Austin reached the blue tent to change; he searched his tent for the backpack with his original outfits: the one with the owl crest on it. After digging around in the bag, he found the plain pair of pants and the shirt with the owl's crest on its chest. He looked at it; Jackson told him he needed to be true to himself if he hoped to succeed in leading his friends out of this hellish compost dump. He wasn't wrong, Austin realized as he donned the clothes, no longer caring what anyone else thought of him.
When he returned to Aaron, the boy just smirked, his eyes full of amusement and what looked like pride, despite the meadowers Austin had passed giving the boy stinky eyes and looks of horrified surprise. "Don' worry 'bout those losers," Aaron said, as they made their way to the Flatshack. "They don't decide who you are, Austin. Besides, s'not like ya gonna see them much today… or much at all, anymore, when you officially become a Scout."
"True," Austin commented, suddenly bumping into Aaron, who'd stopped. "What? What is it?"
"Ya know, I'm thinkin' of waiting to do the paperwork," Aaron said, earning a confused look from Austin when he gave Austin a one-over. "Yeah, you can hold your own. We'll do the rest later. Your first - officially approved - time in the Labrithe starts today. Let's go."
After getting the necessary supplies, gear and snack packs for the journey, Aaron led Austin out the North gate, where his first day in the Labyrinth finally underwent.
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The first day in the Labyrinth was not as eventful as Austin thought it'd be, but something good did come out of it: Aaron and Austin scouted pretty much the entirety of the open sectors, finding a new passage Aaron had never seen before. It was a passage that broke off from a spot in the labyrinth Zach found months ago and dubbed 'The Alcove'. It was a passage that must have led under the Alcove, as, when Austin stumbled through the hidden entranceway, he remembered seeing a descending path continued steadily downward, into a cavern Aaron had never seen before.
"What is this place?" Austin asked, spinning around as he took in his new surroundings, his face displaying his awe.
Aaron, already done taking in his immediate surroundings in this new place, looked at Austin, the newb. He found himself wondering the same thing. "I-I don't know. I've never been here before. No one has. We didn't even know this place existed."
"Maybe it has something to do with the Annihilators attacking Meadowers during the day now?" Austin suggested. "Maybe it's part of things changing…." As the newb's eyes lit up, Aaron found himself already guessing what he was about to say before he actually did. "Maybe… maybe it's our way out."
But, jogging towards the farthest corner of the cavern, where a door resided, before Aaron could caution the boy, Austin reached the door with Aaron at his heels. As they reached the door, Aaron noticed that the door was actually handleless. Not only that, but it was also taller than what they both thought it was from afar; it was at least 13 feet tall and made of steel.
"How do we open it?"
"Sorry, what, newb?"
"How do we open it?" Austin asked, as if what he meant was obvious. "The doors, I mean. How do we open the doors?"
"Why?" Aaron asked. "If this is really where the Annihilators come rest n' stuff, then we'd need numbers to check it out𑁋."
"But, Aaron𑁋," Austin tried, but the boy cut him off.
"Nun-uh, Newb, not today," and a glance at the boy told Austin he wouldn't bulge on the topic. "Besides, it's gettin' late, the Sun is setting and I shouldn't need to remind you of the consequences of being locked out of the Labyrinth at night, right? We'll come back tomorrow with the numbers to explore this area."
With that, after a five minute breather break and a few swiggs of water 𑁋 Rule #4 of being a Scout: Don't drink all your water at once; Check. 𑁋 Aaron got up and wordlessly began jogging back the way they had come. Though still out a breath slightly, breathing heavily, Austin got up and ran after Aaron, both heading back to the Meadows, where they'll document their find in their most recent mapping of the maze for the day.
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The next day, Aaron had called in Zack [short for Zackery], Atlanna, Trevor and the lead Bandager girl, Cleo, to help him and Austin scout the new passage breaking off from the Alcove. Zack seemed very prepared, armed with a pistol, a wooden spear and a machete. Atlanna seemed just as prepared, armed with daggers and knives and Trevor's crossbow was armed with a bolt from his quiver resting on his back, with a spear strapped to his back. Cleo carried the crew's supply bag, which was much bigger than the ones they normally carry themselves, all their food and emergency supplies in one bag. Aaron was probably the most comfortably-looking armed person present; he had his own supply bag, a pistol in one hand, a machete to the hip, a dagger to his right ankle and a spear strapped behind his back. Austin had only his original daggers and knives located throughout his body, a quiver to his waist and a longbow in hand.
And, as they all left through the Northern Gate, Aaron commented on the surprise they had concerning the day's events so far: "Strange. The Labyrinth hadn't shifted last night. It's still in the same position it had been yesterday, at least, as far as I can tell, it is."
"Is that bad?" Cleo and Austin found themselves asking in unison.
"It's unheard of, at the very least," Zackery corrected, with both Trevor and Atlanna nodding in agreement.
"Its never happened before," Aaron voice his agreeance.
"Something tells me we should be on alert," Austin started.
"That something isn't right," Aaron murmured a few moments later, as they reached their destination: The entrance to the Alcove. It only served to both give them hope for an escape to this place and dread to find out what's on the other side of the tunnel, past the steel, 13 foot tall, double doors.
The tunnel led them deeper and deeper underneath the Alcove, before widening considerably into a cavern the size of a sports field. Its cavernous roof was made of stalactites and stalagmites and the area below it had the same point stones as the roof lining various edges of a dirted field the size of half the Meadows itself, the stalagmites and stalactites hanging from the roof of the cavern like the fangs of a serpent. At the far end of the cavern, the doors 13 feet high and made of metallic steel rested.
"Atlanna, Trevor, Zackery," Aaron turned to the other 3 scouts, stopping everyone in their tracks. "You three stay here and keep watch just in case." The 'Just in case an Annihilator gets past us'. The 'just in case the Annihilators wake up and attack us'. The 'just in case we don't make it.' 𑁋 went unsaid, but understood somehow between the lot of them. "Make sure we aren't followed."
"We?" Cleo came to the realization at the same time Austin had. "Plural? You mean it plurrally."
"Well, Austin did find this place; it's only right he's there to check it out, and you're our only healer present, so, yeah, 'we'," Aaron chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll keep ya safe, Cleo."
"What about me?" Austin asked, out of curiosity.
"Well, I taught you all I can all this time. If you die by not following through with what you've been taught, sorry, newb, you're on your own," smiled Aaron, jokingly. "Relax, man, I'm just joking. You got this. You, me and Cleo, we've got this. Let's go."
As the three of them continued on, Aaron spoke. "This is unmapped terrain, possibly hostile. Step where I do, in case there are traps. Keep your heads up, pay attention and don't ya dare die on me, got it?"
"Yeah," Austin let out shakily.
"Mmmh," nodded Cleo, nervously.