Dark walls that towers over the heaven; twisted paths that seemed to have no end; it was without a doubt, a labyrinth. And standing at the entrance of said labyrinth is a lone figure carrying a plastic bag filled with snacks and drinks he had bought at the convenience store not too long ago. He was staring at the fantastical sight in front of him with a face is painted in disbelief.
“H, how,” he asked, “did I get here?”
Dylan clearly remembered walking into a lightly lit alleyway on his way back from the convenience store.
“Did I take the wrong alleyway? No way, I've been using that alleyway as a shortcut for years now, and there's no way I could make such a mistake. Besides, this labyrinth... No one could possibly overlook something so massive!”
The young man questioned whether he took a wrong turn somewhere but quickly dismissed the notion. After all, he’s been using the same path for years now so he knows the area quite well. There’s also the issue of the labyrinth. No matter how one looks at it, such a massive labyrinth could not possibly exist in his town, or any place in the world for that matter.
However, if he took the right path then how did he end up here? What's more, where have all the other people gone to? Although the sun has set, he left his residence to go to the convenience shop shortly after seven o'clock. In other words, it isn't too late in the evening for everyone to have retired for the day. Also, it's strange not to see even a single soul around, no matter how one looks at it.
“Look, look a human!"
"How rare!”
“Rare! Rare”
“Wow! It's true!”
Murmur! Murmur
As Dylan was contemplating the strangeness of the situation, he suddenly heard child-like voices behind him. The voices startle Dylan out of his trance and he turned around out of reflex. But what he saw almost gave him a heart attack.
Dylan expected to see a group of rowdy children but instead, saw shadow-like beings that resembled children!
“What, What are you all?!” He asked in a trembling voice while unconsciously stepping back.
Shadow people – that was the phase that came to Dylan’s mind when he saw the strange beings in front of him.
“What do you mean 'what'? We are we!”
“Indeed, we are we!”
“How silly, how could he not know?”
“Right, right, he’s so silly!”
Hearing his inquiry, the “children" got noisy once more, much to Dylan's dismay.
What’s with their response? Did they really expect me to know what they are? Still, no matter how I look at them, these beings are clearly not human!
Dylan took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. After what seemed to be an eternity, Dylan’s loudly beating heart finally settled down. He then examined the group in front of him.
“They really do look like children – at least judging by their size and figure. Though the lack of eyes, nose and mouth, and the fact that they're shadows gives me the creeps.”
Looking at their numbers, Dylan counted thirteen. But since they’re so close to one another, the young man wasn’t really certain if he made the right count. It’s also possible that there are more of them hiding somewhere in the white backdrop…
Wait a minute... White backdrop?
Dylan finally noticed the other irregularity in his surroundings. He was so focused on the massive labyrinth with its towering walls that he didn’t notice the environment he was in.
Indeed, besides the dark labyrinth and the shadowy figures of children, everything around him is a white canvas – nothing besides the white background could be seen. No buildings, no vehicles, nothing. Even the ground he was standing on was white.
Another thing that worth noting was the fact that he has no shadow. No, it's not only him, even the towering labyrinth did not project any shadow whatsoever. If was as if the all of the shadows in this place amalgamated into the strange beings he's currently facing.
“Just where is this place, exactly?”
Panic started sinking in again, as Dylan came to the realization that he was no longer in his town, or rather, on Earth. But knowing that nothing good with come up with panicking, Dylan pushed his fears down.
“Who are you all? No, never mind that… Where am I? What do you need of me?”
Dylan inquired again who they were, but changed his mind after recalling their previous response. Instead, he inquired as to where he was and what they desired from him.
“Where? Here? Play?”
Dylan's questions were addressed by one of the shadow people, but the response almost made him grasp his head and scream.
I should have known that I won’t get a proper response! How should I say it, they were like naïve children?
Dylan let out a sigh and said, “Forget my earlier questions; I just want to know how I can return to my world.”
“There! The labyrinth!”
“Are you telling me I that the way back is through the labyrinth?”
“Yeah! If you can find the exit, you can return!”
“Right! Right!”
“Go inside!”
Dylan turned around and stared at the dark labyrinth with towering walls, and felt intimidated.
Do I really need to enter the labyrinth?
“Don’t be afraid! It’s not dangerous! There are no monsters inside just traps!”
“Traps are clearly dangerous!” Dylan blurted out.
“Really? There are just spikes that go whoosh! And pitfalls, and rolling boulders, and –“
“Stop! Stop! I take it back. Those are not dangerous traps they’re deadly!”
“Oh…”
“Why do you sound so disappointed?!”
Dylan felt his knee go weak. Judging by what the children have said, the labyrinth is filled with deadly traps. And yet, he wasn’t ready to give up just yet.”
“Is there way I can return to my world, one that doesn’t require me to enter the labyrinth?” He asked again.
“None!”
“No other way?”
“We don’t know?”
Although already expecting the answer, Dylan could still not help but feel disappointed. He desperately wishes to return to his own world but was reluctant to enter the labyrinth after hearing that it’s filled with traps.
“Can’t you just send me back? I mean, you guys brought me here so surely you are able to return me to my world!” Dylan asked with a tinge of desperation.
“It wasn’t us that brought you here!”
“Right! Right! You just appear here out of nowhere!”
Dylan was taken aback after learning that it wasn’t them that brought him to this strange place. But if they weren't the ones who brought him there, who was?
“No one brought you! Um… um, it was a coincidence?”
As if reading his mind, one of the “children” answered what was plaguing Dylan's mind. Unfortunately, the answer didn’t bring him any comfort, it only deepens his confusion.
“Huh? What, what do you mean by coincidence?”
“Don’t know! Maybe your luck is bad?”
“Unlucky, unlucky!”
Are they perhaps telling me that it was all due to bad luck that I was here; that because of some strange coincidence, I was sent here without my consent? You got to be kidding me!
Dylan felt all his blood rushing to his head but quickly pushed down the anger and frustration that are starting to emerge. He knew that he needed to stay calm if he wants to go home.
“You said that I can go back if I enter the labyrinth and find the exit, right?” He inquired after a while.
“Yes!”
“That’s right!”
“It’s the only way!”
“Go in! Go in!”
“Fine, I’ll enter the labyrinth!” Dylan said after making his decision.
Despite his reservations, Dylan had little choice than to trust the words of these strange beings. Instead of wasting time debating, he should just enter the labyrinth and try to find the exit, if it truly exist.
Fortunately, I have food and drinks with me. If I ration them, I should be able to hold on for some time. As for the traps, I can probably avoid them if I’m careful…
“I’ll be going now!”
Leaving those words, Dylan walked towards the entrance of the labyrinth under the watchful eyes of the “children”. Before long, he was out of sight.
“He’s gone…”
“He really entered!”
“Should we watch him?”
“We should, we should!”
“Let’s follow him!”
“Hope he could make it!”
Some time later, a young man was found unconscious inside an alleyway, and was quickly brought to the nearest hospital. He had some small injuries but nothing too serious. He was, however, severely dehydrated and hungry, as if he hadn't eaten and drank anything for days.
When questioned by an investigator, his only answer was that he couldn’t remember what had happened to him. The investigator tried to make the young man talk several times only to receive the same reply again and again. Seeing that the investigation was going nowhere, the investigator eventually gave up. But as he was about to leave after a round of failed questioning, he heard the young man murmured something in a voice that was barely audible.
“There's nothing to say. You won’t believe me anyway…,” murmured Dylan.
