The Clockwork Maze 3: Quick thinking

(From the viewpoint of Robert Telmar)

    I dived into the room and hit the solid metal floor hard. I tumbled forward and hit the base of a metal table. I lay there for a moment before realizing that that I wasn't alone in the room. I looked up and saw a bizarre looking creature beside a screen similar to the one that had addressed me earlier. This monitor, however, had a different, much younger, man displayed on it. Meanwhile, the creature looked serpentine yet it had white fur instead of scales. It was holding a briefcase and looked as confused as I felt. I was in a room that looked similar in style to the corridor that I had just escaped and so I paid the wall closest to me a wary glance. As soon as he saw me, the mans face creased into a patronising smile and he said "Aaaah! Tiny!". At this moment, I lost my temper. I tried to look as big as possible (even though I wasn't at all big) and screamed "MY NAME IS ROBERT!!!". I realized my mistake as soon as I'd made it, I wasn't supposed to retain my name let alone my ability to talk!

    The man looked stunned for a second before pressing a button off screen which set of a loud alarm which made my ears ring. The entire room took less than a second to change from a well lit, clean, sterile white to a dim flashing carnal shade of red. As this metamorphosis took place, both the door I had entered through and the door on the opposite wall bolted themselves shut.

    The creature ran at me and lifted me off my feet easily. "WHAT DID YOU DO!!??" it screamed shaking me as it did so. "We need to get out of this room NOW!" I yelled in response, not exactly answering his question but instead voicing my opinion of the whole situation. "HOW!?" he wailed. As he did, the alarm went silent and the lights stopped flashing, the colour remained red, however. An automated voice rang out from an unknown source "CONTAINMENT COMPLETE!". "Why are we being contained?" the creature asked in a panic. In answer to his question, the monitor burst back into life "Because 'kitty cat' here isn't complete." said a familiar voice. The white haired man faded into view on the screen, he was looking at me with a frustrated expression.

    A pedestal rose from the floor, the twin doors on the top opened up to reveal a device which was identical to the one that had changed me. "The oddity cog you are being offered is already programmed to complete your transformation. Should you decide to use it and have your personality and memories permanently erased within the next two minutes, you and the other one shall be allowed the proceed with the test. Should you decide against this course of action, you and your friend will be burned to cinders!" he said with a wicked smile. You really know how to make things seem nicer." I said sarcastically. "Oh and don't try putting it on something else because I won't let you out until I see that you've done as your told." he said with a smug grin before he vanished and was replaced by a digital timer that displayed two minutes.

    The ceiling split into two segments and completely opened up. A square frame, the size of the room descended steadily from the darkness and then, as the timer started, concentrated flames erupted from each side of the frame travelling inward creating a solid wall of flame. As the timer counted down, the frame began to slowly descend. I looked at the pendant and then at the flames and suddenly, an idea occurred to me, when I had first put the device on, it had sent an odd electrical charge through me and I suspected that that was the thing that had caused the changes.

    I removed the pendant from the pedestal and brought it over to the metal table. I wrapped my tail around one leg of the table and prepared to try out my theory. I turned to face the odd creature " If my plan doesn't work the way I hope it will, I'm going to be of no use to you whatsoever." as I said this, I saw the creature glance at his briefcase  before looking back at me and nodding for me to continue                       

"But even if I do turn into a regular cat I'd like you to promise me something..." I glanced at the screen to see how much time I had left, it had just passed the one minute mark. I looked back " I want you to promise that you'll keep me as your pet." both the creature and I looked surprised at what had come from my mouth. Eventually he nodded in agreement and I gave a sigh of relief. I placed the pendant around my neck and the strap tightened, the machine whirred into life and I felt my own brain fry.



                                                                                          ***



(From the viewpoint of Jason Umber)

    I walked aimlessly through the seemingly endless corridors and rooms of the testing area. I wasn't entirely sure that my name was Jason Umber but the man on the monitor had told me that that was my name. He had explained my chances at completing the tests that lay before me. I was in a depressed state, I had been walking for hours and not come across anything that I found remotely interesting. There was a sudden commotion from the door in front of me and I raced forward. I opened the door and looked to the left, just in time to see a black tail disappear into the distance. I stepped out into the corridor and scratched the back of my neck. I knew from past experience that once a door was closed, it no longer led to the same place. Then I heard it, the whisper of air when something moves swiftly through it, I looked round and saw the tiles flying toward me but didn't have time to move out of the way as the first of the tiles sliced into my knee cap, blowing the actual joint straight out of the back of my leg. I howled with pain and collapsed (obviously). I looked up through tearing eyes and saw another tile heading straight for my head. The last thing I would ever see.



                                                                                          ***



(From the viewpoint of Robert Telmar)

    As the electricity surged through me, my legs gave way. Whilst my thoughts were racing, they weren't fading away. My tail was burning like hell where the current was being conducted, I could actually smell my own fur burning, although that may have only been due to the wall of fire that was quickly moving toward me. The thoughts racing through my mind were not my own, they were simple yet clear thoughts but they did not stay in my head, however, instead, I could almost feel them racing down my body and out of my tail. My body felt numb and I couldn't move.

      Suddenly, the pain ended and the device went limp. I had beaten the system! I had a simply wonderful feeling of superiority as the doors unbolted themselves and the white light returned. The frame, whilst no longer active, remained a mere four feet above my head, the creature was lying on his back in an effort to avoid the flames. The man appeared on the screen and inspected me.

    I can honestly say that it was difficult to act mindless for a man I had come to hate so very much in such a short amount of time. Eventually, he grinned "Tiny!". I felt a tug in my mind and allowed it to take over. I sat and raised my right paw in some kind of salute. "Good, good!" he turned to face the creature "You should be grateful to the boy." and with that, the screen deactivated.



                                                                                        ***



(From the third person)

    Doctor Fredrickson tapped the esc key with what looked like an intricate dance of the fingers. Two other scientists stared at him in amazement. "But...but...but he didn't do it!" said one of them incredulously. "Indeed." said doctor Fredrickson plainly. "I thought we weren't supposed to let them be tested with a full mind, at least not the ones that aren't supposed to!" said the other. "Yes, but he shows promise, his mind is different from the rest, you can tell from the way he conducted the transformation rather than accepting it. His mind is like clockwork, but it works in the opposite direction than most. We shall see how things play out."









                                                                  To Be Continued