slowly, across from her she could hear the rough sketching onto fabric followed by it being cut up into the necessary shapes. She had to admit it was nice, things had been excruciatingly busy within the past few months and ever since the group had gotten into full force training her and Squidney hadn’t been spending as much time together as they usually did. She’d been training on her own aspects while Squidney started working towards the hunt, it wasn’t one of those things they really spoke about. They both knew by that point that everything they were doing was necessary and out of everyone who’d seen the creatures close up, Squidney probably had some of the most experience with knowing what they could do to avoid things going too poorly. She was capable, Spidey trusted that. It just meant that moments like this mattered, the quiet moments where everyone could afford to let things slow down. To give themselves a little more time to breathe, to take a short break between constant exercises. To remind themselves that at the end of the day they were still living, not surviving, that the time to leave wasn’t upon them yet and it was okay to take time to spend with people. After another hour or so both had finished up on their sussies, hauling themselves up to go and set them on one of the shelves across the room. Spidey set hers down to the right side while Squidney plopped her plush onto the left, the leg as expected gave just enough of a difference that it appeared to be leaning on the other’s shoulder. Squidney chuckled quietly, shaking her head once.

“Once we make it out of here, I think I might go into the sussy business.” She declared, shuffling over to the back of her workshop. There wasn’t a lot of supplies left on the countertop but the few that were included a few mugs, some cocoa, a rough stovetop and a kettle filled to the brim with water. Squidney set the latter to boil, leaning on the counter as she turned back to glance at the shelf again. Humming softly to herself as if deep in thought.
“And would I be your budding business partner?” Spidey headed over, finding herself leaning on the counterspace beside the other girl. Staring out to the same place, where the sussies now took pride of place on the shelf ahead. Squidney was quiet for a moment, tilting her head up to look at the lanterns strewn around the room as though avoiding the question entirely. And when the kettle behind them began to whistle away, it gave her yet another chance to avoid it entirely. Lifting it up and pouring a decent amount of scalding hot liquid into each cup before swirling the freshly brewed cocoa around each cup, whistling away innocently as though she hadn’t just blanked the conversation. Spidey gave her a subtle side eye, turning around too before nudging Squidney’s shoulder. 

“Wow….avoiding me entirely?” 

And the ignoring act cracked almost immediately after, with Squidney laughing heavily as she picked her cup up. Wrapping her other hand around the side of it, the warmth passed through her fingers. 

“Of course you can. I’m just messing with you…I think that Mohwee’d probably hang around too, we can all be one big group working on the projects. See where it takes us.”
Spidey nodded, finding that idea to be quite nice. Though they didn’t spend too long standing over there, heading back to the comfortable area on the floor where most of the craft supplies were still loosely littered around. They sat back down, even though the rain had come it didn’t change the fact that the floor below them was definitely warmer than it had been in previous months and Spidey hated to know that one day in the distant future it’d all be gone. She turned back over her shoulder to look at the sussies they’d built that day. One soft and gentle, the other a solid block carved and made into something beautiful. Spidey hummed softly to herself. 

“We are totally bringing those with us when we go though, how many of the older ones do you think we’ll be able to pack?”
Squidney had asked, musing over the possibilities. Naturally they wouldn’t be able to fit every single thing they’d ever made into their packs but she wanted to bring one or two. She didn’t answer right away, almost drifting through the thought.
“Spidey?” Squidney asked from somewhere beside her. She still didn’t answer though, her eyes focused on the sussies ahead of her. Both of them, together. How they were meant to be.
“Spidey…?” The voice sounded again, echoing from somewhere to her left. Just out of view.

“Spidey?” Ayngel called over for the third time. 

The room was cold, the lanterns all turned off so that the usual amber lighting was blue and dull. The pile of craft supplies was gone, the pillows packed away. Spidey sat silently against the wall closest to her, the hardwood floor making her legs feel numb as she stared across the room at the single shelf. Where those two sussies still sat side by side. She could already feel the tears bubbling up through her eyes again. It had only been one night and yet it felt like it could be the worst night of her life. She was alone again, the memory of Squidney’s voice fading out into nothing. The bags beneath her eyes were heavy, blotched patches of red pooled over her eyes. She didn’t know exactly when she’d walked away from Mohwee and the body, she just knew that she didn’t go home. Spidey walked like there had been no thought behind it, the emptiness swallowed her and twisted her limbs into puppet strings that dragged her along. She’d had no plan, besides knowing she was going to walk until either she found somewhere to be or until she got too tired to go any further. Her heart had hurt and in the end, going to the basement was the only place she could will herself to go to, it’d barely been noon then. Spidey didn’t turn any of the lights on, she didn’t move anything around. She’d just taken the broken goggles from Mohwee and walked until she was there and then she’d sat against the wall and sobbed. 

After the first time Squidney vanished she’d tried to convince herself in every way imaginable that she’d come back, that after every impossible horrific end she could’ve met, she would walk through the clearing one day. Brilliant and alive and home. When she had done just that, Spidey didn’t believe it was quite real. She’d been hurt, bloodied, bruised and different but alive. And after all those months of telling herself it could be possible, it was strange for there to be that hand on her shoulder telling her it was true. It took her weeks before she was able to trust it, to trust that she was home for real and that she wasn’t going to be going anywhere again. Spidey had let herself hold on and believed they stood a chance against the impossible because if anyone would make it out, it could be her. She’d had dreams and hopes, she’d survived when everyone believed it to be impossible. And on the day of the hunt she’d only asked once for her to come home, one small plea for her not to leave her again. Because she wasn’t quite certain she could survive losing her a second time. Spidey had let her hand slip away from hers in an impossibly slow fashion, desperately trying to make that moment last even a second longer. And she’d hoped that wouldn’t be the last time she got to hold her hand, to see her face. Spidey would do anything to go back to that moment and say something else, anything else but then she hadn’t realised it wasn’t going to be the last time. When she saw Mohwee and her coming back, she’d known that impossible sliver of hope was going to shatter into a million pieces. She had seen the blood and the body and it had broken her entirely. There was still dirt on her knees from where she’d fallen, after she’d felt the horrifically cold skin. And now that she’d been snapped out of her dreams she could feel the goggles still sitting in the palm of her hand. Her fingers clasped around them as though they were a lifeline or the single thread latched to someone she’d never been quite ready to say goodbye to. She tried to bite back those tears, swallow down some form of stubborn resolve. Find someone to blame, to go out there and stand face to face with them and scream about how it was their fault. She’d considered going to Mohwee first and telling him that he should never have agreed to let her go with them, that his plan was the reason Squidney was now dead. The reason she was now currently lying somewhere while the others figured out what she’d have wanted. She considered going and screaming the same things at Owen, who’d swore an oath that he’d do his best to bring them all back. An oath which wasn’t enough, because sure they’d all come back. Some with wounds but one of them was dead, one of them hadn’t really come back at all. But she’d just been too tired to say any of it. And in the end she knew Squidney went along willingly, that she made the choice in the end. It didn’t make it hurt less, it didn’t make Spidey less angry or negate how there was an agony in her chest she couldn’t shift. How she knew that the whole clearing would remind her of what she’d lost, that her best friend, that someone she’d thought about making it out with, someone she loved was gone and this time she wouldn’t be coming back. In the end she’d taken the goggles because she didn’t want any of the others to have the small piece of her which could remain, she was too angry to tell them that their plan had caused it and therefore they didn’t deserve them. Her jacket was too soaked with blood for her to consider taking it, and that was hers. It should’ve stayed with her. Spidey didn’t want to think about what was hers and what wouldn’t be, how her house was now empty and how the few things remaining there would either remain so until the lava consumed it or until one of the other clearing members justified taking it. At some point she’d talk herself into going up to the actual treehouse to go through what little was stored up there but for now she was here, trying to work up the strength to respond to Ayngel. 

Ayngel was probably the only other person she was willing to let get close to Spidey’s home, to what she’d left behind. To any of it. Because she was the reason Squidney had made it so far when the others left her in the maze the first time. They’d formed a tight knit trio and despite everything, they really thought it would work out. Aygnel was one of the only other people who got to see every part of Squidney beyond the few who had been out on the trip with her. So she didn’t snap, scream or tell her to get out. Spidey just let her stay, though she hovered at the bottom of the ladder as though she were waiting to say something. To talk about something. She knew deep down what it would be about, because for now they’d rested her somewhere but that couldn’t last forever. And with the lava rising and the heat being the way it was, a decision was going to have to be made. It made her stomach churn and her hands tremble even more.
“.....What’s happening?” Spidey found herself murmuring after a minute. The words didn’t sound right, there was a thick graveliness to her tone as though her throat had been ripped raw. She wasn’t sure if she’d screamed at some point, she wasn’t sure about anything much anymore. “What are they doing with her?” 

Ayngel swallowed a lump which had risen in the back of her throat. She’d spent the night avoiding everything and everyone too, when Krow tried to check in on her she had told it to leave. Snapped that she was fine and when it didn’t leave she took one of the plantpots from one of the balconies and threw it down with as much strength as she could muster. She too had wanted to be alone and there was nothing any of them could do or say to convince her otherwise. If there hadn’t been a body she knew she’d have been convincing herself in every which way that there was a chance she could still be okay, that she was out there somewhere. They’d made it together when everything seemed bleak and for the longest time out in those walls, Squidney had been her reason to keep going. Ayngel wanted to go see Spidey but she hadn’t, that horrible grief had consumed her once again. She was angry, there was no denying it. She’d said the plan to hunt the creature was a bad idea. That it was a bad idea, that they would be leading people into the maze to die. And they’d gone ahead with it only for Squidney to wind up dead. She’d warned them as clearly as they could, the cost had been too high for something they couldn’t be certain would work. She’d avoided them all until that morning where she’d gone to the benches outside, near the campfire where they had rested Squidney the morning they got back and apparently all through the night again. A sheet had been laid over her, maybe out of respect, maybe so that they didn’t have to face the lethal wounds over and over again whenever they passed by. She’d stayed back but overheard that they’d be burying her later that afternoon, by the doors. 

“They’re burying her this afternoon. They’ve got a spot by the doors ready. I…” Her shoulders sagged solemnly, this was wrong. All of it was wrong. “Please come with me, I can’t do this alone. Not again.”
Spidey could hear the way her voice shook, a rare moment of weakness she never thought she’d see from Ayngel. Someone who was always so certain of everything she did, everything she spoke, was now stood so small. Ready to break all over again at a moment’s notice. She hauled herself to her feet, the goggles still in her hand as she walked towards her wordlessly. Ayngel wasn’t sure what would come next, she straightened her back out preparing to shout back if Spidey was going to say something cruel or tell her to leave, maybe she’d walk out entirely. But instead she was just met with the other girl wrapping her arms around her and pulling her into a tight hug, her chin resting against one of the dips of her shoulder. There was a soft, silent nod.
“Ok…we…” Spidey sniffled, taking a slow breath. “We’ve got to stick together now okay…for her?”
Ayngel nodded too, she was rather relieved that the tears could flow freely for a moment. She wrapped her arms around Spidey, leaning into the hug.
“Of course. For Squidney.”

– 

Mowhee hadn’t moved. When they’d gotten back and Spidey stopped him, when she screamed and sobbed, he’d found himself frozen in place. Unable to pull anything from his lips, unable to say that he was sorry. That he’d made a mistake. When Spidey carefully took the goggles from off her head, he’d let her walk away. But he’d seen the glare she gave him and he knew that things would never fully be the same from then on out. The key from the creature’s tail had been slipped into his pocket, it sat there as a reminder now. The cost of their escape had been one of their lives, the sign had warned him clear as day and he’d ignored it under the smallest shred of hope that maybe things could still work out. Maybe it had been close to being that way but it didn’t work out, not really. Not the way which mattered. There had been a quiet conversation about where they’d put her body, nobody wanted to say it, to speak the obvious that they weren’t just going to leave her somewhere. That she was still the girl who asked if people liked her backpack on day one, who offered grapes to people when they were settling in, who seemed to bring the sunshine with her whenever she went anywhere. Who’d been so hopeful. She had been one of them. And she deserved better than just being left in a cold corridor. When he sat her down on that bench, sitting down beside her just felt right. Mohwee had been quiet, utterly silent while the few muffled voices spoke about it. The whole time he just focused on the ringing, how there was blood caked to his hands and to the skin under his fingernails. How he wasn’t sure if it was his own from the fight or if it was all hers. Mohwee couldn’t tell who it was entirely anymore and it made him feel more nauseous by the minute, but he also couldn’t bring himself to get up and scrub it all away. He couldn’t bring himself to leave her side. He sat like stone, staring out across the clearing. Merely two days prior they’d sat beside a lake together, the sun glimmering down in such a way that made her almost look ethereal. The light making her eyes glow softly, that smile which made him feel like he could do anything, that gave him enough hope to see the mission through. He tried to focus on that, anything but the image from the den which seemed to have fully engrained itself in his vision. Mohwee wanted to go back to that moment, the moment where she was right beside him and just sit with her a little while longer. To take her hand and hold onto it like a lifeline because now he was here and he could never do it again. It was like a hand had been clasped around his throat which kept continuously constricting, his breaths slow and uncomfortable. He felt numb, like his whole entire heart had been torn from his body. When a couple of them came by to drape one simple white sheet over her he hadn’t said a word, even when they tried to speak to him. At that moment he was just too tired to respond. He’d seen her die, watched at the exact moment where she stopped seeing him and began to look right through him. And for all his hopes to remember the nice moment the day prior to then, he kept seeing her cold eyes. The girl whose breaths became the wind, whose eyes he could see in the sunlight and who he’d see everywhere. She’d said he could stay with her and now it was like he was a boat with no anchor, drifting through a storm with no direction or thought. He would get everyone else out as promised but he’d failed her, the person who had promised him a purpose after everything. A person who he’d lost. He didn’t turn to look at her but he knew he’d sit there until the group made their decision and then he’d figure out what to do next, Mohwee shifted a hand to rest on top of the sheet. Where he could feel the vague outline of her hands and he rested his own there. When day shifted into night he didn’t leave, when the lights of people’s homes came on he didn’t move. Owen came by at some point, he too quietly sat on one of the benches wordlessly staring at what had become the night sky. He’d left too at some point, placing a hand on Mowhee’s shoulder as he headed inside. Mohwee wondered if she was watching him throughout those moments, if in all of the stars above he’d see her face somewhere. He wondered the same thing when the sun began to rise that next morning, when Graecie came by and crouched down in front of him. Looking up so that his eyes met hers. And he’d wanted to look away but he couldn’t bring himself to be cruel to her.

