Tyson looked coldly down at her. “Still think you and your pet can handle this place? He should be good at navigation, at the very least, being a dog. It was your idea to enter.”
Before Katie could retort, Koran raised his voice. “Will you stop it? Just stop. The first thing I get to hear from you since I saved Katie’s life, and yours, is how I am just some son of a bitch who deserves nothing more than to be dumped outside in the cold rain and mud! I don’t know what your problem is, but I suggest you figure it out. I have dealt with enough of your trash talk, and soon I won’t hold back my anger.”
“You don’t get it,” Tyson said, seething, but he didn’t raise his voice; it stayed quite steady, though still cold. “Ever since you’ve shown up, I’ve been through hell, my life is constantly threatened. There hasn’t been one day since I met you where I had a chance to rest and be happy. You’re just another part of this messed-up world.”
“Your life hasn’t been easy since you got here. It has nothing to do with me,” replied Koran. “You don’t belong here. She does,” he said, pointing to Katie. “When you first arrived, you were on the outskirts of the planet. There wasn’t much danger there. The more you ventured, the more danger you came across.”
Koran glared at Tyson, who said nothing.
“I think part of your problem is that you know you don’t belong, you know you’re different,” Koran went on. “And you hate that. The truth is, if I hadn’t come along, you’d be dead by now, and probably Katie too. I’ve saved your life more than once. It’s time you appreciate that.”
Still, Tyson didn’t respond.
“This world was a lot better before Nayara started taking over,” said Koran. “I am truly sorry that this is your first impression of Narque. If only you could have seen it in its former glory. You probably would have liked it.”
“For all I know, you’re lying,” said Tyson.
“Shut up.”
Tyson stopped talking. He removed his glare at Koran and looked down at Katie. Her presence caught him off guard for a moment.
“Just stop talking, both of you,” Katie said, standing up. “We don’t have the time to fight right now. We need to find a way out of here. At least try. That way, if we don’t make it, at least we spent our time trying, instead of fighting with each other. We aren’t each other’s enemies. Right now, this city is.”
“You’re one to talk,” said Tyson. “A minute ago–”
Tyson’s voice faltered under Katie’s piercing gaze.
“We’re leaving now. With or without you, Tyson,” Katie said and took the lead once more. Tyson and Koran, both embarrassed and feeling slightly ashamed, followed her. Neither of them said another word.
Another ten minutes passed before Katie saw it; ahead of her was a gate. The light was gleaming towards them, welcoming a safe return. Excited, Katie picked up her pace but was soon discouraged when she realized that they had ended up exactly where they started.
From a distance, Katie had thought that the gate was a way out, but it was only the large gates that had locked them in.
“Let’s turn back,” Katie said before the other two could say anything. She ran at a semi-slow pace and turned the corner she knew they had just come through. Before her eyes could register what was around her, Katie knew something was different.
She turned a few more corners. The lighting was different here, brighter. Not majorly, but enough to be noticeable. No vines were climbing the walls here, though Katie knew that the other walls were covered in them.
As long as there were no other surprises, no beasts ready to devour them, Katie thought she had just figured out the city.
Another turn and Kati saw the all-too-familiar government-like building.
She stopped and faced Tyson and Koran, both of whom looked exhausted and beat down. Katie paid no attention to the appearance of their condition.
“I think I’ve figured it out,” Katie said. “The city is a maze, a pattern. Depending on which way we go, and how we turn back, it depends on where our path leads us.”
“What do you mean?” Koran asked.
“I mean that somehow, the city changes. If we go down one street, cut a corner or two, and then double back, we will end up on a different street,” Katie explained. “I think that’s why it looks like we have made it somewhere, only to find ourselves back where we began.”
There was silence for a few moments while Tyson and Koran registered what Katie was saying. Then Tyson said, “Lead the way.”
Katie did. She went down the street that she knew would take her back to the gate. Within a few minutes, they were at the gate again. They turned around just as the bell struck again, and the number six appeared on the ground. Katie ignored the ringing bells. She had new hope. She could survive. They all could.
Once more, they ended back up at the old building. But this time Katie got more excited, rather than discouraged. She looked at the five pillars of the building.
Without another word, Katie led them back the same way. They reached the large gate and turned back, though Katie was careful to take another turn. She ran faster and faster. Katie thought she might slip but never did. She felt like she was on fire; she had it figured out.
This time she knew that she guessed right. Katie noticed that there were designs on the walls this time. No vines, no lack of vines, but intricate drawings. Katie couldn’t make out any of them. But Katie knew that they were on a new route, and that was all that mattered.
Again
