The Hearts of Goblins

Chapter III

Gwen's bare feet made soft slapping noises against the sun-warmed stone floors of the labyrinth. Lee's worn-out tennis shoes made little to no noise at all. They walked for what seemed like hours in a straight line. It was a long time before either of them calmed down from the shock and settled into whatever reality they were now apart of.
The walls were tall and strewn with mosses and vines. Dried branches littered the stone floor. The whole place shimmered due to the fact it was covered in cobwebs and snail slime.

The passage seemed to go on endlessly, with no turns or corners or anything.

Lee soon got restless of walking on and on in a straight line. He grew so restless that he felt the need to state the obvious.

"I haven't seen a single turn or anything!" He said.

Gwen looked up at the walls, trying to get a glimpse of where the sun was in the sky, but the walls were too high. She could see only the blue sky above them.
"If I could just see the horizon..." She muttered.

"It's just a straight line! What kind of trick is this?" Lee yelled.

"Lee, calm down!" Gwen hissed, clapping her hands over her ears.
"Frustrating..." Lee said quietly, his dark brown eyes giving the apology that he hadn't voiced. Gwen sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "It is frustrating." She agreed, "damn, my feet already hurt."
She turned her back to the wall and leaned back to inspect her aching feet.
Gwen yelped as she leaned back into nothing. She landed on the stone ground very ungracefully, landing flat on her back. She could have sworn there had been a wall there a moment ago.
She blinked and rubbed the back of her head.
The blue sky above her was unnecessarily beautiful.
"Ow." She said blandly.

"What the hell is this crap?" Lee barked.
He examined the wall. There was an opening in the side of the wall that had appeared invisible. He looked at the wall from every angle he could manage but saw only the wall. As soon as he stepped into the secret opening, he could see the trick.
With the illusion shattered, Lee grew thoroughly annoyed.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" He yelled.
Gwen stared at the sky for a good few moments.

"THERE'S FRIGGIN OPTICAL ILLUSION BULLSHIT HERE TOO?!"
Gwen grunted and propped herself onto her elbows.

"WHAT IS THIS TRASH?!"

"Lee, would you please shut up?" Gwen hissed.
Lee's mouth hung open in silence, frozen as he was likely about to unleash a curse-filled ragequit.
He helped his friend up off the ground and dusted off her back. Gwen rolled her shoulders and grimaced with the knowledge of the fact her back was going to be bruised for a month.
"I guess we can't assume anything for sure in this place." Gwen groaned.
Quickly recovering they took the hidden passage and continued walking. For they knew that the only hope they had was to keep moving. They didn't know what could become of them if they didn't complete the Labyrinth and neither of them was willing to find out.

"Up ahead," Gwen said pointing to what looked to be a large courtyard several feet ahead.
They picked up the pace until they stood silent and unmoving before a large square yard. It was made up of scores of 3² foot tiles, each had an elegant Roman numeral carved onto them.
Above the other side of the stone yard was a large archway with a clock in the center. The clock had only one hand that looked as though it had stopped moving long ago. The other hand of the clock had fallen off and was laying on the ground at the end of the stone yard.
"Looks Sketchy," Lee said. He crossed his arms over his chest. Gwen looked at the clock and wondered what time it must have been.
She looked at the strange expanse of numbered tiles. She thought it looked like something that would be in Indiana Jones. Gwen knew that they would have to be especially careful.
"I guess," she said with false sureness, "We should start with one."
"Gwen, I don't know about this," Lee said.
Gwen gave her friend a nervous smile and walked forward and took a shaky step onto the tile with a neat 'I' cut into the stone. She breathed a low sigh of relief as nothing happened. No walls caving in. No poison darts shooting from the walls. No Indiana Jones stuff. She continued to II which was directly diagonal to the first tile.
Gwen took slow light steps from I to III. She stopped suddenly.
"Is Five an X or a V?" Gwen asked. There was both an IX and an IV next to her current tile. Lee stood at the beginning of the tiles, his arms across his chest.
"Um..." He said.
"I think it's a V, I'm just not sure," Gwen admitted. Her foot hovered over the IV tile.
"Gwen, don't," Lee warned. Gwen stepped onto the IV tile. She sighed as nothing happened.
"This isn't so bad," Gwen said with a nervous laugh. Her nerves had her near hysteria.
"Gwen, be careful." Lee urged. He began to follow in her steps.
Gwen hopped from IV to V and onto VI.
"This is easy." She stepped from VII to VIII. "If the rest of the Labyrinth is like this," she jumped onto IX. "We should be out of here in no time."
"We got this." Lee agreed, seeming hesitant. He watched Gwen go from X to XI then XII.
She went to XIII.
Gwen stepped on XIV and her breath left her. Her foot sunk though the false tile into nothing. She fell forward and her head spun. It didn't make sense, XIV was fourteen. It should have been there.
"GWEN!!!" Lee screamed.
Her chest slammed into the edge of another tile that didn't disappear. She scrambled for a hold and her fingers dug into the engraved VI on the tile she'd hit. Her feet dangled below her.
"I'm Coming!" Lee shouted and followed the steps of the numbered tiles.
Gwen looked below her and saw only a void of darkness. Not like the darkness of any normal hole or cavern. The darkness was thick and pitch black, it seemed to swallow her despite her still clinging to her lifeline. Though it was still, it seemed to swirl like some inky black sea. The darkness was strange, intimidating, and almost seemed... Alive.

She looked back up and tried to focus on the sky. Her fingers clung to the engraving, blazing with pain. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest and her throat felt full. Her stomach churned and she was engulfed in terrible fear. Never had she clung to something so desperately. Gwen's eyes stung with hot tears.  
Lee knelt down at XIII. He held his arms out for his friend but in futility. He could never have reached her... And her grip would not last long. 
"Gwen. You're gonna have to jump for me to reach you." Lee said, trying his best to remain calm.
Gwen was terrified, but her head was still on straight. She knew Lee was right. She took a deep breath that did nothing to calm her. 
Blinking tears out of her eyes, Gwen pulled her feet up to press against the stone wall. She closed her eyes tight. With a great heave, she kicked off and let go of the engraving.
She flung herself back to her friend. The weightlessness was sickening as she knew there was nothing below her. Nothing but the dark emptiness. 
Two strong arms caught her under her arms. Lee grunted and pulled Gwen up. They both fell against the XIII tile. Gwen lay on Lee's chest. Her breath was labored and shallow. Lee wheezed long deep breaths.
Gwen turned and buried her face in Lee's chest. He wrapped his arms securely around her. Gwen's shoulders shook as she began to sob into his shirt.
"I got ya," Lee whispered, rubbing her back.
"I got ya."