We ran as fast as we could away from that room not daring to look back. That thing was close behind and looking back might slow us down from fear. Hoggle was having a hard time keeping up with me and was stumbling left and right. I knew that I couldn't risk him tripping so I grabbed him and lifted him on to my shoulders. He's surprisingly light, actually. Maybe just as heavy as a small child if not lighter.
A loud howl was heard from behind me signaling that this dog thing, based on the noise it made, was even closer now. I attempted to pick up my speed but failed. 'I-I can't outrun this thing!' Frantically glancing around in the dim light I saw a small opening up a little ways. It looked to be a few feet wide, definitely smaller than what's chasing us. 'This will be a tight fit but it will have to do!'
"Make yourself as small as you can!" I shouted up to Hoggle. He let a a surprised yelp when I made a sharp turn into the gap. His head nearly hit the side do to the force of my movements. Thankfully we were just the right size for the tiny area. 'Perfect fit!' I cheered in my mind. Looking further down the gap I noticed that it led into another opening, however, I didn't want to say anything just in case this creature was capable of understanding me. Turning back to the animal, I could see it digging at the small opening trying to pry it open further.
Thinking I was at a safe distance from the opening, I let my guard down a little and in doing so subconsciously moved my leg closer to the dog thing. I didn't realize what I had done until I felt one of it dagger like claws rip into my leg. Almost immediately I felt blood start to ooze down my leg. Surprising to me, I couldn't feel any pain, just the warm sensation of my blood slowly flowing out of my body and onto the ground.
The dog removed it's claw and licked it, getting its first, and hopefully only taste of my blood. Letting out a low growl it quickly started trying to get into the gap again. I moved back a little more to a vapid getting in the path of its claws again. The creature worked at the opening before suddenly stopping and looking up into the air, sort of like a dog would if it had been called by its master, and ran off. A sigh of relief escaped my mouth once I was sure the creature was gone. 'I need to get to the end of this tunnel.'
"S-Sarah?" Hoggle asked quietly from above me. "Are yous okay?"
"I'm not sure. Where does this tunnel lead?" I asked him while tilting my head towards the other opening.
"I thinks to another small opening. One that Jareth doesn't knows about." He replied sounding a little uncertain.
I nodded and slowly started to inch my way down. It started to get a little tight the further we went, but it wasn't too bad. There was still plenty of breathing room. It was when we were right at the exit that I started to feel the pain in my leg. I knew I needed to sit down somewhere and prayed that there was something out there. Leaving the small tunnel I lifted Hoggle off of my shoulders and placed him on the ground. With the dim light in the room, I was able to make out a small stump in the corner of the new room. Taking a step in its direction my leg burned in protest with pain shooting up it. I hissed at the pain and heard a small gasp from behind me. Sending a quick glance over my shoulder, I saw Hoggle staring at me with wide eyes and a hand over his mouth. 'That doesn't make me worry at all...'
Plopping down heavily on the stump I let out a sigh of relief. "Hoggle, could you bring some light over here?" I asked him calmly before rolling up my pant leg to inspect the injury. Shuffling feet approached me and a small light was held down to the cut. "Well! This is good news! It's not as bad as I thought I was!" I said lightly running my hand over it. It wasn't very deep at all, not even stitch worthy, and it didn't even hurt to touch! A smile spread across my lips followed by a small laugh. Hoggle looked up at my face and flashed a quick smile as well before returning to his distracted stare.
"I need to tell you something else Sarah. Now that he can't bother me anymores." He said looking slightly off to the side. I nodded, my smile falling from my face his tone.
"Wait! Before you do, let me do something with this cut." I said digging in my pockets for something, anything, to wrap over my wound. Coming up empty handed, I started to pull at my sleeve hoping to rip off a piece long enough to do the trick. Hoggle the reached into his own pocket producing a rather large piece of cloth. He carefully wrapped it around my leg while he sat down on the ground. I smiled down at him and mumbled a quiet thank you before motioning for him to continue what he was saying.
He took in a large breath while, once again, messing with his hands. "There's something you need to know Sarah... About Jareth..." Just hearing his name made me cringe and cower back in my seat yet at the same time... my heart skipped a beat. 'Stop it Sarah! He's a monster! But... NO!' Hoggle, who could tell I was struggling with something, started talking again not wanting to lose anymore time in case he showed up. "H-He's not who you thinks he is. That's someone that no ones knows." He stated staring up into my eyes.
"What? I don't understand." I said in confusion. 'What does he mean it's someone else?'
"I don't understands either but that's what I was tolds. He contacted me and explained what was going on. How it's not him and who it really is."
I sat there quietly for a minute trying to understand what he was telling me. "Please explain a little more, I'm not quite getting it."
"He's possessed by someones. Someones who tricked him." He then started to tell me what happened. I was shocked to learn about this. He seemed so powerful! How could this happen to him? It made no sense! "He saids that he needs you to help him get rid of this Gale guy." Get rid of him? As in kill? I can't do that... No, I refuse to do that! My eyes widened in horror as the thought of killing this man went through my head. Hoggle shook his head and continued talking. "He doesn't want yous to kill him. Just distracts him. He can take it from there."
"Hoggle, how can we trust him? Look what's happened to this labyrinth!" I shouted still confused.
"Sarah... He said MY name correctlys. He nevers does that unless he's serious about something. I'm not going to lie, I don't fully believes him but he saids my name." He finished looking down at his hands.
I let out a sigh and leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. 'What do I do... What if he's actually lying to us? Or plotting to harm us. But... he did call him by his actual name. I've never heard him do that...' All of this was giving me a headache. I glanced up at Hoggle from behind the hair that had fallen in front of my eyes. He pleading eyes stared back at me. Letting out another sigh, I came to my decision. "Alright Hoggle. I'll help him."
'What is with me today!? Why do I keep agreeing to things!? I walked straight into the labyrinth without even thinking of what could happen and now I'm agreeing to do something that might just be a big trap!' "Hoggle? Is it possible for me to take a small nap? I really need to clear my head." I asked him, moving one of my hands to my head. He nodded his head stating that we had a lot of time left. I carefully slid off the the stump and leaded my back against it.
'Maybe a nap will clear my mind...'
Sorry for any typos! I don't really have time to read over what I write sometimes. The next chapter will be about Sarah's dream! As always feel free to leave feedback! :D
