by Jemma Chase
AMAZING
“Make a right here,” Susan said as we almost went past the poorly marked side road.
“Good eye, hon.”
“I am the map queen,” she said with a laugh that turned into a small shriek as we went in and out of a rough dip. “This is sure a cruddy road. But, it matches the one on the map so it must be right.”
The road wound around and uphill for several miles. Susan kept on checking her map. I didn’t worry. She was great with directions.
The road finally ended and we could see the main building. It was old, either Spanish or Moorish architecture. I’ve never been able to tell the difference unless I have both examples in front of me.
A large parking lot was between us and the building. I drove us up as close to the entrance as possible. It wasn’t a challenge. “Not a lot of cars,” Susan said, looking around. “I thought you said your boss had invited the whole company.”
“No, just a few of us. His top achievers for this past year.” I turned the car off. “Come on, it’s a vacation, remember?”
Susan looked at the building. “It doesn’t really look like a hotel.” She got out of the car slowly. “It looks kind of…creepy.”
I held onto a sigh. “You just don’t like ivy-covered walls. It’s not a chain. It’s for people who can afford it.” I popped the trunk.
“Since when can we afford it?” she asked as she grabbed her cosmetics case.
“The boss can afford it.” I took our other three bags. “Now, come on. This is supposed to be a vacation.”
We left the parking lot and crossed a wide pathway, then went up the front steps. Susan was right – it didn’t look like a hotel. It looked like someone’s private estate. Which it was, but I hadn’t told her that.
We reached the large double doors. Susan tugged on one. “Wow, this is heavy.”
“Must be all the metal and stained glass,” I suggested. “Here, let me.”
But before I could shift a bag to free up a hand, the doors opened inward.
“Creepy,” Susan said to me under her breath.
“Automatic for invalids,” I said back under mine.
“No button,” she argued.
Before I could reply, a man’s voice came to us. “Come in, please. You’re the last to arrive.”
“Is that your boss?” Susan asked nervously as we started over the threshold.
“No. No idea who it is.”
“Creepier.”
Our eyes adjusted to the interior, which looked pretty much like an empty foyer with a long hallway stretching off in front of us. Before us and in front of the hallway was a tall man in an old-fashioned suit. He had slicked-back dark hair, a well-trimmed beard that ran along his jaw line, and a slim moustache that connected to the beard down the sides of his mouth. He gave us a warm smile. “Ah, finally. I’m your Guide. Please follow me.”
As we did, Susan whispered to me, “The way he said it makes it sound like a title, like King or Duke or something.”
“He’s just formal,” I replied in kind, though she was right. “Relax. Fun, remember?”
We followed him down the hallway. There was nothing on the walls but white paint, or on the floor but dark tiles. The Guide didn’t speak, but his footsteps seemed louder than ours somehow.
“Creepier and creepier,” Susan muttered to me. I thought about giving a reply but figured it wouldn’t help.
We reached the end of the hallway. Susan looked behind us and I saw the color drain from her face. I turned my head; I couldn’t see the front doors. “It’s just not well lit,” I said quietly.
She swallowed visibly. “Uh huh.”
“Here we are,” the Guide said, forcing our attention back to whatever was ahead of us. He gestured towards a large door. It looked like it was made out of mahogany, but I wasn’t sure. “Now, are you ready for a rare experience?”
“How rare?” Susan asked. I could tell she was trying to sound light and breezy, but her voice was shaking.
“Rare enough,” the Guide said with a small smile.
“Sure,” I replied before Susan could say no. “It’s a vacation, after all.”
“For some,” the Guide said as he turned and pushed the door inward. I noticed there was no doorknob or handle.
He ushered us into the room ahead of him. It was smaller than I was expecting after the hallway – more like a large parlor you’d see in an English countryside-type movie. There were sofas and chairs, coffee tables, a couple of tea carts complete with doilies and tea sets, sofa tables behind the larger couches, lamps, rugs, throws and pillows. The room was well lit and there were three other couples in it. I could feel Susan relax.
A small nondescript man came and took our bags. “Please, sit,” the Guide said, indicating an open loveseat. Susan gave the small man her cosmetics case and sank into her seat. I sat down next to her and put my arm around her shoulders. She snuggled next to me and I felt her breathing return to normal.
“Now that you’re all here, the festivities can begin,” the Guide said with a brief smile.
I looked around at the others in the room. No one was familiar-looking to me, but I’d expected that. We all knew each other by reputation, but it was a rarity to be up for promotion at the same time as another employee you knew well. I could tell who were the boss’ employees, though – they were the ones who looked calm and confident. Like Susan, their companions looked relieved and confused.
“What festivities?” a rather dumpy woman of what I guessed were middle years asked. She was clearly the companion in her couple – the man with her was about her age but looked more worldly and experienced. He looked Susan up and down appraisingly and she blushed.
“We’re playing a game,” another woman answered for the Guide. She was younger, probably in her late thirties. She would have been considered a classic beauty in the olden days, which wasn’t a surprise. She was still attractive now, though interestingly to me, she wasn’t in the best physical shape, tending towards the heavier side of chubby. She had a certain charisma that made me want to ignore this, however, and just focus on her, as it were. I could tell the other men in the room felt the same.
