The three of us entered a room yesterday which had a warm breeze blowing through it. It smelled of exotic trees and fruits, as though we had stepped into a jungle. The room, however, looked like many of the others, without a single patch of green to be seen.
I tried to find the source of the wind, and found that it filtered down from a hole in the ceiling. On one wall, a group of hollowed-out rectangles had been carved into the wall, and I found they contained all sorts of transparent tubes of various shapes and sizes, stacked on top of each other in neat piles.
Jezreel suggested we might direct the air coming from the ceiling through the tubes, and I agreed that this sounded like a good guess. Working together, we fit one into the hole in the ceiling and fitted pipe after pipe toward another hole in the middle of the floor. It took many attempts and much trial and error, but we finally managed to connect the two points.
The moment we did, the floor vibrated and fell away, plunging us into the jungle that only our noses had told us was there. Though we fell the height of a tree, the ground was so covered with plants and bushes that it easily broke our fall.
No sooner had I gotten to my feet than a group of young men in what looked like painted tribal masks and tunics surrounded us, holding spears that were all pointed in our direction. As a joke, I asked to be taken to their leader, and to my surprise, they did exactly that, hooting and hollering all the way.
As they led us through the jungle, their spears at our backs, I realized just how young most of them were, probably as young as four or five. They all had olive skin and long, dark hair, but I couldn’t see their faces through their masks.
We reached a cleaning in the jungle that held their huts, and I nearly laughed out loud as I saw the man who served as their chief in the center. This was Takka, the paladin from Samoa, who I’d been tasked to retrieve from the maze in the first place. Luckily, he recognized me too, and immediately ordered his family to stand down.
We talked all night, and he told me how this part of the maze—and in fact, many parts of the maze—had pockets where time ran differently. Here, he’d stumbled into a place where time only crawled by compared to the outside world. In this way, they enjoyed a leisurely life, ever growing his family and living off the bountiful jungle. I, in turn, related all that I had been through in order to find him, and we commiserated over the loss of time gone by.
Jezreel kept her distance, but I could tell she was listening. Most of Takka’s tribe avoided her, despite my reassurances. Now I only hope I can convince the man to leave this humid paradise. Even though I told him of all the dangers in the outside world and the battle with the Nemes Knights, he did not seem moved. His roots here are deep, and I’m asking him to pluck them all up at once. That would be hard for anyone. Believe me, I know. How can I tell him that this place is only a dream that will fade when he leaves it? That would make leaving all the harder.
* * *
Rich got up early so he could take a look at his bike. Unfortunately, he found that it would take a little bit more time than he had to get it back up to working condition. The overcast skies looked like it might rain again, so he swallowed his pride and asked Aunt Laura for a ride.
She drove him there and offered to pick him up after his shift. He wanted to be the first one on the obstacle course, but when he got there, he saw that Trent, Nadia, and a few other regulars were already there, paintball guns locked and loaded.
"Hey, Richie," Nadia said. "Glad you showed up. Trent here was talking big and told the rest of us you wouldn't come."
Rich offered a half smile as he approached the starting line. "Well, I knew was gonna be a big day, so I got some good sleep. You ready to lose, Trent?"
Trent shook his head, laughing. "Not today, I'm not. You want to get this over with or what?"
Rich pointed to the starting line a step away. "I'm already here. We’re waiting for you."
The rest of people standing around stepped back, and Trent wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, I'm coming."
Julia, the girl who had been the timer last time, got out her phone. "We’d have you do it at the same time, but there's only one zip line, so we’re going to let you go thirty seconds after each other. Whoever has the best overall time is the winner. That sound okay?"
"Who goes first?" Rich asked.
Julia reached into her pocket and pulled out a quarter. "Heads or tails?"
Rich called heads the air, but it landed on tails. "Your choice, Trent. You want to go first or second?"
Trent now stood close to Rich at the starting line, grinning as though he'd already won. "Yeah, I'll go first. Winners never chose second."
They both took their places on the starting line, and the paintball snipers lined up at their assigned posts. The timer punched one hand in the air. "On your mark, get set … Go!"
Trent shot off like a kid who’d been doing cross country for years. He reached the monkey bars and took them like it was no trouble. Rich counted backwards from ten, watching the arm of the timer for when to go.
Her arm fell and Rich ran forward, once again counting back from ten to know when he might be fired out. Thankfully, his practice paid off, and he jumped off the monkey bars right when he hit nine. The first shooter groaned loudly at being denied.
He looked up and saw Trent at the top of the climbing wall already. Their eyes met for a second, and when Rich looked up, he saw why. Trent had knocked off several of the handholds, giving him almost no way to get up. He was gonna fight dirty.
For an instant, Rich thought about using his paladin abilities to create new things for him to grasp, but he couldn't. Not only would that be cheating, but everyone would see, and that would raise way too many questions. The thought made him angry and determined all the same time.
