CHAPTER 61: THE MAZE

The seaweeds were still coming for her, giving her no time to float there contemplating on whose voice she had just heard.

Aaliyah kicked again and swam higher, gaining closer and closer to the surface. The Vast relief she thought she would get from breathing in after spending such a long time underwater didn’t come.

It never came.

Her head shot out of the water, but she wasn’t even hungry for air. She was only breathing hard because she had swum her hardest, but that was the least of her problems right now given that the water was in rage.

The surface of the water was flowing violently, torrents of waves growing and crashing. It was hard to phantom this because the water was very calm as she had swam up, but suddenly it had become like the raging waters.

The big wave crashed on hit, plummeting her body back under the water again. The force had been unbelievable, almost knocking her out.

And just as she had expected, down here was calm again and she could swim freely. Now she was sure that the waves were meant to trap her in here, giving the seaweeds endless chances to get a hold of her and drag her to the bottom again.

Aaliyah swam up to the surface again, facing the raging seas. The waters crashed like it was the end of the world, and she was sent plummeting down again.

It was very clear now that this would never end. Except if she could manipulate water or teleport from here.

And those options were far from her.

On her third trial, her head came out of the water and she saw another wave about to push her back in when she caught sight of the bank of the sea, with solid land ahead. Before she could celebrate on it, she had fallen back into the water with the weed all over her legs.

Once again, she had torn them off her.

As she did, Aaliyah saw something strange on her hand. She thought something was stuck to her arms at first close to her elbows but she then touched and felt that they were part of her skin. It was new and uncanny as she had never noticed any outgrowths on her skin until now...and they sort of resembled the fins of a fish.

As she swam toward the direction of where she had seen the island, she heard some movement behind her that was different from the flapping sounds the seaweed made and turned to find another contestant there.

She was the other female in the competition. The witch.

And her whole body from her toes to her neck where being squeezed and shackled by the seaweed while she struggled hopelessly against their tight hold. Apart from the weed, the witch was also looking completely breathless and was slowly suffocating.

She looked like she had greatly suffered, and Aaliyah could see her movements wavering and slowly down as the exhaustion and lack of air overwhelmed her.

As the witch’s eyes closed softly, she could only feel the seaweeds being ripped off her body before her arm was grabbed and her body pulled around the water.

By the time the witch opened her eyes again, water shot out of her mouth and she quickly sat up to let out all the water. The only thing she caught was quick footprints that had sprinted away the moment she opened her eyes, making her understand that whoever it was had not only saved her from the raging waters but had also assisted her with compressions to save her from drowning.

She could smell the scent of a human in the air.

Well... not very human-like. What was the deal with the human girl anyway?

.

.

That was a close one. Aaliyah had run away as soon as the witch had started to cough and breathe away. The moment she had climbed into mainland with the witch, the fins and the unbelievable strength to tear the seaweed away had vanished. Aaliyah wouldn’t want to save anyone and end up fighting the person again since they were both contesting...and even after each other’s lives.

It would be bad if she ran into any of them.

Right now, the plentiful turns and corners she had made had her concluding she had stepped into a maze with no sight of the way she had come in anymore as if it had disappeared the second one walked in.

The walls were thick, made of a material that could not even be shattered by a Vampire. It was glass-like and reflective making Aaliyah cringe, recalling how her reflection back in the room had looked bizarre and dragged her into the raging waters.

She kept walking around aimlessly, with no sign of where to go. The long walks and corners were unending, with all her hair standing up as another bad feeling started to creep up her skin.

To prove her right, someone screamed in horror like they were being attacked and Aaliyah looked in the direction where the scream had come from. It was a bit far away, but that didn’t mean her guard wasn’t up already.

It could be one of the contestants who had been attacked by another contestant. Or maybe... something else? Who knows?

Aaliyah’s steps became more controlled and careful, her five senses in full blast of anything that would come her way. At this point, her hearing was so sharp that she could hear the seaweeds moving that were back there in the water, gushing through the streams and waiting for whoever would fall prey again.

Another scream like the last echoed through the entire maze again, and Aaliyah Froze in her steps. The sound of the scream was different from the last, and it was much closer to her than the last.

The feeling of turning around and running away flickered through her head, but she was afraid that would not solve the problem. She was stuck in this maze until she found the way out, and there was no way to run.

Her legs trembled with every step, but she held on strongly and kept her eyes open, trusting in herself.

Her next breath came with a pause, and she stopped walking altogether. The hair on her back was now at its full length, looking up to the sky. Her stomach tumbled and ached as she swallowed in fear, fully aware that she was no longer alone.

There was something hiding behind the corner in front of her, and its presence felt nothing like that of a human, Vampire...or witch.

A creepy laughter echoed around her, bouncing around the glass walls.

Aaliyah was about to step back when she felt another presence lurking in the corners behind her. She was trapped with nowhere to run or climb over with the tall walls of glass that seemed to be touching the sky.

Another creepy laughter of a woman resounded around her.

A ghostly figure ran out toward her, and there was nothing she could do about it. She could only brace herself as it passed her, draining her strength in the process.

Aaliyah felt extremely weakened and fell on her stomach.

The ghost flew over her, laughing in celebration.

Aaliyah lay on her side, about to lose consciousness. Her gaze remained on the glass, concentrating on the sight with her Last strength. She stared at it so hard the voice of the ghost sounded far away.

Lucky was probably on her side, as her sight had just caught something Golden hidden somewhere inside the glasses.

The...Golden Medallion?

Without thinking, she summoned strength and threw out a fist, punching a large hole through the glassed wall. The ghost that had been dancing around here was paralyzed in shock, its ghastly mouth wide open.

The glasses that filled the maze were too thick for even the most powerful Vampire to shatter, and yet...

Aaliyah looked through the hole, but there was nothing there anymore. Instead, another part of the mirror was now reflecting the small Golden color again.

It was confusing, but not for long.

It wasn’t just one wall of mirror that was reflecting the medallion. All the mirrors around her were reflecting it, but that only made it harder to find.

Aaliyah glanced at the ghost, "The Medallion. Where is it?" She asked with a deadpan expression.

The ghost took a retreating step back, and Aaliyah moved forward instantly and covered the distance between them.

The ghost was petrified. It was sure it had pulled all the strength left on her body, so how on earth was she still standing?

"If you do not tell me, I am going to punch you," she threatened, her blue eyes glowing once again, "And I promise you, it is going to hurt a lot," She added, raising her bloody fist at its face.

Ghosts could not speak. So the ghost remained quiet and still, unable to speak nor run away. It was evident in its lifeless eyes that it had messed with the wrong person.

At that moment, quick footsteps approached them right before the other male contestant that looked skinny and pale made a sharp turn, and saw Aaliyah and the ghost standing there.