32.

Well, one good thing finally happens to us. Kane's explosive ambush rings out through the s.p.a.ce. The concussive blast echoes around the cavern following the detonation of the Claymore, killing some of the incoming soldiers. Anguished filled screams of the survivors can be heard before a quick round of gunshots silences them, putting them out of their misery. We continue moving forward, towards the last location where we heard Dad, the stone forest thinning as we advance.

"Well, that worked out better than expected," Kane says looking back towards the spot where he laid his trap.

"Better than expected?" Nicole asks in revulsion. "We are now responsible for at least four men's deaths-maybe more!"

"Better them than us," he replies with little remorse. "If they catch us we're dead." He ejects his magazine and replaces it with a new one. "Your jobs are to figure out where the h.e.l.l we are. Mine is to keep you guys alive."

"Oh, d.a.m.n..."

They both spin around twin guns drawn, searching for a target, but find none.

My face must look like I saw a ghost, because I get the same question in unison.

"You okay?"

We have entered the courtyard in my dream. Everything is the same. The dark gray and black color, the pillars, the empty pedestals and the pyramid...

Wait a second...empty pedestals? I run over to the closest one and stop. "They're empty?" I say confused. "They weren't empty in my dream."

ROAR!.

I snap towards the familiar sound and stumble away. One of the Minotaur creatures that should have been frozen in time on a stone base, steps out from behind a pillar and reveals its full height and girth and...its breed.

ROAR!.

"What the...?" Nicole says stammering, taking a step back.

The half human, half rhinoceros slowly rounds the large column, advancing towards us. I'm guessing it stands about nine feet tall and weighs nearly half a ton, and like a person, walks on two legs. Its legs are that of a rhino, strong and powerful. Its body is humanoid and built like a Mr. Universe compet.i.tor. The Minotaur's arms are mostly rhino, like its legs, except for the hands. They are most definitely human...and huge...with claws. Perfect for tearing us apart, I think.

Its head is the most terrifying feature. The skull is all rhinoceros and so is the snout and foot-long horn. But, the eyes...they are 100% human, and they are watching us, studying our every move. Which isn't much right now since we are unmoving, gripped by fear.

It stops and lets out a snort and growl so low it sounds like the late Michael Clark Duncan is wearing Darth Vader's helmet. The monsters eyes focus on me and never waver.

Dang.

Then I see something in the creature that I didn't notice before.

"Its stone-obsidian I think," I say surprised. "But alive?" The jet-black exterior of the stone giant glistens in the low light, like moonlight reflecting off the surface of an oil slick in water.

"You said the sculptures in your nightmare were stone too, right?" Nicole asks never taking her eyes off of the thing.

"Yes, they were, but they weren't alive and ready to kill us."

"Look at the chest," Kane directs.

Nicole and I finally take our focus off the face and look down at its chest and abdomen. What we see is strange, but recognizable.

"Are those bullet wounds?" I ask. They pock the monster's body like tiny meteor craters.

"From your father, I'd guess." Nicole replies. "I doubt Omar had the where-with-all to even draw his gun let alone go one-on-one with rhino-boy."

Hearing the mention of my father sends me into a panic and I scan the area quickly, but happily find no blood or bodies.

"Looks like they got away," Kane says noticing my frantic search.

I look back to the brute and see something odd. It twitches its head a few times, like it has a nervous tick or like it has a kink in its neck.

ROAR!.

The creature charges, horn down.

We react the only way we can...we open fire.

"Aim for the knees and try to slow it down! I'll try for its head!" Kane yells as he dives right and brings up both Eagles, opening up with a cacophony of cannon blasts. Thankfully, he is still wearing his arm braces or he'd be running around like Gumby, arms flapping about.

He lands on his back, just feet from the rhino, and fires off two more rounds, striking it in the shoulder. The monster swings a beefy fist in a downward arc, like an oversized sledge. The hammer blow smashes into the ground, pulverizing the spot were Kane had just been. If creature had found its mark, the big-man from Montana would have just turned into a big red smear of blood and guts, forever a stain on the rock hard flooring.

But Kane had seen the killing blow coming, diving away again, this time instantly rolling to his feet, weapons again blazing.

The giant blocks most of the projectiles with its forearm, sending chunks of obsidian shrapnel everywhere, and roars again. Kane is actually frustrating the thing. No surprise there, I think. The man could probably infuriate a brick wall.

Nicole and I circle around the thing's right flank, gawking at the golem-like beast's tenacity and its apparent thirst for making Kane into his own brand of ketchup. We stop and let loose a healthy bombardment of lead, unloading as fast as our fingers can twitch.

"If we concentrate our fire on its knee..." I yell over the rapid fire thunder clap produced by our weapons. "...we should be able to at least hobble it and slow it-"

ROAR!.

