"I'm assuming the corpse has something to do with last night's gunshots."
Red's head shot up with a jolt at the voice. Saliva clung to the side of his mouth, making him wince and swipe his thumb over it in a sad attempt to look presentable. The maze had somehow brightened overnight. It came as a bit of a shock to realise that he'd fallen asleep with Alisa wrapped in his arms. Her head rested gently against his bruised chest, dried blood matting the hair which now hung loose around her shoulders. Still asleep, the expression on her face was something resembling peaceful.
Does that mean we're friends now?
"Just don't shag her in front of me," Cheng Xin said, turning away.
Red flushed red. "It's not what you think---"
Cheng Xin waved him off. "Never mind that. Want to explain why Becca's dead?"
"Uh, about that, I think you should ask your sister." Red snuck a peek at the corpse lying just a few feet away from them. Becca's eyes weren't glowing anymore. They were dull and blank, staring up at nothing. Blood pooled around her body, her chest and head riddled with bullet wounds. The gun lay next to her. He picked it up, grimacing at the crimson-slick handle as he slipped it back into his waistband.
Everything hurt.
And he needed to pee.
"Alisa," Red whispered. He kept his voice soft, but it was enough to make her stir, her head shifting as she let out a muffled hmmph and buried her face deeper into his chest.
"Alisa," he repeated, louder this time. That did it. Her head shot up as she rapidly blinked away sleep from her eyes. Once she realised her position, she jerked away with a faint blush spreading over her tanned cheeks, practically tumbling from his grasp.
Cheng Xin flashed Red a look that practically screamed How dare you tell me it's not what I think. In that moment, Red wasn't sure what would claim his fragile mortal life first, Vanguard's traps or pure embarrassment. Then the call of his bladder became more insistent, successfully distracting him from his mortification as he made a mad dash to a dim corner.
When he made his way back to the group, neither of the twins were speaking. Jada was settled against Alisa's bosom. Alisa herself wouldn't look anyone in the eye, and Cheng Xin had wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. They were all doing their best to avoid the elephant in the room---or rather, the dead body on the floor. Red didn't feel like talking either, so that suited him fine.
When Alisa finally lifted her head to look at him for a moment, her face was bright crimson. "We should keep moving," she said. "The sooner we get out of this maze, the better." She fidgeted with her thumbs, her usually steady gaze pinballing all over the maze.
Red wasn't the biggest expert on human emotions, but he could tell that the impenetrable, iron-hearted, sailor-mouthed Alisa Lee was actually flustered. Something had changed. He wasn't sure what.
Alisa cursed, setting the dog in her arms down. "Don't you dare shit on me, Jada," she groaned. "We don't have enough water to clean that." The dog whimpered, tucking her ears flat on her head as she trotted to the side. Red didn't quite understand human or animal anatomy systems. They were so strange, having to relieve themselves every few hours, instead of every few days.
Cheng Xin stood up, dusting dried flecks of copper off his lap. Part of his mesh pants had been nearly torn off, his bare knee covered in purple-blue bruises that bloomed all the way up his thigh. "Li's right. We should leave." He picked up the dog and glanced to Red, as if asking for his approval to continue on. Red managed a small nod. Between the three of them, they had enough bruises and cuts to pave half the surface of X9-7.
He was pretty sure the wolf had broken at least one rib. His chest ached, but the comforting memory of the weight of Alisa's head still lingered, spreading over his torso like a ray of sunshine. Perhaps they would be able to get out of Vanguard after all---but he knew not to get his hopes up.
Still, despite everything, they were still alive.
That was something he had to appreciate.
Leaving Becca's body behind, their eyes averted from the floor as they walked past her corpse, the four slowly made their way down the gradually-dimming path ahead of them. The sound of metal grinding together filled the air. Red didn't have to look behind him to know the walls of the maze were shifting, pushing against each other to conceal Becca's remains as various panels slid closed, effectively sealing away any chances of turning back. It wasn't a game anymore. Games were fun, a test of wits and strength. This was a deadly ritual of kill or be killed.
Vanguard was the hunter, and they were the prey.
"We've been walking for hours and there's still no sign of any traps."
Cheng Xin shot his twin a dirty look. "Don't jinx it!"
