The Maze The Lost Labyrinth - By Jason Brannon Page 0,48
some sort but I tried not to dwell on it too much just in case it wasn’t. I’d always heard that the light at the end of the tunnel might actually be an oncoming train, and that kind of bad luck would be strangely appropriate in this place of twisting hallways and dredged-up guilt.
I walked toward the light, but no matter how many steps I took, the light seemed to get no closer. It felt like I was walking on a treadmill and gaining no ground. I picked up the pace and ran, yet the light still remained a pinprick in the distance.
The only thing I hadn’t done yet was to consult the scrap of parchment I had gotten at the beginning of the maze. I pulled it out now and studied it.
“The minotaur in the labyrinth at Crete was fed human sacrifices until he was killed by Theseus. Tribute was paid to him, and at times he was revered as a god. The minotaur might as well have been made of smelted gold and misguided prayers. Your life is full of minotaurs.”
I scratched my head, wondering what this could mean.
“What do you think it means? Sounds to me like you need to examine your priorities.”
I whirled in surprise to see who was there. All I saw was a swift flash of moving shadow race from one pool of darkness to another.
A child giggled from nearby. A little girl.
“Who’s there? Show yourself. I won‘t hurt you.”
“Catch me if you can.”
I strained to see into the darkness. It was like peering into the night sky and expecting to see Pluto. My eyes weren’t powerful enough to see who was hiding from me. Still, I knew she was there.
Nothing moved. Nothing shifted. Nothing made a sound. Even the hallways themselves seemed to be holding their breath in this game of hide-and-seek. The light at the end of the passage still remained, although it was just as far away as it had ever been.
I raced down the hallway, hoping to catch the owner of the voice by surprise. I heard giggles from behind me. I turned, unsure of how I could have passed right by the child and failed to see her. This one was sneaky.
“You’re no good at this game.” The girl laughed. “I’m surprised that you’ve made it this far.”
“You’re not playing fair.”
“Who said anything about fair?” The girl’s voice took a serious tone. “Life’s not always fair.”
“Give me a hint about where you are.”
“You’re not a very smart guy, are you? This game is just like everything else in your life. You’re blessed more than most people, and you can’t see all the good things in front of you. All you see are the problems, the trials, the tribulations, the darkness. All you see is what you don’t have. Open your eyes, Jamie.”
“Are you part of this maze?”
“As much a part of it as you are.”
“Is this a test?”
The girl chuckled. Her laughter sounded like water trickling over stones in a brook. “You don’t need anyone else to make your life hard. You do that on your own. Don’t you understand anything about this place yet?”
“I understand that I’m here because I planned to cheat on my wife.”
“You think that’s why you’re here?”
“That’s how it was explained to me. Are you saying I’m not here because of that?”
“Yes and no.”
“Why don’t you come out and tell me the real reason then?”
“I would, but I don’t want to.”
“Why am I here? I thought it was because I’ve turned my back on everything I believed. I’ve put up walls to keep everyone out.”
“And so they became the walls of this maze.”
“I was transported here after getting shot in the head at my ex-girlfriend‘s apartment complex. That has to be connected to this somehow. I went there with every intention of committing adultery.”
“So you’re a sinner. You’re a backslider. You committed your life to your beliefs, and then you fell into a trap. You let the little things encroach on your life, and you spiraled downward from there. It’s like leaving your front door open a tiny bit. Something wiggles its way in and forces the door open a little more. This happens again and again. Soon there’s nothing standing between you and the world. The door’s wide open, and any ungodly thing can walk right into your house and do what it pleases. But the door swings both ways. It can be closed.”
I walked back to the beginning of the passage, hoping