Black Moon Draw

I squeeze my eyes closed and wait for the fatal blow to fall.

Cold fog chokes me like smoke and I start coughing. Everyone around me begins choking and coughing as well.

The Desert Knight's grip on me loosens, and I pull free, dropping to the ground. The smoke covers everything, leaving a thin layer of air near the floor. I suck in deep breaths, trying to make out anything around me. It's not just dread in my gut; it's the sense I'm lying under an anvil that's about to drop.

Something really bad is going to happen.

Someone trips over me and lands flat on his belly beside me. I recognize Westley in the dim light.

"We have to . . . get out of here," I whisper to him.

He nods.

"The door is that way. Or was." I point in the direction I think was right behind me. "Wasn't it?"

"'Twas."

"Ready?"

"Aye."

Taking his hand, I hold my breath and bolt to my feet, running toward the area where the door was. The sounds of others coughing and stumbling fades. I keep one hand stretched out in front of me so I don't collide with the door or anyone else. My fingertips graze the wall and I slow.

"I don't feel it," Westley says and begins to cough.

I don't either. Without releasing his hand, I move down the wall in the direction towards the entrance. The stone wall is cool and smooth - but there's no door.

My thoughts return to the sight of a stairwell melting out of the wall, and I quicken my pace, not wanting to get stuck in a castle that turns into a maze. LF clearly loves some of the same movies I do. I have a feeling her version of Labyrinth is going to be ten times worse than the movie. Unable to hold my breath anymore, I release it.

The smoke is clearing. It no longer chokes me, the last tendrils tickling my neck as they dissipate.

"There's no door," I say, stepping back to look right and left.

"They're gone," Westley whispers, his attention behind us.

I turn to see the foyer empty. Everything appears the same - except there is only one way out now, where there were at least three hallways to choose from before. All that remains is the stairwell where the Shadow Knight appeared.

He's gone. I don't think it's a good sign that he didn't stick around to check on me.

"You think people really go mad here?" I ask.

"Oh, aye. The stories have been around for years."

Not good. "That takes us deeper into the castle," I say, nodding towards the stairwell. "Kinda the opposite of the direction we want to go."