Ariadne's string

Chapter 6 Part 1

I could hear the screams in my head. I could only see red, the blood on my sword, the thread that should've saved me. The thread. I snapped back to reality, and turned to the others. "How did you get here?" I demanded.

"W-we followed th-the thread," the boy said. He was trembling so much, I thought he would fall. "Where is it?!" I was so desperate I sounded crazy.

"Where you found us." The girl came forward. "We followed it until we saw a piece on fire, so we stamped on it to extinguish it. Then we didn't know where to go so we just stayed there. Then you found us." I let out a shaky breath, and hugged her. "Thank you." I whispered.

It was easy to find out where we had come from since the distance was so short. I tried not to think of what would have happened if I hadn't found them before the Minotaur found them. We finally made it back, and I found the small piece of red string on the floor, after searching for a bit. It was burnt and dirty, but I'd never been so happy to see a piece of string. We were still in the dark, but my eyes had grown used to it. We held hands as we walked in silence, me leading the group while following the thin red wool.

I will never be able to describe the elation I felt when we finally saw the door. It was almost fully open now, and I could see Theseus. I started running, and the others overtook me easily. I saw Theseus notice us, and his face instantly lit up. He picked up Phaedra and hugged her, then scolded her and hugged her again. Then he knelt and hugged the other two kids as well. I couldn't stop smiling. Theseus saw me as well, and put down Phaedra. He ushered all the kids inside the castle again just as I reached him. I flung my arms around him, tears brimming my eyes. He held on to me tightly, until the pain of my injuries almost made me faint.

Theseus explained what had happened during my fight with the Minotaur, while he replaced the cloth around the wound on my stomach. "When I sent the kids upstairs, they did everything according to plan. They ran to the ship, and all of them made it without being seen. The crew fed all of them, and then made them go to sleep. But Phaedra had other plans. You're right, she is stubborn," he smiled and ruffled Phaedra's hair. "She came back, because she insisted on helping you and me, even though I told her there wasn't much we could do. These two came with her with the same intentions," I smiled, holding their hands.

"Thanks again." I said to them and Phaedra. They all grinned proudly. Theseus kept going. "Then they arrived here, and I told them they could stay, but they couldn't go inside the labyrinth. They listened for a while, but then when I wasn't looking they snuck in. I figured they followed the string, so I started doing the same, but I soon went back. I was scared you would come back and find no one. Instead, I stood by the door and I called out to them, worried sick. That's when I heard your voice too." He stopped talking. "We have to go. It'll be morning soon."

The five of us climbed the staircases again, winding up and down the hallways. I was still weak, and it was getting harder to walk, but I was out of the labyrinth. With Theseus supporting me and Phaedra leading us through multiple secret passageways, we made it to the ship.The crew was waiting for us, and helped us aboard. We did a head count and everyone was present. We finally took off, the tall ship sailing gracefully through the black waters. I could see the sun rising as we waved goodbye to Crete, and I was put in the care of some medics who had escaped the island as well.

When they were done, I found an empty cabin with a small bed and chair, and I stared out the window. I smiled as I realised I was alive. I was alive, and so were the others. I'd done it. I fell asleep almost instantly.