Lune stood completely still, as if listening to the silence. Her head tilted slightly, sensing her direction… her path. Like a living radar. Then, without hesitation, she pointed to the wall opposite us, behind a couple of kids. "There… there's a hidden lever on the wall." My thoughts raced, why hadn't I noticed it before? Then it hit me. That wall—it must hide a secret path. A backup escape route, probably for emergencies. I gripped the edge of Lune's blanket, hesitating to take another step. "But… what about the rest of the kids here?"
She didn't turn to face me. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "They're beyond… help. We must escape first. Then we can help them." I clenched my teeth. I hated it but she was right. They were barely breathing, hollow-eyed, limp. Carrying them would mean dragging dead weight through danger, and we'd both end up caught. No. We had to survive first. For their sake too. I followed her steps toward the wall. She moved carefully, her fingers gliding along the surface until—click. She pressed something. A faint grind of stone. Dust fell.
The wall trembled slightly before revealing its secret; an old hidden door, loose from age or neglect. I stepped forward and pushed. The stone gave way slowly, creaking open just enough for even an adult to slip through. Before entering, I glanced one last time toward the children. They weren't sleeping. They weren't even waiting. They were just… gone inside.
Hopeless.
We slipped into the gap. Inside, the passage was narrow but walkable. Faint light filtered through cracks in the ceiling, casting broken shafts of silver down onto the dusty stone floor. We moved slowly—quietly—each step deliberate, praying we wouldn't make a sound. Then… voices projected through the cracks. "I can't believe that kid's still breathing after we broke it." "That makes it even more fun, no? I can't wait to twist it—hear the screams until its eyes go dim…" Their voice gurgled with something else—too guttural to be human.
For a moment, it echoed with an unnatural resonance, like… something was leaking through. "There's something sweet about watching the soul leave a body. Ecstasy. It makes me feel whole when the blood hits me." "Ugh. You're sick." I lost my strength. Their words clawed at my stomach. These weren't men. They were beasts in skin. I could hear one of them breathing, wet and amused. Every sound made my chest tighten. My lungs fought for air, vision blurring. My hands shook uncontrollably. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't—
"Riven…"
A whisper. A presence. Lune's arms wrapped gently around me. Her hand stroked my hair with a tenderness that shouldn't exist in a place like this. The world stilled. Her touch was warm. Steady. It anchored me. Like I'd been falling, and someone finally caught me. "Breathe slowly… I'll get us out of here." Her words were soft, yet resolute. I felt like I was wrapped in a thick blanket during a snowstorm; safe, if only for a moment. "Thank you… Lune," I managed to whisper, my voice cracking. "It's okay. I'm here… with you." She reached for my hand, and I didn't hesitate. I held onto her grip, letting her pull me forward, back into the narrow corridor. Toward escape. Toward something more than this nightmare. Toward hope.
As we neared the end of the narrow tunnel, we stumbled upon a rounded wooden hatch. Faint murmurs echoed beyond it. Voices, but distant. Then it hit us. A warm aroma drifted through the cracks, thick and savory. My stomach twisted in protest. "Lune… Something smells… delicious. Are we… in the kitchen?" I whispered, barely able to contain my hunger. "Yes… apparently we are," she answered softly. Her stomach growled in agreement. She turned away, flustered. I smirked, then nodded. "Guess we need to fill our bellies before we faint mid-escape."
We waited in silence, holding our breath as the voices faded, the boots dragging away. When we were sure the coast was clear, I slowly unlatched the hatch. It creaked faintly. My heart stopped, but no one came. Dim light from a flickering stove bathed the stone kitchen in warm gold. The air was thick with spices and the scent of baked bread. We crawled out and realized our tunnel ended beneath a large barrel—the lid was what we'd just opened. I glanced around. To the left, racks of glass jars and herbs lined the walls. To the right, a counter with a tray of freshly baked bread.
Bingo.
"Here," I whispered, tearing one loaf in half. "Lune, I know you're starving. Let's eat before we move on." I passed her a piece. She took it with shaking hands. For the first time in what felt like forever, we bit into something warm and it tasted like hope. Just as we finished the first few bites, a creak echoed from the far end of the kitchen. Lune froze mid-chew. I dropped the bread. A shadow moved across the floor. From behind a counter, a boy, maybe a year or two older than me stepped into view. Thin, pale, and dressed in rags not unlike ours. His eyes locked onto us. He didn't move. Didn't shout. Just… stared. I stood between him and Lune, ready to grab anything near me to defend us. The boy blinked.
"You… escaped?"
