Changing the Prophecy Chapter Eleven

 

Chapter 11 Labyrinth

A rough tongue licking his ear woke Denzel. He found himself lying on his side on the ground and breathing a foul odor. When he opened his eyes, he saw towering walls of garbage rising up around him and framing a patch of sky glowing with the early morning light of sunrise. He must have remained unconscious for a whole night.

Bisc whimpered softly and continued to lick Denzel’s ear. He still wore his backpack, for which he was grateful. He had a headache, felt a bit dizzy, and ached all over as if someone had picked him up and dropped him in this spot, which most likely was exactly what had happened. When Bisc saw Denzel’s eyes open, the great white wolf sat back on his haunches and watched Denzel attentively. Denzel raised himself up to a sitting position. His head throbbed.

The tigers were nowhere in sight, but he saw Maia, Elena, and Guhblorin sprawled on the dry, raked dirt nearby. Honeydew sat up and smiled weakly at Denzel. “We’re alive,” she said.

“And they didn’t take our things. I’m guessing that some pea-brained soldiers tossed us in here at Compost’s orders. Maybe, since there are four of us, Compost thinks he captured the Four,” Denzel speculated.

“Probably. I doubt he bothered to pay close attention. He’s sloppy. I think you might be right, that he had his soldiers handle us, and that he doesn’t realize that we’re not exactly the Four,” Honeydew replied.

“Let’s hope he thinks we’re the Four and let’s hope that Sonjay and Doshmisi are out there somewhere making trouble for him,” Denzel said. He cast his eyes over the mountainous walls of trash and junk. “Where do you think we are?”

“Bisc, go wake Maia,” Honeydew instructed the white wolf as she pointed in Maia’s direction. The sun slowly rose in the cloudless and cheerfully blue sky. Bisc proceeded to lick Maia’s cheek until Maia opened her eyes and sat up with a dazed expression. “Inside a garbage labyrinth,” Honeydew answered Denzel’s question. “It must be large and convoluted, or Compost would not have depended on it to contain us.”

“He has the most perverse idea of entertainment,” Denzel said, as he rolled his eyes.

“Seriously. Why didn’t he just imprison us like a normal villain?” Honeydew complained. “Wake them too,” Honeydew instructed Bisc as she pointed to Elena and Guhblorin.

“Do we have to?” Denzel asked.

Maia gave her brother “the look” and chided him. “Just stop. Remember how long it took us to get used to things here last year? Give Elena a chance. She’s trying.”

“And the geebaching?” Denzel asked.

“He has barely been out of his cave a few days. He’s trying too,” Maia insisted.

Denzel sighed. He hoped the geebaching wouldn’t begin hollering the minute he regained consciousness. Bisc gently licked Elena awake and then sat back on his haunches, clearly refusing to lick a geebaching. Maia patted Guhblorin on the shoulder until he opened one eye cautiously.

“Quivering fish shivers, this place stinks!” Guhblorin announced.

“Where are we?” Elena asked.

“Inside a labyrinth that appears to be made of garbage,” Honeydew stated.

The walls of the labyrinth contained every imaginable used-up broken-down worthless decomposing or cast-off piece of junk, and all of it jammed together this way and that. They could see shoes, clothing, bottles, cans, paper, machine parts, scrap metal, sticks, stones, furniture, toys, food waste, wood, bags, boxes, and unrecognizable broken-off bits of things that had lost all semblance of usefulness long ago.

“Where did this stuff come from?” Guhblorin asked incredulously.

Honeydew scrutinized their surroundings and plucked a bent and corroded metal shield from the wall next to her. She held it up for the others to see. “I think a lot of this stuff comes from Compost’s occupying army camped out at Big House City. The People of the Mountain Downs have a reputation for limited skill at organizational management,” she informed the others disdainfully.

“I suppose we have to give Compost credit for thinking of something creative to do with their garbage,” Maia said.

“Why?” Denzel grumbled.

Guhblorin pulled a dinged and dented trumpet out of the wall beside him, and in the process he dislodged a few odd objects, which tumbled down at his feet. He puffed out his cheeks and blew into the trumpet. It squawked like a goose trapped in an elevator. Guhblorin grinned. Honeydew reached for the trumpet with a stern expression and Guhblorin handed it over, crestfallen.

“Let’s try walking,” Honeydew suggested. “Maybe we can figure out how to get out.”

Denzel’s amulet began to glow red against his chest.

“Yay,” Maia exclaimed as she pointed at the amulet. “Denzel has an ingenious idea.”

“Did he get the idea from that necklace thingy?” Elena asked.

“No. He got it from his brain. That necklace is called an amulet. I have one too; so do Dosh and Sonjay. We inherited them from the previous Four and sometimes when we use our greatest talents, our amulets glow," Maia explained.

“Like when you played your flute in the caves,” Elena noted.

“Exactly. And Denzel’s glows sometimes when he invents something or figures out a scientific or engineering problem.” She turned to her brother and asked, “So what do you have going on in your head?”

“See if you can find clothing with buttons. I want to make a button-trail through the labyrinth so we can keep track of where we have been as we walk through it,” Denzel explained.

