Labyrinth Wall (9780991531219) (13 page)

His comment about them coming with us to the other side makes me a bit uneasy too. Still, if they’re willing to come with us, we could use the manpower. Chances are the wall is heavily guarded now. My hopes are high of a new life on the other side of the wall, and bringing the Mahk with us poses a problem for that plan. In all fairness, their predicament does merit pity now that Simul is igniting the labyrinth attacks. The truth is that bringing them through the wall could offer a fresh start for our kind.

“Fine, but don’t let your guard down. I’m telling you. No one can be trusted.”

“Not even you?” he retorts cleverly.

A faked smile evades his question. In all honestly, yes. I can’t be trusted. When we get to the other side of the wall, it will be time to bail.

My arm motions to indicate it’s time to make our presence known. We step out from our hiding spot, revealing ourselves to the small Mahk group.

They whip their weapons out defensively. We do the same. A silent standoff takes place for a few moments as we all assess each other. They’re sufficiently armed with an array of swords, axes, maces, daggers, and even a club. It looks like they raided a Creator’s store or something. Most of them carry more than one defensive object in hand plus additional spears and arrows on their backs.

My gaze takes in all the sharp objects pointed at us, causing me to question for a moment if we made a mistake. It’s too late to go back now. They haven’t massacred us yet, and silence isn’t doing anyone any good.

“My name is Araina. Who are you?”

The group looks at each other then back at us. The strange man steps hesitantly forward. “I’m Soll. Before I tell you anything more… Why don’t you tell me why you have a guard with you?”

I haven’t seen Soll before in the labyrinth. He has probably been elusive through the years. Or maybe he’s a survivor from the recent awakening day. Judging by his muscular shape and strong tone, it isn’t surprising that he survived the metal blades. An uncertainty speaks through his narrowed brows. The skin lining his eyes is a dark green similar to his hair, but each iris is a very brilliant lime color.

He stares at me steadily without blinking. “The guard,” he reiterates, “why is she with you?”

“Soll, this guard is named Rase.” I jerk the rope in my hand, which pulls at her wrists. “You don’t need much more explanation aside from the fact that she’s our prisoner.”

At first he looks as if he’s impressed, but then he exhales with frustration. “Are you the reason Simul brought the metal blades on us? And the Creators are massacring the Mahk?”

Shaking my head defensively, I say, “Of course not
—
”

“Yes, yes, it’s their fault!” Rase interrupts. “Turn them in and return me to Simul if you want to live.”

“No!” I retort. “This is a long story, but that isn’t going to help you. Do you think the Creators care about you, Soll? About any of the Mahk?” My gaze surveys the group in front of me. “The Creators made us the way we are: hateful, savage, and selfish. They never care when our kind starve to death or when the Nabal eat us in the caves. They want us to believe this is all life is! But there’s got to be more to life, a better way of existence. What if there was no murder and betrayal? What if there could be solitude without disruption? We could all live independently, in peace.” My gaze shifts over to Korun. “He’s my proof.” I point. “This man came from a better place. He came from a safer place. I watched him come through a wall into this land. Isn’t that right, Korun?” I encourage.

Korun nods uneasily. He’s seeing me for what I am, a liar. We could walk through that wall into a confined brick room. But what’s on our side of the wall makes the risk worth taking. It can’t possibly be worse than this side. So I’m promising them a utopia. Delusional or not, maybe if I believe in a better world with enough conviction, and convince others to believe it as well, then it will be real. Korun doesn’t argue with my claim, so at least for now, he’s willing to play along.

Looking back at Soll, I continue, “This mess…” I motion around to the swords and blades. “This is the result of this revelation. The Creators are killing us because they don’t want us to rise up and overcome them. You can turn us in, but I’m telling you they will either kill you anyway, or you will keep living like wild animals.”

Pulling Korun along with me, we step closer to Soll. The other five Mahk back away, but Soll stands fearless towering over me. My sweaty fingers wrap around his, lifting his hand from his side. It’s covered in blood, neatly wrapped in thin fabric. My gentle removal of the bandages from his hand reveals a deep gash across his palm. Korun knows what to do. He wraps his hands around Soll’s while the Mahk group watches us timidly.

