AuroraElis
02-07-2018, 09:26 PM
<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Josefin+Salb|Sacramento" rel="stylesheet"><style type="text/css">.AEQuest_container {position: relative;z-index: 1;width: 450px;padding: 15px;background: #8ea9ac ;box-shadow: 0 0 2em; border: 5px solid RGB(129,146,124); border-radius: 100px 0px 0px;}.AEQuest_container p {margin: 0;}.AEQuest_image {height: 550px; border: 5px solid RGB(129,146,124); border-radius: 100px 0px 0px}.AEQuest_message {text-align: justify;font: 18px 'Sans Serif', serif;padding: 5px 2px;color: #492d20;background-color: #8ea9ac;border-top: 2px solid #3c4838;border-bottom: 2px solid #3c4838;}.AEQuest_name {text-align: left;font: 40px 'Sacramento', cursive;color: #3c4838;padding: 0px 15px;text-shadow: 0px 0px 3px gray;}.AEQuest_quote {text-align: center;font: 14px 'Josefin Slab', cursive;color: #3c4848;padding: 1;}</style><center><div class="AEQuest_container"><img class="AEQuest_image" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/f3/99/fb/f399fbc4c1f75705afffaf2c7f7534ae.jpg"><p class="AEQuest_name">AuroraElis</p><p class="AEQuest_message">An adrenaline filled thrust, opening the planked door, sends her spilling onto the malleable ground on the far side. It slams shut behind her, jolting a gasp from her lungs. No, no ,no, she pleads mentally. Her knees were bloody and bruised from her undetermined length of captivity. Dragging her body to the nearest solid foundation, she uses it as leverage to pull herself up. Sobbing quietly as each movement is met with agonizing pain. Supporting herself against a cool stone wall with her clenched knuckles, she looks around frantically. Noticing the tattered clothing she wears is not her own and she wonders where she had acquired them. In the dim lighting casted by two torches, she can see the rips in the clothing as well as the bruises covering her forearms. She wants to cry but time is ticking, 7 minutes…
Memories escape her and she believes each word the man had rambled to her about being drugged. Deep down though she can’t help but feel she has been here before, looking at the same three passageways. She hears a faint clank of metal which startles her to lunge forward. Stumbling to one of the torches and lifting it from its holster. She looks down each dark corridor, squinting to make sense of where the paths could lead. The middle passageway seems straight and clear. Her instincts tell her to be cautious and when the flame flickers a bit brighter she finds a bloodly handprint just inside the entrance. A shiver crawls up her spine. Eyes shifting to her own palm. Twisting it upward she sees a fresh slit across it. Her brow furrows in thought, had she marked the entrance of the wrong path?
She decides to try the path to the right. The yellow glow of light illuminates the shadows and what she sees sends her reeling backwards. Torch dimming as it hits the sand and extinguishes. Scrambling feet push her to the far end of the chamber, beside the left entrance. Labored breaths come and go as she remembers the past. The zoo, the accident, the security guard. How did this happen? He was dressed in his uniform still but decomposed to the point of no facial recognition. It had to be him, she tells herself. Again, she staggers to her feet. 5 minutes…
Grasping the second torch between the left and middle tunnels, she winces to see what could possibly be down this path. The ground ignites with an elaborate sparkle as prisms capture the light and cast it outwards. A whimpered gasp rises in her throat as she realizes the ground is covered thick in shards of glass. Tears pool at the corners of her eyes as she realizes this was a path she had not traveled yet. Why would she? Turning the light to the walls she sees no bloody markings and if she had passed here before surely there would be blood covering the glass pieces. Gritting her teeth she knows what she must do. Ripping at her ragged clothing she tears lengthy pieces off and begins wrapping them around her feet. It wouldn’t protect them completely, but every little bit helps. 3 minutes...
With as much haste as possible she gingerly steps into the left passage. Biting down hard she tries not to scream in pain as shard after shard presses into her feet. Some stick into her flesh and dig even deeper as her next step is made. The grip she held on the wooden torch grew more intense with each staggered stride. Her eyes pooled with tears, fogging her vision even more. When would the torture end? She cries internally, begging the Gods to save her.
