Day 308 - Maze Runner

 Maze Runner

Matthew Ryan Fischer

 

Alarm bells rang.

Jason ran as fast as he could down the back alleys of Rome.

In and out, he thought. Here for a minute maybe two and then no one will ever know how to find me.

Left, Right, Left, Curve, Wall, Wall, Curve, Wall… Dead-end.

Dead-end? There was supposed to be a door here. I swear, if they sold me a bad map, they’ll be hell to pay.

What the hell? What’s changed? Where did the door go? Is the map wrong, or…?

I’ve got to get out.

Wall, Curve, Wall… T-Stop? Left or Right? That wasn’t like this before.

Someone is fucking with me.

How do I get out? Stop. Think. Breathe.

Get your bearings. Back track.  Try again.

Right, Right, Right, Curve, Door to the Right.

Locked.

“Having trouble?”

Jason turned. Great, he thought to himself. One of them.

American. In a suit, looking like a cliché Frank Sinatra wannabe. Maybe he had read too many comics. Jason preferred his spellcasters to look a little more punk goth and a little less Constantine.

Jason had been warned. But foolishly thought he could get in and out before anyone had time to notice. He should have asked about a contingency. Rookie mistake. It would cost him. How much he wasn’t sure. Maybe he could talk his way out of this. Or at least avoid a fight. He didn’t have much that would stand up to magick.

“I didn’t think I was being that obvious.”

“You weren’t. But I noticed anyway. You make the map yourself or did someone sell it to you?”

“Does it matter?”

“Maybe. Gives me an idea of what I’m dealing with. A man, an organization, someone trying to make money versus someone trying to create chaos.”

“I’m not looking for a fight.”

Out stepped another man. Asian.

“Great. You can show us the map then.”

“Who’s he?” Jason asked the first man.

“Who do you think erased your exit?”

“So, you two are the like magic police or something?”

“Something.”

“You sure I can’t just say I’m sorry and we all go our merry way?”

“Sadly no. We don’t care what you steal or if you do or don’t make your getaway, but we really do insist on learning your methodology.”

The Asian whispered something to the American. Jason thought about running. If they could rewrite the streets then he wouldn’t get far. He couldn’t fight two of them either. They didn’t seem like they wanted to fight though. That was good.

The sirens began to get louder. He was supposed to be gone by now. Running from police wasn’t part of the plan.

“Do you have any paper? Or a pen?” asked the Asian.

“What? I have the map. Is that what you mean?”

The Asian thought about the answer then whispered something else to the American.

The sirens were getting closer and closer.

“Hey guys, can we move it along a little? You hear that? Police.”

“They didn’t tell you what to do if the exit didn’t work?”

Jason was frustrated. But they had clearly figured out that he didn’t plan this all on his own. Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe they would leave him alone.

“No. No. I… I thought it would work. I didn’t think about a backup.”

“Keep the map. I don’t care. It’s worthless now anyway. Just give me a name.”

“And you let me leave?”

“Yeah. I don’t care about you. You don’t know what you’re doing anyway.”

Rude, thought Jason. “Felix.”

“New York or L.A.?”

“Brooklyn.”

They walked to the locked door. But it wasn’t locked for them.

“What about me?!”

“You’re free to go. Have fun with the cops.”

They shut the door behind them. Jason tried the door, but of course it was locked again.

Assholes.

Jason ran. The police were on their way.