Supernatural Games

by Casey Knight

  Nothing happened for so long, I thought he made the correct choice. Nope, nada. There was a deafening roar, and then the wizard was buried in oats. Yes, oats. He apparently found an honest to God granary, and if he wasn’t careful, he might drown in the grain. He was up to his armpits, and the pile was rising. If I had to guess, I’d say he had only a moment to hit the button and pay the penalty before he paid the ultimate price. He fortunately reached the same conclusion just before his head disappeared from sight. It didn’t take long for the team to free him and sound the all-clear.

  I didn’t have long to wait before the lycan loped into view. If I were honest with myself, I’d admit this was more prosaic in nature to the final stages of the first three universes. Every final challenge had ended in or near chapels. I was in the common area of the underground city; a place rife with warehouses, olive oil and wine presses, storage areas, and stables. Watching the first contestant nearly smothered in oats was a far cry from seeing a baptistery flush several contestants.

  The lycan was in his wolf form, sniffing his way around the room. When he got to the oat bin he hesitated, and appeared to regard the area thoroughly before he proceeded. I had no way of knowing if he smelled the wizard’s scent. My guess would be yes, but I didn’t know if that was good or bad. I needn’t have worried overly about it because the lycan moved past the oats. He then grabbed the lever of the next bin in his mouth and pulled. It didn’t take long for him to produce a response. The floor under him gave way, and he was whisked away down a chute and disappeared from sight. I watched as the camera panned over to see where he’d gone, but the trap door closed behind him. I was left alone to wonder what became of him.

  I was deciding if I should follow the lycan’s progress or wait for another competitor when a member of the fae team ran into the room. Unlike the prior two competitors, he didn’t pull out any notes, just stood there and sniffed the air. Then he walked past the grain bins and made his way to the olive press. He walked around it several times before he headed down a narrow tunnel to his left. I couldn’t help myself, and followed the fae’s progress as he bent double and nearly crawled along the deserted passageway. This place would make an ant feel claustrophobic. He finally squirmed his way through a narrow opening into a room approximately ten feet by ten feet. In the center of the room was a circular trough appearing to be six to eight inches deep. In the center of the circle was a central axle with a cross piece affixed to its center.

  There was a huge stone wheel leaning against the center upright piece. I didn’t have a clue, but it looked like the fae did. He moved over to the stone wheel, pushed it upright and pulled it until it was in line with the cross piece. He studied the cross piece and the wooden brace that appeared to hold it in place. Whatever he saw, he seemed to be pleased, because he moved over and removed a pin until the brace slid down the center pole, then replaced the pin once he slid the crosspiece through the wheel into place. Then he stepped back and pushed the wheel until it had made a complete circle. Next, he stood there and waited until a click announced that a trap door under the trough had glided open. He didn’t hesitate before he ran over and disappeared from view.

  He was either onto something or dumb as a stump. I waited and listened for cursing, screaming, crying; anything to indicate how he was doing. I didn’t hear a sound, so I sent the camera off to follow him. The recorder disappeared from view, and then the next thing I saw the video was recording in a storage area. It was filled with large vessels lining the walls and the floor. My guess is the fae had landed in a large storage area. I glanced around the room, and saw the chute the wizard took. There was a pile of oats in the far corner. Well at least two of our contestants had survived the first challenge, or so I thought, before I saw the blood and noticed the small holes set in the walls along the narrow tunnel. It didn’t take me long to find the wizard. He looked like he had locked horns or quills with a porcupine. I wasn’t sure if it was blood loss or shock, but the wizard was down for the count. I called in the alert and sirens wailed as everyone waited for the wizard to be evacuated.

