Drag stood at the entrance of the maze, trying to see as far in as he could. The stone walls were so high and not much light was breaking through into the maze. There was an intense fight going on inside of him. Something about the maze was enticing to him and he felt like he had to explore it, even though his mind was screaming at him to run from it. He couldn’t deny that it reeked of danger and blood but if he could survive, then there might be something waiting for him in there. He started to raise his foot before setting it back down. There was some small part of him that knew he could still walk away. Pretend that he hadn’t just stumbled on this amazing and terrifying thing in front of him. His life could still be safe, and normal, and without any harm. It would be so easy for him to ignore, like he had with so many other things in the past. He could escape whatever terrible fate that might be awaiting him somewhere in the maze, along with whatever glory was pulling at him too. He took his first step into the maze. He grazed his hand against the wall, feeling the rough stone. The feeling of it clashed with his thoughts. This maze had only just appeared moments ago, and yet the walls felt so weathered and old. Even the air felt wrong, like it was stale or something. Walking forward, he could see that there actually was lighting, some scattered dimly lit torches placed sparsely along the walls, just enough to see while keeping the atmosphere creepy. He stopped at the first cross section, with three different paths to take. He had to give it props for being a decent maze, cause as far as he could tell all three paths looked exactly the same. Could really use some string or breadcrumbs right now. “You just walked into a creepy maze for no good reason. What did you really expect, Drag,” he muttered to himself. “Barely into the maze and you’re already talking to yourself?” Drag turned to see a woman leaning against the corner wall, dividing the front path and the one to his left. For being in a dirty grimy place, she looked out of place in her smart teal blouse and stormy gray dress pants. She looked like she belonged at a happy hour somewhere complaining with her co workers about what a crappy day it was. At least she had the right expression for that. She had her arms crossed and looked at him like he existed to disappoint her. He had to stop himself from apologizing right away. “Who are you?” “Elvie, but you can call me Elvie.” “I’ll try to remember that,” Drag replied, rolling his eyes. He peered down the way to the right, looking for things that weren’t there. Some sign that it was the right path. But aside from a slight gut instinct, it looked no different from the other two paths. “Eerie, isn’t it? You can look all you want but there’s no rhyme or rhythm to this place. And in case you haven’t noticed yet, you’re not going to be able to leave the way you came in either.” Drag looked behind him and saw the entrance was walled up. Of course. “Don’t you mean rhyme or reason?” “I said what I said.” “So why are you here?” “I could ask you the same thing.” “Honestly? I don’t really know. There was just this…” “Feeling,” Elvie supplied, sounding almost bored. “Yeah. It just felt like something was in here for me.” “Well, you’re not wrong about that.” Drag paused, waiting for her to continue, but she just stared back at him, still leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. He turned back to the right and started walking down the path. If the woman wasn’t going to share any more with him, then he might as well follow his gut. It was the weirdest sensation. Part of him felt like he should be afraid, that he should be more concerned, but instead he still had the feeling that something was waiting for him in here. It kept him calm and focused for now. He just had to hope it would last to the end. There was the sharp sound of heels clacking against the stone. He glanced behind him to see that Elvie was following him. Ignoring her, he came to another branch in the path, just left and right this time. “Which way now, Thesus,” Elvie asked. “It’s nice that I have such a friendly companion following me,” Drag muttered, turning to the left. “I must ask, why come in here? Most normal people would see a maze and avoid it, but you, no you had the bright idea to stroll right in. That’s a special kind of crazy. Or stupid.” Drag stuck his hand in the air to show off his middle finger, making Elvie laugh. Dragging his hand against the wall, he felt something more rough and jagged. He could see claw marks highlighted in the glow from the torch in the wall, deep and wild. It was impossible to tell how old they were, so he decided to go with ancient. Better to think that whatever beast did it was long dead. “So?” “What,” Drag asked absentmindedly, still staring at the wall. “Why did you come in?” “I don’t really know.” “The pull is what attracts people to the maze, but there has to be something to actually get you to enter.” Drag ignored her and kept going with the maze. The sooner he could figure out what had pulled him in here, the sooner he could be done with her. He walked down another passage to come to another split in the maze and decided to keep going straight. It already felt like he had been walking for a couple hours. The weight of the maze was slowly starting to build. He had never really been a huge of tight corners and spaces, and yet here he was talking in a narrow stone maze with walls stretching so high that even giants would feel tiny, not to mention a beast that may or may not be in here with him. He got to another divergence and paused. It was getting harder to feel the pull with the pressure bearing down on him. He looked down the one that looked more likely, the same as the others but he felt a little better about it, when he heard the loud roar of something angry. He turned to see Elvie still hovering nearby. “So, there’s some kind of monster in here too then?” “Hmm, judgy, aren’t we?” “Things that roar in the dark tend not to be too friendly,” Drag responded, giving Evie a pointed look. Elvie just responded with a shrug. “Don’t spill all your secrets at once now,” Drag snapped. “Well, if we’re talking about secrets, let’s talk about why you came in here.” “Why is it so important to you?” “Satisfying my natural curiosity. Tell me.” “I don’t know.” “Why did you come in here?” “I. Don’t. Know.” “What is it, Drag? Why did you come in the maze? Why would you do something so stupid?” “BECAUSE I NEEDED TO,” Drag roared, spinning to face Elvie, looking completely unbothered. He gasped for air, slowly pulling himself back together. Oddly enough, the anger faded as quick as it came. Instead, it was like something unlocked him and he understood what he had been hiding from himself. Elvie just nodded her head and rolled her hand for him to keep going. Spurred by her encouragement, he didn’t feel the need to hold back anymore and the truth just flowed out of him. “I needed to. My life has been feeling empty and pointless lately. It hasn’t been bad by any means, but it hasn’t been exciting or fulfilling. I’m just captaining a ship in a vast empty ocean. I keep going forward but there’s no point, no direction, no purpose. How am I supposed to just keep going like this, just marching forward monotonously every day? And then this maze just happened to appear. For the first time in a very long time, I finally felt something. It was small, barely even anything, but it was something. A whisper of something more. Something that could grow and finally make my life more than it is. I had to chase this, no matter where it led.” He stopped pacing and looked at Elvie to see her looking over his shoulder. Turning around, a door had appeared behind him. Something mysterious that screamed of destiny. “Be careful.” He turned to look back at Elvie. “Where does it lead?” “That’s up to you. Could lead on to more adventures and excitement or it could take you back out of the maze to where you entered, whichever you choose. But be warned, adventures are very fickle things. It could lead to a lot of happiness and rewards, but it could also lead to pain and misery. True adventures come with glory and glory requires risk. You could have it all or lose everything and end up with nothing. It isn’t something to do on a whim or chance. It’s something you have to feel inside of you and be sure of.” For once, he could see some empathy in her expression. The maze had already been hard and pushing him to his limits. He knew it might only get harder from here on out. But, he also could still feel something pulling at him, like an excited child wanting to lead him to something new, a pull that was impossible to ignore. Deep down, it wasn’t really a choice. “Thanks for the company,” Drag said with a small smile. Elvie just gave him a slight nod and walked off. Turning back to the door, he took a deep breath and turned the door knob.