𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐑 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐄? ; 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆𝗳𝗶𝗰

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧

breathing is overrated

This nightmare never felt so real before now. My brain won't function, won't accept the reality that Carmen has just fallen to his death, won't comprehend that I will never again see his bespectacled smile or smell their favorite perfume or hear whichever random fact he deems interesting.

What the hell do I tell their parents?

Amari collapses on her brick island, tears rinsing away the dirt of the last few hours. They attempt to say something, but all I hear is a croak that sounds like "Carmen".

I feel water on my cheek too.

Hesitant to break the mournful silence, Lotus fidgets with a loose string from his shirt. "Not to be insensitive, but... we still have this murder maze to get through."

"Right," Amari says hoarsely, wiping her grimy tears away. They rise to her feet, still in shock.

My gaze won't leave the area where I know Carmen must be laying, his eyes staring but not seeing and his body twisted in some unnatural shape — suddenly, my legs have taken control and brought me away from the opening.

To my confusion, Tyler's still staring at the chasm, squatting with a furrowed brow. "Look... this may seem a bit strange," they say slowly, "but what if Carmen's not dead?"

"What do you mean?" Amari croaks, new tears silently streaming down their cheeks.

Tyler gets up brushing the dust off of her pants. "The ground might just be too far away to see from here, but I definitely don't see Carmen's body down there. What if he's not dead?"

Neva starts rustling through the backpack she's carrying. "Aha!" she exclaims. Eyes twinkling, she pulls out a glow stick. "Now we can check."

She tosses it into the gaping darkness, a soft green illuminating the way down. I hear a faint "thud" when it hits the bottom.

A collective murmur of amazement floats out of the group when there's nothing but dirt and dust surrounding the glow stick.

"So... Carmen is alive?" Simon whispers, wary to break the silence.

"It looks that way," Tyler asserts.

My voice has found its way back. "Well, then, no need for us to mope around. We should get going if we really have any chance of saving Carmen."

I really, really hope we'll get to them in time.

—

From the stone and dust, the labyrinth gradually turns into a bog. We slug through mud and various aquatic plants. I see spiders crawling along the ceiling, heading the same way we are.

Lotus looks like he's about to cry; after a spider plopped right into the water in front of him, he hasn't said much.

Eventually, we reach another crossroads. I've lost all track of our direction; let alone which way we're supposed to being going. It's not up to me, however.

Tyler reaches for a compass, letting the spinning needle settle before pronouncing, "We should go left."

No one else says a thing, half of us still stuck in our heads and grief. I'm trying to project a more positive attitude, but it's difficult when I don't know if one of my best friends is alive or not. At least, I hope he is.

Sludging through the even thicker mud, I notice a pinprick of light coming from further down the corridor. I'm eager to either get out of this maze or complete another challenge, so I pick up the pace. I can tell my legs will be sore tomorrow. If there is a tomorrow.

The light grows larger, illuminating the muddy walls and greenish water. At last, we reach an opening that branches out into a large swamp. 

We all shuffle into the swamp-room single file. Behind us, the door frame disappears, locking us in. A soggy, wooden sign in the center of the dense trees has an arrow in the center, pointing down.

"So... there's something in the water? And we have to find it?" Neva remarks drily. She doesn't seem excited at the prospect of having to dive down into the murky depths of the mud-ridden water.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," I mutter.

aster.

omg finally . im so 
so sorry for this 
chapter to take so 
long and then be 
kind of short 😭
the next question 
for your oc is: who
volunteers to dive 
into the water?