I didn't respond. My body tensed, unsure whether to run or fight. Then he whispered, almost breathlessly, "Take me with you." "What?" I asked. He stepped closer. "I won't slow you down. I—I know the mansion. I've worked in the kitchen for years. Please." I glanced at Lune. She gave a slight nod. Before we could answer, the kitchen door slammed open. A burly man in a blood-stained apron stormed in, grumbling. "I knew it… Smelled piss the moment I walked in." I looked around frantically. No place to hide. No time to think. The boy grabbed us by the arms and hissed, "In the barrel!" He shoved open the lid of another massive barrel near the pantry. A tunnel inside. Another exit? We dove in, curling into the cramped space. The lid shut above us just in time. Boots stomped around the kitchen.
"You little runt! Did you piss in here?!" The boy glanced us one more time. Escape without me. "I—I'm sorry chef…" "You piece of garbage!" A thud echoed. The boy was hurled across the room, crashing into the wall. He gagged, clutching his stomach after being kicked. Lune clutched her bread tightly, trembling. She couldn't stay here anymore. I could feel her desperation. She needed to escape. She couldn't stay here any longer. Out of the blue, something was sniffing. A low growl echoed through the wood. That something was getting closer. A creature. My heart sank and Lune gripped my hand tightly.
The chef's voice rumbled, "What is it, boy? Huh?" Sniff. Sniff. Sniff. Lune felt cold, barely made any movement in fear. A familiar voice burst through the kitchen. One of the torturers. "Two kids are escaping! Capture them!" The dog barked, exploding into a frenzy. It slammed against the barrel lid. Thankfully, there was a locking mechanism inside but it wouldn't hold for long. The chef growled, "Oi! The kids are here!" The lid slammed open just as the boy screamed, "RUN!" I yanked Lune's hand, and we dove deeper into the barrel tunnel, crawling through the narrow passage as shouting and barking echoed behind us. Footsteps pounded. The chef's furious bellows shook the walls.
"GET THEM!"
The tunnel forked ahead—darkness on both ends. We didn't stop. We couldn't. I whispered, breathless, "Lune… just a little more." "I'm with you," she said, her voice trembling but firm. "Lune, can you make a magic to cover our scent? We need to stop the dog." Without hesitation, she raised her hand and began tracing patterns in the air. Faint lines shimmered behind her fingertips—circles forming, slowly aligning, glowing faintly. A wave of coolness washed over us. Something changed about us. The scent was gone but Lune looked drained and her steps getting slower. She stumbled as we ran. I caught her. It took something out of her.
Magic costs something. "Too much magic?" I asked. She nodded, eyes half-closed. "It's not just energy. It takes… pieces of me." "Lune… hang on." I lifted her onto my back. Shouts still echoed behind us. The dog was gone but someone else was still chasing. Heavy footsteps, but they didn't sound right. Slow, but too steady, and there was a rasp… like breathing, but not from lungs. Like each step was powered by something other than flesh. Damn, removing our scent wasn't enough. They were hunting us anyway.
Think, Riven. Think…
Then we found ourselves in a hall of maze. There were five more paths branching. Maybe we go to the most left one again? Maybe keeping left meant safety. Or maybe it just meant circling back to hell. Let's go the most right this time. This will keep us straight from the start… Probably. We kept our pace until the narrow walls suddenly opened into a wide chamber—too wide. It didn't make sense. The room was circular; its walls lined with full-length mirrors, dozens of them. Their surfaces shimmered faintly, as if touched by moonlight. I glanced behind us. The footsteps were getting louder. Voices sounded closer. Then I looked into the mirrors.
Wait.
In one reflection, Lune was running behind me. In another, she was ahead. In a third… we weren't even there. What the hell? Stammered. "Lune, this place…" She placed a finger to her lips. "A mirror trap," she whispered. "We're in the illusion corridor." "How do you know?" I kept our rear in check. "I can feel a couple of illusion magic is being used." I didn't know you could feel magic as well. Perk of being blessed with magic? "Can we escape through it?" She nodded weakly. "Yes… but I'll need to use a decoy spell, we need to buy some time" she said, her voice already shaking. "My last one." She stumbled forward, knees almost buckling, one hand pressed to her chest. Blood trickled from her nose. Still, she raised her arm and began tracing—a shaky circle in the air. Lines shimmered faintly, but flickered, unstable. Her breath was shallow.
"Lune, stop—" "I can do this." Her eyes burned with quiet resolve.
