**2226 WORDS**
Warning: this is a work of homosexual erotic horror. It contains dark themes including but not limited to rape, torture, slavery, kidnapping, and some surreal kinks. It does not include any bestiality, piss or scat play, or underage content. Please read responsibly.
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Avi tried to control his breathing as the glowing gem floated before him. He was filled with anger, the sort of anger that faded one’s vision and destroyed one’s ability to focus on anything but their blind rage. He closed his eyes, and he felt Lance’s hand on his shoulder.
“Just breathe, Avi. Breathe.”
He felt calm start to rush over him as he took deep breaths, and by the time he had opened his eyes, the stone had stopped floating and faded back to its distinctive red colour.
James’ eyes were wide. “That was… awesome,” he said with a smile. “How the hell did you do that?”
“I have the same question,” said Avi flatly. “Lance, what is this necklace?”
“Why are you asking me?” demanded Lance.
“It was in Sebastian’s bag. It belonged to him. You must have seen it before.”
“I mean, yeah, I have.”
“So why didn’t you tell me?” questioned Sebastian. “I know that you saw me wearing it. You’ve been with me for days.”
Lance paused. He turned away, taking his hand off of Avi’s shoulder.
“Well?” said Avi.
“You’ve never lost a friend, have you?” replied Lance finally.
Avi said nothing.
“Sebastian was my friend. He saved my life more times than I can count. And now he’s dead. And I’m never going to see him again. You clearly know nothing about grief, and since you obviously have no sense of empathy, can you at least forgive me for being a bit annoyed with you just claiming all of his belongings for yourself?”
Lance stepped away, still within sight of the others. Avi looked at James, who could offer nothing more than a shrug.
“I’m sorry,” said Avi. “I didn’t know.”
“What do you mean, you didn’t know?” said Lance, turning back around. Avi could see tears in his eyes.
“I didn’t know wearing the necklace was bothering you.”
“It’s not the necklace.” Lance buried his face in his hands for a moment. “I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.” He sat down against the wall.
Avi sat down next to him. He took the necklace off, palming it and letting the cord drape across his fingers.
“Sebastian found it,” said Lance. “It was in a library.”
“A library? Down here?”
“You’d be surprised.”
“Where in the library?”
“He just started digging through random books. He was always a nerd like that. He opened up a random one, and a hole had been cut into the pages to hide the necklace.”
Avi frowned. “Why would someone do that?”
“Because they wanted to come back for it later,” said James, who had been standing a small distance from the two of them. “I mean, we’ve seen what the necklace can do. Maybe someone else realized how valuable it was, and left it there for safekeeping.”
“Did Sebastian know what it was?” asked Avi.
“No. I had no idea it could glow like that. Did you?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?” said Lance.
“I was going to! It didn’t come up!”
“Can you guys fucking stop?” yelled James. “Look, I don’t know who Sebastian is. Actually, I don’t even know who you guys are. But I do know that this necklace is important. We need to figure out what it is.”
“Okay, kid, I’ve been here for months,” said Lance. “I’ve seen weirder things than some dumb necklace.”
“Try a year,” said James. “I’ve seen weird things too, but this necklace is special. I know it is.”
Avi was surprised. “A year? How old are you?”
“Nineteen, I guess,” replied James calmly. “I was brought here a week after my eighteenth birthday.”
“Alright,” said Avi, “Going off of seniority, I trust you. This is only my fourth day here. What do you think we should do?”
James smirked. “Well, I think we should try to figure out anything we can about the necklace. You said you found it at a library?”
“Yeah, but I have no idea how we would ever find it again,” said Lance.
“Right. Well, I might know someone who can help.”
“What do you mean, you ‘know someone’? You’re telling me you have friends in the Labyrinth?” scoffed Lance.
“Yeah. Ever heard of Doctor Feln?”
“No. Can we trust him?”
“I trust him. And given that I didn’t trust Father Arlo, hopefully you can tell that I have half-decent judgement.”
