The Living Maze

“So here we are." As the morning sun lazily shined through the thick clouds above, Laetitia and Kazer stood at the entrance of the mist-covered city. They stood in the remains of a dried-up river bed that has not seen water for thousands of years. The orange mist was dense, and it spun clockwise around the city as if something was keeping it contained. The unusual barrier made no sound. Laetitia stood in front of Kazer with her blade drawn and at her side. She reached her right hand into her cloak and pulled out her mask. It was a dull leather mask with a torn front. After putting it on, she looked at the ground and noticed something familiar embedded in the gravel. She went to pick it up. “Umm… Cassius?” She turned to face him with a confused look while hiding the object she found. “Have you been here before?”

“No, this is my first time being here.” Laetitia’s stare did not stop. “Look, I’m serious, when I came too for the first time, I was in those ruins back there. I showed what happened.” Along the way here, Kazer led Laetitia to the area where he was attacked by the large rat monster. The main reason he returned was because Laetitia keep asking questions about the beast that attacked him. Upon seeing the corpse of the rat, she has kept a non-believing attitude toward Kazer. “Look, I understand that you don’t believe that I killed that rat, but I promise you I have not been here.”

“…” She said nothing but turned her head while shoving the item back into her cloak. Kazer sighed as he grabbed his pistol from its hosteler. He reached into his cloak and grabbed his metal mask. “As a heads up Cassius, inside this mist lays many dangers. Cleaners, mutated beasts, and other humanoids all exist on the other side.”

“Understood.” Without looking back at Kazer, Laetitia slowly stepped into the mist. She completely vanished from sight. Kazer took a deep breath and followed. A blaring sound deafened his hearing as the mixed sounds of heavy winds and rain filled his mind. Despite what he was hearing, the mist remained motionless. There was no wind to be felt. He carefully navigated through the mist with slowly, heavy steps as visibility was near impossible. Kazer could barely see his hand in front of his face. Step-by-step, Kazer found his body getting lighter and lighter as the gas mask he was wearing was failing. After walking for a few minutes, Kazer emerged from the mist. The sound of silence greeted alongside the remains of a large city that was overtaken by nature.

Unlike the ruins on the outside, the ruins on the other side of the mist appear to be recent, as if the war was only 50 years ago. The buildings still had their color and paper-like surfaces still contained their images. Solar panels lined the rooftops of most buildings, allowing old neon signs to glow. Artificial light bathed the city in comforting light and warmth. Pillars of smoke danced in the sky as if people have been living within the walls of the mist. Large tree-like roots embedded themselves into the buildings and blocked roads. Small crimson flowers decorated the roots. A gentle wind brushed against them, causing their crimson petals to fly gently through the air. A large river parted the city in two. The water was undisturbed, as it appeared to no longer move. It gave off a concerning green appearance, with debris from the war sticking out of it. Kazer pulled out his PDA, along with a small metal and plastic bobber. He tossed the bobber in the water and waited for a few seconds. His PDA then beeped, and he removed his mask. He brought his head towards the water and took a small sip.

“How?” Kazer then pulled out a waterskin, made from organs of the Cleaners, then poured out its contents and refilled it with the water from the still river. As he was doing this, multiple strange noises came from his PDA. Kazer placed the water skin back on his tool belt and grabbed his PDA. His face stiffened as he found the reason for the noise. He tapped his PDA, and a message began playing.

“THIS IS RANGER ANNMARIE TO MARS COMMAND. DAY ONE OF THE MISSION HAS ENDED WITH A FEW HICCUPS. COMBAT ENGINEER KAZER WAS CONFIRMED KIA MOMENTS AFTER LANDING IN AN UNFORESEEN ATTACK BY LIFE ON THIS PLANET. THE OTHERS AND I HAVE AGREED TO RESUME THE MISSION DESPITE THIS LOSS. HOPEFULLY, ALL WILL GO WELL ON THIS FORGOTTEN PLANET.”

More messages appeared on his PDA. However, whenever he tried to play them, he received an earful of static. Just as he was about to give up, another message appeared. Hoping that it would play, he tapped the message.

