Zaara's POV - INSIDE THE MAZE
I held Vincent's hand tight as we walked into the fog.
I don't know when… but somewhere along the way, his fingers slipped out of mine.
I turned.
He was gone.
Just like that.
Gone.
Like his warmth had never been there to begin with.
"Vincent?"
No response.
I turned in the white mist, spinning in circles, reaching out nothing. The fog swallowed everything.
It was humming—this low, vibrating buzz that made my bones itch.
The fog parted.
Ahead of me stood a screen.
It flickered.
Glitched.
And then…
My mom.
She was in hospital gown. Her hair thinner than I remembered. Her eyes sunken.
Crying.
"Zaara, where are you? Baby, please… they said you left me here."
I couldn't breathe.
"Mama?"
I reached for the screen like I could crawl through it. My hands trembled as her face blurred, but her voice kept cutting through:
"They said you left me."
I took a step back.
"No, I didn't. I didn't….I'm trying to come back. I'm trying to survive."