She was easily spotted as the employee in her couple – she was clearly the most confident person in the room, and looking at her gave me the feeling she was that confident with the boss as well.
The man with her was handsome, but he looked the most uncomfortable of anyone in the room. “Honey, you shouldn’t interrupt,” he said quietly.
She gave him a fond look. “It’s one of my strong points, my boss says so all the time.” She looked over at the Guide and grinned.
The Guide smiled back. “Yes, Helen, your penchant for taking charge was mentioned in my briefing. You should enjoy the festivities very much, I think.”
Another man cleared his throat. He was dressed impeccably, and I could tell everything on him was the finest and most expensive available, down to his sleek leather gloves. He was with a woman many years his junior, dressed all in gold. She was clinging to his arm and looked more uncomfortable than Susan.
“When are things going to get started?” this man asked in a tone that made it clear he wasn’t used to waiting.
The Guide gave him a pleasant nod. “Michael, I know you don’t approve of time-wasting. However, there are certain…formalities that must be observed. As you are well aware.”
Everyone nodded. The Guide gave us all a close-lipped smile. “Excellent. Now, your luggage will be taken to your rooms. Before dinner, a little game has been proposed.”
“A game?” the woman in gold asked. “But I’d like to freshen up first.”
The Guide shook his head. “Things must go in order. Don’t worry – you’ll have plenty of time later.”
“Time for what?” Susan whispered to me.
I hugged her but didn’t answer.
The Guide pointed to a door opposite the one we’d entered through. “This door leads to another room. In that room are
three doors. Choose a door, choose a path.”
The handsome man with Helen cocked his head. “You’re sending us on some sort of hunt?”
The Guide nodded. “A treasure hunt. Of a kind. You may stay together in a group or divide up however you see fit.”
“Well, that’s chummy,” the worldly looking man said.
The Guide chuckled. “Yes, Johnny, I knew you’d find it so.” He opened his hands. “If you look well, you’ll find maps along the way.”
“Maps?” Susan asked. “Why would we need maps?”
Helen laughed. “It’s a maze.” All the companions stared at her, varying degrees of shock in their expressions. “It’s fun,” she said with another laugh. “Come on, let’s go.” She got up and led the way. The rest of us followed.
The room with the doors was smaller than the parlor. It fit the eight of us just fine, but we couldn’t have easily added in anyone else.
“Why is it so murky in here?” Susan murmured to me. “Can’t your boss afford lighting?”
“Why do we have to do this?” the handsome man with Helen asked.
“Rules,” Michael said with authority. “It’s how things are done here.”
“Where is ‘here’ exactly?” Susan asked.
The other employees gave me looks that said my companion was asking the smart questions. Helen looked impressed, Johnny looked interested in Susan in a sexual way, and Michael looked annoyed and impatient. I was glad I hadn’t run into Michael before – he wasn’t my kind of guy.
I hugged Susan. “We’re at the start of the maze.”
“Right, first decision point,” Helen said cheerfully as we all stared at the three doors in front of us. “Who’s going where?”
“You know, we haven’t even been introduced,” her companion said. He wasn’t wrong, even though I’d figured out who the other employees were already, and I was sure they’d figured out who I was, too. We’d been late, so the Guide had probably dropped hints before we arrived. “We’re Helen and William Troyan-McMichael.”
I had no reason to hide. “I’m Matt Spear and this is my wife, Susan.”
Michael sighed. “Michael King, and this is my wife, Oriana.”
“John and Carla Nova,” Johnny said with a grin. “You can call me the luckiest man in the world, by the way.”
“Why is that?” Oriana asked politely.
Johnny hugged his wife. “I convinced this lady to marry me.”
Carla smiled. “It didn’t take much convincing. Besides, I’m the lucky one to have finally found a man who loves me for myself.”
I took this to mean that Carla was an heiress of some kind. It would fit Johnny’s reputation as the ladies’ man of all ladies’ men. Carla was certainly nothing much to look at and she was outshone by the other three women in terms of personality, too. None of the other women had a chance against Helen’s natural charisma, of course, but Susan was both beautiful and personable, or else I wouldn’t have married her, and even acting like a scared mouse, Oriana had more sex appeal than Carla.
“Sweet,” Michael said in a tone indicating he found sweet to be nauseating. “Let’s get going, shall we?”
“I think we should stick together,” Oriana said nervously.
“Nonsense,” Michael said. “Good luck to all of you.” He took Oriana’s hand and led her through the right-hand door.
“Maybe we should follow him,” Johnny said with a laugh. “He always seems to make the right choices.”
Helen shrugged. “Why not?”
“Why don’t we choose to go back?” Susan asked. She pulled me back to the door that led back to the parlor. Susan pushed against it and gasped. “It won’t open! And there’s no door handle.” She looked at me, eyes wild. “Matt, what’s going on?”
I put my arm around her shoulders and drew her back to the doors, so I was next to Helen. “It’s just the boss’ way of having a joke on us.”