“THIS IS RANGER ANNMARIE TO MARS COMMAND…” Her voice was weakened as if she was deprived of nutrients and sleep. “…THIS IS DAY FIVE OF SIX OF OUR MISSION. I AM STILL TRAPPED IN THE REMAINS OF PARIS. THIS MIST HAS CLAIMED SO MANY LIVES OF THOSE TO DARED TO ESCAPE IT. HOWEVER, I MAY HAVE FOUND THE CAUSE OF THIS STRANGE MIST, NEAR THE FALLEN TOWER IS A LARGE SLEEPING DRAGON-LOOKING BEAST. UNDERNEATH SAID BEAST IS A DEVICE THAT APPEARS TO BE SPEWING OUT A STRANGE VAPOR THAT IS TRAVELING UPWARDS. WHEN I TRIED TO APPROACH IT, THE BEAST GAVE A DEAFENING HOWL AND A HOARD OF MUTATED SALAMANDERS CAME OUT AND ATTACKED. WHILE I AM UNHARMED, MY HELMET HAS TAKEN CRITICAL DAMAGE. HEH, WHO KNEW THAT FIGHTING WITHOUT A GUN WOULD BE SO DIFFICULT. ALSO, LAST THING FOR MY REPORT, A GROUP OF HOSTILE TRAVELERS HAVE APPEARED IN THE MIST YESTERDAY. RECONNAISSANCE HAS BEEN DIFFICULT AS THIS GROUP HAS BEEN ACTIVELY SEARCHING FOR ME AND DESTROYING MY TRAPS. ANYWAY, THAT IS ALL FOR MY REPORT. MAY THE OTHERS FIND SUCCESS.”

“What was that?” A sudden voice came from behind.

“HUH?!” Startled, Kazer grabbed his pistol and faced the owner of said voice.

“Whoa easy, it’s me.” Laetitia raised her arms. Her mask and cloak were covered in blood. Her appearance did nothing to ease his tension. Laetitia then slowly removed her mask. Upon seeing her pale face, he lowers his gun. “I’m glad to see that you are prepared, but it hurts to see you brand your weapon towards me.” She winked at him.

“Look, after hearing the rumors you’ve told me, can you blame me for being on edge here? Especially when you appear covered in blood. Blood that appears to not be yours.” Laetitia smiled awkwardly as she walked up to Kazer.

“Enough about that. What is this?” She points to the PDA in his hands.

“It is an electrical device that allows me to send and receive information from far distances. However, it’s not really useful on a planet whose satellites were destroyed a long time ago.”

“Hmm…?” She casts a doubtful glare. “But you just received something, no?”

“Yeah, from close range.” Kazer stared down the river. “Whoever sent this message must be nearby.” He put his PDA back into his tool belt. “Anyway, I hope you are ready for your hands to be replaced.” Kazer smirked at Laetitia.

“Eh….eh….eh….” Laetitia slowly backed up. “I really don’t——LOOK OUT!!!” Laetitia dashed towards Kazer and pulled out her blade. A large black tail appeared from the ground and Laetitia lobbed it off. A suppressed scream could be heard coming from below as the ground shook. “I don’t like this sound at all…” Laetitia and Kazer slowly backed up from where the tail had appeared from. After a few moments of the ground rumbling, a large hill of dirt and concrete bulged from the ground. Kazer looked at Laetitia and she nodded. He then ran further back and aimed at the bulge and fired. A piercing screech followed, along with the appearance of an enormous rat.

Fear struck Kazer as the rat looked to be the same as one that nearly ended his life. The rat growled as blood dripped from its cheek and trail. It circled around Laetitia with a hungry look on its face. Saliva dripped from its mouth. Without warning, the rat charged at Laetitia with its mouth wide open and tried to swallow her whole. A small bullet whistled by her head and struck the beast’s tongue. It cried in pain, stopping its advance. Laetitia then ran up to the beast and swung at it. Her blade cut halfway through its arm before stopping. The large rat wailed as it smacked Laetitia with its other arm.

“Tch,” It sent Laetitia airborne. Her blade was lodged in the whining rat’s arm. She landed gracefully next to Kazer and grabbed his dull blade from his back. She once again charged at the rat. This time, she bashed it in the head with the dull sword, causing it to wallow in pain. She then ran over and pulled her blade from the rat’s arm. “What a crybaby.” Laetitia tossed Kazer the dull blade and stared at the crying rat before her. She ran up behind it and stabbed it in the back multiple times. Blood spewed out all over her. She bore a sadist look on her face as the creature screamed in pain. It stomped all over the place, trying to hit Laetitia. The creature then stomped towards the river and lost its balance and fell in. As the creature tried to stay afloat, the river became polluted with blood and bubbles. The beast then grabbed the river wall and launched itself from the water. It landed hard on its front and it struggled to get up. The creature stared at Kazer with puppy eyes as it yelped in pain. Laetitia walked up to the rat and stabbed it repeatedly. Her eyes widen as she let out a suppressed hysterical laugh. With every ounce of blood that touched her, the faster she moved her blade in and out of the beast’s flesh.

