Emma and the Minotaur

by Jon Herrera

in her chest as the whistlers came closer and multiplied. They were coming from all directions and they sounded as though they were moving straight toward them. It was a mad cacophony of whistling that made her ears hurt. Even her father was squeezing her hand too hard.

  “Maybe we should run,” Mr Wilkins said. “Blind in the dark.”

  Emma took her hands away from them and clutched her flute. “Music is light,” she said and began to hum. She hummed a song she’d heard maybe once or twice before but she had never forgotten. She didn’t know the name of it but she hummed and hummed as the mad whistling came closer and closer.

  When it seemed as though the whistlers were right upon them, Emma’s flute began to glow and it lit their surroundings.

  She stood up, as did her brother and her father. The light of the flute revealed that they were surrounded by steam but it was quickly dissipating. The whistling ceased. In the light of the flute they saw, stopped in their tracks, short creatures with stubby legs. They were like dogs but they had the ears of cats.

  Will couldn’t help but laugh. “What are they?” he said. They were just standing there now, staring at them.

  Mr Wilkins chuckled. “Teakettlers,” he said. “Very shy creatures, supposedly.” He raised his hands in the air. “Shoo!” he said, gesturing. “Off you go now! Shoo!”

  The teakettlers moved away from them, walking backward, until they disappeared into the dark.

  “What a teakettler?” Will said.

  “Those things,” Mr Wilkins said, grinning. “You should look them up when this is all done. They whistle like a teakettle, that’s why the name, and they only walk backwards.”

  “All stories are true,” Emma said.

  Mr Wilkins turned to her. “The humming. I didn’t know you liked Beethoven. But the light is still on and you’re not humming anymore.”

  “I didn’t either,” she said. “But that’s strange. I guess I don’t need to hum with my voice. I’m still doing it on the inside.”

  Emma looked at her watch. It was seven forty-five. Funny, that, she thought, and smiled at the cartoon mouse. They walked on into the night, their way shown by the light of the flute.

  “I wonder what else is out there,” Will said as they walked among the trees.

  “Everything,” Emma said.

  They said no more until they reached the clearing.

  The grinning gray mouse on her watch told Emma that it was eight fifteen when it happened. Emma almost giggled at the mouse but before she had the chance, the thunder was upon them. It was like waking up from a dream. A single step had taken them into an enormous clearing with a single tree in the middle. This clearing was big. It was a great, roughly circular field with a lone giant tree in the middle. Emma knew that this wasn’t her tree, not Mr Oak, but it was his twin, the one that was helping Minotaur. She also knew that this enormous clearing wasn’t a normal part of the forest but it was as though all the trees had moved away to make room for what was happening inside it.

  It was a picture of chaos. Surrounding the tree, there were dozens upon dozens of restrained human beings guarded by creatures of all kinds. There were centaurs, chimeras, trolls, gorgons, and harpies, among others. More creatures were coming into the clearing and they were carrying or dragging screaming or unconscious humans. Now and then, one of the prisoners would get away and run for the trees but he or she would be caught almost immediately and dragged back to the group and punished.

  Near the great tree in the middle stood the minotaur. He was like a general watching his troops. He was standing next to a portal that had opened in the great trunk of the tree and he was supervising as trolls snatched up the closest humans and threw them into the opening, one by one.

  “Oh my god,” Mr Wilkins said.

  Emma stopped her humming immediately so that they wouldn’t attract attention. They didn’t need the light anymore for the sky was scorched there. It was red and it seemed broken like someone had taken a hammer to it and shattered it.

  “Lucy,” Will said.

  Emma turned to where he was pointing and saw her. She was one of the prisoners near the edge of the group. She was sitting on the ground and she was bloody and dirty. Her head hung down to her chest. There was a gash across her forehead and streaks of blood ran down her face. Emma didn’t see Jake anywhere near her.

  “What now?” Will said.

  “I don’t know,” Mr Wilkins said. “It doesn’t look like there is anything we can do.”

  Lucy looked up from where she was sitting. She looked straight at them and her eyes widened. She took a frantic look around and then stood up and stumbled toward them. The girl looked like she could fall at any moment.

  Lucy only took a dozen steps before she was noticed by one of the trolls that was lumbering about. He ambled toward her at a leisurely pace but its giant steps brought him upon her quickly.

