Labyrinth: Saving the Fallen City

Through the Boundary

Someone pulled my wrist in the direction we were running because the energy drink Jareth gave me started to wear off. We followed Hedian to the large room between halls and in front of the picture. He hit his fist on the painting over the table and a section popped open. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I was actually seeing this. Hedian pulled open the small section and revealed a pathway that went straight down. He stepped up on the table and jumped into the passage. I gasped at his sudden disappearance and wondered if he was okay.

           Jareth nudged my shoulder and I tried to hold onto the table but couldn’t seem to keep my balance because of the armor around my torso.  I shook my head at Jareth and he stood on the table with a hand outstretched towards me. I reached up to take his hand and he pulled me up like I was a feather. “Go on” He said to me nodding to the pitch black passage. “Hedian is waiting down there” He added. “Why don’t you go first?” I asked.

“Sarah, they might break down those doors. You don’t know how to fight, not like them. Why are you incapable of anything without question?” He asked irritably. “You truly have lost your impulse from your younger years” He muttered. “Because I’m in the underground! I can’t trust anything here. Nothing goes as planned and someone is always trying to hurt me!” I said before holding onto the sides of the paining as the sounds of fighting rose outside and threatened to break in. “You have to trust this. Besides, I need someone to try it out for me and see if it’s safe” He said smirking. “I really hate you sometimes” I muttered before I stepped into the passage and all gravity seemed to force me down.

I let out a screech as I tumbled down the expanse of nothing. The cold air tickled my skin and manipulated my hair. I reached for anything to hold onto but everything was gone. This isn’t safe! I’m not slowing down! My fear doubled when I thought of how fast I could be traveling. “Where’s the end?” I yelled and received no reply. I started to hear water and instantly cringed. Not more water. As soon as I had the thought, I felt a drip of water, then another. Where’s its source? I wondered.

Out of nowhere, I stopped falling. I was hanging in midair. “Hedian?” I called. A touch came to my shoulder and I spun around to see Hedian’s face. “Thank goodness” I said truly relieved. “We need to get to that ledge but I need you and Jareth. Where is he?” Hedian asked. “Here” Jareth said appearing beside me and scaring the life out of me. He didn’t laugh this time. “I need Sarah to get her body as straight as she can. We are going to propel her forwards towards the cave. She will give us something to pull ourselves in.  Sarah, your eyes are quite a bit younger than mine. Look around and see where the cave is. Be careful though, these water droplets mirror what is behind them. Nothing is ever where it looks like” He said.  I turned in a circled and saw nothing. Then caves started to appear everywhere. The water droplets caused the caves to shift every time I moved and I started to panic.

“I don’t know! Everything is moving!” I panicked. “Just calm down and focus” Hedian said. I bit my lip and turned around once more. A water droplet appeared in front of me and I squinted. “What if…” I muttered and looked through the water droplet. Suddenly the room became clear. I gasped and moved my body around the water droplet. I searched everywhere until a shadow like object caught my attention. “I’ve got it!” I said and pointed forwards and up just a bit. The cave was right in front of us.

“Great, Jareth come over and help me” Hedian said. I stiffened my body and the brothers took my feet in their hands. “One, two, three!” Hedian said and I was flying through what felt like space. By the time I reached the cave, my entire face was wet with the water droplets. I landed on the small space outside the cave and held onto a rock. I needed to find something to pull the Jareth and Hedian in.

“It is right inside the cave!” Hedian called. I nodded and felt around. My hand passed over something cool and metal. My grip tightened and I pulled the metal item out of the cave. I held onto the edge of the platform to keep my body from floating away. I threw the metal object out into the space towards Jareth and Hedian. They took hold and I started to pull them in. Soon enough they reached the platform and held onto my hands to take hold of rocks. “Hold onto the floor. Gravity will find us soon enough” Hedian said taking the lead.

Jareth and I followed close behind him until He stopped. “Right ahead, through the wall the gravity will start. It’s strong” He said before disappearing again. “Not another drop” I whined. “Come on Sarah, where’s the fun in knowing what’s going to happen?” He asked me and then he was gone to. “Okay Sarah, you can do this” I said giving myself a pep talk and taking a single step forwards. I felt my body pass through the wall and I was on the outside of the castle. Noise of the front of the castle offended my ears as my eyes looked around to find Jareth and Hedian.

I rushed into the dark, tall woods a few feet away and saw both men. They stood with their arms crossed waiting for me. “We need to hurry, if Kilton made his way through with an army, the forest will be crawling with his very own vile goblins” Hedian said as he turned and started rushing through the forest. The darkness that cloaked the forest hurt my eyes but whenever there was a break in the canopy, the moonlight lit the way until the next canopy opening. Jareth ran behind me with his hand at the small of my back to keep me upright.

My breathing became labored as the distance grew further and further. I almost fainted in exhaustion when Hedian slowed and ducked down. I fell to my knees and took a couple deep breaths. My fear spiked when I heard footsteps creeping all around us. “Sarah?” A voice called and my body tensed. “How you survived the fall, I know not, but I am willing to accept that the weak, old Goblin King has you under one of his abundant spells. I promise to you, my princess, that I will find you and take you back” He said. I shivered at his words.

Hedian kept us crouched down for a little while longer until the footsteps had faded. When they were gone, Hedian stood up and ran excepting Jareth and me to follow. “Just a little longer” I said standing and running after him. A noise broke to my left and another to my right. Jareth shoved my back when I tried to slow down and investigate. After four more noises Jareth pulled at my waist and we both turned around to the noises. The forest was silent, and then goblins emerged onto the path with a vile smile.

“Run” Jareth whispered. As soon as the words left his tongue I turned and ran in the other direction. Wind caught in my throat as I flew through the rest of the forest. I heard the nasty sound of goblins in pursuit and felt a scream rise up in me, but Jareth appeared beside me and shook his head. I did not fully understand what his intentions were but I knew he was almost as nervous as I was.

The claws of one of the goblins scratched at my feet and I screeched trying to get him off. “In here” Jareth said running around a tree the emerging inside. Without hesitation I jumped inside the tree opening right before the sound of multiple goblins screamed by. Jareth leaned against the trunk and I breathed deeply, waiting for oxygen to fill me. The goblins noises had long since silenced and all was left was Jareth and I barely breathing inside of a tree opening.

“Here” Jareth said standing up and turning me around. He placed something over my head and I smiled. It was the crystal. “You need to have energy to get to Sina. The kingdom is not far away. There is a boundary there that will force the goblins back, but we have to make it through first” He said. I nodded and held the necklace in my hand.

“Let’s go” He muttered and we snuck out of the tree. Jareth pointed straight ahead and I saw the slight shimmer of the boundary. New determination rose up within and I took off. Jareth was right behind me as the screams of Kilton’s goblins erupted. I pushed myself harder and right as the goblins jumped for me, I passed the boundary. My body was so exhausted, that right when I stepped foot into the safety of the kingdom, my legs collapsed and the last thing I saw was Jareth standing above me and two other figures kneeling beside me.