A/N: I AM SO SORRY FOR THE TERRIBLY LATE UPDATE! I swear I haven't given up on this. I promise. Oh and since this update was late, I decided to skip the reactions and go to DA MAAAAAZE! DUN DUN DUUUUUUN!
Aidan: *skims through chapter*
Lee: *glares*
Aidan: Wizard. I feel BAD for your characters. Like TERRIBLE. Poor poor characters...
Lee: Dayum, Wizard, you iz evaaal.
Me: Hehe. I guess I am.
Me: Maybe a little too evil.
Me: ...
Aidan: Right. Let's just ignore Wizard for now and read, how about?
~.~.~.~.
Dusk's shirt was completely red. He was losing a lot of blood. Had he not been a Freak, he'd have died by now. However, due to 'training', he'd learnt to be resistant to injuries. Sure, it hurt. But he could hold out against it. The spike of the door had taken off a fair amount of flesh from his waist, and he wasn't going to heal in a flash.
"Dusk, please tell me you're not dying." Gail pleaded from beside him. He only managed a small laugh. "I'm not dying." He said, looking at her. He gave her a small smile, one that he didn't see returned. "Hey, Gail, look at me." He said, stopping in his tracks. Dusk had one arm around Gail's shoulder as she supported his weight. He didn't like being a burden, but every time he tried to persuade Gail, she'd slap him across his face and give him her trademark glare, which shut him up instantly. They'd wrapped up Dusk's injured part with his jacket, and used the sleeve of that jacket to fashion a makeshift eye-patch for Gail.
Gail, forced to stop, looked at him. "What?" She huffed. Dusk put his hand on her cheek. "Listen to me. I know we're in the Maze. I know we're both injured. And I know the chances of us surviving are slim. But we can't give up so soon. We have to try." He said, his voice soft. Dusk could see the worry etched into Gail's green eye. She was putting on a stoic front, but he knew it was simply a façade. She was burning from worry inside.
"Dusk, you don't need to tell me that. I know we're getting outta here. It's you I'm worried about. I'm not walking out those doors tomorrow morning with a corpse." She stated. Dusk laughed. "Gail, look at me. My flesh was cut off. My blue shirt is now red. You really think I'll make it through the night?"
Gail shoved Dusk's arm off her shoulder and pinned him roughly against a wall. She blocked his throat with her hand and leaned in as close as she could to let Dusk see the determination on her features. "You listen to me Dusk. I don't remember much from my past life, but nothing that can give a scar like mine is very good. And something tells me that you have faced horrors in your past too. Horrors that none of us can fathom. And we've gotten our effin' butts through that. And if we can do that, I'm not letting us be taken down by a bunch of gray walls and some damned arachnoids. No can do." She ordered. Dusk would have said something, but with Gail so close, he didn't have much of a diubt that she could hurt him really bad if she wanted to. He simply nodded.
Gail let go and pulled his arm around her neck once more. Dusk stopped her. "Gail, this won't work." Before she could threaten him again, he quickly added "I have a plan."
That quirked her interest. She turned to face him and raised an eyebrow. "Look, I know the Griever can climb walls, but I've seen the width of these walls. They barely manage to keep themselves on top, and that they can only do for a short distance. A little bit of unbalance, and they'll topple over. Yeah, they can grab onto the vines, but some vines aren't strong enough to reach the top. I've asked Minho and Thomas, and I know that the Grievers' main weakness is their slow reflex."
Gail was slowly seeing what Dusk wanted to do. "So you want us to climb to the top of one of the walls, and if a Griever comes, we push it off. 'Risky' doesn't even come close to describing that." She critiqued. Dusk laughed. "Look at our situation Gail. I think it calls for a little risky."
Gail smirked. "Well then, I'm the one. Risky is my middle name." She said as she punched Dusk's arm. With a jump, she latched her fingers onto the nearest vines and started climbing. She'd pinned the sole weapon they had to her back with her sleeve. "Come on shuck-face!" She yelled down to Dusk. Dusk couldn't help but laugh. "Gail, Glader slang really doesn't suit you." He called out as he started climbing, slowly, but steadily. "Oh yeah? How about this?" She launched into strings of the worst profanities Dusk had heard in quite a while. He simply shook his head again. "Yeah, stick with the Glader slang."
