|14| Mazes and Cubes

    "Did you just say first?"

Naomi rolled her eyes. "Like—Duh! It can't be this easy."

Fiona couldn't believe her ears; more deadly games lay ahead. She'd seen her life flash before her eyes a million times only in the previous one. Yet, Naomi had called it easy. She probably had been in even riskier situations if she thought a spear narrowly missing her head was no big deal. Also, while Fiona had flown straight into a panic attack, running through the hallway, she'd kept her cool. Like a pro, she'd handle the situation, saving their lives over and over again.

    "Are you a battle mage?" Fiona inquired, finally sitting up.

Battle mages were sorcerers whose spellcraft were modified to help them in combat. They were (literally) the warriors of earth's supernatural world.

    "Of the great Zhao dynasty!" Naomi answered proudly, grinning from ear to ear.

Zhao? Zhao? Zhao? It didn't ring a bell. But then again, Fiona didn't know much about Chinese history, or any history in fact. She faced the other side of the pit, which was now completely closed off. They couldn't go back the way they came from, so they might as well continue into the tunnel. 

For over five minutes, they walked, stopping at the point where the route they were on branched into four smaller paths, separated by thick stone walls.

    "Which way do we go?" Fiona was quick to ask.

Shrugging, Naomi replied, "I dunno. Maybe we should split up."

    "No way. We stick together." There was not a chance in hell Fiona was going to venture into those tunnels alone.

The two decided on the third route to the left —Naomi had a good feeling about it. As they proceeded deeper into it, the path kept cornering, till Fiona lost track of the turns they'd made. This tunnel was far less lit than the hallway. Sometimes there was just one torch for several meters. At last, Fiona caught sight of a bright light, and assumed they were nearly at the end of the road. She quickened her steps, only to arrive where they'd started —at the junction.

    "Well, damn. My instincts usually never lie." Naomi casually commented.

Fiona, on the other hand, was already breathing faster. "Let's try another one."

In and out they went, but every time they returned to their starting point.

       "It's a maze." Fiona said after their 31st trial —she was counting.

Regular mazes were usually created to confuse whoever entered them, but with careful observation and calculation, one could find their way. Magical mazes, however, did not follow any logic. Unless they could break the cycle of the spell, they would be stuck here forever, until perhaps an angel swooped in to save them.

    "This isn't working." Naomi said solemnly. Their circumstance had finally darkened her mood.

    "Let's try one more time. One more time." Fiona hurried into a tunnel.

Her legs moved fast, hoping the quicker she was, the sooner she could be free. Too caught up in her anxiety, it took a while for her to notice she couldn't hear any footsteps noises. Turning, Fiona confirmed her classmate was not with her. Her heart leaped, and not in a good way.

    "Naomi?" She intended to shout, but the word came out as a whisper.

Wrapping her arms around herself, Fiona retraced her steps. Although she'd just come through it, she was certain the passage had changed. In here, it didn't matter if you were going or coming, the path was never the same. As Fiona walked on, the tunnel became darker, till all was black. The air was chilly, though that wasn't why she was shivering. At first, she had been terrified, but by now, she was straight up losing her mind.

While her body trembled, Fiona's mind raced. She imagined going on like this for days, maybe even weeks; no one would come for her, because no one could find her. With no food or water, she would eventually become weak, ultimately dying of starvation. Or if the maze had some sort of life-preservation spell in place, she would wander in these complex passages for all eternity. That was sure to her into a mad woman.

And there the answer lay.

Fiona came to understand the purpose of this game was to frustrate, frighten, and in the end, drive the players insane. She was meant to give up and accept her fate. To accept she was doomed. But what if she defied their plan? What if she pushed on? Fiona had to keep herself from going crazy.

    "Twinkle, twinkle, little star... " She sang the first song that came to her.