Avi chuckled, placing the necklace in his bag. “Alright. Let’s do it.”
Soon, Avi, Lance, and James were on the move again. Avi’s feet were aching; days of walking on a stone floor were taking their toll. He chewed on some dried fruit as they walked.
“Doctor Feln has been here a long time. And he’s crazy smart. He’s managed to build a whole living space for himself.”
“This sounds familiar,” said Avi. “How is he any different from Father Arlo?”
James seemed a bit offended. “First, this guy isn’t forcing anyone to wear cages on their dicks. Second, he genuinely just wants to help people. He’s an expert on the Labyrinth, and honestly one of the kindest people I’ve met.”
Avi was suspicious, to be sure. But James’ reaction to the stone had made him curious. If the necklace truly was something special, perhaps he could learn how to use it better— how to control it.
For the first few minutes of walking, it seemed to Avi that James was moving through the maze completely at random.
“James, are you sure you know where we’re going?” asked Avi.
“Yep. We’re on the right track.”
“How could you possibly know that?” asked Lance, exasperated.
“You develop a sense for it. You start to recognize things. The Labyrinth isn’t endless. And it’s more regionalized than you might think.”
Avi thought for a moment. He remembered what Haltus had said at the beginning:
*…a structure of such incredible size that you might be tempted to call it infinite.*
What did that mean? What were the mechanics of the Labyrinth? Maybe it truly wasn’t that large at all, and just designed to feel endless?
Before Avi could dwell on it too long, they had arrived. The three of them stood before a metal door standing out in the vast stone wall, with a small panel of buttons next to it.
“Just a second,” said James. He walked up to the panel and pressed a button.
The panel buzzed. “Who is it?” said a gruff voice.
“Hey Doc. It’s James,” replied the teen.
“James, James, James…” the voice on the other end said pensievely. “Can you jog my memory?”
“I did that job for you in Sector 8? I fetched you some samples.”
A brief pause.
“The healing serum?” persisted James.
“OH! James! Yes, yes, I remember now. Good to hear from you again. Hold on, let me unlock the door for you. Wait, who are these people with you?”
“They’re new. Don’t worry about them. They saved my life.” Avi noticed Lance’s expression change when James said that.
“Right. Okay. Come on in.”
The door shifted slightly with another buzzing noise. “Told you I’d find it,” he said smugly. He turned the handle and pulled open the door.
Avi could barely believe his eyes as he stepped inside. The grey stone of the Labyrinth gave way to a brilliant white, a vast interior structure of tiling and white metal panelling. The room was large and open, stretching some thirty meters high, with several floors of catwalks leading into adjoining rooms. The catwalks all connected to a large central staircase, down which a man was walking.
The man was tall, with broad shoulders. He looked to be in his late thirties or early forties, with a darker complexion, Spanish, or Sicilian maybe. He had dark hair, distinct gray eyes, and he wore brown khaki pants, a white tee shirt, and a white lab coat.
Avi was shocked as the man approached. People had clothes down here?
“James!” he said in a deep voice. “So kind of you to drop by. What happened to the cloak I gave you?”
“Lost it,” replied James, approaching the staircase. “I was on the run from some incubi.”
“Ah. I understand. And who are these folks?” he indicated to Avi and Lance.
“Hi,” said Avi quietly, raising a hand. “I’m Avi. Very new here.”
“I’m Lance. Been here for a few months now,” said Lance.
The man nodded. “Well, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Doctor Leon Feln. You
can call me Leon, or Doctor Feln, or whatever you like, really.”
“Doc, we’re here for some advice,” said James. “We were wondering if-”
“Of course! Of course. Always happy to help. Why don’t you get these guys set up in the guest room. I’d be more than happy to discuss this over dinner. I’ll see you in an hour. Oh, and if you need to leave, just use the main door. The passcode is two-two-eight-six.”
