Things were... better now. Carol took a deep breath, one hand tracing the wall, and followed the turn to the left. There was a pattern, the Minotaur had told her. A pattern to the turns that would take her into the center of the Labyrinth, where the exit was. There was also a pattern to where the monsters tended to hide, though they could move, and often did.
The Minotaur, once he'd put his ax away, had actually been a very decent fellow, and while he couldn't actually tell her how to get out of this place, he had been able to give her some solid pointers.
Pick a wall and stick with it. Don't second-guess yourself, just go for it. No matter which wall you pick, you'll eventually reach a place that will help you. If you last that long, then you'll do just fine.
For a bull-man, he had a nice smile. Carol shook her left hand a little, then returned to trailing her fingers lightly along the stone. It made her hand tingle, after a while, but it was good to have some idea of what she was doing in here. Her main priorities would be food, water, and weapons. Anything else was more or less extra.
She had asked him if he wasn't supposed to be the scary thing in the center of the Labyrinth, like in the old stories, but the Minotaur had laughed.
Maybe back in the old days that's what it was like, but the Guardian position is managed by the Sphinx, and he's more interested in keeping you lot alive than in feeding you to the monsters.
That was comforting, in a lot of ways.
Something moved in the shadows ahead, and Carol paused a moment, trying to figure out what it was. There were gaps between the torches on the walls, wherein shadows collected like discarded laundry in the corners of her bedroom. Ahead of her, near the next corner (not all of them were right angles, which was a relief, but a large proportion of them were). The person or monster in the corridor ahead wasn't as big as the Manticore or even as large as the Minotaur. More human-shaped, but somehow too... long.
While she stood there, trying to figure out whether or not the figure ahead was a threat, it started to move toward her, and she realized immediately that there was something off about the way that the thing moved. Well, by "off," she meant "not human." Rather than walking, like the Minotaur had, or like she did, it - there was no other word for it - glided. She heard the dry rasp of scales against stone, and felt the memory as though it were a physical thing, pushing at the back of her mind in an urgent plea for attention. Standing in the sun with her father, leaning over the pile of rocks, listening to the snakes nesting inside, hiding from them because they were big and loud. It was the same sound.
Hear that, Carrie? That means there are snakes in there. They might be rattlers, and that could be bad for you and me, right love?
Carol felt herself react, even though she hadn't actually thought through what that meant. If there was a snake that big in here, then it could eat her whole, and could probably move faster than her in any case. Already she was turning, starting to flee -
"Wait!" The voice brought her to a standstill. It was sweet and young and not at all what she expected from a man-eating monster. Carol half turned, looking over her shoulder at the approaching monster and wondering to herself if this was smart at all. Was anything in here safe? The Minotaur had been alright....
"Please, do you know where I can find water?" The figure was moving into the light now, and she saw that the monster was a young woman from the waist up, clean and well-dressed. Her face was heart-shaped, but the large, dark eyes were concerned, the pale brow furrowed with concern. From the waist down, though, or at least what Carol could see below the hem of the girl's long brown tunic (belted tastefully just under her bust - she would need to remember that style if she ever got out of here) there were large, overlapping scales and a single sinuous tail, weaving to and fro on the smooth stones as she slithered nearer. Some kind of a snake monster, but not a monster in the way that Carol had ever used the word before now. The woman stayed where she was, torn by indecision. How was she supposed to deal with this?
"Um... no. I haven't found any water yet." Carol was surprised to note that her voice didn't shake at all, which was a nice change from the squeaking and unintentional screaming that she'd subjected her listeners to earlier. The snake-girl stopped, looking disappointed.
"I was hoping someone would know where the water was," she admitted, and her tone was so downcast that Carol found herself taking a step toward her, wanting to comfort the poor girl. She didn't sound much older then fourteen or fifteen, though she looked older than that. Maybe she was an "early bloomer," as her mother would have said. Younger than she looked.
"The ones that know where the water is won't tell you, that's for sure," she pointed out with a faint smile. "But maybe we can help each other. You came from that direction and didn't see any water, right?" Carol pointed unnecessarily back the way the snake-girl had come. The girl nodded uncertainly. "Which turns were you taking?"
At this, the snake-girl recoiled a little, looking more than a little nervous. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, did you always turn left, or did you always turn right?" Carol was beginning to think that the girl was in the same position that she herself had been in until a few minutes ago, running blindly through the maze, looking for a safe place.
Before the girl could answer, there was a low hiss from the way she had come. In a moment, something low and scuttly, with too many legs, rounded the corner and started toward them, hissing excitedly.
"Run!" Carol didn't hang around to see if her new companion had taken her advice. Pivoting toward the way she'd come, a decision passed briefly through her mind to just skip this turning for now. If necessary, she could backtrack later. She'd almost made it to the second corner when she heard the scream. She knew that sound. It was the sound of a girl in pain. She'd been making that sound not very long ago, when she was face to face with a Manticore. Carol skidded to a halt and looked back. The snake-girl, face contorted with pain, was straining to get away from the thing with too many legs - a thing which was holding her tail between its pincers.
There was a moment of agonizing indecision, where she wasn't sure what to do. But she knew what Jake would do, if he were here in her place. With a groan and a feeling of imminent pain, Carol turned back and started running toward the monster. She had clearly just lost whatever marbles she'd had. But at least she was losing them for a good cause. As she passed the girl's upper half, still leaning forward and straining against the weight holding her back, Carol saw the look of stunned surprise on her face, her mouth partially open and showing several sharp teeth. Then Carol was past her, pelting along beside the length of her huge, scaly tail. The monster that was holding her looked something like a crab, with wicked claws and a weirdly leonine face. What was it with Greek monsters and having faces that didn't belong to them?
