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"How long are you planning on being out, Apo?" Redd asks, he understands the need to do supply runs, and he knows that Apo is too restless to sit still, even when they do have enough food for the week. Personally, Redd doesn't agree with his need to roam the maze aimlessly, but he trusts that Apo will come back every time.
There's no one with a better knowledge base of the Maze and all its dangers than Apo. He was always the best runner the Glade had. Even if Owen was the one to be declared the lead Runner, Apo had always done a better job of leading expeditions and understanding the actual threats.
Sure Owen thinks he's all that. But really, he’s always had a big head. Calling himself a soldier so proudly. Does he recall the war? Redd does. He knows what it was fought over, does Owen know what he's done? Telling Apo that he'd protect him, because he used to be a soldier.
“Not too long Red. I'll be back in a few hou-” he trails off, looking at the clock he keeps on a chain. “I'll be back an hour before the grievers start.” Apo gives Redd a reassuring smile. Like it will all be okay. And it will. Redd knows it will, but damn if it's not tough to feel it.
Apo takes the few steps towards the exit slowly. Going through his inventory, one final check he has everything he needs. Redd knows that it's an act for his benefit, that Apo knows damn well where ever item he owns already is. But he appreciates it. Apo gives him one last grin before shifting the heavy stone slate they use as a door closed. Leaving Redd alone in their home.
The small crack in the walls that they've found their sanctuary in. It's far too small to house two people, but they make do. Sleeping in each others arms, no other comforts available.
Redd's made sure to bring some of the tent canvas found at the first lever room in. Something softer than stone to rest on. But it's still damn cold. It always will be, but they make do with the heat from torches and each other's bodies.
But it's too early to light a torch, coal is a rarity now that they don't have the resources of the Glade. Redd's saving that for the night. When too many monsters shuffle outside of their crevasse to feel safe sleeping. When they both have to stay up, just in case one finds its way to their door.
There's no point sleeping in shifts, not when it's too cramped to breathe without waking the other. There's no way to keep your partner safe without stepping on them.
So they sleep at the same times. They don't eat together most days, with Apo roaming the maze whenever the sun is up, but Redd likes the closeness he's found. The routine, the companionship.
It's not something he could have ever gotten in the clearing. Redd's always been too introverted, if there was room away from people, he'd take it. But Redd's found more peace in his forced closeness with Apo than he's ever had.
There's nothing for Redd to do except watch the small crack of light in the doorway shift to the right as the sun moves high above the walls.
Redd always starts to tense when it disappears. Not nightfall yet, but the sun's too low to be seen over the high walls surrounding them. It happens earlier in the narrow passages of the maze than the Glade. But Redd sorta feels safer here.
Alone, Redd knows what all the threats are. And he knows that Apo still has ninety minutes until he said he'd be back. Sure Apo would be safe staying a night or two roaming free in the Maze. He does it plenty. But he said he'd be back tonight. So he will be.
There's not many things Redd can count on, but Apo's word is one of them. The only others are the presence of the walls, and the deadliness of the Grievers. Everything else is subject to change.
Redd's found himself sort of thankful to be out of the Glade. The other runners were stifling. He can't predict what they're going to do. Sure they all claim that everyone's on the same side. BUt they're not.
They never have been. Redd's had an attempt on his life in the Glade. Guts tried to poison him. And Graecie hadn't done shit. She was in charge, and she didn't do shit. Redd was supposed to be her vice, her second. But not a single person gave a shit about what he said.
No one cared about him there. They all claimed to, but they were all fucking liars. Here in the maze, there's only honesty. A cruel honesty. A ‘everything is out to get you’ truth that Redd can find comfort in. Cause everything is trying to kill you. The maze had no illusions about that.
Even the stupid 'mercy' lever was honest. Sure it killed an entire clearing. But it hadn't promised not to. What fucking mercy were the other runners expectign from it? It was a shot in the dark, and it had the mercy not to hit their glade.
That's the mercy Redd had expected. And maybe he's just jaded, maybe he has the insider knowledge of seeing the previous cycles, but he liked that honesty.
People were liars. Everything with a mouth to speak sowed lies. It's the only sound that left anyone's mouths in the Glade, and Redd is so happy to be gone from it.
Darkness slowly creeps further into the hole in the wall home Redd and Apo had found. And Redd's just trying to tell himself not to worry about Apo. There were a few more minutes before the doors closed. Not that he's seen the doors in months, but that's besides the point.
What the point is, is that it's nearly nightfall, and it is very dangerous to be outside during the night. Redd knows that Apo is a skilled runner, and that he's lived dozens of nights outside in the maze. But still. Redd can't keep himself from worrying. And a little bit of worry is probably helpful. Stress is a survival mechanism. Not a good one, but ya know.