“Hey..” She spoke softly and he knew she’d been crying too, her eyes were a clear red. “We don’t have to do this now…” 

He’d seen her eyes flicker to his side though, to the space on the bench where Squidney was laying. And he knew why she was here, why a few others no doubt were hovering around, prepared to talk or to hold him back. To be there whether it was a quiet or loud reaction. But he knew in his heart that they were here to talk about what they were doing next, that they were here to ask where Squidney was going to be put. He could see the sliver of purple hair out of the corner of his eyes, where one of the other people closest to her stood waiting. Wondering. Spidey wasn’t there and he was beginning to doubt she would be, his plan had torn someone they both loved away.
“We do.” He’d responded, knowing that there was no way to hide the broken twinge to his voice. That even if he wanted to act tough in that moment and hold himself together in every visceral way. He couldn’t change that his voice sounded like the light had been robbed from it. His wounds were still sore and even if he covered them with false confidence, they’d still bleed. It was easier to let that part of himself show. “We can’t ignore it, we can’t ignore her.” 

Graecie nodded again quietly, she found herself glancing back down to the ground in front of her. Mohwee knew this was difficult, in the entire time they’d been in their glade there had been close calls, near deaths or even moments where one of their own seemed to have been gone only to return. Apo had done it, Squidney had done it too…this wasn’t like that anymore. A leader had to bury one of her own.
“I know..” She spoke quietly, her words strangled and uneasy until she looked up to meet his eyes once more. “..I don’t know where she’d want to be…” A small choked up noise passed through her lips. “We’ve got the spaces near the wall of names. It might be a good place, we can plant a tree there too. Something nice.”
Mohwee didn’t have it in his heart to argue, it was a nice idea. He just wondered if there was anywhere specific she’d have rather been laid. Whether she’d have preferred a spot under her treehouse or in the patches of flowers. Or out in the woods some place entirely away from everything. He’d never wanted to have to ask that question, it wasn’t something he ever figured he would have to ask. So in the end he just nodded.
“Sounds good. We should sort it soon, I don’t want to leave her here for too long.”
He didn’t want to say that he didn’t like the idea of leaving her lying on a bench covered in cloth any longer, that it wasn’t fair to leave her there like she was just some thing they didn’t know what to do with any more. Graecie offered a small, tearful smile as she got back to her feet. Patting a hand on his shoulder as she headed away to go and get prepared. When he turned to see where Ayngel had been, she was gone once again and he wondered if this was going to be the case for the rest of the time they were a group, would people look at him and see her, see the face who’d never be able to walk out with them. 

They had gotten everything ready by the afternoon. A quiet spot, a carved stone etched with her name. A small sapling planted just behind it so that it lined up with the wall. Mohwee tried not to think about the lava and instead tried to picture that tree growing taller than the others, vibrant leaves painting the space a clear gorgeous green and it’d be alive. The group gathered slowly, everyone was quiet. It was a silence which seeped into your bones and crushed down on your chest, the impossible weight enough to swallow you whole. He’d tried to stick to the back but found himself drifting to stick with Graecie and Owen, he didn’t say much when he drifted to stand between them both. Just quietly staring at the space in front of him. At first he’d noticed the space where Spidey and Ayngel weren’t present, but it didn’t take long for them to drift down from the side where Squidney’s treehouse still stood proud. The latter of the two was holding onto a lantern, one she’d no doubt taken from her own home in the moments leading up to the funeral. It wasn’t turned on but as the two walked past everyone, slowly standing beside the stone as they waited. Mohwee knew what was coming next, he’d made sure that if anyone was doing it. It’d be him. He broke away from the group, heading back to that small bench at the campsite. And just like he had when he brought her back from the den he looped an arm under her legs and one around the back of her neck. Mohwee had sworn that when this happened he’d carry her home and now he had promised that this was his responsibility. The weight didn’t feel right, it tore a hole in his heart once more. But he lifted her up into his arms, slowly he managed to look down onto the fabric which covered her. And in that moment he gently planted a kiss onto the fabric which covered her forehead. I’m sorry. I am so, so sorry. He turned back to face everyone else again, walking slowly so as not to move her too much. Even in death he wanted to be gentle with her, she was too kind to be trapped within the walls, to die within them too. He wasn’t going to be anything less than gentle in that moment. People parted as he passed and he could hear the hiccuped sniffles from the two girls ahead of him, Mohwee was quiet as he reached the spot in the ground. And he lowered her down. He took a step back, staring down. Trying his best to ignore the urge to shift the fabric back one more time to get a glimpse of her face, instead he just stepped back further. Standing beside Spidey, he’d expected her to say something, anything. But instead she reached up and rested a hand on his shoulder too, running a thumb over the spot once or twice. A small bit of comfort he wasn’t entirely sure he deserved. He tilted his head to meet her eyes, which were read and brimming with tears but she too offered him a small smile. Even now she wasn’t sure she could bring herself to hate him, to blame him. Ayngel had stepped forward, crouching down to her knees as she flicked the lantern on. A warm yellow light illuminating the ground in front of her. She stilled for a moment, the only shift in movements being the slight shake of her shoulders before she too stood up and stepped back to give room to Spidey, who wordlessly walked over. She stood for a moment, until her trembling hands reached into her pocket and retrieved a handful of purple petals. She held them there for a moment before reaching out over the grave, scattering them down. The sky was a dull gloomy grey for the rest of the afternoon but Spidey was glad it wasn’t raining, she’d been thinking back to that day too much already without them having to retreat back indoors. But she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the spot in front of her when a few of them began to move in with shovels, her eyes fixed to the shape of the girl she’d known and loved one last time. There were hands on her shoulders, holding her so she wouldn’t fall. Even when her knees began to buckle. Spidey couldn’t bring herself to say the words which plagued her mind, the unspoken things remaining so as the body disappeared from view. People stayed, but slowly as the time went on more of them drifted away. Preparing to mourn in private, or to find their own ways to pay their respects. But the three of them stayed, Mohwee, Spidey and Ayngel remained. 

The days after the funeral were harder. Spidey and Ayngel reserved themselves to the corner of the clearing near the treehouse. Spidey hadn’t entirely been sure what to do at first but she looked through everything, all the carvings, all the plushies they’d made together. She rifled through old clothes and various supplies until she’d broken all over again. Ayngel had headed by, only telling people in passing that she’d been checking in every day. That the two of them were sticking together as best as they could. The grieving process burnt like a fire they’d never be able to really tame, it’d burn less bright on some days and on others it’d consume everything in its path. On those days Spidey would wrap herself in the covers of Squidney’s bed and just pretend for a moment that things were okay. Everyone knew it wasn’t though, it was just that it would take time for things to get easier. Owen had found himself visiting Squidney’s grave nearly every morning, he’d never say it to anyone but he too harboured the guilt for what’d happened in his chest. He knew before they returned he had broken a promise he could never take back, the idea where he had sworn he’d return with them all alive. It was his job and he hadn’t been able to protect her. She’d been there for him during the early days, now he was here after she was gone. It wasn’t quite right but he intended to at least protect her memory as best he could. The clearing was still trying to keep alive, the odd routines still continued. Some people took to training to keep busy but the chatter around the urgency to leave stilled for a while, the unspoken understanding that there were still a few months before they’d have to worry about leaving hung heavy over everything. Owen knew it was for the best, they couldn’t keep pushing themselves to keep going after a loss like that. After a wound had been struck deep into everyone, into one of the main people running the maze trips. 

For the following month had seemed to make it easier for people, things weren’t directly back to any semblance of normality but enough for people to start moving again. For life to slowly feel okay. The wound was slowly healing, not for everyone but for some it got easier. Easier to wake up each morning without the crushing sensation of loss being the only thought on their minds. But then there was one other person. Owen knew he’d seen Mohwee far less than he had in the past year and every time he did spot the younger runner going about his rounds it seemed like he was smaller than before, like his shoulders had sunk in on themselves and he was carrying around a weight which was slowly pinning him down. Deep down he knew Mohwee wasn’t talking to anyone about it, he knew out of everyone he was probably the only one who’d decided that getting out was now the only thing keeping him moving forwards. He’d seen him during one of the later mornings that month, earlier that very week holding the key from the creature’s tail in his hands, turning it over his fingers like he was lost in thought. Owen recognised the way he was looking at it, a blend of rage and grief and uncertainty. He also knew that it was a risky combination, that Mohwee wasn’t the type of person to stop entirely. He was the type of person who would run into another risk, there wasn’t a way to stop when something like this happened. So that very next morning, when the sun had just come up, he wasn’t expecting a knock on the door but he had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind telling him it was exactly what he thought it would be. The sound rang out again, clearly frantic and panicked. Apo shifted across the room, sitting up and staring at Owen with confusion, while the other got up and headed to the door. The second he did, his face paled. 

Graecie stood there, frantically glancing between him and the maze doors. Owen hadn’t hesitated to grab his backpack.
“Where is he?” Was all he’d needed to say, he knew deep down he should’ve spoken to him the second he’d seen that key. He’d known that Mohwee would’ve pushed him away but at least then there would’ve been a sliver of a chance more than now. The doors were barely open but he knew Mohwee and he remembered those early days when he’d bolt in as soon as possible. Graecie took a solemn breath, her eyes wide and panicked.
“He went in. The usual door. I saw him hovering around there this morning and I tried to talk but he just…he wouldn’t listen. It’s like he’s right back to how he was when he first got here, he’s…”
“He’s grieving. Look.” He rested a hand on her shoulder and this time, he knew his promise wouldn’t be in vain. He looked right into her almost tearful eyes, she was tired too. Exhausted and hurt from everything and she too no doubt needed a break from everything. “I promise. I’ll get him back. Thank you for coming and getting me.”
And with that he ran towards the doors.

Owen didn’t need directions. Truth be told he knew that there was a chance he’d be going back to the den, to scream into the sky again, to just break in the place he’d lost her. But then he’d spent that time looking at the key, the small sparks of a plan forming in his mind. Everyone else might be resting, mourning and trying their best to recover and piece themselves back together. And in the month since the plan had gone wrong, almost everyone was getting to a point where they could face each day again. But he knew for Mohwee there were two options, he’d hold it in until it exploded or he’d do something risky. He had spent a month letting that fire swirl up around him and now he was at the end of his rope, he would make a move. He would walk right to where that tunnel had been and find out if that key was worth a damn. Mohwee wanted to know if everything they’d risked, everything they’d lost ended up being for nothing. And the only way to do that was to test the key, to open up the next section without so much as a word to everyone else. He didn’t know how fast he was running, just that his leg burnt and that his heart pounded in his chest. He passed by the levers, sprinting through into the jungle. If he was wrong he could go to the den, he could sit with him and they’d talk everything through properly. If he was right….Owen didn’t know what would happen if he was right. He passed through each split of the wooded area, turning until he found the gap in the wall which led to the tunnel. And as he hopped down from that hill, turning into the section he could see Mohwee further down. No doubt going to do exactly what he figured he would. So he continued to sprint until he was right behind him, at which point he skidded around to be directly in front of the other runner. His chest rising and falling with heavy, almost thunderous breaths.

Mowhee stopped. He hadn’t been running for this portion of the journey, maybe deep down he’d been hoping that someone would follow him down here and stop him. But the only other person who’d actually been here with him was now standing in front of him. Owen glanced down and saw that familiar metal tube, the key sat in his hand. 

“What are you doing?” Owen asked. Trying to swallow the lump which was rising in his throat, the concern mounting with each second.
“Get out of my way man.” Mohwee said, his tone cold. He wouldn’t meet Owen’s eyes no matter how much the other guy might want him too. There was that usual edge of anger to his tone, laced with something else, possibly fear. But Owen shook his head, he wouldn’t be doing that. Not willingly at least, not until Mohwee actually spoke to him. If he was going to do this, it had to be done with his thoughts as clear as they possibly could be. 

“No. Not until you tell me what you’re doing.” 

With that Mohwee looked up, his eyebrows tilted and his eyes narrowed.
“I’m getting the job done. We want to get out, that door needs opening.” That wasn’t the whole truth though because he knew there was a slim chance he’d gotten all of this wrong anyway. That in the end he’d gotten someone he loved killed for a piece of metal scrap which meant nothing. But when he went to side step Owen, the runner just stepped back in front of him. Maybe he knew it was just annoying him, getting him more and more heated with every passing second. Maybe it was a distraction. Maybe it just mirrored the early days, when he refused to let Mohwee go into the maze to get himself killed. Either way it made the younger of the two’s eye twitch, as the grip around the supposed key tightened.