The instant she saw a flicker of light in the distance, she dashed towards it, bursting into a small lobby. Tears of joy stung her eyes. She had, at last, made it out of the maze. To her left, Naomi stood, waving at her. Overwhelmed by relief, Fiona flew to her, embracing her tightly.

Naomi was shocked by the sudden hug, but her expression soon morphed into a smirk. "Wait a minute... You weren't scared, were you?"

That was enough to snap Fiona out of her euphoria. She let go of Naomi. "No, I wasn't."

     "Don't worry. Mama will always be here to protect you." Naomi puckered her lips and winked.

On another occasion, Fiona would have playfully punched Naomi in the face, but she was so happy to see her, she laughed instead. Next, she studied their surroundings. In front of them was a huge gear-like wheel. After glancing at each other, they approached it.

It took both their efforts to turn the wheel; the thick steel gear was rusty. Once they succeed, the equipment noisily shifted to reveal an elevated part of the wall, which had a tiny oval engraved in it. Fiona thought the shape looked like a thumbprint. Unconsciously, she placed her finger in it. A sharp sting caused her to snatch her hand back. Observing the source of the pain, she noticed a drop of blood on her thumb. She'd somehow been pricked, even though there hadn't been any needle on the wall.

Far too quickly, her blood that stained the print disappeared, like it was being soaked in. A familiar sound, the sound of large stones grinding, broke out, startling Fiona. She relaxed, however, on realizing the wall was parting, not closing in.  A minute later, she and Naomi took in the view of the treasure trove —and it was disappointing.

When Naomi had said trove, Fiona had imagined a room filled to the brim with gold, diamonds, and rubies. This chamber, rather, was nearly empty. The space was circular, and had statues of ancient men in full armor rounding it. The only thing that seemed of importance was a small cube, because it was positioned on a pedestal in the center of the room. Fiona made to pick it up, but was stopped by Naomi.

    "Hey! Hey! Hey! Don't do that!" She yelled. " Haven't you heard? Never touch the treasure, or you might awaken a curse or something. That's like the first rule of treasure hunting."

Frowning, Fiona studied this so-called treasure. The cube did not, in the least, look valuable. Of all things, it was made of wood, and had many symbols (none of which Fiona could identify) inscribed into it. To think this was what she almost died for.

    "Don't you want to keep it as a memento?" Fiona questioned, considering that Naomi may want something to show for her trouble.

The Asian girl shook her head. "Nah. This—" Amplifying her strength with magic, she broke off a statue's nose. "—is enough for me."

Then, the statues in the trove began moving, cracking their joints as though they were stiff. The one who'd had his nose removed glared down at Naomi. At this point, it was hilarious; Fiona almost chuckled. What a typical way to end the treasure hunt, with murderous golems (clay or stone creatures animated by magic) after their heads.

    "Uh... I think we should run." Naomi suggested.

    "We should." Fiona agreed.

And off they went, racing into the passage opposite the door they'd come through. Again, Naomi acted as the protector, kicking the statues back and breaking off their heads. Golems didn't need heads to walk, though. No matter how many times she put them down, they just got back up. A ladder leading upwards came into view, and Fiona thanked the Lord for these little miracles. As fast as their legs could carry them, they climbed the ladder, narrowly escaping a golem's grip.

Pushing open a hatch, the two returned to the surface. The sun was already down and the night air was cool. Right in their front stood the girl's dormitory. Just to make sure, Fiona turned to check if the statues were following them. They weren't. She faced Naomi, who also faced her. With just one look at each other, they burst out laughing. They laughed because they'd played puzzles, gotten lost in mazes, and had been chased by angry stone men, all in one day. They laughed because, after hours of treasure hunting, they'd returned without a treasure. They laughed because after all that, they'd survived.

    "Damn! We should do this again." Naomi said, in between giggles.

Fiona snorted. "Count me out!" She'd done enough treasure hunting for a lifetime.

Momentarily, they paused, silently gazing at each other. A second later and they were laughing again. Fiona decided —she liked Naomi. She really liked Naomi.