Before long, they had pulled a large assortment of jackets and shirts from the garbage walls and had torn off a sizable stack of buttons. Denzel put the buttons into a can. Then they began to walk and as they went Denzel dropped buttons on the ground so they could trace their steps. Unfortunately, they did not get far before they discovered themselves back in a passage marked by the buttons, indicating that they had already walked there.

As they looked dejectedly at the buttons that they had placed in the passage only a short time before, Elena announced, “I’m hungry.”

They had not eaten any breakfast and had, instead, spent a couple of hours collecting buttons and then wandering in the labyrinth. “I have some bread and peanut butter in my backpack,” Honeydew offered. She sat on the ground and foraged in her backpack for the food. She unwrapped a large drumstick and gave it to Bisc, who chomped off all the meat and then chewed greedily on the bone, grunting happily. The rest of them ate the bread and peanut butter. Guhblorin said that geebachings could go for several days without food if necessary and not to worry about him.

“That’s helpful,” Maia told Guhblorin, “because we don’t have much food left.”

Denzel stared up at the sky, but it yielded no clue as to which direction would take them out of the garbage labyrinth. After they ate, they wandered in the labyrinth for the rest of the day, placing the buttons to mark their path and crying out to each other in dismay whenever they turned a corner and discovered their button trail staring up at them.

“I think this labyrinth might have an enchantment on it,” Honeydew suggested finally, as the violet shadows of twilight began to creep across the ground.

Elena encouraged Denzel by telling him, “The buttons were a great idea. They could have worked. It was worth a try.”

“Yes, well, they didn’t work, did they?” Denzel couldn’t conceal his frustration after wasting an entire day wandering the labyrinth. He felt disappointed that the buttons had not proved more useful. He also worried about what they would eat and drink if they remained trapped in the labyrinth for days on end.

“The buttons might work yet,” Maia suggested hopefully.

“Not if the labyrinth has an enchantment on it,” Honeydew warned. “Do we have anything left to eat?” They combed through their backpacks and found several bruised pears, a couple slices of bread, a good-sized chunk of cheese, and some chocolate. They shared the dregs of their food, with the chocolate being the prize. Honeydew made them give some of the cheese to Bisc.

“When we run out of food for that wolf, will he eat us?” Elena asked anxiously.

“No, he won’t eat you. He’s a tame wolf,” Honeydew answered patiently, trying to keep her annoyance out of her voice. Sometimes she wondered how people could go through life with no comprehension of the nature of the many other creatures with whom they shared the land.

“We’re out of water,” Maia mourned, as she peered into her empty canteen.

“That I can do something about,” Honeydew told her.

“You can?” Maia asked.

“I just need a container, like a bucket or a pitcher or something,” Honeydew answered.

Guhblorin pulled a tin watering can out of the wall of garbage beside him and handed it to Honeydew. “Will this work?” he asked.

“I think so,” she said. She put the watering can in front of her on the ground and she aimed three fingers at it. Concentrating hard she said some unintelligible words. Water began to bubble out of the watering can. Honeydew picked it up. “Quick, bring the canteens,” she instructed. The others hurried to hold their open canteens out to her as Honeydew filled them with clean, clear water that amazingly bubbled from a rusted, dirty can. After they refilled the canteens, Honeydew set the watering can on the ground for Bisc, who drank his fill.

“Hecka cool trick,” Denzel complimented Honeydew, as he took a refreshing swig from his canteen.

“No trick,” Honeydew responded. “The water is real. I summoned it to our need.”

Dark descended quickly and they could do nothing more until the sun rose again in the morning. They had worn themselves out repeatedly walking the same passages in the labyrinth, but sleep did not come to them easily; except for Guhblorin, who curled up inside a discarded sink and snored softly. The others lay awake, each one silently pondering their predicament. They knew they would wake up hungry and they had nothing to eat, but at least they would have water.

In the morning, Guhblorin hopped up bright and early. He carefully studied the wall of garbage before him and then he pulled a box from the mess of trash, grinning broadly. When he yanked out the box, he dislodged other items surrounding it and caused a small avalanche of junk that fell into the passage with a racket that woke everyone else. As they blinked in the blazing morning sunlight, Guhblorin giggled. “Chocolate cookies for breakfast,” he said.

“That’s not funny, amigo,” Elena complained.

“Don’t start,” Denzel warned.

“Seriously,” Guhblorin insisted. He giggled again, with a giggle that verged on becoming contagious in that dangerous geebaching way, as he held out a large box of chocolate chip cookies and offered them around to the others.

“Where did you get that?” Honeydew asked in amazement.

“I found it in the wall,” Guhblorin told her.

The cookies seemed none the worse for the wear after being trapped in a wall of garbage. The closed box had protected them and they tasted delicious.

Maia gazed up into the clear blue patch of sky visible high above the labyrinth walls. Little bits of something unrecognizable began to fall down from above, like confetti. She shaded her eyes with her hand and looked more carefully, wondering what caused the confetti. Then she laughed with delight.

“What?” Denzel demanded, a bit gruffly. He felt responsible for getting them out of the labyrinth and he had no idea how to do that. He knew it was in his own head and that no one held him responsible, but he was the oldest, and a boy, and so he had expectations for himself. But here they remained, another day in the labyrinth, and he didn’t know what to try next.

