Bittersweet Legacy

The faint breeze that blew beyond the entrance of the hive bit lightly against his skin drawing up goosebumps. It was a difference of the buzzing of both the air and the matter the hive was made of that held such heat. Looking up through the foliage to the distant lights Golem felt small, and yet some part of him sought to reach out to the lights as if he felt, they were within his grasp.

His head began to ache, before a faint glow of green surround his crown and he looked forward to the changeling that had been training him for these past couple of weeks.

Golem took in the smell of the trees and earth around him as he sought to settle himself to avoid further shivers like the one that had just passed through him.

Skitter stood nearby, the blending color of green and black helping her stand with the shadows and green leaves just beyond the entrance of the hive.

Golem moved from the entrance of the hive, not even trying to find her, and as expected she was quick to fall in place next to him.

As they walked, the radiance of the moon lighting a path intermittently caused one of his eyes to twitch. It was absent for anyone but the knowledgeable, but an aura remained about his crown.

The shadows shifted again as the walls about him moved changing the shape of the path.

Jason moved as well as he could to keep the black and green structures from crushing him.

How could this have happened, one moment he had been walking out of the den of the diamond dogs, sensing freedom and the next he felt something strike against the small of his back as the ground seemed to shift suddenly out from underneath him. When he was able to catch himself and look around there had been some creature that looked like it held the form of a horse but was covered in a strange black and green shell.

She had seemed to do something to him, something he couldn’t quite tell what it was, beyond waking up here. Jason wasn’t sure what was going on, he scratched at the lengthening hair on his face.

His face, he hadn’t had anything to look at his own reflection, but his best guess was that he looked thinner, pale, and tired as he stood back as the grinding of the walls and floors came to a stop.

Jason rubbed his hands together, his body shifting into a bowed position before moving one leg slightly back and bending at the knee readying himself.

With a deep breath he felt his chest tighten for just a second and as he let it out, he launched himself into full sprint. He ran for a short distance before allowing himself to move so that he could begin placing his feet against the wall.

It was tricky, this was something he hadn’t done since he was a child acting out one of several favorite superheroes. Yet as he approached the top, he could feel his foot beginning to slip.

Jason pushed both feet launching himself across to the next wall, only a few feet was all he needed, if he could just…

“Whoa…” he took in a few deep breathes as he was barely able to hold on with one hand, he quickly scrambled with his other to ensure full grasp. Once he had both hands one the edge, he set his feet beneath him, allowing his body to curl up before he worked to lift himself up and over the edge.

It was odd, he at one time couldn’t do this, yet being stuck here in this place for as long as he had been he noticed how things begam to grow easier, though, it also felt as though the labyrinth he was stuck in became far more complicated.

As he looked out among the shifting tides of walls of the labyrinth, Jason lifted a hand and absently scratched at the length of his beard once again.

Jason found it difficult to follow the rules of the game if the game kept changing. Not to mention if it didn’t punish him for finding a way to do things his own way.

He followed the new path he was on carefully watching, his eyes always moving about not just what was nearby, but also anything in the distance as well.

It wasn’t until he heard the growl echoing up from below him that he stopped and turned toward it.

Jason made his way to the edge and looked below.

Beneath him stood what looked to be a very large lion, its body positioned as if it were ready to pounce.

As he looked on, he heard a shriek to the left and three thin creatures stood, green light emitting from their eyes. Their bodies were thin and seemed frail, their skin pulled tight over muscle and bone. Their tails whipped around, though it seemed strange to Jason how they moved. They were nothing like the animals he knew, either dog or cat. Not even wolves or panthers, or other large cats from any zoo he had been to when he was younger compared to how they moved.

Jason knelt, curious as to what was going to happen. This was the first time he had seen the lion and wasn’t sure where it had come from or what significance it held.

The three creatures lunged out, the center one going for its head, while the other two made their way up onto the walls and jumped at its side.

It easily took the one in front of it down with a swipe of it’s massive paw, though the other two were far more effective as they tore into it’s sides. It’s head raised as an ear splitting roar sounded out.

“Help…”

Jason turned and looked about as he heard the voice, uncertain as to where it originated from. The lion threw itself against a wall, knocking one of the creatures prone and tore at its throat.

The third creature, still trying to hold on clawed at the lion’s side. It roared again, “Please help!”

Jason stared down at the lion in disbelief, and before he knew what he was doing he was leaping down, his feet striking the creature and knocking it away from the lion.

Injured the creature backed away, seeming to reconsider its chances as the lion and Jason stared it down.

Screeching at the two of them, it turned tail and ran away.

Once gone, the lion slumped to the side with a sigh, “Thank you for helping.”

“You can talk, how the hell?”

“It’s not magic, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

Jason stared, his eyes wide, his mouth motioning like a fish out of water.

“Do you know where you are?” The lion asked as it began to lick at its wounds.

“Of course, I don’t. All I know is that…” Jason sighed as he allowed himself to fall against a wall and slid down to the ground. “I don’t understand anything that’s going on.”

The lion sat back as it seemed to take him in.

The slope seemed to rise from the earth, reaching to the stars. Golem stepped heavily as he made his way ever upward, fighting against the brief strain of gravity. Despite it being something so light, he pushed as if he were a titan heaving the sky upon his shoulders.

“Is it done?”

“Yes,” Golem felt nothing but a starving emptiness as he fought to hide the fact that his body shook.

Skitter stared at him for a few seconds, “death isn’t easy, is it?”

“Life and death is a natural part of life, but what is it when you take that away from another?” Golem looked at his hands as the green in his eyes flickered for a second.

It was a strange question, but one that somehow echoed within Skitter as she turned to look at the hive.