As the two reached the top, after what felt like ages of climbing, Gail was sure her arm was going to fall off. Dusk groaned. The bleeding seemed to have been slowed. Gail was amazed at how Dusk still managed to keep walking with all that blood out of his system. Little did she know that Dusk had endured years of torture to have his body become resistant to pains this small.
Suddenly, Dusk's ears picked up on a noise. It was faint, but it was there without a doubt. He shot to his feet and pulled Gail up with him. "Dusk, what…?" she seemed confused. Dusk held a finger to his lips. Dread settled down on him. "Lord, no…" he muttered. Without further ado, he sprinted forward, pulling Gail along. They were running on the top of the walls, over sixty feet above the ground. One misstep could lead to their deaths. But Dusk's animal senses insured that not happening. He could pretty much analyze every nook and crinny of the place before stepping. The throbbing pain in his waist was almost enough to put him down, but he'd endured worse.
"Dusk, where are we-" Gail's sentence was cut off mid-way by the most dreaded sound they could hear. The whirring of Griever legs. Gail's eyes widened. She shot Dusk a look of pure terror. He pressed his lips together and took a deep breath. They started off again.
On the walls they ran. The breaks in the walls weren't big enough for them not to jump over. Dusk didn't dare look down, because he knew that looking over would make his mind spin.
Suddenly, Dusk skidded to a stop so sudden that Gail bumped straight into him. He reached out and helped her stand, and then held a finger to his lips. Gail raised her eyebrow, and Dusk pointed down. She looked over and her heart just about stopped.
A Griever was pacing on the ground, directly below them. As Gail's horror grew, the Griever looked up and spotted them. It let out a shriek and started clawing at the vines.
"DUSK RUN!"Gail yelled. She dashed forward, but Dusk held her back. "It's no use. It'll just follow us. We have to fight it." He stated gravely. She slapped him again. "Are you out of your effin' mind!? You're half dead and I'm just about ready to collapse! We can't fight a bloody Griever!"
The Griever was coming closer. Dusk took Gail's shoulders. "Listen Gail. I have a plan." He quickly sprayed out the details. She looked at him with wide eyes. "That's crazy stupid. You're gonna die! What about our pushing-off plan!?" Dusk laughed.
"Thanks for the vote of Confidence Gail. Our pushing-off plan won't work. The Griever is much bigger than I thought. We'll fall over ourselves. Trust me. I can do this. Just trust me." He said. He slid out his two pocket knives. Gail shook her head, telling him how stupid she thought it was, him fighting a Griever with pocket knives. She didn't know that he wasn't any better than a Griever. He'd been tortured into doing things with weapons as simple as a fork. Things that Gail couldn't even imagine. Dusk sighed. The Grievr was slipping due to the uneven thickness of the vines, but it was making progress all the same.
"Stay up here, okay?" Dus ordered Gail as she took out the machete. Dusk smiled at her. He turned around to start climbin down, when Gail stopped him. She grabbed his shoulders and spun him around. She yanked him into the tightest hug she'd ever remembered giving anyone. "Don't you bloody die on me." She ordered to Dusk's surprised expression. He let out an unsure laugh. "I'll try my best your Highness."
He gripped the vines and he swung himself over. He could see Gail atop the wall, her hands on her hips, her expression flaunting worry. He steadied his pumping heart. He had to do this.
"OI!" He yelled, succesfully diverting the Griever's attention towards himself. He climbed down as fast as his legs could carry him, the vines shakin as the Griever tried to follow him. He leapt off the vines a foot off the ground, and readied his knives as the Griever jumped off and snarled at him. The froth dripped from its mouth and made Dusk want to throw up.
"Come at me."Dusk managed in what he hoped was a snarky voice. It came out as a squeaky toy voice. So much for being valiant.
Dusk could feel his senses go on high alert. He could see every muscle in the Griever's body rippling. He could hear every gear that whirred. He knew where the Griever would jump next.