“Look,” Maia said, as she pointed to her arm, on which several bright orange, red, and turquoise butterflies perched. Maia had befriended the butterflies the previous year and they had once protected the Four from discovery when they hid from Compost. As she held her hands up in the air, butterflies descended and surrounded her. They poured into the labyrinth from above. Although she couldn’t think how they could help in this situation, Maia felt cheered by their presence.

The butterflies swarmed around Maia’s head, and then they flew to Guhblorin. As the number of butterflies swelled to hundreds and thousands, they perched in the hair that covered his body. Suddenly Guhblorin screeched in alarm.

“Don’t be afraid,” Maia reassured him. “They’re my friends. They won’t harm you.” Just as these words left her lips, the butterflies completely engulfed Guhblorin, making him no longer visible, and they lifted him off the ground, into the air above the labyrinth, and flew away with him.

“What in the heck?” Maia exclaimed as Guhblorin disappeared overhead. She glanced at Denzel, who shrugged. Bisc let out a mournful cry and Honeydew stroked his chest comfortingly. Many butterflies remained nearby, flitting about, circling Maia’s head, and occasionally landing on Maia’s arms and shoulders.

Bisc cocked his head to one side, his ears erect, as he heard something. Honeydew watched him intently, and then she grinned. “Listen,” she told the others. They stood and listened. The sound of uncontrollable, side-splitting, breath-taking, gut-twisting human laughter reached them. It was the kind of laughter that only a geebaching attacking its human prey could cause. It was not a pleasant sound and they winced as it reached a wrenching crescendo and then stopped cold.

“Do you think he killed them?” Maia asked.

“No!” Elena replied emphatically. “He wouldn’t. He swore he would never do that again.” Stunned by what she had heard, she began to truly comprehend the deadly power of a geebaching.

Within minutes, the swarm of butterflies returned with Guhblorin, but they did not place him back in the labyrinth. Instead they hovered overhead with him. The travelers gazed up in wonder at the sight of a multitude of butterflies packed so tightly. All those tiny creatures working together were keeping a geebaching in the air.

“Are you OK, amigo?” Elena called to Guhblorin.

A slightly muffled voice emerged from the mass of butterflies. “I think so.”

“Did you kill them?” Denzel asked.

“No, of course not. But they’re passed out pretty good,” Guhblorin answered.

“Who are they?” Maia asked.

“Special Forces,” Guhblorin replied. “About a dozen of them are guarding the entrance to the labyrinth. From up here I can see how to get out. I’m good at mazes. I grew up inside the Amber Mountains and they’re one big maze. Follow me.”

The captives on the ground followed Guhblorin while the butterflies continued to hold him aloft. With Guhblorin’s guidance they soon arrived at the entrance to the labyrinth. “From up here I can see our tigers coming around the side of the labyrinth,” Guhblorin informed them. “They should turn up in a couple of minutes.” The butterflies gently lowered Guhblorin to the ground. They swarmed around the heads of the travelers, while Maia and Honeydew called out their thanks to them.

“Can butterflies hear?” Denzel asked.

“Not really,” Honeydew replied, “but I think they can understand gratitude if we intentionally focus on sending it to them.” Denzel sent grateful thoughts to the butterflies, in case Honeydew was right and they could sense his intent.

 The tigers had not arrived yet, but the guards had begun to regain consciousness, groaning and holding their aching sides.

“Walk along the garbage labyrinth that way. And don’t look back,” Guhblorin instructed with grim determination. “Go now. I have to do these guards again. You’ll meet up with the tigers in a few minutes. By then you can safely come back for me, OK?”

“You got it, little fella,” Denzel said. He took Elena’s wrist in his hand and led her away with the warning, “He means it. Don’t look back.”

But Elena was curious, and following orders was not her strong suit. “Are we holding hands?” she asked Denzel, who quickly released his grip on her wrist as if it had burned him to touch her. When the guards began to laugh uproariously, Elena snuck a quick glimpse behind her. She saw Guhblorin dancing a mangled version of ballet. He looked so comical that Elena could not resist snorting with laughter. Maia and Denzel both reached out at the same moment, whirled Elena around, and propelled her forward. They ran toward the approaching tigers and when they reached one another a joyful reunion ensued. Since no sounds of laughter from the guards met their ears, the travelers mounted the tigers and rode back for Guhblorin.

“I think we should drag these guys into the labyrinth,” Denzel said, as he gestured to the unconscious guards. He produced his can of buttons and created a trail into the confusing twist of garbage walls. Following the buttons, and with help from the tigers, the travelers dragged the guards inside the labyrinth. Denzel picked up the buttons as they made their way out of the labyrinth for the last time. “That should hold them for a little while,” he said.

As they emerged from the garbage labyrinth, Honeydew pointed in the direction of Big House City. “That’s the way to the Whispering Pond,” she said. “I can find it from here. The pond is surrounded by trees that will provide us with a place to hide from Compost and his army. We can sleep there tonight.” With those words, she urged her tiger forward and the others followed her lead.