Silence
(Gale/Madge)

Silence is key. Silence is the key. They just don't know it yet. Two unexpected partners got stuck in the maze and now they have to find a way out. Or is there a way out?

Madge Undersee and Gale Hawthorne are the only one left. Or at least it feels like it. They haven't come across anyone in over four hours and the deathly silence from others was starting to suffocate them. Madge's heart is racing so fast in her chest it could be a freight train, her hands are sweating. Gale is too, she smell the nervous stench rolling off his body in hot waves. If that wasn't obvious enough, she could tell from the way his shirt was starting to appear darker in the armpit, chest, and back area. The dark, forest green was turning into a midnight black. It comforted her in ways she could explain. Usually people sweating made her uncomfortable but this wasn't a usually situation. Far from it actually.

Her hand comes up absentmindedly to grasps the front of his shirt that laid over his toned stomach. Her whole body moves closer to his, not just to hear the end of his sentence, but because his body heat was the only normal thing in this pyramid. He was normal against all the abnormal.

"Gale, I'm scared." Her voice is barely above a whisper in fear that something lurking in the dark would pop out if her voice was any higher, "Gale, I'm so scared." She buries her head against his sweaty shirt and just breathes in his scent, trying to comfort herself and blocking out the bad darkness with his darkness. His hand comes up and he starts running his fingers through her hair. His stomach twists when the faint scraping sound, like a nail on concrete, echoes almost silently throughout this – this maze thing. He pulls her closer.

"Madge, Madge, we have to go…"his voice is shaking like a leaf in a windstorm and with each scrap his voice wavers a little bit louder.

"Gale…" tear are starting to build up in her chest, "It's back isn't it? Gale?" He nods, "Gale." She whines, he can tell her panic is rising and if it gets out of control it's not going to help either on them.

"Come." His fingers entangle with hers in a vice like grip, if he could see more than a faint shadow he would have been able to see the blood draining from their finger from the tight hold. He tugs her a little and crashes around corners and bumps into pots, he even came across some silver chains.

A moan sounds after that and Madge doesn't even bother to muffle her scream. Its bounces off the walls, the sound full of raw terror. He doesn't let go of her hand and neither does he look back at her. He knows she's crying, he can hear the choked sobs.

Another moan and a rattle of chains come from behind them. God, it's like they woke up a mummy and the creature that live in the pyramid to protect it. Gale hits the wall before she does. An oomph vibrates against his back when she ran into it.

"What…Gale, why are we stopping," but Gale doesn't answer, "Gale….Gale?" nothing at first but then she gasps, "Gale, why are you hugging me, what's wrong?"

"Mmmmmm…"

It wasn't Gale's arms that were wrapping around her. He had fallen through a trapdoor – a booby trap. There were spikes on the ground that had poked holes through his skin and the splash of metallic taste and smell hit his mouth and nose instantly. He groans and removes himself from the spikes. Only this time, he hits a rope and a giant boulder from the sounds of it is currently rolling at high speed toward him. He screams and dives out of the way, hoping against hope that there isn't any more boulders coming his way. But, of course, there was. So he dove and ran and slid and maneuvered around each new obstacle coming his way.

Meanwhile, Madge was struggling to get away and crying at the same time. She swears this must be a woman based on the fact that's she's kneed this person at least five times and she/he is still standing. Finally she remembers what Gale did earlier and wrangles her arm up and shoves her thumb into the hallow part of the mummies neck and pushes. A choking sound and spit come flying at her face, but she was able to get away.

"Gale!" she screams, "Gale!"

"Madge!" god, why does he sound below her?

"Gale!" she screams louder, not bothering waking anything dead in the process anymore.

"Down here! I think I fell through some type of trap door! It's right in front of the wall, you'll just fall through. Be careful, I'll try to catch you…there's spikes."

Madge stamps her but all she finds is flat, solid ground. Well that way until her foot linger a few seconds too long and her body was being ripped through a hole. She screams and barely lands half in Gale's arms. Her foot comes down hard a spike but nothing that will kill her.

"Let's go." His lips brush her forehead as he whispers, "We need to get out of here."

"Just wait a minute, I need a minute."

"Okay."

They don't say anything for over a minute. They only sound that can be heard in Gale's chapped lips brushes the skin of her forehead in gently kisses and their intermixed breaths. Madge could feel his heart pounding and his shirt was fully soaked through now, but she didn't care at this point what he smelled or looked like. He was here and that's all that matter. She didn't even realize how much she depended on him in here until he wasn't there. It scares her to think they won't get out of here.

"You okay." Just as he says this a red light pulses through the room, but the second the words leave his lips it's gone again.

"No." she whispers. The red light pulses again and Gale notices that there's people lining the perimeter of the room. His heart literally stops for a second. "Madge…Madge,"

"What?"

"We're not alone."

She pulls back slightly, her hands resting on his chest, "What do you mean: 'We're not alone?'"

"As in there's living, breathing people in here that don't look too happy to see us." And that's when the red light pulses again and Madge sees what he saw.

"Damn it." She whines and that's when the men started forward.

Gale was the first to scream and Madge was the first to notice they were falling. Her arms instantly wrap around his torso as tight as she could and she buried her face back into his chest. They land hard against the ground in a mess. They were both crying by now in uncontrollable sobs. Neither knew what to do anymore or how to get out, or even if there was an out. They were scared and tired and exhausted.

Neither of them moved. Gale only drew Madge nearer and buried his head her hair. He didn't care what Madge thought about him crying, and honestly she probably wasn't thinking anything about that. And she wasn't. All she was thinking was she was going to die with Gale Hawthorne and they haven't even been on a date!

Then suddenly the walls were crumbling, but both were too exhausted to care, to move. Blinding white light seeped through the walls. They closed their eyes and when they reopened them, they were laying the same hospital bed together, curling and tethered to one another, safe.

Their prolonged silence was what saved them. Being silent was the key to getting out.