The body lay flat against the wall. Horizontally. Missing both legs.
I stopped abruptly. My stomach twisted in disgust, but I forced myself to breathe through my nose — steady.
"Fleur, stay with Ayumi. I'll check it out," I said quietly.
She only nodded. Her face tense, eyes focused. She crouched beside the girl, gently touching her.
"What's your brother's name?" she asked softly.
Ayumi began to speak quietly. I turned away and walked off.
She didn't need to see this.
A few steps in, the smell hit me.
Metal. Blood.
I almost ran but stopped, pressing my hand to my mouth.
Knelt down. Reached out. Touched his hand.
Still warm.
His shoulders — almost torn off. Muscle shredded, tendons dangling like broken ropes.
His stomach was slashed, every cut a cruel mark from a blade.
His hands told a story of struggle. Cracked, broken nails. Fingers smeared with blood and dirt. He hadn't gone down easy.
I leaned closer to his face.
Lips cracked. Between his teeth… fur. Gray.
I touched the bracelet on his wrist. No reaction. The screen was dead.
Do they stop working when you die?
Slowly lowered his hand. I wiped my hands on the cleaner part of his suit.
Silence. Only my breath echoed faintly against the stone.
I prepared to stand.
Maybe the sound I heard was just the body falling sideways…
What worries me?
Something is wrong here. Cat could kill quickly. But… she likes to cause pain?
Suddenly...
A barely audible sound was heard.
Breathing became ragged.
What was that?!
I whipped around.
Nothing. The labyrinth was still and dead.
Then again.
Something is grinding, causing an unpleasant sensation in the ears. Far off, just beyond the corner.
I tensed. From the shadows came… not a person.
Long limbs. Gray fur, speckled with fresh blood. Bright red eyes that glowed like lanterns in the dark. Barely visible whiskers, sharp white teeth that do not fit in the animal's mouth.
"Cat," I said aloud, without taking my eyes off the beast.
Damn it. This is a trap!
The monster waited, watching the actions of its next prey, as if enjoying it.
"Run!" I shouted.
Fleur grabbed Ayumi and they darted toward one of the turns. I ran after them, heart pounding.
I looked back for a moment.
The cat was running along the wall, claws digging into stone like it was soft clay. It was at least one and a half times bigger than a tiger.
Run! Faster!
"This way!" Fleur shouted.
My body felt as if it were filled with lead. My head was spinning. The sounds around me suddenly died down.
There was enough distance between us, but he would catch me anyway.
The girls stood near an opening in the wall. It was narrow, but large enough for a person.
A burrow?
Ayumi slipped in first, then Fleur. I ran in last at full speed.
I glanced back — and just inches from my face — a paw lunged forward.
Claws outstretched. They shone like steel.
If I had been late, even for a second, I would have died from that blow.
The cat roared. There was something desperate in the sound. It had lost its prey.
I froze. We stared at each other. I saw bloodlust and anger in her eyes.
It was dark in the hole, we crawled further until we came out.
Same gray walls. Same sky. And a smell that, moreover, mixes with the blood of the corpse.
Ayumi sobbed softly.
Fleur looked at me. Eyes wide, anxious.
Death was near.
I've never felt anything like that before. Was that adrenaline?
"Hey," a voice spoke nearby.
A guy about my age, whom I recognized immediately, was the first to dare to speak to Usagi.
"Who are you?" Fleur asked, suddenly serious.
"My name's Finn. I was where you are now, and it seems you've already met my companion," Finn said, stepping closer.
He seemed strangely composed — until his gaze locked onto me.
Coming even closer, he added , "You smell like blood. You're… marked."
That's my mistake. Cats have a keen nose — it's only a matter of time before they find me.
"We'll use this," Finn continued.
Ayumi stopped crying and looked at the stranger.
Finn glanced at me and seemed to understand everything, "I'm guessing you've been standing still for some time, right?"
How did he know?
