It's taken me a while to get motivated and finish this chapter, but I think I know where I want to go with this. It's a little shorter than I intended... whoops. Oh well.

I'm gradually getting into the swing of things and hope interest grows along the way.

Now, I gave the story a general M rating for language and a few other things I've got planned for the future.

Oh yeah... Since I didn't make this too clear in the description, I'll spell it out for the rest of you:

J X S

Damn straight.

Suppose We Fall

There was that overwhelming silence, the kind that pushes against your ears and worms its way inside until you swear you can hear the void. It's as though you can hear the very oxygen quivering with energy, anticipating the noise to come. But it never does.

It didn't come for Sarah, either. Her own heartbeat startled her with its alarming stillness. She knew it had to be pumping since she was obviously still alive and breathing regularly. Well, of that she was fairly certain. Though she couldn't hear the steady rush of her own breath, she was quite positive that there was a deflating sensation in her chest. But that eerie quiet defied her very existence. It was one thing not to be heard by others, left to live as a ghost… but silent even to oneself was a whole other thing.

One thing was for sure, there was some piece of her left and it was just strong enough to bring her round to the strange reality of it all. She stood in her dorm room, shrouded in darkness. Amy was nowhere to be found. Even the hall light had been turned off, which was almost constantly present. The only light came from the window where the clouds had parted to reveal a small patch of faint starlight. It softened the room, casting a blanket of gray over it all. The storm had died down considerably and the clouds were floating steadily across the sky, revealing pieces of the night sky as they passed. The moon still remained cloaked in a thick layer of clouds, but the sliver light struggled to break free of the mist.

This shouldn't be.

Her own thoughts startled her into awareness as they shattered the silence, even as they remained unspoken… existing only in her mind. It was just enough of a jump start to remind her of just how wrong her situation was. There was no proof of the journey back to her dorm. She couldn't even remember getting up out of the snow. There was simply static where memories should have been. And the ever-present cold. She seemed dry enough, but the chill had sunk into her very bones. Even the still warmth of her room couldn't chase away the bitterness that made her yearn for a raging bonfire. At this point, she was ready to jump into it head first just to know heat again.

She took a few tentative steps towards the window, just close enough for her to reach out and feel the chill of the glass through the thick of her mitten. The soft thud of her boots against the carpet and rustle of her thick jacket were nearly to faint to hear, swallowed up almost immediately by the sound vacuum that had stolen the sound of her own presence. The very window shuddered under her fingertips, as though it had come alive and experienced something unpleasant. She shifted backwards quickly, eyes widening at the rippling glass.

Sarah opened her mouth to speak, but could find nothing to say. After all, she figured words weren't worth speaking unless there was someone there to hear them. The silence would swallow them up anyways.

But there was something oddly compelling about the shuddering window and the impossibility of it all. Sarah was a child of logic and reason now… and there was no place for fear when there were so many answers in the world.

But that Sarah had fallen in the snow and she had taken reason with her. The same reason that would have advised Sarah not to remove her gloves and test the glass once more with bare hands. Again, it shuddered, more violently this time. The light from the world outside grew stronger and she didn't really care where it came from. The darkness was thinning as the glass grew more agitated with each touch. By now, she felt as though she had been working tirelessly on a vital puzzle. The answer had to be found and fast. She was certain of that. What remained unknowable was the reason for her obsession with it and the raw need to overcome it. Like pushing through a forest, desperate for a clearing. There had to be something beyond the thick of the shadows. There was more beneath her palms than just tempered glass and a window pane.

There was an escape.

There was air and sound and light and relief for every ache and pain she carried. It screamed promises and she cried out for them.

" Now!!!", she screamed as she balled both hands into fists and slammed them against the window. It could have been the force of the blow that did it, or perhaps the sound of her voice as it destroyed the ravenous silence that shattered the wide sheet of glass (which was considerably less likely), but there was no explanation for the complete annihilation of the very wall it lay in. Shards of glass and splinters of wood filled the air, caught in a gust that whirled them about in circles until it came round and blew them over the precipice. It all began to crumble, even the very floor she stood upon unraveled and gave way, sending Sarah into a free fall.

Sarah could feel her heart at the back of her throat as gravity took control of her. The darkness around her evaporated, revealing a distant light that fought to burn through an overcast sky. Through the thick brown hair that whipped at her eyes, she caught the glimmer of the light through each tiny window shard.

It was as though there had been a sigh in time, for everything slowed in its fall.

She felt like she was falling through stars, gazing at each glowing piece with such unbridled awe that she couldn't breathe for fear of disturbing perfection. For that moment, in all its simplicity, was worth an eternity.

