Introduction

Every ten years, five people are selected at the will of the spirits. No one knows who is going to be picked, but all who have been skipped over regard it as a death sentence, because no one has ever returned from the labyrinth that they must survive. This year, all the members of the Spirit Talkers will be at the graveyard of the ages. They must wait there until the spirits send the message on who will be cast into their grasp. When the spirits make up their mind, it shall be inscribed on six of the graves, surrounding the spirit’s manifesting temple.

Three months later…

“Every wake up the spirits have made their decision, we must head to the grounds to please them.” In a hurry, the fifty of the Spirit Talkers moved to the temple grounds. Five flashes of light filled the atmosphere. With each flash, new markings covered a gravestone, one by one. “The spirits have spoken, the five selected outcasts are: Bernie Plots, Lana Verde, Tammy Orvic, Laura McRosh, and … No NO NO this cant be happening.” “What is it brother Giovanni.” Its my daughter, Annabelle, I adopted her after my brother died, and I promised him nothing bad would happen to her, this cannot be happening. Spirits, I beg you send me in my daughter’s place, do not make her go down. His cries were drowned out, by a hopeful flash of light. Giovanni walked over to the gravestone drenched in his own tears and read: “Outcast numbers five and six, Annabelle, and Giovanni Parlor.” He nearly collapsed at his shock thinking that it is as bad as it gets.

The day of the casting began. Each outcast was positioned in front of their graves, and had to await their dissension by the spirits. It was impossible to tell what the spirits were up to, and no one could tell when they would be taken. In the hours of waiting the outcast got to know each other. Laura was in training to be and Olympian in swimming, she felt that swimming would save her life so she started and practiced and perfected her styles, so she could escape sinking ships. Lana’s father was one of the richest people in the world, and Lana herself was all dressed up in a nice dress, and sparking jewelry, she was indeed spoiled. Bernie was always in a good mood, he always laughed at people’s jokes, but did get scared just as easily. Tammy was an explorer who has journeyed to the ends of the earth doing what ever it was possible to do, she discovered numerous islands, and found a hidden temple or two. No one could talk the Giovanni and his daughter because they were quiet and never said a word the whole time. Finally, on the eleventh hour of the morning, the outcast began to sink into the ground, and hoped that this would not be the end.

All of them woke up in a chamber the size of a tennis court. On a sign, it said that they must rush through the maze, and avoid all contact with the spirits, if they find you it is unpredictable on what happens. It branched off in the three passages. Bernie and Lana ventured to the right, and split up and the next fork. Giovanni, Annabelle, and Laura stuck together as they want through the left, and Tammy went alone through the center.


Bernie

He sprinted down the passages thinking if it was the best idea to ditch Lana. He wanted someone to keep him company, someone to talk to. He was lost in deep thought wondering about anything that could happen in the maze. He thought about the spirits, and what they would do to him, he thought about the other outcasts, and he thought about going back home. He was stuck in the labyrinth, and was most likely never to be heard from again. He was about to start crying, but then he crashed into a wall. He was dazed, and then he heard something the way he came. Bernie heard a demonic laugh, he was about to get up in run, but he hurt his knee, and it was impossible to move it without sending needles through his leg. He grew more and more frightened, but he thought of something that eased his mind. “Ha-ha, very funny Lana. You followed me when I wasn’t looking so you could scare me. Well now I’m onto you, come out her.

“Very well Bernie, but I am not Lana.”

“I know that’s you Lana.” He said as his laughter grew more worrisome. “hahahaha.”

“You think you’re so funny don’t you little man, well I know how to fix that, your down here for one reason, to entertain us. Now you are going to do a little entertaining.”

Bernie’s weak laughter grew more hysterical, it went from a weak nervous laugh, to a gut busting explosion of chortles. He couldn’t stop himself he was laughing more than he ever did in his life, and he didn’t know why. He just kept on laughing, he felt lightheaded, but kept on laughing.

“All this laughter is driving me crazy, and it’s not natural, let me fix that.”

Bernie’s laughter grew so strong that it made him feel funny on the inside, but changes took place on the outside. All he could do was watch as his face stretched out into a canine muzzle. His nose migrated to the tip and sunk back into it. He felt his new furry face, and saw that his hand was padded, and his fingers were gone. His hand was a dog’s paw.

“The shock on people’s faces is my favorite part.”

