Some Plans Fail
By CJ Knight
Story created for Day 6 of Bradley Ramsey’s The Halls of Pandemonium Challenge.
This continues our month long story of siblings Rose, James, and Lily. Today’s story sees us with James as he plans his route through a labyrinth. But as his journey is about to begin, he learns that even the best laid plans can fail.
James
He opened his eyes to find himself in a stone chamber, seated in a red leather chair. Lit torches lined the wall. Their flames cast dancing shadows throughout the room. James noticed the shelves first. They looped around the chamber below the torches, filled with supplies including rope, flashlights, knives, batteries, food, and medical items. The chamber appeared to be some type of survival bunker. James rose from the chair. “Rose? Lily?” He was the only one in the chamber. An enormous wooden table in the centre drew his attention. It was a model, a perfectly detailed miniature environment covering the table entirely. A labyrinth of corridors, platforms, traps of collapsing bridges, spike pits, and pathways suspended over darkness. At one end sat a perfect miniature copy of the chamber he was in now, even detailed enough to show the torches and supplies on the wall. As if sensing his presence, the model clicked into life. The traps activated, all operating on timers and interval sequences. James circled the table, studying the model, taking in every detail. On the model, an enormous set of wooden doors led from the chamber he was in now to the rest of the labyrinth. He looked up to see the doors closed. The oak doors possessed a carved representation of the labyrinth etched across both. His eyes drifted from the doors to the supplies on the shelves, then back to the model. “This is a test.” The flames of the torches in the room flickered at his words as if answering. He looked closer at the model, beyond the traps and correct path. Every obstacle contained finer details, easily missed at first glance. There were pressure plates in the walls and floors. He tested them with his finger. Each did something different. Some caused the floor to fall away. Others revealed spikes that extended from the walls. One caused the room to collapse on itself. This wasn’t a riddle or shadow figures. This was something to be observed, understood, and figured out. A place that could be overcome with planning. It made sense to him. This was simply a problem with a solution. James’s eyes moved rapidly, solving each of the labyrinth’s puzzles individually, memorizing timing, where to step, and finding the optimal route. He pulled items from the shelves, chalk, rope, flares, torches, batteries, a crowbar, medical supplies, food and water. He organised them into groups for specific rooms of the labyrinth, then placed them all into a backpack. His pulse remained calm and even. He’d planned his journey, analysed every problem and solution, and his sense of control carried comfort. The map of the labyrinth was etched into his memory, correct path, every trap, and every answer. His preparation was complete. “I’m ready.”
The chamber’s response was immediate. The oaken doors groaned open. Stale air filled the room as the labyrinth stretched beyond the threshold, towering and intimidating. Stone platforms hung over a black abyss in the first chamber. Ropes and wooden gears groaned behind the walls, powering bladed pendulums that swung back and forth between the platforms. James smiled, it was exactly the same as the model he’d studied. He’d planned for this chamber, and all the chambers to follow.
Caedyn’s orb of light appeared beside him. James smiled. “Are my sisters here somewhere?”
Words formed. “No. This place is just for you.”
“I feel honoured.”
The words dissolved, and Caedyn hurried to form more. “This Hall of Pandemonium tests those who feel compelled to understand.”
“Fair enough.” James nodded.
The words dissolved in the air, and new ones replaced them. “It preys on those who rely on plans.”
James adjusted the straps of the backpack on his shoulders. “Plans keep you alive.”
The words flashed. “The lesson!” James frowned as the words continued to form. “Some things cannot be understood. Plans fail.”
James shook his head. “Bad ones, maybe. Not mine.” James pointed toward the chamber through the doors. “There’s a pattern, a safe path. The model gives the knowledge, and the supplies make it possible. This is a problem with a clear solution.”
The words dissolved, and Caedyn’s orb simply waited.
James exhaled. “I get it. You think there’s a deeper meaning here. This place is built for preparation and thinking. I’ve got this.”
Caedyn seemed to consider James’s words, then formed his response. “You’ve got this until you don’t.”
“Oh, yeah?” James stared at the swinging pendulums arcing in perfect rhythm. “I’ll prove it.” James stepped through the doors into the first chamber. The doors slammed shut behind him. A hiss filled the chamber. “Hey!” Gas poured into the chamber. James pushed against the doors. They refused to budge. The gas filled his throat, causing a fit of coughing. He pulled his shirt over his nose and mouth, but it was too late. His eyes burned as his vision blurred. “No!” he blinked. Shapes smeared his vision as darkness bled into the edges of his vision. James rubbed his eyes, and the chamber vanished into endless darkness. He froze in place, blind. Ahead of him, the bladed pendulums swung heavy and rhythmic. Caedyn’s warning flashed in his mind. “…Plans fail. You’ve got this until you don’t.”
James’s pulse raced, his calm replaced by fear. He’d planned for everything, except blindness.
Loved it! 🥰