Escape Games

Chapter Two

     Mac let the humanoid go first as he used the open door for support.  He stood patiently until the being was able to hop to the wall. He looked down both sides of the corridor, trying to figure out which way to go. He decided going to the left seemed better, the humanoid could use the wall for support.
"Come on," he slowly began walking, the humanoid hopping between him and the wall. "That's it. Just let me know if you need any breaks at all." But the two only made it about a dozen steps before the sound of loud static and feedback rang from somewhere above them.  The humanoid let out a growl as Mac tried to look for a hidden speaker or anything similar. He spotted what looked like a small, mechanical bird sitting on a little ledge near the high ceiling a few meters away. The humanoid followed his gaze and spotted the bird too. 
     "Is that the speaker?"  He asked, his head tilting slightly as he eyed it. 
     "Could be," Mac answered.  "It's the only other thing in here besides us."  He guided the humanoid closer, wanting to examine the bird up close.  The bird's head moved to follow them, a mechanical noise accompanying the motion.  The bird's beak opened and more static and feedback sounded from it. The fur-tailed elven winced and growled at the sound.
"Easy," Mac told him. "I know it's loud." He pulled the humanoid a little closer, sensing him leaning more heavily on him. He hoped the being didn't have an unnoticed injury on his good leg, his missing foot was already bad enough. He didn't have time to ask before a voice began to come through the bird's beak.
"I see you've solved your first problem," the voice said. "And without yelling or whining. That's good, you two might actually prove entertaining contestants." The elven growled loudly, even Mac gritted his teeth. Neither liked the way the voice spoke to them. The voice gave a short laugh.
"Looks like you might have yourself a handful with that one, don't you human?" It asked. Mac's fist clenched around his backpack strap.
"Fuck you," he told the voice, glaring at the bird speaker. Another laugh came from the shiny black beak.
"Watch the attitude," the voice said. "Too much and you'll have consequences to deal with. If you want a ghost of a chance to get out of your new playground alive, don't piss me off."
"Playground my ass," Mac was growing angry, but he still wanted to keep his voice as calm as possible. He didn't want to test the voice's previous threat.
"What else would you call a place where games are played?" The voice asked tauntingly.
"If you call chaining two guys together and locking them inside a cell a 'game' I'd hate to see what you call torment," the humanoid growled. The voice laughed again.
"There's more where that came from," it taunted. "You want out, you have one month to find your way through my maze, puzzles and dead ends included. Just watch out for any beasts that may be lurking around. And make it interesting. Bore me and you're just as likely to be destroyed as if you piss me off."  With that, the speaker made one more static sound before going silent.  The elven continued to eye it suspiciously for a moment before trying to move forward again. 
     "Steady," Mac told him.  The humanoid was still leaning heavily on him despite his free hand propping him against the wall.  "If you need a break, just tell me.  We can stop if you need to."  The elven said nothing, but he did stop, now trying to lean on the wall more.  He tightened his grip on Mac's shoulder. 
     "What?"  Mac asked.  "Do you want to sit?  Is that it?"  He slowly crouched, letting the elven kneel beside him and lean against the wall. 
     "Does your other leg hurt, too?"  Mac asked.  "Is that what's bothering you?"  The elven didn't respond for several seconds. 
     "Yes," he finally answered.  He'd stretched both legs in front of himself, leaning more heavily on the wall.  Mac knelt beside him. 
     "Where's it hurt?"  He asked.  The humanoid rolled up the leg of his pants, revealing massive bruises along his whole shin. 
     "I thought it was just bruising," he said.  "But maybe it's worse." Mac slowly reached out to check the injury.
"It could be muscle bruising," he said. "That tends to take longer to heal." He brought out a second wrap bandage, glad that he always packed extra.
"How'd you hurt yourself so badly?" He asked sympathetically. The elven huffed loudly before answering.
"I had to detach my foot to escape a trap," he answered. "I was tranquilized before I could put it back on. I fell down an embankment as I went unconscious." He looked at the bandage now covering the bruises. 
     "Thank you," he said after a few seconds.  Mac nodded. 
     "Were you able to get a look at whoever tranquilized you before you fell?"  He asked.  The elven shook his head. 
     "I was focused on the trap," he said.  "They were probably so well hidden I would've had a hard time picking them out even if I knew to look." Mac sighed.
"Of course it isn't that easy," he said. "But I can't blame you. The trap must've been well hidden, too if you didn't spot it in time to avoid it." The elven huffed.
"It hurt like hell, that's for sure," he said.  He gave a small sigh.  "But of course, I can't even go visit the forest to draw without some type of bull shit happening."  He sighed again and huffed, looking at the floor. 
     "So you're an artist, then?"  Mac asked interestedly.  He found himself legitimately curious about his companion.  He liked meeting different people and learning about different beings. 
     "Of a sort," the humanoid answered, looking back up at Mac. "I love to draw and paint, but I can't seem to find many people to buy them." He looked genuinely upset when he said this. Mac felt bad for him. The elven grumbled again and sighed.
"But it's not like I'll ever get to see my sketchbook or canvases again," he said. He seemed convinced that the two of them would die before they escaped.
"I'll get you a new sketchbook once we're out of here," he said. "It'll be the least I can do." He paused for a couple seconds, but the elven said nothing.
"So you were nearby because you wanted to come to the forest to draw," Mac tried. "Did you see or hear anything strange before stepping in the trap?" The elven gazed at him for several seconds, little to no expression in his shining pale green eyes.
"Why are you asking so many questions?" He asked. Mac met his gaze with his own deep brown eyes.
"Because I was investing suspicious disappearances in a certain area of the forest," he said calmly. "And I'm starting to think whoever that voice just now belonged to might be involved. So any information right now is helpful." The elven huffed, then sighed.
"I don't remember hearing or seeing anything," he answered. "I didn't know about any disappearances, or I wouldn't have gone that day." His head tilted slightly to one side.
"So you are a hunter," he said. "I thought it was odd that you had magic infused weapons on you."
"We're lucky whoever kidnapped us let me keep my weapons," Mac said. "We'd be even worse off without them." He suddenly looked further down the corridor.
"I'll tell you what, though," he said. "If whoever it is hurt my dog, they'll have hell to pay and then some." The elven followed his gaze.
"You had a dog with you?" He asked. Mac nodded.
"Whoever kidnapped us must've tranquilized her, too. Hopefully we can find her, and all three of us can get out of here." Then, as if on cue, the two heard a loud, canine howling.