Black Tie

by Kris Shamloo

  **

  The entries ended. That's it? I leafed through the rest of the journal, all the pages were blank. I was disappointed. The journal was supposed to be my key, the answer to the riddle, yet it was worthless. I tied it shut.

  My clothes were now dry; I scanned the area where the hallway entrance used to be. I sighed with empathy for every rat trapped in a maze somewhere. I know how you feel. I held the figurine of the weeping man. "We'll get out of here." Out of the corner of my eye I saw something strange. The violet hue of the well I had bathed in changed; it was the same luminous blue of the second orb. I knelt next to it.

  I went to the remnants of the smashed glass orbs, only a few drops of each fluid had survived the reaction. With my left hand I cradled the last remnants of the red fluid, uncaged by the glass; its vividness was even more stunning. I dipped my finger into the second well. The red fluid bloomed in the clear water. The rushing of sand turned my attention back to the center well, the well bottom descended gracefully back to the bottom. It began to rain.

  For a moment I wondered at the marvel of rain inside an underground chamber. I guess that's the sort of place this is. It was slowly filling the center well. A loud thud indicated that I was free from the first room; I turned to see the door open. I began walking towards the hallway entrance.

  In the distance I saw the familiar glow of the glass centerpiece illuminating the room. I had just crossed into the hallway when I saw the light flicker. Something is down there. The light of the antechamber vanished. Oh no.

  An inhuman howl bellowed from the ring room. It knows I'm here. The black haze preceded the thunder of its charge towards me. I sprinted back towards the raining room. The black haze engulfed me as it had on the surface. I started hacking uncontrollably.

  The roar of the massive beast moving towards me grew louder. I was nearly to the wells; I prayed the torrent had filled the center well enough for a landing. With my heart pounding, holding my breath in the red or blue wells was out of the question. The beast was just behind me now, its wet snarl and asthmatic wheezing rang in my ears. I leapt down the well; the bottom was hidden by the haze. My momentum slammed me against the wall of the shaft as I fell.

  I crashed through the five feet of water and bounced off the floor of sand. I made it. The collision with the wall and the choking haze had taken all the air out of me and I immediately surfaced. Between choked coughs I slid towards the wall of the well in case the monster had decided to follow me down. I looked up. The rain and the haze filled the well.

  The beast stood invisible at the top of the well. Nothing could be seen through the haze and rain, but it was there, waiting. You could feel its physicality; it had an aura of horrid power. The water rose slowly, bringing me closer to my fate.

  Treading water in the suffocating dark was exhausting. The monsoon continued to deliver me inexorably towards my hunter. With a blinding flash of light the haze was lifted. Just before the flash had cleansed the haze and the demon away I saw its grotesque outline against the light. The horrific revelation stunned me; I sank beneath the surface drifting aimlessly. There are two of them.

  The first encounter with the haze hadn't scarred me significantly; I had shelved the memory in the back of my mind. I engulfed myself in unraveling the mystery of the obelisk. The second attack brought the harsh reality that I was in serious danger, I wasn't safe underground, and the attacks happened with no warning. The half-empty well worked this time, but it's almost filled now.

  A few minutes later I was treading water at the top of the well. The rain stopped. The downpour had flushed most of the color from the other two wells. Now only the faint tint of red and blue remained diluted in each. A ribbon of color spread on the sand where each well had spilt its colorful overflow.

  The entrance to the hallway was still open. If the beasts left footprints the rain had washed away any sign of their presence. I headed back to the caged ring of fire to dry off yet again. The journal was soaked, it stayed open under the heat to dry off, the ink from the few pages of entries had run. The words were barely distinguishable; the tight clean cursive ran into itself like ribbons shoved into a glass. Doesn't matter anyway.

  The second door awaited me. Why am I here? What am I doing this for? None of it made sense. I'm playing the game. I could think of only two possible choices, participate or do nothing. In doing nothing I could only see the inevitability of gnashing teeth tearing me apart. In participating I saw only the sick enjoyment of who or whatever put me in this frightening place. Until a third solution presented itself I had no choice but to move forward.

  I'd rather play along than wait to die. Progressing through this puzzling and dangerous place had given me a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. I decided that feeling of progress was worth the price I had already paid. Pony up.

  I stood up and drifted towards the second door. This one had a handle. I pulled it. The door hesitated; I heard a faint mechanical click inside the door, then gave way. The hallway was a long downward spiral. I began my descent.

  The enclosed spiraling hallway distorted my perception, I couldn't tell for sure how far I had travelled down or how many circles I had walked but I guessed I had made at least twenty passes around the central axis. The corkscrew flattened. The hallway widened and ended with a massive iron gate.

  Beyond the iron gate were seven brick archways. As I stepped towards the iron gate a strange noise stole my attention. The faint noise grew slowly. What is that? It came from the spiraling hallway. Something is coming down. I backed against the wall of the hallway. It was close now, only one or two circles left before the bottom. I didn't know what to expect.

  What the? The small black rectangle slid with tremendous speed down the corkscrew. It shot straight across the floor and crashed unspectacularly into the iron gateway. It was the journal. I stared at it in utter disbelief. How in the hell? After a few tense moments of questioningly looking at the journal I decided it was safe to look away. My eyes swung towards the spiral. Journals don't move on their own. I strained my senses for any sound of movement at the top of the spiral. A dozen heartbeats passed, I got up to retrieve the book. I opened it.

  My disbelief grew as I stared at the three entries. The running ink had evaporated. The writing was as clean and crisp as the day it was written. Not a single smudge or blemish existed. The paper had no wrinkle or stiffness. It may as well never have been wet.

  I examined the three entries; they looked the same as before. I turned over the third entry and my heart stopped. I dropped the journal from the shock. Written in furious and frightened script the once blank page held a new entry. DON'T LEAVE ME.

  Looking immediately back towards the spiral I thought, someone is up there. My legs sprinted as fast as they could. I barely covered a hundred feet before I panicked and sprinted down to retrieve the journal.

  Dammit. With journal in hand I redoubled my efforts up the corkscrew. The curve made my ascent awkward, the slope made it exhausting. My legs pounded, blood overfilled my muscles, they felt as if they would burst. I made it to the top. Where are you? I headed back to the antechamber, desperately gasping for breath. The only sound was my own panting. The room was empty. Splash.

  I bolted towards the domed room. I've got you now; the wells are the only you can hide. Adrenaline pumped through me, sand kicked up behind me in collapsing arcs as I crossed under the twilight. There was a faint ripple in the center well. I reached it. My body collapsed with exhaustion; the fury of my sprint came to an end as my muscles reached their limit. The three wells sat motionless.

  Peering in the center well, the faintly glowing metal grate sat quietly on the bottom. Where the hell are you? Beads of sweat distorted the surface of the well. My lungs worked hard. I'm not chasing anyone. I'm chasing answers. I'm chasing an explanation. What the hell is this place doing to me?

  Still breathing heavily, I walked back down the spiral. By the time I reached the iron gate my body had fully calmed down. The journa
l sat tucked quietly in the small of my back, held by my belt. I grabbed the iron lever at the side of the gate and firmly threw it up. A small hiss of steam puffed from the edges of the gate as it rose into the ceiling.

  Seven brick archways lay before me, each leading to some unknown. I looked down each one. Darkness. Nothing but the black void lay at the threshold of each one. This is a labyrinth like no other. I turned to retrieve another piece of green metal to light my way. The gate slammed shut. I was trapped.