Excerpt: Fifth from Milishin

“This place isn’t just a maze.” Jessica said. “It’s a full scale labyrinth! All it needs is a minotaur!”
“Oh, wouldn’t that be fun.” Mark said.
A sudden panic spread rapidly through the creatures they could sense, and they all began to flee. Not exactly away from any specific point, but more of a general flight. After a few seconds, however, it became clear that none of them were running towards the area where they had been most concentrated.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.” Jessica said. “I hope they just randomly panic at times, but somehow that doesn’t seem likely.”
“If we run into anything resembling a man with a bull’s head, I quit.” Andrew said.
“How will you manage that?” Damara asked curiously.
“I’ll figure something out.” Andrew answered. “But really, this seems like someone’s sick idea of a joke.”
“So, do we stand around, run, or continue?” Mark asked.
“I think we may as well continue.” Elistor said. “Running is a good way to get lost, and I’m not sure we’re likely to gain anything by standing around.”
“We may as well.” Andrew said. He checked his gun. “Any of you know anyone named Theseus? I bet we could use him.”
“Not me.” Jessica said. “But you might be right.” She sighed. “We should have brought a ball of string.”
“We should have come in through a proper entrance.” Damara said. “Instead of this silly falling through the floor business. I really don’t like this planet anymore.”
“Did you ever?” Elistor asked.
“Well, no.” Damara admitted. “But I like it even less now. Oh well, we may as well go kill our minotaur. Just to be contrary like that. I mean, after we’ve been rudely dropped here, we may as well be rude back.”
“Maybe we’ll be lucky and Theseus will get there first.” Jessica suggested.
“Maybe an exit will appear in front of us,” Mark said. “It’s about as likely.”
“Well you don’t need to be so pessimistic,” Jessica scolded. “Andrew is pessimistic enough for the entire Resistance. His glass has poisoned water!”
“No, it’s a vacuum,” Andrew corrected. “If you throw up, you can survive poisoned water.”
“Ah.” Jessica shrugged. “My mistake.”
“It sure is.” Andrew grinned. “Let’s hunt some minotaur.”
By this time, they could sense only two creatures, and it wouldn’t be long before those were gone as well. They continued a short distance further before having to stop due to navigational difficulties. They waited in a circle, facing outward, in case some bright person had put hostile robots in the labyrinth. Less then a minute later, they sensed something in the distance. It felt more complicated than the other creatures they had sensed, but this one was also hostile. More worrying, this creature wasn’t afraid at all.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we have our minotaur,” Mark announced. “We suggest you run for cover, leaving mines behind you, if possible.”
“Big ones.” Damara added. “Possibly nuclear ones. Or even antimatter.”
“Now that might be a little too much.” Elistor said. “We don’t want to die of radiation poisoning any more than we want to die of minotaur poisoning.”
“Besides,” Andrew added, “if this labyrinth collapses with us in it, it will be a bit harder to leave. Unless you happen to have a really good shovel.”
“It’s coming this way,” Jessica said worriedly. “Do you think it knows where we are?”
“It might.” Damara said grimly. “I think it might have minor wielder abilities.”
The others looked at her in surprise. “But I didn’t think that was possible,” Mark said after a moment.
“Neither did I,” Damara answered. “But that’s what it feels like. It might be something else, though.”
“It feels like a predator on a hunt,” Elistor commented. “And a specific hunt too, like it knows what it’s looking for and where it is.”
“It might just be able to detect wielders,” Andrew suggested. “A passive detection ability, maybe.”
“I think the more important question is what do we do if it finds us,” Jessica said. “Run? Shoot it? Do a dance?”
“If it’s feeling hostile towards us, I vote shoot it,” Mark said. “Although in theory we might be able to placate it by backing away, but I’d be inclined to guess it thinks the whole labyrinth is its territory, and we don’t know how to leave.”
“But I want to dance!” Damara said. “We never try that option.”
“Shoot it,” Andrew said, ignoring Damara. “But be ready to run, in case some annoying person decided to give it body armor or something stupid like that.”
“It would certainly fit with the rest of this place.” Elistor shook his head. “I think someone likes Greek legends too much. And a minotaur without body armor or the equivalent thereof would just be too easy to kill. Although I don’t think the original even had particularly tough skin.”
“But it was supposed to be hard to kill,” Jessica said. “So it would have to have body armor or a gun or something.”
“Body armor,” the other four said simultaneously.
