Push the Limits

11

And then it lunged forward, ready to kill..

Thea flinched and squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for pain. 

But it never impacted.

She heard another gunshot, and then a little inhuman cry. Thea slowly opened her eyes to see that Dan had picked up a gun and shot the beast in the side. 

It was letting out a low growl, and it slunk off, going through a door that didn't seem to exist a few minutes ago. 

When it limped through the door, Thea and Dan exchanged glances, and started to creep towards the door. The soft footsteps behind them signalled that Denise and Harry were reluctantly following them. 

"Why are we following the thing that wants to kill us?" Denise whispered.

"Don't ask me." Harry whispered back. 

"Shh!" Thea hushed, sneaking over to the wall beside the mouth of the door. She pressed up against the wall, and the others followed suit. She leaned over slightly to get a glimpse of what was lying in wait for them beyond the doorway. 

She saw something out of a Sci-Fi horror movie. It was a stereotypical film spaceship corridor, except it looked like something had gone wrong. 

The metal grates on the floors were dented and bent, some grates had even been uplifted from the ground, showing cracked pipes. There were live wires and cables draped amongst the walls, letting out small sparks of electricity and fizzling out. There were even uprooted pipes, all of them crunched into different shapes. The dull lights above were flickering, leaving minimal light to see. 

Thea said nothing, but she crept into the corridor, only lightly stepping, trying not to make a sound. She had no idea what would be ahead; and she didn't want to think about it. She just focused on where to step. 

She could hear Dan's ragged breath from behind her, and if she strained her hearing, she could just make out Denise's and Harry's breathing from a bit further back. Thea noticed the corridor was freezing, colder than the maze. It must have dropped to below freezing, because her teeth were chattering and her body began to tense up. 

It only got colder as they moved through the corridor. Thea had spotted a brilliant white room at the end, but it was still far enough away that the temperature could drop too far and they would have to turn back. Maybe it was ruse to get them to return to the arena so that they could play by the rules. 

Thea shook her head. We can make it. 

She dug her nails into her palms and gritted her quivering teeth, forcing herself to brave it out. 

"It's still getting colder, Thea. We have to turn back." Dan said, too loudly. 

"No, we can make it.." She whimpered. 

"Denise and Harry have already gone back. Maybe we should do the same." He said.

"I'm not going back, Dan. I need answers, and if you don't come with me, I'll go alone."

"Okay, fine. I'll come with you. This doesn't seem like a good idea, but what have we got to lose?" He said, attempting a weak smile. 

Try our lives? Thea thought quietly to herself, but she continued walking. The white room was closer and closer every step. 

The freezing air was hurting her eyes. She squeezed them shut and reopened them. 

"I think we have to run," Dan shivered, "we'll freeze if we don't get there soon."

Thea nodded, and began to run.

She quickly dodged the holes in the floor and the obstructing pipes, but it still continued to get colder. 

Thea began to doubt that they would survive..