Author's Notes: In a bout of inspiration/boredom, I seemed to have finished this chapter early. Huzzah. Reviews would be much appreciated.
Thanks to Wings of Fire (what do you think is the cherry smell? I'm very interested to know.), mya (no, the smell doesn't have to do with Sakura), Rhea, Lakshmi (not cough syrup), Danielle Anderson (hey, Ophie, I'm still working on possible plotlines), Riley S (oh, B rated movie's like 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. Generally not good movie)
Disclaimer: CCS is not mine, no matter how much voodoo I do.
Dark FantasyChapter 4: Labyrinth
A bird chirped overhead, gliding low enough to skim the top of the tall hedges. Syaoran looked around him overwhelmed by the taste of freshly mowed grass. The shrubby walls climbed high over his head, jutting out at right angles. He was certain that he was in the center of a maze, many leafy paths fanning out from his position. A central stone fountain gurgled in the midmorning sunshine, the watery cherub clasping its coronet in chubby fingers. He sat down on a bench, staring at nothing in particular, just listening to the fountain churn and bubble. The sky was overcast, and a blue haze pooled on the ground, foggy like dewy breath. His feet disappeared in the gaseous soup. There was a brisk wind whipping around the grounds, rustling the leaves in an erratic rhythm of scraping and whistling. His clothes stuck to him with collected moisture, wrapping an uncomfortable hold over his limbs.
Time passed and he sat in thought, steady as a statue, letting the ambient wetness seep into him. He shivered occasionally but remained in his hunched position. Just waiting, for something to happen, anything. It was an interesting thought that he could retain his consciousness in a dream, something that seemed illogical where dreams were supposed to be ruled by the subconscious desires you repressed every day. And yet, here he was, mentally ticking off the various errands that he needed to do, the many patients to check up on, curiosity and apprehension at what would soon happen.
But nothing happened; a misty rain fell in sporadic bursts, sticking his clothes further into a soppy mess. The sky twisted gray and blue strands together as the cloud cover shifted, but the blue veil stayed firmly planted over the grounds. He strained all his nerves to remain calm, to suppress the need to scream out the boredom. When he resumed observing, he noted a ticking sound. He looked down at his watch which had started to tick loudly, in an erratic half tick-full tick-back tick random rhythm. Tick, tick, ticktick ti-ck, tick, tickticktick, ti-ckti-ck. Calmly, deceptively so, he unfastened the offending timepiece and dropped it onto the stone of the empty bench seat next to him. He stood up on the seat and slammed down a foot onto the watch.
The crash gave a satisfying crunch of split glass and warped metal. The ticking stopped gradually, tapering off with labored breaths. Syaoran smirked down at the broken watch and lifted his head up to survey any changes that may have happened. He swept his gaze around him and landed abruptly on Sakura's face.
She had her head rested in her hands on top of one of the maze hedges. She smiled unnervingly, sweet but forlorn at the same time. "You broke your watch."
Syaoran was impassive, looking down at the smattering of glass shards and gears and coils. "So I did." He lifted his head to face Sakura again, keeping his voice rational and even. "What am I doing here?"
She shrugged then hooked a thumb to her right. "Come find me." Her finger pointed at one of the many paths that lead into the depths of the maze.
Syaoran shook his head. "No, tell me why I'm here."
"I'll tell you if you find me,." She lifted her head and dropped out of sight.
Syaoran heaved a deep sigh and shook his head. She might just know something. He took off toward the indicated path. The maze was high, probably nearly ten feet, the shrubbery dense and lush. The grass grew thick and tall, sweeping across ankles. Every corner held a topiary animal, a creation of flesh from leaves. Lions, dogs, cats, elephants, he passed them all. There was a rustle behind him and he jerked around to find Sakura standing underneath the paw of a tree lion. She approached him with an easy gait. "You found me."
Syaoran nodded. "And now you'll tell me why I'm here?"
Sakura shrugged. "Don't know, haven't a clue who you are. But I've seen you before."
"In dreams right?"
"Maybe." Sakura walked past Syaoran and took a right, skimming the shrubs with her right hand. "You were in the train…"
Syaoran caught up and fell into pace with her. "Yes, and the lake before and all those other places too."
"Yeah." Sakura kept her eyes on the ground, taking rights and lefts without looking up. "Are you here to save me?"
"I don't understand. Save you from what?"
Sakura gave a noncommittal tilt of her head. "From whatever's trying to harm me."
"But what is trying to harm you?"
"Don't know. Confusing isn't it?" She looked up at Syaoran and smiled brightly.
Syaoran fumbled a smile back. "Yeah, it's confusing as hell."
They fell into a silence, Syaoran following Sakura as she turned and led him through the maze. Every turn led into more alleys and twists and shrub animals. Eventually Syaoran felt his muscles start to tire and broke the silence. "Where are you taking us?"
"Somewhere I guess. Looks like rain." The sky had attained a darker shade of black than before, defined puffs of ash clouds handing overhead. Thick drops of water started to fall, at first in a hesitant shower that quickly progressing into a downpour. Sakura stretched out her arms watching the big fat drops crash and shatter against her palm.