Much to James’ apparent dismay, Feln strutted off towards a side door on the ground floor. It opened automatically for him, and closed behind him, leaving the three alone.
James sighed. “Well, that’s him.”
“He seems hospitable enough,” said Lance.
“Give him a break. He has a lot to do,” replied James. “Come on. I’ll show you where we’ll be staying.”
Up a few flights of stairs, adjoining the third floor catwalk, was the guest house. It was an incredibly lavish four-bedroom suite with a central common room and a shared bathroom. It had lavish red carpets, a seating area, and double beds in each room.
“Make yourselves at home,” said James. “I’m gonna take a shower. I haven’t had one in months.”
Avi’s face lit up. “Showers?”
“Yep,” said James with a grin. “Hot water, too. I’ll make sure you get a turn.” James walked over to the bathroom. As soon as he closed the door, Lance turned to Avi.
“I don’t like this,” said Lance. “This doesn’t seem right.”
“Aren’t you the same guy that excitedly ran into Arlo’s dining room?” replied Avi.
“That was different.”
“How? If anything, we have it better off here. I genuinely do think we can trust James. He’s a tribute, just like us.”
“It’s not James I don’t trust,” said Lance, “it’s Doctor Feln. How did he build all this? What is he up to here?”
“Well, he just gave us the passcode to his front door. So we at least have some level of trust. I’m sure he can answer all of our questions over dinner.”
“It’s not just that,” said Lance. He sighed. “I’m just worried that we’re getting sidetracked with the necklace.”
“Hold on, wasn’t it you who was getting all emotional over it?”
“I was getting emotional over Sebastian. That’s why you and I decided to stick together, right? To find Jaden? So what the fuck are we doing here?”
“Jaden is a smart man. If we rest here for a night, he’s not going to go far. We’ll take a shower, get a hot meal, maybe get some supplies, and set out tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe Feln has run into Jaden in the last two weeks. Just trust me on this one, okay?”
Lance took a deep breath. “Alright. But just a day.”
“Of course.”
Eventually, James got out of the shower, and it was Avi’s turn. The hot water felt heavenly on his body, especially considering how much dried tentacle slime was still covering him. He felt so relaxed, and the pain in his feet melted away.
When he emerged and Lance took his place, Avi was surprised to see James fully dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a white tee shirt.
“Where did you get that from?” said Avi.
“In the dresser. Help yourself. Feln has loads.”
Avi practically ran to the large dresser in the corner of the room. There was loads of clothing here, everything from loungewear to dress wear to pyjamas. Avi wasted no time in throwing on a pair of boxers, some light wash jeans, a tee shirt, and a red hoodie.
Finally, thought Avi. Fucking finally he wasn’t naked.
“I’m still confused,” said Avi. “Where is Feln getting all this stuff from?”
“It’ll make sense soon,” said James, walking over to Avi. “Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something.
“Yeah? What’s up?”
“I wanted to thank you. For saving me.”
“Oh, don’t mention it,” said Avi, rustling through the drawer full of socks.
“No, seriously.” James shut the drawer, stepping in front of Avi. “I’d be completely screwed right now if it weren’t for you. Even if I somehow survived the garden or whatever, I would have been stuck with that guy for a decade.”
“Well, we got lucky, to be honest,” said Avi. “You should be thanking the necklace, if anything.”
“Still,” he said softly, “let me show some gratitude.”
Suddenly, James stood up straight and kissed Avi, putting his hand in Avi’s hair. Avi was surprised, but did nothing to stop the man as he pulled him in deeper. Avi closed his eyes, deeply locked with James, until he heard the shower turn off. Lance was almost done.
James pulled back and let Avi go, smiling. “I’ll see you at dinner,” he said, heading for the door. “Don’t be too long. Oh, and I’d tuck in your waistband if I were you.”
Source: reddit.com/r/sexystories/comments/t7o2yr/enter_the_labyrinth_act_i_chapter_7_gay_fantasy
Can’t wait for the next chapter!