The Third Clearing || Outsiders SMP DISCONTINUED

Chapter 4: "Just a Sneak Peek"

⚠️TW: Swearing, Little bit of Blood⚠️

•The Next Morning•

The sound of trickling water from the waterfall woke me from my slumber. Thankfully, I wasn't in a tree this time. Fortunately, my stomach feels a lot better than it did yesterday.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes so that I could get used to the bright sun. It didn't look like anybody else was awake at all yet. The Clearing has never looked this empty before. Maybe I just woke up earlier than normal.

Everything still looks okay, nothing changed overnight besides the construction of new buildings.

Maybe I can say hello to the people who arrived yesterday. I looked over at the wall of names again and made a note to self of who has not arrived here yet.

It was just then that i saw Liam was awake and heading towards the gate of the Maze. The gate was already open, and with nobody else awake yet, Liam could easily enter. I ran over to the entrance.

Liam was already past the giant doors and halfway into the first corridor of the Maze.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I yelled softly, making sure it wasn't loud enough to wake somebody up.

"It's just a sneak peak! I want to see if what Avery says is true," Liam responded going a bit further. "You have to be at least a little bit curious."

I have to admit, I really was. I didn't want to break any rules though, especially since I just arrived like 2 days ago. I looked back towards the Clearing behind me and everyone was still sleeping.

"We don't have all day, you coming or not?" Liam asked. He was now standing at the end of the corridor. There was a path that led right and a path that led left. Liam couldn't wait any longer, so he ran down the left pathway.

Shit. This isn't good. I thought for a minute. He can't just run in there! I decided to follow him to make sure he doesn't get hurt. I ran all the way to the end and turned left. Liam was standing in the middle of the left passage way and smirked as I came into view.

"I knew you would come," He said.

"I'm only doing this so you don't get yourself killed," I responded crossing my arms. He laughed at my response and went right.

I quickly followed him. "Slow down!" He took a left a few feet in front of me, so I followed again. When I turned the corner, it was a dead end. Liam was frozen still, looking at something that I couldn't see on the Maze's wall.

"What is it?" I asked walking over to stand next to him.

My eyes widened when I saw what he was staring at. In the wall, there was a message carved poorly and it was kind of hard to read. 'Get out' is what it said and I suddenly realized that we haven't even looked at our surroundings. I slowly spun around to take everything in. There were spots of dried crimson on the floor of the maze, and a bunch of cracks were found every few inches on the Maze floor. Leaves rested at the very top of the maze and vines were everywhere on the walls. A bunch of moss was shoved into the cracks of stone. Tiny rocks littered the stone floor, easy for you to trip over if you weren't careful.

"We're lucky we haven't come across any traps yet. We need to leave, Liam." I responded turning to look at him. He was now faced in the direction I was looking and I could tell he had just seen what was around us as well.

"Fine. I'm coming back in tomorrow though," Liam said as he started to walk back the way we came.

"Like hell you are!" I said as I chased after him.

He suddenly turned around and took out a knife, "Try and stop me, I'll cut you. I'm finding a way out of this stupid place if it's the last thing I do."

I rolled my eyes and pushed pass him, leading the way back to the Clearing. It's not that I think Liam wouldn't hurt me, because he definitely would. It's just that I don't want him to know that I'm scared from a simple little threat.

I could hear his loud boots behind me, but I looked over my shoulder just to make sure he was following me. As much as I dislike him, I need to make sure we both get out.

When we turned the last corridor, I could see Avery patiently waiting while fiddling with her goggles. Her head instantly shot up at the sound of our footsteps. She quickly put the goggles back on her head.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?!" Avery yelled not caring if it would wake somebody up or not. She was furious, and I couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Let me explain, Avery. Please," I begged.

"Explain. Now," Avery stated sternly and crossed her arms.

"What's going on?" Dylan asked walking up behind Avery.

"These two snuck into the Maze while everyone was fucking sleeping!" Avery explained.

"It was only for a few minutes," Liam mumbled loud enough for only me to hear.

"Liam and I were the only two awake, and then I saw Liam head over here to the gate. So, I followed him and he ran off into the Maze. I didn't want to leave him in there just in case he got lost or hurt so I followed him!" I explained trying to reason with Avery.

She covered her head with her hands and started pacing back and forth for a few seconds. She stopped and sighed, bringing her hands down. "Look, I appreciate you going in to make sure he's okay, but please don't go in again, or at least tell someone you are going in. You cannot rush in there without anybody knowing!" Avery stated.

I thought for a moment about telling Avery that Liam wants to go back in tomorrow, but truth is, I was a little scared of Liam's threat. I don't know him well enough to talk him out of it, but I know for sure that he'll get himself injured or worse if he goes back into the Maze.

I looked back at him and he looked at me. A little glimmer in his eyes once again warned me to not say anything. It's like they were telling me to not push the button.

"Hey, Avery," I started and I watched as he furrowed his eyebrows at me.

"Yeah?" Avery said a bit more calmly this time.

I turned to look back at Avery. "Liam's planning on going back into the Maze tomorrow."

Word count: 1149