by Drew Hayes
“I’m not sure we’re the best ones for the task.”
“Does it matter?” Helen managed to make what could have been a snippy retort sound utterly sincere. “We’re the ones here. The other adults can’t go maze-diving, since they have the kids to protect. Innocent people are in danger, and we have the power to help. What other choice is there?”
She wasn’t wrong about the situation. They were the only two who could move freely. Even if Ivan was capable of slipping over and joining them, he’d never leave Beth and the others helpless. Assuming that Helen had accurately estimated the warping of time around the labyrinth, external aid was unlikely to come anytime soon. Regardless of how she turned the situation around mentally, Tori couldn’t find another angle, not with such limited information to go on. There simply was no other way around it. Getting out meant going through.
“I guess there isn’t one,” Tori conceded. “Our only hope is to try. You seem to know these things pretty well—how do we find the center?”
“All roads lead there, eventually. It’s more a matter of how fast or easy a given path might be. I saw a route on our way in—looks troublesome, so that’s our best lead.”
The sudden break in logic almost made Tori miss a step. “Wouldn’t we avoid the troublesome parts?”
“Not if we care about time. The harder the path, the more direct it is to our goal.”
“Is that a rule of mazes?” Tori asked.
“That’s a rule of life. But yes, also applies to these labyrinths.” Helen looked up to the false sky, perhaps searching for an exit, or trying to create some sense of time. “We shouldn’t be reckless, but we also can’t afford to take too long.”
“Right. The longer everyone’s in here, the greater the chances one of the kids will get hurt.”
To Tori’s shock, Helen waved the notion off half-handedly, not even looking down. “I’m not worried about keeping them safe. Ivan’s there. My concern is that, depending on size, these devices can sometimes take days to properly complete, and we don’t have any food or water. Unless Cobblord happened to build those into this particular model, we’re on the clock with everyone’s own body. Without supplies, we can’t protect them from hunger.”
Casting her eyes around, Tori zeroed in on the foliage. Trees, grass, shrubs, some of it was bound to be edible. But food was secondary compared to water, and even as she scanned, Tori realized that just like the dirt, all of it looked slightly off. Just wrong enough that she wouldn’t feel confident trying to shovel it down, and certainly wouldn’t risk feeding it to one of the scouts. That hadn’t even occurred to her, yet Helen had clocked it as their primary obstacle.
The mental itch flared up once again, soothed by the thin rationalization that it must come from all her Starscout survival training.
“I knew I should have forced down more of those pancakes,” Tori mumbled.
“Ugh, yeah, the food here is dietarily compliant for pretty much anyone, but the flipside is that some of the stuff they took out is what makes it taste good. I made a breakfast muffin run.”
They’d started walking away from the canyon, ambling toward the forest and the route Helen had seen. Tori almost let the comment slip by unnoticed, before she remembered the prior day’s trek. “Wait, how did you make any kind of run? We’re miles from civilization and all came together on the same bus. You don’t have a car.”
Helen didn’t stop walking entirely, however, she did throw a curious glance over her shoulder, almost like she was reassessing Tori. “You’ve got a knack for critical thinking. Most people wouldn’t have noticed that. Anyway, I probably meant I made a breakfast muffin run before we came and packed a case in one of my bags.”
A rogue pang in Tori’s stomach signaled the first beginnings of hunger, an issue she’d have been far less concerned with one hour prior. “We should stop talking about food. I don’t think it’s leading anywhere productive.”
Walking along the grass, it was easy to clock the shifts in terrain. After ten minutes, all signs of dirt were completely faded; it was as though they’d been dropped into a dense jungle. Even the air seemed warmer, soaking into Tori’s unsweating skin. Heat was no issue, but if they encountered a more frigid environment, she might be in trouble.
One concern at a time. They followed the collection of breaks in the trees that constituted their route.
“Well, this is officially boring. Should we play a game? Penelope has made me a whiz at twenty questions, assuming all the answers you pick are famous cartoon characters.”
How was she this calm? Helen was not only unconcerned with their situation, she was able to get bored? “Seems like we should probably pay attention.”
“You can’t stay tense the entire time, you’ll burn yourself out before nightfall. I’ve got good ears. Let me handle the scouting. Until then, keeping mentally active will help us continue to stay alert.”
Tori wasn’t entirely sure how accurate that was; however, she’d begun to feel a headache forming in the base of her skull. The stress of waiting for something to pop out at any moment was wearing on her, and this could be their situation for days. Splitting guard duty made enough sense to justify letting herself have a momentary break. Assuming Helen proved to be as sharp a listener as she claimed, they could start trading off on the task.
“I don’t know about twenty questions, but I can think of at least one. How do you know so much about these mazes?” Tori considered herself an adept researcher in the meta-human field, and not even she’d retained the myriad of details about Cobblord’s various creations.
“Pretty simple: I used to be a reporter who covered the meta-human beat. Writing about new crimes requires putting them in context with what’s come before, so a lot of the job was research based.” Helen looked almost wistful, though given her age, the job couldn’t have come more than a few years prior. “Nowadays, I’m mostly on the business side, running some self-owned stuff and staying afloat. I still like to keep up with meta-human events, though—can’t quite kick the habit.”
