#monotaur

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Blurry eyes open and, after a few moments, focus on the grey, darkly dappled sky above you. The air that is drawn into your lungs is tinged with dust. The hard, packed earth you feel below you confirms it: you are, indeed, laying on the ground, outside, in a place that lay under an ominous sky. There are others around you, laying in equally bizarre positions -- spread eagle, hunched over, on their side...

Hesitantly, with a pounding head, you bring yourself to your feet. Your legs feel like jelly beneath you, and if it weren’t for the fact that you knew the ground below you was solid, you’d almost think you were standing on the uneven surface of a swaying rope bridge. The sound of an object -- like that of a piece of metal -- clinks occasionally amidst the dull drone of being dragged.

The being in front of you towers above you and whomever else dared to rise to their feet. Horns -- two horns, one intact and the other chipped, erupt from the elongated face of the monster, which ended in flaring nostrils and a single golden ring. Below this bovine countenance is a form that seems to be most human -- a chest and a stomach the ripple with muscle, a pair of arms that come to elbow, forearm, and wrist -- but ended in horse-like legs, dark, cloven hooves, and a tail that swished as the colossus moved forward. In one hand lay the throat handle of a heinously large ax -- from knob to eye, it could rival the height of some of the students around you, and the blade itself could julienne a hair. In color, the creature is split down the middle; one side black, one side pure ivory. Most terrifying about this beast, however, are the eyes -- the deep set eyes, one dark, almost all pupil… And the other, flaming, protruding from the creature’s head like a beacon set in the socket.

This… Was a creature of legend. What stood before you was none other than a minotaur, the likes of which Theseus had defeated on the island of Krete. If the beast were not breathing and shifting as a living being directly in front of you, you wouldn’t believe your own two eyes. But all of your sense were rallying in agreement: this was nothing but the truth.

“... You have finally found the calling within you to open your eyes… I was beginning to suspect that some of you, if not all, would not.”

A loud snort shot hot air from the titan’s nostrils as it’s deep, gravelly drone rolled to a temporary silence.

“... This is Ablisse.”

“Do not bother to stir yourselves into a panic, lest taking it out on me or the property around you. You are here -- there is no question of that. To waste your precious energy on fighting it would prove futile.”

“This is your new home, and there is no space which harbors harm against you. I am simply an overseer, and these be the grounds which I oversee. You are the inhabitants as of this moment -- you, as which, are that what I oversee.”

The eyes of the creature flicker over all of you, never resting on your faces for more than a split moment. Its voice rumbles in its throat once more.

“You are undoubtedly shaken, and the voice of reason has become mute. Very well... “

“We have much time… Have a turn of the hourglass to quiet your spirits. I will remain station and ward all inquiries.”

It looked off to the side and sniffed the air, allowing the axe to slip into a less attent position.

A sense of finality settles amongst you. Is… This it? Is this Ablisse -- the place you’d be promised all along? Pillars tower around you, some chipped and worn, hardly recognizable as pillars themselves. There is a forest surrounding you -- however, it becomes impossible to see past a point, but not due to underbrush or land formations. A thick looms amongst the tree branches, making it as though trying to see through a faint, green silk.

At a first glance, there are six buildings around you. There’s a large, rectangular appearing one farthest from your position, but several more circular one in closer range. A moment passes before you consider what you should’ve considered from the beginning: what’s behind you. An enormous stone gate stands solemnly at your back. Is it here to keep you in -- or to keep something out?

After glancing at the other kids around you, you have but one more resounding thought:

Listen in as Tom goes solo with all the games he's been playing this week. Games mentioned include: Monotaur, Letterpress, You Don't Know Jack, NY Times Crossword, The Walking Dead: Episode 1 and much much more!

Intro and Outro music by Eric Sakmar.

MONOTAUR

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MONOTAUR

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