Syaoran shifted his torso uncomfortably as he removed his coat. "Want my coat?"
Sakura shook her head and bent down to yank off her shoes. "I like the rain." She ran down the alley and back. "The grass feels funny."
Syaoran tented his coat above his head and winced at the coldness of the water as it seeped into his bones. "We should find shelter or something." The doctor in him stirred. "We could catch pneumonia."
Sakura wiped a waterlogged lock out of her eye and smoothed her shoulder length hair back into a curtain. "I don't see a five star hotel anywhere around here. How about that horse?"
Syaoran nodded and both of them found themselves underneath the horse, sitting on the edge of the granite stand. The rain was still falling like sheets, sweeping the grass flat. Syaoran went to grab onto the horse's trunk leg for support, but found his hand going through the wooden appendage. The rain stopped abruptly after five minutes, leaving the maze flooded and the sky slightly whiter. Syaoran turned his attention back to the leg, the wood looking sturdy and real as anything he'd ever seen in his life.
Sakura had ducked out from under the horse and was picking up her sodden shoes. She called from a bit off. "What's wrong?"
Syaoran didn't hear her question, engrossed in studying the shrub. What seemed like leaves form afar distorted themselves upon closer inspection, nothing more than expert smudges of colour, an uncanny simulation of real life from various shades of green. The wood that had seemed so real was only a mixture of two different hues, a brown for wood, a black for shading, lacking in all those spots and texture that make up real wood. He reached out to touch the leaves but snatched away his head at Sakura's shout.
Sakura had one shoe on, the other dangling in her hand. "Syaoran! We've got a problem." She stepped backward and to the side, revealing a large tiger shrub poised in front of her. It moved predatorily, snatching brief lapses in focus from its prey to inch closer. Water dripped in simulation for saliva from its open mouth, exposed granite teeth looking sharp and dangerous.
Syaoran jerked forward as the tiger leapt for Sakura. He barely found her fingers and pulled her away before the large animal landed with a loud rustle of its leaves. It circled again slowly, eying both Syaoran and Sakura with an animal ferocity. Sakura pulled Syaoran insistently as they began to run through the maze. The tiger bounded after them, easily outpacing them and effortlessly closing the gap.
Sakura turned the corner quickly. Syaoran twisted his head around to find that the tiger was within striking distance. Overlooking a clump of knotted grass, he tripped and fell backward, watching in intensifying horror as the animal gave a mute roar and leapt up into the air. The green and brown monster blocked out the sight of the overcast sky as it dived down at Syaoran. He closed his eyes, bringing his hands to his face in a futile act of protection. There was a whoosh of air and the tinkling sound of shattered glass. He opened an eye to see the thick cloud cover overhead; the tiger had disappeared. He gingerly tested his limbs and began to get up. A layer of broken green and brown glass and stone fragments littered his clothes, raining away as he lifted himself off the ground.
He twisted his body around looking for Sakura. She wasn't anywhere to be seen. He quickly turned the corner and stopped short. He was back in the center of the maze, the fountain still gurgling and the stone bench wet and dark with rain. Sakura was sitting composed on the moulded edge of the fountain, a hand skimming the water. She turned her head to look Syaoran in the eye; her face had a sense of finality. She gave a quiet introspective half smile and closed her eyes.
The ground shook with the force of something heavy running, pounding against the soil with a terrible intensity. Syaoran turned his attention to find a shrub animal bounding for Sakura's form. He began to run towards her too, pushing himself to go faster, but knew he was no match for the green and brown wolf that raced him. Thorns substituted teeth as the giant creature made a final leap. Syaoran watched as it slammed into Sakura, frozen in the moment of collision, it's thorned mouth clamped around her left shoulder. An awkward moan like that of cracking snowy ice echoed in the air, followed by multiple roars. The two figures exploded into a storm of glass fragments and coloured panes, all gusting and whirling around. Syaoran closed his eyes, feeling the wind and debris swirling around him.
He finally opened his eyes when silence had regained control over the square. He was alone, standing on the stone bench. There was a ticking sound. Tick, tick, ti-ck, tickticktick, ti-ck, tick, ti-cktickti-ck. He glared at his wrist, the watch's ticking growing louder. Undoing the strap quickly, he dropped it against the bench once again and lifted his foot. He dropped his foot again, breaking the watch, only this time, there was the sound of sucking air around him before a dizzy darkness swooped in and pulled him into oblivion.
_______________________________________________
Syaoran snapped his eyes open, breathing in heavy breaths. He turned over to look at his nightstand; the familiar red numbers had disappeared. With a bout of apprehension, he flung off the covers and ran out of his bedroom, bursting into the various rooms of his apartment before finally dropping exhausted onto the couch. He was really worried now. All the clocks in his apartment had stopped; his wristwatch was shattered on the kitchen table.
______________________________________________
Author's Notes: If you're confused right now, good. I'll try to work more information in the coming chapters, but I'm telling you straight off that I'm working this fic like one of those events that are never really explained. Something impossible happens and you don't know why and will never know why. But…I'll help try to get some of the action with the killer in.