It's Only Forever (a labyrinth fanfic)

Chapter 19

Jareth POV:

Drip. Drip. Drip.

I made my way through the dank passages under my castle, searching for the cleaners. I'd never really paid any attention to where the goblins stored it, just as long as they actually used it. I turned a corner and realised that this was the second time in one day that I'd gotten lost in my own Labyrinth. My frustration bubbled up and I grumpily kicked at the rock wall.

"Ouch!"

I looked up, surprised at the voice before remembering that these walls were different than most. I mumbled an apology and continued on my way. As I walked, the voices of the rocks echoed off the empty passage; each wall saying a different phrase.

"Beware, beware."

"Soon it will be too late."

The rock faces watched me as I passed, never letting up on their warnings. I wished Sarah were here. With no one but myself, the time went slowly and I found myself counting the amount of steps I'd taken. 98, 99...

"For the path you take will lead to sudden destruction!"

102, 103, 104...

"Turn back while you still can"

106, 107, 108...

"Jareth"

I looked up, confused. Maybe I was just hearing things.

"Jareth"

The voice was soft and airy. A woman's. My eyes searched the empty passage, "Sarah?"

In the distance a short lived shimmer of light caught my attention. I took a step closer only to find that the ball of light I'd seen had turned into the cleaners. My eyes widened at it's rapid approach. It came closer, closer. My feet connected to my brain. I ran.

Crink chink chink crink.

The metal gnawed its way closer. Just run, I told myself, run. Run, run, run. My legs beat at the rocky ground and my heart pounded in my chest. Run. I fought to breathe, how could I get out of this? My body slammed into a brick wall and the air was knocked from my lungs. I gasped for breath as the cleaner got closer. Then I remembered, most of these walls could be pounded down.

I dragged myself to my feet. I need air. I pounded my shoulder against the wall to my right. My lungs fought to breathe as I rammed my body against it again. The wall loosened and I looked towards the cleaner. I cursed at how close it was and gave one more heave. The wall fell forward, taking me with it. I scrambled to get out of the way, but I wasn't fast enough.

The cleaner cut through my boot, slicing a line across my leg in the process. I yelped in pain as the machine crashed into the dead end, a deafening crash that left my ears ringing. Breathing heavily, I dragged myself into the newfound corridor to examine my leg. The cut was deep and I swallowed at the blood that flowed out of it.

Magic could fix this instantly, but I knew I couldn't do that. If I so much as summoned one of my crystal orbs, Sarah would die. It was my leg or Sarah's life. I chose Sarah.

I removed my shirt and tied it around the wound hoping to staunch the bleeding. It didn't take long for crimson red to stain my new shirt. I heaved a sigh before looking around me- I still needed to find that clue. I shakily pulled myself onto my good leg and hopped over to the mangled form of the cleaner.

I surveyed the wreckage, hoping the clue would be something obvious and easy to see. Not to mention I didn't want to stumble on the metallic blades and chopped bricks that lay scattered amongst the mess. After minutes of craning my neck I decided to take it like the man I was...

I sniffed and bit my lower lip. Those blades look sharp. Could be dangerous. I took a deep breath. Sarah had better appreciate all the emotional turmoil I was going through for her. After a few minutes of psyching myself up, I hobbled into the debris, trying to avoid the haphazard shards of metal. It wasn't long after I'd reached the center of the clutter that my eyes found what appeared to be a walking stick of sorts.

It took all of my coordination (which wasn't all that much) to balance on one leg while bending over to pick up the cane. I held the item in front of my face, running a hand over the smooth wood eventually stopping at the top where a... what looked like a featherless parrot head was carved. I nodded, this was the clue.

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Hello my lovelies!

A million apologies on the horribly late update. Things have been busy and I've had a few things to deal with. If updates are slow for a little, just hang tight. I'll try to get back on schedule but it might not be my top priority at the moment.

Also a quick shoutout to litfan1 for being kind enough to check up on me.

Thank you to everyone else as well for sticking through this painfully long process ^_^

Ta ta!