Bernie tried to run away, but he still struggled to get up, but not because of the pain, because his leg was bending into an awkward shape. He couldn’t stand upright, but he felt comfortable on his hands and feet. His clothes ripped apart, revealing brown and gray furs all around his body. His laughter still continued through his discomfort and shock and it was still as strong as ever. He watched a bulge behind him wiggle out, and it grew into a bushy tail. Bernie also felt his ears rise to the top of his head, and his teeth sharpen like razors. Something about it Bernie began to like, he new how ugly he was, he knew that he wasn’t human anymore, and he new his life would never again be normal, but Bernie liked his new body.
“Well now I have a pet for myself, this selection of outcasts is going to be fun!”

Lana

“Glad I ditched that freak, Bernie, god he was annoying.” Lana strolled along the paths, looking for something that se the others apart. Lana wanted something that appealed to her, not just any old path. She saw the maze like a big mall, you don’t want to be seen next to a discount clothes store, you shop and the high end retailers. Whenever she came to a dead end, she doubled back to see if there was anything she missed before, going down the nearest hall. She gave a new definition to “Taking your time” because, it was a life or death scenario, and she wandered about looking for what she liked.

She found a hall that was slightly larger than the rest and walked through it. In the distance, she heard some hysterical laughter, and that worried her so she took off her high heels and skipped down the hall, so she didn’t have to run. A little later, she grew tired and started walking again. She wandered down more halls until she saw a bright light coming from behind a wall. She navigated over to the location, and saw a building with highly prized clothing such as: animal furs, skin boots, and feathered accessories. She rushed into the building and browsed each aisle for the nicest clothing. She fell in love with the colorful feather skirt so she took it off the shelf and went into the dressing room.

She took the skirt and wrapped it around her waist. She found it to be very tight, so she tried to open the door to get out and find another size. She touched the doorknob and it gave her a slight jolt, but the door refused to open. She pounded the door screaming for someone to let her out, she didn’t care who it was, and she just wanted the skirt.

“Well hello Miss, can I help you.”

Yes, this door is locked, and I need a bigger skirt, this thing is tight.” Said Lana

“Oh, that skirt seems to be a perfect fit for you, just look in the mirror.”

Lana turned around and screamed. She was not wearing a skirt; it was her tail feathers, which were wrapped around her, a bright plume of color shined from her fan-shaped feathers. The changes progressed downward, and her feet shifted to a bird’s. She felt off balanced on then and wobbled around.

“You will get used to it.”

Her arms were growing frailer, as they hung at her sides, as long feathers poked their way out of them. She flapped her wings in anger, and cursed everything she could see. She screamed at the top of her lungs, but her voice cracked and she let out bird chirps. A beak had formed on her face and she tried to pull in off, but it was part of her. Her neck got longer and she could not reach her face anymore. Her body was decorated in bright feathers.

“Come on little Peacock, lets head out for some fun.”

Tammy

“Okay I have been in these situations before nothing bad is going to happen if I keep moving.” Tammy was an adventurous young girl. She had been in ancient temples for devil-worshippers so she could handle a lot of other things including this. She had a couple of pens and bread in her pockets, so she left a trail with bread crumbs, and drew a line on the wall with her pens to show were she was. She knew that if she marked her path, that she would have a much better chance of getting through the maze.

She ran thought the halls leaving trails and turning back if she found it again. She had it figured out. She eventually came to a large clearing in the maze, and inside it resided a large building, vaguely resembling the Taj Mahal. She entered, because there was no turning back, and temples were her forte. She entered in to the worn down building, only to find the interior was spotless and clean. She was confused on how ruins can have such immaculate spaces if half of it was probably booby trapped. She journeyed down the hall and found a throne room. She saw a spectacular gemstone tiara mounted on top the throne. Her skills kicked in and she carefully maneuvered over to the throne and grabbed the tiara.

“Bravo Tammy you did wonderful, you deserve to ware that tiara, I knew there was something special about you.”

“I can really keep this, you are going to let me go, thank you spirits. Said Tammy as she placed the tiara atop her head.

“Not exactly, you see, we need someone mortal to have some power down here, so you earned it. But first …

Look into my eyes Tammy, You are the queen, you obey the traditions of ancient cultures. You are the queen, but you need to look the part.”

Tammy was caught in the spirits’ trance, she was under their control. She could do nothing but obey.

“Tammy pick one of the artifacts from these ancient cultures, take a mask, become the queen, become the mortal ruler of your desires.

