A crushing weight pressed down on me since Grams disappeared and here in this strange place was a glimmer of hope. I should call the cops and tell them about this place. But when I pulled out my cell, it showed only half a bar. No, I needed to continue forward until I found something I could take back and show everyone that Grams was alive and that she’d taken this path. True, the trowel was an excellent sign, but the cops might need something more, further down this path to prove she went this way and this wasn’t a coincidence find this here.
I replaced the trowel in the dirt and made note of which tree so I could show the police later exactly where I’d found it. Slowly, I jogged deeper into the woods. The tree canopy shaded the bright green grass below but didn’t dull the nearly neon color. A flittering memory of one of the stories Grams had told me about stepping into a circle of trees or mushrooms was a gateway into fairyland. But there hadn’t been either when I found this path. Just a crack in a hedge.
“Grams?” I called again. She had to be here. This was a small town until the college moved in a few years ago. But why would anyone want to take Grams or hurt her—I stifled a cry as I raced through the forest. My gaze shifting left to right for any sign of my grandmother.
Suddenly the woods opened up into a low valley, and I slammed into a pine tree to stop myself from falling down the ravine. Below lay a maze of hedges as tall as buildings. Beyond lay a garden with rainbow colors as bright as a summer day. Clusters of unfamiliar trees guarded the edge of the orchard like a row of warriors blocking an invading army. I inhaled deeply and a floral scent filled my nostrils, teasing me to come and find out more.
A breeze at my back pushed me forward, a howl pierced the silence, and I stumbled a step. Wait. I shouldn’t be here alone. I should go back and bring help. I wasn’t a policewoman or a park ranger. Hell, I didn’t even know what I wanted to do with my life yet. Who was I to think I could find a missing person the authorities had search for days without any leads? Exhaustion and grief had to be messing with my mind. No way could Grams be in this place because this couldn’t be real. Nowhere on earth looked like this.
I had to be hallucinating again…like last night with the flapping tent. But it was broad daylight here. Maybe I was dreaming? I pinched myself hard enough to leave a mark. A cool breeze tickled my hair across my face like a teasing child. I pushed the strands aside and bit my lip. My gaze drifting to the vast maze of hedges below and back through the forest and the way I’d come.
I reached my hand to my back pocket to try my cell again when the perfume of what smelled like a thousand lavender flowers drifted in the wind quieting my worry and loosening the knot bunching up between my shoulder blades.
The garden below resembled a paradise with brightly colored roses and a rainbow of other colored flowers I couldn’t make out from here. Damn, if I was starting to hallucinate regularly, at least this was a step up from a tent-beast skating along treetops. When the wind picked up, tugging at my long hair, a periwinkle blue item down near the maze flapped.
Wait. I squinted, my heart racing. Was that one of Gram’s sunhats? It couldn’t be though…but I had to know for sure. Should I go back and bring the authorities? What if I found nothing down there?
I check the time on my phone again and was surprised only five minutes had passed.
Okay, I had time to venture ahead and determine what the blue item was. Even though the hedge maze appeared massive, a path lined the outer edge of it to the garden. I pocketed my cell and climbed down the steep hill. But when I got to the base of the maze, there was no dirt path around and the blue item I had seen was a bird that ruffled its feathers and flew off. The thing was as big as an eagle.
I should definitely head back now. When I spun around, a cluster of bushes eighteen feet that weren’t there before blocked my path. I pushed to go through them, but they were so dense and thick, I couldn’t get through. Had I drifted down into the maze somehow? I marched back and forth to find the way I’d come but there was no breaking the labyrinth except what was ahead of me. This can’t be right. Maybe I’d stumbled too far into the maze. I was good at puzzles and navigation.
Glancing up at the sky, the sun appeared a yellow-ish blue color. I paused. Maybe I was dehydrated or having heat-stroke or something. God, I had to get out of here. I turned right and jogged down the path. But the opening only led into more tails and none appeared to lead out. Okay, so had to be the other way. I raced down the other end and my heart sank. A dead-end.
