Champions of Light: Gaëtano's Sword [Book One]

Chapter Seven

The Labyrinth

Within the depths of the stone dungeon, at very bottom cell of the prison, a band of twelve escapees moved quickly to the back of the cell where a well-hidden dirt tunnel had been excavated, large enough for five people to walk shoulder to shoulder.

A distinct breeze found them, foretelling of the eventual escape into open air, but they were too preoccupied with hurrying forward, they didn't allow themselves to celebrate. There would be perhaps three minutes before the guards found their cell empty and would be fast on their heels.

Just as their minds worried about this impending chase, it seemed that their luck was only getting worse. The dirt path had led them to a sandstone hallway, and worse of all, they were faced with a choice, turn left, or turn right. With no knowledge or any logic to argue the chances, Chris was forced to mentally flip a coin, hoping that chance would be on his side.

"Come on," he motioned for them to follow him down the path to the right.

"Hold on, we can't blindly make rash decisions, what's your proof that this way is better?" Kim spoke up, looking both ways and seeing that they were identical.

"We don't have time to debate this, the guards will be hot on our heels, and they will have the upper hand since they undoubtedly know the outlay of these paths. We have to go forward and keep our head start."

Kim carved something in the wall, and then followed him down the path. There was a pathway that opened on the left wall, and in front of them, the path they were on stopped at a dead end. This time, the decision wasn't hard, but Kim hoped the path was more labyrinthine than maze and made another mark on the wall. Going through the path on the left, they were faced with two choices again, but this time everyone agreed that the right side seemed to dark to lead anywhere good. They were also aware that more than enough time had passed for the guards notice their escape. As they walked down the straight and seemingly endless path they were now on, their senses were on high alert. There was no way of knowing that the first two paths didn't meet up again, and the guards would have a way of ambushing them. Chris led them with a torch in hand, going at a brisk pace, but keeping his eyes darting for any small sign of danger. The idea bulged in their minds that something else was hidden in these walls. This strain on nerves kept the party relatively quiet. Vikki scanned all shadows with a knife between each finger, ready to be flung.

The path turned to the right finally, and they came to another opening in the wall that led to two more pathways. The choice now seemed more fatal than before. Both paths seemed identical, but they all knew if they chose wrong, the guards, or perhaps something worse, would corner them into a fate they'd wish they weren't able to imagine.

Though Chris couldn't seem to bring himself to flip a coin this time, Kim took initiative and jogged slightly down the left path and called out to them. A few paces in front of her on the right wall was another opening that had been obstructed by an optical illusion. They exhaled only to hold their breath again, going through the passage.

Another choice faced them, but the path to the left wasn't straight like the path on the right was. Chris couldn't determine whether that was a good sign or not. Vikki gave her bag to Skylar and ran ahead towards the left passage. They all waited with bated breath. The air seemed to rise and fall around them, as if the walls were breathing around them. Vikki whistled, and they decided that was the okay signal, and went down the left path.

The next few paths were easily found, and as they continued forward, the breathing in the air became uncomfortable. The sandstone had become dark with moisture, and roots from the plants above poked through the cracks, bringing all sorts of bugs and worms with it. Cobwebs begun to decorate the upper corners of the hallway, and shadows skittered away as Chris shone his light. The ceiling at one point shifted from sandstone to dirt, and here, the rainwater dripped onto the floor. It was only then that they realized the hallway was on a slope, and they were going uphill.

Taking this as a good sign, they went through another passage that opened up to a room that held four mossy pillars and, in the center, a strange statue. Spiderwebs covered most of the outskirts of the room, and the walls dripped with moisture. A distinct breathing and chittering bristled the hairs on their neck, but they saw nothing. There was a passage leading out of the room directly in front of them, and they crept forward, grabbing their weapons in nervous expectation.

Charlotte held her breath as a millipede dropped on her shoulder and swiped it away with a whimper. Freddy examined the statue in the center. It was a strange figure, clearly something out of mythology, but its pose was one of caution and danger. They had no other choice but to continue on, however, and as Lany was the last to pass through the path forward, they were blissfully unaware of the doom which had hung over their heads, watching them, which was now silently descending to follow them.

They were making good time now, having figured out the pattern that the paths seemed to take, with the creeping feeling that they were being followed. Every so often, one of them would stop to glance into the darkness behind them, hearing a clicking or bristling. The breathing had also continued, and was neither getting louder nor softer, but made them all uneasy. They were walking along a long path, the walls dripping with water now, and more roots, dirt and even spurts of ivy found its way into the passage. They were certainly very close to ground level. They turned left, taking the only route available for now, which was unfortunately downhill, seemingly away from the exit. They tried to stay positive, and when another passage brought them to a path that would lead them back up hill, they exhaled. They all froze in place. Something was nearby, and they couldn't determine which direction it was coming from.

Lany slowly glanced above and slightly behind. Vikki threw her knives into the shadows behind them, but they seemed to shatter as it hit their mark. Alice stammered in horror, pointing at the thing that was reaching for Lany.

From the darkness, two long, thin, grey, boney arms with massive hands, flat palms, and impossibly long fingers were slowly descending on Lany, ready to snatch Lany up like one would a fly. Behind the arms were four more impossibly long limbs, two with the same massive hands, and the back two with massive bare feet. The shins rose above the body, and the knobby knees were well above its head, and the thighs angled back towards the body, reminding them of frog legs, or worse, spider legs.

The body itself was a disturbing image of how one might imagine a crab's torso would look if it were made of muscle and skin. Stretching from one side of the torso to the other was a wide, disturbing mouth, with at least twenty-six razor sharp teeth, and a long, dripping tongue that lolled out of its mouth, salivating green slime in expectation of its dinner. On top of the torso were two bulbous frog-like eyes and multiple smaller ones surrounded them. Between the eyes and the mouth were two slits they assumed was the nostrils. The beast exhaled with a growl, sending its drool to splatter onto Lany.

"Run!" Chris shouted, and they sprinted down the hall, as the beast skittered to chase them, its fingernails clicking on the stone. It seemed that the beast enjoyed the chase, for more than once it could have easily swiped a straggler or two with one of its four hands. They turned again, their legs burning, and their chests heaving, struggling to keep ahead of the beast. Lany glanced back, and the creature seemed to sneer at him, reaching out for him.

"Chris!" Lany shouted. Chris turned while running. "I'll hold it off. For Liona!" and Lany tossed Chris the gem and charged at the beast with sword outstretched.

Chris caught the gem, and immediately, thetunnel was engulfed in a magnificent Light, blinding the beast with a screech,giving Lany more of a fighting chance, and forcing them all to press forwardblindly. The Light dimmed enough for their sight to return, and wound down thepath, leading them towards the exit. It wasn't long before the Light from thegem was replaced by the light from the outside.