Time Maze

Sherlock of the Future

"Sliding down here is more fun every time we do it!" Marcus exclaimed, grinning as if he was two years old.

"It would be even more enjoyable if there wasn't a huge metal beast after us every time we do it," Tyson said.

"Oh, it already came? Man, it's fast!" Marcus said, his eyes widening. "I wish I had such a cool toy!"

"Marcus, that's not a toy but a killing machine. Besides, you would have nowhere to keep something as huge as that," Tyson said rationally.

"A man can dream," Marcus said wistfully.

"Yes, but not now," Tyson said gently. "Remember, you promised to help me solve the mystery."

Tyson wasn't relying too much on his friend's help. However, he hoped that if Marcus was otherwise occupied, he wouldn't distract Tyson from his searches and deductions.

"What, like Sherlock Holmes and Watson?" Marcus asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"Sure, why not?" Tyson mumbled, already looking around the place they were in.

"But wait. Who is who? I want to be Sherlock, and you can be Watson," Marcus said.

"Sure. Now, go search that part of the room, and I'll search this one," Tyson said.

"Hm, it does look more like a room than a hole in the ground, doesn't it?" Marcus said after a few moments of silence.

"I think that might be the point," Tyson said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" Marcus asked.

"I am not sure yet. Let's finish looking around before we jump to any conclusions," Tyson said.

Tyson scrutinized the space carefully, concluding that it looked more like a room than a cave. It was clearly manmade as it was impossibly symmetric, and the usage of some sort of tools was evident. Although the walls were made of mud as well as the floor, it was still oddly homey.

If he didn't know any better, Tyson would have assumed that it was someone's vacation house and that the occupant would be back any moment. Still, it didn't have the feel of one's home. It was too impersonal for that.

Yet, in every other aspect, it was a perfect little nest to recharge. The only thing off about it was its location. Why would anyone make a room or apparently rooms under the maze?

"What did you find?" Tyson asked as Marcus's rummaging became louder.

"Some packaged food, although I've never seen anything like it. Also, there are many bottles of water as well as some medicine. You?" Marcus asked.

"Well, there is that soft thing over there that appears to be a bed and some clothing which I am not sure why anyone would need when every time we step through a portal, we get new ones," Tyson said.

It occurred to Tyson that they had forgotten to turn on the telephone's torch, and yet they were able to see everything clearly. The only logical conclusion was that their night vision had started improving, that they were getting used to their plight.

"How long have we been here, wandering through time and space?" Tyson suddenly asked.

"I have no idea. Why?" Marcus asked.

"Well, we seem to be adjusting far better than it is obvious at first glance. We barely even notice when we are speaking a foreign language, and we can see in this darkness as if we had spent all our lives in it," Tyson said.

"Hm, it must be the survival of the fittest and all that," Marcus said proudly.

However, Tyson disagreed. There wasn't anything special about the two of them. He believed that people could get used to any circumstance. That they could survive and even thrive. The question was if he wanted to get used to the chaos that their lives had become.