Nocturnal

In the Maze

The electric lights were off. Atop the mast of skulls, a few torches burned, casting out a weak light that failed to penetrate the arena’s trenches.

There was no noise except for the crunch of dirt under their feet and a faint, regular echoing rumble that came from the shipwreck behind him and to his left. Trench walls rose up on either side. Aggie couldn’t see the cavern’s ceiling high above, it was too dark for that. He kept moving, tried not to think about the fact that he was walking through the maze — the same place the teenage boy had been killed, then butchered for food.

“This way,” Hillary said as she turned right.

Aggie followed. That strange, echoing noise picked up in intensity, and Aggie realized what it was — Mommy was snoring.

Hillary had led him from the white dungeon, taking a different path than she’d used before. This time, instead of coming out on the ledge, he found himself sliding through a narrow, hidden passage and into the arena maze. Aggie hadn’t known what to expect. He certainly hadn’t expected the place to be empty, nor would he have dreamed that a place of monsters and death and terror could be even more disturbing when it was empty and mostly dark.

A tug on his arm. Hillary gestured all around, showing off like a proud homeowner. “Tonight, everyone will be here to watch the king join with Mommy and give our kind a future. That is when I will take you out. Until then, I have a place for you to wait. Come.”

She turned left. Aggie found himself at the cavern’s wall — a dead end. Hillary slid past a tall boulder and into a hidden space. She vanished from sight.

Aggie gently adjusted his grip on the knit bag, then followed.