40. Max

M y heart is in my throat.

The final maze, the final test.

The final countdown, du du du du!

I'm really not making this any better, but there's nothing else to do. I'm practically going into this blind except for the information on the dogs. I tried my best to convince myself, and Draven, I would be fine running from them.

However, with the pain still surging through my back and the fact I've never run from dogs before, I'm not even sure I'll be able to do it.

Draven's hand wraps around my upper arm, pulling me to the side and I know what's coming. The same thing he's been trying to convince me of since we were back at the house.

I can't ignore the pain in his eyes though, fucking Hell itself. "Draven, I don't—"

Raising his hand, I stop speaking. "I'm trying…" He takes a deep breath. "But Max, I'm losing the battle to allow you to do this. Please, let me give you everything you need." I know he's just trying to help me, but I don't need the help.

"You can't. I already explained this to you."

Dropping his hand from my upper arm he grits his teeth. "Just tell me who it was that hurt you. Give me their names and I'll drop them bloodied and broken at your feet. We can walk away from this, both of us."

"Did your IQ drop while we were walking over here?" I snap, the words coming out a little more disrespectful than I initially planned but I'm sick of hearing the same thing.

"Excuse me?" His voice dropping an octave.

"No, I won't. Why are you trying to take this away from me?" I take a step back from him, needing space.

Taking my face in his hands, he caresses the skin on my cheeks with his thumbs, taking a deep breath. "I'm not taking this away from you, I'm trying to—"

"Help me?"

"No! Save you, damn it."

"I have to save myself," I say while pushing his hands from my face.

Pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration he takes a deep breath. I know I'm pushing him right now.

I don't speak this way to anyone, but he needs to understand. "They took everything from me, Draven. Forced me to never speak about what happened and if you do this for me... what was the fucking point of me even coming here?" I shout.

"Max, your tone." The muscles in his jaw clench together.

"What are you worried about? I made it this fucking far!" I press my hands to my chest, emphasizing my anger. "You think I'm going to die?"

"Yes!" he bellows. The word ringing out between us as the rest of my words fail me. "Yes, Max!" he shouts again. "I've wanted to ask you to stop since you came out of Troy's maze. There is nothing I want more than to see you get your revenge. I, above anyone, understand that. I understand you and what it is you want."

"You don't, because if you did, you wouldn't be asking me to stop."

"You are wrong." He shakes his head, the flare of his nostrils and flex of his jaw show his anger. Yet, that isn't what snatches my breath right in my chest. It's his eyes, the silver glossed over as if he may actually cry. "You are so fucking wrong, Max."

There are no words right now. I've seen him kill. I've seen his anger when anyone has laid a finger on me. I've even seen him what you could call... happy. But this, this is fear, something I wish I hadn't seen. Because now I really am scared.

But I can't give this up. I need this. "Draven I—"

"Is wanting to guarantee I'll have more time with you so much to ask?"

I swear my heart drops to my stomach.

Grabbing my face, he leans forward, pressing his forehead to mine. "This is me begging you Max, something I have never done, and never will to anyone but you." Dropping to his knees in front of me, I search his eyes. "Stay with me, please, Petit Mouton . I'll give you the world. I'd crawl on broken hands and legs to give you it all."

I should say yes. I know it's in my best interests. After all, it would save me a Hell of a lot of trouble. But I can't. Shaking my head, I step back and out of his hold.

"I… I'm sorry. I can't."

My eyes burning as I turn from him. My legs carrying me to the final maze so fast. I can't look at him because if I do, I'll walk right back over and give him everything he wants. But this time I need to do something for me.

I need to win.

Huge, wrought iron gates are what I stop in front of, the maze attendee standing in front of me with a smirk.

"Maxine, so nice of you to join us, welcome to Desperate Run." His eyes roam over my body and I grimace. "I didn't expect Grim to even allow you to be here. I figured he would be able to change your mind." Pressing the key into the gate, he pushes one open and beckons me to follow.

