The Wilder-ness

Chapter Eight

When I finally wake up again, I'm in a room, lying in a bed. At least, I think it's a bed. But it's so fluffy, it's more like a cloud. Either way, I feel like a stone in comparison. There's no other way to say it.

Slowly, I turn my head to look around. It's a basic room with four walls, a dresser with three drawers. The bed is against one of the walls, a nightstand next to it. There's a giant window next to me, not that there's much to see. It's just more walls. There's a closet at the far end of the room.

I push myself up into a seated position. Or, at least, I try to. I don't get very far before my head starts pounding and I groan, closing my eyes.

That's when I notice I'm not alone. In a chair next to the bed, Charlie sits with his head on the bed. He must have been asleep. Now I feel bad for not noticing earlier and waking him up. For a second, he just watches me sleepily with his stormy eyes, but then he blinks the sleep away and rushes to help me sit up.

Finally sitting, I reach up and press a hand against my head. I wince before bringing my hand back down.

"Hey," he says gently. "How are you feeling?'

I try to give him a what-do-you-think look. "I feel like crap, what else is new?"

He chuckles at that. "Yeah okay. You're fine."

I roll my eyes at that. I mean, he's not wrong though.

I sigh. "How long was I out?"

"A day," he replies. "It's noon right now. A day and a half?" He shrugs.

I've been out for a day?! Oh no.

"What did I miss?" I ask urgently.

He gives me a look, but I glare back at him until he talks. Finally, he sighs and tells me, "Not much. They just led us through their daily routine for exploring above the maze. We didn't go far since it was more of a tour. Honestly, it's pretty cool how they have all the equipment and stuff prepared here. They're practically ready for anything."

At that, I groan. I missed out on the lesson. That could have really helped. Quickly, I throw off the covers and slide off the bed. It takes a second to catch my balance, and Charlie has to grab my arm to help, but eventually, I get there.

And now I see that I'm no longer wearing my original outfit. Someone must have changed it for me while I was unconscious. That's a little concerning but oh well. Too late now. What's done is done, and now I'm wearing gray leggings and a striped shirt.

I shake off Charlie and rush to the closet. Opening the door, I see racks full of shirts and pants. Thank goodness there are no dresses. Spotting the shoes and jackets, I grab one of each.

As I'm shoving my feet into the sneakers I grabbed, Charlie questions, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Out," I answer, already slipping on my jacket. "Where else would I be going?"

He just shakes his head at me. I hide a smile. He should know me better than that. Does he really think I'm just going to stay here after wasting a day unconscious? Seriously, that's not going to happen. Ever.

He doesn't try to stop me. He knows it wouldn't have worked anyway. Instead, he just follows me out the door.

I'm glad I'm wearing a jacket. As soon as I walk out, I am blasted by a wave of ice-cold air.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" a voice sounds.

I look to the left and see a young girl with a hand covering her mouth. She looks about fourteen with a tall frame and long silver-white hair.

Nevermind, I take that back.

As I look on, the girl closes her eyes, one hand still covering her mouth, the other over her chest. Her hair floats a little and waves around as it shifts to a light brown. Then she opens her eyes. Brilliant jade and electric blue stare back at me.

She drops her hands and jogs the short distance to me. "Hi," she says. "Sorry about that. I was dealing with that guy back there." She rolls her eyes and jerks a thumb over her shoulder, directed at a boy her age. Encased in ice from the neck down.

I hear Charlie gasp, but I don't even flinch. The girl turns back to stick her tongue out at the boy. He just glares at her, barely contained rage radiating off of him in waves.

Turning back to us, she must notice Charlie's shocked face because she just smiles and laughs it off. "Don't worry about him. It's not the first time this has happened to him. I'll let him out soon. I'm Seraphina by the way," she adds.

With that, she skips off towards the boy and proceeds to melt him out of the ice. This time, her hair is a fiery red.

As soon as the boy is free, he launches himself at her. But she clearly knew he was going to do that. She's prepared and immediately grabs his arm before he can catch her. Then she drags him over to us.

"This guy here is Caleb. He wants to kill me all the time, so get used to lots of yelling and cold blasts. After I use the ice, I let out a breath and it's usually cold. That's what happened to you guys earlier," Seraphina explains. "Anyway, we should get going now. See you!"

She smiles and skips away, dragging Caleb along. He grumbles but doesn't fight her pull. Now it's just me and Charlie again.

"Hey, Charlie!"

We both turn to see a boy run towards us, waving. He reaches us as rests his hands on his knees, panting.

"What's up, Dave?" Charlie asks.

"We were just gonna go for a run," Dave replies, straightening up. "Care to join us?"

"Sure," says Charlie. Then he turns to me. "Do you want to come with us?"

"That's fine, she needs to learn the ropes first."

Whirling around, Baz walks up from where he is close by. "You two go scout the maze. I'll take Seraphina and show her what she missed from yesterday."

Dave and Charlie nod their heads in response and head off to a shed near the stairs, leaving me with Baz.

"Come on then," Baz beckons, already walking to another building. He doesn't wait for me to follow.

Looking back towards Charlie, I can only hope he'll be safe. Then I hurry to catch up. 

After showing me a map of what they had covered in the maze, we went to the shed to grab equipment. Charlie and Dave had been gone for a while now.

Climbing the stairs, I am momentarily blinded by the sun when it hits my face. Once we reach the top of the wall, though, I can't help but smile in the light. It feels like forever since I've seen the sun.

Baz chuckles behind me. I almost forgot he was there with me. Almost forgot that I wasn't alone. Not anymore.

Baz starts walking along the wall. "Come on then," he beckons over his shoulder.

I stare after him for a minute, then turn back to towards the sun. Raising an eyebrow, the corner of my mouth lifts up.

I hope the world knows that I'm here, in this maze.

And even though I'm trapped right now.

I'm going to get out.