The Cracks in the Labyrinth

Chapter 16

"Shouldn't we take him to the University Hospital?"

"Why? He'll be more comfortable here." A pause. "Besides, it's not like they have any supplies there, anyway."

Adam fought to open his eyes, but his doze deepened into an uneasy sleep. Then a red light flashed so brightly that spots danced in front of him even after he clenched his eyelids shut. His heart went cold as he remembered what would happen next. A shriek began in the distance. Claudia? He ordered his legs to run, but they refused to obey him, and that thing was coming for them.

"We have to hide," he gibbered.

"Shh... you're having a nightmare."

Someone grabbed at his chest as he awakened from that terrible dream.

"Evi?"

"It's me," said a woman's voice.

The unfamiliar room was spinning as he lied on a bed that wasn't his. Where am I? This isn't my apartment.

"B? Dario?"

'You have no brother,' the words echoed inside him.

Adam wanted to move, but he was becoming light-headed again, his leaden body no longer his own.

"They're not here," the woman explained as she bent closer to him. Her features seemed to change depending on where the light hit her. For a second, her face became a blur, and she wasn't anybody at all.

"What we gave him should help," the doctor told her. "However, keep an eye on him. Talk to him. Don't let him slip away."

Adam caught a dizzy glimpse of the doctor heading out the door, followed by two first-aiders he recognized from the stadium. Near the entrance, a white rabbit stared at them with its uncanny ruby-red eyes as they left. He couldn't tell if he was still dreaming.

"Am I home?" He asked.

"Let's see..."

"Lili?"

She pressed her palm against his forehead, hushing his question. "Your fever broke."

"Get me out of here."

"I made them bring you here. Go to a hospital?" She scuffed. "Why not take you straight to the morgue instead?"

For the first time since he'd woken up, his mind and body were converging again. Am I in Lili's bedroom? Adam wondered. But Evi and Bianca were with me a minute ago! The taste of his girlfriend's kiss was fresh in his mouth; the warmth of his little sister's embrace still lingered in his memory. Was it a dream? It can't be. He used his limp arms to shove himself into a more upright position. No, no, no. I was out. His gaze darted from corner to ceiling to floor. Not trapped in this hell.

The huge flat-screen TV mounted on the cracked wall unnerved him, as did the shutters that kept out the world. How did I end up here? All my stuff stolen, trapped in a hideous mirror version of my room. He hated it there. Lying next to tacky furniture, a bare bookshelf, and a night table littered with empty plates and dirty cutlery, Adam could only think of his old apartment with enormous windows and unpacked moving boxes.

"I want to go back," his words became tears.

"Where to, silly?" She caressed his cheek.

Adam pressed his eyes together. "I held her in my arms."

"Hey! No." Lili sat by his side and shook him. "Stay here with me."

"Let me sleep."

"No. The doctor said to keep you awake."

"Can't lose her too."

She gave a heavy sigh. "You are not making any sense."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Sorry about the mess," she picked up the plates. "I wasn't expecting company."

"We are strangers."

She stopped, her breathing turning rapid and shallow.

"Are you hungry?"

"You don't know me."

"Fine! You remind me of someone, okay?"

A silence followed.

He considered asking who, but it felt wrong.

"Sorry," he said, although he was unsure what he was apologizing for.

"I'll make you some chicken soup." Lili headed to the kitchen, and after a while, she started humming The Eagles Hotel California.

"'You can check out any time you like,'" Adam thought, remembering the lyrics to the song with a chill. "'But you can never leave!'"

To be continued...