One Killer Maze

Chapter 24

She felt weightless.

It was safe here. She didn't have to worry.

Y/N found herself sitting on a comfortable, vintage chair, the creamy design and wooden curves gave her a sense of peace. She sat in it in a relaxed position, not exactly caring who was watching at the moment. Her sore joints and pounding head just needed a moment of peace. This place never had a moment of peace.

This place.

Why has nobody questioned this place? Was it just a simple, normalized thing?

A maze full of killers.

A struggle to survive.

"How long...has it been? Since we've been here?" She placed her right hand against her forehead, cold sweat started at her hairline. These thoughts, were they her own?

Y/N sat up, leaning her back against the chair properly. There was the distant sound of water trickling in a forest and birds twittering nearby. A natural brush of wind swept underneath her hair, sending a chill up her spine.

"Y/N, are you there?" Light flooded the dark terrain, blinding the woman momentarily before she could see her surroundings. A woodland clearing. She was currently sitting inside a red tent, blankets and a few pillows scattered about. She blinked. What was she doing here?

The curtains of the red tent shifted, a hand reaching through, "Y/N," they called her name. She stood up, readying herself.

A man, he appeared with a kind smile on his face. He had light H/C hair and dark eyes. The man reached out a hand towards her, speaking her name once more.

"Papa!" Y/N jumped at the younger voice, twisting her body to see a young girl bundled up in a heap of blankets, "you scared me...!"

The older man chuckled and grinned apologetically, "sorry 'bout that, N/N."

The young girl pouted, but stood up from her bundle and waddled over to the man, grasping his hand with her smaller one. Their conversation was unheard by Y/N as she began to process things. The young girl's H/C hair... And E/C eyes...her name as well.

Grasping her temple, Y/N grimaced. Her mind ached at this image. All these thoughts swarmed her head.

"I'm going out to get something from the car," he told the girl, "don't wander too far. Okay?"

The child nodded, grasping at the end of her red shirt, tugging at it. The man stood up from his squatting position and left the camp. The older female ducked out of the tent and watched the young girl for a while longer. Who'd leave a child all alone in the wilderness? Did the father not care for her?

It seemed like the child didn't mind though. She began to pick small, white flowers that grew at the roots of the tree, not holding a care in the world.

Dark snakes trailed out from behind the tree, pointing towards the young girl.

A white face with a dark smile peered behind it. Y/N dashed forward, her hand reached out, "no! Don't!"

The young girl lifted her head, spotting the tall, polka-dotted being. She did not shriek or cry out...she smiled.

"You're back!" She said with glee, jumping up from her place. Y/N halted, glancing upwards at the entity. This one...she hadn't seen this one in the maze before. Or was it she hadn't met him in the maze yet?

The entity wore a polka-dotted outfit with a top hat in the same style. Unlike the other faceless being she had encountered, this one wore a smile. His dark tendrils swatted playfully in the air. He lifted a finger up to his mouth as if to silence her.