"The three of you are together. And walking with a child… that's difficult for a lot of reasons. By now, most people would've already run into the cats. That means you were either standing still for a while — or moving very slowly. You found that burrow because we're closer to the center — the place where the cheese is."
The cheese.
He knows more for sure.
I gave a small nod, and Finn and I stepped away — leaving the girls alone.
"You're right. Mind sharing what you know?" I said.
Finn shrugged and continued, "I went further and spotted a structure — it looked like a tower rising only upward."
"So, you need help getting there? That's why you came back?" I asked.
He nodded, "Exactly. And since you're marked, we need to act fast."
"What's your plan?"
"I'll explain everything on the way."
"Let's go," I called to the girls, and we moved forward.
For some reason, I trust him.
Maybe I just wanted to believe someone had a plan.
Finn walked ahead, talking, "Check out these two timers."
I glanced down.
05:41:15 — time remaining.
00:58:09 — time spent in the burrow.
So it takes about two minutes to get through the burrow.
Finn said, "Surviving or reaching the cheese is the goal. You can wait or stay near the burrow, moving as needed. But what comes next? No one knows — it might get tougher."
At first, my strategy worked. But I doubt it would have continued to work later.
Fleur asked, "Burrows aren't just paths between walls, they're like spaces that transport you somewhere?"
I looked at Fleur and nodded.
Like a kind of teleport — a safe zone, but only for an hour.
Ayumi walked quietly, staring at the ground.
Finn stopped. "We're almost there. I still don't fully grasp how these cats move or how clever they really are."
Finn was calm the whole time, almost as if victory was already certain in his mind.
I asked, "What exactly will we have to do?"
Finn touched his bracelet and showed me the screen.
I was surprised.
"It took me a long time to gather information."
On his screen, the timer counting the time spent in the burrow showed 00:02:01.
He used up almost all his time.
Fleur murmured, "How did that happen?"
"I'll tell you everything. That's why I stopped."
All our eyes fixed on him.
He began his story, "When I arrived in this labyrinth, I tried the same — staying still. I thought I could exploit its geometry or rules, but it didn't work out. My friends pressed on, I was scared, so I followed. Then a cat appeared, we scattered, and I found a burrow."
His voice was even, uninterrupted.
"After leaving the hole, I continued to walk through the maze until I reached a wide passage - probably the main corridor connecting the others. Moving forward, I saw a large stone arch. It was then that I realized that this was the place I was looking for."
I asked, "What next? How did you lose so much time in the burrow?"
Finn paused for a moment. "Beyond the arch was a large space with a tower in the middle—the same one I told you about. The gate was wide open. Cats were sleeping everywhere. Only four were patrolling nearby. I crossed the arch and they charged. I ran back, but they wouldn't give up."
Ayumi's voice was barely above a whisper. "How did you escape?"
"There was an opening in front of this arch. I slipped through one. It led me to another main corridor - there were four of them, as well as entrances with open doors leading to the tower. I tried to go in there myself, but I couldn't."
I narrowed my eyes. "If there are so many cats, what use are we? You think four of us can manage?"
A small, grim smile played on Finn's lips. "While the cats were chasing me, I saw people running toward the tower, past the sleeping — until one of them stepped on a tail. That cat woke up… and tore them all apart. Then it entered one of the maze's main corridors."
So when they're asleep, they don't react to sound. Or to scent. Only to touch? And only if it's human?
His expression darkened. "I tried many things but failed, so I came back hoping to find people."
Fleur looked uneasy. "Maybe we should wait a bit."
Finn shook his head, looking around.
"I noticed every thirty minutes a new cat wakes up and starts moving. It's in our best interest to get out of here fast."
I asked, "If I'm understanding this right, we stopped here because this path is about to connect with the main corridor? And you need someone to play the role of bait?"
"Yes. And that person will be you."
It makes sense. If those four cats are guardians that react when someone enters the center… then maybe the scent of my blood will trigger them earlier?
We continued moving cautiously, muscles aching, breaths heavy — until we reached the last turn. The path ahead stretched out, leading only forward.