Chapter 104

Therry fell backwards as the wall she had been leaning on suddenly turned into an opening. Maxin yelled her name and ran to her as the others tried to keep their footing.

What the hell is happening now? Hotch wondered as he moved to help Copper up because the faun had fallen.

"If that was me, I'm sorry!" the collared man insisted as he moved his foot and then snorted in disgust when he saw the stone pressure button he had stepped on.

"What's happening?" Maxin yelled to be heard over the rumble as he helped his wife up.

"Are the walls closing in on us?" Therry asked and then yelled for her son.

"No, but the openings are!" Hotch yelled as the opening the older dwarves had gone into started closing. He ran to it, dropped the torch, and tried to hold it open with his hands. His human strength was no match for the massive stone walls, though, so he added a leg.

"Dag!" Therry yelled.

"We have to get back in there!" Maxin yelled as he moved his wife to the opening that was slowly getting smaller despite Hotch's efforts.

Dag yelled for both of his parents and tried to run to them, but the quaking of the ground made him stumble after the first step.

"We'll be trapped in here!" the collared man yelled as Copper ran to help the young dwarf up.

"No, there's another door opening over there!" Hotch yelled as he still fought to keep the massive walls from moving. Knowing he was fighting a losing battle, he reached down for the torch and used it as a wedge. It helped, but the wood started creaking under the strain. He looked at the dwarves. "Hurry!"

As it was, it didn't help; the narrowed opening was too thin for the barrel-chested dwarves to fit through. "No!" Maxin yelled as he slammed a meaty fist against the wall.

Hotch glanced back at the terrified Dag. Hotch knew he wouldn't want to get separated from his son, so he ran and grabbed the boy's arm. "Go to your parents! You can still fit!" he screamed as he shoved him towards the opening.

"Yes! Come, Dag!" Therry yelled as she reached her stumpy arms under the torch and held out her hands for her son.

The torch's tough wood screamed, and Dag slid to a stop thinking it was going to break.

Hotch pushed on him and then braced the opening with his arms. "Help me!" he yelled at the faun and the human looking man, and they both scrambled to do just that.

In his panic, Dag tried to go through the opening straight on, and he got stuck.

"You've gotta turn!" Maxin yelled as he reached in between the walls and tried to pull his son through.

Hotch took the chance and left the bracing to the other two and grabbed Dag's left shoulder. One hard yank, and the boy was turned sideways which let him be pulled through by both of his parents.

As soon as he was standing safely on the other side, Copper breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. "Should we go through it, too, so we can stay together?"

As soon as he asked it, the torch shattered, and Hotch pulled the collared man back just in time to stop him from being crushed by the wall.

"I guess not," Hotch offered and then took a deep breath.

"Well, at least they are together," Copper offered with a small smile.

"Yes, but what does this mean? Did the whole damn place move or was it just these walls?" Hotch asked as he went to go look through the new opening, the only way out.

"Hell, even the exit could have moved. We could have been going all this way for nothing," the collared man put in and the disgust in his tone was understood.

Hotch took another deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Only one way to find out," he offered as he picked up the only remaining torch and headed out into the new passageway. It's not bad enough that we're trapped in a maze, it has to be booby trapped, too? He sighed. I really, really hate this place!

XXXXX

Kahlan sat at the table and slowly looked at all three of her children. She could tell by all their looks, that they all knew she was about to give them bad news, and that made her chest tighten.

Wyatt huffed, got up, and went to the kitchen.

Kahlan frowned as she watched him, but she silently welcomed the respite. She used that time to try and settle her thoughts.

"Here, you look like you need it," Wyatt offered as he put a beer down in front of her after twisting off the cap.

"Thanks." She gave him a small smile and then cringed. "I look that bad, huh?"

"Yes, and if you would just get it off your chest, you'll probably feel a lot better," Jack told her.

She nodded, took a long drink, and then sat the beer bottle down and straightened in her chair.

"We know it's about Dad, and since he isn't answering his calls or texts from us, the only conclusion is that something has happened, something bad," Wyatt reasoned.

