The ivory hallways were beginning to make my mind fuzz over. Silver lines crisscrossing endlessly along the walls, over the white, reinforced the maze theme. Of course, that is a sarcastic remark; there was no evident rhyme or reason to anything. So many twists and turns…if I ever got lost alone in this labyrinth, I would certainly search till my death!

“How do you even know where we are, Zane? I know you’ve been here your whole life, but there is no way ANYONE could EVER memorize-”

“Well obviously I did, Miss Assumptions.”

I ogled at him.

Then he began to laugh. “It’s quite alright to experience a lapse of mental efficiency.”

“What do you think you mean?!” I nearly yelled.

Zane snickered and pointed seventeen feet up, to where the wall met the ceiling.

Reddening, I fought the urge to kick both him and myself. There were signs everywhere, only a bit higher than where I had cared to look, and they were labeled with arrows pointing to wherever one might need to go.

“I guess I didn’t see, I mean, I definitely am not lacking any skills in the area of, erm, observation.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

“YOU-!” I screeched.

“Shh!” He smacked his hand over my mouth, none too gently. “You don’t want to annoy the commander. Please, Chastity, TRY and make a good impression. Don’t be so uncouth in your mannerisms.”

“Oh please, uncouth manners! Look Zane, It’s only with you that I show-”

“Weakness.” With a wild smile on his face, he winked.

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH!”

“Oh, you know it’s-” Suddenly, he bit his lip and stiffened.

A door glided open, startling me. I jumped.

“My, my…” A man’s soft falsetto slithered out of the dark, newly revealed room. “Whatever is all the commotion about?”

“My apologies, Commander.” Zane nodded respectfully, and took a step back.

Was he…scared?

The Voice made a laugh-like sound. “It is fine, Zane. Thank you for delivering Miss Chastity to my presence. You are free to go.”

With trepidation, I glanced fleetingly at my roommate, surprisingly not wanting him to leave.

It’s okay. He mouthed, and with one last nod, retreated backwards until the next hallways turn appeared, whence he disappeared from my view.

A long, pale, slightly wrinkled finger reached forth from the depths to beckon to me. I willed my legs to follow my brain, not my mind.
Once inside, the doors sealed shut ominously behind us. I was finally able to assess the Commander.

He looked old, though I couldn’t tell clearly how old he would be in human years. He was bald, thin, and clad in a black jumpsuit with a familiar logo on the chest. The skin around his eyes was dark, but somehow it made him appear more ironically sinister than tired.

“Don’t be afraid, Chastity. ” He smiled in a friendly manner. “We’re not going to kill you, and I certainly am not going to hurt you...yet.”