  I didn’t see any sign of the lycan, which led me to believe he headed in a different direction. I changed course and headed in the opposite direction of the wizard. Damn, it didn’t take me long to find the nearly deep-fried lycan. He was also down for the count inside a partially opened door. I called it in and stepped around him and into the next room. That’s when I put two and two together. When he opened the door, he had triggered a trap. There were small holes in the ceiling that dropped boiling oil on him. Ouch! He would live, but he might not grow any fur in that area again. Damn, the design team was getting more cutthroat the nearer we came to completing the final challenge.

  The all-clear had just been announced when the sound of running feet heralded the arrival of the vampire. I didn’t wait long before he sprinted into sight. He went right to the area where the fae had disappeared from view. He pulled the chute door, and like the fae, slid from sight. I decided to track his progress. The vamp had landed in the same area as the fae, and like the fae, found the trap door under the wheel. I guess it was time to see where the two had gone. I scanned the monitors until I caught sight of the fae and the vampire. The fae had a good ten-minute lead on the vamp until the fae, in his haste, stepped on a manhole cover size lid. The lid flipped, throwing the fae down a vertical chute and into a steep sided pit. The pit looked like an empty well. It was narrow and probably twenty feet deep. The fae looked pissed but not hurt. He now had a decision. It would likely take him half an hour or more to climb out, or he could take the time penalty.

  While he was deciding, I scanned the monitors for any sight of the vamp or demon. The demon had unfortunately made the same decision as the lycan with the same results. He was done for the games, and the demons would have to send in another competitor. The vampire was inching along near the spot where the fae had triggered the trap. The vampire had wisely decided to fly. He had changed into a bat, and hovered well above the traps set into the floor of the cavern.

  The vampire had a big lead, and proceeded with caution. He was in a space with small and narrow tunnels. My guess is the ceiling was only five feet high. There were side tunnels, diverging at irregular intervals. I had no idea where he was or what he was looking for. Finally, he came into an open area that formed a small grotto. He changed back to his human form and pulled out his notes. There was an underground spring bubbling up in the center of the room. The area was ringed by rocks and small boulders surrounding the spring.

  There didn’t appear to be anything else in the room, and the vampire took his time circling the entire spring. While he pondered his next move, I scanned the other monitors to check the progress of the other competitors. The lycan and demon where only now returning to the original entryway. The wizard and fae were nearing the stone well, so for now, the vampire had a good twenty-minute lead on the competition. He finally seemed to have decided on a course of action, because he walked to the edge of the spring and waded in.

  Well, I can honestly say I hadn’t seen that coming. The water didn’t appear to be too deep, as far as I could tell. He waded around until the water was almost to his shoulders and then dove underwater. I saw his shadow but nothing more. The light was too low in the cavern for the monitors to pick up much. I saw air bubbles, so knew he was still breathing. Then his head broke the surface of the water, and he waded to shore. He had something in his hand, but I couldn’t tell what it was. I only knew he didn’t have it when he went into the water.

  He shook the water off himself and then walked the perimeter of the cavern until he disappeared from view. I waited and then saw him reappear on the monitor below the grotto. He was coming down a flight of stairs that was dug into the floor of the cave. He was now in a larger room with two doors leading from it. There didn’t appear to be anything else in the room. The vampire walked up to each door and looked them over carefully. Still, he wisely touched nothing and again consulted his notes. While he studi
ed his instructions, I checked on the others’ progress. The fae had made it to the spring and was scouting it out. No one else was close.

  The vampire had stowed his notes and walked up to the left door. He tried the handle, but it didn’t open. Then he took whatever he’d picked up in the spring and pushed it into a slot in the door. That’s when all hell broke loose. A small slit in the door opened, and a white powder puffed from the opening into the vampire’s eyes. He was stepping and fetching so fast it looked like his ass was on fire and his hair was catching. Finally, he must have passed out, because he staggered and slipped to his knees before he fell face first to the ground. I sure hoped he was unconscious and not dead. His lack of movement would be noted by his suit, and a team would be dispatched to check on him.

