“I don’t know,” Valgrin answered Bridget a third time. “If the person or persons behind what’s going on to me is behind this, then I’m sorry. If it’s the EverNever being the EverNever, still sorry but it’s not tied to my story arc.”

  “Or the Bythies are acting up.” Bridget reiterated.

  Malcolm ran his hand through his hair, then stopped and turned around to face the rest of the team. “I brought it up as a question because I thought about it, I don’t have any clue one way or the other. Let’s drop it for now, follow the footsteps and hopefully they’ll lead us to where we want to go.”

  They continued down the corridor, Malcolm wincing as his shoulder caught on a jagged outcropping of stone. Skwilly softly glowed, his purpose to keep the trail of prints visible. Izzy held her light stone higher, and its beam swept across what appeared to be just another section of wall until the faint outline of a doorframe emerged.

  "Wait," Valgrin whispered, raising his hand.

  They clustered around it, Ylnah’s fingers tracing the nearly invisible seam. Malcolm pointed at the prints leading onward. Izzy nodded, and they pressed forward, barely glancing at the second gray door they passed minutes later.

  They passed the fourth door, and kept following the trail deeper into the dungeon. Argh! Much more of this and Shawin’s going to be without a mother. Malcolm ground his teeth, he opened his mouth then shut it. She’s Izzy’s friend, she’s lost a daughter, let her complain. The mantra repeated in his head with each step.

  The fifth gray door emerged from the shadows ahead, identical to the others. As they moved past it, Bridget's shoulders slumped. "Shawin," she whispered, her voice cracking as she reached toward the door, fingers trembling inches from its surface. "My baby could be right there." Her fingers trembled inches from the door, just as they had at doors one through four, and the group kept going.

  Malcolm held up a hand, “Looks like the tracks go through this door.” He pointed at a gray door that looked no different than the proceeding seven they had passed. “Everyone ready for me to open the door?”

  Nods of assent rippled through the group. Valgrin raised his hand for attention, “Don’t forget to check for traps.”

  “Not a skill I’ve practiced. Anyone have anything?” Malcolm asked. When nobody stepped forward, he sighed, “Guardian Sense is supposed to help me notice hidden things. Not used it like this, until now.”

  He ran his hands over the door, fingertips hovering a hair's breadth from the surface, tracing invisible patterns as if reading Braille. The seconds stretched. A drop of sweat slid down his temple. Behind him, Izzy shushed Bridget when she started to speak, and the group's collective breath caught in their throats, suspended in the silence.

  “Seems a whole lot of drama for me not finding a thing.” Malcolm grinned back to everyone, “Shall we?” He opened the door and stepped through.

  The room lit up when Malcolm entered, lights reflecting off of a stark white tiled floor. The others gaping as they followed him into the large room. Taking a few steps forward he stopped before stepping on the black stone tiles, and looked over rows of multi-colored tiles. Quick math, ten rows times eight columns…eighty different tiles, seems to be six or seven colors, and various designs. Something tickled at his memory, seems familiar, but what. “Looks like a puzzle to solve. One that I may have seen before, can’t quite remember.” The group walked over to Malcolm.

  After a few minutes of study, Valgrin spoke up. “Yeah, you’ve solved it before. But it’s missing the big clue, music. This is a room I set up in that one game where it was a series of puzzle rooms all based off the song playing in that room. This was the room for Holst’s ‘Mars, the Bringer of War’. The red tiles with the Mars symbol, also known as the male symbol, were the only safe tiles to step on and you could get to the other side using those tiles. But no m…duck now!” Valgrin hit the ground, while screaming out, “Don’t Bridget!”

  Malcolm followed Valgrin’s stare as he lay prone on the floor. Bridget had moved to the first red tile, her foot now just inches away from stepping on it. A loud click echoed in the room, then arrows buzzed over his head. Within seconds the sounds stopped.

  Valgrin bounced up, “Everyone okay?” His head swiveled to see everyone answer, then he ran to the fallen Bridget.

  Malcolm followed close behind.

  “She shouldn’t have gotten hit, based on my room. Only those not on a tile were vulnerable for wrong choices on the first row.” Valgrin explained loudly as he knelt over Bridget.

  “I’m not hit.” She looked up at Valgrin. “You yelled duck, then screamed at me, so I dropped. Made sure I didn’t land on any other color, at least. Laying here thinking I killed you all and I’m the one who earned getting hurt.” She sat up and nodded her head at the others who’d gathered round. “I know it was only seconds, but felt like an eternity, looking at my own horrible behavior and how I could’ve killed all of you.” Bridget stood, head down, “I’d understand if you told me to go wait outside. I mean I’d not want me in any group of mine. If you allow me to keep going I promise you I will do better, may slip, but I’ll try my hardest to do bette…”

  Izzy almost tackled her with a hug, “We’re not making anyone leave. All things considered you’ve held up well. And now you’ll hold up even better. Let’s get to this puzzle. The floor is yours Valgrin.”

