Path to the Apocalypse

Chris and Beth spent most of a month exploring the Maze together, getting to know each other pretty well, since there wasn't exactly much to do other than talk. Beth had clearly led a pretty sheltered life, any story Chris told that included drugs, sex, or mischief of any kind earning him horrified looks from her, and he had to explain that he never participated in anything like that, he'd just witnessed a lot of it. He'd gone to a high school for the children of upper middle class business types, the type who had access to money and whose parents were too busy to pay too much attention to them, and the things they could get up to were pretty wild.

Beth's stories were usually second-hand accounts from soldiers in the Maze, which pretty much confirmed she was involved with the military in some way, though she never said exactly how and Chris never particularly cared to ask. The stories usually involved soldiers getting surprised by some creature with a unique ability, which Chris was sure would have been interesting to hear if they weren't currently in the Maze, where creatures with these unique abilities lived. As it was, all they did was add to Chris's growing mental list of things to be careful of in the Maze.

Eventually though, a few days after the beacons activated, the two of them finally stumbled across one. “We did it!” Beth squealed excitedly as she grabbed the beacon. “We survived the Trial!”

Chris lazily waved a fist in the air. “Woo.”

Beth scowled at him. “Can't you muster up a little excitement? You survived!”

Chris cocked his head, searching himself for a moment, before shrugging helplessly. “I got nothing.”

Beth glared at him for a moment. “I don't care how long it takes me, I will find a way to make you excited.”

“We should probably focus on fixing your phrasing issues first.” Chris commented.

“I don't have phrasing issues!” Beth snapped back. “You just have a disgusting mind!”

Chris just rolled his eyes. They'd been over this more than a few times and Beth refused to accept that there was anything wrong with the way she talked. “Yeah, yeah. Let's just get out of here. I want a shower. And real food.” Chris changed the subject as he opened a portal and sent Dyrdek and Jello back to his space.

“You don't want to call back your rats?” Beth asked.

“Nah, I'll leave them for now.” Chris replied. “If I need them, I can always get them out later, and who knows if I'll need access to the Maze for some reason?”

Beth raised a warning finger at him. “Just make sure you go to your space, then the Maze. You don't want to risk a Maze creature sneaking through and getting into the City.”

“Like an invisible centipede?” Chris smirked.

Beth glared at him. “Yes. Like an invisible centipede.” She growled through gritted teeth.

“I'll be sure to be careful.” Chris assured her. “Now, shall we go?”

Beth eyed him for a moment, trying to figure out how to get back at him, before letting out a frustrated grunt. Getting a rise out of Chris was impossible. “Yeah, let's go.” She grumbled, activating the beacon and setting it for two people. Two markers appeared, pointing out positions for them to stand, before the beacon scanned them and let out a flash.

The next moment, they appeared in a large cavern. This cavern was entirely separate from both the Maze and the City, acting as one of four inspection areas in between the two. The inspection points acted as a second line of defense in case some creature managed to piggyback its way onto the teleportation. Even if some undefeatable monster of a creature arrived, it would only wipe out the inspection area, not the City. Additionally, the entire cavern acted like a beacon, allowing the operators to send any dangerous elements back to the upper levels of the Maze if needed. Chris and Beth looked around a bit, before heading towards the inspection line. Since it had already been a few days, the line was pretty short, and they only had to wait a few minutes before they reached the front.

"Name?" The officer asked as Chris stepped forward, not even looking up from his pad.

"Christopher Vincent." Chris answered.

"Christopher Vincent… ah, here we-" the officer froze as he saw Chris's information, looking up in surprise. "You- you survived?!?" He asked incredulously.

"Obviously." Chris rolled his eyes.

"How did-" The officer began, cutting off as his eyes narrowed, his grip tightening around his weapon. "Please step into the scanner." He ordered in a determined tone.

Chris frowned at the officer's shift in tone, but did as he asked. The officer hit a button and the machine whirred to life, scanning Chris from head to toe. The guard looked over the results intently, before frowning. Agitated, he started the machine again. And then again. And then again! "Is there a problem?" Chris asked, raising an eyebrow after the officer scanned him for the fourth time.

"You stay right there!" The officer demanded, before turning around, whispering insistently into his communicator.

