Time Maze

Slow on the Uptake

"Is everything okay?" Tyson asked the moment Marcus appeared with the food firmly clutched in his hands.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" Marcus asked.

"Maybe because every time I leave you alone, you cause trouble?" Tyson said, hunger making his annoyance far more apparent than usual.

"Well, I'll have you know that I didn't get into any trouble. I was just-," Marcus said and then stopped remembering that he did something Tyson had told him not to do more than once. "I was waiting in line to pay for sandwiches, that's all."

Tyson had a feeling that Marcus was hiding something from him but decided to let it slide. After all, he didn't cause any big catastrophes, and for the time being, that was all Tyson cared about.

"Okay, let's just hurry back to our room. I am starving," Tyson said.

For the first time, it seemed like he was the hungrier one of the two of them, and it wasn't a feeling he liked. Still, having in mind how big of a breakfast Marcus had had, Tyson was surprised that he could eat anything. The fact that he was hungry was unfathomable to Tyson.

They reached the hotel in a hurry and managed to go back to their room without any incidents. Still, Tyson had started to believe that they were magnets for trouble and was on the highest alert.

"Do you really think that Sunshine is capable of whacking people?" Marcus asked after devouring his sandwiches.

As he waited for a response, he wiped his greasy hands on his pants which Tyson decided not to comment on. Especially having in mind that they had other issues to deal with.

"Yes, I think that's what they do. Sunshine and her husband rob and kill the lost Mazers. It seems like that's how they survive," Tyson said.

"Man, that's messed up," Marcus said as if they were discussing a rather bad movie.

It was as if everything that had happened, the danger they were in, just bounced off Marcus's back. For someone as sensible as Tyson was, that kind of attitude was difficult to understand.

"Yes, that's one way of putting it, I guess," Tyson said, feeling much more tolerant of Marcus's attitude after having some food in him.

"But if they are killing Mazers and they aren't one of them, what are they?" Marcus asked.

"My guess is that they are in some way connected with the people who made the maze," Tyson said, having already considered many different options.

"They built the maze?" Marcus asked.

"I don't think so. Otherwise, they wouldn't have had to kill and cheat to get what they needed. I believe they fell out with the people who made the maze and somehow ended up inside it," Tyson said.

"Does that mean they know what the maze is and how to get out?" Marcus asked as Tyson's words piqued his interest.

"I don't think they know how to leave the maze, or they would have left a long time ago. However, I think they do know what the maze is and a lot more about it than we do," Tyson said.

"It's too bad they weren't willing to share," Marcus said, stretching nonchalantly.

"Yeah," Tyson said as he wiped his hands on a cloth that he found in the room.

"What are we going to do now?" Marcus asked.

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to take a nap," Tyson said.

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea," Marcus said, launching himself on his bed face first.

Tyson sighed at his friend's hyperenergetic state and slowly laid down on the bed, hoping to catch up on all the sleep he missed in the last couple of days. The moment his head touched the soft pillow, Tyson was fast asleep.