Black Moon Draw

"Go!" the Red Knight shouts, pushing us towards the hallway.

We bolt together.

"Show me the way!" I yell to the castle that's imploding around us.

Torches light up to my left the moment I reach the corridor.

"Do not stop until you reach it!" the Red Knight orders, joining us in the hallway. Westley is at his heels.

Turning, I begin running once more. This time, there's more on the line than my aching body and burning lungs. I can't stop - no matter what. Adrenaline, despair, the need to see his eyes open one more time . . . I'm driven by nothing but near-madness, unable to feel my body and barely registering the destruction and quaking around us.

We race through the collapsing fortress, leaping over gaps in the floor and scampering over fallen stones, following the torches. The hallway turns brighter when we pass by a set of windows.

A cry comes from behind us and the squire and I turn halfway down the well-lit corridor, catching our balance against the wall between windows. The floors shudder dangerously beneath us.

Westley has fallen, his legs trapped by a massive stone. There's no way he can walk again, even if we manage to get it off him.

The Red Knight bends over him.

"Gods." The squire tugs me to the window and we look out.

If I were any less horrified, I'd be in tears.

The city is collapsing in on itself, buildings toppling into gaping holes in the ground. Beyond it, the mountain peaks tumble into the ocean while green hills explode.

"Why are you doing this?" I scream into the air, hating LF. "Make it stop!"

"Go!" the Red Knight belts at us. "Now!"

I turn and see him starting towards us. "But he's -"

"You must," Westley calls. There's resolve on his face.

My heart breaks again. The squire pulls me forward and we begin running once more through the maze of hallways. I choke back tears. I'm about to lose it in the worst way possible.

Just when I feel like I'm going to explode, we reach a corridor boiling over with purple smoke almost too thick for the light of torches to reach us. The floor pitches and throws all of us to the stones. I lose my squire's hand and bat away the fog.

Pain ricochets through me as I land hard on uneven blocks of stone. It clears the sensations of my building meltdown and I focus on the pain for a moment to bring my mind back to the task at hand rather than the despair swallowing me.

"Are . . . you there?" I gasp out, panting after the killer pace.