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Not quite an eternity later, Sarah began to fall again with the proper velocity. The air got steadily warmer and the ground a good deal closer. She connected with said ground split seconds later and found herself tumbling down a hillside that simply didn't seem to want to level out. The down in her jacket offered just enough padding as she rolled over various small rocks and other debris. At least, she assumed they were rocks. There wasn't really a way to tell and she doubted it mattered much. Everything felt the same when it collided with her ass.

She came to a gradual stop as the hill began to even out. Sarah had to pause a minute to fight off the dizziness before she made an attempt to stand up. So, she decided to play it safe first and gingerly rolled onto her back, propping herself up with her elbows so her back was just slightly off the ground. When her eyes finally focused, her heart skipped a beat in her chest and her stomach cringed painfully. The land beneath her was little more than dirt and a few sparse patches of thin grass, but before her lay a crackling, rain-starved tundra. It appeared to stretch out for miles until a wide… oddly-jutting structure broke the monotony of the flatland. The sky was just as overcast as it had been during her fall, but she could remember nothing of any settlements or… monuments.

There wasn't room for panic. Panic only happens when there's enough fear to fuel it and Sarah felt drained of just about all of it. She could still experience shock and surprise… even disbelief, but there was no place for terror anymore. After all, the only real great fear was death and she had this strange feeling… as though dying simply wasn't an issue anymore. Perhaps it had been dealt with already.

Am I dead, then? She mused to herself, oddly calm about the possibility of it. It was likely. It would explain the gap between falling in the snow and arriving in her room. Maybe that hadn't been her room at all, but simply a gate to… to this.

Sarah stood up and stumbled forward, gasping at the sharp sting in her hands. She turned those hands over, eyeing the thin red cuts in her palms that slowly oozed blood into the wrinkles of her skin. Sarah dabbed at them with alternating fingers, coming away with tiny red blotches on her fingertips.

"No… not dead", she spoke aloud more for the sake of hearing her own voice than anything. The pain was real enough and she sounded quite tangible. Sarah was fairly sure that sensations had no place in death… at least physical ones. She began to walk and discovered more little pains and bruises that she didn't remember feeling in her room, which helped to chase away the idea of being dead. The more she felt, the more convinced she became that was actually alive and breathing.

And she was still cold. The bone chattering chill that had set in during her struggles in the snow had set and didn't seem to be abating. She drew her coat tighter around her, clinging to the down for warmth. Sarah drew up the hood and found that both efforts offered little relief from the deep-set cold.

"Got to find shelter and get a fire going," she told herself as her eyes settled on the only habitable-looking thing in the distance. It seemed to be comprised mostly of walls for several miles with few notable buildings poking up above them. At least ones that she could see. Maybe there were smaller houses within, some too short to be seen over the wall.

Sarah turned around to retrace her fall down the hill as she sought to get higher ground. Hopefully, she'd be able to see something more promising at a better angle. Those few feet gave her just enough perspective and showed her the pointed tip or a rather large… thing. Well, she assumed it was a building, but the architecture wasn't like anything she had seen before. Of course, the distance wasn't going to make identifying it any easier. She had no idea what exactly lay beyond the great walls, but knew that just about anything beyond the imposing barrier would serve her better than this desolate flatland.

She found a steady pace and kept at it, satisfied that she'd cover enough ground at her current speed. It was difficult to tell how much daylight she had left thanks to the thickly overcast sky. The clouds seemed to be growing darker in almost every direction, save for her destination. Her face fell at the mere thought of another storm. Snow, rain, hail… precipitation of any kind was not her friend today. Maybe never again. She widened her stride, determined to beat whatever the sky had planned for her. Much to her surprise, she appeared to be making pretty damn good time. She could already make out a few gnarled trees in the distance and several wide arches. It took a good deal of effort not to just sprint ahead, but Sarah had a feeling her endurance wouldn't last if she pushed herself too hard, too fast. Warmth still eluded her, despite the fact she was traveling in a heavy winter jacket and padded snow boots. She badly needed a fire. Oh, so badly. No way in hell she was going to just fuck around and get pneumonia.

That should have been the least of her worries.

There was no door. There were arches, and beautifully crafted ones at that. They stood a few yards in front of the wall… all three of them. Each base had a gargoyle-type creature carved into it, just barely visible beneath the thick vines that had long since taken them over. They stood side by side, serving no purpose other than looking pretty.

Little good that did anyone.

"Well, this is… awesome," Sarah muttered as she rubbed the back of her neck. This was in no way promising and only added to her growing agitation. The sky was growing darker and she still hadn't found a refuge.

"Bah, speak for yourself," something gurgled beside her. She spun on her heel with a start, but couldn't find a speaker. Her eyes settled on a rather large chunk of stone with a thick layer of moss lining the surface. Atop it sat a fat bull frog, throat puffing slowly. Sarah gave the frog a good hard stare before looking back at the arches.