When finally her foot lands upon sand and not glass she gasps in relief. Collapsing to the ground with a desperate cry, she reaches gently for her feet. The torch, fallen beside her, still burns and shows her the extent of the damage. “Owwwww,” she wails between sobs. She reaches to pull a piece of glass from her foot that had penetrated past the layers of fabric. As she extracts it blood soaks the strips of cloth tight against her skin. With any luck it would keep the wound clean and stop the bleeding faster. She continues to pull any remaining glass from her feet before pulling her body towards the hell she just endured. A larger shard may come into use later, she thinks. Taking another strip of the jumpsuit she wraps the base of the shard into a makeshift shank. Then turning to look down the remaining passage she sees nothing but darkness. 0 minutes...
Clank, the sudden noise quickens her heartbeat. With it comes a tingling sensation at the back of her neck. Fumbling in the sands she grabs for the torch and forces herself to stand quickly. Fingers scurry threw her tangled blonde hair to brush across a scar. Pressing on to it she feels something hard under her skin. Her thoughts spin as she makes sense of what it could possibly be. Horrified of her realization, she sharply inhales, “He’s tracking me!” Her hands begin to shake, one holds the torch as the other holds the shank. Her eyes slide to her weapon in thought and its followed by an exhausted huff. Setting the torch in the sand, she raises the sharp piece of glass. Using her free hand she brushes her hair to the side and finds the lump with her fingers. Carefully she brings the shard to meet her free hand. Both begin to shake as she presses the blade into her skin. Cutting away the scarred flesh and using her fingers to dig the tracking device from her neck. Blood covers her hands, but she finds the tiny device in the dim light. Deciding she may need it, she tucks it into the strip of cloth of her shank handle.
Adrenaline dulls the excruciating pain as she stumbles down the dark hall. Brushing against cold walls of stones. A time or two she nearly falls over herself but regains balance using the wall as a crutch. The path twists sharply to the right and then back to the left. As she comes around the corner, a deep rumble echoes from the shadows. She stops abruptly and brings the torch in front of her to light the way. Squinting her eyes, she struggle to find a source of the noise. Until a quick flash of movement and gold causes her to stumble backwards and against the far wall. A screech escapes her lips. Sharp teeth and claws threaten to rip her to pieces as she finds her way is blocked by a young lion. A thick rope, buried in its thin mane, tethers it to a cast iron loop on the far wall. When she discovers it has reached the extent of its leash, and she is just barely out of its reach, she breathes a sigh of relief. It is fleeting though, as she begins to think of how she will get to the next bend of the maze. The creature begins to settle, she is sure she had scared it just as it had scared her. The taut rope loosens as the lion begins to pace back into the darkness. She cant help but notice the display of scars riddled across its hide. Her eyes soften, sympathizing with the great cat. She knew the feeling of being trapped very well.
She knows her time is drained and the man who held her here would soon catch up to her but she can't just leave the lion to its fate here. She notes that the rope is in a dragged loop in the sand and if she can manage to sneak up to it, she could cut him free. The thought of what the then loose beast would do to her crosses her mind, but she dismisses it. Can't be any worse than what she was enduring already. Another idea sparked in her mind just then. The tracking device, she could embed it in the rope remaining tied around the creatures neck. Hopefully leading the hunter away and allowing her more time.
With a deep breath she sticks the torch into the sand. She tiptoes towards the rope laying on the ground halfway down the hall. If the cat should lunge back at her it would be too late to save herself. The pain of each movement courses through her body but she makes it and kneels slowly. The shank readied in her one hand, the other grabbing onto the rope. She begins to slice through the threads with the sharp edge of glass. Her eyes look up to find the cat watching her. Its yellow eyes glowing against the light of the torch. “Its ok...Im going to help you get out of here,” she whispers softly. With a few more passes of the knife, she slices through. Her fingers dig quickly for the tracker that she had tucked into the shreds of fabrics of the blade. Finding it, she presses it firmly into the intact rope and then begins to rise. Backing away towards the burning light, she grabs it from the sands and wields it in front of her. Waving it towards to creature, quietly yelling, “Get! Shoo! Your free… Run!” The lion stares wide-eyed at the orange flames before lunging off into the darkness.