“Owen. Let me go.”
Owen shook his head, teeth gritted. This wasn’t the first time he’d been willing to fight to make sure that the other person ended up okay in the end. “No.”
Mohwee huffed through his nose and out of the corner of his eye, Owen could see his knuckles beginning to turn almost white. 

“Look.” He took a heavy breath. “I’m doing this whether you want me to or not. Now let me through.”
The older runner shoved him a step back. Repeating the exact same thing he’d said moments prior. “No.”
He could see the way the younger runner’s eyes continued to narrow, the way he was itching to shove back now so he didn’t move a muscle. He stood right in the way, if he went to go around him then he’d just step into his way one again. Owen knew what he was doing. 

“If you want to do this. If you want to open that doorway up and potentially get yourself killed in the process. You’re going to have to go through me.” He spoke, clear and heavy. His eyes fixed ahead of him. There was a glimmer of shock which passed over Mohwee’s eyes, like he didn’t quite understand at first but then Owen was shoving him backwards again. Closer to the way they’d come in. Except this time Mohwee pushed back, enough that Owen stumbled on his feet for a second. He held his ground though.
“What is your problem?! It was just me out here until you showed up. I can handle myself.”
He went to barge past, only for his arm to be grabbed to swing him back to where he had been before. A low huff passed through his nose now as for the second time he pushed Owen, harder than he had before. And while Owen stumbled he began to speak.
“You’re out here because you’re looking for a fight.”
“No.” He shoved again, this time putting more force into the initial hit. It wasn’t necessarily a slap to the chest but it was definitely close to it. Mohwee’s teeth gritted as he tried to push Owen out of the way to no avail. It wasn’t like those early days where he just distracted him enough to slip by, there was more stubbornness at play here.
“You’re not going to that door.” Owen knew that maybe he could, hell maybe by the end of this he would, but he wasn’t letting him do this in this state of mind. Not right away at least.
So this time Mohwee opted to shove again, he wasn’t sure about hurting Owen but with each passing second he was getting more and more agitated. His breathing heavy, his arms shaking. He struck out, hitting at Owen’s chest to try and get him out of the way. Which did nothing. Beyond a small flinch there was hardly a reaction.
“Let me go!” Mohwee found himself shouting, he wasn’t entirely sure when his voice rose but he knew it did. He knew the next swing he took for Owen was harder. He heard the definitive grunt which followed as his hand struck true. Followed by another hit as Owen simply pushed him back again.
“Why? Why do you want to open that door so badly.” He knew what he was doing. He knew exactly what was going on. He knew there was only one way to necessarily get someone like Mohwee to open up when he was so reserved.

So with each hit, he flinched, he grumbled. He didn’t care if there would be a bruise later. He just stood firm.
“I told you why.” Mohwee shouted once again, punching at the other runner’s shoulder while he tried to get by.
“I don’t think you did. Why?!”
“Because.” Mohwee could feel the way his chest was beginning to rattle, each breath heavier than the last as the anger took over. But also as that grief began to crawl up, sinking its teeth into his thoughts once again. Because he had to know. He tried to fight back the tears welling up as he threw another hit. Another moment where he continued to lash out at the person ahead of him. He took another angry breath. “Because it was my idea. Because she went out there because of my plan, she’s dead. So this has to work because if it doesn’t then it was all for nothing. I got her killed!”
Every word came out as a strangled, borderline choked up shout. A sob passed as he felt Owen’s hand grip his shoulder, watching as he took a step closer. Nodding solemnly. Mohwee realised pretty quickly that had been his goal, to get him to open up. To get him to lash out and force him to talk to someone, even if it came at the cost of hurting himself.
“Let it out.” Owen’s tone shifted right back into the quiet soft voice he usually used when talking to his friends, to the people around him. “Get it out okay.”
Mohwee managed another few hits, though they were the weaker, more subdued slaps than full forced punches. He could feel the hot tears rolling down his face now, something he’d tried his hardest to hide behind closed doors but something which was now evident and clear. He hit his forehead against Owen’s shoulder, clenching his eyes closed.
“...I got her fucking killed. She told me I could stay with her once we were out. And now all I know is that she can’t have died for nothing, that this key has to work…otherwise I don’t know what I’ll do.” 

Owen patted his back, nodding quietly while the other shattered. He knew Mohwee was tearing himself apart, he’d known that he’d loved her. Probably more than he’d loved life itself, he’d seen them sitting by the lake as they came back from the scouting mission the day before the hunt. How they seemed to be just themselves, in their own little world. And he knew now that absence was a void slowly consuming him, he’d heard the scream after she’d gone and he knew that Mohwee blamed himself too.
“You didn’t get her killed Mohwee. She didn’t go because you told her to, she went because she wanted everyone to make it. She wanted to kill that thing and she did…it might’ve been your plan but just because she believed in you doesn’t mean her death is your fault or your burden to carry alone.”
Mohwee took a step back, resting his hands on his hips as he shook his head.
“...I keep seeing her. And I don’t know what to do now that she’s gone.” He held the key out to Owen, his fingers shaking.
Owen took the key, clasping it heavily as he glanced over his shoulder. Mulling it over he took a heavy breath as well.
“We can start by testing if this thing works.” Mohwee looked up at him almost with disbelief, this whole way he’d figured this would lead to them turning back. To go back to the clearing where he’d no doubt be scolded by Graecie for being risky. But here they were. Owen knew it was a danger but he also knew that if they didn’t check it, then it was only a matter of time before their hand would be forced. At least this way, they would know if it would work on the actual day. With one more pat of the shoulder they began to walk.
“This might be a risk but I know if we don’t do this, it’ll eat you up inside. When Apo first left that day with Bek, I knew that someone humouring me would’ve probably changed how I felt about it all. I blamed myself for him going, for pushing him away. And when that skull showed up I blamed myself for what I thought was his death….it’s not the same but I get it. You need this. And as long as there’s nothing waiting for us on the other side…I don’t mind checking with you.”
Mohwee nodded once, he didn’t say much on the Apo matter. Just keeping a steady pace as they slipped through the metal blades and began the approach towards where the tunnel stood, looming above them. Owen strode along beside him, keeping his head on a swivel as they made their way further forward, disappearing into the dark looming section. Even though it wasn’t their first time heading through the depths of the area, Owen couldn’t help but look around at the space which surrounded them, how the same pillars towered above them as though they were utterly miniscule in the grand scheme of things. It made a chill crawl up his spine, since that first time Mohwee had shown him the section Owen had tried to spend as little time as possible wondering what could be beyond the doors and now they might be about to find out. The smallest part of himself wondered if these would be the last doors and they would open them only to be met with freedom, but he stomped that thought out as soon as it entered his mind. It wouldn’t be that easy. Even after losing Squidney this wouldn’t be the direct way out, there was still more to come. Owen walked along quietly, as did Mohwee. They might be willing to give the exploration a chance but they didn’t want to alert anything which might be out there with them that they were here. It took a while to get across through the tunnel, enough time that Owen knew when the final day came they would need to run through this bit. They were all going to have to make good time if they wanted to avoid staying in a precarious spot. The both of them paced forward  until they found themselves standing almost directly in front of the end section of the tunnel. Where the towering doors stood in front of them, still locked tightly closed, where that same eerie key hole had been left to one side. Before he handed the key back, Owen did want to make one thing abundantly clear.
“If there is something waiting on the other side of these doors. Some creature like the levers released, we have to lead it away. We can’t risk it getting into the clearing.” He waited for Mohwee to respond and even though it was a small, reserved nod it was enough to convince him. With that he held the metal tube out to the other runner and drew the bow from his bag, knocking an arrow into place, he waited. The younger runner’s hand reached out, the key clenched into a fist as he slowly and steadily slotted the sharp spiked end into the keyhole. The silence drifted between them, Mohwee shifted his hand and shoved the metallic cylinder forward. For a moment there was nothing. Owen could see the way his eyes fixed on that spot, unmoving while his hands began to shake and for a second he began to wonder if there had been a mistake. There had been a click, it echoed the second Mohwee forced it forward into the hole in the wall. It had fit like a glove but there was no motion as if it were doing anything at all. And then, as they were just about beginning to give up, they heard it.
The sound could only be described as a low, heavy grinding of stone and metal. Louder than that of the doors in the clearing but merged with the evident blaring noise of what sounded like a siren. Mohwee shot backwards, taking enough steps to watch as the metal doors began to slide to either side. Opening. The siren and thunderous groaning of stone echoed down through to the other side of the tunnel. A heavy drift of cold air whistled through the space. Both turned to face each other, slowly as uncertainty passed between them. Nothing looked to be on the other side. No huge menacing creature was waiting, no people with the same guns that had shot Ash waiting to tell them they weren’t meant to be there. Just more walls, more ivy and the ever stretching expanse of the maze.
“Its….just more maze.” Mohwee said slowly. His eyebrows furrowed. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, maybe something different to give them a change of pace but it was just the usual corridors. Somewhere from beside him he heard Owen hum.
“At least it’s not some new creature waiting to get the jump on us.” 

The younger of the two runners gave a noncommittal nod as he took a step closer, the sirens began to die down temporarily as the movement ceased entirely. But then there was something. Somewhere above, shrouded by darkness a light suddenly flashed on. Vibrant and bright red it illuminated the space in which Owen and Mohwee stood. Both shot their heads upwards to try and see where it was coming from, or if it was from anyone in the usual armour but neither could see specifically. The light stayed on for enough time to light them up entirely before shutting off suddenly and then with little to no warning, the blaring alarm picked up again and the doors began to close. Shutting them off from the new section of the maze before either had really gotten a chance to look at it. Mohwee’s eyes visibly widened while he tried to blink away the sudden ache in his eyes, he snapped the key out from the space in the wall before turning to Owen.
“We need to go.”
Owen wasn’t about to argue, there hadn’t been doors to the tunnel that they’d seen but if there was any chance they were about to get stuck in here they had to get out before it was too late. And so they began the mad dash back the way they’d come, trying to push down the certain dread which was welling through their bones. The swirling unease which twisted and tore at their guts like serpents. Neither was particularly slow about gunning for the exit, the sound of their footsteps thundering against the stone ground echoing through the space around them. They were about halfway through the tunnel when the doors behind them slammed shut, the blaring ceased but they weren’t going to stop. It was in those moments they found themselves wondering if it had been a mistake to test the key, if now those doors were closed their chance had been tossed away. Mohwee hoped that wasn’t the case, the light could’ve just been a warning, maybe they’d not meant to arrive yet or maybe since it was only the two of them and not the whole group they were supposed to wait until everyone was ready. Neither could be completely certain as they ran, emerging from the tunnel both realised they weren’t going to get a chance to take a breather as the blades above them began to shift. Swivelling on the metal beams which they stood so that they’d be pointed to the side instead of forward, it was yet another point of which they were being boxed in. The maze was trying to keep them here and neither wanted to find out what would happen if they were in fact trapped. Even as their ribs began to scream for respite, both runners had to keep going. Mohwee managed to tear through ahead, slipping through one of the blades just as it shut while Owen found himself swerving to one side, narrowly avoiding the sharp metallic surface as it slammed shut ahead of him. The panic was rising in his chest as he found himself running parallel to the few blades which were now closing off in uniform succession, if he’d want to make it back through then he’d need to get ahead of one and dip through mere seconds before it closed. He picked up the pace, sprinting so fast that his leg began to burn and his vision began to gather spots in the corners. He could hear Mohwee shouting to him but he had to focus every second into where he was putting his feet. Every second into making sure he didn’t fall. He was right beside them and then he was ahead and just at the last second he flung himself to the side, rolling through the last blade as it closed behind him. Owen could feel the stone brushing over his fingertips as he crashed down and rolled over the floor, heavy breaths rattling over his body. He’d made it through now and that was what mattered. Mohwee stepped over to his side, offering a hand down to him and Owen took it without hesitation, hauling himself to his feet. They turned back to stare at the closed off section behind them, chests heaving as they tried to catch their respective breaths. Neither could be sure if opening the doors had been a mistake, or if they’d open again but for now they both knew that they’d need to go back to the clearing and talk to Graecie. They’d been avoiding getting the plan back on track to offer people a chance to grieve, to mourn and find their own paces when it came to being ready, but now that they had seen even just a sliver of what was ahead, they needed to start figuring out how they wanted to go about getting to work. If it opened again then they’d need to send people out to possibly scout the area and see what was around, either way there were things to discuss and now would be as good a time as any. They did however decide that they were going to walk back instead of run, it'd give them time to breathe. That walk ended up being close to silent, neither knew exactly what to say right away. Between the doors closing on them and the small sliver of the section just being more of what they’d seen already wasn’t inspiring much confidence but both knew that there would be some differences out there beyond what they’d gotten used to, whether that was in the traps or what they’d faced. Something would be different. They walked until they reached the spot where the levers were, at which point they’d been walking so slowly that the journey through the jungle alone had taken them to the midday mark. Nevertheless they found themselves pausing once they crossed that threshold into their usual maze section.
“We’re going to have to talk to Graecie when we’re back.” Owen said rather plainly. Watching as Mohwee nodded once across from him again, thankfully they’d not had to lead anything away from the area but that didn’t mean they got to do it and then keep it quiet. They needed to talk it through, to prepare. “Once those doors close behind us and all of us are through, there’s the chance we can’t come back.”
“I know.” Mohwee sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, right now he just felt like a hypocrite. He’d been one to warn against pulling the lever and now he’d gone in without a single thought to what could’ve happened. He was glad it had worked, that it hadn’t all been for nothing but he knew the second he walked back through those doors he would have to admit that he wasn’t handling everything, he’d have to look Graecie in the eyes after no doubt worrying her by running in recklessly in the first place. He’d spent a year working up to feeling like he wasn’t just the risk taker and now he’d taken possibly the biggest risk he could have. He took another slow breath through his nose. “I messed up huh.”
Owen wandered over and rested a hand on his shoulder, patting it lightly once.
“You’re going to have days where you make mistakes. Take unnecessary risks, you’re someone who does what you do because you want to make sure we get out of here. Sure that was dangerous. And stupid but I backed it, this isn’t the levers…this is the way to the next section and quite possibly to home. No one got hurt, that’s what matters. Question is are we going to keep going or are we going to stop now and let that call be for nothing?”
“Of course not. We’ve made it this far.” Mohwee hummed steadily, he knew he wasn’t going to repeat that mistake. Next time they’d have a plan, next time they’d be ready before they opened that door again. Next time would be the last time they did so. He decided that he was going to keep going. He’d have followed Squidney to the end of the world, he owed it to her at the very least not to give up a moment before then.
He got back to his feet, gave Owen one more determined nod and then they began the rest of the walk home.

