Griever [Newt V.S Thomas]

II

The darkness rolled in, unwelcomed and with much evil intent, swivelling around the girl as she whimpered and wailed, thrusting her curled fist into the ground.

So close. So damn close.

For a moment she continued to lie there upon the cool concrete, a trickle of crimson leaking from the place where her head had made impact with the solid surface. Her mind was fogged over and any fast movement caused her much discontent. Her eyes rolled backwards, soaking in the temptation of sleep but her conscious thoughts tugged and squeezed at her will power, demanding that she get up or else suffer the consequences.

The consequences that came all too quickly.

Blue irises snapped open as the ground beneath her trembled. She held her breath, pressing her ear closer to the surface, praying, hoping that it was just her mind playing tricks on her. But, sure enough, another thud followed suit, accompanied by a robotic shriek that rang through the maze, reverberating from the walls, ricocheting until she could hear nothing but the agonising howl.

Her heart began hammering, anticipating the inevitable, her muscles had long since lost their spur, for they were in to much pain to even attempt at lifting her from the ground. Her breath grew uneven as fear trickled down her brown, blending with her blood in the form of sweat. Her fingers curled, pressing into the ground floor and shoving with all their might, her palms digging into the floor as her entire weight fell onto the strength of 10 lean fingers.

Her body may have lost hope, but her heart still threw itself against her ribcage, eager to pick her up, to throw her onto her feet and give her a fighting chance. Tears were welling in the corners of her eyes, the metallic sound of several legs trampling amongst the maze had her head in a frenzy. Her teeth grinded together, her legs, weak and numb flinching and twitching as though they had just been awoken from a long awaited sleep. Her entire body was groaning it protest as she continued to force it into submission, desperate to stand - to run.

"Get up, get up. . ." She chided, her voice nothing more than a husky whimper, raw from screaming and trembling from terror. "Get up," she continued to chant, wriggling her toes as the tight knot in her abdomen loosened, her knees buckling. Red tresses hung over an azure gaze, stricken with determination and hope.

Another shriek.

This time closer.

Her skin ached, as though it were being pulled by a greater force, sucked into the air whilst leaving the rest of her behind and then all at once she relaxed, her slender form loosening as her body came back to life. The ghost of what felt like hands lingered over her hips, through her hair and over the bare skin of her neck, a gentle caress of the wind that felt so familiar, although she couldn't quite place it.

A soft array of words presented themselves in her mind, coaxing her until she almost forgot where she was and the amount of danger she was currently in.

Don't give in, G-------, they can take everything away from us, our thoughts, our dreams, our lives. But they cannot take away our hope, not unless you allow them too. Don't let them take it, G----, or else you're nothing.

The words lulled her, coaxed her tired form away from the edge of oblivion and soon, with a sudden spontaneous vigour, she was lurching to her feet, falling towards the wall, her body slapping painfully, her legs trembling and her bones aching, but she was up.

And just in time.

The fiery haired girl craned her neck, glancing over her shoulder to catch the sight of a monster, its beady dark eyes glaring at her with such hunger that she nearly caved right then and there. It crawled along the walls towards her, advancing at a slow pace before suddenly lunging forwards in her direction, a ear piercing howl tearing from it agape mouth as it's metallic tail speared towards her.

The girl's entire body went rigid, her mind and heart abandoning her and leaving her body to the task of escaping almost certain death.

Finally, her body kicked into action, the hairs on her arms standing rigid as instinct took hold and she was running at a pace that she wouldn't have thought possible after her fall. Her legs faltered with an agonising burn, but she refused to give in - she refused to loose hope.

The creature curled in surprise, its swift movements combined with her sudden actions sending it into the ground with a painful clad, although within minor seconds it was up again, blocking her way, squealing and shrieking as it sent its sharpened blades in her direction, its legs and tail swooping towards her, following her movements like it was her own reflection.

Suddenly, the walls began to creak, shifting from their places and steadily moving inwards. The girl's eyes widening, her fingers flexing as she watched the insolent monster remain oblivious to the situation; it seemed far to focussed on her to worry about the closing walls around them. Red hair clung to a sweaty forehead as the blue-eyed girl threw herself backwards, very nearly copping a fatal blow to her chest. Her breathing had her light headed, and for a moment all noises ceased, leaving her with nothing but an irritating ring that caused her head to throb.

The world around her seemed to have slowed down. The creatures ferocious mouth clamping open and closed caught her attention as the saliva whipped around its face. The walls pressed closer, slower, giving her time to think and as the world caught up to speed she was running forward, right into the embrace of death, only she didn't meet the darkness or the pain, instead her fingers curled around one of the creatures legs as it flung her upwards, sending her above it in an attempt to claim her life. She released herself, landing ungracefully upon the monstrous metal scales that lined it's back. She ran then, at a speed she didn't know she possessed, the walls holding the creature in place as it struggled to free itself.

And then she jumped.

She remained mid air for a moment, adrenaline coursing through her veins as she caught sight of the concrete floor, colliding with hard ground for the second time that day. She cried out at the impact, her body barrelling forwards and skidding to a halt after a moment.

The red headed female groaned as a whole new type of pain spiralled through her, her eyes half lidded and oh so tempted by the thought of sleep, although this time she couldn't resist, nor did she have much of a choice.

And so, she fell into a darker world than even the one she was currently in, but not before catching a glimpse of the crushed monster between the recently closed gap.