In the underworld, there was no family that completely trusted each other.

Judging from what Abeni had seen in the village and what her parents warned, there were always those consumed by heartless cultural norms or the unstoppable curse. The curse that made one’s veins pop out when emotions spiralled. The curse that made you start fighting to hurt…to kill for no particular reason. An underlying savagery that transcended thoughts, feelings and logic. Yes, it was instinctual to the point that even parents sometimes looked at their children as if they were disposable.

But somehow, she just…knew that hers were the exception.

Abeni didn’t know why. Call it wishful thinking, unconditional love, or innocence – after all, she only just turned thirteen years old – but she knew that her parents loved her. That they trusted her and that she could trust them with her life.

Well, of course, she did, otherwise how else would she have survived as a child?

How else would she have stayed sane?

But, now that the white-haired girl was running away from the place where their cold, blood-stained corpses probably lay, she couldn’t help but feel like that trust had been betrayed.

“We can do it, darling!”

Because while she was the one who ran away, they left her. Left her to fend for herself. Left her to die if she didn’t find a way out of this maze. That was the bitter truth that Abeni had to deal with, eyes overflowing with tears as she bit down on her bottom lip.

If only they told her how she could help them...then things might’ve been different.

She knew she was lying to herself, but Abeni didn’t know an alternative way to deal with the sudden pain, the piercing loneliness other than by blaming them. Otherwise, the reality of what just happened would make her fall to her knees.

It felt as if her heart had been ripped out of her chest by the razor-sharp teeth that the creature back there used to stab her father’s abdomen until it finally fell to her mother’s dying spell.

“Run, my child!”

So, she distracted herself with running. Running down the rest of the pathway out of an adjacent middle tunnel. Still crying her eyes dry but trying to keep her breath as level as she could. Determined to survive, if only to follow her parents’ final wishes.

Why did this happen? Why them? Why her?

Oh…the centre.

The reason that the creature appeared so quickly was…probably that they were in an inner tunnel directly connected to the centre of the maze. It must have been some sort of resting place or, worse, a lair for the creatures.

This meant as long as Abeni avoided the centre and got back into the village then she wouldn’t encounter another one. But then she heard a loud bang! nearby. Like that creature wasn’t the only dangerous thing in this maze. And froze in her footsteps.

Looked like escaping could wait. Her instincts were telling her that she needed to find shelter first. So, that’s what she’d do.

That’s why after leaving the middle tunnel she just came from, Abeni slowed down to a stroll and entered a familiar tunnel on the outer layer of the maze. The last one before she’d finally be able to escape this horrific maze and get onto the path to home. All the while she just wanted to collapse, feeling her burning heart hurt with the weight of her guilt and the feeling of betrayal she used to cope with it.

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“…Look, baby, don’t pout. It’s your special day!”

The white-haired girl looked around. Like the tunnels they passed through before the inner one, this tunnel was long, thin and dim. But, luckily for her, it did have a few eniyan-sized holes in it, large enough to hide her body. Danger could be coming from above her, so Abeni would take her chances. Because no matter how much she wanted to leave this dreaded place, she had to be patient.

Abeni crawled inside, with nothing but her favourite adire-patterned shirt and shorts with pink at the bottom on. It didn’t take long for her to wrap herself into a ball, bite down too harshly on her pink bottom lip in an attempt to silence any sobs trying to escape her mouth and shut her eyes. Reality hitting her over and over again.

But quickly the darkness of her closed eyes became too much. All it took were visions Abeni saw of her parents smiling at her and then…the blood, the stabbing, the slicing…and suddenly she couldn’t stand it anymore.

She sat up with legs tucked to her chest and looked down at her dry hands which gradually filled with the teardrops still falling from her eyes.

“Abeni! Happy birthday!”

“You’re thirteen today!”

That’s right. It’s her birthday…she…she should celebrate it while she had the opportunity to.

So, like a shell of her former self, Abeni opened her mouth and started singing under her breath. “1, 2, 3! H-happy birthday to…me, happy birthday to me…happy b-birthday to…me…happy birthday t—”

Crack! She just heard a crack.

Was it a rock rolling around the tunnel? No, that made no sense! Maybe…maybe the tunnel was caving in? Like in those children's stories her parents used to read to her. No! That couldn’t be the case, otherwise, she would sense some sort of rumbling, right?

Then…what was it?

Rightfully spooked out, Abeni quietly crawled outside of the hole in the wall. And on her left, towards the exit of the maze, was…another creature.

Just like when she first saw the other creature, Abeni’s mind momentarily blanked with fright. Feeling frightened down to her very bones. But she really couldn’t afford to panic right now! Not when she was already so close to getting out of this horrible maze!

It looked to be the same as the other one…grey worm body and all, except it was much smaller. Around the size of her body. It had a smaller tail, shorter nails with slightly different arms, teeth and coral-coloured petals around its face. It looked nonaggressive as it stared Abeni’s way. As if in a trance.

This could be her chance!

If she just ran past it without so much as touching it, perhaps it wouldn’t chase her. She eyed the path. She could definitely press her body to one side of the wall to avoid the creature in the middle of this outer tunnel. Abeni could run from it and escape this hell without getting hurt.

At least…so she could hold a burial for her parents.

But, as if her mere thoughts broke it out of its trance, it transformed in the blink of an eye and suddenly Abeni wanted to scream, rip out her white locks, throw up. Not this form. Not this form! Now, it looked just like the one who killed her parents! She—! She…she had to calm down. She had to stay alive…for them.

But how?

The creature was now rushing her with veiny arms and extended nails, so dodging was the only thing she could do. Pushed by a burst of adrenaline, Abeni somehow managed to slip her small body under its arm, looking for the weak spots it surely had.

However, without a weapon or knowledge of how to use her ability, if she even had one, the white-haired girl couldn’t even hope to do half the damage her parents did. Or any damage at all.

Abeni jumped away before it could reach down and grab her, back facing the maze side of the tunnel rather than the exit as she gazed upon its cruel face. As if the creature was writhing with delight at the thought of killing her before it sprinted her way with outstretched hands.

It’s coming, it’s coming, it’s coming! Her blood pulsed and the pit of her stomach tensed tighter than it ever had. She was done for. So, Abeni raised her hands and started screaming in Derin, giving up and succumbing to her fate.

After all, what more could she do?

“Don’t come any closer! I hate you! You and your kind took my parents away from me! Ha! Instead of killing me, you should...you should protect me from the rest of you instead! I can’t fight! I don’t want to die! I don’t deserve it! Not yet! So, protect me! Ah!”

And, just like that, the creature stopped moving.

[Current Total Beings In ‘Abeni’s Army’ – 1]