The stone statue, that should have been completely immobile, was looking straight into her eyes. Its open mouth had slowly turned into a wicked grin, cracking as it set into place. Mellua couldn't believe her eyes, the face startling her. Soon, its limbs were moving, creaking as it slowly stretched freely. Its wings unfurled, the stone slowly cracking and spanning wide. The gargoyle dropped down from its pillar, making the ground shake, dust rising up and covering the ground. It stood up tall, its head easily reaching higher than the wall. Unlike before when faced with the traps of the maze, she was truly surprised. She had never seen something like this, only in some fantasies in her past life yes, but never right in front of her. The massive stone monstrosity before her however couldn't care less for her panic, and looked down at her the same way a wolf would see a rabbit. It moved forward slowly, every step a loud thud as it shook the ground.
Despite this thing approaching her, she could not react. Her legs shook, but were unable to move. Stuck as a statue. Thoughts began to bubble up, panic overtaking her. She tried desperately to get back control of her body. 'Come on, work with me dammit!' she screamed out in her mind, banging her head against her legs out of frustration, trying in vain to get them back to work. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the gargoyle raising its arm up high in the air slowly, creaking loudly as it got into position. Fear filled her body, every experience she had, past life and currently, rushing through her as fate was settling in. However, with the last bit of her self preservation, legs still shaking, she stumbled out of the way. Just in time, as the massive arm dropped down on the ground, crushing the stone beneath and causing a small shockwave. It looked up from where it dropped its arm and right at her, its soulless eyes glowing a bright yellow, piercing through her very soul. Its grin changed into a frown. Standing up fully, the demonic beast towered over her. The beast, for the first time since it began to move, let out a guttural shriek that echoed through the empty halls of the labyrinth.
Her breath was uneven, and her entire body was shaking with a primordial dread, as if her mind had almost fully reverted to the basic instincts of the common prey. She managed to get a grip, and her eyes wandered to where the monster had struck. There was only but a crater left behind. Mellua knew for certain that if he caught her, she would be nothing but a fine paste on the stone. Not to mention that its skin was as solid as rock, there wasn't a way for her to harm him. Thus, she had only one conlusion in mind. She turned around, and with all her strength, galloped away down the corridor. Her legs desperately moved faster and faster, her claws clicking against the stone pavement. Her heart was pounding, the adrenaline surging through her bloodstream like a river going down from the mountain. Everything around her was but a blur, as she couldn't make any mistakes. Behind her she could hear the ground shaking, the thud getting louder and louder.
Despite her overwhelming unease and terror, Mellua could not prevent her curiousity from taking over, her instinct telling her otherwise, but in vain. Her head jerked behind her, eyes wide open, the stomping monstrosity of stone sprinted like a charging bull. It roared with pure primal wrath while it slowly began to build up speed, arms flailing back and forth. Stone crushing thuds shaking the ground every time the gargoyle would stomp after her. Knowing for a fact that it's life and death, she looks back upon the path ahead and moves her legs quicker than ever before, desperately even out of synch just so she can escape. However, it ends up being futile. Due to her panic, her claws catch on the edge of a stone, causing her to trip and tumble around on the cold floor.
Looking up, the beast was getting closer, its rage permeating towards her as it locked its shining lifeless eyes. Despite her predicament Mellua refused to give up, and tried to think of something whilst getting up. She could run, however unlike the stone monster, her stamina wasn't unlimited, and she would eventually get tired. Especially with the injuries she suffered earlier, the burn still stinging her back. 'If I run, I'll get caught and smashed like an egg for an omelette. What do I do? How do I get away? There must be something, SOMETHING that-' her mind thrashed around for answers, but was interrupted by a sense shooting rapidly from her nervous system. With the feeling coming from around her paws she looked down, her eyes catching a faint string that was being pulled ever so slightly by her paw. Her gaze followed one part of the string, seeing that it was spanning from one side of the wall to the other. 'Tripwire...! I must have missed it when I tripped. Maybe if I-' her thoughts were interrupted, by the increasing quake of the ground and the loud roar of the beast.
This was her last chance, and she knew this, her heart pumping incredibly fast, to the point where she could taste the iron in her blood. Strangely, she too felt the taste of something more surreal. She could not pinpoint what it was, but her entire body started to shake, and head pulsated as the otherworldly feeling flowed through her very soul. And then, she felt the world stop, the beast becoming almost static mid air. As if time had slowed down to a halt, her focus intensified tenfold. 'What the...?' confused, she tried to move her own legs to move, but they too had been slowed down. Only her senses and mind were spared. With the assumption that this wouldn't last, she needed to work fast. Her mind went back to the tripwire. Noting the tripwire, her mind went over every combination of possible traps, her eyes dilating and her nostrils flaring, not letting any detail go amiss. Following along every nook and cranny of the walls and floor, her nose had picked up a particular scent. It was the scent of coal. It led to a side of the wall not too far from where the tripwire was, her eyes landed on a gap between the wall. Her gaze then instinctively followed back to a few meters before the wire, and surely enough there was another gap. 'I see now.' she thought to herself, her mind fully clear.
