The Terminal Code by J.W. Galliger

Author:J.W. Galliger [Galliger, J.W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781637304846
Publisher: NewDegreePress
Published: 2021-08-13T16:16:44+00:00

~~~

Chapter 11

* * *

Kincaid awoke, draped in fog and silence.

He was lying on a cold, hard surface. He wrapped his knuckles against it, and a soft thud echoed all around him before returning to a hush.

A giggle pierced through the void.

“Hello?” he called out.

The giggle returned, this time to his right. He scrambled up and moved toward it.

The fog cleared slightly, and there stood the figure of a little girl. She turned to him, and Kincaid could see she had light auburn hair, a round-heart-shaped face, and light blue eyes.

It can’t be?

“Snoops?” he said, holding his hand out.

The girl turned her head in a bird-like fashion, still staring at him. Her eyes seeming to hold the answer to an unasked question.

If she isn’t Snoops, that means she must be....

“Rose?” he breathed.

She giggled again and ran into the fog.

“Wait!” he yelled, running after her. Her silhouette faded with each step he took.

The fog darkened again, swirling around him like phantoms before lifting as if blown away by a great wind.

In front of Kincaid stood a gray-green concrete wall. Its bottom was lit with a pale yellow light, creating a blurry line that stretched deep into the horizon. The wall was equally as tall and seemed to have no edge, with its terminus fading into fog.

This must be the labyrinth. But how do I get in?

Kincaid placed his hand against the wall. It met cold resistance at first, and then, like breaking the surface of an icy pond, it slipped through. Shocked, he pushed harder, and more of his arm disappeared into the wall. As it reached his shoulder, his fingertips warmed slightly, and he was sucked through.

He emerged onto a narrow path; another wall with its palely-lit bottom lay a few feet in front of him.

The air seemed warmer, as if full of some unseen energy or expectation.

Whispers crept up the walls. They grew in number and volume, surrounding him in a great din. Then quickly, they died down, replaced with a dull hum. Turning, Kincaid saw a swarm of fireflies, their bellies glowing yellow-green. The swarm pulsed and began rearranging itself, some fireflies glowing fiercely and others fading, forming outlines, angles, and forms. The forms shifted before settling on a giant sphinx, its body that of a lithe lioness, wings of a falcon, and head of a woman. Its cat-like eyes glowed with a pale yellow fire.

“What are you?” Kincaid asked.

“You ask me who or what I am. Yet the answer is clear to all who look within,” it said with a thunderous voice of a thousand whispers inside its head.

“I am...

Form and Feeling

memory and moment

shape and pattern

thread and needle

muscle and bone

ash and dust

First in line of your trials am I.

Two others await for you to try

Conquer both and revealed the truth shall be

But first, you must conquer me. Now, oh seeker, answer now, my riddles three,” it continued.

“Riddles, Really?” Kincaid asked.

The Sphinx grew in size, reared up, and roared at him, showing its long fangs.

Kincaid shuddered, his bio-data glowing in response.

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