Look Behind You

Chapter Six

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"Kitty, I don't like this one bit."

"Have a little faith," Kitty nudged me. "I know left is the right way. Unlike us, Nitro is probably going to run into a monster."

"And your not the least bit concerned that your best friend might die?" I whispered, horrified. Was Kitty so heartless she had lost all hope in surviving?

"To be honest, I don't want to leave Nitro and Logan by themselves," Kitty admitted. "I feel awful for treating her like that, but... Nitro's just been getting on my nerves lately. She's always going on about this leader business, and it makes me feel singled out."

"Kitty, having a certain rank in our small little squad isn't an achievement," Maggie shrugged. "For all I know, people call me a Nerd. But do you think it affects me?"

"Nobody would call you a nerd with me watching," Kitty hissed.

"Honestly, Kitty, you're too overprotective," Maggie rolled her eyes. "But that's not the issue. You need to make up with Nitro."

"And if I don't?" Kitty strutted on, rounding a left turn.

"Do you think our group will benefit from you and Nitro arguing all the time?"

Kitty slumped her shoulders.

"Hey guys," Kate called out from behind. Spinning around, I remembered it wasn't just Kitty and I. "Yes, Kate?"

"I'm hungry," she moaned.

"Kate, you just said you needed to use the bathroom. Food won't help!"

"But if I don't eat, I'll starve!"

Kitty pulled the bag off her back. "I guess we could stop for a little bit."

Reaching into her back, she pulled out the Ziplock bag marked Kate. I noticed it was the only whole sandwich that hadn't been eaten.

"Thanks!" Kate chirped, and dug in.

While Kate chewed noisily, I leaned into Kitty's ear. "She's going to need a bathroom even more now!" I joked.

"No doubt," I could tell Kitty was holding in a laugh.

"That's refreshing," Kate sighed, sticking the sandwich back in her Ziplock bag, and landing it to Kitty. "I'll eat the other half later."

"Okay," Kitty meowed, setting the sandwich down.

"Before you put it away, may I have some water?" I asked, gripping the bag.

"Sure," Kitty nodded, letting me take it.

I fumbled throughout the bag, pushing aside Ziplock bags marked with the names of our friends. As I did, I saw a certain bag.

It was marked Iris.

I sniffled. She never got to finish her sandwich, and she'd never eat a sandwich again. I pushed the Ziplock bag away, holding back tears, and slowly picked up a water.

Once I put it back, we immediately continued venturing to the left. We ran into what seemed like a thousand dead ends, and had to change our route a lot.

Sometimes we even lost track of where we were, and where we had been. Even I couldn't keep track, my mind whirling in confusion.

However, nobody could blame me for being clueless. None of this seemed to make sense. Why was it always nighttime? How were we in a hedge maze with no fresh air? Why do monsters even exist here?

Maybe we were in another dimension. Maybe that's where the Doctor teleported us.

It seemed reasonable enough. Otherwise, the Doctor teleported us into a maze that was inside the hospital. That might be why the building stretched on for miles.

"Maggie?"

"What?" I tilted my head. Had Kitty told me something important? Sorry, I wasn't listening, I thought.

"Did you hear what I said?"

"No."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "I said, doesn't this patch of ground look peculiar?"

I crouched down, staring at the ground. It almost looked like a shape was stamped into the ground.

"It's a footprint!" I gasped, bouncing to my feet. "So either we're on Nitro and Logan's trail..."

"...Or we're following the monster," Kitty gulped.

"Well," I stated, "This is the exact shape of a human foot. Unless the monster wears Tennis Shoes, I think we're following Nitro and Logan."

"That's good to hear," Kate let out a relieved sigh. "We're lucky we have you, Maggie."

I cast her a grin. Usually I was called a nerd for being smart, but my friends thought otherwise.

"Maggie," Kitty began as we walked, "I want you to be honest here. Is your back okay?"

"It feels like I was stabbed with a sword, but otherwise it's fine."

"Maggie, be serious."

"Alright," I murmured. "It feels like the blood is seeping further outside the skin than it should, but I guess that's because the skin was cut. However, the blood that formed a shell around the wound... I'm nervous it won't hold up for much longer. With all this traveling, it might open up again."

"Don't be worried," Kitty placed a hand on my shoulder. "If your wound opens up again, we'll stop no matter what until it begins to heal. Even if that means I have to sock some monsters."

I curled my face into a smile, yet it instantly faded. As I looked at the ground, the trail of faint footsteps looked fresh, as though somebody had just passed through here.

"Boo!"

"Yikes!" I gasped, stumbling into the ground. Behind me, Kitty let out a surprised gasp.

"I got you there!" Nitro popped out from behind a corner. "Wasn't that funny?"

"If you were a real monster, it wouldn't be so funny," Kitty spat.

"It was just supposed to be a prank," Nitro scoffed. "Do you even have a sense of humor?"

"I'm not in the laughing state right now," Kitty pushed past Nitro. "We should probably keep going."

I followed Kitty, pushing up my glasses with two of my fingers. What would happen now that we were back together, as a group? Would Nitro and Kitty continued to argue?

My legs prickled, almost as if a heavy tension was in the air. My eyes darted back and forth.

This was how I felt before I was attacked.

I looked back at Nitro and Logan. "Can we go back?"

"What do you mean?" Kitty stopped in her tracks, and I felt the prickling grow harsher.

"This doesn't feel right. We need to turn around."

"Not when we've come so far!" Nitro complained. "We have to go!"

"We can't!" I cried. "We have to go!"

Kitty narrowed her eyes, and crossed her arms. "We're not turning around," Kitty decided, "because I'm not giving up. I'd rather beat up some monsters than flee with my tail in-between my legs."