THUMP!.

BANG!.

As we reload, a crashing sound and a grunt echoes through the courtyard. We look up and see the beast knock Kane off his feet, swatting him away like a pesky fly at a barbeque. He slams into one of the empty pedestals and flips up and over it crashing hard on the other side.

33.

"Kane!" Nicole and I scream in perfect harmony, fear gripping our bodies. We know he can take a licking, but that was beyond a brutal blow.

Luckily, we hear him mumbling expletives on the other side of the pedestal, not sounding at all pleased with being tossed like a rag doll in a clothes dryer. But at least he's alive. If he was. .h.i.t in the face and not the chest, the outcome would have been a lot worse for sure.

"Now what?" I ask rhetorically, a little too loud.

The rhino-man halts its attack on Kane and slowly turns around to face us.

Pfffff!

It snorts a cloud of dust and grime, once again locking its gaze onto me.

s.h.i.t.

But then a really stupid idea pops into my head. I wonder...

I whisper so only Nicole can hear me, "I'm going to lead it away. Do NOT move until I have its attention. Go help Kane and wait for my signal." I don't have time to explain my plan, but she sees the creature's unnatural obsession with me and backs down. She's about to holster both her weapons, but balks at the idea, just in case. She stops, standing as still as a statue and waits for me to make the first move.

I step forward, towards the monster, trying to think of something to say. What do you say to a rhino-man, death machine?

Hi. How's your day going? Sleeping well?

As I move, Nicole slowly makes her way around the rhino, giving it a wide berth.

A cold shiver tingles its way up my back and a thought seemingly random thought enters my mind. The same feeling I had before in the tunnels.

"Nannot?" I ask in confusion. The word just slips out of my mouth. I'm not sure what it means, but it feels like the right thing to say. And it must be, because the beast's eyes start to glow a crimson red and begin to bleed. Gross.

The second the blood starts to flow-the rhino starts to thrash his head back and forth, like it's writhing in pain.

ROAR!.

"You!"

Did it just speak? Can the others hear this?

"How dare you use my name!"

Yep, it spoke. Its lips moved and everything, annunciating the words. I look beyond the speaking manimal to Nicole and see her eyes go wide. Yep, they can hear it too.

An even colder chill races up and down my body, and not in a good way, this one makes my blood run cold. I recognize the voice. I do everything I can not to let it hear the fear in my voice.

"The End, you're here?"

The Minotaur again shakes violently like it's trying to fight the evil presence in its head. It even bashes itself in the temple as if attempting to slaughter the mental intruder...or possibly to kill itself.

"Yes, slave. I am always here."

"How?"

"Once I splinter your mind I will always have dominion over you, unless you die in the process of the breaking, that is."

"So you control this thing?"

The rhino-morph stands at attention and grunts, but this time it looks strong and focused.

Nannot must have full control now. The thrashing was the pain of him reentering the creature's mind.

"Rhonar was a worthy challenger once, but sadly for him, he was not strong enough to resist me."

So the rhino's name is Rhonar? Okay then.

"Very few have been able to deny me."

Deny. There's that word again.

The will of the chosen to deny, I think to myself, reciting the cryptic message again.

Rhonar's body shudders again, clenching its manhole-cover sized hands. Its eyes are bleeding more too. The pain its enduring must be excruciating.

Nicole finally reaches Kane and helps him up to his knees. He has a knot on his head, but doesn't look as bad as I expected.

Tough dude.

He then notices me standing alone with the monster that clubbed him away and draws his weapon-but before he can fire and ruin my plan, Nicole grabs his arm and shakes her head mouthing the word, "Wait."

"Hold on, back up. Challenger?" I ask, finally paying attention to what Nannot-The End-had said.

"Yes, all those who oppose me and fail, but do not perish, become my...decorations, or as I call them, my Nightmares, my...experiments. I created these for my own amus.e.m.e.nt. I guess there was some good in what our tyrant taught us after all."

Rhonar smiles, a hint of resistance etched in its face.

Tyrant? I think. Who's he talking about?

I glance over at the other seven empty stands and gasp. All of these things are now alive and roaming this place.

I peak over and see Kane up on his feet, gun in hand, ready to go. Let's hope this works. Hopefully he'll get what I'm about to do and understand his role in it.

"You shall be my next trophy and-"

I don't let Nannot finish. I charge weapon blazing, intending to blind it. Can you blind stone? Let's hope you can.

The nightmare opens its clenched fists, revealing its talons and swipes at me. I slide under its legs with ease, still firing. As I exit behind it, my gun runs dry. Not having time to reload, I toss my Glock aside and stand, ready for anything.

ROAR!.