Chapter 18 #3
The final image showed two gravestones, side by side, and when I took a step back to see what image all the individual pictures made…
“It’s a sun,” Parker breathed as she stared at the image beside me.
She was right. The images wove and connected to create a giant sun shape.
Just then, there was a low rumbling, and off to our right, a small section of stone slid down to reveal a large, bright red button.
I had a strong feeling that the button was our way out.
“Damn,” I murmured as I clapped Tyler on the back. “Nice work man. That was genius, and I’m glad we have you on our team.”
Tyler chuckled at the compliment, and he glanced down awkwardly while Claire stepped forward with a wide smile on her face to praise him as well. She had nothing but admiration in her eyes for my friend, and I was once again grateful they’d found each other.
“What do you think it means?” Parker asked as she stared at the images. “Or do you think it was merely a puzzle and nothing more?”
“I don’t think anything in here is without purpose,” I muttered as I glanced at the image as well. “But I have no idea what significance any of this could have. I mean, a sun? What could that possibly mean?”
Not to mention the rest of the images. Why were we shown a random person and their family?
“Let’s keep moving,” I finally said. “I think that button is our ticket out of here.”
The others gathered around me as I stood in front of the button, and I slowly lifted my finger to push it in, but I paused before I made contact.
“Uh, maybe you guys should take cover,” I said as I glanced at them nervously. “Just in case this doesn’t do what I think it does, and something goes horribly wrong.”
The others took several steps back, and Tyler positioned himself in a protective stance in front of the two women.
Once I was certain they were out of any potential danger, as much as they could be anyway, I took a deep breath and pushed the button.
There was another low click and then a loud, rumbling sound before the mural wall split in half and began to slowly move apart. The gap in the wall kept growing until the mural was completely gone and the gap was the same size as the corridor we were already standing in.
When the rumbling finally stopped and the walls settled into place, we all gave a little cheer before we started down the new pathway. This new corridor was long, but it looked like any other we’d been through, so we moved at a cautious pace and kept an eye out for traps.
We’d gotten about halfway down the path when a loud rumbling sound started up, and then suddenly, the walls on either side of us began to slowly creep closer together.
Shit.
The corridor was closing, and we were still inside.
“Run!” I yelled, and we all took off in a mad dash to the other side.
I ran quickly but made sure I was behind the others to ensure they all made it out okay and nobody got left behind.
The walls closed just as slowly as they’d opened, which allowed us a bit more time, but if they closed too much before we were able to reach the other side, we’d get stuck and then become crushed.
We all pumped our arms and legs as we ran, and my heart hammered wildly in my chest. I just hoped there weren’t any sort of traps in here, because we didn’t have time to move with caution.
We were so close, I could see the opening up ahead. The walls were dangerously close now, barely a couple inches of space were left between us and the walls.
We could do this.
I chanted it in my head like a mantra as I ran.
We could do this. We’d make it. We could do this.
The walls were so close now they brushed against my arms as I ran. Up ahead, I saw Parker safely pass through the gap to the other side. Then Claire made it through.
The walls got so close I had to tuck my arms as I ran.
Finally, Tyler got through, and I was right behind him, but the walls were far too close now. I had to turn my body sideways to avoid being held in place between the two walls.
I had mere seconds left before I wouldn’t be able to move at all, and I had to do an awkward crab walk or sideways shuffle just to keep going, which slowed me down significantly.
The wall in front of me was so close it brushed against the tip of my nose, and for one terrifying moment, I feared I’d get crushed right here, right beside the exit for all my friends to see. But then I took another sidestep, and Tyler grabbed my arm and yanked me the rest of the way out.
The walls closed with a solid and terrifying thud, but I was free. I sprawled across the ground with Tyler as we both panted.
“Thanks man,” I croaked when I was finally able to catch my breath, and I moved to stand up. “You seriously saved my life back there.”
“No biggie,” he grunted out as he rolled to get to his feet. “You would’ve done the same thing for any of us. You have, actually. And you wouldn’t have even been in that position if you hadn’t let us all go ahead of you.”
I chuckled as I stood and brushed myself off, and then I glanced around.
We were in an entirely new section of the maze now. The wall where we’d just come from looked the same, but everything else looked completely different.
Gone were the towering stone walls and gravel paths. Instead, the tall walls surrounding us were fluffy, green hedges, and the ground beneath our feet was plush grass.
The entire place looked picturesque, which led me to believe it was even more deadly than the place we’d just come from.
“Is this the center?” Claire asked hopefully as she glanced around.
“I don’t think so,” I murmured. “But I think we’re getting close. Stay extra vigilant. The closer we get to the center, the more dangerous I’m sure the maze will become.”
The others silently nodded their agreement.
Behind us, I noticed the one remaining stone wall had a bright red button on it, which meant the tunnel we’d come from could be accessed from both sides. That was a relief to know in case we couldn’t find Sadie and had to go back for her.
And this time, we’d know to start running as soon as the walls began closing, so we’d have more time to get clear of them.
We started moving along the path once more, and I kept a careful eye out for any tripwires. The nice part was the grass wasn’t loud like the gravel had been, so if we ran into any viscerids here, we might actually have a chance to sneak away.
We came across two more forks in our path, and each time, the left path felt like the correct way to go.
At one point, as we were walking, something shiny caught my eye. The glimmer of light came from the hedge to our left, and my stomach twisted in excitement because I had a very strong feeling I knew exactly what the source was.
I still didn’t want the others to know about the strange metal ball I carried, so I waved them ahead for a moment while I paused to peek through the hedge’s leaves, and sure enough, nestled among the green, was a small, shiny, dark metal piece.
I quickly reached through the leaves, grabbed the little chunk of metal, and shoved it into my pocket. If I survived this ridiculous trial, then maybe I’d finally understand what the metal ball did.
Then I hurried to catch up to the others.
As we all walked, we got to a section of maze that was especially twisty. Every few yards, the walkway veered either to the right or the left, and there were several more paths that branched out. We went with the paths that felt the best, and before we knew it, we’d arrived at a little clearing.
This area in the maze was beautiful. The hedges were lined with marble flower beds that were all filled with a tangle of vines and colorful flowers. At the center of the clearing, amid the lush, green grass, was a massive, three-tiered, marble fountain that spewed clear, clean water.
The water splashed down into the basin below, and the excess trickled even further down into the others.
Several flowering shrubs were placed sporadically around the clearing, and there were even fucking butterflies.
It looked like a paradise set in the center of hell.
Then one of the bushes rustled slightly, and I held up a hand to make the others pause while I creeped closer to check it out.
I hoped it wasn’t anything dangerous hiding in the shrub because I didn’t exactly have a weapon. I gave the bush a wide berth as I crept around to get a better view of the other side, and when it finally came into view, my heart stopped.
“Sadie?” I hissed.
The dark-haired woman had been crouched behind the bush trying to peer at something, but her head snapped in my direction as soon as she heard her name called. She jumped a little when she saw me, but then her startled eyes filled with relief.
“I’m so glad you’re oka--” I began, but Sadie quickly held a finger up to her lips, and I snapped my jaw shut.
Sadie gestured for me to move closer, so I signaled for the others in our group to be quiet and follow me.
They obliged, and Sadie didn’t do anything else until we were all hidden behind the huge shrub together.
“What’s going on?” I mouthed to her, and I glanced around to try and figure out why she was hiding.
In answer, Sadie pointed in the direction of one of the other pathways leading away from the clearing. I stared hard in that direction, and I didn’t see anything unusual.
But then, I heard something.
A low chittering sound echoed from the corridor.
And a second, answering call…
Viscerids.
Shit.