The Hades Test

Chapter 23 - Hope

Hope is a perilous game, a dangerous venture.

It builds up over time, only to be shot down by the lightest touch. Like a thin pane of glass that has stood the test of time, only to be shattered by a feather's grace, hope leads you to unreasonable expectations and assumptions. When hope is crushed, it ruins the very essence of life, and any kind of drive to proceed.

So when the room falls around me, tumbling in a massive waterfall of knife blade shards, what hope I had falls with it. If only escaping from this nightmare was as easy as demoralizing the mean-spirited version of myself. The mirror room is just a facade, a wallpaper if you will, for the treacherous maze that lies behind.

The powerful, almost God-like voice comes back to me, telling me that the end of this hell hole contains the answer I need. I don't have the answer I seek, whatever it may be, so I suppose I haven't reached the end. Not as if that puts the situation in a clearer light.

I seize the opportunity to vent my frustration. "You've got to be kidding me." I squawk, simultaneously pounding my fist into the grey wall. Suddenly, the strength that had surged through me while confronting myself is just a memory. The compulsion to curl into a tight ball right on the floor of the dim corridor is paralyzing.

This is for Nolan I remind myself and begin back down the corridor. I have to pull through for him, go back so that the two of us can figure out this mess.

The walk down the identical hallways continues. They all blur into each other, like the faded colours of a winter forest. Each choice of turn is a reliance on my inner compass, though it seems to be guiding me to nowhere in particular. Every new corridor is exactly the same: long, grey and narrow. I could be turning in endless circles through the same four hallways, and never realize it.

After the room of mirrors, I come across no new obstacles. Before, the maze was fraught with dangers. For every turn there was a new surprise, something that kept me on the edge of my toes. Now, though, now I am alone with my thoughts. Where I should be able to relax, I am put on edge by the lack of traps.

The road comes to an intersection, branching off to the right, left and straight. Where I should go, and where I am actually trying to get to, is beyond me. I toss my gaze to either side, but it reveals nothing. Remembering the way I manipulated the maze earlier, I hone in my concentration to a destination of any kind. I would even settle for some kind of guidance. The hall remains passive, unreadable.

That's when I hear it.

"Adalia." It's just a whisper, so quiet that at first I think I am going insane. Then I hear it again, more prominent this time.

"Adalia, come to us." I cock my head to the side in an attempt to locate the source of the calls. After a moment or two of consideration, I eventually choose my path and hurry down the hall.

"Adalia."

"Come here."

"Adalia!" The cries become more persistent, and increasingly loud. I take myself forward in a jog, rushing down the hallway, whose pace has changed as well. From my peripheral vision, I see the greyness of the space transforming, morphing into something else. I try to grasp my mind over the exact changes, but each time I try to focus on the walls, they return to wearing their stoic, mono-toned face. I pass another intersection, and suddenly I am no longer standing in a non-existent maze.

Before me spreads a green field. The hills beyond bob and weaving their way playfully into the distance. The sky is a blazing brightness, complete in the way that an untouched canvas is. I can't see the sun, but its heat is radiant. Warmth spreads through my body, invigorating and rejuvenating as it warms the depths of my soul.