11

Run

Her head turned sharply towards the cry and instantly, her heart shot directly up her throat. There,standing with his back against a wall, was an Asian boy. His eyes were wide in panic, chest heaving for air like hers. There was somebody else? Another human? Alive?

Two Creepers had him cornered.  They gathered as if they were taunting the poor kid, picking a way to kill him. It didn't matter who he was yelling too, or what as a matter of fact. He needed help, and pleading was his only chance.

If she helped him though, surely her efforts of escaping would be thrown out of the metaphorical window. They would give their full attention to her, their scent locked in and target chosen. And if she kept going at this rate, 11 knew she would be dead before the end of the night. Deep inside her though, she knew that she couldn't just leave him. He was the first human that she has ever seen alive. 11 couldn't let him die.

Swallowing down the lump in her throat, the girl reached behind her head pulling the bow off her shoulders. Then, in one swift movement, she was knocking an arrow and aiming towards the creature to his right. Taking a long breath of air, she steadied her aim to the back of its head. That was their weakest point.

Her long exhale drove her body into a calmer state. Then, in a soft motion, she loosened her grip on the string and the arrow sprang forward. Within seconds of her release, the Creeper was on the ground in a heap of dust.

Immediately the boy's fear soaked eyes flew to her figure. She stood tall returning his gaze while lowering her bow. But as soon as she was upright, the remaining Creeper turned its attention to her just like she knew it would. It's jaws stretching wide as it let out an earth shaking scream. She was its target now, it wanted her.

With an exhausted and saddened look in her eyes, she locked stare with the boy. His hands were clenched at his side and breath held. He knew what she did. 11 swallowed down the fear in the back of her mind and screamed one word to the boy as the Creeper screamed. "RUN!"

And just like a bat out of hell, she was off. The boy stood for a while in shock, his eyes watching as the girl disappeared into the walls of The Maze.

She saved him. They didn't know one another, but just like an angel, she appeared in his darkest hour and saved him. But now, now she was gone.

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Back at it again, the thrill of the pursuit gnawed at her heels driving her faster and faster forward.  Adrenaline completely took over, it's all she had left to run on.

Taking another turn, 11 found herself dashing down a familiar straight away. Her legs moved as fast as possible, the Creeper catching up rather quickly. She was too tired, she needed to lose it and fast.

Suddenly, halfway down the stretch, a new figure caught her attention. It was the Asian boy from earlier. Behind him, another Creeper. They were sprinting towards one another, the creatures nipping closely at both of their heels.  Getting closer and closer, she came within speaking distance of the boy. "Left!" Her voice shrieked grabbing his wrist and pulling him down the open end.

As soon as both were around the corner, the Creepers collided into one another delaying their pursuit. Just as quickly as it happened though, the two were back at it and gaining ground.

Together, the two teens sprinted side by side. He was fast she had to admit, but over time she began to pull ahead.

Eventually, the boy started guiding her from behind. He told her left from right and when to turn. It didn't matter to her where they ended up, they just needed to leave. Reaching another straight away though, something caught her gaze that she had never seen before. Grass?