Caleb stood in the stone corridor, looking in all directions.
He had been in Time’s Labyrinth for a long time now, without even realizing it. And now that he knew, he was seeing these tunnels in a whole new light.
Tock has me covered with the rules of this place.
One: it’s more vertical than horizontal, with our goal at the highest point.
Two: The best paths are outdoors.
Three: There are signs to follow, but they change every time. And there are always two types – one that points the right way, and one that intentionally leads us astray.
“Have you seen any signs yet?” Caleb asked.
Tock shrugged. “Dunno,” she said. “I could have without realizing it. That’s always the hardest part – figuring out what the signs even are this time around.”
Right, because they change every time.
“Well, should we just keep going?” Caleb asked, starting forward. “We can start to figure it out along the way if we’re observant. But we want to find our way outside at least.”
“Right!” Tock said, nodding enthusiastically. She walked alongside Caleb, and they passed a great deal of intersections. What Caleb had seen for so long as just singular corridors and tunnels with no branching paths were now made clear to him. Somehow, the Labyrinth had toyed with his perception, leading him to miss things that were right before his eyes.
So the question is: what else can the Labyrinth do? If it can fool my perception, can it continue to play with me? Are the signs static objects like I’m used to, or are they dynamic, always changing and moving?
“We keep going straight,” Caleb said, watching Tock confidently lead the way.
“Yup,” Tock said. “Just feels right, don’t you think?”
Caleb chuckled. “Why not?” He stopped in his tracks then, and smiled. “Hey, I have a thought.”
“What’s that?” Tock asked.
Caleb pulled out his pocket watch Talisman, and immediately Tock’s eyes widened. She leaned in, staring with delight at Caleb’s watch. “It’s so pretty!” she said. “And intricate! Can I see?”
Not exactly what I got it out for, but…
Caleb laughed, handing over the watch. Tock ran her fingers along the letters embossed on the cover, Caleb’s initials. She opened it, looking closely at the hands ticking by, and especially at the transparent center of the watch’s face, which showed the gears within turning steadily. She then held it up, indicating a spot in the center of the gears. “What’s that?” she asked.
Caleb smiled. She was pointing at a small dot of blue light in the center of the watch’s internal mechanisms. Depending on how the gears moved, it occasionally passed out of sight. “It’s a jewel,” Caleb said. “Lapis lazuli.”
“It’s beautiful,” Tock said, eyes glittering. The color of her eyes was nearly the exact same shade as the stone inside Caleb’s watch. She handed the watch back to Caleb. “So what was your idea?”
“I’ve only done this once before, so it didn’t occur to me right away,” Caleb said. “But I was thinking about how big the Labyrinth is, and how it would be nice to have string or something to mark our path, and then I remembered I can do this.” He created an adhesive Mobility disc on the wall to his right, and then extended the enchanted chain of his watch, sticking one of its links to the disc. He tugged on the chain to show how it was stuck there. “Neat, right? And the chain can extend to… well, I’m not sure how long it can get. But it’s got at least a few miles in it before I reach a limit, considering what I put it through in the Dark Place.”
“The Dark Place?” Tock asked. Her curiosity was endearing, and Caleb smiled.
“I’ll tell you the story while we walk,” he said. “Which way should we go?”
“Hmm…” Tock started, spinning in a slow circle, eyeing each of the five paths they had access to. She suddenly stopped, flinging out her arm to point down the one diagonally to their left. “This way!”
“Roger that!” Caleb said, following after her, continually extending the chain of his watch as they went. Along the way, he told her the story of the Dark Place, the strange basement in Duo’s house where he could never see himself, no matter how much light he’d blazed forth with magic.
“So you used this trick with your discs and chain then, too,” Tock said. “That’s really smart!”
Caleb chuckled. “Thanks.”
That conversation naturally turned into the rest of his ordeals in Duo’s house, and to him saving Adelaide. And from there he just kept talking, while Tock kept asking questions. He told her all about his siblings and parents, about his friends, about Adelaide, about Chelsea. She asked him what a Hunter was, and what Hollows were, having no knowledge whatsoever of Grimoire and a great deal of things Caleb took for granted as common knowledge.
Along the way, Caleb kept forming discs and fixing links of his chain to them. They ran up against four dead-ends, backtracking and trying new pathways, never once getting discouraged.