The events so far wear on her and she is worried to find what is next. As she moves along the hall, she notices a newspaper clipping taped to the wall the lion had been tied to. Holding the light to it, she sees a picture of herself and the guard from the zoo. They had been announced heros that day for saving a man's life. She has read this particular entry before but highlighted on this page is a single sentence that said, “a young boy had died while visiting the zoo on his birthday.” Also highlighted was the day of the incident 06-14-2004. Horror ignites in her eyes as she knows what this all is. Someone was targeting her because of that day. That’s why she had found the guard dead in the other passage, the lion trapped in the maze. It was all coming together, but who would do such a thing, she wonders. Who could hate them this much…?
I know you are here Aurora… I’ll find you, the voice of the wicked man rings in her ears. He was coming for her and quickly. Without thinking much more about it she hurries on down the hall. A few extra passages merge and all she can do is guess which one will lead her to freedom. Little does she know that all of them, at some point circle back to the same spot. An iron door centered in a small nook in the stone wall. She rushes to it. Pulling at the handle but it doesn’t budge. There is a chain preventing the door from opening and a padlock binding it together. She drops the shank to the ground and turning the lock in her hand. Using the dimming light of the torch, she sees that she needs 8 numbers. “Uuuughhhh,” she groans yanking at the chain, “Why?!!” She shouts in frustration. Her hand fumbles with the lock again, 8 numbers....
She tries a series of numbers, 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8. Still locked, 8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1. Nope. She thinks harder, 8 numbers… A date! She gasps with excitement as she flips the numbers into the combination lock, 0.6.1.4.2.0.0.4. Pulling hastily downwards the lock snaps open. Her fingers unravel the lock from chain and then pull at the door.
Creak, she swings it cautiously open. Not knowing what or who would be on the other side. She stands silent for a moment. Grasping the torch and pushing it through the opening. Her eyes search frantically for any movement. She holds her breath to hear the slightest of sounds. All she can managed to hear is the own beating of her heart in her eardrums. Bada Bada Bada. Without warning a hand reaches from inside the doorway and grips her arm. She screams and begins to struggle against the pull on her. The torch drops from her hands as she clings to the door frame. She pleads desperately, “No! Please No! Let me go! I’m sorry!!”
Sorry for what Aurora?! Killing my son! The man's voice is heated as he retains his grip on her arm. Thought you could fool me with the lion, didn’t you?! But I knew you’d figure out the clue and piece the puzzle together. Now my sons birthdate will be burned in your memory for the rest of your miserable life! Her eyes behold the mans face in the fading orange glow. Anger creased fine lines in his features as he spat profanities at her. Accusations that she could have done more. That she could have saved the boy from his fate. She begins her plight, “I. I...m sorry. I didn’t.” His voice raising again, Yeah thats right Aurora you DIDN’T do anything! He begins to pull her across the dark room. Her eyes look for any clue to where she was and where he was taking her. A flash of red ignites on the wall, and she knows where she is. She’s back at the beginning. A whirlwind of thoughts explode in her mind as he tugs her to the wooden planked door, “NO! Not again, please.” He yanks her arm, throwing her back into the maze. I’ll make it 8 minutes this time! A malicious cackle erupts from the man as he slams the door shut behind her.</p><p class="AEQuest_quote">Not all that glitters is gold</p></div></center>
Word count: 2,309 (the most I've probably ever written) XD
Memories escape her and she believes each word the man had rambled to her about being drugged. Deep down though she can’t help but feel she has been here before, looking at the same three passageways. She hears a faint clank of metal which startles her to lunge forward. Stumbling to one of the torches and lifting it from its holster. She looks down each dark corridor, squinting to make sense of where the paths could lead. The middle passageway seems straight and clear. Her instincts tell her to be cautious and when the flame flickers a bit brighter she finds a bloodly handprint just inside the entrance. A shiver crawls up her spine. Eyes shifting to her own palm. Twisting it upward she sees a fresh slit across it. Her brow furrows in thought, had she marked the entrance of the wrong path?
