>>5871155With a twist of his wrist, the floors and walls around Krueger violently tremble and shake, giving way to a series of stone monoliths that rise from the floor all at once. You keep your footing through the quakes, but Shannon’s body falls into the darkness of the crevices. All the same to you, since she likely wasn’t real, but it pains you to see nonetheless.
The stone walls finally reveal their true shape–a labyrinth, with God knows what at the exit.
“Be quick. There’s more than just a Minotaur in this maze.” He adds with a sinister laugh.
As if waiting for this line, a large stone wall behind Krueger topples forward, revealing a dark mass writhing behind it. Upon closer inspection, as the flickering light from the lava currents reveal more to you, you identify multiple creatures within the dark mass. Large, inky black creatures with elongated heads that seem to be missing any eyes. Their mouths bare rows of iridescent, silver teeth, dripping with saliva. They stand hunched and crouched, slowly creeping forward over the toppled stone wall, bringing their wiry frames into full view.
Despite their humanoid form and recognizably mammalian features, the beasts appeared bug-like, and to be moving as a unit.
“Remember, Alex. If it bleeds, you can kill it.”
Krueger uses a bladed finger to slice into his own abdomen, letting a torrent of green puss and curdled, brown blood seep out to make his point.
You take a step backward, and the bug-beasts break into a sprint. With no options left, you turn for the entrance to the labyrinth.
(Cont.)