Knowing he had ten seconds before he could get shot, he ran forward and leaped onto the wall, his arms and legs spread much too wide for his own good. He made a jump for the next handholds, slipped, and fell back. Any second now, he’d get shot in the arm, making this contest even more ridiculous than it was already. He jumped again, caught the edge with his fingers, and tried to pull himself up.
He grunted loudly as he heard a thwack close to his arm. He had just barely moved away when the explosion of blue brightened the climbing wall. From above, he could hear Trent laughing hysterically. Why hadn't he gone down the zip line yet?
Rich scrambled up as best he could and poked his head over the edge. He saw Trent clutching the handles of the zip line. He sneered at Rich and laughed again. "See you later, loser!"
Trent jumped off with the zip line a bit too hard. One of his handles swung violently to the left. This made him lose his grip on the other handle and tumble to the ground, landing hard on his side. From his yell of pain, it was obvious that it hadn't been a soft landing.
Rich pulled himself up over the lip of the wall, sweat breaking out over his brow and dripping down his neck. Somebody had sent the zip line back. He could easily snatch it now and make it to the end with little problem.
He looked toward the finish line and then down at Trent. Of course, the guy deserved to lose for being such a jerk. On top of that, the guy was breaking the law and should get in trouble. As Rich watched Trent, though, he could tell something was really wrong. Trent held his leg, his face turning red, like he was just barely keeping in a scream.
The people holding the paintball guns had already dropped them and were running toward the community center. The teenager in Rich wanted to finish the race and stick it to Trent. The paladin in him said he needed to get down and help.
Then Rich thought about his grandmother's words. He’d never be the great knight she wanted him to be if he didn't try to do the right thing, even when it was the hardest thi
ng.
Using the zip line, he let himself down to check on Trent. He didn't say anything, but placed a hand Trent's shoulder, knowing that he could use his power of empathy and healing like that now. All it once, he felt a massive stabbing pain in his own leg. This was what it felt like to be Trent, and he’d definitely broken his leg. Bad.
He barely managed not to cry out himself. Instead, he gritted his teeth, not bothering to explain what he was doing. The guy probably wouldn't believe him anyway. He focused all of his healing power on Trent's leg, imagining it with only a few bruises instead of snapped bones. Rich could feel the energy flowing out of him until he felt like two a.m. the day after he’d run a marathon.
Rich fell down, landing hard in the mud. Trent had gone quiet and stared at Rich as if a third eyeball had appeared in the center of his forehead.
“Hey, did you do that?"
Rich nodded and spoke softly so no one else would overhear. "Yeah, that was me. Don't try to tell anyone. Who would believe you anyway?"
Trent looked like he’d been punched in the gut instead of breaking his leg. "I don't get it, man. Why would you do that? You could have just finished."
Rich nodded a few times. "Oh, sure, I could’ve done that. But when you think about it, this whole thing is kind of stupid. It wasn’t worth you breaking your leg. This job is kind of hard to do on crutches or in a wheelchair."
Trent looked away and then back at Rich. “All right, you got me. I did take that stuff, and I’ll bring it all back. Please don't tell anyone. I really need this job."
Rich kept his gaze steady on Trent. "Okay, but I’ll be watching. Don't think I won't notice."
About then, Nadia and a few others arrived with some of the adults from the center. Trent stood, and Nadia gasped. "You mean, you’re all right? We already called an ambulance!"
"I thought it was," Trent said. “I mean, it did hurt really bad. But nothing’s broken."
Rich stood and walked over to Nadia, leaning in close. He whispered a word in her ear, one that he’d promised to say if something had anything to do with his weird life.
"Lemonade."
She nodded and took a few steps back, letting the adults help Trent back to the community center. As Trent passed by, he motioned with his head. "Hey, Rich, want to finish the race? You deserve to win fair and square."
Rich thought about it for a second and then decided he really wanted to. He got up and took his time going through the tires and over the finish line. When he crossed, the others standing around cheered.
The talisman around his neck glowed, more intensely than before with his other quests. As a wonderful feeling spread throughout his body, he imagined himself for a moment in the center of an Olympic stadium, standing atop the gold medalist pedestal. Olympic athletes aren’t usually covered with mud, but he let his imagination take control of this one.
A familiar voice yanked him out of his dream. "Hey, Richie, you want to get cleaned up too?" He turned to see Nadia staring at him funny. "I swear you could be a professional daydreamer," she said, shaking her head. “Too bad there’s not any money in that."
Rich chuckled and shook his head, trying to get some mud off his clothes with both hands. "Oh, sure there is. Just have to figure out a way to cash in. What do you think novelists and screenwriters do?"
Nadia shrugged one shoulder, but did grin. "Yeah, I guess that’s true." Her face then turned a bit more serious and she leaned in closer, lowering her voice. "So, what did he say to you?"
"Just that he was going to give everything back, and he wasn’t going to take more. I think he really means it."