She decides to try the path to the right. The yellow glow of light illuminates the shadows and what she sees sends her reeling backwards. Torch dimming as it hits the sand and extinguishes. Scrambling feet push her to the far end of the chamber, beside the left entrance. Labored breaths come and go as she remembers the past. The zoo, the accident, the security guard. How did this happen? He was dressed in his uniform still but decomposed to the point of no facial recognition. It had to be him, she tells herself. Again, she staggers to her feet. 5 minutes…
Grasping the second torch between the left and middle tunnels, she winces to see what could possibly be down this path. The ground ignites with an elaborate sparkle as prisms capture the light and cast it outwards. A whimpered gasp rises in her throat as she realizes the ground is covered thick in shards of glass. Tears pool at the corners of her eyes as she realizes this was a path she had not traveled yet. Why would she? Turning the light to the walls she sees no bloody markings and if she had passed here before surely there would be blood covering the glass pieces. Gritting her teeth she knows what she must do. Ripping at her ragged clothing she tears lengthy pieces off and begins wrapping them around her feet. It wouldn’t protect them completely, but every little bit helps. 3 minutes...
With as much haste as possible she gingerly steps into the left passage. Biting down hard she tries not to scream in pain as shard after shard presses into her feet. Some stick into her flesh and dig even deeper as her next step is made. The grip she held on the wooden torch grew more intense with each staggered stride. Her eyes pooled with tears, fogging her vision even more. When would the torture end? She cries internally, begging the Gods to save her.
When finally her foot lands upon sand and not glass she gasps in relief. Collapsing to the ground with a desperate cry, she reaches gently for her feet. The torch, fallen beside her, still burns and shows her the extent of the damage. “Owwwww,” she wails between sobs. She reaches to pull a piece of glass from her foot that had penetrated past the layers of fabric. As she extracts it blood soaks the strips of cloth tight against her skin. With any luck it would keep the wound clean and stop the bleeding faster. She continues to pull any remaining glass from her feet before pulling her body towards the hell she just endured. A larger shard may come into use later, she thinks. Taking another strip of the jumpsuit she wraps the base of the shard into a makeshift shank. Then turning to look down the remaining passage she sees nothing but darkness. 0 minutes...
Clank, the sudden noise quickens her heartbeat. With it comes a tingling sensation at the back of her neck. Fumbling in the sands she grabs for the torch and forces herself to stand quickly. Fingers scurry threw her tangled blonde hair to brush across a scar. Pressing on to it she feels something hard under her skin. Her thoughts spin as she makes sense of what it could possibly be. Horrified of her realization, she sharply inhales, “He’s tracking me!” Her hands begin to shake, one holds the torch as the other holds the shank. Her eyes slide to her weapon in thought and its followed by an exhausted huff. Setting the torch in the sand, she raises the sharp piece of glass. Using her free hand she brushes her hair to the side and finds the lump with her fingers. Carefully she brings the shard to meet her free hand. Both begin to shake as she presses the blade into her skin. Cutting away the scarred flesh and using her fingers to dig the tracking device from her neck. Blood covers her hands, but she finds the tiny device in the dim light. Deciding she may need it, she tucks it into the strip of cloth of her shank handle.
Adrenaline dulls the excruciating pain as she stumbles down the dark hall. Brushing against cold walls of stones. A time or two she nearly falls over herself but regains balance using the wall as a crutch. The path twists sharply to the right and then back to the left. As she comes around the corner, a deep rumble echoes from the shadows. She stops abruptly and brings the torch in front of her to light the way. Squinting her eyes, she struggle to find a source of the noise. Until a quick flash of movement and gold causes her to stumble backwards and against the far wall. A screech escapes her lips. Sharp teeth and claws threaten to rip her to pieces as she finds her way is blocked by a young lion. A thick rope, buried in its thin mane, tethers it to a cast iron loop on the far wall. When she discovers it has reached the extent of its leash, and she is just barely out of its reach, she breathes a sigh of relief. It is fleeting though, as she begins to think of how she will get to the next bend of the maze. The creature begins to settle, she is sure she had scared it just as it had scared her. The taut rope loosens as the lion begins to pace back into the darkness. She cant help but notice the display of scars riddled across its hide. Her eyes soften, sympathizing with the great cat. She knew the feeling of being trapped very well.
She knows her time is drained and the man who held her here would soon catch up to her but she can't just leave the lion to its fate here. She notes that the rope is in a dragged loop in the sand and if she can manage to sneak up to it, she could cut him free. The thought of what the then loose beast would do to her crosses her mind, but she dismisses it. Can't be any worse than what she was enduring already. Another idea sparked in her mind just then. The tracking device, she could embed it in the rope remaining tied around the creatures neck. Hopefully leading the hunter away and allowing her more time.