Although Tori didn’t let her eyes go wide or loudly gulp, the sentiment still ran through her. A reporter who specialized in meta-humans, with a wide base of historical knowledge? Helen was essentially the worst person to be paired with while trying to secretly use abilities. Not to mention, her being a history buff meant she would absolutely know quite a bit about Fornax. If Tori fucked up truly spectacularly, it was possible for her to give away both their secrets. Better to steer the topic away from things like metas.
“Entrepreneur, huh? I’ve got ambitions in that direction, too.”
“Not happy at Vendallia?” Helen asked.
On reflex, Tori shrugged. “It’s fine for now, just not what I see for myself long-term. I like a little more excitement than Ivan.” It didn’t hurt to reemphasize his cover as a boring middle manager.
Helen’s laugh was different this time, lighter, almost familiar in an odd way. “You know, your uncle is more than his job. Ivan might surprise you.”
“I think I can safely say I am past the point of being surprised by anything about Ivan,” Tori told her.
A beat of silence passed before Helen’s reply; she’d tilted her head northward for a half-second. “Anything, huh? So you know that Ivan has a beautiful singing voice?”
Of all the insane things that had happened during their day thus far, that mental image almost caused Tori to trip over her own feet. Her brain had slapped Ivan’s face on one of the Multerion musicals—currently, she was picturing him belting out tunes as the titular character from Phantom of the Symphony. It was even more ridiculous than she would have guessed.
“I’m calling bullshit,” Tori declared.
“Call it all you want, but I’m right.” Helen didn’t slow down; however, she did shift their angle slightly, moving them to the right side of the path. “When Penelope was a baby, she was the fussiest sleeper you’ve ever met. I was on my own, a little out of my depth, and Ivan came by to help. S
ometimes, he would sing her lullabies if she started to cry.”
The mental musical faded, replaced by the thought of Ivan leaning over a crib. Oddly, this image aligned far more naturally with her understanding of the man. When it came to his children, Ivan had no sense of embarrassment; their happiness and safety far outranked such selfish concepts. If singing made his kids happy, he’d have done it, just like he bumbled around the dance floor last night. Evidently, it was a skill he didn’t mind sharing with any infant in his care.
But pleasant an image as that was, it opened up an entirely new topic for discussion. “Wait, I thought you met Ivan when he helped out with Penelope’s play. How did he sing to her as a baby?”
“That’s a very good question, Tori. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to request we table it for now. Based on their movements, in less than a minute, we’re going to have company.” Helen halted their walk, pointing to a large section of trees that were just beginning to wobble.
“Brace yourself. We’re about to see this labyrinth’s claws.”
Chapter 78
It only took a few hours to reach the stone tower where Trey, Yuri, and the rest of the kids were waiting. Had the cluster not been led by a man who’d secretly scouted the entire area and killed every hazard in their path, the simple trek would have taken triple that time, but none of the children suspected a thing as they ran to rejoin their friends. To them, it had simply seemed like the hike they’d already been prepared for, albeit in a scary situation.
“Oh my God, Yuri, they’re okay!” Trey called from his position over to Yuri, who was in an identical spot on the other side of the tower. They’d posted lookouts, in case surprises came calling. Ivan wasn’t sure if it was the program they headed or these two in particular, but he was glad to have competent help. Given the way this weekend was shaking out, that might well be the only lucky break he was going to get.
Unlike the others, Beth didn’t run off to her friends, though she did wave to them. Her hand was gripping Ivan’s, he could feel her elevated heart rate thudding away. Worse, he could sense her tension as Beth put all she had into focusing. This was scary, a sudden shift in the expected, and when Beth grew afraid, her blades tended to come out. Rather than worry the others, she was clinging to her father, trying with all her might to keep the silver weapons contained. Ivan’s heart might have burst from pride, if it weren’t already boiling in fury at whoever had dared to make his daughter so fearful.
“Look at that, we got here safely,” Ivan told Beth. Still holding her hand, they headed toward Trey, who was walking in their direction. In unknown terrain, it was best to avoid loud noises like yelling whenever possible. “Is everyone accounted for?”
The relief on Trey’s face as he watched the children pour in spoiled the answer. “We’ll have to do a head count on your group, but I think we’ve got all the kids.” A shadow of fear suddenly crossed. “Wait, where’s the other cluster leader and her helper?”
“Across the track when we were getting lifted. Every inch of separation got magnified in the descent—you and I weren’t very far apart, and it still took hours to get here. Given their distance, it’s safe to say we probably won’t see them before this place shatters and sets us free.” Ivan noted the fear in Trey’s face; unfortunately, there wasn’t much mollification to be offered. Worrying about Helen was like fearing a dandelion: the circumstances where such sentiments were warranted virtually didn’t exist.
Several small forms, those from his cluster, were gathering up now that they recognized their leader. Loyce stuck her head up like a prairie dog, trying to see over the others. “Where’s Miss Helen?”
