Power Cables

Walking into the labyrinth room, the wires instantly overwhelmed their senses, ears trapped by buzzing and sight trapped by cables at every angle and direction; any sense of direction was blocked.

“The heat, it's getting worse—” Yuka lets out a cough, the dryness in her throat increasing exponentially compared to just a couple moments ago; it was suffocating.

Himari's hands were slipping ever so slightly on the wooden hilt of the axe, her grip readjusting every couple seconds; even with this weapon, it would be hard to fight in these conditions.

“We have to get to the end; don't stop moving." Her voice lowered, still sharp. Himari knew the stakes; there was something lurking in this mess of cables, something that wanted to lead them here.

Until we get to the end, we're getting hunted by that robot… Yuka closes her eyes for a moment, flashing back to the metallic skull, the speaker's voice and those yellow glowing eyes that never blink once. That thing is far beyond anything we, just girls locked in a complex, should face.

She opened her eyes back; she quickly widened them. A pair of glowing yellow eyes stood just in front of her behind a multitude of cables, pinching the side of Himari’s arm.

Himari turned to Yuka. “What is it? Why the hell are you pinching me”

Turning towards her then back towards the yellow eyes, she points out, “Look!” Her fingers point forwards; nothing in sight, just more cables. They came as fast as they left. “I—no, it was there, those yellow eyes from before—”

Himari sighed out, “You were just paranoid; why would it just stare at us?" No more waiting around here or we will choke out—” Moving forward, using one of her hands, she grabbed Yuka’s arm. “I don’t want to lose you in this mess." She got a nod back towards her.

The dense cables surrounded them; they squeezed in from the sides, from underneath, and from above, forced to conform to their will, adjusting and shifting in between them. It was not a place to fully stretch; it was impossible to see past a metre in this environment.

"Agh!" Yuka clutches her side, a little cut from a wire. It didn't stop, however; every couple steps another cut would appear. It was too dense, too close; their hopes were pinned on the fact that they were moving forward towards the end of the room where the screens reside.

Metallic scratching sounds harshly rang across the room every couple seconds; heavily, inhumanly. "It's coming from the left." Himari weaved right, the proximity hopefully getting further.

Crawling and climbing over the cables was exhausting, but. The idea of getting caught was just more terrifying, pushing them forward.

“Himari!” Fingers brushed at Yuka’s side. In an instant, Himari pulled past her and swung her axe down where she stood before; cables split in half. "It's just cables…?” Her eyes focused down; they were dancing abruptly. The dizziness was slightly getting worse.

Yuka, seeing the slashed cables, quickly apologises. “I didn’t know it was cables; they felt like fingers—"

Himari gave a sigh; her feet kept moving, her hand gripping Yuka even tighter. This wasn’t just a maze of confusion; it was sensory deprivation. Every moment, a twitch, a screech or a movement of cables froze their advance; everything was against them.

I can’t anymore; my body is sweating, and my mind thinks everything is after me. I can't stay here much longer. I can tell Himari too is near her end; the axe is losing its grip every second.

“Help me, please, someone help!” A familiar voice rang from behind them. Yuka instinctively began to pull in the direction.

"Koyo—That girl needs her help."

Himari stood still, unmoving. "It's not real, just a fake; believe me on this one thing, like you don’t know it already—” Her grey eyes sharply stared into Yuka, a flame boiling inside them; the softness and pitch of that voice were cruel.

They kept moving; the maze began letting them breathe. The cables unwound from dense, claustrophobic spacing into overhangs from above; every couple steps there were more cables that had to be pushed aside, some sparking often, some alive, moving around by themselves. They had to pick the right one to push aside.

"We're like animals—" Himari’s anger penetrated the cables, the feeling of powerlessness, and the idea they were being herded by an entity this entire time; they were still prisoners, and her mind couldn't stand it.

The files started to soak wet from Yuka’s tight grip; they were most likely fine, but it would be annoying to read if they started to tear and drown.

A spark froze in place, the light yellow; they knew it was watching. "It's over. We're going to die here—” Yuka’s face was slowly covered in droplets; the difference between tears and sweat was impossible to tell. “I can barely keep walking, Himari; my head, my balance, all gone from this heat."

“This axe is useless now; I can't even hold it anymore. " A thud crossed into their ears; their eyes gazed down onto the axe on the floor, a secluded section trapping them in. They could die any moment. “Yuka, just admit it before we die; you saw everything, you saw my life, and even now you called out to her."

Silence.

“I did. You had to expect it! I don't care if you hid stuff from me this entire time; I want to know the truth, not be protected by you and some mysterious figure. " Yuka took off Himari’s grip from her arm, her stance protective, sick of lies.

Himari stood still, didn’t move or react. Just a smile “You never will know how much I and he did to protect you; I guess being grateful is something you aren't good at."

“Shut up, I'm not a weak person, surviving THEM with all this isolation for years; you wouldn't understand, you're immune to cubes, free to do whatever." Yuka backed away from Himari; she had enough. The dizziness and built-up struggle – it all came out.

Her eyes darted over the surroundings. Himari sighs. “You haven't done anything to make this easier, but you also aren’t half bad.” She lowers, her eyes closing. “If anything, I want to give up, but she doesn't."

Yuka's mouth wavered; her eyes zoomed in on the defeated girl in front of her, vulnerable for the first time. She was needed by someone else. “I can’t figure a way out of this alive. But you're right—without you I would also give up."

“Then can we just give up now?" Himari smiles, her body trembling; she then falls, eyes closed, body stiff and over. Exhaustion killed her: the constant walking, the weight of the axe, the dizziness from the heat – it was too much. Just pure willpower that kept pushing her

Slowly kneeling down to Himari, Yuka grabs her arms around her own shoulders; with one quick move, she hauls Himari onto her back. Her legs smash into the floor with the increase of weight. She stuffs the files into her dress, leaving the axe lying on the ground.

Metallic scratching from behind hurried her; each cable rammed through, no matter if a spark hit her body, causing a shock, or if it cut the side of her face; she just kept moving.

I can’t let her die; I can't give up. I'm too stubborn for that, Himari. If only I gave out first, right?

The air cooling got stronger. Was there a vent or some sort of cold spot? It was closer; that's all that mattered. Her energy slowly expanded under the heat dissipating.

She pushed past the cables; it was the final set, nothing more left. Her feet went from the floor up a couple steps onto an elevated platform. The hit of fresh air from a vent flooded in, and her eyes stared at all the screens that hung in front of her on the wall. It was the platform at the end of the room.

Himari couldn't witness it, but she made it. Their breathing returned to normal; it was a shock of relief.

“I did it, Himari; we are now at the end of the room." She let go of Himari onto the floor of the platform; her body rested flush against the control desk on the platform. So many buttons she didn't understand, but her concern rested on what was under the stairs.

A metallic body made from pure steel, slim and efficient, it had all human characteristics like legs, hands, a head, and a torso; but it was just metal. It was like a skeleton, no muscles or skin. Its eyes are just a yellow glow.

“Why did you lead us here anyway?” Yuka coughed out; her body wanted to give in. She had to finish this, however.

The metallic robot didn’t respond; it just stood.

"Wasn't expecting a response either way—”

Time to stop this thing, or at least die trying. We had a good run, Himari, but I'm sorry we had to end this way. I won't give up, just for the fact that you kept pushing because of me.