Jacob Malnew
The walls all looked the same. Grey rock covered in overlapping threads of green vines, it was all so disorientating as we made our way down the corridor. I could hear the echoing sounds of Levin's cries of pain and taunting shouts. I turned back seeing a smaller procession following me than previously had been, I told them to follow me closely and not to split up. Maybe it was because I was younger than them all, or perhaps it was because of their profession that gave them the will to act on their own. A few still followed tentatively behind me, about ten or so, their eyes diligently scanning the environment around them. We came up to a crossroads, a left turn and a right.
"Right," A voice muttered from behind.
"No, I say we go left," Another voice stated.
"I say we take it to a vote," the old man, who had stated that his name was Harley, said which roused agreements. It was better to be civil so I also agreed.
"Those who want to go left, raise your hand," I asked, raising my own in the process. I counted eight raised hands. Seven people remained with their hands by their side. "So left it is then." I stepped forward to continue, but was stopped by a voice.
"Shouldn't we discuss this some more," A female voice stated, I turned and gave her a quick once over, muscled, tanned, hair was cut short, if it wasn't for her voice, I would have mistaken her for a feminine looking male.
"We don't have the time," I replied.
"Why?"
"Because Levin is keeping that thing's attention away from us, he can only do that for about thirty minutes, so that is our time frame."
"Look, Jacob here is right, we don't have much time, I suggest we move on," Harley stated and I gave him a curt nod of thanks as I led the group onwards.
Henry Allcott
I pushed my back against the wall, peering around the corner. A shape moved in the distance, disturbing the green tendrils that raced along the wall. I turned back around to see those who followed, also keeping their backs against the wall.
"I think there is a creature ahead of us, does anyone here have any nice powers that they can use to easily dispose of monsters?" I asked, keeping an eye on their expressions. They seemed to avoid my gaze but one figure raised an uncertain hand. "And know how to use it effectively?" she lowered it, "It's alright, but leave this to me then, but be ready to use your powers if we get ambushed," the party behind me nodded. It felt weird being in control, it was a sensation that gave me pride. Jacob had stated that those with us looked to all be trained soldiers, or perhaps police officers, those with the profession of keeping calm within situations regarding violence and the trauma that occurs during and after. Seeing these people and how they acted, I couldn't agree with him more, which was probably a first. I rounded the corner, sliding my hands into my pocket and pulling out two circular saw blades. They floated in the air just in front of me, as if held by invisible wires, the serrated edges of the disks seemed to blur into one as I willed it to spin faster and faster, the metal appearing in a bright red outline to my sight. I had once found that weird, but Isaacs appearance and the weeks after the first trial made me think about the situation as a whole. Isaac was a monster in my eyes, Sebastian seemed to start thinking that way also, Jacob saw his words as nothing but poison and Levin just seemed to believe whatever he was told. The innocence of youth, I suppose. He was not that much younger than us, but I think that he believed our words because he didn't want to be alone, which I understood. Nothing scared me more than that notion either, everything I had worked towards culminated in the effort and control of my power and I needed them to see that. As the discs spun, reaching an rpm that was nigh impossible to reach without the aid of expensive machinery, I stalked forwards down the hallway towards where the creature had once been.
"AMBUSH!" the woman who had earlier raised her hand shouted, causing me to spin seeing a horde of enemies coming from the opposite direction. They looked like the stereotypical depiction of the undead, flesh had been seared off of their skin, dried blood covered their body like paint and some missed limbs. There was one distinction that caused me to look twice, the stumbling corpses were shrouded in a dark purple mist that seemed to rise off of them like steam. That gave me a slight pause however, a common conception about zombie media was to go for the head, destroy the brain, but that mist and the fact that we were in a theatre made me think twice. As I stood there, contemplating my action, the woman who had raised her hand earlier and the one who noticed the ambush first, sprang forwards a katana forming in her grip. She sliced down, the blade getting caught in the undeads flesh. Saliva dripped down from its snarling jaw as it proceeded forwards. She screamed as she drove the blade through the monster, leaving its legs to fall to the floor next to its upper body which thrashed amidst a pool of its kidney and liver.
"Watch out!" A new voice shouted as the remainder of the group leaped into action, it looked so disorganised. Flailing arms and different abilities gave the sight an almost comical look, after seeing the calm control from Jacob, this looked like a bunch of children playing with sticks that were too heavy for them to wield. The only redeeming factor was that because they were most likely trained in combat, they at least knew what to do. Many pinned the arms of the undead allowing the woman to attack, others jumped in and out of combat, keeping the attackers aggressiveness focused on themselves. I sighed seeing enough of the spectacle, I flicked my wrist, the twin blades sliced through the air, then through the bodies of the undead. Blood and mist sprayed everywhere as the twin blades ducked and weaved through the fight, easily parting limbs. As the final monster fell, I willed the blades back to my side. Fear and surprise marred the faces of those that had joined the fray. The little ambush had taken away precious time that we needed and as I turned to proceed down the corridor, the mist that had assembled into a large cloud of purple shot forth in long streaking lines, smothering those in its proximity. The blades did nothing as the figures fell to their knees, coughing and clawing at their throats. Fingertips became red with blood as their nails sank into their flesh like knives, eyes bulged and when they all fell silent, the mist dripped free from their wounds, all of their eyes snapping onto me in unison.
Isaac Woodman
T2 2025 - The Maze. So simple of a name. As I moved forwards, rounding corners without giving the direction much thought, I tried to remember what made this Theatre so deadly. The Minotaur, taken directly from Greek myth was definitely a factor, its unkillable nature part of the reason why so many died all those years ago, the actors stubbornness to fight rather than to flee, becoming the cause of their deaths. Maybe it was the monsters that roamed freely, no, they weren't a threat to those who knew how to fight. So what was it? Various ideas raced through my head as I turned corners on instinct. Left, Left, Right, Forwards, Right. I created a map in my head as I sprinted forwards. After what seemed like many different twists and turns, I found myself back at the first hallway which led to where Levin and the Minotaur fought, Levin's swearing followed by howls of pain echoing up the corridor, greeting me, as if prompting me to hurry up. It was then that I realised why it was so difficult, without a clairvoyant, or someone with the ability to navigate to a certain location, finding the furthest point was difficult, not impossible, but time consuming, which was not what we needed. I looked down at my watch, twenty minutes until Levin's ability runs out. It would be close, but I had to get moving once again.