The more Caleb spoke of his friends and family, of his adventures and all his memories, the more he felt his soul seem to rise within him.
I made the right choice. As wondrous and surprising as this place is, as much as I want to explore the Farthest Shore and the Deepwood forever…
I belong with my friends. My fight isn’t over. My life isn’t…
Wait.
What was I…?
Caleb shook his head.
No way. There’s no way that I…
But he couldn’t give words to that thought, even in the privacy of his mind.
No. I knew I’d be okay. I knew I’d make it through. Just another Phase Step. At the worst, I would have ended up at Chronoshin and gotten a new lecture from Madame Chronos.
I ended up somewhere I didn’t expect.
But I…
Caleb smiled, perhaps partially as reflex against the sudden dreadful knot in his heart.
I did what was right. And I’d never just throw away…
Caleb laughed, very softly.
The dreadful knot grew smaller. But it did not vanish.
“It’s so interesting listening to your stories,” Tock said, smiling. There was a wistful air to her expression. “See, I don’t remember anything from before this place. It’s not like it was taken from me, or I’m upset about it. I remember one thing, and that’s giving those memories away freely. Coming here… if you stay here, you leave behind one life and take up a new one. And I’m very pleased with my new life. But hearing your stories of a place I’ve never seen, of battles I’ve never dreamed, it’s all so…” She sighed breathlessly. “I do so love stories.”
Caleb smiled. “You and my sister would get along,” he said. “Well, not just with Shana. Delilah, and probably Fae, too. They all love reading, they’re huge fans of fantasy and wondrous adventures like that. Meanwhile I –” Caleb stopped, guilt shooting through him. “Meanwhile I can’t even be bothered to read my best friend’s stories.”
“Will writes books?” Tock asked.
“Yeah,” Caleb said. “And he’s amazing, too. I’ve only read… um… well, it’s embarrassing, but I’ve only read his first book. And he’s written, like… ten more since then? I have a lot of catching up to do.”
“Make sure you do!” Tock said. “If they’re really good, then it’s really important for you to read them!”
Caleb chuckled. “You got that right.”
Yeah. I’ve got a lot of things left to do. Not just the big stuff, but little stuff like that, too.
I’ve got a lot of apologies to make, too, don’t I?
What does everyone else think? Well, if they’ve talked to Chelsea, then they probably know I’m fine. I mean, I was a little worried something might happen. That’s why I told her about the whistle.
So…
Everyone should be okay, right?
Either way, I need to apologize big time when I get back. This is a lot more than I bargained for. It’s fun.
Really fun, honestly. A part of me wants to just stay here, talking with Tock, solving labyrinths, exploring the wild reaches of this place forever.
But that part of me is pretty small.
And the more I talk, the more I think, the more I continue forward…
The more I really want to get back home.
“So, you love Chelsea, right?” Tock asked.
Caleb’s heart leapt in his chest, and he laughed. “Oh, yeah,” he said, his eyes stinging slightly. “So much. More than I know how to say.”
“So how come she’s just your girlfriend?” Tock asked.
Caleb nearly tripped over his own feet.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“You know…” Tock said, grinning slyly. “You’re a grown-up, right? You should marry her!”
Caleb stopped in his tracks. He stared into the distance, and then nodded forward. “There’s light up ahead.”
“Oh!” Tock said. She raced forward, and Caleb followed. For the first time in their entire journey through the Labyrinth, they left the tunnels and stood outdoors.
Both of them gasped, staring in awestruck wonder.
They were still on the mountain, but they were higher than Caleb had ever dreamed possible. The tops of trees in the Deepwood were the tiniest pinpricks imaginable, and the vast, immeasurable ocean looked like it was right up against the mountain’s base, so small and insignificant the great forest appeared from this dizzying height.
But the sky was the true wonder. Whaji, those mystical time whales, danced by the hundreds against a veil of celestial majesty unlike any other. There weren’t just dense trails of stars in the deep, dark blue sky above. There were nebulae bursting with purple and red light, intricate constellations of such detail Caleb had no trouble picking them out, two gargantuan full moons that reflected pink and blue light, and wondrous shapes and lights he’d never seen or imagined in a night sky before.
Like nothing else in his whole life, it took his breath away.
No.
Not unlike anything else.
