I didn't think. I just moved.
Josh's claws sliced through the air where my throat had been a second ago, the sound cutting sharper than steel.
I threw myself sideways, boots sliding across the blood-soaked floor, catching my balance only to stumble again as the ground shifted beneath me. The maze was still alive-- walls groaning, floor pulsing faintly with each movement, like it wanted to join the fight.
Every breath burned; the copper tang of blood clung to my tongue, the air thick and heavy like smoke.
I swung the broken spear low, aiming for his knee. The wood met flesh-- or what used to be flesh-- with a dull crack. It didn't slow him. He twisted his body, fluid and wrong, spine bending too far as his arm came around in a wide arc. I barely ducked under it, feeling the wind of his claws tear a strand of hair clean from my head. The follow-up swipe tore a line across my cheek, heat and pain blooming together.
"Yuwon," he rasped, voice glitching through two tones again. "Why fight what's already over?"
He lunged, faster this time. I sidestepped, scraping my shoulder along the concrete wall, thrusting upward with what remained of my weapon. The splintered tip jammed into his ribs, black liquid hissing as it burned through the wood. He didn't flinch. His free hand imitated a blade, which he slammed into my stomach, piercing me completely. I didn't scream. I couldn't. There was no strength left in me.
I looked up at Josh's singular black eye.
'The boy I once saw as a younger brother was gone, replaced by this... thing.'
For a brief second, I thought I saw regret in that gaze.
'Strangely, I couldn't hate him. Maybe I was stupid. Maybe I was just another plaything, another piece of meat.'
I exhaled, looking down at the arm still lodged inside me. His other hand pressed softly against my shoulder to stabilize as he pulled the first arm free, leaving an empty hole where my guts had been. I collapsed to my knees, vision fading.
"Yuwon!" Sarah's voice pierced through the haze, raw and trembling with tears.
I wanted to tell her to run. But I couldn't move. Not a single muscle obeyed.
Josh snapped his head toward her, rotating unnaturally, his uncanny smile back-- sharper, crueler and more vicious than before.
---
Blood ran freely from my wounds-- a sensation I could never get used to, no matter how many battles I survived.
The air stank of iron and burnt dust. My gloves hummed faintly, the Fourth Ring item still discharging residual energy. Nearly reaching the 4 hour time limit of this item, i decided to stash the gloves away in my suits pocket.
I looked back.
Three mimic corpses lay scattered across the concrete, their bones bent and twisted from the sheer force of my strikes. They twitched once, twice- then fell still for good.
"Persistent bastards," I muttered under my breath. "But at least you die quiet."
I straightened, wiped some dust off my torso and pulled out a lighter.
The click echoed faintly through the desolate space as I lit a cigarette and drew in a long, steady breath while closing my eyes.
Smoke filled my lungs, bitter and grounding.
I exhaled slowly, letting the gray plume rise toward the ceiling of the ruined hall.
"These guys really did a number on me," I talked to myself. "Claw marks down to the bone. Damn things fight like rabid dogs."
My voice rasped from exhaustion, but there was a hint of dry amusement underneath.
"Still… it's a good thing the Charles' mimic ran off. If he'd stayed, I'd be the one dead on the ground right now."
I rolled my shoulders, feeling the ache spread through every nerve, then started toward the center of the chamber-- where the withered tree stood.
The thing pulsed faintly, roots buried deep into the floor, like veins feeding off the labyrinth itself.
Each step closer made the air heavier, thicker, as if reality was bending around its presence.
"Alright," I muttered, checking the time on my clock. "Let's end this freakshow."
Suddenly, a sound cut through the chamber-- soft, deliberate footfalls. I straightened slowly, cigarette hanging from my lips, and watched something come out the shadows from the southern hallway.
Charles stepped out of the shadow as if he'd been waiting for an invitation. He wore no hurry, no fear; only that same uncanny smile.
"Agent Ash," he said, almost kindly. His head tilted. "You're wearing the Bureau's suit. How quaint. You do realize that makes you interesting."
'How does he know my codename?'
I didn't lower my guard but didn't let my surprise show either. "Charles." My voice was flat. "You came back."
He laughed-- a short chuckle that didn't quite fit the uncanny smile he was wearing.
"Of course I came back. We were all enjoying ourselves. And then you ruined the party. I can't just let that slide" He gestured with one hand at the fallen mimics. "Two options. You help me escape or i make new friends out of the last two survivors."
I inhaled another wave of smoke. "bargaining " I said. "pretending, and smiling. We're past that, Charles. I already know you're not a mimic."
His smile widened. "Ah. Sharp. Direct. I like that." He glanced at my cigarette, then my wristwatch. "Tell me-- that wrist item you used in combat. Not standard issue, is it, Agent Ash?"
"What do you want?" I dropped the cigarette and crushed it under my boot.
"Oh, nothing much." He sounded casual, too casual. "Just an exchange."
"You want something," I said. "Name your price."
He crossed his arms, as if listing off items on a menu. "There's a civilian fighting a mimic near the exit. Six feet tall. Twenty-five. Purple eyes. Brown hair dyed blonde." He smiled, almost fondly. "Recruit him. No matter the cost. His name is Yuwon Weaver."
My jaw tightened. "You aren't an anomaly. Who are you, really?"
Charles brushed past me, ignoring the question. "Do that, and I let you leave intact. Do we have a deal?"
I watched him for a long second. He knew too much. Knew the glove cooldown, the items at my belt, the position of survivors. He wasn't just playing a part — he was cataloguing leverage.
I pulled my lighter from my pocket and flicked it open. "Yuwon Weaver's employment at the Bureau of Anomalous Affairs can be arranged," I said, dry as cordite.
"Smart choice, Agent Ash. But do hurry please." Charles sighed before continuing "the mimic Yuwon Weaver is fighting is a bit... special." Charles chuckled, his voice was almost warm. When I glanced back, he was already gone-- as if he'd never been there.
"I should probably leave that out from the report." I sighed approaching the tree.
I put multiple sticks on fire and laid them to the withered tree— manual for destabilizing the heart-structure of this anomaly—, and watched the flames take. The bark blackened, the sap hissed, and for the first time since I'd come in, the heart of the maze screamed in a sound you could feel more than hear.
"Agent Ares should be at the exit soon," I spoke to myself as the smoke thickened. "I hope that Yuwon can hold on until then."
I walked into the southern corridor. The ground beneath my boots started to tremble. Cracks hairlined the concrete. The maze groaned, the way a thing with too many secrets grieves.
'Some bargains buy time. Some buy mercy. Yet i have no idea what this bargain had bought.'
I thought, making my way towards the exit.