They made it back to the clearing within hardly any time at all and within ten minutes they were huddled inside Graecie’s house around a makeshift table formed from old crates and boxes. It was a sudden makeshift job at best but that hadn’t been the point, it was a last minute addition to make sure the small group that had formed would have a proper place to discuss things which wasn’t out in the middle of the open clearing. Given the risky nature of opening up an entirely separate section, it was decided that having the meeting in a spot where anyone could scream at Mohwee for his choice wasn’t the best idea. So there Owen, Graecie, Apo and Mohwee sat. Apo had been brought along mainly because ever since his return he had been helping with leadership once again and Graecie insisted if they were going to talk this through then he would be a good person to be here as well. Things were quiet at first before she spoke.
“I really wish you’d spoken to me before you decided to try and open those doors.” Her tone was serious, fixed now. They’d have to get to work again and that now that choice had been made before anyone had actually settled on whether or not they were even ready to get back to training and organising supplies and other rough preparations before they could leave. “But what’s done is done and we can’t afford to let this tear us apart again. When those levers got pulled, we did almost lose everything. We had leadership then and we have it now, so we’re going to use this and…try to keep everything in order okay?”
There was the odd nod around the table, small shifted movements before anyone else tried to speak.
“This new section, did anything seem odd about it?” She asked.
Owen was first to shake his head. “No, not really. We only got a brief look through and I mean brief but from what we could see it was just more maze, the same usual corridors. It did stretch pretty far but there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.”
Graecie hummed, from the sounds of it that could be a good thing for them. At least they wouldn’t be stepping out into completely uncharted waters, more of the same meant there would be less room for things to completely catch them off guard.
“Ok well that’s good. And nothing followed you back?”
Mohwee shook his head, when the blades closed behind them that had been it. There was just him and Owen standing on one side and then the closed walls to the other. If anything had slipped through they’d have held up their end of the bargain and led it away. Nothing had followed them back to the clearing and that was one thing he was glad to be certain of.
“Alright well then we just prep for the usual maze corridors. We can start running sessions starting next week?” Apo suggested, they might actually have a decent chance if that were the case. Owen gave him a half hearted nod in response, it was soon and he had no doubt that at least a few of the others wouldn’t be totally keen on getting back into the throes of trying to escape again but even if he’d backed Mohwee, this was a risk they’d willingly taken. A choice they’d made and now they had to follow through by being prepared for whatever could come next. Before they’d lost Squidney there had been confidence, people had made strides in the right direction so there was at least something to fall back onto, so they could start training again. See how everyone felt about potentially heading out after a few more weeks. There were another two months at least before the lava would reach a point they needed to worry about so if the group wasn’t totally sure there was still time after that point. The four of them began to plan late into the afternoon, Graecie made them each a cup of steaming hot coffee and the discussions continued. They’d need to make sure Bek knew there was a heavy chance there were still more creatures past the doors, that the sword would need to be ready at a moment's notice. They’d have to be sure that Soup’s potion stocks were ready to go, she’d spent most of the month working on them anyway. So it was good to know they had reserves. Guts had already prepped a good chunk of armour and besides the unspoken set which had been left behind after the hunt, there was probably enough to go around. And when the sun began to set over the walls, the group began to think they would be ready. Things were looking to be okay afterall.

They kept talking anyway though, when the commotion started outside there hadn’t been too much mind paid towards it. Owen took a sip of his coffee, assuming there was just a good chance someone was looking for them and asking around. They talked about the light, how when they’d activated the key it had turned on as though it was assessing who they were and what they were doing there. It was enough to make Graecie shift uneasily on her seat. The shouting outside continued. She ran a hand over her forehead, speaking softly.
“Y’know if there’s a fight happening we should probably go and break it up.”
Owen nodded and got to his feet just as a rather stressed out looking Bek burst through the door, her sword drawn as she took a series of heavy breaths. Her hand still hooked onto the door beside her as she glanced between them all. The other three stood up slowly, eyes fixed on her clearly shaken position.
“...Sorry for bursting in…it’s just… we have a problem.” For all her usual liveliness Owen didn’t think he’d really seen that serious fear in Bek’s eyes before, besides for when there had been a small hint of it towards the end of the hunt. Which meant this problem wasn’t just a small one. Please. Whatever’s happening, don’t let it be..
Graecie’s face paled, Apo took a step towards the window and when he looked out his jaw seemed to drop. Bek took another series of heavy breaths, like she’d been running for some time.
“...The doors.”
“What about them Bek?” Owen said, much harsher than he had intended but he knew where his mind was going. He knew there was a reason she’d be holding that sword and when it came to panic there was one very clear thing which had rattled the entire clearing this way before. She stepped back through the doorway with a nod of her head towards the doors. And as the darkness began to set in he knew that there was only one problem which could link all the signs together. The panic…the sword clasped in her hand…the doors. The second he stepped out from Graecie’s house he knew that everything was about to descend into pure complete and utter chaos. And the plan they had just meticulously began to piece together crumpled entirely.
“They’re not closing.”

Chapter Text

Of all the things they could have planned for, this was not one of them. The first time their clearing’s doors had opened during the dark shroud of nighttime they had been saved by their pure distrust of one another, back then there hadn’t been the concern of lava possibly flooding through the floors of their bunkers. Back then they had been able to hide underground through the night until the next morning, by which point everything had been laid to waste. In recent months the bunkers hadn’t been much of a concern, they’d put faith in each other and in turn they’d thrown away their final trump card should an issue like this arise again. And now, what had been a relatively calm day for almost everyone else was now flipped on its head as panic began to consume them. They could already see people running, some watching the doors with horrified expressions as they tried to understand why this was happening. Mohwee and Owen quickly were faced with the sullen reality that their choice earlier that day had quite possibly caused this, opening one tunnel had set the dice in motion and the cost was going to be the last safe place they had. But it wasn’t as simple as the two usual doors not closing as the horrendous, droning siren picked up. As the two remaining doors that hadn’t been opened during the entirety of their time in the clearing began to part, they were opening up, welcoming in two other ways for the horrors of the maze to find their way into the clearing. Their one saving grace was knowing that the darkness hadn’t set in entirely, they maybe had a sliver of time left to prepare at best. The small group which had emerged from Graecie’s home stood in the centre of the quickly mounting chaos, eyes darting between each point in the clearing. They didn’t have much to fall back on but if they were leaders, Owen and Graecie were going to have to do whatever they could to ensure that everyone made it through the night. And whatever panic they were feeling right now was going to have to go on the backburner, this couldn’t be like the last time. This wasn’t every man for himself, this was their one chance to work together to make sure everyone got somewhere safe before it was too late. They needed to get to work. Owen turned to Mohwee first though, adamant that if this was going to work out, they had to use what they had at hand.
“I need you to go quickly, see if we have anything which can draw sound. Squidney told us those big things focus on noise, if any of them get in here….” He prayed they wouldn’t but he had to be realistic, this was how the other clearing had fallen. With one door there had been one creature, with four there was bound to be more. “We need to keep them distracted for long enough to buy everyone else some time.”
He didn’t explain his exact thoughts beyond that, there were still a few bunkers. One or two holes just below the surface of the ground which wouldn’t be entirely flooded. Squidney’s workshop, the prison was a possibility and then the small area under the pond beside his house. Three options to house fifteen or so people. It wasn’t ideal but none of this was going to be. If one was flooded then they had to pray another wasn’t. He gave Mohwee one more nod as the runner charged off through the clearing to look for anything. Then he turned back to Graecie.
“I need you to find Guts ok?”
She looked confused momentarily, snapping towards Owen. Though after a brief moment the realisation set in.

“The prison. The walls are reinforced with that blackstone, if anywhere here is stable enough it’ll be there. I’ll start herding people that way.” She got the idea. There wasn’t time to argue about a better plan or any other ideas, every second counted and they each had to do something quickly. “And Owen, whatever you’re planning..don’t take any unnecessary risks.”
The other leader began to disappear through the trees, waving for a few of the other clearing members to follow her as she began to make the way to Guts’ house. He turned to Apo.
“Find Rasbi and Magic, they don’t leave your sight ok?” He could’ve asked anything in that moment, asked for him to grab some of their supplies and get them somewhere secure but the priority was the others. And if Owen had helped cause this, then he wasn’t going to let either of them die as a result. Bek, who had stuck close the entire time, turned to face him too. A brief spark of panic flashing across her vision in the moments before he was going to head off.

“And Soup, please. Keep her safe if you find her.” 

Apo too nodded between them both and just as the other two had done, he was running through the clearing to find the others. Owen just had to hope that wherever they would be, it would work out in the end. Then it was just him and Bek, there were a million thoughts spiralling through his head. And for Bek, she was beginning to wonder if she could do this again. After the last time she’d ended up being the furthest thing from responsible, the last time she had been in this situation holding the sword so many people had died. At the time she’d believed it to be necessary so she could survive but now that it was happening again her thoughts were panicked but straight forward. I have the sword, if those things come in we have to hold them back.

“You thought there was another sword in the doorway, that skeleton thing?” She asked rather urgently, she couldn’t be certain if it would work. For all she knew the sword wasn’t the same and it would end up meaning nothing but if there was even a sliver of hope to be had, Bek knew she had to suggest the thought which was now on her mind. Owen turned to face her nodding once, he knew which one it was. And he was starting to have the same idea.
“I’ll go get it. If it is, we cover each door as best as we can, only until we know people are in the bunkers or underground. You cover the door near your clearings hangout and the west door. I’ll cover the normal maze door and the east side with the dark corridors.”
Bek gave him one small nod, it wasn’t much but it was what they had to offer. It was something they could do and if she had a chance to make sure that history didn’t repeat itself, after the months of regret, she was going to take it. Owen gave her one more small nod in return and took off sprinting towards the doors, time was of the essence.

He made sure that he kept one foot in front of the other the entire time. Pushing himself to run as fast as physically possible bumping into a rather frantic Kyle on the way.
“Hey man, have you seen Acho?” He couldn’t hide the evident panic in his tone, the way his eyes were wide and relatively unfocused. How his shoulders rose and fell with heavy breaths. Owen tried to wrack his brain for any memory of seeing the other pink haired boy earlier that day but his memory came up empty,  in the end he shook his head.
“No but Graecie’s rounding people up around Guts’, the prison’ll be the most secure place. He’s probably over there.”
Kyle gave him one quick nod in thanks before turning on his heels and running in that direction and while Owen didn’t hesitate to get back to work, it did make him wonder how many people would be wondering where others would be. Was Rasbi hiding out somewhere wondering where he was, was Soup actively looking for Bek and the others from the second clearing, terrified that their worst nightmare was coming true a second time. Either way he ran like his life depended on it, ducking through the first corridor and sliding to a stop where the unidentifiable creature’s skeleton lay. He was a few paces in and that was enough now to make a chill crawl down his spine. He reached out to where the handle of the sword found itself embedded, he hooked a hand around it and pulled back. For a moment there was nothing and in the distance he could hear further shouting. He raised a foot up, resting it on top of the jaw of the skeleton and with one more hefty pull the sword tore free from the bone. Getting a look at it he could see it was somewhat similar to the one which Bek had collected from inside the clearing but it wasn’t in any sort of good condition. The blue blade was rusted in places, the usual sharpness had been rendered pretty dull in comparison to the one they’d used to kill one creature during the hunt. Essentially, it would work as a distraction but it wouldn’t work to kill the things. Either way, he didn’t have much time to debate whether it would prove to be useful or not as he heard the first sinister snarl from around the corner up ahead. Owen took a breath and turned on his heels, thundering back into the clearing. He slipped to the side, running parallel to the clearing wall close to his house. Where for the moment he kept himself as flat against the wall as possible, remaining still as the humongous beast began to storm into the clearing. He knew if he was seen a moment too early then it’d catch him. It’s tail swung to one side almost instantly, the lever system being reduced to wooden rubble within seconds. It was imperative he stayed still, if that thing got one glimpse of movement it’d be on him in an instant. 

