The chosen [Niall Horan]

Chapter 28

Here we go.
The shrill noise fills my ears, urging me into the winding maze. I force myself to remember everything I've been taught, from the years of training with my parents to the last few months with Jackson.

I race down countless paths, praying that I'm going the right way. To my right, somethings shining from the small ray of sun that's escaped from behind a cloud. Stopping, abruptly I go and investigate what it is.

Knives. A small pile of five throwing knives. My mind starts spinning, trying to figure out what these are for. It doesn't take long to figure out, writhing the next few seconds I hear it, deep growls. The creatures are moving in from deeper in the maze, closing in on me.

I pick up the knives, keeping hold of two of them and tucking the rest in the waistband of my pants. Standing back up, I watch as they approach, five massive wolves, bigger than any I've ever seen. My first instinct is to run, to get the hell away from them, but that's not an option. The only way out is to keep going. I have five knives, there's no room for error here.

I hold the first of the knives in my hand, aiming it at the closest wolf. The weapon slips from my finger tips, landing directly in its chest. I quickly pull out another, the end result the same.

The three last ones are moving in quick, much quicker than they previously had been. I take out another knife, aiming it at the smallest, silently praying that I don't screw this up. He goes down instantly, sliding a few feet in doing so.

Only two left, not bad. I go to throw another but refrain from doing so. They're too close, it won't work. In an instant I'm pinned to the ground, snapping jaws directly infront of my face, he manages to bite down on my shoulder before I whip my arm out from under me and plunge the blade into the closest area I can manage, his abdomen. Dark red pours from the wound, falling onto me. I push it as hard as I can, sliding out from under it.

My feet move instantly, trying to make a break for it, only to have the last one go for my legs, nails tearing down the side of my left leg. Without looking I throw the knife, a sharp bark fills the air and then nothing. My eyes open back up slowly to see all five bodies sprawled across the path. I don't let myself think about it too much, instead I push myself back up and start to run.

I run threw the pain in pain in my leg and shoulder, which in itself is enough to make me feel ill. I keep going until I come to a ravine, somewhat like Niall's but on a much bigger scale, this one is more of a sheer cliff, the grass ending abruptly. However on the other side, it doesn't  continue, instead the path is sand and stone.

What is this? No other maze has been this daunting. No one else has had sheer cliffs or monstrous animals. It suddenly becomes clear, these mazes aren't only a test to see who will get cut, it's testing whether you can stay alive, and they're seeing just how much j can take.

I shake my head and refocus, finding the pest path down. My fingers grip onto stones, feet rest on ripped pieces of grass and dirt. I reach the bottom, stumbling across to the creak.  It's the only thing separating the grass from the sand, and although it's not huge, it's too wide to jump over.

I take a step into the murky liquid, only to realize that it's not water. The liquid is causing a burning sensation, It's some kind of acid.

I move forward in large bounds, attempting to keep the splashes to a minimum. Even with my careful jumps, small splashes of water still manage to shoot up and land on my arms and abdomen. Shrieks of pain get caught in my throat as the acid becomes shallower.

I trip over my own feet, landing on the hard, packed sand on the other side. I've never felt like this, my legs feel as though the my skin is falling off. There's a few small holes where the acid penetrated my shirt, leaving deep red sores on my skin.