Chapter Five: Hector

(Eight hours after Hector’s first time in the maze)

Hector hears the door open.

“Rise and shine, Hector and Ruby. Rex wants you both downstairs in ten minutes,” says Jesse. 

Hector looks out from under his covers and sees Jesse standing there.

“Do I have time for a shower?” asks Hector.

Ruby is already jumping out of bed and making a run for the shower.

“Sorry mate. Looks like you won’t be getting that shower. Ten minutes. Downstairs. Ruby, be a doll and show him the way. I have to get the others up,” Jess calls through the bathroom door.

“Sure, no problem, Jesse.  We will go down in a minute,” Ruby calls back.

Hector yawns and wipes the sleep from his tired eyes.

Jesse leaves the room. Hector gets up and drags himself to his dresser. He feels no pain now, but his body still feels tense.

He opens it to find a stack of black shirts in the lower drawer and a stack of blue jeans in the middle drawer. The upper drawer contains socks and underwear, all uniform style. Pulling out what he needs to wear today, he strips down and starts to dress when the bathroom door opens. Hector quickly slides his jeans up over his ass.

“Don’t stop getting dressed on my account. Bathroom is free, but no time for a shower, sorry.” Ruby says with a mischievous smile.

He quickly finishes getting dressed  and heads to the bathroom to at least wash his face.

This girl is going to be the death of me, Hector thinks.

“Cat caught your tongue this evening?” Rub teases Hector.

Ruby gets dressed while Hector is in the bathroom. When Hector opens the door, he catches a glimpse of her naked back. His cock stirs.

I guess that still works, even though I am undead,  Hector thinks to himself.

He grabs his cloak before she can notice he is looking at her. Hector heads out the door.

Ash looks amused as Hector runs into him. “Well, good evening, Hector. I am sure you slept well, sleeping next to a goddess.” Ash smiles at Ruby as she exits behind Hector.

Ruby smiles and closes the door.

“Good evening, Ash. You’re looking lovely tonight. Come on, you two, let’s go. We don’t want to piss off Rex,” says Ruby.

Ruby and Ash head down the stairs. Hector follows them to the kitchen,where Rex is waiting at a table.

“Good evening, Hector, Ash and Ruby. I hope you all slept well. We have a lot of work ahead of us. But first, open the refrigerator and get you a bag of blood. You will need it,” orders Rex.

Ruby and Ash head to the refrigerator and each grab a bag of blood. The blood in the bag smells wonderful to Hector, but the thought of blood twists his stomach. Hector, seeing the others eating, decides to try it.

Hector grabs a bag of blood and drinks it. It tastes heavenly, and he immediately feels better. His body is no longer tense. He feels alive.

“From the way you look, I take it you are enjoying your dinner, Hector?”

Hector looks up from his blood bag.

“Yeah, it tastes good, but I don’t think I will ever get used to drinking blood.” 

Rex, Ash, and Ruby all laugh.

“We said the same thing when we first arrived here. Now, we don’t mind it, right Ruby?” says Ash.

“Yeah, it tastes so good. And fresh is even better from what we are told,” says Ruby as she licks her red lips and tosses her empty blood bag into the trash can.

“You will in time. Soon it won’t even phase you,” says Rex.

Hector throws the empty blood bag away and wipes his mouth with his hand.

“So, what are we doing?” asks Hector.

“The maze again. You all must get it right before we can move on,” says Rex.

Ruby groans and heads outside.

Ash smiles and follows her like a lost puppy.

“Oh, ok, I will try to do better,” Hector says with a feeling of dread.

“Good, let’s go,” says Rex.

They head to the maze. Hector goes over the path he knows and hopes he makes good choices tonight.

Once they are at the entrances to the maze, Rex turns to the three.

“Same rules. Get out in under five minutes. Who wants to go first?” ask Rex.

“I will go first,” says Hector.

“Good, whenever you’re ready,” says Rex.

Hector takes a deep breath and runs into the maze.

Having learned from past mistakes, he goes left, right, right, and then straight;which then leads him to alternatives of right or left.

He heads left and finds himself at another dead end. He turns to go back and sees mist. Hector runs into it, realizes it is garlic, and chokes and gags. As he is trying to catch his breath, Rex appears in front of him, beside the mist.

“Each time you have gotten further, there might be hope for you yet.” 

Hector is still coughing.

“I know. What is my punishment this time?” asks Hector.

"We will see once the others have gone. I may need to punish them as well."

Hector, still coughing, follows Rex out of the maze and back to the others.

“Ash, you’re up,” says Rex.

Ash runs in and Hector is still trying to get the garlic taste out of his mouth.

“How far did you get?” asks Ruby.

“Not far enough. That spray is horrible.”

“Yeah, I remember that turn. I did that the first time I went into the maze.”

Hector looks at her curiously. “How many times have you all gone into the maze?” Hector asks.

Ruby smiles at him. “Let’s see, I have been here about a month. So, thirty or so times. Ash, he got here a week or so after me. Trevor has been here longer than me, but not sure how long for sure,” says Ruby.

