CHAPTER 1 - THE MAZE

First, there was cold darkness, all-encompassing. Then, with the screeching of metal grinding into metal, the world began moving. Ascending up an unknown distance to an unknown place; he was stood in the nothingness with just himself. 

 

It's impossible to see, no light daring to cut through the almost palpable darkness. So, he reached out, searching for something to ground himself on. His hand met a cold wall of sorts, metallic shuffling greeting him as he stumbled forward, what he quickly realized was metal fencing bowing outward as he leaned against it for stability.

 

The higher up the metal box he found himself in got, the more the confusion and panic rose; where am I? What is this thing? Where is it taking me?

 

Questions scrambled around his mind, uncertainty taking hold as he leaned against the frigid metal, for the first time taking notice of the material on his arms; which he realized was an old, dusty watch coat. He's not quite sure where it came from, or where he came from, for that matter. "How did I get here?" is the next question on his mind, one that tugs on his conscience but returns… Nothing.

 

He knows what he is, he's a tiefling, a demon. Though, it does pull another thought; why does his face hurt? It wasn't like that before, not at least that he remembers it being such a way. Using his free hand, he touches the spot that hurts the most— the left side of his face —and jolts as the pain becomes almost blinding. Biting down on his tongue, the iron tang of blood fills his mouth in an unpleasantly familiar way.

 

Suddenly, light starts shining through the metal fencing, illuminating his previously dark surroundings and making his head spin; panic welling up again as he barely had time to process the blinding light. Plunged into brightness, it took what felt like hours for his eyes to adjust to the light.

 

Once his eyes did focus, it revealed his surroundings in a near-sickening fashion. Light pulsing and dancing through the gaps in the fence. Boxes full of things he couldn't quite parse and marked with a crude drawing of a star sat stacked in the corner across from where he stood. Some of their contents spilling out onto the solid metal floor. It mostly appeared to be cloth and other raw materials, things that would be useful if he could grab them, but with how the cage twisted and shuddered, he found himself unable to move from where he was.

 

With a glance up, it looked like there wasn't much further to go. Large gears on either side of the shaft hoisting the chains that held the box he was in being illuminated by the horribly bright lights. Though, he couldn't tell how fast the box was moving, nor how long it'd been moving for.

 

"Just how far down was this thing?"

 

He startled at his own voice, one that sounded almost foreign to his mind. Confusion rattled around in his head like the chains clinking together.

 

Then, the box lurched forward, throwing him into the fence as the gears squealed to a stop. Grabbing onto the metal to avoid falling down, he tried to get a better footing now that everything wasn't moving.

 

Stepping toward the center of the box, he was able to look around at his surroundings better. Past the fencing was cracked stone with some notable gouges in it, looking like claw marks from something… Massive. Maybe investigating outside this box was a bad idea. Maybe he should just… Stay put. Not be too curious about wherever the hell he is right now.

 

It was darker now that this thing wasn't constantly moving upward, and it looked like there was something covering the sky above him. At least, he'd like to hope that the sky is above him here and that this isn't just some box surrounded by stone that he's been left to die in. That would be… Unfortunate.

 

But, before he has too much time to contemplate the possibility of dying in here, the sky opens up above him. Two figures lift open different sides of what looked to be the roof of the box, looking down at him.

 

"There's another one?"

 

"I mean, that's not shocking, remember when Wren came up? At least this guy looks like he isn't going to cry."

 

One of the two figures jumps into the box, sending it shaking and twisting in the opposite direction as they offer him a hand.

 

"Let's get you out of the box, then we'll talk."

 

He's reluctant to take it, but ultimately, being left in this thing seemed… Less than ideal with whatever's been in here before that left those gouges in the stone. 

 

Getting practically yanked out of the box wasn't fun, but it happened and he had to make do with the small ache in his shoulders. The person that'd initially jumped in with him and helped him out was stood on his right, seemingly waiting for something.

 

Then, he noticed the walls. Towering over everything and seemingly boxing them in, the cracked stone matched the kind in the shaft he'd come up initially; beside the walls being overgrown with twisting vines and foliage. The next thing that caught his eye was the gap in the wall just ahead, an easy distance to cross.

 

"I've run further than that before", whispered a rogue thought in his mind, one that felt distorted and uncomfortable. 

 

Before he could think better of it, he took off, sprinting toward the gap and ignoring the concerned yells of several people and their accompanying footsteps.

 

The grass was slick, threatening to make him stumble with every step until it turned into a well-worn path of dirt as he approached the wall. He'd make it before those people caught up to him, nobody could stop—

 

A hand grabbed his shoulder and nearly sent him tumbling to the ground.

 

Turning to face whoever stopped him, he was confronted by a lady with a halo who looked something between confused and concerned. But, before she could speak, he led with the only thing on his mind; "Where the fuck am I? What is this place? Why am I here? Who are you?"

 

It came off more panicked than he meant for it to be, but he watched her calculate a response, eyes darting between his face and the opening he'd been running toward. She starts to say something, but the words fall on deaf ears. The lady turns to gesture to the gap, then away as she continues saying something about a "Maze".

