Fractured Paths

Chapter 20: Fractured Paths

The maze had transformed into a living thing, its walls groaning and shifting as if it were in pain. Every step I took sent tremors through the ground, and I could feel the fragment inside me responding—humming with the same volatile energy I had only just begun to grasp.

Kai moved ahead of me, his steps sharp and deliberate, his pale blue eyes scanning every shifting corner of the maze as if he were expecting it to turn on us at any moment. His movements were fluid, instinctual, as if he had been navigating this kind of danger for longer than he let on. I followed, my body still aching from the strain of the fragment's power, but stopping wasn't an option—not with everything falling apart around us.

"We need to keep moving," Kai muttered, his voice taut with urgency. "This place is unstable. It won't hold much longer."

The metallic plates beneath our feet shifted again, groaning as the walls seemed to narrow and close in on us. The air was thick, heavy, like it was pushing against my lungs. Distant echoes reached my ears—voices, footsteps—coming from somewhere deeper in the maze, but the sound was disorienting, as if the walls were warping the noise, playing tricks on us.

"What's happening to the others?" I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper, afraid of the answer. "The ones who've touched the fragments?"

Kai glanced at me, his expression grim. "Some are like you—struggling to control it. But others… they weren't so lucky."

We turned a corner, and that's when I saw them.

Two children, huddled against the wall, their bodies trembling violently. One of them, a girl with tangled black hair, had her eyes squeezed shut, hands clutching her head like she was trying to block out something inside her mind. The other, a boy, sat slumped against the cold wall, his vacant eyes staring ahead. His skin shimmered faintly with the same eerie glow I had seen in the fragment—an unsettling, unnatural light.

"They've lost themselves," Kai said softly, his voice carrying an undercurrent of something I couldn't quite identify. Was it pity? Or fear? Maybe both.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" I asked, the words feeling thick in my throat.

Kai shook his head. "It's too late for them. The fragment has taken over."

I wanted to argue, to shout that there had to be something—anything—we could do. But I could see the truth right in front of me. The fragments weren't just dangerous; they were a slow unraveling, pulling the children into themselves, hollowing them out until they were nothing more than empty shells.

"We need to keep moving," Kai urged, his voice firm but not unkind. "If we don't, we'll end up like them."

Reluctantly, I tore my gaze away from the broken children and followed him.

The deeper we went into the maze, the more unstable everything became. The walls shifted constantly, grinding and groaning as they moved, reshaping the path in unpredictable ways. The ground trembled beneath us with every step, sometimes shaking so violently I had to reach out and steady myself against the wall. Every few minutes, we heard the crash of metal as another section of the maze collapsed in the distance.

The fragment inside me pulsed harder, reacting to the chaos as if it thrived on the instability. The energy felt like it was clawing at the edges of my mind, trying to break free, and I had to focus with every fiber of my being to keep it from spiraling out of control.

We came across more children along the way, scattered in small groups. They looked lost, their faces pale and drawn with fear. Most of them had the same desperate, haunted expressions—the kind that told me they were running out of hope.

One boy, dark-haired and gaunt, his eyes sunken and hollow, looked up at me as we passed. His lips trembled as he spoke. "What do we do?" he asked, his voice barely audible, thick with desperation.

I didn't know how to answer him. How could I? I didn't even know if I would make it out of this maze, let alone the rest of them. The truth was, I didn't have the strength to offer him anything but silence.

Kai, sensing my hesitation, stepped in. "You keep moving," he said, his tone sharp but clear. "The maze isn't going to wait for you. If you stay here, you die."

The boy's face fell, but he nodded, the reality of our situation sinking in.

We kept moving, leaving the other children behind as the maze shifted again. The metallic plates underfoot tilted and groaned, and I stumbled, catching myself before I could fall. I could feel the fragment's power churning inside me, more unstable than before. Every step made it worse, like the energy was feeding off the maze's collapse.

"This place is falling apart," I muttered, struggling to keep my footing.

"It's designed that way," Kai replied, his gaze sharp. "The maze is testing us. It's forcing the weakest to break. The staff wants to see who can adapt, who can control themselves when everything's falling apart."

"So it's a game?" I spat, the frustration boiling in my chest. "A test to see who cracks first?"

Kai slowed his pace, glancing at me. "It's always been a game, Zane. We're just the pieces."

The ground trembled again, and this time it was worse than before. The metallic plates began to shift wildly, throwing the maze into chaos. The walls groaned and shifted with violent force, sections of the maze collapsing with a deafening roar.

"We need to find cover!" Kai shouted over the noise.

I nodded, my heart racing as I tried to follow him, but the fragment's power surged again, harder this time. My vision blurred, the edges of my mind fraying as the energy pulsed violently through my veins. I could barely keep myself standing.

Kai grabbed my arm, his grip firm. "Focus, Zane! You have to keep it together!"

"I'm trying!" I gasped, but the power was overwhelming me, threatening to break free. My skin felt like it was burning, and the world around me was spinning out of control.

Kai's eyes hardened. "You can control it. Don't let it control you."

I closed my eyes, trying to focus, trying to push the energy back down. The fragment's power was still thrumming, wild and untamed, but I forced myself to breathe, to think. Slowly, painfully, I regained some sense of control. The burning sensation eased, and my vision began to clear.

Kai let go of my arm, watching me closely. "We don't have much time," he said. "This place is going to collapse."

I nodded, swallowing hard. "Let's go."

We pushed forward, weaving through the collapsing maze as quickly as we could. The air was thick with dust and the sound of grinding metal. I could hear the faint cries of other children behind us, but there was nothing we could do for them now.

Up ahead, the maze opened into a larger chamber, the ground more stable here. It was quieter too, as if this part of the maze was somehow removed from the chaos. I could feel the fragment's energy inside me settling, though it was still volatile, still dangerous.

Kai stopped at the edge of the chamber, scanning the area. "We're close," he muttered, more to himself than to me.

"Close to what?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

He glanced at me, a glint of something in his eyes—determination, maybe. Or resignation. "The end."

I didn't know what he meant by that, but I didn't have time to ask. The walls of the chamber began to shift again, the maze's groaning growing louder.

And then, the ground beneath us shook violently, and everything went dark.