  Emma ran toward them. She got to halfway between them and the edge of the clearing and then she raised her flute in the air and hummed.

  “Hey!” she called to the troll. “Here!”

  The beast stopped for a moment and looked at her, seemingly puzzled. He gave her a frown and then looked at Lucy, who collapsed to the ground. He left her there and moved toward Emma.

  “Dad, get Lucy!” Emma said, and ran away from the girl and away from her family. Will and her father ran to Lucy and, together, they helped her up and walked her hurriedly toward the tree line.

  Emma ran, but the troll was too big and too fast. He was upon her quickly. He reached out with his enormous hand.

  Like a blur, the faun was between them. He crouched down on his goat legs and jumped forcefully into the troll, using his horns to batter the monster’s ribcage. Emma heard the loud crunch of breaking bones and saw the troll go limp and fall to the ground.

  “Why have you come here?” Domino said.

  “I needed to help my friends,” she said. “I called you but you wouldn’t come.”

  “Domino isn’t my real name, girl. I am called Satyr. No matter. There is nothing you can do now. He is too strong and we must go. Hurry!”

  There was thunder.

  They looked toward the great tree and Minotaur was no longer there. Thunder boomed again and the monster was standing next to them. A pained expression crossed Domino’s face but it was followed by determination.

  “Go!” he said to Emma and almost threw her toward the forest. She ran but looked back and saw the faun attempt the same thing that he had done to the troll. This time his opponent easily swatted him aside and he fell hard to the ground. Domino stood up and went at the minotaur again.

  Emma reached the forest and found Mr Wilkins and Will tending to Lucy.

  “Where is Jake?” she said.

  Lucy shook her head. “Gone,” she said and pointed toward the tree in the clearing.

  Emma thought she could hear her own heart breaking in half. She felt dizzy and her body went limp. She found herself sitting on the ground somehow.

  “Oh no,” was all she could say.

  Mr Wilkins came over to her but Domino burst in on the group.

  “What are you doing? Run!” he said. “Now!”

  They could hear the rumble of the ground behind him.

  “Lucy,” said Mr Wilkins, “can you run?”

  “Go!” shouted the faun. He picked up Emma and put her on his back. The others helped Lucy stand up. They ran together at first. Jingles hopped beside Domino. The thunder gave chase.

  “What can be done?” Mr Wilkins yelled as they ran.

  “Nothing!” said Domino. “If Minotaur could be stopped then maybe the rest would retreat, but only to come back again. It’s over.”

  “Can Minotaur be stopped?”

  “No,” shouted the faun. “There is no power in this world strong enough.”

  From her place on the back of the faun, Emma cried. Jake was gone and the world was ending. The roar of thunder was nearly upon them, and then the Minotaur would take them too.

>   “I never showed Jake my present,” she said. “My new mouse watch.” She looked at the time and the grinning mouse said it was eight thirty. It made her giggle through her tears.

  “It’s eight thirty,” she said. “That’s funny.”

  They broke into a clearing.

  It was Mr Oak’s clearing. Emma realized what it was that the faun was doing. Maybe there was a way out of this. They could be transported out.

  When Emma saw Mr Oak, the tree began to sing what sounded like a lullaby. It seemed that it was his way of saying that everything would be okay.

  “Retreat and regroup,” she said as the faun reached the ancient tree. “Hello, Mr Oak.”

  A line of light opened in the middle of the tree and it became a portal.

  The faun put her down and they both turned to look back the way they had come. The rest of the group wasn’t as fast as Domino.

  Emma managed a smile when she saw her family and her friend Lucy emerge from the forest and into the clearing. They had made it, and they would be safe for a while longer. Maybe they would be able to figure out some way to survive the end of the world.

  Mr Wilkins and Lucy smiled back at her. Will gave her a grin.

  There was thunder.

  In an instant, Minotaur was upon them and he burst into them and sent Will and Lucy flying. He picked up Emma’s father by his leg and twisted, drawing a scream from the man.

  Emma screamed along with him and started to run toward them. Domino grabbed her.

  The minotaur threw William Wilkins down to the ground. His leg was bent at an awkward angle.

  Emma punched at the faun to no avail.

  “No! Let me go!” she