Hans Baumann
If I had to use one word to describe the sight in front of me, I would use the word play or playful. Alpha, Bravo and Charlie were silent once again, that same nervous pulse sending waves through me and now watching this display of inhuman athleticism, I finally understood their earlier scaredness. The stranger seemed to be toying with the Minotaur. He ducked under blows at speeds which I had trouble following with my eyes, sidesteps wild flails of his other massive hand. A wide grin twisted his face into one that enraged the Minotaur, causing the anger to seep out from the monster like a cloud, almost visible. I understood that anger, who wouldn't. At this moment, all the thoughts that I held regarding its size, musculature and ferocity were now being clouded by a different thought, pity. Those movements, the fluidity and confidence of them were inhuman. I've seen people fight before, Jason was one of the best, but in the knowledge that this stranger exists, it made me rethink. Jason was but a toddler learning how to walk for the first time when next to this man. The stranger cut his motions close to the beast, dodging with the smallest margins of error. He used the narrowness of the corridor to his advantage, turning the vines into climbing frames, hanging from them in peculiar angles that allowed him to slip over the thick wooden club as it hit against the wall above or below him. The floor was suddenly a trampoline as he sprung from one wall to the other, his cartwheeling or somersaults allowing his body to not stay on the ground for longer than required. The acrobatic nature of it all, coupled with that smirk made me feel more scared of the stranger than the looming beast who grew more enraged with each miss. A part of me wanted to use this opportunity to escape from both the stranger and Minotaur, but the other part of me wanted to watch, awestruck by the grace. Jason stirred from his place by my side and rose to a seated position, cradling his head with a pained expression. He sat there for a few long moments, before looking about at the environment, containing a grim expression as he realised the realness of our predicament.
"I hoped this was a nightmare," he muttered under his breath before looking up at me, his hand still on his forehead, "What's going on?" he looked past me at the fight, though it was less of a fight and more of a one-sided farce.
"I don't know, but are you okay?" I responded.
"I, I don't know, I, remember flowers, then waking up here."
"Flowers?"
"Strange huh, I don't know the first thing about flowers, but I, I remember the scent." He looked genuinely confused as he kept his eyes on the stranger.
"You were thrashing at times, he found you," I pointed toward the stranger.
"Incredible." Jason murmured and the stranger bowed as he dodged another attack, keeping the attention of the monster from us, he couldn't have heard us, could he? I thought as I turned back to Jason.
"I'll say, you reckon it's his ability?" the youth muttered, still cradling his broken arm.
"I, I don't know," I responded truthly, "maybe?"
"No," Alpha said, their voice quiet, seeping into my consciousness like a whimper from an apologetic child. "That, that isn't an ability its-" the voice abruptly stopped as I turned back around, seeing the stranger put a finger to his lips. A chill ran through me as the three presences seemed to recede back into my mind, their existence seemingly vanishing. The Minotaur screamed as its club sliced through empty air colliding with the wall, sending a tremor through the floor, reaching where we sat. It seemed to notice us for the first time then, and it snorted, most likely not wanting to spend anymore time indulging the stranger. I jumped to my feet as it stared down at us, I hoisted Jason to his feet and helped the youth to his, careful to not jolt his arm. As it began to charge, the stranger removed his belt from his jeans.
"Oh no you don't," he said and whipped the belt at the Minotaur's legs, the leather wrapping around them, sending the Minotaur to the floor in a howl of annoyance. It thrashed as it tried to break the belt, but the man held on, the belt seemingly fine even though it should have broken by now. "Get out of here, find Isaac, leave this beast to me." I nodded and started to head back, the three voices lending their help once again.
"You know Isaac?" The youth asked from behind, and I turned to see the stranger make a thoughtful expression.
"I know of him young man, listen to him, he is your best chance at beating this, let's just hope he does a better job of it this time around."
"What do you-" the youth paused as the Minotaur broke free from the belt that exploded into chunks of leather as it left the man's hands.
"Get out of here, I will keep him away from you, trust me on this." I waited for the youth who seemed perplexed by the words from the stranger and led the way as we reached the starting room.
Isaac Woodman
T2 2025 - A dead end, of which there is only one. I mulled over the words as I pressed my back against the wall, watching the beasts pass by with a held breath. I held no fantasy that attacking these things head on would be easy, so I stuck to the shadows, moving low and slow as I retraced my steps. A few meters down, I was forced into a little outcrop as one of the monsters, a creature looking like a snake with a female torso turned its head. I waited for a few moments but after a certain amount of time, I peeked around the corner, seeing it empty once again. I breathed a sigh of relief as I finally found myself in the room we had started in. Jason, Levin and Jason's friend who was now awake, were leant against one of the walls. Levin, in particular, looked worse for wear as he cradled his arm, his half hour time limit long since passed. I looked about, the minotaur nowhere in sight.
"Isaac!" Levin exclaimed as he saw me, standing quickly, which caused him to wince in pain as he jostled his broken arm. "Are we done?" The fear in his eyes reminded me of his age at that moment, no longer having his immortality to hide behind, he had finally realised the threat that we face. He tried to look confident, but that question betrayed that notion.
"Not yet I'm afraid, where is the Minotaur?" He looked back at Jason and his friend.
"Being taken care of," Jason's friend muttered. I looked at them quizzically, then at Levin.
"How?"
"Some stranger, Isaac, you should have seen him, he reminds me of Jacob in the way he fights. Confident of his abilities." Levin said, admiration in his tone. Wait, that doesn't make any sense, no one at this time should be at this level, Jacob and company are only there because of me. Did my tampering also change other things ? I thought to myself, but as I recognised the silence. I coughed to myself before speaking, changing the subject.
"Did one of you reach the obelisk ?" all three of them shook their heads. Fuck.
"But I believe the stranger did." Jason's friend stated.
"What makes you think that?" Jason replied.
"After I found the two of you, he went off further into the maze, then came back as Levin brought the Minotaur down the corridor. He had a smirk on his face, so I presume he found what he was looking for, and you saw how he acted. I would bet on the fact that he found whatever it was that we needed to escape this place."
"Did any of you get his name ?" I asked and once again the three of them shook their heads.
Deciding to change the subject I asked a different question. "I think I know the true way to escape this place, but I need to ask you guys a question, did any of you come across a dead end ?"
"No," Jason answered, Levin shook his head and the other man simply wore a look of contemplation on his face.
"I haven't, but I might be able to find the way out," He said after a brief while.
"How?" I asked, intrigued.
"It's, uh, part of my ability," he muttered and I nodded.
"No need to say anything further, but how sure are you that you can take us there?"
"Uh, very sure." I smiled.
"Good, we should wait until the others get back, it will be obvious when the exit is open, we simply need to reach the dead end at that point in time, in which case we will require you to lead us there, mr?"
"Hans, Hans Baumann," I made my way over as he introduced himself, in which he extended his arm and I shook it, another name that I hadn't heard of.
"We should wait and rest, we may need to run and I need the three of you to be ready in case we do," I pointedly looked at Levin as I spoke and he nodded in understanding. "While we wait then, please tell me what sort of things you came across, as we may need to fight them as we attempt to reach the dead end."
Hans Baumann
"Be wary of him," Alpha stated
"Of who," I asked.
"Isaac," Bravo muttered, "something feels, very wrong about how he feels."
"Its, it's a very similar feeling to that stranger, but the feeling he gives off is not as potent as his, just more twisted," Alpha raised.
"So keep an eye on him," Charlie stated. I looked over at Isaac, who was now conversing with Levin, making sure he was okay, he didn't look special in any way, but I kept an eye on him anyway, keeping their thoughts in the forefront of my mind.