"What are you-" Beth began, stepping forward, before the officer whipped out his sword, pointing it at her.

"Stay back!" He ordered. "Both of you, stay exactly where you are!" Beth's eyes widened as she took a step back, putting her hands up, not sure what was going on. Several of the other officers paused their work as well, gathering around the three of them and placing their hands on their weapons.

"Clear the way!" A stern voice demanded, a high ranking official pushing his way through the crowd. "What's the sit- Beth?" The man began, pausing as he caught sight of Beth.

"H-hey Uncle Samuel." Beth greeted him with a weak smile, Chris completely unsurprised at the familiar greeting, still keeping her hands up.

Samuel frowned, turning back to the officer. "What's going on here?"

The officer saluted. "Sir, I believe this man is a creature in disguise, sir! His records indicate that he has no ability, yet he managed to not only survive, but come out unwounded, sir!"

Chris blinked. “Huh… that is pretty suspicious, isn't it? Would you believe me if I said I found out I do have an ability, it was just hidden for some reason?” The officer just glared at him and Chris sighed. “Yeah, I didn't think so.”

“Chris isn't a Maze creature!” Beth protested. “He saved my life!”

“That actually doesn't prove anything.” Chris muttered, frowning thoughtfully. “If I were a Maze creature trying to infiltrate the City, finding a human to vouch for me would be one of my first steps. In fact, given my ability to control Maze creatures, it's rather suspicious that I arrived just in time to save you. It wouldn't be unreasonable to suspect that I was the one behind the centipedes attacking you, so that-”

“Shut up Chris!” Beth hissed at him. “Whose side are you on!?!”

Chris paused. “The truth?”

“The truth is that you're human, not a Maze creature trying to infiltrate the City!” Beth retorted.

“Well yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm suspicious.” Chris pointed out. “I mean, it'd be downright incompetent of them to just believe me. Would you prefer they not make sure I'm human, and risk failing to catch a Maze creature that is trying to infiltrate the City? Would you want a creature with an ability like mine running around the City?” Chris paused. “Huh, that's actually another suspicious point. Who's to say I'm the one in charge of the space? Maybe Dyrdek is actually in charge and he's controlling me to get into the City.”

Beth groaned, burying her face in her hands. “You're going to spend the rest of your life in a containment facility.”

Chris shrugged. “If that's what needs to be done, then so be it.”

Samuel snorted. “Damn, kid, I hope you aren't actually an infiltrator. The City needs more people like you.” He turned, waving for Chris to follow him. "Alright, come with me. We're going to need you to stay in holding while we check you out. Do you have any family or friends who can confirm your identity?”

Chris thought about it. "Well, there's Derek, but he went into the Maze as well, so what if he was replaced too? Wouldn't confirm much. Uh… probably Penny and Thad? They're the two who know me best besides Derek.”

“Do you know their contact information?” Samuel asked, and Chris nodded. “Good, we'll contact them and get them up here as soon as possible.”

“Wait!" Beth stepped forward. "I'm going with him!"

"Beth, you don't have-" Chris began.

"No! Just because this has to be done, doesn't mean you have to go through it alone!” Beth snapped at him, before turning to Samuel again. “I'm going with him!"

Samuel glanced between Chris and Beth, raising an eyebrow. "Is that so?" He muttered, smirking slightly as Beth flushed, but stood her ground. “Well, I suppose there's no harm in letting you accompany your… friend.” Samuel chuckled, waving for her to follow as well, leading them to a separate area of the cavern, where a small building stood. He unbarred a sturdy door and opened it to reveal a cozy little room with a plush couch, a few cushioned chairs, and a small coffee table with a pile of magazines laid out on top. Samuel pulled out a notepad and pen, handing them to Chris, who quickly wrote down Penny and Thad's contact info before handing them back. "Just wait here, we'll get in contact with your friends as soon as possible." Samuel assured him, before closing and barring the door.

Chris immediately turned to Beth. "Beth, you really didn't need to do this. I'd be fine waiting on my own."

Beth rolled her eyes. “Of course you would be, but what kind of friend would I be if I just left? Besides, if it turns out you did use me, I want to be there to give you a good pounding for it~" She added cheekily, sticking her tongue out and waving her fist at him.

