Carter and the Curious Maze Page 2

  “So you saw the lost girl, did you?” The old man stared at Carter and opened and closed the red-handled garden shears, just once.

  SNIP.

  “Hmmm, how curious. Most people don’t get to see her. She must have taken a special liking to you.” Mr. Green raised his eyebrows at Carter. Awfully bushy, leafy eyebrows.

  Carter frowned and backed away. He gulped.

  Lost girl?

  “Oh, right. Sure, ha-ha, she’s some weird lost hedge girl, and only special people get to see her, I get it. Very funny, Mr. Green.”

  “Believe me, Carter, there’s nothing funny about the curious maze.”

  “How … how do you know my name?”

  “Oh, the maze told me.”

  Carter started to get just the tiniest prickle at this neck, like he should maybe be the faintest bit afraid. This old guy was creepy. Still, it wouldn’t be hard for Mr. Green to figure out his name; he would have heard Sydney shouting it. The old man was doing a pretty convincing job of being weird and scary, though, Carter had to admit.

  Carter darted his eyes at Mr. Green’s thumb … and quickly looked away. He kept his voice steady.

  “Look, I really just want to get out of here. My mom’s coming to get me soon. What’s the trick?”

  “Oh, there’s no trick to it, Carter. It’s really quite simple: just keep walking. Every maze is a journey. You just have to choose the right path. Hopefully, in your case, the choices you make won’t be too dull.” The old man turned his back on Carter and started to shuffle away.

  “But how far is it?”

  Mr. Green stopped and looked back. “Oh, that’s up to you. Everyone finds a different pathway out of the maze. No doubt you’ll bump into a few others looking for an end to it. Try not to be too bored now.” Mr. Green rustled away.

  Others?

  Carter didn’t like the sound of that at all. If there were “others” in the maze anything like the Creepy Leaf Girl, he’d just as soon not find out.

  “Maybe I should just follow you back to the start?” Carter yelled after Mr. Green, who was disappearing around a leafy corner.

  “You can try to follow me if you wish, but the rules are quite clear: you must go in only one direction, forward. Once you’ve entered the curious maze, it’s a one-way journey to the end, I’m afraid. Your journey. You might not like the consequences if you try to go backward. And the maze definitely won’t like it. But it’s up to you.” The old man’s voice faded away.

  “Rules? What rules? No one said anything about rules!” Carter yelled, alone once again. What did the old man mean, You might not like the consequences? Or the maze wouldn’t like it?

  That was crazy. It was slowly dawning on Carter that maybe Mr. Green was just crazy? All the more reason to get out of there as quickly as possible.

  Carter made a decision: he’d follow Mr. Green. He took two steps backward …

  … and yelped! The bushes rustled and rose up all around him in a tight, green wall. Vines curled out of the hedge and shook in his face, like fists shaking in anger.

  Someone must be moving the hedge around!

  There was NO way out now; the bushes held him tight. He called out, “Okay, Mr. Green. I get it! I won’t try to trick the maze. It doesn’t like it when I go backward. Like you said.”

  No one answered him.

  The bushes moved away from Carter, and the pathway reappeared at his feet.

  Time to be sneaky.

  Carter pretended to take two steps forward, and then he spun around to follow Mr. Green one more time. But the bushes rose up faster this time, angry leaf fists shaking in his face … then everything went black.

  Chapter 4

  Boys and Soldiers

  Carter opened his eyes. His head hurt, and he lay face down on the pathway. Vines from the hedge curled slowly around his feet and up his leg. As soon as he sat up, the vines quickly vanished back into the hedge.

  Weird!

  He sat up and groaned. He felt the back of his head: it had a bump on it.

  Something hit me!

  He opened and closed his eyes, trying to clear his blurry vision. The maze was a solid green wall all around him. There was no way out.

  Then, suddenly, there was. He watched as a few bushes slid sideways, and a pathway appeared.