Across the clearing he saw the first of what had to be Mohwee’s distraction plan. As a vibrant burst of colour lit up the sky through the forest. He’d found fireworks. Loud, bright against the darkness in the clearing and enough to do the trick as the creature let out an ear piercing shriek. Tail thrashing out at the opposite set of levers before tearing towards the treeline. Owen used it as an opportunity to dip out from his spot and swipe at the underside of its tail. The sword wasn’t anything compared to Bek’s but it did slash through some flesh. He ducked, rolling across the grass just in time for it to swipe over his head. Turning to roar once more, it roared up and a vibrant blast of colour exploded against its back. Owen covered his eyes with his arm, momentarily protecting his vision from the bright sparks which reigned down as the creature turned backwards to snarl at what had fired at it. From somewhere in the treeline he swore he saw Mohwee holding a rougher crossbow, reloading a shot before disappearing into the trees again. And this time the creature took after him, turning its focus to the noise. Owen hauled himself to his feet once more. Quietly hoping that Bek and Mohwee would hold their own before he had to get back to work, making sure that if any of the other creatures came through, they’d be temporarily occupied. 

Out on the other side of the clearing Bek was managing to stay hidden through the trees, using the thickness of the leaves and various branches to avoid the creature catching her. By the time she had made it across the clearing the screams had already started, she’d seen a blur of pink. Some movement as a few of the others began to run towards Guts’ house and from that very second she’d been on the offensive. Trying to keep the first creature which had wandered through occupied, stabbing through at the various wires which made up the metallic talon like feet until she had been forced to hide with it stalking through the trees.

She found herself watching as two more slipped out through the maze door closest to the base her former clearing members had built. One had been easier to keep busy. She kept her focus drawn though, making sly stabs and slashes as she could, trying to keep up with the beasts as they tracked any kind of noise. When she’d heard the first firework go off it had managed to draw one of the slimy things attention enough that she’d been able to catch her breath but not long enough to avoid the second creature to knock down a tree directly in front of her. She clasped a hand over her mouth, hiding the rough gasp which almost left her mouth. And then a second firework was shooting across the clearing to where she was just about able to make out the figure of Owen. Another menacing shriek echoed through the clearing. Last time they’d prioritised trying to get the tail when they were killing it, this time they just had to kill the things. She watched Mohwee bolt out from a patch of trees, one of the creatures short on his tail as he began to run past the hotel.

Mohwee had dealt with these things before and yet every single time he encountered one of them he found himself wishing he hadn’t. He’d managed to find himself at the base which Oeca and Rasbi had made many months prior in the corner of the clearing, where the kid had already been rooting through his chests looking for supplies. He had stopped, chest heaving as he nodded over his shoulder.
“You have anything loud, annoying and possibly something that won’t mean getting close.”
Oeca had simply laughed as that was an obvious thing for him to have. He’d retrieved a rather old looking wooden crossbow and tossed it over as well as a small pouch full to the brim of fireworks. Mohwee didn’t exactly want to know how he’d been hoarding them for so long but he did know that he’d appreciated having them. Oeca ended up grabbing a handful for himself, insisting he’d find another spot and set a bunch off. Both boys had split up from there, as far as daring plans went, this one was being made up on the spot with little to no preparation. And now he found himself wondering if it’d actually work out well or not. The creature was snarling, he could hear the metal legs tearing up the ground behind him as he ran. Behind him he heard the heavy splintering of wood and the shattering of glass, no doubt coming from the corner of the hotel as he hopped one fence and then another. Running directly in the direction where Owen was now trying to hold back a series of lumbering green humanoid creatures from walking through the clearing. 

There had been a time where Owen and Apo had found themselves in the maze during the earliest days; they'd stumbled across these exact creatures before. He had to admit that he’d forgotten that the things existed, and with each slash of his sword he was reminded how much of a mistake that had been. Owen ducked as one decaying arm plunged towards him, stabbing out with the rusted sword and into the chest of another. He twisted round just in time to catch another in the jaw just as it was going to bite down on him. After those ones fell he kicked himself to his feet, kicking another one of the lumbering creatures back through the darkened doors. And as yet another forced its way through towards him, arms outstretched he swiped towards its chest. Cutting a neat line from shoulder to hip, watching as it crumpled. He was trying his best to ignore the dark, almost black blood which now littered his hands and ran down the side of his face. The gore and viscera was piling up with each fresh creature that walked through the door. Unfortunately though he didn’t have much time to consider any other ones coming through as another firework whizzed past the side of his head. Exploding in the doorway with a deafening boom which seemed to echo through the closed off space. He turned around just in time to watch Mowhee, waving his arm frantically for him to get out of the way. Which as soon as he saw the creature barrelling along behind him. Owen’s eyes widened in a moment of shock, sprinting to the side where he found himself leaning against the wall of Soup’s house. The creature in question tried to slide to a stop but ended up careening past the other runner as it slid into the dark corridors of the east side. Mohwee ran over, his chest practically heaving.
“We’re outnumbered.” He managed to gasp out, trying to catch his breath. There was no doubt leading it through the doors would only buy them a few seconds of time. Owen found himself glancing around the clearing, trying to see if anyone else was still around. But beyond Bek he didn’t see anyone.
“I know….is it just me, you and Bek?”
Mohwee shook his head, he could already hear the thunderous footsteps as the creature began to claw its way back into the clearing.
“Oeca’s setting up more fireworks, he was headed up towards Ayngel’s side….” He paused, turning to face Owen. “If they’re still up there..”
The creature emerged from the maze again, both of their heads snapped back in its direction.
“Go. I’ll keep this one busy.” Owen nodded, if Spidey and Ayngel were still up that way there was a good chance they’d gotten underground but they were on the opposite side to where most people had been rounded off to. With Squidney gone, he knew Mohwee wasn’t just going to leave it up to chance, if they were up there he had to look out for them. Mohwee reached over and patted his shoulder before disappearing back through the trees. He could see that some of the other portions of the forest were already starting to burn up again, the destruction these things brought knew no bounds. There were likely going to be a few on the path Mohwee was going to take, so for now he just had to hope Bek would have his back. He sheathed the sword against his back, retrieving his bow.
There’s one way I know to piss these things off. I just have to make damn sure I run a little faster this time.
He knocked a bow into the arrow and tilted it up, taking aim as it began to destroy some of the training posts which were in its way. And once he was sure it would hit one of the less armour shrouded portions, he let the arrow fly. 

Mohwee heard the creature roar from somewhere behind him, Owen would find a way. He didn’t turn back though, slipping through the trees slowly. Somewhere ahead of him he could already see where the creatures had broken Magic’s cosy home down into a pile of rubble. Rubble which had steadily begun to burn away at the trees around it, whether it was from the fireplace he knew had been in the corner or just due to the creature’s sheer destruction, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that everything in the path of each monster was being ripped apart like it had never been there. This is what they hadn’t seen when it broke into their clearing, this is what some of the people in the second clearing had gotten to see up close and it made his heart thunder in his chest in such a way that it felt as though it would break from his chest. He knew none of them were directly in front of him now, there were at least four. Possibly five, scouring the clearing for anything which made a shred of noise. Which meant he had to get to Oeca before any of the creatures did, he had to make sure Spidey and Ayngel weren’t in the path of any of them either. He heard another shout from the trees ahead of him as a blue flash dropped down from a tree and cut through the fleshy skull of one particularly large beast. The thing roared, shrieked like a wounded animal and then swiped at another tree beside the girl who was attacking it. She managed to duck just as the tail sunk into the tree, splintering but keeping it in place momentarily. Bek was right up ahead and she waved him over pretty quickly, the shoulder of her shirt had a tear in it and crimson red blood had begun to run down the side of her face.
“It won’t buy us much time, we need to get out of its way.”
“I need to get to Ayngel’s.”
Bek nodded once, watching as the creature began to rear back to get its tail out of the particularly strong tree it had gotten itself stuck in. She grabbed his arm and began to pull, running in the direction of the houses in the corner.
“The other two headed into the main part of the clearing. One firework shot that way, I saw Oeca hiding up in the treehouse.” She whispered. And Mohwee could feel the concern pooling in his gut, they’d only keep distracted for so long. They hadn’t managed to kill one without losing one of their own, let alone four…possibly five of the things. He’d spent the better part of a year planning for everything to work in their favour and now it was all falling apart. 

“Ok..okay..” Mohwee managed to choke out as they continued forward. Oeca would have rigged some of the fireworks up somehow. There would be a short window of opportunity. First he sprinted up towards Squidney’s treehouse, it had managed to stay standing for now but with the fires burning and the creatures ripping everything apart, he wasn’t sure how long that would last. Oeca had found himself up on the top portion of the platforms which made up the roof of Squidney’s treehouse, laid out flat with a pile of fireworks in front of him. Every now and then he’d load up his own crossbow, aim it in the direction of whichever creature caught his eye and fire at it. Before he’d hid down in Graecie’s bunker, this time he was trying to find the fun in what could be their impending doom. In the distance he could see Owen scaling up the rope which had been hooked to clearing two’s hangout building. It was built against the wall and gave him enough of a vantage point that he’d been able to scale it in time to avoid one of the particularly persistent creatures. He disappeared inside before reappearing again on top of the roof. At least for that moment he was out of the way again.

Mohwee grabbed Oeca by the shoulder, shaking his head as soon as the younger guy turned to face him.
“We need to check in on Spidey and Ayngel and then we’re getting underground.” Oeca didn’t seem to want to argue now, he was on his feet in an instant. Clenching a few of the remaining fireworks in his hand for dear life. 

“Sure. I’ve set up some fireworks to go off. There's a line burning back to the front doors. We’ve got maybe…five minutes before…boom.”
It’d be enough time to find the others, it had to be. At least the biggest distraction wasn’t in the corner he’d been expecting it to be. The three of them wasted no time scrambling down from the treehouse and running up the path in the direction of Ayngel’s house. There they spent a solid minute looking around, eyes darting around. Mohwee’s chest continued to tighten, the pounding from behind his ribs never quite slowing down. His nerves only built the longer they spent looking. It wasn’t good. Their search was coming up empty.
“Spidey? Ayngel?” He hissed, Oeca had found himself climbing up to the tallest tree where the fireplace still burnt bright. Maybe it would work as a hiding spot for a short time but a few good swipes and one creature would reduce it to nothing and a fall from that height would be lethal. Mohwee paused, running his hands through his hair. They could already be dead and he wouldn’t be any the wiser, all it took was one solid strike. He didn’t know if they kept bodies, they’d gotten lucky by managing to kill it. That had been one chance to bury their dead. If Spidey and Ayngel…

There was a sudden pat to his shoulder, one of serious urgency as he turned he was met with Ayngel. Her hair was a mess, there was a scratch on her arm and a bloodied bandage around her leg.
“Get inside now. We’ve been hiding in Squidney’s bunker.” She nodded for them to follow them back downl, last time she’d ran away. She’d darted into the maze and prayed it was enough to let her live, in the time since then she had found herself swearing she would never walk out on her friends. So this time she had managed to get hidden quickly. The only cut had come from when one creature headed in her direction and a few splintered pieces of wood caught her. She led  through the grass and around the back of Squidney’s house. Holding the hatch open for just long enough that almost all of them could descend down into the space. But that was where Bek stopped.

“I’ve got to make sure Owen’s covered. Stay safe.” She glanced over her shoulder to where she could still see Owen atop their base, if the creatures could climb, which she had no doubt they could. It would only last so long and the sword she’d seen him using briefly didn’t look like it would last forever. Ayngel gave her a quick, resounding hug. Even after everything she appreciated that this time she was trying to do things right. The hatch shut behind her as she turned on her heels and booked it through the trees again. 

Owen’s plan had fallen apart the second he ended up catching two creatures' attention instead of one. The first had been easy enough, the second the arrow ricocheted off the side of its jaw it’d snapped in his direction and began to chance him. Initially he figured he’d do a simple enough loop, potentially dip through the south door and jump across the gap between sides. He’d done it once, it was simple enough. The problem came when he broke through the trees just as a second hulking creature began to crawl through the foliage opposite, he could turn to the side and potentially make the jump with one following him but the second had heard him. The petrifying scream it usually let out pierced his ears once more as it began to bound towards him.  He’d seen the rope up to the base and made one choice, hooking his legs around the material, and hooking a hand just higher he began to climb. He was maybe a couple feet up when the creatures ran directly into one another. He continued to scrabble, the first creature tilted its head up and roared once again. Its tail slashing at the trees around it. The second began to circle, it was as if they were waiting for him to come down or for there to be any sort of noise again to gauge his position. He’d stood atop the building, getting a good look over the entire clearing and that’s where he’d found himself frozen. For the second time the clearing was decimated, fire had begun to lap over what used to be solid buildings. Graecie’s house which they had been in merely an hour or two previously was torn through, wood, shredded lanterns and broken glass was everywhere. Every training set they’d built lay in ruin. The trees to his left corner were already burning up. Things that had been familiar to them previously were entirely gone. He found himself turning to try and see if he could see where Mohwee had previously been only to see not only him but the vague shapes of Bek and Oeca too. At least the three of them had managed to stick together, he watched as they began to move. When Ayngel came up and scared Mohwee only for them to disappear once again. If they had any sense, they’d have used that as an opportunity to get underground. He’d figure a way out of this. But it didn’t make sense for them to risk getting back to him. That was why it had caught him off guard when he swore he spotted movement from the trees, at the very minimum someone was running through them. He heard one of the creatures snarl and begin to move again somewhere below but then with little to no warning a hand was reaching up to the roof behind him, he turned the second he heard it. Watching as the familiar blue sword was dropped to the wood. Owen paced over, taking Bek’s wrist and hauling her up as well.
“You came back?” He asked, by now he assumed she would be at the bottom of one of the bunkers, or at the minimum hiding out somewhere else. They’d bought everyone else as much time as physically possible. She nodded, crouching to rest her hands on her knees as she took a series of short breaths. She vaguely pointed towards the main doorway.
“Oeca’s rigged some fireworks, enough to draw most of them that way. Please tell me you know somewhere underground. We can’t risk getting to the prison, there’s too many people down there.”
He got what she meant, if the creatures didn’t take enough interest, they couldn’t risk shimmying down to the place which most likely held a majority of the clearing. Owen nodded, pointing across to the pond. It was a long shot, a serious amount of distance to cover in hardly any time. But it was all he had to offer besides the maze itself.
“There’s a space just under the water, some cave. It’s deep enough that if we’re quiet it won’t draw their attention. The only issue being….”
“We have to get from here to there.” She hummed quietly, kicking the sword up from the wooden surface into her hand before sliding it onto her back. “...my stage held, this will too.”
It wasn’t the best comparison, but Magic had hid on a building similar to the one they had been hiding on back in their clearing and it had worked until morning. They could take a chance, a simple risk and stay. If it went wrong, then they had a fallback.
“..If this’ll hold then this is the better option. Even with the fireworks we stand a better chance up here than down on the ground.”
In the distance the first firework began to pop, a burst of light followed by another then another. Until the entire patch of dark sky above the open maze doors flashed with a series of vibrant almost cheerful colours. If they weren’t looking over the destruction of what had been their home, it would almost seem nice…

Now they just had to make it until the morning. 

