𝚝 𝚑 𝚎 𝚋 𝚛 𝚘 𝚔 𝚎 𝚗 𝚋 𝚊 𝚕 𝚕 𝚊 𝚍

Uncertainty.

I stepped lightly down the dark corridor with nothing but the fire on my arm to light the way, the air heating up slowly as I went down further. There were old tapestries on the walls, the floor, the ceiling, and some steps were made solely of glittering mosaic tiles.

When I reached the bottom, I heard a hoarse sobbing and wheezing voice. I turned the corner and saw someone crouched on the floor over a tiny puddle of blood and tears, holding a bag close to his chest. His face was shrouded in unkempt black curls. His clothing was tattered and grimy and burned at the edges.

The man looked up, and I saw his face. It was blanketed in soot and dirt and was covered in scrapes and fingernail scratches as if he had tried to claw his own eyes out. On one side of his face were burn scars. His eyes were bloodshot, and the tears that ran down his face left the only clear spots on his skin. He gasped, his body beginning to shake.

"No, no... Death, no... stay back," he whispered, his voice tremulous and hoarse.

I slowly advanced toward the man, in case he decided to lash out.

"I'm not going to harm you, just stay calm." I murmured, kneeling down in front of the trembling man.

His eyes were clouded over, and his skin, where I could even see it, was quite literally snow white. I hastily took the container of water strapped to my hip off and handed it to him, who took it eagerly.

"I'm Yoon-woo. What is your name, sir?" I quietly asked after he finally set down the canteen.

He leaned against the wall, peering up at me through his greasy black hair. He seemed to be thinking. Finally, he sighed, closing his eyes. "I don't remember."

I shook my head, deciding to press further later. I stood up and extended a not-burning hand down to him. He blinked, looking confused, before reaching out and grabbing my hand.

His legs were wobbly, and he struggled to stand. When I let go of his hand and began walking back to the stairway, though, his dark eyes widened and he quickly stumbled after me.

The man stepped up onto the mosaic stairs, and a wall slammed down behind him. In the light of my fire, I saw his eyes narrow. The man grabbed my hand and fled up the stairs. I looked behind him, seeing the ceiling crumbling down and the stairs falling away as we stepped on them.

As soon as we broke free onto the surface, the man grunted and shielded himself from the sun overhead, above the walls of the maze.

I looked around, scanning for any maze creatures. I heard a hissing noise and looked up. A giant spider was looking down at us from its vantage point against the wall. The man followed his gaze, squinting so hard I was sure he shouldn't be able to see. His eyes widened, and he took my hand again, taking off.

The creature made a high-pitched shrieking noise and barrelled from the wall down at us. I jerked my hand back, and we leapt apart, the spider landing where we were seconds prior.

The creature went at the man, fangs digging into his calf. He reacted immediately, pulling his fist back and punching the arachnid in the eye. It reared back, shrieking again.

I hollered, waving to him as I ran backwards. He kicked off the creature's head, leaping and landing with a roll, quickly picking up a notebook that tumbled out of the bag over his shoulder.

When he caught up, I opened my mouth to speak.

"I'm fine."

I closed my mouth.

We heard another loud shriek and sped up. The maze creature, regaining its bearings, charged toward what was supposed to have been its meal five minutes ago. I ducked out of the way of one hairy spider leg, diving behind a tree just in time for it to clamp down on the thin trunk instead of the thin human.