“She’s perfectly fine, off with Tori exploring this strange place.” Gently, Ivan sank down to a knee, eyeline with the kids. “I know everyone is scared right now, and understandably so. We’ve all been transported to a strange land. But keep things in perspective, too. Has anyone seen any sorts of animals or creatures?”
The shaking heads were as he’d expected, given his speedy slaughter, but it was also a way to make sure nothing had slipped his notice. Thankfully, it seemed he’d been thorough enough in the initial purge. Soon, there would be more. Ivan needed to get them all hunkered down safely before he went out again; each wave would be stronger than what came prior, meaning the fights would take longer.
“There you go, then. We’re in an odd location, but not necessarily a dangerous one. Helen and Tori will be fine. Soon, this place will run out of power and deposit us safely back on the ground. Until then, why don’t we take the opportunity to be proper Starscouts? Has anyone tried to identify the local flora, started sketching our surroundings, or begun work on shelter?”
Both the kids and Trey seemed surprised by the notion. They’d been so caught up in the shock of what happened, they’d yet to plan for survival. That needed to change immediately, both for actual logistics and to keep the kids from panicking. Having a task to focus on made situations like this more bearable; the other option was sitting around worrying all day.
“Let’s start breaking up based on the skills we feel best in, then your cluster leaders can find appropriate ways for everyone to help out. Take care not to overexert yourselves. I’m unsure how long it will be until we find snacks.” Ivan scanned the area once more, noting a bright orange spot amongst the emerald green of the grass. “I don’t suppose the water jug actually managed to keep its contents when crossing over?”
“Yuri was holding on to it, trying to weigh herself down, and inadvertently kept the top pinned,” Trey explained. “But we only brought enough to cool the kids down post-run. Even with rationing and the smaller bottles, people will get thirsty, fast.”
Another problem added to the list. At least for now, they had something to drink. Food was another matter. In theory, they would all be fine for days before the true negatives of starvation set in; however, that didn’t stop the pain and discomfort. Good kids or not, that was going to hinder them, to say nothing of morale. Nothing Ivan had killed looked especially edible, nor would he have trusted these materials, anyway.
In almost any other circumstances, Ivan would have slipped away into the forest, hunting down Tori and Helen to help them put an end to this. But between Beth and the rest of her cluster, he just couldn’t. They would be defenseless, and with no way of knowing how long Helen would take, he was equally ignorant on the number of threats that would come sniffing around this area. Try as he might to think of another way, Ivan’s only choice was to trust the others while he protected the kids.
“I don’t expect we’ll be here more than a day, at the most,” Ivan replied. “These tend to wind down long before then. Just to be safe, let’s plan for two days with the water rationing.” That would be stretching things thin as it was. If the others took any longer than that, he’d have to risk getting more directly involved. He’d never tried to teleport out from one of Cobblord’s creations. It very well might work, but it could also trigger some sort of volcanic meltdown. Far from a first resort, but if kids started getting dehydrated to the point of danger, risks might become necessary.
A squeeze on Ivan’s hand brought his focus back to Beth, who was chewing on her bottom lip, despite how her parents had tried to break that nervous habit. Eyes locked on the forest, she was steeling herself for something, gathering her nerve. At last, Beth turned her gaze to Ivan.
“I can... I’m going to cut some firewood. We don’t know what the night temperature will be, or if there are any animals out. A fire can be useful for warmth, protection, and cooking, if we find food.”
It was the first time Beth had even proposed the idea of using her powers outside of the courses she took for control. She didn’t even call upon her blades in private, let alone around other people, especially her friends. But she wanted to help, and saw something she could do that no one else could.
Few things terrified Ivan like his daughter’s kindness. He’d seen that same trait abused and twisted in others by no end of oppo
rtunistic shits. For a long time, he feared the tendency would lead to her becoming a victim. Then she grew older, began showing some of Janet’s wits, along with perhaps Ivan’s own stubbornness, which eased his concern slightly. But since the change, Ivan’s fear had only intensified. Kind, willful, smart, loyal, and with meta-human powers, Beth had all the makings of a future cape. He wasn’t sure what to do if that day came, how to react, what to say—any of it. What Ivan did know was that, in this moment, his daughter could turn something she was ashamed of into a way to help. She had a chance to be proud of her difference.
“Why don’t you wait a few moments? Then I can go over with you, help haul what you chop. Have to be careful around the woods until we know for sure there’s nothing out there.” He squeezed her hand, watching as fear and determination mixed to form an unexpected happiness on her face. The idea still worried her, but she’d made up her mind. No one knew better than her father how closed that meant the issue now was.
To his surprise, she pulled him closer, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Daddy, what happens if this doesn’t let us out in a day? I researched these labyrinths for a class project once. I don’t think they’re on a timer.”
As diplomatic a way as he could hope for a near-teen to call out his obvious lies. “I know, but they might as well be. The capes always handle these things in short order. Besides that, if things did get truly desperate, I still wouldn’t worry for a moment. You think someone can mess with this organization and not stir her up?”
He expected to have to sell the next line, yet it came out surprisingly natural. Or perhaps not so surprising, given the sentiment he was expressing. It was, after all, admiration for her strength; as the only one to defeat him, he had no choice but to acknowledge her power.