“It’s amazing what a little optimism can do,” Jessica said. “Now you aren’t worried about body armor at all!”
“I think that’s usually called pessimism,” Mark informed her. “And I’m sure someone somewhere has done a long and lengthy explanation as to why it works that way.”
“Shoot it, it is, then,” Elistor said. “And we haven’t got much longer. Spread out, guns ready, and all the rest of that stuff. And try to avoid any wrestling matches with it.”
They were as ready as they were going to be when they started to be able to hear the ‘minotaur’s’ footsteps. A few seconds later, and it came into view. It was a big lumbering creature, except for the fact that lumbering usually meant slow. It walked on two legs, and had two arms. It was covered with black plates that might or might not be natural. Two horns curved up from the side of its head. It roared and charged straight at Elistor, who was standing in the middle, its mouth open in a snarl. Elistor stopped standing with great speed, shifting to running. He narrowly dodged the minotaur’s rush, while the others shot at it, an action that appeared to have little effect.
“I quit!” Andrew shouted.
The minotaur turned towards Andrew and decided to charge him instead. Andrew dove to the side, barely avoiding its swing. The only effects of their shooting were the appearing of small dents in the plates on the minotaur. The minotaur slowed quickly and turned towards Andrew again. Elistor fired another burst at the minotaur, thinking rapidly. The room they were in right now was too small for a fight like this; they’d have to try something else.
“Hallways!” Elistor shouted. “Run and dodge!”
Andrew sprinted into one of the hallways, the minotaur gaining on him quickly. An intersection came up quickly, and Andrew threw himself to the right into the new hallway, one foot landing on the wall. He shoved off, sprinting down the hall. The minotaur had been close enough to Andrew that it had no time to go down the hall, and it had to turn around. It skidded to a halt, both feet and hands on the ground, and then, seeing Jessica, decided to kill her first instead. Jessica sprinted down a different hallway, the minotaur gaining on her. Damara took a shot at the minotaur, managing to hit the joining of two plates. The minotaur didn’t seem to notice. Damara then tried to telekinetically shove the minotaur, but found herself flying backwards into a wall. So that’s how it works, she thought dazedly. It reacts to the use of wielder powers on it. I don’t like this at all.
Jessica being a better sprinter than Andrew, she could keep away from the minotaur for a time, but not really long enough. She slowed a little, timing it so that the minotaur would be almost on her when she arrived at an intersection. She made a sharp left turn, pushing off the wall with an arm and a leg to counter her previous momentum, and took off down the new hallway. The minotaur lost a few seconds, but continued after her. She arrived at another intersection, this time one where Mark was waiting nearby. He grabbed Jessica telekinetically and threw her down the hall way he was in, back behind him towards the others. The minotaur followed, and, seeing Mark, started chasing him. Mark ducked down a different hallway, and led it on a chase for a while, the others occasionally being able to take potshots at it. The minotaur was getting close to him when Damara ran out from a different hallway, a short distance from the minotaur, and attracted its attention. The minotaur decided to follow Damara for a while, and Mark slowed to a halt, catching his breath. After some running, Damara pulled out a grenade and, after pulling the pin, tossed it forward. It landed in an intersection up ahead, which Damara continued to run towards. Arriving, she turned right with a jump. Her left foot hit the wall, and she launched herself down the hallway. The minotaur was expecting something like this, however, and turned rapidly as well. Damara then tried again to push it telekinetically, and again went flying away from it. While she was still in the air, and before the minotaur really started after her again, the grenade exploded. The minotaur roared with pain, but didn’t seem to be seriously hurt. Damara had gained quite a bit of distance on it, however, and the minotaur was now a little bit slower.
She entered one of the larger rooms, and saw Andrew on the far side, pointing down a hallway. She nodded slightly and took the hallway. When the minotaur entered the room, Andrew gave a loud roar. The minotaur decided that was a challenge, roared back, ran towards him with a somewhat more open mouth than normal. As it approached, Andrew threw a grenade hard towards it. It arced perfectly into the minotaur’s open mouth. The minotaur swallowed instinctively, and slowed slightly in surprise. Andrew backed up rapidly, but still faced the minotaur. It took another two steps before there was a somewhat muffled explosion. The minotaur’s momentum carried it another two steps before it fell forward and lay still. Damara walked back into the room and looked at the minotaur.
“So, Andrew, did your parents ever consider calling you Theseus?”