Lines etched themselves into the glowing air—until a burst of light shot into the centre of the chamber. She used a mirror-glass incantation—one that mimics reality just enough to confuse the senses, but only briefly. Instantly, countless versions of us rose from the floor—shapeless clay molding into Lunes and Rivens, scattering in every direction. In some, we were laughing. In others, screaming. In one mirror, I was holding Lune's corpse. In another… she was holding mine. "Riven, play along while secure our escape route." Footsteps entered the room. Shouts. "Where are they?!" The chef's voice. Then a pause. "What the—?!"
The illusions were working.
Most of them shouted in confusion, swinging at phantoms. But another person entered the chamber, the voice didn't sound panicked. A slow growl: "You think your tricks can fool me?" My blood froze. I knew that voice. While moving around the illusions, a mirror seemed different across the room. "Lune, found it!" I pointed to a specific mirror, one visible crack. Behind it was something different—a black void instead of reflection. I dashed toward it and kicked the base. The cracked mirror shattered inward, revealing a small chute just big enough for us to crawl through. "Let's go—!" I yelled. She nodded, but just as she moved, her legs gave out. I caught her mid-fall. "I've got you," pulling her up and diving into the chute.
Behind us, glassed shattered as the chef screamed, "THERE! THEY'RE—!" But it was too late. We were sliding through the chute; cold, metal, slick that was twisting downward…
The old tunnel widened after we walked for some time, after the fall. The echoes of our breathing bouncing against the slimy stone. The scent of sewage grew stronger, mingling with the sound of rushing water. A narrow canal flowed beside the path, and just ahead—a blinding light. The exit. Freedom. "Lune, I think we're almost there." She gripped my hand tighter. Our fingers locked, cold and trembling, but alive. Her chest heaved with sobs. "Riven…" she whispered, tears slipping away from her milky eyes. "It's there… We almost made it." A laugh escaped me. Not because it was funny but because I didn't know how else to contain the joy clawing at my chest. Lune tensed suddenly, breath caught. Her fingers twitched. "Something's wrong… Run, run!"
Then—crack.
"YOU ARE NOT ESCAPING!" Our legs were glued, controlled against will. The man growled. The dog was there too, ready to tear us apart. But something was wrong. The torturer's veins bulged, dark and unnatural like ink bleeding beneath his skin. A low hum echoed, not from the walls… but from him. Then came the miasma, thick and red, like smoke made of blood that seeping from his body. His form twisted, muscles bulging, his eyes now glowing with something ancient and foul. Each stomp sent a tremor through the floor. The air behind us split with a sickening sound. Stone crumbled. Metal shrieked. A support beam above the tunnel snapped loose. "No…" She gasped, her voice breaking. "He's unbinding."
"VOID-SPAWN," he growled, voice layered with something… inhuman. "YOU DARE ESCAPE WITHIN MY GRASP… YOU ARE TO BE MY DOLL."
I fought my hardened body, pushing it against the control. I wanted to pull Lune closer to me, protecting her with everything I had. I had to. But I turned just in time to see a chunk of ceiling crash between us—splitting the path in two. I was thrown forward. Lune fell backward. "LUNE! NO! LUNE!" I scrambled my feet. The collapse had carved a wall of jagged debris between us. Dust choked the air. I couldn't see her but only the sound of her coughing. Gasping. "Lune! Give me your hand!" Through a tiny gap, her trembling fingers reached out. I dropped to the ground and stretched my arm through the rubble.
Our fingertips brushed—barely.
"I'm coming back through—hold on!" "No…" her voice was weak but firm. "Don't… Riven… the tunnel's unstable…" No…No! "I don't care!" I roared, trying to push aside the stones.
"AGH! I SHOULDN'T HAVE COME HERE. COME ON BOY, WE'LL FIND ANOTHER WAY. MAYBE A NEW TOY AS WELL."
Another tremor. More rubble fell. The ceiling above my side groaned. We didn't have time. We had seconds. "You have to go…" she whispered. "No! I'm not leaving you!" "You are," she said softly, a tearful smile in her voice. "Because you'll carry me with you… right?" I froze. She pushed something through the gap—her blanket. It was torn and stained, but warm. Still warm. I clutched it like it was her. "Riven…" Her voice cracked, soft like moonlight.
"Don't look back. Just run…. Remember the moon. Remember… me…"
More stone fell. I couldn't see her finger anymore. "LUNE!" Silence. Just the wind through the open exit. And the distant splash of river water. I didn't move for a moment. Couldn't. My hands were pummeling the wall, desperate. My heart was still back there, buried with her. Then I heard the chasers shouting. Close. They'll surround me. First my name, now her warmth. I don't deserve this…
I stood.
Her blanket in hand, I ran out of the darkness, into the light.