“All part of the game,” Helen added. “Really, Susan, honey, you need to relax. It’s all in fun. Matt’s been around the block more than once. He’ll take care of you.” She smiled at me, a very knowing smile. “In one way or another,” she added softly, where no one else could hear.
“So,” Johnny said a little more loudly than necessary. “Are we going to follow Michael, stick together and choose another door, or all split up?”
A bloodcurdling scream answered him.
“It came from the way Michael and Oriana went!” Carla shouted.
“No, from the middle,” William said.
“I heard it from the left,” Susan said to me. “What do we do?”
“I don’t want to split up,” William said. “There’s safety in numbers.
A throat cleared behind us. We all turned. Susan jumped, but I was still holding her, so I was able to control her somewhat.
The Guide was standing there. “I must insist that the rest of you begin the festivities.”
“How did you get in here?” Susan asked, her voice trembling.
The Guide chuckled. “The same way you did.” He strode past us and went through the right-hand door.
“So, he’ll handle Michael and Oriana if they were in trouble,” Helen said.
“What if the person who screamed wasn’t one of them?” Susan asked. She was definitely asking the right questions.
“I don’t trust that man to help anyone,” Carla said flatly. Interesting. “Let’s go see if we can help.” She grabbed Johnny’s hand and pulled him through the right-hand door.
“Joining them or joining us?” Helen asked. “It would be nice to get to know you better, Matt. And Susan.”
Susan eyed Helen up and down. For the first time since coming she didn’t seem frightened or nervous. “I think we’ll try it alone.” Susan looked up at me. “Middle or left?”
“You know me, I like the straight and narrow.”
“Left for us then,” Helen said cheerfully. “See you on the other side.” She took William’s hand and led him through, even as he protested that we should all continue to stick together.
My arm was still around Susan’s shoulders. “Ready?”
She took a deep breath. “No. But let’s do this anyway.” She shoved the middle door open and we walked through.
“Great,” Susan groaned. “Another creepy hallway. Seriously, does your insane boss have a problem with actually using electricity?”
“No. I’m sure it’s just done like this for ambiance.”
We walked down the hall hand-in-hand. There were doors along this hallway. Susan had us try every one. None of them opened. “Less choices,” she said as we reached the end of the hallway where a last door sat. “Thank God for that.” She tried this door. Like the others, it didn’t budge. “Oh, are you kidding me?”
I tried the door too. “Maybe we have to go back and go through the right or left sides.”
Susan sighed and we walked back. She had us try all the doors again. “Just in case.” But all the doors stayed firmly shut.
I’d heard sounds behind each door, but since Susan hadn’t mentioned it, I didn’t bring it up. Why tell her I heard faint scratching or panting behind the doors we couldn’t get inside? It would only make her more nervous.
We reached the other end of the hallway. Susan opened the door. “Well, at least this one opens both ways.” We stepped through and she gave a little scream.
The room wasn’t the one we’d left. It was hard to call it a room. It was a lot easier to call it a countryside.
“This isn’t where we just left. Matt, how did we get outside?”
“We’re not outside.” I pointed up. “The ceiling’s painted to look like we’re outside, but it’s still a ceiling. Look, the birds don’t move.”
“There had better be some kind of amazing banquet waiting for us when we finish this thing. Either that, or you need to change jobs.”
“You know I love what I do, hon. It’ll be fine.”
“Will it?” Susan looked around. “Al
l I see are trees and hills and things like that.”
“It’s a room. It’s painted to give the illusion of space and depth. We’ll go along the wall and that way we’ll find a door out of here. It’s that, or we go back into the hallway again.”
Susan looked behind us. “Let’s just see if we can.” She opened the door. Sure enough, the dimly lit hallway was on the other side. “Okay, that so-called exit is still there. So, I guess we have that option if your idea doesn’t work.” She left the door open. I didn’t close it. It wouldn’t matter.
Another scream echoed. It sounded farther away than the first one had. “Should we investigate?”
“I guess so.” Susan shook herself. “I can relate to whoever’s screaming their head off, so let’s see if we can help them. I think William was right – we should have all stuck together.”
I put my hand onto the wall and we walked on. The screaming was replaced with the sound of someone sobbing. This sound was close, though.
Susan pulled out of my hand and went to our left, towards a nearby hillock. I lost sight of her for a moment and decided I’d better go after her. We could find the wall, and the other exit in this room, in a bit.
Happily, she hadn’t gone far. The sound of sobbing was louder. “It’s coming from here, right here,” Susan said. “But there’s no one but us.”
“Let’s go. I’m starting to get as creeped out as you are.”
She shook her head and stared at the hillock. “You know, this is really small, barely seven feet tall and only a few feet wide. Do you think…could someone be trapped inside it.”
“Oh, I’m sure not.” I took her hand and dragged her away. The sobbing got softer the more steps we took. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Matt, I really think someone was in that little hill.”
“I doubt it.” I made sure Susan couldn’t see my face. She might be able to tell that I knew exactly who was in that hillock. Well, not exactly. But not everyone who visited the boss’ estates came to receive a promotion. And failure to complete the maze wasn’t met with a congratulatory handshake or a slap on the back.