Escape from the Maze
I’
The scene in front of him was so beautiful. Directly ahead, hay was stacked three time his height with what looked like steps that led to the top. Off to the sides were fields of pink and white flowers and grass that was as green as he had ever seen. Beyond that there was a wall he was sure he could not climb. It was made of glass that looked like crystal gemstones.
After deciding the only way to the other side was up and over, he cautiously started to climb the steps that were imbedded in the hay.
After taking a dozen steps, he reached a platform. To his surprise, he was a little out of breathe so he stopped for a minute to... Bam!
The dual-animal that grabbed him was a little shorter than he was, white as snow with long floppy ears, whiskers, a nose that twitched and a pouch in it’s belly. It was soft and strong and it was hugging him really tight.
The next thing he knew he was back on the ground where he started.
Some time later he heard a voice saying, “Time is running out.”
Startled, he jumped up and began to climb again.
This time he didn't stop on the platform but kept on racing towards the top. About halfway up there was a glass door that rotated around to the other side.
He pushed it just in time to escape another Rabb-Aroo. Then he stood there for a moment to catch his breath and then... Bam! He got grabbed again... and then he woke up back on the ground where he started to the sound of the voice that repeated, "Time is running out!"
Josh would have rested for a while, but the voice began to make him wonder if he would ever make it out of this place.
This time he was determined to keep going and not stop, so off he ran... up... up.. up all the way to the top. Once there, he could see for a long way ahead, but before he had time to admire the view, he got grabbed again and was back down on the grass... again.
Exhausted, he just laid there for a while.
He would not have gotten up again, but the voice...
Now, Josh’s uneasiness was growing when he started to wonder what would happen if he did run out of time.
He rolled over to get up and that's when he saw a door.
Figuring instead of going up and over, maybe he could just go through it.
After hearing the voice again, he ran over to the door. It wasn't locked. He took a deep breathe and pulled it open.
Lights came on to reveal a long tunnel. Walking slowly at first and then picking up the pace until he was running as fast as he could, he reached the door on the other side, flung it open, went through and stopped as it closed behind him.
He thought for a brief moment he had made it all the way to... then the pesky voice repeated again, "Time is running out" so he raced to the other side, opened the door and found himself in front of an orchard of fruit trees.
They were so beautiful and the fruit looked so good and he was getting so hungry. He reached to pick one and then thought what if they were poison?
He started to walk and the longer he walked, the better the fruit began to look.
But he was so hungry.
They may be poison!
Nay... he rationalized. No-one was trying to kill him. He picked a delicious looking... he had no idea what it was but he pulled it off the tree and began to eat. Before long, his fast pace became slower and slower.
When he woke up, he was back at the door he had come through at the end of the tunnel.
Run, don't eat, he scolded himself all the way through the fruit trees until he reached the other side.
When he stopped, he found himself standing in front of a stream of purple colored water that looked like grape juice. It was deep enough to swim across, so he decided to jumped in. However, the current was so strong it sent him a long distance away, under a high bridge and towards a branch hanging down into the water. Grabbing it, he pulled himself onto the shore.
That’s when he saw another Rabb-Aroo heading towards him. He ran as fast as he could to the bridge, climbed up the ladder and crossed to the other side. As he looked around, the Rabb-Aroo made no attempt to follow him. ‘Maybe they are afraid of heights?’ he thought.
That’s when he felt safe enough to collapsed onto the soft sand.
After a short rest, he continued on until he reached another door. Once inside he found himself in another empty room.
Again, the only thing in the room was a screen on the wall in front of him that had another picture and sign. It read:
Through the door is the home of the Squir-Coon.
They are very hungry because they can’t get to their food.
Let them out of their cages so they can enjoy a meal.
Be quick about it. Once they have their fill you need to leave.
“Hope you are good at hitting targets!”
Just as Josh stood up, a door opened and he ran quickly towards it wondering what would happen if he didn’t make it in time. “Will I be trapped here forever?”
This story will continue next week!