Pika-Boo2

Underground

Chapter 3

Enter The Labyrinth

When Sara looked back, there was only the dead tree. He was gone. She suddenly felt very alone.

As she reached the outer stone wall of the labyrinth, she thought she heard singing. She quickened her pace toward the sound.

She was now in what looked like a small garden, many years left to neglect and decay. In the center was a large stone basin and standing on top, pissing into the murky water, was a little man in tattered cloths befitting the days of the middle ages. To her surprise, none of this startled her more than his singing. Though it was to himself, she could make out the words clearly. It was a song she often sang to herself at work. It was a song her mother had taught her as a child. And this man was singing it... in the voice of one Captain Jim Brass of the Las Vegas Police Department!

"Brass?" The little man stopped singing and zipped up his fly.

"Who wants to know?" his voice was gruff as he turned to look at Sara. He recognized her, but it wasn't the greeting she would have expected. His face contorted in annoyance. "Oh, it's you." He jumped down from the basin and picked up something on the ground. Sara was so happy to see a familiar face. She ran to him and proceeded to give him a hug.

"HOLD!" he yelled brandishing not his usual .45, but a pesticide gun. Shock giving way, it was all she could do to keep from laughing. "Just keep your distance, young miss. My master told me all about you!" Sara's smile faded. Master? Brass backed away, and when he felt the distance was good and save, turned and started spraying at some dead flowers. She cautiously walked a bit closer, following him as he sprayed.

"What exactly did your' "Master" say about me?" she inquired, with much bitterness and pause on the "Master". Brass didn't miss a beat.

"He said you were tricky and not to be trusted." Sara gave off a small laugh.

"You sure he wasn't talking about himself?" She had said it as a side to herself, but Brass heard it none the less and she was intrigued to hear him softly laugh in approval at her remark. She had just gained some valuable headway. Brass let her get within a foot of him now. She could now see what he was spraying and she gasped. They were fairies. He was poisoning fairies!

"How could you!" she cried, as she picked up one of the dazed little creatures. As she did it bit her, causing her to drop it back to the dusty floor. Brass stopped spraying at her exclamation of pain. "It bit me!" she cried in disbelieve. Brass chuckled and went on to the next set of dead flowers.

"What'd you expect fairies to do?"

"I though they granted wishes." Brass laughed as he zapped a fairy, it's tiny cry made Sara shudder.

"Shows what you know."

Sara had had enough of this unpleasant Brass. She left him to his "work" and began to search for a way into the labyrinth. There had to be a door or an opening. She saw nothing. After a while she sat down on a broken stone bench in disgust. She turned to Brass and saw him staring at her, a wide grin on his face.

"I could ask you how to get in, but I'd doubt you'd tell me." Sara starred back at the impenetrable wall before her. She suddenly felt Brass by her side.

"Why the hell do you want to go in there anyway!" He asked as if it were the most stupid and crazy thing she could think of doing. She closed her eyes and sighed as she got up. She walked to the wall and put her hand on it. It was cold and hard.

"Grissom." Brass stared at her quizzically.

"What's a Grissom?" Sara couldn't help but laugh. He wasn't serious, was he? As she turned to look at him she could tell that he was. She closed her eyes again and sighed.

"He's a friend." Brass seemed to ponder this new information. As he looked at her his features went from confused, to sadness, to aggravation. He grumbled to himself.

"I just know I'm going to regret this." Curious of his statement, Sara followed him down the length of the wall. "You get in there," he pointed. As Sara turned, where she was sure wall was just seconds before, now opened a large wooden door into the labyrinth.

"But...It was just..." she started, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"Things are not always what they seem in this place, Sara," His voice was no longer gruff and for the first time, Sara felt like she was talking to the Brass she knew. "You can't take anything for granted." It was a warning from a friend. She smiled down at him, then turned toward the large doors. As she began to walk through them, she herd Brass call her.

"Good Luck." She smiled again, but it quickly faded as she saw her Brass be replaced by the sneering little fairy killer. "Your' going to need it." he said in a gruff chuckle. He waved his hands, and Sara had to move fast not be caught in the closing doors.