Chapter 25

Jerome

       "Do you see anything?" I asked Nolan as we stood back to back. He had his bow already in his hands with an arrow sitting in it just in case.

       "No, not yet," Nolan said. "I hear it, though."

       I listened carefully, hearing a slight buzzing sound. I looked around, but all I was seeing was an endless amount of tall, brick walls. We had been in this labyrinth for who know how long and we still hadn't found a way out.

       A few days ago, Dirk sent me a warning that an attack on the HQ was approaching, knowing that I would immediately tell the HQ. Honestly, that was a stupid move on him. Wouldn't he rather just have an unexpected ambush instead?

       Whatever the reason why he told me, all Protectors and supernaturals on their side had been training a lot harder. The Protectors recruited quite a few supernaturals onto this side, so every Protector was partnered up with a supernatural, and they had been sent through a lot of training.

       The one Nolan and I were on right now was a labyrinth we had to find the way out of, and some obstacles will show up, whether it be some sort of enemy or a trap. If we failed, we were going to have to start all over.

       As of right now, nobody had ever made it through on their first try, so we were trying really hard to be that first pair. Especially because we were the best looking. I mean, that had nothing to do with this, but it was true anyway.

       The buzzing was starting to get closer, and that was when I saw the gigantic mutant-like wasp flying towards us. I was going to hit it with some magic, but Nolan had a quicker reflex and hit it with an arrow, which immediately disintegrated it.

       "Damn, you're fast," I said. 

       "That's because I had bugs," Nolan said. "I wanted to see it gone as soon as possible. But just to warn you, if a giant spider ever shows up, I'm going to officially give up."

       "No way," I said. "We need to be the first pair that beats this labyrinth on the first try. Ryder and Mae were very close to it, and I feel like I have to beat them."

       "Why?" Nolan asked. "Is there even a prize? What's the point of beating it if we don't get a prize?"

       "I'll buy you food," I said, knowing his exact weakness. 

       "Well, what are we waiting for?" Nolan asked. "Come on, we have to find our way out."

       He started walking one way, but I grabbed his hand. "Nolan, we just came from there," I reminded.

       "Really?" Nolan asked. "I could have sworn we came from the other direction. Then again, I thought my birthday was the twenty-seventh of December but as it turns out, it's the twenty-sixth. I forget my birthday all the time."

       "How does someone forget their own birthday?" I asked as we started walked down the way we hadn't gone down yet. 

       "Beats me," Nolan said. "I just don't have the best memory. I'm hungry."

       "What?"

       "What?"

       "Do you always change the subject?"

       "Yes. I'm hungry."

       "Then we should hurry up."

       "Can't you just portal us out of here?"

       "No. Your grandfather told me it's not allowed."

       Nolan sighed. "We're going to be stuck here forever."

       He was probably right, as a few moments later, we got to a dead end and right as we were going to turn around to walk back, a wall quickly shot up from the ground so we were no enclosed in a box.

       I tried using my magic to blast down one of the walls, but they were indestructible. 

       "See?" Nolan said. "This is what portals are for. You can even portal us on the other side of the wall."

       "No, there has to be something coming," I said. "Get an arrow ready."

       Nolan nodded and took an arrow out of his quiver before placing it in his bow. We both kept an eye out, looking for whatever can be waiting for us.

       A few minutes later, nothing happened, but I still had a feeling it was coming.

       "Are you sure about this?" Nolan asked. "There might be a puzzle of something on the walls that will take one down."

       "That's true," I said. "Okay, you look to see if there's a puzzle since you'll be able to solve it fast, and I'll keep my eye out because I feel something coming."

       "Aye aye, Captain," Nolan said before he started inspecting the walls for some sort of puzzle. "Ooh, found one. It looks easy."

       "Perfect, because I hear something," I said. "It sounds like... wings flapping."

       "I swear, if it's a giant flying spider..." Nolan began, but he wasn't able to finish his sentence because a giant ball of fire was sent in our direction. I quickly reflected it with a shield, and that was when a dragon came into view.

       "Wow, that looks so realistic," I said. "Who designs these things?"

       "My uncle Nick," Nolan said, standing up. "I'll solve the puzzle later." He fired an arrow at the dragon, but it used its wings as a shield.

       I threw a ball of magic at the dragon, and while it hit it, it barely did any damage. "How are we going to defeat this thing?" I asked.

       "I'm pretty sure there's a certain spot we have to hit it with," Nolan said. "But guess what? I can't remember it."

       "Try hard," I said, throwing another ball, but it still didn't do much damage. The dragon blew fire at us, and I quickly blocked it until it stopped. A threw ball after ball, but nothing was working.

       "Wait," Nolan, said, reaching for an arrow in his quiver and placing it in his bow. He pulled back the string and aimed it towards the dragon. "Great, I can't hit the spot I want. I need you to make sure it's wings are away from its body."

       "Got it," I said, then did what any sorcerer would do.

       Put it in a bind.

       It took a lot of energy to keep something that big in a bind, and I was feeling more and more weak with each passing second. 

       Nolan fired the arrow, hitting the dragon right in the heart. Because it was generated and not an actual dragon, it ended up exploding, causing the whole labyrinth to shake and the two of us falling to the ground.

       With me right on top of Nolan.

       "Well, hello there," I said, giving him a smile.

       "Hi," Nolan said, smiling back and his cheeks reddening a bit. "Mind getting off of me so I can go solve the puzzle?"

       "Not yet," I said before leaning down and pressing my lips on his. 

       Nolan kissed me back, but only for a short amount of time before he pulled away. "Can we finish this later? I want to get out of the labyrinth because I'm still hungry."

       "Alright, fine," I said, giving him one last kiss before standing up, then helping him get up.

       He went back to the wall that had the puzzle on it, and ended up solving it in less than fifteen seconds. The ground shook as the wall pushed itself down to the ground. Nolan and I began walking in that direction, and as it turned out, that was actually the exit of the labyrinth as we ended up back in the training room of the HQ.

       Gene was waiting there, and when he saw us he gave us a smile. "Nice job," he said. "I was monitoring your progress and I was impressed with how fast you two took on each obstacle and trap."

       "And we were the first duo to complete it on our first try, right?" I asked.

       "Yes, you were," Gene said. "Don't tell Ryder though. He'll be way too mad."

       "I want to tell him," Nolan said. "You know, after I go eat because I'm starving."

       "Honestly, when aren't you starving?" I asked, and Nolan just shrugged.

__________________

Same Nolan. I'm constantly needing food, because food.

AND GUESS WHO FINALLY GOT A JOB? My best friend asked if she wanted me to get her to talk to her mom about getting me a job at a fast food place since she's a manager there, and I'm just so desperate that I said I'll take it. So her mom is for sure gonna hire me. :D I just need to go there Saturday to do some things. BUT YAY ONCE I TELL MY DAD MY INTERNET ACCESS SHOULD BE FREE AGAIN AND I WON'T HAVE JUST TWO HOURS.