Prison of the dead (Labyrinth of Monsters' sequel) A hermitcraft/3rd life fanfic

Chapter 29 - Skizz

Penultimate chapter! 

And I'm aiming to beat my 3 (and a half) chapter record today! One chapter done before breakfast - good start for me!

Breakfast is much more subdued than it used to be, even before Tango comes in and tells us that Zed's been killed. He doesn't say anything else for ages afterwards. No one forces him to. 

Since there are only 9 of us left, we've all gathered around one table, mostly silent. No one has much apatite, which is good, since there isn't much food left. It seems that the Creators have abandoned us as one last middle-finger f-your-happiness. I've considered yelling similar back at the cameras that watch us benignly from the corners. 

'I have a plan.' Grian suddenly says. 'Hear me out.'

'Why should we?' I snap back. 'The last plan you had ended up getting two people killed, if I remember correctly.'

'Because we need to get out of here. There's got to be an exit somewhere, and we're going to find it. Today. As soon as possible.'

'I'm not going back in those corridors and searching for ages. Zedaph's death has already shown that.'

'Then we're stuck here forever. No one's letting us out, and we're already running out of food. It's that or we starve to death. At least if you follow me you have someone else to blame.'

'I'm not helping you. And no one else should either. You're just a murderer. And if you do want to find the exit, then go and walk around this second maze yourself until you find your way out or you get killed.'

'You know what.' Tango begins quietly. 'You sound a lot like Impulse.'

I'm stunned into silence by his observation, furious that he would think something like that.

'I'm not a psycho killer, if you haven't noticed.'

'You killed Etho.'

'Tango's right. You do sound an awful lot like Impulse did.'

I don't talk, mumbling an apology. Grian finally continues.

'Now. We're not going to just wander around until we find the right place. Hopefully the creators left a map of some kind in the office. I know Impulse's lot will be hanging around there, so we need the fastest people here to lead the away for long enough for the rest of us to look around. xB, you were a runner inside the maze, am I right?'

'Yes. Who should I bring with me?'

'Who wants to go?'

'I will.' Pearl volunteered. 

'And me.' Iskall added.

No one else says anything. Finally, I bite my lip and speak up.

'I'll join them.' 

'Great. That should be enough. The rest of us will search for stuff in the office. We need a signal to show when it's all clear. Any ideas for that?'

'Wait until the place is silent.' I suggest. 'We'll go in first, find where they are, and keep them distracted. If it all goes wrong... Someone will have to run back and say we need backup.'

'I can do that.' xB replies.

'Has everyone got a weapon?' 

Nods from around the group. Grian smiles.

'Stress, get some healing potions and be ready on first-aid. And... good luck everyone.'

'Let's do this!' I yell, punching the air. 'Let's get out of here!' 

The corridors are very well lit compared to the maze. I know the way better than the others, so I lead the way, nervous. Iskall tries to sing some stuff to lighten the mood, but gives up after the third run of Dragon Bros. 

The Convex are waiting for us when we reach the office area. I look back at the others with a solidifying nod, before running at them. Scar dodges out the way, doing exactly what I wanted him to. The other three are behind me as we sprint by. Iskall yells that they're chasing after, as we skid around the first corner. Cub and Scar aren't far behind us as we go further into the mess of labyrinthine corridors. xB overtakes me, but Iskall and Pearl are still behind. 

Joel jumps out at us from the side, joined by Joe and Keralis. xB gets past, but I'm forced to stop, slicing. Now boxed in, and realizing the stupidity of my plan, all I can do is fight back. 

'THIS ENDS TODAY!' Joel screeches. 'YOU'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!'

'Including you!' I yell back, cutting him down and continuing past, trying not to think about how he used to be a friend. Pearl and Iskall are still behind, with the Convex behind them. I'm beginning to tire, and know I can't run forever. xB's still ahead, but I can't hear anyone behind. I look back, and immediately pick up the pace as Cub's sword is pixels away from my face. It's a last burst of energy before we reach a room I've never been in before. Impulse is there, fighting xB. I figure that Iskall and Pearl have lead Scar, Joe and Keralis on a wild goose-chase elsewhere, meaning that it's two on two. 

I slash at the vex, and manage to draw blood. He shoots back with a ton of vex magic, which I manage to dodge, slicing again, batting away a chaos of vexes that have just appeared. I know I can't win, so as soon as I have the energy, I begin to run away. xB calls that we have a problem, and I look back to see that he's alone. 

'They went off towards the office again. Where the others are.'

'F***! Come on! We need to try and get back first!'

 xB takes the lead again, while I pant behind, wincing from a stitch that's decided to make my day even worse. Scar appears in front of us, looks  back, and lets us chase him. Iskall appears from the same place, saying that Pearl's dead. I don't have the energy to reply as we hurtle towards imminent death. 

'They're... coming...' xB finds the breath to say as we arrive back at the office. 'We somehow beat them here, but they're coming and I don't think there's anything we can do to stop them.'

'Who told them this was the one place we did not want them to be?!' Tango bursts out. 

'I don't know, but we need to find where the exit is, and we need to do it now.'

I start looking, just as the whole group of enemies, lead by Impulse come into view.

'Found you.'

ONE CHAPTER LEFT!!!!!!

and the epilogue I guess.