A MAZE OF GREED

Thea grumbled something under her breath. Her legs were eager to run in the direction in which the two figures had passed. She was cent per cent convinced that one of them was Rees. She couldn't mistake him for anyone else. But Ruth was a different story.

Although Ruth noticed some similarities between one of the figures and Rees, she couldn't be sure in the dark, and because of the distance. She didn't want to follow the wrong person and get caught.

"Ruth, we can't stand here waiting for the sunrise. I am sure that was Rees. Please believe me!"

Thea tried again for the fifth time, and this time, Ruth gave in defeat. After all, they had to do something to get to Rees.

"Fine! Let's see if you are right or wrong!" But she hoped that Thea was right. She didn't want to spend more time in that place, or she would go berserk with absurd thoughts.

Making sure that they were out of anyone's sight, both ladies slipped into the veil of night and took the same route which had been used just recently by the two figures.

With every step, Ruth's heart drummed fast against her chest. For some reason, this particular place made her wearier than any other in Vincardine. Hand in hand, they fastened up their pace. Their eyes were alert and searching, observant.

The rows of birch trees decorated the cobbled path, and if Ruth had been in a different situation, she would have taken a moment to admire the charm of this place.

It was weird how she found this ominous place attractive.

They hid behind the last tree, and Ruth glanced over her shoulder to see that they had walked a long distance and now were completely hidden from the world's eyes.

In front of them stood an old building behind the wire fence. All the windows and the large metal door were closed. By the looks of the condition of the building, it was clear that it was not used for a long time.

If one of the persons indeed was Rees, then what purpose he had in a place like that?

"This looks creepy, Ruth! See! The hairs on my hand have stood up in a warning." Thea whispered.

The energy around this old building was something that got on her nerves. She had started doubting her decision to come here.

'Is this a place where the werewolves do their magic? Oh, wait! Rees told that they do not do magic but some other breeds do.' Thea thought.

Ruth was quiet, soaking in the vibe of the place. She had never been to a place like this, neither she had expected that for herself. Her mind wanted to run away from there, but something inside her summoned her to take a step ahead.

Something was calling her desperately. She could feel it. A remote part of her was excited to follow that call. It wanted to follow that low voice, that bewitching call the way a honeybee follows the scent of the sweet nectar.

She felt like there was something behind the walls of the building that belonged to her. Something that was yearning for her.

It was a call for help, a call for life, a call full of agony!

Gulping down her spit down her throat, Ruth released a shaky breath.

"We can't go through the door, now can we?"

Not trusting her voice, Ruth only shook her head in negation.

"Hmm… let's do one thing. You go from the right and I will go from the left. We will search for an entry or anything that can be helpful for us. Okay?" Thea suggested, and Ruth agreed without giving it much thought.

Her mind was clogged with outlandish thoughts. All she knew was she needed to cross that distance and get to see what was waiting for her behind those walls.

After some words that Ruth had tuned out, Thea parted from her to disappear in the dark. That left Ruth alone and cold with tyrannical emotions.

Her eyes had not to waver from the building in front of her. Now that she didn't need to waste more time, her feet started moving as if they had their own mind. She didn't try to protest and cooperated with them willingly.

Ruth momentarily paused at the wire fence, her feet lingered mid-air. Suddenly her heart expedited its pace, and an undeciphered feeling covered her being. That call became clearer, and its intensity terrified her.

With a deep breath, and after mustering every ounce of courage, she finally placed her foot on the dry grass. Her senses were heightened, and so were her nerves.

Before anyone noticed her, she sprinted till she reached the safe place from where she could scan the area. Her breaths were heavy by both running and the nervousness.

Resting her back on the dusty wall with fungus grown in its cracks and bricks, she closed her eyes tightly.

'Come on Ruth. You have come a long way. You can do it! Rees, you have to find him.' She reminded herself before she became unfocused from her goal.

Controlling her rhythm of breathing, she opened her hazel eyes to that secluded place. Turning around, her eyes roamed all over the superstructure. It looked… normal, but the vibe was everything but normal.