Chris sighed. “Phrasing Beth, phrasing.”

Beth flushed. “There's nothing wrong with my phrasing!”

*

"You do realize this is the dumbest card game ever, right? There's literally no strategy to it, it's all luck." Chris grumbled as he flipped the top card of his pile over, placing it down.

"Then why do I keep winning?" Beth teased, flipping her own card and grinning, before sweeping them up and placing them on the bottom of her pile.

"Because there's no strategy and it's all luck!" Chris reiterated in frustration.

"Wow, Chris, I didn't know you were such a sore loser." Beth gasped in mock shock.

"I'm not, I'm just- ah, forget it." Chris grumbled, regretting finding the deck of cards in the first place. Apparently Beth only knew the one card game, so that's what they played. Chris thought it might be better to be bored.

Beth snickered, before relenting. "Alright, alright, we can play something else. You'll just have to teach me how to play."

"Finally." Chris muttered. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll pick it up pretty quick. Card games are always the 'easy to learn, difficult to master' type. You can get the hang of it after a few rounds, but after that, it's mostly minutia." He explained as he gathered the cards together and began to shuffle them. He carefully explained the new rules as he dealt the cards, and they began to play a few practice rounds. As they went, Chris pointed out the mistakes Beth had made, showing her what she could have done and how it would have worked out better. Finally, they began to play for real, and about fifteen minutes later…

"That means I won, right?" Beth asked, cocking her head as Chris frowned at the piece of paper they were using to keep score.

"I don't… that was a twenty-nine point hand!" Chris exclaimed incredulously.

"So I won, right?" Beth repeated.

Chris sighed. "Yes, you won. But there's a level of luck in this game as well, so it isn't that surprising. Come on, let's go again." One game later. Two games later. Three games later. Chris stared intently at Beth's hairline.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Beth asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"I'm looking for the horns… only a demon could have this much luck." Chris replied seriously, squinting as he leaned in closer.

"Knock it off!" Beth protested, leaning away from him as she covered her forehead.

Chris snorted, leaning back and shaking his head. "Seriously though, did you capture a fairy or something? Steal a leprechaun's pot of gold? Drink unicorn blood?"

Beth frowned. "I feel like none of those things would give you good luck…"

"Well you had to have done something. Seriously, I've never seen someone get so many good hands." Chris retorted.

Beth shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you. I've just always been lucky."

"All this is normal behavior?" Samuel asked from the observation room, turning to the two teenagers who were watching Chris and Beth interact with him.

"Yeah, that's Chris. Barely paying attention to the pretty girl and focusing on the fact that he's losing a game." Penny commented with a weary sigh, shaking her head.

"Plus the whole demon thing and the luck examples. That's classic Chris." Thad nodded.

"And you're sure? There's nothing that strikes you as odd or suspicious about any of his behavior?" Samuel asked again, to confirm.

Penny and Thad shared a look, before turning back to Samuel and shaking their heads. "No, it just seems like… normal Chris. Though, you'd think he'd show a little emotion at being not dead! Freaking EQ of a potato." Penny muttered bitterly.

"And that isn't strange at all?" Samuel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No? It's Chris. I think he's like… autistic or something." Thad shrugged.

“Hm.” Samuel grunted. “Well, he'll need to pass a few more checks, but so far we haven't found anything that might suggest he's been replaced, so he should be free to head home soon if you'd like to stick around.”

Chris was in the middle of losing yet another card game when the door clunked and Samuel pulled it open. "Alright, we're all done. You're free to go."

Chris looked over with a frown. "Huh? Don't you need to bring in my friends?"

"Already done. They've been observing you for the last hour or so, and they're confident you are who you say you are." Samuel explained.

“What about testing my ability?” Chris asked. “Or examining my minions?”

“The nature of your ability isn't the concern of the Defense Force. Our only concern is confirming your identity and making sure you aren't under the influence of a Maze creature.” Samuel replied. “If we failed to discover any discrepancies by examining you, then examining your ability or minions wouldn't tell us any more, except maybe that your minions are being controlled, which doesn't really matter to us, since even if you’re in control of your minions, it doesn't prove you aren't being controlled in turn.”

"Well that's fair." Chris nodded, getting to his feet. "Guess we'll head out then."