As the Griever leapt to the left, Dusk launched himself to his right. He raised his leg and pushed off the wall. He landed on the Griever's head and the beast shrieked. It tried to shake him off, but Dusk dug his knives in, using them as handholds. However, the Griever apparently didn't like someone using it as a masage chair. It raised its leg to stab Dusk, and Dusk saw no choice. He tore out his knives and rolled off the Griever's back. He watched as the Griever's tail stabbed through its own back.
That simply annoyed the Griever more. It growled and leapt at Dusk. Before Dusk could leap away, it pinned him to the ground using the weight of its bulbous body. Dusk could feel one knife skitter out of his hand. As the Griever opened its mouth to do who-knows what, Dusk could see his death engraved in those razor-sharp teeth. One of the Griever's legs was pressing down on his waist, right where the flesh had been torn off. Dusk could feel a guttural yell escape him. Red spread across his vision.
He'd felt pain before. He was acustomed to pain. But he wasn't going down like this. He glared right into the Griever's beady eyes.
"DO IT GAIL!"
He hoped to God Gail's timing was correct. Dusk's voice was enough. Gail leapt off where she hung from the vines and held her machete above her head as se fell through the air.
She could feel the the weapon sinking into the Griever's neck as she fell on its head. She hadn't ceased her yell that she'd begun on the vines. She could feel the Griever's body go slack as its head dislodged itself and rolled away. Dusk slid out from beneath the monster as it collapsed. Gail jumped off.
She didn't say anything, simply leaned against a wall and slid to her knees. Dusk did the same beside her. The stared at each other for a moment before busting out laughing. Neither of them knew why they were laughing. All they knew was that they were.
"What's that?" Gail asked, once both had caught their breaths. She fingered something on Dusk's neck, what seemed to be a locket. Dusk let her feel it before sighing. "A-D. What's that mean?" She asked again.
"Well, D stands for Dusk, and A… A stands for Ashlyn. Or Ash, as I called her." he answered. Gail looked at him. "Who's that?"
Dusk's eyes darkened. "She's from my past." He said. Gail could tell this was a touchy subject, but she wanted to know. "You got this locket from the Creators?"
"Came up with it."
"You remember stuff from your past?"
Dusk sighed again. "Bits and pieces, yeah. I remember her. I remember that she was my best friend." He stopped abruptly and shut his eyes. Gail put a hand on his shoulder. "What else?" she asked softly. He gulped.
"I remember that I killed her."
~.~.~.~.
He's chained to two rugged looking posts. Screams. That's all he hears. Her screams. They wrench his ears and choke his heart. Her once beautiful features now marred with the scars of torture. She screams a name; his name. He can hear it reverberate through the room.
The man, the embodiment of evil walks up to him. He jerks Dusk's head up by his hair and leans in close to his face. Dusk can see every drop of malice in his eyes. Tortured and beaten until his back is nothing more than a slab of raw meat, his shirt torn away. Dusk's face bleeds everywhere. But he hasn't succumbed just yet. He hasn't given up.
"You see, boy? You see what we're doing to her? This, Dusk, is your final test. Prove yourself to me." Gray says as he lets go of Dusk's hair. Dusk wants to ask his Father what it was he did to deserve this monstrous torture.
He watches as the men drag Ashlyn and throw her at his feet. He wants to hold her, to tell her it'll be fine, but he can see it isn't. They've tortured her to no end. Her blonde hair sticks to her head in red blood. Her eyes hold nothing but pain. She's crying, but her tears have disappeared under the blood that cakes her face. Dusk doesn't even want to analyze what else they've done to her.
Suddenly Dusk can feel his bounds give away. He falls to his knees in front of Ash and pulls her into a hug. Where their skin chafes, it burns, but the comfort of having his best friend overcomes that. She cries into his shoulder, muttering gibberish. She's never faced this torture. Dusk has grown used to it. Ash hasn't.
"Why are you doing this?" Dusk asks in a weak voice as he looks up at Gray. "I'm your son!" his voice breaks. Gray sneers. "You're no son of mine." He answers. Dusk shuts his eyes, as the tears spill over. He pulls away from Ash.
"You can stop this, Dusk. You can help her." Gray says. Dusk looks at him, asking his question silently.