“Not funny,” I yelled to whoever had made this kooky place. Fine. I’ll just claw my way through the hedge and back up the hill to my Grams’ house.
But when I pushed into the sculpted bushes, thorns scrapped my arms and I flinched back in pain. I knelt down and tried to push my way under the leaves except the roots had even bigger thorns that resembled daggers ready to rip my flesh off if I tried. I stood, biting my lip as I glared at the massive hedge. Too tall to climb over and I bet those damn thorns went all the way to the top. It was like barbed-wired nature.
Fine. I’d find my way out of here and never come back to this godforsaken place.
I took the track that led deeper into the maze, noting anything I could along the way. Too bad I didn’t have breadcrumbs or even rocks to use as markers to which paths I took. Pictures! I could take a snapshot of the paths then pull them back up to know which way I’d gone. Tugging out my camera, I clicked the image of the first break of three paths. Then scribbled across that I’d take the left one. I would take the farthest paths to the left, wasn’t that one way to get out of a maze? Then go from there.
At the next section, I clicked another picture, making note on it of anything to help me distinguish it when I came back. Five more paths. Then I reached a trail that seemed familiar. Had I gone in a circle? I swiped open my phone to pull up the pictures. But nothing was on them! No images, nor words I’d written, just black-nothingness. Like I’d taken a picture with the lens cap on. What the hell?
I jogged back up the path I’d just come down. The two-way I’d passed was gone replaced by four different lanes. Impossible! I stumbled back, my heart slamming in my throat. It couldn’t be changed…I had just been here seconds ago.
A muffle filtered through the air and I latched onto it like a drowning person. “Hello? Is anyone there?”
“Bloody-hell, I’m late,” a baritone voice said down the path.
My shoulders relaxed some. So, I wasn’t the only one lost in this place. “Hello? Maybe we can help each other?” I tore down the lane toward where I think the voice was coming from and prayed that I wasn’t hallucinating noises now.
“Where is that damned watch?” he asked as I cut around a corner.
Part of me wondered if this was safe, seeking out some random man who for all I knew had built this place to trap people. Was this what happened to Grams? She found the opening and got trapped down here? I shivered. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
I skidded to a stop as a shadow that at first appeared to have two long ears, faded away as a man rounded the corner. His silver hair gave him an unearthly look. And his eyes were a deep turquoise. Good-looking wasn’t even a word that measured up to him. He could put the best male models I’d ever seen to shame. If I was imaging things, then I’d upped my abilities from the demonic-flapping tent to pure perfection.
“Don’t think I’ve ever seen a beautiful thing such as you,” his voice was deep and almost teasing, but I found I liked the cadence of it and it drew me in.
Almost hypnotizing me. Who knows how long I stood gawking at him.
He cocked his head to the side. “You okay?”
“Yes, no,” I shook my head. “I’m lost.”
“You’re not the only one.”
“Pardon?” Damn, I’d hoped he knew the way out of here. And even if he was some crazed guy who made this place, I could get into crazy.
He held out his hand to me. “I’m Rob…and you are?”
Giddiness filled me with
the idea I was going to touch someone so gorgeous. Rose would be so jealous. “Ah, Alicia.” I clasped his hand. It was warm and fit perfectly with mine.
When he pulled his hand from mine, my cheeks heated. Had I held on too long?
“Well, ah Alicia, it’s nice to meet you.”
I let out a nervous giggle. “No, it’s just Alicia.” God, what the hell was wrong with me? If this was a delusion or mirage then I was going to have a serious talk with my subconscious. Cause a guy this handsome should swoop me into his arms and kiss me until—both my cheeks and belly heated at my thoughts.
“What’s that?” He pointed to my phone.
