The Twelve Chimes of Maligna Manor

What's the Time Mr Wolf in the Garden

It had not taken long to find Ben. There weren't a lot of places he could go, but even then, he had only gone as far as the clock. As Sara approached, Ben shifted and looked as if he might take off again, but he kept his ground. Sara got as close as she felt was comfortable and just stood there for a few moments as the tension settled.

"Look, Ben..." Sara began before being cut off.

"Let's just keep going," said Ben, "I don't want to spend any more time here."

Sara looked into the sunken eyes of her brother. They weren't the same eyes she had known before. Whatever Ben had seen in that room, it hadn't gone away. It was her fault; she knew that, and worse, she wasn't sure there was a way to fix it. She wanted to give him a hug, but she had already done that, and it had done no good.

It would never be the same. She realised, or she finally let herself realise, that no matter how this all ended, it would not be washed away. Her mistake would have consequences that she could never solve.

Meek scuttled towards them from the last room, and Sara took the distraction to will herself to turn the new key.

Four chimes rang out through the manor, and once again, a door creaked open.

Despite everything, Sara couldn't help but feel a little excited as she stepped through the new door. She felt cool air brush her face as she was greeted with the familiar autumn smells of damp earth and yellowed leaves, and for the briefest of moments, she actually thought they might be free. It was a naive thought.

They were outside, but they were certainly not free. They were surrounded by brambled hedges that shot up well over ten feet into the sky before meeting in a densely woven canopy of thorny vines that quite effectively roofed the maze. Despite the dark night, the place was illuminated by what appeared to be swarms of fireflies. Sara had seen fireflies in movies, but she was fairly certain that they gave off a yellow glow rather than the strange hellish green that these ones did.

Sara had a lot of time to think as they made their way through the maze. There was little talk between the three of them save for Ben's curt suggestion that they keep to the left side in case they had to work their way back. The others had implemented the plan without speaking, and the rest of the journey was done in silence.

As they travelled, Sara found herself thinking back to a few Halloweens ago when she and a friend had gone to the York maze. That night, they had actors dressed as killers and monsters to run after you as you made your way around. It had been more intense than this one, but by that same token, it was much less scary. Even as they chased you knife-drawn, you knew full well that they were just an actor, and their knife was just rubber.

Nothing was chasing the group through this labyrinth, but there was always the knowledge that this place actually wanted them dead.

Sara noticed quickly that Meek was particularly anxious. He was always a little jittery, but right this moment, it was something different. Meek was moving slowly, even for him, and with each turn, there seemed to be a growing sadness about him. That unnerved Sara more than she might have thought. What was it about this Maze that made him worry so much?

Sara got an answer when they finally reached the centre.

Any excitement that she might have had at the achievement vanished before it could even really begin. The centre of the maze was a large arena with three paths, all made out of large stone slabs. The ground was overgrown with wildflowers but not as disorderly as those outside the manor. The brambles above had been adorned with lanterns that gave the whole arena a strange orange glow.