Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth or any of the characters in the movie.
A/N - This story began as an attempt to work through a bout of depression - I was suffering from a great deal of self loathing at the time which might explain Jareth's behaviour in later chapters. Anyway, I wondered what might happen if I was alone in the Labyrinth, if the Goblin King chose to grant my wish at that moment. Then I began to worry that Jareth's interpretation of my wish might be a million miles away from mine. And so Something Frightening was born.
Incidentally the title is a line from the Magic Dance song that isn't actually in the film, but is in the version of the song on the Soundtrack CD. Each chapter title is a line from one of the songs that best reflects the theme of that particular chapter.
I didn't have the courage to write myself into the story so have created an original character to take my place.
Chapter 1: Lost and Lonely
"Where am I?"
High stone walls, burnished gold with fading sunlight, echoed the plaintive call back as a mocking reply.
Where am I?
The speaker, a young woman in her early twenties looked around hoping to see someone, anyone, who could help her. She ran her fingers through short white hair, lavender eyes squinting against the glare of the sunset. The area before the wall appeared to be a dilapidated garden that had long ago fallen prey to the fickle mercy of the sun. Skeletal trees, desiccated plants and grasses were scattered around in random clumps and the only sign of life was a small square pond sunk into the ground, though even that was clogged with dead and dying plant life. She walked closer to the wall, her shoes kicking up little puffs of dust as she went. The yellowing stones were cracked in places but the structure was still solid. She examined every inch of the wall for thirty feet either side of the pond but couldn't find anything that even remotely resembled an entrance.
"How am I supposed to get in?" she asked aloud.
Again the echoes mocked her confusion.
How am I supposed to get in?
She turned to go back the way she'd come and stopped, staring in amazement at the massive iron gates that sat in all innocence just behind her, in a spot where she was certain no gate had been.
'How did that get there?' she thought.
The surprise and wonder soon ebbed from her mind and she approached the gate, which swung open with a melodramatic groan. There was no fear in her gaze as she peered through into the murky depths of the interior. Ahead was a blank wall, the stones black and glittering with slime. Strange mosses grew from odd cracks, their sickly green tendrils swaying in the slight breeze. She glanced from left to right as she stepped through the gate. The two paths were identical: straight as far as the eye could see, bordered by the same black stones and littered with crumbling masonry and huge roots breaking up through the ground.
"Left or right?" she murmured, running her hand through her hair again. "Or back out again?"
She looked over her shoulder to find that not only had the door closed silently while she'd been thinking but that it had disappeared altogether.
"Ok, left or right then," she shrugged. She fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a coin. "Heads I go left, tails I go right."
She flipped the coin into the air and it spun over and over flashing in the sunlight, a faint humming accompanying its progress. Lavender eyes narrowed as the coin began to fall and the only sound was the whisper of tense breath. The next moment the silence was broken by a squeal of frustration.
"That's not fair!"
The coin had landed quivering on its rim. She stamped her foot, trying to dislodge it but the metal remained perched where it was. She crouched and stabbed at the coin with an indignant finger. She hissed in pain and stuck the finger in her mouth. The coin was fixed in place as though it had been glued there and poking at it had hurt. Scowling at the stubborn thing she stood and looked around once more. Eventually she turned and marched down the right hand path, arms swinging in determination as she went.
After walking for what felt like hours she had found nothing that could be considered to be an opening or a turning. She baulked at running her hands along the slime streaked walls to check if her eyes were deceiving her. Eventually she dropped to the ground and buried her face in her hands.
"'Allo," a tiny voice said by her ear.
Startled, she looked up and around but there was no-one there. Glancing behind her she spotted a small blue and white caterpillar sitting in a hole in the wall. It had big puffs of blue fur sticking out from its body and was wearing a tiny red scarf round its neck. It regarded her with curious maroon eyes.
"Did you say 'Hello'?" she asked tentatively.
The caterpillar shook its head, making the tufts of hair wave.
"Nah, I said 'Allo' but that's close enough."
She looked at it for a long moment, questioning the sanity of a talking caterpillar, even one that was regarding her with intelligent eyes.
"Can you tell me where I am?" she asked.
"You're in the Labyrinth, of course," the caterpillar replied, its tone implying she should already know this. "You alright love?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "I don't know how I got here or where I was before I was here. Do you know how I got here?"
"Me? Nah, I'm just a worm," it said in a matter-of-fact voice, shaking its head. The worm/caterpillar favoured her with a pitying look. "Come inside and meet the missus."
"Would she know?" Her tone suggested it was unlikely.
"Prob'ly not," the worm admitted. "Makes a lovely cuppa though."
The girl sighed and shook her head.
"I should get on, I guess."
"To where?" the worm asked curiously. "If you don't know how you got here, how do you know where you're going?"
"I don't know but I can't just sit here for the rest of my life. I need to find a way out of this alley at least."
"Oh that's easy," the worm laughed. It indicated the opposite wall with a jerk of its head. "You just go through there."
The woman peered at the wall: it looked solid, innocent, with two thin dead looking trees set about six feet apart, their swaying tips level with the top. It was just a little too innocent.
"It's an optical illusion, isn't it?" she asked the worm. "Those trees cover up the join."
"Now you're getting it," the worm cheered. "Keep thinking like that and you'll be through this place in no time. Now," it added with a smile, "why don't you come inside and have a nice cuppa tea? Meet the missus."
"That's very kind of you but I don't think I'd fit," she thanked him.
"I'm sure you'd find a way in, if you put your mind to it," the worm said.
She looked at the worm and then at the crack in the wall which was obviously the entrance to its home. With the strange way this place worked she probably could find a way in.
'But would I ever get out again?' a disturbed voice said in her mind. 'Better not risk it."
She pushed herself to her feet and moved towards the wall with its cleverly concealed entrance.
"Thanks but I have to get on. I feel like there's somewhere I need to be." She waved to the worm and stepped into the gap in the wall, heading left.
"Wait a minute," the worm's thin voice called after her. "Don't go that way!"
She stuck her head back out of the gap.
"I'm sorry?"
"Never go that way!" The worm's voice was shaking.
"Why not?"
"That's the way to the castle."
She had to strain to catch the last word. The worm was whispering now, its voice thick with fear. She shuddered and moved to take the other path.
"I'll bear it in mind," she said. "Thanks."