 Hector looks at her, then at Rex. “A month? You've been doing this drill for a month?” asks Hector.

Ruby glares at Hector, thinking that he is making fun of her. “It is not easy and besides I plan to beat it today. You will be here at least a month, if not longer.” Ruby smarts off to Hector.

Rex laughs at them arguing and shakes his head. He heads in to get Ash, as his time is up.

Once Ash and Rex are back with the group.

“Ok, Ruby, you’re up. Show them how it is  done. You got really close last time,” orders Rex.

Ruby runs in with a smile. I will beat these boys and move on with Trevor, Ruby thinks.

“How did you do?” Ash asks Hector.

“I don’t know honestly, I got to a part with garlic spraying,” says Hector.

“Yeah, I got a little further than that. I just get my turns mixed up” says Ash .

“That is because you do not trust your vampire instincts. I have been telling you for over three weeks now, Ash. Trust in yourself,” says Rex.

 As the boys are talking, Rex sees there is about a minute left when Ruby walks out on the other side of the maze.

“Nice job Ruby, you did it” says Rex.

Ash jumps for joy and goes to hug Ruby.

“You can watch them take their punishments and go again or you can go back to the castle Ruby,” says Rex.

“I think I will watch. Besides, I have to cheer on Ash here,” says Ruby looking at Hector with venom.

“Very well, Hector and Ash. I have two punishments. Ash, you can choose which one you want since you  almost got to the end. Hector, you’re getting the first one.”

“Since it was garlic mist that got you, drink a whole cup of holy water. I am telling you now it will burn your insides, but it will fade within a few minutes,” says Rex.

Rex hands Hector the cup of water. Hector looks at it and knows he doesn’t have a choice. He drinks the whole cup as quickly as he can.

As soon as the water hits his mouth, he feels fire burning through his veins. It feels like drinking lava instead of water. The pain lasts for ten whole minutes before it fades, and it is bearable for him to speak again.

“These punishments are getting harder,” whispers Hector. His throat is raw and rough.

Rex laughs.

“Man, trust me, this is only the beginning. So, get this maze right or there will be more to come. Ready to go again?” asks Rex.

“Now, Ash, you can do the water too or you can get hit with a ray of sunlight from the gun?” Rex asks Ash.

“I take the ray, Rex. That holy water is no joke. I remember from a few days ago,” says Ash.

Rex nods and pulls out a ray gun from his gun holster and points it at Ash’s bare arm. Ash screams as the ray hits his arm. The skin is black by the time Rex turns it off.

“Ok, Hector, you’re up again. Let's see if you learned anything. Ready?” asks Rex .

“Not even close to being ready to do this again,” says Hector with a sigh.

“Well, let’s go,” orders Rex.

Ruby and Ash watch.

“You got this Hector,” says Ash through gritted teeth, his arm still hurting badly.

“No pressure Hector, it only took us this long to beat it,” teases Ruby.

Hector runs into the maze again. He goes left, right, right, straight, straight, and then right, which leads him to another left or right choice.

He goes left, right and then right. He is met with the choice of straight or left and chooses straight. This leads him to another choice between right and left.

Hector chooses left again, and he is brought to three paths: right, center and left. He knows time is running out. He listens to his inner voice and chooses right. This leads him out of the maze. Just as he crosses the finish line, Rex appears.

“Well, look at you. You finished just in time. Congratulations on passing your first test,” Rex says out loud.

Rex turns to hide his surprise. Wow, day one and he already passed the maze, Rex thinks.

They go back to the others. "Ash, you're the last one. Can you do it? ” asks Rex.

  

Ash smiles. “I got this.”

“You got it Ash. If the newbie can do it, you can do it,” says Ruby.

“You got this, man,” says Hector.

 Ash runs in and they all watch the timer. Three minutes later, Ash comes out the other side of the maze. He pumps his fist in the air, cheering.

 Everyone goes over to him.

“Nice work everyone. We are done for the day. Mike should be in the kitchen. Get you all some blood and you can hang out in the library or your rooms. Remember, the basement and upper floors are off limits. We will start the next task tomorrow, so rest up. You will need it,” says Rex.

“Well, looks like we have a fast learner,” says Ruby.

“How did you do it so quickly?” asks Ash.

“I don’t know, really. I just remembered which way I went the other times. The last part I just closed my eyes and listened to my gut about which way was out,” says Hector.

“You trusted yourself. That is what Rex has been saying this whole time. That is great. You want to go to the game room or library or something?” asks Ash.

“Sure, I guess we can go to the game room. Where is that at?” asks Hector.

“It is off the kitchen down the hall three doors down. We will show you. Are you coming Ruby?” asks Ash.

They walk back to the castle.

“Sure, why not? Maybe we can play pool or darts: see what else Hector is good at,” says Ruby  as she walks in front of them, swaying her hips.

Ash and Hector watch as her butt moves with her hips. Ash blushes. Hector didn’t know a vampire could blush.

Hector feels his cock stir again. A feeling of sadness fills him as his mind drifts to Kelanar.

God, I miss you Kelanar. I hope you’re ok, Hector thinks as he follows the others into the game room.