The Sphinx (Part 6)

Reunion (The End)

The sting of the sand against his face (it was like rug-burn) was enough to keep his mind sharp. He rolled over, ready to kick his attacker away. Then he saw that it was Carol. She was crying, still hugging him tight around the waist and refusing to let go.

"Hey, hey, Carol, it's okay. I'm here. It's all over." He patted her back somewhat awkwardly, uncertain how to deal with this when the dampness from the sand was seeping into his clothes and chilling his shoulders and back.

"I knew you could," she told him, shaking a little, but she lifted her head to smile at him. He felt a jolt when he saw that one side of her neck was all scratched up, like something with claws had been trying to get at her throat. The scratches stretched along her skin and under the collar of her shirt, implying that there were more injuries he couldn't see.

"What happened to you, Carol?" He sat up as well as he could, and sighed with relief when she let go, sitting up with him and shifting into his lap, wrapping her hands around one of his arms.

"The Labyrinth is not a kind place." The Sphinx was standing not far from them, still watching the pair with his fathomless eyes, which seemed to change between orange and gold and pale yellow. A predator's eyes. "I will admit I was surprised that she lasted so long without losing more than a little blood." The Sphinx gave her a solemn nod, but Carol regarded him with more than a little fear in her expression.

"There were monsters in there. Some of them weren't so bad. They just made a lot of noise and tried to scare or surprise me. But the bigger ones..." Carol shuddered again, and Jake put an arm around her, feeling like he was in a dream instead of really finished with this unreal quest. He held her, felt her warm body under his arm, knew that she was safe, and relaxed.

"You're safe now," he assured her quietly. "It's all over, and we can just go home and get those scratches taken care of, alright?" He saw her smile weakly, and felt her warm, soft cheek against his.

"Thank you, Jake. I knew you would do it. I couldn't. The tentacle thing frightened me so much, I just couldn't finish, so I had to leave, and then I couldn't figure out how to go back without scaring myself silly." She sighed, and Jake lifted his head to look at the Sphinx, but the beast was gone. He scanned the beach, frowning a little as he realized what had probably happened.

"I used my boon to get you out of the Labyrinth," he murmured, still holding Carol close to his chest, "and now we're here, instead of home."

"West coast," said Carol with a quiet laugh. "No money, no ID..."

"No shoes," he pointed out ruefully, wiggling his sandy toes. "But at least we're alive. That's definitely something." He joined her in a laugh, and started to get to his feet. She seemed unsteady, but he was more than willing to put an arm around her and keep her close, supporting her. "Do you still have your phone?"

"No. Lost it in the Labyrinth. You?"

"No. I think I lost mine in the tunnels with the giant ground squirrel."

"No one's ever going to believe that."

"Still better to be alive." He gave her a squeeze and a smile, making his way toward the dunes in the hopes that they would find a town or something nearby. From the waves, a scaly green face watched them with interest. It had been a long time since humans had strayed to this part of the world. Perhaps they would stay. It would be good for trade. With a flash of pearly scales, it turned and darted out into the cove to tell the rest of its tribe.

It would be some time before the humans realized that they weren't really home at all.