====

For the better part of an hour things had descended into pure chaos. Graecie found Guts relatively easily, they’d been heading out of their house when the doors first refused to close. The conversation had been quick but persuasive, the demon had headed through the trees. Trying to draw as much attention their way as possible. They’d rounded up as many people as possible, after only a few minutes Apo sprinted back with Magic and Rasbi in tow. No one was happy about being herded into a prison. But Guts had been adamant, most of the bunkers were flooded, their choices were limited and they could guarantee that the stone was strong enough to remain tough even if the lava was burning around them. It would last for long enough. That’s how eight of them had found themselves sitting in the corridor which led to the single cell hidden in the depths of the clearing. Graecie kept checking in wherever she could but it was clear no one was particularly calm or happy with the prospect of nearly dying again. Of everything they’d built around them being ripped away nearly two months before they’d originally planned to leave. Krow, Soup and Magic stuck together. The three of them clearly worried about Ayngel and Bek too, though Krow seemed to be worrying more about one over the other. Apo kept a wary eye on Magic, the entire time an arm wrapped over Rasbi’s shoulder. They’d shared a bunker before, this was just the same thing once again. Kyle had come barrelling in a few minutes after most of the others, his eyes darting around looking for one person in particular before he backed up towards the ladder, making a move to go back out into the clearing. Somewhere a loud roar echoed through the clearing. Graecie walked over, resting a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey….look he’ll be okay. Spidey and Ayngel are still out there too, there’s the bunker below Squidney’s treehouse. But…Kyle I can’t let you go back out there.”
Kyle almost immediately shoved her hand away, turning to face her with wide eyes.
“I didn’t see him at all. He…he would’ve come this way, it’s near our house. I can’t just leave him up there.”
Graecie nodded, she was already trying to keep everyone calm but with one of their own being missing it was hard to do so herself. She couldn’t let Kyle go back up, not when there would probably be at least one monster waiting to meet him. Her blood rushed to her ears, the pounding of her heart against her chest. She took a breath.
“I know. I know. But unless you have a plan, I can’t let you go, there’s more people down here and all it takes is one creature to spot you and then everyone else would be at risk.”
Kyle could see the way that some of the others in the corridor were beginning to look at him nervously, the way that Krow was giving him the dirtiest glare from across the room. If he was going to put them all in danger by trying to go up that ladder, there was a good chance someone was going to get up and stop him. Kyle turned away again, resting his head against the wooden rungs. He clenched his eyes closed, he made a promise and now he was being told to break it.
“I’m waiting until I can’t hear it….not a second longer.” He found himself leant against the wall closest to the ladder then, refusing to go and sit down. Not until either Acho walked through to meet them or until things got quiet enough for him to go and search for himself. 

Graecie quietly walked over to sit on the opposite side of Magic, who almost immediately rested her head against her shoulder. A low sob wracking her chest and shaking her shoulders. She could almost make out the quiet mumble.
“I’m scared…it’s happening again and Acho..”
“I know.” Graecie wrapped her arms around Magic, brushing small circles around her back. “But it’s going to be okay. We’ll be safe down here.”
The only hope she had was that the others were safe up in the clearing. When she heard the echoed mass of firework explosions in the distance she closed her eyes, breathing through her nose steadily. All they could do now was wait.

==

Spidey had decided she’d had about enough with the creatures. Ever since Bek had left Mohwee had found himself pacing back and forth, Aygnel sat in the corner while Oeca sat beside Spidey. The four of them were quiet for quite some time, they’d all done this before. They all knew at that point that they needed to be quiet but when the fireworks started to sound from the doors, there were a few minutes where they could afford to breathe. 

“Grievers.” Spidey said quietly, earning a few confused looks from the others. Her tone sounded exhausted, after a month of trying they’d been kicked back down to the bottom of the barrel again. Their home was actively being destroyed above them by the same things which had killed Squidney, destroyed their home once before and decimated an entire separate clearing. “I’m done just calling them creatures. There’s so many creatures, these things they take and they take…they destroy everything we love and only leave us with grief. Leave us behind with all that pain and misery. They’re grievers.”
It was a spur of the moment thought, all her bitterness and anger coming together to form one single thought. Mohwee nodded quietly, but continued to pace.
“They’re monsters.” Anygel responded, a small whisper passing through her lips. There were another few nods but beyond that the four of them remained quiet, they couldn’t do anything else but wait for it all to blow over. Bek had said she’d be going to get Owen but after what felt like an eternity they knew they weren’t coming back, either they’d found somewhere else to hide out for the night…or they hadn’t. Mohwee tried to shake that thought from his mind, because while he couldn’t say Bek was a close friend she had helped out where she could and Owen was someone he had started to see like a brother. They’d opened that tunnel together, he’d told him he had his back and now he had to sit and wonder if it had been worth it at all. 

— 

When the carnage had started Acho had been at home. He’d been in his house while Kyle went out to briefly see if he could find Owen or Mohwee around anywhere, he’d been talking about potentially trying to start going out on some maze runs again and while he himself wasn’t so keen on the thought of getting back to the depths of the maze, he did know that him and Kyle were just about ready to get out of the maze. Things had been fine, he’d been enjoying a cup of coffee as he watched the sun begin to set. Everything had been peaceful, a quiet, simple calm. After the month of grief and loss which had encapsulated the clearing, it had been nice to get a brief moment of peace, of hope. He had been sitting there when it got dark and he had only stepped outside when the doors didn’t close, he’d left his half drank mug of coffee sitting on the chest in the corner of his room to head outside and see what the commotion was about. He’d been alone at that point, when the first creature began to push its way through the doors he and his closest friend came through, he had run. There was no solid plan beyond his hope to find Kyle.
Because when he was with Kyle he had hope. They had come up that elevator together and even faced with the very idea of their only home being ripped to shreds, he knew that the only thing that mattered was finding him. He’d seen everyone grieve for Squidney already, he couldn’t cope with doing the same for Kyle. He’d seen him run across the clearing towards Guts’ house and he’d gone to follow. Darting to the side. He hadn’t caught up with him. Something had happened, he remembered that. The running, the voices. The sudden shift of the ground beneath his feet. He remembered hiding for a while, the odd shift of movement, the odd roar. Acho had stayed still, he’d stayed hidden. 

He remembered the trees and the running. Now that the sun was beginning to rise he moved slowly. Walking out into the devastation. He stopped by what remained of their home and sat down to catch his breath. 

He needed to wait for Kyle. He’d be somewhere. And when he felt the hand brush against his shoulder, he knew it was going to be okay. 

–

When the sun began to rise Owen and Bek watched as the creatures turned back and vanished out into the corridors of the maze. Both stood, staring out over the broken remains of their home in silence. The stench of smoke hung thick in the air, it drifted through the clearing as some of the trees began to collapse and fall. Owen could feel a heaviness settling into his chest, he didn’t admit what he was already thinking. About how he knew exactly what they were going to have to do from here on out. They watched as people began to emerge from their hiding spots. Across the clearing he watched as Mohwee and the others emerged from Squidney’s den, he heard the door to Guts’ house fly open as Kyle ran out. Followed by Graecie and everyone else slowly trailed behind. Owen gave Bek a light pat on the shoulder, he couldn’t muster saying anything solid. Good work. You held your own, these guys are safe because we were able to buy them enough time. She had nodded once and then they were descending the rope once more. He immediately found his way over to Graecie, he’d check in with everyone once he’d made sure everyone was alright. She looked exhausted, the bags under her eyes were a clear sign that it hadn’t been brilliant. Most of the clearing pushed into the one corridor, quietly wondering if they were even going to make it through the night. She simply pulled him into a hug without a word.
“I’m glad you’re okay.” She whispered after a moment. “We heard so many of them…we really didn’t know if any of you would be okay.”
Owen chuckled, though it felt flat. He wasn’t sure how to respond in any way which felt light hearted. Maybe they wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for the sword, for Bek. For Oeca messing around with fireworks. “I’m glad you’re okay too. There were four, maybe five. Bek had me covered and Mohwee and Oeca kept them occupied. We just bought you guys enough time to get underground.”
She hummed once, nodding. They’d never planned to try and kill them all, they knew the risk was too high to try again. Even if they succeeded once, there was no guarantee it would work again. They couldn’t afford to risk more of their friends to try and find out. He watched as Bek walked right over to Soup, pulling her into a hug too, as Magic darted over to join. Graecie coughed once to get his attention.
“....You didn’t see Acho did you?”
Owen looked confused, but then his face began to shift. Eyes widening. If he wasn’t with Graecie, if he hadn’t been with Mohwee….and then Bek turned. She looked confused but there was a moment where she looked down then back up again.
“It was only a second, when it first came in there was this flash of pink…I thought maybe he ran…” Suddenly her face went very pale. Graecie stepped back, and within a second she was running through the trees. Owen took after her until she stopped dead just shy of what used to be his house. Across from them Mohwee, Ayngel, Spidey and Oeca did the same thing.

Kyle was kneeling down but holding something in his arms. His hoodie sleeves and hands were stained in a dark red colour, he didn’t look up to address any of them. Not a single movement tore his eyes away from the body he held close. The odd whisper caught their ears.
“I promised you….I promised. Come back…I’m sorry, please come back.”
Acho lay in his arms. His usually pink jumper had been slashed clean through. His head lay slumped against Kyle’s shoulder. But there was no denying what they were all seeing. His skin was pale, flushed with sweat but lacking any real colour. The blood had pooled around the ground below him. He was already gone. 

Chapter Text

When Acho used to dream in the clearing it was about the good days. He didn’t have every memory to fall back on, just that back home his one shining light had been his best friend. He tried not to think too much about why they’d ended up in the maze, just that he’d been graced with the opportunity to spend every day with a familiar face. One he’d grown to trust with his life, someone he lived and laughed with. Someone who felt like the family he never had. He’d dreamt of a lot of things, of the people he’d grown to know and love. Of getting out, maybe going to the beach with them. Of making flower bouquets with Graecie and Magic. Of spending his mornings talking to Kyle about what sort of maze trips he had planned for that day. His dreams were always filled with so much hope that even when the clearing was burning up around them and their home had been reduced to a pile of rubble, he wasn’t too worried so long as he managed to find Kyle. He’d been dragging his feet, he knew there was a reason why he’d spent most of that night hiding against one of the walls. The trees hiding him from view from anything and everything but he tried to push away the thought that something warm and damp was running down his side, where one slash had managed to cut through his favourite jumper and no doubt the skin below. He’d wanted to be brave like Kyle. He needed to keep going, because Kyle was looking for him and he needed to tell him it’d be okay. Acho had to make sure that he knew that it was alright, and then he’d be patched up. Owen and Graecie would make up a plan for how they’d get through. He still clutched that hope so close it burnt, even as he had to stop. Changing the plan of finding Kyle to a different plan, he would wait here, somewhere familiar and that way Kyle could find him. He’d tasted copper on his tongue as he began to watch the smoke drift through the sky, when he sat back further he began to wonder if he just needed to take a short nap. He had spent most of the night asleep. He’d heard footsteps heading his way, rapid and frantic as they ran in his direction until they finally stopped and a hand was on his shoulder. Acho found himself smiling in that moment, a small yet evidently fond smile. He knew it was going to be okay, because he was sure that this was Kyle. He’d not been sure of what to say so he said nothing, when the muffled voice of his best friend began to get frantic he wondered if his dreams were going to be kind to him as they normally were. He didn’t want to worry Kyle. But when he did finally fall asleep he knew it didn’t hurt. 

Kyle had tried his hardest to get Acho to stay. But in the end it hadn’t been enough, he kept the boy’s head rested against his shoulder as the silent, angry tears began to run down his face. They’d lost Squidney and now they’d lost him, but he had lost him. He’d walked out on him earlier that day with the full intention to come back later and now all he could think was how he wished he never had. When he knew that he was gone, Kyle still refused to let Acho go. He stopped speaking, let the words die on his tongue but he held him close. The thought of what came next burnt bright at the front of his thoughts, Kyle didn’t want to think about it and yet it was a persistent thought. His best friend, one of the people he’d been closest to both inside and out of the maze was gone and his life was going to be reduced to a name on a stone. It was wrong, so fundamentally wrong. If either one of them had been supposed to go, it should have been him. He’d always tried to be there to protect him, to make sure that nothing bad happened. He heard Graecie’s quiet gasp as she walked over, Magic’s low sob once she realised what had happened. But he still couldn’t bring himself to say anything, he didn’t murmur an apology to either. He knew how much Acho meant to them, yet the words couldn’t quite form. After a moment he did find something to say, he knew a crowd was beginning to form at that point. The clearing members circling, shock hanging over their features. 

