The Impossible Race: Cragbridge Hall, Volume 3 (20 page)

“On second thought, I think I’d be okay being the eighth most fair in that land,” Carol corrected.

Scene after scene of twists and turns inside a huge dark maze appeared on the screen. The walls were over three stories tall. Boulders, holes, and divots were strewn along portions of the path, and stairs raised up and down to lead to a second story of maze or back to the main floor. “This is the challenge students here at Cragbridge Hall made,” Landon explained. “The Mold has been turned into the labyrinth!”

The crowd erupted in applause.

“Now to choose who will enter,” Landon said. “We only have twenty-four teams left, but only six teams are here. The remaining eighteen teams will also compete in groups of six teams. Only the top three teams of each group will move on. Each of you may have two members of your team enter the maze. Unlike the myth though, we won’t base it on who is the fairest. We will let you choose.”

“But first,” Sarah jumped in, “let’s be sure you are familiar with the rest of the myth. Those who were selected had to enter the maze and face the man-eating monster inside . . .” Her voice rose in excitement. “THE MINOTAUR!” A great beast with a muscular man’s frame and a large bull head roared on the screen. Then he brandished his horns. It would only take one good swipe with those to do serious damage.

“He is so creepy,” Abby said. “Of course a man-eating anything is creepy.”

“That’s one thing I never understood about the minotaur,” Carol said. “If it’s part man and part bull, why does it eat humans? Humans don’t eat humans, and bulls are vegetarians. It doesn’t make any sense. The ancient Greeks were so inconsistent.”

“Don’t try to ruin this,” Derick said. “It’s awesome.”

“Maybe when you put the head of one species on another it messes up their appetites,” Carol theorized. “If you changed my head, I’d be pretty upset and I’d be willing to bet that my stomach would be too.” She inflated her tummy with air and patted it twice. “That has to be it.”

“Pick the two people on your team that you think would fare best against the beast,” Sarah instructed. “As you choose, it may be helpful to know that there will be chances to gain weapons within the maze.”

The team gathered. Anjum took the lead, speaking through their sync. “I’m open to suggestions,” he said. “I love a virtual challenge, but for this, my initial leaning is for members of the Crash. You’re athletic and can control your bodies well. This seems like it could be physically demanding.”

Several of the team agreed.

“Rafa, you lead the Crash; I’ll let you pick,” Anjum said.

Abby could feel herself breathe deeper. She wasn’t even being considered—exactly how she wanted it to be. She would love to stay as far away from anything that eats people as possible—even if it’s only a virtual thing. And even if its head was technically supposed to be a vegetarian.

“If everyone else is okay with it,” Rafa said, “I’ll go.” The other members of the team almost instantly nodded. Rafa was probably the best in the school at body control. “And I’ll take Maria. She’s fast and limber. I think we should stand a shot.” Again the team agreed, though Malcolm dropped his head. He looked like he had wanted to be picked.

“Those who have been chosen, please come forward,” Sarah said, gesturing toward the stage. Rafa and Maria joined members of other teams in a small group toward the front.

Landon surveyed the cohort. “Fittingly, we have a very good-looking group.” He moved his fingers as he counted them. “And we now have twelve competitors. But something isn’t quite right. We still don’t have our Theseus.” He paused and looked over the audience. “The question is, ‘who knows the story well enough to find out how we get him?’”

Abby knew the answer, and before she realized what she was doing, she grabbed Derick’s hand and threw it in the air along with hers. “We volunteer,” she yelled.

“There it is!” Sarah called out, pointing toward the twins. “Theseus was not selected. He volunteered. We were open to taking two volunteers, and we got them both in one shot.”

Abby would have encouraged other members of her team to volunteer instead, but she had been too afraid that someone on another team knew the answer to the riddle.

“Well done, Abby,” Anjum said. “We now have four times the chances to win.”

A compliment from Anjum went a long way.