Suddenly, her sense of time snapped back to normal, with the gargoyle still charging at her, its body moving as before. Knowing that whatever had granted her this slight moment of reprieve was gone, she realised it was now or never. Confident in her deductions of the trap, she took a step back, and waited for an opportunity. The stone monster was getting closer, its mouth wide open as it roared. In spite of this, she still waited. 'Just a little more...' she thought, not wanting to waste the trap just yet. Its massive frame was towering before her, only a few feet of difference between them. 'Now!' she squeaked, her tail shooting out from behind her and cutting the string. A moment passed, the demon stopped in its tracks, clicking reverberating through the walls. However, nothing had happened. Smug over the failure of the trap, the gargoyle's mouth changed back into a wicked grin, looming over the small quadruped. Yet she didn't seem afraid. Annoyed by the lack of fear on the small creature's expression, the gargoyle roared and raised its arm, creaking as it prepared to squash her like a bug.
That moment would not come, with the walls moving in. The beast could barely react in time as the walls crushing from the sides. Mellua, despite being in the same vicinity, was completely fine, as the beast's massive body was wide enough and strong enough to stop the walls from completely closing in. 'Should have counted for the delay, you poor excuse of a sculpture.' she thought with a smug laugh in her mind, before turning around and moving away. 'I would stick around, but I'd rather not be a mash of scales and rocks with you. See ya!' she thought, squeaking back at the beast and running off. The gargoyle couldn't move as it was being crushed slowly, only managing out a guttural roar of anger.
Unlike the squirming beast of stone, the little quadruped was proudly walking away, having tasted victory once again. She looked up, gaging the reactions of her captors. From what she could spy with her eye, they seemed to be looking curiously, and impressed. However, the one in the middle who looked to be the tall red man had not changed expression, like a true researcher watching coldly and calculating. Almost as if the danger hadn't yet passed. As if on cue, she heard loud creaking and crumbling of stone. Turning around, she saw the gargoyle fighting against the crushing walls. Its skin cracked as it slowly pushed the walls back into place. 'Unbelievable...You just don't know how to give up do you?' she scoffed in her mind, but her legs buckled, prepared to make a run for it. The beast locked eyes on Mellua, enraged by the tiny creature's resillience and rebellion. Its mouth started glowing bright, once more a great ball of fire forming at the center. 'Oh not this again!' she thought remembering her burns on her back. Without hesitation she galloped down the corridor to escape, not taking any chances.
The gargoyle however was still building up its attack, the flaming sphere growing much larger in size than before. It let out a guttural shriek, releasing the smoldering boulder of fire down upon the corridor. Its size was impeccable, enough to cover both sides of the hallway and so bright it reached in front of the small quadruped. The blazing ball of doom was rapidly approaching Mellua, she could feel her skin sizzling as it got closer and closer. With a burst of strength she turned the corner and quickly leapt out of the way. The massive fireball collided with the wall, causing an explosion large enough to send her flying. She turned to look, and saw that the area in question was scorched black, almost broken by the power. Besides that, she heard the echo of the stone monster's cry, accompanied by rapid thuds. It was not over, she knew this. '...The hunt begins huh? Well let's see if you can catch me, ya stone freak!'
Thus continued the chase down the labyrinth, her paws clicking against the stone. Mellua did not give in to fear, despite the situation. No, her mind was focused on one thing. How to lose track of the gargoyle. 'Alright...How do I lose track of a giant rocky idiot? It's clearly a predator, so it should definitely have higher senses. The three most important are sight, scent and hearing...This is a maze, so sight isn't useful. Not that it mattered since it can clearly see fine. That leaves scent and hearing.' she thought to herself as she ran down the corridor. She stopped at a split path, an idea coming to mind. '...If It relies on scent, then I can try and trick it by going halfway down one path, and then go back to the other. That way it should stop and think.' she pondered. Hearing the thuds getting closer, she decided to just go along with the plan and left it's tracks down the right side, before going back down the left path. 'Not falling for the right side bullshit ever again. Stupid superstitions...' she grumbled in her mind.
