The Labyrinth of Mystery

By Anivartin Tirumalai

 Jake Alvardo, 16-year-old orphan with blonde and messy hair woke up, unaware of the adventure that awaited him. “Man, I wish I had something to do “He complained while he was sipping his horrible excuse of a coffee he made.Suddenly, his old phone, given to him by his father before he disappeared, rung. Startled by the sudden sound, he jerked. Jake clumsily walked towards the source of the noise, dashing into his torn-up furniture he found at a local dumpster.He picked up the phone and a deep and assertive voice says, “Hello Jake….” Jake was bamboozled as many questions skipped around through his mind. Who is this guy? How does he know me? What business does he have with me? He proceeded to ask, “Who the hell are you?” The mysterious voice chuckles and said, “You don’t have to worry about that. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m calling you. You see, Jake somewhere in New Jersey, is a treasure many have sought after before but none succeeded in finding it. Finding that treasure could change your life. You wouldn’t have to live in that pathetic slum you call your home anymore.” “Ok, but why do you care and how do you know where I live?” The shady voice hung up, ignoring the questions he was presented with.Jake was conflicted about whether he should try his luck or not and whether it is worth it or not. He stepped out to grab some fresh air while he made a decision. After he aimlessly walked around and pondered, his flow of thought was disrupted by a vibrant sign that said, ‘JUMPING COMPETITION’ The enrollment cost was only 50 cents. He was hesitant at first but once he saw the prize of 500 dollars, he changed his mind immediately. He searched his pockets for some spare change and managed to scramble together 50 cents. 

He walked down a nearby alley where the competition was supposedly taking place. He walked further into the alley and started to see human figures. He handed over the money and the manager showed him where to go. There he saw big, buff and strong people. They all burst into laughter at the sight of a puny and skinny little kid. The judges then told the first man to proceed. The guy took a runup and managed to jump 10 inches off the ground! After him, no one came close to 10 inches. It was now Jakes turn. He ran and jumped as high as he could. The judges were flabbergasted and dumbfounded as Jake; a skinny little kid was able to jump 16 inches off the ground! The people who were laughing at him before now had their jaws on the floor. He went home with 500 dollars in cash in his pocket.

 Jake, now having won 500 bucks, finally answered his own question, I’m gonna take the risk. I mean, what do I have to lose? “Now comes the hardest step, getting help.” sighs Jake. Luckily, Jake had a few connections. Mainly his old pal, John Blue, a tall and relatively thin guy with rough and long hair nearing his 30s. He had a reputation for being a petty thief. John also knew some people who could be helpful. Like Samantha, a brave and confident woman. By day she worked a normal 9 to 5 job but by night she was a drug dealer. Jake called them both up and asked them to meet at his house the next day. At first, they were reluctant but Jake managed to convince them to come over.

 “Why’d you call us here in the first place?” Asks Samantha. Jake replies, “Yesterday, I got a mysterious call from a strange- “

“It’s obviously a scam, you moron!” John shouts, interrupting Jake. 

“Would you please just let me finish?” Jake asks in a clearly annoyed tone. 

“Ok Jakey-Wakey” John says, clearly trying to annoy Jake. 

“As I was saying, I got a call from a stranger telling me about some treasure in New Jersey. I thought we could maybe try and find it.” 

“And what do we get?” Samantha immediately asks. 

“20% of the profit, I guess.” Jake answers. 

“I’m sold.”  John informs them. 

“Ok, so what’s the plan?” Samantha asks. 

“I don’t know” Jake replies. 

Samantha was clearly enraged so the three of them decide to form a plan overnight. They get supplies like guns, food, water and other necessities.

The three of them went to the nearest airport. “Passengers of flight 777 please report to station 12 in one minute.” The voice attendant said. 

John, Jake and Samantha rushed over to station 12. By their luck, they were at station 2. They sprinted as fast they can, bumping into everyone and everything. The three of them barely managed to reach their flight in time. They got into their seats. 

Jake cries, “A middle seat, Aw come on!” To make matters worse, Jake’s seat was right next to a mother and her baby. Jake, visibly annoyed, just put on his blindfold and earmuffs, hoping it would drain out the sound and he could fall asleep in peace. However, that was far from reality. The baby constantly cried, overloading Jake’s ears. 

“I might be losing a braincell every minute of this ride.” Jake complains. 

After about an hour the baby finally mellowed down but immediately started crying for food. After a traumatizing experience like that, Jake thought he’d seen it all, but then the baby puked all over the place, causing Jake to edge further from the baby. At last, Jake managed to fall asleep. 

A sudden, “You have reached your destination.” woke Jake up. While they walked to leave the plane, Jake found Samantha and John walking out of the first-class section. This threw him in a fit of rage. 

