Labyrinth: Saving the Fallen City

Deep in Mud

 We ran through the forest with rising screeches all around us. My hands covered my ears in attempt to block out the horrid cries. "Keep running!" Jareth called as the wild yelling came from near and far. One cry would sound making me cringe then another would answer. The screeching sounded like it was coming from everywhere at once. The thought hit me just in time. "Jareth, we need to hide" I said pulling his arm towards a tree. He tried to shake me free, but I held tightly to his arm and shoved us both back.

               His weight stumbled and we fell into bushes. Jareth began to move wildly when I held him down and covered his mouth. He stared at me with hatred before a screech echoed mere feet away from us. Jareth grabbed my chain mail around my arm and pulled me down next to him. I breathed deeply as the creature walked by us. Torn and muscular wings dragged behind the scared dark feet. I peeked out the bush and looked up. The creature stood tall with its muscular back to me. His hair hung below his shoulders tangle from the wind while he flew. Around his waist was a brown cloth for enough coverage to look decent but little enough to reveal muscular thighs.

               The creature lifted its head and let out a scream so loud, I almost screamed myself. As if hearing my silent cry, the creature turned around and looked around. His torso was cut up and bronzed. The creatures head was as strong as the rest of his body. His eyes looked like golden slits. In his hand was a long spear with a blade at the top and bottom. He searched around him, viciously shoving brush aside, when another creature like him landed hard on the ground right by my foot. They spoke strange words to each other before running a short distance and soaring into the air.

               My breath came normally as I looked at Jareth. "What did he say?" I asked. "They're looking for someone. Quickly, we must go" He said trying to stand up. "Wait, if they're looking, why reveal ourselves to them during their search? Can we not wait here until they leave?" I asked him. He looked down at my hand pushing at his shoulder and I released it. "I don't know of the creatures that reside here. They could be vicious" He explained. "All the more reason to wait, we can't fight them on our own" I said. Jareth thought then gave a short nod. "Only until the flyers are gone" He said.

               We listened to the screams of the people with wings for about twenty minutes. When the creatures finally moved on, Jareth and I stood up and ran into the thick forest. "I may be the Goblin King, but this is new territory for everyone. I only know of one creature down here that won't rip us apart. They will be difficult to find, but when we do, they are most likely to help us" Jareth said studying the ground. "Why are you searching the ground?" I asked. "That's where they'll find us" He replied. I looked down at the ground suddenly concerned about stepping on someone or someone attacking me.

               Jareth walked through the jungle maneuvering around trees like he had walked the terrain a million times. Our clothes had long since dried and my feet began to ache from the miles and miles that we walked. The screeches from earlier were far off in the distance and the horrible sounds of war did not sound in the rift. The darkness that surrounded us made me feel like I was constantly going in the wrong direction. Humid air caused severe dizziness and allowed my body to fall into trees and stumble over nothing. My breathing became labored as we traveled deeper and deeper into the rift. Jareth turned to me to see why I was making so much noise but my eyes couldn't focus in on his expression. "Keep moving, if we stop now we'll never find them" He said. I nodded and continued on. We trudged through the thickest parts creating little sound.

               I began to feel dehydrated and coughed. "Jareth? Why do I feel as though the water is being pulled from me and around us?" I asked hoarsely. "Because it is, we're getting closer to them" he said taking in a large breath. My lungs felt like they were closing in on me and Jareth seemed to feel the same. My skin began to crack like the desert ground and my mouth got dry. "Water" I croaked. Jareth held up his hand to stop my voice. "The more you talk, the more the water drains from your body" He warned. I swallowed hard imagining water was flowing down my parched throat rather than hot air. The trees around me were so dry and barely alive. Everything I touched was dry to the point of turning to dust. Something was sucking the water out of everything and I needed to stop it.