"And you're upset but not too upset, so we know he isn't dead," Jack added.

Joey shared a quick look with her brothers and then faced her mother with a stern look. "Daddy's missing, isn't he?"

Kahlan took a breath to answer, but Jack cut back in. "He's been missing for a few days, hasn't he?"

"And you've been out running all over trying to find him, correct?" Wyatt asked her.

Kahlan again opened her mouth to respond, but Joey cut in. "And you've been hiding all of it from us. Why?" she wanted to know.

When Kahlan locked eyes with the match of her husband's eyes, her heart ached and her eyes watered. "It's not that we were trying to hide it just to be hiding it, guys. I was really hoping to find him by now." She cringed as she looked at all of them. "I was hoping to shield you from all of this by finding him before I had to tell you," she confessed and then dropped her head into her hands. "I'm so sorry, guys," she cried.

They all got up and went to her. Joey pushed her way into her mother's lap, Wyatt hugged her from the right, and Jack hugged her from the left. "It's not your fault, Mom. You're not responsible for him missing," Jack assured her.

"We understand the risks that you all take when you go off on these special missions; we just wish you all would tell us about stuff like this when it happens," Wyatt told her.

A whimper escaped Kahlan as she sat up. "You guys aren't mad at me?" she asked as she looked at her boys.

"No, Mom," Jack started.

"We're mad at whoever is behind Dad being not here," Wyatt finished.

Kahlan gave them a nod of appreciation and then looked at her daughter sitting inches away from her face. Joey's Hotch stare was out in full force, and Kahlan cringed. "But you're mad at Mommy."

Wyatt and Jack both inhaled to intervene, but Kahlan held up her hand to stop them. Joey glanced at the boys and then nodded to her mother. "Yes. I'm mad because you didn't tell us. We might have been able to help find him!"

Kahlan took a breath to reply, but Joey held up her hand to stop her. "But even if we couldn't have done that, we could have at least helped you deal with it!" she insisted.

"Alright, Joe. Mom feels bad enough," Jack told her with a look.

"Yeah, Joe, let's cut Mom some slack," Wyatt told her as he reached to take her out of Kahlan's lap.

Kahlan shook her head, though, and held onto her youngest. "She's right, though, and I am sorry," she assured her and pulled her into a strong hug. "And while I can't promise to always tell you all everything, I do promise to be a little quicker with what I can tell you," she added as she looked at her boys.

The tears welling up in her eyes made both boys' eyes water, and they joined in on the family hug.

XXXXX

After going down several passages, Hotch and his companions found themselves at a dead-end. Son of a bitch!

"Really, we've been walking down this corridor for over ten minutes, and it doesn't lead to anywhere?!" the collared man screamed and then kicked the wall he was closest to.

"You need to calm down. Getting huffy isn't going to get us out of here any quicker," Copper told him as he sat down to take a much needed break.

"That, and you better watch what you're kicking. Remember what happened last time you messed with something," Hotch told him as he dropped the torch to let his arm relax.

"Huffy? I'm not getting huffy! I'm thirsty, hungry, and tired of being lost in this forsaken maze!" the man yelled and then flopped down onto the floor.

"We're all tired of being in here, but there's nothing we can do about it until we find our way out," Copper reasoned. "And the smaller the breaks we take, the quicker we get out of here," he added as he started to stand up.

When he put his hand on the wall to help himself get up, a section of the wall sunk in. "No!" he screamed as he used both hands to try and pull the section back out, but his fingers just slipped on the smooth stone.

"Now what?" the collar man shrieked as he scrambled to stand.

"The walls aren't moving," Hotch said as his eyes trailed over everything trying to figure out what the labyrinth was going to do.

They all looked at each other silently, and Hotch frowned. "What's that sound?"

"I don't know. It almost sounds like sand pouring out of something," Copper offered and all three of them looked up at the ceiling in terror.

"Well, there's nothing up there. . ." the collared man started but then suddenly screamed as the ground right next to him opened up, and he started sliding towards the widening gap.