“You guys left me to suffer with a baby and a middle seat in economy class while you two are being pampered in first-class?! Oh, you guys are going to get it!” He shouted. 

Samantha nervously chuckles and said, “You can have first-class when we come back.” 

This was enough to calm Jake down. He then searched his pockets for gum and finds a jade amulet in his pocket. “Huh, how did that get there?” He asks. None of them reply. So, he decided to tell them later.

The three of them found a taxi and went to their hotel, Scarlet Stays. They entered the room and they were astonished by how large it was. They explored the room and then fell asleep gradually as they were tired. The next day, they woke up and they tried searching for the treasure but it was in vain. 

“Jake, I told you, it’s a scam, you moron” John exclaimed. 

“Chill out, we’ll find it eventually.” Jake said even though he was also starting to lose it. “Tell you what, let’s go back to the amazing hotel room, get some rest and come back with a calm mind.”

Samantha replied, pointing at a taco truck, “Fine by me, but first, food.”  

As they relished the tacos, Jake realized, “Guys, the jade amulet is the answer! We just have to insert it somewhere, I think” 

John asked, “But where?” 

“We’ll just have to find out.” Samantha replied. 

They paid the bill and they walked home to the hotel. But Jake found a manhole that was a bit different from the rest. Jake ignored it and they eventually reached the hotel. Jake tried to get some rest but that manhole was constantly on his mind. 

“What’s wrong Jake?” John asked 

“Nothing. “He replied.