  It didn’t take the crew long to respond. They carted the vampire off. He was apparently still alive, which was a good thing. I didn’t want any loss of life at these games. I did a quick check of the monitors to make certain no one was cheating and everyone had stopped while the injured man was removed. It looked like everyone was playing by the rules. I noticed Tokem and Corbin patrolling their areas, so far so good. The siren blared to announce the resumption of the games, and I went to see where all the competitors were.

  That is when I heard our first competitor. The wizard was the nearest participant, and the fae wasn’t far behind. The wizard moved through the tunnels and inched toward the cavern. The fae was wisely trying to figure out how to traverse the room with its booby traps. He couldn’t fly like the vampire and wizard. The wizard was now in the cavern, walking the room and circling the spring. He must have come to the same conclusion as the vampire, because he too waded into the water and dove under. I followed his air bubbles, so knew he was still alive. Then the water churned and swirled, forming a whirlpool in the center of the spring. Call me crazy, but this didn’t look good for the wizard. Sure enough, a second later, a geyser of water erupted from the spring and ejected the wizard from the water. He landed in a heap six feet or more from the water and didn’t move.

  Damn, the design team had upped their game for this last challenge. Again, the sirens wailed, and the rescue team rushed in and removed the wizard. At least they knew where they were going. They were quick, and again the all clear signal blared. I checked the monitors and noticed the fae crossing the room and making his way through the tunnels. The demon and replacements were bringing up the rear.

  The fae moved carefully, cautiously, and painstakingly slow through the maze of tunnels. Finally, he made it to the cavern and the spring of many surprises. I was started to wonder about the health benefits of spring water. The fae sat for a time with his notes before he too approached the water. He waded out until the water was up to his waist and then floated on his stomach. Kicking enough to stay afloat, he moved back and forth across the spring. The monitors were not clear enough for me to tell if he could see much in the water. Then he stopped and got his feet back underneath him. He was standing in the water, inhaling mouthfuls of air. Then he dove under and disappeared from sight.

  I couldn’t see his air bubbles and felt anxious when his head broke the water. He swam and walked until he was out of the spring, then trotted back the way he had come until he reached the stairs leading down to the room that demolished the vampire. Once he got into the room, he checked every inch of the space. I think after his episode with the trap door, he was being extra cautious. Finally, he approached the two doors. Unlike the vampire, he didn’t try to touch either door or doorknob. The doors were solid wood with only a knob and hinges.

  The fae walked to the door on the right and took whatever he’d retrieved from the bottom of the spring from his pocket. It looked like a small shell. He knelt down in front of the door and pressed it into the ground. There may or may not have been an opening, but I couldn’t see well enough to tell. Then the door slowly pulled up and out of sight. The fae scrambled up and through the door, which silently slid back into place.

  At last, one down and three more to go to complete the final challenge, the whole thing had me on edge. It wouldn’t be long before the vampire and wizard again reached the spring, so I scanned my monitors to see where the fae had gone. I found him making his way through a warren of underground tunnels. There were at least eleven levels in this underground city, one time capable of handling as many as fifty thousand people at once.

  The fae was in an area where there were large storage rooms, large ventilation shafts and a maze of smaller rooms along the perimeter. It looked like this had been a living area at one time. The smaller rooms were obviously dug by hand. Most of the rooms had fire pits in the floor near the middle of the room. A few had small nooks carved into the sidewalls looking like sleeping lofts. The idea of living so far underground in such snug little homes made me cringe. Between each level, large stones could be rolled across the tunnel mouth to seal intruders out and families in. There appeared to be a central gathering place in the middle of all the sleeping rooms. The market had rough carved benches around the outside of the rectangular meeting space. Unlike the dirt floors found in the rest of the cavern, the agora had irregular sized cobblestones radiating from its center to cover the dirt floor.