Hotch scrambled over to him and just missed his shoulder, but the man turned and reached a hand towards Hotch. Their fingers touched, but the man slid further away. "Grab the chain!" Hotch insisted. He was still locked in the shackles they had placed on him before bringing him to the pits, and the long chain dangling between reached a lot farther than his hands.

The man grabbed onto the chain with both hands as his body slid down into the hole even farther, and Hotch was pulled forward by his weight. Copper rushed to grab Hotch's waistband, and their added weight stopped the man from falling even more.

Within a few moments, the hole was opened completely, and when the dirt from the floor stopped falling into it, the only thing that could be heard was the three male's heavy breathing.

The collared man looked below him, but he couldn't see anything except blackness. "Maybe it's not deep."

"I didn't hear any of those rocks hitting bottom," Hotch told him as he struggled to keep his weight back from the edge. The strain of the big man on his wrists was causing him to cringe, and he wasn't sure what would happen first: the man losing his grip on the chains or the shackles pulling his hands off. He was sure he didn't want to find out, though, so he tried to pull the man up.

"There might not even be a bottom," Copper offered as he pulled on Hotch.

"There's got to be a bottom," the hanging man argued.

"If you're so sure about that, then let go," Copper spit out as he pulled as hard as he could, but his hooves kept slipping in the loose dirt.

Hotch tried back-pedaling, and he got a couple steps back; but then he slipped and fell to his chest dropping the man a few feet causing him to scream. Copper scrambled and then grabbed Hotch's legs to help anchor him.

"I really don't want to find out if there's a bottom or not," the man got out as he looked up at Hotch, "but I really don't want you guys to fall in here with me." He took a deep breath. "Maybe I should just let go."

"No!" Hotch screamed. "We can get you up," he assured him and then pulled with all his might. He looked back at the faun. "Pull!"

After a lot of struggling, they finally got the man back onto solid floor, and they all sat in silence as they panted with the effort.

Once the collared man had regained his composure, he gave Hotch and Copper a nod and a smile. "Thanks."

"No problem," Hotch told him as he started to lean back against the wall, but then stopped as he thought better of it.

The collared man studied Hotch. "You're obviously not a vampire, so what are you really?"

Hotch's brows furrowed. "Why do you say I'm not? A couple hours ago you were sure I was going to feed on one of you."

"A vampire would have flipped his wrist and had me out of that hole, not almost lost his hands trying to pull me up. There's no way you're a vampire."

Hotch could see Copper studying him, too, and Hotch sighed. "I am a vampire, but this damn thing," he started as he grabbed the loose collar, "this damn thing takes away my abilities as if I was human again. And I know you probably don't believe that. . ."

"No, I believe you," the man told him. "I believe you because this damn collar does the same thing to me," he told him as he fingered the wide collar around his neck.

"That stops your abilities?" Hotch asked.

"What are you?" Copper asked him.

"I'm a lycan."

"Oh," Copper said.

Hotch could tell the faun knew what that was, but he didn't. "What's a lycan?"

The man frowned as he studied Hotch. "You don't know what a lycan is?"

Hotch shook his head. Well, since we're sharing. . . "I'm pretty new to all of this."

Both the man and the faun winced. "You, poor man," Copper said as he shook his head.

"A lycan is a being that can turn into a dog," the man explained.

"So, you're like a shapeshifter?" Hotch asked.

"No, they can take any shape; I can only change into a dog."

"Can you do that any time you want to?"

The man nodded. "Well, unless some asshole puts a magical collar around my neck."

Hotch huffed. "Asshole is putting it mildly."

Copper laughed and then looked at the lycan. "You never have given us your name. I would think after saving you that's the least you could do."

The man winced. "Sorry, but I wasn't sure I could trust you. You are right, though. I'm called Tucker, and I thank both of you for saving me."

Hotch stood up and wiped the back of his pants off. "Well, Tucker, it's nice to officially meet you, and I think we better get moving before this damn maze decides to throw something else at us."

"Agreed," Copper said as he got up and then held out a hand to Tucker.

Tucker took the offered hand and then smiled. "Well, at least we haven't run into any monsters."

Hotch picked up the torch and winced. You just had to say that, didn't you?