Their eyes widen, even Soll’s, as Korun retreats his hands, leaving no trace of the gash on the stranger’s palm.

“Fate be,” Soll gasps, impressed.

“There’s a better world, a better life out there. There has to be.” My arms fold across my chest. “Come with us, and we’ll help you out of this labyrinth prison.”

Soll nods. The others stand in silence, as if frozen with awe in the moment that already passed them by.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. You seem to be people worth trusting. Thank you,” he tells Korun.

“And may I ask where you all were headed?” I inquire.

If the slight smile and lit up eyes on Soll’s face are any indication, it would appear we have won his trust.

“We were looking for a way out of here,” he responds.

“And I guess we found it,” a small voice pipes up from behind him.

The voice comes from the girl who had been in tears. It’s shocking to see how young the Creators made her. In fact, she might be the youngest aged Mahk to have been spawned since me, but she looks even less physically mature than I was. My body is probably close now to exiting teen years, but she must be barely fourteen.

“My name is Keelie,” she says softly as she reaches out her hand to shake mine. It seemed like she simply appeared by my side, she moves so fast.

Hesitantly, my arm rises. Their overly friendly nature is overwhelming.

Korun shakes her hand sweetly though and smiles kindly at her.

“Yes, this is Keelie.” Soll shuffles her blonde hair. He goes on to introduce the other four people in the group: Rifan, Saige, Olum, and Laon. I’ll never remember all of that but still nod graciously through the introductions.

“We don’t have any time to waste. These blades may not be the only attack Simul has planned for us. I don’t want to wait around to find out.” I try to get the group moving.

“We can’t leave without the rest,” Keelie pleads, twirling her hair.

“The rest of what?” I question.

“More like who,” Soll replies. “We left our people back in the den.”

I tap my fingers impatiently on my hip, waiting for more explanation.

“There’s a…colony, I guess you could say. We didn’t want the Creators to find out, so it’s fairly small, about two hundred of us. Only around half of us survived the blade attack. We all share our earnings and protect each other. We were content living that way until the recent labyrinth attacks. After so many of our friends were killed, a small group of us set out to search for a way out of here. Seemed impossible until now.”

A shred of hope dances in my heart. I’m overwhelmed at the notion that these people take care of each other; that they care about one another. For a moment, that sounds appealing to me. His description of the colony reminds me of Blue. But it’s hard for me to comprehend a true functioning community of Mahk. It’s bothersome as well that he claims they’ve remained in hiding. That seems impossible for the Mahk because we have to report to the Creators for food and water. Surely my explorations would have led me to them at some point. The questions bubble in my brain until finally they burst, “Why did I never hear of this colony?”

“Like I said, the colony was small and we didn’t want to be discovered. We feared the Creators would kill us all for banding together,” Soll replies. “Araina, if all you said is true; then there’s hope to save the colony.” He’s able to read the defiant expression on my face. “We won’t leave without them.”

“Stronger in numbers!” I announce.

Agreeing to help a colony of Mahk doesn’t seem wise to me. The whole story about their supposed concern for each other causes me to question if this is a trap. These people could be Creators dressed as Mahk, leading us to our deaths. But that’s probably irrational. The Creators are too prideful for that. They don’t think highly enough of the Mahk to go through any efforts to trick us. The pain from the blades in my back replays in my mind at the sight of them all around us. Who knows what other disasters could come next? If they’re telling the truth, we might stand a better chance of finding Blue and getting to the other side of the wall with their help.

My hand gestures for them to lead the way. “We need to get moving.”

Pulling Rase beside me, we resume our travels. It immediately becomes difficult to tune out the talkative young teenager walking in front of us. Scrats, she’s a chatter box. Despite being only a little older than her, it feels like a big difference. Chatting with Korun about the labyrinth, the colony, and her hairstyle, Keelie strokes her blonde hair that ends below her elbows. Her flirtation isn’t subtle at all. Korun’s desperation to avoid looking at her green eyes gives away his awkward predicament. The girl is a skinny little thing with no muscle to speak of. It’s amazing she has survived the living conditions in the labyrinth. I’ve never heard anyone talk so much. Her high-pitched chatter doesn’t quit for the next hour as we make our way around the blades and through the dark passages.