I walk in and wait as he turns behind me to close it. "Player one has already entered through the second entrance. I will recite the rules of the final maze to you, and you'll do better to remember them."

I nod. "Okay. "

"Come with me." Walking behind him for a few moments, he stops outside a small booth, reaching in he grabs a plastic neck brace, no thicker than a roll of coins. "May I?" He asks gently, holding it toward my neck.

"What is it?"

Raising his eyebrow, he points to the left of us. "If you want to leave the gate is there." Taking a deep breath, I shake my head and step toward him. Placing the neck brace on he smiles. "You will be chased by four, Blue Bay Shepherd dogs, you have a two-minute head start. The halfway point is three miles from here."

Can I run three miles without breaking a sweat, but outrunning dogs? I don't fucking know.

"The moment you cross that threshold, the dogs will cease to chase you. Do you understand me?"

"I understand."

"When you reach the halfway point, you are free to do whatever it takes to make it to the end, the outside if you will. Only one person can win." Nodding to the neck brace he places his hands in his pockets. "Inside that necklace, is the same high-grade stainless-steel wire that is used in a Gigli saw." I press my hands to the plastic and my mouth instantly goes dry. "Do you know what that wire does?"

"It's so strong that it can precisely cut anything from the body immediately."

Nodding once, he smiles. "If you don't make it outside the maze before midnight, the brace around your neck will behead you instantly."

Lifting his wrist, he smiles even further. "And by my count, you have about an hour." Nodding behind me, I turn. "As soon as you enter that gate, I will notify the other attendee at the opposite gate to start the timer so that you and the other person can compete. Good luck, Max."

How in the fuck does he know me? I've never spoken to him before. Not willing to wait and ask, I make my way to the second gate and walk through. Closing it behind me, the metal clang bleeds into the air and I release the nervous breath I didn't know I was holding.

With my heart in my chest, I await the claxon and pray that my legs are strong enough to keep me from the dogs on my tail. Shaking my hands, I take some deep, cleansing breaths. Praying, begging to whoever or whatever is watching me, that I make it out of this.

Draven wants me to call for him, but I won't. Not unless I need him in here. The high-pitched alarm rings out and I burst into a sprint. Weaving through the trees and over uneven ground, trying my hardest to miss any potholes in the dirt. Even though I'm not alone in here, right now it's just me and my mind.

You can do it Max!

I tell myself.

Breath, pace, see.

Nothing but my controlled breathing and heartbeat are the sounds within my mind. The damp mud and dirt beneath my feet softening the blow to my ankles as I pound them into the ground.

Doing this in trainers that aren't meant for running is a shit show, and I couldn't have chosen anything worse to run in. I just didn't expect to be. The second alarm screams through the air like the sound for an incoming bomb and I stupidly stop, turning around to look at only God knows what.

That's when I hear them, the sound of their paws hitting the ground my feet were once pressed in. The wind carrying their growling and barking. Turning back round, I begin kicking up dirt again, pacing my breathing as best as I can.

I run marathons for fun... but it's nothing like this. I can hear their paws hitting the dirt even though they're nowhere near me, and yet, they're surrounding me it seems.

I won't stop. I can't stop. I don't know what will happen if they catch me.

Not until it kills me.

I don't want to die, but I also don't want to be torn apart by dogs either. Their barking gains on me, getting closer, louder, the more I run. I weave around a tree, noticing a small brook ahead.

Isn't water supposed to hide your smell.

Tearing the jacket from my body as I run, I drape it over a stump in front of me, praying my scent will keep them occupied long enough to give me a better chance of running to the halfway point.

You can do this Max. Be strong.

I hop down into the brook and do my best to step quickly through it. Making sure I place each step carefully, so I don't hurt myself further. My ankle is already flaring up again from maze one, and I need it to hold up. At least until I reach the halfway point. I haven't thought about what will happen when I see my opponent in the free reign area.

Nor do I want to.