A second after that somewhat disturbing thought went through her mind, she collided with the beast, which was apparently just as surprised as the girl it was holding, because it didn't immediately move to attack her. Instead, as she collided with it, it released the snake tail it had been holding, and flipped over backwards, landing with a weird, unpleasant crunch on its back.
Unfortunately, Carol's forward momentum threw her forward with the monster, and she landed on its belly, between the flailing, claws legs. The monster shrieked, making her ears ring and her head ache, and the many-jointed legs curled in on her, its claws catching at her clothes and hair and slicing into the first layers of her skin. When it realized that she was there (which took about as long as it took Carol to realize this had been an absolutely terrible idea) the monster started to claw at her more intentionally, digging the razor points deeper into her flesh. And just as Carol started to fill her lungs for a proper scream, hoping to stun the creature long enough to wriggle free, a pair of hands grabbed her legs, and she felt herself yanked free.
Carol slid off the monster's belly with a very undignified noise that wasn't really a scream and definitely wasn't a squeak (but it sounded a lot like a squeak). Then she was looking up into the face of the snake girl, who was pale and scared-looking.
"Run," wheezed Carol, whose eyes were starting to water with pain. She felt like she'd done a swan-dive into a blackberry thicket, and none of this was at all helpful to getting on her feet and moving. The snake girl, though, was surprisingly helpful, pulling her upright and starting them moving away from the monster. When Carol glanced over her shoulder, the thing's legs were still waving frantically in the air, and it was squealing like a wounded rabbit.
When they were far enough away from it that they couldn't hear the horrendous noise it was making, Carol stumbled to a stop and leaned against the wall. "Okay. Okay. I need time to breathe. And figure out what we're doing, other than wandering aimlessly through a giant maze, looking for food and water."
"I don't think trying to avoid getting eaten is completely aimless," muttered the snake-girl, looking a little defensive.
Carol might have replied, but they were interrupted by something she hadn't at all expected to hear in this place. Music. She glanced at her companion, half checking to see if she heard it too, and half warning her to be silent. It seemed the second was completely superfluous, but it was better to make extra sure than to not and regret it later.
Drifting on the still air, the sound of strings being plucked in what might have been an African sort of rhythm reached them faintly from afar. Honestly, Carol couldn't identify it, but it sounded like something she might hear in a restaurant, playing in the background under other peoples' conversations. She glanced at the snake-girl again and raised her eyebrows.
"Think we should check it out?" she asked in a hushed whisper. Rather than answering yes or no, the snake girl just looked uncertain.
"Are you sure it would be safe?" Her rebuttal was completely legitimate.
"No more unsafe than staying here, I think," Carol decided, and nodded a little. "Come on, then. We'll just... stay quiet."
"Like we would do anything else."
They traded a quick smile. Carol was somewhat surprised to find that she already regarded this half-snake person as a friend. Trauma bonded people in unusual ways. As silently as they could manage, the two girls moved along the corridor, following the sound of the music. Rounding another corner cautiously, they heard some sort of breathy reed instrument (a wooden flute, maybe?) join the tune, underscoring a melody that seemed more and more like a lullaby. When the woman noticed that she was beginning to have trouble keeping her eyes open, she started to suspect the music was bad.
"You feeling tired?" she asked, and muffled a huge yawn. It had been a long day, and it wasn't even sundown yet. At least, she didn't think it was. It didn't feel like it. Then again, that was a ridiculous thought - who knew if this crazy place even had a sun? They were underground. "This music is... funny...." Carol trailed off into silence and found that she was standing still. When had that happened? The snake-girl (she really needed a name, but they hadn't really had time for introductions) was ahead of her now, and turned back to look at her with a frown. Then, in growing alarm, she slithered back, her eyes wide in her pale face, one hand outstretched.
"Don't go to sleep! This place isn't safe for sleeping!"
Wasn't safe for anything. Silly girl. Carol swayed a little, disoriented by how sleepy she felt. The girl's hand on her arm steadied her a little, but didn't rouse her tired mind at all.
"It's the music. It's making you tired. Come on - we need to get away."
As the girl pulled her away from the music, half supporting her weight and half propelling her along on her own legs, Carol wondered to herself if the trap had been laid for humans alone, or if this was simply a fluke that snake-people weren't affected.
"You will find another ally." The voice was familiar, and Carol searched her mind for the memory. Something about cheesecake? She staggered and fell as the girl released her suddenly, and the stone floor slammed painfully against the side of her face, momentarily waking her again. With a yelp of pain, she rolled up into a sitting position and cradled the side of her scraped face, wincing.
"Sorry." The snake girl bent down to help her up again. "I didn't mean to- I mean... that voice startled me and I-"
"Do not worry, little one. You will find a new ally." The voice spoke again, nearer this time. The music swelled, and Carol was swamped with sudden drowsiness. Vaguely, she thought she saw a figure approaching from down the hall. The snake girl's long tail coiled around Carol's waist, and for some reason this didn't make her at all nervous. She knew, in the way a dreamer knows, that she was only trying to protect her.
"What are you going to do with her?"
"I am here to take her out of the Labyrinth. Her freedom has been won for her by one dear to her."
"And... what about me?"
Maybe it was Carol's imagination. The girl's tone was almost painfully wistful. She felt bad for her. She didn't want to leave her behind.
"Your cunning will serve you well. Water is near. Do not lose hope." Something heavy and soft came to rest on her shoulder. A paw. A really big paw. Carol blinked sleepily up at the figure. The Sphinx. With the collar. She blinked again, and this time things wouldn't come into focus. It would be so much easier not to fight it anymore. Carol let her eyes close again and didn't bother trying to open them again. He was taking her out of here. Someone had rescued her. Jake? She hoped so.
The paws lifted her, and she was so close to sleep, she didn't even think that lions couldn't carry things like that.
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