57 Han returns (2/2)
”So, you're starting a new life with a woman you're also keeping secrets from,” An Ning said, with a mocking twist to her lips. ”Anyway, none of my business. Just keep me away from it.”
”Is that all you have to say?” Han was a little outraged.
”Yup. Anyway, I'd better go. I still have something to do back in the house.”
”You're working here now?”
”More convenient for me. And I have so many things on my plate I don't have time to go anywhere.Thank god for technology.”
And just like that, Han was gone.
An Ning watched the helicopter until it disappeared in the distance. She took a deep breath and allowed herself to feel some sadness. She would miss Han. She would miss the good times they shared together. Then she remembered that she and Moira were driving down to the village to look for a site to build her new store and she hurried to the car. The shadow of Han or Valerie or Richard or heartbreak didn't even cross her mind as she drove home.
That night, An Ning found herself inside the maze with no idea how she got there.
She was dressed in her teddy and wearing light shoes. She remembered dreaming about something and when she opened her eyes, she was in the maze. She looked at the moon above her head. It was a full moon and so brilliant she could actually see the path in front of her without needing a light.
An Ning didn't panic. There was no use panicking anyway. The only option she had was to find the exit and leave before she freezes to death. She walked to her right and put her hand on the bushes. She followed the same path for nearly an hour until she could have sworn she saw the shadow of the watch tower just a little way ahead. She hurried, still walking to her right, when a sloshing sound suddenly reached her ears.
An Ning stiffened and stopped walking. She listened. The wind carried the sound, whatever it was. And it was getting nearer.Perhaps three hundred feet to her left. An Ning picked up her feet and started walking really quietly. The sound also stopped, as if whatever it was could hear that An Ning was making a move.
An Ning again stopped. The sloshing sound resumed. She picked up a little speed and the sound stopped. It went that way for several minutes. She, stopping and the sound resuming. She, moving and the sound stopping. Feeling annoyed, An Ning finally creeped up to the tall bushes and started climbing it. The sound didn't stop this time. It went plak plak, as if it was being chased or running away from something.
It drew nearer. An Ning finally recognized the sound for what it was, footsteps. The sloshing noise was probably wet shoes. She reached the top just as the footsteps turned a corner and a voice spoke which made her jump.
”What in god's name are you doing?” Du Lu inquired, walking unhurriedly towards An Ning.
”What the fuck are you doing here?” An Ning was so surprised her foot slipped and she nearly let go of her hold.
”Come down,” Du Lu ordered. ”You look like a monkey crouched above the bushes.”
”Ha Ha,” An Ning said, clambering down. When she was half-way down, an arm gripped her waist, steadied then swung her body down.
”Thanks,” An Ning, then looked down at her front. ”Fuck. I shouldn't have climbed those vines. They scratched me.”
Du Lu followed her gaze and stopped on the large rip of her teddy which was so transparent she might as well be naked. Du Lu didn't say a thing merely took off the light jacket he was wearing and draped it around her shoulders.
”Thanks,” An Ning was starting to feel tired thanking him. ”I was getting cold. I've been trying to find the exit for like hours.”
”What the hell are you doing here at this time of night, anyway? Is this some kind of a hazing ritual or something?”
An Ning hesitated. She could see from his expression that he will not believe any excuses she offered him unless it was the thruth. And really, she could think of no reason to explain why she was taking a stroll inside the maze in her black teddy in the middle of the night while everyone else was asleep.
”An Ning, what is going on?” Du Lu didn't hide the concern in his voice. ”Do you have a habit of sleepwalking, is that it?”
”I wish it were that simple,” An Ning sighed.
”Try me.”
An Ning met his gaze and decided to be honest.
”I was having a dream and when I woke up, I was here. I don't remember how I got here actually.Maybe some demon snatched me from my bed and dumped me here in the middle of this maze.”
”Just like that? You were dreaming then you woke up and you were inside the maze?”
”Yes.”
”Any idea why?”