In an effort to ignore the interactions around me, I let myself take in the unusual amount of glow shining down from the sun. The walls stretch so high, typically there’s very minimal light in the labyrinth. Smoke from Sikla drowns out most of what does shine in. Rare days when the luminosity is particularly defiant of the walls are days to treasure. The heat is intensified, but I’ve developed a tolerance for that. My eyes have trouble adjusting to the pale pink and yellow hues, but the discomfort is worth the beautiful scene. Eventually, I’m able to actually let my eyes wander upward. The sun rays are marvelous, landing against the jagged rocks’ textures.

The beauty only relieves my eyes, but my ears still can’t escape the girl’s prattle. Unable to stand the endless sound of her high-pitched little voice, I push my way to the front of the group to walk next to Soll. Only a couple minutes of peace go by before Soll feels the need to start a discussion.

“You know, we have been watching you, Araina.”

“Who?”

“The colony. You’ve always seemed to be unique from most Mahk.”

The tall man’s statement makes me very uncomfortable. What does he mean the colony has been watching me? He could be insinuating something very disturbing. His words also make me think of Darith, who professed to know me because he had been watching me. Suddenly, it feels like I’ve never had a moment to myself. Hiding in shadows and observing has been my way of life. But apparently the shadows were in plain sight.

“Then why did you pretend not to know me at first?” I ask.

“We weren’t sure about your companions, if they could be trusted. We have watched you for a long time though.”

My lips purse shut. Heat of anger pulses in my cheeks “Okay…so you and your colony sat by the last two years while I almost starved and died over and over.” My head drops. “I don’t know why you’re telling me this or what you are trying to say.”

“More like, I’m trying to say that you are special, Araina.” He looks into my eyes for a brief moment. “Your lifestyle is inspiring and exceptional among the Mahk. You’ve never killed anyone, even though it would have saved your own life. The violence that plagues our people has never seemed to really touch you. You’ve always been different than anyone else in this wretched place.”

My feet stop moving forward now. It is strange feeling frustrated and somehow betrayed by people I don’t even know. “So you let me fend for myself all this time even though I was inspiring.”

Conflict battles inside me. Fast, or smart possibly, but inspiring? That is not a word for me.

A look of guilt and shame crosses his face. “It’s not like we didn’t try. You were always one step ahead of us.”

I shake my head, running my fingers over the edge of my ear with irritation. Pressure gathers at the corners of my eyes. Tears threaten to explode. Composure and strength aren’t coming easily right now.
You offer obsidian, you eat, you kill, and you survive
. Yet, those words don’t provide me the comfort they once did.

“Nothing is different, but everything is changing,” I whisper to myself. My need for survival and the means that must be utilized in that effort haven’t changed, but my world has become a very confusing place.

Soll shakes his head. He seems unsure what I muttered under my breath.

Keelie migrates to the front of the group. She chips in, “Right, he’s telling the truth, Araina. We did try to bring you into the colony. We couldn’t say anything about it in public. Then you would disappear as soon as you went back into the labyrinth passages. You know?”

Most of my time has been spent hiding with Blue. Our friendship has been my only haven in this smothering life.

“Even when someone would track you down, you’d run.”

“Of course I ran. You’ve seen what Mahk do to each other.” Sure, I can think of a Mahk or two that didn’t immediately try to kill me. There have been many Mahk who tried to speak to me. Sticking around for a conversation was asking for a fight to the death. There’s never been a reason to trust anyone but Blue. I’m not convinced Soll and his group are trustworthy for that matter. A few isolated encounters with potentially tolerable Mahk doesn’t discount two years of being savagely attacked and watching others fight to the death.

A soft stare from Korun seems to convey pity.

“You never trusted anyone. None of us knew how to help you because you were so distant.”