Crystal of the Dead

Chapter 14: The Maze

Author: Jordan

Cris couldn't believe his eyes. Stretched out in front of him for miles, was machinery that should no longer exist. Below him stretched walls as far as he could see, making a maze that led to a large circle of open space at the center of it all. The walls themselves seemed to be made of computers, not a single inch of any surface seen was natural. There were flashing lights, blinking dials, buttons, levers, and so many more gimmicks all over the walls of the maze.

Cris let his eyes dart around taking in every sight there was to see. It took him a little while but he finally noticed that there happened to be a sun and a sky above them. This made Cris do a double take, because, as far as he was concerned, they were quite a ways underground, this should be impossible.

After another while Cris finally seemed to snap out of his trance. He looked over towards where Cath only to find that she was no longer standing there. Panic set in as he looked around for her. It took him a minute but he finally spotted her black hair bobbing up and down one of the pathways. He was about to call out to her when something else caught his eye.

From a few different points along the outside of this area, a few doors had seemed to open. And streaming through those doors was a large number of Nuerodroids. Cris' heart leapt into his chest. He raced down a stairwell in front of him, into the maze. He had to find Cath before those monsters did. Problem was, he had run into the maze without fully looking at it, and as such, he was lost.

Panic set in once again. He called out to Cath again and again, getting no response. He ran around blindly, every turn leading him to another dead end. Finally he collapsed to the floor, unsure as to what he should do.

"Oh what do I do now? Those monsters will surely get to Cath before I could ever find the right way. Why does it have to be a maze?! Why can't anything just be easy?! For the love of god just straighten yourself out and be easy!"

Cris hadn't really aimed that command at anything other than the air. But something must have heard it because, just after the words had left his mouth, a rumbling was heard. Then little by little the walls around him started to move into straight lines. The walls were listening to him, creating a straight path to the center. Cris set off at a sprint towards the center, hoping that Cath would make her way there as well.

It took him a few minutes but he finally made it to the center, just in time to collapse onto a weird table in the middle. Cris took a minute to catch his breath, looking around as he did. He didn't see Cath yet but he was sure she was smart enough to make her way here. Suddenly Cris heard a scream from behind him. He turned around and saw Cath running full speed towards him, being chased by a large horde of undead.

Cath reached the center and ran to Cris. They then both stood there as the undead horde shambled ever closer. Then Cris had an idea. If the walls listened to him, then maybe..

"Nuerodroids, if you can hear me, hear and obey. Stop in your tracks!"

Surprisingly, every zombie there stopped moving instantly, just standing around.

Cath raised an eyebrow and gave Cris a look, to which he just responded by shrugging his shoulders. Cris leaned against the table behind him but as he did so he heard a click. The table then started to rumble and rotate, till it was in an upright position.

Cris and Cath both stepped back as the table lowered, then seemed to unfold and lay itself down on the ground. Cris stepped forward, peering at the table, only to be greeted by a sudden blue light.

Cris had to rub his eyes for a moment for his vision to return, but when he did, there in front of him, stood a holographic figure. The figure very much looked like an elderly version of Cris, which only created more questions than answers. Cris was about to ask Cath a question when the apparatus started talking.

"Welcome traveller to my headquarters, the base station for any operations we proceed in. The fact that you have made it here, not only to this room, but to this center console, shows that you are in fact related to me. I am sure you have many questions, not all of which can be answered right now. However, I have uploaded my consciousness into a hard drive which you shall soon receive. You may, if you desire, take said hard drive, and insert it into the back of any of these droid's heads, and I shall take over. I will be of most help to you if you proceed with this, however, you do not have to if you don't feel inclined to. Feel free to answer these questions on your own, but be advised, not much time is left. Please choose your path quickly, as it may affect the fate of the world."

As the figure finished talking, a small metallic piece popped out of the table. Cris picked it up and turned to Cath. "What do you think we should do?"