Running along the left path, she continued to keep track on the sound of the beast's movement. Her ears could still pickup the faint thuds in the distance, not quite what she was expecting. 'It didn't stop to think, huh? Definitely not by scent then. That leaves sound...but how great is its hearing? I'm pretty far away, and unlike its fat ass, I'm nowhere near as loud. Maybe if I get farther away, I might just-' she muses, before being interrupted by a sound of a pressured stone. Immediately her focus shifted to her surroundings again, and her eyes locked on the stone plates of the walls moving to reveal holes, through which she saw arrows. '...Oh crap.' was all she could think, before the arrows shot out of the holes, flying straight at her with a woosh. In her mind she screamed, a high pitched screech coming out of her mouth, jumping and tumbling around as the arrows wooshed past her and clinked against the stone.
After the last arrow narrowly missed her she took a small breather. However it wouldn't last as she heard a crash in the distance, the thuds getting closer. 'So it does hunt by hearing! I guess I can't just run away...' she thought. She stopped running, and instead crawled along the ground as quietly as she could, all the while her tail tapped at the ground beneath her. 'Gotta keep my eyes peeled...Can't let anything catch me off guard, or else the ugly statue's turning me into sauce. So far, the traps in this damn maze have been straight forward. Step on a plate, it activates something. Trip on a wire, it moves something. I found that while walking throughout this maze that everything's relatively easy to avoid, I just have to check with my tail and be careful not to step on a wire or plate. I can still hear that damn gargoyle clunking around, even though I should have lost him by now. I keep hearing loud crashes occasionally as I move...Wonder what it's doing. Probably frustrated it can't catch me, heh...I just gotta make it through, just gotta reach the end of this shitty-' she pauses in her thinking, as the moment she crossed a corner, she encountered something that surprised her.
A snake. A feathery-winged snake with a stylish and variably coloured crest atop its head. She wasn't alone. Initially, her instincts flared up, thinking this was another problem. However, as she looked upon the serpent, she realised something. It was the other creature the scientists had taken out of the cages alongside her. 'Huh...mixing two different animals together in a maze with traps...what a weird experiment.' she thought, curiously stepping closer towards this snake. The winged serpent, seeing Mellua approach it, skittishly slithered back, letting out an afraid hiss as it coiled up. This however piqued the knife-tailed quadruped's curiosity even further, noting that the serpent had noticed her, but moved rather eratically for a snake. 'It's alright little fella...I won't hurt you.' she thought, letting out soft coos as she approached the snake carefully. Surprisingly,the snake seemed to sense her tone, slithering away no more. Getting closer, it too started to glide against the stone towards her. Inches away, they gazed into each other's eyes. She locked eyes with the snake, and saw strangely enough a human-like innocense in the serpent's eyes. She wondered about the odd behaviour of the snake. 'It's...not attacking me or backing away...trusting me...could it be-' she was interrupted in her thoughts by a loud series of thuds and crushing of stone.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Her head jerked to the direction of the sound. 'No way...How is he getting closer?' she thought, but turned her head back to the snake, seeing it shivering and hissing in fear once more. Before she could calm the winged serpent, it coiled up, sprang up into the air and started flying away, flapping its wings desperately. 'Wait! Hold on!' she thought. She wanted to follow after the snake, but the ground was shaking more and more. 'Damnit! Leaving that for later, now I gotta hide!' she cursed in her mind, and turned to run. Barely reaching the corner she looked back, the thuds being frighteningly closer. The ground shook and like a raging rhinoceros, the gargoyle charged through the wall headfirst, breaking the massive stone blocks as if they were a poorly made piece of plastic. It paused as it entered through the wall into the now empty corridor, surrounded by a cloud of dust as the stone wall continued to crumble. The force was so great small pieces even reached where she was hiding, which gave her a small fright. 'Jesus...this guy's built like a freight train...' she thought, bewildered by the stone beast. As the dust settled, its wings that were curled up around his front unfurled and it looked around. The gargoyle's rocky skin was cracked, much more than she witnessed before. 'Huh...seems like you're hurting yourself just to find me. Would be flattering if you didn't wanna kill me.' she chuckled in her mind, meanwhile keeping close to the wall and only slightly peeking around the corner.
