Chapter Twenty

Steven kept casting flashes that mimicked footsteps into the surrounding side paths, but the monster chasing him was undeterred. The sound of tentacles scraping against the walls always seemed to come and go unpredictably, keeping Steven’s nerves taut. He no longer remembered how long he’d been stumbling and running. The pain in his wounded leg was growing steadily worse. His shirt, soaked through by sweat and earlier rain, clung unpleasantly to his body. The white orb that had followed him all along still emitted its chime, adding yet another irritant to his already frayed mind.

The tentacled monster had confronted Steven head-on several times. It seemed to avoid him intentionally, never inflicting serious harm, but left him with a few scratches and always gave him a chance to escape.

Just as Steven, exhausted, was about to stop, an orange light drifted past him. He glanced in the direction it left and saw many identical light points weaving through the labyrinth, all floating purposefully toward the same place.

“About time,” Steven muttered, dragging his injured leg as he limped after the orange lights.

Where the lights converged, a wall had become semi-transparent.

Lani’s silhouette appeared on the other side. She lifted her right hand, turning the screen of her wristband toward the maze, while her left pressed against the wall, orange light spreading from her palm.

Steven stopped before the semi-transparent wall. He glanced at Lani’s wristband, then pressed his own hand to the wall. “Alright, Alpha Thirty,” he muttered. “Thirty it is—piece of cake. Think of something happy, Steven. Something happy.”

Blue light infused the wall, immediately colliding with the orange. Both Steven and Lani were thrown back; the wall returned to its original appearance.

A cry echoed from somewhere in the maze.

Steven picked himself up and, grumbling, walked back to the wall.

The wall blurred again. Orange light wrote, "Don’t mess it up this time," across its surface.

Steven shot Lani a look through the wall and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, your sour face really helps,” he retorted, pressing his hand to the wall once more.

This time, the two colors blended, causing the wall to become indistinct.

Just as the wall was about to vanish, Lani suddenly pointed behind Steven and shouted something.

The irritating scraping noise sounded from behind him. The humanoid monster burst into Steven’s corridor, tentacles swinging from its waist, lunging at him.

Steven dashed sideways, nearly falling due to his wounded leg.

Lani started running as well. Their hands skimmed the wall, leaving a dark brown streak.

The monster crawled on all fours, rapidly closing the gap.

Steven flung his arm forward at an angle. A ball of blue light shot out, striking the wall they were about to pass.

Lani, understanding, sent a burst of orange light to the same spot.

The dark brown streaks they had dragged touched the wall, finally forming a hole.

Steven dove through the opening; the white orb that followed him crashed against the swiftly closing wall. The next moment, the tentacled monster surged forward, smashing the orb and being blocked by the now solid wall, trapped within the labyrinth.

Steven got up, wiping rain from his face. “Where have you been all this time? I’ve been through life and death a dozen times.” He glanced around. “Where’s that Asian kid? Is he really gone?”

“You’ve had enough, haven’t you, Cecil!”

Zi’ang’s shout came from the front of the old house.

“Apparently not,” Steven admitted with a hint of embarrassment.

Just then, the entire maze began to blur. Wall after wall vanished, exposing the tentacled monster beside Steven and Lani.

The monster opened its mouth, lined with sharp teeth. A piercing screech echoed across the desolate land.

“It’s fine,” Steven whispered, “It can only locate us by sound.”

The monster lowered its head. The charred flesh on its face parted, revealing two enormous eyes.

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Steven yelled at it, “The moment I say that, you pop out two eyes—trying to embarrass me, aren’t you?!”

The monster lunged, two tentacles thrusting toward Steven and Lani.

An orange burst exploded beside Steven, catapulting him out of harm’s way, grazing the tentacles, and tumbling him into the weeds. Lani swung her hand, a ribbon of orange light extending from it, wrapping around the attacking tentacle. She pulled hard, the ribbon shortening, dragging the monster forward a step.

The monster halted, instantly retracting its tentacle.

Lani, gripping the ribbon, was yanked off her feet, flying toward the monster.

It stepped forward, seized Lani with one hand, and shoved that hand toward its open mouth.

Steven, on the ground, charged at the monster brandishing a blade of light. Using his uninjured leg as a pivot, he executed a flamboyant spinning slash, aiming for the monster's knee. But the complex move threw off his aim; the blade struck only the outside of its calf, scattering the light that made up that small region.

The monster cried out, releasing Lani and dropping into a half-crouch.

“Exactly! That’s where I was aiming!” Steven said quickly. “Now we’re even.” He lifted his wounded leg, then coughed as he realized it wasn’t the same as the monster’s.

The orange ribbon shot from Lani’s hand, connecting the monster’s two tentacles, yanking them behind its back.

The tentacles tugged, bending the monster’s upper body backward.

Steven spun again, delivering a downward slash. The blue blade swelled in midair, descending from above onto the monster.

The monster caught the blade with both hands, straining forward, trying to stand.

Steven and Lani jumped to either side, each swinging their hand at the monster’s arms.

Twin blades of light formed, symmetrically slashing down at its arms, but both halted at the surface.

Steven and Lani swung again, in the opposite direction. The blades turned dark brown, severing the monster’s arms.

The huge blue blade dropped, stopping at the monster’s face.

The monster screeched. Its tentacles broke free from the ribbon and stabbed at Steven and Lani.

Steven dove forward, dodging the tentacles, and before landing, pointed at Lani’s feet.

A burst of blue light launched Lani into the air.

Lani raised both hands, swinging down toward the monster’s face.

The enormous blade turned dark brown, crashing down, cleaving the monster in two. The light composing its body scattered, vanishing into the rainy gloom.

Steven stood, looking at Lani. “It’s all thanks to me, again,” he declared confidently.

“You know you’ve got mud all over your face?” Lani responded coolly.

Kelly appeared in the open back door of the old house. Hesitantly, she lifted one leg and set it down outside.

“Look who finally figured it out!” Steven shouted, limping toward Kelly. “I haven’t forgotten you hit me. But you don’t have to apologize—just help me up.”

A thick fog billowed from the kitchen, enveloping Kelly.

“No, no…” Kelly cried, desperately batting at the fog, then looked up at Steven and Lani.

The mist bound Kelly’s limbs, yanking her back inside the house.

More dense fog spread from the back door, drifting toward Steven and Lani. They stopped, each raising a barrier in front of themselves. Yet the moment the mist touched these barriers, they flickered violently and vanished.

“This,” Steven said to Lani, “what the hell is it?” As he spoke, a swirl of fog wrapped around his wrist.