  I watched as the fae skirted the area, checking out the rooms and the surrounding agora. Finally, he sat down on one of the benches and studied his notes. From the look on his face, I was sure he didn’t have a clue what to look for. He stood, stashed his notes, and stalked off toward the largest storage room. The room had shelves excavated into the walls, grates covering holes in the floor, and all manner of nooks and crannies burrowed into the floors and supporting walls.

  The fae approached the grates, but stayed well away from them. It looked like he had learned his lesson after the manhole cover dropped him down a few levels. He leaned in for a closer look, and a bright flash of light exploded in his face. It looked like one of those old fashion flash bulbs used with the first cameras. Then he disappeared with a loud bang. The blinding flash of light and loud boom reminded me of a flash grenade. When the air cleared, the fae was nowhere to be found. I scanned the whole area and couldn’t detect any movement until I noticed the grate nearest where the fae had disappeared had a stream of spiders pouring out of it.

  I shuddered involuntarily and thanked my lucky stars this was Corbin’s stage. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d have said I thought the explosion had disturbed a nest. Then I saw hawk-sized wasps swarm up from the closest fire pit to attack the spiders. Shit, those wasps weren’t part of the plan. I mean, every supersized insect, bird, reptile or animal we’d seen so far; hadn’t been. I got on my mic and tried to contact Tokem and Corbin. Tokem was the first to answer.

  “Lauren, we’ve got a team on the way, and I have my crews scanning all footage to see if the fae shows up somewhere else.”

  “Tokem, is there any way to get a better view of the area? I’m sure there are runes somewhere we missed.”

  “Unfortunately, there isn’t, it’s too far underground.”

  “Lauren, Tokem, I just arrived at the area near the grate.”

  “Corbin, look around and see if you can find any runes near the grating. And be very careful around those wasps.”

  “Lauren, the wasps are too busy with the spiders to pay any attention to me. I haven’t seen any runes yet. Wait. I think I found something on the inside of the fire pit. Yes, I’ll take a picture and send it to your phone. Give me a minute.”

  My phone chirped a few minutes later, and I said a few unladylike things when I saw the runes. They were similar to the ones we’d found near the big cats and the jumbo frog. I’d have to go down there and disarm those runes or we’d have spiders everywhere.

  “Corbin, I’ll need to come and deactivate those runes. Tokem, can you contact the design team and see if this was part of the original plan?”

  “Lauren, I’ll talk to the design team and get back to you.”

  “Thanks, Tokem. Corbin, I’ll be there shortly. If there are any
other competitors near the area, keep them away.”

  “Will do.”

  I put on my suit and headed for my hovercraft. This was earlier than I’d planned, but I might as well stay once I got the runes disarmed. I sure hoped the fae’s disappearance was part of the competition. It took me awhile to get close enough to the underground city. Fortunately, I’d just watched all the competitors, so when I got to the room with the lake I looked for the stairs. I found them and started down towards the vicinity where the fae had disappeared. It didn’t take me long to reach the storage room and find the agora.

  “Hey, Lauren, I’m over here. The wasps are mostly gone. It didn’t take long for them to eat all the spiders.”

  “That’s one blessing. I hate spiders, and I’m allergic to wasps,” I said as I moved over to where Corbin was standing by the runes. I looked them over and wasn’t happy with what I found. The person or persons who put these here used a similar signature, but the ending was different. I didn’t know what that meant, but I was also sure I probably wouldn’t like it.

  “Corbin, we need to be very careful here. These runes are slightly different than the ones we’ve seen before. The ending couple of symbols are unlike any I’ve seen. Come over here and stand by me. I’m going to put a shield over us. That way once I’ve disarmed them we’ll be protected from any surprises they might have left behind for us.”

  “After our run in with the giant sand worms you don’t have to tell me twice. Unless you think I should turn into a bat and hover above. Then if they snag you or blow you up, I can get help,” Corbin added.

  Before I could respond to Corbin, my mic squawked with a report from Tokem.

  “Lauren, the design team swears they did not build anything into the challenge that would cause a competitor to vanish. Be careful.”