Taking a deep breath, I look to the pillars in front of me, spaced about two feet apart. That shouldn’t be too hard to jump. I vault to the first pillar, and as I land on it, the others begin alternating between rising and falling. Eyeing up the second pillar, I watch it rise and fall, waiting for the right time to jump. When it rises, I quickly step out and land on it.
A bead of sweat runs down my forehead, and I wipe it away to stop it stinging my eyes. Three more pillars to go.
My heel slips on the edge when I land on the third pillar, and I sway with my arms out, trying to catch my balance. The audience gasps. Swinging my arms, trying to stabilise myself, cheers erupt as I land on the fourth pillar.
The last one is moving faster, stones from beneath my feet crumble and fall to the water, the Zopdil jumps as the pillar lowers close to the surface, snapping its jaws at my feet. Panicking, I kick my feet out, using all my strength to push the beast’s body away from me.
Club tail. Great.
I tense at the snap, willing the pillar to rise again. But it doesn’t, the pillar I’m stuck on remains near the ravine. My only option is to wait for the final column to fall close enough that I can make the jump. My eyes never leave the pillar as it falls. Just as I’m about to make my jump, the Zopdil leaps between the pillars, hitting me with its spiked club tail, scratching down my arm, almost knocking me off my feet.
The last pillar is still low enough for me to make the jump, leaping across, water splashes as the Zopdil jumps again. Its jaws open, ready to snap my body in half. My fingers dig into the ridges of the pillar, my knuckles blanching at my grip, trying to gain traction to pull myself up. I feel my hands becoming sweaty, my heart thunders in my ears, and I can’t hear anything other than its drumming.
The Zopdil’s jaws snap shut at my feet. I use the beast’s body to give me momentum,digging my heels onto its closed jaw. Hoisting myself up, my arms are aching and bloody from scratching them on the stones. I scramble to my knees as the pillar rises a safe distance away.
Barely having a second to catch my breath, the pillar begins its descent again. Refusing to go near that beast another time, I lunge for the ridge.
Rolling over, I land on my back, gasping for breath, as the pounding within my ears ceases. I hear the cheers from the crowd.
Glad I could provide a good show.
After catching my breath, I scramble to my feet. Looking out at the crowd, I search for Iza and Lilah.
“What the fuck?” I shout, throwing my hands in the air. I see them giggling to each other; the sight makes my blood boil. I almost died down there, while they think it’s funny. The anger stirs in me, forcing me to the next part.
Turning around, I’m faced with a large stone wall. Tall enough that I can’t even see the top, and the sides only lead to me falling to my death. At the base is a small, narrow tunnel. I squat down, peering inside, but I can’t see a thing; it’s pitch black, no light whatsoever. I look around, trying to judge how deep the tunnel is, but I can’t see anything past the cliffside.
I glance over my shoulder at the crowd again, Iza and Lilah are still chuckling to themselves. I push forward into the restricted tunnel, which is covered in dust, making it hard to breathe. Crawling on all fours, I halt when something scuttles down the tunnel wall.
Frozen on my knees, I wait to feel if it’s still there, but there’s nothing, so I continue to crawl further. My skin turns to ice as something brushes against my arm, then again against myother arm. Unexpectedly, little feet trail over my arms and legs. Something crawls onto my neck, its tiny legs scurrying on my skin.
My yell echoes in the tunnel, piercing my ears. Up ahead, a glint of light breaks through the darkness, a nook where I can escape. I rush forward as fast as my hands and knees can manage on the rocky ground.
Scrambling for minutes that feel like hours, I finally reach the saving light at the end. The second I am out of the tunnel, I shake my arms everywhere, throwing spiders from my body, swatting them away.
I shiver, still feeling their little feet crawling on me. I hit my arms and legs until they’re sore, and the sensation numbs. Dusting myself off, my nose is almost swiped from my face when I look up, finding huge mechanical axes swinging in an alternating sequence. Sunlight glints off the steel in a threatening manner.
They’re fast, how can I get past them? I count seconds between each swing, my eyes bulge, realising every third swing, the axe’s pace slows.
I count again, double-checking to make sure I’m not about to be halved by an extremely sharp blade.
My body jitters in anticipation, counting the swings before I slide across. Standing unbalanced in front of the last axe, a rush of feet scuttles across the ground behind me. Over my shoulder, the spiders sprint from the tunnels towards me. A cold dread sinks into me, and without checking whether I had time before the last axe, I rapidly sidle along in a rushed attempt to escape the army of spiders barrelling down the path.
A sharp swipe nicks me, cutting through my skin, spinning me around and out of the line of danger. I clutch my gouged arm, and blood trickles through my fingers as I squeeze tightly to stopthe blood flow. The spiders topple off the edge, unable to follow me to safety.
This place is my very own living nightmare.
I rip off the hem of my top and wrap it around my arm, wondering what’s next. Turning around, I am alarmed by the enormous bushes blocking my path, with only one archway to enter.
I walk under the hollow into what appears to be a maze. Tall bushes stretch for miles down either side of me. I brush my hand against the leaves following the path to my right, until it leads me around a corner.
A dazzling light reflects on the bushes and down along the ground. I follow it, finding little faeries flying around with beautiful translucent wings in every colour. Some wear bright flowing dresses; others wear patched overalls. They flutter around, unaware of my presence, while I slip past them, entering further into the maze.
Taking a left, a right, and a right again—I think. I lose track of where I started, reaching a dead-end. A group of faeries hover at the corner, interrupting what they’re doing to stare at me.
Entranced by their beauty, I walk towards them, amazed by the almost crystal-like wings. One smiles at me, beckoning me closer. I smile back, but it fades as the faeries' grin widens, showing their spiked teeth, their eyes turn black, and they dart towards me.
I run as fast as I can, tripping over my own feet, being chased through the maze. Stampeding around corners, tumbling down trails, I can’t stop in time, and crash directly through a bush that’s blocking my way. Creating a Wyatt-shaped hole.