"Great. I've absolutely fucking lost it," she sighed, resigning herself to insanity as she glanced back at the frog.

But the frog opened its mouth and croaked, "Well, you certainly look it. I've never seen such ridiculous trousers."

Another frog climbed up from behind the rock to sit upright beside the other, "And you'd do well to watch your mouth, miss. That's no way for a lady to speak and mental instability is no excuse."

Frog number three appeared in a graceless heap on the ground as it rolled up and over the boulder, bumping into a disgruntled frog number one as it did so. It croaked as it struggled to right itself, then chirped at Sarah, "Oi, don't mind these old sods. They're no much more than a pile o' warts these days."

A chorus of ribbits filled the air as they three bickered among themselves, leaving Sarah with agape and in no little state of shock. Once the squabble died down and each voice grew more distinct, frog number one grumbled loudly.

"She isn't even supposed to be here!" he puffed up indignantly. Frog number two chimed it, "That's quite right. If she was meant to be here, the game would have begun already. I say, send her away!"

The third frog remained firm, though outnumbered, "Ye old lumps dinna have clue, do ye? She's already finished it an' she's back for more. I say if she wants a way in, we oblige her. I'm no about to refuse the lass and you'd be in verra poor form if ye didna do the same."

One and two sat quietly for a minute. The second inflated slowly in what Sarah somehow figured was a frog shrug. It croaked at number one, "If what he says is true, then we can't very well stop her."

Number one shook himself and grunted defiantly, "I'm telling you, if she was supposed to be here, she'd have begun at the front just like everybody else."

"Back door, front door, cellar door, it doesna matter to me. I've told ye already, she's no everybody else. I canna tell ye why she'd be here in the first place, but she wants in and that's all that counts, aye? Aye."

When no reply came from the first two, frog number three turned to Sarah and said, "Alright, ye've our permission to pass."

Sarah had to take a moment to find that her mouth did indeed work. She had been a little too fascinated by the display to make any interjections. In any case, she figured it would be pointless to ask the creatures how they could speak. After all Sarah didn't even know how to answer that kind of question, short of entering into a long evolution explanation. And that would be boring. Very fucking boring.

"Pass? Pass what? There's just a wall", Sarah replied, her patience waning.

The first frog snorted while the third frog shot him what was probably a reproachful look, since number one went silent shortly after. Frog eyes were hard to read.

"Through the arches. They all lead to specific parts of the Labyrinth, but ye can only know where they go if ye've been through them before. Otherwise, they'll take ye wherever they wish," the third frog leapt forward, indicating the archways before her.

Sarah wasn't quite sure she had heard right. Or rather, she was hoping she had been mistaken.

"Labyrinth? You mean like a maze?" she asked of the frog.

Frog number two let out a shrill croak that Sarah figured was a laugh, "Hah! A maze? You've never been in a labyrinth before, have you?"

Sarah shook her head, "It's just a really big maze, isn't it? By definition, at least."

Number one groaned, "If it was just a big maze, there wouldn't be a need for calling it a labyrinth. You'd call it a 'really big maze', wouldn't you? Really, calling a labyrinth a maze is like calling a zebra a horse. Both words hardly do either justice. Miss, this particular Labyrinth is a great deal more than just a simple maze."

"Alright, alright," Sarah sighed, "It's a Labyrinth. Huge difference, yeah. Okay, so these gates are going to take me where they want to go because I don't know where they're going to go?"

Frog number three nodded, "Aye. Once ye pick an arch, ye can't return here. They're all one-way arches, ye see."

Sarah frowned, "If they're one way, how is it possible to come back and take them properly? You know, when you actually know where they lead?"

All three frogs "shrugged" simultaneously. Sarah looked at each arch and found a serious issue.

"You know these don't actually lead anywhere, right? There's a wall. A wall to nowhere," she said to the frog trio.

Frog three sighed, "Ye look too hard, lass. This is the south end o' the Labyrinth. It's more magic than logic here. Just pick an arch and let it do the rest."

Oh yeah, that sealed the deal. Magic arches made so much more sense than non-magic arches. She should have figured it out sooner. She made a mental note to see about getting some magic arches once she got back home. You know, after she met up with the tooth fairy and purchased a unicorn. A purple one, hopefully. Yeah right.

"So, you mean to tell me that walking through this archway, this very magical archway…" Sarah asked sarcastically as she approached the middle arch, placing a hand against the carved stone as she started to pass through, "… wouldn't lead me into that very non-magical wall, but rather some place I've never been befo-"

The second Sarah had passed completely beneath the stony archway, she was gone. The labyrinth wall remained very much intact and outwardly non-magical. Each frog took its place atop the mossy rock, staring silently for a while at the now-empty archway as their throats puffed in unison.

Number one croaked, "Hmph. Bloody teenagers. Can't even respect a proper Labyrinth."

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