Aspirations

Chapter 11 Part I

Mirror Mazes are All Fun and Games Until You Realize Your Reflection Moved on its Own

POV: Henry

This whole situation was a mess. The eleven were a mess. And most importantly, so was Hyrumn but I didn't want to do or say anything that might make her explode. Even if I couldn't hear what was going on outside, I knew by the slam of the door in response that she wasn't happy. And when she opened the closet to find me and I noticed how her face was blank and her eyes were dark, I shrunk into a ball. Maybe she could've used some reassurance, maybe she needed a friend right then but I didn't want to risk it. Though in the morning, she was back to her usual self.

"Good morning, Henry!" She announced as she threw open the door. I sat up, remembering where I was and knowing I was not sound asleep at home in my bed. "How'd you sleep?"

I stretched out my arms and yawned. "Decent for on the floor." She giggled. "How'd you sleep?" I figured I should follow what the dog Aspiration said and get to know her better. If she warms up to me then I might just learn a little more.

"Like a baby." She said. "Now, time to get up. We've got a busy day ahead. We're gonna go out there and finish that list!" I gawked at her.

"The whole list? Is that even possible?"

"Anything is possible if you're me." She threw me a pile of clothes. This time it wasn't a jumpsuit but more of an easily maneuverable robe-like thing. I didn't know exactly what it was, but it was stylish. "Get dressed. My jumpsuit is no longer useable and we need to match."

In no time we left the house, but either everyone was gone or we woke up super early because I didn't see any of the eleven as we left. Which made Hyrumn happy. She was in a hurry to get the list done today, which was fine by me because that meant I could go home sooner. And it was going pretty great. We took care of two Aspirations no problem. Though, after those two the next three were trickier and I had to help. I didn't mind as much, but it's terrifying to face any Aspiration. I still shudder every time I remember the eyes of the eleven on me. We were now on the ninth one but first we were taking a small break in the library. Hyrumn had brought me a drink and sat down with her own. I didn't know what it was, but it tasted like fizzy juice and woke me up a little bit.

"So," She took a sip of her drink. "We've got twelve more. This next Aspiration is a little more tricky. It'll probably be slightly dangerous for you so I'll do all the work and you can just stand there and admire my work."

"Isn't that how it always is?" I asked. She gave a toothy grin.

"Should be easy for you then. We're dealing with Aspiration #98: Truth. You've heard of him, right?" I nodded. Truth was an Aspiration everyone basically knows. It was easy to call him. All you had to do was stand in front of a mirror and wait. He would show up eventually and show you any truth you desired, though sometimes it wasn't always as it seemed. Often, those who asked for the truth about themselves ended up dying by their own hands. "Good. Then you know that you shouldn't tangle up with him."

"I was going to leave it all to you." I admitted.

"As you should. So when we get there stay quiet and wait till I'm finished. Then we can get going and finish this tedious job. Sound fun?" She jumped up from her chair and began to zip away. She grabbed the back of my collar, dragging me with her. "No time to waste, let's go!"

We fled over to Time Stop in no time and began to wonder the endless hall. As we were walking I thought about bringing up several question I had, but figured I should wait till later. Even if she seemed in a good mood, asking about her time in the Seed or her tattoo or even if she really was dead didn't seem like a good idea.