dancing on the walls, set into motion by my flame. It was a definite possibility. But what about the smell? Shadows didn’t stink. Or at least they didn’t in the reality I knew and longed for.
I inhaled the stale odor of eons and the pungent stench of musk. I felt like I was trapped in a system of ancient catacombs. I hadn’t run across any decaying corpses or brittle skeletons yet, but it wasn’t hard to imagine that I was walking the halls of the dead.
A sudden buzzing filled the labyrinth, seemingly from all directions, making it impossible to hear anything else. Without warning, a wave of flies filled the corridor, their wings fluttering against my skin, their mirrored eyes observing me with an alien intelligence. I was too busy swatting them away and trying to escape to hear the clop-clop-clop of approaching hooves.
I swung my torch in wide arcs, trying to get the flies off of me. The kamikaze insects were persistent, biting me, lighting on my face, flying in circles around my head. I didn’t know it at the time but they were stalling me, buying time for their master.
My skin was a patchwork of red welts and inflamed bumps once the insects had done their work and moved on. I clawed madly at the bites although I knew that would only make things worse. As it turned out, the itching was the least of my worries. A set of smoldering yellow eyes peered at me from the darkness.
I cried out and backed away, but the behemoth had his sights set on a feast. It emerged from the shadows, towering over me with a set of horns that could have doubled as javelins. Gunpowder clouds of smoky breath rolled from his nostrils, smelling of raw meat and decay. The creature walked upright on hooves as big as cinderblocks, with legs that were sinewy with muscle. Its hands were covered in a thick, coarse brown fur and were as large as dinner plates. Its face was that of an evil cow, leering at me with eyes like black marbles. A halo of flies circled the minotaur’s head, crowning it in perverse glory.
It sniffed the air once and then looked at me. Although I couldn’t be sure of its expression, I thought it was smiling with pleasure. No doubt, it knew the state of my heart and considered it a delicacy.
Fearful that I was about to die, I threw my torch at the beast and ran for my life as the minotaur howled. I was pretty sure the fire had burned it, and I knew that might buy me a few extra seconds. I just hoped that a few extra seconds would be enough time to allow for my escape. I sprinted down the hallways, taking whichever turn seemed right. The minotaur gave chase, roaring and snorting and growling at me. The gunshot report of its hooves on cement sounded like miniature explosions in the tightly-constructed maze.
It hadn’t been that many months since I had been in the habit of jogging two miles every morning before work. Unfortunately, I gradually lost focus and dedication and stopped exercising altogether. I hadn’t regretted that decision until now. My calves burned, my lungs felt like they were on fire and my side ached, throbbing in time with the beat of my racing heart.
And yet no matter how badly I wanted to stop and catch my breath, I knew that to do so would almost assuredly mean instant death. I had seen the way the Spaniards in Pamplona got tossed around year after year during the Running of the Bulls, and I had no doubt that my fate would be worse.
The beast howled with rage, and the entire labyrinth seemed to quake as the beast’s anger spread outward in waves. I made turn after turn, hoping to elude capture, and at long last I saw something that gave me hope. There was a tiny bit of light burning in an opened doorway.
I headed for that light immediately, knowing that I couldn’t run much longer. My side felt like someone had stabbed me with a hot branding iron. I was definitely not in good enough shape to play chase with a minotaur.
I heard the beast behind me, closer now than ever before. I was too afraid to look over my shoulder, but I imagined gusts of hot breath on my neck.
I reached down deep for that one remaining burst of energy like a runner on