Look Behind You

Chapter Four

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"That's no exit!" I spat. "That's just another maze, ready to kill us all!"

"That's odd," Nitro took a small step into the hedge maze. "Do we just go on forever, finding doors and being led to another maze?"

Maggie threw a hand behind her back. I could tell she was nervously feeling her bruise. I'm not going to let you get hurt again, I silently promised. We will protect you.

"I don't know about you guys," Kate muttered, "but I refuse to go in that maze. There are never bathrooms kept outside, and if so... They're porta potties."

I rolled my eyes. "There has to be some sort of door through this maze, too," I told my friends. "There wouldn't just be a door to a random hedge maze if it didn't lead anywhere."

"I agree," Logan announced. "What could go wrong?"

"Sounds reasonable," Nitro stepped to my side. Kate followed her.

Maggie stood in front of us, still rubbing her back. "I don't wanna take my chances with that mass murderer," she claimed. "I'm sticking with you guys."

I nodded. "Follow me!"

We slowly but cautiously entered the maze. My foot crunched against the soil down below us, and my boots were smeared with mud. I brushed my fingertips against the grassy walls. It seemed like a normal hedge maze.

"Here's how we'll think of this," I turned around to face my friends. "Instead of worrying that somebody is going to come out and kill us, let's picture this as your average hedge maze. At the end of the maze is a prize!"

Kate eagerly nodded. "I can't wait to get that prize! What is it?"

"Anything you can possibly imagine," I guestered further down the maze. "Come on, gang. Let's get out of here."

Me and Maggie fell into step with each other. I noticed Maggie's shirt had been coated with dried blood, and I shivered. I really hope she's OK. If anything bad happens to Maggie, I'll never forgive myself.

Maggie sighed, staring up at the sky. "There's nothing," she whispered.

"What?" I glanced at her.

"No stars. No moon. It's just plain dark. It's... empty."

For the first time, I looked at the sky. Like Maggie said, it was empty, only the dark trace of black staining air. "That's... weird."

I nervously looked around. This didn't seem like a normal hedge maze.

"Hey Nitro," I called out over my shoulder. "Do you think there'll be any monsters in this maze, too?"

"Face it, Kitty," Nitro sighed. "We've been teleported here by some evil doctor that wants to kill us all. It's practically impossible for there to be no monsters around."

I gulped. "Can the doctor teleport into this maze, as well as the first?" I asked nervously.

Maggie swiveled her head around, shadows darkening her glasses. "I'm not that smart. I just got here, too."

I hunched my shoulders. We had gotten through the first maze, and avoided the Iris Clone. But I feared there was worse to come.

Kate seemed depressed. As I stared behind my back, I saw her head hanging low, and the slightest trace of her eyes were glinting with anger.

"Is it about Iris?" I whispered to her, as Nitro, Maggie, and Logan began talking amongst themselves. "Do you blame yourself?"

"I don't blame myself," Kate shrugged. "There was nothing I could do to save her. But I miss her. A lot."

My arms prickled. "I'll miss her, too. She was so clumsy, funny, and caring. I'd give anything for her to be here right now."

"Would you give your life?" Kate's eyes grew big. "Because I would. Sisters stick together, and once they're separated... it's not as easy as you think."

I seemed to have forgotten that Iris and Kate were sisters. Bonds in our small group of friends were equal, and Kate hung out with Iris as much as she did everyone.

"I understand how you feel," I grabbed one of the straps on my backpack that slung around my arm. "If I lost Maggie, I'd be devastated."

"Speaking of Maggie, I hope she's okay," Kate lowered her voice to a whisper. "If anything bad happens to her, then the injury on her back might open up again. Then she might bleed to death."

I shuddered. "We have to make sure Maggie is out of harms way. Make sure she's in the center of the group when we travel, so nothing can pluck her out of line."

"Okay," Kate nodded, leaving my side to go tell Maggie.

Looking up at the sky, I gulped. There was no possible way we would get through this maze without anything bad happening. We need to protect everyone somehow, yet that's impossible.

I looked up at the sky. It didn't look real, like it was some sort of hologram or projection. Maybe it's the roof, and it's just naturally like this, I hoped.

"I don't think we're getting anywhere," Nitro sighed as we stumbled accords a dead end. "Maybe we should retrace our steps?"

I turned around. "But where did we come from?"

"I'm pretty sure it was the right," Logan pointed to the side.

"Yes, but I remember coming from the left!" Kate piped in.

"This is no use," Maggie muttered, as Logan and Kate continued to argue. "We'll just have to go with our fur. If we get lost, well... we're lost. But there's no hope in just standing around here and getting ourselves killed."

"So which way are we going?" I narrowed my eyes.

"I agree with Logan. We came from the right." Nitro nodded down the hallway,

"See? Told you," Logan crossed his arms.

"However," Nitro continued, "because we don't know the way out, there's no use in retracing our steps and trying to find out. We'll go left."

"Ha!" Kate flashed Logan a bossy glance.

"I hope this turns out okay," I whispered as we turned down the pathway.

"Trust me, it will," Nitro nodded. "And even if it isn't, I'll make sure it does."