With a deep breath she sticks the torch into the sand. She tiptoes towards the rope laying on the ground halfway down the hall. If the cat should lunge back at her it would be too late to save herself. The pain of each movement courses through her body but she makes it and kneels slowly. The shank readied in her one hand, the other grabbing onto the rope. She begins to slice through the threads with the sharp edge of glass. Her eyes look up to find the cat watching her. Its yellow eyes glowing against the light of the torch. “Its ok...Im going to help you get out of here,” she whispers softly. With a few more passes of the knife, she slices through. Her fingers dig quickly for the tracker that she had tucked into the shreds of fabrics of the blade. Finding it, she presses it firmly into the intact rope and then begins to rise. Backing away towards the burning light, she grabs it from the sands and wields it in front of her. Waving it towards to creature, quietly yelling, “Get! Shoo! Your free… Run!” The lion stares wide-eyed at the orange flames before lunging off into the darkness.
The events so far wear on her and she is worried to find what is next. As she moves along the hall, she notices a newspaper clipping taped to the wall the lion had been tied to. Holding the light to it, she sees a picture of herself and the guard from the zoo. They had been announced heros that day for saving a man's life. She has read this particular entry before but highlighted on this page is a single sentence that said, “a young boy had died while visiting the zoo on his birthday.” Also highlighted was the day of the incident 06-14-2004. Horror ignites in her eyes as she knows what this all is. Someone was targeting her because of that day. That’s why she had found the guard dead in the other passage, the lion trapped in the maze. It was all coming together, but who would do such a thing, she wonders. Who could hate them this much…?
I know you are here Aurora… I’ll find you, the voice of the wicked man rings in her ears. He was coming for her and quickly. Without thinking much more about it she hurries on down the hall. A few extra passages merge and all she can do is guess which one will lead her to freedom. Little does she know that all of them, at some point circle back to the same spot. An iron door centered in a small nook in the stone wall. She rushes to it. Pulling at the handle but it doesn’t budge. There is a chain preventing the door from opening and a padlock binding it together. She drops the shank to the ground and turning the lock in her hand. Using the dimming light of the torch, she sees that she needs 8 numbers. “Uuuughhhh,” she groans yanking at the chain, “Why?!!” She shouts in frustration. Her hand fumbles with the lock again, 8 numbers....
She tries a series of numbers, 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8. Still locked, 8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1. Nope. She thinks harder, 8 numbers… A date! She gasps with excitement as she flips the numbers into the combination lock, 0.6.1.4.2.0.0.4. Pulling hastily downwards the lock snaps open. Her fingers unravel the lock from chain and then pull at the door.
Creak, she swings it cautiously open. Not knowing what or who would be on the other side. She stands silent for a moment. Grasping the torch and pushing it through the opening. Her eyes search frantically for any movement. She holds her breath to hear the slightest of sounds. All she can managed to hear is the own beating of her heart in her eardrums. Bada Bada Bada. Without warning a hand reaches from inside the doorway and grips her arm. She screams and begins to struggle against the pull on her. The torch drops from her hands as she clings to the door frame. She pleads desperately, “No! Please No! Let me go! I’m sorry!!”
Sorry for what Aurora?! Killing my son! The man's voice is heated as he retains his grip on her arm. Thought you could fool me with the lion, didn’t you?! But I knew you’d figure out the clue and piece the puzzle together. Now my sons birthdate will be burned in your memory for the rest of your miserable life! Her eyes behold the mans face in the fading orange glow. Anger creased fine lines in his features as he spat profanities at her. Accusations that she could have done more. That she could have saved the boy from his fate. She begins her plight, “I. I...m sorry. I didn’t.” His voice raising again, Yeah thats right Aurora you DIDN’T do anything! He begins to pull her across the dark room. Her eyes look for any clue to where she was and where he was taking her. A flash of red ignites on the wall, and she knows where she is. She’s back at the beginning. A whirlwind of thoughts explode in her mind as he tugs her to the wooden planked door, “NO! Not again, please.” He yanks her arm, throwing her back into the maze. I’ll make it 8 minutes this time! A malicious cackle erupts from the man as he slams the door shut behind her.</p><p class="AEQuest_quote">Not all that glitters is gold</p></div></center>
Word count: 2,309 (the most I've probably ever written) XD