“This wasn’t supposed to happen.” His words came out clear, low. His usual light hearted tone was completely gone. It’d been replaced with a heavy hollow feeling in the centre of his chest. Kyle could see a few of the nods from the people around him but he knew they weren’t agreeing with what exactly he meant, he knew Mohwee was standing somewhere behind him so he turned looking him dead in the eyes as he repeated himself. “None of this was supposed to happen.” The tension in the air seemed to thicken as he kept his eyes narrowed towards the runner, mere days before they’d been on good terms and now everything was tilted on a completely separate axis. Mohwee stood for a moment, tilting his head ever so slightly. His own eyes narrowed as he realised that it wasn’t just a general thought, but more of a pointed jab at him. He stayed standing right where he was, feet locked to the ground below him.

“I know-” He went on to continue, to insist that once they were out of here they would know who had put them here and in turn who had let everything happen. They’d know who put them within the walls, who set the lava in motion and who had directly caused the deaths. He knew that the key probably played a part in it, he held that guilt close to his chest but he also was painfully aware that whoever made the maze had the blood dripping from their hands. He didn’t get to say any of it though as Kyle lowered Acho’s body back down to the ground and hauled himself to his feet, jabbing an accusatory point towards the runner’s chest. His teeth gritted through every forced word, his anger beginning to rise and bubble over. Within a moment he was being interrupted.
“None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for your plans! Your ideas!”
At that point Mohwee began to stare dead on. His knuckles began to clench together into fists.
“No offence Kyle but I didn’t see you having an issue with our plans before.” He shot right back, Kyle had been on board the entire way through before now. Mohwee didn’t even know that very day he’d been coming to find him, to try and get back to those very same plans and ideas but it didn’t matter anymore, either way everything had played out to this point. Acho still lay on the ground to their side, still. And maybe that was the main difference here, it was his friend who was dead now and he was going to question if their work on trying to escape had been worth it in the end. He hadn’t been expecting the shove to come next, one hefty push to the chest which sent him stumbling a few steps backwards. It was nothing like how Owen had been earlier, not trying to help him, this was trying to hurt him. And Mohwee took no time to shove back.
“That was before you got two of our friends fucking killed!” This time he took a swing for Mohwee. Throwing a punch towards his jaw, which managed to come in a little higher than expected. The force spread over his cheekbone with a heavy thud. Mohwee couldn’t hide the way his head snapped to one side. His eyes beginning to water as his face burnt.  “You started this!” Kyle shouted, getting close enough for Mohwee to turn around and punch him back, swinging low so that he hit him in the gut. Owen took a step forward trying to mediate, pulling Mohwee backwards but the younger runner just ripped his arm free. Pointing back towards where Kyle was now clenching his side with his arm, taking the odd heavy breath. Mowhee stood there, seething as his eyes continued to water. His heart pounding in his chest, he could see Squidney’s face again. Her hair in the breeze of the early morning, the feeling of her blood on her fingers. She was gone and nothing was bringing her back. Kyle’s words stung like their own wound, up to now no one had told him directly it was his fault. And whatever opinions they’d had, whatever opinions he’d had on that day didn’t mean the comment didn’t burn less. That her blood really was on his hands. He stood there, taking heaving breaths as he tried to calm himself down but now he was getting angrier by the minute. He needed to lash out again just as much as Kyle wanted to now and if he was going to be the punching bag for the guy, then he could return the favour. He found himself getting choked up as he forced the words to leave his lips, angry and harsh.
“My plan was to get people out! I didn’t ask for this, I didn’t want anyone here to die!”
Kyle lunged again, this time grabbing the collar of his jacket as he shoved him backwards. His eyes were burning, anger completely consuming his features in a way most of them hadn’t ever seen before. Krow was somewhere, watching, knowing that exact look meant that he wouldn’t be willing to just let go. Graecie tried to shout at them to both stop but her voice didn’t carry very far as they continued to fight. 

“It doesn’t matter what you ‘wanted’, you played around with fire. Your little plan to kill one worked but it sent what….four, five of those things in here and now everything is falling apart. I should’ve listened before, when they said there were other ideas, other ways to get out of here.” 

“Yeah well you didn't! Those plans were perfectly fine in your eyes until it was you that got affected by it. Don’t pretend like you gave a single fuck before then, it was just all a way to get out.. I’m sorry about Acho, but don’t get all righteous after all this has happened. No one made you come along, no one made you help with those plans!”
He snarled right back, kicking Kyle in the shin hard enough to cause him to stumble a few steps back. Where he shoved one of the other man’s hands free.
“Fuck you! Acho is dead because of you!” He once again went to Punch Mohwee, hitting him across the jaw now. Lower than the spot before but with enough force that afterwards he’d be left with an uneven strand of purple blotched bruises spanning the half of his face. Graecie had had enough, she ran over trying to intervene, grabbing the arm Kyle had raised once again. Trying to hold him back.
“That is enough!” She shouted, but it wasn’t enough to stop Kyle who was completely seeing red. His elbow shifted back and with one solid slam he managed to hit her around the cheekbone. Graecie momentarily stumbled back, Magic resting a hand on her shoulder. Concern lighting up her eyes as she glanced between Kyle and Mohwee.
“Squidney died believing in you, Acho died because I made the same mistake. And I won’t do it again. He should still be here!” He spat, going to punch at Mohwee once more. He hadn’t even fully considered that in the process he’d caught Graecie, or that he wasn’t stopping. His heart was pounding away in his ears like a kickdrum, his jaw locked to the point that his teeth were grating against each other. 

“Don’t you fucking dare.” Mohwee spat back, he had no intention of listening to what he had to say about Squidney. He had no intention of how he used her like a point in an argument. “You think that this is what Acho would want? The whole clearing got destroyed and your first focus is to start a fight!? Fine. But don’t you dare use them as an excuse, not when you went along with it every step of the way.” 

“I don’t know what he’d want anymore! He’s gone! He’s dead and he is never coming back, I lost him Mohwee!” He snapped right back to that. That same accusatory pointing jab made itself known once again as he stood opposite him. Watching as everyone stood on edge around them. “I know he wanted to make it out, he had plans, he deserved to live. And you don’t get to use that card, not when everything fell apart after your ideas caused this. We kill a creature, no less than a month later he’s dead. Those are the facts Mohwee! Say a million different things but you of all people don’t get to tell me what he would want.”
There was a stern voice from behind him. Graecie stepped forward again and though her face was red, her own eyes watering lightly she stood her ground stronger. Glaring between the both of them.
“Both of you stop it right now! This isn’t what he would want. He wanted to make it out of here just as much as any one of us but he wouldn’t want you starting fights on his behalf, and he wouldn’t want there to be violence after we had lost everything. He would want us to make it out of here for him.” Her voice wabbled momentarily, her lip quivering before she took a breath. Ran her hands down her face as she looked between them both. “In case you’ve forgotten, the doors won’t close. Which means we need to leave…today, we can’t afford to be at each other’s throats. Not when we’re going to have to trust each other to stay safe. We…we have to bury him and we have to survive for him.” She turned back to Mohwee, whose shoulders still were heaving up and down. “And we have to survive for Squidney too.”
Graecie shook her head lightly, walking so she knelt down beside Acho. She reached down to take one of his cold, still hands. Clenching it tightly in her own. 

“You grieve however you need to. It’s going to be ugly and it’s going to hurt. But you killing each other proves nothing, it does nothing. All it does is cause more harm and after tonight we have had enough of that!” A determined look was plastered to her face and even though she was tearing herself apart, the loss beginning to eat away at her for the second time that month she was going to do what she had to, she was going to make sure no more blood was spilt that day. Kyle glanced down at her, spotting the patch on her face and she could see the way the tension in his shoulders lifted as though he was quickly realising what he’d done. But she wasn’t going to linger on it any longer than she had to. He could apologise if he wanted to, it didn’t change it. After a minute he walked back over, sinking down beside Acho. Kyle didn’t know how long he sat there again before he carefully tucked his arms under him and lifted him back up again. They decided they would bury him beside Squidney in the end, with most of the clearing having been utterly torn to shreds it was impossible to find another decent spot. Not with the amount of time they had. Kyle walked towards the wall in utter silence, he’d not apologised to Mohwee or said anything else, whether he intended to say something later was left unknown. His anger went back to being unspoken. 

They’d given them an hour to prepare, as much as the group wished they had longer to spend on the funeral for their fallen friend, Graecie had been right. The doors hadn’t closed and if there was a chance they wouldn’t close again, they couldn’t wait to repeat the whole process again later that night. They’d have to leave the same day. Magic and Graecie quietly made their way to what remained of the flower patches, most had been trampled and torn up from the ground. Muddy gouges and deep tracks had been left by the creatures, Magic tried to pull out a few particular pink carnations which were thrown about in rough bunches but after a minute she ended up kneeling down in the patch of muddy grass, heavy sobs wracking her body. Graecie, who’d collected some of her own roses slowly walked back over, crouching down beside her. She placed a hand on the younger girl’s shoulder, pulling her into a tight hug.
“Why does this keep happening to us?” Magic choked the words out, burying her head into Graecie’s shoulder. Of all the questions she had possible answers for, this hadn’t been one of them. As much as she wished she knew why the people running the maze kept taking away their safety, kept pulling their loved ones away from them, she didn’t know. It was one of the worst things about this place, something she’d hoped for so long that they would be able to avoid. For a moment she couldn’t bring herself to respond, the words stuck stagnant at the back of her throat, every possible word went unspoken as she held onto her friend. There was that spark of anger too, of pure resentment for the place she’d seen as a home for so long.
“I don’t know…I really don’t know. But I know he didn’t deserve it, you didn’t deserve what happened to your home and we certainly didn’t deserve what happened to ours.” She took a deep breath, the warm tears still lightly pricked at her face. “I just know that once we’re out of this place, we’re going to make sure no one forgets the people we’ve lost. Everyone from your clearing, Squidney…Acho. Their names are going to burn in the memories of everyone who made this place and everyone who is outside of it will know who they were…we’ll never forget but neither will they.”
She sat there for a little longer, thinking about the cameras about how someone knew they were here and how that person, or those people would never know what was really coming their way. Magic nodded quietly beside her, there wasn’t as much anger in her bones anymore. But she couldn’t hide how this was tearing her apart, that the loss was already beginning to weigh her down too. She’d been there to see Squidney’s last moments and now she couldn’t shake the image of Acho’s pale face resting against Kyle’s shoulder. There had been so much blood, both times, too much blood. It clung to his jumper, staining the fabric an unnatural red. His hands, so soft, so gentle, were still and lifeless. She hadn’t gotten the chance to say goodbye. 

“I’m going to miss him so much Graecie…”
“Me too…” She sniffled, wiping her eyes with the palms of her hands. “Me too.” 

The funeral was quiet. A few more candles had been laid out, bunches of flowers and a few more mementos from each of the group. When Kyle had laid him in the ground he had been adamant that he’d be the one to bury him, he’d sworn he would protect him and while that promise had failed…he still intended to end it the right way. Even as some of the other outsiders began to drift away he stood, the metal shovel in hand. Looking down at the familiar face, not quite ready to tear his eyes away. When it was just him alone, the others pulling themselves away he took a breath.
“I always thought it’d be me. You had hopes, dreams…you were kinder than this place ever could be. It should’ve been me. I’m sorry Acho. I’ll see you someday.”
Kyle didn’t have much of a plan, he didn’t know exactly what would come next. He was going to make it out of this place if it was the last thing he did. He began to shift the dirt back into the grave, keeping his eyes focused on his friend, his brother for the longest time. But beyond that plan, he wasn’t sure what he intended to do. Eventually the mound was covered, he set the shovel aside and crouched down. Placing a heavy hand over the dirt, he closed his eyes. Taking a slow, deep breath.
“I don’t know what I’m gonna do…but this isn’t going to have been for nothing.”

===

As much as everyone wanted the opportunity to mourn and grieve, to pause again for as long as physically possible, there was no ignoring the fact that was no longer a possibility. The stench of smoke drifted through the clearing, the few fires which had been lingering had been put out as soon as possible but that didn’t erase the dreadful smell from laying thick in the air. It made the air dark and dense, virtually impossible to breathe through. The buildings lay in ruin and the supplies they had meticulously managed to spend so long preparing had to be salvaged from the destruction. Graecie walked relatively aimlessly, the only thing she could be thankful for was that the animals had been safe for some time now. And that almost everyone in the clearing was okay. She’d been the one to give the order, telling everyone to get everything ready so that they could leave that day but once she’d started to get to work she realised there hadn’t been a ton of things left to collect. She’d taken clothes which were salvageable, the odd sussy which Spidey or Squidney had given her, a few preserved flower crowns she’d made with Acho and Magic, as many bandages as she had left and whatever food supplies and other personal belongings she could collect but there hadn’t been much. In the end she had stopped by the remains of Kyle and Acho’s house to root around to try and find anything which he had gotten and in the end she’d found a spare jumper and the dagger he’d been using the whole way through training. So full of hope, only for it to be robbed right from him. If he’d had made it then he’d have been able to go home.

She slipped the dagger into a holster at her hip, making the mental note that if one of the others wanted it she didn’t mind passing it over, particularly if it was one of the people closest to him. But the spare jumper was her’s, she held it up to her nose burying her face in the familiar fabric as she took a breath. She couldn’t help the tears which flowed down once more, he was her friend, her family. Graecie had rolled it into her pack and gone back to walking. 

