I'd Freeze the Heavens for You

Countdown

Lucy could not sleep that night. It was two o'clock in the morning. Watching the monitor, she saw Gray pushing himself through the night. He dared not stop now, and definitely not for many hours of sleep. At every chime of the maze's annoying voice, the fear in his eyes intensified.

"You now have nine hours left."

Lucy glanced over to where Wisteria had fallen asleep on the couch. Slowly, Lucy left the monitor and crept through the cabin. It was dark outside. Nobody would see her. Even if there was a penalty, she could run away before the mad mage returned to freeze her. She could not continue to sit there in that warm house, with food and a soft bed, merely watching passively while Gray suffered. It pained her too much. Just watching him brought tears to her eyes and made her heart burn deep inside. If he could not make it to her in time, she would run to him. Together, they would figure something out, or at least they could fight together.

She wanted to be together with Gray again. More than anything, she wanted to see him. It was worth any risk, just to hold him and get him help before the berries poisoned him.

She tiptoed to the door, cautiously took the handle, and twisted it. She had feared it might be locked, but the handle twisted soundlessly. Then she slowly pulled the door back. Icy air blew in, and she heard a snort as Wisteria began to wake up.

"Lucy?" came a sleepy grumble.

Lucy threw the door open and made a run for it. Maybe nobody would see. Maybe the dark would hide her.

No such luck.

The area overhead blazed red.

"Penalty! Eight hours subtracted. You now have one hour left."

"No!" a man shouted.

She heard the scream and looked toward the hedges. "Gray?"

"Lucy?" She heard feet running so close, he was probably on the other side of the hedge. He yelled frantically, "Lucy!"

He was so close! "Gray! I'm here. I'm going toward—" Suddenly, Lucy's legs froze together, and she fell into the snow. "Ahhh," she screamed as the ice burned her skin.

"Lucy!" Gray yelled in a panic. "What happened?"

"My ... my legs." She looked down and saw the ice. "My feet are frozen together. I can't walk."

Wisteria came out of the cabin. "I told you, you can't leave."

"Who's that?" Gray demanded.

"She's been taking care of me."

Wisteria gazed through the darkness at the hedge. "My, he's close! Sadly, there's still one more loop around from that location. It takes much more than one hour."

"Dammit! I'll just blast through this bush then. Ice-Make—"

"She'll freeze if you do," Wisteria warned sharply. "You have one hour, and the penalty for destroying the bush will end the clock. I'd help, but that's cheating and you'll be penalized also. Any more penalties and time will be up. You need to run, boy! Run fast."

"Shit!" Gray growled, and they heard his steps pound away. "Wait for me, Lucy. I'll definitely be there." Then his footsteps faded away.

"He won't make it," Wisteria said sadly. "For what it's worth, Lucy, I'm truly sorry. Not even I can do anything now." She began to turn back into the cabin.

"Wait," Lucy yelled, stretching her hand out. "Why are my feet frozen like this? Is it just because I tried to run away?"

"No," Wisteria answered with a regretful sigh. "It's part of this damn, twisted game. Because the woman will try to run away at the end, her legs will be frozen when there is six hours left. Now your boyfriend has only one hour to make it in time, so the freezing has already begun." Wisteria turned aside and walked away, going past the cabin. "I've seen too many women get frozen, and I truly can't stand the screams anymore. It was pleasant spending these few days with you. You're a lovely girl, Lucy ... very much like my girlfriend Opal was. It's no wonder Gray fell in love with you."