Nadia closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "That's good to hear. I’m impressed, Rich. Sorry to say, I didn't think this was how this would turn out. Then again, I should really remember to expect crazy things to happen when you're around. Lemonade."
"Lemonade," Rich agreed.
"Anyway, I'm glad he didn’t break his leg. He invited me to the summer dance at school. It’s a luau thing … I mean, they’re going to roast a pig in a pit or something. But you can’t do much dancing with a broken leg."
All the good feelings Rich had been feeling a moment before snuffed out. Was this why she hadn’t wanted to confront Trent herself? He had to know. He reached out and patted her on the shoulder, activating his power. It didn't take him long to see Nadia and Trent, much younger, probably in the middle of elementary school.
He saw them eating lunch together, playing during recess, even walking home from school together. He then caught a glimpse of Trent telling her that they were moving into a new house on the other side of town, and he wouldn’t be going to the same school anymore. She didn't cry in front of him, but as soon as he left, she broke down completely.
Rich pulled away, not sure what to think. Trent and Nadia had a much longer history than he did with her. She probably volunteered here, at least in part, because Trent was here.
Rich’s cheeks flushed as a wave of intense jealousy caught up with him. Whatever Trent had been then, he was a real jerk now. How could she not see that?
"You want to go with him, even after what he did?"
Nadia glared at him, setting her eyes to full on laser-beam mode. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked. "I'm sure he had a good reason. I've known Trent for a long time, and he’s really a nice guy. His dad's not around anymore, and he has to do crazy things to take care of his mom."
She threw up her hands and turned to go. "I don't know why I'm even trying to explain this to you. Thanks again." She walked away without another word, leaving Rich alone on the course.
Rich let her go, his emotions even more confused than ever. He took a second to look down at his talisman. To his surprise, both of the remaining swords now glowed gold. As he held on to the talisman, it let him know that he had received one for conquering the obstacle course, and the other for helping his opponent instead of destroying him.
His heart soared again until he realized something. When he’d gotten his pawn, it hadn’t been enough simply to complete his quests. He had to face and defeat his nemesis. Chances were, he would have to do it again.
He took his time making his way back to the community center, and met Angela on the way out. The moment he saw her, something clicked in his mind, and before she could scold him for being all muddy again, he asked an important question. "Hey, Angela, are you free tomorrow night?”
Chapter 13: A Dance in the Islands
From the Quest Log of Phillip Witz, Entry 4
In the end, it was Jezreel who talked him into it. I had forgotten that she and Takka also had a past. Though Takka grew up in the islands, he came to the States to go to school, the same school where I did my ROTC before officially being inducted into the Army. Takka had married someone else, but they were only married a year before his wife died of a sudden illness.
At the time, we didn't think anything sinister, but looking back, it makes me wonder. Seems like a nemesis sort of trick. I especially wonder because Takka and Jezreel became friends a few months after his wife's death. They never actually dated or anything, but she seemed to help him feel better about his loss. Of course, I didn't know she was a dark knight at the time, so I actually encouraged them to hang out. It nearly broke his heart when he found out what she was.
It took him a while to approach her, but once he did, they talked all day. I’d go away for a while and come back, and they were still talking. Now, as I noticed a bunch of his posterity, but no apparent Mrs. Takka.
One part of me wanted to run in and break it all up, to warn Takka not to repeat the mistakes of the past, but then again, if there was one person who could convince him to come with us, it would be Jezreel.
&nbs
p; I decided to keep close tabs on them, but to allow it, as it would likely help our overall situation. It took a few days for Takka to give in, and the time after that was spent in busy preparation, making sure we had enough food and supplies for the journey. Moving the tribe was like moving a small army of sorts, and we had no idea what we’d do once we were out in the real world. It took a full week to prepare, and once we did, we set off in earnest, following a path through the jungle toward the portal to take us back into the maze. The portal stood hidden by a waterfall, which the young kids found delightful and the rest of us annoying because we entered the next room drenched
We emerged into an enormous room that had a huge chasm in the floor between one side of the room and the other. All along the edge of the gap, we found what looked like oversized spider webs, tended by metal arachnids. When I took a look at the webs, I could see they were much thicker than usual ones, more like cords, and maybe even sturdy enough to stand on.
Luckily, the spiders didn't seem to have any interest in eating us or wrapping us up in their webs, though it took a while to convince the younger children of this.
In looking around the room for a way across, I found all sorts of gemstones lying on the floor. Whenever I picked one up, the spiders suddenly took notice of me. After a bit of experimentation, we found we could bribe them to work for us by feeding them the gems. We got them to spin their webs over the pit, slowly building a large lattice bridge over the gap.
They only cared for metal and minerals, and didn’t pay attention to the fruits the children offered them. It took a while before they managed to build a bridge long enough for us all to cross, but we managed it without anyone getting hurt. Takka himself tested it, despite the protests from the others.
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