This feeling…
The swell of emotion and wonder within him brought back memories. Memories of a Lunar Festival two years ago, when he and Chelsea had stood on the cliffs overlooking Grimson Bay in the gentle snowfall. Memories of his first patrol with Chelsea, their first time as full-fledged Hunters, and he’d seen her in all her fiery beauty, alive like no one else he’d ever known.
So many memories of the one he loved.
“I’m going to marry her,” Caleb said, gazing up at the sky, grinning widely. “As soon as I get back. Well, I mean, I’m gonna ask her as soon as I get back. That is, as soon as I get back to Grimoire. I have a ring already, and I’ve just been waiting for…”
For her to be able to talk to my parents.
And she finally got there. She finally let out all that she’d been holding in, all her pain and fear and regret.
That was the time. I should have already asked her. Why let evil, apocalyptic organizations take all our attention? Why drop everything to prepare for the big fight?
We could have still faced that together. There was plenty of time to ask.
…
I’m an idiot.
“Are you gonna have a whole bunch of kids?” Tock asked suddenly.
Caleb burst out laughing.
“Heck if I know,” he said, grinning. “You never know what life’s gonna bring you. But…” His heart was soaring. “That sure does sound great.”
“And what’s the wedding gonna be like?” Tock asked. She was bouncing with excitement.
“Heck if I know that, either,” Caleb said. “And I’m sure Chelsea has ideas of her own, and we’ve never talked about that, so I don’t even know what she wants, and I’m pretty sure the bride gets priority in those kinds of things.” He tilted his head back, gazing at the sky. “And I’d gladly give it to her.”
“But you’ve thought about it, right?” Tock asked.
Caleb laughed. “Oh yeah,” he said. “Come on, let’s keep going. I’ll tell you all about it on the way.”
And he did tell her all his ideas and dreams about his wedding-to-be, despite feeling heat burn his cheeks like he hadn’t felt in years. It was embarrassing, but it wasn’t unpleasant, and his face ached from smiling and laughing so much. Their path wound upwards and inwards, weaving in and out of the mountain as they kept climbing.
And all the way, they kept on talking. And Caleb wondered excitedly what Chelsea’s thoughts about her one-day wedding were, about what she hoped for and dreamed of.
Whatever you want, it’s all yours.
“Oh,” Tock suddenly said, stopping. She was staring up the mountain path, and Caleb looked with her. It turned into a steep staircase, but it didn’t climb too high before it reached a plateau. Upon that plateau was a silver door with a streetlamp on either side. Each streetlamp had a clock embedded in their silver post, just beneath their glowing blue tops.
“We’re here,” Tock said.
“We already made it?” Caleb asked. “But… what about the signs? What about how the Labyrinth can totally mess with us? What about…” He trailed off, staring. And then, slowly, he started to laugh.
Tock laughed with him. They kept on laughing, laughing like total fools, as Caleb dismissed his hundreds of Mobility discs and retracted his thousands of feet of chain.
“We freaking did it,” Caleb said, shaking his head. “Without even trying.”
“I’ve never had such a great conversation with someone I’ve led through here before,” Tock said. “Everyone’s usually so grumpy, or they focus so much they don’t want to talk at all.”
“Time flies while you’re having fun,” Caleb said. He opened his watch and looked at it, but for the life of him he couldn’t remember what time the hands had shown the last time he checked it.
Like always, time was strange in this place. How long had they wandered through that maze? How long had Caleb talked, on and on, without his mouth or throat ever getting tired or dry?
He wasn’t tired, or hungry, or thirsty in the slightest.
It’s really weird. Kind of creepy, in a way.
But I think it’s great.
“So what’s through the door?” Caleb asked, following Tock up the stairs.
“The next part of your journey,” Tock said. “And beyond that, your destination.”
Caleb stopped before the door. “You… can’t come all the way with me, can you?” he asked.
“Nope,” Tock said, shaking her head.
Yeah. She already said that much.
“But I don’t have to stop yet,” she said, smiling. “I can go with you to the first major checkpoint in the next place.”
“Does the next place have a fancy name, too?” Caleb asked.
Tock turned the door’s handle, but stopped short of opening it, a gleam in her eye. “We call this next place the Time Wilds.”
She flung open the door, and what lay beyond took Caleb’s breath away.