Page 62 of Death Match

Back in the center of the maze, I sucked in as much air as my lungs could hold. What had I found out by that last chunk of memory? Living-Jade was wrapped up in some serious shit. And none of it had been what I had envisioned for my time alive. Part of me longed to know what had happened to her. How had she gotten into this mess?

One thing was for sure. If I had only one Trial left to find and beat in this bad-boy, then that meant I had one more piece of my final memory to experience. I was close to the end—in more ways than one. And I was about to find out how I died.

Almost there. And then, hopefully, I would get the answers to these questions. I would finally figure out who I was.

Determination pushed aside my fears. And a bit of relief came along with it.

I’d lifted fallen ceilings. I’d clung onto a bridge as it fell into a ravine over category five rapids. I’d felt the crushing pain of losing my closest friend…

One more Trial.

It suddenly didn’t sound so bad. I could do this. Then, I’d get all my powers and my memories returned to me.

Not to forget that really cool magic sword.

This time, when I peered up at the sky where I knew Eli and Michael were watching me, the side of my mouth tugged up in a confident half-smile. I wanted them to know that I knew I was capable of finishing strong. I wanted them to know I was all in and ready to take on Hell if I had to in order to beat the Trials.

Let’s do this.

Then, I sprinted forward, toward the new opening in the maze.

The moment I passed the tall walls and stepped into the fog, I was shocked to see an illuminated stone arch standing before me.

Right there. Maybe three feet away.

I glanced around, unsure if what I was seeing what real.

There’s no way it could have been that easy.

Right?

Well…I had sort of skipped the first Trial, hadn’t I? So that had been a lucky break. Maybe this thing was like that? Maybe the maze was cutting me some slack after the last hellish Trial it had put me through?

I eyed the arch suspiciously, unsure how to approach it. What if this was some Indiana Jones shit and spikes were going to pop through the ground when I stepped through? Or a large boulder was about to drop from above and squash me?

Call me skeptical, but I didn’t trust it as much as I wanted to.

Cautiously, I stretched my hand out. When nothing happened immediately, I swiped at the air a bit. Still nothing—besides looking like a fool, I’m sure. I wondered if Michael and Eli were laughing up there at my expense. I would be, if I was watching me.

Then I poked out my boot and tapped the ground while glancing up for any giant rocks. Nope. All clear.

Huh.

Okay, then. I’d take it. It beat hopping across the tops of walls while they were crumbling under my feet.

On tiptoes, I carefully walked over to the arch and glanced over my shoulder to see the rocks shifting behind me to close the opening I had come through. Which was normal—well, normal for this situation.

Now, sealed in the maze again, I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. The familiar rock moving sound hit my eardrums, and I tensed. That newly moved slab of rock wasn’t just sealing me in; it was sliding towards me. Fast, too. Coming at me at full speed, as if the maze was tired of waiting on me to start Trial number four.

With the arch at my back, I only had one way to go.

Without hesitation, I spun around and hopped through, the smoke enveloping me instantly. As the magic took hold, I heard a distant boom of stone colliding with stone, and I winced. I hated that noise. After this, it would probably haunt my dreams.

The maze was not messing around.

When all my senses returned and I opened my eyes, the first thing in my line of sigh was the neon green numbers “8:40” on the alarm clock near my head on the side table. Morning light pushed against the curtains, and I blinked at the sudden brightness.

The pressure on the blankets over me only increased the confines and warmth of the pillow top mattress underneath me. Still groggy with sleep, I tried to close my eyes again, only to be smacked with a realization that shook me wide awake.

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