The raging monstrosity that was the gargoyle looked around, its shining eyes stalking every inch of the corridor. Mellua continued watching, her suspicion triggering more and more as she wondered about the beast. 'I made sure to make as little noise as possible...it couldn't possibly have heard my encounter with that snake...besides, it's not going after the damn snake, despite it flapping away and making noise as well! I don't get it...' she pondered. She stepped back ever so slightly to try and keep out of the gargoyle's vision, her claw making a small, almost imperceptible noise. Yet despite this, the stone demon instantly snapped its head to her direction. Immediately she moved her head back and held her breath. 'How did he hear that?! I barely heard it! It's almost as if it's feeling the very vibrations-' she paused in her thoughts, coming to the realisation. 'What if it is reacting to the exact vibrations? If so, that could explain why it didn't go after the snake, the sound waves would have been hitting the walls and never reach him...meanwhile my clicking with my tail and paws must have been enough to keep it on my track!'
Peeking behind the corner once more, she saw the gargoyle slowly making its way towards her, dragging its thick claws on the walls, scraping the stone. She pulled back and tried to think. 'Come on...Gotta be something...' she pondered, her eyes looking all around her, before stopping on a small rock. It was a piece of the wall that the beast had smashed through earlier. 'I guess it's worth a shot!' she thought, carefully picking the small rock up with her jaws. With a few deep breaths, hearing the thuds getting closer, she threw the rock high up in the air, over the other wall. The gargoyle was getting closer, its hand grabbing the edge of the wall where Mellua was hiding. Throughout her body she felt a shiver, as she watched the beast get ever so closer. However, it stopped. The vibrations of the pebble hitting the ground finally reached it, and it turned to face the direction. It growled enraged and got into position, before charging through the wall, seemingly not disturbed. Left behind in its wake was a large dust cloud, its great thuds getting farther and farther away.
Slowly but surely, the cloud settled down. Her head carefully peaks out, checking if the coast was clear. '...This is starting to look less like an experiment and more like a circus show. Which means I'm the clown...shit' she cursed in her mind and sighed. '...That idiot made a hole in the wall, might as well check it out...' she said and tried to look through the hole . She saw through the newly made hole in the wall a room. Not a corridor, but a room. However, she couldn't see exactly everything. 'Guess I have to be careful huh..?' she let out a deep breath, and carefully moved her paw up. Then, she slowly put it down, making sure not to let her claws touch the stone. She paused. Ten seconds passed. A sigh of great relief. 'Phew...finally something good.' she internally chuckled and continued to silently crawl towards the hole. Her eyes were peeled wide open for any surprises left behind. Fortunately, her path was unimpeded. Reaching the hole, she pauses. While the gargoyle didn't care for the rules of the maze, she wondered if she was allowed to cross as well. Hesitating, her leg carefully reached over to the other side, her paw ever so delicately touching the ground.
One second passes, nothing yet. Two seconds, still nothing. Three seconds...Safe. A soft whimper passed through her mouth, realising that she wasn't going to die. 'Thank god...finally some good news.'
Crossing over to the other side, her gaze landed on the interior of this new room. Aside from the crumbling rocks left behind by the beast's wrath, the room was surprisingly well kept. Like the rest of the labyrinth, it was built out of fine stone blocks, however this stone was of a higher quality. It was also unlike the other parts of the labyrinth as there were many other paths, two on the left, two opposite her. Besides that, at the center was a pool of water, reminding her of roman bathhouses. Steadily stepping over to it, she gazed down into the water.
She saw a reflection of a strange animal, with what appeared to be darkened scales that were strangely softer than what they seemed. The face consisted of an elongated snout with rigid surface, stiff set of jaws and small nostrils. Staring back at her were two pairs of eyes that were quite fierce, sclera of crimson red that were accompanied with jasper irises, topped off with black pupils. Surrounding the face were a cluster of what seemed to be horns, more like spikes, some short some larger. And at the side were what appeared to be ears, large and in the shape of frills. The creature moved its head around in the reflection, getting a good look at her. Rather, she got a good look of herself. 'So...this is real. It's not just a weird dream after all.' Mellua thought. With the conformation she got from looking at her own body in the reflection, she knew that the old life she saw in her memories was all but gone. All that was left was her being stuck in a strange body, bruised and burned, trying to survive traps and a murderous statue behemoth, all the while not knowing if there even was any escape down the labyrinth.
Looking down at her reflection, seeing the face that looks back at her, she couldn't believe it was hers. 'Come to think of it...I can barely remember my own face. What did I even look like? How did I sound to people? Heh, maybe this is my real face.' she laughed in her mind. '...Why am I even trying? What's it all for? Just to get shot at by arrows...or crushed to a pulp by walls...or fall down a bottomless pit, just for some sick kind of experiment?' she mused, thoughts of doubt started clouding her head. Perhaps, it all really is all for naught. Her old life was gone, and this new one was only torture for someone's amusement. Maybe, just maybe, she should give up. But then...what about the other creatures trapped in cages like her? What about the winged snake she saw? Their interaction was short, but she could tell that it felt different--human.
