Mailmen for Cryptids

Mail In the Maze 3

I know Rufus was trying to be friendly and ease my worries about my new job and where we were going. And I had been pretty stressed about the whole thing. From the small amount I had heard where we were headed, I didn't like it at all. I should be really worrying about what fresh hell I was walking into. However, I got distracted. Rufus turned a little when he was speaking and I caught a glimpse of it. He had a tail. I couldn't handle that. It was a curved fluffy thing that was too damn cute I wanted to scream. This man looked like he could eat a tank for breakfast and he had the nerve to have a cute fluffy tail. I could not deal with the juxtaposition of his tough appearance and cute tail. Pick one or the other. You can't have both. I hated it. He misread my expression as still being worried. He slapped a large comforting hand on my shoulder and laughed.

"You'll do fine! With my nose we won't get lost. Just don't interact with any other humans you find lost inside. Your job is to deliver mail. Not to save humans. We get in a lot of trouble if we go outside our job duties. But you're doing great already! You already took one step inside the Maze, so what's a few more?"

I nearly jumped and looked around the empty room. It felt odd, even so, I didn't think I had walked into a supernatural area.

"This is part of the Maze?" I asked still looking around.

"We call them Zero rooms. It's a neutral area for meetings. They can be controlled when to appear and who can be allowed inside. It's pretty neat!"

I didn't share Rufus' excitement. I guess he was right. I had already taken a few steps into this world and had a big man to protect me. Human or not, I might be alright. I was feeling a bit better about this whole thing. I followed behind Rufus and to the door on the other side of the room. Before we left Rufus turned to address the woman behind us.

"Please pick up some eggs for dinner tonight." He called out to her. When I looked at him confused, he gave me a kind smile. "She's my daughter. Third marriage."

I did a triple take. Those two couldn't possibly be related. I didn't have time to ask about it. We were through the door and inside the so called Maze. All my fear came back and crashing down.The place looked very much like a bigger version of the room we had been inside moment before. I turned to look behind us to see the door we came inside had disappeared. No turning back now. The first few rooms I could see into had the same off white wall paper, but the floor was hardwood someone dumped white paint over. It looked like the rooms just kept going, but a few rooms in, the poorly painted wood turned into carpet.

I followed behind my new co-worker looking around straining to hear anything. I thought creatures would be around and I really didn't want to run into them, protected by my uniform or not. I suddenly wondered what that meant. The fabric really didn't feel extra durable or thick. I didn't think it would save me if anything with claws decided to make me a meal. I decided to ask a little more about the job I had been forced into.

"So uh, how do these uniforms work?" I asked.

"Oh!" Rufus looked over at me with his friendly face. This guy really was like an excited dog. "They're really special! I don't understand the process of how they're made but I heard each has some of the Silver King's hair in it. So, it's like, super tough. Uh, what's a good example for a human? Like a bullet proof vest? If you were shot you won't even feel it. It also keeps some lesser creatures that would do your harm from even being able to see you. That doesn't mean you're invincible though. There are some creatures that can tear through the uniforms but it's your first day. You won't come across them... I hope..."