Kazer overlooked the one-sided battle with a pitying expression as Laetitia seemed to be enjoying herself. He took aim at the rat’s head and pulled the trigger. A long metal nail flew out of the barrel and penetrated the creature’s skull. It gave out one last dying scream before collapsing to the ground. Laetitia glared at Kazer, then walked over to the rat’s head and chopped it off. Thick blood oozed from its neck. As Kazer walked forward, Laetitia stared at him with a bloodthirsty look. He froze in place as Laetitia walked menacingly towards him. With every step she took, his heart began to beat faster. She licked her lip and bore a crazed smile before running at him. Scared, preemptively raised his cloak to block her attack. But to his dismay, as he did that, a large ball of fire hit his cloak. Laetitia winked at Kazer before stabbing the air beside him. A large salamander, half the size of the large rat, materialize from nowhere and took a blade to its front.

The salamander slid the blade out from its front and backed away. It then coiled itself around a large power pole and stared at Laetitia with grievous eyes. Its skin was less salamander than it was chameleon’s, however, a clear coat of liquid coated its skin. It was black with orange spots that littered its body. Chemical burn marks covered its neck. A thick gray smoke funneled out of its mouth as its neck glowed a soft orange hue. Laetitia pushed Kazer into the river and charged at the beast. Before he knew it, a large fireball was hurled to where he once was and he became submerged in the water. The water was deep and Kazer found himself unable to swim back up with only one arm.

After reaching the bottom of the river, a disturbing sight met his eyes. Millions upon millions of human bones littered the bottom of the river, alongside destroyed cars, boats, and ancient weapons that were used during the war. Among the bone in the underwater graveyard, a flashing light shined periodically through the cloudy water. He walked across the river bed and grabbed the item. It was a black box that had once belonged to a fighter jet belonging to the French. While its black box sat in the river, the owner of said box was nowhere where to be seen. Before Kazer could further think about it, something grabbed his back. He turned and found Laetitia pulling him towards the surface. Her cloak parted out from under her, causing Kazer to freeze in surprise. Laetitia noticed this and pulled him upwards to where he could see nothing. In response, Kazer mentally sighed and kicked his legs, helping Laetitia swim to the top. Once they reached the top, Laetitia threw Kazer out of the water, causing him to face plant into the bloody carcass of the salamander. He coughed up water and blood before looking around.

The salamander’s innards decorated the area with a mixed pallet of bright red organs and blue blood. Diced-up pieces of the salamander’s meat were carefully stacked in a pyramid next to a blue blood-stained blade that was stabbed into the ground. The head of the salamander rested beside Kazer with its eyes removed. A small crimson flower bloomed from its right eye socket. The petals had a vain-like pattern that traveled from the base to its tip. Kazer slowly stood up while holding the large black box in his hand. “Umm…” Kazer faced Laetitia, who was slightly embarrassed while carefully shaking off the water from her cloak. “What the hell happened up here?” Laetitia twitched as if what she was expecting did not happen. Her face blankly stared at Kazer. “…?” Kazer stared back with a puzzled face.

“…Things got messy…” There was a brief pause before she answered. Kazer raised a brow and then focused his attention on the box in his hands. He walked over to the charred area where he was once before and gently placed the box before him. He pulled at his PDA and began working with it. After Laetitia completely aired out her cloak, she quietly walked behind Kazer and moved towards the carcass of the salamander and searched for its stomach gland. She found a long, thick, pink fleshly tube draped across a ruined car that missing its wheels. She grabbed it and ripped it open with her bare hands, revealing a small boy who was barely conscious. His clothes were tattered and his skin was covered in acid burns. A large teeth-like mark was embedded in his right arm. He smiled at Laetitia and whispered in a weak voice.

“Thank…you…for…saving…me…” The boy looked at his savior with a new sense of hope. He tried to move, but Laetitia’s hand stopped him. She traced the boy’s stomach with her fingers and licked her lips. Fear replaced the boy’s hopeful attitude.