  “Okay, so your employees are in leafy green suits back there, moving the bushes around. Good one again, Mr. Green,” he said. But no one answered. All he heard was the wind. Then …

  … SNIP!

  He groaned and stood up, rubbing the back of his head. A brick from the pathway was out of place at his feet. Carter picked it up and heaved it a little, feeling the weight of it. The brick was definitely heavy enough to knock him out.

  But it was also possible that when the hedge had reared up and scared him, he tripped over the brick and knocked himself out.

  Who would bash me on the head? That’s crazy. I must have tripped … right?

  “You should probably tell your employees not to trip kids, Mr. Green,” Carter called out. There was no answer.

  He thought he heard a faint SNIP! on the other side of the hedge, but when he stood still and listened … there was nothing but silence. The pathway was ahead of him now, and there was only one direction to go.

  This maze has to end sometime … just keep walking. And try not to trip and knock yourself out or bump into Creepy Leaf Girl again.

  Carter started walking. He was beginning to realize that a path in any direction was better than no path at all.

  Then … he heard it: “Carter! Carter!”

  SYDNEY!

  “HERE! I’M HERE! HELP! SYDNEY!” Carter ran down the pathway. He had to find his sister! He had to get out of there! He must be getting near the end of the stupid maze; he’d been running so long. He ran, calling for Sydney again and again … but once again, there was no answer. She had vanished.

  He wanted to scream in frustration. Instead, he stopped to catch his breath … and the hedge right beside him rustled.

  “Sydney?” he whispered. Please be Sydney!

  Not Sydney.

  A small boy popped his head through the hedge. He stared at Carter and then slowly stepped out onto the path. He was about five years old and wore short pants, a white shirt, and a matching jacket. He had a soft cap on his head and leather lace-up shoes. He wasn’t covered in leaves, though, Carter quickly noted. The little boy was wearing old-fashioned clothes, just like Creepy Leaf Girl. Maybe they were historical performers who had wandered away from some midway stage show?

  Pretty convincing historical performers.

  “Mummy?” the little boy sniffled. He rubbed his nose with a grubby hand and looked around.

  Carter shook his head. “No. I’m Carter. Are you lost? Are you looking for your mom?”

  The boy looked at Carter and nodded. He looked around once more and disappeared into the opposite hedge. Carter heard him say, “Mummy?” again, his voice more distant. Then the little boy was gone.

  “Um, Mr. Green?” Carter shouted. “There’s a lost kid in here! You should probably help him!” He considered following the little boy, maybe try to help him, but he didn’t want the maze to close in around him again.

  Plus, he was starting to feel a little like a lost kid himself.

  He kept walking.

  Okay, that kid is in here with you, so you’re not all alone. He probably wandered off from the lost children tent … which must mean you’re getting close to the exit. Someone will find him. He and Creepy Leaf Girl can find their way out together. Just keep walking!

  Carter walked along. How long had he been in here? The sun looked just a little lower in the sky, and he realized he might have been unconscious longer than he thought. He started to jog slowly along the turning and twisting pathway. At each corner he had to choo
se which direction to go.

  For the thousandth time he wished he had a cellphone; then he could just call his sister and she’d come and get him. Or at the very least he’d know what time it was.

  But his mother always said, “No, not until you’re thirteen.” He always argued that it would come in handy if he was ever lost or late.

  It was little comfort that he was SO right on both counts now.

  This maze has to end sometime, doesn’t it?

  He slowed to a walk. And heard footsteps again. He stopped and listened carefully.

  Sydney?

  But it couldn’t be Sydney. This time it sounded like many, many footsteps coming his way along the path. They sounded like angry footsteps, if that was possible. Almost like marching footsteps.

  What could that be?

  Carter ducked into the nearest part of the hedge.

  Definitely not Sydney this time, either.

  Suddenly a man burst through the bushes right beside him. He crashed through the branches and cursed. The man wore a red jacket with brass buttons and tight grey pants with tall black boots. A white sash criss-crossed his chest. He looked familiar, like a long-ago soldier that Carter had seen in history shows on TV.

