Ben + Naomi + Gabe: Almost there
Privately, despite Miles' insistence that he was slower this year, Ben thought he was on form this morning. He'd already got further in the maze than he ever had before, and his heart was starting to pound with excitement. He tried to breath deeply to get it to slow, trying to pay attention to what he was doing while thinking about flowers and sunsets to calm himself down. Not only did he not need to be releasing so much adrenaline, but he didn't know if some of the attackers would be wearing sound-enhancing equipment - with a a noisy heartbeat you might as well jump out onto the platform and yell "here I am!!"
He was definitely getting closer, though. It wasn't about speed necessarily but about stealth, and he was good at that, good at stepping lightly, at blending himself into the shadows while moving with optimum agility towards the next obstacle. He was starting to think that he might actually do it this time. He might be the first one ever to complete the mission - what an achievement that would be for his last year in L1!
He was just passing through an open corridor, metal from the grated floor to the handrails and the dark ceiling above, with no way to run if he was cornered, on full alert, when he heard a sound up ahead. Frozen, he checked over his shoulder, but no way he could get back to the relative safety of the previous room before whoever it was came into sight. Instead, he swung himself onto the handrail, about half the width of his shoe, and stood up. He didn't bother to look down. He knew if he fell now it would be a long way to go and probably a painful way to die. Instead, he looked up and, finding what he was looking for, jumped straight upwards. He grabbed onto a thick length of pipe and tensed his core muscles to lift up his legs until he was perpendicular to the ceiling.
The attacker, whoever it was, came onto the bridge and walked slowly across it, keeping an eye to either side and ahead, but never looked up. Ben waited until he was off the other end into the next room, and counted carefully to thirty, his abs burning almost unbearable, before letting himself fall with a soft clang.
Panting, he ran the rest of the corridor and continued on his way. Something to his left let out a great roar of steam, and he ducked, cursing himself for an idiot when he realised what he was hiding from. He kept on. He could hear no one else anywhere near, and he thought he might have outstripped all the others.
Finally he found a forbidding-looking door with a slash of red paint across it. He checked around for guards before side-sliding up to it and pushing it carefully, slowly open.
There was someone there, sitting in a chair with their arms bound to it, half-hidden by darkness. He couldn't help a grin. He'd done it! Hold your horses Ben, he told himself firmly. You've still got to get them untied and out of here.
Excitedly he hurried across to the bound figure, but when he leaned over to start untying the ropes, he gasped and almost took a step back. "Mom?" What on earth was she doing here? He couldn't believe she would volunteer for this. "What are you -"
Something hit his back with a thud that almost knocked all the breath out of him. It was lucky he was good at keeping his feet, or he might have fallen straight into Naomi's lap. Face reddening with anger, he spun round to face his attacker. "Gabe! What the hell?"