Prisoner, page 33
part #2 of The Contractors Series
Daniel wasn't able to slip by after the first confrontation, but he did catch sight of a glimmer of hope—a broad, steel-barred basket, beyond the exit to the island. If he could get by the second creature, he was virtually home free.
If.
Daniel pulled a bright red egg out of his pocket, holding it so it was clearly visible. The two creatures immediately sent out smaller, more communitive chitters at one another. They crept forward a few feet.
Daniel gripped the egg tight; under pressure, the rubbery substance bulged past his fingers. The creatures made series of low-pitched, threatening growls. “Yeah?!” Daniel shouted back. “You want your egg squashed?! Huh? Come on, you freaks, lets see what you got!” Daniel wielded the egg like a caveman with a torch, stepping forward and brandishing it at the animals, more to pump himself up than truly intimidate them. They seemed unsure of how to deal with this latest development, snipping at each other and shrieking at him in turns.
One of the roars was loud enough to shake him. The egg slipped from his fingers, and he bobbed wildly to catch it before it got away from him. Both the creatures creeped in and bent low, as if to pounce.
The egg skipped from his left hand, off his right palm, and back to his left. He snagged it from the air, checked his hold on it, then raised it again. His arm shook from the adrenaline of near-death. “Get the hell back! I said back off, assholes!”
The creatures stopped closing in, but they didn't step away. They were within easy striking distance if they stunned him with their roars. He'd hoped to worry them into moving out of the way by using the egg as a hostage, but it didn't look like they were smart enough to appreciate the nuance of his strategy. Or maybe they weren't dumb enough to fall for it.
Time for plan B.
Daniel raised his hand. The fleshy heads of the monsters followed the path of his arm, necks craning. He wound up, bent his knee in, then hucked the egg like he was trying to skip a stone.
The egg flew toward the edge of the island, skipping over the rock like a bouncy ball. The creatures yelped in alarm, then galloped right after it, throwing themselves over each other in a mad scramble to reach the red orb before it vanished into the void. Daniel broke for the exit, drawing the second egg he'd snatched from the nest out of his other pocket.
By the time he reached the basket, the creatures had recovered from his distraction and were scrambling to turn on him, legs and inky tendrils propelling them in a hunched, lopsided sprint. He dunked the egg into the container, and the cheery gameshow music came back on even as the two beasts charged at him. Daniel ran for his life.
He hadn't gotten far when he heard a walloping THUMP. When he looked back, the two monsters were plastered against a barrier, their ugly shrieks muffled to a dull whine by the magic. They threw themselves against it in a mindless rage. The barrier shuddered and warped, but it held.
Daniel decided to get moving—the farther away he was from those things, the better. He rubbed a hand across his armor’s visor as he started down the path again, wishing he could wipe the memories out of his head. Some things you couldn't unsee.
With his second obstacle completed, Daniel knew he was going to hit either an island or a barrier next. He glanced down at his armor, inspecting the damage where the creature had landed a hit. There was a foot-long scratch dug across the silver scales. It didn’t seem to affect the armor’s flexibility. Daniel wasn’t sure if the blow would have been life-threatening without any protection, but his chances of survival would have dropped quite a bit if he was injured. Plus, from the look of the inky freaks, they might have poisoned him—or who knows what else—if they landed a clean blow.
He was doubly glad to have stolen the suit from Gulthak. It would have turned the ogre into a mobile fortress.
After a relatively short time compared to the other distances, Daniel saw an island emerge out of the dark fog. He started to lift his arms in victory—then dropped them. His shoulders slumped; his mouth hung open slightly in disbelief. There were four pedestals in the middle of the island, and they had items floating on them—except the central one, which was completely bare. Three distinctly less-shiny images hovered over the remaining spots.
Daniel trudged in, feeling more than a little deflated. He'd flat-out sprinted the length of the last challenge, spurred on by a combination of fear and magic. He’d only been trapped near the basket for a short time. His backup plan to distract the monsters worked better than he could have hoped.