  Blood dripped off the soldier’s arm, which he held tightly with his other hand. Carter saw a slash of skin and a bloody wound under the soldier’s sleeve.

  Carter gasped and bit his tongue, willing himself to stay invisible in the hedge. Vines curled slowly into his face and caressed his lips. He quietly tried to push them away. Part of him wanted to help the wounded soldier, but a bigger part wanted to stay hidden. The soldier took a sharp breath and looked around wildly, clutching his wounded arm. A drop of blood splashed onto the pathway at his feet.

  Carter stared. He tried to keep his breathing steady and quiet. The marching footsteps were closer, and the wounded man in the red coat jumped back into the hedges. He looked right at Carter.

  “Bloody blighters,” he whispered, looking over his shoulder.

  Carter jumped.

  “Wh … what? Sss … orry?” Carter had never seen somebody clutching a wound before, especially not somebody dressed in an old-fashioned soldier’s uniform.

  Another historical performer? That’s three now!

  But Carter couldn’t stare too long. The marching feet were louder, closer.

  The wounded soldier took another sharp breath, looked around, and then dashed into the hedge across the pathway. As soon as he disappeared, the owners of the angry footsteps appeared. Ten soldiers in blue coats marched right past Carter. He held his breath.

  The soldiers in blue carried GUNS. Old-fashioned guns with sharp knives on the end.

  Carter gulped. The word “bayonet” whispered in his head.…

  What was going on? The soldier in red was really hurt. Why were these men chasing him? Where the heck was Mr. Green? Did he know that lost children and injured men were running around?

  Carter forced himself to stay still and perfectly hidden until the angry marching footsteps faded away down the path.

  Once the soldiers were gone, he popped his head out of the hedge. He should probably run and get the police, but how?

  SNIP.

  SNIP.

  The bushes rustled, and a voice whispered in his ear: “Are you scared yet, Carter?”

  Chapter 5

  Scared Yet?

  Carter burst out of the hedge onto the maze pathway, his eyes darting all around.

  “Mr. Green? Come out! I want out of here!” he shouted.

  Mr. Green walked out of the bushes. His garden shears poked out of the top of the deep pocket in his green smock, and he clutched them tightly with his deformed hand.

  “It’s just me, Carter. No need to shout.” The old man stared at him.

  Even his teeth look creepy! And don’t look at his thumb!

  Carter tried not to stare at the creepy thumb, but he couldn’t help it. Mr. Green seemed not to notice and repeated his question.

  “So are you? Scared? You certainly look scared.” Mr. Green stared at Carter and blinked. He didn’t even reach Carter’s shoulder.

  SNIP.

  Mr. Green blinked again. Carter wasn’t sure … but it was entirely possible that the old man’s eyes were made of wood, too. They were the colour of wood, speckled like wood, stiff and round like wood …

  NO! His eyes are not made of wood! No one has WOODEN eyes! Get a grip on yourself!

  “Look! I’ve had enough, okay? There are at least two lost kids in here, and I’ve just seen grown-ups playing war or something. A wounded man was being chased around by angry soldiers with bayonets! You should do something!”

  Carter’s voice rose, but Mr. Green didn’t answer. Carter was losing his temper, so he closed his eyes tight and opened them again.

  He was alone. Mr. Green was gone.

  Where did he go this time?

  “Okay, play games if you want, Mr. Green, but as soon as I get out of here, I’m going to the police! Someone has to tell them what’s going on in this place!”

  The only answer was the breeze gently ruffling the bushes.

  Carter took a deep breath and looked up into the sky. He was sure his mother and sister would be looking for him, worried by now. Maybe they had called the police, and soon the maze would be crawling with officers calling his name. That thought was a tiny relief. Eventually someone would come looking for him — there was no doubt about that. But when?

