Chapter 11: The Canyon
Everything started out great, the canyon was small and easy to navigate. Max thought he would be through it in no time. He felt proud and cocky so he yelled out loud, “This is easy, those old men are just crazy!"
"Is that so?" said a mysterious voice.
"Who the hell are you? Show your self now!” Max shouted as he pulled out his plasma ray gun.
"You wouldn't believe how many men have pulled out guns in fear. You know what happens? They all die!" He heard evil laughter and it grew even louder.
"Well I'm not like anyone else. You can't kill me. I have to warn the town about the Red Death. Do you want everyone to die?"
After Max spoke there was complete silence. It was as silent as the night when Rich and Max had been surrounded by hundreds of Red Death. Then a voice announced, “Walk forward three hundred paces and take a right into a small cave. If you do not comply, you shall be killed.” Max obeyed, walking slowly and counting every single step until he was at three hundred. He saw a small cave on the right just as the voice had told him. But just up ahead of him, Max could see the end of the canyon only about a half of a mile out. Max was debating whether he should make a mad dash to try to get out of the canyon, but something stopped him. He decided to go into the cave, and he couldn’t walk, he had to crawl inside. Once Max got inside, the cave immediately lit up and what he saw was jaw dropping. There was a statue of Max, almost identical to his height and body features. The statue was surrounded by four large stones each one three feet high.
"You are the chosen one!" boomed a loud voice, and out from a door at the end of the cave, four men walked out. The men all had shaved heads, wore silk white gowns, each with a red star on the back of the gowns. "The prophecy was true! You have come to us Max, you were destined to relinquish the infected ones!" said the first man.
"Hold on just one second, what the hell are you talking about? Destined for what?” Max replied.
The second man stepped forward and stared right at Max, “Why are you here, then, why do you know of the Red Death, and why is there a statue that looks just like you?"
Max was stunned as he looked at the. "Why me? I'm just here to warn my people, my parents are normal, and my town is boring. Why could I be anyone special?"
The third man now took a step forward. "You're not from the town I'm afraid, my dear boy. Your real name is Maximus. Maximus Secord the Third, you were to be king one day. You have special abilities Max. You cannot be killed or injured unless you are hit in the head. You have extreme focus, which is why you have such great accuracy. I assume one way or another you found one of the last plasma ray guns.” As these words sunk in, Max realized he had never gotten a cut or scar in his entire life, and he wondered if his parents knew about this. "Anyone could have guessed I had the gun, but I've been hurt before. That's how I know you people are lying."
The fourth man stepped up now and asked, “If you are so sure Max, why don't you cut yourself just to prove it?" “OK,” Max agreed and the man handed Max a small knife. Max was very confused, and was trying to process all of this information. "Alright I'll do it!" he yelled as he slashed his wrist. Blood burst open from his arm, but the second he felt pain the wound closed back together and the blood on his arm vanished.
"Now do you believe us boy?" the first man asked. Max dropped the knife, freaked out of his mind. "Why do I have to do this? It just doesn't make any sense. I've never known what to do in my life." He dropped down to ground and felt like weeping.
"My dear boy, you have never known what to do, because you were created for a greater purpose."
Max got up slowly, the question "why me" still rang in his head like an annoying alarm clock. “Why did you want to kill me when I first came in?"
"It was a test, you could have run back home and tried to defeat the Red Death. But you wouldn't have been successful. That's why your curiosity always gets the best of you, your gut tells you what is right and what is wrong. It's why you entered this very cave, you knew something was important about this cave and that’s why you decided to come through."
Max knew deep down that what they were saying was true, and somehow for the first time he actually felt that he was important and had a purpose.
"However Max, I'm afraid the Red Death will find your town in a little under a week, and there's over twenty thousand of them. We need to show you a couple of things before you leave,” the second man announced. “I guess we better get started." The four men walked together and in unison said, “Follow us."
Max followed, but he was still a little on his toes. They opened a door at the end of the cave and what was inside was astonishing. The first thing he saw was a marble staircase and at the top was a large black gate just like the one in Max's town wall. They climbed up the stairs swiftly and in a few minutes they were all at the top. The fourth man pulled out a golden key and opened the black gate. Inside was a spectacular fountain and engraved on the top of the fountain was the name Maximus Secord. "Only you may enter the fountain, Maximus. Once you go inside, you will find the way to defeat the Red Death."
Max circled the fountain trying to memorize every detail. He stuck his hand in the crystal clear water, but he could not touch the bottom of the fountain. The fountain appeared to only be a couple of inches deep, but it was an illusion. Max stared down at the water and yelled to men, “What the hell is this thing?" But no one answered and as he turned around, he realized they were gone and he was alone. Max again tried to touch the bottom of the fountain and again he couldn't, even with his arm fully submerged. He took a few steps back from the fountain, and leaped into the cold crystal clear water, not knowing what was going to happen to him next.