Chapter 110: A Solid Plan
"What the hell…?" says Hunter as the four of them speedily approach the area where the other group had vanished from.
"Is this the spot? I don't exactly see a dead end…" said Scar, skeptically peering at the back of Hunter's head as the boulders tumbling behind them ferociously roared.
"It is! Or… it was…" reiterated Hunter. "I'm sure it was!"
"Oh, shut up! You're full of shit! We risked our lives and ran all the way out here for nothing!" complained Delta.
"No… no! This is the place! We are in the correct spot!" shouted Hunter, looking around in a frenzy before glaring at Delta, who looked back at him unconvincedly. "We are! I'm positive!"
"While my memory of the maze's layout is a little foggy, I can confirm we are in the right place. But why there isn't a dead end ahead, I don't know…" calmly verifies Forest.
The four resumed running silently for a few seconds, each voicelessly pondering about different things. And then, Hunter's eyes widened as far off in the distance, the bloodstain came into view.
"That… what-?" staggered Hunter, feeling sick to his stomach at his volatile suspicions.
Nearing the bloodstain, Hunter tilted his head down to get a better look, causing him to feel worse. That act also caught the eyes of the others, compelling them each to mimic something similar as they all passed by.
"Falc…" whispered Forest as he rounded past the bloodstain, the typical mask he wears slightly breaking down as his eyes painfully slimmed and his chest lurched.
"What makes you think this blood is his?" asked Delta.
"He was my friend. I will never forget where he died," solemnly replied Forest, and hearing that, Delta lowered her gaze out of guilt.
For once, Delta felt guilty… because, unlike Forest, she had forgotten.
Eyeing their interaction, Scar grew more convinced that Hunter and Forest weren't lying about this being the correct place, making things more confusing and complicated. Scar thought.
If Forest and Hunter both remembered a dead end on this turn, and Code's group even asked about it… why isn't their group seeing a dead end now?
Shifting his attention from Forest to what was ahead, Scar began to pick up the pace.
"Scar? You alright?" asked Hunter as Scar passed him, his expression no longer that befuddled.
"Yeah…" replied Scar, activating orasi to see if there were any traces of iris nearby. Up ahead, he saw a massive collection of particles gathered in one area. They were particles belonging to Zeris.
SHING! SHING!
Two more arrows whistled toward Scar as he caught a red object out of the corner of his eye. Effortlessly dodging both arrows, Scar narrowed in on the item lying on the ground.
It was a beacon. Beacon one.
Glancing back over his shoulder, Scar grumbled, "Grmmm… screw it."
Activating his rift flow, Scar swiftly snags the beacon before transporting Hunter, Forest, and Delta, one by one, to the top of the adjacent wall in only a second or two. The boulders swiftly roll by and down the rest of the path, and the arrow compartments relax.
His ears ringing, Hunter brings a hand to his head as he slowly blinks a few times.
"Alright…" says Scar, taking a seat and placing the map model on the ground.
"Hey! What the-" Delta stomachs a wave of nausea. "What did you just do to me?!"
Still delirious from the sudden whirl of transport, Forest pinches the bridge above his nose with his eyes closed and holds up a hand, "Scar… can you… give us a minute here?"
"There's no rush on your momentary recovery. For now, just listen," replies Scar, the map model activating and the terrain beginning to take shape as he finishes the sentence.
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Seizing beacon four from his backpack, Scar's eyes alight in a silver blaze as he utilizes rift flow again. Teleporting himself on top of the opposing wall, Scar places down the yellow beacon before returning to where he sets down the map model.
"Scar, you mind filling us in on what the hell you're doing?" asks Forest after taking a sip of water.
Holding up beacon one, Scar begins, "I just found this on the path. In case you don't remember, this is beacon one, one of the three beacons I gave Code's group. I didn't see beacons two or three, which probably means wherever Code and the rest are, those two beacons are probably still with them. And here on the map model, we… just like before… can only see beacons one and four."
With all group members crowding around the map model, they gazed at the red beacon lit up at the center and the yellow beacon a little ways away. Opening up his body, Scar points in the direction he placed beacon four down and explains, "I placed beacon four over there, for those wondering."
"Additionally, when Code comm'd to us that they had arrived, the map model wouldn't show us what was beyond that point. You all remember that, yes?" asks Scar, receiving several nods. "It showed a dead end, even on the map model. And whatever was supposed to be beyond that wall was blurred. It wouldn't render. But now we can see it. And the major difference between then and now… is that there is no 'dead end' here to blockade us. Even further, although I can't show you, there is… how do I phrase this…"
Scar ponders for a moment and then snaps his fingers, "Residue. There's evidence that Zeris was here. When I activated orasi, I could see a giant clump of particles ahead of us. In fact, we were about to run right into it."
