Read Online The Disciple and Other Stories of the Paranormal by Jemma Chase - Free Book Online Page B

Carla. Then he
helped Oriana. Carla didn’t seem to care. Probably because she was
freaked out. Apparently when she was freaked out Carla got
angry.
    We walked up the aisle. As we reached the
door Susan pointed. “Look.” There was a folder bin attached to the
wall with “MAPS” emblazoned on it. Susan took one.
    “ We have a map,” I pointed
out.
    She opened it. “Oooh, this is a different
map. This one is for the Maze specifically.”
    The other women grabbed copies as well.
    Thusly armed, I opened the door and we all
stepped through.
     

     
    “ More doors,” Carla said
flatly. “Goody.”
    “ Not really doors,” Johnny
said. “More like openings.”
    I agreed with him – there were four openings
in front of us, but none had an actual door. The two on either side
turned immediately right or left, depending. The two in the middle
went farther in, then one turned right and the other left.
    The room was large; it felt larger than the
Conservatory. The maze walls were high, close to the ceiling. There
was no way to get over a wall. The walls looked solid; there was
probably no way to break through one, either.
    “ Maze starting points.”
Susan was reading the new map, old map tucked back into her bosom.
“This is set up like a real English hedge maze. The map has it all
laid out. This should be fun, actually.”
    I refrained from mentioning what could hide
in a giant hedge.
    “ Fun is going to a lovely
day spa,” Oriana said. “Not this.”
    “ Maybe there will be a spa
at the end,” Susan said encouragingly.
    “ Maybe there will be more
maze crap at the end,” Carla said. She heaved a sigh. “But, as far
as I can tell, we’re stuck going through this.”
    “ I’m hungry,” Oriana said
quietly. “And thirsty.”
    The rest of us, now that it was mentioned,
shared that we could use some food and water, too. But there wasn’t
any.
    “ I say again, some host,”
Carla snapped. “This is the prettiest looking dump I’ve ever had
the displeasure of visiting.”
    Johnny shrugged. “Let’s look for the way
out, and then maybe there will be a sumptuous feast and wine
aplenty when we exit.”
    Oriana managed a little smile. Carla
snorted. Johnny shook his head, but offered an arm to each of them.
“Ladies, shall we?”
    “ Michael?” Oriana asked
timidly.
    He rolled his eyes. “Fine, we’ll travel
along with them for a while.” Oriana grabbed Johnny’s arm quickly.
After her trip through the dark without Michael holding onto her, I
couldn’t blame her.
    “ We’ll go it alone,” I
said quickly.
    “ You’re sure?” Johnny
sounded disappointed.
    “ Positive.” I could have
stood spending time with Johnny and Oriana. But Carla was close to
dancing on my last nerve and it had been a long time since I’d
wanted to hit someone as much as I wanted to punch Michael in the
face. And there was no way any employee would allow themselves to
be separated from their companion. Not here.
    The others grumbled for a bit, then Carla,
who was looking at her map, chose a direction and they headed off.
We could hear them bickering for quite a while.
    “ You don’t work with
Michael, do you?” Susan, who was still studying our map,
asked.
    “ No.
Thankfully.”
    “ Yeah, I don’t like him
much, either. You know, Matt, this maze doesn’t seem to actually
have an end. I think it’s more like a…trap.”
    “ Oh, if you work at it,
you’ll find your way out.” The voice came from behind us. Even
though I recognized it, I jumped just like Susan did.
    We turned to see the Guide standing there.
“Is it possible to get some water or a snack?” Susan asked. “We’ve
been doing this so-called game for hours.”
    “ It hasn’t been as long as
it seems to you,” the Guide said. “Time has a way of…getting
tangled up in mazes.”
    “ I’ll bet.” Susan sighed.
“Water? Any chance of that?”
    The Guide frowned. “I’m sorry, but there is
no food or beverage allowed inside the maze.”
    “