Apex

Chapter 2

•Kriss•

The swaying of his steps ceased. A door was opened on the side of the container, making my eyes ache with the sudden light flooding inside.

For a moment, I considered the repercussions of refusing to leave. One last act of rebellion before the aliens tortured me to death. It was a fleeting thought. Any disobedience would surely be punished, and I was already pushing it with my behavior earlier.

I don't know why I interacted with the alien. Having him hold me in his frigid hand and looking into the deep fuchsia eyes made me want to sate my own curiosity before they destroyed me, sating theirs.

I'd never been that close to one, not even when I was captured.

I tentatively stepped through the doorway and into the light.

Black walls rose at least twenty feet over my head. I was at one end of a hallway, at the other end, I'd have the choice to go left or right. A shadow fell over me and I looked up. Another one of those things stared down at me. It had violet eyes and its white hair was pulled up in a bun. It scrutinized me before reaching for something out of my line of sight.

A deafening buzz sounded and the lights went out. The floor glowed white, leading the way. The experiment had begun.

I crept down the hallway to where it branched off. Both ends showed intersections with no hint as to where they led. I did the only thing I could and took a guess, choosing right.

The hallways crisscrossed each other with no apparent pattern. In minutes, I was lost. I couldn't find my way back to my cage if I tried. I was on what must've been my tenth left turn when a skittering noise sounded behind me.

Something was hitting the floor in quick progression, tapping, growing louder.

I didn't look, I ran.

There was no logic behind my decisions. I turned left or right on a whim. When I hit a dead end, I immediately backpedaled and tried again. I kept straight when I could, speeding through and skidding to halts before I hit walls.

Sometimes, the tapping got softer, but whatever was chancing me was smart. It easily followed. Even when I'd look back and see nothing there, I could hear the tap, tap, tap of its feet.

Finally, I turned my head in time to see it.

God, I wish I hadn't seen it.

It didn't have a mouth, only a gaping hole in its face, surrounded by teeth. It had seven legs, six on each side of its body and one behind it like a stiff, spindly tail. Four beady eyes sat atop its head. Its glossy black skin was illuminated by the florescent floor.

I smacked into a wall at full force.

Blood gushed from my nose, dripping dark red onto the ground. The creature hissed and ran faster. I dove left before it could ram into me. Choking on a sob, I watched it lap up my blood as if it was starving. While it was distracted with tasting me, I darted off.

I took lefts and rights and lefts again and straights. I could no longer out run my tears. They spilled from my eyes with every futile turn. They were toying with me. There was no way out of this maze. There were no hints, no guidance, nothing. They were simply recording how long it took me to run myself to exhaustion and get eaten by that thing. This wasn't a test. It was an execution.

The creature growled. Done tasting my blood, it ran after me again in search of a second meal.

Out for more blood.

I stopped in my tracks and wiped the red from my face. I looked down at my shirt. It was covered in it.

I took it off and ran to the end of the hall to yet another intersection. I used to the shirt to wipe my face, blowing my nose into it for good measure. Then I balled it up, threw it as far as I could to the left and sprinted right.