Completely speechless, I stared at the god of dreams with my mouth wide open. Of course I'd suspect Morpheus. I just...I didn't actually think it was him. Why would we need to go to him for help? From what I could recall two years ago, he'd been on the side for the Titans.
I looked to my right and saw Travis and Connor bowing. My eyes widened as I realized I should be doing the same. Before I could react, Morpheus spoke.
"Someone called?" His voice raspy as if he had woken up from a deep slumber. That, or he hasn't spoken in a millennium.
I hurriedly bowed and gazed at him. We had eye contact and I suddenly felt very light-headed. His eyes were a strange color. They were icy blue, but held a gold tint in them. It sent shivers up my spine.
"We...we're here for a quest." I said, breaking out of his eye contact. It was too much to handle.
"I see. Let me freeze time first so we could talk." Morpheus said. Before I could react, the girl cashier suddenly froze, the remaining pillow fluff in the air froze, and even the scent of lavender in the air lingered more.
"Y-you can do that?" I asked.
He smiled, his eyes squinting and his wrinkles shown through. "There's a lot of things I can do, child of Aphrodite," he said. He looked over at Connor and Travis, who didn't bother looking up at him. "Let's talk in another room, shall we?"
In an instant we were transported to a silver room with white furniture. It looked so old yet so well-kept and clean. Morpheus lead us to a long table and sat down. He motioned for us to do the same, which we did.
"Now, what about this quest?" He asked.
"My father's caduceus has been stolen. Or at least, it's missing." Connor replied. I hadn't expected him to reply. The sound of his silky smooth voice, though, calmed me. It reminded me that I wasn't the only one doing this.
"And your father is...?" Morpheus questioned both Travis and Connor, although I had a feeling he already knew the answer.
"Hermes, uh, sir." Connor said.
The upper corners of Morpheus' mouth went up in amusement. "I see...your sly features and your mischievous eyes say it all."
I cleared my throat. "So...what must we ask of you for assistance of this quest?" I asked him.
Morpheus looked like he was deciding on something. I prayed that it wasn't going to be something too difficult. I doubted it, though.
"I need you to find my key, which is hidden in a labyrinth." Morpheus said.
"L-labyrinth?" Travis asked, his voice hoarse. I realized that was the first time he's spoken in front of Morpheus.
"I'm not talking about the one Daedalus made, obviously. That one has been destroyed years ago. I'm talking about the one in that room." Morpheus said, pointing to his left.
We all followed where his finger was pointing at. Sure enough, there was a pitch black door at the far end of the room. It stood out amazingly against the entire room.
"That's my storage room. I remember throwing my key to the memory box a few millennia ago, however I want it back." Morpheus informed us.
"How did a storage room turn into a labyrinth? How do you know it's a labyrinth? Have you been inside as well?" I asked.
Connor, who was at my right, nudged me. "Stop asking so many questions at once." He whispered. Oops.
Morpheus chuckled. "I haven't been inside that room for quite some time, child. As for my knowledge of the labyrinth that has been formed? I've sent a few demigods inside that have never come back. They always scream it's a maze." Morpheus answered me. "Your goal is to get through and find a silver key. It's at the center of the entire labyrinth. Just to warn you three, there are monsters and things inside there that I extract from my own thoughts. There may also be other gods, who have completely different personalities from what you know. They all act how they act in my perspective."
I heard Travis gulp. "Easy peasy." He said, probably trying to comfort himself.
"Yup." Connor replied, popping the 'p'. He glanced at me with a somewhat determined and I'm-scared-as-heck kind of face. I tried to do the same.
"Anyway, off you three go. And if you want a piece of advice, it's to not care about the people you walk with. If they die, they die. If they get lost, they get lost. You three may be stuck in there for days, even months. Either way, I need to find that silver key. Even I am not willing to go through all that mess to find out." Morpheus said, his eyes slightly darkening.
I swallowed my saliva as we approached the black door. Morpheus, of course, led the way. My palms were sweating and I could feel myself breathing a little more heavily.
Morpheus reached out to turn the doorknob. He looked at all three of us and said, "Welcome to my forgotten thoughts."
In a flash, we tumbled down to what seemed like a hole that went on forever. I tried to scream but somehow my voice didn't work. Everything was pitch black. I didn't know where Travis or Connor were. I didn't know what to think. Was I dying? Would we land safely? Where were we?
