THE GLOB

"What was that sound?" I whisper shakily after the sound recedes. It must have been echoing for less than twelve seconds, but my horrified mind had expanded it to unending centuries.

My throat is so parched that I can hardly breathe. Dart is still growling but doesn't yap.

"I- I have no idea. I've never heard a sound like that down here before," Jadiel says, looking disturbed.

"Okay, now I'm freaked out. This underground dungeon guru is as clueless as those she is leading. We're doomed," Cordelia says in a flat, cold tone.

The tingle of animosity is still thick between her and Jadiel. I don't have the time to deal with that. My brain is scrolling through all possibilities of the source of that sound and the task of crossing the laser-field labyrinth we seem to have activated.

Owen gasps exaggeratedly. "What if-" he swallows hard. "What if that was the sound of a Minotaur or something? After all, I unknowingly activated a labyrinth."

"What's a Minotaur?" Jadiel asks.

"In Greek mythology, a Minotaur is half man, half bull that lives in a labyrinth. I've been wondering if this whole maze sequence was recently installed. Cos, I'm sure if this underground space was built during the time of the war, then the sophisticated technology to create this, did not yet exist!"

I scrunch my face at him and blink. A dry snort escapes my mouth.
"You've been reading too many fantasy stories, bro. Minotaurs don't exist. Neither do dragons, unicorns or aliens," I say these things emphatically, in a bid to convince myself that my declaration is the truth.

Owen straightens and gives a hesitant grin. "Thinking of it now, maybe it was simply the school's central power system. I bet there are electric generators and cables down here if we explore far enough. So much for Solar Solo."

"Guys, the sound came from behind us, remember?" Oscar notes, reminding us that this eerie sound we heard was as real as the power outage and the earth tremor we have just gone through.

"Let's forget the sound and focus on how we are going to get out of this place."

"We have to be extra careful. If we take the wrong route, we might be lost for hours, cycling the same spot," Jadiel supplies.

"Is that even possible? Can't we just walk the straight line to the other side,?" I say.

Jadiel looks at me and sighs. "Once we step into the arena, the currently invisible maze walls will become visible, massive barriers reaching the very top of this basement."

Oscar emits a mild cuss word and I look at him, surprised. He must be under so much tension.

"I wish to help, but I only encountered this maze once and my experience taught me to be very careful to avoid the tile that triggered it." Her voice becomes pained. "It was an endless cycle that I spent hours trying to figure out until I gave up in despair. My mom got worried sick cos that was the day after she officially divorced my dad. She thought I had been kidnapped or maybe I had made true my threat to run away. I thought I was going to die. My mom scolded me when I got back home late but I didn't mind, I was just glad to be alive."

A heavy silence descended. I feel sincere pity for Jadiel. Her life has been a jumble of harsh turns and curves and it makes sense that she would like spending her time alone and be misunderstood by many clueless people.

I bring out the prophetic book, hoping to find some clue on what will lead us out of here.

Oh, God, please... I pray within me as I flip through the pages, hoping to see a highlighted section that will provide guidance. I eventually see one. It's in a book called Isaiah, or in original terms Iwe Woli Isaiah.

"Wá sì gbọ ohun kan leyin re, pe, eyi ni ona, máa rìn nínú é."

"And ye shall hear a voice behind you saying, this is the way, walk ye in it."

Jadiel blinks and looks at me incredulously. It's obvious she doesn't believe some divine voice will come from nowhere to lead us through.

"How are we sure this book is supposedly a clue to unlocking this labyrinth?"

"We don't. If you have a better idea, we'll appreciate that," Oscar says in my defence.

I squint as I read the words again, now gazing at the labyrinth so hard, willing it to respond to the words I have just spoken. It's a reflex, as if I know exactly what will happen but I don't.

A path lights up more than the others.

My eyes go wide,

Suddenly, I see Dart go very stiff. Now, to make my luggage easier, I'd placed Dart inside the picnic basket where I took out the book to prevent him from wandering off.

Dart's glassy brown eyes are abnormally wide like he's afraid and fixed on something behind us, but strangely he doesn't react, or can't?

"Whoa!" I manage to say before my mouth zips shut.

All my companions turn and are also mummified by the sight now before us.

It is an apparition, I dare to hope. Let this be a figment of my imagination, please. This thing before us must not have touchable matter.

It's the glob. The one that has been haunting my dreams and my dream world. I can't breathe.

Cordelia's mouth is open in what I suppose is meant to be a shriek, but we all remain soundless, rooted to the spot we stand by a strange force none of us can resist.

I mean, today is supposed to be another regular school day in Lukan High. But here we are in front of an unimaginable beast which I am sure is about to happily eat us up.

I notice there are no facial orifices on this giant-no mouth, nose, eyes, whatever. However, when it begins to communicate, telepathically, of course, I can hear it.

I wonder if my frozen friends are also experiencing the same thing I was.

"Missed us?" the globby thing says in a metallic tone, the strange sound echoing in the ancient Yoruba dialect in my head.

~~~

Author's note: Hey guys! What's popping? Hope you've been good and enjoying this unusual story so far.

I want to ask a quick question. So far, do you think all the events in this story seem realistic? I want to be sure you all are not lost in the complex, twisted, fast-tracked happenings of the story.

If there's anything that seems unclear or any plot hole you notice, please point my attention to it so I can clarify.
I kind of see the full picture and how every snippet fits in but you don't.

By the way, what do you think that glob is or represents?

See ehn, all I want is for these kids to find their way out unscathed. But, we're not sure what awaits them on the surface.

Can't wait to read your insightful thoughts on this chapter. That grammar is subtly asking you to please comment. Thank you for reading this story. God bless.