Redd watches the clock closely as the minutes tick over. Apo is late. He's typically pretty good about not being late. Or more accurately, he won't give a specific time he's coming back if he doesn't intend on keeping it. Most of Apo's jaunts into the maze he just says, 'I’ll be back when I’m back' Redd hates it. But it's the most honest thing he can say, and Redd appreciates it.
If Apo can't be on time, he won't give a time. That's one of the few things that Redd trusts. But it's not an emergency yet. Apo doesn't like coming back to their base during the night. He doesn't want to lead monsters there and endanger Red. And while Redd appreciates the thought. It's a useless one. Monsters already lurk outside of their door. And Redd's biggest concern is Apo being safe. So if one Apo's safety had to come at the price of Redd's, he's okay with that.
As much as Redd spent his time in the Glade alone. He really does like the company. The issue was he couldn't trust any of them. But Redd trusts Apo. Apo is the one person in here that Redd fully trusts.
Redd would wager that he trusts Apo more than he trusts himself. More than he trusts his memories. He knows those can be modified and removed. Redd knows that most of what he bases his sense of self on is probably made up, so he trusts Apo to be his center.
Apo won't change. Apo can't be modified. (He knows that's not true. But he can't handle that, so it's not. Redd knows damn well what the maze makers can do. All they can fabricate.) So Redd trusts Apo.
Redd is used to sleepless nights. He doesn't expend much energy in the day, he can stay up a night or three. So he's fine to spend the night not breaking eye contact with the clock. He doesn't bother to light the torch. He can see in the dark better than Apo can.
He hasn't told Apo that, and he never will. Not until they're out of the maze. (Redd knows damn well they're never getting out. That Out doesn't exist. Not for people like them. Once your In your In for good.) But Redd likes the idea of telling someone. Someone he trusts, and that's only Apo.
Maybe he could take his mask off someday, maybe feel the sun on his face. But fantasies like that distract from looking at the clock. So Redd focuses himself. Tick tock. Tick tock. Minute after minute after hour. Night passes.
Slowly. Oh so despairingly slowly. Dawn breaks. The crack of light at the door appears again. And Redd knows that it's daytime again. That the monsters are gone for now. And Apo's not back.
Redd doesn't like having serious conversations with Apo, he hates having to look him in the eye and admit that things can faze him. But he's told Apo about not liking when he's late. And that if he says that he's going to be back, and if he's not going to come home during the night. That Apo needs to arrive in half and hour of daybreak.
And Apo agreed. He said, 'sure Red, if that'll help you. I'll make sure of it.' And Redd had never loved someone more. Not that he'd admit it. Love is a weakness. Love makes you hesitate in the thick of a fight. Love makes you sacrifice yourself.
So Redd slowly stands up, not raising to full height, he can't with such a low roof. But he moves to the door. The thick slab of stone they shift to get in and out. And Redd slides it out. He hasn't actually seen the sun in a few days. Apo is happy to take care of grabbing materials from the Maze. So Redd doesn't actually have to go out often.
Redd sticks his head out of their shelter, and he doesn't see Apo. His heart sinks a bit. But he wasn't expecting much. The field of view in these narrow passages aren't great. Apo could be a minute away and Redd wouldn't be able to see him.
But he should hear him by now. While vision is limited to the exact corridor you're in. Sound carries. Every stumble or scream of the maze can be heard in every corner. He should hear Apo's footsteps if he was anywhere near.
If Redd leaves to go out looking for him, he's just going to miss Apo when he returns. So all Redd can do is wait. Apo's going to be home any minute, and Redd's going to tell him he was worried, and Apo's gonna laugh, and it's all going to be okay.
They've done this exact scene before, And Apo's always okay. So he'll be okay this time. He has to be.
Redd doesn't know what he'll do if he's not. The idea of Apo not being okay is so alien, Redd can't comprehend it. Apo is okay, because that's the only possibility. So Redd waits.
He stares at his clock, sitting just outside of the shelter, he waits. Apo hasn't come back yet, but he will. That's how it goes. Apo wanders the Maze, and Redd waits at home for him. And Apo comes back, because that's how it always happens.
Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tick tock, as the hour hand makes it move. Tick tock. Tick tock. Redd waits. The sun moves across the sky, eventually dipping back beyond the sight of the walls. And. Redd continues to wait. Because what the hell else can he do?
Eventually, Redd has to close up the shelter. Pull himself inside. Alone. And he's used to being alone, make no mistake. Alone is the natural state for Reddoons. But he had enjoyed not being that for a while.
Night passes. Tick tock. Tick tock. Redd is worried. Beyond worrying. Redd's afraid. Apo's not back. He should be back. He said he was going to be back.
Redd doesn't know what to do. But night passes, he hears Grievers pass by. The metal groaning and clanking and hunting. But it passes. And the night passes. Minute by minute. It passes.