"Aw, but I was winning!" Beth pouted.

"You're always winning.” Chris rolled his eyes. “Next time we're playing chess."

"Nyeh!" Beth stuck her tongue out at him, packing up the cards and getting up herself. "Come on then, let's meet your friends!" She chirped, heading out the door with a slight bounce in her step.

Chris frowned after her. "Where does your energy come from?!?" He muttered in exasperation, before following after her.

"Chris!" Penny exclaimed, rushing up and giving him a big hug. "Oh, I can't believe you're alive!"

“Honestly, I'm a little surprised myself.” Chris muttered, patting her back. “Who knew I had a hidden ability? Thankfully part of the ability is keeping me alive, or it wouldn't have done me any good.”

Penny pulled back, looking at him in shock. “You- you have an ability?!? What is it!?!”

“I can open portals to this space that heals people when they die and connect to creatures so I can control them.” Chris explained.

Penny's eyes widened. “You- when they- You have two-” She stammered, not sure which part was more shocking. “How did you go from having no ability to having two?” She finally landed on the dual abilities, not sure how to even address the healing.

Chris paused. “I think both are actually related to the space… I can only form the connection there. Also, wouldn't it technically be three? Portals, healing, and the connection?”

Penny raised an eyebrow. “Portals?”

“Ah, yeah, I can also open portals between me and my minions.” Chris waved dismissively. “But again, it's more like I'm using the space to do it. I open a portal to the space and then a portal to my minion right in front of it, so it looks like a single portal.”

“So one ability with multiple uses?” Penny muttered thoughtfully. “That's still pretty ridiculous. And how did you never know you had it?!?”

“I've never died before?” Chris shrugged. “Or randomly tried to open portals. And since the Readers kept telling me I didn't have an ability, I wasn't exactly looking.”

Penny scowled at him, opening her mouth to lay into him, until Thad put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her. “We're just glad you're okay.” He interjected, giving Penny's shoulder a squeeze.

“Yeah.” Penny sighed, nodding in agreement. “Even if you are the most frustrating person to ever exist.” She added.

“Isn't he just?” Beth agreed, finally finding a way to interject herself into the conversation. “I'm Beth, by the way.”

"I'm Thad, Chris's roommate." Thad introduced himself with a wave.

"I'm Penny. I'm Chris's unofficial little sister." Penny announced proudly.

"It's nice to meet you both!" Beth replied cheerfully.

"Guys, we should probably go, right?" Chris commented, pointing towards the exit beacons that would send them home.

"Chris! Don't be rude!" Penny chastised him, poking him in the side.

"I'm not being rude! I'm just saying, we both just got out of the Maze. Why don't we save the meet and greet for after we've readjusted to the basic human comforts? Maybe wait until Derek gets back so he can join? Have a big meal to celebrate?" Chris elaborated.

"That does sound good…" Beth muttered.

Penny glared at her. “Don't encourage him! Just because what he says makes logical sense doesn't mean he isn't just saying it to get out of socializing!”

“We literally live together and I just spent most of a month with her.” Chris retorted. “How much more socializing do I need to do?”

“Wait, really?” Penny looked between him and Beth. “You two spent the whole Trial together?”

“Not the whole Trial.” Chris corrected. “We only met up about a week in.”

Penny rolled her eyes. “So just practically the whole Trial.” She turned to Beth. “You must have tons of stories! I want to hear all of them!”

“We didn't really-” Chris began.

“Oh I do!” Beth cut him off. “One of the first things he did was start collecting slimes to make a bed, because he'd been using another slime, Jello, as a pillow. Now, don't get me wrong, Jello is an amazing pillow, but unfortunately for him, the only reason Jello can do it is because her ability-”

“Jello doesn't have a gender.” Chris interjected.

“-her ability allows her to control her own consistency.” Beth continued, completely ignoring him. “So he collected all these slimes, got them arranged into a bed, and the moment he laid down, was immediately covered in acidic goop! We were in his space, so he came out of it just fine, but his pants… not so much.”

“I was wondering why he was wearing a shirt as pants.” Penny giggled.

Beth smirked. “He was lucky I was wearing a sports bra, or he'd have been spending the rest of the Trial naked.”

Chris sighed. He was never getting home, was he?