incredulous. “You named her?”
“Him,” John corrected after a cursory inspection.
“Well, you’ve had your fun. Put it back and let’s get out of here.” J ohn ignored him, addressing the dog instead. “B olo! Wanna go po y?” he said with an overdose of enthusiasm. “Huh? Wanna go potty? Let’s go!” I t worked. B olo took off toward the doors and began sniffing each entrance. S ix doors down he started barking, his tail waving so fast that J ohn worried it might fall off.
“Yeah, all right,” Dante conceded. “Having a dog could be good.” J ohn opened the door and B olo bolted through, ignoring J ohn’s calls for him to return.
“S eems like he knows where he’s going,” Dante said, surprising J ohn by taking off after the dog. J ohn raced after them both, gray corridors whizzing by to either side.
B olo took turns at random, leading them deeper into the labyrinth. J ohn was terrified that their carelessness would land them in an entire nest of P rops, but they couldn’t stop, not if they wanted to keep sight on their four-legged guide.
The halls gave way to a large open space where fog oozed across the ground, obscuring it from view. The sound of machinery rumbled like thunder in the distance, even though nothing mechanical was visible. They raced across this open space, J ohn catching sight of more spidery P rops in the distance, slinking through the low fog, but by some miracle he and his friends went unseen. O n the other side of the room, a short hallway ended with a door, and here B olo waited for them, tail wagging and eyes eager.
J ohn hurried to open the door before the dog could bark. Daylight, or at least P urgatory’s poor equivalent, lay beyond. B ut that wasn’t all. The G olden G ate Bridge stretched out in front of them. B olo quickly disappeared in the obscuring fog, barking happily.
“Deserter,” Dante mu ered before breaking out into a smile. “This is it! The mu led us right to it!”
“Across the bridge and we’re free?” John asked, excitement overtaking him.
“B ridge? O h, yeah, I get it.” Dante scratched at his stubble. “E veryone sees something different, just like the rest of P urgatory. I ’ve heard people talk about the B erlin Wall, or a river, that sort of stuff. W hatever you see, it’s always a barrier and a border to be crossed.”
“What do you see then?”
“The Dublin Ferry. Come on.”
What about Jacobi? J ohn thought, but the question went unspoken. He thought of the creatures lurking in the room just behind them and knew they were lucky to have made it across without being seen. They would never find their way back through the maze of hallways, either. J ohn’s fear heavily outweighed the guilt he felt for abandoning J acobi, so he shoved thoughts of the old man away and turned his attention toward the unknown.
The fog swallowed them as they reached the bridge, blinding their vision. Dante had only been a few feet ahead, but already he was lost to sight. Their footsteps echoed eerily, reflecting back at them from all directions and giving the impression they were being chased. J ohn tried to ignore his rising trepidation, but he had lost all sense of direction and didn’t know if he was still following the others. B olo’s barks echoed all around him, but they no longer sounded joyous, and each was preceded by a gu ural growl.
Through the white cloud that dominated J ohn’s field of vision, a shadow rose up before him. At first J ohn thought he had finally caught up to Dante, but then the clouds broke, revealing the minimalistic face of a P rop just inches away from J ohn’s own. The scream stuck in his throat as J ohn stared at the protruding fangs dripping with blue poison. From around this gruesome visage, eight spidery limbs shot through the fog and wrapped around John.
Teeth bit into him, and now J ohn found his scream. He fought and struggled as the poison made him sluggish, almost escaping from the P rop’s grip,
“Him,” John corrected after a cursory inspection.
“Well, you’ve had your fun. Put it back and let’s get out of here.” J ohn ignored him, addressing the dog instead. “B olo! Wanna go po y?” he said with an overdose of enthusiasm. “Huh? Wanna go potty? Let’s go!” I t worked. B olo took off toward the doors and began sniffing each entrance. S ix doors down he started barking, his tail waving so fast that J ohn worried it might fall off.
“Yeah, all right,” Dante conceded. “Having a dog could be good.” J ohn opened the door and B olo bolted through, ignoring J ohn’s calls for him to return.
“S eems like he knows where he’s going,” Dante said, surprising J ohn by taking off after the dog. J ohn raced after them both, gray corridors whizzing by to either side.
B olo took turns at random, leading them deeper into the labyrinth. J ohn was terrified that their carelessness would land them in an entire nest of P rops, but they couldn’t stop, not if they wanted to keep sight on their four-legged guide.
The halls gave way to a large open space where fog oozed across the ground, obscuring it from view. The sound of machinery rumbled like thunder in the distance, even though nothing mechanical was visible. They raced across this open space, J ohn catching sight of more spidery P rops in the distance, slinking through the low fog, but by some miracle he and his friends went unseen. O n the other side of the room, a short hallway ended with a door, and here B olo waited for them, tail wagging and eyes eager.
J ohn hurried to open the door before the dog could bark. Daylight, or at least P urgatory’s poor equivalent, lay beyond. B ut that wasn’t all. The G olden G ate Bridge stretched out in front of them. B olo quickly disappeared in the obscuring fog, barking happily.
“Deserter,” Dante mu ered before breaking out into a smile. “This is it! The mu led us right to it!”
“Across the bridge and we’re free?” John asked, excitement overtaking him.
“B ridge? O h, yeah, I get it.” Dante scratched at his stubble. “E veryone sees something different, just like the rest of P urgatory. I ’ve heard people talk about the B erlin Wall, or a river, that sort of stuff. W hatever you see, it’s always a barrier and a border to be crossed.”
“What do you see then?”
“The Dublin Ferry. Come on.”
What about Jacobi? J ohn thought, but the question went unspoken. He thought of the creatures lurking in the room just behind them and knew they were lucky to have made it across without being seen. They would never find their way back through the maze of hallways, either. J ohn’s fear heavily outweighed the guilt he felt for abandoning J acobi, so he shoved thoughts of the old man away and turned his attention toward the unknown.
The fog swallowed them as they reached the bridge, blinding their vision. Dante had only been a few feet ahead, but already he was lost to sight. Their footsteps echoed eerily, reflecting back at them from all directions and giving the impression they were being chased. J ohn tried to ignore his rising trepidation, but he had lost all sense of direction and didn’t know if he was still following the others. B olo’s barks echoed all around him, but they no longer sounded joyous, and each was preceded by a gu ural growl.
Through the white cloud that dominated J ohn’s field of vision, a shadow rose up before him. At first J ohn thought he had finally caught up to Dante, but then the clouds broke, revealing the minimalistic face of a P rop just inches away from J ohn’s own. The scream stuck in his throat as J ohn stared at the protruding fangs dripping with blue poison. From around this gruesome visage, eight spidery limbs shot through the fog and wrapped around John.
Teeth bit into him, and now J ohn found his scream. He fought and struggled as the poison made him sluggish, almost escaping from the P rop’s grip,
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