Hephaestus Incorporated

CHAPTER 24; WELCOME TO THE MAZE

WARNING MENTIONS OF VIOLENCE AND PAIN. ALSO JUST VERY VIOLENT

READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION

(Seriously, don't read if you don't like blood guys.)

Aika slowly came to, his head spinning. As he opened his eyes he saw that he was still lying on the cold, stone floor of the maze. "So it wasn't a dream..." He muttered as he pushed himself up. The last thing he remembered was getting hit with powder and then falling asleep... At least it wasn't a fatal toxin.

He looked left and right, only to notice that he was now at an intersection instead of a straightaway. The maze had shifted, it seemed. He sat down again, sitting cross legged and listened. He strained his ears to try and hear what was down the paths, but to no avail. He looked to the side to find the screen with the survivor list.

{23 players remaining}

{0 kills}

Three people had died while he had been out? Geez, this was happening really fast. He looked around and chose the path on his left. He strode down the passage, the flickering light of the torches his only companion. It had been around an hour when he started to feel fatigued. He turned around and gasped.

He was only a few feet down the hallway? How? He had been walking for a long time, he was sure of it! To test, he took a step towards the crossroad. It didn't seem to get closer, no matter what he did. He stopped, frustrated at his efforts. He looked up and down the hallway, and noticed something.

All of the torches were in pairs on either side of the wall. Except for the wall that was on his left, which had no torch for some reason. He looked right. A torch hung there, stuck to the wall just out of reach. He took a step to the side, half expecting it to not do anything. However, it seemed to work! He walked over to the wall and poked it with his finger.

Instead of the cool, damp feeling of the stones before, his hand simply slid right through the wall. He let out a slight gasp and pulled back. He wasn't sure, but is this one of the hidden powerup spots from the message? He pushed his whole form through and felt his jaw drop.

A picturesque garden, complete with a gazebo and small animals like in the fairy tails was in front of him. In the gazebo, he saw a girl wearing a flowing blue dress, sitting at a table piled high with food and sweets. He began to creep over, nervous about the possibilities of this place. It may seem nice, but so far the maze had been anything but.

He slipped up the stairs, the princess seemingly not noticing his presence. However, she suddenly spoke as he set foot on the floor of the gazebo. "Hello, weary traveller. Please, come and sit down, and eat to your heart's content." She turned and let out a brilliant smile. Her dark brown hair framed her picturesque face. She had a perfect smile, with vibrant green eyes. She stood and pulled him to a seat, letting him sit in the chair opposite her.

She turned and sat herself, before taking a bite out of the food. Aika simply watched as she daintily made and ate a small sandwich with the ingredients on the table. She glanced up and saw he wasn't eating. "Is the food not to your liking? If not, then we may get you something else."

He smiled at her, deciding to take the polite route. "I'm sorry, I simply do not wish to eat right now. It isn't your fault, I'm just not hungry." The girl frowned, a slight pout slipping onto her face. "But we worked so hard to make all this for you. Don't you want just a bite?" She said, a pleading look on her face.

He definitely wasn't going to eat anything now. She seemed to be pushing just a little to hard for him to eat, maybe something was wrong with the food. Then, he paused and thought about her words. "Actually, I'm wondering. What do you mean when you say we?" He said, narrowing his eyes slightly at her.