I had the weirdest dream last night.
It started in a --- well, I don’t remember how it started, but the furthest back I can recall was when I was checking the rooms for my weapon. I was trying to remember where I put it, but it didn’t seem to be anywhere, not on the chairs, the cupboards, nor the long, low tables which looked like my old school lab tables. Giving up, I exited into a corridor with CounterStrike-esque decor, which was wide enough to be a room itself. On one end it narrowed down into a corridor proper which led to the mess hall; the other end was sealed off, but looking at the iron bars that blocked the hatch, I felt an irrational chill go down my spine. I quickly did a once-over, then headed in the direction of the mess hall.
As I went up the stairs, a woman came down with a worried look on her face. I grasped her arm and felt its warmth, to make sure she wasn’t a zombie/monster/alien pretending to be one of us. My in-game memory was flooding in now: We were a band of mercenaries, a ragtag crew of former soldiers fiercely guarding our corner of the labyrinth. On the other side of the hatches we guarded, monsters, demons, and other stretches of the imagination roamed the other corridors and rooms. No one knows how things got this way, but we were determined to find out.
At the woman’s bequest, I went back with her to check on the hatch. We found it still in sturdy condition,thank heavens, but when I crouched down to look under the doors, the shadow of something lurking on the other side passed across my face. Oh, great. We’re gonna have to go purging again. A bead of sweat trickled down my neck. I know that was the point in this scenario, to kill the ugly monsters, but being in 1st-person mode for real, the prospect of the task at hand filled me with unspeakable dread.
I went back to the stairs, passing Daniel on my way up, who felt my arm for the tell-tale coldness of a zombie spy. Reassured by my warmth, he continued his way, hefting a big-ass projectile weapon which took both hands to hold. At the armory, the rest of our motley crew were arming up. I squeezed through the sweaty throng to pick up a gun from the rack. “Excuse me, I think I’ll have one of those .” A female team member smirked at me, but didn’t pass comment.
As one, we moved out in the direction of the hatch, taking care not to step on the fugitives lining the narrow corridors. Survivors had sometimes managed to reach our doors, usually under hot pursuit, and of course we had to take them in. What choice did we have? We couldn’t just let them be zombie feed. Now, our band has had become a byword for sanctuary, but the more refugees we took in, the tougher it was to support everyone, as rations were getting harder to come by. Also, the entourage of women, children and old people slowed down our mission considerably.
On our way out, I saw another team going down another corridor, to the hatch furthest away from headquarters. At the council a few days before, they had complained extensively about the refugee problem, but were overruled in the decision to continue taking in more people. Disgruntled, they had decided to take off, as their leader said: “To find a way out of the labyrinth!” I caught a glimpse of their expressions as they made their way out---determined and proud, no trace of fear in their faces.
After they disappeared behind a turn, we shouldered on. First to reach the hatch, I put down my rifle and leaned against the left door, nodding at Daniel who was already in position on my right. We both took out our knives, and as the rest of the squad took up their positions around the room, Daniel counted to three….. and we unbarred the hatch.
But, instead of the rush of dozens of zombies I expected, there was no one around save a few chaemeleons (human-sized, by the way) lounging about outside. I switched to my rifle and dispatched these, including one which peeked at me curiously from the top of the door. It was only later I would regret doing that, because for one, these things were pretty harmless, and another, the sound of my gunfire had attracted the attention of something far more sinister looming in the background. “oh, shi-” Daniel hurriedly rebarred the doors, but not before I caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure, a huge torso with swinging arms and a bull-like neck, which turned towards us and started its way forward.
Now, here’s where things got really confusing and chaotic. I remember Daniel shouting “It’s the B------!” just as the---well, the closest thing to it would be a troll, I guess, with a bit of minotaur gene on its mother’s side, presumably-- crashed through the doors with a terrifying roar. I remember everyone immediately opening fire at the monstrosity, which either started wreaking havoc or fixed its sights on me, can’t tell, because I’d dropped my rifle and quickly scooped up the one which Daniel was carrying with both hands. It looked like a sort of tranquilizer bazooka, and it had a dial that had a database of all the monsters in the labyrinth. I flicked the dial at random and shot the B----with it, accidentally turning it again in a panic and shot it again, with no effect whatsoever. Enraged, the B----- fixed its eyes on me and advanced, my teammates’ bullets deflecting off him like rain. Without looking back, I ran through the corridors and up the stairs, the B---- hot on my heels.
As I was fleeing, I turned the dial frantically, looking for the right dart to neutralize my impending doom. It didn’t help that I hadn’t caught Dan’s full words, which meant I had to manually scroll through the database to find a monster whose name started with a “B”. I skidded to a halt at a T-junction, then took the right passage, away from headquarters and the refugees. I heard the B----- barreling through behind me, making a huge din as it went, the fear which constricted my chest making my legs pound faster, to get as far away as possible.
One good thing --well, the only good thing--- about this was that , instead of chugging along sluggishly, my dream legs were working properly for once, and I was streaking along, past the storerooms, a left turn down a deserted corridor, and out into a huge hall. I ran pell-mell down the breadth of it, all the while hastily flipping through the entries, hoping against hope that I’d find my salvation in one of them. It didn’t help that none of the them were alphabetically ordered, but seemed to be divided into three categories: Satiate, Leviathan and Badass. I had a vague recollection of a big, fat stationary glob with tentacles that ensnared unwary passers-by, and I remember it had an insatiable appetite, hence the name; Leviathan by definition was out of the question, so I focused on the last category., scanning the list in a terrified frenzy.
Behind me, the B----- bellowed in rage, and as I glanced back (a very very bad idea) , it came into view, a gazillion pounds of incensed demon and steaming muscle. As it came into the hall, the B---- stood up properly for the first time, filling up the open space , and I realized coming here was the worst, and probably the last decision I would make. Because inside the corridors, its movement was restricted by the enclosed space; now with nothing in its way, it threw back its haunches and started to charge. Things got worse: Now half-blinded by panic I scrolled through the database, skimming through the entries before I realized I’d been looking at the descriptions not the monsters’ names, while under me the ground shook as the B---- gained on me each second.
Finally, in a split-stroke of luck, I found it: The Brumak. Like a tank, twenty tons of mindless killing machine, etc etc, didn’t recall the details as I skipped to the bottom, where the method of killing it would be written down, and at last my nerve failed me. For, just as the Brumak caught up with me, its arm swinging up and back to deal me the finishing blow, I stared uncomprehendingly at the words on the screen, which read:
“Requires at least three people to take down. Do not attempt to defeat it alone.”
My eyes closed as the guillotine struck.