Still in the trance Tammy had earned some free will, on a table there were masks symbolizing an old culture. From the table she picked up the mask for ancient India. She walked to her throne and placed the mask on her face. The mask merged with her face, gray skin overlapped her previous skin, and her facial features were recreated. Her ears, tripled in sized, and they covered nearly all the side of her head. A large trunk was making its way out of her nose and she let out a trumpeting sound in excitement. Her clothes magically changed, her regular coat shifted to a decorative Indian silk-spun dress fit for a queen. Her gray skin overtook the rest of her body, and her mind began to change from the enjoyment of reckless treasure hunting to the duties of the queen. She forgot all about her past, and only new of her present. She became the queen. A decorated, anthropomorphic elephant queen.

“And your reign begins m queen.”

Laura

“Giovanni, what’s wrong why you don’t talk.” Asked Laura not expecting and answer. She struggled to interact with Giovanni; he seemed to be in his own little world the entire time. Laura felt distant from him, and Annabelle they didn’t anything. “Annabelle is their anything you can tell me.” “I don’t know, sometimes he gets like this” Annabelle shyly said. The three wandered through the halls, not knowing what happened to anyone else, they just walked solemnly through the maze.

They unknowingly walked into a building filled with beautiful things, temptations lay in every window. Giovanni walked quickly, completely ignoring everything, but Laura, and Annabelle stopped to marvel everything in the windows. Giovanni pulled Annabelle away, but Laura was distracted by the aquatics equipment. She entered the room and found anything and everything she needed for expert swimming, from drag equipment, to nose plugs. She looked through the building and found a hidden room behind the racks of swim suits. Inside were three beautiful mermaids, which were enjoying themselves in a large oceanic scene. They seemed not to notice Laura, but she swam over to their rock they rested on.

The mermaids pointed her in the direction of necklaces mounted on a rock. She did not no what they were, but the other mermaids wore them as well. She knew in her mind that, she was not going to make it out of the maze, so she decided to join the mermaids, who enjoyed the same things she did. She grabbed the necklace from the rock and laced it around her neck.

“Oh, you thought we were going to let you join us Laura, no these are special necklaces, for everyone else.”

Laura panicked and looked at her hands; they were webbed together and covered in heavy, brown fur. The pelt continued up her arms and on to her shoulders. The furry change covered her entire torso and continued down her legs and webbing her feet together. The fur started to spread up her neck, and started to engulf her face. Whiskers popped out from her nose, as it flattened against her face. She was an otter, not a mermaid. Laura was slightly disappointed, but relieved that it ending pretty decently. Overall she was happy with the result.

“When I sad this group was fun I was right.”



Giovanni

Giovanni was still quiet the entire time. He had Annabelle in hand, and was running down the halls in attempt to find the exit, back to the regular world. He grew tired and hungry but he had to get Annabelle to safety; he rushed through everything and carefully navigated the entire maze. He always went first to help Annabelle so she didn’t get scared. He felt he grew closer, and he soon saw the portal back to the regular world, but then he realized Annabelle was not with him. He fell to the floor crying, about his failure. He regretted every move he made. He new that Annabelle wanted Laura to stay with them, but he would not take the risk to let her leave the portal before Annabelle. He reluctantly walked towards the large room that held the portal, only to see what nearly gave him a heart attack. Annabelle was waiting in front of the portal holding and otter, and had a peacock, hyena, and elephant next to her.

“You could have helped them, you knew what to do, but you ignored them. You let all of these innocent people, loose their lives, now they have to live as these.” Screamed Annabelle. “I asked the spirits to do something to me.”

“WHAT!”

“That’s right now I am going to do something to you, you never loved me, you just promised your brother, the mage, he was going to grant you immortality if you kept me safe. You didn’t care what I wanted, you wanted to live forever. Now I am going to make sure that you are miserable as my kitty.

Giovanni fell to the floor. His legs had already been shifted into feline paws. Orange and black fur alternated up his legs giving him a striped pattern. The change came back on his hands which quickly eliminated his fingers, and replaced them with little nubs and pads for paws. His head painfully shifted back and forth until a feline muzzle protruded from his face. The fur on his body grew out, and striped. “Why would I be miserable like this you ungrateful child.” Said Giovanni.

“It’s not over” said Annabelle. He walked over to her when all of a sudden he fell over to the ground, and his chest expanded and breasts grew out. “You are going to be a momma, little; well you need a new name, Gianni, that s it. Little Gianni is gonna be a mother.

“Another year comes to a close; it is always an enjoyable time for us to see how all of this unfolds, you never no what is going to happen. It just plays itself out, with an absolutely new experience every time.