Be careful what you wish for

The wall they'd entered through had sealed shut behind them, it completely cut off the distant howls and screams that were still echoing through the maze.

But then the silence here? It was worse. She could hear the grumpy boys loud breathing. It was a relief though, at least she wasn't alone.

Arinze stood in front of her, his arms crossed, the flickering light flames carving sharp shadows across his face.

" I'd like you to know that no means of survival is considered a cheat here. And you have such a nerve to follow me in here"His voice was calm. Too calm. Like he wasn't the one who just threatened to kill her minutes ago.

Raine shifted her body slightly away from him while keeping her hands loose at her sides. "And yet, here I am. What would you do ? strangle me to death?"

He exhaled and sighed like she was an inconvenience rather than a potential corpse. "You don't know what you're doing. I would have preferred strangling your little neck with my left hand but then I won't waste all I've sacrificed to come here and kill you without getting a medal for it. "

"Obviously." She glanced at the walls, it was just a rough-hewn stone, damp with moisture. There had to be a way forward.

Arinze studied her, with a narrowed gaze Then, in a movement so fast that she barely saw it coming he threw a clenched fist at her.

Raine barely dodged, slamming into the wall. The impact sent a sharp shock through her shoulder, but she recovered fast, twisting away just as his fist slammed into the space where her ribs had been a second ago.

"What the hell?" she hissed.

"I change my mind, Vale junior" His voice was still calm.

She had exactly two options, fight or run.

Running wasn't an option. She had no idea where the hell she was.

Fighting wasn't even much of an option either, she'd only have her face hit the ground if she tries to pull that kind of stunt he just pulled now.

Regardless she threw her little clenched hand at him

Arinze dodged like he'd been expecting it. But she wasn't aiming for his face,she was aiming for his stomach. Her knuckles connected, and for a fraction of a second, his breath hitched.

Her mother was at least a healer wolf so she'd learnt all the vital points.

With her little strength, the strike was enough to piss him off.

His fist snapped toward her face, and she barely dodged in time. The force of it sent her skidding back, her boots scraping against the damp stone.

"You can't win," he said, shaking out his fist like she wasn't even worth the effort.

Raine wiped her mouth, inhaling deep. Her heart was still racing from the fact that this guy could very easily kill her.

And she'd walked right into his trap.

But if she was going to die here, she sure as hell wouldn't go down easy.

"You're wasting time," she shot back. "Or are you scared to lose to someone who 'belongs in a library'?"

He stepped back. "Hmph." He exhaled, running a hand through his dark hair. "Maybe you're not completely useless."

Raine didn't relax. "What does that mean?"

"It means," he said, turning toward the far end of the passage, "you're coming with me."

She hesitated. "Why?"

A ghost of a smirk played at his lips. "Because you're too stupid to survive alone. And we are running out of time. We have to make it to the main hall or it will be assumed that we failed the test"

"And?"

"Our skulls would be hung at that first entrance!"

She gasped in fear and didn't argue. She only just followed quietly.

They walked for a little before he stopped and started to trace his fingers along the stone wall. Then,as if he had seen the right button, he clicked it. A section of the wall trembled, stone grinded against stone as it shifted inward, revealing a passage, one that hadn't been there a moment ago.

Arinze walked inside without waiting to see if she'd follow.

Raine exhaled sharply, being stuck in a hidden passage with a smug asshole who wanted her dead was still a better option than whatever was hunting the others in that maze.

And she needed to survive.

Arinze moved like he knew exactly where he was going. .

"How do you know about these?" Raine asked, her voice low.

He didn't glance back. "Because I I'm not a new recruit. Thanks to you, I keep making sure I get expelled from school but not anymore atleast not until I avenge my father"

"What a shocker, you are telling me you got yourself expelled because I wasn't a candidate all these years. "

"I wasn't begging to be believed. "

The passageway was tight, barely wide enough for the both of them, it was as if the walls were closing in on them.

"Why do I feel like following you is the dumbest decision I've ever made?" Raine muttered.

Arinze didn't even turn around. "You have your chance now, go back besides I'm not that certain about this route, outside is filled with creatures that are not real but can tear even a Gemini wolf into piece. You will see barely up to fifty will make it alive tomorrow morning. You can actually go back there. I won't be too glad to see you die but at least I'm sure I've accomplished my purpose in life. "

Her fingers twitched, but she swallowed down the urge to punch him. She'd already tried that once, and all it did was piss him off.

"So your purpose in life is revenge? You are still pretty young to live for revenge" she said but thinking about it, she got into this level of risk for revenge so they are both not that different.

They reached another dead end, and Arinze pressed his ear against the wall.

Raine folded her arms. "You seem awfully sure of yourself."

He exhaled through his nose. "Unlike you, I actually know how to survive."

"Oh, forgive me for not being raised with a murder instinct"

Arinze scoffed. "You really don't get it, do you?" He took a step closer, his voice dropping lower. "You're not going to leave here alive."

"I wish that ground you stand in will collapse. Asshole!"

"You talk quiet a lot for a man. " rained threw her gaze away, oh hell please, she was once bullied and intimated because she couldn't talk and now she's been blessed by the moon goddess he wants her to keep her mouth shut? Not in the nearest hour will she do that! She had to practice all the words she had heard all her life.

"I..." she was about to respond when the stone beneath him suddenly collapsed, and he was almost gone.

She reflexly stretched her hands , and her fingers managed to catch his sleeve.

"What the hell, did you do this?"

" That's absurd, I don't have such skills " she stuttered in fear.

he hung there, suspended over the void, his weight yanking against her grip.

"You ungrateful son of a bitch! " Arinze sneered.

Raine gritted her teeth, her muscles straining. "You're" She adjusted her grip, her boots scraping against the stone as she tried to anchor herself. The fabric of his sleeve burned against her palm. " Not pulling me, down with you. Right"

She was barely holding him. Her legs were becoming wobbly from tiredness.

His full weight jerked her forward, and for a single terrifying heartbeat, she felt herself being pulled toward the edge.

No.

"If you do that again, I'm letting you" she warned.

And he did do that again.

Left with no options, she allowed her fingers slip free, his body plummeted, vanishing into the deep pit below.

Raine stood there, breathless, her heart was hammering against her ribs. Her hands shook, her body was still buzzing with the ghost of his weight.

She forced herself to take a step back from the ledge.

"I didn't mean to , I'm sorry" she cried silently