And he still hadn't made it. Kavarssian or Gulthak must have gone up against something that didn't even phase them. Maybe he’d been running longer than he thought.
“Up-and-comer Daniel Fitzgerald is eating a disappointment sandwich!” Ky shouted. Her tinny voice projected from a camera that swooped down on him from somewhere above. “My lovely Kav-Kav has already come and gone, stealing the show out from under Danny's feet. Let's see what he makes of the slim pickings left behind!”
A small voice in the back of Daniel's head restrained his impulse to swear at her, counseling that it was a very bad idea to piss off the game show host. He grumbled his way to the pedestals, keeping the choicest words carefully under his breath. A look at them showed a series of metal weapons—a sword, a spiked set of brass knuckles, and finally, a mace. The mace had a spherical head complete with sharp rivets and spikes jutting out at regular angles—not unlike what he’d made himself in the past.
Daniel went for the mace without hesitation. He was far more familiar with it than the other two. The sword looked cool, but aside from putting the pointy end in the other guy, he didn’t have the first idea of how to use one. The brass knuckles were more useful, and he knew how to throw a punch, but he doubted he’d compete with either Gulthak or Kavarssian if it came down to fists.
His original reason for buying a baton—and then later, making a mace—was that it was easy to learn and use, extended his reach, and was more effective than hitting things with his bare fists. It also made good use of his magic, which he could channel into objects to strengthen them. In this case, maybe it was good luck that he picked up a mundane weapon, rather than something enchanted. The last time he put his magic in an object that already had an enchantment, it blew up. Even since he got his elven armor—including in the midst of his earlier panic—he’d been very careful to only push magic through himself, and not the armor, paranoid he’d get lethally explosive results.
Daniel picked up the mace. The shaft was grey metal, and it was all one solid piece, merging with the head of the weapon without any joints or welds. There was a ribbed grip at the bottom which was stiff, but slightly rubbery, like the stuff they made cell phone cases with. He gave it a few test swings. It was a little heavier than he was used to, weighted too much toward the head, but it would do.
“From that quick pick, it looks like Daniel wasn't totally left out in the cold!” Ky said. “I'm looking forward to see what he can do with that morning star. Daniel’s done with his side of the job—after meeting up with Jack, they’ll be off to the arena.”
At her words, Daniel duly started toward the sole remaining path into the void. The island vanished into the black behind him. Daniel tucked the mace in and picked up into a swift jog. His half of the challenges were over—he should have a straight, easy shot to the finish.
Aside from the barrier that popped out of the dark at him. He sighed at the sight.
It was like the others, a flat, misty field of magic. It stretched out far past the edge of the path and into the dark, spitting on any attempt to circumvent it. Daniel trod to a halt, but he stayed on his toes, expecting Jack to take action for him soon enough.
The seconds ticked by. Eventually, he put his arms on his hips and let himself relax. Hopefully Jack was doing alright on his end.
Daniel glanced at the barrier. There didn’t seem to be any rule preventing him from trying to force his way past. Everyone took it as a given that it couldn’t be done. Maybe he’d have better luck with a weapon?
Cautiously, he pushed power down his arm, through his fingers, and into his mace. He kept his senses peeled for any unintended side-effects. His armor, thankfully, didn’t react. In fact, everything operated as if it wasn’t even there. I really gotta get me one of these.
The white light typical of his particular brand of magic filled the mace, turning the dull steel into a gleaming pale-gray lava lamp. He pressed the head of his mace against the barrier.
It warped, trembled, then buzzed, harsher and harder than before. His mace rebounded off its surface with enough speed that Daniel was forced to step backward to keep his grip on it. The head of the weapon struck a nearby boulder before he got a handle on the momentum.
He glanced at the boulder—not a scratch. The barrier’s wavering power had concentrated at the point he’d struck, but it spread back out into a calm, even haze.