When I woke up, I was lying down in a small secluded room. There was a light that shone on me and everything else was black as the night. "C-Connor?" I asked out loud as I sat up. "Travis?"
Another light to my right shone and there was Connor, who was shaking his head, looking as if he had just woken up. "B-Bella? Are you alright?" He asked, instantly rushing to my side.
"I'm fine." I muttered, feeling a but of heat rushing to my cheeks. Before Connor could say anything, another light flashes to our left and there was Travis, sprawled out on the floor.
He instantly opened his eyes and saw us. He squinted hard at us as he sat up. "Uh, why is Connor holding your hands?"
I glanced down to see and indeed, Connor was holding my hands. I stifled a laugh as Connor let go immediately. "I was making sure she wasn't hurt, okay?" He defended himself.
"Yeah sure," Travis drawled on. "Trying to make sure Bella is okay by flirting with her."
"I wasn't flirting with her!"
"Yeah, right. I bet you pulled the knight-in-shining-armor act."
I didn't laugh this time. Was Connor flirting with me? This wasn't good. I knew he flirted with a lot of girls in camp and he broke all of their hearts. I was determined not to be one of them.
"Guys, let's focus on the labyrinth. What do you suggest we do?" I said a little louder than usual, to be heard over the twins' relentless argument.
"We should hold hands." Travis laughed. "So no one could get lost so easily."
"Shut up, Travis." Connor shot him a glare that could kill.
"That's not a bad idea. I remember asking Annabeth how the labyrinth was. She told me to never leave each other's sides. There might be a trap anywhere." I recalled a few summers ago.
"Isn't that the opposite of what Morpheus told us?" Travis asked.
"He seems a bit tricky. My instincts tell me that we should stick together. That way we can watch each other's backs." I replied.
"Me too...but I have a feeling this won't end well." Travis said quietly.
"Okay, so where do we go now? Everything is so dark in here." Connor said, interrupting the heavy silence.
As he said the word 'dark', it reminded me of coldness and being alone. I shivered, a chill making its way into my brain. I shouldn't let my fears get to me.
"You okay?" Connor asked, looking at me worriedly. I heard Travis bite back a fit of laughter.
"Yeah, let's just get going. Who has a flashlight?" I asked, rubbing my arms for warmth.
Connor glanced at me with a face mixed with worry and an emotion I couldn't place. But before I could comment on it, there were two lights that shone ahead of us. Then another, then another. It seemed like they were pairs of lights that led up to a straight path.
We all got up to our feet and stared ahead. It was eerily empty, and I couldn't help but imagine monsters waiting for us to encounter them. More lights continued to shine until the entire room was lit up. While the room we were in a moment ago was all white, this one was all black. We could clearly see the path now.
Tall black walls that reached the never-ending ceiling formed a narrow path. I looked at both Travis and Connor. "I guess we don't need flashlights after all."
"I guess not." Travis gulped. I held his hand.
"You ready?" Connor asked as he held mine. I tried not to feel the electric current that shot up my arm.
"As ready as I'll ever be." I replied, as we walked into the maze.
. . . . . .
The maze felt like it had went on forever. It didn't feel like a maze. It felt like one of those annoying games that just went on forever to get the crap out of some people. Whatever Morpheus sent us in, both Travis and Connor were not having it.
"Uh, Travis?" Connor asked.
"Yup?" Travis answered, completely bored. We stopped holding hands an hour ago, realizing nothing is really going to happen unless we see a turn.
"I want some of those gummy worms right now. You know, the sour ones."
I slapped Connor in the arm. "Now isn't the time to be thinking about candy! Our impending death can be happening in the next second."
"Geez, woman. No need to slap me and all..." Connor muttered as he kept the gummy worms safe in the front pocket of his backpack.
Suddenly, I smelled something. It smelled like rotten eggs mixed with a bit of moldy cheese. I made a face. "Ew! Do you guys smell that?" I asked, looking at Connor, who also made a face.
"I swear Travis if you farted I will-"
A growl erupted from our right. We all immediately drew our weapons. Heavy footsteps soon echoed throughout the room. I felt my palms sweating. My breathing was uneven. I trained in camp for years for this. Don't let them down now.
Connor looked at me with the same unknown face of his. "Let's do this."
I could only nod my head in return, not knowing what's ahead.
* * * * *
A/N: I'm finally updating after months of inaction! I've been busy with college life, and it's been a hectic ride. Sorry if you're disappointed with the fairly short chapter but I promise you more is to come :)
-Jamie