She wondered what could be there inside, and why this building was built in a far corner of the property.

Ruth saw the rows of large windows with metal flaps. It was weird for her. But she had to try to open them to peek inside. She evaluated the height and realised she couldn't reach there even if she grew by two feet. She needed something to stand on, but what she could find in this deserted place?

Ruth searched for something when her eyes fell on the grooves in the wall surface. She removed her shoes and tied her toffee brown hair in a bun. With a quick and deep breath, she placed her right foot in the lowest groove and tried to hold the higher one with her fingers hooked in it. She somehow managed to lift her body above the ground and found the next groove to settle her left foot in the dark.

"God! You are too heavy Ruth! You need to lose some weight." She chided herself with a scrunched face.

She exhaled loudly through her mouth. Her long fingers overused their strength to keep her uplifted on the wall surface. She panted as if she had climbed a mountain, and when she looked down, she was barely two feet above the ground.

If someone had seen her from afar, she sure looked like a big lizard crawling on the wall.

With a groan, she couldn't help but pity herself. If only she had known that this day would come then she would have played more and strengthened her muscles. Alas!

With rapid breaths and sweat on her forehead, Ruth grabbed the grooves in the wall as firmly as she could and slowly removed her right leg to put it higher. Only a few more inches and she could reach the nearest window.

"Yes!" A victorious smile appeared on her face, but it was only short-lived.

A cramp shot in her hand, and at the same time, her left foot slipped out of the groove, and she lost her balance.

It took her every effort to not scream, as she fell to the ground on her derriere. But the worst part of it was her body got scraped on the rough wall surface, and when she fell, she tried to seek some support to avoid it. In that process, her hand got injured, and blood appeared on her skin.

"Aaahhh… oh God! Aaahh…" She wailed in pain.

Her rear side turned numb after the impact with the ground. Tears huddled up in her eyes, and she didn't try to get up from the ground. She couldn't.

Taking deep breaths, she closed her eyes to succumb to the pain. Her clenched jaw helped her to not make any noise.

After some time, when she opened her eyes, she had adjusted to that pain. She couldn't spend the entire night on the ground of 'the great manor'. With that thought in mind, she slowly tried to move her lower body first.

But she was not ready to gulp down the pain. Somehow with a lot of struggle, Ruth managed to stand up again with the support of the wall. She looked above at the window and cursed it to the moon and back.

Deciding to try another way, she slowly dragged herself, not leaving the support of the wall. She hoped that Thea had found a way and was with Rees to save her more efforts.

After walking the circumference of the building, Ruth was about to give up. Every window was either too high to reach or was closed. She didn't dare to pull another stunt and break her bone.

When the pain in her lower back increased, she stopped walking while breathing heavily. The blood from her hand dropped on the small plant near her, but she ignored it.

Ruth decided to go back to the place from where she and Thea parted their ways and wait for her. She had no energy left to go on. But before that, she decided to take a moment to breathe.

Now that her mind was stable and clear, she got aware of her surroundings. Vertical lines formed on her forehead as she scanned the area. The strange feeling that had engulfed her, the moment she placed a foot to cross that wire fence came crashing down upon her like tsunami waves.

That call she had felt was stronger than ever. The pull she was experiencing encircled her soul in a vice grip. Her mind warned her to run, but she was frozen on the spot, unable to take even a single step ahead.

Suddenly her throat turned dry, and the uneasiness reached a new level. She desperately searched for someone or the source of that overbearing emotion but found none.

She was all alone in that creepy place. Her heart jumped out of her skin when she heard muffled sounds. They were very low that she could have ignored them if her senses were not on alert.

Ruth took a step back from the wall, she was leaning on. Her lips parted as it became hard to breathe through her nose. Her eyes roamed all over the place but found nothing.

She again heard the same muffled sounds, a bit louder this time to ignore. Two more drops of her blood fell on the grass and this time they managed to catch her attention.