“Ask the judges if we can trade Abby for Malcolm in the maze,” Anjum said. “No offense, Abby.”

She didn’t feel complimented anymore, though she hoped the judges agreed with Anjum’s idea.

They didn’t.

During the wait, the crowd grew restless. Landon raised his hands to calm the group. “I know. I know,” he said. “Stop talking and let’s get to the challenge.”

The crowd cheered.

“We’re almost ready,” Sarah said. “You want to be like the hero of the myth—Theseus.” A pic of a heroic young man wearing only a loincloth popped onto the screen. What did the ancient Greeks have against clothes? “Each of you has your own entrance into the labyrinth, where you have a fair shot at getting to the minotaur first.” Sarah gestured toward a row of openings in the wall of the building. Each of the participants stood in front of a separate entrance. Abby and Derick took the last two. She looked over at her brother. The idea that she would have to go in alone was far from her favorite.

A loud roar came from the middle of the labyrinth, and Abby cringed.

“The walls and boulders have all been made by our submitters, carved out of plastic by the Mold,” Landon explained. “But they also did an overlay of a virtual world. That is how you will see all the myth of this challenge.” Assigned students approached those stepping into the maze and handed each of them a special visor. “You will see what is real, plus a whole lot more.”

A visor. They used visors inside the Mold. Maybe this was where Grandpa wanted her to come with the visor he gave her. Abby would have to come back later. Hopefully Grandpa didn’t want her to face a minotaur too.

“In the myth,” Sarah said, “Minos’s daughter falls in love with Theseus and smuggles in a weapon for him to use. The designers of this challenge have also smuggled in weapons for you, though they have been much more liberal with your choices. They are from various Greek myths. You’ll need to find those weapons to survive the challenge.”

Get in, find weapons, face the minotaur—that was Abby’s goal. Hopefully she could do it quickly and get out.

“But along with the extra weapons, there are also extra dangers. Those who designed this challenge also included extra monsters from Greek mythology. For each monster you conquer, you gain points for your team. But I will warn you, it may take some time and effort to figure out how to destroy them. Other members of your team can watch you on the various screens we have around the maze, or sync up and watch you on their own rings. They can help and advise you if you’d like.”

Good. Anjum could do what he did best.

“Also, in the original story,” Sarah continued, “Theseus used a ball of twine to leave a trail so he could find his way out. We’ve done this for you electronically. If you get too frustrated or are in too much pain—or are just tired of being lost—simply select the option to leave the labyrinth on your virtual screen through your rings. You will see a map of the labyrinth and how to return. Of course, the moment you do, you are removed from the competition.”

“I think that’s it,” Sarah said, glancing at Landon for confirmation. He nodded. “Let’s get to it.”

“Each monster is worth a point and whoever conquers the minotaur receives five points and takes the challenge,” Landon added. “Go!”

There was no more time for Abby to think about how much she didn’t want to do this. She plunged into the maze.

Inside the Labyrinth

Thirty feet in, Abby was surprised by the darkness. Eerie. Of course the fact that monsters could be lurking anywhere didn’t help. Every now and then there was a virtual torch, but that was all. She found herself slowing down to stay on her guard, especially while her eyes acclimated to the darkness.

“You’re doing awesome, Abby,” Carol encouraged. Abby could hear her through her earpieces. “Your crazy run into the darkness was a great start. Their cameras picked it up even with just a little light.” Suddenly Abby remembered that everyone could watch her as she moved through the challenge. Of course, she would be one of fourteen they could see, but it still made Abby feel very uncomfortable. It is one thing to step into a terrifying situation, but another to know that everyone can see you cringe and cower at every sound and rustle.

“I’ll do my best to help you find that minotaur monster thing,” Carol said.

“Thanks,” Abby said. “But where’s Anjum?”