There wasn’t any real harm in trying again, but Daniel decided against it. He might exhaust himself for no reason, and he needed to save his strength for the battle ahead. Plus, the feeling he’d gotten was akin to the wall almost grabbing his weapon then throwing it back with similar force. If he hit harder, it would fly back harder—and if he wasn’t careful, he would lose his mace to the abyss. He had a feeling that if his weapon fell into the pit, he wasn’t getting it back.
And so, without anything else to do, Daniel waited.
And waited.
Time flowed by, but it could have been five minutes, or twenty. In this place, his sense of time had been a frequent frustration. There was no telling minutes from hours here in the void—no sunlight, no reference points.
The barrier buzzed if he touched it, but otherwise, it was quiet. The only sound was his own breathing. He hummed and tapped his feet to break the silence. It came off as forced even to himself.
More than once, Daniel caught himself looking over his own shoulder, back the way he’d come. He was half-afraid one of those things would show up again, lunge in at him without warning and pin him against the barrier with no way out. Sometimes, he could see shapes in the darkness, wavering faces, flecks of light. He rubbed at his visor to chase away the visions, hoping it was just his eyes playing tricks on him.
He came up with a little game to pass the time. The barrier wavered slightly, to and fro, almost like a curtain in a gentle breeze. He timed roughly 6 seconds for it to slowly ripple from one side to another. 10 ripples made for a full minute. That way, he could tell time.
He got sick of it after the first minute.
Daniel stood there, sometimes staring at the darkness, sometimes at the white-grey rock under his feet, quietly contemplating his speck-like existence on a thin path in a silent void. It felt like the final stop, the place where the sidewalk ended. The darkness encircled him, as if all the rest of the world had fallen away and the only thing left was him and this little strip of stone. Everything else had been swept away by the powers that be.
Daniel felt a strange sensation, then, as if the path trembled slightly under his feet. Nothing had moved the path so far; man, beast, and magic had left it all undamaged. The pale surface was even tougher than normal rock, glued in place within the darkness by unnatural forces. He adjusted slightly, thinking his feet were tingling from standing still so long; he tapped the toes of his shoes against the ground. The armored scales that sleeved them plinked against the stone.
More shaking. Stronger this time. Daniel bent his knees, eyes wide. That was definitely not him. He checked the barrier; it hadn’t budged.
The path was practically vibrating now. Daniel took a step and threw his arms out wide to get better balance. As the shaking worsened into a full-on earthquake, he crouched low, cautious of being thrown into the pit. What the hell is going on?
Something was moving at the end of the path. He lifted his mace up, keeping it between himself and whatever it was.
It looked almost like the edge of the path was moving toward him, out of the dark. Daniel squinted, confused. The path wasn’t actually moving—bits and pieces of it were falling away, creating the false perception it was coming toward him.
Jack’s warning from the beginning of the match flashed in his mind. If they were running out of time, the path would drop out from under them.
Daniel moved up against the barrier, flattening his back against it. The magical wall buzzed hard against his armor, but otherwise didn’t harm him. He wasn’t sure, but it seemed like the rate of decay was getting faster.
A chunk the size of his head broke off. The darkness swallowed it a heartbeat later. The unstable, cracking portion of the rock stretched closer. Yep. Definitely faster.
“Come on, Jack,” Daniel said. The cracks spindled deeper into the path. Larger and larger sections were breaking away. “Come on, you dick. We can’t lose like this. Come on!”
The cracks reached Daniel’s shoes. Another thick chunk of the path snapped off and vanished into the black. He could feel it shifting under the soles of his feet, threatening to give.
Daniel’s jaw worked as he pressed back into the barrier, ignoring the uncomfortable vibration. He worked his toes back, scrounging up every available inch of stability.
The chunk under his shoes gave slightly. Daniel began to lean forward as it tilted, not quite dropping but threatening to slide him into the abyss. He worked his feet hard, as if trying to get purchase on a hill that was a little too steep to climb easily.
Daniel fell. His gut lurched as he experienced the sickly sensation of an unexpected drop. For an instant, he thought the path dropped him—but he slammed into the ground on his back.