Alisa shrugged. "I'm just being realistic." She seemed to have recovered from whatever strange force had earlier painted her cheeks red and her expression shy, Red noted. She now seemed fixated on their final purpose: getting out of Vanguard alive. "I've chalked up our average chances of dying to being two per hour."
Cheng Xin, despite the pain he had to be in, managed a small smile. Red could appreciate that smile, a single ray of light in the darkest night. "Even with those odds, we're still not dead yet, right?"
Alisa's lip curled into something resembling a sneer. "We're very close to it."
"And yet, we're still here." Cheng Xin's grin widened, agony wrinkling the edges of it, betraying his pain. Still, he was smiling, and that made Red's heart leap with newfound optimism. "We should be thankful for being alive."
The moment the words left his mouth, the ground gave way under his feet.
Cheng Xin fell.
Jada leaped out of his arms, fortunately landing on solid ground. A sharp scream left Alisa's parted lips as her twin disappeared from sight. Red's hand immediately shot out as he dropped to the floor, faster than the bizarre weather phenomenon Earthlings called lightning, a strangled cry echoing from somewhere deep in his throat. He felt warm fingers snatch at his open palm, quickly threading themselves through his own digits.
Red finally dared to look down. The metal panel that had formerly resided below Cheng Xin's feet had caved in to reveal an abyss of nothing, blackness stretching as far as his eyes could see. His hand was the only thing between salvation and probable doom. Cheng Xin's face was white with terror, his dangling form a spectre in the ebony pit. Jada wouldn't stop barking, possibly anxious for the survival of her young master.
"Hold him for a minute!" Alisa yelled.
"I don't know if I can!" Red shouted back, sweat beading on his forehead and running into his eyes. His arm, too skinny and weak for this kind of work, was already burning. His shoulder felt like it would soon pop out of its socket. Another quick glance into the emptiness revealed Cheng Xin's wide, fear-brimmed eyes and pleading expression. Please don't drop me, he mouthed. Red gritted his teeth and concentrated on not losing his grip on the other boy's hand.
A rough coil of something smacked him in the arm before slipping down the pit. "Cheng Xin, hold on!" Alisa demanded, the other end of the rope twisted around her arm. Once her brother had shifted his grasp from Red's palm to the rope, Red sent a quick nod Alisa's way. She dug her heels in, grunting and pulling her twin to safety.
"Come on, Red, help me a little! Don't just sit there!" At her orders, Red, a little shame-faced that he hadn't thought to assist her by himself, scrambled up and quickly grabbed Cheng Xin's wrists, doing his best to yank him from the abyss. Finally, between Red's meager efforts and Alisa's much stronger ones, Cheng Xin flopped stomach-first on hard metal, kicking his legs back up to solid ground.
Once he was sure that Cheng Xin was safe, Red asked softly, "Are you okay?"
Cheng Xin's entire body was shaking as he practically crumpled into Red's hold, burying his face into his shoulder. Although Red winced a little at the throbbing pain in his chest, he couldn't say that he didn't like the position. He felt hot liquid seep through his ragged t-shirt and stain his skin. The other boy was crying---from panic or relief, Red didn't know. Human emotions were strange.
"I want to go home," Cheng Xin sobbed. "I'm tired of trying to stay positive about this whole mess."
Behind them, Alisa nodded. "I told you so," she sighed. "We're all probably going to die here." She rubbed a hand over her still-yelping dog's head. "Shush, Jada. He's okay now."
Red didn't bother trying to argue with her. He simply rubbed circles around Cheng Xin's back in an attempt to soothe him, letting him cry into his shoulder. "It's okay," he whispered. "We'll get out of here."
"Will we really?" Alisa loomed over them like an omen of death. Weariness was etched into every corner of her scowling face. "We're all tired, Red. There's no need to take over being Suzy Sunshine now that Cheng Xin's relinquished his job. Let's just go." Something flashed in her eyes, something green and spiteful and strange.
She grabbed her twin's arm and yanked him off Red. "Let's go, Cheng Xin." Cheng Xin yelped at the sudden roughness. Red didn't know what had caused the sudden change between the surprisingly soft Alisa Lee the night before and the pessimistic, unyielding, callous Alisa Lee who was dragging her brother to his feet without any care even though he'd just nearly fallen to his death.
Humans were weird.