“I know, it’s old but I haven’t had time to switch to the newer model yet.” I held it out to him, then drew it back. Holy hell? How had only two minutes passed since I last looked at the time? I’d been in this bizarre place way longer than that. Unless I was dreaming. Maybe I just had to play this fantasy out. Either way, freaking out wasn’t going to get me anywhere.
“It tells the time?” he asked, his silver-blond brows drawing together in confusion.
“Uh…yeah.” Was this guy in some religious cult where they didn’t have electronics? “Among other things. But I can’t get a signal and all my photos aren’t turning up.” I pocketed the phone and crossed my arms. “So do you know the way out of this place?”
“I do, but I’ve lost my watch and I’m late.”
“What are you late for?” I asked.
“A meeting.” He patted down his button up shirt and the sides of his dress pants.
“Oh, well maybe we can help each other.” I smiled. The guy seemed harmless enough and he didn’t look to have any weapons on him. Should be safer to go with him to the exit of this place than try on my own which was getting me nowhere so far. “What does your watch look like and we can search for it while you show me the way out.”
His smile lit his whole face and brought forth a dimple in both cheeks and I fought not to swoon on the spot. Was he one of the college guys here? Damn, I need to transfer schools, but then I’d never get any studying done except memorizing his perfect features.
“It’s an old, bronze pocket watch. Belonged to my great-great-grandfather.”
“Okay, I’ll keep a lookout for it.” I gestured to the path. “Lead the way.”
He nodded, and we continued side by side. For several turns, we said nothing as we walked.
I cleared my suddenly dry throat. “So, um, do you come here often?”
A laugh rippled from him and heated my cheeks. “I live here.”
Seriously? “In this labyrinth?”
“Sorry, I go this way to get home.” Amusement tinged in Rob’s voice. “And this place has a way of tricking even those of us most experienced with its temperament.”
I frowned. Did he refer to this maze as a living entity? Must be just an expression from his cult or something. I’d play along. “Like what?”
“Like stealing my watch and making me late for the queen.” His gait sped up a bit.
“Queen?” I mean the guy’s accent almost sounded British but not quite. Could be that the leader of his cult was a woman. I was suddenly so jealous if her subjects looked half as good as Rob here.
“Yes, the queen.” His face darkened.
So maybe things weren’t as great in his world. I longed to comfort him but I hardly knew the guy. “Are you studying at the college?”
We drifted to the left as I followed his lead.
“Not unless the queen requires it.” His voice was sad like he wanted to go to college. Maybe they homeschooled their members and refused outside education.
“What else do you know about this place?” Thinking about Grams, I added, “And you haven’t seen a feisty old woman around, have you?”
“Spirited women are my favorite with a personality as big as the moon.” He waggled his eyebrows at me. “But I prefer younger…like my age.”
I rolled my eyes and laughed but a shiver of delight raced down my spine. The guy was a flirt and a flatterer. But if he was in a cult, maybe women were in short supply and I had a chance with him. Better than him being a college guy and leading me on while he juggled multiple girlfriends. “Well, have you seen an older woman? It’s my Grams and she’s missing.”
“No, but the queen might have.” His hand brushed mine as we walked, sending an electric jolt of pleasure through me.
I tucked my hands into my pockets as the intimacy of just walking beside him was giving me heat flashes. Why was I so nervous? All we were doing was finding our way out of a maze together.
At a crossroads, he scowled, scanning down one side briefly then the other. Was he oblivious to the electric charge whenever we drifted too close to each other? Or was it just me and my wild imagination? Whoever this queen was, she was getting on my last nerve. We took the second trail and my stomach growled.
“Hungry?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m famished.” The sun appeared overhead like time had barely passed here, but my sore legs and hunger said differently. I checked my phone again. No bars and only another minute had gone by. Maybe we were on a lay line or magnetic pole underground or something that was screwing with my phone.
“Have some of this.” He pulled something out of his pocket, then broke what appeared like a bright carrot and offered me half.