The wind rushed out of his lungs. Daniel kept his head and used his elbows to drag himself backward as he coughed the air back into his chest, ignoring the complaints of his wracked shoulders. He pulled his ankles up over where he’d previously stood.
The barrier was gone. It had vanished behind him.
“Jack, you glorious, dickhead sonuvabitch.” Daniel was on his feet a half-second later, and he took off at a run. The crumbling path followed him, but the worst of it quickly fell out of sight. The shaking faded somewhat as he distanced himself, confirming that he was out of the danger zone.
Daniel settled into an easy jog; the path was still shaking a bit, and he didn’t want to risk his footing. He started laughing as he went, eventually throwing his head back; the relief poured out of every pore of his body. That had been really, really close. “Hey, Jack!” Daniel shouted into the dark. “You seriously had me freaked out there!”
There was no answer, but Daniel didn’t expect one. He’d meet up with his friend soon enough. And then he could pummel Jack’s shoulder way too hard as punishment for hanging him out to dry too long.
There was a loud snap behind him.
Daniel glanced back, and the smile fell off his face like a sack of bricks. Cracks were rapidly spreading into the path behind him; they popped and cracked under his feet and raced past his position. A random chunk of the path dropped away, vanishing into the pit like a stone dropped into a well.
Daniel threw himself into a sprint.
The cracks were far past him now, signaling total destabilization of the pathway. Bits and pieces were coming off the edges. It wasn’t crumbling behind him bit-by-bit anymore; it was falling apart everywhere. The immovable rock was turning into swiss cheese.
Daniel ran, his left fist pumping in time, while his right tucked his mace into his chest. His feet hit the path hard, and every time they did, he felt something gave in more. The path transformed into a deathtrap under his feet, filled with craters and holes that threatened to trip him. Some sections shuddered dangerously when he put weight on them, almost costing him his balance. Ignoring the potential danger, Daniel lifted his feet high and sprinted at top speed. He might trip and fall, but if he slowed down, he was dead anyway.
Daniel turned on his magic. He had a lot more control than he did when he faced off against the monsters—without their howling interference, he was in full command of his powers. He squeezed out everything he had, flying down the path like an Olympic sprinter that refused to tire.
When he hit the tiny limit he was allowed, Daniel pushed harder, trying to forcibly give himself more speed. It felt like trying to pump the ocean through a garden hose. The problem wasn’t with the water itself, but he didn’t have any other tools. Whatever curse the transfer to Hell had placed on his magic, or his soul, was beyond his ability to influence.
And then, the darkness itself dropped away. Just as it had closed in and cut off his visibility in the beginning, it opened, and he could see into the distance.
The path had hit a long rise—stretching slightly to the left, and then back to the right, before meeting with a huge island holding a square steel structure. Jack was standing on the island’s edge, leaning forward over the path. His head snapped up when he saw Daniel emerge from the dark. “DAAAN! RUN!”
Daniel ran—but it was easier said than done. The path leading up to Jack was a trembling, pockmarked mess, actively falling apart at the seams. Fist-sized pieces of rock were raining down into the black pit below, and chunks larger than he was tall were breaking off periodically.
Daniel made it a bit closer, but the rock became too chewed up to run straight across. He hopped more than ran along the broken path, stepping from spot to spot, trying to keep to the sturdiest-looking bits.
His next hop forced him to put weight down on a piece of cracked rock—and his leg crashed through, the rock shattering like ice breaking on a frozen lake. Daniel slammed down into the path; his whole leg was stuck in the hole. Jack shouted encouragement at him as he hoisted himself back up. “Come on, man! Almost there! Go, go, go!”
Daniel hopped as soon as he got up—to a tiny island of rock, still floating in space, all the rest of it fallen. As it started to collapse, he jumped again, catching the next section with his arms and pulling himself up. Like that, he leapt between the last few grains of stone that were hovering in the void, closing the gap to Jack one bit at a time.
