Petals on The Moon || Reyna Ramirez-Arellano x Fem!OC

XXIX

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Hello again.

The Labyrinth was dark and scary, but Juventas was right. It seemed easier for me to follow my gut when I was by myself. It was like a tugging on certain sides of my body, depending on where I was, and the only way to feel balanced again was to move in that direction. If I felt the tugging in my belly button, I was on the right track. But, when I felt it on either side of my pelvis, or maybe my shoulders, I felt wobbly.

I wasn't walking for very long before I found something strange. I aimed my flashlight at the bloody spot on the wall and the floor, like a smear. Perhaps someone had fallen here or something. It wasn't big enough to indicate a fatal injury, but it was a decent size. Probably enough to incapacitate someone.

Something about the spot felt very strange to me, however. There was a handprint on the floor only slightly larger than mine. I saw scratches from a blade near it, and more bloody droplets leading away, like whoever had been hurt had left in a hurry. I frowned, remembering that I'm now the same size as Macy, which would make the hand thing understandable, and I was wondering if she'd been hurt.

I continued walking, my dagger and flashlight always ready. I was wondering what time it was in the real world, or even what day it was. We'd been in the maze for so long, I lost track of time. It felt like twenty-four hours, but Jason told me he thought it'd been more like forty-eight. For all we know, it's been weeks. Maybe Sebastian's already eighteen.

That's stupid. He's now six and dressed like Tupac.

The entire time I'd been in the Labyrinth, I was having strange dreams; a boy, of some sort. He looked closer to Sebastian's age, about seventeen or so. He was skinny and scarred up, and had a sword. This matched what I'd found in the Labyrinth, minus the blood, making me wonder whether or not he had been hurt severely, or if I was just jumping to conclusions.

I quickly realized I was not jumping to any such conclusions.

I entered a large chamber with a vaulted ceiling. Hanging from it was an old chandelier that obviously didn't work anymore, and it was full of cobwebs. There was an old dining table with chairs that I'm sure with once beautiful, with plush velvet seats and gilded arms, but they'd been damage and the wood had warped over time. The paintings on the walls were dusty and faded, full of chips and scratches.

I aimed my flashlight around, but not for very long. It immediately landed on the person pointing a sword in my direction, his eyes angry and guarded.

"Who the fuck are you?" he demanded.

I blinked. "I'm sorry. Is my light blinding you?" I aimed it down so I didn't blind him too much, but I could no longer tell what he looked like. I figured if I was nice and pretended to be naive, I wouldn't get hurt too fast. Or maybe he'd make my death nice and gentle.

Then his sword wavered. "S-Suki?"

I considered this. "How do you know my name?"

He lowered his sword completely. I changed the setting on my flashlight to a softer light and aimed it at the boy. He was Asian, with overgrown black hair matted with dust and dirt. His skin was a bit tanner than mine, but it had yellowed from his time underground. He was around 5'9, so slightly taller than me, and he had the same scars as the boy in my dreams. His hand was bandaged with a nasty old shirt, and his clothes had been cut up and stained with his own blood. His face was round and scared, and his beady black eyes stared at me with familiarity I couldn't match.