They Don't Own Me

Chapter 3

"Run!" Alby shouted.

The others didn't need to be told twice. They took off after Alby, running away from the creature as fast as they could.

"What the heck was that thing?!" George cried.

"Does it matter?" Ivy said back. "It's huge, slimy, and looks like it wants to eat us! I don't know about you, but I don't want to be around here for dinner!"

"How about less talking and more running!" Alby snapped.

"What do you think we're doing, dude!" George replied.

Ivy glanced over her shoulder to find the creature still following them. Her eyes widened in fear as she ran faster, eventually pulling ahead of Alby. She quickly turned a corner but stumbled to a stop as soon as she did. George and Alby almost ran into her due to her sudden stop. Down the new hall was a second creature.

"This way!" Ivy whisper-shouted, trying not to draw its attention.

The boys quickly followed her. Luckily for them, Ivy had traveled through these corridors earlier that day so she wasn't a stranger to them. The girl ran down the Maze halls, turning here and there to try and lose the creature that was chasing them. She knew it was after them since its cries never stopped. Ivy glanced back at her friends to see that they were still behind her, but out of breath. She slowed to a stop to give them a chance to breathe.

"How on Earth are you able to run that fast for that long and not be out of breath?" Alby questioned through labored breaths.

"Not a clue," was her response. "All I know is we've got to get away from those things. They're following us so we need to lose them. The doors don't open until seven tomorrow."

George glanced at his watch.

"It's eight now," he reported. "That's two out of twelve hours."

A screech quickly caught their attention.

"We need to move," Alby said. "Let's get out of here and find a place to hide for the night. There's got to be somewhere for us to hide."

The other two agreed and they all started off again, Ivy taking the lead once more. As she ran, she kept her eyes open for some kind of place to hide. After almost an hour and a half of running - plus the occasional break to catch their breaths - the sounds of their pursuer seemed to have disappeared.

"Do you think we lost them?" George whispered, as if raising his voice would act like a beacon and lure the creatures to them.

"It's possible," Ivy replied. "But we should still move quickly and cautiously. Maybe if we head back the way we came, they'll be gone and we can find somewhere to hide that's closer to the doors."

~

Midnight. Six more hours.

Ivy sighed as she walked. She, Alby, and George had been walking for the last several hours, moving as quietly as they could. They hadn't really realized how far they had ran while trying to escape the creatures. For most of the time that they walked, it was silent. The only sounds that could be heard were the distance cries of the creatures trying to find them and the sound of distant shifting. Ivy made a small note of it, realizing that it sounded a lot like the Maze doors.

Alby paused and looked at the others.

"Let's take a break," he said quietly. "We've been walking nonstop for a long time."

"Sounds like a plan to me," George replied, sliding to the ground. "Dude, my legs are so stiff."

"No kidding," Ivy agreed. She pulled out an energy bar and slowly ate it, trying to preserve her food stash.

"So how close do you think we are to the door?" Alby asked her.

She shrugged.

"Maybe a few more miles. Not much. We'll be there in the next hour or so. We'll just need to find somewhere to lay low."

Suddenly, a shriek filled the air. It was one of the creatures.

And it was close.

"I think an hour might be an overestimation," George said, scrambling to his feet.

The three took off again. Ivy looked over her shoulder, her eyes widening when she saw two creatures following them. She pushed herself to move faster and overcome the exhaustion that wanted to set in.

"Make a left!" Ivy said to her friends.

They did as she said, running faster after her. Suddenly, a large force ran into Ivy, knocking her to the ground. She screamed when she realized that a third creature was on top of her.

"Ivy!" she heard Alby and George cry.

Ivy's eyes widened when she saw it produce a needle looking thing from one of its arms. The creature tried to stab her with it but she ducked out of the way. As the creature went for another attack, it was suddenly knocked off of her. Alby quickly pulled Ivy to her feet. She stared to see George using his weapon to keep the creature away.

"Come on, George!" Alby shouted.

The boy glanced back at them to see that his friends were safe. He turned to whack the creature in the head. As he turned to run towards the other two, the creature hurled itself towards him.

"George!" Ivy cried when she saw the needle disappear into her friend's back.

Ivy quickly reach into her boot and pulled out her knife. With a quick throw, the knife buried itself into the creature's head. Alby ran for George, who had collapsed to the ground. As Alby pulled him away from the creature, Ivy armed herself with her machete. George was groaning and moving around in pain.

"What the heck just happened?!" Alby questioned.

"Does it matter?" Ivy countered. "We need to get him out of here!"

Alby tried lifting George to his feet, but the boy began to struggle against Alby's grip. Ivy quickly looked down the corridors. Her eyes widened when she suddenly spotted a small hole in the wall.

"I can see somewhere where we can hide," she told the dark skinned boy. "We just have to get him there."

"Dude, calm down! We have to get you out of here!" When George barely responded and began to move more, Alby looked up at Ivy. "He's not calming down. What should we do?"

George let out a cry of pain and his eyes suddenly opened. Ivy jumped when she saw how bloodshot and wild his eyes were.

"If we're going to get him to safety, we might have to knock him out."

Alby nodded.

"I'm sorry, George."

He released his hold on George but almost immediately punched him in the face. George fell to the ground with a thud and tried to get back up. Ivy quickly moved forward and kicked him in the head. She and Alby released a sigh when they saw his body still.

"Grab his legs," Alby said. "We've got to move him before those creatures come back."