 

The moment her attention isn't on him, he takes the opportunity to run toward the hole in the wall once again; this time nobody stops him as he bolts into the corridors.

 

Not bothering to investigate, he ran, following the turns of the corridor and keeping his focus on keeping left.

 

Running through corridors of slate grey stone overgrowing with ivy and dense vines crawling up and down the walls, he's more focused on not getting tangled up in the vines that crept their way onto the stone ground. Although, he doesn't hear anyone pursuing him, and—

 

He slips on a patch of moss, stumbling forward and into a wall with a solid, resounding thud that knocks the air out  of his lungs for a moment. Pausing in his sprint for just long enough to catch his breath, the sound of water flowing nearby catches his attention.

 

Taking stock of where he is, he finds that the water he heard was the next left turn he would've taken; small pillars seated in a pond of seemingly constantly flowing water interrupting the seemingly consistent stone floor of the… Maze.

 

This is a maze. This was what that angel lady was talking about. She was talking about this thing that existed just outside those walls; the thing that he's currently in.

 

The jump to the first pillar was easy, the next was a little further but still possible without much struggle; next he knew he'd crossed the water and was stood in more of the same walls. Though, there was a fairly straightforward path to his right…

 

Deviating from the left, he followed the most open portion instead, picking up the pace as he crossed over a small stone wall and found himself in another of the narrower corridors.

 

Sticking left again, he started running, trying to just traverse as much ground as possible before the worry started to seep in again. "I can find my way back, it won't be too difficult. There wasn't that many turns, I just need to look for landmarks." He tried to assure himself, not fully certain he believed his own words.

 

It wasn't too difficult to keep going left, and at least it didn't seem to be leading in on itself. "I'll find something, there has to be an exit or… Something. Right? I mean, who'd go through all that effort for nothing? This isn't just a death trap, this can't just be a death trap."

 

Then, his foot caught on a wire laid across the path, a small click sounding as arrows shot out of the wall on both sides, sticking into the stone opposite where they came from. One stray arrow ripped through the fabric of his pants, grazing his leg but not doing much more before sticking into the wall on the opposite side.

 

Panic wrung his heart for a moment but quickly subsided as he just kept running, following the winding stone corridors searching for something; searching for anything that proved this wasn't just some sick joke. 

 

But with each turn he made, going deeper into the maze, he found nothing. Just more of the same stone walls that were starting to feel more suffocating with every step he took. 

 

Wall after wall after wall of decaying stone being swallowed by ivy and vines, and even more tripwires that he could hardly even see on the stone. Each turn wound around in ways that felt like they were starting to loop back in on themselves. At least, until he turned a corner and the stone was covered in scattered sand that made an unpleasant noise as he ran across it.

 

Then, vaguely sandy stone turned into just sand, and the suffocating walls turned into an open area. Much smaller than the place he'd started, but still sizeable enough, especially compared to the slithering twists and turns he'd found himself in. Sunlight beat down on the sandy clearing, uncomfortably warm and some time around midday. Something nagged at his mind, a subtle whispering of fear that something might happen if he's out here too long.

 

Looking out into the clearing, he searched for something, for anything. 

 

There were several open passages to the left from where he stood, looking like they lead back into the maze much like where he was standing. Scanning over the clearing, the next thing he noticed was the structure in the center, something leaning and haphazard that hardly looked safe; and then something moved.

 

A tall figure dressed in odd, pitch-black armor and holding an object in its left hand. It almost seemed to be surveying the structure, facing away from where he was standing. At least, until a beep rang out from something on it, and it turned around.

 

He couldn't see its face through the visor of the helmet, but he could feel its eyes staring into him. It cocked its head, making no noise until it took a step toward him and the sand crunched under its boot.

 

Terror. All he could feel was pure terror as it started to walk toward him ever so slowly.

 

Every step it took toward him he matched going backward as his heart started to race, panic fully setting in. Right as it reached the mouth of the corridor, it stopped, standing there as he turned to run back the way he came from; slipping on the sandy stone and falling to the ground.

 

He heard a quiet laugh from behind him as he scrambled to get back up, ignoring how his body hurt after hitting the stone. Taking off in a run, he wound around the corridors, sticking right.

 

It felt like time shifted, the sun suddenly way further toward the west than it was before. Surely it hadn't been that long, right? He hadn't been in here for that long, there's no way.

 

Struggling with the exhaustion that was starting to set in, he kept running. Careful steps over tripwires until he reached the small ledge he'd crossed earlier. Crossing it once again, he gathered the rest of his energy as best he could and set off, crossing back over the pillars in the water and sticking right. 

 

"Right, right, right, right, right," was the mantra in his head as he weaved through corridors until he got closer to that original main hall. The walls felt like they were starting to close in on him again, claustrophobia wriggling its way into his mind as he just kept running.

 

Gears squealed and turned as he reached the corridor, looking into the place he'd started as out of seemingly nowhere, large stone gates started to slide out of the walls, threatening to lock him in the maze. The sound of stone grinding on stone echoed, calling out to him, taunting him that he couldn't make it back in time.

 

He ran toward the gates, knowing he didn't have much time to get back; every step echoing throughout the hall as he approached the clearing.

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