Was the carrot spiked with some kind of date-rape drug or something? And his politeness all this time had been a ruse?
He chuckled. “It’s not poisoned if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Wha—no, of course not.” But I still stared at the bright orange vegetable.
“Here.” He took a bite out of his half, then handed me the other piece.
Tentatively, I took a bite. The surprising sweetness caressed my tongue. Yum! Even though it was a small piece, it filled me up. “Thanks.”
“No problem. Glad I could help.”
“So you think you could take me to your…queen?” I asked. “I really need to find a way out and maybe she or anyone in your…group have seen my Grams.”
He stumbled a step. “Sorry, that’s not possible. The queen doesn’t deal well with outsiders.”
Disappointment settled in my belly, the goosebumps refused to subside. But he or this queen might now something important. Had seen Grams or know where she might have gone.
Should I tell him my theory about Grams wandering down here? She’d be fascinated by this place…even more so that I was…plus I’d found her trowel on the path here. Which I should’ve brought with me instead of leaving it where I’d found it. Stories my grandmother used to tell me trickled through my mind. Of brightly colored flowers and shifting landscapes and meeting others that were unusual. Rob certainly fit that description. He looked human, of course, but otherworldly too.
“I think my grandmother came here before.” And she’d told me tons of stories that I couldn’t even begin to remember. “Lots of times, I think.”
“You’re welcome to come with me to ask the queen if you like?” He raked a shaky hand through his hair. Was this woman mind-controlling all her people to not help outsiders? And my grandma would’ve told the woman off if she knew she’d had all these people like Rob in a cult? What if she’d done something to Grams?
Chapter Four
“We’ve reached the end of the maze,” Rob said as though he didn’t want to leave.
Was he upset? “What’s the matter?” My fingers brushed his arm and warmth surged between us. Instead of ignoring my brief touch or turning away, he gripped my hand and gave me a frowned.
“We didn’t find my watch, I’m so late but I find myself not wanting to part ways with you.”
I struggled to get my tongue to work. “Wh-why do you have to leave?” No way could I take him home with me. And if he was in a cult, my parents would freak even if I was nineteen and had my own life to live. They’d take away my tuition money or something to bribe me into seeing a shrink if I ran off with some guy I just met. I
told myself that my fascination for Rob was purely physical.
“My queen is waiting, and I’ve been gone from her court too long.” He pulled my hand up to his lips and kissed my knuckles.
The gesture so pure and simple yet it left my chest constricted. I jerked my hand from his, staggering back a few steps.
“You have to go before it’s too late.”
What did he mean? Before I changed my mind and asked him to take me to his cult-tasic basement with a queen? I mean, what religious group has queens in America? Or that it would be dark soon…what time was it anyway? The sun shone high overhead as it had been since I came to this…whatever place this was.
He tilted his head to a path to the right. “Follow that and you’ll find your way home.”
“Will I see you again?” God, I sounded desperate.
“One can hope.” Then with a wink, he took the opposite path and disappeared from sight.
His absence filled me like someone had hollowed me out inside. I pulled out my cell. Damn, the thing was on the fritz. Only twenty-four minutes had gone total. Either I was hallucinating big time or—I shook my head. Nope, I just needed to get out of here and back to Gram’s house. Sadness hit me like super bad acid reflex that I hadn’t found her. But I’d return tomorrow and avoid the maze and find Rob’s queen and find out if she’d seen my grandmother.
I took the path Rob had pointed out and sighed in relief as the labyrinth opened up to the ravine. I climbed up a steep path. When I reached the top, the pain lessened with every step.
I pounded through the hedge and into Gram’s garden. The blandness of the colors hit me and I blinked to clear my vision. The maze I’d just broken through was gone. No, that couldn’t be, I—
“Alicia!” Blanca yelled rushing out of the house and gripped me in one of her crushing bear hugs. “Where have you been? We brought back pizza but couldn’t find you anywhere.”
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