"You have to kill her."
Dusk feels his whole world go for a spin at his Father's words. Ash breaks down once again as Dusk stares at his Father. "What!?" he exclaims. He can't believe his ears. This can't be happening. Pain rips through his heart. He has endured torture, but this is like nothing he's ever felt before. Ash looks into his eyes, blue meeting brown. Her eyes hold acceptance and defeat.
"If you don't, we'll only keep torturing her until she dies. You can end it early. You can do her a favor. And Dusk, don't even think about shooting yourself. You know I like seeing people in pain, and this girl will provide excellent entertainment." Gray snarls. Dusk can feel the tears as the run in torrents down his cheeks.
"Dusk, look at me." Ash says as she moves his face to her level. "You have to do this. It's what I want. Don't make me go through their torture anymore. I know this is being a coward, but I can't take it anymore. Please Dusk. Please." She begs. Dusk can feel one of the men roughly slide a gun into his hands. He grips the barrel tight, not believing the moment. His best friend, and now he has to shoot her? How can she expect him to do that?
But he knows this is what she wants. This is what he should do for her. He's saving her by killing her. It tears his very heart into pieces. It hurts like no other torture. But this is it. He has to do it.
Ash touches his face and pulls him close to give him a small kiss on his cheek, as Dusk loads the gun. They're both sobbing as the men watch the two best friends. She pulls him into a tight hug and he places the barrel to her forehead. She whispers two words in his ear, and he only cries harder. Her hand is over his own on the trigger of the gun because she knows he can't do it himself. As she tightens her arm around him, she pulled the trigger.
The gunshot echoes throughout the room as her body falls to the floor. Dusk collapses to his hands, holding her limp corpse. He's crying like he has never before. The pain isn't physical. It's emotional. As he holds her closer, her last words echo in his ears.
"Thank you."
~.~.~.~.~.
WICKED Headquarters:
Ava Paige sat back in her chair as she watched Gail and Dusk on the Maze floor laughing. She sighed. This was unjust. Dusk had gone through unimaginable tortures, and now, she simply couldn't bring herself to send another Griever after them. She knew from the amount of blood Dusk had lost that the chances of him making it through the night were slim.
"Jansen." She called. The man beside her turned to face her. She took a deep breath.
"Shut down the Grievers for tonight."
"Excuse me?" Jansen asked, obviously unsure of what she'd just said. She glared at him. "Did you not hear me? I said shut down the Grievers for tonight."
"Paige, we've never shut down the Grievers. Why now? Why for these two?" Jansen asked, figuring out her reason. She shook her head. "The boy has endured things none of us can imagine. He's been tortured by his own father for three years Jansen. He's been forced to kill his best friends. We needed his killzone responses and now we have them. Shut the damn Grievers for tonight or I will."
Jansen sighed. He knew Paige wasn't one to be ruled by emotion. But even he admitted defeat. Dusk had endured monstrosities. He had goosebumps thinking of the times he'd gone to check their progress. Even Keith and Astrid, two kids hadn't been spared. He sighed. "Only this once, Paige. No other exceptions." He said. She nodded curtly.
Jansen picked up the intercom to give the orders to shut down the Grievers.
~.~.~.~.
A/N: Right. I loved this chapter so much... I mean, it was sad... very... but I loved writing it. I was listening to Stay by Mayday Parade while writing the scene with Dusk and Ashlyn and I felt terrible... the song's amazing and it fits the situation and it made me sad. :(
But yeah! Please tell me what you thought! I love your reviews so much omg I cant even say. They make me happier than.. than... I dont even know. YOU GUYS ARE SO AWESOME! :"D
Oh and as a response to CheetahGirl9X9, of course read the reviews! I dont just read them, I re-read them so many times! You guys just make me so happy! :")
And many of you've been asking me this. Keith and Astrid's powers will be revealed in good time. I have the whole story planned out, and well, its nearing the end and their powers will be shown. Also, question.
Who is your favorite OC in this story? It can be anyone who wasnt originally in the books.
But yeah. You guys are amazing. Thanks for so mich support y'all. Hope you liked this chapter! :D
A Fellow Glader