 “Nonsense, I’m your friend, I know when somethings up.” John said

 “It’s that manhole.” Jake admitted

 “What manhole?” John inquired. Jake realizes he didn’t tell them about the manhole. “Forget about it. It’s nothing” Jake answered. John then fell asleep. Jake, seeing John and Samantha asleep, got up and paid a visit back to the manhole. Jake saw an indentation in the center of the manhole. He put the jade amulet in it and Volia! The manhole opened up to a hole that seemed to have no end to it. He took back the jade amulet and rushed back to the hotel room. He tried to sleep but he couldn’t get his mind off the manhole. He thought of waking them up but decided he could wait till morning. “Guys, guys you won’t believe what I found! Not in a million years!” “Did you find out how to use your brain for once?” Samantha jokingly said. “Really? But what I actually found is even better! I found a secret area that must lead to the treasure.” Jake responds. “Show us then” John said. Jake took them to the manhole and inserted the jade amulet once again. Just like last time, it opened up. “Woah” John said in utter disbelief. While Samantha was too stunned to say anything. “So then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go get our stuff” asked Jake. The trio ran back to the hotel and got stuff like guns, food and water. After getting their stuff, they went back to the manhole, this time fully geared up. Jake inserted the amulet and the manhole opened up. “Well, time to jump in.” said Jake. He jumped into the manhole, screaming. Next went Samantha and lastly, John. The three of them got stuck in vines but these weren’t any normal vines, they ate humans. They tried to squirm out of its grip but it only got tighter. Samantha tried staying still. It helped but she still couldn’t get out. Jake saw Samantha and had an idea. He stood still which loosened the vines. He then unsheathed his sword and cut the vines thus, releasing a weird oozy substance from inside and also allowing them to escape its clutches. They walked down a creepy tunnel with lots of algae and moss on the sides. The tunnel split into multiple paths. Some paths had writing near them saying, ‘DEAD END’ so, obviously, they went straight until they found a path that wasn’t a dead end. They continued walking through the tunnel for a few minutes and found writings on the wall. Some depicted pictures of monsters, while others marked the number of days of their stay and then there were some pretty disturbing images. They eventually found a fork in the path. “I’ll go straight.” Jake said. “Then I’ll go right” Samantha declared. “Guess I’m going left then” John said. Jake proceeded to go forward. He immediately got alerted by a weird noise that definitely wasn’t John or Samantha. Through the fog he saw a small creature; a bunch of them, in fact. He pulled out a revolver and shot as much of them as he could. One of them got close and he saw how they look like. They had dark green skin and one eye. They uncannily looked like Mike Wazowski. There seemed to be hundreds of them so he pulled the trigger but he was out of ammo. He pulled out the sword and sliced them but they just kept coming. Just up ahead, he saw a door and an idea formulated in his head. He ran towards the door slicing all the goblin-like creatures in his way. He then opened the door and slammed it. Samantha, who’d went right, was walking through her tunnel when she heard a moan. She pulled out two 357 magnums and fired at the source of the moan. She walked further only to see a pair of bloody legs walking towards her. She punched it a few times and it stopped walking. By now she’d realized that they were zombies. A few more came at her. Luckily, zombies were very slow so she aimed at their feet thus immobilizing them. The sound of gunshots brought more of the undead towards her. She used the same tactic until she ran out of bullets. So, she took a hammer and struck them multiple times. She took a nail, threw it up into the air, and smashed it with her hammer, pinning a few of them to the wall. She sees a door and walks through it where she sees a mysterious figure and so, she reloads her gun. John walks through his tunnel as encounters nothing but a pile of bone every now and then. There was nothing else in this tunnel. Not a single cockroach. Not a single frog. Not a single mosquito. Not a single lifeform. He then sees a door and rushes over to open it. There he sees two silhouettes one with its hands up in the air and the other holding a gun at the other. “Jake, Samantha?” John askes, seeing the shape of their bodies. They both ask “John?” in unison. “So, any luck guys?” Samantha asks, ignoring the fact that she almost killed Jake. “No.” Jake responds. “Nada” John answers. “Did you guys encounter anything out of the ordinary” John continues. “Let’s see, I saw a bunch of bloodthirsty goblins that uncannily looked like Mike Wazowski.” Jake replies. “Well, I saw a mob of undead zombies.” “I didn’t encounter anything.” John says. Just as John finishes his sentence, a bunch of loud thuds occurred. They felt like mini earthquakes and then a giant troll enters the room with the treasure chest in his hands. He places the treasure chest on a ledge behind him and swings at Jake with his mace. Jake avoids the blow. It could’ve torn Jake in half. Jake reloads his revolver and fires an entire load but it does nothing to the troll. Jake pulls out a rifle and says, “Time for the big guns!” He then proceeds to fire constantly at its foot. This time it actually hurts the troll but not vey much. John throws a throwing knife at its chest at it lodges deep into its chest. “Aim for the heart, Samantha!” John shouts to Samantha. She was hiding in the corner waiting for perfect opportunity to shoot it with her sniper. She pulls the trigger and it just misses its heart but it still did heavy damage. “I think a got a lung!” She exclaims. In a frenzy, it manages to pick up John. John tries to resist, but the troll is too strong. John manages to get a knife from his pocket and stabs the troll’s finger but it doesn’t affect the troll. Jake then throws and rock from the ground at hit its eye. “RAUHAEYUD” the troll shouts in pain. “THE EYE IS THE WEAKSPOT!” Jake shouts at the top of his lungs, “AIM FOR THE EYE” He continues. Samantha and Jake both constantly fire at the eyes, blinding the troll. In pain, he drops John. Samantha rushes as fast as she can to catch John and she barely catches him. John then takes more knifes from his pocket and stabs its foot multiple times causing blood to splash all over his face. Samantha then sees a key in the troll’s pocket. “John, the key is in its pocket!” Samantha exclaims. “That should be lightwork for me.” John says “But I’ll need a distraction.” He continues. Jake runs in front of it and makes faces, taunting it. The troll swings its mace rapidly, causing mass destruction. Meanwhile, Samantha shoots it repeatedly with her 357 Magnum while John climbs its leg to get to the key. John manages to snag the key, falling in the process due to which, he’s unconscious. Jake and Samantha rapidly shoot the troll. Jake went for the eyes while Samantha went for the heart and other internal organs. After many shots, she gets the heart. The troll falls down, causing the ground to violently shake. Jake and Samantha run towards John. “I’ll handle this, I was an ex-nurse.” Samantha reveals. She gives him first-aid treatment. John, barely conscious, hands the key over to Jake. Jake then manages to jump over the ledge the treasure chest was on. Albeit with a bit of difficulty. Jake opens the treasure to see thousands of gold coins, rubies, emeralds and diamonds. He rapturously runs back to Samantha, treasure chest in hand. But his happiness soon ends as he sees Samantha crying. “Why are you crying? We’ve got the treasure.” Jake asks. “He’s gone, Jake, he’s gone” Samantha sobbingly replies. Jake is too stunned to say anything. “L-Le-Let’s go.” He manages to say. Samantha comes along, wiping her tears. A ladder to the surface appears. Once they climb it, Jake gets a call from the stranger once again. Jake picks up and asks, “What the hell do you want now?” “Come to The Hungry Badger” The shady voice replies. Jake hangs up and goes to The Hungry Badger. There, an old white man with blue eyes and gray hair says, “Take a seat, Jake.” “Dad?” Jake asks “Ah, I see you’ve recognized your old man.” Jake says nothing and pulls out his revolver. “Woah, there Jake, we wouldn’t want to do anything stupid would we?” Jakes dad nervously says. “Why did you leave me to rot in that pathetic slum?” Jake furiously asks. His dad fails to come up with an excuse and so, Jake shoots him in the head. “Let’s go, Samantha” Jake says. Samantha complies and goes with Jake to the airport. Throughout the flight, they didn’t converse at all. Only when she dropped him off at his house after the sold the treasure, they spoke. After their very brief conversation, Jake entered his slum where he lied down, thinking about what to do with the money and his father.                                                                                    THE END.

By Anivartin Tirumalai