“He’s helping Rafa,” Carol said. “And Jess is there to offer suggestions. He assigned Malcolm and Nia to help Maria. Piper is with Derick and I’m with you.” It was clear where Anjum expected success. “Don’t worry,” Carol said. “We’ll show them what a couple of seventh-grade girls are really capable of.”

“That’s kind of what I’m afraid of,” Abby admitted.

Abby rounded a corner, then, after walking a few feet, ducked into a hole in the wall and up some stairs. The darkness was thicker now, but her eyes were getting used to it. She could feel the walls and rocks as she moved and even stumbled over them. That was something harnesses in virtual worlds usually prevented.

At the top of the stairs sat a wooden chest, its metal hardware and lock made of a dull gold.

“Open it,” Carol said.

“Wait,” Abby interrupted. “I’m not sure I should just rush in. Wasn’t there a girl in Greek mythology that opened up a box and a bunch of monsters came out?” Abby could picture grotesque creature after grotesque creature streaming out of the wooden chest. “Pandora’s box, I think.” She thought she had the name right.

Another growl from the minotaur. It rumbled and rolled throughout the walls, but still sounded quite distant.

“Good sound effects on that roar,” Carol said. “I give them full points. Oh, and yes. I just checked it out on my rings. Pandora opened up a jar and released all the evils into the world.”

“So don’t open it,” Abby confirmed.

“Uh, weren’t you listening? It was a
jar
. The whole box idea was based on a mistranslation. Unless the students building this challenge didn’t do their homework, you should be fine.”

“Okay.” Abby took a deep breath, undid the latch, and creaked the chest open an inch. She extended her arms and stepped to the side, just in case something terrible, furious, and evil came rushing out. When nothing happened, she opened it a bit more. Inside she saw a virtual bow and a quiver of arrows. Symbols that Abby didn’t recognize were burned into the leather quiver. She set her rings to translation mode and looked at the words.

It was Greek for
poison arrows.

“All right! We found some weapons,” Carol said, celebrating. “Watch out Mr. Minotaur, we are coming to tan your hide, or brand your backside.” She giggled. “Did you notice how I used cow jokes there? I’m pretty sure that’s going to be a theme.”

“The question is if I can shoot this bow,” Abby said, “and actually hit anything.”

“Yeah, that is a good question,” Carol confirmed.

“Plus, the arrows are poisoned.”

“Oh, that is such a crazy mythical thing to do,” Carol said. “Careful not to touch them. That sounds like a tragic end to a Greek myth. So it would fit the whole theme, but would be terribly counterproductive.”

Abby stepped further into the labyrinth. This time at least, she wasn’t helpless.

• • •

“That one is a waste,” Derick said, looking down at a wooden barrel filled with some sort of oil. His last two finds were a spear and two metal wristbands that gave him Hercules’s super-strength. Both were cooler than a barrel of oil. “What am I even supposed to do with it?” Derick asked. “Throw it at the minotaur? Maybe it will get in his eyes and be really inconvenient. It might give me a second or two while he blinks it out.”

“The barrel is big enough that you could hide in there,” Piper said. “Or take a bath.”

“No thanks,” Derick said and slid the top of the barrel back on. He gripped his spear as he turned the corner.

Huge horns.

And they were charging at him.

The minotaur.

Derick barely had time to react, dodging to one side.

No. Not the minotaur. This creature didn’t stand on two feet like a man. It was a bull. But it was massive, its bronze hooves pounding into the ground as it charged him.

The bull turned and galloped toward him again. Derick jabbed at it with his spear, but had to jump out of the way. Derick was quick enough that the bull couldn’t gore him with its horns, but it shifted its weight and slammed its large body into him.

“Ugh,” Derick cried out as he hit the wall. In sheer reaction, he pushed back against the bull. It toppled head over heels several times before lumbering back onto its feet.

Herculean strength. Derick could get used to this.

Derick lifted his spear again and readied himself. This bull was going down. The beast turned and snorted, then opened its mouth—and out came a long burst of flame.