Owen stopped her around what had been the meeting area, they sat themselves down on one pile of wood which had been a bench previously. Both looked out across the clearing in heavy silence.

“Everyone’s collecting their things. Soup has her potions, Guts is gathering what armour is left…Oeca is getting maps handed around. Everyone seems to be almost ready.” His voice was soft as he looked at what remained of his own home, where chunks of splintered wood lay thrown across the area. Some particular pieces even floated in the pond. Beside him Graecie nodded.
“I knew it was going to get destroyed, the lava was already going to take it away I just never thought…” She took a breath, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“It wasn’t going to be like this?”
Graecie nodded once again, she wished she could get rid of the horrendous aching from her chest but it wasn’t shifting.
“No…But it’s what we have. And we’ve still got each other, I don’t know how this is all going to play out but I know we’re going to do our best. We get moving today and by the end of the week we might be free. I can’t live with losing the people, not being able to promise them their safety here but getting out, keeping their memories alive and living on for them, that I can.”
It was Owen who nodded that time, his own pack was prepared. His bow slotted over a bag filled with various arrows, books, food pieces and other momentos which he’d managed to collect over time. 

“I’m sorry about Acho. He had a good heart, he was one of the best of us.” He shifted to wrap an arm over her shoulder, glancing over to her with a soft smile. “But I agree with you. This whole thing, it’s bigger than us. It always has been. But we honour the dead so they keep living. Their memory, who they were won’t be forgotten so long as we ensure their stories can be told.”
She hummed softly, watching a few leaves burn through the air.
“We’ll remember them. Acho, Squidney, the people from clearing two. Always and forever.”
“Always and forever.” She found herself repeating, the words quiet but strong.
He got to his feet, holding a hand out to her. Which she took with a small nod, pulling herself up as well. There were still a few things which needed seeing too, last minute checks between people but both knew by that afternoon the clearing would be behind them.

Mohwee never had a lot to pack, ever since he had arrived in the maze he’d kept his belongings to a very minimum. Back then he’d figured he’d be out of the whole place within no time, he’d then spent a hundred days trapped within those walls, running almost every second of every day and he’d realised getting out wasn’t going to be that simple. Today they were going to start that journey and after so long of wanting it, he couldn’t shake the unease in his gut, that sense that it was now wrong. After the fight he had gone and scrubbed his face, washed his bloodied hands. Staring down at his bruised reflection, where his face was now a mottled mix of deep reds beginning to shift to a darker tone, the slight purple undertones beginning to flare upwards. For a moment in the water’s reflection he swore Squidney was standing over his shoulder, a look on her face which he couldn’t quite read. He didn’t know if there would come a time where he stopped seeing her, remembering both sides to how she’d looked. The sunny day where hope radiated off her and the smile made him feel like he could do anything, or the moment he lost her. Where she was still smiling but it wasn’t the same anymore, it was still and motionless and the blood was everywhere. He glanced back over his shoulder, just hoping maybe it wasn’t a trick. Even though he knew it wasn’t going to be anything more than that. He’d ended up by the graves after, his legs having carried him there without any real thought. Kyle’s words had cut deeper than any knife could have. Two of their friends, of the people they’d grown to see like family were dead. He didn’t say anything, merely staring at each name which had been carefully carved into the stone. Waiting for when everyone else would be ready to go. Mohwee wasn’t sure he was ready to go, he’d visited Squidney’s treehouse briefly before everything was ripped apart but now he knew if he headed over there, looking through her things again, he wouldn’t want to leave. He would stay, sitting among the rubble until the fire consumed him or until he saw her again. Part of him wondered if he should’ve punched a little harder or just walked away sooner, they were both grieving, he just didn’t know how to say it. Eventually he heard footsteps heading in his direction, soft crunches over wooden rubble followed by quiet ones in the mottled grass. Until finally the person stood beside him, Mohwee already knew exactly who it was without having to really look in the direction where the older runner stood. The quiet drifted over between them, he tried to focus on anything besides the smell of smoke. 

“...I didn’t think it would happen like this.” Mohwee finally broke the silence, his usual confidence wavering. He didn’t look up from the graves, his eyes fixed on the space. He too had pictured it differently, something more triumphant as they walked out with their heads held high. They intended to beat this place, rather than it pushing them to run. And even with every ounce of preparation it hadn’t meant anything, people had still died and they could still lose more yet. Everything he’d hoped would work out hadn’t. Maybe they were leaving, he just wished it were under different circumstances. Owen’s hand was suddenly resting on his shoulder, he saw the smallest nod from beside him. That same silence overtook the conversation again as they stood there. 

“I know. Me neither.” He admitted once more, he knew Mohwee wasn’t the only one feeling that way. No one wanted it to have ended up with them running, destruction behind them. But those were the cards they’d been dealt. “But this isn’t your fault, none of this is on you.” 

Mohwee could only shake his head, he wasn’t sure he believed that anymore. His plan had been sound, as far as they knew there weren’t any other ways out of the maze but now the possibilities lingered, could things have been different? 

“You heard him though. None of this would’ve happened if it wasn’t for my idea.” There was some evident bitterness to his tone, if he hadn’t pushed for it all then maybe Squidney would be standing beside him. And Kyle could still have Acho. Maybe the lava would be more of an issue but they wouldn’t be going in with loss crushing them and weighing on every step they took. Owen sighed quietly to himself. 

“Maybe. But now we have the way out. And we’re leaving today….We’re getting out of here for them. And we’re not going to forget them. That sacrifice, that loss. We are getting out of here for them.” 

There was a clear certainty in his tone, even after the losses Owen intended to keep going until his legs gave out under him. He’d made promises so long ago now that he doubted most would remember them, but he’d sworn he was going to get people out of this hell. He wasn’t going to let that buckle now, the maze wouldn’t be their prison forever. He too found himself staring at the graves, people who’d shown him kindness and kept him going during the roughest times. Squidney who’d made sure he had his prosthetic leg, Acho who had helped him make bouquets and showed him the simple joys of day to day in the clearing. They were both people he hoped would make it but now they were people they had to fight for. Mohwee was silent again until he finally nodded, running a hand under his nose. Composing himself finally. 

“Yeah….right. We owe it to them to get out.”

“And we will. We’re going home.” Owen confirmed once more, humming to himself softly. “I was talking to Graecie and we agreed that no matter what, we would remember them. Always and forever.”
Mowee glanced back over, meeting the older runner’s eyes. “Always and forever.” He nodded. “I like that….” He could see the group beginning to form by the doors, knowing that as the time began to tick onwards they’d need to be leaving. They took a breath, starting to walk over. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.” 

The group that had formed seemed to be as prepared as physically possible given the circumstances. Their packs hauled onto their backs, armour carefully secured over their forms and the odd weapon in their hands. Everyone seemed to be tired, exhausted from a long and evidently stressful night. Small groups had clung together already, Graecie and Magic stuck together. Rasbi , Apo and Redd had found each other, loosely waving at Owen as he began to approach. Kyle stood awkwardly to one side, his own face beginning to flare up with fresh bruises. As more people began the approach, Graecie stepped forward, nodding for Owen to follow her. The two stood at the front of the group, this moment had been something they’d spent the better part of two years working towards, slowly and steadily trying to get to the goal of making it out. It wasn’t exactly what they’d envisioned for the group but they had to keep going, they’d promised each other that much. Spidey and Ayngel were the last ones to head over, sparing the odd glance back up the hill towards the remains of a familiar treehouse, their hands clasped in one another like a lifeline. Graecie gave them both a small nod but that was all, for a moment things were quiet. Everyone’s packs were ready, their supplies drawn between them. Whatever got left behind now likely would never be seen again and while they knew that might include the pets, the small group had to focus forward. From this moment on they’d have each other and then they’d have their freedom. She finally took a breath.
“Today’s been…it’s been one of the harder days we’ve had to face. And I know we want to stay, to mourn what’s been robbed from us but we can’t. We owe it to every single one of the people we’ve lost to get out of here and live on for them. So we’re leaving now and once we’re out we tell whoever is willing to listen about them. We tell them about Squidney and her hope, how she was here for almost all of us. How she opened her home and her heart to the people of this clearing and clearing two. We tell them about Acho and his pure heart…we’re getting out of here. Mohwee’s going to lead from the front, follow him. Owen and Apo will round up from the back, we stick together and we get home.”
Owen could see the subtle glint of tears in her eyes, the way the sun reflected just enough to highlight them around the tearline. Once they were out of this she’d mourn, she’d let herself breathe but until that point her priority was clear.
“We’re heading through the first tunnel, there’s enough daylight to get there. Then once we find a suitable spot I’ll secure a line with one of Guts’ grappling hooks and we’ll rest through the night. Once the first lights hit we’ll keep going, it might be a few days before we’re out of here…but we will make it out.”
He looked out over the faces of everyone they’d gotten to know, the friends and family they’d found over the past few years, and he knew they were ready.
“Let’s go.”

And with that they were running. Spidey and Ayngel briefly passed the graves, running their hands over the spot one last time. As did Graecie, Magic and Kyle for Acho’s. But before long it was just Owen and Apo, staring out over the clearing. They didn’t say anything, there were no words which could express every thought in that moment. After everything they were doing it, they’d be able to make it to the coast and fish with Rasbi, they’d be able to watch the sunrises and sunsets without the looming walls or the threat of traps getting ahead of them. They just wished the cost hadn’t been the lives of their friends. They slipped through the doors, heading after the group. The heavy pounding of footsteps continued, passing through the various corridors until they reached the levers. There was only a brief moment where Apo turned to glance in the direction of them, it had been so long now since the day the section opened and even though they were about to leave it all behind it was still a choice he knew would haunt him for the rest of his life. Owen briefly patted Apo on the shoulder, they could never change that moment, never take back what’d happened. But they’d spent a year working to get back to that same semblance of a brotherhood. After it all he just needed for him to know in that moment he’d still be here, that he saw the good even after all the bad. Apo gave him a small smile and nod in return. 

Beyond that the group kept moving, Owen could see how everyone clumped together in their smaller friend groups while others stood apart and alone. Kyle had a serious yet determined expression, though he knew his heart wasn’t fully in it. They’d be getting out but he would have one less half of himself, one part of his life he could never fully recover. Spidey and Ayngel stuck close together, their faith in each other not wavering at all. They crossed through into the jungle and while the odd person spared the odd glance up in the direction which would take them to the other clearing, most didn’t even look back. The footsteps continued, Mohwee insisted that they cover as much ground as physically possible before they’d be plunged back into darkness again. They’d already overstayed their welcome in the clearing and the afternoon was starting to set in once they crossed the threshold which would lead out into the fresh section, time was of the essence. Magic took Graecie’s hand as they crossed through, the unspoken knowledge this area was somewhere uneasy. That the camera had been here, that as far as they knew this tunnel only activated with something directly retrieved from the things capable of tearing them apart. Nevertheless they forged forward, passing by the towering blades until they reached the entry way to the tunnel. From that moment on everyone seemed to huddle together again, Mohwee remained at the front, leading the way with the key locked in his hand. Though he did briefly turn back over his shoulder to glance at Owen, the silent knowledge that the last time they tried this the doors had closed behind them and closed the section off entirely. Once they were through the doors there was no turning back, if they were wrong then it was already too late. There was the chance, the unspoken understanding that they were about to take a risk. Owen simply nodded, they had nowhere else to go. No one spoke, the pillars which lined the tunnel walls loomed over everyone and as the sun began to dip lower down the walls the darkness seemed to stretch out ahead of them. Every footstep sounded heightened in those moments, each breath echoed and the smallest of noises seemed to drift for miles, the group didn’t take their time in the tunnel. They continued running, and after what felt like its own eternity they reached the doorway. Mohwee could feel the metal digging into his palm, the way it scratched over his fingertips, their future so close yet so far. He drifted towards the slot in the wall, slowly lifting the key up and slipping it back into the lock. The odd member of their group watched over his shoulder antsy and uncertain, while others drifted to the sides of the walkway staring down into the darkness below. Mohwee wasn’t sure of what could come next, he felt the way he hesitated before turning the key, before moving another muscle. But he took a breath and turned it, the lock clicking and within seconds the familiar light flashed over the group. Bright red illuminating the space momentarily and for that brief second he found himself wondering if it was going to amount to another mistake. He could feel his heart hammering away in his chest, sweat beginning to form over the crease of his eyebrows. And then as soon as the panic had begun to set in, the doors roared to life. The cogs steadily began to turn, the doors pulling apart to reveal the stretching expanse of grey. As the new walls towered ahead, fresh corridors seemed to crawl out into the distance but this time it didn’t close back up again. Everything past that point was unknown but maybe that was for the best. As soon as the doors were fully open everyone stepped through, prepared for the future. Mohwee let Owen take the lead at that point, finding himself falling to the back of the group he turned to look down the corridor one last time. Staring out to where he could only just make out the speck of green which was the jungle, he could feel that swelling void at the bottom of his gut. The emptiness in his other hand, where he wished someone were still here to take it. He watched that spot even when the other voices began to pick up and drift away, he focused on the wind, on the small leaves which would drift through the air. Trying to remember the sound of laughter. These walls would hole those memories for as long as they stood, he just hoped it wouldn’t forget her specifically. And he found himself smiling once, slipping the key from the lock he followed after the others. The doors closed behind them, sealing off the way back to what they’d lost. He slid the key into his pocket silently, she’d got them here and he was proud.