Chapter 10:

((Please notice, that the genre of my story has changed - it should remain a surprise until now ;D))

1...2...For Cobb!, he thought desperately. He focused all of his mind on the wall right in front of him. It neither moved nor disappeared. Nothing. Sweat ran down his cheeks.

The sun was still burning down and it almost seemed to him as if it had gotten even hotter. There was not a single cloud in the sky. Of course there wasn't – clouds had no purpose for the suited men.

"How's it going for you?", he asked Ariadne whose expression told him, that she wasn't feeling any better than him.

"Nothing", she answered. "It won't move and I'm slowly running out of ideas." Her breathing was terrible. There was an awful crackling noise coming from her throat.

He glanced at his watch. '01:22:41'. Time was running out. His thirst almost killed him – but this was nothing he could worry about. This was a dream, physical suffering was of no importance here!

Another attempt. He had to keep on trying it!

1...2...he focused all his senses...For Cobb! For his children! For seeing my family again! For everything! And the wall withstood. Next to him, Ariadne collapsed exhausted.

"No! Ariadne!" He was able to catch her before she hit ground, only find her in a terrible state. Her lips were dried out, her eyes didn't seem to focus properly and her limbs were hanging down lifelessly. He slowly put her down and placed his head on her chest, in order to feel her heartbeat. It was still there.

"Please", he whispered. "Don't leave me just now! I can't save him alone! And I wouldn't be able to live on like that if I knew, that your mind was trapped somewhere down in Limbo...because of an old bastard like him!"

He realized he was crying. A lone tear ran down his nose, as he sat there bent over Ariadne's weak body. It dropped right next to where her head was laying. If only that damn wall hadn't been there! They simply could have moved on to the next Level and everything would have been fine! Alone, he was in no shape to destroy it. With Ari passing out, his last hope was gone. Their weak attempt to save Cobb would end here, in this cheap replica of Australian outback, in the dream of some weird suited men and Arthur's and her minds would slowly turn crazy in Limbo – if the men's 'business' didn't hit them first. He let his body fall onto the hot sand next to Ariadne.

Who would've thought that Ariadne played such an important role in his life? She had always been there during the past years. Side by side, they had finished so many jobs, of which none was easy at all. How could they possibly fail here? They knew everything about each other – she was more of a sister to him than anyone had ever been. Did the phrase 'sister' even suit her? She was more than that even though he couldn't quite make out what she was to him. Important. More important than anyone. Even...more important than Cobb?

His eyes opened immediately. He had to try it! Now or never! If this wasn't strong enough – then nothing was. He jumped onto his feet but the quick change of position and the strong heat led to his blood rushing out of his brain. Dizziness slowed him down but he knew what to do. Powerless, he tumbled to the wall and supported himself against it. One last time. He wouldn't have the strength to do a lot more.

1...2...For Ariadne! The wall didn't disappear. It didn't break either. But why was he able to feel nothing in front of him? He moved a bit further. There it was again, the wall as strong as ever.

Between his feet, the stick had started to move again.

'Congratulations, Arthur. Your very own force field.'

'1:11:54'

He went over to Ariadne and lifted her on his shoulder. If she couldn't move on her own, he would have to carry her. Step by step, he went closer into the area he had tried to enter so hard all day long. With barely a meter of radius around him, the thought of getting Ariadne out of here alive kept him going. And the cottage slowly came closer and closer. It seemed like an eternity until he finally stood in front of the shabby wooden door that shaped the gate to Level 3. Someone would be waiting in there. A guardian to prepare the kick. How was he supposed to fight him? His hand moved mechanically and opened the creaking door a tiny bit, when it was harshly kicked open from the inside. Arthur was knocked to the ground and he had no chance but to let Ariadne fall as well.

"Who the hell do you think you are?", a young man's voice said. "What makes you think that you could just walk in here like that? Hell, how did you even get here? That Russian guy had told me, that the force field would work properly! Now I have to end this myself...sometimes I just can't believe, that I'm always surrounded by idiots!"

He pulled a gun from behind his back. Arthur was too weakened to fight back. If only he could have saved Ariadne...

"Enjoy your time in Limbo!" He shot. Now why didn't he feel everything turn black? No pain either. Instead, the man in front of him screamed in terror! He was holding his shoulder that was obviously bleeding. Blood ran out between his fingers and after a couple of minutes, his body slumped to the ground, twitching in pain. His very own force field was still active, after all.

"But how...?" He could hear him whisper. Arthur crawled on his knees towards the suffering man.

"What did the old man tell me?", said Arthur. "Oh, yes. You have yet to learn a lot about your own occupation."

With two fingers, he closed the man's eyes.

Force fields because of strong emotions. This was something he definitely had to keep in mind.

'1:00:01' * tick * '1:00:00' * tick * '0:59:59'