When day breaks, Redd's almost paralised by fear. Apo's not back. But he always comes back. So something must be wrong. He knows that Apo wouldn't be caught by the monsters. He knows that Apo's stronger than any threat hidden in these shifting stone walls. So why isn't he back?
When the crack of light under the door appears, Redd's ready to head out. Maybe Apo's just a corner away, but if Redd keeps sitting still it'll kill him. He has to find Apo.
Hopefully. Please god, hopefully, Apo is going to be just around a corner. A skip, hop and a jump over a tripwire away. Safe and secure. Maybe with some new loot. Maybe he found some cool new corner he would drag Redd to, and they'd explore together. Just Apo and Red. Together against the world. Against the Maze.
He wasn't. Of course he wasn't. If Apo was that nearby, he'd of come home. Obviously. Apo wouldn't have broken his word for nothing. Redd trusts him.
Redd rechecks his inventory. Sword, knife, bow. Food, bandages, blocks. Extra food, sleeping bag. He has everything he owns on him. It's a short list, there's not much to have in the maze, and he already knows where every item in his inventory is. He just wants to delay his excursion as long as possible. But he can't. Redd has to go. And he has to go now. Before he's killed by idleness.
Walking into the maze, it's the same as ever. Stone walls, vines and lava. Tripwires. Nothing changed. Redd feels like it should be different today. With Apo missing, but the walls are stagnant as ever. Tall, intimidating. Boring really. There's only so scared walls can make you before it's just normal.
Redd navigates with ease. The walls don't shift that often, and Apo updates him each time they do. He knows where he is, and he knows the route he's going to take until he finds Apo.
It's a long walk, not boring. Never boring with the amount of traps and turns and tricks. If you let yourself get bored, you let yourself get lost. Redd's not bored. He's fucking scared.
Terrified that he's not going to find Apo. That Apo fucked up somewhere and got himself shot or burned or mauled by metal beasts. He knows that Apo can survive, but did he.
Even the best need to be careful, overconfidence gets you killed. That's why Redd believes he's the worst at everything. It's tactical, he chuckles to himself. No, he knows his worth. It's not much but he knows it.
Most of the Maze looks the same. Each corridor, every pit and tripwire. Redd has to be careful to point out the differences of every passage to make sure he doesn't get lost. He's not going to get lost. He needs to keep that thought out of his mind. He knows the Maze, he knows where he is. He can't risk doubting himself.
Eventually, Redd's nearing the part of the Maze that leads to the clearing. He doesn't want to go there. He's not going there. He just doesn't even want to be close. But he has to check, doesn't he? On the off chance that Apo's there, Redd's got to take a look.
He doesn't like getting so close to where the other runners might be. Close enough that he might pass them in the hallways. But for Apo. He has to do it for Apo.
Each corner, he's worried about running into someone. He knows he'd be able to hear them coming, footsteps echo far louder than they have any right to. But still. Redd worries, and fears.
Eventually. Redd does find something. Something red. painted onto the floor, footsteps and splatter. Blood.
Who's blood? Redd doesn't know. He's going to have to follow the trail to find out, and unfortunately, it seems to be leading towards the Glade. Who's died this time? Who's name is gonna be crossed out on that dumb wall now?
Redd doesn't really care, it's not him, and it's not gonna be Apo. Maybe Mowhee's dead for real this time. Maybe Owen finally bit it. He'd always been too confident. It's not a long trail of blood. Redd doesn't have time to go through the list of every name it could be when he finds out.
He's far closer to the Glade then he feels comfortable being. He turns one final corner, and he can see the entry. The walls give way to the grassy meadow he nearly called home. He can also see a body, laying on its back. Blood pooling around him, a broken off spear stuck out of his stomach.
It's Apo. The body is Apo. Redd's legs give out. He feels himself hit the cold stone floor. But he can't see anything except Apo. Who's lying still on the ground. WHo's blood is pooling around him.
Redd manages to crawl to him. To hold Apo close to him. The sharp of the spear is coming from his stomach. He was hit from behind. Was he fleeing? Was it a surprise?
Did Apo have time to react to whatever killed him? He was so close to the Glade, could help not reach him in time? What happened?
Redd doesn't know what happened. He doesn't know what's happening now. How is Apo dead? He can't be. Apo promised he'd be back. He wouldn't break that promise. So Apo has to come back, but how is he going to come back if he's dead?
He doesn't know how long he spends holding Apo's body. It wasn't completely cold when he got there. Someone in the Glade should have discovered it. Someone should be here? How could Apo be dead?
What's going on? How. How how how? Redd wants to go back to his home, and when Apo gets back, Redd's going to tell him about this, and Apo'll laugh. Because the idea that he's dead is so silly they have to laugh about it.