"She's under arrest? But she's a victim!" Keaton argued.

"No, siree. You're a victim. There are eyewitness reports stating that this young lady over here set off a bomb which destroyed this fine building over here." The police officer said, his gun arm unwavering.

"A bomb? Are you insane? Did you not see the giant which attacked the gym?" Leila said, and she immediately regretted it. She sounded crazy.

The officer's eyes hardened, and he took out some cuffs from his belt. "You'll have to come with me, little girl."

Leila's mouth fell open. She looked at the police officer, and then at Keaton. His eyes softened, and his head tilted forward slightly. A mutual understanding passed between them.

She slowly raised her hands towards the police officer, who smiled in satisfaction. "Yes. Nice and easy, now."

Suddenly, Leila punched the officer in the face and ran, as fast as she could, towards the back of the school. She heard a gunshot, and felt a searing pain in her left arm. Strangely, it didn't hurt at first, but rather increased in intensity.

She crashed into Sage, who yelped, then said in relief, "Leila! You're safe! Listen, there's something I need to -"

"No time!" she shouted. "Sage, tell my mom..."

Her eyes swept over the buildings, and finally rested on the construction site.

"Tell my mom that I'll be fine." she finished, shaking off Sage's restraining arm, and dashing towards the ditch.

No way. she thought as she dropped in the hole. This is the dumbest thing you've ever done, and that's saying something.

She continued to insult herself as she swiped her palm over the small symbol on the trapdoor ferociously. The delta began to glow blue. She jumped in the opening just as the emergency alarms began to blare.

"Dang it!" Leila gasped as her feet touched the ground. Her knees buckled, and she fell, grasping her arm in agony.

She looked around, and saw that torches lit the low corridor which she was in. Next to her, a small stream spanned the length of the hallway. Leila doubted water would help, but her arm was bothering her so much that it blocked her ability to think. Gingerly, she lowered her injury in the water, and she felt the wound closing up. The pain lifted, and she sighed with relief.

The water must be magical. At this point, Leila was prepared to believe anything. Now that it didn't hurt as much, she wondered what she should do now.

Leila couldn't go back; she had just punched a police officer, and she was technically a criminal. She'd just sneak out of the trapdoor and...and what? Join the army? She'd do something.

Leila stood up and stretched her arms above her head to reach for the door...but she was grasping at empty air. Her heart dropped to her stomach as she realized something.

"I'm trapped." she said aloud. Stuck with this epiphany, Leila tried to clear her head. She definitely couldn't stay where she was, this weird place seemed...ancient. Dangerous.

She could scream until someone heard her, or just die here in this hole. She took option number three: Keep moving.

Leila scrambled to her feet and fingered her pocketknife, deciding to keep it in front of her. The bronze blade cast an eerie glow, and she began to walk forward cautiously. As soon as she reached what seemed like the end, the corridor morphed into a huge room filled with gold.

She knew better than to touch anything. What would gold do for her now?

For what seemed like two hours, Leila walked corridor after corridor, tunnel after tunnel, and at one point, she actually had to move forward on her hands and knees because the ceiling had become too low. She passed a beautiful waterfall which had a bluish hue to it.

Strangely, she felt drawn to it. She moved closer and closer, and as her toes touched the water, something grabbed her and dragged her under the surface.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Leila yelled. Then, she clamped her mouth shut to conserve air.

She had never learned how to swim. Her mom had always told her to stay away from the water. Leila thrashed and flailed wildly, struggling to get to the surface, but the grip on her leg remained firm. She looked down, and saw a boy pulling her deeper and deeper into pool.

Finally, Leila just couldn't handle it. She breathed in, expecting an onslaught of water, but she found that she could inhale and exhale as easily as she could on dry land.
Internally, she shook her head. Magic water, again? she thought in amazement.

Strength coursed through her limbs as she breathed deeply. She shook her foot free of the weird guy's grip and kicked upwards. The water seemed to help her, and she propelled towards the surface.

Wait! a voice said in her head. Instincively, she stopped. The boy grasped her shoulders and Leila whipped out her pocketknife, but the boy raised his hands in surrender.

He said in an underwater voice, "I didn't know who you were before! I'm not going to hurt you!"

Leila found herself believing the boy, and she studied his face. His eyes were blue and his dark hair floated around his face. His skin had a greenish tinge to it, but he looked like a normal teen otherwise.

"What do you mean, 'who I was'?"

"Ah. You don't know yet." the green dude said, his eyes softening.

"Don't know what? Where am I? Who am I? And who are you?"

"So many questions," he sighed, "I am sorry that you are a female. Your father would have sent someone from the camp."

"Excuse me? What's wrong with being a girl? And what's this camp you're talking about?"

"You know, the one...oh. You don't know. You must find your own way, Leila."

"How did you know my name?"

"So little time to explain. He senses your presence." the boy said fearfully.

"My father?"

"No. Someone far more powerful and ancient than your father. Farewell, Leila. Beware the Labyrinth! It holds many secrets and many dangers."

"Please, don't go!" Leila cried out.

The boy stopped for a moment, considering her. He brushed his fingers against her face, and said, "You have your father's eyes. He does love you, you know."

The water shifted, and he disappeared.

"Wow. Thanks for the help." she muttered.

Her head burst through the surface, and she waded to the shore. The movements came naturally and easily to her. Leila climbed on land, and lay on her back for a while.

Suddenly, she cursed. What the heck was going on here? Weird underwater people? A maze underground? And most of all, her father?

Leila hated her father. She didn't want anything to do with him. He had abandoned her pregnant mom, and left with no explanation. Only idiots do that. Everything the boy had said to her had left her thoughts muddled. It seemed like there was a camp that could help her, but because she was a girl, her dad wouldn't send anyone from there.

"Sexist jerk." she mumbled.

And then, to top it all off, the guy said that her dad loved her. That was the biggest lie ever! She jumped to her feet and kicked a couple of plants.

The next part disturbed her even more. The Labyrinth. Sure, she'd hadn't been paying attention half the time during Ancient History class, but from what she gathered, the Labyrinth was a story from Greek mythology.

"It's REAL!" she shouted, her voice echoing. She clutched her head. If the Labyrinth was real...that meant the legends about it were true. It was a scary, dangerous place where hungry monsters lived and humans went insane.

And she was trapped in it.