3 Home

Home? Where had that thought come from? This wasn't home, this was the labyrinth, home was with your family, with people who love you, a place you feel safe. That was home. Home was… Suddenly she didn't know anymore. She'd always assumed her house was her home, but that wasn't entirely true anymore. Her stepmother had been making subtle hints about Sarah moving out ever since she'd turned eighteen. She'd never pushed it though, Sarah was too convenient a babysitter for that. Not that Sarah minded anymore, ever since her first experience in the labyrinth, she and Toby had been extremely close, they shared a bond stronger than the normal bond of brother and sister. They'd been through a lot together and even though she wasn't sure Toby remembered any of it, he knew there was something special about their relationship.

He'd scared the hell out of her when he was four. She hadn't mentioned the Labyrinth to him, or indeed to anyone since she'd left it behind. She'd hidden the book away behind her vanity desk where no one would see it, put away all the toys that reminded her of her experience there, and had not said a single word about it after the night of the party with her friends. Then suddenly Toby asked her to tell him about the Labyrinth one weekend when she was looking after him. She was so shocked she'd dropped the bowl of popcorn she'd been carrying into the sitting room and had to spend the next ten minutes extracting the popcorn from beneath various bits of furniture. That hadn't stopped him wanting the story though. After he'd eventually stopped laughing at her he'd asked for it again and reluctantly she began to tell him. Just repeating the story brought back memories for her, memories she'd prefer to have kept hidden, but she could never refuse Toby. After that it became a weekly ritual. Every weekend when he went to bed she'd tell him their story of the Labyrinth, and every so often he shocked her by adding little details of his own. For instance she never mentioned the chickens running about the castle, but when she began to sing Magic Dance to him he'd mention the one goblin that always held a chicken. She still didn't know to this day how much of their experience he remembered, or whether he believed any of it. Nevertheless, every weekend she'd have to tell Toby the story again. He was seven now, but he still loved it.

One weekend her father and Karen had come home early from their night out, they'd been arguing once again and after Karen had stormed into her room, Sarah's father had come into Toby's room to find Sarah telling him the story of the Labyrinth. Her father had yelled at her to stop telling him such useless drivel, stating that he was far too old for that now and then he'd stormed off to the guest room, a place he regularly began to spend the night.

Things had been growing steadily worse between her father and Karen for the past three years. At first they were just little disagreements, but the situation had deteriorated rapidly. By now the arguments were an everyday occurrence. Her father spent more and more time in his office, most days he'd set off early and not come back until late, often incredibly drunk, going straight to bed the second he walked through the door. Sarah and Toby hardly saw him, and they both missed him incredibly. Karen relieved her stress by shopping every day. Sarah knew this was one of the reasons her father was working so much, not only was he avoiding the arguments, but he was also having to do a lot of overtime in order to pay for her shopping habit.

As time went on her father got more and more distant, nowadays he didn't even resemble the person he used to be, and Karen snapped at Sarah every chance she got. There were times that Sarah seriously considered moving out, but she couldn't leave Toby alone there. She stayed for his sake, but it wasn't without a price. With a father rapidly turning into an alcoholic and a stepmother who hated her, Sarah's mood darkened as her spirit was constantly depressed by her surroundings. She dropped out of college at 19 and got a job in the hopes of easing her father's monetary worries, but found herself stuck in a job she hated. She developed insomnia and lost her appetite as her own worries mounted up. Worries for Toby as well as herself. Her family life was falling apart and more than once she came home to find her father and Karen at each other's throats whilst Toby sat crying in his room. She'd comfort him the best she could, but with a father turning into an alcoholic and a mother who rarely paid him any attention, a sister was a poor substitute. It was at those times that she was grateful for her experience in the Labyrinth. As hard as it had been, without it, Toby would have been alone, and she would never have forgiven herself for that.

As it was, Sarah took her own comfort in music, turning to metal as an outlet whenever she could. That's what had led to her eventual attack. After visiting her local alternative club she'd left alone to drive back home. She never drank, he father was enough to put her off forever, and it was as she was walking up the stairs to the car park the two men had burst in behind her and thrown her to the floor. So now she was here.

She realised she'd been right about this place being home. The place where she lived, all she had there that was good was Toby, the rest was a nightmare. But here there were people who cared about her, who accepted her, true friends. There was no pain, only curiosity and that strange sense of belonging.

As the questions began to enter her mind once more, she steeled herself against what was to come, the "dangers untold and hardships unnumbered", and taking a deep breath she took her first step down the hill towards the Labyrinth and the mysteries that lay within.