"Orasi? What's that?" asks Delta.
Scar clicks his tongue, "These powers I have, I can utilize them in various… special ways. For time's sake, orasi is one of these special techniques. When activating orasi, I can see if other people's powers have been recently utilized in a given area. Powers like Ace's or Zeris's. That's how I saw residue that Zeris left behind."
"Alright, putting this technique… orasi- whatever you call it, aside… you saw that Zeris was here. We know that Zeris was here. That's all that really matters," inputs Forest, retrieving a radio transceiver from his bag.
"Precisely, which leads to a few possibilities…"
Starting to go back and forth, Forest practically finishes Scar's thoughts for him, "Zeris made them disappear. I think what our next step should be is pretty obvious. We need to make contact. If we find out where they are, or what is happening with them, we might be able to retrace their steps or maybe find out what Zeris is up to…"
"Wait… how do we know that we won't be talking to Zeris? Maybe this is a trap," says Hunter.
"He's right. While we have been presented with many different actions that we can take… that doesn't mean they will all benefit us. In fact, some choices may do the exact opposite, like making contact with Zeris," says Scar.
"Then… what do you suggest we do? That we just… wait for them? Hope they'll come back?" asks Forest, slightly frustrated at the predicament they are caught in.
"We don't need 'em," quickly says Scar, looking at his wrist. "Check your watches. The app still says ten people are alive, so they aren't dead. And while I'm not exactly an expert on the matter… I do seem to recall that all mazes should have an exit. I've never heard of a maze that leads to only dead ends… there's always a way out."
In a silver flash, Scar activates rift flow and retrieves beacon four from the other wall. Holding up and portraying both beacons to the others, Scar resumes, "We have two beacons and the map model. We can safely navigate the rest of the maze from atop the walls. And while these beacons can show us what's ahead on the map model, they can also act as landmarks. We can even afford to leave one behind if we encounter something interesting. And as long as I properly manage my iris, I'll be able to transport you three from wall to wall without making you each climb up and down the vines."
"Forest and I walked on the top of the walls for hours before, and there weren't any traps. All in all, sounds like a solid plan. We simply walk around until we find the exit. Seems easy enough," encouragingly says Hunter with a nod.
Forest eyes Hunter and then Scar. While Hunter is too trusting of Scar, Forest is too suspicious. His guard is always up and on high alert. He doesn't trust a single word out of Scar's mouth and hasn't since they left camp. And yet, Forest has to pretend there is trust between the two.
Trust. At this point and with this group of people, Forest believes such a thing is impossible to establish and retain. Scar has already murdered Cliff and can just as quickly dispose of any of them whenever he wishes. Scar has also verbally expressed that he doesn't fear Zeris or any traps in the maze. And whether Forest trusts Scar or not is… in the grand scheme of things… irrelevant.
For their current working relationship to fall apart, all that needs to happen is for Scar to decide that he no longer wants to be there. Or for Scar to determine that he wants to move forward with a group of smaller numbers. Or even more specifically, for Scar to no longer desire to work with Forest. And on the flip side, Forest does not retain that kind of sway and influence… all he can do is offer his ordinary skills and opinions. That's it.
After putting the beacons in his pocket and picking up the map model, Scar follows through on his proposal to go deeper into the maze as he advances onward without the agreement of the others. After the other three exchange glances, they follow behind Scar anyway, letting him lead the way. As the four set off, Forest checks his watch to see how much time is left.
47:58:12… 11… 10…
Sky's POV
After climbing down the poorly lit ladder, I arrived at a tiny square room with a torch in each corner. The word 'enter' was engraved on one of the walls, along with a downward arrow etched on both sides of the term. The arrows pointed to a human-sized chute that led into a pitch-black abyss. From the torchlight, I could only see a foot or two beyond the starting point of the chute, but after that, nothing.
Peering back up the long ladder rung I had just scaled down and then the chute beside me, I mumbled, "Seems like I don't really have a choice…"
Before I began my descent, Code had given me one of the beacons and told me to hold on to it while he kept the other. After eating some bread and a pair of oranges, I ensured the beacon Code trusted me with was safely packed inside my bag. Leaving a clump of orange peels behind on the ground, I sat down on the chute and took a deep breath.
Once I was ready, I let go of the walls I was clinging to and allowed the chute to slide me into the pitch-black darkness, my mind and body utterly oblivious to what would happen next.