Disclaimer: I do not own MR.
Chapter Ten: The Labyrinth
Fang and I huddle in the corner of our hidey-hole as we listen to the noises above us. We can hear the guards' voices as they search Angel's room. Occasionally, we hear Angel protest, usually after something crashes. The guards are not exactly discreet as they crash through the room above us. My stomach is tense, knowing that we could be discovered at any moment.
Finally, the guards leave the room and I can breathe easy again. Fang smirks to himself and I cannot resist giving him a quick kiss.
When the coast is clear, Angel's lantern light shines through the trapdoor. Her pale face is ghostly as she takes a seat on the cold ground in front of us.
"What's the news?" Fang doesn't waste any time.
"There're guards everywhere. They've got the sky covered. There's no way you'll be flying out of here."
My shoulders slump and I look to Fang helplessly. "What are we going to do?" Flying was a long shot with Fang's wing injury, but it was our only hope.
Fang is quiet for a moment, and then his eyes light up. I can see an idea forming.
"They expect us to fly… so we won't." I don't see how this helps us, but he continues before I can open my mouth. "We'll go underground."
"Underground?" I ask.
"We take the sewers. They'll be expecting us aboveground. I know a tunnel that will take us from the city centre."
"Will it take us out of the city entirely?"
Fang shakes his head. "No, but it will get us a fighting chance. Trust me."
I nod. I do trust him. Wholeheartedly.
"How's your wing coming along? Has it healed yet?" I ask, finding his hand and giving it a squeeze.
"It'll be fine to fly in a day or two," he replies, giving my hand a squeeze back. "Which is the amount of time it'll take us to reach the city limits. Then we'll just jump the fence and fly as far from this hellhole as we can.
I laugh. "That easy, huh?"
Fang smiles and kisses my forehead. "We'll make it. I promise."
"I'll organise a distraction for tonight so we can get the two of you into the tunnels. Will you be ready?" Angel asks. Her face is pale in the lantern light and I know she's risking a lot to help us.
"Will you come with us?" I ask, stretching out to touch her hand.
"I'd be a burden," she says with a wry smile. "I have no idea how to survive outside this city."
"You could learn," I argue.
She shakes her head sadly. "I'll be okay. I've made my peace with this life. I'm a lot better off than the others around here."
We watch as she leaves through the trapdoor and I glance at Fang.
"It's more dangerous for her with us. She'll be safer here for now."
"But-"
"We can try to help when we're outside. We'll have time to plan and get resources to take this whole place by storm."
I swallow and nod slowly. "They're going to keep chasing us, aren't they? It's not going to stop."
I don't need to see Fang's tight nod to know the answer to my question.
x
x
x
We watch as Angel flirts with the ground patrol guard. We inch along the walls, mindful of the guards patrolling the rooftops. One noise, one false move, will alert them to our location.
We pause before we cross the street to the sewer entrance. Angel sees us, grabs the guard's chin and gives him a kiss. We sprint across the street, avoiding the pool of lamplight, and crouch in the gutter. No one raises the alarm, so we can relax for a moment.
Fang carefully lifts the grate, but he can't help making a bit of sound. He pauses frequently, checking to make sure no alarms are raised. Finally, the grate is lifted. I go down the rusty ladder first and Fang struggles to get the grate back over before he follows me all the way down. Unfortunately, the grate screeches as he moves it back into place. Instantly, the sound of guards' voices fills the night.
"Someone is in the sewers!" a deep voice yells and that's our cue to run.
Fang grabs my hand as we sprint along the walkway. The sewer water is rank and the smell is almost incapacitating. But after a while my nose gets used to it and I can breathe more deeply. Fang finds a connecting tunnel and leads me through it. Soon we cannot see the sewer water and are instead in a pathway of connecting tunnels. He pauses every now and again to check the markers on the wall. Someone has painted a small white cross on each diverging tunnel, presumably to mark the way.
We go on and on, following the markers for hours. My feet are soon throbbing and my back is spasming from being hunched over. But I don't whisper a single complaint. If this is the price of freedom, so be it.
"We're nearly there," Fang murmurs.
Finally, we stop under another grate. I can see the stars shining down through the opening, so we haven't been in the tunnels for as long as I thought. He climbs up the ladder and slowly opens the cover. His head disappears through the opening, but then his whole body is yanked upwards.
I scream.
A face peers down at me with a menacing grin. "Well looky here. Might as well come up, sweetie. Else we'll have to hurt your little lover bird."
I debate my choices, but decide that I wont leave Fang again of my own free will. We'd been separated before and it had been hell.
I reluctantly climb the stairs and am immediately grabbed up in a pair of meaty arms.
Fang is hanging limply between a pair of guards, but when he sees me he jerks his captors so that their heads collide. I follow his lead and stomp on my captor's instep. His arms loosen in surprise and I use his own body weight to flip him over my back. Fang is free and we're running for each other. Our hands meet and then our destination alters.
In front of us is the labyrinth Fang has told me about. A wall of green hedge rises high in the sky before us. The entrance is only feet away. It's a shame that the guards have regrouped. Something hits my leg and I'm in agony. I lurch forward and nearly fall, but Fang sweeps me up into his arms. An arrow is protruding from my thigh. I cry out in pain as bright spots cloud my vision.
Before another volley of arrows can hit us, we are inside the labyrinth. The world is instantly darker. Fang doesn't stop walking for another ten minutes, but strangely enough the guards do not follow us. I am whimpering like a babe with each step Fang takes.
Finally, he stops and places me gently on the spongy green grass. This place is the only green I've seen in years.
Fang snaps the end of the arrow off and I muffle a scream. Tears are streaming down my face and he grimaces in sympathy. He gently kisses away my tears and holds my face between his palms.
"What I'm about to do is going to hurt – a lot."
I nod.
He pulls out his knife and a flask. He pours the alcohol on the knife, then on my wound. I gasp, but otherwise manage to stay quiet. Fang cuts a slit beneath where the arrow entered and then carefully removes the arrowhead. By this point I am biting on my hand to stop from crying out. Bloody teeth marks remain. Fang douses my leg with alcohol again, then takes off his shirt and uses it as a bandage. I am grateful that he seems to know what he is doing.
He stands and scoops me into his arms again. I rest my head against his warm chest as he advances though the labyrinth, always sticking to the left.
The sun is shining by the time we make it to the centre of the labyrinth. It is there that the Director is waiting for us. I guess I now know why the guards didn't follow us. They didn't have to.
"Pleased you could make it," he greets as Fang places me gently on the ground. I limp to my feet, not wanting to appear weak in front of our enemy.
"Let's get this over with," is Fang's reply.