Hell Fire (Wild Fire: 2) (FINISHED)

32 - Ready or not, here I come

It was around ten in the evening, and Max sat against a tree while Ember rested her head on his shoulder, both watching the campfire in front of them spark and vanish into the air.

They were dry now, but their clothes were still kind of hard and wrinkly from the water they were in.

After their swim, Max went up to retrieve his shirt and jacket, and they settled here.

Ember closed her eyes, listening to the gentle hum of crickets and the slight crashing of waves, all while letting the warmth from the fire bleed into her skin.

Max then pulled his jacket more over her arms when he felt her shiver.

When her lashes parted, taking in the night, she suddenly gasped and shot up. "Max! Look!"

He followed her gaze, a small smile curving his lips when he noticed the ground light up with millions of yellow dots.

Fireflies.

Ember smiled, the yellow reflecting in her ocean-blue eyes, and Max couldn't help but watch her instead.

It was like stars in the night sky.

She sat up fully when the bugs flooded a certain path, leading further and further into the forest.

Ember gazed up at Max then. "Can we follow them?"

He nodded, guiding her arms through his jacket and going to put out the fire with some lake water he got in a hollow stump.

After returning to Ember, he held out his hand, helping Ember up, and they then started to the path.

Ember smiled as the fireflies darkened where they stepped, but lit back up when they passed, and they continued, following the millions of lights.

After five minutes of walking and enjoying the beauty, they ended up at their destination, Ember gasping when she took in the scene.

It was a large maze, the floors covered in moss and dirt, and the walls made of bright, green bushes.

Who made this? Did anyone even know this existed?

She spun around to face Max then, a smile splitting her face. "Let's play a game."

His lips tilted. "Oh?"

She nodded. "Hide and seek," she told him. She pointed at him. "You're the seeker," she then gestured to herself, "and I'm the hider. If I lose, I'll do anything you want."

He smirked, clearly liking the idea.

"Count to twenty," she instructed him, "then come find me. You have ten minutes to find me, after that clock runs out and you don't find me, you lose." She smiled. "And you'll do anything I want."

He covered his eyes, and she knew he had already started counting.

Ember dashed into the maze then, holding in her giggles as she counted with him, so she'd know when she was out of time.

When the ten second mark hit, she then knew it was time to hide, so she smiled and found a crevice under the bush of the maze, and she immediately crawled into it, curling up so she couldn't be found.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Max called, making something cold pass over her, but she smiled.

He'll never find me. I'm so evil.

She stared off into the darkness as she listened for the sound of his voice, but he hadn't said anything. In fact, he was deathly silent.

But she paused when she heard his shoes crunch on the dirt in front of her and held her breath, closing all thoughts so he couldn't hear her.

Sweet fear pulsed through her, followed by a familiar euphoria that had her trembling.

But his footsteps just wandered away, and she exhaled a sigh, still feeling the leftover buzz.