  He stepped forward, “Bridget, you may have saved the group as well. Going off my room when I ran the game back home, she took the right step. Obviously, not the right step here. No music, so no clue there. The symbols have changed, at least some of them. Mercury,” Valgrin pointed.

  “The horned man thingy?” Malcolm asked.

  “Yes, then Venus which is the traditional female icon, the weird four is Jupiter, Saturn the weird question mark with a plus sign on it, and so on with the planetary symbols. However, that circle of circles that looks like a necklace of beads, that outline of a simple flower, those straight lines and the right angles, none of them are symbols I used.”

  “In other words, your knowledge is only going to get us so far. Someone changed it either for EverNever or specifically to trip us up.” Malcolm paced as he fumed.

  “Yeah, don’t think we can rely on insider knowledge at this point.” Izzy pointed out.

  The group gathered and stared out over the colored tiles, each lost in trying to solve the riddle.

  “I can get to the other side stepping only on the Jupiter ones, the weird fours.” Ylnah traced the route in the air.

  “Yeah, at least one route. Don’t know why Jupiter, other than it’s not Mars.” Valgrin commented.

  “Did you have Pluto in yours?” Malcolm asked.

  “No, not one of Holt’s pieces. Earth and Pluto, if I recall correctly, weren’t part of the Planets.” Valgrin answered.

  “Anything else we should know?” Izzy looked around and quickly added, “Some insider knowledge may be helpful.”

  Valgrin stared up at the ceiling for a moment, seeming to collect his thoughts. “Things that could help. Hmmm, okay failed paths may not show up as failed until fourth of fifth tile, then you trigger something. Some of those paths will trigger earlier if a second person joins on the tiles. Some of the triggers do what we just experienced and attack the starting area. The further away you get from starting area and hit the trigger, the more powerful the starting area is attacked. The idea being its risky to follow someone before they are through, but risky to wait until they are done.”

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “You know you can be kind of a bastard.” Bridget commented, with a slight smile.

  “More than you know,” Malcolm quipped.

  Valgrin stuck his tongue out at Malcolm, “Are there any other paths or is the Jupiter path it?”

  "What about jumping between tiles?" Izzy asked, studying the pattern intently. "Is that allowed?"

  Valgrin nodded thoughtfully. "My original version required a jump on the ninth row, followed by a diagonal move to reach the final row."

  Izzy's eyes lit up. "Then I think the blue tiles might work," she said, mimicking Ylnah’s tracing an invisible path with her finger. "Though I'm concerned about those symbols we don't recognize."

  Malcolm walked over to the first blue tile. “So, we need to make a choice between blue and Saturn? I vote blue.” He turned, an eyebrow raised, back to look at the group.

  “Blue beats standing around here doing nothing,” Valgrin answered. “You taking the lead?”

  “Can if nobody else wants to.” Malcolm waited a few seconds then rubbed his hands together, “Ready. Set. Go.”

  Valgrin tensed when Malcolm took his first step onto the tile. He counted to ten before commenting, “That step seems okay.”

  Skwilly turned his head and asked,“A Captain Obvious moment?”

  Shaking his head Valgrin replied, “Nah, more a it’s okay to breath again moment.”

  Ylnah took a half-step toward Malcolm. "Should someone be ready to follow him?"

  "Let him get a few tiles ahead first," Valgrin said, his voice low. "Though I'm open to other ideas."

  The group huddled, whispering strategies, when Malcolm's voice cut through their deliberation.

  "Don't got time for this." He moved to the first blue tile with deliberate precision. Then another. He paused, shoulders tense. "Not blown up yet. Anything happening back there?"

  "Just keep going," Valgrin said, swallowing hard.

  The group fanned out in a line, tracking Malcolm's progress. With each step, he'd wait—three seconds, four, five—before committing to the next tile. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. The only sound was the soft tap of Malcolm's boot against each new tile, like the ticking of a clock counting down to something none of them wanted to name.

  With each step, he'd freeze, count three heartbeats, then carefully shift his weight forward. Five tiles in, the sound of his boot touching down seemed to echo just a fraction longer than before. Six tiles in, he heard the twang of Izzy’s bowstring. “Something the matter, just heard the bow.”

  “Sorry,” Izzy replied, “case of the nerves watching you.”

  He nodded and stepped on the seventh tile, a soft hum began to build from somewhere beneath the floor.

  Malcolm paused, head tilted. "Anyone else hear that?"

  Before anyone could answer, a flash of white light swept across the room

  "I can't…" someone started.

  "Skwilly, can you see?" Valgrin's voice, tight with control.

  "Just…dots," the priggy replied, unusually subdued.

  "Malcolm?" Izzy called. "You still there?"

  "Still here." His voice came steady but thin. "Not moving until my vision clears."

  A soft scratching sound whispered from somewhere in the darkness. Then silence.

  It came again—closer.

  "What was that?" Ylnah whispered.