Not to mention that aside from the comical death trap that was this godforsaken labyrinth, she had no understanding of the scientists watching her from up above. The more she tried to think about it, the less sense it started to make. The worst part was as she was trying to think about it...the other thoughts, the ones she couldn't bear to let course through her mind, started to bubble up. Why were they testing her? Why is she and the rest of the creatures, the animals, the monsters...being held in this place? What are they trying to accomplish? How did they bring her here, into this body? What about her old life? What happened to her there?! Why is this happening to her? Why, why, why, why, why, why, why?! Why couldn't she remember her own face?! Why were her memories so blurry?! Why could she remember every stupid detail about science, superstitions, culture, but couldn't remember what her own family looked like?!
Then it suddenly started hitting her--Was any of it real? Were the memories she was experiencing real? What about her lover? The boy who sat with her on her bed. Was that not a real memory? Were the recollections of her past memories all just fake forgeries her mind had manifested? Who was she? All of this was building up, culminating deep inside her. It was unbearable. Pain, suffering, loss, all of it was plaguing her mind, the voices loud, cursing judgement upon her. Or were they not voices, but people in the past, the ones she left behind? Or did she leave them behind? Yes, no, yes, no, only pain came out as an answer. The only thing she could think about, the only thing that was permeating through the chaotic depths of her mind, the only thing that made her want to look up to the heavens and scream, and shout, and curse the very thing that had created her, was--
'WHY AM I HERE?! WHO AM I?!' her mind screamed in agony, followed by her physical body, for the first time screeching louder than ever before. Her cry echoed throughout the maze, piercing through the deafening silence that previously haunted the corridors. It was reaching the ears of every living being in the labyrinth from the scientists, to the winged serpent, everyone. She cared not for her life at this moment, or for the danger she was putting herself in. Her mind wasn't able to. She continued to shriek into the closed sky, letting out every inch of her sorrow, anger, despair...everything. It took her a long time to stop, finally exhausting her throat and her vocal cords giving out, larynx rippling in pain from her cry.
She was panting, her body trembling as it all came down on her. The deafening silence had returned once more to join her, the only true company. Finally, everything she tried to keep in had been released. For a moment she stood there, legs trembling, with no thoughts going through her head. Only despair. '....Why am I still alive...?' was all she could think. All of it started to settle onto her. Her eyes closed, her body trembling with only small whimpers coming out of her mouth. A second passed. Then another. And another. Time was meaningless for her, when she didn't even know if any of it was ever real. Her breath quickened and her snout quivered, tears running down her face. The salty liquid travelled down, leaving a path of pain in their wake. The droplets had left her visage, and begun their descent down. And then, a splash. And another. And another. She opened her eyes, and looked down at the water.
What stared back was the same strange creature from before--the body she was inhabiting. Yet...as she gazed into the reflection, seeing her legs tremble, snout quiver, and eyes more bloodshot than they already were...a thought had been ringing in her head. 'Maybe...this is the real me. Maybe this is my real face,' she paused. The more she continued wandering about it, the more the thought rang true. '...No. This is my face. This is how I look like. This is my life now. If I don't accept it...I'm a goner. It doesn't matter what happened in the past...what matters is the now.' Mellua realises. Suddenly, she realises just how dry her mouth had been feeling. Her gaze wandered back to the reflection--no, the water. Curious, she leans her head down towards the pool, her tongue spilling out of her mouth, hesitatingly touching the surface, barely forming a ripple. It felt cold, but refreshing. Her tongue lapped some of the water up, a small splash breaking the silence of the room. The cold liquid travelled down her throat, descending straight into her stomach, filling the empty organ ever so slightly. Only now does she realise her thirst, and desperately she starts lapping up more of the water, before putting her snout deeper into the water, drinking it directly.
Finally, after a few moments of filling her belly with water, she pulls her head out of the water, with a satisfied sigh. Reinvigorated, she thinks of what everything that has happened, and that might happen. The gargoyle stalking the maze. The various traps inside. The winged snake. Her past life. Mysteries that she doesn't know the answer to. However, she knows one thing. 'I gotta make it alive. No matter what it takes. I will survive. Nothing... Nothing will stop me from reaching the end of this godforsaken labyrinth. To see the sun, and feel the fresh air once more. To breathe again...' she thought. A new determination and feeling of purpose was coursing through her body. There may not be an escape from the labyrinth, or the scientists. Or there may be. Perhaps something else might catch her off guard. One thing was certain for Mellua however.
This will not be the end of her story.
When reading, what do you appreciate more?
