Hell Upside Down

Chapter 16

Point of View Alena

When I woke up, I knew I wasn't in my bed anymore. I tried to open my eyes many times before I realized a blindfold had been placed on my face. My hands were tied, and I was no longer in the warmth of my bed. I was sitting in a chest while I felt movement around me. My hair was being pulled in many ways, straitening it and braiding it. Another changed me into a different outfit. It was the ones that warriors used to wear when they went to war. The paint was also drawn onto my face, two lines near my eyes.

I was moved. Someone was guiding me outside. I could hear a crowd, watching over me as I was about to go on my first dangerous journey.

- "Good luck new one." I heard as my blindfold was taken away and my hands freed.

I was in an open field with huge metal fences separating me from the outside world. So many students had come to watch and were holding on to the fences. Noah and Thomas were both on my side. We looked at each other with a confident look. There was only one way to go, and that was towards the Maze. It had a narrow opening, but the walls were as tall as buildings. You couldn't see anything past it.

As we started walking, I heard a loud howl. Blaze was behind the gates and was getting let in. He started running towards me as I fell onto my knees to meet him. I had missed him so much. I noticed a bit of blood at the side of his mouth, and I wiped it off. He seemed different as if he was training or preparing for this journey. His fur was brilliant and looked like it could take on fire at any moment.

We were now ready. Noah, Thomas, Blaze, and I started running towards the Maze. Once we reached it, we felt the walls closing upon us. My heartbeat started racing as I ran, as fast as I could. The twins and my wolf were far in front of me. The walls came so close to my body that I was scared that I would be squished to death. Right when I felt that happening, I fell onto an opening while the walls closed beyond me.

All of us were catching our breath while we looked at the Maze. It was a darker place, the type that gives you chills. It was a bit chilly, and plants had grown onto the walls. Three different paths open to us.

- "Should we split up?" Thomas asks while continuing to regain his breath.

Noah slapped the back of his head. "We are advised not to split up. Do you ever listen?" He asks while turning towards the paths. He looked at every one of them.

- "We're both creatures. We're powerful to fight off creatures. Alena, even if we don't understand your powers yet, I think you'd be the best to figure this one out." He says while clapping his hands.

Thomas scoffed while pointing at me. "So, when we all die, we can blame you." He said while smiling at me.

Blaze didn't like that comment and growled at him. Thomas was taken aback before growling back at him. "I can do that too dog."

Blaze was going to leap at him, but I held him back from the fur on his back. He yapped but retrieved.

I looked up at the three paths and closed my eyes, concentrating. My whole body felt different since I had drunk some of my soulmate's blood. I could feel and hear so many things. I looked deep inside to what I was feeling when I finally felt the answer. Something was calling me.

- "This one." I said while pointing to the left path.

I walked towards it before waiting on them. Blaze followed closely behind me. We started walking in that direction when Noah grabbed my arm and asked me to stop.

- "Do you see the sign?" He said while pointing to a sign with a skull on it. I sent shivers down my spine. It was the only path that had that sign and I had just noticed it. I also noticed a blue marking on the wall. Like someone had traced their path. I nodded; I was sure this was the path.

We all walked until we couldn't feel our feet anymore. The sun was coming down, and everything seemed so much more dangerous like something could leap out at you at any second. I wanted to take a break, but I didn't want the others to feel like I was the weak link and leave me behind.

When the sun went down, Noah turned on the only flashlights we had. We started hearing things moving around. Something crawling, something screaming, something that was hungry. It kept getting closer.

- "I think we should sleep by climbing the plants on the walls and hanging on. Maybe we could hide from that creature." Thomas said.

Noah and I agreed. We started climbing the plants. They were strong. Once we reached the top of the wall, what we saw scared us even more. We couldn't see the end of a Maze, there were walls as far as the little flashlight let us see. It was frightening. It was only too late when I realized Blaze couldn't climb either. He seemed scared but tried not to show it. He rolled himself in a ball near the wall. He was barely hidden from the few leaves that fell on top of him.

My eyes were slowly shutting down. I was exhausted but every few minutes, I would look down onto him and made sure it was okay before I doze off.

***

I woke up two hours later to the sound of the creatures that lived in the Maze. It was so close that I feared it would come out. One came close enough to enter my narrowed vision. The creature was terrifying and passed many times in front of my eyes. It looked mixed of a spider and a bird. It was terrifying.

At some point, it smelled like something. You could hear it sniff and turn around in circles around where Blaze was hiding. Noah wasn't too far away from me. He could feel my frustration. "Alena, whatever you want to do, don't do it."

The creature came closer to Blaze. It reached down towards my baby and screamed. Blaze had no other way than to run while the creature leaped at him.

"Alena, don't do it!" I heard again but it was too late to stop me.

I screamed and jumped down from my hiding spot and ran towards the creature that had a piece of Blaze's tail into his mouth.