  The scratching multiplied, sounding like fingernails on stone, coming from different directions.

  "Not good," Valgrin murmured.

  Another flash caught the group off guard. The scratching grew more insistent.

  “Blasted flash,” Valgrin growled. “I was just beginning to see shadows, now I’m bli…”

  Bridget's sharp intake of breath stopped him mid-sentence. Her scream startled everyone.

  "Something…" she cried out, voice taut as a bowstring. "Something slithered across my foot."

  "Slithered?" Izzy asked, her own voice dropping lower.

  Bridget swallowed. "It's gone now. But it felt…different to what would make the noises we’ve been hearing."

  “Were hearing,” Valgrin broke in, “Haven’t heard any since you screamed. Anyone else?”

  “It sounded like they were moving away after her scream.” Ylnah offered, “Then hearing about slithering things, I lost focus on the sounds and didn’t hear where they went.”

  “They moved farther away from me, then went silent.” Malcolm offered. Just what we need, slithery monsters on top of the other ones.

  “I suggest we stand here, eyes closed, for a few minutes.” Valgrin’s feet scuffed the floor in front of him, “Unless one of you can see more than purplish shadows of things not there. Don’t know if there’s another flash coming or not.”

  Izzy’s voice sounded next, “Feels like everything is crawling over me. Though I know it isn’t.”

  "Guys?" Malcolm's voice was quiet, but he projected enough to be heard. "Don't panic, but something changed." He crouched down, fingers hovering just above the tile beneath him. "The colors are gone. All of them."

  “That’s not good.” Valgrin mumbled. “You sure it's not just your eyes?”

  Malcolm shook his head, then caught himself. Idiot, they can’t see. “Nope, I can see the green of Izzy's shirt just fine. The blue of Bridget's pack. But the tiles…" He took a tentative half-step backward and froze when something beneath him made a faint clicking sound.

  Valgrin took a tentative step toward the first tile, then stopped. "We could guide you back. Step by exact step."

  "If I move…" Malcolm started, then swallowed. "What if the path has changed too?"

  The air in the room seemed to thicken. No one spoke for several heartbeats.

  Malcolm stood perfectly still, his chest barely rising with each breath. A bead of sweat traced a path down his temple. "I think I can retrace my steps," he said finally, each word measured. "But I'll need your help to be certain."

  Valgrin edged forward, blinking hard. "Give us a few minutes to get our sight back properly."

  The scratching sounds returned, distant but unmistakable. A soft click followed, like a tiny mechanism engaging.

  Malcolm's gaze darted to the shadows at the far end of the room. "Not sure we have a few minutes."

  Valgrin took a tentative step toward the first tile, testing its solidity. "I can see somewhat now. Not at distance, but," He squinted at the floor. "If we wait another five minutes…"

  A tile near Malcolm's position shifted slightly, settling with a whisper of stone against stone.

  "I can see and can help," Ylnah offered, her voice tight.

  The others murmured agreement, their eyes still blinking away afterimages, hands reaching out instinctively toward Malcolm as if they could pull him back through sheer will.

  Malcolm breathed a sigh of relief, when he completed the first step back. “One down.” He called out to the group. The anxiety of all this is going to kill us before any monster gets us. “Next step to the right?”

  “No!” Ylnah jumped up and down, “You stepped right going up, so left coming back.”

  “Good catch, was thinking steps not where I stepped to.”

  Malcolm continued, checking with the group before each step. He felt the sweat travelling down his back. He reminded himself to breath. The scratching sounds grew louder, yet there wasn’t anything to see. Two more steps. The tile beneath him settled with a soft grind. Malcolm froze, counting five heartbeats before daring to move again. He paused as he came to the tile he started on. He studied the floor, searching for any hints to what might happen. Finding none, he closed his eyes. " Here goes," he mumbled to the group.

  Malcolm's foot hit the final step and unleashed hell. A wall of sound exploded around them, rattling the floor tiles and vibrating through his bones. The bass pounded like a jackhammer against his chest, liquefying his organs. Through watering eyes, he glimpsed his companions already collapsed, hands clamped desperately over ears. When the cymbals crashed his knees buckled. He dropped, palms slapping against his ears as he writhed forward, desperate to escape the tiles. Something gripped his arm—blue fingers dug into his flesh—dragging him several feet before they both collapsed. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the assault of sound vanished, leaving only the hollow ring of silence.

  Valgrin's voice boomed too loudly in the sudden quiet. "Was that you, Ylnah?"

  She shook her head, ears still cupped in her palms. "Not my doing."

  "Weaponized music," Valgrin mumbled, rubbing his temples. "Clever trap."

  Izzy stared at the last tile. "Why'd it stop though? Because Malcolm stepped off?"

  Malcolm's body still vibrated with phantom sound waves. "Don't much care about the why," he said through chattering teeth. "Just grateful it's over." He looked across the uncrossed expanse of tiles. "But we're right back where we started. How the hell do we get across now?"