”You believe me?” An Ning was surprised.
”I've been with you long enough to know that strange things usually happen around you. You were attacked by a human drone in front of me, for god's sake.”
”Can we leave first? Being inside this maze is giving me the creeps.”
”Come on, follow me.”
Du Lu led the way. An Ning realized that he confidently navigated the twists and turns of the maze without even a single mistake. In a short while, they found themselves at the exit and walking towards the watch tower.
”This is amazing,” An Ning said excitedly. ”You knew where the exit was. Did you memorize the layout of the maze by any chance?”
”I took a look at it a moment ago before I went inside to search for you.”
”Huh? How did you do that?”
”I climbed the watch tower and as you said, memorize the layout.”
An Ning looked at him, thunderstruck.
”Just a little look and you knew where I was?”
”Yes. It wasn't that difficult.”
”For you maybe. When we had a contest here a while back, it took the contestants about five hours to get out. And you only took a glance at it without even an electric light guiding you?'
”Why do I feel like you're mad at me for getting you out in less than thirty minutes? Are you insane or something?”
”Pshh!”
”You are so childish,” Du Lu complained. ”And stop trying to change the subject. What happened, An Ning?”
An Ning tightened the jacket around her and frowned.
”I'm waiting,” Du Lu prodded impatiently.
”And I'm thinking.”
”About what?”
”Whether I should tell you. You might laugh at me.”
”Ha!”
An Ning laughed then sighed again.
”Honestly, Du Lu, it was like I told you,” she said in a grave tone. ”I woke up and I was inside the maze. I didn't know how I got there. And I did not sleepwalk because look, my shoes are clean.”
Du Lu looked at her shoes. It was pink and clean except for the light dusting of dirt on top. Du Lu frowned.
”Let's get you home and into bed,” he said, his expression worried.”Come on,” he urged, taking her hand, ”hot shower, milk then bed for you. We can sort this thing out tomorrow. Right,” he said, correcting himself, ”later this morning. Come.”
The two of them hurried to the cave house. They had to pass the lab, the garden then swerve right to reach it.
”How did you know I was in there anyway?” An Ning asked curiously.
Du Lu didn't answer.
”Du Lu?”
Du Lu stopped walking and looked at her, her hand still clasped in his.
”The same thing happened to me,” he said, his eyes boring onto An Ning's. ”I woke up and I was in the watch tower. Then I saw you. What the hell is going on An Ning? This is scary stuff and....”
Before he could finish his sentence, a wind gust with the strength of a small tornado suddenly surrounded them. It lifted Du Lu up then threw him viciously into the rose bushes. Du Lu's body slammed against the thorny tree then connected with a thud on the ground as he fell down. An Ning screamed but the sound got stuck in her throat when she saw the thing inside the tornado. It was Richard's face grinning at her.
The wind again picked up, carrying her away towards the cave. The sound was so thunderous and loud An Ning could feel blood dripping from her ears. The wind rushed through the thick wooden door until it broke in half then the wind was inside, swirling and roiling like an angry, maddened beast.
An Ning's hands suddenly touched something. It was an overhang in the ceiling. Her hands gripped it, trying to fight the furious slash of the wind that was trying to take her away. From far away, she heard screaming. The twins, Sarai and Sam. Then Du Lu's which was stronger and harsher.
The overhang cracked then snapped and An Ning was again carried away by the force of the tornado. Suddenly, a loud booming sound filled the air. Then a strong blast of light flooded the entire cave. An Ning watched in horror as the dormant time machine started to spin. It spun faster and faster, emitting a loud, eerie sound that hurts the ear.
Then, a doorway opened in the middle. The wind again picked up and carried An Ning, hurtling her towards that black empty doorway that led nowhere. An Ning screamed and continued screaming even as something heavy enveloped her body and then she was being sucked, dragged, pulled towards that mawing emptiness.
Someone screamed her name then An Ning was swallowed by darkness until she lost consciousness.