“No…” Laetitia covered the boy’s mouth and responded, “Thank you.” The boy’s eyes widened as he attempted to scream, however, his scream was never heard.

“BINGO!!!” Kazer’s voice echoed throughout the area. “Black box ex-machina is here to help guide us!” Kazer danced around the black box. Laetitia walked up to Kazer.

“You seem happy in this hell maze, Cassius.” Kazer faced a Laetitia and spoke.

“Hell yeah! I manage to fully decipher and translate the information in this black box in like ten minutes.” Kazer’s joy caused Laetitia to smile a little.

“You are such a child.”

“Also, you’ve got a lot of blood coming from your mouth. Are you okay?” His comment startles her a little. She turned away in a panic to wipe the blood from her mouth.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just have an illness that caused me to cough blood every now and then.” She turned back to Kazer and smiled. “Anyway, what information did you learn?” She sat next to Kazer. Kazer sat down and show her a message that was translated from the black box. A face turned a cherry red as she twisted the ends of her hair.

“Ahhh… that’s right. You cannot read-oof!” Laetitia punched Kazer in the stomach. He gasped for air before reading it out loud.

“This is Rafale-R220, over.”

“Resistance HQ, over.”

“I am the last Rafale-R flying over France. The enemy has successfully planted the bio-nuke at the base of the destroyed Eiffel Tower. Our mission was a failure.”

“Understood, an official retreat order has been issued as France has fallen to the enemy. Return to base ASAP-”

“Negative. I am trapped, flying in circles around the city of Paris. An orange mist has engulfed this city. As much as I would love to escape and live, I will not be doing so. I will die in the city I failed to protect. I’m sure you understand.”

“…Rodger that.”

As soon as Kazer finished reading the message, a wave of orange fazed through the building and them. Kazer felt his breath leave his body as he became nauseous. He glanced at Laetitia, who appeared to be unaffected, and fell to his knees. Laetitia ran over to him and rubbed his back, trying to comfort him.

“What was that?” Kazer asked.

“Probably that bio-nuke that was talked of in that message-”

Just before Laetitia could finish, the collective roars of animals echoed throughout the area. Following that, the ground violently shook. Laetitia smiled and gave Kazer a tight embrace.

“Your squishy body is all I need to keep me safe!” She said cheerfully as debris flew everywhere.

“Too…tight…you…baseboard—!!!!!!” Laetitia’s grip tightens. “I’m…sorry…but…it…was…cute…to… look…at…!!!!” Laetitia’s grip grew tighter.

A large tree root spouted from a building and grabbed the corpses of the rat, salamander, and a small child whose innards were completely missing. Their bodies were completely absorbed into the root and hundreds of crimson flowers bloomed. The root then obstructed an open road. Another root that was previously blocking a large road retreated into the ground, leaving nothing but concrete and dirt behind. Once the rumbling stopped, Laetitia released Kazer, who was now barely conscious due to a lack of air. As he gasped for air, Laetitia spoke.

“So this is why they called it a maze. I see.” She grabbed her weapon and walked past Kazer without looking at him.

“I’m serious…” Kazer stood back on his legs and ran up to her.

“Lies…” The two of them traveled on the east side of the river towards a large ruined church whose structure stood taller than most of the surrounding buildings. A large tree protruded from the building with its roots traveling across either side of the river. Once the roots met with solid land, they buried themselves in the ground. Small flowers bloomed on the sides of the roots. The tree emitted a soft, holy light that bathed the island in white light. Kazer stared at the tree in awe. Laetitia rolled her eyes at him and continued pushing forward. They traveled in an awkward silence as Kazer tried to apologize for his earlier comment. With every failed attempt, Kazer would think of something else to say or do, thinking that she was still mad. However, his attempts brought a secret smile to her face.

“Oh?” Kazer stopped walking in front of a large building. A mound of bodies belonging to man and beast littered the entrance. A large sign stood next to the locked steel gates. Due to it being in French, Kazer pulled out his PDA and translated it: Senie’s Bio-Rebuilder. “Here it is.” Laetitia felt a chill run down her spine.

“Umm…What is this…?” Kazer looked at Laetitia and mimicked her sadist smile.

“It’s called medical payback time.” Laetitia gulped as Kazer pulled out a metal rod that morphed into a circular saw.