Page 30 of Twins for the Barbarians

Kharo looks up as we collectively hear a low hum above us. “Or better yet, RUN!”

As soon as the first shot is fired and the laser beam misses my head by mere inches, I run for my life. Kingo bolts. Kharo and Helios move like lightning.

“Holy shit!” I scream as I zigzag in a desperate attempt to avoid the laser beams.

“Keep going! We’re almost out of the danger zone!” Helios gasps.

I’m doing the best I can. Time flutters by me in a haze. Somehow, my body knows what to do without my brain directing it.

Behind me, Kingo cries out in pain. I glance back and see him fall.

“Kingo!” I yell.

“Keep running; get to the next opening,” Kharo replies. “I’ll get him,” he yells, heading back.

Tears prick my eyes, but I keep running. I don’t want to die in this wretched place, but I don’t want to go back, either. We’re so close that I can almost smell victory.

We manage to escape the weapons range with only a few burns on our clothes, but as Kharo drags Kingo over to one side, it becomes clear that he is severely injured. He has a dark hole burned in his side. He moans and wails from the unbearable pain as Kharo sits him up with his back against the wall.

I get on my knees, rummaging through my backpack for one of the first-aid kits each of us is carrying precisely for such a situation. With trembling hands, I manage to take out the burn ointment and start applying it to Kingo’s terrible wound. Sweat drips down his face, and his red eyes glimmer with fear as he looks down, then at me.

“Will I live?” he asks breathlessly. He’s shaking like a leaf.

“Let’s hope so because I still need you, buddy,” I reply and apply the ointment first, followed by a cooling gel and a bandage, pressing gently around the wound for the adhesive to set. He hisses from every touch, but he soldiers through until he’s patched up. “How does it feel?”

Helios and Kharo watch us with furrowed brows, the concern etched so deeply into their features that I’m starting to worry we are, in fact, going to lose Kingo before we get to the end of the maze.

“Like I got shot with a laser beam,” Kingo says, trying to laugh it off, but it’s obvious that he is in a lot of pain. “I didn’t think it would burn like this.”

“We’ll need to monitor him,” Helios says, his voice low as he crouches to get a better look at Kingo’s face. “Do you think you can walk?”

Kingo gives him a sour smirk. “I think I need another minute.”

“You’ve got it,” Kharo says.

“You’re going to be okay,” Helios replies, though I’m not sure he means it just yet. “The upside of laser burns is that the wounds are naturally cauterized if no major blood vessels or organs are hit.”

“I don’t think anything important was hit,” Kingo says, trying to ascertain his own condition. “It hurts like a motherfucker, though.”

“You’re going to be okay,” Helios says again.

I hope so. I really hope so. We can’t lose Kingo. I’m tired of losing people to this madness, especially now that we’re so close to ending it.

My pulse settles as we manage to get Kingo back on his feet. He’s in a lot of pain, but at least he’s still able to move. I help him walk, letting Kharo and Helios lead the way.

14

Helios

Something doesn’t feel right.

We can see the city’s original walls, giant slabs made of black stone dressed in a thick sheet of obsidian from top to bottom. We can no longer see the black mist above. It stretches into the distance but is not directly over the city. We were able to climb atop one of the maze’s walls and used the air-measuring device to sample the bottom of the mist. It’s harmless, only meant to obscure the view from afar. We also noticed sensors mounted atop the maze, likely designed to scramble the signals of any flying crafts. Whoever put this whole system together went to great lengths to keep people away from here.

“I can see why they call it Opal City,” Alicia murmurs as we slowly make our way to the end of the maze—to the city’s gates. “It’s so beautiful.”

“The suns cast splendid reflections at noon,” Kharo says, then frowns as he glances back at the mist. “Then again, that contraption likely obscures most of the visual effects.”

“It’s odd that we haven’t come across any new traps,” I reply, looking around suspiciously.

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