  The old man liked scaring kids. How weird! Creepy Leaf Girl and the little boy both looked pretty scared. And who knows what was going on with the wounded soldier? Adults played weird games sometimes, like paintball and war re-enactments. Maybe there was a perfectly sane explanation for the soldier?

  Carter jutted his chin out and felt just a little bit courageous. Mr. Green might be able to scare those other kids, but he wasn’t going to scare him!

  But there was another thought forming in Carter’s head, one that was much more worry­ing than wounded soldiers, a lost child, or weird old men with deformed fingers.

  What if he couldn’t find the exit?

  What if he ended up wandering around and around and around, every once in a while bumping into the little boy looking for his mom, or the wounded soldier, or worst of all, Creepy Leaf Girl?

  The thought made Carter a little sick. He was starting to feel a little like the hamster at school who spent his entire life running along mazes built out of books.

  Although, Carter told himself, the hamster found his way out. Most of the time.

  Carter frowned. This whole situation was really weird. It didn’t make sense.

  But it was beginning to dawn on Carter that maybe … just maybe … the maze wasn’t supposed to make sense.

  He was about to start walking again when a shadow fell across the path. The hedges parted behind him, and someone tapped him on the back.

  Sydney? Please be Sydney!

  Carter swallowed and turned around …

  IT WAS CREEPY LEAF GIRL!

  Carter shrieked.

  He wanted to run, but his feet wouldn’t work!

  Creepy Leaf Girl raised her arm and shuffled slowly toward him like a stiff young sapling tree.

  Carter backed up against the hedge. Vines leapt and curled around his feet and his arms, holding him tight. Creepy Leaf Girl tried to speak, but her voice was choked. Her bonnet slipped back off her head, and leaves and small twigs popped out of her ears. Then more leaves curled out of her hair and sprouted along her eyebrows. Carter stiffened further into the hedge in horror.

  “NO! DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!” he tried to scream, but the vines curled over his lips. He covered his face with his arm, and turned away.

  PLEASE GO AWAY!

  Creepy Leaf Girl came closer and closer, opening her arms. She
opened her mouth and green, lush leaves popped out, curling over her lips, then down her long, white neck. Her voice came out in a garbled, leafy whisper, “H-e-l-p … m-e … p-l-e-a-s-e … g-a-r-d-e-n … s-h-e-a-r-s …”

  Carter opened his mouth to SCREAM himself to death …

  … when a strong hand yanked him backward through the hedge.

  Chapter 6

  Amazed

  Carter didn’t stop to see who had grabbed him. He ran, panicked. He crashed along the pathway, stumbling over uneven bricks and past scratchy bushes. Vines leapt out of the hedge, clutching at his feet and hands. He ripped them off and kept running.

  Where’s Sydney! Where’s the way out! Help! HELP!

  He ran the pathway, dodging left and right at each turn, until he thought his heart would burst. It took him a while to realize that someone was running beside him, someone fast and strong.

  Carter screwed up his courage and peeked over his shoulder. A boy about his own age ran with him. The boy smiled and then leapt past, almost leaving Carter behind.

  Carter followed as fast as he could, but there was no way he could keep up. Carter wasn’t a bad runner. In fact, he was a GOOD runner, but this boy was amazing.

  The boy was bare-chested, and long, black hair danced down his back as he ran. He wore leather pants and moccasins on his feet.

  Maybe they helped him run fast? Carter thought about all the expensive running shoes he had begged his mother for over the years and wondered briefly if maybe this boy knew something he didn’t. At every turn in the pathway, the boy looked back and made sure Carter was still following.

  I hope he knows the way out!

  They ran for another minute, but soon Carter couldn’t catch his breath. He finally stopped running at a bend in the maze and held up his hand, groaning, bent over.

  “Stop! I can’t run anymore,” he gasped. The boy stopped, waiting, wary, watching the bushes all around them. A leather necklace with a big white claw dangled over the boy’s bare chest.