Boboiboy L/S: A Loophole in Time (BOOK 2)

The Right Word

Boboiboy continued running and running, with totally no idea where he was going to. He tried remembering the turns he had taken: left, right, right, and another left...

But there were too much too remember that he had lost sense of direction. It all depends on his guts now, he guessed. He wondered how the others are doing, and why, even after so many twists and turns, he hadn't collided with any of the others, and also where was the end to this maze anyways? It seemed to go on and on forever. How big is this maze? 

In just the few minutes previously, he had encountered weird things that tried to block his path, or else disturb him from doing so. He had found a golden bush, which growled every time he got near, a path full of tangled ivy that grappled and cut deep gashes into his skin as he fought his way through, and also, he thought, he rather saw a glimpse of a dragon before squeaking fearfully and dashing straight onwards, not daring to look back.

His legs were wobbling and had started screaming at him when he took what felt like the thirtieth turn in the maze. He didn't stop, however, until when he saw a burst of shadow from above. Had Fang found the exit?

Boboiboy wove in and out again the way he had (maybe) came back from. The hedges were grown so high all he could see was the silver dome around them, and from where he could see, he was quite deep into the maze. His attempt to find Fang had only led him to a solid stone wall, which he nearly bumped head first into, but had luckily stopped at the right time. He took a few steps backwards to look at the bigger picture. 

The stone wall was as tall and as the neatly kept as hedges on either side of it. Was Boboiboy supposed to climb over it? He didn't think so, because the stone wall looks rough enough to give him scratches if he did try to. But on the grey, worn out brick tangled with ivy, painted in white, was two large characters looks very much like Japanese or Chinese: 地狱.

Great, he sucked in those two languages.

He raised his arm and shot several strings of fire into the air to tell the others, but regretted almost at once. When the strings of fire had fallen down, some of the hedges had caught fire, and the fire was growing rapidly. 

"Stupid me! Water explosion!" 

In a small blast of water, the flames on the hedges were extinguished, but now leaving this corridor of the maze drenched in water. 

"What does this mean..." he muttered. 

Not long later, a shower of green sparks was seen and also time repeated itself several seconds earlier, so that Boboiboy was forced to re-pace the corridor the worn wall was at, thinking. That means Astor and Ying must've found something too. 

"Whatever you guys do, don't touch the wall!" a girl's voice yelled, echoing in the confined space. 

"Ying?!" Boboiboy shouted back, cupping his hands over his mouth. "Do you see a-?"

"Wall, yes!" the reply came.

"I don't know what mine writes." Astor's sheepish voice said. 

"Just guess it! Mine writes 和平." Fang shouted. 

"Mine's 死亡." Ying said.

"What do you mean?" Boboiboy asked. He wasn't entertained with them speaking words he didn't understand.

But the both of them ignored him. 

"What does your's say, Boboiboy?" Ying asked. 

"I don't know!" Boboiboy blurted out. "How am I even supposed to-"

"Describe it." said Ying's bored voice. 

"Ummm..." 

Boboiboy looked at the two words again, thinking of how he could describe them. 地狱...

"I think the first one is land?" 

"Uh huh..." Ying replied.

"And the other one is...uh...it looks like a backbone of an old lady, and uhh...has a stroke across it- two strokes, and also a big with a dot and something squished in between them..."

There was silence. 

"I don't get you but I think I know what yours mean. I think I know what we're supposed to do."

"What?" Astor asked.

"We have to select the right words, and when we do, we'll get to go through the walls. I think."

Fang's snort was so audible, even when Boboiboy knew he was miles away from him. 

"Don't you need to know mine?" Astor inquired.

"I think I know the right answer anyways. Fang's mean peace, mine means death, and Boboiboy's I reckon, means hell.

"So, I think the answer is death. I'll try mine."

There was nothing for a while, then there was a scream.

"Ying! What happened?" Boboiboy shouted worriedly. 

"Wrong one! Ouch! They're strangling me to death- these vines! Its either one of yours now, hurry and find it!"

And Boboiboy, having encountered a milder version of vines, couldn't help but worry more. Should he try his instead?

"I'm pressing mine." Astor's voice said.

But Astor's response was quicker than Ying's: he had screamed, but his scream seemed to shake, like he was being electric shocked multiple times.

"Astor!" Boboiboy yelled, worrying so much now he itched to press on his wall.

"Boboiboy! Whatever you do, don't-"

But he had done it. He had slammed one of his fist on his wall. The two characters flashed white for a moment, then he saw that the opening to his corridor had closed itself up with a newly grown hedge as wild as its fellows. He thought he had done it, but then soon the ground was shaking, and a wave of hot, burning lava swept through the corridor.

"Uh oh." 

Boboiboy tried running the other direction, but found his way blocked by a wall of hedge. The lava hissed as it burned the hedges on both sides of his corridor into nothing. He hastened to find something to do. 

"Ice shield!" 

A semi circle of ice protected him from the splashing lava, though it was melting rapidly. Some lava had splashed powerfully against the ice, raining Boboiboy with flecks of lava that burnt holes on his orange overcoat.

But then, suddenly, the lava started retreating to back from where it came from, leaving behind only the burnt remains of leaves and twigs and small, harmless pools of bubbling lava. Startled, Boboiboy looked around. Then he realised that the wall he had smashed earlier had gone to reveal a dark place beyond. He waited for a signal, or anything to pounce out of it. But when no signal came, he thought it was rather safe to enter, and he dashed hurriedly inside it.