Burst Shorts

Escaping the snake's coil (Part 5 of series)

(Two months later)

Sora rounded the last corner of the maze and sprinted towards the door, coming to a halt when she reached it. After two months of Galaxy knocking her out everytime they failed and not telling her what had happened, she’d finally been able to complete the maze in time.

Finally! He can't punish us for finishing so we can go straight to the cell and not be messed with! Galaxy cheered. I thought I’d never finish. He kept changing the maze- Sora said. He enjoys our suffering, of course he's gonna change it every time we go through. Galaxy said.

The door opened revealing Ashtem and the handlers. Sora walked through the door and began walking in the direction of her cell.

“Well done. Your performance lets me know we can move on to the next phase. I look forward to seeing how you do in the next test.” Ashtem said.

Sora and Galaxy did their best to ignore him, resisting the urge to whip around and attack him. They knew the consequences wouldn't be worth it. They were escorted through the hallways and back to their cell before being left to their devices.

Sora collapsed on the cot and stared at the ceiling, letting herself relax a bit. So, what do you wanna do with the spare time? Galaxy asked. I don't know. We're usually beat up or knocked out at this point. Sora answered. Hmm… I would say work on figuring out your limits with my abilities but I don't wanna do that right now. Maybe we can just chill? Galaxy said. Yeah, that sounds nice. Sora said.

So, they just layed on the cot with their eyes closed eventually drifting off to a light sleep. It was a few hours before the door opened again, startling the two awake. Sora quickly stood up and faced Ashtem and her two handlers.

“I have one last test for you today and then I’ll leave you be.” Ashtem said. “What’s the test?” Sora asked. “You’ll see. With how well you’ve been doing, I’m sure this will be a breeze for you.” Ashtem replied.

Sora was once again dragged out of her cell and led to the maze. They tossed her in, letting the door shut behind her. She looked around confused. We already did this. What does he want, a faster time? Sora wondered. If that’s the case then this should be easy. Galaxy said.

“You’re probably wondering why you’re back in the maze. Well, in short you’ve only been running the first part. Your time will reset when you reach the checkpoint and won't start until you enter the second part.” Ashtem said over the speaker. Easy enough. Galaxy said. Let’s show him that adding another part isn’t gonna faze us. Sora said.

With that they took off into the maze, Sora pushing herself to run as fast as she could while Galaxy offered tips on directions. They kept picking up on a scent that got stronger as they got closer to the end. It was metallic with something else mixed in with it. Needless to say, they had a bad feeling about what was ahead. They eventually came to a door at the end of the maze.

The door opened revealing a dark hallway with a light at the end. The scent was stronger here than the rest of the maze. Sora pressed on, walking down the hallway with caution. The scent continued to get stronger, to the point it was all she could smell. She eventually reached the end of the hallway, pausing as her eyes adjusted to the light. When they finally did, she froze in horror at what she saw, an overwhelming feeling of grief flooding her.

There was a table in the center of the room, surrounded by old, dried blood. On it lay Galaxy’s body, formerly vibrant white fur now dull and stained a crimson color in some spots. His mouth was open and his once bright emerald green eyes were now a dull green and void of life. Sora staggered towards him, she couldn’t hear anything, she couldn’t focus on anything but the horror in front of her.